Arkansas

A ll natural

R ed-neck

K ountry

A rachnophobia

N uttin' special

S aucy

A mmo

S nipe-hunting

You talk to God?

A memory that tugs on my heart the most took place at a middle school. We spent time with the kids in all the english classes and had the freedom to talk about anything we liked. As I sat on the floor with a group of 13-year-old boys, all clothed in the proper uniforms with light blue shirts, our conversation went from silly things that made us laugh to the simple question: “Why did you come to our school?” This opened the door for me to share about the most precious thing... my relationship with the Father. Their eyes were focused on me so intently and one boy finally built up the courage to ask, “You talk to God?” It was barely a whisper. Another leaned in and asked, “May I talk to Him, am I allowed to?” In that moment, I can not describe how overwhelmed I was at their innocence and genuine desire to know more. You could see it in their expressions, as if they had just come upon hidden treasure. And what an honor it was for me to be the one who got to share it with them.

May I have this too?

One evening in Taiwan, Kelli, Sunghye, and I found ourselves climbing up the stairs to The Rock Cafe. As we walked through the door, the sounds of conversations, laughter, and music filled our ears. Little lights were strung around the large room filled with tables and chairs, a shiny bar with wooden stools, fancy mugs filled with coffee or sodas, acoustic guitars hanging on the walls, and even a piano (my favorite!). Suddenly, a young college student invited us to sit with her and her close friend. Though they were both Taiwanese, their English was almost flawless. Our conversations danced from common interests to things we found really funny to stories from when we were younger... to see such a friendship develop in just hours was simply incredible. These girls, Emmabelle and Lucy, had already found a special place in my heart. As the night progressed, I found myself in a deep conversation with Emmabelle. As she asked questions about my life, I allowed myself to be completely transparent with her. And as I told Emmabelle about my relationship with the Father, her eyes lit up in a way I've never seen before. She asked me to share more and even made herself vulnerable by sharing areas of her heart with me. And then, the most beautiful thing happened... Emmabelle asked, "May I have this relationship with Him too? Will you show me?" With tears in my eyes and an overwhelming joy in my heart, I replied,"It would be an honor."

New Update

Hi! So let me first start with the Vacation Bible School... it was a BLAST! The kids were all ages and a couple of us put together the programs for each day. Janet came up with the games, Annelies was in charge of crafts, and I put together some skits/stories. Our focus was on creation and the Christmas story and though we did not know what to expect, we made a bunch of costumes and props one afternoon and completely improvised the whole thing... it was hilarious!! We may have even had more fun than the kids... but the giggles and enthusiasm from them was the most beautiful thing of all. The pastors that we worked with here had such gentle spirits... that really spoke volumes to me and the whole team.

The other ministries have been going well... schools in the mornings, the Rock Cafe at night, and many friendships with the locals we have met in our free time. Today we went to a hospital... wow. To be honest, I was a little nervous, for hospitals have never been a safe place for me. But we went and performed a drama, dance, testimonies... but the plan changed when we got there, so again... flexibility. :) That's definitely been the key word this entire trip! There was more time than we were expected to have and they were waiting for us to continue... to improvise, Kelli and I have spent time together singing/harmonizing together, so we offered to sing a worship song. Lynnea sang some songs as well, and as the sounds found their way down the hallways, the others from our team went up to different people and asked them for prayer. It was truly a powerful experience, with many in tears, including our team. So though I was nervous, it was so worth it.

The singing reminded me of another cool story (there's so many with so little time)... when we were in mainland China, there was a day that our team split into groups of 2 to go out and do silent prayer walks. Kelli and I found a rock out near the market to sit on and ended up singing/harmonizing worship songs without the words for an hour. Many people walked by with smiles, some stayed to listen, and even the police brought out their chairs to sit and listen. It was one of the coolest things we've ever done... in a nation where God's name is more hidden than proclaimed... and though we could not just go out and tell everyone about Him, where we had to speak in code and were followed everywhere and had our rooms bugged and... the list goes on... we still sat out in the middle of many precious people, gently worshiping the one true God... I'll never forget it... never.

It's been so long...

How crazy it is to be completely disconnected from the outside world! The last few weeks our team was in China and what an experience that was! As a closed country, it was not possible to be so open about who we were or why we were there. But wow... how much we learned... how much we experienced! The people there are so kind-hearted and gentle. Each time I had the opportunity to meet someone new and spend time with them, I could see such an openness and genuine desire for friendship. And as conversations pursued the deeper things in life, it was easy to see them truly wanting to seek out the truth.

We're now in Taiwan and how our schedule is jam packed with programs for schools, cafe ministry (called The Rock Cafe), hospital ministry, a vacation Bible school for kids who have never heard of Christ, a half-way house ministry, youth group ministry... and multiple people have accepted Christ in just the few days we've been here!

