Emilie Janson - The World Race 2007

Just Checking In

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Well, today marks the one-year date since I have been home from the World Race and thought I would check in and update you on my life. I can't even believe that it has been a whole year. On one hand, I feel like it was forever ago and on the other, I still find myself telling people that I just returned.

I realized that the last time I blogged back in February, I was substitute teaching, shortly after picked up a waitressing job, and trying to figure out what to do with my life. I thought it would be fun to sub and waitress, not have a lot of commitments, but I soon realized that I needed greater purpose in my life than those jobs could offer me. I wrote that I thought I had a heart to work for young women (late high school to college age) so I began to check into RD positions, but ended up applying for a social work position at a local non-profit agency. I now work at Community Action Agency in my home town as a Housing Advocate. We provide rent subsidies for homeless families for up to two-years. I meet with them in their homes on a weekly to bi-weekly basis to help them create goals and work towards self-sufficiency. I enjoy what I do and my co-workers help keep it fun and exciting!

Since returning home, I have lived with my parents. I know that living with your parents doesn't always sound cool or always even feel cool, but it has been great. For those of you that know my parents know that they are wonderful and it often feels like living with friends rather than parents. And I get to save a lot of money! At the same time, I am also looking forward to the time and opportunity to move out. In May, I helped drive Abe (my brother) out to Colorado so he could work there for the summer as a white water rafting guide.

My fam in Colorado

I got to go on plenty of family vacations and weekends away this summer including one back to Colorado where Abe took us rafting. Kind of scary, having Abe for a guide, but he did great and we didn't even flip.:) Once fall came around, I think I must have tried to make up for all the free time I had in the Spring because I packed my schedule FULL. I played on two softball leagues, played pick-up volleyball one night a week, helped teach a class for work one night per week, started leading a small group, became a Big Sister Mentor, took 3 trips to Chicago, went camping, attended as many of my brother's soccer games (mostly in Indiana) as I could squeeze in, and also made time for friends. Needless to say, the last few months have been quite the whirlwind. As much as I like to be busy, life has slowed down and I am trying to enjoy the break.

As I look back over this past year, it has not been at all like I expected. It has been good overall, but hard and challenging too. I'm still trying to grasp and understand how I live out and put into practice all that I experienced and saw during the World Race in my life in America now. I feel like it has been a year filled with many major decisions. I can look back and remember many tearful conversations with my mom at the kitchen table as I made decisions about various relationships and my future. I guess I was hopeful that as I got older, the amount of decisions would lessen or at least, they would be easier to make, but am quickly learning that there will be major choices at every stage of life. After some recent occurrences, I feel restless all over again and confused of what is next in my life. I know without a doubt that God has a plan that is greater than I can imagine and I do trust Him, but it doesn't make it any easier in the moment. The idea of having my options wide open again is both exciting and scary, but today I find encouragement in a reminder from a co-World Racer. As I feel like I have returned to a state of restlessness, where everything seems to be up in the air and I have no idea where I am supposed to be or what I am supposed to be doing and although the World Race was a once in a lifetime experience that most people don't have the opportunity to have, it doesn't have to be the best experience in my life and that there IS more. I have to believe that there is more. It is my hope that someday I can look back and connect the dots of all the places I've been and all the things I've experienced to see how God has been and is at work in my life. Until that time, I am choosing to continue to follow Him and trusting that He is leading me, even when it doesn't always feel like it.

People often ask me if I would do the World Race again. I usually tell them that I wouldn't do it a second time because I'm not sure my body and emotions could handle it, but I tell them that if I had the choice to go back before the race and decide whether or not to go, I would do it again in an instant! It was and continues to be one of the best and amazing things I have been able to be a part of in my life so far. It is something that has changed me and that I will look back on, not only for this year, but for the rest of my life.

Catching Up

Tue, 5 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Well, its nearing the 3 month mark of being home. The farther it gets away from the trip, the more unreal it seems. I just spoke at a small group last night and it felt so great to talk about stories and refreshed my mind about the year I just experienced. I had a wonderful holiday season with family and friends and did some traveling for the first 3 weeks of January to visit some of my friends from the race. I made it to Alabama, Seattle, San Diego, and New Mexico. It was great to see everyone again and reminisce about the trip. I have to admit though that I think the "travel bug" in my system has left for a little bit. By the second week, I was ready to go home. I wanted to be home more than I did at the end of the trip. It wasn't that I wasn't having fun, because I was having a blast, but I think I was just ready for routine, structure, and my own space and schedule. Here's some picture of my time visiting other racers -

Jon, Spano, Candice, and I at the troll in Seattle. I was picturing one of those trolls we collected in middle school with the neon-colored hair...not so much. It was fun though!

Morgan and I at the beach in San Diego. Why do I live in Michigan again?

Stacey and I trying to be hardcore in New Mexico.

Morgan, Stacey, Ginger, Eric, and I again trying to be hardcore on our BMX scooters.

After returning from visiting my race friends, I have been trying to figure out life here. As much as I wanted to be home, I think the difficulty of living "American" life has finally begun to set in. I am currently trying to sub for the school district I attended. I have been called 3 days in the last two weeks, SO I have lots of time off. Its nice sleeping in until 10am and doing whatever I want, but I have to say, it wears on you. I was just realizing the other day, that at this point, I have absolutely NO responsibilities. Probably many of you mothers and people who have busy full-time jobs, that sounds appealing, but its actually harder than one would think. I still feel that the Lord has called me to work with young women (late high school to young adult) and am not sure what that looks like yet. I'm not sure if that's a job or a ministry. So, in the meantime I am subbing, spending time with friends and family, and seeking the Lord for what He has next in my life.

I wanted to let you all know that this Sunday, February 10th, I will be speaking about my experience on the World Race at the evening service (6pm) at Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church in Spring Arbor, MI. If you are interested in hearing more about my trip, please feel free to attend. Each of you has been so integral in this journey and would love to thank you in person.

One Month Post-Race

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I have been home for one month now trying to figure out life back in the States. I expected at some point to have a major "culture shock" breakdown like in the grocery isle when I saw boneless chicken breast or when I saw a cute little kid, or when I was alone for 20 minutes, but that hasn't really happened. It took me about two weeks to stop throwing my toilet paper in the garbage, but other than that life has been good. I think it has been nice to come back to the holiday season. People are mostly cheerful and willing to take me out for lots of free coffee and meals. I love it! I think I have been caught up in the comforts of American life and the excitement of this season. I'm trying just to let myself feel emotions as they come and not force or hold back anything. At the same time, it's really interesting being home. Things seem mostly the same - the same people greet me at Meijer, the same cashiers work at Target, the same people sit in the same pews at church, - so it feels like I've been here all along, but then I notice people have babies who didn't when I left, people have passed away and are no longer there, and I somehow have all these memories and experiences that nobody else knows. Its then that I realize, it definitely wasn't a dream. It's hard to articulate how I feel about this year. I kept putting this blog off because I thought maybe tomorrow or maybe next week, I'll have more insight. Many people have asked, "How was your year?" And I find myself opening my mouth with no words coming out as I don't even know where to begin, hoping they will be more specific with their questioning. Then, I get asked a simple, easy question like "What was your favorite country?" and find myself drawing a blank as my mind is bombarded with stories, faces, feelings, etc of all the memories from this year that are somehow jammed packed in my head. How do I even begin to process what I saw, what I felt, what I ate, how I changed? I've begun to work through my journal, tell LOTS of stories to my family, sort through my pictures, stay in contact with World Race friends, and it all seems to help a little, but how do you really put this year into words? Amazing? Challenging? The best? Hard? Overwhelming? Stretching? Fun? It's everything! I think I experienced every emotion one can feel this year! Even though I'm still processing and will continue to process through this year, I know without a doubt that this was God's plan for my life at this time. I feel extremely blessed to have been given this opportunity! I know that through this trip my mind and worldview have been shaped in a way that I cannot go back to who I was before. God has entrusted me with knowing more of who He is and more of His power and I am responsible for that. I have many ideas of what could possibly be next in my life, but don't have any confirmation yet. I am at peace right now with my unknown future. I can't wait to see where God leads me next! The 11-month adventure has ended, but the journey has just begun!

What a Year!

