Welcome to the Kingdom

Well hello,
I have been in the Kingdom of Cambodia for almost two weeks,
and boy is it different than Thailand and Nepal.

We are in Poipet,
dusty,
poor,
corrupt,
a smattering of random shops,
shanty slum houses,
and casinos.

Poipet is a town right on the border of Thailand, and gambling is illegal in Thailand, so when you cross the border are these mega-buildings for casinos, and the rest of the city is just shambles. Also, Poipet is a place where many, many Cambodian children get trafficked (smuggled across the border into Thailand for prostitution).

Cambodia is also, in a sense, a "new country", because in 1979, a rebel group called the Khmer Rouge did a mass genicide and killed millions of people out of paranoia and control. Anyone who was educated, a doctor, school teacher, even if you had glasses (because you looked smart), were killed because they might be a threat to the Khmer Rouge.
So now, when you walk the streets, there are no old people here. They died in the massacre.
80% of the population of Cambodia is under 35 years old.
So its a very different atmosphere here spiritually.... lots going on.

But in the midst of all this,
the people are still beautiful,
and the children still manage to have fun, like flying a kite out of a garbage bag they found.

It is ridiculously hot here,
and ridiculously humid!
There is no airconditioning for relief,
and we pretty much have wet, dripping faces, and our clothes soaked in our own sweat.
All the time! Yummy.

But Cambodia is still awesome.
It is the beginning of the rainy season, so around lunchtime everyday, there is a torrential downpour that deafens the ears and makes me stand in awe of how big God is.
Then everything that was dusty, now becomes sludgy mud, and we slip and slide our way back home.

We got caught in the downpour today, it monumentally soaked me through, but I loved it!
We were walking to the internet place, which is 1.5 km away, roughly a 25 minute walk. (There are no taxis in Poipet....you walk.)

We are staying with a cool Christian woman who lives here now, but she's from Australia.
She lives in a house with many rooms and many floors, so it accomdates our team of 9 well.
We eat delicious Cambodian food everyday.... every meal is my favorite meal! I've never experienced so many good flavours, consecutively!

For the last week and a half we have been working under CHO, Cambodian Hope Organization, a Christian non-profit that branches out to help all areas of society here.
We are working hard in the mornings digging an uber-long ditch for homes they are building to house rescued children from the trafficking industry.
This week we'll be helping in an HIV patient hospice. In the afternoons we chill with the families we've met in the slum communities around, and teach English at a nearby church. I really like the hands-on type of ministry we're doing here... its a different pace than Nepal, and really touching.

I still don't think I've grasped the depth of the poverty here, or how dire the corruption is and how poor the majority really is. One sweet lady we met yesterday, asked us to pray that God would provide for her and her 5 children... because sometimes she doesnt have rice to feed them.
What does one do with that reality?

We only have 12 days left, it has been amazing so far,
I am thankful for this place,
and how God is growing me, and softening my heart when I try to keep it shielded.

One Night in Bangkok

Yesterday I was in Kathmandu, Nepal
Today I am in Bangkok, Thailand
Tomorrow I will be in Poipet, Cambodia.

We got in to Bangkok last night, and driving from the spectacular airport to the YWAM Thailand Base, I was having culture shock.


We were driving on freeways
with dotted lines on the roads
the electricity was still on at night!
People were using their turn signals!
the billboards were lighted,
and the highways were paved.
There was no garbage, no starving/dead dogs,
no car horns used!


It felt like we could be in a big American city.
So strange.

I'm having culture shock in Thailand.

Today we spend in Bangkok and tomorrow we're taking a bus ride to Cambodia (about 4-ish hours).
The last days in Nepal were great, we had a SAFE car ride home from Pokhara, and we managed to pack our hiking backpacks closed (sit on them and do the zipper at the same time!), even with all our little things accumulated along the way.

I have sweet memories of Nepal, and much to look forward to in Cambodia.
But today we're going to experience Thailand (on a $7 budget) and all its hotness and humidity!
It is so hot here, the humidity hits you like a wall everytime you come out of somewhere air conditioned.

I'll make sure I eat some good cheap Thai food (lime, coconut, chili.... mmm...)
and maybe bartyr for something at the downtown market
and also listen to the song "One Night in Bangkok" by Murray Head, at least once today.

Thanks for all the comments and emails,
it is so good to hear from all of you.

Saying goodbye from an internet place with leather chairs, fast internet, a Thai rocker with a mullet passed out in his chair beside me, and air conditioning... all for 40 cents an hour.

This is so different than Nepal.

Pokhara

Hello again!

I am in the quaint city of Pokhara today, it's very beautiful and on a clear day (today) you can see the Annapurna Himalaya Mountain Range. It's a nice city by a lake, and is a stop away from trekking and the Annapurna Base Camp. Lake Tilicho (the highest lake in the world) is around here somewhere as well.