This is a short blog, I know, for how long it's been since I last wrote... when time is found, I will write again. :)

More Stories

To continue... I have since had a few showers, though our living conditions are a bit unsatinery, it was wonderful to have a shower at all and they're cold... great because it's really hot here! :) But this is a really cool story I must tell you. So, everyone from home in the college and career group went on a trip to Utah (the Zion trip). I had to miss it to come here, and I saw all the pictures and wished so much I could have gone. Well first, the apartment that we're staying in here in the village is called "Zion." And then this morning, we all hiked up "the mountain", which is one of the big mountains that once you reach the top, you can see Hong Kong on one side and mainland China on the other. It was my first time ever climbing a mountain, and since they are rolling mountains, I actually climbed a few to get to the top. It was really intense at times and I was nearly dying at some points... but it was one of the most amazing things I've ever done!! The way down was quite dangerous, for it started raining and a lot of the trail was rocks and clay... very slippery. But that made it even more of a challenge! So through this, and other small ways, it was like God brought parts of that trip to me here... and He knew how special it would be for me.

And I must correct my last blog... there are no "cities" in Hong Kong, only different districts. So we have been to many different districts, eaten many types of food, have spent time with people with many different ethnicities... just yesterday we went to an international church... it was AWESOME! All the people in the worship band and all over were from Australia, Africa, Asia, Caribbean, and the US. Then we spent some time with Philipino women... they come here to work as maids and are not thought of very highly... they're so special and many of them really love the Lord. Saturday we spent time with a Nepalese ministry... we invited families from all over the village to come and we planned a children's program. We did a skit and played games and taught them songs (Shamarah and I did "deep and wide"). It was so much fun! Before that, we helped tutor the kids in English and math and did some door painting for them.

Though some things are pretty tough here, overall I truly like it! If only I could show pictures... there will be plenty... eventually. :)

The Adventure Begins!

I made it here to Hong Kong safely... a long distance to travel, stopping in Korea on the way! This blog will be completely unorganized due to time constraints so here we go. We got up at 3:30am Monday morning to clean and head out for the airport and did not arrive until late Tuesday night (transferring to Hong Kong time, about 12 hours ahead). The flights were awesome, with the main one providing a tv for each person with movies and games... SWEET! :) We flew Korean air, so I got to try some Korean food... which although it was airplane food, was so good! Funny thing, they gave each American a big sheet of directions on how to mix all the ingredients together. The driver picked us up from the airport and... they drive on the left side of the road with the driver on the right side, although most of the road signs are on the left. He took us to the base, which is in the oldest village in Hong Kong (850 years). It is like no place I have ever been... seriously I've taken over 200 pictures already. When Wednesday came, I quote from my journal that night "it's Wednesday... have not showered since Sunday... it's super hot and humid here... sweating... all the time... so tired... haven't slept straight through a few hours in days... jet-lag extreme soaked in sweat... swollen ankles and feet from travel... everyones trying to figure out their swollen feet with multiple theories and hypotheses... so funny". I'm laughing so much right now reading all the things I wrote! And I wrote tons more than that... but I'm limited. The only A/C we get is at night from 10pm-6am... and it's hotter than FL here. I like it though because it causes me to drink more water. Let's see... shoes must be taken off anytime your indoors... I like this. The base here has worship every single morning and intercession every afternoon... INCREDIBLE! The tap water is universally safe in Hong Kong.
We're surrounded by beautiful rolling green mountains and I could go on and on about the village... I love it!!! When I can post pictures you will see what I mean. There are so many sounds... mainly of all different birds and crickets... during quiet times in the mornings, we go up on the roof of the base with multiple couches and chairs and when I close my eyes, it sounds like what I would imagine a jungle would sound like. There are many smells as well, much of which include incense. Ancestor worship is very big here, with altars everywhere for burning incense and worshiping. Just right outside people's doors everywhere are incense and there are many temples for worship as well. The atmosphere is very heavy. But the people are so lovely... and so sweet! Each day has been filled with something new, working with different ministries in different cities (with youth, kids, and prayer walks). We've been meeting new friends out in the village and spending time with them. The food is delicious and the cities are big and bustling. We have taken the train (like a subway) multiple places... my first time on one... so fun! And funny cultural difference... out the tons of cars of people, our small group were the only ones talking and laughing with each other.
I'm out of time...

