My Pink Stamper - Win a Cricut entry

This is a Father Day project I created in hopes to win a Cricut Expression!

Street kids

Today was one of the hardest days I have had in my travels. I have worked with people that have had very very poor living conditions but have never seen anything like I saw today. We went to a shelter for Street kids. The police pulled up at the same time as us.... as we got off the director of the shelter asked us to wait a moment....we waited as we watched the police talk to kids around 10 or 11 years old, they took some things away from the kids and the police went on their way. The director of the shelter came over to explain what was going on.... and said that a group of kids came today who were very high and started causing trouble so they had to call the cops. These kids were 10/11 years old! We went in and the director gave us an introduction to the shelter and all that they do. It was hard to hold back my tears as they I translated for him. He started by saying that they work with indigenous kids, kids that sell candies on the street, but mostly with kids that live on the streets and don’t have any contact with their parents....he went on to say that these kids range from 6 to 17 years old!!!! We were warned to keep all our belongings very close to us and to hang on to our cameras tightly, and not to give anything to the kids because they would sell it on the street and buy drugs. These are all just little kids. We started playing with the kids and I was talking to a couple of the boys that were clearly on something and asked how old they were 12 and 14, living on the streets and no parents. And they weren’t playing soccer....when I asked why they said because the ball hurt their feet too much...I looked down to see bare feet, calloused and cut. I felt so completely helpless, and you can’t give them shoes because again they’ll sell them and buy cocaine. I just wanted to sit and cry and hug these kids.

The shelter was government funded and was able to provide the kids with a place to sleep and get off the streets, but with the new government in power they took away all funding. They are now funded by local churches and an organization that Power to Change works with called Jesus Responde, but they only have funds to feed the kids and to have the doors open from 8am to 3:30pm and then the kids are back in on the streets. It is so tough on the volunteers (all workers are volunteers) to see these kids each day going back on the streets.

As we left the kids were leaving too.....stopping by the bushes to pick up the drugs they ditched before entering the shelter. Our bus driver had to call the cops while we were with the kids because some other kids were trying to break the bus windows and the windows on Avelinos car.

We were able to play with the kids and show them a bit of God’s love, still we all feel so helpless and small in comparison to what these kids go through every day.

Center for kids infected and affected by AIDS

I really can’t believe that I only have three full days left here and I come home! It will definitely be bitter sweet. I want to be home to see Grandma and be with my family, and have all the comforts that come from home as well. But this is such a great group down here and I’m having such a great time watching God move in their lives and I know that He is going to be doing such amazing things through each of them, it’s sad that I won’t be here to be part of it and witness all that God is going to do.

Tuesday afternoon we go to go and hang out at a center for kids that are infected and affected by AIDS. On the bus ride there I just prayed that I could see these kids through Gods eyes, that I could love them with His love. We got there and a few of the kids quickly clung to us and some were a bit shyer and need a bit of encouragement to talk to us, but that didn’t take long at all. They were all so cute!!! We colored with them, jumped on the trampoline and then walked to a park to play some futbol with them. I walked over hold hands with Rosy (8 yrs picture to the left), she said she didn’t like futbol much and wasn’t sure if she was going to play today or not. Rosy and I were partnered up for the warm up games and she quickly joined in and was giggling non-stop. When the futbol began she was right in there with the rest of them. Maty (3yrs picture the the right) glued to Tim, oh it was great!!! Tim played half the game with Maty giggling on his back. It was so fun to see our guys and girls encage with the kids too. I got to translate for Megan as she shared her testimony of how God helped her through her parent’s divorce; a story I’m sure a lot of these kids could relate to. Then I translated as Benjamin shared with them who Jesus was. The kids were listening so intently to every word, it was great!

As the futbol game was going on Wendy (a Canadian who runs the shelter), came over and sent Julio to play in the game. She stood by me and told me Julio’s story. He is 25 years old, he had a great job in Argentina when his girlfriend in Paraguay told him she was pregnant, he got home the day his son was born. At the same time his girlfriend told him she was HIV positive, he went and got tested and sure enough he tested positive as well. This was only two months ago. Not only is he dealing with this new lot in life but both families don’t want him and his girlfriend to be together so they are being forced to stay apart when they both want to be together. He comes to the center to be part of the support group and helps out with the kids. He’s happy to have found help and says the center helps him get through each day. My heart broke for him and tears were in my eyes as Wendy shared his story with me, I could feel how much God loves Julio and how much He longs to make Him whole and give him the strength to get through all of what he’s going through.

