Clay County Church Talk

Summer seems to be the time for mini-mission trips. From weekend trips to Appalachia to help build houses to three-week trips to South America to offer medical services, it seems everyone is involved somehow.

What is YOUR church doing in the mission field this summer? How about you? Are you involved by praying for or financially sponsoring others, or by packing your bug spray and motion-sickness pills and heading off to foreign lands yourself? Maybe you're staying home and caring for the children of others who are serving in this exciting and often frightening way.

What is your mission this summer?

www.kellystigliano.com

It's that time of year again - VBS!! So many churches are offering these fun and educational "camps" throughout the summer. Some offer daytime events and some are during the evening hours so parents can join in. Great curriculum offered, too. Bible stories, crafts, snacks, competitions, physical activities, and more!

What is your child doing this summer? What is your church offering for kids this summer? Let's get everyone connected!

www.kellystigliano.com

It's summertime and families are making vacation plans. Economic pressures are mandating many families enjoy "staycations" in their own areas.

The options for planning hotel stays, flights, cruises and car rentals are endless. Do you go to a travel agent and let him/her do it all for you? If there is a problem, THEY handle it (ideally). Sounds appealing. You could go directly to the airline or hotel website and book your own flight or stay. You might save some money if you go through an in-between company such as hotels.com, expedia.com or priceline.com. Just be aware that they aren't necessarily working for YOU. Let me explain . . .

In November 2008 my flights were booked to and from Budapest, Hungary for May, 2009, via expedia.com. It used to be that the sooner you booked, the cheaper the flights. Not necessarily so anymore.

From December through April I received several e-mails and phone calls from expedia.com informing me of changes to my flights. Among the changes, they went from a three-hour layover in Rome to a 14-hour layover in Rome. If it wasn't going to be so far into an already exhausting trip, I might have just booked a couple of tours. We tried to have the Rome layover shortened. It was; it wasn't; it was; it wasn't. Months ticked by.

The problem was Alitalia (the airline flying me into Europe) was unapproachable and apparently didn't ever really secure any changes made via expedia.com. Calling Alitalia directly was worthless because their "800" number was never answered.

I got an e-mail from expedia.com saying the entire flight from the US to anywhere in Europe was canceled. No explanation. No solution. No refund of money. Between December '08 and April 28, '09 we spent 10-12 hours on the telephone trying to find out where in the world I was flying and when. Finally expedia.com said it was no longer their problem - we had to take it up with Continental or Northwest Airlines.

In a panic we called Northwest Airlines and a saint known only by "Caroline" took me on as her personal project. "Finally, someone on Planet Earth who cares about customer service!" I thought. Caroline not only confirmed that I would have shown up in Newark, NJ with no further flights booked, but she wouldn't let us off the phone until every "t" was crossed and every "i" dotted. She is henceforth referred to as "Saint Caroline From Northwest Airlines".

A friend's daughter works for British Airways here in Jacksonville. She said that the "go-between" companies tend to "pass the buck" saying it isn't their problem, it's the airline's problem. The airlines tend to pass it right back to the company through which the flight was booked. For longer, more complicated flights, going directly with the airline is the best bet, she advised.

So how do YOU travel? Do you traditionally use a travel agent? Do you hop on the internet and just "git r done"? Do you call the airline or hotel directly? What is the best answer to the travel arrangement question?

www.kellystigliano.com

I returned home from Hungary on Saturday evening. While I already miss my daughter and her family who live in Budapest, I nearly cried when the man in customs at the Detroit, MI airport said, “Welcome home”. Then when I re-checked my luggage and showed another worker my passport, he smiled and said, “Oh, you don’t need that anymore.” I wanted to hug him so hard! I love this country! Young as it is, it is my home!

