" All the nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord; and shall glorify Your name." Psalms 86:9 This has been my prayer this week for the Chinese people, for the nation of China.
This week began with a morning worship service at one of the hotels with the four teams that were in, the team of translators, the LTV's and the missionaries. It was a wonderful time of worshipping and sharing together. There were testimonies of what God had done to get various members here and things that God was already doing showing and teaching.
The rest of the afternoon was spent taking a visiting missionary sight seeing (ie getting lost on baht buses!).
Monday was Chinese New Year! It was crazy down by the pier. The parking lot was closed, the one way street was now a two way street, performers everywhere and there were LOTS of Chinese!!! We had a wonderful time passing out Bibles and praying.
Tuesday was much of the same as far as the craziness goes. My day was spent leading teams in prayer walking down "walking street" and the pier. It was a very powerful day! "Walking street" for those of you who don't know is full of bars, clubs, places for prostitution. During the day it is mostly closed down and very few shops are open but as evening approaches it becomes a street of sin. It was hard to lead a team down the street knowing what lay ahead but also knowing the need for prayer. We talked at the end of the street about how sad it was to see the sin and to see families walking with their children. It was a powerful night of prayer and we the group handing out Bibles handed out more then we had any other night! Praise God.
Wednesday morning we attended the worship service at UCM (United Christian Ministries). It was wonderful to again hear about the ministries in the city and how God was answering prayers. I again lead a team in prayer walking, this time it was just for the distribution. All I can say is WOW!!!! God brought more Chinese then we could imagine and so many of them took Bibles!!! We handed out again more Bibles then we had previously. God just kept moving and it was awesome to see Him answer prayers right on the spot. I watched as children walked away thumbing through Bibles and whole families had Bibles.
Today I worked with a wonderful team from Georgia in the warehouse. We packed boxes with Bibles and packets and did so many that we ran out of boxes. We ended the day putting together packets to fill more boxes. I was able to get some fun pictures that I will post later.
Please continue to pray for the Chinese that come and for the tour guides that they would not lead them away from us. Pray for the teams as we have had several people who have been sick and just that they would be blessed. Thank you and my you be blessed today!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Pictures
Here are some pictures from my time here so far. The first two should be of the city that I am ministering in. They are looking down from a mountain top at the city below and the pier and building we are working from. The last three pictures are from the garden. The last two trips here we prayer walked through the garden, asking that God would change the owners heart and allow us to distribute from there. This fall the doors were opened and we now have a team staying there and are distributing almost daily!! Praise God!!!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Distribution
We started distrabution this week and have already started having teams come in for the Chinese New Year(CNY). On Wednesday the SCPT(Southern Cross Project) team and the LTV's went to the pier to distrubite as we had heard there were going to be a lot of Chinese tourists. We had a wonderful night of handing out Bibles but could see that satan was attempting to attack. We hadn't been there very long when a police officer approached us and told us that we weren't allowed to even be in the building handing out Bibles. As God is all knowing, a missionary from northern Thailand had been down visiting and she was able to talk to him in Thai, as the missionaries now leading SCPT are still learning Thai. Anyways, they were able to get him on the phone with the owner and he was told we CAN hand out Bibles but that we are not allowed to leave the building. Continue to pray for that we can go back out on the pier!
Thursday we meet our first team...and where should they be from?!? Peoria, Arizona! We had a good time that night handing out Bibles at the Palladium. Friday morning we met the next team staying at the Garden! Friday night they headed to the Palladium with some of the LTV's and I headed to the Pier with the team from Arizona. God continues to be faithful as we hand out Bibles.
One of the exciting things for me was to watch as many Chinese brought their children with them. In my previous trips we have seen very few, if any, children. I was so excited to see many of these families take Bibles and even a few of the kids were allowed to take one of their own! Praise God!!!
