Friday, June 5, 2009
Exploring Japan...
Konnichiwa!
Here's some pics of the time in Japan... I'll just tell you about them to give you an idea of what we did.
This is Chris in the station where we picked up the train into Tokyo.
Claire LOVED being on the trains. She said riding the trains was her favorite part of the whole trip!
Here we are in the courtyard of the palace gardens. (You can't go into the palace itself, but you can go into the gardens.) Chris was quite the photographer.
Claire absolutely LOVED these flowers. She really wanted me to take her picture with them on this bridge. Isn't this a great picture?!
After the Palace Garden we went to a buddhist temple. It was pretty crazy. I'll post a little video I took there later on. Kinda crazy to see the people so blindly following emptyness. Pray for Japan!
Claire ordered a Quesedilla!
Behold the comida!
The next day, we spent a little time in Ushiku. (the city where Josh and Gina live) Josh and Gina dropped me and Suzie off at a mall to have starbucks and hang out together. It was great! After they came and picked us up we went to this really amazing noodle place and had dinner. Then we came back to their pad and we were blessed to participate in their very first Bible study! Chris and I led worship. They invited a couple people, but it was just us. Pray that as they continue to be faithful to do what God has called them to do that He will bring people to hear the Word!
Here's Josh sharing the Word with us!
Well, God bless you all for praying for me and following along on this really exciting trip! I hope that you've had a good time reading along! See you all when I get home!
Sayounara!
Here's some pics of the time in Japan... I'll just tell you about them to give you an idea of what we did.
This is Chris in the station where we picked up the train into Tokyo.
Claire LOVED being on the trains. She said riding the trains was her favorite part of the whole trip!
Here we are in the courtyard of the palace gardens. (You can't go into the palace itself, but you can go into the gardens.) Chris was quite the photographer.
Claire absolutely LOVED these flowers. She really wanted me to take her picture with them on this bridge. Isn't this a great picture?!
After the Palace Garden we went to a buddhist temple. It was pretty crazy. I'll post a little video I took there later on. Kinda crazy to see the people so blindly following emptyness. Pray for Japan!After our little trip around Tokyo, we headed to the a Calvary Chapel on the other side of the city from the Deans where we visited the John and Holly Hance. John and Holly are also GO! Missionaries serving here in Thailand. We had a great visit with them, and then an adventurous trip home. We were on like the very last trains of the day. We had it all figured out (we thought) that we'd make it home.... and we did in fact catch all the trains that should have gotten us home. What we hadn't taken into account was the fact that the STATIONS close! We ended up taking a taxi the last 10 miles or so! It was definately an adventure to remember!
The next day was Gina's birthday! We went to El Torito (Yes... the real El Torito... same franchise as in the states!) and enjoyed really good mexican food!
The next day was Gina's birthday! We went to El Torito (Yes... the real El Torito... same franchise as in the states!) and enjoyed really good mexican food!
Claire ordered a Quesedilla!
Behold the comida!The next day, we spent a little time in Ushiku. (the city where Josh and Gina live) Josh and Gina dropped me and Suzie off at a mall to have starbucks and hang out together. It was great! After they came and picked us up we went to this really amazing noodle place and had dinner. Then we came back to their pad and we were blessed to participate in their very first Bible study! Chris and I led worship. They invited a couple people, but it was just us. Pray that as they continue to be faithful to do what God has called them to do that He will bring people to hear the Word!
Here's Josh sharing the Word with us!Tomorrow I get on a plane to head home. I have really mixed emotions about that because I'm really tired out and ready to enjoy my own bed, but I'll really miss my friends and my girlfriend!
I'll probably put up some recap/lessons learned entries after I get home, so don't write off my blog yet! If I do a slideshow at church I'll post the information here too. I'm also plainning on blogging through VBS and Mission Training School!
I'll probably put up some recap/lessons learned entries after I get home, so don't write off my blog yet! If I do a slideshow at church I'll post the information here too. I'm also plainning on blogging through VBS and Mission Training School!
Well, God bless you all for praying for me and following along on this really exciting trip! I hope that you've had a good time reading along! See you all when I get home!
Sayounara!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Backtracking a bit...
Konbanwa!
Chris and I are now safe and sound in Japan with the Deans. I was pretty happy to get here... and see my good friends the Deans and the beautiful Suzanne Rizzi!
Josh took a picture of us as we were leaving the airport.
To my great joy, my feet did not swell this time! Instead, I got ridiculously congested and feel like I have a cold. Ugh... Stupid allergies! I was more than a little paranoid that they would think I was sick and lock me up in a sterile room for the duration of my stay to make sure that I don't have swine flu! I put all my strength in to not sneezing or sniffling, and safely made it through the quarantine station. After that I was home free!
