Tokyo, Taipei, Bangkok

Hello everyone!

I am currently in the lobby of the Avana Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. We got here around 3am on Thursday the 20th. This is our time to get caught up on sleep and recover from our jetlag. We had quite a journey on the way here. We left the UofN campus around 5am on Tuesday the 18th and caught a short flight from Kona to Honolulu. After maybe an hour layover, we got on an 8 hour flight to Tokyo. It was pretty intense. My legs were pretty stiff when I finally got up to walk around. I slept a bit, but it's not easy to sleep on a plane, with people waking you up to eat every few hours. We didn't stay in Japan too long. We only had enough time to go to the bathroom and look around in a shop. The bathrooms are quite intriguing. There is one stall that reads "Japanese style."I went in to check it out and it is a hole in the floor. You have to squat as low as you can and pull your pants forward so you don't get anything on them. It's actually challenging to keep your balance.

Then we had a 3 and a half hour flight to Taipei, Taiwan. That was the coolest airport I have ever been in. We got to hang out there for almost 5 hours. It was humongous, and we managed to nab some gourmet cake for $1.00, which would probably cost at least $3.00 at home. The airport has free massage chairs, and those were really relaxing. There was even peaceful music complete with birds chirping. We also found a few prayer rooms in the Taipei airport. There was a Christian prayer room, a Muslim prayer room, and a Prayer room that was labeled with a swastika. I am sure this is is not what it actually is, but the guys and I joked around that it was a Nazi prayer room.

After another 3 and a half hour flight to Bangkok, our whole team rode in the back of a pickup to the hotel we are staying two nights at. We were exhausted because we were traveling and having layovers for more than 24 hours I believe. It's a little confusing, but right now it is 9:20pm on Thursday the 20th, and I believe it is 6:20am on Wednesday the 19th back home in California. So we are a day ahead of you guys. Therefore, I can tell you the future. =)

Pray for our luggage. It did not make it on the plane with us to Tokyo, and so we have been sharing clothes and toothpaste here at the hotel. Only 6 of our 21 bags made it to Thailand with us, and the others are supposedly on our way. We have been praying about it, but we know that God is faithful and good enough and big enough to bring our bags in. I think the Lord is trying to bring us closer together and trust in Him through this. It's been really cool to be circled up in the middle of an airport praying as a team. My internet time's almost up, so I must post this.

Pray for us as we take off to Bali tomorrow whether or not we get out luggage.

Update!!!

So...If any of you are wondering whether I am still alive and well, I am quite alive and quite well. Sorry I have not been blogging. So much has happened I am not even sure where to start, but I will attempt to fill you in on what I am doing.

I am sure some of you know this already, but on December 18th my team and I will be departing from Kona and flying to Tokyo, then to Taipei, then to Bangkok. I am not sure how long my layovers will be in these cities, but at least I will be able to say I've been to Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand. By the time we get to Bangkok, I am sure I will be thoroughly jetlagged, having crossed the international date line and all. We will be staying there for a day to catch up on rest and hopefully get to visit a huge shopping mall there. From there we will fly to Bali, which is an island in Indonesia. This will be about 3 days of traveling so we will probably arrive in Bali sometime on the 21st. This will be my first Christmas away from family, just as I had my first Thanksgiving away from family yesterday. We will be spending 2 to 3 weeks in Bali, building a pipeline to carry water to a village of about 100 families for drinking, cooking,washing, etc. If any of you back at home could spare some funds to pay for materials for our pipeline, that would be a huge blessing. You can talk to my parents about that.

After our stay in Bali, we will be flying back to Bangkok and then driving, yes, DRIVING across the Thai/Cambodian border. I have heard that roads are kept up pretty well in Thailand, but apparently not in Cambodia. So...we will be driving through crazy, unpaved jungles (not that I know of any paved jungles) to get to a city in Northwest Cambodia called Battambang. There is a YWAM base here, but a DTS will be going on while we are in Battambang, so we will be staying in a house separate from the base. I am not sure about everything that we'll be doing, but we will probably be working with AIDS orphans in orphanages, people in hospitals, etc. Our main goal is to serve and be Jesus in any way we can.

My team leaders are Rob and Jenny Blakely, a couple in their forties from New Zealand with 4 kids (Rachel, Johanna, Jonathan, and Susanna) ages 7-17 or something like that. These parents have been kind enough to adopt 7 more kids (my classmates and I), so we'll be one big (hopefully happy) family. There are 3 guys: Seth( Washington state), Dan (Baltimore, Maryland) and I. Then we have 4 girls: Abigail(Scotland), Maggie(Missouri), Tina(North Carolina), and Patricia(Korea). Yes, we have 2 Dans on our team, which can get confusing, but when we are together, Patricia calls us "Dan Dan," which is apparently a type of Korean noodle.

I am extremely excited for outreach. It's crazy to think that I haven't even been here in Kona for 2 months yet, but I still have nearly a month left here and then 3 months outside the country. It seems like I've lived here forever. In 4 months, I'll be back home in Castro Valley (March 21st is my coming home day), and that seems like a long time. I love it here, but I must tell everyone that I miss them a lot. I love you guys and can't wait to see you and talk about life and what God has done in the past 6 months.

