Love from London.

With less than 24 hours until I get on the plane to head full circle around the world, I am torn between wanting to be back home and wanting to stay here in this adorable place and continue this amazing journey. These past 5 days in London, at the most anazing old manor house, have been absolutely lovely. It is definitely going to take me a while to fully process all that has happened. Two days ago we played tourists in London and were able to see the Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and other amazing sites (sorry, no pictures!).

Tips for my arrival back home:
*Direct questions are easier to answer than general questions
*Give me time to process my journey
*Don't take it personal if I'd rather sleep-ha

It's hard to say right now what it will be like for me to be back home, but know that I do love and miss you all and am SO utterly thankful for you in my life! Thanks for reading and have a very Merry Christmas!!

<3

A few things I'm looking forward to and am so thankful for:
1. Dryers and clean clothes
2. The option to wear something different
3. Food-I have a whole list of foods I'm craving and am excited to eat!!
4. Hot showers
5. My own bed
6. Toilets that flush and have toilet paper
7. The smell of home
8. CHRISTMAS! :]

Once upon a flight to Amman...

 On December 5th, we left Malaysia in the evening to head to Jordan. It's safe to say that we were all pretty tired before heading to Jordan, especially with the knowledge that we would have a full day ahead of us. As I got onto the plane, I quickly realized that I would not be sitting by a team member, but a maybe 50-ish year old Arab man named Esam. After all that had happened in Malaysia, I had this feeling that this flight wasn't going to be a normal one and my first thoughts were 1. This could be an awkward and long flight and 2. I need to share with this man about the Gospel. I slid into my window seat and started to get situated and had that wonderful surprise of realizing that the flight was 10 hours (not 5, whoops), making for a 13-hr day of travels.

As time went by, we started to make small talk about life and the flight and learned that he was traveling on business. As a bonus, his English was very good and he actually taught English for 10 years. We talked about each other's family and I asked him how he decided on what he wanted to do with his life and then he asked me the same question. I didn't want to be intense so I slid into the conversation how important my faith was to me and how I desired for that to be incorporated into my life. His response to everything I said: "beautiful." I could tell that this man clearly loves people and loves seeing the world. He sees the beauty in so many different situations and as we floated in and out of conversations, I was honestly just praying the whole time to get into a deeper conversation. Eventually he just asked me if my family was Christian, to which I was able to say yes and explain what that really meant.

It was sweet that I was able to just talk about my beliefs and for the sake of discussion and not a debate, we then dove into what we believed--Islam and Christianity. It was so sweet to see that despite our differences we were able to calmly and civilly talk about my testimony and the sweet message of the Gospel as if we were old friends. We definitely went in circles about the same issues and I know that although I didn't always make sense or convey my thoughts clearly, I can trust in God's promieses that He is in control and that His Word is powerful and will not return void.

My thoughts after the flight were just filled with what had happened and he was so gracious and kind. We talked for a solid 2-3 hours of that flight about so many different things and I know that God is faithful to bring about His will and I have no doubt that all of this happened for a reason.

Exactly one week left and it's hard to believe that I am in Amman, Jordan. Malaysia was absolutely beautiful and wonderful and I am so thankful that I was able to spend my birthday there. Yesterday, we went to a few different refugee family's home and we were able to talk with them and hear about their stories, each one so different from the other. We saw so much our first two days here, but since then life has calmed down a lot. It seems as though everything has just started to catch up with us now that we aren't going at 120% and we are all feeling a bit sleepy and ready for home.

Tomorrow, we will be eating at a NWC grad's home who is living here and the next day we will fly out to Bulstrode and then I will be back to the states-unbelievable. Thanks to everyone out there who has been praying and for me and the team. Your support has been incredible and I can't wait to see all of your beautiful faces and to hear about your life. :]

A few more firsts:
1. I had my first camel ride.
2. I have now eaten a legitimate filafel...
3. I have seen the promised land as Moses once did on Mt. Nebo.
4. I have felt the burning sensation while floating in the Dead Sea.

In Malaysia on the lift.

The view after our ride to the top.

