dtstraveljournal
Purpose: To catalogue and display information and pictures regarding the DTS experience for Chris and Justin.
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Friday, January 27, 2006
pictures... [cambodia]
So I've really given the update for the week... nothing has really changed... her are some pictures... :o)
>My Favorite 4-Square Orpahange Kid
>Chillin' @ the orpahanage
>Field Day Passport -- they loved these...
>Neighborhood Kids in a Tree
>Kids w/ Talor after the obstacle course
>Krista and the girls after their throwing contest...
>Jon Boy Running the Fish Pond...
>Water Balloons...
>The Image ... boy did it come to life! :o) [Krista is the mad organizer... she's amazing!]
>This one, from breakfast this morning, .... It's tea!!! (No really.. it's tea they, for some reason, drink it out of a shot glass...)
>Taylor stepping in poop... HAHA
---
Pray:
-Wisdom
-MORE growth
-And that we'd be influencers!
>My Favorite 4-Square Orpahange Kid
>Chillin' @ the orpahanage
>Field Day Passport -- they loved these...
>Neighborhood Kids in a Tree
>Kids w/ Talor after the obstacle course
>Krista and the girls after their throwing contest...
>Jon Boy Running the Fish Pond...
>Water Balloons...
>The Image ... boy did it come to life! :o) [Krista is the mad organizer... she's amazing!]
>This one, from breakfast this morning, .... It's tea!!! (No really.. it's tea they, for some reason, drink it out of a shot glass...)
>Taylor stepping in poop... HAHA
---
Pray:
-Wisdom
-MORE growth
-And that we'd be influencers!
Thursday, January 26, 2006
shaweeet [cambodia]
This week has been a shaweet week so far...
Most of my week has been preparing for a field day... that's right folks a field day! At the four-square church orphanage Taylor (Master Mind #1), Krista (Master Mind #2), and Justin (Master Mind #3), planned-shopped for-and set up a field day (with the help of our team of course) for the kids at the orphanage. It freakin' owned!
We had an obstacle course, a running race, a throwing contest, a hula-hoop/sit-up station, snack station/fish pond [where the kids stick a fishing pole out the window and pull up a prize bag]... it pwned. And in the afternoon we had a 3-legged race, a water balloon toss, and tug-o-war... and to finish it off we participated in an award ceremony... it was amazing.
So that was today! :o)
Earlier this week, I went to a Pagoda with Krista and we hung out with a monk by the name of Mung and he teaches English next to our house... oh speaking of English I taught my fair share of it this week... and I helped paint a mural in the orphanage's baby room... and we prepped -- OH we prepped... it was awesome.
Prayer Needs:
-That we'd continue to hear God's voice.
-We'd be able to connect more deeply with the people around us.
-That we'd be a blessing.
(MORE WISDOM! And healing for Johanna she's been sick.)
-JUSTIN
Most of my week has been preparing for a field day... that's right folks a field day! At the four-square church orphanage Taylor (Master Mind #1), Krista (Master Mind #2), and Justin (Master Mind #3), planned-shopped for-and set up a field day (with the help of our team of course) for the kids at the orphanage. It freakin' owned!
We had an obstacle course, a running race, a throwing contest, a hula-hoop/sit-up station, snack station/fish pond [where the kids stick a fishing pole out the window and pull up a prize bag]... it pwned. And in the afternoon we had a 3-legged race, a water balloon toss, and tug-o-war... and to finish it off we participated in an award ceremony... it was amazing.
So that was today! :o)
Earlier this week, I went to a Pagoda with Krista and we hung out with a monk by the name of Mung and he teaches English next to our house... oh speaking of English I taught my fair share of it this week... and I helped paint a mural in the orphanage's baby room... and we prepped -- OH we prepped... it was awesome.
Prayer Needs:
-That we'd continue to hear God's voice.
-We'd be able to connect more deeply with the people around us.
-That we'd be a blessing.
(MORE WISDOM! And healing for Johanna she's been sick.)
-JUSTIN
Friday, January 20, 2006
What a week... :o) w00t [cambodia]
This past week, since last Sunday, has been crazy. We have done so much and I am definitely not going to do it justice in this update.