There were cool obentos waiting for us in the car. We enjoyed them on the drive back. The Deans' apartment is really cool! Japan is much different than I expected. It really has a far more western feel than I though. Maybe it's just from the contrast of just having left Thailand!
Dinner was AMAZING! We went to this restaurant where you order a meal with uncooked meat and then you cook it yourself at the grill on your table. It took a little while to get the cooking/sauce combination just right, but after that it was AWESOME!
I did want to take a moment and backtrack because I never had a chance to blog about the time we spent with Susan. I think the Epic of the Cankles (thank you Becca for correcting my spelling!) distracted me a bit.
Susan showing us the girls home.
Susan works a childrens home that helps out children in bad family situations or who's families are too poor to send them to school. My feet kept me from being able to do much on Wednesday, but on Thursday we were really able to spend some cool time with everyone.
We started it off by taking all their staff out to lunch. I think it was a real encouragement to them, and huge blessing to me.
Eating dinner together with the staff
This was one of the dishes that one of the staff ordered...
As gross as this is, it was cool to see how much they loved eating it.
Later, we took Susan out to the Mexican place in town. It's her favorite. I was impressed that it actually tastes like Mexican food!
Yes... Mexican food in Thailand! It was actually good!
After that we walked down to the dock on the river where we could look across and see Laos. We spent some time there praying for the Hmong people who are suffering in Laos and the Hmong in Thailand and for Susan and the Childrens' Home.
The view across the river to Laos.
After that we went back to the Children's Home and had a worship service together with the kids! They spent some time in worship and then I shared a Bible study. It was a great time.
Chris at the worship service.
Chris took a group picture after the service.
Anyway... only a few days left! Keep prayin!
In Christ,
Brian
Chris and I are now safe and sound in Japan with the Deans. I was pretty happy to get here... and see my good friends the Deans and the beautiful Suzanne Rizzi!
Josh took a picture of us as we were leaving the airport.To my great joy, my feet did not swell this time! Instead, I got ridiculously congested and feel like I have a cold. Ugh... Stupid allergies! I was more than a little paranoid that they would think I was sick and lock me up in a sterile room for the duration of my stay to make sure that I don't have swine flu! I put all my strength in to not sneezing or sniffling, and safely made it through the quarantine station. After that I was home free!
There were cool obentos waiting for us in the car. We enjoyed them on the drive back. The Deans' apartment is really cool! Japan is much different than I expected. It really has a far more western feel than I though. Maybe it's just from the contrast of just having left Thailand!
Dinner was AMAZING! We went to this restaurant where you order a meal with uncooked meat and then you cook it yourself at the grill on your table. It took a little while to get the cooking/sauce combination just right, but after that it was AWESOME!
I did want to take a moment and backtrack because I never had a chance to blog about the time we spent with Susan. I think the Epic of the Cankles (thank you Becca for correcting my spelling!) distracted me a bit.
Susan showing us the girls home.We started it off by taking all their staff out to lunch. I think it was a real encouragement to them, and huge blessing to me.
Eating dinner together with the staff
This was one of the dishes that one of the staff ordered... As gross as this is, it was cool to see how much they loved eating it.
Later, we took Susan out to the Mexican place in town. It's her favorite. I was impressed that it actually tastes like Mexican food!
Yes... Mexican food in Thailand! It was actually good!After that we walked down to the dock on the river where we could look across and see Laos. We spent some time there praying for the Hmong people who are suffering in Laos and the Hmong in Thailand and for Susan and the Childrens' Home.
The view across the river to Laos.After that we went back to the Children's Home and had a worship service together with the kids! They spent some time in worship and then I shared a Bible study. It was a great time.
Chris at the worship service.
Chris took a group picture after the service.Anyway... only a few days left! Keep prayin!
In Christ,
Brian
Monday, June 1, 2009
A Tour of the Guest House @ TKBI
Hey gang...
Here's a little tour of the place we stayed Saturday night when we visited our Karen friends at the Thai-Karen Bible Institute in Pala-U villiage! Enjoy!
--B
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Sitting in the Van...
Ha luh ghay!
Whatup everyone? Just wanted to put a brief note up. I got my phone unlocked and am on the internet in the van getting ready to head back to Bangkok from Hua Hin (near Pala-U). I was asked yesterday afternoon to teach for church this morning. It was awesome... I had no time to perpare AT ALL! But... no worries, I thought. God's faithful and He honors his word. I had an outline still from Thursday PM in Kings 20 I was still diggin on.
