night·life         noun         1. the activity of people seeking nighttime diversion, as at a nightclub, theater, or the like.   On Friday we experienced our first night of bar ministry.  Let me tell you, Bangla Road is the epitome of the “nightlife” that we all know.  God opened my eyes and showed me what nightlife looks like through His eyes.   When God looks into these bars, He doesn’t just see a bunch of people partying, He sees His lost and broken...

Since I have never really been away from home with people that I don’t know for longer than a week, I anticipated some homesickness going into this trip.  I really anticipated that the homesickness would grip me.  I wanted to be prepared to fight off any homesickness so I brought pictures from home.  My hope was that I could look at those pictures when I started missing my comfortable and safe little life in Livonia, Michigan.    I also put my pillow, pillowcase, and sheet in a compression bag in hopes that when I took them out in Thailand, they would still...

The last few days here in Thailand have been rough to say the least. Obeying God to come here has been hard; I still don’t know why I’m here. I’ve been homesick for Uganda and Indiana. I’ve also been comparing myself to my teammates which is bad because it makes me down inside.Any who, yesterday afternoon I realized how much I allow ministry define me. I strive and chase after Jesus mostly through serving. Whether it’s holding babies, preaching/leading Bible study, doing something silly for kids or even just prayer walking I feel an accomplishment and a greater...

There's one thing that has been consistent in my life for the past five years and that is the inconsistency of a home. I have moved from dorms, to apartments, to my parents’ home multiple times throughout the years. After college I moved from Colorado to California. I lived in solitude at my apartment where God clearly wanted to have intimate and uninterrupted time with my heart. It was in the early mornings and late nights that God would speak to me and develop my heart. I called that place home because of how deeply I came to know the Lord there. All the moves prior to that...

How do we go back home and be the same person we were? That’s the question that has been on everybody’s mind since we started our ministry here in Phuket. The answer is a simple one, but it is far from easy. The truth is we can’t. There is no possible way you can see the things we have been seeing for the past two months and not be changed by it. Going into this trip, part of me knew that I wasn’t going to be the same person when I went home. I think that’s part of what made me so hesitant in the weeks right before this trip. Not that change is a bad thing, (in...

           Kicking off the training wheels and moving into your big kid bike…this is a exciting experience for every little kid right? I mean it means that you aren’t a little kid anymore and you are becoming a big kid! That’s always a great day…but can also be a terrifying one. That’s where this kid is at the moment. My daddy has shown me the big kid bike and I’ve watched him take off the training wheels and I see the hill in my driveway that looks like a mountain as I am sitting on top of it on my big kid two wheeler...