A few things that are concrete that you should know. I am learning and growing in so many different ways that it isn't even funny. I am learning to hear God's voice more and more everyday and I'm having a great time. Just this week I had emailed someone (oh about email, I need to apologize for not sending an email back to everyone that has emailed be this week... I am slowly running out of time to check all of them and then to send them... I will do my best to send an email to you as I have the ability...) about things that I was praying about for them and some things that I felt God saying to me. And here is the exciting part!!! Everything that I was praying for her about was right on. Who's actually hearing God from across the Pacific? JUSTIN IS. That's all.
So on Sunday I spoke at Church, it seemed to go well, something that I really enjoyed is that the church that we are apart of (It's a 4-square church, funded by American 4-Square Org. Each 4-square church has an orphanage attached...), most of the congregation of the church are kids. It was AWESOME! We go to preach to kids who have a REAL relationship with God. It's freaking awesome. They all pray and they seem to have great understanding, it rocked. In the afternoon on Sunday after lunch we went back and we played games with them and loved on them. It was amazing. (for some reason I feel that I've updated this information before... maybe i already did... whoops!)
Throughout the week I made some cool connections with some people here. One of my favorite connections this week was with a monk that I met at the Pagoda, and at the English class that we teach, and his name is Sambath (pronounced Sam-baat) he is 28 and he is a monk. He is a monk that is VERY conscious of social justice, which is really funny because we talked about the differences in society between America and Cambodia. And he was VERY open... which made me laugh because here in Cambodia there really isn't "free speech" as we know it in America. It was really cool. I'll be going back to see him a few times each week before we leave Cambodia.
A few things that are concrete that you should know. I am learning and growing in so many different ways that it isn't even funny. I am learning to hear God's voice more and more everyday and I'm having a great time. Just this week I had emailed someone (oh about email, I need to apologize for not sending an email back to everyone that has emailed be this week... I am slowly running out of time to check all of them and then to send them... I will do my best to send an email to you as I have the ability...) about things that I was praying about for them and some things that I felt God saying to me. And here is the exciting part!!! Everything that I was praying for her about was right on. Who's actually hearing God from across the Pacific? JUSTIN IS. That's all.
So on Sunday I spoke at Church, it seemed to go well, something that I really enjoyed is that the church that we are apart of (It's a 4-square church, funded by American 4-Square Org. Each 4-square church has an orphanage attached...), most of the congregation of the church are kids. It was AWESOME! We go to preach to kids who have a REAL relationship with God. It's freaking awesome. They all pray and they seem to have great understanding, it rocked. In the afternoon on Sunday after lunch we went back and we played games with them and loved on them. It was amazing. (for some reason I feel that I've updated this information before... maybe i already did... whoops!)
Throughout the week I made some cool connections with some people here. One of my favorite connections this week was with a monk that I met at the Pagoda, and at the English class that we teach, and his name is Sambath (pronounced Sam-baat) he is 28 and he is a monk. He is a monk that is VERY conscious of social justice, which is really funny because we talked about the differences in society between America and Cambodia. And he was VERY open... which made me laugh because here in Cambodia there really isn't "free speech" as we know it in America. It was really cool. I'll be going back to see him a few times each week before we leave Cambodia.
I'll give you a run-down of a normal day for me. Since I haven't done that yet...
6:55 - Get up
7:00 - Morning Devotions With Team
8:00 - Breakfast
9:00 - Learning Khmer (Cambodian Language)
10:00 - 11:59 - Ministry Time #1
12:00 - Lunch
1:00 - 'Rest Time'
2:00 - 4:00 Ministry Time #2
4:00 - 6:00 Ministry Time #3
6:00 - Dinner
7:00 - 8:30 (Team Time if needed)
@ night I do a bit of a 'Quiet Time' with God
Sleep after that...
Ministry Times consist of: Hospital Ministry/Teaching English (I do this at least 3 days a week)/Going to Pagoda/Doing Sports Ministry/Church Orphanage/Government Orphanage/Open Ministry/Planning Meetings for other MT's
It's a pretty packed day. I've noticed that I'm really not a morning person and that it's wise for me to spend time with God at the end of my days because morning times are a pain in the butt... :o)
Keep praying for us as we finish out our DTS run. We have about 4 weeks left and we are looking forward to what God is going to do in us as we continue going on.
A few of the patients at the hospital have died; both Arrim and He-hom died, two of the men that the other team had loved on -- they both knew the love of Jesus because of the other team and us, and they both committed their lives to Jesus. Pray that God uses us powerfully and continually.
Health for my team is finally looking pretty good -- at least for today -- pray that it stays that way. And that we hear from God continually... I'm loving you from across the ocean.
