The Pigeon has Returned!

Sa wat dii kh took khon! Hello everyone!

It has been along time since I last wrote an update. I have alot to tell you all! God has been so good! But first I want to tell you all something, writing can not describe what I want to say, so maybe this Video can!

Thank you all again so much!
Here in Thailand there are always changes happening, some big and some small. But this year is different. My team will be changing drastically. Several days ago a team member had to return home do to health problems. It was a surprise to all of us, but as we prayed and discerned God's will I think we all felt a peace about it. She will be home until she is better and the Lord brings her back. I know it was very hard for her. In January, A Nicaraguan couple will potentially be joining us if all their money is raised. In May, my room mate, Rhonda, will be returning home. She hopes to return to Thailand, but does not yet know when. In June the Mast family will be returning back to the states for two years. That will leave the Troyer family and I here, for the English speaking team. As I am sure you all know, changes are very hard. Please keep my team in your prayers.

Speaking of changes I am now studying thai, but in a different form. I am learning how to read and write! Who would have thought I would have moved to a different country and learned to speak, read, and write a different language?!  Not me. I am really enjoying leaning to read and write. It is challenging, reading is much easier then writing. But I enjoy the challenge. Speaking has slowed down, but I know that with time i will get better. I understand alot more then I can speak. Learning a new language is very interesting! It is alot like when we learn language as a baby. As a baby we understand alot more then we can speak, but as we grow we continue to be able to speak more and more. For me reading and writing is the same. I could read pretty well, but spelling, well lets just say if there was not spell check you would probably think I am writing in Thai phonetics. haha.

Studying thai fills alot of my day. I spend the morning studying Thai at home and in the afternoon I go to school and study for several hours. By the evening my brain can not handle any more thai. Sometimes I just relax and watch thai tv shows, play with the neighbor kids, or talk to my thai friends.

God has been trying to teach me to live in continual thanksgiving and trust in Him. He has show his faithfulness in so many ways. Here are some stories.

Almost every Monday night we study the bible with the mast family, P'Great and her family, and Lung Seeree. Lung Seeree (Uncle Seeree) is a nice old man who likes to take care of reachers and feed people! One night after the bible study we were getting ready to pray, and he asked me what I wanted prayer for. I told him I wanted prayer that I would meet and make real friends. We prayed and everyone went home.
The next morning Lung Seeree called me and invited me out to eat. He said all night long he thought of me and wondered why I don't have any friends. He was worried about me. He said "I think maybe you think serious. I think maybe you miss your family. And maybe you are not happy." I have never had a thai person take time to care about me like Seeree did. He was so worried about me that he took time out of his day to take me out to eat. He told me he knew what it was like to miss his family. (he was a soldier in Vietnam.) I asked him what he did when he missed them. He said, " I drank the whiskey." :) I laughed and told him ok that is what I would do. He said no, no, that is not good. I must call to him and we will go eat. He said we will make me laugh, laugh alot! haha That really touched my heart.
Every time I see him he ask me if I think serious. Some times he calls me to make sure I am ok. This weekend Rhonda was gone. Lung Seeree took me to a water market, he told me if you stay home you will think serious and be lonely. He is a dear old man. God has blessed me so much through him.

I have made some new friends. There is a girl named Pooh. She is so funny. I am beginning to really enjoy hanging out with her and talking to her. We don't have alot in common, but God has really blessed the relationship with her. The other night she was having problems and I went to talk with her, we cried, and I got to affirm her. I am so excited to see what God does with her!

Another friend is named Bpwii. He is just a quiet guy who lives on our floor. We both enjoy alot of the same music and movies. The other night Pooh, Bpwii, and I watched a movie together. It was so good to have friends to just be with.  I feel very blessed.

I am learning to Trust God. Life here is very tough. But life here is good. Thank you all for your support! I miss you all so much!

  


           

Little bits of Life.