It was so great getting to play with the kids, we’ll be going to a soup kitchen Thursday, I’m really looking forward to it. I have to share a side story about one of the little girls....Adreana (4 yrs, pic to the right).....she was so cute and so sweet, she clung to Megan instantly. We were at the park and she didn’t want to play futbol so Megan and her were hanging out. Well, Adreana decided she wanted to jump into a well..... so Megan stopped her which made Adreana quite mad, she started kicking and crying and hitting Megan...Benjamin went over to help out and Adreana proceeded to hit Benjamin as well, then this oh so cute little girls not only sticks her tongue out at Benjamin but also flips him the bird!!! Hahaha, he was so shocked and hurt that a 4 year old little girl would flip him off. Poor guy, provided us with a great laugh though.

The Special

It has been a very, very busy week!!! We finished our Integrating Faith and Sport this morning. It has been a great week of watching the students soak all their learning in and getting to put it into practise on the field.
The seminar is always ended with "The Special" this is a 24 hours sports marathon....since our group was small it was 15 hours. They started at 8pm Saturday night and ended at 11am this morning.

The special symbolizes the last bit of Christ's life and his walk to Golgotha. The teams have focal points together (a bible verse or something) and a personal focal point as well, it was cool watching everyone come out ready to go with their bible verses written on their arms and legs. It's hard to tell all about it as I'm still lacking some sleep. But everyone did So good! they started and ended strong.
The last challenge after being physically exhausted is called Golgotha....we drove to a large mountain that overlooks the city, in a relay style each student took a plank of wood and ran down the mountain (not too far, but way too far for me), and then run back up, but on the way back they had to carry the wood as Christ carried the cross. They were in isolation during this, to reflect on what they've been through in relation to what Christ went through for them. The last little bit their team could cheer them on. Everyone was exhausted but finished so strong as a thank you for what Christ went through for each of us. After when Paul was sharing and reading from the bible about Christ's walk to Golgotha it was emotional to think of the encouragement that each of the students got...while Christ was beaten, spit on and people couldn't wait to see him die as he walked up the hill. It was an incredible experience for everyone.

We all got a bit of sleep and are now getting ready for a great reward.....all you can eat Brazillian BBQ YUM!!!!

Hey again everyone,

I haven't had a ton of time to really think about what I was going to write today. First off today was a harder day hearing that my Grandma is back in the hospital and I am unable to be there to support my family is very hard. But at the same time that I think of that, it is because of the fact that my Grandma moved in with us about 20 years ago that I am in Paraguay today. If she had not moved in and taken me to church all those years ago, I may not have Jesus as part of my life. SO in not being with my family I am taking comfort in the fact that I am living out a very big part of my life that my Grandma had a huge contribution to.

So on with what we have been doing..... I haven't had a huge amout of time to mull over what we have been learning in our classes and I really want to write that well, with complete thoughts so I will write more about it later. I'll just talk about the free time stuff we have been doing.

Yesterday afternoon we got to out on a tour of Asuncion. We went down to the Paraguay River, and looked out over a shanty town, that honestly smelt like a bathroom. There were tons of kids running around and coming up asking for money. Tim took to a kid Damion, very quickly and was doing magic tricks for him with coins. Damion that Tim was the best and followed us all around for about 45 mins. It was great!!! We learnt alot about the history of Paraguay and it is harsh!!!! One war killed 90% of their men so they resorted to dressing kids up in army clothes painting on mustaches, handing them a gun and sending them to war...these were kids ages 7 -17!!!! Brutal. We also got to meet the pastor that runs the soup kitchen where Damion and another 300 kids get to eat lunch each day.

THen today at practise we had an army truck drive up.....guys with big machine guns running around only to find out the President was coming!!! hahaha. What are the chances... and there were only about 6 guards or so and one dog.

Anyways Becca is waiting for the internet...there's a couple of stories for now.

Have a good day!!!

Integrating Faith and Sport

I’m writing this on Wednesday night (hoping to post it on Thursday). Our entire team is finally here and everything has started full force. We had one guy miss a connection flight so arrived two days later than the rest of the team. And Paul and Nicole Huggins joined us today as well. They are AIA Staff from Ottawa and have come to join us for six days to take the team through a seminar that’s called “National Training Camp” or “Integrating Faith and Sport”. We had our first session tonight and four Paraguayan athletes were able to join us. I got to sit in the back with them and try my best to translate Paul speaking.....for those who know Paul know that he’s a fast talker...a passionate talker...and uses a lot of slang. Hahaha. It was a great challenge and the girls seem to have understood the basic gist of things. And finding out that I really need to study up on my Bible names in Spanish too, they can be quite different and I definitely don’t know them all.

