I want to take some time in my blog to thank all the wonderful moms in the world. I want to especially thank my mom. She has always supported me and helped me through all of the trials of my life. Also, I came to realize how great my mother is when I had to clean my own apartment yesterday.
It is true. My mom is wonderful. She has taken care of three kids and all of their friends AND all of their mess. Thanks mom.
Here in Hong Kong everything is going great. This morning was the final rally for the English teachers. They are getting ready to travel throughout Asia and see more places where God is working. It has been amazing to have them here. I have been very blessed to have Dylan Branson and Kyle Fischer here. It has really been great to have them here.
I am excited for the next month to come. I am getting ready to work on Watermark's Vacation Bible School. This will be a great time for me to learn more about VBS.
It is almost time for Elizabeth to come home from Spain. It is crazy to think that she has been there for a whole month. Time is passing quickly. I am excited to see what God will do in my last month here and what God will do in my future. It is amazing to see God working in my life.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Saturday, July 21, 2012
A Moment of Silence
We live in a broken world. Tragedy is all around us. When I hear about days like last night my heart breaks. If you are unaware there was a shooting last night in Colorado during the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises.
My heart goes out to those who were involved and their families. There are some articles on Time magazines website if you want to learn more about it. Take some time tonight and pray for these families.
My heart goes out to those who were involved and their families. There are some articles on Time magazines website if you want to learn more about it. Take some time tonight and pray for these families.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Normal Update
I do not have too much to report. Not because nothing is happening but because things are becoming normal. We had our first English Cafe on Sunday and it went well. Not a great amount of students showed up but there were a few and it was a great time to connect with some of the church members of Watermark. I think that it was overall a success.
Sometimes I find myself forgetting I am on the other side of the world from my family. Everything is becoming a normal routine. When I was in high school someone told me that it takes a month to form or break a habit. I have been here for 24 days now, just shy of a month. It has got me thinking.
What habits have I formed while I have been in Hong Kong? 1) I make my bed everyday. Did not think that would be something I would learn here. 2) I miss Elizabeth Harlow everyday. I am sorry if that is sappy but it is true. I love it here but I wish she was with me.
Elizabeth is currently in Spain. She is doing amazing things for God there.
I also have thought about what habits have I broken since I have been here. There have been a few. Some I didn't even know I had.
So I have two questions for everyone reading.
What are some good habits you can form in these next 31 days?
What are some bad habits you can break in these next 31 days?
Please challenge yourself and think about this. It is interesting to say the least.
Sometimes I find myself forgetting I am on the other side of the world from my family. Everything is becoming a normal routine. When I was in high school someone told me that it takes a month to form or break a habit. I have been here for 24 days now, just shy of a month. It has got me thinking.
What habits have I formed while I have been in Hong Kong? 1) I make my bed everyday. Did not think that would be something I would learn here. 2) I miss Elizabeth Harlow everyday. I am sorry if that is sappy but it is true. I love it here but I wish she was with me.
Elizabeth is currently in Spain. She is doing amazing things for God there.
I also have thought about what habits have I broken since I have been here. There have been a few. Some I didn't even know I had.
So I have two questions for everyone reading.
What are some good habits you can form in these next 31 days?
What are some bad habits you can break in these next 31 days?
Please challenge yourself and think about this. It is interesting to say the least.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Friends
This has been a great weekend. So much has been happening and it has all been great. The longer I am here the more I love it. My reason for this is simple. Relationships make everything better. I have made so many friends past week and this weekend was simply a time for us all to hang out.
Friday night I went out with Aldrin and Sydnie. It was a great way to come back from training. We went out to eat and meet some new friends as well. Saturday I went out and had amazing food with Aldrin, Sydnie, Chris Tang, and Soda. We had so much. I even tried chicken feet. They were actually really good. I would definitely eat them again. Then Chris showed us around some of the street markets in Mong Kok. After that we met up with a few friends from training and went to the mall. JUDY (who loves to be mentioned in my blogs) also met up with us and we all went to see a movie.
Sunday all of the Hong Kong teams from last weeks training was at church with us. We had a great service then had a meeting about the next coming weeks. I talked a little about the English Cafes that we will be hosting then we all went out.