About a week ago my team here in Thailand took a 4 day retreat to Chang Mai, the northern part of Thailand.
The team met at the train station at 7:00pm Thursday. From there we boarded an over night train headed to Chang Mai. I imagine most of you have never rode on an overnight train. So I made a little video giving you a tour.   

We arrived in Chang Mai at our destination around 10am Friday morning. In the mornings we had team worship and a bible study. After the bible study there was a speaker who spoke to us about different aspects of soul care. Positive thinking, setting boundaries, resilience, and how to deal with stress where the topics. After lunch was free time to sleep, swim, or go out.

After supper we did fun group activities. One night was game night. We played minute-to-win-it games. One of the games was to cover your nose in Vaseline and then get as many cotton balls from one side of the line to the other in a minute. You could not use your hands, but no one said anything about using you lips! haha I won with 18 cotton balls on my side! It was awesome!

Thailand Team!

 

 Another night we went out to an American restaurant called Duke's. It has American Food. I got a big old Man burger (that is what I call them). It was so good, but to my shame I could not eat it all!

The burger! With onion rings and a side of ranch dressing!

What I had to leave behind. I did pick the bacon off and eat that!

 After the delicious dinner, we went to the night market. I love the night market! I was able to haggle and get lower prices on everything I bought! That was a big boast to my confidence in my language skills. 

After the retreat Rhonda and I stayed 3 extra days to have a mini vacation. Those 3 days were some of the best days ever! The first day we did a kind of silent retreat. God really used that time to speak to me about trusting him. During the retreat we had to write down all the things that were stressing us out. God asked me to write them down and then He gave me truth to fight off the worries and stress. It was so goood! Some of the things that God brought up was my struggle with being single, relationships with thai people, language, believing that God is using me, and my self image. He took these things and covered them in truth. I can't even argue with the truth he put forth. I left that time with a feeling of peace and carefreeness.
The 2nd day we went and did some sight seeing. We went bungee jumping! Lets just say I did it once and I think I will be ok if I do not do it again. :) Rhonda had to pep talk me into jumping.

Near the top. I am so scared!

The little dot at the end of the rope is us. :)

 I still cant believe I did that. I also realized that I have a fear of heights. Which is kinda strange considering I want to fly airplanes and skydive! haha  
After the jump we saw a monkey show and a snake show. The monkey show was cute. The monkey rode around on bikes and did cool tricks. The snake show was awesome! I am scared of snakes, but am also fascinated by them. The people in the show realized that I was scared of the snakes, and decided to have fun with it. :)

At the snake show! This was a cobra!

Monkeys at the monkey show!

I have to admit I have never had so much fun. I laughed so hard I was crying. At one point they brought a snake over to touch. I kept scooting over, to the point I was on top of Rhonda and she was basically on top of a thai person beside her. haha. I loved it!

Coming back has been good. It is good t get back in the grove. I feel though the longer I am back the more I want to see my friends come to Jesus, and the more helpless I am. I know I must wait on the Lord. I know he is faithful, and he wants to know these people to.I just have to be patient. :) Well That is all for now. I pray that God would bless your day! Thanks so much for reading!
Love
Dani

Had an awesome surprise waiting for me when I got home!

One of my friends and her kids made these in Ohio. She heard 

 

 

 

that I was missing fall, so she sent some along! They are waxed covered leaves, I love them alot! 