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

How do I even begin to wrap my mind around the past 11 months? It feels like a crazy whirldwind!- 325 days, 15 countries, 75 hours on planes, 270 hours on busses, 105 hours on trains, 35 hours on taxis, 40 times packing our backpacks, 3 months living in a tent, being on 3 continents in 3 days, attempting to learn 7 different languages which resulted in awkward meals and embarrassing translations; eating beef, chicken, frog, duck, impala, snail, gazelle, warthog, spider, grasshopper, cow heart and intestine, goat, and other unidentified meats; jumping off waterfalls, climbing volcanoes, surfing in Peru, climbing Machu Picchu, touring London for a day, going to a desert island in the Indian Ocean, African Safaris, visiting ruins around the world including Angkor Wat, debrief on a beautiful island in Thailand, going to Disney Hong King, mopedding through the mountains in China, boat rides down the Chinese Li River, alpine slide down through Chinese mountains, visiting and climbing the Great Wall, plus way too many times to count of preaching, teaching, church services, testimony sharing, kid holding, game playing, and song singing and SO much more!

AND ALL this with the same SIX people! So, living in community isn't always easy. It's like being in an arranged marriage to 5 other people at the same time. You eat, sleep, work, EVERYTHING with these people. I'm pretty sure, we were together more than any married couple is. I'm amazed that right now I still choose to hang out with them out of all the World Racers and I've already planned to visit some of them in January. Overall, I have loved my team this year! I loved them so much that I even wrote a blog about them in Cambodia. If you want to see how awesome they really are, read my blog "So, I'm Not Artsy, But"

It has been neat to see God use us and see him work in so many ways this year! In Mexico, we led a VBS-like program each day and a church service at night. We got eaten alive by mosquitos and sand ants while we travelled to many communities that had never interacted with white people before, let alone missionaries. It was neat to be a part of paving the way for future missionaries to come through.

In Guatemala, we helped paint a retreat center now used to disciple street kids. We also connected with some amazing missionaries, The Watkins Family, in Antigua who took us in as their own and allowed us to serve alongside them as their goal is to unite the mission efforts in Guatemala.

In Peru, we ran the gamet of ministries. We did tract distribution, church services, kids' programs, church planting, physical construction of the church, home visits, and school visits.

In Mozambique, we went into the bush where we worked with a family who led us around the village to pray for families and preach. We also went into the bush for a second time where we worked with the Zion Christian Church, preaching and teaching about doctrine, and helping unite the community of churches in the area.

In Swaziland, we helped organize the grassroots of a self-sustaining program for orphans. We visited care points where orphans received free meals and education up to pre-school. We spent lots of time loving on the orphans and teaching VBS-like lessons. We planned two teacher training days and did home visits. Since we were there in July/August, construction has begun on the new building, finances are overflowing, clothes are being donated, and it is really taking off!

In Thailand, we worked with the Night Light organization where we worked with women who have left prostitution and would go into the bars twice a week to make friendships with more of the prostitutes.

In Cambodia, we taught classes on discipleship and Biblical leadership. We visited different ministries within the capital of Phnom Penh. We played with kids at the Love House orphanage and visited the provinces on the weekends to lead church services and encourage the local Christians.

In China, we participated in a cultural exchange program where we created relationships with students and "ATLed" (Ask The Lord) in our second portion of China. I feel so blessed to be used in this way by our Father this year!

I can look back and remember people, faces, stories, etc where I have seen God work. I love that I got to be a part of His plan this year in expanding His Kingdom and loving others!

At the beginning of the year, we wrote letters to ourselves so that we could have them at the end of the year. I just received mine. One sentence I wrote in it said, "I hope that after this year, you were so impacted and radically changed that you can't go back to the person you were before." I didn't mean that as I didn't want to be who I was, but I wanted to be more of who I am to become. I wanted to be more of the Emilie that God wants me to be. Don't worry, I'm still the same me, but I'm differentI think. I guess I'll really see when I re-enter the States. Many of the changes in me have been in my thought processes. I learned more of my identity in Christ. I really have begun to grasp that I am a precious daughter of the living King and understand my authority in that. I am now more able to identify lies from the Enemy and rebuke them with truth! I feel more free, feeling released from the need of perfectionism, and have learned that negative emotions are okay. Through community, I have learned lots about conflict resolution. I amazed that when you actually handle conflict how it's supposed to be handled, how easy and minute it seems. I've learned more how to speak my opinion and it be okay if it's not the same as everyone's. My team has seen me sad, happy, confused, hyper, upset, frustrated, tired, all the emotions and they still love me. That was a huge testament to me that no matter what I'm going through, people still love me. I learned more about following and leading. I know that I have natural leadership abilities and can get people to follow me. So, even though I'm not really rebellious or ever really go against authority, it has been challenging at points to follow leadership when I have disagreed or the way I would do something, would be completely different. I was challenged more and more about servant leadership and not needing recognition. I began to figure out times when I could step up and times when I needed to fall back. Finally, my heart for the world has increased. I have seen so many different people and cultures this year. I know that God created them all exactly as He wanted and loves them. It has been neat to learn from other cultures and love them this year!

So, where do I go from here? Well, I'll be arriving to Detroit on the morning of the 20th. Then, I'm going to be hanging out with family and friends at least through the holidays. I will have lots of time for coffee dates, lunches, and dinners. So, be sure to snag me for a meal or coffee, and I'd love to hear about how all of your years have been. In January, I am going to travel in the States for a few weeks visiting some of the other racers. (I would have been away from them for 8 weeks at that point. I'll probably be going through withdrawals. Yikes!) Then, I'm not sure what is in store for me. I trust that the Lord will lead me and direct me. Please continue to pray for me and all the racers as we begin to re-enter American culture, for recuperation, smooth adjustments, and future plans. Thank you SO much for all your prayers and support this year! Everything that God has done through us could not have been done without you!!!

China Pics

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Here's some random pictures of the fun we've had the last two months:

Fun at Disneyland Hong Kong

Okay, maybe not so fun, sitting in class.

The one day we went on a river ride, it was cold and rainy, good thing i packed my rain jacket all year!

Jumping in random people's pictures. Can you see us in the back?

Salt girls at the Forbidden City

Salt girls looking good in the local get up.

Team Salt on the wall. Yes, we're actually there and not imposed.

Morgan and I at the summer palace.

Please check Annie Bower's and Morgan McKeown's picture section to see more pictures of the fun we've had!!!

Cultural Exchange

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

When they told us we wouldn't be having internet access all month, I was a little bummed, well, actually a lot bummed. It was the last month and I had kept in contact with many people in Cambodia, and it was going to be my birthday and I was bummed! BUT it turned out so much better than I thought. It was actually nice and very freeing to not be checking my email many times a day or spending my time blogging. I even missed blogging. I wasn't sure how I felt about blogging at the beginning of the year. Anyways, now I have 29 days worth of blogging to catch you up on.

So...

Train ride fun, it can get pretty boring sometimes!

We took an 18 hour sleeper train to another part of China to participate in a cultural exchange program at a local university. Since China is a closed communist country and does not allow Christianity to be practicised we couldn't be openly Christian. We entered the university as students wanting to learn about Chinese culture. It was an amazing time! Every morning we had class from 9-11am. We learned about Chinese culture, history, and philosophy. We got to try our hand at papercutting and calligraphy. We took field trips to a tea house, museum, local embroidery factory/store, and a traditional Chinese medicine Hospital. When we went to the tea house, we got to participate in tea ceremonies. I never knew in my life how many aspects, stages, and things for tea. I somehow got chosen to make tea. I didn't get the best look when I used TWO hands to hold the tea kettle.