Our arrival to Jordan

CAMEL RIDE IN PETRA(-->)

What They Don't Tell You...

As my time in Thailand is coming to a close (and the next available wi-fi session is unpredictable), I thought it would be fun to give you a backstage pass into what people don't tell you before your arrival/lessons I am thankful I have learned along this crazy journey...

1. You probably shouldn't daze off whilst on the sidewalk, you could get hit by a motorcycle, bike, or perhaps even a car.
2. Cantaloupe, coconut, and taro are very popular flavors here.

Your future if you treat this toilet as a squatty potty...

3. Don't flush the toilet paper. Anywhere. It will clog the system.
4. Likewise, always have toilet paper on hand. AND hand-sanitizer.
5. Also, there will be times when you have to put money in the "donation box" or to a "clerk" to use the bathroom.
6. Being asian will be a nice blending gift. Take advantage of that.
7. If it looks like a green bean is hanging out in your food. Don't eat it. It's not a green bean. [It's a hot chili peppa].
8. Corn is also very popular. It is not unusual for corn to be on a donut or in/on top of a waffle.
9. Bartering is your friend. Know the power and limitations of walking away.
10. To drink or not to drink. That is the question, when it comes to water.
11. As a female: Don't touch a monk. Ever. In fact, it's just best if you pancake yourself against a wall somewhere until he passes by.

Tuk-tuk

12. Don't wear flip flops when it's wet out. They don't have enough traction. And you will wipe out in the school parking lot.
13. Kids will often think you speak Thai. Even when you talk to them in English or don't answer them at all. Asian Looks+Not Thai=Doesn't register.
14. Time to talk with your family is scarce. Jump on all opportunities.
15. Don't have your mouth open at any point whilst on the water taxi. Canal water is actually the worst.
16. Girls hold girls hands a lot of times. Likewise, students may hold your hand during a conversation or to help you across the street (endearing).
17. It is possible for six people to fit into a tuk-tuk.
18. Just because you expect the sidewalk to be even doesn't mean it is, watch out for those loose, wobbly, and straight up slanted tiles of sidewalk.
19. Returning to the same vendors day after day to get food will quickly build a bond, even if you can't actually speak to each other.
21. There will come a time when you need to decide, do I ask what I'm eating or leave it as is...know what you can handle.
22. When in doubt, wai.
23. Regardless of what you may say, if you go to a market, you will buy something.
24. If people don't understand you, 1. it's cause you speak English and 2. it's probably because you're saying it wrong. Platinum Mall= Plaht-ee-nahm mall. Be forewarned.
25. "Ka" is your best friend. When all else fails, just smile, nod your head and say it.
26. I have learned that only in Thailand can I get a hug after getting a massage...
27. Learn and speak as much Thai as possible. It is an instant charmer (unless you use the wrong tone).
28. You know you have adjusted to the heat when you can drink soup during the day or wear long pants and be okay.
29. People don't treat rain lightly-even when it's light.
30. Despite the heat, Thailand will charm you with its people and other little things that make it to be the experience that it was.

Charm likes to speak Thai to me and hold conversations...They are pretty one-sided. 

Just Another Day [halfway 'round the world].

Grand Palace 

Another day in Thailand and the realization that we only have one more week here is surreal. The days and weeks seem to go by so slowly, but then I look at the last time I wrote a blog post, or the date and I realize that time goes by faster than it seems. Last week was quite an adventure. After class, two of our students (Sung and Bow) took us out for the day. It started out with a water taxi to the Golden Mount (reminscent of being packed together at a concert). A hundred steps later, we were at the top of the Golden Mount. We also went into the Grand Palace (about five days shy of Obama) and our students had us try multiple kinds of fruit and food like Jackfruit, mangosteen, durian, mango, rambutan, and lots of other things.

On Saturday, a group of us met and left around nine on a van about an hour away to the Crocodile farm and it was super exciting to ride an elephant, pet a tiger, eat a crocodile burger, and feed a crocodile. Definitely all new experiences and it was soo much fun! Afterwards, a group of us went to the movies, my first one since being here.