Tonight(ie when your waking up) we will be out at the pier for distrabution. This is the begining of the activities for the CNY. The mayor of the city will be giving a speech at the stage right by the pier. They are expecting a lot of tourists, which means a lot of Chinese to give Bibles out to!!! Please pray that they will be open and unafraid to take the Bibles. Also pray for the tour guides that they will not lead them away from us. Thanks!
Thursday we meet our first team...and where should they be from?!? Peoria, Arizona! We had a good time that night handing out Bibles at the Palladium. Friday morning we met the next team staying at the Garden! Friday night they headed to the Palladium with some of the LTV's and I headed to the Pier with the team from Arizona. God continues to be faithful as we hand out Bibles.
One of the exciting things for me was to watch as many Chinese brought their children with them. In my previous trips we have seen very few, if any, children. I was so excited to see many of these families take Bibles and even a few of the kids were allowed to take one of their own! Praise God!!!
Tonight(ie when your waking up) we will be out at the pier for distrabution. This is the begining of the activities for the CNY. The mayor of the city will be giving a speech at the stage right by the pier. They are expecting a lot of tourists, which means a lot of Chinese to give Bibles out to!!! Please pray that they will be open and unafraid to take the Bibles. Also pray for the tour guides that they will not lead them away from us. Thanks!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Tuesday
I'm still adjusting to the time change and have found that here I am quite the morning person! I've enjoyed getting up and getting the day started early. It has allowed me to do things that normally I wouldn't have done in the morning or put so much time and effort into. I actually think I like being a morning person :)
After breakfast I went down to the warehouse for our team meeting. It was so nice to see Jessia (our Chinese translator) who I haven't seen since April. She seemed so excited to see me and we did a quick catch up before our meeting. As we had a meeting on Monday to go over schedule the focus of Tuesday's meeting was to pray for the teams that are coming and the Chinese tourists that will be coming.
We have 8 teams with a total of 54 people coming over the next 3 weeks or so. I'm excited to work with them and minister to the Chinese people alongside of them. One of the things I will be doing a lot of and focusing on is prayer walking with the teams. I will be leading on one day three different teams to prayer walk the pier and 'walking street.' I am SO excited!!!! I love to pray and am so excited to share that passion with the teams that come and watch God work!
After our time of prayer we relaxed for the afternoon and then went down to the pier for distrabution. We had only one wave of Chinese coming through and there were going to be 200 people. We were able to hand out 50 Bibles! Praise God!!!
Please pray as tonight (Wed) we will be going back down to the pier where there are suppose to be over 1,000 Chinese tourists tonight. Pray for the tour guides, that their hearts would be soft and they would allow their groups to come through and get Bibles. We had a tour guide last night turn away his entire bus and discourage them from taking Bibles. Because of this none of the Chinese on his bus took Bibles. We know that God can change hearts and lives and we continue to pray for them. Also, one of the reasons it was so easy to turn them away from us is that we are currently not allowed to distrubite from on the pier. We wait in the building at the end of the pier and most of the time the Chinese will walk through the building to the buses however if the guide stops them at the pier they can be directed around the building. Pray that we are again allowed to distrubite on the pier! Thank you all for your prayers and support.
After breakfast I went down to the warehouse for our team meeting. It was so nice to see Jessia (our Chinese translator) who I haven't seen since April. She seemed so excited to see me and we did a quick catch up before our meeting. As we had a meeting on Monday to go over schedule the focus of Tuesday's meeting was to pray for the teams that are coming and the Chinese tourists that will be coming.
We have 8 teams with a total of 54 people coming over the next 3 weeks or so. I'm excited to work with them and minister to the Chinese people alongside of them. One of the things I will be doing a lot of and focusing on is prayer walking with the teams. I will be leading on one day three different teams to prayer walk the pier and 'walking street.' I am SO excited!!!! I love to pray and am so excited to share that passion with the teams that come and watch God work!
After our time of prayer we relaxed for the afternoon and then went down to the pier for distrabution. We had only one wave of Chinese coming through and there were going to be 200 people. We were able to hand out 50 Bibles! Praise God!!!
