Finally Home

God is good. It feels so good to finally be home. Our journey home was like a sitcom, so many things happened but through it all God is faithful.

My final night in Nairobi was unexpectedly wonderful. At first I was disappointed that we didn't get a chance to go into town to shop for souvenirs as we'd hoped (since we didn't get to the ACK until 4 pm....we only had about 2 more hours of daylight.) However, God had something better in store for me. I got the opportunity to visit with students from my old church, who are now serving full-time in Kenya (for 16 months) as part of their missionary training. They normally live 5 hours away from Nairobi but it just happened that they were in Nairobi to renew their visa!! They were right down the road from the ACK and God made a way for us to meet! It was such a great edifying time! We all were so blessed and encouraged by what God has been doing in all of our lives.

The next morning, we got up at 5 a.m. and started on our journey home. We got to the airport around 6 (our flight was supposed to be at 8:10.) The line to get through security to get in the airport was wrapped around the building! By the time we got through security and passport control we were running for the gate. Once again, I was disappointed because we had planned to stop by the Java House in the airport (all the missionaries told us that they had amazing Kenya coffee and great breakfast, we had plan to buy a lot of coffee to bring back to the U.S.)

We finally got through the gate (another security check), into the holding area before boarding...and we waited to board the plane. We waited and waited. At 8:30 we hear that we will start boarding at 9. At this point we were getting really antsy because we only have 1 hour and 25 minutes (that is if we left on time at 8:10) to catch our connecting flight in Amsterdam. We had a feeling that we were going to miss our flight. However, we weren't giving up just yet, on the flight over, we had a really strong wind that help the plane arrive almost an hour faster than expected. I told Robin, "who knows, God could provide a really mighty tail wind to expedite our journey." At that point, I thought that "provide a mighty wind" bit sounded kinda like a psalm. And guess what, He did.

At some point during the flight, the pilot announced that we had a really strong tail wind and we will arrive in Amsterdam just 20 minutes later than our original expected arrival (that gives us an hour still to catch our flight.) At that point, I turned to Robin and told her, I think I'm going to write a psalm before we get home :)

We landed in Amsterdam, got through security and ran to the gate. We were going to make it afterall!! We got to the gate, looked up and instead of it saying Atlanta, it said Vancouver. Weird. So we though maybe they changed the gate so we checked the board one more time. There it was, the tiny little letters next to our flight number, the word "cancelled." It finally sunk in that our flight was cancelled so we walked over to the transfer desk and ask what was going on. Apparently the plane never left Atlanta and we were now stranded. The first person we talked to told us that we would get out on Tuesday, then she gave us a number to wait in line to talk to the booking agent. At this point, I joked to Robin, "I think my psalm just turned into a lamentation."

We finally got to the booking agent, she actually got us on a flight out the following day (Sunday) to Minnesota (with the hopes of us catching another flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta) and the airline was going to give us a hotel voucher and provide for dinner and breakfast. Now the next problem: I don't carry a U.S. Passport. I carry a Thai passport with a U.S. permanent resident card, which means, I can't leave the airport without a visa for the Netherlands. God still opened a way for me to get a 24 hr visa to enter the country and off we were to the hotel in Amsterdam. As much as I would have like to say that we made the most of our one night in Amsterdam, we didn't. We were exhausted and Robin was sick, we ate dinner and went to our rooms. That night, thinking through all the things that has happened on this trip, I wrote a psalm :)

The Lord is merciful

He hears my plea

He places His mighty hand on my life

Not an aspect of my life is too insignificant for You, O God

He gives me kind and compassionate companions

And grants us a mighty wind to expedite our journey

He opens the gates of a foreign land to me

Not once have I been in want

You do not let any of my needs go unmet

Your faithfulness is unmatched

You lead me to a quiet place and give me rest

You protect us from harm and shower me with goodness

Who am I that I should deserve such care, Lord?

Praise be to you, O God, who shows up on my behalf

You give me value by creating me in Your image

And called me your own

Blessed be the Name of the Lord,

For His faithfulness endures forever

The next morning we made it to the airport and boarded our flight to Minnesota. After another delay in Minnesota, we finally made it home to Atlanta (all but my luggage, of course) on Sunday night. Although there were hiccups and things don't always go as plan, it was an amazing trip and God's presence was with us at all times. I don't think I could ask for anything more. His peace and joy overwhelmed us even in times of disappointment. Thanks be to God for all that He's done.