(If you sent me an email (like 11 people) I will respond as soon as I can... I may not have time to do it right now because I have to meet some of my other team really soon. I love you!)
-justin
*** I need to tell you about Jesus wraps... ... I almost forgot. They are these floury tortillas that have been fried and they've been basked in a sweet sauce. Oh man... the name (which we named them ourselves... Jesus Wraps) does them justice... they are freakin' amazing. I'm going to try to learn to make them ... HOLY CRAP... they're good... :o) that's all.***
Sunday, January 15, 2006
crazy prayer day [cambodia]
On Sunday we went to the Church that we are going to be apart of for the next 5 weeks. It's a four-square church and it's really neat. Most of the attendants are Children. Our team introduced ourselves and we talked to them a bit and then I gave a message. It was pretty fun and I enjoyed it. We sang some songs, some that I did not enjoy--hehe I don't know if that's in my giftings, and then we watched the Cambodian kids to body worship (which is singing and doing actions with songs) it was sweet!
We were able to come back later that day and Krista and I organized things for us to do for just the kids. I used a few things from the flipt curriculum and we do Jesus being Tempted in the desert and we had different tempting situations for the kids to be in-- one girl with gum almost in her mouth, another boy with a soda and a straw in his, and another with a secret bag. It was funny because in America the kids would have cracked but here the Cambodian kids won't do anything that they aren't supposed too -- hehe so it was funny.
Today Taylor and I had open ministry and we walked to a Pagoda, on the way we met some kids that we are going to play soccer with later, and then we went and talked to some monks, and then we came back. It was amazingly fun. We are starting to settle in and we are finding our ministry's slowly but surely. God is good.
Prayer:
Health- Taylor is feeling better, as am I, lets keep that up... and pray that no one else gets sick. Susanna (5 year old in the Kiwi family) has a chest cough... it needs to go away.
Wisdom- That we'd be growing in it...
Power- We'd walk in the way that God'd want us to.
Direction- following God.
Ádios! :o)
-justin
Friday, January 13, 2006
Getting on well... [cambodia]
I had to steal Chris' way of making a cool subject. SO. We've been crazy busy here in Cambodia this last week.
PRAY:
-Sickness goes away.
-That our team would find the ministries that God wants us to invest into.
-We would be listening and hearing God.
We've been sick, Taylor and I, for most of the week. We'd really like to have hard poop. Might be an information over share but it''s a serious prayer request. :o) We've been pretty runny and we need some help there. Taylor has been in our room for most of the week... so he needs to get better because I need a partner in crime... hehe
Also we are finding our different ministry places. The girls are finding that they like the Hospital a lot and they've been praying for and they are discipling room of women. We are going to start English teaching this next week on our own -- this last week we've been learning from the other teams.
I am speaking in Church tomorrow, pray that it goes the way that God wants it too. :o)
Gotta go. Hearts to you all!
-justin
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
w00t and a half...
Right now we are getting our feet wet with all of the different ministry opportunities here. We are working in a Military Hospital getting to know patients and feeling out their felt needs and we're loving on them. Jenny brought someone to the Lord today, and I was able to see my prayer for a patient come through--the other team here led him to Christ this morning. Also today at the Hospital I got an open door to go and play soccer with the Military Men that are taking school there. It was pretty sweet -- so Taylor and the other guys on the other team and I are probably going to go one of these days and we will play soccer and talk with them.
We are also helping at an Orphanage where we are playing and doing what we can there...
Tomorrow we will start doing English classes and we will be able to see if that is where God wants us. Not really sure yet... but it should be cool soon! :o)
I'm still hoping and praying that the Youth Center will open up for us so that we can help with that... speaking of youth I met a guy the first day that we were here and he wants to meet with me again @ 4pm on Sunday for a Coke. It should be cool. I'm excited about that.
Aight... Gotta go... mi love and prayers to you all! :o)
--justy
Friday, January 06, 2006
WE FINALLY MADE IT!!!
We're in Battdambang Cambodia.
RANDOM FACT #1 -- the spellings of the city names will change based on where you are and who you hear the name from...
So I FINALLY have a few pictures...
We started in...
>Phnom Penh.
And while we were there we did a BUNCH of things, but with the pictures you will only see a few of them. We went to a NGO School and we sat in on a disabled kids class. They were the coolest kids and all you had to do was love on them.
>This kid has Cerebral Palsy.
We took "Took Took"'s around the city, which are basically motor bikes with a carriage attached to the back.