Please pray as tonight (Wed) we will be going back down to the pier where there are suppose to be over 1,000 Chinese tourists tonight. Pray for the tour guides, that their hearts would be soft and they would allow their groups to come through and get Bibles. We had a tour guide last night turn away his entire bus and discourage them from taking Bibles. Because of this none of the Chinese on his bus took Bibles. We know that God can change hearts and lives and we continue to pray for them. Also, one of the reasons it was so easy to turn them away from us is that we are currently not allowed to distrubite from on the pier. We wait in the building at the end of the pier and most of the time the Chinese will walk through the building to the buses however if the guide stops them at the pier they can be directed around the building. Pray that we are again allowed to distrubite on the pier! Thank you all for your prayers and support.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Church and Driving
Today was a wonderful day! I woke up so excited for church. I find that the worship and time of fellowship with believers of other countries is so refreshing and uplifting. Today was much as I expected! We arrived to find the small church rather full. We found seats where ever we could and joined in with the church in song. For me joining meant to sit and listen to the Thai people sing and worship God. It was beautiful! We did sing a few songs that had English words to them as this is an international church. The only one I knew was Blessed Be the Lord God Almighty. It was awesome! One of the things I admire so much about this group of believers is that time is not important when they are worshiping God. After singing they took time to share what God was doing and how He was moving in various lives. One lady shared about a women who has been moved to come to church and how she was encouraged by the church and has shared with her brother who is beginning to open up his heart to God. After sharing about several people and presenting prayer requests they prayed. The whole church at one time began to pray aloud for the requests and for those who are lost.
The pastor's sermon was wonderful. He shared from 1 Timothy 1. He focused on being rooted in Christ, on having a strong foundation. He talked about how Paul had a firm foundation in Christ and how his friendship with Timothy had it's foundation in Christ. He challenged us to have our foundation in Christ and our relationships founded in Christ, that we might be able to influence others for Christ. Later in the chapter it also talks about false doctrines and how we need to know the word of God so well that we can know when we are being taught or faced with false doctrines, no matter how good they may look. He shared several video clips to help get his point across. It was a very interesting use but you could see that the Thai people enjoyed it and it helped them understand in a visual way. Some of it was one of the "My that's different" nature. ( 'My that's different' for those of you who don't know is something we are taught in orientation to help avoid culture shock. It's a way to look at things that are not as we are used to and might think strange, but don't want to pass judgement on other cultures.)
As the pastor had talked about being firmly rooted in the Word, the church puts some of it into action by having a memory verse every week. This week it was Colossians 3:17. The entire Thai body recited it in unison three times. It was wonderful. Then we did it in English. That was slightly entertaining as we all had different versions and thus it was a little less in unison :) But all the same it was nice to apply a little of what the pastor had talked about.
After the message there were other prayer requests shared. One of the LTV's (long term volunteer) that I am working with shared that a young girl from his church was diagnosed with leukemia on Friday. Her name is Hannah and he asked for prayer for her and her family. Again the church all prayed for Hannah and her family. It was beautiful.
Speaking of prayer requests, please be praying for me a lot in the next couple of days. I will be driving here, I had been hoping and praying that there would be enough LTV's that I wouldn't have to drive but it doesn't look like I'm getting out of it. I went out driving with Phil and Mark yesterday, and by driving I mean I rode in the back and Phil helped Mark with learning his way around the city. I now feel quite comfortable with the directions part. What I didn't realize was that I was going to be driving a manual! I have only driven a stick shift a very few times in my life, and those who have ridden in the car with me will tell you that I don't really drive a stick shift! And not only is it learning to drive a stick shift because the drivers seat is on the right, the stick is on your left! Talk about stretching! Pray for God's peace and my quick learning. Thank you all again for the support and encouragement you've been to me!!!
