The last few weeks that I was here, I had the privilege of volunteering at Penang Adventist hospital. The slogan for the hospital states "God heals, we help." It is a Christian-based hospital and the majority of staff are followers of Christ. We were able to join them in the mornings before work to do a group devotional, which was pretty cool to see. At this hospital, our goal was to raise 25,000 Ringgit (which is about 8,300 USD) in order to provide one child with a heart surgery that cannot afford it.

My first day of volunteering was pretty awesome. I was partnered up with a Malaysian kid named Aaron who was also volunteering that day. It was perfect, he would make the announcements in his Malaysian Language, and I would come around with the donation box, and collect money. I would occasionally speak to make an announcement if we came across any Caucasian visitors. Although the majority of Malaysians know English, it was just easier to have Aaron speak in Malay. The next day, however was completely different. Aaron was volunteering in a different department, and I was the one in charge of making ALL of the announcements. It's easier getting turned down when you are the one with the donation box, but time and time again after making announcements and getting the cold shoulder, it can be pretty humbling. I do like talking to people, but I am by no means a sales woman.

After an unsuccessful day, my friend Alicia decided to take a break by the registration office. We couldn't help but notice this older white lady staring at us, and as soon as we caught eye contact, she would quickly look away. We sat down next to her with our volunteer vests on, and donation box and she immediately blew up in our faces before we had a chance to speak. "I'm not giving you any of my money!" She said. "I already donate to many charities. You people probably aren't even using this money for the right reasons. Who paid for you to be here?" Alicia and I were in shock. "We don't need your money." said Alicia. "We are not paid to be here, we are volunteering, and all of the money goes to children who need heart surgeries that can't afford them."

The old lady continued to go on and on, yelling at us. We could have gotten up at any moment, but something was telling me to say. We let her take her frustration out on us, until she grew silent. I began asking her questions about why she was there. She and her husband were both from Germany and they moved to Malaysia a while back for work. Her husband is very ill, and her health isn't the best either. She also has a daughter whom she hasn't spoken to in years. I could see the pain behind that statement. She changed the subject rather quickly and began telling me about her dog. Her face immediately lit up. She LOVES her dog. I asked her what her favorite food was, and this opened up a whole new conversation. She doesn't eat the traditional food around here, but she goes to the grocery store, and cooks for her husband every day. She loves cooking almost as much as she loves her dog. We ended up talking for about a half an hour. I asked her if I could pray for her and her husband, but she said she was atheist and that she didn't need prayer. As soon as she was called by the Doctor she slipped 50 Ringgit in the donation box and said that she was sorry for being so rude. She was having a bad day.

When the lady left, I couldn't help but smile. I don't think someone has ever made me feel so horrible/happy in such a short period of time. She just needed someone to talk to, and God sent us to brighten up her day.

Collecting money truly is a humbling experience. Even though it was going for a great cause, you get so many disgusted looks. I've learned that you can't let that get to you. For every disgusted look, there is always that person who donates with a smile and pure heart. Within three weeks, as a team, we were able to reach our goal of just over 25,000 Ringgit. Praise God. And whoever that child is who receives this surgery, I pray that God would bless them and their family through this.

After having a final banquet with the staff from the hospital, we were able to talk with the CEO, Ted Mohr, who is actually from Michigan, and hear a little bit about the hospital and experiences throughout the years. He told us that in his time working there he has experienced many miracles. He said that one time there was a very young girl who was about to undergo open heart surgery. Most children at that age are scared, but this little girl walked right in there with confidence. The surgery ended up going smoothly, and when it was over, he said, "Wow, you were so brave! How come you weren't scared?" The little girl pointed to a picture on the wall of Jesus with his hand on a child's shoulder. She said, "That man came out of the picture and stayed with me the whole time."

I am so happy to have had the experience to work at that hospital and work with a group of people that are so on fire for Christ. It was definitely a good way to end my ministry here, on the World Race.

It blows my mind to see how God can change someone from the darkest of black to the brightest of white. How he can take the overpowering mix of devalued emotions that race through the minds of many and bring complete peace and restoration in knowing that there is something significant to live for. The homeless drop in center has opened my eyes in a new way.

