I wrote today about something I had been mulling over on the bus ride from Pattaya to Bangkok, God put it on my heart really randomly and I didn't have a chance to write it down as I was thinking but the first chance I got I tried to put it in words the best I could, so here it goes...

A face without a name. When you see a stranger on the street would you give your life for them? If we all take a moment and think about it, the majority of us would come up with reasons that seem to be legitimate. “I am young, I have so many more years to live.” “I am a mother, I am a father.” “I have not graduated college or traveled the world.”. Only a small percentage would be speaking the truth when they say that without question they would volunteer their life for another. Who has given us the power to place a price on somebody else's life? If we do not know their name, if we have not spent enough time with a person, in our book of worth they are low on the scale. Parents, siblings, children, pets- For most those are the people who lie in the number one slot. 

 However when we look through the eyes of God we see that although He has created us to be special, to be unique, He has created us in His image, We are His priceless, beloved, children. To God we are valued, and we are to value others more highly than ourselves. We were all bought at the same price, the life of Jesus Christ.  Jesus, although tempted and tried, there was no fault to find in Him, He was and is and will always be the only human who has ever been perfect and blameless. Yet, God sent Him to die in exchange for our sin. Jesus died for the most broken people, for the murderers, adulterers, prostitutes, and pimps. He died so that we may live and find eternal life. If Jesus died for the chief of sinners, and as Christians it is our utmost desire to live like Jesus lived and love like Jesus loves, then are we willing to pay the costs? When you value others above yourself, it is then you will start to capture the heart of God, for God sent His son to die on the cross for each and every person who has walked this earth. It is not enough for you to find eternal life through Christ Jesus, there is a need to go out and sacrifice our lives so that others may live, so that others may find Jesus.  We need to give God the room to break our hearts for what breaks His.  We need to open ourselves so that He can fill our hearts with love for people we do not yet know. 

It is a beautiful thing when we can see societies untouchables through the eyes of Christ,  because it is then we see the precious, individual that our Heavenly Father yearns for. It is then the blinders fall away, your pride, your judgement, shatters along with your heart.  For when you see the true value of another, you begin to love more like Christ loves, and what a joy it is to see people as God created them to be.  To value everyone more highly than yourself, it is a challenge,  it may require you to go to visit prisoners, to talk with prostitutes, or sit with the homeless.  God may call you to the desolate villages of Africa, the remote jungles of Brazil, or the slums of Cambodia.  You may leave your family, your comfort, and your safety.  You may have to travel half way around the world, or to the center of your city.  You may feel that you are giving up everything, but when you start learning to love like Jesus loves, and value others like Jesus values us, then you gain a small piece of the heart of God.  And when God share His heart for others with you, that is not sacrifice, that is a privilege. To value is to love, and when we love like Jesus loves and make His name known, lives are saved.  

Next time you see a homeless man or woman, will you take time to sit with them and hear their story? If you think of the children trafficked in Cambodia, how will you respond? If you hear of a child in need of a home, will you open yours?  It should not matter if you know their names or who they are, if they are your children or not.  We are all children of God, we are all a part of the same family, He gave his life for them just like He gave His life for you and me.  

This is something I not only want to share but something I want to continue to grow in.  To see people for who they truly are, through the eyes of Christ.  I hope that through sharing what God has put on my heart that the Lord will speak into your life and that you will be inspired to seek after His heart more and more, striving to love others like Jesus loves. 

Philippians 2:1-18 "Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. 18 You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me."

 Here are some photos from Thailand, mostly from the market! :)  We have just arrived in Cambodia and I will be posting more soon! God Bless! -E

Thousands upon thousands of Chinese tourists come every year to Bali High Pier in Pattaya City.  Our team had the amazing privilege of working with some missionaries to hand out Chinese bibles to the Chinese people who pass by!  In the three years they have been doing this ministry, (going out from 5:30-9:00 every Monday, Wednesday, & Friday)  they have handed out over 330,000 Chinese Bibles and New Testaments!  This evening we got to be a part of handing out 1,084 Bibles to the Chinese tourists!  Every day my mind is just blown my the plans that God has and the way He incorporates us mere humans into His grand scheme.  Praise be to God, May His light and love shine bright enough to reach all peoples, including the Chinese!  

