Good evening. It's been quite a while since i've spilled my intestines upon this nice screen. How has my audience been? Good? Wow. with my absence, your GOOD!

anyways. enough talking to myself.

I must say God keeps proving Himself to me. eveytime i give a little hint of doubt He always shows up subtly at first and if i fail to listen to the subtle attemp, He shoves Himself into my life making Himself powerfully known and ready and willing to use those doubtful moments as a learning tool. Like a really smart teacher who knows every aspect of His students life and He knows how that student coupes and learns. It's Awesome. I read in the book of Collossians the other day...and man. How come i never remember being so excited to read about Christ. It's like starting over and breathing for the first time. I find that instead of reading of Christ's life i want to hear how everyone else perceived Him. Like paul and peter. How they saw Him and what they know. Colossians and Hebrews. and Phillipians. My all time favorite books of the Bible at this point in my life.

so. yes. Thanks God.

Let's see. I got several book ofline. all of them Really awesome and POWERFUL. Jesus Freaks and Voice of the Martyr's and all the other books centered around persecuted Christians. People with faith so strong they sacrifice the life of this world and gain glory for God in Heavan by giving up there lives, and the comfort of "no pain". An 18 year old boy was killed by having his stomach sliced opened in 1999 in some country, (sorry forgot where) all because he wouldn't deny Christ to these radical Muslims. His parents found him a few days later. Story after story. detail after detail of my Brothers and Sisters who i will only meet in God's Glory in Heavan. I can't wait. i have another book called Hearts of Fire. it's an awesome book about 8 different women who were persecuted for there faith. each story is awesome! i suggest you read it.

anyways. it's been a few weeks after india. God was really speaking to me the few weeks before we left. I remembered this one time when i was younger, like 8, just after i made the decision to truly beleive that Christ died for me and that i'd follow Him the rest of my life. a man came to our church and he had just come from Africa. he had slides and he talked about his trip. and i remember becoming so excited. i prayed that the ord would make me a Missionary. i wanted to serve God in that way. and i was really passionate about that. about a day later i had completely forgotten all about that. i was off running through forests building forts with my brother. but just about a month ago it just randomly popped back in my head all of my conviction and passion i had felt that day in Clackamas Bible Curch. and it was as if God were telling me, "I heard you and i didn't forget. Look at the opportunity before you. Take it." and i did. Three times now the Lord has granted me to go to India. i don't know if He's preparing me for a much bigger task. i don't know if He's preparing me for something other than Missions. alls i know, is right now, i have a deep passion for missions. and i need to take that up and go with it...

what now...

LAST NIGHT. OR EARLY THIS MORNING. DEPENDING ON HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT IT...I WATCHED THIS DOCUMENTARY ON OPB. it was really interesting.it was about this group of people called the Shakers. and at first i was drawn in by there service to God and there devotion to Him. every morning they would get up early and start with chores and keep working throughout the day. they had there own production and they sold all of there crafts from seeds to food to there inventions. and they considered there labor as worship to God. there everyday tasks were used to worship God. when the women did laundry or cooked it was for God and when the men fed the animals and cleaned stalls and planted crops, it was for God. and it all seemed 100% pure and true. and it just seemed so unreal. how could a group of people live there life for God in such a way. i think they also held a strick code of Celebacy. and every afternoon and evening they'd gather together to worship God and study His word and for another half hour they meditated alone in there room. wow. such devotion. then i went online and researched them further and lo and behold...it was tainted. it seems the Shakers fallowed a Woman named Mother Ann who claimed she had a vision and was the Second Coming of Christ "As radicals, all the members were harrassed, including a young married woman named Ann Lee. Fervent from a young age, Ann had a revelation during a long imprisonment that she was the Second Coming of Christ, the vital female component of God the Father-Mother " that ruined it for me. (keep in mind this all happened in the 1700'ds.)
Oh well. such is this world. it was still fascinating.