Kawan is the ministry I worked with the first week I was here. Kawan means friend in Malay. When we first arrived to the building, a man in gray slacks and a clean white polo shirt greeted me. At first I thought he was part of the staff, but later someone informed me that he was one of the homeless eagerly waiting for breakfast. A part of the ministry at Kawan provides these people with new donated clothes, and showers. If you saw one of these people on the side of the road, you would be clueless that the street bench would be their bed for the night. I'm certain when I say that Penang has the best-dressed homeless people, thanks to Kawan.

Kawan is open three days a week, and most of the people that show up are regulars. Some of them come in only for the meals and leave shortly after. Others stick around all day. The ones that stay longer are usually the ones that are desperately trying to get their lives back on track. I talked to one guy for about an hour who was once married and had a son. His wife left him because he was a heavy alcoholic, and he lost all communication with both of them after that. His feelings of being useless, jobless and without love ones brought him to the streets. This seems to be a similar story for most of the people that come to Kawan. They get into drugs and alcohol with attempts to patch up their brokenness.

A common misconception is to think "If these people would just stop with substance abuse, they could get their lives back together." But the truth is; the substance abuse isn't their problem. Finding them a job and getting them to quit drinking and smoking is not the solution. I've learned that if you want to fix the problem, you need to get to the root of it first, and the roots have often grown in bad soil - a soil that consists of rejection and hopelessness, without love. Their hearts must be cleansed before they can begin weeding out the minor things that aid in damage, such as drugs and alcohol. Only God has the ability to do this.

As I continued conversing with this man, He told me that he has been attending Kawan for a few years now. He came to know the Lord through Kawan, and since then, he has moved from the streets to a small apartment, and is now employed. He gives all the glory to God.

Another man, who used to be homeless and attend Kawan solely for the meals, is now the head Chef; the one feeding theses brothers and sisters that are in the same boat he was once in. It really is an amazing testimony to see a man with so many scars, transformed by the joy of the Lord, helping others the way that God helped him.

I feel so humbled to have been a part of this experience. It's easy to look down on people like this, because our society has created a sin scale. One sin can be considered 'so much worse' than another. But in God's eyes, a sin is a sin. We are all sinners; and in that, we are equal. No one person is better than another. A man living in a mansion on the beach is not better than a man sleeping on the streets with the rats. We are all equally loved, and when we invite the Lord to live in the center of our lives, we become brand new. Our past becomes irrelevant. Thank you, God, for working in the lives of so many. Anything is possible through you!

Colossians 1:13 - For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

James, Blake and I were headed to what is called "Pen Hop" one day, which stands for Penang house of prayer. We had to take a bus to the police station, where someone from the church planned to meet us and escort us to Pen Hop. It didn't exactly work as planned, however, seeing as we waited for 30 minutes at the wrong police station. We tried to explore and figure out where this place was on our own, but we failed. So, instead of heading back to the apartment, we decided to roam the streets and talk to any random passerby in sight. First, we ran into a homeless man limping around with a serious infection on his leg. He was nothing but skin and bones. To my surprise, he spoke perfect English! We spoke to him for a bit, and continued walking.

From there we went to a street vendor who was making some disgusting-looking, rice-noodle, coconut concoction.  In line, waiting for this fascinating treat with us was a man from Chennai, India named Vijay. Blake, jumped right in and began conversing with him, and asking him about this strange noodle dish. It actually ended up being delicious! We said goodbye to the vendor and the Indian man, and continued to walk.

Next, we came up to a homeless lady who couldn't speak any English at all. She pulled up her Malaysian ID card, and I showed her mine. We exchanged names, and I figured out that she was Islamic. Although we couldn't communicate well, she pointed to her leg, and groaned making it apparent that she was having problems with it. I put my hands together in a prayer form and pointed up to God  (charades, always fun) and asked if I could pray for her. I placed my hand on her knee and began to pray that God would heal it, according to His will. We then gave her the food we just purchased from the vendor. She smiled, and we walked on.

After that encounter, we decided to make our way to the ocean and get some real food. To our surprise, we ran into Vijay who we met earlier at the street vendor. We invited him to walk to the beach with us, and began asking him questions about his culture. This is where it alllll began...Arranged marriages.

