I fought with the ocean and lost. It is true for 10 of us who after a day of doing some construction work for SHE got to go to the beach for the first time. It is incredibly beautiful, secluded, and calm with islands in the distance. All sweaty from a hard days work, I sprinted to the water excited to cool off. Luckily some other people got to the water before me otherwise I might not have a foot due to the razor sharp rocks of death. I of course didn’t have shoes I could wear in the water so it took me approximately 15 min to get up to my neck. In between I tried everything to avoid...

I couldn't have picked a more beautiful place to spend the next 2 months, Phuket scenery is absolutely breathtaking and the people are just as beautiful.  My team is staying at a house with a couple other missionary groups, there are 72 people in our house… I love it. I love how busy it is, I love everyones passion, I love the craziness… kinda reminds me of home. The past week our team has been doing a lot of preparation for starting bar ministry next week, preparing our hearts for what we're going to see and just encouraging each other in our identities in...

Top 10 Things to Bring With You to Phuket, Thailand:  1. A personal shade-boy. It's real hot here. You're going to want to hire your neighbor boy to come with you to Thailand to hold a big palm leaf over your head. You're still going to be hot, but at least you'll be in the shade. Plus, you'll be doing your neighbor boy a favor. Not only does he not have to set up the redundant lemonade stand to make some extra cash in the summer, but he'll also have the pleasure of seeing the world. Win-win situation.  2. Skirts/dresses. If you're a man, you're...

9 June 2011  Bangkok, Thailand  (It's a bit past the 9th of June, but it seems like a shame to let a good blog go to waste, so I'm going to post it anyway! 🙂  Sometimes the blatantly obvious truth will stare us directly in the face for so long that when it finally snaps into the sharpest of focuses in that one incredible moment of clarity, it's as shocking as, say, suddenly realizing that you live on a speck as small as the eyeball of the common flea.  The truth that I am referencing here is that God loves me so much that He has a perfect and brilliant...

We finally arrived into Thailand! After four days of training and almost 2 days of traveling, we are finally here, but there is still a ways to go. Currently we’re in Bangkok and are expected to leave to Phuket today on a 12hr bus ride through Thailand! It may be a long, but as some of you know, I love traveling so I don’t mind at all. I think it’s a bonus to be able to go through the country and see it’s scenic (and maybe not so scenic) views. On the plane on our way to Thailand It has been a week since I have left home, but it seems so much longer. Let...

My band teacher used to say "blessed are the flexible, for they will not be bent out of shape." That is a theme that we will constantly be challenged with overseas. Life happens, expectations go unfulfilled, and we have to adjust. With that thought in mind our leaders here at training camp decided to challenge us the first night, because we might as well learn now.         Training camp is a four day camp in Georgia for all of the AIM teams before they are sent out. My Thailand team consists of 22 college women and two leaders. The first night we...