In the morning, I discovered that I was actually suppsoed to share twice! A 30 minute study, then a sermon of whatever length I choose! It all worked out well though. We went throught the highlights of I Kings 20 for the study, and then looked in depth at the truth that God is greater than spirits or demons for the sermon. It worked well since the idea of the Syrians that their "gods" would be able to cause them to win on their turf and God's beating them royally show He was greater made one flow right into the other.
Anyway... I gotta go before my phone battery dies! God bless you all.
-B
Whatup everyone? Just wanted to put a brief note up. I got my phone unlocked and am on the internet in the van getting ready to head back to Bangkok from Hua Hin (near Pala-U). I was asked yesterday afternoon to teach for church this morning. It was awesome... I had no time to perpare AT ALL! But... no worries, I thought. God's faithful and He honors his word. I had an outline still from Thursday PM in Kings 20 I was still diggin on.
In the morning, I discovered that I was actually suppsoed to share twice! A 30 minute study, then a sermon of whatever length I choose! It all worked out well though. We went throught the highlights of I Kings 20 for the study, and then looked in depth at the truth that God is greater than spirits or demons for the sermon. It worked well since the idea of the Syrians that their "gods" would be able to cause them to win on their turf and God's beating them royally show He was greater made one flow right into the other.
Anyway... I gotta go before my phone battery dies! God bless you all.
-B
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The Promised Map
Here it is in all it's glory and majesty! Behold the wonder of Google Maps! Here's the key of what is what:
A) Bangkok.
Massive (really... it's huge) city where we shared at Immanuel Baptist Church.
B)Dan Khun Tot.
Home of Jerry and Duang Frary. Cool smaller town.
C) Chiangrai.
Where the long bus ride ended and where the Epic of the Kankles really began in earnest.
D) Chiang Khong.
Dwelling place of Susan Staples. A really cool little town right on the Laos border (hint: don't pronounce the "s"). They would love a mission team to come and share there... (hint, hint!)
E) Chaing Mai.
Cool (well... not literally... but cooler than Bangkok.) city where we visited Jim Arnold and his family. It has a moat. Need I say more?
F) Pala U.
Next stop. We will visit the Bible School we visited on our first two trips and meet up with some old friends.
After Pala U it's back to Bangkok for a day and then on to Japan! I'll post some more about our experiences in Chiang Khong and Chiang Mai (hopefully) soon!
Keep prayin and be blessed! Oh... and tell a friend about the blog here. Hopefully it's pretty fun reading. And it will make me feel like I have tormented poor Chris with having to sit and wait while I use the internet for some good reason. (Not that I really need a reason to torment Chris... I owe him more "affectionate affliction" then I could ever repay!)
Anyway... hope you all are blessed! I sure am! I can't wait to get home and show you all more pictures and tell you more about all that we've done and seen!
Later,
Brian
Friday, May 29, 2009
The epic of the Kankles...
Behold the kankles! I had some swelling in my feet when I got off the plane. It actually usually happens if I don't remember to walk around a lot and annoy all the people trying to sleep peacefully on a 747. (Which is a vain pursuit anyway unless you are tired to the point of hallucinating.) It was a little annoying, but went away by the end of the next day. I thought I was home free... no worries at all. No problems at the Frary home. Completely normal looking feet. With real ankles.
And then there was the grueling overnight bus trip from the Frarys to Chiangrai. Twelve hours on a bus. GRANTED it was the most AMAZING BUS EVER! Really... you've never experienced anything like it! More leg room and nicer seats than any plane flight I've ever been on! BUT... 12 hours of sitting. We did have like 2 pit stop breaks... one of them longer so that we could get some food. At the end of it all, Susan Staples picked us up from a really cool coffee shop by the bus station.
My feet were a little swollen after getting off the bus. Okay... they were considerably swollen. I was a little freaked out. We walked around a Hmong villiage on the way to Chiang Khong where Susan lives and works. They swelled more. It was gross. Truly frightening.
I didn't want to spoil everyone's day by going to the doctor. Especially since here you don't just go to the doctor. You go to the hospital. In my mind a hospital is for people who are facing death, not people who are facing ballon-feet. So I declined Susan's offer to go to the nice hospital in Chiangrai right off the bus. Stupid me.
Well... in Chiang Khong they got worse. Truly monsterous. It was really getting uncomfortable (not painful mind you...) to walk. It was really freakin me out. And we were within walking distance of the hospital. So finally at like 8 PM I decide to go. I know... I'm an idiot. But at least I went.
The hosoital was a lot of fun. I was sort of a novelty. The doctor had me do every test conceivable. If I'd known they were gonna draw blood and make me pee in a (VERY small and easy to miss) cup I would have skipped the whole thing!
