Romania

Just a little update on my life...

I'm currently in Roseville, California, going to Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism! (AFCOE)

God provided the way here and I've been learning a lot. It's a 14 week program that ends in Nov.

After that AFCOE is doing a mission trip to Romania. It will be a great opportunity to solidify what I've been learning here.

I'm exploring the possibility of going, so I would just ask that you join me in praying that God will make His will clear. And that He will provide the funds required, if He wants me to go.

Blessings to you all!

Will they be forgotten?

(This was written a week before we left India...)

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I stretched my hand out the window to wave at the kids, wondering if I'd ever see them again. 

We'd just visited one of the evening schools and were leaving…

The evening schools are for children who often have to work all day to help support the family and have no way of being educated. But they come to the evening school for a few hours every night and then get a meal after. 

My mind goes back to that little boy… I was leaving and as I walked down the line of boys who were sitting against the wall eating, I would shake hands with the boys. 

But this little guy wanted a fist bump. I could see the eagerness in his little eyes…

And as I bent down and bumped his fist… His whole face just lighted up like I'd given him a million dollars…

Such a simple little gesture to me… but to him it meant the world! 

It makes me think about the thousands of children in India just like him who may not get the opportunity to go to school and learn about Jesus. 

We only have a week left in India… 

Will all these people be forgotten when we leave? 

Home...

I'm home! (March 19 is when I flew into Portland, OR) Who ever said being home would be restful? The trip home took longer than expected. Over 72 hrs to be exact! But I'm thankful to be home, and thankful that I'm finally getting over jetlag.

Because we had limited internet access in India, there are a few more posts that are in the making. So those should be coming out in the next few weeks.

Thank you all for joining me in my journey overseas. And thank you for you prayers and financial support.

God Bless!

Angkor Wat, and India!

We're in India! I wish I could update more often but have been very busy with not much internet access.

After leaving the JFA (Jesus For Asia) Studio in Chiang Mai Thailand, we returned to Bangkok on the night bus and one day later left Bangkok bound for Cambodia! After about 11 hours we arrived in Siem Riep at the orphanage that Tim Maddocks started. We spent 2 days there and then returned to Bangkok. But while we were there we went to Angkor Wat! We were only there for about 2-3 hours so we couldn't explore it all, but it was fun to get some pictures.

We got to Bangkok sunday night and the next evening we boarded a flight from Bangkok to Chennai, India. It has been an incredible experience to be here in India. We have 5 revival meetings going on every evening and the people are being touched. One family left us this morning to go to north India so we lost 5 people and several people on our team are getting sick, so please pray for us.

We will be here in Dharmapuri (where the meetings are being held) until next monday and then we go to visit the JFA orphanage. Then to another place to hold some more meetings and then we fly back to Bangkok on March 10. I think we'll have some sort of a retreat after that for a few days and then I start the long journey home. From when I fly out of Bangkok to when I land in Portland, is 52 hours! I fly from Bangkok, to Addis Ababa, then I have a 16 hour layover and then fly to Washington D.C. and then 1-1/2 hours to get through customs and get my bag checked in again and get to the gate. Then a flight to Chicago, and then home! I will arrive in Portland at 2:33PM on March 19.

After being in Africa working for 3-1/2 months and then traveling like we have I'm exhausted and ready to be home. But I'm doing my best to stay positive and make the most of the remainder of the trip.

Travels in Thailand

We're in Chiang Mai!

After spending Sabbath in Bangkok we were going to go to visit a place on sunday where they help victims of child trafficking. Sunday morning the vans we'd hired didn't come! So we put it off until Monday. Then Monday we went on the 3 hour trip to visit the children's home. We didn't get to see the kids very much because they were in school, but it was amazing to see how God has been working there.

Then Tuesday morning we took a bus from Bangkok to Mae Sot. We stayed the night in a guest house and then the next day we took a Songthaew out to Sunshine Orchard. A Songthaew is like a pickup truck with a rack over the top and seats on the sides of the truck bed. We got on one that was half full already. We got all our luggage and a total of 21 people on it! (I'll post pictures later.)

The time at Sunshine Orchard was good. The time flew by and we couldn't be with the kids much because it was during exams. But it was great to see friends and the place that my parents were in Nov. (click Here to learn more about Sunshine Orchard)

We left Sunshine orchard at about 5AM sunday morning bound for Mae Sot. (about 2 hours) We got there in plenty of time to get the 8AM bus that brought us to Chiang Mai. We arrived at about 4PM and  have been here since then visiting the TV studio here.

We're headed back to Bangkok tonight on the night bus and hopefully I'll update more there with some pictures.