The pastor's sermon was wonderful. He shared from 1 Timothy 1. He focused on being rooted in Christ, on having a strong foundation. He talked about how Paul had a firm foundation in Christ and how his friendship with Timothy had it's foundation in Christ. He challenged us to have our foundation in Christ and our relationships founded in Christ, that we might be able to influence others for Christ. Later in the chapter it also talks about false doctrines and how we need to know the word of God so well that we can know when we are being taught or faced with false doctrines, no matter how good they may look. He shared several video clips to help get his point across. It was a very interesting use but you could see that the Thai people enjoyed it and it helped them understand in a visual way. Some of it was one of the "My that's different" nature. ( 'My that's different' for those of you who don't know is something we are taught in orientation to help avoid culture shock. It's a way to look at things that are not as we are used to and might think strange, but don't want to pass judgement on other cultures.)
As the pastor had talked about being firmly rooted in the Word, the church puts some of it into action by having a memory verse every week. This week it was Colossians 3:17. The entire Thai body recited it in unison three times. It was wonderful. Then we did it in English. That was slightly entertaining as we all had different versions and thus it was a little less in unison :) But all the same it was nice to apply a little of what the pastor had talked about.
After the message there were other prayer requests shared. One of the LTV's (long term volunteer) that I am working with shared that a young girl from his church was diagnosed with leukemia on Friday. Her name is Hannah and he asked for prayer for her and her family. Again the church all prayed for Hannah and her family. It was beautiful.
Speaking of prayer requests, please be praying for me a lot in the next couple of days. I will be driving here, I had been hoping and praying that there would be enough LTV's that I wouldn't have to drive but it doesn't look like I'm getting out of it. I went out driving with Phil and Mark yesterday, and by driving I mean I rode in the back and Phil helped Mark with learning his way around the city. I now feel quite comfortable with the directions part. What I didn't realize was that I was going to be driving a manual! I have only driven a stick shift a very few times in my life, and those who have ridden in the car with me will tell you that I don't really drive a stick shift! And not only is it learning to drive a stick shift because the drivers seat is on the right, the stick is on your left! Talk about stretching! Pray for God's peace and my quick learning. Thank you all again for the support and encouragement you've been to me!!!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Thailand!!!
I'm here!!! And what a trip it was!!! Well, as you can tell from previous post I had a wonderful time in Holland. On Wednesday we went to Amsterdam to see the replica of Noah's Ark. It was amazing! It is a small scale version and on the inside they have animals but also have many different Bible stories represented. It was cool to see how it goes from creation to the cross!
Jeremy, Kaylie and Keiric needed to get their resident permits in Hoofddrop which is one train stop past the airport. Originally we had planned on all of us going but as we neared the stop for the airport I decided to get out and just check my luggage in early as it was getting close to 4pm and my flight took off at 7pm. We agreed to meet at "the Meeting Place" after they were done and I had checked all of my luggage in and had my boarding pass. Sounds easy enough right?!?
When I got to the counter I was informed that flights to London were being delayed because of fog. I knew I only had a 2 hour window in London before my flight to Thailand so I started praying. The lady at the counter was very nice and put me on an earlier flight that had been delayed and hopefully would get me into London on time. The problem was it was boarding at 4:30pm. I ran back to the 'Meeting Place' praying that I would see them. No luck! I waited a little bit until I realized I HAD to get to the gate. I rushed through immigration and headed to my gate. I was glad I had given the kids hugs on the train "just in case," but sad that I hadn't gotten to say a proper goodbye!
At the gate I found very few people and no agents. I wondered if I had the wrong gate or had missed the flight all together. Shortly after an agent arrived and stated the flight had been delayed even longer and in fact she didn't know when the plane would be arriving from London. She thought I would have time to go back out and try and see the Stephensons. I again rushed through the airport, out through immigration(now 2 stamps for Holland!) and ran to see if I could find them. I got to the spot and they weren't there. I wondered around and decided to sit where I could keep an eye on the clock, just then I saw the family of 4 headed my way :)
We had a very Dutch dinner of frites (french fries with sauce of your choice on top) and talked. They walked me to the check point. It was so nice to have a proper goodbye. I headed through immigration and to my gate. My flight ended up being delayed another 2 hours. Again with the praying as our depature time was almost an hour after my original flight was suppose to take off. This didn't leave me much time in London where I had to switch terminals and get a boarding pass!
