I'm here!

A quick update from Thailand - after 3 days of planes, buses, taxis and trucks we have arrived safely at our destination! Thanks to all of you who have been praying for my team's travels along the way - through delayed flights and schedule changes, we made it with all of our luggage to Bangkok on time, and even got free food vouchers in LA. Granted, what was suppose to be a nice and luxurious layover in HongKong we spent running through the airport, God totally had a hand over our travels.

We arrived in Bangkok around 2am Saturday morning (which is 1pm Friday afternoon in Colorado Springs), and spent the day there with an Australian team going through some Thai orientation and taking a scavenger hunt around the big city. I tasted authentic Thai food for the first time, and am already hooked! Each meal since then has been different and delicious, and usually costs less than $1 per person. After dinner we loaded an overnight double-decker bus to travel to our home on the Northern Thai/Burma border. We made it in around 4am, and have since been trying to tackle jet lag and get back on a normal schedule! I'm stilling wearing my watch set for Colorado time - but it works great because I only have to add 1 hour (3:30pm here, 2:30am back home).

Our home is beautiful, a hotel surrounded by flowers and big green trees, located right on the edge of downtown and within walking distance from any major hot spots in the city. Tomorrow we begin ministry with Compasio, splitting up to various locations to work with kids, building projects, schools and more. This morning we went to Partners Relief and Development (www.partnersworld.org) and learned about the Burmese people we will be working with, and the state of war and deprivation that their country is in. I wish I had time to write about this subject (maybe in a later post), but my eyes were opened and heart broken to issues I was completely unaware of up to this point. Basically the Burmese government is going through a controlled racial cleansing, killing off their own people and spending all of their country's income for militia funding.

More to come soon! I only have an hour on the computer each week, but I wanted to post that I am here, am safe, and anxious to begin serving! The people here are welcoming and beautiful, and my heart is bursting to get started. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, for patience with language barriers, unity as a team, and to be fully committed in service as we go out in ministry. Also, pray for our health - so far all of us are feeling great (besides falling asleep during dinner) - but I know with different foods and environments, illnesses tend to sneak in and slow down a team.

Also, some people have asked if it is too late to give and partner with this ministry... absolutely not! Any donations are still greatly appreciated, and we will be using those funds to build classrooms and aid medical vehicles here in Thailand. Also, I have made plans to partner with YWAM full-time in September, and will need to raise a support base to continue doing outreach ministries. Please pray if there is any way you can be apart of this! Thanks for checkin in... stay tuned for more stories from the 10/40 window :)

finish strong

My team ran in the Estes Park Marathon this Sunday, 13.1 miles of beauty, pain, and accomplishment. We've been training for 6 weeks (although the recommended timeframe is at least 3 months) which included workouts as early as 4:30am up steep elevations and around mountain trails. Together we've pressed through blisters, cramps, sore muscles and bad attitudes. Through it all I caught a glimpse of just how much our bodies are capable of, and how much God has really created us to do, if only our minds can wrap around that idea and believe it.

pictured above is Isaiah and myself soaking in the beautiful moutain surroundings (around mile 5)

crossing the finish line, first of the group at 2hrs 12 min (not as good as my half-marathon time last year in Nebraska, but I'm told I can blame that on the 7500-8000ft elevation)

my running team: Isaiah, Caleb, Katie, Me, Becca & Andrew

the Crazings! (crazy/amazing)

This is my last week of classes here in the Springs. 10 more days left of Discipleship Training School, then we're flying off to Bangkok. As easy as it would be for me to check out at this point, to start packing my backpack and practicing my Thai, I know I need to be here and finish strong. Just like the marathon wasn't the end of my running career, neither is this school the end of my discipleship training. It's an accomplishment, and I'm running hard to finish this chapter, but I'm also so excited to see what's next. To discover how much more I'm capable of than I ever believed before. To give more, serve more, learn more.

To push myself further. Next year I'm running the full marathon. 26.2 miles, bring it on :)

giving night

journal entry - June 4, '08
I cannot believe what happened tonight. Giving night. Quite possibly the greatest night of my life. Praising God for 2 ½ hours straight – praising by giving back what is His. Breaking materialism in our lives. I spent the entire night in tears. Wow God, I was so filled watching you pour out your blessings on others tonight. Ipods exchanged, laptops freely given, money for plane tickets and outreach fees placed in the hands of those who need it. Indescribable miracles.