Random fact: Before every movie starts they play the king's anthem and everyone stands to pay their respects.


On Sunday, we had cell group (Small group) at a province about two hours away. It was a huge blessing to get out of Bangkok and the the busy-ness of it all and see trees and relax and soak in the time there.

Yesterday after class, a few of our students and I went and saw...Twilight. It's a pretty big deal, even here, so it was a good bonding experience and it was just fun to spend another day with students and with a few who I hadn't yet.


Today, it's been nice to get back on schedule but the non-stop all day affairs have definitely tired me out for this week. For the first time ever, I played badminton yesterday and I have to say...it's probably a favorite of mine now. With only a week left, I think my mental state has been that I'm ready to move on and have checked out of here because of my mentality that it is all going to go by so fast and we have been here so "long" already. My bag is mostly packed even though I still have a good chunk of time left. There has been a few common themes that God has been teaching me while on this trip, but His provision, sovereignty have been apparent continuously through so many little and big things (I wish I had the time to explain more in depth how sweet it's been).

After cell group at the waterfall, we stopped at a massive sunflower field

Sorry this update couldn't be longer, know that I'm thinking of you all! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving :]

Things I am ever thankful for:
*Wonderful friends--seriously. All of you who have sent me mail, sang me a song, or done multiple other creative things while I have been away has been soo sweet.
*Cooler weather in Thailand
*A functioning body








Just a few more pictures...

Miriam and I had the unique opportunity of relaxing at the waterfall and having tiny fish eat the dead skin off of our feet, which is a treatment that costs money at other places here in Thailand.

Me, Amanda, and Alicia with our game faces on.

Movie time.

Oh hey, Thailand :]

For all those who may have been wondering, I am safely here in Thailand. After an 8 hour flight to Singapore, a 4-hr layover and 2 hour flight to Thailand with a 30 minute drive to Bangkapei, we finally arrived. Adjustment happened pretty quickly which was a blessing, but it is still a definite adjustment from Japan (orderly, structured, and cool) to Thailand (not very structured, and very warm).

First day of class

After we arrived, we began our English teacher training and cultural orientation and have also been venturing out to markets and various places around where we live at the mission house. Two days ago, we kick started our English teaching and are teaching in pairs of two spread out amongst four different levels. Alicia and I are teaching Level 1 from 7-9 a.m. every Mon-Thurs. Their English is more basic which can be difficult in communication while teaching.

At one of the many markets

Summary after three days: I absolutely love our class. The students are so great and I am really excited to hangout with them after class and get to know them as they help introduce us to the Thai culture and hopefully the beach and lots of other markets and favorite locations of theirs. Yesterday after class, we went with four of our eleven students to have breakfast and they took us to Foodland and today, we went out with five of our students, some of which didn't come yesterday.

Today we (Alicia and I) start helping with the kids program, teaching them very basic conversational English for about an hour and a half. Because we are only teaching one regular level English class and our other members teach 2 classes a day, we have a kids program that we will be leading/helping with every Thursday and Friday.



Love and miss you all and I hope that you are staying warm! :]

Had some corn in honor of my Iowan roots

 A few firsts:
1. I have had guava, papaya, and kumquat while being in Thailand
2. I have never been so thankful for hot summers at camp that have prepared me for this.
3. I have never smelled so many different smells in the span of a block.

A few prayer requests would be:
1. That we can continue to build relationships with the people here.
2. That our team can continue to bond
3. Patience with other people and students. It can definitely be a challenge to be around people 24/7, especially with number 4.
4. Energy. The heat tends to suck up our energy and teaching at 7 a.m. after having completely adjusted to the time difference is also harder some days than others.

"Yoroo!"

*Japanese for "Let's Go!"

With the last full day in Japan almost over, it will definitely be harder to leave after all that has happened over this past week. The three events that took a majority of our time was 1. Temporary housing visits 2. Making tents with Samaritan's Purse and 3. Oyster farming.

As a warning, this one is going to be long and may take a few sessions to get through..