Susan came to check on us after an hour and a half or so (She'd been teaching her English class). It was so comforting to hear how the very hospital I was in had misdiagnosed a patient with appendicitis and tried to talk him into letting them do an appendectamy only to have the much better hospital in Chiangrai prove that he didn't have appendicitis. And then they told a woman who's appendix was bursting that she was making it all up! The good hospital in Chianrai scolded her because she'd nearly been dead!
At the end of the day, the doctor had no idea what was wrong, but gave me a couple meds to help reduce the swelling. I slept with my feet propped up and started the meds in the morning as instructed. Slowly, the swelling reduced. After the second night with my feet propped up, I had real ankles again!
Thanks so much to all you who prayed! I feel like Larry the Cucumber, except that instead of "I love my lips," I'm saying, "I love my feet."
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Visiting the Frarys
Greetings all!
I'm sitting now near Thailand's Northern border. We arrived here this morning from visiting the Frarys. Since I haven't had a chance to blog about this I wanted to tell you all about it.
Of course you heard about our arrival and the ride on the cool bus. After checking in on the internet, we drove around the small town (just 2 main streets and several blocks) to pick up a few odds and ends and then headed to the Frary home.
There, we had dinner... and a miraculous thing happened. I ate fish. I have to say... with the generous helping of sauce I put on it, it wasn't so bad. That said... I didn't eat much of it either! LOL! The whole meal was rather good though. I'm realizing right now that I am a failure for not having taken a picture of it.
We made it an early night. I at least was EXHAUSTED! The next morning, we got up to spend our day with the Frarys. Breakfast was a porridge that tasted like chicken soup. After breakfast, we got laundry started and then went around with Jerry to visit the people he ministers to in the community.
This is the washing machine. I was going to do the laundry,
but Duang wouldn't let me! They are SO hospitable!
We walked around visiting several different families. They all LOVED to talk. It's a good thing most of them were out working on farms or we'd NEVER have gotten home! They are such a fun people. We were getting pretty full though... every single family had to share some food or something with us. Chris said it was Nom-Chai, which litterally means "heart water" and is their very strong sense of hospitality.
A good liter of Pepsi and nearly enough food to completely spoil our next meal later, we had lunch with Jerry aroung 1:30. After that it was siesta time (I know... Spanish is the wrong language here...).
One of the women Jerry shares with. She attempted to kill herself by drinking a very strong poison.
Jerry and Duang are still trying to help her understand that Jesus loves her!
There is a lot of beautiful flora to look at as one walks around!
Inside one of the homes we visited. No matter how poor they appear, they all have a TV!
A shrine along the side of the road. These people are so bound by fear to the "spirits".
After our nap, we had the sweetest most awesomest communion service together with the Frarys! Jerry specifically asked if we could do it and I was so blessed to be able to do it. We just sat outside where all the people hanging out at the store could hear and sang a couple of songs a-cappella. I shared a brief Bible study about how the Lord builds His church and how all we have to do is please Him with obedience. We had a time of prayer together for the work the Lord is doing there. Then we shared communion, and then Jerry brought out water and a towel and washed our feet! It was so cool! They were absolutely beaming!
After that, we spent a little time with people by the store. That's another main area of ministry for them. Then we had our final meal together with them and headed for the bus.
Young people come hang out at the store to play with the ping-pong table.
Here's Jerry in front of the store.
Here we all are together packed up and ready to say goodbye!
We had an absolutley blessed time! I'll have to catch you up on today later though, cause Chris is waiting to use the one internet connection here so that he can check his e-mail! I appreciate all your continued prayers and hope that you are blessed!
In Christ,
Brian
I'm sitting now near Thailand's Northern border. We arrived here this morning from visiting the Frarys. Since I haven't had a chance to blog about this I wanted to tell you all about it.
Of course you heard about our arrival and the ride on the cool bus. After checking in on the internet, we drove around the small town (just 2 main streets and several blocks) to pick up a few odds and ends and then headed to the Frary home.
There, we had dinner... and a miraculous thing happened. I ate fish. I have to say... with the generous helping of sauce I put on it, it wasn't so bad. That said... I didn't eat much of it either! LOL! The whole meal was rather good though. I'm realizing right now that I am a failure for not having taken a picture of it.
We made it an early night. I at least was EXHAUSTED! The next morning, we got up to spend our day with the Frarys. Breakfast was a porridge that tasted like chicken soup. After breakfast, we got laundry started and then went around with Jerry to visit the people he ministers to in the community.
This is the washing machine. I was going to do the laundry,but Duang wouldn't let me! They are SO hospitable!
We walked around visiting several different families. They all LOVED to talk. It's a good thing most of them were out working on farms or we'd NEVER have gotten home! They are such a fun people. We were getting pretty full though... every single family had to share some food or something with us. Chris said it was Nom-Chai, which litterally means "heart water" and is their very strong sense of hospitality.