In return for our classes, we participated in "English Corners" from 4-6pm. English Corners consisted of us sitting in a classroom at the university while all the English majors could come talk to us for two hours. It was much easier than expected. All the students are very eager, sometimes even scared, to talk to foreigners. We answered every question they had and they definitely had LOTS of questions! From the English Corners, we made friendships and were able to set up other meetings with our new friends. I made friends with 3 freshman girls. They were very giddy and at first, obnoxious. Within the first 10 minutes of our conversing, they asked me to play badminton with them the next day. I didn't have any plans so I agreed. After the badminton game (which I was pathetically sore the next day from) they introduced me to their friends. The questions continued until one caught my attention. They asked, "What do you believe?" Knowing that I needed to be careful with what I shared, I asked, "What do you mean?" They typed into their translator thing a word and a then showed me, "Christian." I said, "Yes, I am a Christian."
They said, "Do you know the Bible?"
"Y"Yes."
"D"Do you read the Bible?"
"Y"Yes."
"C"Can you tell us a story from the Bible?" I thought to myself, "Seriously God? Can it be this easy?"
"Y"Yes, I can tell you one of my favorite stories!"
I got to share the gospel with the group of girls. They were listening intently on my every word. They had heard of God before, but not Jesus. Their faces lit up when I told them they were created and loved by God. Their faces saddened when I talked about Jesus' death and then I said, "You know what the best part is?"
"W"What?!?"
"Three days later he rose from the dead."
"W"What?!? Alive?!? Where does he live now?..."
This was followed by many other questions. None of the girls ended up accepting Christ at this point. Many of them came from Buddhist families and it is hard for them to pull away from those cultural and family beliefs! I am so thankful that God chose to use me in that time because their childlike response to the gospel refreshed me. I was reminded of the real sacrifice and so thankful for the eternal life I have in Christ. I hope that the next time someone comes along to tell them about Christ, they can remember the words and know that they heard this story before. We saw other people harvest in our group with people they have never met before. I am thankful to be part of the cultivating process

One Year Older

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Well, I'm one year older since the last time I had internet access. My birthday was on October 30th and I got to spend it in a beautiful location in China. In Argentina, Morgan and I adopted the motto, "Go BIG or Go HOME!" and I often use that on the race. So the theme of my birthday was "Go BIG or Go HOME!"

I was given a "Go Big or Go Home" stamp.

I was woken up by the girls. I got to choose the "Go BIG option" of going out to eat for breakfast or the "Go Home option" of having Nescafe in our hostel room. So, my whole day was filled with "Go BIG or Go HOME" options. Of course, in World Race fashion, I chose "Go BIG" every time! So, my day turned into a cable car trip up a beautiful mountain.

I got a Chinese massage, which I would have to say was the best in my experience of Asian massages. I got to go out to dinner and dessert plus many gifts along the way, and a bouquet of foam flowers with nice words written from all the other World Racers. I also even got to call my parents! It was a wonderful day and I felt so loved!

I'm an English Teacher?

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

One day instead of having English Corner, we went to an elementary school that teaches children English. We split into 3 groups at different schools. My group arrived at the school and were escorted to a classroom. We were then told that we would be individually assigned to classrooms where we were to assist and critique the current teacher. We were dropped off one by one at the classroom doors. I had a classroom of 6, 7, and 8-yr-olds. I was welcomed with clapping and big smiles. The teacher told me I could sit in the back to watch, then I could tell her how to improve, then I could do some teaching. After 10 months of the unexpected, I wasn't too phased and respectively took my seat in the back of the classroom. I was racking my brain of what I could critique, but luckily, I didn't have to critique the teacher, but I was expected to teach. I took my spot in the front of the classroom and began winging my lesson. I used the teacher's flashcards and hoped for the best. I saw some kids yawning and getting a little restless. I tried to teach them "Head and Shoulders." It didn't go over extremely well, but it took some time. Then, the teacher asked if I wanted to see them perform "The Ugly Duckling." I agreed as they proceeded to recite a 10 minute story with motions and everything. Then, afterwards, the teacher said, "Now, you may do a performance for the children." Usually, I have someone else who is more musically talented than I that I can default this to, but not this time. So, in attempt to make it short and sweet, I sang "I'm A Little Teapot" for the classroom. I got some bored looks and a pity clap. It was definitely no ugly duckling story. We all rejoined together and just kept laughing at the randomness of our lives. I also realized I don't want to be an elementary teacher, well at least I don't want to be a Chinese English Elementary teacher.

I'm Back

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Hello everyone! We made it back to Hong Kong safely! Thank you all very much for your emails and birthday wishes. I felt very, very loved when I returned to my email to see all the notes. Our last week is filled with debriefing China, debriefing the whole year, and preparing to re-enterAmerican Culture. Yikes! It is hard to believe that I have exactly one week left. I enter this last week with many mixed feelings, but definitely itching to get home. I hope to post a blog or two within the next few days, but our time to use internet is very limited! In short, China was wonderful. We had a great time and enjoyed the ministries we were apart of. Please continue to pray for us in this last week as we bring this part of our journey to a close and for safe travel on the way home. Thanks! I'm excited to see all of you soon!

I lied

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I lied. Well, I didn't really lie, just didn't know the information, but wanted to let you know that I will have NO internet access until Nov. 10th. We arrived safely and will be headed to our next destination on Sunday which I am very excited about!

Please talk to Dad about us as we are traveling and as we won't have any communication with family or friends.

P.S. My birthday is October 30th, please feel free to email me or leave me messages, even though I can't check it then, but it will be a nice surprise when I get internet again, otherwise I will only be with my 5 teammates on my birthday. Thanks!

Ancient City

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Today was our last day in Bangkok. I had plans to use the internet, organize/pack my stuff, you know, be productive. Well, I got persuaded into going to visit the Ancient City instead. We got kind of lost going there and took some extra time, but we made it. With the price of our tickets, we were able to rent tandem bikes. We tried the three-person bike (what do you call a 3-person bike anyways?) just for the pictures.

The Ancient City is a smaller scale version of Thailand. It has replicated many of the important temples, places, etc in Thailand. Here's Eric and Jon fitting in with the statues.

Candice and I tried to look like the snakes. I don't think it worked so well.

A sweet purple bridge.

So, many times this year, people, especially Asians, come up to us and ask to take pictures with us. We were mobbed by a group of about 15 Thai women. They grabbed Candice and soon we were all in their pictures. Next, they wanted individual pictures. Before I knew it, I had this Thai woman nuzzling her nose on my cheek. It was hilarious! She took the picture on off they went. Oh, my life these days!

Me, Jon, Candice, and Eric on top of the mountain.

So, now it is 11:30pm at night and I'm at the internet place trying to get done what I wanted to this morning, but it was a very fun day. We're leaving for china tomorrow at noon.

Last Leg Here We Come

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

It's 12am on Thursday morning and we are leaving in 12 hours to head to the airport to fly to China for our last leg of the race. I'm excited to go to China, but its weird at the same time, because I know the end is coming. China is a closed country, meaning Christianity is not allowed there. I will not be able to access my site from China. I will be sending my mom blogs to post for me, but they will be very few and far between. I also will not be able to let you know the exact city of our location. The Chinese government supposedly watches the internet really tightly and it has increased due to the Olympics coming to Beijing in 2008. Please feel free to continue to comment on my blogs. Comments are so encouraging and I can read them at a later time. Please also feel free to continue to e-mail me, but please be aware of the language you are using. Anything regarding Christianity or God needs not be written about or in code. Thanks!

As usual, you are all very important to me and your prayers mean so much! Please continue to pray for us as we finish our last 40 days of this experience!

- Pray for safe travel.

- Pray for our ministry (whatever that may be)

- Pray for China and the Chinese people.

- Pray for my team

- Pray for processing, debriefing, planning, as we think more and more about home.

Angkor Wat Debrief

Tue, 9 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We spent three days in Siem Reap, Cambodia for debrief. It was a good time to rest and to reflect on the past month. We had a few hours of silent time and some teaching.

Me, Candice, Andrew, and Jenny sporting the green stripes.

Siem Reap is the home of the famous Angkor Wat temples, some that were on the Tomb Raider movies. Here's some pictures of our time there!

Candice, me, Morgan, and Spano in front of Angkor Wat.

Tomb Raider temple

There were many faces built into the temples.

More temples

And for the best part of the whole day...

An elephant ride around the temples!

It feels like home to me...