Psalm 23: A Promise of a Good life

From the bible. From God. 
The Lord is my shepherd;
    I have all that I need.
I will provide for your every need food, housing, and clothing. In every town and place you will be provided for. I will look out for you. I know your needs.
  ² He lets me rest in green meadows;    he leads me beside peaceful streams.
I know when you need rest. i provide that time. I lead you and renew your strength. It is I who take care of you. I do it out of love. 
   ³     He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
    bringing honor to his name.
It is I who lead you. I lead you because it pleases me. I love leading you down the path. I know where you are at. I will never lead you in the wrong direction, because I do it for my Glory. You bring glory to my name.
⁴ Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will not be afraid,
I hold your right hand, and my light will always go before you shinning the way. I am with you, my spirit is on you. 
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me.
Tough love. :) These hands that discipline you, and hands that love you. These hands will guide, love, protect, and heal you. I will give you my hands to hold, and when you can't hold them, they will hold you. 
⁵ You prepare a feast for me
    in the presence of my enemies.
If I am at the head of the table and you sit at my table there is nothing that can touch you. Sit back and enjoy, you are at my table! 
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
    My cup overflows with blessings.
You are my chosen. I anointed you myself. I choose to bless you because I love you and it brings me great joy. 
⁶ Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
    all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
    forever.
I will be with you all of your days. We will travel the path together. You have a good life coming! 

My life:

 This month I was sick. I had a cold and a cough. I missed two days of school because of it. The day I went back to school I felt better, but still not top dog. I was running late that morning so I just missed the Song Taow. I kept walking thinking I would get a motorcycle up to the main road and go from there. But the song toaw driver saw me, and backed up so I could get on. While I was on the Song Taow I was coughing alot. When I got off a lady offered me a package of cough drops which helped my cough alot! I really felt like it was God's way of loving on me. 

He has also provided several friends that I hang out with. Sometimes we just hangout and talk. Other times we go watch soccer games. We would like to go ice skating soon.

I love going to the soccer games. They have been awesome! I have been to 3 so far. My team is Thai Port (taa rua). They are the under dogs, but see to be doing better lately. 

Watching the soccer games and riding motorcycle are two things I really enjoy here in Thailand. 

In my free time I also play with the 2 girls and a boy that live in my apartment. They love it when I take them outside, to the "back yard". It is just an ally that goes into a small parking lot the motorcycles and cars park in. We have alot of fun playing games like hide and seek and no bears out tonight. 

Language:

I have taken 4 months of school so far. I am in my fourth month at school right now and am planning to take a month off. I feel like my speaking is becoming worse as time goes on. However, I am understanding alot more though. I have also started to teach my self the thai letters. I am enjoying this aspect of the language and look forward to when I can read.   

Next week I will go to Chang Mai with the team for a retreat. We will meet for 3 or 4 days, and Rhonda will stay there a few extra days after the team leaves. Well I think that is it for now! God bless!

   

A little bit of Life

My first time eating bugs! I ate two! They were... intresting. I was so scared to try it that I was shaking and droped them on the floor. I still ate them. :)

 

This was the team masscott! He was awesome!
Thai people really know how to cheer. They have
 drums (caled gongs) to beat on and chant too!
I don't know much about scoccer so I just
 fallowed the crowd. If they shouted so did I, if
they Cheered, I cheered right along!
 

Left to Right: Not, Me, Pooh
Two of my friends that went with me to the soccer game.
 It was so nice to just be able to hang out and cheer and laugh!



My team warming up! They are named Ta Rua (ship pier or port).

 It was an awesome night! The only disaapointing thing

 about it was the score, 0-0. But I think my team was

 the best, we were so close! ha ha ha

             

Had to do a visa run this month. Every 3 months I have to
 leave Thailand. This month I went to Cambodia. We
took a bus to the border. The whole trip is a day long. We drive
there with other people that need to do the visa
run, walk over the border, walk back get on the bus,
and go home. The company we went with took care
of all the paper work.





Coming back to Thailand!






 

Thoughts from a Overseas Drama Queen.

Wait a second....I have a thought.... What if we learned to be content in every situation! That would be amazing! Is it even possible? Being content here in Thailand is one of the things I have been struggling with. I had taken to complaining, wishing things were different, or better. I wanted to just be content.... but how?
I decided the first step to trying to reach this goal is to give thanks in every situation. It was been amazing how my attitude has changed. Yes, I still complain, but I catch my self and be sure to think of something to be thankful for.
I am learning contentment is not just a state of being. It is a choice you have to make everyday.

Friday Night Out!