It took an 8-hour drive from Kathmandu to get here. It was probably one of the most exciting and eventful rides of my life.
So we got out of Kathmandu's crazy lunchtime traffic, and then we were held up by a communist rally. Hundreds of people on motorcycles with red bandanas waving red communist flags all riding in a big group in front of us. Nepal's government turned communist last year, but there has been a lot of communist stuff lately (especially because the prime minister stepped down from government last week!) going on.



Anyway, after about an hour of this, the communists got tired and took a rest on the side of the road. So we scooted past them, and then the sky turned a strange yellow-grey (like the heavens were turned on dimmer!) and gave everything an eerie greenish glow.
A storm was brewing, you could feel it in the air, and while we were in the calm-before-the-storm, our driver decided to drive extra fast before it started to rain.
All of a sudden it started. The wind picked up, trees were blowing, heavy rains and the sky was so dark! It was only 4 in the afternoon, but it felt like it could have been 8 pm. We just kept going, rounding mountain corners, and plowing through. It started to hail, and it was all very exciting, but there was a point when the storm was in it's darkest moment that I became disturbingly aware of the potential for a terrible accident. I became aware of how vulnerable we were, and how much we had to trust that the driver knew what he was doing.

In the darkest, scariest moment, I asked God for assurance that we would be okay, and within a minute (no joke!) the sky started to lighten, and 20 minutes later it was bright and sunny again. Like nothing ever happened.

When we arrived at a nearby village, we heard that a person had died, and a huge cement truck had over-turned. Then, we saw some Nepali locals shoveling out their little metal carts that had been buried with rocks and gravel from a landslide during the storm. Yikes.

God truly is my protection! He still has big plans for my life, so no worries!

After witnessing the landslide aftermath, we had a cheery, beautiful, scenic drive to Pokhara. All the greenery and sweeping hills were vibrant green, and I was in awe the whole time. Nepal is so pretty. It takes a while to get places, but it sure is gorgeous along the way.

Today is our day off, we're staying in a hotel (a hotel!) for 2 days and we're enjoying the good Nepali food and shopping before we go hard again with ministry for the final 5 days that we are here. 5 days left! It's very peaceful here, laidback, and more touristy. We play "spot the white person" as we walk.



Thankful to be here, and loving Nepal once again.
Next time I write I'll be in Cambodia.

Here is a list of some of my favorite things about Nepal:

baby goats
colourful fabric shops
decorated buses (filled beyond capacity)
the tea
babies fastened to mother's backs with their shawl
the little old mountain ladies
thick strings of beads around the women's necks
red saris
grass brooms
men with Nepali hats
talking with old ladies who don't speak English
the bags of spices
woven baskets
copper water urns
the community well
the way a goat looks at you. (they're so funny.)

Much love!
Fia

Nuwakot, Nepali-style

Home from the mountains, back in good ol' Kathmandu.
The sun is shining, the air is humid, and there's dust on my skin and pollution in my lungs. Ahhh.

I had a 5-day venture to the mountains this week. We were going to go to the Tibetan Border, but, in typical Nepali style, the road to get there was striking and therefore closed.
So, we went to a region called Nuwakot where we had people we knew.
It was amazing!
Totally different than the other mountain village experience, but equally as good.
It started out with a 5 hour ride to a village called Trishuli, we cooked dinner there and stayed the night in a heavily Hindu hotel. We went to a main street, and did some ministry there. I met this sweet little girl and her mom, it was really good.

Then the following day, we had to find a car to take us up another mountainside to the village where we were going to stay. Around noon, a huge monster of a truck, decked out with paint and tassels, rocks up to the hotel. It was a cattle truck, a big open iron box. We chucked all our backpacks, food, water, and ourselves back there, and up the road we went.
We had a mini sound system with us, and it was the most enjoyable ride I've ever taken!
To the tunes of U2, Moby, and John Mayer we crossed a flooded field, drove on steep cliff roads, and wound through terraced lush terrain. This "one hour" ride (we were told) grew to be 2 1/2 hours, but I honestly didn't want it to end! I had a very comfortable seat, propped up by sleeping bags and water jugs, and we could stand up at anytime, hold onto the iron bars above us and look out at the ever-changing scenery. We even saw monkeys!
At one point, we had to all jump out of the truck while it drove under some low power lines, and then about 1 minute later the radiator broke and our car ride was finished. We had not yet reached the village, and had to now carry everything we had by foot. The village was only "10 minutes" hike away.... but that 10 minutes came and went 3 times, and half an hour later we staggered upon the church we were staying at, and were greeted with a "Jai-ma-see" and a sprig of flower.
I was so exhausted, I was most likely dehydrated (probably 30 degrees plus humidity), and still recovering my full strength from the parasite. My nice Swiss leader offered to carry my pack for the last half, for which I am extremely grateful.