P.S. my luggage arrived Monday :)

Blessings

So we're at the half way point of the conference. It's hard to explain the feeling. Our work with the youth is going well. In fact, many of them are mature beyond their years. I guess you kinda have to be when you're an MK (Missionary Kid) growing up in the majority world.

Being at the hotel is definitely a nice change from our first week in Nairobi. I think I actually did a happy dance the first full day here when I woke up and realize that I don't have to get in a car and travel anywhere. The buildings and hotel rooms are simple painted concrete buildings with thatch roofs. Nothing fancy. You have a shower, a toilet and a sink in the room. The decoration and furniture in the room are sparce. The bed has a mattress that's about 6 inches thick, it's pretty hard but I reallly like it. In fact, the room is pretty similar to the room at the guest house, except it's much larger here. The hotel property has access directly to the beach, which is quite nice. Lots of seaweed but beautiful blue ocean. There are monkeys and birds all around. In fact, the first thing they told us when we check in is to NEVER leave your balcony door open because monkeys will come in the room and destroy your stuff.

It is such a blessing to be here with the Wycliffe missionaries. So many times during the day, some would come up and thank us for blessing them by serving them in taking care of their children & youth. However, in reality, the situation is reversed. They are blessing me with their lives. We have had some time to talk with, get to know, spend some time with some of the missionaries. I feel like I'm walking around among spiritual giants. Somehow, I feel like I'm in the company of people who are just deeper!

The best way I could explain this is this: at a wedding, hearing the bride and groom exchange vows is meaningful, but at a vow renewal for couples that have been married for a long time, hearing them say their vows again always have more meaning. It's deeper. It's an affirmation of promises that have been lived through. It's the same way with these missionaries. When the missionaries talk about God's faithfulness, deliverance and goodness, it's through the experiences that many of us can't even imagine, whether it be physical danger or sickness or even the death of their children. When they quote scripture or sing Blessed Be the Name of the Lord, it comes from a place that is deeper and more meaningful. I've been so blessed by them. I thank God for this opportunity to be here.

Top: team picture at Wycliffe Conference

2nd: the 2 boys, Joseph and Timithy who North Ave. sponsored surgeries

3rd: Another one of Maji Mazuri school in the country

4th: scenery outside of Nairobi on the drive to Nakuru

Matatu and the real Watamu

Top Picture is one of Maji Mazuri schools. This particular one is in the Kibera slums.

The middle and bottom one is at the feeding program with Mtoto Africa at the Gituku's home.

Since our team's gotten to Turtle Bay, we keep saying that we don't feel so much like we're in real Kenya anymore. So today, we decided to take a Matatu (one of those over crowded vans the locals take for transportation) and come into downtown Watamu to use the internet cafe. I'm taking this time to upload some pictures. The connection is so slow so just a few pictures for now.

Ending chapter 1, Entering chapter 2...

So the hotel has free email for us to use (email only using their hotel account so I can't even check my personal email) so I'm using it to email Brian my blog and asking him to post it for me.

I just want to give a quick wrap up of the first week in Kenya after our first goofy day of jetlag & tourist stuff. We visited 6 mission partners in 3 days time.

Tuesday with Maji Mazuri was incredible. There isn't enough good things I could say about this organization. The things we experienced were a shock to our senses. We visited all 6 projects that Maji Mazuri is currently running. One of the projects brought us to the Kibera slum, which is the largest slum in East Africa. The sight, the smell, and the feeling of hopelessness were overwhelming. Yet, in a tiny school held together by tin sheets and scrap wood, the faces of smiling children brought us joy and reminded us that God is there. In the mist of such brokeness, the light of Jesus Christ shines through and gives hope.

