Do you ever feel like your life is on a roller coaster? There are ups and downs. Sometimes you can see them coming and sometimes they catch you by surprise. There might even be some loopdy loops, twists and turns.

The thing with roller coasters is that they take you for a ride, but when they finally come to an end you get off at the same place you got on.

A year ago I made the decision to move to Thailand to work with Burmese Refugees. I feel like at that point I stepped onto a roller coaster... there have been tons of ups, downs, twists and turns, but I haven't really gotten anywhere.

Each time I got ready to send out a big newsletter to share my excitement and let everyone know what was going on, suddenly there were major changes that kept me from sending it.

The latest turns have been kinda crazy. At one point I felt like everything had been turned completely upside down.

Adventures In Missions is reworking their long term missions department with the goal of making their staff on the field a bigger focus and hoping to increase their numbers. The office staff that they have are doing an amazing job of finding ways to better care for the field staff and creating better processes to get them to the field; however, after several conversations and lots of prayer... I decided that this wasn't the best fit for me.

AIM will no longer be my sending organization for my move to Thailand. I have AIM's full blessing in this decision, and they are allowing me to keep my support account open until I find a new organization to be under. Once I have figured everything out they will then transfer the money from my AIM support account to my new organization.

And here's the fun twist...

My original plan was to spend a couple of weeks in GA cooking for a World Race training camp. I will now be spending the summer in GA working for AIM's training department. My focus will be on the logistical and administrative part of training camps for the different programs at AIM. Pieces of this job are things I've done in the past and others will be totally new. The great news is that I've worked for my boss before and love working for him.

I have no idea how I'm getting to Thailand, what organization I'll be under next, or even where I'll live after the summer (hopefully Thailand!). But I do know I get to spend the summer doing hard, fulfilling work surrounded by people I love.

Here's to hoping the roller coaster ride is coming to an end and I will not have to return to this one again. I'd really like to get off this ride and see what kind of adventure the next ride has for me.

I am pretty passionate about prayer. I know beyond a shadow of doubt that it works. Throughout my travels and my life there have been moments when there was nothing else to do but pray. When it was a matter of life or death, peace or chaos, joy or anger, sleeping on the street or in a bed... the list goes on and on. I believe that prayer changed what was happening.

The thing with prayer is that it's to be a two way conversation. I believe that God speaks to us today. He speaks through a variety of ways, because he is passionately in love with us.

Scripture says that Jesus intercedes (prays) for us (Romans 8).

I'll admit, I'm horrible at keeping a list of people to pray for. I lack the commitment and frankly I get bored of praying the same thing all the time. However, I love it when I feel like I am praying the same prayers that Jesus / the Holy Spirit is praying for people. It makes the prayers feel alive, real and authentic, rather than religious or empty.

So here is what I would like to do... If you send me your address (email or snail) to add to my blog subscription and/or to receive my newsletters... I'll spend sometime with the Lord (prayer) and send you what I pray and/or what I feel like the Lord is saying. I am not asking for a list of your prayer requests, because I want to get close enough to Christ that I can hear His prayers for you and add my amen to them. If you aren't interested in getting my updates, but want me to pray that's cool too, just let me know. This is more of an opportunity for me to practice praying and for you to hopefully reap the benefits of it.

I wrote this blog a few days ago, but hadn't posted it yet. Little did I know that I was going to be in desperate need of a word from the Lord. For me, I know that the Lord speaks as I am seeking Him on behalf of others. As I am waiting on the Lord, I would love to hear what He has to say to you. 

And well, my silly internet is to slow to add new photos, sorry friends.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was working on a fundraiser event that I was hoping to share with you.

I would like to announce that I am hosting a Craft Bazaar at Northlake Christian Church in Bothell, WA on Saturday, April 28th!

If you live in the Seattle area... or know anyone who does... you should stop by! We'll have a variety of crafts tables selling their products, a bake sale and I'll be there to share about Thailand and working with Burmese Refugees.

Know someone who would be interested in selling their crafts or other items, I'm looking for vendors.

Don't live in WA, or aren't able to make it on April 28th! Would you consider making an additional one-time donation towards my move to Mae Sot, Thailand?

I try to follow the things that are happening in Burma. Being such a small country there isn't typically a lot in the news.

However that isn't the case as of the last couple of months. Burma seems to constantly have little blurbs in the news. The reason being is there are some changes happening. Over the last few months the Burmese government has been letting out some of their prisoners, many of them being political prisoners. There have also been lots of peace talks, with real movement towards signing of peace treaties between the military and 'rebels'. There have also been multiple delegates from other nations who have visited Burma, a rare thing.

All of these things are great individually... and collectively it's amazing!

The thing that has really stood out to me in the articles that I have been reading lately is the response of some of the political prisoners. These men and women have been imprisoned or in house arrest for years. I would have assumed that they would be fueled by anger towards their government in their passion to see change in their nation... but they aren't. Their passion is fueled by a love for their people. When making public speeches or talking with the press, they have yet to 'bash' their government or specific leaders. Their speeches are full of optimism and hope, even towards those who put them in prison. They are able to acknowledge the negative things that have happened, yet point no blame and speak only of the positive dreams they have for their nation.