And June Begins

A couple more weeks have gone by... no... have FLOWN by! Lectures have been great as speakers continue to be more and more amazing! And last weekend we made a trip down to Miami with two other schools (School of Evangelism and Basic Leadership School). We spent both Friday and Saturday nights volunteering to help the police department during the big Memorial Day events. It was our job to help with crowd control where all the clubs are located... basically keeping people out of the streets so as not to get hit by cars and asking them to abide by the laws of the city so as not to get arrested. We started this at 7:30pm Friday and stayed out until about 4am. Then a few hours were spent sleeping on the floor of a church, eating some food, and back out at 7:30pm to do it all over again. This was a pretty cool opportunity - to be involved with the church in Miami Beach and their interaction with the community and police department. All in all, it was definitely an intense experience!

This morning was one of my most favorite things yet! We normally have worship and intercession with the entire base on Mondays... but today was unique! The School of Worship set up the entire room with multiple stations allowing for different types of worship. One station had a big bag of soil, little pots, and all kinds of flower seeds. This represented life and creation with the Father. Another station had a Christmas tree with a plate of cookies, little presents under the tree, and a box to put a note in. The presents were a list of the gifts of the Spirit... and we could write a note to the Father. Next to that was a big table with paints and brushes and newspaper and blank pages for us to create something for Him. Then there was a table with pens and paper for you to write a poem or song or draw something. There was a separate area behind that, a secret place, with a mirror to see how wonderfully you were made. And the last station had fire (a candle), wind (a fan), dirt, dust, and water... all with verses corresponding to them. The whole room was covered with candles and filled with worship songs from around the world. Of course, I'm leaving out SO many details! If you know my heart for worship... you know how incredibly impacting this was!

Outreach is only 3 weeks away... CRAZY! Plans have changed a bit... we're going 3 different places instead of just 1. And finances are coming in... exciting!... please keep those in your prayers.

More Fun

Wow, thank you for all the comments and encouragement!

So, it's been a couple weeks and of course... MUCH has happened! The speaker we had this week shared about the character and nature of God and just... wow! He went deep into topics and really got everyone thinking... showing us many different perspectives and pulling up programs with Strong's and Young's and different translations of the Bible. I, of course, couldn't get enough of it and even spent our lunches and dinners at the tables he chose to sit at. I know some of you are now chuckling as you envision me following this gentleman around... it makes me smile as well. But seeing who each speaker really is, not just as they are sharing in front of a class, but how they are at lunch and just spending time with people... that's what I seek!

I've received some special things in the mail. For those of you who were apart of that (and you know who you are), thank you so much. There could not have been more perfect timing... even the package that started months ago... so special!

My health has stayed intact, yet some here have been battling colds and bronchitis. If you have a moment, please lift them up in prayer. We need them for the days we have community recreation! The most recent activity was soccer and was such a blast... my team won of COURSE!

Preparations for outreach are getting better and better. We're starting to learn much about the cultures where we will be visiting. Oh, and I forgot to mention it in the first blog but... we have challenges each week that involve things like “wear same pair of shoes all week,” “eat everything with chopsticks,” “only take cold military showers,” and others. This week is the coolest so far, but you have to email me to find out what it is... top secret!

Anyway, it's fun to share a bit about what's happening here. Until next time...

It is time!

Though it has taken me quite some time, I finally created this blog. As a perfectionist, I really wanted to make this... well... perfect. Ha! But I change my mind. Instead it will just be simple and sincere. So... first, let me say... hi! I'm currently sitting on my back porch (one of my favorite places), typing away at whatever comes to mind. It's crazy to think I've been here for over four weeks already. And what an amazing time it has been! Let's see... the first week was just some orientation stuff. But starting the second week – oh man – it is impossible to put into words all that has happened. The classes focus on a specific topic each week, with a different speaker from different parts of the world for each topic. Right now our focus is on “The Holy Spirit.” Everyday, God has been molding my heart and mind in such tremendous ways. There is always something new and wonderful and... deep. It is overwhelming at times. He's also been strengthening me physically, by providing so much good food... seriously there is so much food to eat here all the time! And as a result, I'm happy to say I've gained a few pounds... But classes are only a small part of what we do each week. What is done the most I think is prayer... lots of prayer... for lots of places, people, things, corporately, individually... everyday. It's awesome! There is also lots of work and chores to be done around the base, which we are assigned to do every afternoon. Mondays are my favorite because I was chosen out of everyone to assist with vehicle maintenance. So I'm learning all about the basics for maintaining multiple vans and cars, each week advancing to more technical stuff. It's pretty sweet! But each day is different, filled with many different activities, responsibilities, and opportunities. Everyone in the DTS (Discipleship Training School) has been developing such special friendships with each other, the staff, and people in other schools. It's beautiful to see how unique each person is... to see into their hearts... We each have our own story to tell, and all are completely different. And many times I just step back in awe of how creative God is. What a privilege it is to be here...