Wednesday, we visited African Inland Church (A.I.C.) Shabab (means church) and the Nakuru Christian Professionals Association. Nakuru is about a 2.5 hours drive from Nairobi. I forgot to mention that Kenyan roads are terrible and the driving is crazy. We actually had a very close call on the road to Nakuru. Thanks be to God that we were unharmed. Also, one can know that one's leaving greater Nairobi when one starts seeing donkeys on the side of the road. Donkeys are still the main mode of transportation for people in the country. Our visits went well. It was good to see what God is doing on this side of the world. It was an encouragement to see such a vibrant church and Kenyans who are invested in helping the needy around them. Nakuru is known for the flamingoes, its was too bad that we didn't get a chance to visit Lake Nakuru, because our schedule was so tight, but from afar, we saw a pink cluster on the side of the lake and were told that those were flamingoes! The drive was beautiful. We drove through the Rift Valley (altitute of 8,000+ft) and saw a lot of live stocks on the way. It really is such a different way of life!

We also had the honor of eating dinner at the home of Samuel Gtoto, an elder in Martin Mwangi's church and our driver! He has become like a father to our team. We call him Baba Gtoto. He made us Yumechome, which is Kenyan delicacy. It's roasted meat. We had a wonderful and interesting Kenyan meal. The hospitality of Kenyan people were amazing.

Thursday was full day. We visited a school, a feeding program, and 2 children whom our church have sponsored surgeries through Mtoto Africa. Followed by a 5 hour visit to Presbyterian University and a visit to Thindigua Parish (Mwangi's church.) We had a great time worshiping with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Margaret (Martin's wife) invited us to her home and fed us another wonderful Kenyan meal.

Friday, we got up early for our flight to Malindi, which is where we are now. We just finished our first day of conference and it was great. The youth group that we are working with is quite amazing. Thanks be to God.
Please keep praying for us and for the youth as well.

Internet is quite spotty...

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. It's almost impossible to get on the internet and the connection is , as Brian would say, slower than a snail with sleeping sickness.

We have had a wonderful time in Nairobi. God truly is working in the local churches here.

Today, we've arrived safely in Malindi for the Wycliff Conference. The hotel is gorgeous. I'm looking forward to the time of refreshment for our team and the missionaries we are serving.

I will try my best to get pictures uploaded...no promises. Keep praying for us.

Warthogs and Children have the right of way...

We finally made it to Kenya. We were greeted with the sight of giraffes grazing in the field on our way to the ACK (the Anglican Church of Kenya Guesthouse.) Our first day was spent doing tourist stuff. After we checked in, we were off to Nairobi National Park. When we pulled through the gate, there was a big sign that stated " Warthogs and Children have the right of way."

We were advised that we were too late in the morning to see animals through the driving safari. They recommended that we do the walking safari instead. We had a great time. We saw a good bit of animals and even had a "special hike" to see the lions. We had a quick lunch and headed to Bomas of Kenya.

When we got out of the car at Bomas of Kenya, there was a warthog just crossing the parking lot. I guess that sign at Nairobi park wasn't a joke after all. At Bomas, we had the opportunity to see many tribal dances. The dancings and the percussions were really fun. I keep thinking this is like a Kenyan "Stomp." Anyway, I just have to say that I'm so glad that the team decided that we were going to take our first day doing tourist stuff because as stimulating the performances were, all 4 of our team member kept nodding off. It really would have been pretty embarrassing to be visiting mission partners. The day was fun and silly. We all were sleep deprived and lacked coordination and at times were just not making much sense.

When we got back to the ACK around 5 p.m. or so, Britt and Robin went to their room, fell on the bed and went in to a deep coma. Kristina and I opted to stay up so that we could sleep through the night. We took showers and went down to dinner. We were so silly and giddy at dinner.

I'm liking Kenyan food pretty well. Our meals mostly consist of cooked vegetable, rice, potatoes, some kind of bread (at lunch and dinner we had chapati, which is a cross between Indian Naan bread and a tortilla) and some sort of cooked or stewed meat.

I feel safe and comfortable at the ACK. There's a gate and a guard at the gate. There's even hot water (Praise the Lord!!) There's an internet cafe at ACK that's really affordable but the hours are quite limited. So that is where I'm doing my blogs (I updated the NAPC Mission Team blog today as well.) It's pretty quiet at night and I slept alright. I feel like I'm adjusted to the time already.