I went with Phil's team to go see the Peak. It is the highest viewpoint in Hong Kong and it looks out on the city's skyline. It was incredible. Phil's team pretty much adopted me when I went through the training with them. They have all become really great friends and I am so glad to have met them. The reason I connected with Phil's team is because Kyle Fischer and Dylan Branson are on this team. For those of you who don't know these men they are guys I go to school with. The rest of the team consists of Phil, Shannon, Kasey, Lian, and Melissa. We also went with two girls from Taylor University who are doing research on this program. I am so grateful for EVERYONE I have met at training last week. They have all been a huge blessing. I am especially grateful for Phil's team specifically because they have become my family in Hong Kong.
I have to be honest. I do not know if I would have survived Hong Kong with out all of my friends. Jeremiah, Sydnie, Aldrin, Soda, JUDY, Phil's team, this group especially is the reason I love Hong Kong.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Investments
First off, I am sorry these are all under the blog of Hong Kong-Wk 1. I didn't understand how this worked when I first set it up so now we are stuck with that.
What I want to you about now is a great investment opportunity. As some of you may know, I am a licensed insurance agent. I can legally sell Life & Health insurance in the state of Indiana....
This has nothing to do with an investment like that.
Today I went to go see the world's largest buddha in my free time. As you can guess it is incredibly large. I went with a friend named Judy. She is university student at Hong Kong University. We saw amazing nature and beautiful creations of God while we were there. However, that is not what I enjoyed the most about the adventure. In fact, sites have never been what I enjoy most when I am traveling. It is the culture that I enjoy and specifically it is the people that I enjoy.
My trip was made worth while because I was able to invest my time in a fellow Christian, Judy. I was able to share about my life, how I met my fiance, what I thought God wanted for my life, and more. Now I have a close friend from Hong Kong who will always be a part of my life because we are united by God. How amazing.
Sadly, I am selfish. I invested my time in Judy because she was first willing to take me with her to see the big buddha.
Here is the deal. I invested in someone because I knew there was no chance of pain or rejection for me.
God makes greater investment choices than I ever will. God invested in me, God invested in you, and God has invested in every single human on this earth. And He did it even though it would take SACRIFICE & SUFFERING on HIS part.
God INVESTED in us. He has taken a risk by sending us Christ. Allowing Christ to lower his position of power down to a servant. Because Christ can into this world not to be served, but to serve. And he lowered himself to the point of death, even death on a cross.
So that you may have life in Him and be reunited with GOD.
God has invested in us.
And it is not because of anything we have done.
It is because He LOVES us.
And wants us to be in connection with Him.
What an amazing God.
What I want to you about now is a great investment opportunity. As some of you may know, I am a licensed insurance agent. I can legally sell Life & Health insurance in the state of Indiana....
This has nothing to do with an investment like that.
Today I went to go see the world's largest buddha in my free time. As you can guess it is incredibly large. I went with a friend named Judy. She is university student at Hong Kong University. We saw amazing nature and beautiful creations of God while we were there. However, that is not what I enjoyed the most about the adventure. In fact, sites have never been what I enjoy most when I am traveling. It is the culture that I enjoy and specifically it is the people that I enjoy.
My trip was made worth while because I was able to invest my time in a fellow Christian, Judy. I was able to share about my life, how I met my fiance, what I thought God wanted for my life, and more. Now I have a close friend from Hong Kong who will always be a part of my life because we are united by God. How amazing.
Sadly, I am selfish. I invested my time in Judy because she was first willing to take me with her to see the big buddha.
Here is the deal. I invested in someone because I knew there was no chance of pain or rejection for me.
God makes greater investment choices than I ever will. God invested in me, God invested in you, and God has invested in every single human on this earth. And He did it even though it would take SACRIFICE & SUFFERING on HIS part.
God INVESTED in us. He has taken a risk by sending us Christ. Allowing Christ to lower his position of power down to a servant. Because Christ can into this world not to be served, but to serve. And he lowered himself to the point of death, even death on a cross.
So that you may have life in Him and be reunited with GOD.
God has invested in us.
And it is not because of anything we have done.
It is because He LOVES us.
And wants us to be in connection with Him.