International friends! Back row R to L: Me, Bal (thai), Annabel (Nicaraguan)  Front row R to L: Daisuke (Japanese), Geait (thai), Janna (German), and Qwan (thai)

Bal acting like a bear, Janna and Qwan looking cute!

The three guys. L to R: Geait, Diasuke, and Bal.

Attempting to use chopsticks! :)

The lovely ladies! L to R: Annabel, Janna, me, and Qwan.

Friday Night was a blast! My Friends and I decided to go out and hangout at a place called Mega Bang Na. It is a huge Mall! One of the biggest I have ever seen! Our group was made up of an assortment of people.

Janna is from Germany. She goes to my language school, and has become a wonderful friend! We study the bible together and encourage each other so much! Diasuke is from Japan. He is in my class at school. We always have alot of fun talking in and befor class! I have been teaching them American slang.
Annabel is part of my church group. She just arrived in Thailand about 2 weeks ago. Bal, Geait, and Qwan are friends from KBU university.

Annabel and I met with Bal early to help him shop for some clothes. That was alot of fun. When everyone had arrived we decided to go get Japanese food. It was so good. We sat at a table with a big pot in the middle. It was filled with two kinds of soup juice. Beside the table was a conveyer belt that carried different types of meat and vegetables around to the tables. You simply picked out what you wanted and put it in the soup to cook. There was also a buffet you could go to and get other food. It was so delicious! But what made it even better was the company.

 We laughed and talked the whole time. We all filled ourselves to maximum capacity! When we could eat no more we walked around, talked, danced a little, and played in some water. Then we went home. I am so blessed to have the friends that I do. I came out of that night feeling refreshed. Praise God for blessing me with such wonderful friends!  

Speaking of Jesus....

Speaking of Jesus... Have you heard about him?

He is a pretty cool guy. He loves hanging out at the bar and on the streets.
He is friends with anyone and everyone. He accepts you just the way you are. The more messed up you are, the better. He takes the ugly in this world and makes it beautiful. This is Jesus and he is my friend.

This guy is so faithful. He provides for all my needs. One of the best things about him is that I just have to fallow him. He came to love the world not create a religion. Getting to know him is as simple as touching his robe or going to the well. He freely heals the sick and gives life to the dead. He cast out the darkness and fills the empty places with light.

He has the power to give life and destroy. Jesus is all human and all God. This guy just blows me out of the water!

There is life in Jesus. People are drawn to Jesus. 

Christianity is all about fallowing Jesus, right? How many times do we talk about Jesus in our daily lives? Church? Bible studies? Could it be that we lost this guy in all the mumble jumble of our religion?

I encourage you all to read through the gospels again, asking Jesus to reveal himself to you. I did, and I am making a amazing friend.

General update:
Module 1 of language school is done. Today was the first day of Module 2.

I have been making friends at my apartment where I live and at school. I love hanging out with them all.
May you all have a blessed day! 

A Peek in to My World

Hope you all enjoyed the video!

Here is a little update since I last wrote.
I am still going to school. Module 1 is almost over, Module 2 starts on Thursday. Overall I have been enjoying language school. It has been a challenge, but God has really blessed me with my previous knowledge of the language and thai people to practice with.

Life here is becoming normal. I am beginning to love the sights and smells of Thailand. There is nothing more thrilling then riding on the back of a motorcycle. Every day going out to get food or going to school in an adventure. You never know what will happen.

People in my area know me as Tukta, which means doll baby. They gave that name to me when I was here two years ago and still call me it.

The market is always the happening place. Many times there is a merry go round for the kids to ride on. Venders line the aisles. There are tons of fruits, vegetables, and meats. Smells of raw and dried fish fill the air. Thai and sometimes american songs play in the background. One of my favorite things to get at the market is corn. Corn is considered a sweet. They mix it with butter, sugar, and sometimes sweetened condensed milk. It is very delicious!