As we walk through these classes this week my blog, at times, may seem more like a personal journal as I chew on what we’re learning each day. But I what you guys to know what God is doing in me over the next 11 days I have left in Paraguay.....ok so here it goes. Tonight’s class was on the “Audience of One” challenging the athletes to think of why they play and who they are playing for. I’m trying to put this in perspective to my life, not being an athlete (you’re surprised I know, but I don’t do sports). But really the basic theme of the talk was “Am I a wall or a window” when people look at me do they see me, what I can do and who I am......Or am I a window to who God is....do people look at me and see Jesus? Do I live my life in a way that stands out to be something desirable or different? Do I genuinely love those around me as God does? Do they see that? If I am living my life in the way that God has set out for me, people around me should sense HIS love, they may not know what it is, but there should be something different about me. Right now in my life I know I am falling short on this big time. No one is perfect, we are all so far way from perfection. That’s what amazes me most about God, we are so far from perfect, we screw up on a daily bases, He knows we’re going to screw up and even hurt Him, yet He loves us! When we go astray He patiently waits for us, gently sending us reminders that He’s there, waiting and loving us. He will always take us back.

I know there are things I need to change about the way I’m living my life, it will be a week of mulling through that with God and figuring out where I need to change. One thing I know for sure, I need to spend more time reading my bible. God’s love letter to us, God’s instruction book on life. God’s letter showing us all human screw ups in history yet He used those Screw ups for amazing things. I know He’ll use me too, I just have to be willing to let Him.

first few days in Paraguay

Hey Everyone!

My first few days in Paraguay were fairly uneventful. My job was to make four very active girls rest up for the remainder of the trip. They are great girls and we have had a lot of fun together just hanging out and going for walks.

Saturday we got to go to the Paraguay vs. Chile game....Paraguay lost 2 -0 so the environment was very different from last year. Watching the fans get angry was more entertaining than the game itself at some points. haha. Especially when they started throwing bottles.

Our group arrived yesterday, very, very tired after about 40 hours of travel. We had a quick orentation and played some games and chatted before everyone was just falling asleep.

This week will be intense for the athletes as they go through a four day seminar of Integrating Faith and Sport.....it always proves to be physically, Mentally and Spiritually exhausting but the outcome of it is amazing! They will grow so much in their faith and get to know who they are in God.

That's about it. I'm sure some good stories will be coming soon....we have some excitting things coming up but won't ruin any surprises for now.

Love you all,

Vicki

Paraguay Bound 2009!

Well, in about 9 hours I will be at the airport waiting to board my plane to Paraguay again (will arrive in Paraguay after about 24 hours of travel). It's been a year since I was there last and I am SO excited to see my friends again and see first hand all that God has done this past year.
We have had a Women's team in Paraguay for the past two weeks and the stories that I have heard so far are amazing, God is moving, using these girls to do incredible things. He's moving in the peoples hearts and they are coming to know Him, understanding how great His love is for each of us.
I can't wait to get there and be part of all of this again! I am so blessed to have this opportunity, who am I that God would use me in such ways? I am God's beloved, He is powerful and can do things beyond my strengths, abilities and knowledge using me as a vessle to show His love.
I'll be trying to update this blog as much as I can. Thank you to each and everyone of you for your support, prayers and encouragement, you each have a part in this trip.

Love you all!!!!

Saying good-bye is always hard.

Leaving will be hard, as always. The last few days have been incredible and it's always hard to leave when you've made such good friends and when God is moving so much.

The weekend was incredible. We went to a wedding Saturday night that didn't even start till 9pm! And was very formal. Lots of fun seeing different traditions and dancing to some latin music.

Sunday was TONS of fun!!!!!!

Lindsay and I at the Paraguay/ Brazil Soccer game. A once in a lifetime opportunity! AND Paraguay won 2 - 1!!!
We were given the tickets from Dr. Poeletti who works with the Futbol association here, so generous. We met him at his house to walk to the stadium with him and his kids. His niece and her husband were also there and they are moving to LANGLEY in December! What are the chances! And Dr. Poeletti brought face paint to paint Paraguayan flags on our faces....but only painted mine and Lindsay's faces. The environment of the stadium was unlike anything I have ever experienced!!! When Paraguay scored, the place was beyond INSANE!!! Everyone jumping up and down and hugging everyone! Whoever was in reach you hugged and high fived. It was crazy. And there was a small section of Brazil fans and they had riot police up both sides of the section to protect them from the Paraguay fans and at the end of the game, they had to wait to be the last ones out of the stadium for their protection. hahaha so different from home.

Today was our last day and we had such incredible meetings. We met one last time with the Selection team that is going to the World Cup in New Zealand. And the coaches are just so encouraging when it comes to Josefina working as a chaplain for the team. They're very excited about it.