We landed in London and found ourselves exiting the back of the plane onto the tarmac and getting on buses to take us to the terminal. I rushed to the next bus to head from terminal 1 to terminal 4. At the counter I was informed that because I wasn't flying from the US I was actually only allowed half the weight that I had taken. However, the lady at the counter was kind and let it go. She said for my return flight I would have to pay extra if I tried to bring home as much! (God was looking out for me!)
I rushed to the gate and found myself with less then 30 minutes to boarding. Of course once we got on the plane we waited for over an hour. Due to late passangers, trouble with another plane earlier and the fog we were not cleared to take off until almost an hour after our scheduled departure time. Knowing I had a driver waiting to pick me up in Bangkok I prayed that we would make up some of the time and get to Thailand quickly!
God anwered my prayers! We arrived about 10 minutes before my driver was suppose to meet me. I rushed out of the plane, through immigration, exchanged some cash and was able to get my luggage. (which was about the 4 and 5 pieces out!!!) I went through customs and out to find my driver. I looked and looked for my name with no luck. I waited thinking that maybe they had accounted for the plane getting in late. I walked up and down looking and looking. After an hour I called the missionaries and was told that due to some new regulations that only certain drivers are allowed past a certain point...I had not walked that far! I dragged all of my luggage down to the "meeting point" and found my name.
1 1/2 hours later I was at their home. They along with another couple who had just flown in took me over to my new home! I crashed shortly after arriving as I don't sleep on planes :)
I had breakfast with the two couples and we went shopping for food and various supplies. We will be joining up again tonight for dinner and to talk about the schedule for the Chinese New Year.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support. I look forward to sharing more with you and the time I have here to minister!
Jeremy, Kaylie and Keiric needed to get their resident permits in Hoofddrop which is one train stop past the airport. Originally we had planned on all of us going but as we neared the stop for the airport I decided to get out and just check my luggage in early as it was getting close to 4pm and my flight took off at 7pm. We agreed to meet at "the Meeting Place" after they were done and I had checked all of my luggage in and had my boarding pass. Sounds easy enough right?!?
When I got to the counter I was informed that flights to London were being delayed because of fog. I knew I only had a 2 hour window in London before my flight to Thailand so I started praying. The lady at the counter was very nice and put me on an earlier flight that had been delayed and hopefully would get me into London on time. The problem was it was boarding at 4:30pm. I ran back to the 'Meeting Place' praying that I would see them. No luck! I waited a little bit until I realized I HAD to get to the gate. I rushed through immigration and headed to my gate. I was glad I had given the kids hugs on the train "just in case," but sad that I hadn't gotten to say a proper goodbye!
At the gate I found very few people and no agents. I wondered if I had the wrong gate or had missed the flight all together. Shortly after an agent arrived and stated the flight had been delayed even longer and in fact she didn't know when the plane would be arriving from London. She thought I would have time to go back out and try and see the Stephensons. I again rushed through the airport, out through immigration(now 2 stamps for Holland!) and ran to see if I could find them. I got to the spot and they weren't there. I wondered around and decided to sit where I could keep an eye on the clock, just then I saw the family of 4 headed my way :)
We had a very Dutch dinner of frites (french fries with sauce of your choice on top) and talked. They walked me to the check point. It was so nice to have a proper goodbye. I headed through immigration and to my gate. My flight ended up being delayed another 2 hours. Again with the praying as our depature time was almost an hour after my original flight was suppose to take off. This didn't leave me much time in London where I had to switch terminals and get a boarding pass!