Let me start off by saying God is Ahh-mazing.  Every single day I am learning new things about Him, myself, and the world we live in.  Every day I am challenged, I am strengthened, I am blessed because Jesus is in my life.  Even through the rough times, through the conflicts God and His love is so much bigger.  Today as a team we came together and talked through things that happened the day before, we shared our hearts, we listened to one another, we encouraged one another, and at the end we came before the Lord and praised Him for who He is and the way that He is shaping our hearts.  We also wanted to spend quality time together as it has been go-go-go since we have landed in Thailand.  We decided to visit a cafe that is run by a family who is working to reach out to different Asian cultures here in Pattaya.  We walked for an hour in the blazing sun, all of us were tired, hungry, and were *dreading* the walk back home. I even said "Oh maybe they will be at the cafe and will feel pity on us and give us ride back", I was making a joke, completely sure that it was out of the question. We had never met the lady who owned the cafe, we had only worked with her husband a couple times, and without even knowing who we were she blessed us so much.  A big part of the cafe is their bakery, and secretly we all wanted dessert but did not have the money to spend.   As we are finishing our meal she randomly comes with two big slices of cake, insisting that we much taste test her carrot cake!  Then she gives me a bottle of water for free, and then she gives Marcus a bag of homemade chocolate chip cookies!  We were all so pleasantly shocked by her generosity and hospitality!  As we were outside, lathering on the sun screen, she comes out with two more bags of chocolate chip cookies for us!  Now we were really feeling like the generosity was going way beyond normal, we kept thanking her and thanking her, smiling, unsure of what else we could do to express our gratitude.  Now finally, we were getting ready to actually leave and as we start walking away she runs out the door with three loaves of homemade banana bread!  Like come on.  I gave her a hug and almost started to cry because I was just completely in awe of her generosity and Gods blessing to us through her!  And for the grand finale... as we walked a few short feet from the cafe, her husband who we know, pulls up and tells us to hop in his truck because he is going to give us a ride home.  Tears, the tears are going to come,  I feel completely humbled because we are so undeserving of all of these gifts, yet God chooses to bless us.  Wow. God is just incredible.  He loves to surprise us, He loves to show His love for us and to use other people to do it.  In simple things like today, I feel God's love washing over me like a tidal wave.  If something so small can make us rejoice in God, then how much more should we praise and worship Him for the sacrifice He made of sending His son Jesus to die a death on the cross for our sins?  We should give Him all the glory, all of the honor, all of the praise, we should dedicate our lives to Him because He is so majestic, so incredibly amazing,  He is everything.  Not only do I feel just more in love with Jesus, I am challenged to be generous with all that the Lord gives to me.  Most people say the more God blesses us with the more we should bless others, when actually no matter what circumstances that life throws at us, we should continue to serve, continue to bless, and continue to give freely and generously to others.  It is an act of obedience towards God, and when you listen to Him, when you bless another, it could be just the encouragement they need to get them through the day or to strengthen their faith, or challenge them to do the same.  When we give freely of what God has given to us it is a win-win situation.  Victory is the Lords and the devil is defeated! 

2 Corinthians 9:6-8

"Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed."

These ladies.  Smart, kind, wonderful.  Their smiles light up their whole faces, and strike a chord in my heart.  I can only hear their stories and imagine myself in their shoes.  I don't know if I could make it one day in the lives that they have been living for years.  These woman are strong. stronger than they will ever come to realize.  These woman are beautiful, more beautiful than they can see.  They are priceless, valuable, more precious than rubies, they are daughters of the most high king.  If only, if only they and all of the other woman in the world could see it.  My prayer, from the bottom of my heart, is for woman to be seen for who they are, for who God created them to be.  We are all created in the image of God, He knit us all together in our mothers' womb.  He knows the hairs on our heads.  He has prepared a plan for us,  one that is better than anything we could every dream up in our minds.  We have no idea.  We have no sense of how loved we are.  We are so loved that the one true living God would send His one and only son to die on the cross for our sins,  and so much so that if we were the only one on earth, He would still die.  Because He loves, He loves us.  How can we not see it?   How can we not feel it?  Why do we need to become better or stoop lower in order to receive love, when we have a heavenly father who loves us more than our hearts could hold?  It breaks my heart, there is a suffocating ache in my chest. I feel like shouting, crying, running to every woman I see and telling them that they are priceless, that they are beautiful the way that God made them, that they have someone who already loves them with a love that is enough. Period. End of story.  I wish it was that easy, with every fiber of my being, I wish that every woman on earth could stand firm in their identity in Christ.  In my life I have learned that wishing does not create many results, but what I can do is pray, I can pray for more women to see who they are created to be, I can pray for the women I meet, I can share my story, with each opportunity I can share the love of Jesus and let the Holy Spirit do His work.  It is so hard to have hope when you see the darkness closing in around you,  but we have a light, one that never dims, never dies, a light that will someday fill the whole earth.  We have the hope found in Jesus and that is something no person can ever take away.  He is rescuer, redeemer, savior,  identity-giver.  God is love.

