I'm still alive.

It has been a while and a lot has happened. We are in Thailand. YAY! We flew into Bangkok and spent our first week there. During that week a lot happened: 

I was sick.. that was a drag. 

We ate crickets, grasshoppers, chicken heads, and frogs. Okay I only ate the crickets and part of the frogs. I ate some legs. But I couldn't get myself to eat the whole frog. 

That was part of our "cultural orientation." Eating all that stuff wasn't required but we did it anyways. Why not? ;) While in Bangkok we also had the opportunity to help with some of the flood relief. It was hard but interesting to help clean people's homes who had been hit by the flood and lost most of their possessions. The second day the area we where in had a water line above my head. Which was a dramatic difference to the first day when the water line was about knee high. 

From Bangkok we took a night bus to Chiang Mai. Where we have been for the past week. The day we arrived we had some time to sleep but then we went right to our Ministry Orientation. At orientation we heard about our first step in Chiang Mai, Ex-Life. It would be 5 days living in a village in the North. Three hours north of Chiang Mai to be exact. 

The village was such an awesome opportunity. We were in groups of four and we had specific houses that took us in. We had house moms that cooked Breakfast and Lunch for us and then Dinner we ate together at one of the main houses. In the mornings we went out to the Rice Fields and worked then returned home for lunch. In the afternoons we met together to plan a Christmas Story production. It was the first time the village had heard the Christmas Story. So, each afternoon we rehearsed our Christmas production and by the end of our rehearsals the kids had gathered at the basketball court where we were and we spent the rest of the time, hula-hooping, playing soccer, Volleyball, basketball, and bad-mitten. Or just sitting and drawing with the kids. They were such sweet hearts. They didn't understand english but with a few gestures and dramatics we could communicate pretty good. I guess I really am a kid at heart. :)  

We are back in Chiang Mai and today was our day off. A small group of us went to start the process for our Bangladesh visas. We got the paper work for it, but because we don't have all of our team finances in not everyone can apply because we don't have the money. So, two of our boys applied. We have such a short window to get our visas. Our flight is for the 11th of January. Just about two weeks. And there are some Thai holidays spread in there a bit so the offices will be closed. God is good and has a plan and timing for everything. 

I keep thinking of a quote I wrote down during lecture phase, "Make open yours cups and God will pour out." God is faithful and is pouring out/will pour out upon his children. HE IS FAITHFUL. He was faithful to his own death on the cross and He is faithful through our entire life. He will be faithful through this trip. He will be faithful in my small endeavors. I found myself remembering and reminding myself today that God is more interested in my life then I am. Which is A LOT because I am really interested in my life. 

He cares. 

He sees me. 

He is faithful to the end. 

I may not know where my funds are coming from for the rest of my outreach, but I know that God, the one who holds together the world with his hands, is interested in my life and me. He has promised that he will cover my expenses and He has never broken a promise to me yet. My God is BIG and He is GOOD. He is caring. He is kind. He is mighty. He is a provider. He is just. He is righteous. He is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He is the Prince of Peace. He is Healer. He is. 

He is my father. He is my God. 

I'm Leaving. :)

Goodbye Germany. It has been fun. 

My time here in Germany has been so so good. Seriously it has been good. and crazy.  and busy. and so many things. Everything coming at me all at the same time. I am looking forward to seeing what surfaces as I begin to process it as a whole. I know I learned some serious key things that will be major when they come up but at this moment I am way to tired to say specifically what I have learned. 

This whole trip has made me more appreciative of some things. First, I am so thankful for College. Not at all because of the degree or any amount of book smarts you can get from attending College, which are beneficial, but for the other life skills I learned during that time of my life. I so appreciate my roommates and life in my dorm in MS. I almost miss it at times. I enjoy being in close proximity to friends and people from different cultures, however it's difficult when everyone comes from different parts of life. :) Oh, community life. 

I am so much more thankful for the time God took me to CBN and my job there. I got to meet so many amazing people and i made some really awesome friendships while I was there. It was such a huge growing time for me and my relationship with God. So much stretching was done there. Looking around at my classmates here in Germany, there are so many different paths God has each person on and each person is at a totally different point on their specific path with Him. It is so exciting. And looking at my own path it gets me excited to see what He was walked me through and where He has taken me. It all is just building to take me forward with Him to some amazing places. 

I could go on in so many random areas of all the things I am thankful for and appreciate in my life but the biggest one right at the moment is my Dad. I love this guy. AH!  Friday and Saturday I was rather stressed out. For one, I was sick and it wasn't just a normal cold. It was/is some weird throat thing. It seems to be going away. Slowly. Saturday, I got on the computer answered emails, had some really good Skype conversations with other loved ones and my last conversation was with my dad. 

We talked about random stuff… which is typical us. We have the kind of relationship where we may sit with long awkward pauses for a while and then bring up something totally random talk about it and then get silent again. But, I love my dad. No matter how random. It's us. It's what we do. 

Honestly I can't really remember what we talked about. It was all pretty random. But one thing that came up, is his portfolio for his MFA degree. Ah! He is finishing his last semester for it and will be finishing in January. Yeah, I had forgotten until that point that I was missing his graduation ceremony.  BUT I do get the privilege of reading his final portfolio. :) I am really stoked to be able to read it! My dad is a major inspiration to me and I love and adore our talks about all things Art. 

Both of my parents are AMAZING and I would not be able to be here if it weren't for them. 

I LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD! 

Until next time, go hug a parent.