And the Adventure Continues...

After only a week of getting settled in Oz, Danielle and I set out for Chiangmai, Thailand. We woke up at 3:30am to catch a taxi to the bus stating where we boarded our 2 hr bus ride to the airport. Sat for 2 hrs, caught an hour plan ride to Beijing, sat again for a few hours, caught a 5 hr flight to Bangkok, sprinted through the airport only to find out we need to sit around for a few more hours, boarded our un-airconditioned plane, unboarded the broken plane, sat for an hour, boarded our final plane for an hour flight to Chiangmai,  where we arrived at a vacant airport at 1:30 in the morning. No shuttle. No Thai currency. No internet. And no earthly idea as to the name of our hotel where our reservations were waiting to welcome us. After almost 24 hours of traveling, I was spent, Danielle was deliriously laughing, and another teammate that was with us was doing all the logical things, like trying to find a phone or someone to help. He's a smart one. 

We finally got the idea to find a McDonald's to get some internet and hope someone to be online to tell us our hotel name. (and to get one huge BigMac to satisfy out stomachs and calm my hunger-temper down). God supplied and we got internet, got the name of our hotel, got a "tuk-tuk" (similar to a "beng-beng") and arrived at our hotel at 3:30am. PTL! 

We showered, slept, and by 11 the next morning, we were on our way up a mountain with a tour guide and two Israeli girls, set out to do the "Jungle Flight" zip-line through the tree-tops of a mountain village. IT. WAS. AWESOME. Something I'd noticed by our first tuk-tuk ride to the hotel was that Thai people like to joke around… a lot. They're always saying things to make us believe they're going to do something ridiculous like oh I don't know, take us to the wrong hotel (at the time, it was so not funny), that we'll roll down the hill if we don't lean to one side of the vehicle on our way up the mountain, or push me off a 250ft tree house thinking I'm not hooked in, and then realizing half way down the zip that I was. And after each ridiculous joke, they laugh and laugh until we laugh with them. :) I like those Thai people. 

Other than zip-lining, we also went to a Night-Safari, the Night Bazaar (or Night Markets), got a couple hour long $5 Thai massages, dined at a couple new food places, and hung out with our old teammates we met our first week in Taipei. It was awesome to see everyone again. The one week apart from them felt like a month or 2 at least, so getting to see them and share stories and 1st time experiences with them again was great and much needed. During the day we watched M kids. I was assigned to 2 year olds, 8:30- 5:30. There were 6 of them. And they were 2 years old. And 3 other heroes and I watched them for 9 hours a day, 3 days in a row…

That's all I have to say about that. 

Our travels back to Oz was smoother sailing than on the way to Chiang Mai, but nonetheless, it was still like 22 hours of traveling and once we arrived at our apartment, we slept. For 15 hours. :) PTL, again. 

We've had a few days of down time which have been a huge blessing. Danielle and I have really turned this little apartment into our home away from home. We have groceries that include the closest things to American junk food you can get, warm beds, a shower curtain (which no ones has here), and a good friend Tracy down the hall who's traveled this road before us and helps us get by. During these days of downtime, however, all 3 of us have gotten a cold. Which just keeps us cooped up in our apartment even more. I think it's been good for us though, having time to relax and be still and read and talk to Him and deepen our relationship with Him and with each other. I'm very thankful for this time, and I'm sure I'll be even more thankful for it once the students get back in another couple weeks. I am anticipating a very busy schedule when school starts and I feel somewhat more prepared after this week of soaking in the Word. 

Did I mention Danielle loves to cook? And she's good at it. Two nights ago, Spaghetti. Last night, Stir Fry. Tonight, Chili! God must love me to send me with someone who can attend to my hunger needs with such diligence and skill. Otherwise, I'm sure I'd be eating  cereal by day and PB & J by night for 6 months. :) Not sure I'd necessarily hate that.. but I'm thankful I don't have to. 

Chili time! Hope all of you are well. 

Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your Truth; unite my heart to fear Your Name. I give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify Your Name forever. For great is Your steadfast Love toward me; You have delivered me from the depths of the grave.  

Psalm 86:11-13

Hello World!