aaah...what a Pleasure to be home. the first time EVER that i've had Culture shock was the same day i got back. i walked into Thriftway and expected all the food to be covered in flies and half of it to be rotten. it was surprising....but i got over it. i had jetlagg till about 1:30 pm today then it all just stopped. all in all, india was awesome. here are some of the really exciting things that happened. (while it's fresh in my memory)

Traveling was Horrible. too and from Rokeby. ok, horrible was a harsh word...Grueling. we were on 4 planes each way. the 8 hour layover at Canada Airport was INSANE. all of us college kids...Kyle, Bryce, Mallory and I along with Mellony, played card games on a small table in the sitting area of starbucks for at leaste 3 hours and after that...our imagination sored, i still can't remember what we did. we got into Dheli at like 8 pm and drove to Rokeby and got there at around 3:30 am to everyone asleep and the house locked. so tim went and somehow woke up one of the workers and he came and let us in. that was exciting.

the orphanage went really good. everyday was really fun and exauhsting. running around @ 8000 feet above sea level is a grueling and fatiging thing to go through. you sprint for three feet and your our of breath for ten minutes, no joke. but it was all worth it. Bryce was the expert in the Tibetan language. he could count to like 20 in Tibetan. me and mallory tried...and we got to ten, but i forgot most of it except for 1,2 and 3. Teek, Ne, Suum. or something like that. A little five year old boy names Docha Tesin helped me and mallory count to Ten. He was sweet.

one day Brent made reservations at this Hotel's restaurant. it was so nice...pretty much a five course meal. (i personally didn't like the food, but everyone else did.) and after the meal they opened up this parlor room that had all these stuffed Tigers and Leapords and all this antique furniture and paintings. it was really awesome. I think i got the guy on video talking about the time when he shot the largest Tiger in the room. so amazing!

we went to the Hieshies and hung out with them for half the day. Joseph had to go early but Isaac went with us to these Tibetan places and then we had lunch with him at a Tibetan resaurant. after he left we went back to this Tibetan area so all the "New" people could see the Tibetan women wave rugs, but that was closed. and brent wanted to get into the Tibetan store...thing...but that was closed...but. Brent was determined so he wandered around the area for a few minutes to find someone to open it, and all the while this Hindu Beggar was pestering us for money. finally brent got someone and we went in and bought stuff and on our way to the taxi Jerry gave her some coins.

that's a few exciting things that happened. there are some things that will stay only in india and in my mind. but i'll share the most exciting things, like a Geko crawling up Tims leg and Mellony being really sad everytime a Sick dog with Tumors walked past us and Mallory's neverending energy and Kyle and Bryce taking some crazy sleeping pill on the plane ride home that none of us knew what it was and bryce had bought at some random Chemist in Dheli and me almost losing my tickettes and Brent embarrasing himself on the Indian Max train and Jerry playing his Ipod really loud so we could hear this really awesome and the guy in the other room getting mad at us and watching Lanelle get this Asian accent everytime she talked to an asian. man. good times.

if you have any questions feel free to ask. no...i didn't fall in love with any of the guys on the trip or with any crazy indian guy.

okee dokee. one and only time i'll ever blog in india.

my most favorite time...getting to know everyone and driving! man...the greatest moments. watching mallory see india for the first time and hearing mellony expound on the horrors of driving.

and the work of God in all of our lives. He works so hard to make us beautiful. He works so hard to show us Pure Love. I've been memorizing a passage in James..i beleive James 3:5-6? about the tongue.

"See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire. and the tongue is a fite the very world of iniquity. the tongues is set among our members as that wich defiles the entire body..." and so on. i can't remember. and Luke 14:27 But whosever doth not bear his cross and follow after me cannot be my desciple. YES! :)

anyways. there are so many things that have happened. the sarcasm that keeps us all on our toes and the kids we meet and spend time with. Bryc's unbeleivable abbility to learn Tibetan and so on! it's all so bottomless. i could go on forever. the food and the neverending supply of Chow Mein at the Canteen. YAY! i can't wait to get back home so i can deal it out in bigger portions. Thanks God for the experience. i want to come back for a much longer stay.