Tue, 9 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

After another long 12 hours of bus riding, we made it to Bangkok. We were welcomed by the June and September racers, but I was too tired and not feeling too well to engage. I unpacked my stuff and crawled into bed. I woke up this morning excited to return to my schedule of buying fruit and an iced coffee for breakfast as I did each day when we were doing ministry here. The ladies at both the fruit stand and iced coffee stand remembered us. It felt like we were home, well, to one of our many homes. We applied for our China visas this morning then visited our favorite Pad Thai place. Unfortunately, it is currently a Buddhist holiday so the Buddhist aren't eating "animal," so our Pad Thai was without chicken or egg. Definitely not as tasty, but it was still good. I then hopped on good 'ol bus #46 to head to town. I think I was almost smiling the whole bus ride. It was wonderful to know where I was going, what I was doing, how I would get there, how much it would cost, etc. I arrived at the mall and got my teeth cleaned. I feel like a new person! They sure needed it and was excited to find out I had no cavities! I stopped at the pharmacy to buy a new toothbrush for my newly cleaned teeth and hopped the bus back to our area. Now, I'm using the amazing 10 baht internet and have plans to visit the night market tonight. In a year of unfamiliar, I am loving the FAMILIAR!

One More Down

Sun, 7 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Well, another country is finished. We just ended our last week of ministry in Cambodia. After returning from Vietnam last week, we jumped back into ministry on the weekend. We taught our classes again on Saturday. Then received a text message from our contact saying, "You go to province tomorrow at 6:30am" So, on Sunday, we went to another province with some of the HEC students. It took us about 2 hours to get there. We attended church at a place where students take computer courses. We were able share testimonies and present the gospel. Due to some miscommunication (which is VERY common), our contact informed us that they would not need us Monday-Wednesday. Good to know then, of course, after we were just gone for Vietnam for four days. On those days, Morgan, Annie, and I chose to return to the Love House orphanage. It was fun! The children remembered us, talked to us, and loved on us! There is something different about the children at this orphanage. They are SO easy to love and are in desparate need of love. They just hang on you and hug you and you just get to love them back and tell them how beautiful they are. On Thursday, I sat next to this little guy and he looked sad so I pulled him on my lap and there he sat for the whole two hours. He was precious and I had fallen in love with his brother the day before. I walked away with a sweat-marked shirt and skirt from him sitting on me, but it was worth it. I am so thankful that I got to be a part of this orphanage ministry as well!

This little guy is my favorite! Isn't he precious!

The boy in the red shirt is his brother, the one that sat on my lap the whole time. We couldn't get him to smile.

Thursday was our last night at HEC and wanted to have a fun time with the students. We played "I have never" I usually am not a big fan of that game, but it was entertaining doing it cross-culturally. In all other cultures we've been to when you play games and have lost 3 times, you have to do a "punishment," which is something embarrassing. They always love to catch the foreigners on the 3^rd time. We played some other games and had brought fruit for the group. Then, our contact led us in a few songs of worship and then gave a shor t message. If you read Candice's blog (http://candicehill.theworldrace.org/) the other day, you might have noticed some of the things that people say to us that isn't rude in their culture, but is in ours. When our contact started his message, he used us as an example of leaving comfortable zones and he said, "Look at them, they're jobless, they're not handsome, they're not pretty" He proceeded to say that despite those things we currently know God's call on our lives. It was pretty humorous, but I think he lost us there. I was distracted by the cockroaches flying around Candice and the Kelly Clarkson music playing in the boys' dorm. It ended well though. They had students thank each one of us and presented us with a card and a coconut shell key-chain. It was a nice gesture of them.

HEC students

Pilot, one of our students, who introduced us to one of our favorite coffee shops in Phnom Penh, Jars of Clay Coffee Shop.

So when I look back on Cambodia, I have to say it was a month of mixed feelings. I rated it a 6.5 on a 1-10 scale. It was more good than bad, but wasn't spectacular. Coming off of Thailand and loving it, I assumed Cambodia to be very similarnot so much! It took a lot of adjusting and changing my mindset. It was a blessing to have our apartment and have a "safe haven" to escape from the busyness, chaos, dirtiness, and confusion of Phnom Penh. Although I enjoyed our ministry, it was hard as we only did "ministry" for a short time each day. Having a short ministry commitment did allow us to dabble in other ministries such as the orphanage and Joy Club and I enjoyed both of these experiences. We were also able to learn more about programs and organizations in the greater Phnom Penh area. It's also kind of an odd time on the trip as we want to cherish and enjoy the last two months of the race, but look forward to the end and what's in store for each of us after the race.

We took a 7 hour bus ride on Friday to Siem Reap, a city in the northern part of Cambodia. It is the home of the famous Angkor Wat temples and a temple that was in TombRaider. We went there today and it was impressive! We will be leaving Cambodia tomorrow to return to Bangkok for two days before flying to Hong Kong for our final leg of the race!

Unexpected Lunch Dates

Sun, 7 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We are currently in the town of Siem Reap in Cambodia. It is a tourist place as there are many famous temples here and wherever there are lots of tourists there are many children selling items and begging. The children here are somewhat funny. This is a typical conversation, (in a whiny voice) "You buy postcard. You buy bracelet. I sell you 10 for $1. Good deal."

I respond politely, "No, thank you."

"Where do you come from?"

"America."

"I know capital of America. Washington DC. What state you come from?"

"Michigan."

"I know America have 300 million people and president is George W. Bush""

"Good job."

"You buy postcard? You buy bracelet for your boyfriend?"

"I don't have a boyfriend."

"You know why you don't have boyfriend?"

"Why?"

Here is where I get one of two answers: (1) "because you don't have one of my postcards, OR my favorite (2) No money, no honey."

I'm not sure where they learn these things, but it can be funny or annoying, depending on your mood. We've learned to play along.

So, yesterday, we had a morning of quiet time, teaching, worship, and silence. Then, we had team meetings to reflect on our past month. After our meeting, I was antzy for something to do. Morgan and Annie were going to use internet and Candice and Spano were going to a book store, neither of which peaked my interest. Andrew was going to wander and try to find something exciting to do. I tagged along with him and we walked around town for awhile. Andrew was talking to the tuk-tuk drivers when two girls came up to me and we went through the whole conversation.

Neat and Kom

I learned more about children selling items on the street in Cambodia and did not want to support what could be behind them selling these items. Then, they asked me if I could buy them some ice cream. I agreed, but they soon wanted a real meal. I agreed, even better, its healthier. So my new 12 and 13-year-old friends, Neat and Kom, led me down the street to a restaurant. They both ordered meals and ate up. They spoke English well. They explained that they go to school in the mornings and then sell items in the afternoon. They said that they have to give the money to their mothers to pay for school and said that school costs $10/week. They each come from families of 7 or 8 children. They were so sweet and precious! They used one of thier postcards that they were trying to sell as a thank you note for me.

I saw them again today and instead of begging me to buy something, they just came to say hi and talk. I am so thankful for this opportunity. They were an unexpected blessing in my day!

Kom, me, and Neat at lunch.

So, I'm not very artsy, but...

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

SoI've never been very "artsy." I took ballet and tap dance when I was younger. Obviously, I'm not graceful enough. I was in choir in middle school, but my mom was convinced that I lip-synced the whole time. (Which by the way, Mom, I wasn't lip syncing, just singing really quietly.) I took a ceramics class in high school AND college. I'm not really sure why I took a class in college, I wasn't that great in high school. I never actually made anything on the potter's wheel, just handmade coil pots, a thanksgiving turkey, and a disturbing looking piggy bank. My mom has humored me by still using the pots as candle and pencil holders. My grandma gets the turkey out each Thanksgiving. (can't wait to see my masterpiece again this year!;) I really didn't listen to music and never collected CDs. I thought they were a waste of money. I never played an instrument (unless you consider the recorder and handchimes in fifth grade). Heck, I can barely clap on beat. I spent most of my time being active and playing sports. All this to say, that the other day, we were sitting around talking and I saw the computer sitting there. I grabbed it, played a few rounds of Spider Solitaire and after getting bored of that, I clicked on "Paint" to let my creative juices flow. I had drawn a picture of our team in Mexico and decided it needed updating. Here's what I came up with:

I also decided this would be a perfect time to let you all know about the AMAZING people that I get to spend this 11 months with:

First of all, on the left, is Miss Candice. Candice is the baby of the World Race being only 21-years-old. Candice and I became buddies right from the beginning. We spent so much time together at the beginning of the race that when one of us was alone, people would ask where our other half was. After spending 9 months together, we have been told that we have begun to look, talk, laugh, and sound very similar. After less than 5 days apart for the last 9 months, I don't really know what we have left to talk about. I think most of the time we talk about nothing and make up fake stories or songs, but we have lots of fun doing it! Sometimes, well most of the time, we live in our own reality. Speaking of not being artsy, Candice is artsy to the T. Everything she does is artsy, the way she dresses, does her hair, writes in her journal, organizes her stuff, etc. I would consider her the World Race fashion and hair consultant. She has done her share of hair trimming, coloring, styling, teaching, and consulting. My hair has definitely benefited from her advice! She entered the race with a free clothing style all her own and it has rubbed off on many others. Many racers come to her asking what they should wear or for styling advice. Candice makes beautiful notes and letters and she loves to write them and I love that I get to the recipient of some of those notes. Candice is encouraging and almost always has a smile on her face. Candice loves relationships and it has been neat to see her work in those this year. I have loved watching her grow this year and especially enjoyed watching her heart break for the girls in Thailand. She is an amazing girl and I am so lucky to have spent this year with her.