And tonight we had the first meeting of the first key volunteers for AIA Paraguay. This is a group of people that our team has meet the last few weeks, christian players, that want to use their futbol to reach their team mates and community for Jesus! We had 8 people come out plus Avelino and Josefina (aia staff). 7 girls and one guy. All of them have such an incredible heart to serve and to share Christ with their country. None of them could stop smiling for all God has done in the last few weeks. They have a lot of work ahead of them but are very excited. We had 70 girls over the last few weeks indicate that they want to know more about Jesus. INCREDIBLE! Something only God could do. This small group of people are going to do amazing things here in Paraguay. It was hard to leave the meeting knowing that I'll just be watching from the sidelines now. I'll have stories about a few of these people in my newsletter when I get home.

Well, it's almost midnight and I have to be up in 7 hours! YIKES! And two days of travel ahead of me. Oh but I will be hitting the beach in Miami :) YEAH!!!!

Will be back in Canada late Thursday night. LOve you all!!!!

Now to face our new friends at the airport to say good-bye..... there will be lots of tears......

A quick update

Hey Everyone,

I really don't have tons to update on right now... but thought I'd let everyone know I'm still breathing :) haha

We have had a busy few days since the team left, just tons of meetings. All of them have been very good!!! We got Josefina in as the chaplain to the U17 Selection team that will be heading to the U17 World Cup in New Zealand. And we had a meeting with the head of the Olympic Committee here and it looks like Avelino will be the chaplain for all the Olympic athletes.

Some fun stuff...... we had an evening off and it is incredible how cheap things can be here.... we got a large pizza from Pizza Hut, three movie tickets, Popcorn, M&M's and a bottle of water all for under $20!!!! It's insane!

Tonight we are going to Josefina's niece's wedding. It's a formal occasion and doesn't even start till 9pm!!! It'll be a late night.

Tomorrow night will be one of the biggest highlights of the trip (fun wise). Lindsay and I have been given free VIP tickets to the Brazil/Paraguay game!!! The city is already going crazy with Paraguay parafanalia... I'll have to find a jersey by game time to wear. It's going to be insane! But so much fun. If you happen to be watching it look for me in the crowd hahaha. VIP section you never know...hahaha.

I'll update after the game, I'm sure I'll have quite the stories. :)

Indiscribable

Me at Iguazu Falls Brazil




This is not a pic from the internet! I was THERE and took it!!!! BEAUTIFUL!



Sunday morning at 1:30am we got on a bus (a very nice bus) and headed to Brazil. What an AMAZING trip. We are supposed to have Visas to get into Brazil but God blessed us so much and we were able to cross the boarder without them.







We did this trip just to spend a few hours at the Iguasu Falls, one of the top three falls in the world. And wow!!! Just before we got there on the bus we sang the worship song "Indiscribable" and how appropriate. We saw Gods handy work at it's best. I have never, nor do I think I will ever see anything as beautiful and maginficant as these falls. The song says





"Indiscrible uncontainable, You put the stars in the sky and you know them by name, you are amazing God. All powerful, untamable awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim, you are amazing God."





I can't find the words to discribe the beauty that we saw. We turned one corner and it was breathtaking, the first sight almost literally brought tears to my eyes! And one of the girls that was on the trip last year said "this is nothing, just wait" and she was right, every turn of the path as we got closer and closer it got more and more amazing! And don't worry I have plenty of more pictures.. haha I only took about 60 at the falls. And none of them will do it any justice. You can't possibly catch all this beauty in a picture.



On our way back we stopped at Ramon's house. Ramon is a man that sat next to Graham (my boss) on the plane from Brazil to Paraguay and he invited all 30 of us to his house for a BBQ! It was so good, but really who invites 30 strangers to their house for a bbq???? haha. It was great.

The team left this morning and I have one more week here. It was very hard to say goodbye to them at the airport. They are an amazing group of young ladies that God used in such powerful ways here. I don't think any of them left Paraguay the same as when they came. There was a lot of tears and some good laughs too. I know I'll keep in touch with quite a few of them. It was such a blessing getting to know them.

Gotta run. Tomorrow Lindsay and I will have a low key morning and then jump into a week of A LOT of meetings... and hopefully that includes getting tickets to the Brazil/ Paraguay game Sunday night!!!! WOOO HOOO!!!

Love you all

Soccer Clinics

I just have a few minutes to type here...let´s see what i can get in.