Rhonda and I have been getting to know some collage guys in our apartment building. They want to practice english with us. We usually sit out in the hall outside our door and talk. It is a good way for us to practice thai and them to practice english.


That is all I have for now! God bless!


  

Apartment tour!

Hope you enjoy this! Right now I am just in language school. We leave the apartment at around 6 in the morning. We have a 5 minute walk to the Song Taow. From there we Ride the Song Taow for about 30 minutes to the sky train. The sky train is a train that runs above the city. We have about a 45 minute ride on it. I like the sky train alot. It has air conditioning which is super nice.

School has been hard but has become alot easier. At the beginning we learned tones, vowels and consonants. Now we are focusing on simple words and phrases. I know most of the words and phrases, but it is good review for the tones. There are now 4 people in my class. There are two guys from the states and a guy from Japan. The class is spent mostly of us practicing the words and sentence structures. There is also lots of laughter.
One guy has alot of trouble remembering what to say after someone says thank you. In thai when some one says thank you (cup koon ka), you respond by saying no problem (mai been lie). One time, when the teacher said thank you, he responded mai baan tat which means ruler. Another time he responded mai chi, which means no. We like to tease him about that.

After school we come home, work on home work, and hang out with our host family. Things have been good with them. There are 4 in the family. A mom, dad, and two daughters. The youngest daughter was as shy as all get out. If we even looked at her she would hide behind her mom, and she hardly ever spoke. But since coming here she has warmed up to me alot. Now she actively tries to get me to play with her and she is hardly ever quiet. She is my little bundle of joy, and a huge distraction, especially when I am doing home work.

Speaking of home work I should go do it. Have a good week! God bless!

The Detailed God!

Hello everyone!
I have made it here to Thailand Safely! Praise God, because we sure had a bumpy ride!



 My family and I arrived at the airport a little over an hour before my plane would take off. We unloaded all my bags and went to check in. I gave the attendant all my information and waited. The attendant looked up and said, "I am sorry but unless you have a returning flight you can not go."

My world just froze. What?! So i tried as calmly as I could to take my bags back to my family and tell them what happened. Some how we had to get a hold of the  travel agent that booked the flight. Praise the Lord I had my phone! (I had planned on leaving it at home, but decided to take it so I could call if I needed help while I was at the Washington airport.) So I called a friend who gave me the number to call the contact the person who could call the travel agent. After making several calls and lots of stress we figured it all out. I got on the plane and flew out. Thank goodness for my family who helped out so much!

The flights went well. Over 23 hours latter we arrived at the Bangkok airport. Rhonda* and I went through immigration (so they could check visa stuff) and then went to pick up our baggage. I grabbed my carry-on that I had to check in and waited for the rest of my baggage to come. But it never did. So I went and filled out the necessary paperwork. We were told it would be delivered to my apartment by Friday. Only when I got home did I realize how God had looked after me. Praise the Lord, that in the carry on that I had to check in I had clothes to wear, and things to shower with. I was not planning to have more then one change of clothes with me, and not any of the shower stuff.



I am just blown away at how God provided for all the details because he knew what would happen. If I had not had my phone with me, I would not have been able to call the right people. If my suite case had not been over weight I would not have had enough clothes until my baggage came. God is so awesome!

I want to give a big thank you to my sister who packed my bags and my mom who talked to the people when I could not! I love you!

Until next time!

 *: God provided me with a room mate and a travel companion named Rhonda. She will be here one year helping out the families on the team with their children. She has been a lot of fun to hang out with and a huge support to me! 

I am Blessed and Highly Favored!

I had a friend who, every time I asked him how he was doing, would promptly reply, "I am blessed and highly favored."

Wow! How many times do you here that in a day? How many times do we even look at our lives like that? What a way to look at life!

It took me leaving my home in Columbus to realize how blessed and highly favored I really am.  I had so many friends who wanted to hang out and talk to me. Some traveled all the way from Kansas and others lived right in my house.