A good liter of Pepsi and nearly enough food to completely spoil our next meal later, we had lunch with Jerry aroung 1:30. After that it was siesta time (I know... Spanish is the wrong language here...).
One of the women Jerry shares with. She attempted to kill herself by drinking a very strong poison. Jerry and Duang are still trying to help her understand that Jesus loves her!
There is a lot of beautiful flora to look at as one walks around!
Inside one of the homes we visited. No matter how poor they appear, they all have a TV!
A shrine along the side of the road. These people are so bound by fear to the "spirits".After our nap, we had the sweetest most awesomest communion service together with the Frarys! Jerry specifically asked if we could do it and I was so blessed to be able to do it. We just sat outside where all the people hanging out at the store could hear and sang a couple of songs a-cappella. I shared a brief Bible study about how the Lord builds His church and how all we have to do is please Him with obedience. We had a time of prayer together for the work the Lord is doing there. Then we shared communion, and then Jerry brought out water and a towel and washed our feet! It was so cool! They were absolutely beaming!
After that, we spent a little time with people by the store. That's another main area of ministry for them. Then we had our final meal together with them and headed for the bus.
Young people come hang out at the store to play with the ping-pong table.
Here's Jerry in front of the store.
Here we all are together packed up and ready to say goodbye!We had an absolutley blessed time! I'll have to catch you up on today later though, cause Chris is waiting to use the one internet connection here so that he can check his e-mail! I appreciate all your continued prayers and hope that you are blessed!
In Christ,
Brian
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
LEAVE COMMENTS!
Just one more thing...
Feel free to (as in please, please, please do) leave comments. It's nice to know people are following along and praying out there!
Anyway... Catch ya'll later. And I look forward to reading your comments!
--B
Feel free to (as in please, please, please do) leave comments. It's nice to know people are following along and praying out there!
Anyway... Catch ya'll later. And I look forward to reading your comments!
--B
Just a quickie...
Hello world...
No pics right now... I'm sitting in an internet cafe and can't connect my lappy. :( I should have access again at Susan's place, so I'll try to get some pics up. I'm now in the northern part of Thailand in the city of Chang Rai. The little internet cafe we're in is a real cafe with good food. And it's owned by a really cool Christian brother. It's pretty nice. A breakfast of eggs and toast was cool. Anyway... check back soon for another post. I'll try to have some pics and another video to post for you! Maybe if I'm really industrious I'll bust out some of my photoshop ninja skillz on a Thailand Map so you can see where I've been and where I'm going.
Anyway, be blessed everyone!
In Christ,
Brian
No pics right now... I'm sitting in an internet cafe and can't connect my lappy. :( I should have access again at Susan's place, so I'll try to get some pics up. I'm now in the northern part of Thailand in the city of Chang Rai. The little internet cafe we're in is a real cafe with good food. And it's owned by a really cool Christian brother. It's pretty nice. A breakfast of eggs and toast was cool. Anyway... check back soon for another post. I'll try to have some pics and another video to post for you! Maybe if I'm really industrious I'll bust out some of my photoshop ninja skillz on a Thailand Map so you can see where I've been and where I'm going.
Anyway, be blessed everyone!
In Christ,
Brian
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sawatdiikhrap!
I realized that yesterday in my exhaustion I completely forgot days. Yesterday was day 2 in Thailand. Today is day 3. We are in a little town called Dan Khun Tot. We're visiting Go! Missionary Gerald Frary and his family. He is married to a Thai lady and they have a nice little home here.
The Frary Home... outside.
Inside the Frary home.
Jerry and Duang
We took a bus here from Bangkok. It was a really cool experience! It was really nice... even had a stewardess who brought us a complimentary snack and water! That's service for you! And it was really affordable. WAY better than my Greyhound experience a couple years ago!
View from the bus of a Buddhist temple outside Bangkok. Keep praying for the Thai!
We stopped at a gas station for lunch. I am getting WAY more accustomed to Thai food. I scarfed it down. I would've taken a picture, but we were in a real hurry by that time to finish before the bus left!
No Joke... This was the picture for the men's "room" at the gas station!
(It was open air actually... kinda awkward...)
Anyway, we're here just chillin with Jerry now. I took a video at the bus station that I'll post for you all. Otherwise, I'll catch ya later!
Blessings,
Brian
I realized that yesterday in my exhaustion I completely forgot days. Yesterday was day 2 in Thailand. Today is day 3. We are in a little town called Dan Khun Tot. We're visiting Go! Missionary Gerald Frary and his family. He is married to a Thai lady and they have a nice little home here.
The Frary Home... outside.
Inside the Frary home.