Today (our 2nd day here) was pretty amazing. We spent all day with an organization called Maji Mazuri. I'd blogged about what Maji Mazuri is a few blogs ago before I left. One of the ways that we described the day was "an assault to our senses." I'll elaborate on it tomorrow because I'm running out of time(Lord willing if we get back from Nakuru in time to catch the internet cafe opened.) I feel like I'm still processing all the things we experienced today. I just have to say that I'm so proud to be a member of a church that supports such an amazing organization as Maji Mazuri.

I know this blog is mostly light because of our first silly day. Believe me that there's going to be some heavier stuff coming when I get a chance to blog about our mission partners. Keep praying for us!

Gaan

Deep Fried Gravy....

So we made it on the first leg of the flight. We are now in Amsterdam waiting on our next flight to Nairobi. Since we had a few hours till our connecting flight, we decided that we should try some Dutch food. There's a little cafe at the airport. One of the ladies at the airport that was helping us earlier recommended that we try some thing called kroketten. It's apparently a Dutch specialty. Even McDonald's here has what you call a "McKroketten" Well, Kristina was brave enough to order the real thing at Cafe Amsterdam (the menu described it as ragout of beef with a crispy jacket.) The way I would describe kroketten is deep fried gravy. It was definitely not what we had expected. I wasn't so brave, I stuck with what I knew and ordered a shnitzel. We had a wonderful time just talking and getting to know each team member better. It's so amazing to see how God has been working in each one of our lives.

We got a few more hours to rest up before we fly out to Nairobi tonight. Things are going smoothly so far. Praise be to God.

Keep praying for us,
Gaan

I am just so grateful

Ok, so I'm a little blog happy lately. I've been at work the past few days, doing a 5 days spend the night stint with my favorite 3 year old so I've had a little more free time on my hand at night (I mean, he goes to bed at 8:30 or so.) Plus, a lot is happening since we're getting close to our departure date so there's been more to blog about :)

Although my personal fundraising goal has been fulfilled, the rest of my team is still working on being fully funded. God has continued to provide in such amazing ways. Offers of financial support continues to pour in for this journey and I am so encouraged. I just have to say how overwhelmed I am by the generosity of God's people (adding to the long list from a few blogs before; Ben & Christy Stark, Russ & Dinah Fitzgerald, Bill Watson, Leah Negrani).

I know everyone can relate to being thankful for such amazing generosity, however, I don't know if everyone can really understand how much this overwhelming support has touched me. All of you know that I literally live on the opposite side of the world from my parents and most of my family. Thus, it is the community of believers around me who has been my family in the most tangible way. Through each support, I feel like I've been embraced and affirmed in a way that makes the body of Christ, the family of God so real to me. This is God working through His people. This is a glimpse of His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Wow I leave in 2 weeks!

Happy to report that my passport and VISA came back in the mail yesterday. No more stressing about that. I've been getting more and more excited about the trip as we get closer to the date.

Also happy to report that we will have time to do some tourist stuff on the first day when we get there..... :) We are scheduled to land at 6:15 am on Monday 7/5 in Nairobi. (we leave at 11:40 pm on 7/3) At first we had talked about scheduling a mission partner visit that very afternoon but from team members experiences, we decided to take it easy the first day. After the long flight/layovers, we would be in no shape to "work." It would be embarrassing to keep falling asleep or not make any sense while visiting a missions partner so we will take use that time to visit the National Park and Bomas of Kenya.

Yesterday, I had an online chat with a friend who is currently living as a missionary in Kenya about the crime. She confirmed that it's true and I quote "They will steal you blind....but if you look like you know what you're doing you should be fine." Ummm....I'm pretty sure that I will not look like I know what I'm doing so that does nothing to alleviate my anxiety on the subject. However, it's so good to be reminded that God is already at work there. We go with God, so I will cast all my anxiety on Him because He cares for me (1 Peter 5:7).

Things are coming together!!

We had a meeting last Sunday (6/6)with Dr. Mwaniki (NAPC's very own theologian in residence,) who is Kenyan, to go over some Swahili phrases and Kenyan cultures and customs. Apparently, according to Dr. Mwaniki, I have a knack for Swahili :) After meeting with Dr. Mwaniki, the team met and talked about logistics of the trip. It was productive and eye-opening.