We slept in the sweet little one-room church on woven grass mats, and we couldn't be happier. The view was once again stunning, and looked quite Canadian. Lots of birch-looking trees.
I also had the best shower of my life.... a drip of a tap embedded into a cement wall, but I was so in need of one that it just hit the spot.

In the days we went to surrounding houses and danced for them and shared about God's love.
One afternoon we hiked the mountain behind us, (which we were told was "20 minutes" hike, but by now we learned to at least double that estimate) and when we were about 2/3 up we had a time of worship and looked on at the beauty around us. It was really a nice time, much needed for me, and I got to talk some things out with God that had been on my heart. Then, a small group of us went to the very top (took another 30 minutes), and boy am I glad I did!
We met up with these two little old mountain ladies, who would holler to each other in their creaky voices across the slopes. Who knew what they were saying, perhaps the village gossip, or maybe their goat stories.
They would find a little rock and just perch there, waiting for the day to pass and their goats to graze among the bushes.

The very top of the mountain was so steep it was scary if you looked down. We got great pictures, the lighting was beautiful and a mist nestled nicely in between the peaks. Behind one of the mountains directly infront of us... was China!

We cooked dinner over an open fire every night, and one night we had a classic downpour.
Just as we finished dinner, it came. Instantly. Within seconds the sound was deafening as huge droplets and hail hurtled down on the tin roof above us! The girls danced in the rain; part fun, part to "wash" their sweaty punjabis they had on.
I love the rain.
It reminds me of home.
Oh Manitoba summers....
I love prairie storms.

And I got to have one in the mountain valleys of Nepal!
That night we fell asleep to thunder rolls and the loud pit-pat of a good summer storm.

The following day was so good, we got all the community together, and at night we watched the Jesus film. 25 people got saved, including a teenage girl I had talked to at her home the day before! It was a very, very good night.

The next day we ventured back, this time we had the opportunity of sitting ON TOP of the cattle truck, and riding down that way. Ana and I jumped at the chance. That 2 1/2 hour ride became my favorite experience thus far.

All in all, an amazing time,
I'm completely healed from the parasite,
feeling well, and thankful to be back in old faithful Kathmandu. In all its craziness.

Much Love,
Fia

Sacrifice of Praise

Hello!

We've hit the one month mark of being in Nepal. How does that happen??
3 weeks to go and then 4 weeks in Cambodia. And the last half always goes faster than the first half, and I've loved Nepal ever so much!

This week was marked with something new, and different, and unpredictable!
sickness.

Yes I did, I got sick. I'll keep the details to the minimum, for the sake of all, but I was out-of-commission for 3 days.
Bed-ridden, most pleased when I could lie unmoved in a collapsed heap on my bed, and surviving on water with some sugar and salt for nutrients.... yeah. It was painful.
My head felt so tight and pressurized, my body felt weak and vulnerable. And then there is the not-so-happy-gurgle-tune my intestines would sing to me.
The worst day, the pain in my head was so great, that it was too much to even open my eyes because I would have to use energy to focus on what I was seeing. I couldn't listen to music because it was too much energy to listen to the lyrics of songs.
So all I could do was wait. For time to pass. And focus on each shallow breath. Time passed in breaths that day.

In a moment of clarity, I flipped open my Bible and there was Hebrews 13:15. Which was exactly what I needed to be reminded and assured of.

"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name."

A sacrifice of praise.
It's very very easy for me to praise God when things are great. But should my thanks to God be any different when things are not good? Definately not.
Is my love of God conditional/proportional to how my body feels? No.
Even if my body is feeling a little out of kilter, God is still worthy to be praised. There is still so much to be thankful for, like how God made our bodies to fight diseases and germs and heal themselves.
It's in those times when things start to breakdown and fall apart that I get tempted to lose hope or lose trust. But it is exactly the opposite! These are the times when we get to see God's power because He can come through and heal my body and restore my strength!
It is a sacrifice to praise Him because it does not come easily, but it so worth it, because He is worth it all. He is faithful!

I'm feeling totally myself again, I'm on the mend and stronger for it! The mornings are a little questionable still, and after I eat, but now I've acquired and conquered more of the Nepali germs into my system.
We think it is probably a parasite, because a lot of people went to the doctor and that's what they had. So I'm going to go to the pharmacy to buy the pills (costs about 50 cents!) and send this parasite to the grave!!

I'm on some antibiotics from my leader, but turns out they're a dosage for a baby (very mild). But I've been getting better each day,
praise the Lord!

And the best news yet:
tomorrow we go the mountains! 10 of us are driving to a village close to the Tibetan border. (yes!!!) This is where the Sherpas are.
I expect it to be nothing short of amazing, I love this country.