>Ignore the shaved head -- I'm NOT becoming a monk ... ;o)
After that day we went to a few other places, we packed up, and we left for...
>Battambang.
The trip up wasn't bad and it was a nice night there. We met up with the team that is here, the leaders are Garth and Krissy and it's been a blast hanging out with them. They've showed us some of our ministry opportunities (we need pray to figure out which ones that we are to do...) and they are great.
We went to a Military Hospital.. It is very run-down by our standards but it has the basic things that are needed for survival, but by Cambodian standards it's pretty good. There are entire families that actually live at the hospital; the patients living there are all people who have been in the military. Most of the patients have AIDS/HIV, some of Tuberculosis and other illnesses. The saddest thing to see is that people here die of diarrhea, basically, dehydration and not of anything more serious than that just because the DR's haven't been trained as well as they should be. So if we went there to serve at the hospital I would either be talking to the patients through a translator, or I would be playing games and doing things with the kids of the families that live there.
also
We went to a Governmental Orphanage that is down the street from where we are staying. Check out some of the pictures...
>Taylor with one of the babies...
>Playin' soccer with the kids (they're REALLY good)
>Me hanging with one of the kids that really didn't want to play.
That place was cool. We might work there.
Also there is a Pagoda Ministry where we would go hang with the monks and talk to them, all of the monks here have free education and they have free everything. So they are rather well off here -- and we'd go spend time making relationships with them.
I also met a guy the first day that I was here and I want to start meeting with him, he's Buddhist, and he just wants to spend time with me to practice his English and also just to be a friend. I'm really excited about that... so I think I am going to pursue making a relationship with him. It could be cool.
ALSO -- there is a Youth Center that the other team has started up and we may be able to be apart of that center. Starting it up, teaching classes, and being useful. It should be really neat to see that develop...
We stay in a house that has been designed for missionaries...
>In this picture is Makh-yeah (Grandma in Khmir -- Pastors wife) and Susanna and the Pastor.
We live in a section of the house that is just for us. And the families.. the Pastors entire family lives there which is 5 families and kids and what not. Basically it's a TON of people. But they love having us and it's been really cool for us because they are so generous and loving.
>Taylor and I causing trouble.
Pray that:
-God lets us know what ministries to be apart of.
-Continued safety.
-Diving appointments.
-We grow more and more every hour.
Pray for Chris as well...
"I leave to hill tribes today for 7 days. G2g dawg peace
For health, and for God to move. (and however else you feel led)
Love you guys. Thanks so much!
RANDOM FACT #1 -- the spellings of the city names will change based on where you are and who you hear the name from...
So I FINALLY have a few pictures...
We started in...
>Phnom Penh.
And while we were there we did a BUNCH of things, but with the pictures you will only see a few of them. We went to a NGO School and we sat in on a disabled kids class. They were the coolest kids and all you had to do was love on them.
>This kid has Cerebral Palsy.
We took "Took Took"'s around the city, which are basically motor bikes with a carriage attached to the back.
>Ignore the shaved head -- I'm NOT becoming a monk ... ;o)
After that day we went to a few other places, we packed up, and we left for...
>Battambang.
The trip up wasn't bad and it was a nice night there. We met up with the team that is here, the leaders are Garth and Krissy and it's been a blast hanging out with them. They've showed us some of our ministry opportunities (we need pray to figure out which ones that we are to do...) and they are great.
We went to a Military Hospital.. It is very run-down by our standards but it has the basic things that are needed for survival, but by Cambodian standards it's pretty good. There are entire families that actually live at the hospital; the patients living there are all people who have been in the military. Most of the patients have AIDS/HIV, some of Tuberculosis and other illnesses. The saddest thing to see is that people here die of diarrhea, basically, dehydration and not of anything more serious than that just because the DR's haven't been trained as well as they should be. So if we went there to serve at the hospital I would either be talking to the patients through a translator, or I would be playing games and doing things with the kids of the families that live there.
also
We went to a Governmental Orphanage that is down the street from where we are staying. Check out some of the pictures...
>Taylor with one of the babies...
>Playin' soccer with the kids (they're REALLY good)
>Me hanging with one of the kids that really didn't want to play.
That place was cool. We might work there.
Also there is a Pagoda Ministry where we would go hang with the monks and talk to them, all of the monks here have free education and they have free everything. So they are rather well off here -- and we'd go spend time making relationships with them.