Almost all of them took me out to eat. I had all foods ranging from exotic Turkish to the all-American Sonic. That last week was probably the biggest fat joke of my life! Thanks to all of you who contributed to it! :)

One of the places I was truly blessed was at Donatos, the place where I worked for the past year and a half. Many of my co-workers told me how much I would be missed. My boss threatened to kid nap me so that I would stay. :) And to top it all off, they gave me a kindle fire, so that I would stay in contact with them! I could not believe it! 

The favor that I felt was over whelming! Not because all these people gave me things or bought me food. But it was because of the love they showed me from their hearts! I was and still am blown away by how loved I was and am.

We so often get caught up in out lives that we loose sight of the blessing and favor we receive and have as a child of God. God loves to bless us and give us his favor. Someone once said we should live like a child much loved. A child much loved knows he is favored and sees and accepts his blessings and walks in that confidence.

Here is some food for thought:
How are you favored by God? What blessings has he given you? How can you give God's blessing and favor to others?

ps. I leave for Thailand on June 11! oh man, only 12 days left!

Easter Day Celabration!

Station 1 of the cross. We Spent the time here worshiping and singing.

 For Easter CNM (Columbus network of micro churches) met here at the Oikos. We did the stations of the cross, but made it fit for us. It was really awesome!

Station 2- For the children. We read a story and allowed the Children to share anything they wanted to. The cross was at their height and we all sat on the ground.

Station 3- Confession. We passed around oranges and peeled them and through then on the compost pile to symbolize confession. It was really good. It was a time for me to give up control of my life.

Station 4- We did a reading called the vespers office.

Station 5- We looked at a garden, noticing the old, new, and dormit growth. We then planted onions symbolizing new seeds planted. Onions also represent the strength of a seed planted weather good or bad cause onions are so strong tasting.

Station 6- Here we took communion.

Station 7- Here the fountain was running symbolizing the Holy spirit. We just spoke Prayers of Thanks and Praise. This was one of the coolest Easters I have had! It was a great reflection time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oikos Easter! We had a blast! Yummy food and tons of candy!

Through Heaven's Eyes (From Disney's Prince of Egypt)

A single thread in a tapestry
Through its color brightly shine
Can never see its purpose
In the pattern of the grand design

And the stone that sits on the very top
Of the mountain's mighty face
Does it think it's more important
Than the stones that form the base?

So how can you see what your life is worth
Or where your value lies?
You can never see through the eyes of man
You must look at your life

Look at your life through heaven's eyes
Lai-la-lai...

A lake of gold in the desert sand
Is less than a cool fresh spring
And to one lost sheep, a shepherd boy
Is greater than the richest king
If a man lose ev'rything he owns
Has he truly lost his worth?
Or is it the beginning
Of a new and brighter birth?

So how do you measure the worth of a man
In wealth or strength or size?
In how much he gained or how much he gave?
The answer will come
The answer will come to him who tries
To look at his life through heaven's eyes

And that's why we share all we have with you
Though there's little to be found
When all you've got is nothing
There's a lot to go around

No life can escape being blown about
By the winds of change and chance
And though you never know all the steps
You must learn to join the dance
You must learn to join the dance
Lai-la-lai...

So how do you judge what a man is worth
By what he builds or buys?
You can never see with your eyes on earth
Look through heaven's eyes
Look at your life
Look at your life
Look at your life through heaven's eyes


My we all begin to see ourselves through heaven's eyes!
This song really spoke to me, may it also bless you.

Bears, Fire, and Authority.

This morning I  was reading 2 Kings 1-2.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20kings%201-2&version=NKJV
(Here is the link if you want to check it out.)

These passages got me to thinking about authority.
Here is the deal.
Part 1:
A king decides to send some men to consult a fake God to see if he will recover from an injury. Elijah intercepts them and says that because you tried to consult a fake God, You will die. So Elijah decides to take a rest under a tree. The king then sends a captain and 50 soldiers to bring Elijah to him. Elijah gets scared and calls down fire on them. This happens again. When the 3rd set comes, the captain pleads for his men's and his life. God sends an Angel to Elijah and tells him to go.