What an amazing God.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Breaking Through the Barrier
I hope this title was some what captivating because I believe the content that comes with this title deserves your attention. I do not say that because I am a fantastic writer, I'm not. However, God has shown me a great message today and I want to share that with you.
BREAKING THROUGH THE BARRIER
This is not a barrier that i have broken through. In fact, this barrier will always be in my way. God is the one that has broken through the barrier and that barrier is language. This is no new feat of God, He has conquered over language long ago. The barrier has been broken through the power of Christ and it is still torn down. What I want to convey is that God is greater than the language barrier still today.
When I was in Honduras earlier this summer, I sang a song with the team for the students at the Faith Home Orphanage. It was a song that many people from the U.S. know. It is "Mighty to Save." When we sang it for the kids in Honduras we sang the chorus in Spanish. God is greater than the language barrier.
Today in the worship gathering at Watermark Church a man spoke to us from Japan. He is originally from the U.S. and was in Japan as a missionary. A while back there was a huge earthquake that turned into a tsunami in Japan that destroyed great portion towards the northern part of the country. Many lives were lost and many homes were destroyed. Cities were washed away. This missionary had just planted a church in the southern part of the country. When the disaster struck he came to Watermark, the sister church, for support.
Today he was back to give us an update. He said the prayers of the church was greatly appreciated, as was the financial support. They were able to buy food for the country and provide relief to those in need. Shelter was given and now the church is helping find work for those affected by the flood. Since the flood many churches have gathered together to help those in need. Now, more and more church plants are being started in the northern part of Japan and more and more people are hearing the Gospel of Christ.
We closed the service with a song. It was "Mighty to Save." This time we sang the chorus in Japanese. Wow. God is amazing to have chosen that song. God is so much greater than the language barrier.
Let me tell you something. Our God is amazing in every language. He is holy in every language. He is sovereign in every language. He is forgiving, loving, and merciful in every language. I serve a God that has conquered over all.
Tonight I am in the first day of culture training. We ended the night in worship. We did not sing "Mighty to Save," but we sang a favorite song of mine. It is call "In Christ Alone." This song is amazing. I left a link to it. Listen to it, read it, and let God work through your own language to speak to you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWuckLEu_hg
BREAKING THROUGH THE BARRIER
This is not a barrier that i have broken through. In fact, this barrier will always be in my way. God is the one that has broken through the barrier and that barrier is language. This is no new feat of God, He has conquered over language long ago. The barrier has been broken through the power of Christ and it is still torn down. What I want to convey is that God is greater than the language barrier still today.
When I was in Honduras earlier this summer, I sang a song with the team for the students at the Faith Home Orphanage. It was a song that many people from the U.S. know. It is "Mighty to Save." When we sang it for the kids in Honduras we sang the chorus in Spanish. God is greater than the language barrier.
Today in the worship gathering at Watermark Church a man spoke to us from Japan. He is originally from the U.S. and was in Japan as a missionary. A while back there was a huge earthquake that turned into a tsunami in Japan that destroyed great portion towards the northern part of the country. Many lives were lost and many homes were destroyed. Cities were washed away. This missionary had just planted a church in the southern part of the country. When the disaster struck he came to Watermark, the sister church, for support.
Today he was back to give us an update. He said the prayers of the church was greatly appreciated, as was the financial support. They were able to buy food for the country and provide relief to those in need. Shelter was given and now the church is helping find work for those affected by the flood. Since the flood many churches have gathered together to help those in need. Now, more and more church plants are being started in the northern part of Japan and more and more people are hearing the Gospel of Christ.
We closed the service with a song. It was "Mighty to Save." This time we sang the chorus in Japanese. Wow. God is amazing to have chosen that song. God is so much greater than the language barrier.
Let me tell you something. Our God is amazing in every language. He is holy in every language. He is sovereign in every language. He is forgiving, loving, and merciful in every language. I serve a God that has conquered over all.
Tonight I am in the first day of culture training. We ended the night in worship. We did not sing "Mighty to Save," but we sang a favorite song of mine. It is call "In Christ Alone." This song is amazing. I left a link to it. Listen to it, read it, and let God work through your own language to speak to you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWuckLEu_hg
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