Jerry and DuangWe took a bus here from Bangkok. It was a really cool experience! It was really nice... even had a stewardess who brought us a complimentary snack and water! That's service for you! And it was really affordable. WAY better than my Greyhound experience a couple years ago!
View from the bus of a Buddhist temple outside Bangkok. Keep praying for the Thai!We stopped at a gas station for lunch. I am getting WAY more accustomed to Thai food. I scarfed it down. I would've taken a picture, but we were in a real hurry by that time to finish before the bus left!
No Joke... This was the picture for the men's "room" at the gas station! (It was open air actually... kinda awkward...)
Anyway, we're here just chillin with Jerry now. I took a video at the bus station that I'll post for you all. Otherwise, I'll catch ya later!
Blessings,
Brian
Sunday, May 24, 2009
A very long first day...
Whew... I'm tired!
This has been one amazing crazy day. It really felt like two or three... I guess it was a pretty typical Sunday if I really think about it. It started (sadly) at about 4 AM when my jetlagging body (yes... it's a verb. I just made it up and you all get it. Communication has happened, therefore it is a word.) decided to wake me up and forbid my to go back to sleep. I dosed off here and there until my alarm went off at 5:45... and hit the snooze for 5 mins because I wasn't ready to get up yet.
After the alarm's second sounding, I got up and started getting ready for the day. My current accommodations have a hot shower, which I make FULL and frequent use of. (My shower before bed will be #3!) I put on good ol' John Courson to listen to while I got ready. By 7 AM, Chris and I were headed to an "American Style" breakfast. Breakfast is sacred, and must not be messed with so this was important. The first place we went had a kinda lame overpriced buffet. So we went to Burger King. It's a little different than the states, but at least the breakfast food was moderately familiar.
We finished up breakfast and headed back here to Immanual Baptist Church--the place we're staying at in Bangkok. The day before heading over, Chris had asked me to be ready to share on Sunday morning for the 8 AM prayer meeting. Last night while we were jammin on the guitar, the pastor here, Pastor Winit, asked me in addition to play Indescribable at the main service in the morning. The message went great: it was all on the truth that, "God Is Able." The music went good too, though I think it sounded better when we did sound check. Everyone seemed really blessed, and I'm glad to have been able to encourage them.
After the service, the youth group had prepared lunch for us. Pastor Winit asked me then to share a word for the event they were having in the evening for the youth who were graduating High School and moving on to college. I would've stressed except that I had an immidate word in Colossians 2:4-10.
Me and Chris on the bus heading to meet Sharon.
The McDonalds where we met Sharon. I had to get a Strawberry Sunday! Yum!
Sharon working on her E-mails.
After lunch we went and met up with Sharon Porterfield for a bit and also met Mark and Carrie Chappel. We had a good visit with them and then came back to IBC. We spent some really cool time with the students and then went to dinner at a cool restauraunt at the top of Bangkok's largest building. It was a BLAST! Seriously... if any of ya'll are coming to Bangkok anytime soon you've GOT to go visit there!
In a taxi headed back to IBC. He got stuck in traffic so we paid him, got out and took the Skytrain.
The Baiyoke Sky Hotel--The tallest building in Bangkok.
We had dinner in a restaurant at the top!
We came home and now it's blog time before heading for bed. It may be a couple days before I get to update again because we're leaving to visit Gerald Frary tomorrow at 7 AM and I have no idea what sort of internet access will be available there. I will write and just post it as soon as I have access, so even if it takes a day to get up, you'll still get the play by play!
Anyway, hope you all are blessed at service Sunday morning! Keep prayin!
In Christ,
Brian
This has been one amazing crazy day. It really felt like two or three... I guess it was a pretty typical Sunday if I really think about it. It started (sadly) at about 4 AM when my jetlagging body (yes... it's a verb. I just made it up and you all get it. Communication has happened, therefore it is a word.) decided to wake me up and forbid my to go back to sleep. I dosed off here and there until my alarm went off at 5:45... and hit the snooze for 5 mins because I wasn't ready to get up yet.
After the alarm's second sounding, I got up and started getting ready for the day. My current accommodations have a hot shower, which I make FULL and frequent use of. (My shower before bed will be #3!) I put on good ol' John Courson to listen to while I got ready. By 7 AM, Chris and I were headed to an "American Style" breakfast. Breakfast is sacred, and must not be messed with so this was important. The first place we went had a kinda lame overpriced buffet. So we went to Burger King. It's a little different than the states, but at least the breakfast food was moderately familiar.
We finished up breakfast and headed back here to Immanual Baptist Church--the place we're staying at in Bangkok. The day before heading over, Chris had asked me to be ready to share on Sunday morning for the 8 AM prayer meeting. Last night while we were jammin on the guitar, the pastor here, Pastor Winit, asked me in addition to play Indescribable at the main service in the morning. The message went great: it was all on the truth that, "God Is Able." The music went good too, though I think it sounded better when we did sound check. Everyone seemed really blessed, and I'm glad to have been able to encourage them.