Walking each step into better health, and praising God for it!

Love Fia

Easter Sunday

I had the most interesting Easter Sunday!

In morning we did an open air in a market. (open-air evangelism: we go to a busy place and then dance, share stories of how Jesus transformed our lives, dance some more, do a drama, and someone usually preaches/shares a message to the curious crowd that gathers. Then we talk more afterward to the people who stick around.)
So we did one of those, and then were scheduled to do another one somewhere else.

So we get our backpacks and are led by our translator to this house with a colourful tent outside. We were greeted with "Jai-ma-see" (Glory to the Messiah! ... a greeting Christians say to each other), and were led to sit in the chairs set up. We were served orange drink and soft music played in the background.
We still didn't know what was going on or why we were there.
More people kept coming, and being seated.
I figured it was an Easter Service.

Then we were told through broken English it was a memorial service for a guy who died a year ago.
!
And then we were told it was our translator's uncle's dad who was a Christian and died 2 weeks ago, and it was a memorial service for him.
I was asked to preach at the 2nd open-air, but our leaders asked me to preach here instead. (plans change when you're on outreach!)
There were a lot of Hindu friends and relatives there. So we did a Jesus drama,
and then I preached on what God told me to preach on that morning. How Jesus is for everyone, whether you're born into a Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, or anything family. Because you're a person. You're made in God's image, and that is worth enough to God to send Jesus to die and to take care of the sins against you and cancel the debt you will never be able to get rid of.
So I preached,
under a colourful tent,
at a guy's memorial service,
on Easter Sunday.

Ha! it was great.


I must not forget to add that God is also doing such a refining work in me though.
Beneath the funny/thrilling circumstances I find myself in,
A lot of my areas in my life have been confronted and my holes exposed. I am pushed spiritually to my limits and then the thin areas that I thought were strong, take me by surprise.
Some of my attitudes, actions, and motives of the heart were showing in this very-demanding setting,
and I asked God why I was like that.
Atop a cliff overlooking a Kathmandu slum, we had worship in the late afternoon on Easter Sunday, and God began to speak clearly into my life like only a perfect Counsellor can do.
Bottom line:
I had believed deep, subtle lies that I didnt even realize.
Feelings of worthlessness, and being performance-oriented.
Pretty much, the lie that "my presence is only worth something if I can offer something of value (words, advice, song, a smile, etc)/bring something to the table."
Different fears finally being revealed to me, that I never could see before:
Fear that I'm not going to be good enough.
Fear of failure. Fear of getting in trouble, fear of being bad.
the lie, that "what good am I if I fail?" Love based on merit. Conditional.

Which left me feeling like a fettered bird. A little bit tense when I'm getting to the end of my rope, because I need to prove my value. Talk about performance-oriented! Yikes, sounds exhausting.

Which explains why I love certain worship songs which are about the unconditional love of God. That I can just BE and BE LOVED. For nothing I can DO, but just because I AM.
Ahh... what a relief.

Revelation by the Holy Spirit, touches and transforms like nothing else!

So that's the latest with me,
day by day I am walking in this familiar, yet new and deeply profound truth that I AM LOVED. Unconditionally, by the King of kings.

Bless you all!

The Mountains of Kharbu

Hello all!

An excerpt of my journal on April 9th.

I am in the most remarkable setting.
The village of Kharbu.
The Himilayan hills of Nepal.... terraced slopes skillfully carved out, sparse brick houses sitting stoutly nestled in the hillsides.

A rooster crows in the distance,
Indian radio fills my right ear,
and local boys playing the guitar fill my left.
A baby goat bleats,
and the rising sun burns hot against the chill of the morning.

I got the opportunity along with 10 others to go up to the mountains for 4 days.
We arrived yesterday, after a 2 1/2 hour jeep-ride up winding one-lane, unpaved roads. The ride was an experience in itself! Many times we were close to the edge, and had to sqeeze by buses too, but I wasn't scared. I've learned that you can't even compare cultures.... if much of what I saw/experienced here took place in Canada, people would be freaking out. (traffic, fitting as many people as you can in a car, no stop lights, people walking in front of cars, etc). But these people know what they're doing, so just sit back and trust.

We arrived at the richest man in the village's house (the only one with a squatty toilet). The girls room is a cement floor with unfinished stuf walls and a few pieces of metallic wrapping paper (?) taped to the top. For decoration I suppose!
I love it! 7 of us fit lying down, which is all we need.
We went on a 2 hour hike up and up on winding goat trails. The air is thinner here, and cleaner, 2,000 metres above sea level.
I find myself wanting to speak in parables and proverbs, it just seems to fit the scenery!