Well, I could go on blogging for a long time, but the lounge in which I am typing this is closing in 2 minutes, so I must bring this entry to a close, but I will try my best to blog again soon to tell you what my life is like here in Kona and to post some pictures.

Until then, thank you for your support and prayers.
Love you all.
Miss you all.

Week 1.5

This is a gecko. They are small, sticky-footed lizards that can be found on all walls and ceilings, even inside our rooms. They are our friends, however, because they are constantly hunting for their next meal of mosquitoes, those pesky insects I have gotten so many bites from so far.



I've been going to McDonald's more often than I do in Castro Valley because the food is cheap and it seems to be the place to be here. I've mainly only gotten ice cream there though. But I thought this "Mac Family" poster was especially impressive. Double Big Mac. FOUR all beef patties, special sauce, cheese, lettuce, pickles on a sesame seed bun. WOW. They don't have that on the mainland. They also have a Haupia pie in addition to the apple pie, which is a quite delicious coconut cream pie. And the breakfast Mac? Enough said.



I thought I would take a picture of myself on a JETWAY. Heehee. If you look at the small sign behind me you'll notice it reads "Jetway Systems." This was the jetway that I walked across to get to my first plane, which carried me from the San Francisco International Airport to Honolulu, Hawaii.

So...I've been here about a week and a half. Sorry for being missing in action and not having any contact with the outside world. I have been busy, indeed. My first week was intensity at its finest, as Danny might say. I've been busy eating, sleeping, going to class, doing homework, practicing and playing keyboard for worship, getting to know new friends, hitch-hiking to the beach, going cliff jumping, going to Wal-Mart and the movies, and having quiet times. I'm really excited to let everyone know what's going on in my life, but getting the most out of this experience requires practice in balance, so I've been working on spending my time well. I have not mastered this skill as of yet.

One thing I am realizing is that no matter how wise and powerful the words of the speakers are or how amazing the worship is, it is still crucial to seek God in the silence and listen for His words. God does not speak in only one way. He can speak through the speakers, worship, class discussions, quiet times, conversations and experiences with friends, and many other ways I am sure. I am trying to open myself to hearing God's voice through as many ways as possible. It is important to develop your personal relationship with Jesus and grow in intimacy with Him on your own, not only in corporate meetings. Then again, it's not good to quarantine yourself in your room and forfeit the chance to build meaningful friendships with your fellow students.

In my Compassion DTS, we are reading a book called "Is That Really You, God?" by Loren Cunningham, the co-founder of YWAM (his wife Darlene is the other co-founder, and she came to our campus to speak). In this book, Loren shares his life story, how YWAM started and grew, and how none of it would have happened if he had not listened to God's voice. There are some CRAZY stories in here, but some of the best advice is:

"The Lord will lead us into victory, but success itself is the most dangerous obstacle to properly hearing the voice of God."

"Being transparently honest with God and before man was necessary if we were to make progress hearing God's voice. I'd seen for myself how God's power was released after a time of cleansing, and I remembered that in every great historical move of the Spirit I had studied, every revival had experienced times of confession and deep repentance."

"God can't use you if you're proud"

These are just some of the major thoughts I have been working over in my mind, and I hope to share more with you as I continue to process everything I am soaking up. Thanks so much for everyone's prayer and support and sorry if I haven't contacted you personally. I still love you and care about you!!! I just have an extremely full schedule.

I know this is my first big post, but I would love to know who reads this, so please post a short comment. Thanks!!! I love you guys!!!

Aloha!!!

So...this is crazy. Two days ago I was at home and everything was pretty normal, and now I find my self in Kona, Hawaii. I don't know what to expect, but I don't really want to have too many expectations or assumptions about anything. I don't want to limit God or put Him in a box. I want to be open to being suprised by God. I don't have too much time right now because I have class in 10 minutes, but I'll make sure to write a more detailed entry soon. Love you guys!!!

Leaving Tomorrow!!!

So...I haven't updated for a while, but this is the amazing banner that my mom had made for our going away/send-off party. I'm not sure what to call it. I just want to thank everyone that is supporting us and praying for us. Since I'm not in Kona yet and I don't know what my schedule will be like, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update my blog. However, Danny has been able to update his weekly so hopefully I'll be able to do the same. Thanks for reading if you are doing so. I have also adjusted my blog so that anyone can comment. So comment away! I will be overjoyed to hear from all of you.

Today I did my last minute shopping. I had quite a list, but I think I got everything. My YWAM base's website has a list of what to bring, so that helped a lot. The only thing I can think of right now that I didn't buy yet is Trident gum. My addiction ;)

Well I have less than 28 hours til I have to leave for the airport, so I should get some sleep before my big packing day.

Love you all,
Tree

25 days...

SO...today is September 1st, and my flight to Kona is in less than 26 days (25 to be exact). The whole thing is becoming more real ever since Danny flew out on Thursday. I wanted to be able to go to the airport to see him off, but unfortunately I had to work. It's ridiculous hugging someone goodbye when you know you are not going to see him for at least six months. I think I just want to savor the short time I have remaining here at home. I will be working until September 20th, but I want to spend as much time with my friends and family as possible. So...off I go to do just that!