Next to Candice is Annie. Annie is the newest member of Team Salt, hence the new team name, Team ASalt (Annie + Salt). It has been blessing and lots of fun to have Annie on our team this month (we're hoping she can be with us next month toowink wink Clinton, Jimmy, Chad). Annie is a woman of many talents including excellent whistling skills and the ability to flare her nostrils and wiggle her ears at the same time. Annie has been a good addition to our team as she is another stable, consistent, go-with-the-flo, and ready-to-do-anything- fun girl. Annie loves learning, seeing, and experiencing culture and its neat to be on her team because some of that wears off on us too. She is also an amazing photographer. Notice, most of the pictures on my blogs since she's been on our team, are her pictures. I love talking to Annie and hearing her well-thought out, articulate opinions. She always willing to listen and give wise advice. She has been another blessing and source of encouragement on this trip!

Andrew, well, he's Andrew. I've never met someone as unpredictable as him. I've lived with him for 9 months now and you would think I could predict what he's going to do, say, or feel, but he seems to always surprise me. Through trial and error, we have gained a list of questions not to ask, statements not to say, and stupid arguments not to get into (i.e. how did you sleep last night?, what are you cooking?, good job!, is the shirt blue or green?, etc.) Andrew's undpredictability brings a sense of adventure and entertainment. He is always (well, usually) ready to have a good time. He spends much time finding new attractions and activities. He has led us on trips to waterfalls, volcanos, and mountains. Andrew knows about EVERYTHING! He has so much random knowledge. He is also extremely handy, we can count on him to fix almost anything. He's like an older brother really, he picks on you, roughs you up, but still looks out for you at the same time. I love when Andrew is excited or passionate about something. He is an "all-or-nothing" guy and there's no stopping him when he's all in. Andrew is a joy to be around and I feel lucky to be one of his teammates.

James, better known as Spano (his last name) is next in the picture, notice he's the only one posing in the picture. We tease him because he always stands like he is modeling. We decided that he has broken many stereotypes about homeschoolers, worship leaders, and men, in general. We didn't hear much from him the first few months, but in Peru and Mozambique we began to see more of who he is. We learned that despite his quiet exterior, he is hysterically witty, is an amazing musician (he can sing and play too many instruments for me to count, but he's "not a jukebox"), and is extremely intelligent. He knows everything about anything and if by some chance, he doesn't know, he can do a good job of making something up. It was in the bush in Mozambique that he earned the nickname "Papa" by Candice and I. This was the beginning of our three-way friendship. We are together a lot. He is always looking out for us. I have only had to have two "papa" talks in the whole 11 months - one for being late for curfew in Peru and the other for spitting my gum on the ground (due to this incident in Swazi, I haven't thrown my gum on the ground since - guess I learned my lesson). Since living in close community with girls, Spano has endured millions of questions, random bouts of crying, chick flicks, shopping, and lots more. He is a southern gentleman although after hanging out with us he has now mastered the rapid fire high five, the friendship push, and the boredom flop. Spano has been in charge of our finances this year and has done a most excellent job. I'd like to think its because of his wonderful assistant (that's me), but I don't think that's the case. He is really easy to trust and has helped to create a good atmosphere and stability on the team. I feel I have learned a lot this year and am thankful for his friendship.

Morgan has been our fearless leader this year. She has led us well. She has endured awkward meetings and stubborn teammates. Morgan is always ready to have a good time, especially if there is a dance party involved. I've learned not to ask her questions or give details until after she's been awake for at least an hour, She needs some extra time and a cup of coffee to be ready. I love AND hate to shop with Morgan. I love it because we always have fun and she encourages me to buy things. I hate it because I always spend too much money and end up with too much stuff. We began to claim the motto "Go big or go home!" as our own in Argentina and we've stuck to it ever since. Morgan makes me feel like I'm funny when I'm around Morgan because I can usually count on a laugh from her after I make a joke. We are both emotional saps. I love that I can get teary-eyed about something and look at her knowing she will be right there with me. Morgan is also empathetic. There have been many times when I have come to her with something about myself and it has brought her to tears. I love that I can go to her with millions of random thoughts and she can help me pull them together. Morgan is great with kids and wherever we go, people seem to remember her. She has a huge heart to see people ignited in their passions and giftings. It has been a blessing to be on her team as I have felt encouraged and challenged by her!

Last of all, is me. I'm not going to go on and toot my own horn, but I know that as I have learned stuff about my teammates, they have learned all sorts of things about me - the good, the bad, the odd, the fun, the hard, the weird, etc. but the best part is - they still love me (at least, I think)! At least I think. I feel so blessed to have journeyed on this path this year with them!

A Walk Through Vietnam (cont'd)

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

On Wednesday, we took another long bus ride to the Cu Chi tunnels. This was where the Vietnamese dug tunnels underground to hid from enemies and to be protected from their enemies. Our tour guide had been in the Vietnam War and was obviously still hurting from it because he was very upset and foul. It was quite the interesting tour. I think he might need a different job.

They showed us a hole where snipers hid. Annie was able to fit inside.

Then, at the end, we got to go through the tunnels. It was a tight squeeze.

Later that night, we went to a Vietnamese Water Puppet Show. We were told you haven't experienced Vietnam unless you go to a show, so we did. It was obviously corny, but entertaining and nothing I've seen before.

Finally, to finish off our last morning and experience culture, Candice, Spano, Morgan, and I took cyclo rides to the Saigon River.

And sometimes, we get a little bored on the bus rides...

We have one more week of ministry with HEC then it is off to China!

A Walk Through Vietnam

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

So, we needed to renew our Cambodia visas and our options were to go to the U.S. embassy and pay them money OR take a trip to Vietnam for just a little more money. We chose option # 2. We left on Monday at 7:00am and endured a 6-hour bus ride, which really doesn't seem like anything anymore. We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City also known as Saigon. We quickly found our hostel. Due to our short time in Vietnam, we decided to start touring the city right away. We found a taxi and went to the War Remnants Musuem.

I'm not much of a history person, but this was interesting because I know people that were here, that fought, that experienced the photographs we saw. I can't imagine seeing or being involved in some of the things first hand. There were many boxes out for donations to help war victims and agent orange victims.

Later that night, we went out to dinner at a restaurant called Black Cat. It was on CNN International's Top Ten Restaurants to Eat At because of their 500g burgers. Andrew and Spano shared one. It was the biggest burger I've ever seen.

On Tuesday, we woke up early and left for a one-day Mekong Delta Trip. This time it took us 2.5 hours to reach our destination. We hopped on a boat to go to the floating market.

We stopped to watch local Vietnamese people make coconut candy, rice paper, and rice krispies.

Next, we were taken to an island where we had a traditional Vietnam dish of fresh-made spring rolls, elephant ear fish, rice, pork chops, etc. It was really good! (Check out http://anniebower.theworldrace.org for a picture of the fish) After the lunch, we went for a bike ride around the island. It was beautiful!

After the lovely bike ride, we got to get into boats rowed by local Vietnamese people and we got to where sweet Vietnamese hats.

After the little boat ride, we were given fresh coconuts. mmmmhhmmm!

Next, we made a stop by the market. We are kind of "marketed" out after going to markets in every country, but we definitely found our way to the iced coffee stand and finished our day in the Bonsai Gardens.