He began to explain the difference between a "love marriage" and an "arranged marriage." Love marriages are what we are familiar with in the US. We find people, and we date them; if it doesn't work out, we move on, and the process goes on until we find someone that we truly find love in. In his culture, this is a HUGE sin. If you kiss someone before you are married, you are basically shunned from society. Vijay said that you look at everyone as a brother or sister until your marriage has been arranged. He said that he is around the age of marriage, and his mother is currently searching.

"What if you don't like the girl that your mother picks?" I asked. Vijay told me that in their culture, family is everything. He said that his mother knows every little thing about him. She birthed him, she fed him, and she clothed him. She knows what he likes to eat, and doesn't like to eat. She knows what makes him happy, and what upsets him. "My mother knows me, and loves me." He said. "I have no doubt in my mind that she will pick just the right girl."

When the girls of Vijay's caste (his circle of friends/community/society) in Chennai finish high school, they are not allowed to leave their parents home for anything. They live an extreme case of a sheltered lifestyle for a long while, sometimes years even, until the marriage has been arranged. By this time, they are excited to wed any man to get out of the house and begin their new married lifestyle.

Vijay went on saying that of course there will be things that you will like and dislike about each other, but that is how marriage works. You learn to like things that you wouldn't normally like, and you learn to get rid of habits that are not pleasing to your spouse, and through it all, you learn to love each other - it's all about compromising. He said that there are very few divorces, but again, divorce is HIGHLY frowned upon in his culture.

Before hearing all of this, I saw arranged marriages as something so horrible. How could anyone be happy in a situation like that? But after talking with him, there are many things that I admire about arranged marriages. People stay abstinent until married, and they learn to work together to love each other. Physical appearance is not a factor, because it is not your decision to make. It seems so pure and selfless; whereas in the US, relationships start out in a selfish sense. "I need someone attractive, athletic, funny, smart...." The list goes on and on. Factors that are self-pleasing, and then eventually you either learn to love them, or move on and find someone else that fits those categories. There are pros and cons to both marriages, but regardless, it was interesting.

After talking about this for about an hour, we met up with his cousin, and all had dinner; where the conversations continued. "I am so happy with how fast our friendship is growing!" He said. "You will come to my wedding someday in India!" I love how friendly people are around the world. You could spend one day with someone, and they will consider you their best friend, but in the US, you would be considered psychotic to invite someone to your wedding after knowing them for a day.

The only thing that upset me about this night was how discouraged I felt to share the gospel.  The three of us talked about Jesus for a while, and we learned that Vijay actually grew up attending Christian schools in Chennai because it was the best education available. But due to his tradition-rich culture which mandates strict obedience to antiquated family values, from a young age Vijay's mind was already so set in his family's beliefs that it was almost impossible for us to keep the conversation going without producing frustration. Based on my conversation with Vijay and a few other encounters with Malaysians of Indian ancestry, I've learned that Hinduism is made up of strict rules and guidelines, which if not followed, result in abandonment from family and society. Because of this, it's very difficult to share the gospel and inform them of the God that works miracles, and comforts you in indescribable ways when you pursue Him with all of your heart. With what I've come to know from the limited exposure to Indian/Hindu culture, it makes me have so much more admiration and respect for those Indians who have turned to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and especially those who have committed their lives to serving Him as missionaries in India.

I have two more weeks here in Penang, Malaysia. We are working mostly at a homeless shelter, and volunteering at a Hospital to raise money for children's heart surgery. More to come on our experiences there.

Keep these people in your prayers.

Ohn grew up in a small village in Thailand. Small and poor, are the best words to describe her home. As a child, however, she was unaware of this, and frankly it didn't matter to her, because it was all she knew. Besides, she had her best friend Quan, and the entire world was an imaginary playground.

When Ohn was growing up, her father murdered her mother. It was unexpected, and horrible. Her father was sent to prison, and Ohn was then placed with her Grandparents.  What she lacked in family was made up for in her friendship with Quan.