This week was a crazy was for our household. Work schedule was crazy, my arm was still in pain from the shots (I had no idea that it was going to hurt that bad for that long! Tetanus booster is not my friend,) and the house was a mess. I was starting to feel stressed out and overwhelmed by all the details of the trip. One of the things that is a big concern is the prevalence of petty crime in Nairobi. The logistic of how to carry money, passport (I will be acquiring an under-the-clothes wallet/passport carrier) and the rest of our stuff was stressing me out. If you look from a few blog entries back to the one with our itinerary, you'd see that we're going to a different place each day, which mean we have to carry all of our luggage with us as we travel from place to place.

I was starting to feel anxious about how all this is going to work. God is faithfulness and He heard my prayers. At our team meeting this Sunday, Kristina (our International Missions coordinator) gave us an update on the trip. The great thing is that we will no longer go from place to place, we will stay at the Anglican Church of Kenya Guesthouse the whole first week and take day trips to visit our mission partners instead. Praise God! This came about when one of our contacts, a young Kenyan Paster named Martin Mwangi, has offered us the use of his car and making available an elder in his church to drive us. I'm so thankful for this new arrangement.

Now I feel so much better about it and I feel like I can finally focus on the task at hand. I still need to work on a "curriculum" and continue to prepare spiritually as well as physically . I finished all my vaccination this week and picked up my malaria prophylaxis. Things are coming together. I'm getting really excited.

Please continue to pray for me this week:

1. For the Holy Spirit's inspiration as I plan my curriculum/activities for the youth group during Wycliff conference.

2. For the rest of the trip preparation to go smoothly (still waiting on my passport to come back from Kenyan Embassy)

3. For the mission partners who we will meet. For our team to be filled with Holy Spirit so that we may be an encouragement to them.

4. For the students that will be in our group at Wycliff, that their hearts will be opened to one another, to our team, and most importantly to the Holy Spirit.

I need a Coke...

When I was around 6 years old, I remember my mom taking me to the hospital where my Aunt was an Attending Physician. It was actually the hospital where I was born. It wasn't that long after we returned to Thailand from our 3-ish year stint in California after my dad completed his Master of Divinity from Fuller Seminary. Honestly, I don't remember very much from this period of my life. Moving from California back to Thailand was one of the few memorable events, however, this particular day at the hospital was etched forever in my memory.

It was a routine physical. I think I was just getting a check-up for school. I met with the doctor or maybe a nurse, opened my mouth and said "Ah," they looked in my ears and nose, checked my eyes, etc. . I could hear some other kids crying in the next room, but not me. I thought I was brave and I didn't cry. The physical wrapped up after a little while and I was led to another room with a few chair, where another kid about my age sat. I thought my visit was done. Then, I saw it.....a needle. The nurse is getting a shot ready. She stuck the needle in a little bottle, then tapped the syringe and squirted a little bit out on the top to make to the dosage was correct. At this point, it didn't even cross my mind that the needle was for me.....it must be for that kid sitting across from me. I wasn't panicking, I even felt a little smug.....I knew that poor kid was about to cry.

The needle was ready. She started walking towards the other kid then all the sudden, she made a turn for me. Now, I was panicked. This wasn't supposed to happen. I didn't know that I was going to get a shot. We all know what happened next----I got the shot. I cried. I don't remember what point my mom came in the room, I just knew she was beside me and I was inconsolable.

We walked out of the hospital (I was still crying ) and headed to a little shop down the road. My mom bought me a Coke. A cold bottle of Coke. The shop keeper popped off the cap, stuck a straw in the bottle and handed it to me. I drank Coke and I stopped crying.

Today, after getting lost around Decatur, I finally made it to the Travel Immunization clinic. 4 vaccines, a Malaria prophylaxis prescription and a very sore arm later.......even though I didn't cry, I think I need a Coke.

I've been a busy busy bee....

