It's been 5 weeks since I last wrote. In that time, I've thought of writing another blog pretty often. I have a lot that I'd love to update you on, as far as how things are going with Long Term Missions, with things God has been doing and laying on my heart. But life has slipped past faster than… well, fast. (Oh, I guess I should say that it's 2am… meaning that this blog will most likely appropriately sound like it was written in the middle of the night!)
But here I am, in the wee hours of Oct 23… and I hit my deadline. In a few hours, I'll board a plane to Thailand, to support staff a trip until Nov. 3, and then hop over to Cambodia to support staff a trip there… then head back to the States Nov. 13.
I hit my deadline, and, as I have in the past, felt deeply just how much I wanted to be able to communicate better, to be able to share more and more timely what God is doing, and hoping that I can somehow convey just a little bit just how thankful I am for each of you. I wanted to do more of that in these past five weeks, but time got away from me.
And, since it's 2am, I won't be able to say it as "pretty", but here goes:
Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart, for your prayers, friendship, and support. Thank you for giving generously, thank you for your comments and emails; thank you for the hugs! I thank God for you–individually–and pray for you as well. I pray that God will bless you as He has blessed me through you…. which is a lot!
As I said above, tomorrow it's off to Thailand and Cambodia. I'm excited about these teams; one of 13 and one of 6; to see some AIM missionaries/friends in both of those countries, but most of all, to see the faces of those who I've come to love deeply… "N" from Pat Pong and the woman who sells watches; Tia, the doorman at the German bar, and the deaf vendor who sells paintings; the men and women at the desk in the hotel, and the friends in the massage parlor down the street. I'm excited to see how they are and to continue where we left off in May (and see what God has done in the past 6 months).
As you have prayed in the past, please continue to do so–for safe travels, for rest, for us to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, for the team, for health… for us each night in the Red Light District, that God will give us eyes to see and the words to speak; that He will keep leading us to people who are crying out for His love. Also, please pray for me for support. This trip has been paid for, but I still need to purchase the flight from Bangkok to Phnom Penh and back, and a visa to get into Cambodia. This will cost between $250-350 and is something that I am trusting God to provide. If you'd like to give towards this, please click "Support Me" on the left of the screen.
Finally… I have some cool news!
Last spring, AIM held a staff-wide writing contest that was partnered by –TYNDALE HOUSE PUBLISHERS! They challenged us to write on one of four topics. The winners (there would be 4) would have their piece published in a new BIble release, called "The Way" Bible. They would also be video-interviewed for Tyndale as well.
Being a writer, having dreamed of being published by Tyndale one day… I had to try. So I picked "What I Wish I'd Known"…. about spending 2 months in the mountains of Africa and asking Jesus where He was when all I saw when I looked around me was death. What I learned that summer was that Jesus doesn't always look like how He looks in the States… but for all those hard questions, He is the real, true, constant Answer. Anywho… so, then I found out that I was one of the 4 winners!
AHH!
They interviewed me last June. Being that I'd rather not be talking in front of a camera, that's one of the reasons why I almost didn't enter! But I chalked it up to being an "out of body" experience and gamely tried to remember what in the world I was saying while the camera stared unblinkingly at me. So what you see below is the product of many takes. 🙂 I hope you like it!
P.S. I'm wearing a Purchase Effect necklace–made with freshwater pearls by women in Thailand who have been rescued from working the bars. To see more jewelry, click here.