While raising Ohn, her Grandparents found it very difficult to provide. The villages knew of men who come to their homes and offer families some money, requesting their daughters, promising that they would bring them back when they were older, with money and an education. Most of them knew that their daughters wouldn't be getting an education at all. They knew that it would result in the loss of their daughter's virginity, and sex slavery among hundreds of corrupt-minded men. They knew this; but they would pray to "Buddah" that this wouldn't be the case, and that their daughters would in fact, return to them with an education.  It was either this, or the girl staying at home, and nearly starving to death because of the poverty.

While Ohn was growing up, a missionary group came to her village. One lady in particular fell in love with Ohn. She knew immediately that she needed to love on her, and share Christ's love. When she saw that Ohn wasn't getting enough care in the village, she offered to give her care in a Christian orphanage. Her desperate grandparents agreed, but there was one problem. They had already sold her to a man, who would be coming in the near future to take her away.

The missionary immediately told them that she would pay whatever price it was to save her and raise her the right way, and by the help of God, she did just that.

When Ohn grew older, her missionary mom went back to the US for a few years. She told Ohn that she would come back, and knew that she was raised well enough to start taking care of herself. When her mom left, Ohn slowly started to toss what she knew about Jesus out the window. She started drinking; a LOT. She became a complete mess, lost, and confused; living life as if it were one big party.

After a few years when her missionary mother came back, and after hearing about  Ohns actions over the past few years, she looked Ohn straight in the eyes and said "Ohn, what have you done with yourself?"

(I could relate to this part of the story, (sorry Mom and Dad) and Ohn told us that she felt so ashamed that she couldn't even look at her mother.)

Ohn got down on her knees and started weeping. Her mom held her, and forgave her. Ohn couldn't understand how this woman could love her SO much. After buying her out of the sex trade, raising her, supporting her financially, and sharing the love of God, and then STILL loving her after she let the past few years of her life go to utter waste, while bathing in sin.

From that very moment on, Ohn re-dedicated her life to Christ, and vowed that she would do everything in her power to keep girls out of the sex  trade.

Ohn went back to her old village, and was surprised to find her best friend from childhood, Quan!  Quan was on her death bed, sick with HIV. Around the same time that Ohn was rescued, Quan had been sold, and raped, over, and over.  The men didn't bring Quan back with an education; they brought her back with AIDS.  She was useless to them now.

Quan said to Ohn, "Can we talk only about the fun times we had when we were young?  Those are the only times I want to remember." Ohn and Quan laughed together and wept together. Ohn was able to share the love of God with her, and that because of His love, she was fortunate enough to have been rescued from the trade. Quan dedicated her life to God, and died weeks later. She is now fully healed, and restored in the arms of her heavenly Father.

Ohn later partnered with YWAM, a Christian organization and started a group that goes out and talks to bar girls with hopes to rescue them and share Gods love.

She later re-united with her father, (who had killed her mother) and with God's grace, she forgave him. She visits her father every so often, and is still trying to bring him to Christ (keep this in your prayers).

After hearing Ohns story, I couldn't help but imagine if it were me in her shoes.  If I lost my best friend, and family.  Or what if it was I that were sold into the sex trade?  There is SO much of this going on here in Thailand, and the sad part is, it's hard for the local people to come up with enough funding to actually rescue these girls.  It can cost up to thousands of dollars to save one girl; which is why they need people from the US to support them.  If this is something you are interested in, there are PLENTY of opportunities to serve.  A lot of people have a heart for this, but don't place it into action, and if that is you, I highly encourage you to get involved, whether that means dropping everything and moving to Thailand, or just supporting financially, EVERY little bit helps.

Psalm 137:7-8 I walk in the thick of danger, You will preserve my life from the anger of my enemies. You will extend your hand; Your right hand will save me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.  Lord, your love is eternal; do not abandon the work of Your hands.

P.s. I'm off to Malaysia now!  More blogs next month (my final month, bittersweet).

Each morning, we wake up to the sound of little girls frantically moving about our bedroom. It is packed with bunk beds, leaving little room to put any personal "stuff", let alone walk. They wake up at the crack of dawn, thus it's pretty much impossible to sleep in. Mom and Dad, I'm sorry for doing that to you! Sometimes the girls will come up and start touching my face, other times they have something REALLY important to give me, way too important to wait until I have woken up, such as a picture they have drawn. As much as I love to sleep in, they always manage to bring a smile on my face, no matter how early it is.

