Singapore

Well, I've made it. I've been in Singapore for a few days now, after visiting my cousin in Japan. We had an amazing time - he took me all over Tokyo and up into the mountains to a volcano and a hot spring! The best part was hanging out with him and his girlfriend, Sachiko - they were great hosts and even better company.

Now I'm in Singapore for orientation. I'm staying with a fantastic host family. My host parents are my favorite part of Singapore. They are so funny and very welcoming. I feel completely at home. Plus, there is a built in espresso machine in the kitchen. What a great idea. And we've had some great food, the best being coconuts filled with vanilla ice cream!

Orientation is going well. We've been talking about safety, finances, the different places we each are working, and just generally about living amongst the poor.

It's already almost midnight here so I'd better hit it! I just wanted you all to know that I am alive and I am well!

I just finished packing...and everything fit! I thought it was probably too good to be true, and it was. My bag is about 5 lbs overweight. So I tossed some batteries, a couple books (sniffle), and some other odds and ends out...hopefully it'll be just right.

I'm leaving here (Northern Michigan) in about an hour to stay the night closer to the Detroit airport. I fly out tomorrow morning at 8 am. I fly to Tokyo to spend a couple days with my cousin, who lives there. Please just pray that everything will go smoothly and that the flight will be fairly painless. :) Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Now I'm off for my last snowmobile ride with my pops! I'll be sure to post some photos from Japan!
Bye!

two weeks!

In two weeks, I will begin my journey to southeast Asia. I will be living in border village in Thailand for a little over three months. I'll be teaching farming in an orphanage and working on landscaping the orphanage grounds.

Two nights ago my community group at Barefoot threw a going away party for me. It was great. I was able to say goodbye to some good friends, eat some real tasty Thai food, and share about my trip. I was able to talk about the orphanage and the children I am going to teach.

These children are from a forgotten people group. They aren't allowed to get passports or leave their country, but they also aren't really allowed to stay there. They are an extremely persecuted people. These children have witnessed their parents death because of their ethnicity. They have no one. This is about as much as I know now about these children, but I'm really looking forward to getting to know each of them and learning their stories as well.

Thanks for the prayers so far and please continue to pray for the children, the nations, and my team in SE Asia.