So it's been a while since I've updated the blog. I can't believe that I leave for Kenya in about a month! In fact, I've just mailed out my passport to the Embassy of the Republic of Kenya for my visa earlier this week. Shots are still to come. I have a break from work coming up this week so I think that this long awaited break will be the perfect time to go sit in line at the health department and get needles stick in my arms :)

In the mean time between blogs....our team has been meeting, planning, praying, fundraising, etc. We finally have our trip schedules down and I am excited. We will be visiting 4 mission partners during the first part of the trip before leaving to Watamu for Wycliff conference. In case you're wondering, here's what our schedules look like:

Sat. 7/ 3 Fly out of Atlanta

Mon. 7/5 Arrive in Nairobi, Kenya (staying at the Anglican Church of Kenya guest house)

Tues. 7/6 Visit Maji Mazuri Center in the Mathare Slum

Wed. 7/7 Drive out to Nakuru to visit Paul Mina's organization that helps develop young professionals (staying at the Nakuru Sports Club)

Thursday 7/8 Drive to Kikuyu to visit Presbyterian of East Africa University (our church has a long standing relationship with the University) and visit organization called Child of Africa. This is a young program started by North Ave. members Fredrick & Christy Gituku. We will stay at the guest house at the hospital in Kikuyu

Friday 7/9 Drive back to Nairobi, catch a flight out to Mombasa. Head to Watamu for Wycliff Conference. (Staying at Turtle Bay Beach Club)

Sat. 7/10- Thurs. 7/15 Wycliff conference. We will be working with the Wycliff missionaries' kids youth group.

Fri. 7/16 Flight back to Nairobi

Sat. 7/17 Flight back to Atlanta

Now that you know what we'll be doing, this is how you can pray for us:

1) As you can see, we will be doing LOTS and LOTS of traveling within Kenya. Pray for safe travels.

2) For our visits to be beneficial and an encouragement to our mission partners.

3) For the ability to work with the youth group. We know that it isn't easy to live in the mission field, especially when you're a teenager. May God use us to be an encouragement to these youths as well as to the overseas missionaries who are in need of such a time in a community of believers.

4) For our minds to be opened to the Holy Spirit's teaching, for fresh eyes to see the thing that God is already doing in the community and the courage to be a voice for the Good News of Jesus Christ!

By the way, God has been so good. I've met & exceeded my fundraising goal today!! Thanks to the generosity of God's people (Bill & Nancy Watson, Mike & Stephanie Emry, Lori & Terry Mitchell, Stan & Ladda Reed, Bob & Beverly Akers, Warren & Suwadee Han, Ann & Les Dowdy, Debbie & Donnie Griffin, Erik & Kara Peterson and Mike & Karen Sinyard.) My heart is so full. I'm so grateful for these people and their support!

The "extra" will go to help other members of my team who haven't yet met their goals. In fact, we're working the church parking lot for a Neil Young concert at the Fox Theater tonight. Let's hope that it's a great night and that all of our team members will reach their goals soon!

In Jesus,

Gaan

Maji Mazuri

We had our team meeting yesterday morning before church. We spent the whole time talking about the Maji Mazuri center. Our team will be spending 1 day with this mission partner/organization during the beginning part of our trip in Nairobi.

Maji Mazuri is a social economic develpment program based in the Mathare Valley slum. Life in Mathare Valley is a pretty bleak. 400,000-500,000 people live in the most deprived conditions with no utilities or clean water in this area. I know that I'm not prepare for what I'm going to see/experience: abject poverty.

Although this is a situation that seems like problems overwhelm the solution... Maji Mazuri is making a difference by providing basic skills and resources to thousands of families better their lives and , escape from the bondage of poverty, and become self-sustaining individuals! The projects are aim towards economic empowerment (Micro-enterprise projects) and education (schools & training.) You can find more information about Maji Mazuri through their website www.majimazuri.org

I must admit, I'm a little scared. It's one thing to read about this kind of poverty, and another thing to see it, smell it, and feel it in person. As we pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven," we need to ask the question : What does God's will and Jesus's kingdom on earth look like in a place like the Mathare Valley? Or more importantly, "What is my role in being an agent of His kingdom on earth?"

Pray for me as I wrestle with these questions. Pray for the people who live in such poverty. Pray that the good news of Jesus Christ will break through and transform the lives of people from the inside out, that the bondage of poverty will be broken, and that God's kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven.