After the service, the youth group had prepared lunch for us. Pastor Winit asked me then to share a word for the event they were having in the evening for the youth who were graduating High School and moving on to college. I would've stressed except that I had an immidate word in Colossians 2:4-10.
Me and Chris on the bus heading to meet Sharon.
The McDonalds where we met Sharon. I had to get a Strawberry Sunday! Yum!
Sharon working on her E-mails.After lunch we went and met up with Sharon Porterfield for a bit and also met Mark and Carrie Chappel. We had a good visit with them and then came back to IBC. We spent some really cool time with the students and then went to dinner at a cool restauraunt at the top of Bangkok's largest building. It was a BLAST! Seriously... if any of ya'll are coming to Bangkok anytime soon you've GOT to go visit there!
In a taxi headed back to IBC. He got stuck in traffic so we paid him, got out and took the Skytrain.
The Baiyoke Sky Hotel--The tallest building in Bangkok. We had dinner in a restaurant at the top!
Anyway, hope you all are blessed at service Sunday morning! Keep prayin!
In Christ,
Brian
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Internet Soapbox?
For those who are wondering about the name, here's a little something from dictionary.com:
Airplane food.
Here is a video we took on the plane showing you the wonderful world of airplane food. Enjoy!
Arrival in the land of Siam!
Sawatdiikhrap!
Hey all! I arrived safely in Thailand!
The trip here started with frantic packing and preparation... and sleep deprivation. I think I got three hours the evening before I left! After my ever-so-short evening of sleep, I woke up bright and early on Thursday morning doing all my last minute packing... so far I think I have successfully pulled off not forgetting anything! (A first... and this is my 6th trip!) My brother Mike and I went to breakfast with Suzie and her family and then we loaded my stuff up in their car for the trip to the airport. (As a side note... pray for Mikey as he is takes care of my house and car for me.) We had a fun trip... with a quick Starbucks stop. The airport check in went smoothly... It wasn't crowded at all.
Me with my starbucks... they got my name wrong... gr!
We had a couple hours to sit and wait after we went through security. We had lunch at a little ridiculously overpriced snack shop and just sat and had a good time. I'm so glad Suzie was with me! She's the best! Having her with me really made the waiting seem short.
Susie enjoying the sandwich we split for lunch. It was pretty good... but not $10 good!
Waiting by the gate... We've got our boarding passes and we're all ready to go!
On the plane, we were blessed to get a whole window row to ourselves! (The very nice lady at the check-in counter hooked us up!) Suzie got to sit by the window and we had the extra seat to put stuff in. We really enjoyed our time on the plane to just hang out and talk and have fun. The first meal was pretty good, but the second one (in the video if I can get it uploaded) was disappointing. Unfortunately, I had left my medicine in the bag that I checked, so I had heartburn by the end of the flight. Explaining that was interesting since the flight attendants only spoke basic English. I was slightly freaked out that they would think I have swine flu and lock me in a cage when I got off the plane. (And they ARE paranoid about it, let me tell you!)
Suzie playing Tetris on the plane. They had video screens you could watch movies or play games on...
but all the games were kinda lame. :-( (And yes... I do know that it's a bad pic with the bright light behind her.)
In Japan I had to say goodbye to Suzie. :-( I'll get to see her again when I stay in Japan for a few days after finishing up in Thailand. I found my gate for the connecting flight and waited. I think I dozed off a bit and then boarded the very full plane for Bangkok. Aisle seat this time...yesssss! I watched a movie and then slept like a rock. By the end of the flight I was really miserable. I had heartburn and my contacts were dried out and my neck was hurting from sitting for so long and I was TIRED! After falling asleep the last time, I woke up because we were about to land... like 3 minutes from touchdown. I must have really been sleeping cause they hadn't even made me put my chair up or put my seatbelt on!
I got off the plane and went through all the crazy health inspection point and immigration, found my bag and went to find Chris. I was really happy to see him! We came straight home and I went to bed! I got to sleep at like 2AM and slept until 1PM! Today we've just kicked back and put the finishing touches on travel plans while I'm here. Tomorrow morning, I'll be sharing a short devotional at the early prayer meeting thing that they have here at Chris' Bangkok church. Keep praying that the Lord guides and directs our every step!
Catch ya'll later!
Brian!
Hey all! I arrived safely in Thailand!