We landed in London and found ourselves exiting the back of the plane onto the tarmac and getting on buses to take us to the terminal. I rushed to the next bus to head from terminal 1 to terminal 4. At the counter I was informed that because I wasn't flying from the US I was actually only allowed half the weight that I had taken. However, the lady at the counter was kind and let it go. She said for my return flight I would have to pay extra if I tried to bring home as much! (God was looking out for me!)
I rushed to the gate and found myself with less then 30 minutes to boarding. Of course once we got on the plane we waited for over an hour. Due to late passangers, trouble with another plane earlier and the fog we were not cleared to take off until almost an hour after our scheduled departure time. Knowing I had a driver waiting to pick me up in Bangkok I prayed that we would make up some of the time and get to Thailand quickly!
God anwered my prayers! We arrived about 10 minutes before my driver was suppose to meet me. I rushed out of the plane, through immigration, exchanged some cash and was able to get my luggage. (which was about the 4 and 5 pieces out!!!) I went through customs and out to find my driver. I looked and looked for my name with no luck. I waited thinking that maybe they had accounted for the plane getting in late. I walked up and down looking and looking. After an hour I called the missionaries and was told that due to some new regulations that only certain drivers are allowed past a certain point...I had not walked that far! I dragged all of my luggage down to the "meeting point" and found my name.
1 1/2 hours later I was at their home. They along with another couple who had just flown in took me over to my new home! I crashed shortly after arriving as I don't sleep on planes :)
I had breakfast with the two couples and we went shopping for food and various supplies. We will be joining up again tonight for dinner and to talk about the schedule for the Chinese New Year.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support. I look forward to sharing more with you and the time I have here to minister!
More Pictures
Here are some pictures from my time in Holland. They range from hanging out at the house, going out on the ice, to heading to Amsterdam and then leaving at the airport. Please enjoy!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Pictures!!!
Well, I am heading to Thailand later today! As I'm not sure when the internet will be up and running I will be posting pictures tonight :) These are pictures from saying goodbye at home and from my time here in Holland with the Stephensons. Enjoy!!!
Mac Attack, Bubbie, Auntie Joy, Anni and Jason
"The Roommates" at Bagels
Anni and Auntie Joy...just being silly
The Mini Bible Study Reunion: Jeff, Kaitlyn, Greg, Joy and Aaron
Kaylie, Keiric and "Anana Hoy" (Keiric's quite adorable way of saying my name!)
The computer/internet are being slightly difficult so I will post more pictures later!
Please continue to pray for me as I will be traveling most of today. Pray for the jet lag as the Chinese New Year is just around the corner and I want to be refreshed and ready for ministry!
Mac Attack, Bubbie, Auntie Joy, Anni and Jason
"The Roommates" at Bagels
Anni and Auntie Joy...just being silly
The Mini Bible Study Reunion: Jeff, Kaitlyn, Greg, Joy and Aaron
Kaylie, Keiric and "Anana Hoy" (Keiric's quite adorable way of saying my name!)
The computer/internet are being slightly difficult so I will post more pictures later!
Please continue to pray for me as I will be traveling most of today. Pray for the jet lag as the Chinese New Year is just around the corner and I want to be refreshed and ready for ministry!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Sunday
Yesterday morning we got up and ready for church. As you many of you know one of the things I love most about attending church in another country is the worship service. And yesterday was wonderful. They did several songs that I knew the English version for but I found myself just listening and reading the Dutch words. One song that I really enjoyed was Come Now is the Time to Worship. It was beautiful!! The pastor talked about the book of Ruth and the choices that were made and how each of us has choices to make. We can either make our choices following Gods will for our lives or seeking to be in charge of our own lives. It challenged me to look at the choices I make and making sure that I am looking for Gods will and that my goal is not to be the one in charge of my life. Kind of goes along with some of what I've been learning at home about making sure that God is the Master of my life.
For lunch some of the other missionaries came over and Heather again made lunch and it was great! Over lunch the other couple shared how they got into missions and what lead to them being full time on the field. It is amazing to hear how God works and seeing how in so many ways He works everything out in ways we couldn't even imagine!