"For you formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb.  I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are your works, and my soul knows it very well."

We are in Thailand! Woohoo! I can't believe it is my third time in just one and a half years.  God blows my mind!  It is incredible to see how when you walk according to His will you experience things you never thought were possible!  I am starting to wonder if there is a reason God keeps calling me back to Asia... hmmm.  Only time will tell :)  I am loving being here, and it feels so comfortable knowing how to get around, seeing people you know, eating your favorite foods! (Omelet, rice, and ginger lemongrass chili soup).  The heat and humidity is like nothing I have ever felt before, at least 90 degrees fahrenheit with a humidity that keeps you drenched in sweat during all hours of the day.  Let's just say I will be proudly rocking the upper lip "sweatstache" for the next three weeks. This morning we had a children's program in the slum of Pattaya and this evening we will go to pray for the city and go out to the bars to talk with the girls, invite them to English class, and if the opportunity arises, share about the love of Jesus Christ! I hope you can stand together with us on this and being praying for our protection!  For those visual people out there, here is a few pictures :) God Bless! -E 

One great thing about living in Community is the amount of BBQ's and parties we have together!  Our team which is called "Make Waves" gathered together for a start of the summer grill out! We had a plethora of ribs, pork chops, sausages, and other delicious meaty treats.  We also had some decadent desserts, like the Tres Leches (three milk) cake that I made, pictured above. Even one of our neighbors showed up with a bottle of home brewed rootbeer!  It was a great time of fellowship and food before we parted ways on our summer time sprees. (Our team actually just arrived in Pattaya, Thailand, so please stay tuned as we jump right into ministry tomorrow!) 

We were on our way home, finally, after four days of challenging adventure all were ready to get back to friends and family.  We ended up taking the train back up to Copenhagen, running to the bus station, and taking the bus back to Oslo.  Ricardo made the responsible decision to take the train from Oslo to home so that he could spend time with his family before they left for the weekend.  Ingunn and I stayed over at a friends house in the city and woke up at 6:00 to hitch hike back to Grimerud.  Eight hours and eight different car rides later we were dropped off right in front of the main building here at Grimerud.  Through this whole journey I have learned that even in the lowest points, in the times where you feel like nothing could ever change your situation, God is there.  He is faithful through the good times and the rough times.  He is constant, never changing, always present in our lives.  He loves to bless us but He also loves to teach us, and sometimes that means being challenged.  It is okay to be challenged, we need that, we need to be uncomfortable, pushed to our limits.  We need to get out of our comfort zones. for when we are vulnerable we learn to rely solely on God.  We see our weaknesses, our failures, and we know that the only one who can save us is The Lord.  When we put ourselves out there we get to experience God in a whole new light, we get to trust Him at a deeper level,  and He never disappoints.  When you have God you can always take comfort in knowing that He see's the whole canvas, He knows more than you will ever know, and He loves you.  If you can grasp a hold of that truth there is no reason to be afraid.  God is with you.  He is faithful.