Then, we took the 6 hour bus ride home. And started strong again on Wednesday, i'll post those pictures tomorrow!

Kam Pong Thom Province

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Well, I am currently in Vietnam. My team needed to renew our visas and took four days to do that in Vietnam. It's currently 3:24am and I can't sleep. Everyone else is asleep, even the guard sitting 10 feet from me. We're staying at a hostel and I was frozen due to the air conditioning. I took a hot shower and now I can't sleep, so it turns out to be a good time to catch up on blogs, emails, etc.

On Saturday, my team took another trip to the provinces. This time we went to Kampong Thom province. It is in the center of Cambodia. It was a beautiful area! It was very green and there was a slight breeze that day. We left early at 5:00am as it was 3.5 hours away. We were joining two university students that grew up in the province. We arrived at the Christian Coalition for Development in Cambodia. We were quickly welcomed by teenagers and university students. One girl quickly came up to me, asked me my name, grabbed my hand, interlocked fingers and led me into the house. The culture here is very affectionate within their own gender. I have gotten used to interlocking holding hands with the girls. The leader of the organization explained to us a little about how the organization started and thier plan for the future. They teach English and Bible inexpensively to people in the community. It appeared well ran as they had listed out goals and plans for the next five years. Morgan, Andrew, and I taught about leadership, while Candice, Spano, and Annie talked about discipleship. We joined them in a few songs of praise and worship and had the opportunity to pray for them.

We headed to the home of our university students, Sohpeap and Naza. We were welcomed by big smiles. We took a seat on the floor and were quickly served an amazing meal! We had rice which had been grown in thier own fields, we had chicken, gingered FROG (we didn't know it was frog until afterwards, but it was good, tasted like chicken), beef and cucumbers, and lots of fruit for dessert. It was wonderful! The Cambodian people are amazing cooks and love to serve us.

Next, we headed to an orphanage. This was different than any orphanage I have been to. It was started by a woman from California. It looked more like summer camp. It was beautiful! It had nice spacious buildings where there were live-in host parents for every 14-17 kids. The kids attend public school, but have two teachers on hand for additional help. The children have chores, are behaved and well-mannered. The children are clean, healthy, and well taken care of. There was lots of space to run and play. It even had playground equipment. It was wonderful to see, but hard at the same time. It was hard coming from the other orphanage last week that doesn't have enough space, is dirty and mosquito infested, and has trouble coming up with enough money to feed the children each day. It makes me happy for the children at the nice orphanage and frustrated because I know the other orphanage could be more.

So far, Vietnam has been wonderful. Yesterday, we went to the War Remnants Museum and out to eat for the biggest hamburger ever! Tomorrow, we are going on a tour of the Mekong River. I will post pictures and stories soon!

Water Park Fun

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Yesterday morning, I woke up with only one thing on my agenda: play with the orphans at the water park! Hard life, I know. Andrew, Morgan, Annie, and I left the apartment at 8:30am in the morning to head to the water park. The children arrived soon after with smiling faces, lots of hugs, and calling us "mommie!" After getting their clothes changed and gathering some tubes, the children were running to the slides. They quickly put down their bags and were in the water. I found myself hopping in right after them. I was mobbed by children as they were all saying, "Mommie!" and wanted me to look as they went underwater or sat on the tube, or attempted to swim. The slides were soon turned on. Two girls probably about 10 years old claimed me as their buddy for the day. We would walk up the steps, go down the slide, and before we could get out of the water, they were pulling my arms saying "three?" asking if the three of us could go again. I wish I would have counted how many times I walked up those stairs.

It was quite different than any water park in the U.S.

1. There weren't any lifeguards except for the guard dressed in full clothing and boots blowing his whistle in only the extreme cases.

2. You don't have to wait to go down the slide until the person in front of you has reached the bottom. At one point, I was surrounded by 8 children under the age of 12 going down the slide. This resulted in many pile ups and bumped heads at the landing.

3. No running wasn't even a consideration.

4. The kids had bananas for a snack and before we knew it many of them were in the pool WITH their bananas.

5. Children were running up the unused slides backwards.

6. Children were stopping on the slides thinking it was fun to get ran over by the next rider.

7. One girl scraped her knee and was bleeding a little. We made sure she was okay and sent her right back up to keep playing.

Although it wasn't anything like a water park in the U.S. It was an AMAZINGLY FUN day! We were exhausted, so to reward ourselves for our hard play time, Morgan, Annie, and I treated ourselves to 1 hour $6 massages.

P.S. These pictures were taken by Annie. Be sure to check out her blog as well at http://anniebower.theworldrace.org

Love Is In The Air

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Miu-ling and I

Yesterday, Annie, Morgan, and I met with Miu-ling (Hong Kong Free Methodist Missionary) again. Miu-ling and two of her co-workers volunteered to take us to one of the child care centers outside the city. We travelled about 45 minutes to Kandal province. We arrived at the "House of LOVE" care center. We arrived to hear the children reciting school lessons in Kamai. In attempts to not distract them, Miu-ling gave us a quick tour of the grounds. Then, we tried to sneak into the back of the classroom. Being tall and white doesn't allow us to be very sneaky. The children all noticed us. We observed for a few minutes before being asked to walk around and make sure none of the children were cheating on their tests. The children ranged in ages between 5 -15 years old. Nothing like 3 giant white people staring over you to make sure you don't cheat. I saw quite a few wandering eyes, but didn't have the heart to call them out. Oops! After they finished the test, we were asked to lead some games. We sang "atootytat," and then they showed us up when they sang a very similar song in Kamai that had them full out dancing and singing at the top of their lungs. We played "Red light, Green light" and "Duck, duck, chicken." It was fun! I love seeing the joy on the faces of the children.

Atootytat Kamai style

Miu-ling explained that the South Pacific FMC believes in having a stable church running for two years before it will add an adjoining care center. The church is located right next to the care center. It is a beautiful new church, the building is less than one year old. The church has approximately 100 members, the majority being youth. Because of Cambodia's history and the genocide, the average age of Cambodia is only 19-years-old. We met the pastor and his wife and got to see their hearts for this village. The pastor asked us to pray for his church, for new believers, for the youth, and for believers to stay true to Christianity. The pastor explained that many people claim to be Christians, but when they get sick or it becomes hard, they go to the Buddhist temple for help. Please join us as we pray for this church, community, and country!

FMC church

This morning Annie, Morgan, and I joined up with Team Nessa to help at the "LOVE House" orphanage. Morgan helped take some of the children to the water park while Annie and I stayed and played with the children. When we arrived there, we were greeted with numerous hugs, high fives, and "what is your name?" These children are so hungry for love. We had kids hanging on us all morning. We made friends with the preteen girls and I walked away with four handmade bracelets and a necklace. We played thousands of rounds of the hand game. We had 11 and 12 year old boys holding our hands, twirling around, and dancing with us. We got to hold little babies. We got to love these children and it was amazing. Tomorrow, Annie and I get to help take some of the children for the waterpark. Tomorrow will be "Day 3" of taking children to the water park. It was fun as we made friends today, they would ask "Wata pak day threeee?" And we would nod our heads and they would smile, giggle, and hug us. I'm excited to hang out with them again tomorrow.

Love House orphange girls

I like kids again!

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

As the year begins to come to a close, we have begun to look back and laugh at different times and things in the past year. We were talking the other day about our lowest points. I have to say that that last weeks of Swaziland were the lowest for me. At that point, I was tired of kids! I was tired of being a jungle gym, tired of singing silly songs, tired of playing the same games, you get the picture. I even stayed back a few days from ministr. That's not like me. I was burned out of kids. I realized later that it wasn't really the kids but just they were just the icing on the cake. Anyways, that experience caused me to want to do anything but kids ministry. I asked if we could do different ministries in Asia. So, in Thailand, we worked with the prostitutes and in Cambodia we are working with college students. Due to our main ministry being at night we have begun looking and participating in other ministries and they turned out to be kids ministries. I was a little hesitant at first, but it has been amazing! As I was chasing and playing with some dirty, lice-infested street children, and actually really enjoying it, I realized "YEAH, I LIKE KIDS AGAIN!"