Afterwards we went out and skated in the ice. The canals had frozen over and we were able to slide around and take pictures. Later I will put some up. Holland is very beautiful and of course I'm having a wonderful time with the Stephensons!!!
Thank you for your prayers! Please continue to pray for my support and safe travel. I will be heading to Thailand on Wednesday :)
For lunch some of the other missionaries came over and Heather again made lunch and it was great! Over lunch the other couple shared how they got into missions and what lead to them being full time on the field. It is amazing to hear how God works and seeing how in so many ways He works everything out in ways we couldn't even imagine!
Afterwards we went out and skated in the ice. The canals had frozen over and we were able to slide around and take pictures. Later I will put some up. Holland is very beautiful and of course I'm having a wonderful time with the Stephensons!!!
Thank you for your prayers! Please continue to pray for my support and safe travel. I will be heading to Thailand on Wednesday :)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Holland!!!
Early this morning...and I do mean early my plane arrived in Holland. I exited the plane to find that it was freezing cold!!! The windows of the concourse were covered in ice crystals, I was able to see my breathe and it was just so very cold! I was able to get my luggage and exit the baggage claim area. Now at this point I realized Heather and I hadn't really talked about where we were going to meet...I was just so excited to be coming the idea hadn't crossed my mind. Knowing that she would be coming by train, I followed the signs to the train area. I looked at the train scheduled and figured that Heather wouldn't be in for a while as my plane landed early, my luggage was the third piece out, and I just walked through customs(praise God for an easy going trip!). So I did what any good lost person should do, I picked a spot and sat there :) I waited and froze and waited some more. About an hour after finding my sitting spot I heard a very familiar voice call out "Auntie Joy"... and to my absolute delight, running towards me was Kaylie! Joining in the run/jog I met her with a big hug and spin. It was just like in the movies :) Heather and Kaylie took me down to the train. We took two trains to get to the bus depot. Heather had ridden her bike there and so Kaylie (very much grown up) took me on the bus to their neighborhood. Heather met us at the bus stop and walked the rest of the way home. Kaylie had run ahead and she and Keiric stood at the door waiting for me. It was so wonderful. We hung out for a while, had breakfast and then I slept! I woke up for a wonderful dinner (Heather is quite the cook!) and then the youth came over for a movie night and a little Wii. It was a wonderful first day here in Holland. Please pray that God continues to bless the time I have here and that travel to Thailand is just as great!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Less then 3 hours to go!
Okay, it's here and I'm ready... well at least my bags are ready, I've had breakfast and am now just waiting for the truck to pull out to the airport. I'm so excited but I don't know if it's really hit home yet that I'm leaving for the next 4 months. Can you believe it, I'm going to be in Holland in 15 hours? I'm so excited! I hope that my stop over in Holland is an encouragement to the Stephenson's.
Last night I was able to give a presentation to my parents Kid's Club about my trip to Thailand. It reminded me of how much I love the ministry there and how excited I am to share God's word with the Chinese. I was looking through my pictures and saw one we had of a group of Chinese people holding their packets and Bibles and a couple of them flipping through the Bible. It was awesome to see how excited they were and a good reminder of the work ahead.
Please pray for the teams that are coming in to minister to the Chinese during the Chinese New Year. Satan has a habit of attacking those heading into God's work, but we serve a Great God who is able to conquer much!!! Pray for the Chinese tourist that will be traveling to Thailand that their hearts would be open to receiving the Word of God and that they would read it with an open mind and heart. Thank you all for your prayers and your support. Please also pray for my support level. I am still in need of funds. Again Thank you all for everything!!!
Last night I was able to give a presentation to my parents Kid's Club about my trip to Thailand. It reminded me of how much I love the ministry there and how excited I am to share God's word with the Chinese. I was looking through my pictures and saw one we had of a group of Chinese people holding their packets and Bibles and a couple of them flipping through the Bible. It was awesome to see how excited they were and a good reminder of the work ahead.