On the 24th, we went to two temporary housing facilities for those who have lost potentially everything from the earthquake/tsunami. We did a short program of our Gospel music and two testimonies and it was super sweet to see such joy and laughter from those who have lost so much. At the second temporary housing facility, despite some awkward moments, I talked a little bit with a lady, who before I left, looked at me and through a translator told me that she saw herself as one of my mothers. It kind of took me of guard and at the same time made me feel so loved.

Temporary housing facility

The next day and throughout the week we broke into two groups, one who went to temporary housing facilities and one who worked in a different ministry area. The second day, a group of us worked with Samaritan's Purse and a passionate Korean pastor to construct large tents that they can use as churches throughout the area until they can construct an actual building. It was surprisingly exhausting, but super great to work with our hands and see a piece of our results from the hard work and were rewarded with a great ramen restaurant afterwards.

This is the sunrise we witnessed on our way to the Oyster Farm

Now onto my favorite day, on the 26th (for us), I had the privilege of working with oyster farmers. At the "beautiful" time of 5 a.m. a group of us loaded into two vehicles and trekked two hours away to help Jun, an 31-yr old Japanese man who had to quit his job as a junior high teacher to come back and take over the Oyster Farming business for his family. It's a longer process that I can explain better in person, but synopsis: We put the scallop shells, with baby oysters attached to them, tightly into an interwoven rope and made 200 of these lines. After around 9 tubs or about forty-five or so lines were made we went out onto their boat onto the Pacific to tie their lines up. This was an absolutely amazing experience and I wish that I could go back again. (*There are a ton of great pictures that one of our guides took that will hopefully one day make it on here)

This is the restaurant we went to Sunday night where you make the meal you ordered.

....Almost Done
On Saturday, I went with a group to clean/touch up a city park. We had weedwackers, sickles, various other tools, and many hands working to have it in its prime.
Never in my life have I said, "Many hands make light work" as much as I did this past week (all credit goes to my father for saying that to me throughout my childhood).

Boat ride to Matsushima

On Sunday, we went to a church in Sendai, which had an abundance of love and graciousness to shower upon us. We sang most of our songs for them and were blessed by them coming around us and sending us off with prayer and a song of blessing that the pastor's wife had wrote. Because Monday is Japan's Saturday and our day off, yesterday we went to Matsushima (Pine Tree Island), which is one of the must-see/most beautiful places of Japan.

Current update:
Today we finished our work in the park and started packing and cleaning up where we've been staying and tomorrow night we will head back to Tokyo and will fly to Singapore with a layover on our way to Thailand where we will be staying for the whole month of November-get excited :]


A few things I am thankful for:
-Knowing Jesus
-Our team leader/driver (Janet) who appeased my massive craving for a cheeseburger and fries at McDonald's after an intense day of Oyster Farming.
-Parents who taught me how to work hard (Dad, all of those days of the grain bin and buffalo burs have   paid off and Mom, all those days of pulling weeds has made me a pro.)
-The blessing of getting to talk to a few family and friends throughout my time here.

Matsushima

"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in trimphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a gragrance form life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak Christ."-II Corinthians 2:14-17 (ESV)

The group at Matsushima before we left.

"We are never so vulnerable as when we love."-Sigmund Freud

Konichiwa

Hello, from Japan! Today our plans were changed due to the rain. On the bright side, God had different and equally wonderful plans for us. We helped the church with a few random projects in the morning and had lunch. Afterwards, we took the van around to various earthquake/tsunami-devastated areas and had a few prayer walks. It was mind-blowing to see areas where they had compiled the garbage or wrecked cars. We heard a few stories and Janet Brown (who picked us up in Tokyo), showed us footage this morning from a quake cam that showed the hundreds of earthquakes and aftershocks they experienced in just a few days-insane. On our prayer walk, we were able to go down to the coastline from the Pacific Ocean and it was a nostalgic feeling to be at the ocean (*hint*hint* to all my Oregon relatives and parents).