Wednesday we did a soccer clinic at one of the First Lady of Paraguays Community Centers. It was so much fun to get to go into a more impoverished area and play with the kids and get to see what Paraguay is really like. We were only there for about two hours but the kids had a ton of fun and at the end we got to give out the gospel bracelets. As well, I got called over by some of the girls to translate and we prayed with six or seven kids to accept Jesus! The people with the community center will follow up with these kids and were very excited. In the afternoon yesterday the girls had two games! They have now played 11 games in 9 days.

This morning we did another socccer clinic, this time in the second most dangerous neighbourhood in Asunicion!!!! We didn´t know that going in...... then our driver stopped at a police station, when I asked what was going on that´s when he told us we needed a police escort! haha! We had two cops drive behind us and while we were playing with the kids we had four cops around the outskirts of the field. And then two rode on the bus with us until we were out of the bad part. I´ve been in some bad areas in south america but that was the first time I have ever needed a police escort! It was a lot of fun though. We got off the bus and a little girl literally jumped on me! And one little girl would not let go of Morgan when it was time to go. Heart breaking

I have to run, we get a treat tonight! We´re off to a bbq restaurant! All you can eat meat.

Oh and last night we got to go to a Professional soccer game (equivalent of seeing the Canucks) It was amazing! We were special guests of the President of the Futbol Confederation of South America....yep once again on tv! hahah we´re celebrities!

I think I may have the best job in the world.....

We have done a lot since the last time I wrote....where do I start!

Sunday night the gilrs played one of the hardest teams they will this trip, against the Paraguayan National U17 team that is headed to the World Cup in October. So they are one of the best teams in South America and we sure did WIN! It was a great game played by all.

We got to spend time with the team afterwards and Janae shared her story, it really impacted the team. I had the priviledge of staying behind and translating for Bri as she shared with a player and her mom about all that Jesus has done for us, and how to have a personal relationship with him. We didn´t get to finish the conversation, as they had to leave, but both mother and daughter had a lot of questions and were adimate that we continue this conversation when we play them again on Friday.

Monday, we got to go for a tour of the National Stadium, it was incredible to see from the field and imagine the stands filled with fans, it would be insane during a soccer game! We got to go down and see the visitors dressing rooms....so I just may have sat in the same seat as Kaka and Ronaldhino (I know i spelt that wrong) haha. Any soccer fan will know who I mean.

Our game on MOnday night was a rough one for our girls. The sportsmanship on the Paraguayan team wasn´t the best. They will fall alot and scream literally like they have broken their leg and as soon as a yellow card is given out they jump up laughing!!!! It´s a little frustrating. We lost that game 3 - 1 but more important was our time with the team afterwards. Shannon shared her testimony ad Graham shared about what it means to put Jesus at the center of your life. We have cards that we had out afterwards so that people can indicate if they have accepted Jesus and every player marked down that they want more teaching about Jesus, and few prayed the prayer (including their coach). THAT is worth losing a game for!

Tuesday morning was incredible, A once in a life time thing and beyond amazing for any futbol fan! We got to go for a tour of the South American Futbol Confederation building, this is the headquarters for all of South American Futbol. Noth only did we get to go for a tour but the President of ALL of south american futbol was our guide! I even got to take my picture next to the American Cup! This is equivelent to our Stanley Cup for those of you that don´t know soccer. All the trophies and cups are in the President´s office, which is bigger than most apartments.

Last night we played abit of a lower level team....I felt bad for our 7-2 win! But our time afterwards was amazing again. Gentri and Sydney got to share with a girl as her friend Sofia (a christian) watched, and she accepted Jesus into her life!

My job is a tough one....watching peoples lives be changed by God´s amazing love! What a rough life!

On a personal note, I am having a great time. A little tired but we all our. My cold is sticking around but getting better. I am loving being able to translate for the team. I have had a few meetings that I have had to translate for and I translate for the girls when they share their stories. It amazes me everytime how I can do this! Stand infront of such big groups of people and speak a different language so easily and naturally! I can´t do it without God and He is with me each and every time.

Today is going to be a very busy day! I am up early to get a chance on the internet and we have a very early start too. We are going to a community center for street kids to do a soccer clinic, have two games right after lunch and hopefully this evening we are going to watch a men´s professional soccer game! We´ll sleep good tonight!!!!

Games, t.v. and radio

Yesterday the girls got to train (weights) with the U-17 Selection team, this team will be playing in the U-17 World Cup in New Zealand in October! It was such a great time watching our team interact with the Paraguayan team and try out their limited Spanish and the Paraguayans with their limited English. There was a lot of laughing and the start of some good friendships. We´ll be playing this team a few times over the next few weeks and will have a lot of opportunities to build into them. After the training session we got to share about why we are here, and Gentri did a great job sharing her testimony. A few girls talked to our players aftewards and said how much her testimony impacted them and how much they could relate to it. Please pray that these conversations will continue :)

Also while we were at the training center Graham was interviewed on tv by the Christian station and we even got to see it later while we were out for dinner.

