SOUTH ASIA

So.

I've been promising this thing for about a month. At first, I just didn't know how I was going to do it. Obviously, I can't really talk about the country; giving geographical details defeats the purpose of having a security policy, but not giving geographical details makes it difficult for me to tell a story. I can't explain the context, so the story makes little sense.

I decided to just do a picture post. But which pictures? I have about 800 from which to choose, and even if I could limit it, I have the problem of context again.

Then I thought about just not doing a post about South Asia at all. It eliminates the security problem entirely, and I can stop agonizing about how to do it. But that's not fair to you, because it really was a good trip, and I did see some incredible things.

Finally, as I was talking to my dear friend Beka, and we were discussing our respective failures to update our blogs, I was forced to acknowledge that my reticence was explained by a root problem.

I haven't come home, yet.

Physically, I've been home since the fifteenth of April. But mentally, emotionally, maybe even spiritually, I'm still standing on top of the guest house, looking out over the capital.


On every trip I take, I ask God to teach me something, to reveal Himself in a new way. Sometimes, I'm given a verse or a subject to study even before I leave. Often, there is a single moment of clarity, such as when I was in Sierra Leone back in 2008. God is always present wherever I am, but there is always one of those "Ah-ha!" moments when I suddenly realize my purpose for being on the trip.

I don't know what that is for South Asia.

It's painful to admit that. I have prayed about it, but I don't know what else to do except wait. And I hate waiting. I suppose that's my lesson this time around.

So, just the facts this time around. I went to South Asia with my boss so we could see the ministries there and gather stories to share throughout OMS. We saw a girls' school, micro-loan recipients, evangelism teams, churches, a baptism and discipleship training. We interviewed dozens of people, we took hundreds of pictures, and we did it all in about four days. Here's just a taste of what we saw.














I would appreciate your continued prayers for me. The past couple of months have been rough, and it's often been a matter of taking things one day (sometimes hour) at a time.

I would encourage you to head on over to Beka's blog. She writes good stuff.

And if she hasn't updated it, please point that out to her.

;D

Woe

There has been a woeful lack of updateage. I am well aware of this fact, and hereby apologize profusely. Life, alas, has been rather stressful of late. I am still trying to catch up after the trip, and now I'm headed to Pennsylvania for mission conferences. I do intend to share about South Asia. Really. It's coming.

Someday.

Actually, if you want to know about the trip, you could come to Mt. Olivet UB Church in Chambersburg on Saturday night. I will tell you all about it.

:D

May Radio Ad

Once again, I have written and starred in the latest radio ad for One Mission Society.



I am working on my blog for South Asia, but it may be awhile. I have to sort through 700 pictures. Unless you want to see them all. :)

THAILAND

My goal for this post: Convey the important aspects of this trip in a concise and interesting manner.

We'll see if that happens.

This post is going to be a little different. Normally, I post a bunch of pictures and explain them. But this time, I'm posting a video that I made about the trip, and then I'll talk a little about the specifics. Also, for this post, I'm only doing the first country we visited. I will cover the second half of the journey at a later date.

(I realize the video takes up a lot of room. Click on it to go to YouTube and watch it there. Or settle for having my face cover half the frame.)


The song in the background comes from one of the morning worship times and is sung by the delegates from India.

Why was I in Thailand?
I don't know if I've shared this before, but part of my job is to act as an ECC advocate. I promote all of OMS in the Communications Department, but I work closely with ECC in particular on web stories, email marketing and fun stuff like that. (If you're wondering what ECC stands for, check out this post or go here.) From April 2-9, ECC held the Asia Regional Coordinator's Seminar in Bangkok, Thailand. Basically, the ECC national coordinator's from 11 countries gathered together to discuss strategy, learn about new procedures and encourage one another in the shared goal of planting multiplying churches. The theme for the seminar was "Coaching for a Greater Harvest."

What did I do?
I was part of a two-woman journalism team. My primary responsibility was to interview the participants and gather stories about the work of OMS and ECC around the world. My secondary responsibility was to document the event through pictures and video. I worked with my boss, Susan Loobie, and together we conducted over 20 interviews and heard some truly amazing stories about what God is doing in Asia.

Where can I read these stories?
We will be writing the stories from this event for the next few months. Some may end up in Outreach magazine, while others may be on the website. Others will probably be posted to Facebook or other venues. I will link to them on here when I can, and I may just post the story for you.

Did you see much of Thailand?
Not really. We had a little bit of free time before the seminar began, but used most of the time to adjust to the new time zone. We were able to slip away a couple mornings to do a bit of shopping and to get a Thai massage, but did not do any sightseeing. That's one thing I really need to do if I ever go back. What I did see of the country was quite nice, and I'm told that once you're outside of Bangkok, the scenery is quite beautiful. (Not that Bangkok wasn't nice, but cities don't change much from country to country.)

How was the weather?
Hot. And humid. Our conference room was air-conditioned, as was our room at night, but the short walk between the two left us drenched in sweat. Had we stayed another week, we could have participated in the water festival, which would have been lovely.

