what has been happening....three days left

My focus was on the wrong thing, I thought I was ready but then found out quickly that it was too heavy and could not handle it on my own.....


The radio silence the last ten days has not been intentional.  We have been running around to get things ready for our departure.  We are finding that there is great joy in finishing up projects that were once started and placed on hold because of Grad school, life, ministry, or whatever.  Landscaping: check.  Playground: 98% check.  Clean up cattle yard and pasture: check  Siding: check (thanks to some amazing people)
have an injury that will have life long affects: check

On Memorial Day, I (Justin) was helping to put a dock in the lake and found myself focusing on "bending with the knees and being aware of my bum wrist" when all of a sudden the weight became to great and I felt and heard multiple "pops" in my right elbow.  The pain was great.  Went to the ER in Worthington and they gave me some thing for the pain but suggested an Ortho visit.  They feared that I tore my bicep.  The kicker was then that many of the Orthopedic doctors had a waiting list of a few days....we did not have a few days to waste..we needed to jump on the moment for trying to discover the most amount of info as possible.  So we scheduled an appointment on Wednesday with our doctor in Sioux Center ( the ever smart and extremely talented man that he is).  Our initial thought: torn Long Head Bicep Tendon, typically happens in the shoulder.  Yet, my shoulder was fine, it was in the elbow.
When I went to the doctor, I did various resistance flexes and stretches.  By then, the pain, or constant pain was gone.  I found myself with a dull ache....much like when you twist your elbow.  However, when I do certain stretches for the docs, the dial of pain did get turned up fast!

The doctor in Sioux Center said, "oh, the elbow is a scary place for an injury, I would like you to see an ortho asap....but, there is something strange about your injury, you should not be able to do some of the stuff that you are doing".  Through the magically work of his staff, I was able to get an appointment in South Dakota Thursday morning.  All the while, friends and family were on a lift at my house hanging siding and painting...something that I felt earlier that I should do and wanted to do.....I was humbled by their great generosity.

Thursday at the Ortho doc..... he dug around with my left arm as a test and then dug around with my right arm.  I thought I was going to jump through the roof.  He said, after am X-Ray, I think it might be torn. He said surgery.  Our hearts sank.  Surgery would mean a massive delay in leaving.  We asked for a moment and then begin to take it all in: 3 doctors from 3 states.  What would I have done IF we were not leaving on Monday?  What are the benefits of surgery/what are the risks?  What would I lose if I do not do surgery?  But then, we asked something crazy: What would I GAIN if I do not do surgery?

A loss of 30% of strength and a difficulty to rotate my arm (screwdriver motion) as well if no surgery was done was what I was told.  Yet, if it is not torn completely, there is Hope.  I asked then: what if this injury happened before I left for Guatemala so that I would place my full hope and trust in God's hands instead of trying to take things in my own hands (or the hands of others).

My focus was on the wrong thing, I thought I was ready but then found out quickly that it was too heavy and could not handle on my own.....I NEED my HOPE and STAY in Christ alone.  The burden of trying to lift everything around me with my heart, mind, and soul is too heavy for me, but not for Christ.  I trust that I will be healed.  But if not, I will still remain in Him.....Him...the One who formed me and can breathe new life and can create the tendons to heal.  So we go, in faith and confidence AND with only three days left to finish packing and process with our family...

Psalm 27:13-14

13 days of cleaning, packing, building.......

So with the countdown to only 13 days left, we are finding ourselves preparing.  Now, this preparation is coming in many forms.  We are trying to get the siding finished on the house.  We are also preparing other things at the house for our departure.  This has been and is a little weird.  I mean, we just got back from Indiana for my graduation and you know what, when you leave for the weekend, whatever you did not finish or left alone, is still there to greet you when you get back after three days.

It is a little different when you are leaving for 5 months and know that some things cannot be left undone.  Well, it is a team effort, or shall we say tribe effort to get all things in place.  How do we do this you might ask?  We take a hold of the time given us to tackle BIG and small tasks....and have all the kids help with this as well.


Some people want their kids to stay out of the cupboards, this family right now is encouraging their kids to jump in!


In the mean time, we prepare our homes, our hearts, and our heads for what God has before us....

The final countdown...

Okay so maybe there are no paper chains and X's placed on the calendar, but we have been constantly thinking about all that we need to accomplish before we leave and truthfully know that the days are numbered.
  We are busy with wrapping up the end of the school year duties for the kiddos, getting the youth ministries baton ready to hand off, and trying to get our current residence ready for us to be gone.  Yes, we have always had projects going on and having a blast with them, but with us leaving we are looking  at what HAS to be done (can you say outside siding on the new bedroom? :) ).

