In His Grip

2013 Spring Break Recap

I know that I said I was back to blogging, and I have been thinking about it.  During that thinking time here are some things that I have been doing.  My girls are both teachers so for the last five years we have gone out to the desert near Palm Springs for Spring Break.  My Mom has a snowbird place there.  She calls it “the spa”.  When she and my Dad first went there the park was called Imperial Spa because of the natural hot springs that make up the pools and hot tubs.  So each year we travel to “the spa” to drive back to Kansas City with my Mom.  These two beautiful gals were my travel companions and they are a hoot.  We have the best time together. 

We spent the entire day on Saturday traveling from Kansas City to Palm Springs. I have to say for an airport, Palm Springs airport is the pretties one I have ever seen. 

We spent all of Sunday shopping around Palm Spring.  In the middle of down town we came across this giant statue of Marilyn Monroe and the girls had to have a picture taken with her.  Yes, she is wearing panties.

We left Palm Springs and headed to the middle of the desert.  And when I say middle of the desert, that is exactly what I mean.  Once inside the park, we are perfectly happy sitting by the pool.

Although we are in the middle of the desert, there are hot springs everywhere.  This lake is just across the road and over a little hot spring stream from my Mom’s, it is full of tropical fish that live in the hot spring fed lake.  The water coming out of the ground is 160 degrees.

Out in the desert you come across all kinds of things that have just been left behind.  We have seen this truck off in the distance for years and decided to check it out.

Like I said, there all kinds of things that you find abandon in the desert.

Friday was Anna’s birthday so we wanted to do something fun and adventurous.  We rented this little vehicle and headed out off road into the desert.

One of the places we went on our off road adventure was the “bat caves”.  This is a large pile of rocks in the middle of no where. 

From the “bat caves” you can see for miles.  The large body of water in the distance is the Salton Sea.

Another place in the desert is your typical oasis.  Water is literally bubbling from the ground in several pools with all these palm trees.

After a week of fun in the sun, we began our 22 hour trek back to reality, Kansas, and about 6 inches of snow.  Seriously?

No Problem, Mon

Jeff and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this year and decided to take a trip.  We never took a honeymoon but went to the Riviera Maya in Mexico for our 21st year and thought it was about time to celebrate once again.  After all, we have been married for 30 years, our youngest child graduates from college next week and is employed along with the rest of the adults in the family.  We think we have a lot to celebrate.  This was our view for the last six days in Montego Bay, Jamaica.  No problem, mon, was what they say about everything.  I’d like an extra towel, no problem, mon.   Can we get extra bottles of water delivered to our room each day? No problem, mon.  We literally sat and did nothing for the entire time we were there.  We allowed the folks at the resort to totally take care of us.

 When we arrived they greeted us with a chilled glass of campaign with a cherry in it and from that moment on we had no problems, mon.  

 Omar took Jeff out on the catamaran each day and taught him how to sail. No problem, mon.  If you look very closely you can see a boat way out in the ocean, they went out and talked to the fisherman out there who was fishing alone and had a huge fish on the line and could not get it in.  He had it attached to a marker buoy and was going back and get some help to haul in the fish.  No problem, mon. Boy, how Jeff wanted to be a part of that one.

This is how I spent most of my time reading and drinking the pretty drinks that they brought to me.  No problem, mon.

Every afternoon, our beach and pool side activities were interrupted by a rain shower.  No problem, mon.  “Dirty Bananas” and “Mudslides” can take care of any kind of disappointment a little rain might make. No problem, mon.

The sun always popped through the clouds again and back to the pool or the beach, no problem, mon.

On our last evening at dinner we were surprised with a very special dessert created just for our celebration.  Thanks to the chef and the wait staff for making that last evening very special. No problem, mon.

Three Word Thrusday

Time to relax

Tapestry From India

This is a tapestry that I purchased in September of 2008 on a trip to India.  I have known that I wanted, no, I needed to display it somewhere I would see it everyday and remember the people of India.  This week while shopping I found the perfect hooks to hang my tapestry on.  They started out a kind of worn beige and of course I wanted them to be a worn out red.  So out came my handy colonial red spray paint and a little wipe with a rag and, wa-lah, worn out red hooks.  Now this beautiful tapestry made of antique pieces of sarees  hangs in my studio where I will see it everyday and remember in prayer the people of India.  A part of my heart remains in the land of India, where I have seen the beauty of a people so different than me. 

Before I painted the hooks.

This is after I had spray painted and wiped off some of the paint.  You need to work quickly as spray paint begins to dry right away.  You need to paint and then wipe one at a time or the paint will be too dry to wipe off. 

Grand Canyon Glory!