I am in a constant state of awe and thankfulness, and beauty of God's creation and God's people. People are self-sufficient here, they grow their own crops, gather their own water, and plow their own fields with oxen and a wooden plow.
We met a family along the way up our hike and they were picking fresh peas from their garden. They offered us some, and there we sat:

eating fresh peas,
with smiling Hindus,
in the mountain villages of Nepal.
Not saying anything.
Then we picked peas with them!
What a precious moment!

"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love Him."
1 Cor. 2:9



God is definately moving here. People get saved everyday.
We did lots of health care and did on-the-fly presentations of sharing testimonies and preaching and dancing. Most people had never heard of the gospel before.
It was really such a priviledge to be there! And bring hope.We handed out a lot of nepalese new testaments to the people who were thirsty for this Jesus they heard about, and we got to pray for lots of people too.
It was cool, many of them said after we prayed for them, they felt lighter and more peaceful. I think it's because for a short instant we were able to bring God's presence and lift the oppressive spirit of Hinduism.
I was speechless a lot of the time, because the world is just so beautiful!
3 little girls attatched themselves to me so we'd play clapping games everynight with the light of the fire.

P.s. I got to hold a baby goat in one of the villages. Best moment ever.
p.p.s. My friend Brooke and I got to help make dinner around the fire... it was chicken. real chicken.They chopped off the heads, drained its neck blood into a grassy trough and then we pulled out all its feathers. It was quite the experience! A little bit hesitant but thrilling at the same time. I'm glad I did it. I now know how to make chicken from ultimate scratch!

First Days in Kathmandu

A glimpse of the Nepali experience...

Wow, what can I say about Nepal.
Lord, give me the words.
Kathmandu has beautiful people. They look Indian with a hint of Mongolian.

The streets are bumpy and hilly and dirt. Their brick roads are dusty dirt with bricks stuck every-which-way in them.
There are cows chilling out beside the road on grassy slopes covered with plastic trash.
The women wear bright coloured saris and punjabis, their silks blowing in the wind.
There is an orchestra of car horns everywhere you go. Some horns sound like flute melodies, some are tapped with rhythms by the drivers.

There are no lanes, just roads, and each man for himself. Yet I haven't seen an accident so far. (No one drives very fast because of the constant braking.) Buses, motorbikes, scooters, bicycles, cars, all ride together, weaving in and out of each other. People walk on the sides of the road.
We were walking up a hill and a bus came to an SUV car.... but there wasn't room for both to pass.
When push comes to shove, the big guy always wins. The SUV and the cars behind it had to back up in reverse, and let the mighty, adorned bus (with people shouting and hanging from the doors) passed through.

The roads are lined with one room shops;
paint, snacks, fabric.
Bolts and bolts of fabric piled high... Bold colours and beautiful patterns backdrop the little man sitting bent over at his sewing machine.

We cross a river...it's more like a 3-foot deep muddy trickle that stretches 25 feet wide. There are 2 boys washing their cars in it and on the other side, a gaggle of women with buckets doing their laundry.
How do they get their clothes so clean, when the water is so dirty?

We pass fellow workers, and we smile, put our hands together, and say "Namaste". Their skeptical face breaks forth into a glowing smile, and we get a "Namaste" back. The people here are friendly.

Everyday I recognize my need of the Holy Spirit because things are quite overwhelming and different.
Jesus be my strength.
Jesus be my reality.
Jesus, show your power to these beloved people.

Tomorrow: Hello Asia

Hi!
It’s late Saturday night here, the night before we leave for Nepal!

It’s hard to comprehend that 12 weeks have already gone by... wow. Time is so strange that way, it seems like a short time but then it feels like a very long time --all at the same time.


Well this past week has been an exciting and eventful one! (As is every week here). Yesterday we wrapped up the final day of teaching with a crash course on basic health care. We learned about simple, natural ways to teach others how to guard the body against infection, how to clean and wrap wounds, how to prevent cough and colds, fevers, malnutrition, and how to prevent/treat diarrhea.
(Seriously: one of the highest causes of death in children is diarrhea. Sounds ridiculous but it’s true. Their food is going straight through them at a very rapid rate, so they lose massive amounts of water and electrolytes, and they become severely dehydrated. If they are not able to get adequate fluids into their system, they die.

Drinking a simple mixture of clean water, salt, and sugar (ORS-Oral Rehydration Solution), replenishes the body with electrolytes (salt) and energy (sugar) and is absorbed more effectively and quickly than plain water. This simple teaching will stop many children and adults from dying from diarrhea via dehydration! Ahh! We are so over-educated in the West!

So we’ll be doing some basic health care clinics too! Yay! A little foretaste of what the Birth Attendant School will be like!
I’m in charge of carrying the stethoscopes and ear-checking kit.

