where my heart is.

this is where my heart is right now.

Khon Kaen, Thailand. not on my three test that i have tomorrow, but on a country thousands of miles away. knowing i will be there in less than 100 days makes the importance of these tests seem so small. (dont worry mom and dad, im still studying REALLY hard :) )

i cannot wait to learn about their culture, their beliefs, their struggles, their hopes, their desires, their hearts...

this is the background of my computer right now.... their flag haha

but what i really cant wait to do is learn about their god. i want to know about muslim beliefs and teachings. and my prayer is that God would give me an incredible sensitivity and respect for the beliefs that they have only so that i can earn their respect to share with them about the one true God.

i do not want to go over there totally nieve, thinking that im just going to speak truth to everyone i come in contact with and BOOM. they're a believer. no, im claiming 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (my verse going into my summer as a roomleader too)...

"andI, when I came to you, brothers,

i did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.

For I decided to know nothing among you

except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

And I was with you in weakness

and in fear

and much trembling,

and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom,

but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men

but in the power of God..."

i want to take not just the truth of the gospel, but i want to also live out the freedom that comes with knowing truth. i want each student, really each person- team or student- to not only hear the gospel, but SEE the gospel as well.

i want the love of Christ and his gospel to be what drives our team.

i want to see the nations reached for Christ.

something else that i think is amazing, is that i will get to reconnect with some Thai friends from my first summer on beach project. when i worked at johnny rockets, there were about 12 students that i worked with from thailand. (one of which is involved with the Campus Outreach on his campus!)

i am blown away at the Lords planning in this. Dongsana and Ping (two girls below) were two girls that i talked to alot that summer. they knew what all the Lord was doing in my heart and were very curious as to why i still loved this Jesus when he wasn't making me happy. (remember, my first project was VERY hard... to say the least.) it was amazing getting to share what was going on in my life, the bad and the good, to two girls that were (are) proclaiming Buddhist.

each one of these girls hold such a special place in my heart and i cannot wait to hopefully reconnect with most of them.

prayer for support raising is very much appreciated. and more, prayer for each person on our team is much appreciated. each of us are being challenged in so many different ways... its neat how the Lord is specifically preparing each of us for what he has in store for us individually and as a team.

obviously, i. cannot. wait.

abc.