How was the food?
Very rice-like. We had rice with almost every meal, but we really didn't eat anything too weird. Some of the curry was quite spicy, so I steered away from that. But our cooks did an excellent job of changing things up, and we actually had ribs and potatoes one night. I was quite pleased with the variety.

What did God teach you in Thailand?
We talk a lot about the global church and how we are all connected as the Body of Christ. But to actually see it in action was truly awesome. All of these church leaders were united in a common purpose, and they are already seeing incredible results of church multiplication. Traditionally, Asian cultures have been hesitant about this approach to church planting. It is quite different from what they have done before. But it makes so much sense, and it really does work, and to hear about all the people coming to Christ is so amazing. I'm not really a joiner, but after listening to so many stories of God's faithfulness, I was proud to be part of a truly global Church. It certainly brings perspective to life in America.

Will you go back to Thailand?
I hope so. OMS has no official work in Thailand, but it's a central spot for many of our national partners, so that may be an option. I am absolutely ready to visit the countries represented at the seminar to see how God is using what they learned for His glory.

So, did I meet my goal? I have no idea. I will be sending out an update in paper form soon, and that will hopefully clear up any questions you have. But you can always ask me on here or on Facebook or email or by phone or whatever. It really was a good experience, and I did actually get to visit one of the countries...

But that is a topic for another day.

(By the way, if you followed all of the links I posted, you're awesome. I realize I went a little nuts.)

On Jet Lag

No, I'm not ready to write about my trip, yet. Today went a long way to help me process things, but I still need to read my journal one more time and comb through the 1000+ pictures I took for the best ones to share.

For this particular post, I would like to address the oft-referenced, but rarely examined, topic of jet lag.

Here is how dictionary.com defines the subject:

jet lag 
–noun
a temporary disruption of the body's normal biological rhythms after high-speed air travel through several time zones.

Generally speaking, I have usually taken after my mother when it comes to jet lag. It rarely affects her, and she can often jump right back into things upon returning home. She frequently flies to the other side of the world, and more often than not, she just shrugs off the ill effects of completely reversing her body's clock.

My father, on the other hand, has not faired as well. He can handle being a few hours off, but last year, he was in Thailand. He did well while he was there, but it took him almost a month to fully recover when he arrived home.

On previous trips, I haven't really had to deal with jet lag. Traveling to Latin America doesn't really throw off normal rhythms, and I adjusted easily to the 5-6 hours difference in Europe. I attribute this partially to my youth, and partially to the fact that I have a rather fluid sleep cycle anyway. I can allow myself a day going and coming to adjust, and I'm right as rain. I have a general philosophy when it comes to travel - you have to immediately put yourself on the local rhythm. Otherwise, you adjust too gradually, and this equals a miserable trip. Jumping right in helps shock your body into a faster adjustment.

However, things change rather dramatically when you literally shift everything forward half a day. The trip there wasn't a problem. I arrived in Thailand just after midnight on a Saturday, went to bed around 1:30, woke up at 6:30 in the morning, and took the day to rest. I didn't take a nap, I just relaxed, then went to bed around 10. After that, I was fine.

On the return trip, I left South Asia early in the morning on Wednesday, spent 15 hours in an airport in India, slept four hours on the eight hour flight to London, and then was awake until I arrived home around 7 on Thursday evening. After two full days of travel, I was more than ready to get some shut-eye. I was determined to follow my policy, however, so I stayed up as late as possible. It wasn't until I realized I had fallen asleep sitting at my kitchen table that I relented.

That night was weird. I woke up a couple of times, not sure where I was, convinced I was still traveling, trying to find my bags. Within a few minutes each time, though, I was able to get back to sleep, not waking completely until after 9. I took Friday easy, didn't go out, which was good, because my brain was soaked in fog. Most of the time, I didn't know what day it was. I went to bed early again, and I felt quite rested on Saturday, though my body was aching from the travel and other things.

But there is a lingering weariness. I am seesawing on when I go to bed and when I wake up. This morning, I was up at 5. I felt rested, but I don't generally get up so early. Also, I am still having trouble figuring out where I am when I first wake. It is incredibly disconcerting, and I don't like how muddled my brain gets.

So, that's my state of mind right now. I didn't get anything done at work today because I was trying to figure out what from the trip needed to be done and then what regular stuff needed to be done. I also spent the entire afternoon debriefing with the rest of the group who went from HQ. That helped me stop drifting so much. It's still hard, though - my brain and my body feel like they are on two separate planes of existence. I'm just waiting for them to decide when and where to reconnect.

All that to say this:

I hate jet lag.

Thank you all so much for your prayers! I'm working on a longer post to tell you about everything that happened on the trip, but for now, I wanted to let you know that I am alive and back in the States. Everything went very well, and I'm very pleased with my first trip to Asia.

We're headed to our next destination shortly. Probably won't have any internet connection, so no blog posts or Facebook updates. Please keep me and my boss in your prayers over the next few days. We're not really sure what to expect, but have been told many (often conflicting) things. We're both quite nervous, and would appreciate your prayers greatly. Thank you all, and look for an update when I return to the States on Thursday, April 14.