Part 2:
Elijah is taken up to heaven. Before this Elisha makes a deal that if he sees Elijah go, then he will get a double portion of Elijah spirit. Elijah is taken and Elisha sees, and receives the double portion.

Part 3:
Elisha is walking along, some youths call him a bald man, he curses them and 2 bears come and kill them.
 

My Thoughts:
Elijah and Elisha, great men, incredible authority, but they were crazy! Killing people because you are scared or offended seems a bit extreme. How did they get this authority? Of course God gave it to them, but I don't feel like God is a smiter. How did they know that God would allow them to do that? And who was Elijah to say if Elisha could have a portion of his spirit. Do we have that Authority?

I then reflected over the New Testament and how the disciples had Authority to heal, cast out demons, speak in tongues,  (or vanish in Phillips case), or touch things and people could be healed by them. Where is that Authority today? Do we have it? How do we become confident in it?

Clearly authority seems to be important in our lives. Through out the old and new testament Authority is woven through God's followers. Both the prophets and the disciples possessed it.

Jesus said we were given all Authority over all the earth. Let's embrace this authority God has given us and give him the Glory!

A Picture of my World.

COLUMBUS Oh! I love this city!

A New Believer

I just found this out today! One of the long term people sent this to all of the former thai reach teams.

Geat, Faa, and Dow (Dow being the baby)

I wanted to give you another quick update on G....she's continued to attend our meetings and always brings her girls along. L. has also been at a couple of the recent meetings. Last night L., C.,and I ate supper with them and then sat around talking with her after he left for work. She talked more about where she is at in her faith. She says now that she believes in God. She told us about how one time she prayed while she was cooking that God would be with her and show her the way. (She also said that F. prays to Jesus that she'll be able to study well :)) G. said that she wants to continue studying as there is still so much that she doesn't know. We encouraged her to do that and also encouraged her to look for God's work in her life. We've talked about the Holy Spirit recently so she's thinking about that. She said that she's talked to her Mom about what she's doing and she asked her Mom if the family would be opposed. Her Mom said that yes, there would be plenty of people who would be unhappy if she "switched religions."
Without us really talking much about this G. has come to the conclusion that baptism is an important turning point - the sign that she's made the change. Last night she said that she's not ready for that yet - but believes that "one day" she will be. Her mom said something similar - that if G. continues studying the day will come when she can be baptized, but her mom isn't ready for her to do that yet.

This is so sweet! G. is the lady who became like a second mom to me while I was in Thailand. It is so cool to see God moving.  

Super Hero!

A couple of months ago I started to teach kids at a local church with the vision of leading them into the presence of God. My class typically has 5 to 8 kids, aging from 3 to 7 years. The other Sunday I went in to class not knowing what to teach. A lesson plan had been provided about 15 minutes before class was to start. The lesson involved multiple puppets and a story I did not quite get. Needless to say I decided to try to come up with something on my own.

 I was thinking about what I was going to do when two of the boys started talking to me about super heroes. Then the thought dawned on me. I gathered most of the kids around and we talked about super hero powers and how related it to Jesus. I told them about all His super powers and how they could have them to. Most of the kids by this time were distracted, but those two little boys were tuned in. Some how it just clicked for them! Then we prayed, and one little boy insisted that he pray for himself to get better in the morning!

Here's a thought, maybe telling the typical bible stories is not a practical way to disciple kids. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the stories. But I think kids would learn more effectively, if we related things to them on their level. If we look at how Jesus taught, he used everyday experiences to make his points. He taught using things the people knew and understood.

What a thought! I would love to hear any feed back on how to disciple kids or your thought on this.   