We are still getting the constant questions of "so how long are you going to be gone?"  We answer with "10 months out of the year we plan to be in Guate."  They usually ask then, "well how many years?"  We say "do not know...could be one, or it could be more."  Yes, God could seriously be calling us down to Guatemala with our Tribe.  That might seem crazy to some, but then again, when we read the Bible....God has always been in the business of doing "crazy" things with people.

The kids have been asking some questions about "Home" as we are preparing to leave our home and gearing up for our place in Guatemala.  It has been said that Home is where the Heart is.  Our hearts are with each other and with our family.  As long as we are together as a Tribe, we are home.  Our shelters will change but our home will be constant.

We are still busy seeking after three types of people:  those who will PRAY.  Prayer will be our shields and arrows in the battle in the journey that lays before us.  I could share numerous stories of how prayer works.  Those stories will be shared here soon...

SUPPORT.  Not everyone is called to Go.  That would be silly.  All of us have different gifts and abilities.  God has gifted some to pray, and some to be able to SUPPORT financially those who are being sent.  You are the ones that allow others of go to the end of the road and then further to share Hope and Love with those who need it.

GO.  yes, some of you are called to go to Guatemala for a week on a mission trip.  Some of you are called to go elsewhere....maybe to another country, maybe across town to reconcile a relationship with someone else.  If you are sensing the call to go, give me a chat, I would love to hear more!

Until then, we say Dios Te Bendiga (God Bless You) and stay tuned for more adventures!

Justin

Learning in the waiting...

Justin here---

So we are at the edge of April with the face of May upon us.  June 2 is becoming more a stark reality!  We go from excitement, to wonder, to "AAAHHHHH" and then back again.
We were truly blessed and humbled by last week's fundraiser.  It is a hard thing for us as a family to ask for others to help us out in this way, but we were and are amazed at the support, love, and people of this community.
We were able to raise half of what we need to come up with for us to head out on this quest.  We are now in the time of searching out other individuals, churches, and organizations who are called to partner with us via prayer, support, and even going to Guatemala on a mission trip.

Stay with us to hear stories of how God is on the move.  Let the adventure begin!

Fundraiser

Yep we said it right, we are having a Fundraiser. This night will be filled with fun activities as us Schrocks head out to Guatemala. There will be fun carnival games, including skeeball, a bounce house, and many more surprises. A great meal filled with potatoes, applesauce, pork, green beans and ice cream sundaes. There will be a couple ways that you can help us at this fundraiser, you could pray, or you could give us support ( donate some money or other things that will help us on our way). You could also come on a mission trip to help others. So we hope to see you at our Fundraiser which is at Maurice 1^st Reformed church on April 24 from 5:30 to 7:30.

-Angelique Schrock (AJ)

Getting Ready!

Yes, it goes without saying that this blog has been dormant for sometime now.  We originally set it up when we moved down to Guatemala for 10 weeks in the summer of 2010.  Since then:  We had another girl (yep 6 kids now!), bought a farm house and started a SMALL hobby farm, Justin started and is almost done with Graduate School (a Master of Arts in Youth Ministry Leadership from Huntington University), Vicki started working for Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center, and have been busily having "fun" with many home improvements on the house and the yard.

SO, what is the next step?  Well, our prayer as a family has and always will be: Being Faithful to Jesus.  That means we will be ready for the adventure that is called life.  Justin is finishing up his 13th year as a  youth pastor, Vicki loves to work with people in health care, AJ is very musically talented as a 5th grader, Caleb is our fabulous 4th grader and growing into a young man fast, Emilee is our lovable 3rd grader that is teaching us daily about loving others, Miya and Kira might be twins and soon to turn five, but each of their personalities shine strong, and Naomi as a 2 year old is one that never shies away from smiling at EVERYONE.

So join us as we strive to follow Him and work WITH Christ and not FOR Him.  More to come....in our spare time :)

Welcome Back: to me!

This country girl has gotten to move back into the country!  We currently have an old farm house, 6 kids, 3 calves, 24 Chickens and a hand full of Kittens! More photos of that later.
 We are truly blessed and see God working in many areas of our lives.  I just got a call from Justin who is out in Indiana for grad school and he stated that his professors had just prayed that our house would sell.  All of that was going on while I was persistently trying to get a hold of him to tell him that we have an offer on our house.  OH LORD HOW YOU MOVE!
I have been thinking for a while that I need to add blogging into my routine.  More for myself than for all of you who read this :)
One funny item for the day:  Child #4 was having a difficult morning.  She was particularly struggling with listening.  So, I grabbed (ever so gently) her ear and asked her what this is.  She responds, "an ear."  I then say and what do we use it for?  #4 "Earrings".  Well, that defused the situation very quickly.  I was looking for the answer of listening, but she does have a point!