Have you ever stayed four hours at a gas station, praying for God to have mercy on your soul?  I would not recommend it.  The exciting part of hitch hiking is that you can be waiting for hours on end waiting for a compassionate stranger to give you a ride, or you can be picked up by the first car that passes by.  Hopelessness is easy to come by when you have been passed by at least one hundred cars and have asked another twenty drivers and no one claims to be going your way.   God is so good though, and when you have resorted to laying on the grass and crying out to God to shower His grace upon you, that is usually when He pushes you a little farther, asks to trust Him a little longer, and challenges your patience a little more.  And after that is done, when you feel the panic of the setting sun and the sketchy truck drivers all around you, then and only then is when God sends you the perfect person to pick you up.  Disclaimer: That is not how all stories go, and God does not always choose to work that way, but that is how it went for us!   After the long wait at the gas station the moment we were dropped off 30 minutes from our destination another car drives by, sees our thumbs and stops.  This was probably my favorite person I met while hitch hiking, A shy, non English speaking,danish man.  Even within the little conversation we had you could just tell that he was a hard working, compassionate, generous man.  He was on his way back from Copenhagen (two and a half hours away)  and he had been working construction all day.  Instead of driving us to his town, which was his final destination, he added an extra forty minutes to his trip and drove us straight to the dock where we wanted to catch the ferry.  May God truly bless that sweet man.  Thanks to him we made it right before the ferry to Germany was about to leave, so we bought our tickets and hopped on.  Our expectations were high as we set sail towards this new land.  Little did we know on the other side of the sea laid a big field of nothingness and no possibilities. We made a small attempt to hitch hike to Hamburg, asked a few people if we could sleep in their front yards, and ended the night at the train station.  Intrigued by Ingunn laying on the floor of the station, a man asked us what we were doing, exhausted and hungry we honestly shared with him how our plans had taken a different path and how we ended up in this sticky situation.  He felt so sorry for us he gave us 6 euros to buy an ice cream (Praise The Lord) and then came back from home to bring us water and beer (at least we now had water).  To him it may have been a small gesture, or he may have not even given it a thought but to me it really was a testimony of Gods faithfulness,  for that afternoon I expressed how I was craving ice cream.  God loves to surprise us and bless us, in big ways and in small ways too.  I love how He is so creative in the way He reveals Himself to us :) Sleeping bag unrolled, teeth brushed, eyes drooping, we snuggled up to the floor of the German train station.  One thing I am beyond thankful for is the gift that God has bestowed upon me, the gift to sleep any where, on any surface, at any time.  While some may think sleeping on a tiled floor is their worst nightmare I actually was able to have a somewhat decent night of sleep.  I was always reminded that even in circumstances we considered rough, we still had it better then a lot of people out in the world.  We were indoors, we were warm enough, we had our own sleeping bags, we weren't fearing for our lives.  In those moments God reminded me to be aware and be grateful for the things I take for granted on a daily basis.Even through the difficult situation there is always a lesson God is wanting to teach you if you only open your heart to what He wants to say!  We made it through the night safely, a kind German security guard checked in on us every few hours or so, and the next morning he graciously put us back on the ferry for free!! We had officially started the journey home again! Come back tomorrow to hear the final part of Walk by Faith...

The rode to Denmark was rough,  An eight hour bus ride, no food, no water.  We realized about half way through that what we had done was not the most intelligent decision,  It is funny how desperate you feel when you realize there is no way that you can possibly feed the pangs in your stomach.  Thankfully

a man offered us a bun in which we shared together, rejoicing for the "manna from heaven" that saved the day.  Seven in the evening we arrived in Copenhagen, grabbed a McDonald's $1 cheeseburger (which was a very humbling experience in itself because it was my first McDonald's burger in circa. ten years, surprisingly it tasted ah-mazing, I credit that to the fact that I had been hungry since 10:00 that morning.).  After inhaling the burger we started to hitch hike to our friends apartment, 35 minutes outside of Copenhagen.  Two car rides and two hours later we made it.  I laugh at the randomness of the whole happening, but then rejoice at the way that God brought us together.  All of us needed encouragement and to spend the evening talking, catching up, and laughing about the amount of m&m's we stuffed in our faces, was truly a blessing.  We also got to sleep in an actual bed! Hallelujah! And in the morning we awoke to a delicious breakfast of freshly prepared rolls, bacon, and eggs! :) This day was off to a good start!!  The sun was shining, the air was crisp, and we were on our way to Germany! :) Tune in tomorrow for Part Four of the faith walk experience!

**For the record,  my intention is to not sound extremely negative through the recap of our faith walk.  I have learned so much and I would love to do it again and I am going to get to the part where I share how it changed me and grew my faith! I am just sharing the day by day in shorter snip its first!  It is remarkable how much content you have to share after four days on the road.  I truly feel more aware at the blessings God has given me because of this trip and I see now more than ever the faithfulness of God shining through in each and every situation!