I may not be in Thailand or working with the Burmese people yet. But I am continuing to learn from them. My prayer is that I would be more like these political voices of Burma and speak life and hope in all circumstances, even over those who have brought death, and that these would come from my heart and not just empty words.

Please be covering Burma in prayer! With so many drastic changes it is a sign of hope, may they not be tempted to turn to the ways of the past or react in anger but continue to strive toward the freedom that they desire.

For current and past news, check out The Irrawaddy news magazine, daily covering Burma and Southeast Asia. 

As I prepare to move to Thailand and begin working with Burmese refugees, I am convinced that creative arts (drawing, painting, photography, and perhaps 'recycled' art) will be key in counseling people. Over the last 10 years a large part of my missionary life has been to counsel and disciple people. I've had the privilege and difficult task of helping people find healing from incredibly painful events of their past. I want to use the creative arts to help people process their past and bring hope to their future. To be effective I hope build long-term relationships with the people that I teach to use the creative arts as art expressions.

My hope is to get people to donate funds to purchase art supplies in Thailand (I can't wait to see what these youth could do if they had real canvases to paint on!), have several digital cameras donated (several point and shoots of the same model and then even a couple of DSLR cameras), and then a laptop or two donated to upload their work to. The idea is to give each of the youth a word, for example 'light' or 'dark'. Then after they have finished creating their piece of art or taken the photo we would one-on-one discuss how their piece relates to the world and what it means to them. I honestly can't wait to be able to do this with the youth, to see how creative they can be, to watch them smile with pride at their artistic abilities, and to help them process their past while giving them hope for their future. 

Click here to view a video that friends made after our time visiting some youth inside of a Burmese Refugee Camp. All of the pieces of art that they did, and all of their answers to our questions about their art were given without any prodding or due to cues from us. . . imagine what these youth could do with a little direction, and imagine the healing they could get by counseling them about their artwork.

As you finish making Christmas preparations and look forward to the New Year, consider clicking on the support link on the left and support me so that I can make this dream of "art expression" in Thailand with Burmese refugees a reality.

When I visited a Burmese Refugee Camp during my visit to Thailand in March, we brought 'art supplies' and each person at the children's home received a sketch booklet and shared colored pencils and watercolors. None of them had ever seen watercolors before, but once they watched a short demonstration, it took only seconds for them to start creating their own pieces of art.

As they began to draw and experiment with the watercolors I noticed something... each one was drawing pictures of their homeland, Burma. There were no unicorns, aliens, robots, or even pictures of bunny rabbits. They were all working on landscapes.

The next day we talked to them about their art. First let me tell you that these youth are amazingly talented! They drew what they remembered, as one girl said, 'these are memories' - a beautiful sunset, fruit trees full of color and animals ('that soldiers cut down in hopes to starve us'), a village hiding in the mountains (hiding from the army that is trying to kill them). These beautiful pictures each have stories behind them... stories that belong to these youth. Stories that have forever changed their lives, but not stolen their hope.

A head of security for the Refugee Camp happened to be with us when we let the youth do art, so he received a sketch booklet as well. His first picture was of a rainbow and purple stick figures... his second was of a black heart that was pierced with an arrow... I wonder what led him to go from something so cheerful to so dark, and what the story is behind his bleeding heart. We didn't hear his stories, but his pictures began to tell them.

Stay tuned... the next blog is going to give you a better picture of what the creative arts has to do with my plans in Thailand.

Have you ever moved somewhere new? Have you ever started up something new? A new business or ministry?

Whether you are moving or starting up something new you have to start with a plan. It would be awesome if everything just fell into place and worked out perfectly, but that rarely happens. Over the next few blogs I am going to begin to unveil the 'plan' for my move to Mae Sot, Thailand. (I'm putting the word plan in quotes, because well, things can change... and knowing what it's like to live in a third world country it's almost a given that some things will change along the way.)

When we (the goal is to be part of a team, but currently it's just me) first arrive in Thailand the first two months will be spent in Chiang Mai. This will give us time to continue to bond together as a team, get adjusted to life in Thailand, and begin intense language studies (we know of an amazing Thai teacher who will come and give us one-on-one lessons).

Then the plan is to move to Mae Sot and rent a two or three story building. We will use the top floors for team housing and as office space. Then the bottom floor can be used as a Drop In Center.

Why a Drop In Center and what the heck is a Drop In Center? Opening a Drop In Center is an easy way to meet people and begin to build relationships in the community. It is also a great way to be able to bless those in the community that have nowhere to go during the day and nothing to do except get in trouble. We will open our doors two or three days a week to start. Anyone, any age, gender, race or religion will be welcomed into our doors. We will offer a safe place for people to spend the day, and have a hot meal. The hope is to hire a local Burmese woman to purchase all of the food locally and then cook for the Drop In Center, this blesses the local economy and makes sure that the food is nutritious and food the kids will recognize and enjoy. We will play games, do crafts, teach basic classes (math, English, etc), and as we grow there is the potential to add more classes (Thai, Burmese, and maybe even specialized classes like computer skills, accounting, or other skill based classes).