God Bless
vicki

Oswald Chambers

I continue to think . . . I should update the blog and then quickly dismiss the thought.  Today I have posted an amazing devotional that may take you two time of reading to really grasp it but please take the time to meet with our LORD right now!

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled . . . —John 14:27

Whenever we experience something difficult in our personal life, we are tempted to blame God. But we are the ones in the wrong, not God. Blaming God is evidence that we are refusing to let go of some disobedience somewhere in our lives. But as soon as we let go, everything becomes as clear as daylight to us. As long as we try to serve two masters, ourselves and God, there will be difficulties combined with doubt and confusion. Our attitude must be one of complete reliance on God. Once we get to that point, there is nothing easier than living the life of a saint. We encounter difficulties when we try to usurp the authority of the Holy Spirit for our own purposes.
God’s mark of approval, whenever you obey Him, is peace. He sends an immeasurable, deep peace; not a natural peace, “as the world gives,” but the peace of Jesus. Whenever peace does not come, wait until it does, or seek to find out why it is not coming. If you are acting on your own impulse, or out of a sense of the heroic, to be seen by others, the peace of Jesus will not exhibit itself. This shows no unity with God or confidence in Him. The spirit of simplicity, clarity, and unity is born through the Holy Spirit, not through your decisions. God counters our self-willed decisions with an appeal for simplicity and unity.
My questions arise whenever I cease to obey. When I do obey God, problems come, not between me and God, but as a means to keep my mind examining with amazement the revealed truth of God. But any problem that comes between God and myself is the result of disobedience. Any problem that comes while I obey God (and there will be many), increases my overjoyed delight, because I know that my Father knows and cares, and I can watch and anticipate how He will unravel my problems.

New Options

This week our dear Miya has figured out how to undress herself.  you are thinking good for her, except that undressing includes her diaper.  On more than one occassion we have found Miya buck naked in her crib with the sheets needing to be changed.  Well, Miya will keep me on my toes and always trying to stay one step ahead of her. 
On Friday Justin and I had the opportunity to go to our kids school and share about our experience in Guatemala.  It was very well received and I think many students and teachers were blessed by the experiences that we shared.  Continue to pray for those in Guatemala that they may seek the Lords will for their lives. 
We continue to prepare for winter here.  I am working outside today trying to get the flower beds in order.  I always love the blooming flowers but I hate clean up in the fall.  I guess that can extend past the flower beds and I could make a blanket statement . . . I hate clean up anywhere . . .but i guess someone has to do it!
I gotta go the girls are awake and I need to get back outside
God Bless

new life

I'm not sure that anyone is still reading this blog, but now that my extreme exhaustion is disipating a little I thought I would fill you in.  We are expecting a new baby (the natural way) due the end of April.  So, I have been so tired I often spent my days in the recliner with twins just crawling on and off of my lap.  I am feeling much less tired now and ready to hit the craft ideas that I have saved up in my computer. 
VIcki
Let me know if you still read so I know if I should keep posting!

CHANGEs in the schrock family

Justin here tonight.  Vicki said that I needed to tell this story.  So life on Thursdays has been crazy to say the least.  Emilee has gymnastics, Caleb and I are taking Taekwondo, and this past Thursday Vicki was scheduled to work.  Vicki was working, Emilee and I were rushing around downstairs trying to get her gymnastic clothes ready, when Caleb started to shout from his room.  He was up there with Miya and one of his friends.  I proceeded to go up there to see what was happening.  I saw Caleb holding his sisters face screaming at her.  WELL, Miya had taken one of his coins from Guatemala and put it her mouth, I went into the room and to get to her JUST as she swallowed.  Now, Miya usually spits things out if she takes them.  But not this time.  So, not knowing how big of coin, not knowing if it was indeed a coin, and needing to get Em to her gymnastics, Caleb and his friend ready for Taekwondo, we proceeded to wait and watch.  Menawhile Caleb was wigging out that he is out of his money.
Thursday night Miya did not sleep well.  So on Friday Morning Vicki took Miya into the hospital to get an X-ray to see where it was at.  Also, we did not know what material the coin was made out of.  Keep in mind that the coins vary from very very small to extremely large.  The good news is by then, it was in her colon.  We had it planned to take the twins to my folks for the weekend too.  So we wanted to make sure that all would be well.  Well, I met the folks in Ames, passed the girls on.  I met with a few college students from our church that go to ISU.  On my Way home at 8:17pm, the coin came out.  First thing that Caleb asked, is Miya going to live?  Second thing...can I have my coin back?  Welcome to the Schrock Tribe!