The trip here started with frantic packing and preparation... and sleep deprivation. I think I got three hours the evening before I left! After my ever-so-short evening of sleep, I woke up bright and early on Thursday morning doing all my last minute packing... so far I think I have successfully pulled off not forgetting anything! (A first... and this is my 6th trip!) My brother Mike and I went to breakfast with Suzie and her family and then we loaded my stuff up in their car for the trip to the airport. (As a side note... pray for Mikey as he is takes care of my house and car for me.) We had a fun trip... with a quick Starbucks stop. The airport check in went smoothly... It wasn't crowded at all.
Me with my starbucks... they got my name wrong... gr!We had a couple hours to sit and wait after we went through security. We had lunch at a little ridiculously overpriced snack shop and just sat and had a good time. I'm so glad Suzie was with me! She's the best! Having her with me really made the waiting seem short.
Susie enjoying the sandwich we split for lunch. It was pretty good... but not $10 good!
Waiting by the gate... We've got our boarding passes and we're all ready to go!On the plane, we were blessed to get a whole window row to ourselves! (The very nice lady at the check-in counter hooked us up!) Suzie got to sit by the window and we had the extra seat to put stuff in. We really enjoyed our time on the plane to just hang out and talk and have fun. The first meal was pretty good, but the second one (in the video if I can get it uploaded) was disappointing. Unfortunately, I had left my medicine in the bag that I checked, so I had heartburn by the end of the flight. Explaining that was interesting since the flight attendants only spoke basic English. I was slightly freaked out that they would think I have swine flu and lock me in a cage when I got off the plane. (And they ARE paranoid about it, let me tell you!)
Suzie playing Tetris on the plane. They had video screens you could watch movies or play games on...but all the games were kinda lame. :-( (And yes... I do know that it's a bad pic with the bright light behind her.)
In Japan I had to say goodbye to Suzie. :-( I'll get to see her again when I stay in Japan for a few days after finishing up in Thailand. I found my gate for the connecting flight and waited. I think I dozed off a bit and then boarded the very full plane for Bangkok. Aisle seat this time...yesssss! I watched a movie and then slept like a rock. By the end of the flight I was really miserable. I had heartburn and my contacts were dried out and my neck was hurting from sitting for so long and I was TIRED! After falling asleep the last time, I woke up because we were about to land... like 3 minutes from touchdown. I must have really been sleeping cause they hadn't even made me put my chair up or put my seatbelt on!
I got off the plane and went through all the crazy health inspection point and immigration, found my bag and went to find Chris. I was really happy to see him! We came straight home and I went to bed! I got to sleep at like 2AM and slept until 1PM! Today we've just kicked back and put the finishing touches on travel plans while I'm here. Tomorrow morning, I'll be sharing a short devotional at the early prayer meeting thing that they have here at Chris' Bangkok church. Keep praying that the Lord guides and directs our every step!
Catch ya'll later!
Brian!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
I have a blog? Oh man!
Hey all...
I am attempting something crazy. I'm going to blog while I'm in Thailand and Japan so that everyone can follow along. This is really kinda funny for a guy who doesn't follow blogs very well... but no matter!
"Why in the world would I want to read another blog?" Glad you asked! You see... this blog will be cool. You'll learn about what I'm doing in Thailand, what the people are like, what Chris Mills is doing... and you'll get to see lots of PICTURES! I'm going to try video too... but we'll see how that goes. I may even do this totally as a video blog... hopefully late at night when I'm tired and thus more entertaining. Me and Chris Mills late at night tired after sitting and traveling for hours is a truly amazing form of entertainment that the world should not be deprived of. No really. I'm serious. Or maybe at that point everything just seems funny. Either way you, as a devoted and faithful blog reader, will get to laugh with us or at us and thus be entertained and educated either way!
Tomorrow is the big departure day, so now I gotta go work on frantically getting ready to go so that hopefully I can get a little sleep tonight!
Later
--B
I am attempting something crazy. I'm going to blog while I'm in Thailand and Japan so that everyone can follow along. This is really kinda funny for a guy who doesn't follow blogs very well... but no matter!
"Why in the world would I want to read another blog?" Glad you asked! You see... this blog will be cool. You'll learn about what I'm doing in Thailand, what the people are like, what Chris Mills is doing... and you'll get to see lots of PICTURES! I'm going to try video too... but we'll see how that goes. I may even do this totally as a video blog... hopefully late at night when I'm tired and thus more entertaining. Me and Chris Mills late at night tired after sitting and traveling for hours is a truly amazing form of entertainment that the world should not be deprived of. No really. I'm serious. Or maybe at that point everything just seems funny. Either way you, as a devoted and faithful blog reader, will get to laugh with us or at us and thus be entertained and educated either way!
Tomorrow is the big departure day, so now I gotta go work on frantically getting ready to go so that hopefully I can get a little sleep tonight!
Later
--B
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