There is so much that goes into setting up and leading a mission trip.  I've been working on setting up this mission trip here on San Carlos for almost a year now.  That is alot of time invested, alot of decisions being made, alot of prayer, alot of responsibility.   Along with that, there is so much that can go wrong on a mission trip.  Usually, things that we don't anticipate.   And to be honest, I don't really want all that responsibility.  I don't want to make all those decisions.  So I decided from the beginning of this call to missions on my life, that I would "not" be the the one to take all that responsibility, I would "not" be the one to make all the decisions.  I decided from the beginning that I would give all of that to God, that He would be the Project Leader and I would be His assistant. 

 

And actually, this has worked out very well.  I don't have to worry and fret about anything because I know that my "Project Leader" has everything under control.  He has already taken all the responsibility.  He has already made all the decisions.  I'm just along for the ride.  And what a ride it has been this week on San Carlos.  After picking up my two precious native gals in Phoenix on Saturday, we got to work.......shopping.  We hit the Sams Club with three grocery carts.  1 hour and $650 later we were ready to hit to road for San Carlos.  As we loaded the groceries in the car, I realized that I could not have done this shopping trip alone.  We purchased all refrigerated items and needed to quickly purchase, load and drive them 2 hours to San Carlos to keep them edible.  My "Project Leader" came through for me.  He supplied 2 gals, whom I love dearly, to help me shop.

 

 

I've had a great weekend with them.  They were wonderful hostesses for me, meeting the group and helping with cooking & cleaning.  But alas, all good things must come to an end, and after lunch today I had to take them back to Phoenix so that they could go to work tomorrow.  Before we headed back to Phoenix, I had to meet with a new Ministry Partner to set up another project on San Carlos.  The meeting took a little longer than I had anticipated, so when we finally hit the road, my mind was only thinking about making good time and getting the girls back home so that they could get to church tonight.  I dropped them off, gave them a quick hug and was off to do more shopping.

 

As I began to pull onto the interstate, my "Project Leader" did it again.   He pointed out a situation that I was not aware of and made a decision that I had not made.  He said to me, "Check your gas gage."  Oh, good idea, I thought.  When I checked it, this is what I saw:

 

Ooops!  Good thing I'm just the "Assistant Project Leader".  OK, now what?  Where is the nearest gas station?  I certainly didn't know, but I knew that my "Project Leader" knew.  So I began to pray, and pray and pray.  My "Project Leader" calmed my insides, told me which way to go and off I went.  One exit and 3 blocks later, I pulled into a gas station, breathing a sigh of relief and giving glory to my "Project Leader".  When the tank was full, I looked at the pump and saw that I had only .7 of a tank of gas left.  My "Project Leader" did it again!

 

This would be a pretty good place to end this story....... but it gets better.  I continued on back to the San Carlos reservation as dusk fell over the desert.  I love driving at this time of the evening.  I open my windows and let the cool evening air rush through.  By the time I arrived back on the rez, it was pitch black, but I didn't care, I was enjoying the ride singing along to my CD.  As I approached a curve in the road, I had to quickly slow down to get around it, and when I hit the brake, I realized that there was a herd of cattle in the road right in front of me.  If those cattle had not been on the road at the curve and had been on the straightaway instead, I would most certainly have hit them.  My "Project Leader" did it again!  What a God we serve! 

 

I am so glad I have given the responsibility of "Project Leader" over to my Lord and Savior.  He's doing a much better job than I ever could.  If I was the "Project Leader" I would either be sitting in Phoenix two hours away from the San Carlos Rez with no gas, or, sitting on a road on the San Carlos Apache Rez with a smashed car and a bunch of smashed cattle.  To God Be The Glory!