Alllllrighty. Decided to give this thing a go. I make no promises of updating on a regular basis, but ultimately that is the goal. I want to keep you all updated on my life in East Asia over these next 6 months. I'd love to share the stories, the excitement, the struggles, the interesting people/food/culture, the needs, the blessings, the relationships, the breakdowns, and everything in between! The Father has blessed me incredibly with this opportunity and I consider it an honor to relay all that He is doing in my life and in those around me with you.

We've just spent a week in Taipei, Taiwan training and getting to know our team. We were in class for majority of the day and then got to experience different food choices at lunch and in the evenings. Very interesting food experiences. Mostly pork or vegetables covered in oil and MSG. Yum. We've been blessed not to have anyone get too sick, yet.

There are SO many people in Taipei. Like.. millions. And I feel like I see at least a million of them drive through a stoplight on scooters in the mornings. It's like the EAC off Finding Nemo… (hopefully you understand that analogy). In one of our classes they discussed statistics of C-town, just to put us in our place and hopefully increase our motivation of spreading the Love. C-town has 1.6 billion people living there. 24 thousand of them die everyday, which is 700,000 per month. As they put it, that is an entire city being formed in the City below each month. It's an overwhelming number for sure, and I can't help but feel overwhelmed and unable to make any sort of difference in that number.. but as I press on knowing my purpose and seeking out endurance, boldness, and opportunity, I know that is what the Father would desire of me. To spread His Love and encourage others to do the same. (I would encourage you, wherever you are, to stop and ask Him for that boldness as well, because I know the lost East Asians are no different than the hopeless, Fatherless people around you). 

[all of the above was written about a week ago.. since then, I've arrived at my final destination and just now able to sit and work on the internet in a nearby coffee shop]

We arrived in my city.. we'll call it "Oz".. almost a week ago. When we arrived, it was fairly late, freezing, and after a long day of traveling, I was worn out and rather cranky. Our leader Jack picked us up from the airport and it was a 2 hour drive to our final destination. On the way there he kind of filled us in on some details of our living situation, the universities in our city, and other random things. I don't know if it was my weariness or the arctic, unheated bus or the guy next to me hawking lugee's into a sack (that's really common here).. but I started feeling very discouraged and discontent with the task at hand. I had already struggled finding joy in committing to this 6 month journey, but now I was struggling to find joy in any aspect of this assignment. When we finally got to our apartment, it was also freezing and bare. I went to bed in my mittens and as a not-so happy camper. I woke up in a slight haze and still freezing. The Father was quick to get my heart in check and set my mind on the things above during my morning devo. I began reading that day's devo in the book I was given for Christmas (thanks Michelle!). It read:

            "Just as I called Abraham to step out in obedience to My Word, leaving all that was familiar and comfortable to go to a place that I had not yet shown him, so am I calling you to radical trust… Following Me demands that you give up control, predictability, ease, comfort, familiarity, affordability, and autonomy. I offer no up-front guarantees that you'll always approve of My plans for your life, or that you'll always feel ready for the next step I call you to take. But I do guarantee that my blessing will more than match the longings of your heart. The fulfillment of My promises will go beyond your own ambitions by an infinite degree."

I was so comforted just knowing that I was not alone in that moment. That He was there and heard my worldly, selfish pleas of wanting the comforts of home, and supplied the words I needed to hear to keep me going and to remember why I was here. I'm here for one reason. And I'm sure He'll be faithful to remind me of it often. :)

This first week we've just been getting to know the city. Where the markets are, what the bus route looks like, where the one and only McDonald's is, how to order certain foods, etc. And we actually just had our first Chinese tutor session this morning! She rarely spoke in english and it was mostly just us repeating the sounds she made… I slightly felt like Helen Keller repeating the vowels and tones, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of how to read the Pinyin.

We are going to be PWalking the campuses here, but besides that and the Chinese tutor, I think this week should be pretty calm. Almost everyone in this city has gone to their hometowns to celebrate the New Year/Spring Festival. It's kind of like a ghost town here. We leave Friday for a convention in Thailand. I'm pretty stoked for that. :)

Thanks all, for your love, lift-ups, and support. :)

"Pray for us, that God may open to us a door for the Word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison- that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak." --- Colossians 4:3-4
 

[move over for pedestrians]

["Beng Beng"-- translation: "jump "jump".. and that's exactly what it does]

Taipei 101-- [second tallest building in the world]

[Night Market- Taipei, Taiwan]