After our many weeks of bonding and preparing for this journey, we safely landed 2 hours ago.
The feeling of the humidity is still an unknown but I will find out soon. The plane ride was so smooth and we got in some sleep. It is a definite sign of God watching over us from the beginning. Today we will rest in a hotel and tomrrow we will meet with the Taiwan local team to prepare and rehearse. Please pray for unity in spirit, joy in serving, and not be weighed down by the things to get done. I know we have alot more to work on. I know that Satan is out to attack and we need your prayers daily.
It was great seeing Sheen meet up with the team. I look forward to this coming experience.
More to share very soon...
-Ruth
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Meeting up with the team
Well, after being separated for nearly slightly over 2 weeks, I remet with the rest of the team. Of course, the first thing Josh does is throw a bag of chips at me. Being with the team again is really exciting and we can finally practice the skits as a group again.
-Sheen
-Sheen
7-3 Reflections on an Airplane
7/3
Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
So let’s see, we’re about 4 hours from our destination. Airplane seats are so hard to sleep in so I’m giving up. Jason and Andrea however, are still calmly sleeping away. A scroll through my personal TV reveals that there’s nothing that great to watch. Well then, at least there are still games to play. However with a selection that consists games like Luxor, Tik Rack Toe, and Mummy Maze, the entertainment didn’t last very long. What better to do than to sit, and think, and think some more and finally just decide to get the laptop out to use. So what have I been thinking about for the last couple hours besides, “I want to get off this plane so badly” and “Sigh, I wish I could sleep. I’m gonna be so dead tomorrow”? Well, the answer? That’s pretty much it. Tomorrow’s going to be a draining day and I’ve gotten about 4 hours of sleep. I’m going to need so much supernatural energy tomorrow provided by God to be able to function properly. I’m going to consider this the first lesson of this trip from God; He’s pretty much saying “You can’t do ANYTHING in your own power. You’re going to have to rely on Me for this trip, completely.” Of course no one goes on a mission trip with the intentional mindset, “I’m going to do everything on my own power”, but somewhere in the back of my mind, a residue of human nature, there’s that thought. I don’t think the full magnitude of what I’ve signed up for has hit me yet, but, may God’s will be done. We are no doubt going to be challenged with numerous obstacles, emotional pressures, and constantly changing plans, but we’re going to have to remember that our Lord is God over all. My prayer request right now is for strength, patience, and flexibility. We are certain that we are going to need it, but are even more certain that God will provide it when we are used by Him to do His Work. Please pray for us, that we may have the energy we need, “through Christ who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
So let’s see, we’re about 4 hours from our destination. Airplane seats are so hard to sleep in so I’m giving up. Jason and Andrea however, are still calmly sleeping away. A scroll through my personal TV reveals that there’s nothing that great to watch. Well then, at least there are still games to play. However with a selection that consists games like Luxor, Tik Rack Toe, and Mummy Maze, the entertainment didn’t last very long. What better to do than to sit, and think, and think some more and finally just decide to get the laptop out to use. So what have I been thinking about for the last couple hours besides, “I want to get off this plane so badly” and “Sigh, I wish I could sleep. I’m gonna be so dead tomorrow”? Well, the answer? That’s pretty much it. Tomorrow’s going to be a draining day and I’ve gotten about 4 hours of sleep. I’m going to need so much supernatural energy tomorrow provided by God to be able to function properly. I’m going to consider this the first lesson of this trip from God; He’s pretty much saying “You can’t do ANYTHING in your own power. You’re going to have to rely on Me for this trip, completely.” Of course no one goes on a mission trip with the intentional mindset, “I’m going to do everything on my own power”, but somewhere in the back of my mind, a residue of human nature, there’s that thought. I don’t think the full magnitude of what I’ve signed up for has hit me yet, but, may God’s will be done. We are no doubt going to be challenged with numerous obstacles, emotional pressures, and constantly changing plans, but we’re going to have to remember that our Lord is God over all. My prayer request right now is for strength, patience, and flexibility. We are certain that we are going to need it, but are even more certain that God will provide it when we are used by Him to do His Work. Please pray for us, that we may have the energy we need, “through Christ who strengthens me.”