Oh my heck!  I have never seen anything so breath taking as the Grand Canyon.  Wow, is all I can say.  To live in a country where we can go from the prairies of Kansas to the beauty of the Grand Canyon in  a mere 18 hours is amazing.  The beauty and grandeur is just so overwhelming it literally brought tears to my eyes.  At breakfast this morning, I told the family that I was so excited to get there I could hardly eat and they all laughed at me, but seriously, it did not disappoint.  I just could not stop snapping pictures.  But even looking back at them I realize they can in no way capture the true beauty of this creation.  Our God is truly an artist.

 

Salvation Mountain

Salvation Mountain has got to be one of the most interesting works of art you will ever see.  You can find it out in the middle of nowhere near the Salton Sea.  Leonard Knight, the artist of this masterpiece, created this as a tribute to God.  He originally was going to stay in this spot for one week and that was 26 years ago.  During this time his creation has grown, to include the sinner's prayer and lots of scripture and is all made of adobe clay and donated paint.  He seems so genuine and his entire existence is from donations and his love for God.  This is the kind of thing you will only see if you are willing to go on a road trip. 

Chicago Weekend Adventure

Over the weekend the girls had their first travel adventure alone.  They left the Kansas City airport at 7:00 am on Friday, maneuvered their way through OHare airport, hopped on the El, only to transfer from the purple line to the red line, and went to Northwestern University were they met up with one of their best friends who is a student there.  They spent the rest of the day shopping the Miracle Mile and having fun in Chicago.  Saturday evening they met up with some good friends, Sheri and her husband, (Sheri was running in the Chicago Marathon) spent the night downtown, and went Sunday morning to support Sheri in the marathon.  Sheri finished, yeah!!!!  What an accomplishment.  We are all so proud.  I talked to them several time during the weekend to make sure all was safe and good.  But Sunday morning when they called and said they were on the marathon route with millions of people, I became alarmed, like any good mother would, until they told me that they had met up with Sheri's husband who is well over 6 foot tall.  There are times you just have to thank God for good friends.  They were able to cheer Sheri on, and then made their way back home all safe and sound.  And I thought that being an empty nester meant no worries.  WRONG!

Sept 2-- am

We arrived here in Delhi safely.  All of us are doing well, but Cheryl is still struggling with her sinus infection.  I have not seen her yet this morning and am hoping she got good peaceful rest.  She was the only one of us not able to sleep on the plane.  We did find out the Prati will not be traveling with us because her daughter, Becky, is so close to having her baby.  Although we are in good hands with Samita and pastor Benny, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.  This morning we will put together what the first conference will look.  Then we have the day to rest or fulfill our tourist visa by shopping or sightseeing.  The conference will open at 4:00pm.  Benny said that it will take about 45 minutes to an hour to get to the conference sight and he said the roads will be straight.  However, he said this with a big smile, and he said this to me before too.  I don't think time means much to him and his straightt roads are certainly not my straight roads.  I will get back to when we get back to our hotel tonight.  Love from all of us to all of you.  Your prayers are being felt. 

Finished or Not Here I Go

Today I spent the day trying to finish up everything I need to do before I leave.  I am not sure that will ever happen.  However, I will leave finished or not.  We fly out of KCI at 2:30 pm on August 31st and then out of Chicago at 7:30 pm.  We will then arrive in Delhi at 8:35 pm on Monday.  I will try to post as soon as possible.  Keep our team in your prayers.

5 Days and Counting

We are down to the last 5 days before we leave for India.  The only thing I can say at this point is, everything seems to be out of my control and I am depending on the direction of God to show me what needs to be done before I leave and what can wait.  Being self employed, this is very hard for me and I hate to ask my designers to wait because I have chosen to take time off.  I can only do the best I can and hope that they understand.  Going on a mission trip has never caused my business to suffer in the past, in fact my biggest months of my business have been the months after I have returned.  This time, however, the big month has come before.  The biggest month ever of the almost 20 years Stitches By Sturman has been around.  Yeah God!

Spring Break 2008

We do not normally go anywhere on Spring Break.  This year we went to Las Vegas.   Although, none of us gamble, I am not sure I quite get it, we had a great time shopping and spending time at the pool.   The hotels are so great, when you are within walking distance of Venice, New York, Treasure Island, and Paris, who can beat that?   

Three Word Thursday

STOMP OUT LOUD!!!!!!!!

Bergfalk Babes In Vegas

Every year my two sisters, Mom, and I go on a little getaway for a couple of days.  Usually we just go to one of each others houses, but whenever we have a daughter that is 17 she is invited to join the Bergfalk Babes in our fun.  It is then we get to go somewhere fun.  Our first daughter Babes retreat was in Chicago with Amanda, the second was in San Antonio was with Lindsey and Jo Ellen, and this one we are in Las Vegas with Anna and Rebekah.  These times are so fun and making memories for a lifetime.  We all know that we are daughters of the King and each girl is given her Princess pin.   

