Probably my Only Blog Till the 20th of february

I apologize for the very late update. the internet here on the island has been down due to some malfunction on the providers end. But its working right now :-)

Well let me see where to begin. we made if finally after 3 attempts at a flight to southern Philippines, we ended up having to change carriers and have an extra stop, but after a 2 hour bus ride, a 4 hour boat ride and a 1 hour jeep trip we have made it to hope for the island!

We have already been here for almost two weeks and what God is doing here is simply incredible. Hope for the island is truly ministering to the people of this island in every area of life (see the website link for more information). We have been going primarily to a local town nearby running health clinics and evangelism meetings. I have had some wonderful opportunities to share Christ with quite a few number of people even in my short time here.

The team here is doing great and we are really being able to accomplish the main purpose for our coming here, discipling the staff. They are the ones that will be here for the long-haul changing the island for Christ and it is for them that we have come here. I can really see the Lord's leading in bringing us here. The staff are so hungry to know about Christ and on the same note they have so much to teach us. It has been an incredible time thus far and I am excited for even the few short weeks we have left.

Thank you all for your prayers they are really making the difference here. Me and the team that I am with here thanks you for your support. Haha, I am so excited for what God is doing here through these men and women of God. And I am looking forward to coming back and being able to share this all with you as well. I will be headed back to Maui on the 23 of February and, God willing, back to California on the 1st of march. God Bless!

So I made it to the Philippines fine. We were scheduled to go to Surigao city in the south yesterday but our plane flight was cancelled due to bad weather there in the city. Pray that the weather will clear up so we can leave Friday and head out to the small island were we will be spending the majority of our time serving.

The area we are staying at here in Manila is almost exactly like Los Angeles so it is definitely weird for me to think that I am in a foreign country. The street names, the traffic, the Mexican food (even though here it is Filipino food). They drive on the right side of the road and it is very heavily American influenced. The culture gap that is between here and Thailand is very large and I find myself going through quite a bit of culture shock while here in the city. Thinking of it as L.A. has been helping but I think that I am ready to go down south where it is a little more rural.

I am hoping and praying that you will realize that God is always there for you whether or not you may feel Him there. And because of that our prayers for each other move and effect our lives for our benefit through Christ. You guys are great. Thanks for being awesome!

Thailand Ends Philippines Begins

Photo with the mascot for you momma.

The Philippines

SO I leave in two days for the Philippines!

Thailand has been such a blessing to me. We as a team are working with a campus ministry called Bon Jai Deow - "house of one heart" (BJD for short) It is an affordable student dorm building where non christians come in - because its cheap- and hear about God. We get the incredible opportunity to teach and answer questions of the staff and college students here. Thais are so hungry to know more about Christ. We have had some of the most amazing lessons and teaching sessions not to mention a few interesting conversations. They are so interested in what we have to say and they are SO smart. Here in Thailand there is such a great need for Bible teachers. BJD has needed people who can teach the bible in its entirety, connecting the old and new testaments together into a cohesive whole that points toward Jesus Christ crucified and risen, so that the students who are here can be discipled and grounded in God's word. This is done so that when they graduate from college they will go out into the country and change it for Christ. And this is what we as a team teach. God has answered the need of the people with a divine appointment of bringing us here. In the beginning we were unsure if we were going to spend a lot of time in Thailand but now we are sure that we were following the Lord's leading. Praise the Lord that He holds the whole world in His hands and that He orchestrates such amazing meetings.

We have been holding small group bible studies and large group lessons. and heading out to the college campus across the street. Mind you it is the WORLDS largest college campus, having over 600,000 students attending. We have been able to sit in on classes and talk to many students about the evidence of God's existence through creation. We have really been able to share the gospel at a level that is so needed here. In Thailand it is primarily nominal Buddhists who have been so effected by concepts like evolution and atheism that they have become hopeless and apathetic. So when they are presented with an alternative to what they have been told there entire lives that makes more sense with the world that is around them they reach for it. And the Lord is taking Thais for Him.

In light of that I am realizing how much these ideas of hopelessness and futility of life are prevalent back in the States and how much of a need there is to have what I now know presented to you all back home. It is such an encouragement to know, and I mean really know that the Bible is the spoken words of an infinite and personal God who sent Himself to die on a cross for our sins and raise himself from the dead so that we might have eternal life in Him. It is a message that changes and transforms lives. It is the entire reason for my existence and I think I am being led back to you guys for a little while to encourage you all.

This school and this trip are appearing to be very large turning points in my life. And it is because of you all that I am here. Thank you so much for supporting me. God Bless and I will post the rest of my pictures before I leave Thailand.