Bangkok!

I'm here!

The flights were good, had a nice layover in Addis. I was actually pretty nervous about coming to Bangkok by myself and going to a hotel. But Jon Wood sent me the address and a map of the place so I gave that to the taxi driver and got here just fine!

The rest of the group flew in at 1AM and got here at about 3. Right now Daniel is resting as well as the rest of the group.

But for me? Its CHRISTMAS! Daniel brought me all sorts of treasures! Macbook Air, Camera Lens... etc. I'm like a kid in a candy store! And Thanking God for His many blessings to me.

We will be here in Bangkok until next week some time and then go to Mae Sot, and visit Sunshine Orchard. (Its a school my parents went to for 3 weeks last year) And then we're going to visit the Jesus For Asia TV studio in Chiang Mai. At least thats the plan as I know it now.

Daniel using my new computer. Don't ask.

Asia for real!

I have tickets!

January 22nd, 2013... 6:25PM, I fly out of Nairobi. I arrive in Bangkok the next day at 1:20PM. (with a layover in Addis Ababa) I'll arrive about 12 hours before the rest of the group, because they get in at 1:15AM Thursday morning! Right now I'm planning on going to the guest house that Jon usually stays at. Bangkok is a city of over 13 million people, so I'm sure it will be interesting!

The trip will include three countries (Thailand, Cambodia, and India.) It will last just under two months and after that I'm planning on coming home, unless God leads otherwise! The trip will be pretty intense, not staying in one place for very long so we can see as many places as possible. But I'm really excited!

In continuation of my last post, God provided money for the lens, and a new computer for me as well! Pastor Frank doesn't have a Mac, so I decided to leave my computer with him because he really needs a mac to do his work effectively.

I need your prayers for this trip. We all need your prayers. (27 people going on the trip last I heard) I want to specifically ask that you pray for God to provide the resources for me personally. God has led very clearly and I know it is His will for me to go on this trip, so I know He will provide. But please pray that I will have peace about the whole situation.

I don't know how much I'll be able to access the Internet during the journey. But I'll try to update my blog when I have a chance.

God is Real!

I woke up to the noise of cars outside my window. It was 5:55 A.M...

I rolled over and then remembered that there was a good reason to look at my computer just then...

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes I lifted the mosquito net and woke my computer up from sleep...

I scanned the emails that had come in since I went to sleep the night before.

And as I finished reading the email, a solitary tear trickled down my face, followed quickly by more.

Speechless...

Amazed...

Thankful...

All I could do was whisper... "Thank you, Lord"

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Ever since I was little I can remember asking my parents questions like, "When are we leaving?" "What are we doing tomorrow?" "What's the plan?".

You see, I'm one of those people that like to have all my ducks in a perfect row and have everything planned out ahead of time.

Now having said that, I'm not too bad at doing things on the fly either, but I certainly prefer to have it all planned.

So in the last few weeks I've been wondering, praying, and asking God to show me whether I am to go on the trip to Asia with Daniel and Jon Wood and several others.

I just had this sense of not knowing, and that can get stressful for me... But I kept asking God for a sign.

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Early in this week, for no particular reason I decided to look at Craigslist near my home for a camera lens. (I need a new camera lens with Image Stabilization for taking video.)

I found a particular lens that was half of the new price but still in great condition. (Canon 24-105mm L IS, for you camera geeks)

But, I don't have any money...

I lamented that fact, because it was such a great deal! And it is a much better lens than what I was expecting I would be able to get.

To make a long story short, without boring you with details.

God worked a miracle! He provided money, and saved that lens for me! (with a price like that it could have been gone in a very short period of time)

I went to bed Wednesday night not knowing whether it was going to work out to get the lens. And when I woke up Thursday morning is when I got the email that my mother had been able to get the lens. (with the help of another friend as well.)

I asked God for a sign, and he has certainly given me one! And since then God has been providing money for the trip! We serve a prayer hearing and a prayer answering God!!

God is good, ALL the time! And ALL the time, God is good!

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In moving forward with the plans for the trip, today I went to the Indian Embassy here in Nairobi, and applied for the visa. I go to pick it up next week.

Right now I'm planning on leaving here on January 21. I'll fly to Bangkok to meet up with the team and then I'll travel with them in Thailand, Cambodia, and India. After that I'll be flying back home to the US. (thats the plan at this point, but that can change!)

I just want to thank all of you who are following my blog and keeping updated on what I'm doing. And also to every one of you that have helped me, either through prayer, or with expenses. God Bless each of you!

Getting ready for Asia! (they wear flip-flops a lot)