This morning right after breakfast myself, Graham, Rachel (one of our players) and Avelino (our AIA Paraguay) director went to be interviewed at the Christian radio station! It went really well. And my voice was good, I´ve had a bad cold and first thing this morning I was coughing every time I spoke and had the deep sexy voice, but thankfully my voice was normal and no coughing for the radio. It was a neat experience to be able to translate on a live radio broadcast, a first for me.

The girls have another game this evening and Graham is hosting a seminar for churches on using sp0rts as a community outreach. Tomorrow we´ll be doing some soccer clinics with some local churches, it will be great to get out in the communities a bit more.

Please continue to pray for the girls that they will build good relationships with the other teams, and be able to share their faith. As well as saftey as they play, that none of them will be injured.

Oh and just a side note...it´s FREEZING here!!! Only 5 degrees and none of us packed for this temp so we´re dressing in layers. HOpe you guys are enjoying the sun back at home.

Hopefully I can get some pics up here soon.

Love you all.

First couple of days in Paraguay

The trip here was honestly very exhausting, it was over 40 hours of travel, and I didn´t sleep at all on the planes. But we made it! And everyone had very good spirits throughout the trip. I do have a cold now but everytime I turn around someone is giving me vitamin C pills, it´s quite funny. I¨ll be better in no time.

The first couple of days have been great. The team is really clicking and everyone is getting a long so well. The girls are so passionate about being here and sharing their faith with the people of Paraguay. We played our first game today and when it was almost cancelled because of rain, the only concern the girls had was that they would still get to go and hang out with the team so that they could share Christ with them. We did get to play the game and these girls are amazing! This was their first official game playing as a team and they have only had 5 practises together in as many days, and they won!!! The other team even had 11 girls on it who just qualified for the U17 World Cup! I was very impressed with them. Afterwards, we got to hang out with the other team and just get to know them abit. We will be playing and training with this team three or four times over the next few weeks so the relationships will grow and we´ll have plenty of opportunities to share God´s love with them. We also have Anna back with us, she is a Paraguayan national that played with the AIA team last year and through her experience accpeted Jesus into her life. The few girls that were on this trip last year were in tears when she met us at the airport.

As for me and my job here... I´m very busy... being a translator for 25 people isn´t a small task! But it is a lot of fun!!!! I get to hear and help the girls share their stories.

I have to run, there is a line up for the computer. BUT my travel blog is never complete with out a toilet story..... we´re south of the equator and the water in the toilet does go the other way when you flush! Yeah, that´s my entertainment hahaha. OH... and i have HOT water in my shower!!! Oh, the Lord is good to me :)

More to come.......

Getting ready for Paraguay

Picking up six girls plus luggage in one van!!! We fit! just.....




This week is turning into a whirlwind.....I don't really know if I have the right day of the week...haha... but being on the organizing end of a big trip has been exciting and interesting. I've been helping with organizing flights, visas, and working one on one with a few of the girls to prepare for the trip.





We have already seen miracles in that three girls recieved visas for Paraguay in unheard of speed! The most amazing one arrived in Ottawa at the embassy at 11:30am and was processed and at Purolator by 2:30pm! Wow, God can do big things! Now we're praying that they arrive in Vancouver tomorrow for pick up. haha, it never ends.






The team has had a great first few days together just hanging out together. The first night we had a short time of worshipping and got to hear Jamie share of his past tour experiences and the way he has seen God work through what we always think are hiccups but it's really God making His plan work out despite what agendas we have.


My small group is great, I have five girls that I will be meeting with and walking through this adventure with. They're great girls and they are ready, willing and excited to see how God is going to use them in Paraguay.


We sang this song tonight and I think it's very fitting for us getting ready for this trip.

Take my Life and let it be
Take my life and let it be
Consecrated Lord to thee
Take my hadns and let them move
At the impulse of Your love
At the impluse of Your love

Take my fee and let them be
Swift and beautiful for thee
Take my voise and let me sing
Always only for my King
Always only for my King

Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages for thee
Take my silver and my gold
Not a mite would I withhold
Not a mite would I withhold

Take my love, my God I pour
At they feet its treasure store
Take myself and I will be
Ever only all for the
Ever only all for the


This is my prayer for this trip. I hope to update the blog along the way. I"m off to the airport now!!!!!