(For those of you that don’t know or are confused about what school I am doing right now;)
I am presently completing the YWAM Discipleship Training School (DTS) with a Compassion Focus. This means that the things we will do on our outreach to Nepal and Cambodia will be more “mercy/compassion focused”. We will love on people in orphanages, care for the children that have been forced into the terrible child trafficking ring, teach English, do some basic health care, perform in the streets doing dances and dramas, and trekking up to remote villages where the mountain people have not yet heard the good news about a Savior who loves them and yearns to be in relationship with them. Most importantly, we will share our life stories with the precious Nepalese and Cambodians about what Jesus has done in each of our lives, the eternal Hope there is in Him, and the free gift of salvation He extends to all humanity. We are trusting God for amazing things to happen on this outreach. Signs and wonders to follow. I’ll keep you posted!

THEN, after this, I am doing an 11-month Birth Attendant School in July where I will learn how to be a midwife for women in developing nations. I will have 3 months in Perth, Australia (the YWAM Perth Base), and then an 8 month outreach to nations in Africa, Asia, and/or the Middle East.

So the journey has really just begun!

Anyway, it is the wee hours of the night here and I can hear the murmur of sleepy girls chatting as they pack their bags, and my little cricket friend is making his nightly cricket chirping noises... he must be in a crack behind the fridge.
I’m also listening to amazing music by Sigur Ros, their album called “Takk”. (They’re an Icelandic band who artfully use instruments and vocals to create quite a colourful, beautiful sound!) I recommend the songs “Glosoli” and “Mea Bloanasir”. Check it out on the iTunes Store.

So good music floods my ears and the satisfaction of having my clothes freshly washed and my backpack packed puts a peaceful smile on my face.
I cut my hair today, gave it a fresh trim, and added more layers... it looks really good!
And with a cup of yummy, free, donated-to-the-base Organic Soy Milk in hand, I can now sit down to write.

Well, I wont have my laptop with me on outreach for these next three months. It is too heavy and too valuable to take for the kind of trip we’ll be doing. We don’t know for sure the accomodation we’ll be having, but it is quite likely that there won’t be running water. Toilet paper is also non-existent there. We are advised to bring our own. And apparently the electricity is only on for 3 hours per day in some parts. It will be a different world...Welcome to Nepal.
I can’t wait!

So, having said that, I’ll try to update the blog when I can, but who knows when Internet cafes will be open, and if I’ll be able to send a little message within the 3-hour electricity time. It will most likely be little tidbits here and there, and hopefully when I get back in Australia I can edit my posts and fill out the details and add some pictures too.

It’s 2 am here, in 14 hours we’ll be at the airport boarding a plane for Bangkok, Thailand. We’ll sleep on the floor overnight in the Bangkok airport, and then catch our plane for Kathmandu, Nepal at 10 am the following morning.
Then....?

Well, I’ll have to let you know.


Next time I write I’ll be wearing a punjabi.
!!!!


And here I am at present:
..... “thumbs up for Asia!”

Expecting great things from God,
Love Fia

Less than Two Weeks!

Hi!
How’s everybody doing in Northern Hemisphere?

It’s still rockin’ Down Under and time is going by so fast!!!

(<-- this is Shannon. Hear her roar!) She's a sweet heart from Texas. She's also going to Cambodia with me!

We have less than two weeks until we set flight to Nepal! I’m getting really stoked, we are only allowed to bring one backpack, so we will really be backpacking it! Love it!

In Nepal we need to wear “punjabis”. A punjabi is an Indian silk dress-type-garment, which I am very excited about. It’s a dress-smock with big slits and then you wear puffy pants underneath and a scarf on your shoulders. The scarf bit is very important... if you don’t wear it, you’re a “scandalous woman”.

Things are coming together in quite miraculous ways...
let me give you an example:
Our money.

So by March 4th at 3:00pm we had to have all our Outreach Finances paid in so we could buy the airplane tickets. All in all, we needed $104,000 for our whole school. (28 people). A few weeks before the deadline, we were needing $76,000, people were slowly paying in what they had, some people didn’t have all the outreach fees and were still trusting God with how the money was going to come in through donations and other ways of provision.

So things were steadily coming in, but the night before the finances were due, we still needed $11,000 as a school. My outreach fees were paid for, thanks to all of your contributions. I can’t thank you enough for giving. Honestly. It is only by your generosity that I am here.
But, we still needed $11, 000 as a team, so we had a prayer meeting and it was awesome. We’ve been praying for finances this whole time, but we just kicked it up a notch this night.

Then the next morning, it was 10 am and still nothing had budged. We had to buy our tickets by 3 that afternoon. Our leader, Rachel, felt like we should have a “time of giving”, where we waited on God to see if He wanted us to give anything to anyone. Not necessarily money either. Just to loosen the tension and bless each other and stop thinking about ourselves.
So we went away for 20 minutes, asked God, “what do I give? and to whom?”
Then we got what we needed and came back.