After we eat breakfast, (which varies between rice, eggs, extremely slimy noodles, or leftover chicken curry from the night before) we're off to work. I feel like I've become such a handy woman this month. I'm doing real manual labor! We started by digging a trench, and cleaning it out to be ready for the concrete. Than we mix the concrete; which is quite an art. You have to build a volcano with the sand/concrete mix, and then pour water in the center to make sure the water stays in, and then mix it all together.  Then, we pour the concrete in the trench, smooth it out, and repeat.

Today I built a brick wall. I cemented the bricks together, and staggered them accordingly. In order to stagger them, I had to break some of the bricks with a hammer to make them a certain size in order to fit correctly. Never in my life would I have known how to lay concrete and build brick walls, before this month. I feel like a dude or something!

After lunch, we usually work out. (well, some of us work out J ) Working out is usually running, or doing P90x. After that, we shower (bucket shower) and hang out with the girls for the rest of the afternoon.  The house that I'm in now, is different than the one I was in for the first few weeks.  I downsized into a shack, where I no longer have a flushing toilet. We have to bucket shower instead of real shower, and we no longer have internet. One thing this new house DOES have,  however, that the old house didn't, is a keyboard.

Yesterday, Tara and I turned the keyboard onto one of those jazzy programmed songs that comes with the keyboard, and had a dance party with the little girls. It was the most ridiculous music I have ever danced to, but I absolutely loved it, and so did the girls... I think... or maybe they just thought we were crazy.

Dinner is usually some sort of amazing Thai dish, which I've grown to like. After dinner, we hang out with the girls, or have some quiet time with God, and then say goodnight. Saying goodnight is my favorite part, the girls are SO cute!

I'm constantly learning from these girls. They are so well-behaved. The minute they wake up, they immediately make their beds. They know how to do their own laundry, and hang up their clothes at such a young age! They clean up after themselves, always. At that age, my mom was still cleaning up for me. (She still cleans up after me sometimes, thanks Mom, I'll return the favor to my kids someday.)

One night before bed, I looked over at the 5 year old girl next to me, and she had her eyes closed, head bowed and she was praying to herself. It was absolutely precious. It's neat to see how much these girls love, and serve one another joyfully as they love the Lord. I'm truly inspired, and happy to be here.

How to sum up the best day/night of my life? This is too difficult.

It started off going into the town of Chiang Mai. Every year, from the 13-16^th there is a Country-wide water festival. It is the New Year in Thailand, and instead of watching the ball drop, they drench each other in water. Our goal for going into town was to A) have an amazing time, and B) to minister to the bar girls involved in Sex trafficking. We prayed before going out, hoping that God would speak through us.

The day was an absolute blast. Seeing as we are some of the few white foreigners, we were targets.  They seemed to think it was absolutely hysterical to dump buckets of water on our heads. EVERY single person was armed, with a super soaker, a hose, or a huge tub supply of ice water that they would use to dump buckets of water on us. Even the kids had little water guns, running around with mischievous looks on their faces ready to soak anyone in sight. Let's just say it was an awesome day.

Night time rolls around, and Tara, Natalie and I decide to split up, and go out together hoping to find some girls to minister to. As we were walking around, searching for bars, we noticed a stage. Fully equipped with two mics, a guitar, drums , and a bass. No one was on the stage, yet there were tons of people everywhere, for the festival. So, naturally, Tara, Natalie and I hopped on stage and started ROCKING OUT! Tara and I stole the mics, and Natalie was the backup dancer. We started off by singing Jason Mraz, "I'm yours" when suddenly, out of nowhere an entire band came out and started playing along with us. It was like a dream. We then sang Bob Marley -"One Love", and "I Will Survive". After jamming for a while, we took it to a more serious note, and started singing worship songs, and praying over the whole town, and festival as we worshiped the Lord. People came and went, cheering for us. But our main crowd was 4 toddlers, probably ages 3-4 that stayed and danced the whole time. It was priceless. I couldn't have traded that moment for the world.

After rocking out, we were exhausted, and absolutely parched. So, we went on our way to get some water, when we noticed a man in a shop with a younger Thai woman. We began conversing with him and asking him what he was doing here. He said that he moved here from London, and was dating this Thai woman. He works in the police department, here in Chiang Mai. We eventually got into the conversation of Christ, and how we were working with women, and sex trafficking. This man seemed a little stubborn, but very interested in what we had to say. I guess you could say we planted a seed.