Another Trip to India

I am very excited to announce that I will be leading a team this September 1st - 14th to India.  The objective of our trip is to encourage and mobilize Indian women to be spiritual leaders in their communities.  So far there are two other women that have committed to join me and we would like to take a team of 6 - 8.  Please join me in prayer as to how you can be a part of this trip.  You can partner with us in a couple of different ways;  join our team, support the team through donations, assist an Indian women to attend one of the conferences we will be a part of, and always most importantly prayer.  We will be hosting our good friend Parti Stephens from Salem, Tamil Nadu, India, at our church for a womens lunch on April 6th.  We are women made for more, come catch the vision of Women With A Mission, India.  To register for the lunch click here. 

Valentine Getaway

Jeff and I went away this week for a three day getaway.  Jeff got this package when the Bass Pro Shop opened in Olathe back last Spring.  We have been trying to schedule this since then and finally our schedules came together for our three days of Branson fun.  Branson is truly your Midwest destination, with its music theaters, craft malls, and glitzy grandma fashions.  We had a great time even sitting through a 2 hour timeshare appointment to make our whole trip come to a whopping total of $13.43.  Not bad for three days away.

Feeling Very Blessed

We have arrived back home and I want to thank everyone for praying for us as we worked in Mexico.  Coming back to our home here in Olathe, I cannot help but see the contrast in our lives compared to that of Sergio and Flor.  Why was I born here in this country with the privileges that comes with that?  It is hard not to feel a bit guilty for ALL that we have knowing there are so many in this world that do not have what they need let alone what they want. 

My mother challenged our family as well as Travis and Roberta, our Casas Por Cristo leaders, to pray one minute each day for the next year for Flor, Sergio and their children.  That is 19 minuets a day, for 366 days, being it is leap year, that totals 6,954 minutes or 4.8 days worth of prayer for this family in the next year.  Sergio attended the church of the sponsoring pastor as a child, but is not involved at this time.  My prayer is that this family will find their way back to God in this new year.

Casas Por Cristo Finale

When we arrived back at the church we were staying at they were still having church.  All of the kids saw our vans pull up and came out to play with our kids. Luckily we had left over glow sticks from Restore Community Church Christmas event to pass out as well as evangelistic packets provided by Casas Por Cristo.  They turned on the Mexican music and the pastor's son had fireworks to light and a party broke out.  Our kids had so much fun. 

We had a small taste of the way that some people in our world live.  The four days we were in Mexico we were freezing, there was no real warm place to go to get warm.  But we did know that we would eventually go back to a warm house, but this is their life.  We can go away knowing that one family is now living in a warm house that Jesus' love built. 

Building Day 3

The final day of construction was a little warmer and we began sifting sand for our stucco mixture and learning the technique of how to get the stucco to stick to the surface of the house.  This is much harder than you might think.  While the Moms and kids worked on the outside, the guys along with Juan and Sergio worked on the inside finishing up the electrical and hanging the drywall. 

As the construction started to wind down, our kids had time to play with the children of the family as well as the others that live near by.  Flora, her mother and grandmother made us all lunch on this last day.  This meal was by far the best missionary meal I have ever had. 

We finished up the day with the house dedication and the sponsoring pastor joined us to present the family with a Bible as well as other gifts to make their new house a home. The final touch was Sergio nailing in the Casas Por Cristo plaque over the door of his new home.  This was a great experience and one that our family will remember for a lifetime.  We are forever changed by the love that Christ has for us all.

Building Day 2

Day two was a very chilly 28 degrees when we started but warmed up quickly as the sun came over the mountains.  Building started with the raising of the walls that we built the day before.  This was a all hands of deck process.   We then put up the black wall board that was then covered with chicken wire.  The roof was put on which was a job that all the kids wanted to do. 

One of the biggest lessons we learned was that we had to work together and follow the instruction of our leaders Travis and Roberta.  Travis is on staff with Casas Por Cristo and has a heart for the people of Juarez.  His wife Roberta is just a ball of energy and always is ready to keep Travis in line.  We had a great time with them.   Some of the local children joined in our building as well as Flora's uncle, Juan.  Although there was a language barrier we were able to smile and laugh together when we made silly mistakes. 

Back in the US -- Day 1 Building

We arrived at our home site at about 10:00am on the 28th.  The ground was prepared by the family before we arrived.  The family was Flora, Sergio, and they had three small boys 3, 2, 11 months and one due in January.   Some built walls while other built the forms for the cement floor.  We had to be ready for the cement truck to arrive.  Once the floor was poured and smoothed we finished up our first day.