Holy Spirit, may you teach us what it means in our every day life to love mercy, do justly, and walk humbly with God.

A lesson in humility and gratefulness

So I have a huge check list of things to do in order to get ready for this trip. Some of the things are fun and exciting (i.e. meeting with the team, praying together, brain storming about the trip activities,) some are not as fun (i.e. filling out forms, figuring out calendars and flight, and other tedious tasks,) and some are just flat-out dreadful.

In fact, there are 2 things on my list that fit in that dreadful category: The first is to go to the health department and get all my required shots before leaving for Kenya (I'm such a chicken when it comes down to needles!) The other is to send out fundraising solicitation letters.

Fundraising solicitation letter....there I said it.

So why write/send one? Well, other than the obvious "raising funds" part. It was one of the things our International Missions Pastor at the church STRONGLY recommended us to do. She said, "It's one of the most humbling experiences..." and I thought, " yeah, right, sign me up for that...because we're all standing in line for a humbling experience." Did you catch my sarcasm?

I mean we're doing other stuff to raise funds for this trip as well. Other things that we actually "work" for the money, not just ask people for it. We're a church in the heart of Atlanta, as a matter of fact, we're one block south of the Fabulous Fox Theater. One of the ways we raise money for missions is to "work" the parking lot on show nights. All the money we get from working the parking lot goes to our mission trip. It should be a breeze to come up with enough money for our team...after all, we're a small team. I've heard of nights that we could raise like $2,000 a night!! Splitting that between the team members, if we work a few events, we'd be set! Pride intact and no humbling experience necessary.

Well, to make a long story short, things don't work out as we'd hoped. After 3 parking lot events, we have made only a few hundred bucks for the whole team. All our other fundraising ideas were either taken (there is another group going to Africa this summer as well) or shot down (due to insurance reasons, etc.) By the way, we still have a few more parking events to work so if you're coming to any of the shows at the Fox theater, please come park at North Avenue! Even, if it isn't our night to work the parking lot, the proceeds still go to support the mission trip cost for whoever is working that night (very likely the youth group's Africa trip.)

After 3 relatively unsuccessful events I spent some time thinking and praying about raising money for the trip. And after another really strong encouragement from our Missions Pastor, I wrote the letter and picked the first 20 friends and families who came to mind and whom I had their addresses on hand and sent the letters. Dropping the letters in the mailbox left me feeling weird and awkward. I knew that in a few days, my friends and family will be receiving this letter from me. I didn't like the feeling that I can't do this on my own...and I think that was precisely the reason I had to go through this "humbling experience."

Through this experience, God's taught me so much about how I am a part of the body of Christ. I must confess that I am a prideful person. I often think that I got it all under control and I don't really need anyone else's help. In fact, sending out the letters isn't really only about raising financial support although it's one of the objectives..... the other objective is about raising spiritual support! Raising spiritual support is, in a way, asking people to come alongside me in my spiritual journey. This act is soliciting my friends and family to pray for me and gives them the authority to speak truth into my life and to hold me accountable! In my recent time with God I was quite convicted when reading excerpts from John Wesley,

"Always remember, much grace does not imply much enlightenment. We may be wise but have little love, or we may have love with little wisdom. God has wisely joined us all together as the parts of a body so that we cannot say to another, "I have no need of you."

So here I am. It's been a week since I dropped those letters in the mail. God's already shown his faithfulness through the support and generosity of His people. I am so encouraged and forever grateful.

First things first.....

So I started a blog because I'm getting ready to go to Kenya on a short-term mission trip this summer. I figure that this is a good way for friends and family to see what I'm doing and more importantly, what God is doing in and through me.



First, let's just admit, blogging is weird. Well, it's weird for me. It's like keeping a journal but for the public to read. It makes me really self conscious...I mean, bad grammer, wrong spellings, idiotic thought processes, irrational emotional outbusrts, and generally sounding weak and foolish. So let's just agree that we're going to ignore all those things that make me look bad and just focus on the fact that God is great. God uses flawed people. Most importantly, the things He does in and through all these flawed people are amazing. It starts in Genesis and it continues on today. I guess what I'm saying is....I don't mind looking weak or foolish in order to show you how awesome God is.



And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. --2 Corinthians 12:9