7-2 Reflections in an Airport
July 2
You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8
So we’re sitting here at the airport about 1.5 hrs early and if there’s one thing I learned so far, it’s that international terminals are extremely boring and water’s overpriced. So of course we’ve got nothing better to do than sit and stare at my 3 iPods or Jason reading Andrea’s book with Andrea staring off randomly into space. Well, let me tell you, that got boring pretty quickly so instead we’re decided to stare off into space some more and observe those around. Looking at the people around, they’re mostly Asian, how surprising, I know, considering we’re going to Taiwan after all, but that’s probably where the similarities end. There are probably people whose reasons for going are for vacation, business trips, to visit relatives, or maybe even to shop for cheap Chinese stationary. Then begs the question, how many of them are Christians? How many have their priorities all messed up, placing their worth in material things, going through life with complete faith in something, anything, just not in Jesus Christ? Well, as I look around there’s some who are taking health safety precautions, like wearing face masks; as we passed through the security checkpoint, one mother had an entire backpack full of medical supplies for her child. I’m all for modern medicine and being as safe as possible, but it just brings the reminder, that there are those in life who desperately need our Lord and Savior, not just those off far away in rural areas of Taiwan, but all throughout our daily lives. As the analogy goes, if someone was going to get hit by a bus, would you not pull him or her out of the way? Of course, with all the current intercom announcements playing every 5 minutes of “Department of Homeland Security Level Orange”, there are real dangers out there in the world. Yes we all are fully aware of the physical threats, but what about all the afterlives in jeopardy? We have a duty as knowers of the Good News, of God’s saving grace, to share it with those who are “going to get hit by a bus.” My prayer request for right now is for the strength and courage of everyone in this team, to seize every opportunity to share the love of God. We may only get one chance, I ask that you pray that all Christians, whether here on this plane with me, back at home, or all around the world, to proclaim the Good News “to the ENDS of the EARTH.”
You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8
So we’re sitting here at the airport about 1.5 hrs early and if there’s one thing I learned so far, it’s that international terminals are extremely boring and water’s overpriced. So of course we’ve got nothing better to do than sit and stare at my 3 iPods or Jason reading Andrea’s book with Andrea staring off randomly into space. Well, let me tell you, that got boring pretty quickly so instead we’re decided to stare off into space some more and observe those around. Looking at the people around, they’re mostly Asian, how surprising, I know, considering we’re going to Taiwan after all, but that’s probably where the similarities end. There are probably people whose reasons for going are for vacation, business trips, to visit relatives, or maybe even to shop for cheap Chinese stationary. Then begs the question, how many of them are Christians? How many have their priorities all messed up, placing their worth in material things, going through life with complete faith in something, anything, just not in Jesus Christ? Well, as I look around there’s some who are taking health safety precautions, like wearing face masks; as we passed through the security checkpoint, one mother had an entire backpack full of medical supplies for her child. I’m all for modern medicine and being as safe as possible, but it just brings the reminder, that there are those in life who desperately need our Lord and Savior, not just those off far away in rural areas of Taiwan, but all throughout our daily lives. As the analogy goes, if someone was going to get hit by a bus, would you not pull him or her out of the way? Of course, with all the current intercom announcements playing every 5 minutes of “Department of Homeland Security Level Orange”, there are real dangers out there in the world. Yes we all are fully aware of the physical threats, but what about all the afterlives in jeopardy? We have a duty as knowers of the Good News, of God’s saving grace, to share it with those who are “going to get hit by a bus.” My prayer request for right now is for the strength and courage of everyone in this team, to seize every opportunity to share the love of God. We may only get one chance, I ask that you pray that all Christians, whether here on this plane with me, back at home, or all around the world, to proclaim the Good News “to the ENDS of the EARTH.”