It was like Christmas! All these special gifts that were really meaningful because it was directed by God. People were giving their clothes, jewelry, precious things away to team members that God spotlighted for them. Also, God laid it on some hearts to give a financial donation towards some team members who still needed it.

You really disarm the spirit of greed when you come against it in the opposite spirit, cheerful, joyous giving!
The guitar was going, a joyous rhythm, and everyone was going around blessing each other, in the midst of huge need. I was so excited to give away the things that God told me to give, and I actually received some wonderful, unexpected things too!
It was quite a moment!
This lasted for about 20 minutes, and during this time, the number on the board kept getting erased and rewritten again.... $10,000.....$6,000.....$5,000.....$0. Outreach paid.


!!!
!!
!
What! How did that happen!?
20 minutes ago we needed $11, 000 and now with a little personal giving from people.... it doesn’t add up to me.
It’s a mystery.
A miracle!
Bottom line: our God provides!
But anyway, it was an amazing moment. It all took us by surprise and we were so excited! We let out shouts and praise and songs and jumps!!! Thank you Jesus!
So we bought our tickets that afternoon by the deadline. No sweat. Perfect timing.

And less importantly, we had a dance party on Saturday... circus themed! It was really fun! Good music and some people went all out!
We had people dressed as lions, gypsies, clowns, strong men, tightrope walkers...

I went as a trapeze artist!And this is our "Italian photo"; Shannon, Michelle, Ana, Fia.
We're all 1/4 Italian, so us four together, we make one whole Italian!


Shannon's a lion, Michelle and Ana are Gypsies.
It's funny, I was able to outfit 2 whole gypsy costumes (Michelle and my roomate, Mary) out of my own regular clothes. Lots of scarves and beads and earrings and necklaces and flowy skirts!

Something is happening!

Something is happening!

This week, week eight we had a speaker come in and speak on Lordship. What it means to have Jesus as Lord. To follow Him with radical obedience, and to experience the freedom, grace and love that comes with that.

Earlier in the week, I was getting frustrated because I felt like I was operating below the potential that God has for me. I was trying to become level with the people around me, but we’re all at different levels and and different points in our walk with God.

God spoke to me and said, “Fia, be the thermostat, not the thermometer.” Don’t measure the temperature, SET the temperature.

On Wednesday afternoon, I felt like God wanted me to write a song, and dance in the classroom. I felt a very strong impression from God to do it, and do it THAT afternoon! I grabbed the guitar, got inspiration for lyrics, melody, everything, within an hour. I haven’t written a complete song in maybe 1-2 years?

Then, we had the afternoon off so I went to the classroom and was in there by myself. I put on the Ipod, and began to worship God with my everything, with song, movement, dance... it was great yet scary because I had not danced here yet. Things have been a little conservative lately. I was praying for our class, for the students, and pretty much doing dance-intercession in there! Worship-dance is so powerful!

So here I am dancing in the classroom, and some of my classmates walk in, and they want to stay. Uhh... okay....

Courage: not being fearless, but looking fear right in the face and going for it anyway.

So I dance like they aren’t there. After all, it shouldn’t matter. I’m not performing, I’m dancing for an audience of one and that’s Jesus.

Our relationship with God is deeply personal, but should not be private.

So I’m just going for it, having so much fun and getting more and more breakthrough in my own life as what usually happens when I worship. Fear of man being looked straight in the face and broken off! Yes Lord!

The two that stayed were both blown away and so encouraged....they’d never seen anything like it, and thought that I was following steps, but I told them I didn’t know what the next step was, I just did it.
One of them wrote me a note saying, “Your dancing really touched me... I am so amazed at your passion and that you go for the Lord 100% all the time no matter what!”

Then, one guy who was really shy about playing the guitar, picked up the guitar and played the coolest acoustic freestyle music! In front of people!

THAT afternoon,
IT RAINED.
A downpour.

It was the first rainfall since I’ve been here.
Something was changing...
Thank you Jesus.

On Friday we had the coolest day yet! It was the final day of Lordship lectures and it was the application time where we laid down at the cross things that were hindering us from Jesus truly being Lord of our life. Some people surrendered their past relationships with ex-boyfriends, visions/plans they had made for their future, pride, control, etc. “I step down from the throne of my own life, and I want you to be rightly Lord.”


We also got to give back to God the gifts that He gave us and lay them down saying, “They’re yours, not mine. Thank you for them, and I want to consecrate them to you!”

(1 Corinthians 4:7 “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”)

We laid down bank cards (symbolizing money/ bank accounts),
pictures of family and those dear to us... I also laid down all the gifts of creativity God has given me that are precious to me:
sketchbooks...
writing...
art...
sewing...
calligraphy...
musical ability/songwriting.... I played the song on the guitar that God had just given me two days before,
and dance... I danced to a song that I love, it was full of freedom and joy and fun! God’s grace was surely on me to do that with all my team in the room. But I didn’t care! It HAD to be done! One girl told me later that she was almost in tears.
And most importantly... my self. I am so thankful for my life, but once again it belongs to Jesus, there is no other safer hands that I would want to hold it.