Bangkok and Hong Kong

We had a few days in Bangkok and it was really good. We staying in the Baiyoke Sky hotel which is the tallest building in the city, with 85 floors!!!! Our room was on the 49th! The view was incredible. Monday, while everyone was in meetings, Janis (my boss' wife) and I took off to explore the city. We went to the Grand Palace and temple. The temple is mostly made of gold! The grounds are huge and it took us about an hour and half to get through it, and even then we skipped over some things. The buildings were incredible to look at, either covered in gold or very detailed mosaics. It was a super hot day and you have to wear ankle length pants and sleeves (short sleeves were fine) and we were told that flip flops weren't acceptable either but they were....so my feet were sweating for no reason. Once we finished in the temple we were debating whether we wanted to find a market or go for a long tail boat ride. But decided we didn't really have the time for the boat ride. So we jumped in a Tuk Tuk, which is a motorcycle with a little cab attached to it. Great way to breath in all that smog! It was so much fun though, we weren't planning on taking a LONG Tuk Tuk ride but it ended up being about an hour! We got a really good rate to get to a market but there are a few stores that if the driver stops and we just go in and look he gets free gas coupons. So we agreed to stop at two of the stores and he was very grateful and gave us the ride for free. We ended up only getting maybe 10 mins at the market before we had to be back at the hotel. But the adventure was worth it, we had a lot of fun. OH and Sunday night we had a SUPER good dinner on the 79th floor of the hotel, we had a private room where a group came and sang to us and the tables were set up so beautifully! AND THE FOOD! it was amazing, it was edible and I didn't have rice!!! Well, besides the rice in my delicious sushi. It was so nice to have some food that was tasty not blah! After dinner five of us (Samantha, Chris, Janis, Graham and I) decided we wanted one of those wonderful Thai foot massages again....well, the place we ended up in was umm, guess you can just say it was sketchy and a bit gross, the massage was ok but the enviroment and stuff around us were very entertaining, Sam giggled almost the entire time. We walked away with some great stories at poor Chris' expense.
Our last night in Bangkok we went to a night market, which was very big and so much fun!!!! I barley spent any money and came away with so much stuff!!!! By the end of the night I was so tired and wishing I was going straight home, and skipping over a night in Hong Kong. Now I'm glad I didn't.
I arrived in Hong Kong and was still undecided as to how I was going to get to my hotel. As I was looking into it I met a lady from New York that was staying in the same area as me so we took the train together and then I hopped on to a free hotel shuttle from the train station. The traffic in Hong Kong is BEYOND insane! We didn't go very far but it took forever to get there! It is bumper to bumper, I don't know how any of the cars move! I found my hotel so easily and got checked in with no problems, and the room is really nice too. I found my way to the Star Ferry (this was on last seasons amazing race) terminal to cross the harbour over to Hong Kong Island. The harbour is incredible! It's so busy with ferries, yatchs, bardges, cruise ships! The sky line is breath taking with all the tall buildings. Once I got over on the ferry I got on a public bus to Victoria's peak where I took a tram (furnicular? tram) up the mountain to a view point of the city. By the time I got up to the top it was dark and the lights of the city were breath taking!!!!!! So colourful and just so many skyscrapers, I think a few of my pictures turned out. I got back down the peak and across the harbour just in time for the laser show! Every night at 8pm all the buildings do a laser and light show, it's kind of like our symphony of fire but with the lights of the buildings, spot lights and lasers all going to music!!!! I"m really hoping my videos turn out cause it was really impressive, with lights of all colours running up and down buildings and lasers dancing through the sky! I've had a great time so far. It's 9:30pm and I think I'm ready for bed and will just wake up when I wake up. I have to head to the airport around noon tomorrow so I don't think I will really put to much effort into doing much in the morning, except relax...that makes sense do nothing right before my 12 + hour plane ride. Well, Starbucks and McD's are right outside my hotel so a walk to Starbucks will definetly happen in the morning. :)
I'm almost home and I'm excited to get there. See everyone real soon :)