Moving on, we were still on a mission to find water, we noticed right outside of the drink shop was a white couple, sitting down enjoying a meal. So, we ask them where they were from. The girl was from Philadelphia, and the Guy was from Ireland. The girl had a well-paying job in the US; everything going for her, but she just wasn't happy, so she dropped everything and left to travel the world. The guy, informed us that his best friend committed suicide a while back, and his other good friend just died in a car accident. He wasn't happy where he was, so he left everything to come and travel the world. The two of them met up randomly on their travels, and decided to start traveling together. My heart broke for these people, because they were so desperate. They were both searching for something, but what they didn't know was that it was Christ that they were searching for. Natalie began to talk to the girl, as I witnessed to the Guy.  I told him my testimony, and how God has done amazing things in my life. I told him that I, also, left my life behind to travel and then explained that there was a meaning behind my travels. As I went on, talking about God, he told me about an encounter he had when he was younger. He said that he was fishing one day when he was about 12. He had been fishing for about two hours, and not caught a single thing. Not even a bite. He started to pray, and he said "God, if you are real, let me catch a fish." Right after he prayed, he caught a fish, literally seconds later. He said he was in shock, and from that moment on, he knew that there was a God. He said, however that he doesn't apply God to his life anymore. Our conversation lasted for about an hour, and it was so amazing to hear all the questions he had, and how starving he was for truth. As the conversation came to a close, the couple invited us to go out with them. We figured this would be a perfect opportunity to speak to the bar girls.

After it seemed like a 2 hour walk, we get to this bar. The bar was jam packed with foreigners. Not Thai people. People from all over the world, but none of them were Thai. We went out that night with a plan of witnessing to the Thai bar girls, but it just goes to show that our plans are meaningless. God will guide us to exactly where he wants us to be, and that night, he wanted us to speak to people of our own kind and language. We ended up dancing at the bar, and having multiple other great conversations.

Thank you God, for using us to do your work, and allowing us to have the best night of our lives in the process J

Here I am, lying in my bed unable to sleep. Us world race girls just got done making our way around the room of bunk beds (there is literally no space, the room is jam-packed with bunk beds) giving all of the little girls a goodnight kiss on the cheek. We have the privilege of working in an orphanage this month.  We are even in the same room as the girls. I can't sleep, because the little girl in the bed next to me can't sleep. I just met her about 15 minutes ago. She is new here, in the orphanage.

The lights were still on in the bedroom, and all of the little girls were jumping around, laughing and playing with each other; all of the girls accept the one sleeping next to me. She was curled up under her sheets, silent. I went and sat next to her and asked if everything was alright. Some of the other girls helped translate with the broken English that they knew. They said that she is sad, and wouldn't eat dinner, because she misses her mother. She was hiding under her sheets because she didn't want anyone to see her cry.

Pim, a girl who has been here for a while, told me that this is how they all act when they first get here. They cry. Although they come from broken homes, where some are abused, or abandoned; that is all they know. They learned to live that way, thinking it was the normal way of life. That man that beat her every night was her father. That woman that neglected her since she was a child was her mother, and that's all they knew. So when they get to the orphanage, a place that is far from familiar, filled with strange faces that they have never seen before, they become homesick.

After I went around and gave the girls a goodnight kiss and tucked them in, I went to my bed upset. The girls here aren't used to getting tucked in. It's not fair, that I was tucked in every single night as a child. It's not fair that my parents have said 'I love you' so many times that I can't even count; when these children have never experienced that kind of parental love in their entire lives. I remember being away from my parents at camps when I was younger, and crying because I was so homesick, and these children are separated from their parents forever.

The name of this orphanage is called "Remember Nhu." The story behind why this place began revolves around a girl named Nhu. She was rescued from the sex trade after sold into it by family. When the founder of this place met Nhu, he made a promise to God to do everything in his power to prevent what happened to Nhu to as many girls as he could, for the rest of his life. So, the place we are working at is a prevention center. A prevention from the sex trade. Statistics say that the average age to be trafficked is age 7, because they want the girls before they have a chance of getting HIV. The probability of getting trafficked for girls here in Thailand is 1 in 5. Although the girls in this orphanage are without parents, they are all well taken care of here. They are taught all about their Godly Father, and saved from what could have been a horrible outcome.