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
7-1/2 Sendoff
The sendoff started from 8PM with hymns played by the team themselve.
Keep in mind that they did not know each other three months ago, and now they bond together as a wonderful team.
followed by each team member's introduction and prayer requests...
Andrea
Joshua...
Jason...
Ruth...
Sheila...
Please remember Sheen, he is in Taiwan already.
The next is prayer time for each team member....
For Sheila...
For Joshua...
For Ruth...
For Andrea...
For Jason...
Then Pastor Dean gave some Bible verses ...
team is listening to the verses ...
Pastor Dean lead the final prayer...
with all hands laid down upon the team to send them out.
Wow, surpisingly, we have a birthday girl, Andrea!
What an amazing day to have mission sendoff on the birthday!
The team left church at around 10PM with many waving hands behind.
arrived at SFO...
what? a schoolmate came to Jason and told him that his classmate is on the phone...
waiting in the check-in line and having a nice chat...
asked the check-in desk to get all team seating together...
about to go through the custom...
with families and Andrea's lovely pets...
It's almost mid-night. The flight will leave around 1:40AM.
Have a safe trip!
WY
Keep in mind that they did not know each other three months ago, and now they bond together as a wonderful team.
followed by each team member's introduction and prayer requests...
Andrea
Joshua...
Jason...
Ruth...
Sheila...
Please remember Sheen, he is in Taiwan already.
The next is prayer time for each team member....
For Sheila...
For Joshua...
For Ruth...
For Andrea...
For Jason...
Then Pastor Dean gave some Bible verses ...
team is listening to the verses ...
Pastor Dean lead the final prayer...
with all hands laid down upon the team to send them out.
Wow, surpisingly, we have a birthday girl, Andrea!
What an amazing day to have mission sendoff on the birthday!
The team left church at around 10PM with many waving hands behind.
arrived at SFO...
what? a schoolmate came to Jason and told him that his classmate is on the phone...
waiting in the check-in line and having a nice chat...
asked the check-in desk to get all team seating together...
about to go through the custom...
with families and Andrea's lovely pets...
It's almost mid-night. The flight will leave around 1:40AM.
Have a safe trip!
WY
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Counting Down....
This week we are meeting up every day to practice our skits, prepare worship songs (both Chinese and English), review specific schedule programs, plan lessons, costumes, and especially praying together. Please pray that all these will go smoothly and that we'll work together as one bonded group.
Last week we planned to serve lunch at Glide; we rode the train and Bart all the way to SF. We weren't prepared to see a closed sign. It was apparently closed only on this day, out of 365 days of the year... at first I was lost in words and felt really bad... but I guess unexpected things will happen in life. Everything that happens, no matter if it makes sense at the time or not, is planned out by God from the beginning. I was reminded that things like this will happen when we get to our missions place... and just focus on God and know that all things are in God's hands.
-R
Last week we planned to serve lunch at Glide; we rode the train and Bart all the way to SF. We weren't prepared to see a closed sign. It was apparently closed only on this day, out of 365 days of the year... at first I was lost in words and felt really bad... but I guess unexpected things will happen in life. Everything that happens, no matter if it makes sense at the time or not, is planned out by God from the beginning. I was reminded that things like this will happen when we get to our missions place... and just focus on God and know that all things are in God's hands.
-R
Monday, June 8, 2009
3 weeks left....
Thanks to all of you praying for us; we've becoming closer as a team through the past weeks, learning and laughing together. We're even learning some Chinese songs to sing with the members there, which I think will make a great connection. There's still alot of planning to do, but school's finally over soon, so we'll add in more time.
We are going to serve lunch at Glide Memorial this Fri. Pray for safety, health, and a great experience!
Ruth
We are going to serve lunch at Glide Memorial this Fri. Pray for safety, health, and a great experience!
Ruth
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