After leaving the Love House orphanage this morning, Annie and I took a moto to the New Life Fellowship Church, where Teams 61 and Revolution are working. We were planning to help with "Joy Club." Every Thursday, the teens of the church help to lead 3 hours of activities, songs, skits, etc for street children. I'm told that when most of the children are there, there is almost 300. Some of the World Racers were helping to run this particular Joy Club. We began by playing the game where you tie a balloon to your ankle and then everyone has to try to pop everyone else's balloon. Let's just say it was pretty chaotic! I'm surprised there weren't any injuries.

Balloon game

I was soon asked to help regulate in the little kids area. This is small tarp that sections off an area where little children can play with legos. I sat down and began playing with the children. It wasn't soon before I realized the little girl next to me what sitting all alone and looked tired. She was dressed in the same skirt and vest she had on last week. She wore a purple necklace around her neck. Her hair was curly and somewhat matted. We're pretty sure she has lice as well, but she was precious! I reached out my arms asking if I could hold her. She quickly stood up, sat down in my lap, made her self comfortable, and within minutes she was zonked out. Not one of those "I'll-just-rest-my-eyes-naps," but I could move her any which way and she was still sound asleep! I held her for a long time before I was needed elsewhere and passed her off to Annie.

I was just happy to be there. I just observed the children and the fun they were having. I watched some boys asleep in the midst of the yelling, singing, and chaos because this was a safe place for them to sleep. I watched as little kids sprinted by and I could reach down and pick them up. I watched as I turned into a jungle gym and loved it! I am so thankful that my heart for children has been renewed. It just seemed easier. I felt like in Swazi, I had to work to put on a happy face, to play with them, and to get their attention, but when the joy in my life is real, it's amazing how the children would come to me. It was neat to see the joy and love in my heart radiate on their faces!

Province Ministry

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We continue to lead groups at nighttime at HEC. Due to some people missing, there wasn't enough people to have multiple groups. On Thursday and Friday, I joined the discipleship and got to listen and learn from Spano. He is an amazing teacher! We had a day off on Saturday. Each Sunday, some of the students go to surrounding provinces where they teach English, lead children's programs, and speak at cell groups. Today, we went with Dada and Sam to the Tacao province.

Rice fields. This is a real picture! (Annie took it)

We left this morning at 7am, which is early for us. Sleeping in is one of the great benefits of having a nighttime ministry! It was nice to be awake before most of the heat, sun, and to see the city bustling in the morning. We arrived very punctually at 7:30am at HEC. We went straight from the tuk tuk to a van. The six of us, five Cambodians, and the driver were off. We were told it was going to be about a 45 km drive. We were soon fast asleep, well, until we hit the infamous bumpy roads found in ALL third world countries. I was quickly awake, but enjoyed listening to my ipod and watching the rice fields pass by and the close calls with other vehicles and motos. We arrived at our destination, were welcomed again by the intense Cambodian heat and humidity and were led to the pastor's house. It was funny because we have done a lot of rural ministry in Mexico, Mozambique, and Swaziland yet this felt so foreign. I felt like I had to remind myself how to relate to people. We greeted the family on arrival, were offered seats, and watched as the awkward stares, miscommunication, and nervous giggles began.

We visited the only Christian family in the village. I can't imagine what it would be like to be this family. They live in a very predominantly Buddhist culture, are made fun of by their neighbors for their faith, and yet they still seek the Lord faithfully. They are hungry for the Word, for community, and for encouragement. They thanked us many times and told us it meant a lot that we came. It was soon time for cell group. One of our translators, Sam, asked us to introduce ourselves one-by-one. So, the six of introduced ourselves then they wanted to hear a short testimony from each of us. We went down the line again, sharing a little about what God is doing in our lives. Then, they (10 people) gave their testimonies as well. They asked for a word of encouragement from us. We looked around wondering who was going to speak. Annie quickly stepped up and offered some encouragement from Philippians 2. Then, Dada went down the line and asked us all for words of encouragement. I shared from Psalms 37, one of my new favorite sections that has been very encouraging on the race.

The Gang

After cell group, we took a short walking tour around the village. We prayed for a woman who was having stomach problems. Speaking of stomach problems, it was then time for lunch. Earlier, Annie and I watched a woman crush up crabs, shell and all, and a man slicing fish. I have come a long way in my seafood eating, but quickly remembered the feeling of not really knowing what you were eating. Much to my surprise, the food was wonderful! The crab was one of my most favorite things. Don't judge a book by its cover, right?

Lunch time

After lunch, we drove down the road where a group of children gather each Sunday. Spano, Annie, and I went with the little children, about 30 in total. We helped the children reenact the story of David and Goliath while encouraging them that God has a big plan for them. We pulled out the good ol songs that we did daily in Swaziland such as "atootytat," "I wanna be a monkey," and "head and shoulders." I was happy to see that my disgust for those songs just two months ago has been redeemed. I had fun trying to sing them with the children. We handed out notebooks and pens and even received brightly colored, handmade, friendship bracelets in return.

I was very thankful for today. Although it felt somewhat weird to re-enter rural life, it was a blessing! It was a nice peaceful break from the chaotic, busyness of Phnom Penh. It was neat to share with other believers and see how God was working in their lives. I felt challenged and encouraged by the faith of this family! Please pray for the pastor and his family as they are alone and desparately want to see their friends, family, and neighbors come to know the Lord.

Aren't they precious?

A Comfy Day Off

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

As I mentioned Saturday was our day off. We thought about going to the local water park. Our first plan was to go early around 7:30am. That quickly changed to 9:30am and before bed on Friday, we decided we would just go when everyone was up and ready. By time everyone was up, ready, worked out, ate breakfast, etc it was 12:00pm. With bathing suits on and towels in hand we looked outside to see some intense looking storm clouds. So we decided the water park could wait. We quickly changed into some comfy clothes and gladly snuggled in to watch "Becoming Jane." We had been waiting for a rainy day so that we could have an excuse to lay around and watch movies. We made Ramen noodles for lunch, worked on our jigsaw puzzle, and I even colored. It was a wonderful afternoon.

We finally got ready and emerged from the apartment. We headed down to the riverfront as we wanted to take a dinner boat ride. We couldn't find the boat with the dinner, but took a little boat ride anyways. We had the back of the boat to ourselves and were able to hang out as we toured the Mekong River. We passed a small community of floating houses. It was fun team time and we finished it by a nice dinner out to eat. They had lots of Western food choices, but I chose Pad Thai, something I ate everyday last month. What has happened to me? It was a fun day off even if it wasn't at all what we had planned!

our lovely ride

Team ASalt (Annie + Salt)

floating community

Team Salt Girls!

Life in Phnom Penh

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The past few nights we have continued to teach the university students at HEC. Morgan and I have a fun group ranging from 5-9 people. We went through the story of Nehemiah and began looking at Jesus' leadership. Last night, we went to the English service at HEC. After worship, Pastor Chey asked the students to share what they have learned in their groups. Four of our members shared and said they learned about servanthood, compassion, prayer, and Nehemiah. We were pleased that what we have been teached has been conveyed. Please pray for us as we continue to teach them in the next few weeks. We will be joining some of the students on Sunday by going to another province to help at a church they have planted.

Morgan and I with our class.

We are still looking for other ministries to partner with during the day. This week we visited the Jars of Clay coffee shop. The coffee shop was started by 8 Cambodian women. The profits from the coffee shop are used to support their families and nearby ministries and community needs. The food and coffee was amazing! We will be sure to visit again!

Yesterday, Annie, Morgan, and I went to visit the ChildSafe project. The ChildSafe project warns tourists about giving money and/or food to the street children because it reinforces them living on the street. They also provide training for guesthouse owners, tuktuk drivers, police, etc about the warning signs of child abuse. The ChildSafe staff explained that it takes away from the social workers who are trying to convince the children they are other ways. ChildSafe partners with a ministry called Friends International. "Friends International has been working with street children to develop creative projects that effectively support the children to become independent and productors of their society." It appears to be a neat, effective, and organized ministry. Learn more about Friends International on the website http://www.friends-international.org We made sure to visit their store that sold items made by children and women. Morgan, Annie, and I each purchased wallets made out of old laundry bags and newspapers. We think they're pretty cool.

