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.
6 comments:
Hey Bro!
Im so excited for your outreach man! Im probably going to China, and try to smuggle bibles. Hopefully, I don't get caught. If I do I don't really want to know what the concequences are.
I miss you..
Im so happy for you and your relationship with God.
I might stay in the Philippines for an extra month after outreach. I want to go to Surigao, (Surfing capital) I don't know how to surf but someone will teach me.
Ill be praying for you
God is good!
Love you
Miss you
Take care bro
brother from the same mother,
It was sooooo good talking Thanksgiving night. I really missed having you there to make fun of ron with me.
It was amazing to hear about the movement of the Spirit among you and the song you were inspired to write. God may have many plans for you and the musical gifts that you were created with in the future.
I am very excited to hear all that you will learn in Cambodia, as I know more about that country now that any other. It is a sad place that is stuck in the lies of Buddhist Karma. They experienced genocide in the 1970's and are still reeling as an entire country in the aftermath of that tragedy. They believe in some way that in some way that it is their fault or bad karma that caused the genocide.
Remember to keep yourself and others focused on "being blessed to be a blessing". We don't experience the Spirit just for a spiritual high but to be empowered for ministry. The apostle Paul said he did not come speaking with wise or persuasive words but with a demonstration of the spirit and of power.
I love you much and am so excited for our growing spiritual brotherhood. Bring the kingdom, be the kingdom, may "peace on earth" not just be some nice catchphrase at Christmas but an emerging reality that apprentices of Jesus are led by the Spirit to pursue.
your brother
Paul
Well . . . thank you for updating. Now I can be happy again. :-) I am excied for you. Be the love of Jesus my friend!
Wow, Daniel... you have such an incredible time of outreach ahead of you. I know the next month will be full of learning and receiving everything you will need for that time. Thanks for keeping us at home a part of your journey. You're in our prayers!
It's about time you posted again. It sounds like you have some crazy adventures ahead of you. You are for sure writing an exciting story with the raw materials God has given you to work with. I am proud of you. Your brother and Christina came over to our new house the other day. It's crazy that he is going to be a youth director at a presbyterian church too. I pray for you and so does Jadyn. We all miss you and look forward to your return on the 21st, which just so happens to be Marianne's birthday and the day before we leave for Mexico. Keep on bloging!
wow, finally! ;) its good to hear from you, my brother. all of this sounds amazing, i am praying for you. take alot from this experience, but give even more. i love you. take care
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