A Walk To Remember

Yesterday was a very pleasant day. I say that giggling.
It was my day off. The weather was warm enough to only need a sweat shirt. It was absolutely beautiful. I decided to go for a walk.
It was the sweetest walk I have had in along time. I was just blown away at how beautiful the city was. All I could do was smile. People walked around me, all going somewhere. I was so excited for them. All I wanted to do was laugh and tell them how much God loved them and ME! I was covered in peace. I looked up at the skyscrapers and they just pointed up to the lord! A church stood between two tall towers. I giggled at the ironic- ness of it. To me even now it is just funny. I am not sure why, but I kinda think that God gets the joke and chuckles at it to.... even if I don't get the joke. I wondered around star struck at the beauty of it all, the city, the people, and life. For that walk I was perfectly content. God's plan was wonderful and I was just enjoying life. Times like these seem rare, however I want to live my life like this. Just basking in God's goodness . This was the peace that surpass all understanding. This was indeed a walk to remember. Guys, God is just too much good! :)

Palindrome

A palindrome is a word, phrase or sentence that reads the same forward and backward. I learned this in my English course I am taking.
They are pretty cool!
Here are some examples:
Civic
Level
Kayak
A Santa at NASA; Dad; Dee saw a seed; Never odd or even; Rise to vote, sir; Was it a cat I saw?

A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!

Madam in Eden, I'm Adam


So there they are! Enjoy!

By Faith :Keith and Kristy Getty

By faith we see the hand of God
In the light of creation's grand design
In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness
Who walk by faith and not by sight

By faith our fathers roamed the earth
With the power of His promise in their hearts
Of a holy city built by God's own hand
A place where peace and justice reign

We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We'll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith the prophets saw a day
When the longed-for Messiah would appear
With the power to break the chains of sin and death
And rise triumphant from the grave

By faith the church was called to go
In the power of the Spirit to the lost
To deliver captives and to preach good news
In every corner of the earth

We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We'll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith this mountain shall be moved
And the power of the gospel shall prevail
For we know in Christ all things are possible
For all who call upon His name

We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We'll walk by faith and not by sight

God Got My Back!

Last night I came home form work.
I was exhausted. My mind was running 100 miles an hour. My back was tense.
I took a shower to unwind, but that did not really help. I was so tense my back was sore, so I prayed and asked God to ease the tension.
As soon as I started to pray my back begun to twitch. I could feel the loosening of the muscles. A gentle heat spread up and down my back. Immediately my mind quit racing and I begun to fall asleep. As I began to drift off I felt two small hands knead my shoulders. I got around 6 hours of sleep that night (due to getting home so late from work) and I feel completely rested!

God hears our prayers! He cares about our needs, even if it is just a back rub!
Ask and you will receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door shall be open to you.
Amen!

Happy Moments!

I just found out I have offically raised all of the money I need for Thailand! Thank you to all of you who have given to me! God has provided over and above! God, is one sneaky God! Lets lift our hands in worship to him.
Thank you God.

God is in the dream business. Guy's dream BIG! He wants to answer them! I am so excited to see what the future brings! We have good times coming... and are here!

I Am

I AM God; nothing is too hard for me.
"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Id there anything too hard for me?"
-Jeremiah 32:27
I AM God who made all My wonderful works to be remembered.
"He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and full of compassion." -Psalm 111:4

I AM worthy of worship, glorious and incomparable.
"Give to the Lord the glory due due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!" - 1 Chronicles 16:29

These are some of my favorite names of God! God is so cool! Last week my room mate moved out to fallow one of her dreams. My eyes turned to myself and I became sad and lonely. Then one night my friend and I had a worship time, where our eye's were turned back to this super wonderful God. And my sadness and loneliness lifted.
I wonder why I am so easily swayed away from my God. He never looses sight of us, he never turns his head, he always watches out for us. God knows the desires of our hearts and wants to fill those empty places. He turned those feelings of fear and loneliness to a closeness and knowledge that God will never leave me. We have a pretty sweet God.

Take time to just wonder at God and how cool he is!