I also met a guy the first day that I was here and I want to start meeting with him, he's Buddhist, and he just wants to spend time with me to practice his English and also just to be a friend. I'm really excited about that... so I think I am going to pursue making a relationship with him. It could be cool.
ALSO -- there is a Youth Center that the other team has started up and we may be able to be apart of that center. Starting it up, teaching classes, and being useful. It should be really neat to see that develop...
We stay in a house that has been designed for missionaries...
>In this picture is Makh-yeah (Grandma in Khmir -- Pastors wife) and Susanna and the Pastor.
We live in a section of the house that is just for us. And the families.. the Pastors entire family lives there which is 5 families and kids and what not. Basically it's a TON of people. But they love having us and it's been really cool for us because they are so generous and loving.
>Taylor and I causing trouble.
Pray that:
-God lets us know what ministries to be apart of.
-Continued safety.
-Diving appointments.
-We grow more and more every hour.
Pray for Chris as well...
"I leave to hill tribes today for 7 days. G2g dawg peace
-chris"
For health, and for God to move. (and however else you feel led)
Love you guys. Thanks so much!
Monday, January 02, 2006
STILL in Phnom Penh, Cambodia...
I just realized that I don't spell Phnom Penh very well... that is the way that it's supposed to be spelled... but I definitely can not spell it that way. We are STILL getting ready to go on out and have ourselves a grand old adventure. I'm ready. I can't wait to be off to Batdambang to be set down into a routine thing to do everyday. It'll be really exciting to see what God does where we are at. Today was another day of grabbing the last few things that we needed from the market, sending off some emails, and practicing dramas. We are REALLY ready for those things that we will do in church. It's exciting.
Prayers for everyone in my house -- they are all getting sick now. So pray that it'd not get sent around again to everyone else...
Oh and I went under the blade. I got my haircut. It's like military cut length -- when I can I'll send some pictures in. My camera hasn't been working all that well with the computers here... but it's safe to say that my hair is about 1/2 inch long. ... Yeah... SHORT. Well best of luck to you all as your day goes by... I'm off to ride a Moto Dope (that is the culturally sensitive name here...) back home. Hopefully I'll be writing next from BB!!
--
Prayin' for ya Chris. Good luck dude! Peace.
Prayers for everyone in my house -- they are all getting sick now. So pray that it'd not get sent around again to everyone else...
Oh and I went under the blade. I got my haircut. It's like military cut length -- when I can I'll send some pictures in. My camera hasn't been working all that well with the computers here... but it's safe to say that my hair is about 1/2 inch long. ... Yeah... SHORT. Well best of luck to you all as your day goes by... I'm off to ride a Moto Dope (that is the culturally sensitive name here...) back home. Hopefully I'll be writing next from BB!!
--
Prayin' for ya Chris. Good luck dude! Peace.
Cambodia: Cwazy Adventures...
We are in our final stages of getting ready to go to Battdambang. I am ready. I AM READY... SOOO ready. Reading Chris' adventures makes me want to have some of my own. :o) It's really exciting to see what God is doing all around... in Thailand and in Cambodia. Some people on the Phenom Pen Team #2 went to an Orphanage and from what they were telling me... it was cool. I am ready to be in the place that we're to be in for a longer amount of time. We leave on the 5th-- I believe that it's a Thursday... It's going to be awesome to be in a place for longer amounts of time. EXCITING!
My prayer is that God will do amazing and miraculous things in, through, and around me and my team as we are here in this country. (And also to remember that ministry doesn't stop when we leave this country either, that we are to minister and be the way that we are called to be ... everywhere... it should be fun.)
We've been practicing our Drama's and our Testimonies and what not for the Church ministry stuff and we're pretty polished on those things... But I have a feeling that we will be doing less in the church and more things outside of the church. I think that God is going to surprise us a bit, that he is going to be letting us know things little by little, but when he lets us know it is going to be nothing that we expected. That'd be cool.
Someone wise once told me that to find the good things in life that we have to search a bit, whether or not that point is true is really irrelevant, but I hope to search and find great things. I am trully excited to be going to Battdambang... I am ready to love on the people there and to make an impact on as many people as I can. We are going to be a team marked with servant hood. We've all be feelin' that... it's REALLY exciting.
I know that I couldn't have come this far without your prayers... I appreciate them ... please keep them coming! :o) I love you guys.
I hope that the next time you read my updates... that it means I'm in Battdambang... :o)
Blessings to you!