Please pray for the teams that are coming in to minister to the Chinese during the Chinese New Year. Satan has a habit of attacking those heading into God's work, but we serve a Great God who is able to conquer much!!! Pray for the Chinese tourist that will be traveling to Thailand that their hearts would be open to receiving the Word of God and that they would read it with an open mind and heart. Thank you all for your prayers and your support. Please also pray for my support level. I am still in need of funds. Again Thank you all for everything!!!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Less then 24 hours to Go!
As I sat here this morning thinking about my flight tomorrow and the fact that I will be on a plane in less then 24 hours I received a call from my good friend Heather (the one I'm visiting in Holland). And it's a good thing she called! Apparently she paid closer attention to my tickets then I did! I had been postive that my plane took off at 9am and had made plans with my parents accordingly. Only this morning on the phone with Heather she said she had thought my flight was at 8:15am... I ran over to my parents home and got on the computer... sure enough I leave at 8:15am not 9am! Opps!!! Now I know, and will be on time for my flight!
Friday, January 2, 2009
1 week and counting!
I was asked the other day, what is one the most important thing I learned in 2008, spiritual or funny or just the most important thing. At first I thought there's no way I could come up with just one thing and right there on the spot. And then it was obivious, right there in front of my face, FAITH! This has been a year of faith, leading into an even bigger year of faith. And it's not just faith in theory, it's faith put into practice.
Yesterday was my last day of work. It's been a very long time since I was unemployeed and I have to say, it is very unnerving! The faith it takes to know God is going to provide and take care of me. The faith that when this adventure is over I will be able to get a new job. The faith that my girls will be okay with someone else taking care of them.
I leave in a week and it is a huge mixture of emotions. I am SO excited to go and be a part of an amazing ministry. I'm even more excited about the fact that I get to take part in the Chinese New Year and the LARGE amount of Chinese tourists!!! (which means lots of Bibles going back to China!!!) I'm overwhelmed with joy at getting to go to Holland and see the Stephensons!!! I can't wait to see the kids...big hugs!!! But I'm also sad. I'm going to miss my family, my friends, my Tuesday night Bible study and games, my nieces and nephews. I've really come to enjoy waking up and getting hugs from them in the morning! (what a way to start the day!!!) Or getting to sit at the piano and play while Jael sits and plays with me... and strangely I'm going to miss texting. I love keeping in touch with everyone and it is just a simple way to keep up and say hi without a full phone conversation or a long e-mail.
Overall though I am most excited! I know and have FAITH that this is the direction God is leading and I know that He is going to provide ALL that I need! It's just a matter of my trusting and taking it one day at a time. FAITH
Yesterday was my last day of work. It's been a very long time since I was unemployeed and I have to say, it is very unnerving! The faith it takes to know God is going to provide and take care of me. The faith that when this adventure is over I will be able to get a new job. The faith that my girls will be okay with someone else taking care of them.
I leave in a week and it is a huge mixture of emotions. I am SO excited to go and be a part of an amazing ministry. I'm even more excited about the fact that I get to take part in the Chinese New Year and the LARGE amount of Chinese tourists!!! (which means lots of Bibles going back to China!!!) I'm overwhelmed with joy at getting to go to Holland and see the Stephensons!!! I can't wait to see the kids...big hugs!!! But I'm also sad. I'm going to miss my family, my friends, my Tuesday night Bible study and games, my nieces and nephews. I've really come to enjoy waking up and getting hugs from them in the morning! (what a way to start the day!!!) Or getting to sit at the piano and play while Jael sits and plays with me... and strangely I'm going to miss texting. I love keeping in touch with everyone and it is just a simple way to keep up and say hi without a full phone conversation or a long e-mail.
Overall though I am most excited! I know and have FAITH that this is the direction God is leading and I know that He is going to provide ALL that I need! It's just a matter of my trusting and taking it one day at a time. FAITH
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