I gave Natalie my NorthFace jacket tonight. I loved that jacket so much. It’s still so new, I wanted to hold onto it. But I wanted to give more, and I knew you were asking me to let it go. I don’t want to be controlled by any material possessions, trapped in the spirit of poverty. I don’t want to hold back from any of the blessings you have for me, Father. I let it go. And the look on Natalie’s face and the tears running down her cheeks made it completely worth it.

All day, the only thing I could think about was a guitar. God, you told me I was going to learn to play, and with everything in me I’ve wanted one of my own. But I didn’t tell anyone. Hardly anyone knows I want to learn the guitar, and I laid that down. I didn’t want expectations on my heart. I wanted to be full, even if I received nothing. But God, you see every desire in my heart.

Jed gave me his guitar. It was his very first one. With tears streaked down his face he told stories of it as he placed it in my hands. It’s all that I wanted and more. It’s not something I gave to myself, but a gift from you. It’s absolutely beautiful, and perfect for my little fingers. Being a sacrifice from Jed makes me want to learn it and take care of it so much more. His memories are being passed onto me. Andre prayed prophetic gifting over me – and God I know you’ve called me to this. Help me to learn, to have discipline and diligence in my practice, and use it as a tool for your worship and glory. You blew my mind tonight. And I loved every minute of it.

Just a few of the blessings I can recall from tonight:

• Leah gave her MacBook to Seojin
• Seojin gave her digital camera to Amber
• Andrew gave his MacBook to Andre
• Ben received all of the money needed for a plane ticket to Hawaii for missions
• Trey gave his laptop to Aaron – and then Seojin gave her new laptop to Trey
• Graham and Hope gave $5,000 to Wraeth and Michelle for plane tickets overseas
• Mark emptied his savings account for Andrew & Ally (first time without a savings account in 25 years)
• John received a guitar from Caroline, and his first pair of tennis shoes from Trey
• Deanne, Amber, Caroline, Becca, Aaron & Amie received new iPods and MP3 players (Becca gave away her 8GB iPod and later received Grahams 80GB iPod)
• Derek gave his new digital camera to Ben, then received one from Renee
• Natalie gave away her wedding pearls, then later received Ally’s 19yr old wedding pearls
• Harmony gave Michelle her diamond wedding ring
• Hundreds of dollars given freely to those in need for outreach fees
  

Oh daddy, how you bless your children! Thank you for being the provider in our lives. For filling our needs and our wants. You are more than enough.

more than words can say

God has filled me so much this weekend! I have a hundred stories. & I know it's said that a picture is worth a thousand words. So this is the best way I could think of to share my stories with you - - -

Friday morning started for me at 4:30am, as my roommate Becca and I left campus for "the Incline" - 2000 ft climb to the top of a mountain at sunrise. It's usually part of our marathon training, but this morning it was strictly for fellowship. We promised each other we wouldn't even break a sweat.

(1372 is the stair-count up the mountain, marking the 1/2 way point. The last picture is the incline shown from Manitu Springs)

The fellowship continued as the team was taken by surprise to the Broadmoor Hotel - a beautiful, luxurious and world famous hotel. Our daddy treated us to ice cream (Isaiah wanted to make sure we knew it was a blessing from God, and not his own pocket) as we toured around the magnificent grounds and pampered ourselves in the plush furniture and danced on the freshly waxed floors (which were perfect for spinning, too)

(I'm pictured there in the ice cream shop with my roommates, Amber & Becca)

Saturday a few of us set out to tour Manitu Springs, a cute, old town outside of the Springs. The sun was hot, the shopkeepers were welcoming, and the laughter was contagious.

(one of our favorite stops was the world famous Penny Arcade, where we played old arcade games for 1 - 10 cents each. The games were incredible, and cost us less than $1! - & the last picture was taken at an old antique shop. As you can see, I was left alone and not happy about it)

Saturday night was my first backpacking trip in the mountains. We hiked up with only our packs for a night under the stars. From the top of the mountain we played cards & dice games, made a campfire, told stories and watched the most amazing lightning show over the night lights of Colorado Springs. In the morning we were pampered with hot chocolate and oatmeal before we hiked back down to the noises of the real world. It was a night filled with memories I won't soon forget.

(the crew hiking up, and playing Greed once we unpacked our sleeping bags on the mountaintop)

(the view from the peak, including a top view of the Broadmoor Hotel and sunset)

(our amazing fire, late night popcorn snack, and true colors unveiled during our hike back down Sunday morning)

I'm so thankful for the friends that I've made here. For the laughter. For the memories. Some days are really hard, but then I have weekends like this that just rejuvinate my spirit. I have a daddy who is pouring out His love on me, simply because He can. I never want to forget the simple joys that come with life. They're what make it worth living :)