The idea of having a team move to Mae Sot is so that we can do a variety of different ministries, each finding something that we are passionate about and that gives us life as we serve. Opening the Drop In Center only a few days a week gives us an opportunity to serve the community on a consistent basis while we try to find the other ways that we would like to serve. My heart is that each team member will come in ready to work as a team, but with a dream and a passion of their own to follow while they are in Thailand.

Yes, there are a ton of ways that YOU can get involved and things that I need YOU to join me in prayer for... but you'll have to wait for an upcoming blog for details. For now I hope the excitement is building for what I'll be doing in Thailand. Stay tuned for more of my 'plan' for Mae Sot!

All the above pictures are were taken at a Drop In Center I visited in Northern Thailand.

It would be nearly impossible for me to give you a full understanding of what has been happening in Burma... and if I did it would be so devastating and gruesome you wouldn't want to finish reading it. Instead I will attempt to give you the basic ideas so you'll have an idea of what life is like in Burma.

Burma is located in Southeast Asia, near Bangladesh, Laos, China, and Thailand. If you are wondering why you've never heard of Burma it's probably because in 1989 the corrupt government changed its name to Myanmar. As a way to show support to the people and a silent way of taking a stand against the government many people still call it Burma.

The longest running civil war is still going on in Burma, all the way back to WWII. They are known by every human rights organization for being at the top of the list of offenders. It is estimated that Burma has more child soldiers than anyone else in the world. There are documented accounts of rape, torture, murder, forced labor (slavery), genocide (the eradication of entire villages through war and land mines), political prisoners, and so much more.

Due to the difficult and dangerous life inside of Burma the hill tribe people are forced to hide in the mountains moving constantly in fear of the soldiers or attempt to see asylum as a refugee. Unfortunately with thousands of people fleeing Burma to 'temporary' refugee camps, the camps are overflowing and have entire generations growing up in the camps (some camps have been around for almost 30 years).

Life in a refugee camp covers only your basic needs. Space is tight and since they are to be 'temporary' camps, homes are made of bamboo and leaves, which need to be replaced yearly. With the downward economy, funds for camps have dwindled as well, food rations continue to change and be cut. Refugees are restricted to the camp limiting their ability to work and earn extra income. Some refugees decide to move to another country, as wonderful as this sounds the transition to a first world country is difficult physically and emotionally. It is often the educated and those in leadership that leave the camp for opportunities in other countries, leaving voids in jobs that need their expertise.  

It seems like most of the dark and ugly things in the world can be found in Burma. Yet many of the people that have had to flee their homes desire to return. In the midst of it all they still have a hope that peace will return to Burma that they will be able to have the lives that they've only dreamed of. They are a people full of joy, laughter, hope and beauty.

I have this really bad habit of moving to places that I've never really spent a lot of time in. The good news is that I've been to Thailand several times, and I have driven through Mae Sot (I spent most of my time outside of the city, but did drive in to get a couple of meals).

Before I go into all the details of what I 'think' my life will look like when I move to Thailand I want to give you some background on Mae Sot. I want to help explain the question 'why' first.

Mae Sot is located in Western Thailand and boarders Burma (Myanmar). It's about a five-hour drive from Chiang Mai, and I'm guessing it is a little bit longer to get to Bangkok. Sadly Mae Sot is a stereotypical boarder town. This includes: black market, refugees and illegal immigrants, human trafficking, drug trafficking, sweat shops, etc.

It is a real city with electricity, water, internet, and a variety of restaurants. (I might be surrounded by mountains, but I'll be living in a city.) There are quite a few foreigners who have lived in Mae Sot for years and lots that come through to do volunteer work. I like to think of it almost like a place where original hippies and modern hippies come together ;)  This means that there are nice coffee shops and restaurants with live local music ranging from cultural to rock. I am hoping that part of my 'ministry' will be hanging out with the foreigners and helping them to connect with God and each other. I'm also excited because I am believing that having such a variety of people in Mae Sot will equal lots of great friendships.

Of all of the places that I've travelled through around the world, Mae Sot was different than anywhere else. I knew that this was a place that I wanted to invest my life into. I want to be there when heaven opens up, people are free to live the lives they were created to live, people are healed, and darkness has to flee because the light has taken over. In my heart and my gut I know that the Lord has Mae Sot in His sight, He has great plans for it, His heart is for them, and He has not forgotten them.

In order for you to fully understand the part of my reasoning of why I want to live in Mae Sot and work with Burmese Refugees, you must first get a glimpse at what is happening in Burma. Stay tuned as my next blog will highlight Burma.