I love watching the girls pray before meals and before bed; it's so sincere. Despite their circumstances, God has given them Joy, and I have no doubt that they will all grow up to be amazing women of God. I am truly privileged to have this time here. I think I have a lot to learn from these girls. 

I am in China. I have the potential to get kicked out of this country. Why? Because Jesus is like a convict here. Christian churches are not allowed, or commonly accepted in Chinese society. Churches are banned by the government, and if one is found, punishment can be as severe as imprisonment, or if you're a foreigner like myself, getting kicked out of the country; for good.

 So, what am I doing here? We have a small house church, that is held in an elementary school. Thankfully, the pastor we are working with isn't scared. He is from Ohio, and his wife is from D.C. They are two of the most laid back people I have ever met, and are willing to do whatever it takes to share the love of Christ, even if that means getting kicked out of the country; and thanks to their confidence, they have empower us to do the same.

The first day that we got here was a long day. We had just gotten off of a 36 hour train ride.  This wasn't your average train ride, either. Every spot on the train was occupied, including the isles, due to all of the people who purchased the 'standing room only' tickets to save money. The second you got up to use the bathroom, your seat was swiped by one of the standers. We could hardly see the end of the train cart we were in because about 95% of the passengers smoked, and believe me, there were times I thought I was going to suffocate. After inhaling smoke constantly for 2 days straight, we all left the train with sore throats.

The only thing I wanted to do after leaving that train was nap for an entire day, but our contact had different plans for us. Our job for the day was to visit the nearest Universities "English Corner" Where they practice speaking English to one another. I went into it with a negative attitude. Small talk is probably my least favorite thing to do. I get nervous and awkward. Sometimes my brain freezes and I can't think of any conversation starters. If I could make an up-front agreement with every new person that I meet to cut past the boring introductory conversations, and skip to the fun, meaningful ones, I would do it in a heartbeat, but unfortunately that's not how it works.

So, I sat there in between two Chinese girls. I prayed that God would use me, despite my attitude. They began the dreaded small talk questions, such as "How are you? Where are you from? What's your favorite music? Do you have siblings?" and this went on for about two hours. Right as things were wrapping up, the girl on my left named Mei Jou asked me If I was a missionary. The question caught me off guard, because it was so random. How did she know? I didn't say anything about Jesus yet and the only white people that come around Harbin are usually those studying abroad. Hesitantly, I told her that I was a missionary, with hopes that she wouldn't call the police or something (ha).

Instantly, the biggest smile grew on Mei Jou's face, and she proceeded to ask if I was part of a "house church" (the illegal kind) or a government officiated church. I told her it was a house church, and her excitement only grew stronger. She told me that she became a Christian when she studied abroad in America. She has been back from America for about a year, and has not been able to find a church. She said that she has been very discouraged in her faith, because she hasn't had a church, or other Christ-followers to encourage her. I invited her to come to church on Sunday, and she literally jumped at the chance. She was so excited that she gave me a hug. The girl on the other side of me, Emma, heard our conversation, and began to ask questions about the church as well. She was not a Christian, but was very interested.  Emma didn't speak the best English, so Mei Jou began to tell Emma all about the church in their own Mandarin language, and also invited her to come with us. Both of them came on Sunday.  It's not ironic that God placed me next to them in that class, out of all the people I could have sat by.

It was funny, because I had two Chinese girls sitting on both sides of me, talking back and forth in Chinese about Jesus, while I just sat there in the middle and said nothing. Right at that moment I knew that I had nothing to do with this conversation. It wasn't me who initiated it, it was God. The only thing I did was make myself available, and God did the rest of the work. Three Chinese Buddhist girls came to know Christ later that week as well, because we made ourselves available to spread the word. Its not about your ability to do works for God, it's about your availability. How often do we put ourselves out there to be available for people who are in need for truth? My answer is not enough. There's always more to be done, and that's the joy and motivation in living for Christ.