After we all did that, we were so aware of the presence of God!
It was awesome. Yet very humbling. I was confronted with Jesus the King. Not just Jesus my buddy, but also Jesus the King of kings, Lord of lords, worthy-to-open-the-scroll Jesus. He is Worthy.
God brought me to Revelation chapter 5, the description of the Throneroom, and I couldn’t get past the 2nd verse without weeping. I thought I was worthy. I was so humbled.
(Go ahead and read it for yourself!)

Yeah from there, God really got to grab hold of me in a deeper way, and revealed areas that I still wanted control of on my life.
I felt like I was in a refiner’s fire, and small yet significant impurites were being brought to the surface and the gold (which is me) was becoming purified and more clear. It took till the next day for me to finally yield. And with that, an increased freedom and joy! God is so good!

Later that day, the girl who almost cried during my dancing said she wanted so badly to do worship dance in the classroom!
And other girls wanted to join her!
I got so excited that they were taking initiative and going for it!

Later that night, and I went to pop in to see if the worship session was still going...
I was so blessed to see what I saw.
About a dozen people were in there! They had been going for 2 hours! Music blaring, singing, dancing, praying, prophesying...

Oh and guess what,
for the 2nd time this year,
It RAINED that day.

!!!
Come Holy Spirit!


2 Cor 3:17
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Be the thermostat, not the thermometer. Obey God, and see what happens!

More News!

Okay where to start....
It has been such a long time, Honestly there has hardly been a spare moment to even check email!
I feel like my heart has been on a refining journey over the past few weeks!

Well, okay I have some more news.

So the YWAM staff have been keeping a lookout for Sri Lanka, because they are in a civil war. We were told this after the team was formed...So then we had to let our parents know about this, ask their permission to go, and honour their decision if they didn’t want us to go. Mostly all of our parents said yes, they wanted to release us and trusted YWAM to make good decisions and not be foolish if the situation got worse.

During this time, God was dealing with me on not having my heart set on a specific location, but on Him, because that’s the main thing. I had to let go of any hope I’ve put in my team or the country we were going to, because the team may lose some people depending on the decisions of the parents.
I loved my group and I couldn’t imagine us not going somewhere together! Now everything that we thought was solid, became up in the air.
So the whole team went through a heart- refining process, clarifying our expectations and hopes, laying them at the altar and waiting for the next step.

During the time of waiting, there was a humbling of us to be willing to obey our parents above our own decision. The people on the team whose parents weren’t Christians were more reluctant/strongly refusing to release them to go to Sri Lanka, and it really impacted them that their children would honour them by stepping down from the team and going to either China or Thailand, if that's what it took. It was actually really cool how in these tense moments, the real feelings came out, and Christ could be shown. So praise God! He is all about restoring families and reconciliation.

On Feb 20th there was a bombing in the capital city where we would go. Usually the ruckus was in the North (far from where we would be) but this was a little dodgy. A little close to home.
SO, the staff continued to pray into this, and more and more parents of the students became tense. On a DTS, they don't want to send us into a war zone, that's not what they do. They sought God more, and felt a release to pray again for a country, due to the downward change of circumstances.
So it was an interesting situation, and God brought us to deeper levels of being flexible, not attatching ourselves to anything but Him. What a good place to be!

So we had a full team... but no idea which country! Talk about being okay with anything! Our leaders met with us after some arranging and phone calls, and the place where we would be going...

CAMBODIA!

we will be doing work with children, slums, practical skills, work in schools, working with the community to guard against child trafficking (a HUGE problem in Cambodia/Thailand).
We were asked to still pray, and see if we were okay with that. If not, there was still room on the China and Thailand teams.
I still felt like I should stay with my team, and I had no strong pull to the other destinations, so Cambodia it is! Really, God has tested and purified my heart with this Sri Lanka ordeal, and I have gotten to the place where it doesnt matter where we go because we have the Holy Spirit.

Oh, one thing: When she announced Cambodia,
I got a picture of a temple against a red sunset and as I later prayed into it, I got two words:
Ancient Kingdom.
(I know nothing about that country)

Turns out, I went on the internet later to check it out, and Cambodia is....
an Ancient Kingdom! Go figure!
And their flag has a picture of a temple on it!

Well God is speaking, isn’t He!

I also got the word Photography, so I believe God wants to use my photos from there.

Our whole team got the go-ahead from our parents, and we all get to stay TOGETHER (yay!), and we are in expectation for the things to come!
Anyway,
God is good, He is so good!

Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes ALL THINGS to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”