After our outing, we came back and had a little time to relax before going to an amazing sushi restaurant. To give a brief run-down, you sit down at a booth and a conveyor belt travels around with various kinds of sushi & other wonderful items for your consumption. You can also order different items from a screen above your table and a different conveyor belt will deliver it to you. If you know me, you would know that I was loving life. After that it was time for our team to go to a public Japanese bathhouse or sento. Needless to say--it was amazing. A definite team builder and ultimate relaxer after our wonderful time with the conveyor belt. (*I will try to add pictures later when I have more time!)

<--This is a picture of our table and the menu that we could order from. The screen behind us was how we could enter our orders



Below, is a picture of the conveyor belt. The bottom one circulated around with the food we could grab and the top level was food that we ordered and came to us via conveyor belt-so great.

Chances are good that there will not be another update for quite some time, but tomorrow a group of us are going to temporary housing to share our Gospel music while another team helps out an oyster farm :]

Love you all,
<3

A few things I've noticed:
1. Japan is extremely clean and structured.
2. (We) Americans are boisterous.
3. Nudity builds community.

The Adventure Begins...

Where to even begin, it has been a whirlwind of days since I left the student center on October 17th. Five days later and I am finally about to give ya'll an update. :]

Day 1: We left around noon to head to airport and we left MSP early in the afternoon. Our first stop/layover was in Denver, CO and from there, we left to LAX. First stayed the night in California at a Comfort Inn and a group of us walked over to a Mexican Restaurant, which was delicious! We all split up into five to a room and my room (Alicia, Kristy, Mai Kia, and Mary) had a wonderful time of bonding. :]

Day 2: We left late the next morning to head to the airport and in the afternoon we began our long flight on Singapore airlines. I cannot even explain to you how luxurious the flight was. They gave us warm/hot rolled up washcloths in the beginning to freshen us up and the amount of food and entertainment available was a huge blessing. 10.5 hours later, we landed in Tokyo.
It was hard to stay awake and take in the landing because I decided to not sleep, but it was still beautiful. After we arrived and were all through customs and whatnot, we were picked up by Janet Brown, who works with mission trips here and proceeded to spend the next 12 hours on our trip to Shiogama, with a five hour truck stop to sleep.

Day 3: We arrived around 8:30 a.m. (Japan time) and stopped to have breakfast at...McDonalds. A nice  taste of home to start our initiation. We then drove over to Shiogama Bible Church, where we are staying, for some initiation time and were able to have the afternoon off the rest. Afterwards, we all had an amaaazing experience of going to various host families who fed us authentic Japanese food. Culturally, the Japanese do not normally host people, even other Japanese so this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that was so much fun.

Day 4-5: We practiced our Gospel music and sang one of our songs during the regular church service here and had another day off and a group of us walked down to the pier and a mall that were about 30 minutes away (there's a picture on my Facebook). That took up most of the day and we came back and had supper and some debrief time.
Today, we practiced our music for a few hours in the morning and then walked to the train station and spent the day in Sendai. Needless to say, it has been a wonderful experience and I am constantly comparing American culture with Japanese culture.

I love you all. Thank you so much for everything. The amount of prayers has been such a blessing and the support from strangers we have met along the way has been sweet to experience. We're about to eat supper together--some good 'ol spaghetti :]

Until next time...

-whitney

A few firsts:
1. I have officially been confused as to how to flush a toilet.
2. I have experienced 2 earthquakes, and felt one.
3. I have never tasted such delicious apple juice.
4. I have officially posted my first blog.

A passage that I came across on one of my flights over...

"...that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." -Ephesians 3:16-21

Intro to "A Dose of Whit"

Confession: Every time I have to choose a screen name or title name for anything I take an absolutely unreasonable amount of time. Obviously, this isn't a life-changing decision, yet it still makes me dread starting new accounts for things.

To be honest, I never saw myself as ever starting a blog. Now I know that not very many people may read it, but I think that's what made it more appealing and caused me to cave. There's something almost therapeutic about getting everything out there without actually having to ever voice it in person to someone or having the pressure of knowing a lot of people may be reading it.

For anyone reading this, get prepared because you may learn things that you never knew or even wanted to know about me. And you will "get to" read about what I pick up through the journey of this crazy, ridiculous, yet beautiful, and wonderful thing I call - my life. <3