Today, Morgan, Annie, and I met with Miu-Ling and Davis who are Free Methodist missionaries in Cambodia. I was given thier contact information by Diane Kurtz at Spring Arbor University. Miu-ling went to the FMC General Conference in Spring Arbor this summer. It was fun to talk to her about what she did and who she met in Spring Arbor. Miu-ling and Davis picked us up in their truck and took us to a wonderful Khmer-Thai restaurant. Davis ordered for us and we ate family style trying everything. We had papaya salad, roasted fish with mango, pad thai, spring rolls, fried rice, and refillable lemon grass drink. It was so yummy! We talked to them about their ministry in Cambodia. Miu-ling works with the International Childcare Ministry. We are planning to visit one of their childcare centers with her next week. Davis is helping to start micro-enterprise ideas in Cambodia. He has given loans for people to start pig farms and has ideas to start stores and restaurants. It was a blessing to meet with them, hear their heart for Cambodia, and learn more about the culture and ministry opportunities.

We have also been checking into helping New Life Fellowship Church (the church that Team 61 and Revolution are working with). Annie, Morgan, and I visited the church today as they were having a program for street children. One volunteer told me that they have approximately 300 children when they all come. The volunteer staff sang songs, played games, puppet shows, and skits. It was somewhat chaotic as kids were running, jumping, fighting everywhere. It was neat to see the children and interact with them.

Nights 1 and 2 - Check!

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We began our ministry at Hope Education Center on Saturday night. We went to dinner, had some prayer time, then hailed a "tuk-tuk" (golfcart-like taxi) to head to our destination. Sadly, we couldn't remember how to get there and our driver didn't know either. We had the street number and a close landmark. We ended up driving around for over an hour when it should have taken no more than 15 minutes. (I don't think we have made it to any destination on the first try yet. Check out Annie's blog http://anniebower.theworldrace.org to hear about our bike ride.) Our driver stopped to ask for directions, we pulled out our maps, and we called everyone we knew that might be able to help. Finally, we found street 138 and started down it. We soon realized that we were at the other end so after turning around we ventured through a dark alley that reaked like garbage, our tuk-tuk got stuck in the mud and we had to get out and walk, then we went through another alley were there were tarps over the top and our tuk-tuk was skimming them. We were bumping and jostled all over. I was expecting the driver to be fed up with us being lost and just tell us to get out, BUT we did finally make it! Only an hour later than desired, but we made it. After the long journey, many of us were not too motivated to be there.

When we arrived, they were doing worship. We filed our way into the center of the room. We expected there to be a lot of people and to our surprise, there were about 20. They finished worship and then divided into 3 groups. Morgan and I are teaching about leadership, Spano and Candice are teaching about discipleship, and Andrew and Annie are teaching about new believer follow up. Morgan and I had 8 men and 1 woman in our leadership group. They range in age between 18-25. They are all currently studying at the local university. We began by asking many questions about leadership - what it means to them, good examples, leadership in their culture, when have they been leaders, etc. We read from Matthew 20 when Jesus talks about becoming the least and serving. They participated in discussion and had many good questions. We will be studying different leaders in the Bible and observing thier leadership characteristics. All of us walked away encouraged and excited to participate in this ministry.

Yesterday, our second day there, we began looking at the leadership of Nehemiah. It was interesting because they had never heard this story before. They said that they mainly read from the New Testament so it was neat to talk about something completely new. They are eager to learn as they take notes and are focused on what we have to say. We plan to continue with Nehemiah tonight before moving on to other leaders.

In our group, we made friends with a girl named Pilot. She works at a Christian coffee house called Jars of Clay. We are going to stop by to visit her at work today. She explained that they have many ministry opportunities and we are going to look at those as well!

Please pray for:

- students - their lives, walk with Lord, finances, calling, studies,etc

- our team as we teach each night and create relationships

- for other ministry opportunitites to arise out of this ministry

Moving on Up

Sat, 8 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Team Salt has moved up in the world. We have gone from a one room cement block for six of us and an outside toilet to sharing a very small two bedroom/one bath apartment with 19 other people to 3 months of tent living with a two week break of sharing a dorm like house with 80 people (which was made for 50) to dorm living to finally a very spacious 2 bedroom/3 bathroom air conditioned apartment with air conditioning, internet, cable TV, and work out area. I don't think we know what to do with ourselves and all this space. This is by far the most space we have had all year and in the midst of the chaos of Phnom Penh it is a little taste of heaven. And the best part is this isn't any more expensive than our other housing option. Here's a little glimpse into our living conditions:

Real beds! Candice and I are still sharing, even though its a little squished, the comfort is worth it!

We counted that we have enough showers for 5 people to shower at the same time.

The open living room provides much room for entertainment.

A full mirror. Its weird to look at yourself more than twice a day. Moms: be sure to check out the family pics we posted to remember you all!

Shelves! Us girls were fully unpacked within an hour of when we arrived.

We have our own kitchen???

Team Salt on the big bed.

FUN!

**We started our ministry tonight, it went really well. I will post a blog tomorrow about it.

Moving on Up

Sat, 8 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Real beds! Candice and I are still sharing, even though its a little squished, the comfort is worth it!

We counted that we have enough showers for 5 people to shower at the same time.

The open living room provides much room for entertainment.

A full mirror. Its weird to look at yourself more than twice a day. Moms: be sure to check out the family pics we posted to remember you all!

Shelves! Us girls were fully unpacked within an hour of when we arrived.

We have our own kitchen???

Team Salt on the big bed.

FUN!

**We started our ministry tonight, it went really well. I will post a blog tomorrow about it.

Learning Culture

Thu, 6 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Today is our official 3rd day in Cambodia. The last few days have been spent learning about the culture, history, etc. I'm sad to say that before this month, I was oblivous to Cambodia's history. I knew it had gone through some hard times, but I didn't know details. On Tuesday, we received a concise briefing of Cambodia's history. One of the things that surprised me was that some of the things, some of the horrible things, occured in my life time. It is easy when things are long ago and you can blame on the "old times" or "they didn't know any better then," but they did. I was disgusted as I learned more about America's contribution to some of the deaths. Later that night, we watched the documentary film, "The Killing Fields." I began to see more of the chaos, evil, pride, and corruption that occurred.

Yesterday, we did a tour of the city. We started out at Tuol Sleng (S21) prison in Phnom Penh. The place was originally a school, but was changed into a prison and interrogation center by the Khmer Rouge (a political group). We had an hour to walk around the prison. We first walk through 3 stories of rooms with one bed and torture equipment where men and women were tortured for information. They were shackled and locked in rooms with no bathroom facilities or mosquito nets.

We proceeded on to walk past the gallows which was a place where they would hang upside down and dip them into buckets of water to get information from them. In the next building, we found room after room after room filled with faces of people that had been killed, many of them innocent, educated people killed in the mass genocide.

In these rooms, we saw paintings of people being tortured. I think seeing those was one of the hardest parts. An interesting fact about those paintings where that they were painted by a man that was one out of the seven survivors of 12,000 people. We walked through rooms with small cells and you could see the tally marks on the walls from counting the days.

We then went to the Russian market. Its sad that we've been to so many markets this year and they all see the same, that some of us sat outside and drank iced coffees, the sign said the best in Phnom Penh, so we're out to see if that's true. So far, so good! After the market we ate a Cambodian meal of fried noodles and chicken. We are back to the land of rice and unidentified chicken parts. Oh, the joys of eating international food. You honestly don't ever know what you will get.

Our last and final stop was to the killing fields. This is where the men and women would come after the Toul Sleng prison. We saw pictures on the documentary, saw pictures at the prison, and now we were seeing them for real. We were welcomed by a huge building filled with skulls, bones, and clothes. We walked further in to see pools of water where bodies used to lay, inbedded in the ground is clothing from the people that has come up. We could find teeth on the ground. We were told that when a big rain comes, a stench enters the air and you can find more clothes and teeth as they come from deep in the ground. It brought huge reality to the events. I don't think I could wipe the disgusted look off my face.

Overall, I am thankful that we get to be students of the culture and a chance to learn and see what their history is. I would encourage you all to do some research on these issues if you have not before. It is interesting and will break your heart! It has helped me to get a better idea of what the Cambodians have experienced!