As I begin to understand what having a "brother in Christ" means, I am learning that this is a new concept to me. Looking back, I have had many Christian guys in my life, but in retrospect my relationships with them were all superficial in comparison to this new depth I am discovering. The same Christian guys do not seem to be a norm in my life, there always seems to be another agenda, or a "wanting to date" mentality that gets in the way of actually going deeper as a brother and sister in Christ. As soon as "dating" is NOT in the picture anymore, the friendship starts to dissipate. Thus, no longer having a great Christian guy in my life.

I now realize that so many people do not know how important it is to have "brothers and sisters in Christ." This issue has actually been something my team has started to discuss. We realize that a true brother/sister relationship in Christ has never been modeled for us, until we met some of the staff of the World Race. Now, we KNOW what it is , and what it LOOKS like, but we are just beginning the journey of how to get there.

 I have lacked true brothers in Christ. At the same time I have not
 been a true sister in Christ either. The rest of this trip, I am going
 to have the chance to really become a sister to my brother TIM,
 as well as some of the other men on my squad. I don't want the
 mindset, "Is he being nice to me because he likes me?" or "Is he
 spending time growing deeper in relationship with me, because 
 he wants to date me?" I want a true brother in Christ--nothing
 more nothing less, and I want to be a sister back! I want to 
 have new brothers for life, who challenge me in my relationship
 with Christ, who help me become who I was created to be in
 Christ, who love me through my strengths and weaknesses, and who call greatness out of me.

As I allow this brother/sister mentality to become a part of who I am to my fellow Christians, I realize that I am raising a standard and taking a risk.  I realize that the person I one day marry' will HAVE to first be a true "brother in Christ" to me, that I am able to be a TRUE "sister in Christ" to.

I can't shake this phrase "DON'T LOOK BACK," out of my heart and head. You probably already know where I am going with this so here it is:

 "Don't look back". When driving in America, we do tend to  

I would like to give you some insight on traffic in ASIA, "speaking as a completely objective third party observer with absolutely no personal interest in the matter..." (She's The Man reference).

In Asia you may drive into oncoming traffic if, a) it is more convenient for you, b) there is too much traffic in the lanes your "supposed" to be in, or c) if you are in a hurry, and you NEED to get somewhere faster.

You know those white lines on the pavement that we use to divide our lanes in America? Well, they mean absolutely nothing here in Asia. Actually, I'm convinced the Asians can not even see them!

There are many combinations we tend to look for, when it comes to motor-bike transportation. Combo #1 is a single man or woman on a motor-bike. Combo #2 is two people on a motor-bike. Combo #3 can either be three adults on a motor-bike or, more commonly, two adults and one child. Combo #4 is the family style. This is two adults and two children on one motorbike! Combo # 5 is highly uncommon, but has been seen a few times. This may look like three adults with two children, or two adults with three children. This combo takes great skill. Combo #6 is my favorite, because there are a variety of options, all impossible to the normal motorist. This is when there is one adult, maybe two, riding with CARGO OF UNUSUAL SIZE, for example: a keyboard, a huge box, or perhaps a tall mirror!

It is illegal to ride a motorbike without a helmet, BUT it is ok if you don't wear one. WHAT?!?

The following is what has been stirring in my heart the past couple of days. It is legal or ignored in most parts of the world. Human Trafficking, more specifically, trafficking for sexual exploitation has a face. It has a name. As you read awhile ago, one of the names it has is Lola. There are millions more...

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Someone's Daughter. Someone's Granddaughter. Someone's Sister. Someone's Mother. Someone's Wife. Someone's Friend. ALL a part of a family.

Some go willingly. Some tricked. Some coerced. Some forced. Some kidnapped. Some sold. Some curious. ALL wanting out NOW! [What if they could be free?]

BOUGHT for an hour. BOUGHT for a trick. BOUGHT for a night. BOUGHT for a week. ALL bought for a price. [What if they knew someone paid for all of them with His life?]

Beat. Used. Treated as less than human. Property. Affected by STDs. Forced abortions. Taking on shame, fear, and worthlessness. Just getting by. Trying to survive. Trying to provide. Facades of pleasure. Facades of joy. [What if their mask of joy could become the real thing?]

Some turn to alcohol. Some turn to drugs. Some turn to memories of old. Some turn to DREAMING about what could have been. Some turn to suicide. ALL are trying to escape, even if for only a minute. [Who will tell them who to turn to?]

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Someone's Son. Someone's Grandson. Someone's Brother. Someone's Father. Someone's Husband. Someone's Friend. ALL a part of a family.

Businessmen. College "studs." Old lonely men. Some see women as a "sport". Some are experimenting. Some are a result of peer pressure. Some curious. Some are running. ALL are searching for something. [What if they found Jesus on their search?]

