In Miami....

We are now in Miami to say sianara '08 and Hola '09.
Thumbs up to miami for the 78 degree weather.

A Sabbatical verse...

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Matthew 11:28-30 MSG

San Diego zoo

We are seeing some amazing animals. I saw my first bearcat! That's my
college mascot.

Americana breakfast

San diego/del mar at Americana cafe!
Darrel gets a little sad when his amazing breakfast is over.

Visiting our Fave coffeehouse in encinita,ca

Yay for good times at panninkin coffee!

Seattle week

pictures and thoughts from Asia...part 1

As the fog has moved away from my brain and jet-lag has begun to pass...I have had many thoughts that I have processed and still many more that I am processing.  

HERE ARE JUST A FEW THOUGHTS I HAVE HAD:

1. I have developed an addiction to oranges.  I'm not sure where it came from but the 1st Thursday I was in Asia, I reached for a bowl of cute lil oranges and I haven't stopped since. In fact, it got so bad that my friend pre-arranged for the guest house in Thailand to get oranges for me.  And tonight as I went into publix, guess what was on sale...clementines.  They are almost like the lil oranges I was snacking on.  ALMOST but not quite.

2.I also developed a deep liking to this Apple cinnamon wassail that was being served in some super cold areas where they only had a fireplace to warm up next to.  It was super delicious!

That is what I am drinking in the picture I'm posting to Flickr so don't get any rumors started that I got a little crazy in Asia. It's WASSAIL!

Now onto the real revelations:  Col. 4:2---devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

I believe that my time in Asia allowed my heart to truly begin to realize that it has not been thankful or watchful at crucial times.  It is amazing what prayer does to your heart and to the things your eyes see.  Below is just the iceberg of things that my heart and eyes are watchful for and thankful for.

I am so thankful to have had the time to spend with my mom and a close mentor/friend to travel with me as my heart and eyes took in all that we saw.  I count that a treasure and do not take that for granted.

I am so thankful to be a Christ-follower and be able to share what that means 

to me with anyone God brings to my heart and across my path. I learned that this is not the case for everyone and I learned just a sample of what that feels like.

I have learned so much about prayer. How much it impacts an area to be opened to Him and how important it is for people's hearts that they have been prayed for. I heard stories from Christ-followers all over Asia that shared about how things had happened because people had been praying over their community or people had been praying for a certain home or people had been praying for their government. The hope was not placed in what they could do with their words...the hope was not placed in what their government could do for them...their hope was placed in what God could do.  It made all the difference for the places and people we visited.  

We visited communities that to our knowledge had no believers living in it. It was the first time I had ever experienced that.  We prayed as we walked through those communities.

We visited with followers that had only told a few other people that they were believers and would not tell their family members.  They were living in places that were very difficult for them to be a Christ-follower  and were unable to worship with other believers because it would be a risk to do so.

We visited in Bangkok---a city of 12 million people---and less than 1% were Christ-Followers.

OH but Chris is at work in that city!  We saw amazing things happening in the prisons of that city.  I have read accounts in scripture how God has worked in prisons before...He is in the business of setting captives free...so I'm not sure why I was amazed to visit a prison and see how Christ is at work in a unique way. But that is exactly what I was..Amazed. I left that prison with tears on my face...I knew I had been with fellow sisters in Christ.  Below is a picture taken in front of the House of Blessing.  It is a club and halfway house for prisoners who have come out of the prison and found new life in Christ but are trying to figure out how to live in their newly acquired freedom.  I was talking with one of the men who runs the center and discovered that Brentwood Baptist had given Hope for the World offering towards the completion of this center.  It was amazing and I was so happy that my church was a part of this project.  The persons that are in the picture with me are 2 of the workers for the center and my mother and I.  The 2 workers are married and the girl that is in the picture was in prison 8 years ago. While in Prison, she became a believer and felt called to go to Bible school and go back to the prisons to disciple and work with other prisoners.  She is amazing!  

Over the course of 2 weeks, I met and interviewed over 20 people that live in Asia and live out their faith among the nationals of their country.  I wish I could tell you all that I heard and saw on this blog, but some of the stories would put those people at risk.  It was an amazing opportunity and God is at work in Asia in ways that blow me away.  I am excited to see how this experience has re-shaped me to allow Him to work in and through me in Brentwood,TN.

More stories to come...

Mom goes home...

My mom just left Nashville on her way to her home in Illinois. We've spent the last 2 weeks together out of the country. I love my mom a lot. She is awesome. She let me take her out of the country for the first time in her life. She was stretched way outside of her comfort zone the last 2 weeks but I am so proud of her.  We slept on trains, we rode bicycle taxis, we rode water taxis, we got in arguments with taxi drivers that were trying to cheat the americans, we got in a taxi cab fender bender, we experienced squatty potty's that required dipping a cup of water from a tub of water to flush it, we saw amazing scenery and met even more amazing people.  I am blessed to have a mom like I do.  She doesn't think she looks like me but almost everywhere we went, people would look at my face and then look at her face and then look back at my face.  We laugh the same. We smile the same. We even have some of the same flaws.  I am forever thankful that I got to spend some time with her praying and meeting people on the other side of the world.  Thanks mom for being not only my mom but my best friend.  Here we are at a chocolate buffet we discovered. I'm the one with the chocolate mole :)

Returned home from Bangkok Thailand yesterday

After about a 20 hour nap...I'm finally back to the states. We left Bangkok at 1:35am headed for Seoul and the Red protesters started their Monday with protests to make clear that they were not happy about this whole new prime minister voting thing. I just think they were sad to see us leave...:)

But some of you had wondered if we were caught up in any protests. Nope. Mom and I are safe at home and we are resting up. As soon as my mind clears from the fog of jetlag and I begin to process all that I saw and did, I will post more.

ASIA UPDATE: I was in prison today...but don't worry it was scheduled.

Mom, Bonita, and I arrived in Bangkok last night at midnight. I have had a wonderful experience and look forward to sharing stories of my first week in Asia with you in person. Due to being in a restricted access country, I am unfortunately unable to share stories, pictures, and details on this blog, facebook or any web posting.
Thailand is the country I am now in and we are having a great experience meeting new people and learning about the culture. I was in prison today but it was a scheduled visit to the women's prison. I thought I was just going to observe but I found out that we would be teaching and leading the international women's inmate division. I even got to speak some spanish to 2 ladies who were there and try to help them understand the bible study as best as I could.
I am loving the experience and can't wait to share stories. God has taught me a lot and stretched me a lot. And I FINALLY GOT TO GO TO THAILAND.
Hopefully the protests won't start up again. :) I'll be coming home to the US on Monday.

My other seat mate...

Yes...I'm in the middle. Servants heart award goes to me for sitting
in the middle of two women for 13.5 hours. But they are my elders so I
must give them comfort and sacrifice:)

Korean air pix

Here's mom and I with our Korean air water. Getting ready for my 13.5
hour flight.

Out of country and away from blogger...

I'm in line at Atlanta airport to go to Seoul Korea and hitch a flight
to another country where I will be on holiday with some friends. I may
be able to document parts of my trip but others I'll get to tell you
about later due to lack of Internet in the area I am going to. I
ironically just heard that Thai protests are ending as I am in the
airport. Gotta go.

(Sent via iPhone)