The day went like this: Arrive at the Budapest airport at 4:45 AM; wait. Check in at 5:15 AM; wait. Leave at 7:15 AM; arrive in Amsterdam; go through customs; RUN to catch the flight to Detroit, MI. Change watch to read six hours earlier. (Does that mean I’m younger now and any bad decisions I’ve made in the past six hours are reversed?) Arrive in Detroit; go through customs; retrieve luggage; recheck luggage; be randomly selected for a full body scan which they assured me was “less radiation than an x-ray” (Can I use this for my next physical?); wait. Depart Detroit and finally arrive in Jacksonville at approximately 5:30 PM. Kiss delicious-looking husband after a month apart. Many of us waiting for our luggage and the door closes. A man comes in and says there is no more luggage. The line at the Delta office is out the door, snaking around the baggage claim turnstile. What? Oh! They forgot there is a rear compartment still full of luggage. Imagine that! Luggage retrieved and we’re on our way home.

Cut to the flight from Detroit, MI to Jacksonville, FL. I was on the most sanctified airplane in the sky. There was a group of 17 women from the Cathedral of Faith Church of God in Christ located at 2591 West Beaver Street in Jacksonville. They were returning from their annual women’s retreat in Denver, CO. They were laughing and having so much fun while waiting at the gate in MI that I was tempted to break into their group. They proved that being a Christian can be fun!

Also on that blessed airplane was a group of five people from the Westside Baptist Church at 7775 Herlong Rd. in Jacksonville. They were returning from a two week mission trip in Isoka, Zambia, Africa. While there they shared Bible stories with the indigenous people, and encouraged the pastors of a church planting team who are there on a three-year mission. A few of them got dysentery while in Zambia but were fully recovered. I saw one of their team members sharing photos with the man beside her on the plane. Before the plane even taxied down the runway she was asking the man if he believed in God. I love the Baptists. Named after John the Baptist who prepared the way for Jesus Christ and preached “repent and be baptized”, these folks are dedicated to their mission on earth – to help people recognize their need for salvation in Christ.

So we all made it home safe and sound. Now for my personal struggle – to do as Paul said (in the Bible) in Philippians 4:11b-12, “. . . I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

I have to learn to be content away from my daughter and her family and when I am visiting them, I have to learn to be content away from my husband. I can’t have it all. I just have to learn to be satisfied with each situation. Thanks for your prayers! And, man-oh-man – GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!

www.kellystigliano.com

I think I'm beginning to get it. My husband's family has always told charming stories of when his grandparents came to America from Italy. His grandmother could only purchase grocery items by picture because she didn't read or speak English. Many comical mishaps there. Her only English phrase for many years was a very broken, "My husband is a no home. Call back" for when she answered the telephone.

I've seen Spanish-speaking families attend their children's school functions in bewilderment because they didn't know what was being said, until their little interpreters returned to them to fill them in.

Well now I get it. Yesterday we went to a Home Depot-like store to buy wallpaper paste here in Budapest. Neither my daughter nor I speak or read the language. My six-month-old granddaughter wasn't much help either. We found a very small area with paintable wallpaper. After looking over all the packages of what we thought was wallpaper paste, we found one with directions in PICTURES. Score!

This morning we went to locate an English-speaking Christian church that I'd found on the internet. After walking for about a half hour we found the address. It was a homeless shelter. Wading through the people on the steps outside, we entered the building and found ourselves at a glass booth. The man in the booth was Argentinean and spoke several languages. In English he said that there was a "religious meeting" going on in the room down the stairs behind him. We found ourselves in a Nigerian Jehovah's Witness meeting. Language barriers stopped us once again. We left.

I'm still trying to get the money thing straight. In Vienna we used Euro and I was poor. In Hungary we use the Forint and I am rich. Rich but dumb. Without my daughter's help I would just hold out my money and hope the cashier is honest.

So now I get it. I understand how very frustrating it is to be in a country where you don't speak the language. I think I just received another layer of patience with non-English speaking people in America. Many lessons learned here in Hungary. Thank you Lord!

www.kellystigliano.com