Happy Elephants

Hello again,

Today is our last day of the conference. Things have gone really well. It's another packed day of sessions etc, but we do get our two hour break in the afternoon and we're going to a craft market. Yeah, tacky souvenirs :)
Yesterday I actually got to ride an elephant!!! There was probably close to 50 of us that went, and it was incredible. It's really wierd to drive down the road and see an elephant in a field like we would see a cow at home. The place that we went to wasn't in the best condition, you get on the elephant and they take you on a 20 min ride down a dirt path. Our drive jumped off part way through the ride to take pictures and I got to slide down on the the neck of Sumbat (our elephant). It was so cool!!!! Just the pace of the walk is really neat to feel. After the ride there was another elephant that I got my picture taken with, I got to sit on his tusks and then he picked my up with his trunk!!!!! AMAZING! I have some really good pictures of it all. But I"m using a pretty old computer so I can't get them on to my blog or facebook :( So everyone will have to wait till I get home. The funniest part of our time with the elephants was Carl..... he is a larger man and wanted a picture taken on the tusks and being lifted up. While he was in line the elephant seemed to be eyeing him and we were thinking he was worried cause Carl is a larger man. Well..... he wasn't scared...... he actually really, really liked Carl. We'll let your imagination fill in how we knew. But I don't think I have laughed so hard in my life! Even the chinese people around us were pointing and laughing to the point of tears. I don't think Carl will be living down this story for a very, very long time.
After dinner last night I hung out with our Latino representatives for a bit and practised my Spanish and now have places to stay in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Columbia, Paraguay and some more friends in Honduras :) At about 10pm a group of six of us went for Thai foot massages! This was just over an hour long and was incredible. It was a full leg, arm and back massage....and it only cost $6!!!! Unbelievable. We may be heading back tonight, it's a great treat right before bed, and after shopping for a couple of hours we many need it. Reid is the guy that has set up the elephant ride and the massages, he's the guy to travel with, finds all the great places to go and great deals to go along with it.
Today is my last full day in Pattaya and tomorrow we head to Bangkok until Wednesday morning. I can't wait to see the city, I've heard it's pretty fun.

Giving up on learing to speak Thai

Hello Everyone! I have finally figured out how to get onto the internet here! I am having a great time and just game inside to coold down! It has to be around 35 degrees today, yes life is rough. The conference has been amazing!!! The first night we got here we caught the tail end of the ACE (athletes, cities and events) conference, which was a world wide conference of all sports ministries (not just AIA). There were over 700 people attending this conference from all over the world! I went to a bit of their last evening session, and it was AMAZING to see that many people from all over the world (some countries I have never heard of) worshiping God together! All of them here for the same purpose, to seek God's will in how to reach people with His love. Our conference AIA World Leadership Conference started on Wednesday and it has been so busy ever since. I was helping with a lot of the administration side of things, getting gift bags ready and paper work ready for check in...those kind of fun things. We have about 130 people here, from 65 different countries. I have been a greeter for the sessions and we have had fun trying to greet each person in their own language. I have given up on Thai though....after three days of saying thank-you to the Thai staff, I learnt that I was really saying Good Morning... yeah I'm sure some of them had a good laugh at the dumb white girl. Wednesday and Thursday I had about 30 mins to an hour of free time, we've just been walking on the beach and exploring the streets around us. Pattaya is a very big, busy city and unfortunetly is the one of the largest sex trade tourism cities in the world; needless to say it's not a very pretty city.
Today I have a bit more free time and a lot of us are off to ride elephants!!!! I can't tell you how incredibly excited I am!!!!! Apperently they will even let you sit on the trunk and the tusks to take pictures!! I'll feel like I'm on Top Model!! haha :)
Tomorrow for free time we have a 90 minute shopping trip to a hand craft market, you know how much I LOVE tacky souvenirs :) yeah!!! Tomorrow (Saturday) is our last day in Pattaya and Sunday morning we head to Bangkok for our Global leadership meetings, there will only be 30 of us for these meetings.
This time has just been so amazing to meets so many people from all over the world that are using the gifts and passions that God has given them to fulfill their greatest passion...to reach out to people with God's love. I live in a multi-cultural country but I am still blown away when I look around the room and see 65 different countries represented, a true rainbow of God's creation sitting right infront of me.
Well, I have to go now....gotta get ready for my elephant ride! I hope everyone is doing well and I'll try to write more later :)

Drinking Starbucks in Hong Kong

Well, it's 8:00am Tuesday morning...for those of you at home it's only 4:00pm Monday afternoon! I am drinking my decaf tall soy Carmel Macchiato from Starbucks as we wait for our flight to Bangkok. The flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong was smooth, long but smooth. I slept for only about 4 or five hours...each at one hour intervals. But I still somehow feel rested. I watched three movies..."I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry", "Hairspray" and "License to Wed". I had plenty to keep me occupied for the 13 hour flight!! I'm glad the next one is only about three hours I think. Well, since I've just been on a plane all day there really isn't anything exciting to type yet. Looking out on Hong Kong from the airport, all I see is smog. I can't wait for the return trip when I get to stay here for a night and actually get to see the city up close and breath in that fresh smoggy air.
Well, bye for now....next time I'll be writing from Thailand sweating in 35 degree weather...enjoy the rain and wind storms everyone!!!!!