My God is that LOVE, that perfect love. He died on the cross and rose again for each and every man and woman ever created. More specifically, He paid the price for each of these women, in EVERY bar and in EVERY brothel. He paid the price for EVERY man in these places, as well. He loves each of them as much as he loves me. He has a plan for all of them as much as he has a plan for me. They are all searching for Jesus, even when they don't know it.

There are more questions that begin with the word "How," than answers. However, I know that God has a plan to end their searching, and use people to bring His Kingdom into this darkness.

We can not beat this in the physical, so we can't look at this problem in the physical. There is a spiritual war raging on this earth. We can't be defensive. We have to be OFFENSIVE!

We already have the authority and victory over this spiritual darkness that is affecting our world. That is the GOOD NEWS. The BAD NEWS is that most people are unaware. Some people just don't care because "it doesn't affect them." There are too many Christians who live on the defensive in their spiritual life, and God is calling this generation to pick up their swords for the offensive.

Recently I have been thinking about a phrase I heard at the training camp we had for this trip, "You can't change the world around you, until you have been changed yourself." When I first heard that, my reaction was, "Duh! You have to be saved, in order to, bring Kingdom to the world."

 This picture illustrates who I was at training camp. I was saved--I

This picture illustrates me now. I have thrown away the oar and taken a seat, so the motor in my life can do the work. Being saved was the first step, but not even close to what all God had/has for me. God's Spirit is alive and active in me. I'm beginning to understand what being "changed" really means, and what "releasing the Kingdom," actually means. I'm called to live a life that literally brings Heaven to Earth. The best part is that it is not about me using an "oar." Not only is it hard work, but it is not necessary. Christ is the motor on this boat. He just chooses to use me when we go places together. It is NOT about trying to say the right thing to people, it IS about speaking the words Christ gives me--whether that be prophetically or just words of knowledge. He has the words not me! Christ just lets me speak them sometimes! It is NOT about figuring out what to preach, it IS about being led by the spirit, and preaching is now the overflow of what is inside of me. I no longer "have to work" at reading the bible or praying everyday; it is something I can't get enough of because of relationship, and longing for intimacy with Christ.

 EDIT>>> So one of our coaches gave me anotherr picture for my boat here--I am a sailboat.I

If there was a picture of all of these combined, this would be an illustration of where I am going. I crave and long to dwell in the presence of God continually. I want where I am going to not look like anything ever before. I want to see what has never been seen before. I want to be so intimate with Christ, that each step that I take brings kingdom. That every breath I breath is the breath of Christ moving to others around me. I get to choose how fast, how deep, and how far my relationship goes for the rest of my life (sean smith). I want to do all three of these continually.

1. Thai people do not speak Spanish no matter how hard you try!

When coming from Central America, it is hard for your brain to turn off Spanish, when seeing short, tan humans! I don't know how many times we spoke Spanish to Thai people, and they just stared at us.

2. Being white has its perks in foreign countries, but sometimes it doesn't!

We were told to come to this high school and teach English for two hours one morning, but when we arrived we were greeted with hundreds of teenagers and a banner that read, "English camp with American teacher!" There was also a television crew set up to air!

3. A "day off" may consist of a very passionate pastor from Bangkok not letting you out of his sight.

The day consisted of leaving for the beach at 9am (2 hours away), mandatory nap times, mandatory snack times with "coke zero--the drink your generation," convincing the pastor that we would like to sleep in a cheap room for the night not in a 12 person tent on our day off, and finally arriving to the beach at 6pm --LONG DAY!

4. Cliff jumping is no time to engage in peer pressure. Elizabeth might get stuck on top of a cliff for half an hour debating on jumping!

7. Some teammates need more practice hours with the video game, "frogger," before they can cross the street alone! (COUGH COUGH LINDSAY).

9. A shower hose can also be used as a high-powered squirt gun to shoot the huge iguanas that creep into the shower with you!

When is the last time you went to a restaurant?

Those two things are so common. We would never even think twice about what a blessing both of those really are, especially pizza!  Pizza is the food all youth groups order for events, or the food you buy when you have people over to watch a game--it's ALWAYS available!

What if I told you the seven girls I met in Cambodia have never had a slice of pizza? One of them has never even been to a restaurant!

 During our last week of ministry there, a teammate and I,
 partnered with our contact to change that. We wanted to take the

It was such a blessing to be a part of their life that night, and to see how something as simple as pizza touched their lives. After we ate we walked around the mall, and I was taken back by their eyes and smiles. We would have to stop at EVERY mannequin, because they would want to pose, take pictures, and just goof off!

That night we thought we were going to a restaurant to DINE-IN, but we all TOOK-AWAY so much more! God is so awesome, and is so creative in how he builds heart connections between people!