As we made it to Oslo, the realization came that we may be spending a night on the cozy benches of an airport cafe.  Trying to be the optimist, I threw out the idea that we should make a sign asking if someone had a place we could sleep in Oslo City.  Well let's just say that we ended up sleeping on benches in an airport cafe.  As much as I love Norwegians they are not so keen on picking up three strangers late at night, but then again who is?  Giving up on the dream of a warm house and comfy beds we headed back inside the airport, our next mission: feeding our grumbling stomachs.  I had previous experience getting free food from the airport's pizza restaurant, and this time was no different except for the fact that instead of sneaking the abandoned pizza from the table top, I explained that we were poor travelers and asked if we could have the left over pizza.  Without any hesitation the guy said yes and gave us 4 pieces of delicious cheesy goodness.  Once again we were on a "food provision high", thankful to not have to go hungry to bed that night.  As we hunkered down with our sleeping bags we got ready to turn in for the night.  Sleep came easy too some, to others finding a comfortable position was a struggle.  I was one of the lucky ones, snoozing peacefully until something hit me in the face.  I groggily opened my eyes to see a man and a woman dressed in uniform, looking down at my friend and I.  My heart almost stopped, this is it, we are finished, tomorrow I will be put back on a plane to the homeland!  They asked what we were doing and told us that if they ever saw us do so little as blink our eyes for to long they would call the cops.  We were escorted off the premises and ended up sleeping in a field by the side of the road.  Hah, No just kidding, That would have been a lot more exhilarating, but they just told us to keep sleeping and make sure we were careful when we hitch hiked.  We woke the next morning, freshened up (as much as you can in a public restroom) and hitch hiked to Oslo!  We were standing in the drop off area for maybe ten minutes when a Filipino man maneuvered his way over to us (reversing, almost hitting another car, etc) and told us to hop in!  He drove us all the way to the central station in Oslo which was our main destination for that morning.  Once again God's faithfulness shines through!  Hallelujah!  We were unable to find food for free so we ended up spending $3 on some raisin buns.  As I stood there looking out at the bridge of people passing by I saw a homeless man, immediately after seeing him I felt God nudging me to bless him in some way.  All I had to offer was a breakfast bun and a prayer but I felt the Holy Spirit continually pushing me to give the little I had.  Praying for him was a really great experience, to see the smile on his face, and to see how much it meant for him that somebody had taken the time to stop, talk to him, and extend a hand of kindness.  I've been learning that obedience to God in the small things can bless others more than you can imagine, but will also leave you feeling blessed.  Each day I am challenging myself to listen more to God during daily life, who can I bless, who can I pray for, how can I share the love of Jesus with those around me? For what we do to the least of these we do for Jesus himself. Our journey continued as we found the bus terminal, tried to find a way to get free tickets, failed, and then bought them anyway.  Part three will premiere tomorrow, stay tuned!

Faith Walk. Four Days. Limited Money. One backpack. No Destination.  As a missionary you experience God and His provision on a daily basis, from food dropping on your doorstep to an encouraging word from a friend,  We as Christians tend to use the phrase "God is faithful," in fact my whole blog revolves around the faithfulness of God.  Our team decided to step it up a notch and go on a faith building journey, putting ourselves in the most vulnerable and humbling situations that we could, relying solely on God to get us from one place to the next.  We started after church, no agenda, just us and God.  We were lead to a children's festival where we were able to meet up with two Brazilians I had prayed with the day before.  As we sought the Lord we felt that we were to make our way toward Oslo, our main transportation: Hitch Hiking.  Thumbs up, Smiles bright, we waited for a kind stranger to have compassion on us.  Minutes then hours went by and we were still in the same place as when we had started.  Stomachs rumbling we realized we had to find a source of food.  Without thinking I went up to the Mexican food booth at the festival and tried to give the guy a high-five handshake.  It started a little awkward as he was wearing a glove and so he hesitantly gave me a backwards high five, but the moment I mentioned we were hitch hikers he stopped us and asked if we needed food, we said yes of course, and he prepared three delicious taco bowls with a coke and water for each of us.  We were astounded, thanking God that we had chosen this place, Shout out to Hermanos Guerrero for some of the best Mexican food we have ever tasted! Off we went, bellies full, walking toward the main highway, praying that God would provide a ride towards Oslo.   After two or so hours of waiting we were picked up by a sweet older lady, who thought we were slightly insane, (we agreed), However she was so worried for our safety that she drove us all the way to the airport where we spent our first night.... To be continued tomorrow. Stay Tuned.