The World Race - Brenda Wilchowy

...New Zealand on my mind...

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

I can't escape it. About 25% of my 786 friends on facebook either live in or have been to New Zealand. I get constant updates about people either coming or going from there.

I originally went there for a month in March 2003 leading a YWAM outreach team.

I returned in September of 2003 for a year to serve with Impact World Tour (part of YWAM Campaigns), (explained by this video) where 300,000 people across the country heard the gospel publicly proclaimed and 23,000 people recorded their decision to follow Christ (12,000 of them for the first time). I am encouraged to still hear testimonies of lives that were affected by the Lord through this ministry and the follow-up.

Again, I returned to visit some close friends in November 2006.

And yet again, I returned to visit in October 2009.

I have history here. I feel like it's home in a lot more ways than I could ever explain. New Zealand was where I had some of the hardest times of my life...it was also where God showed himself faithful during those hard times. It is where I saw miracles happen for probably the first time in my life. It is where I had my first encounter with the Holy Spirit. It is a land that is dear to my heart.

It is with great joy (and a little bit of jealousy??!?) that I get to follow the World Race teams ministering in a country I know from top to bottom!!

Some of the racers get to serve alongside some dear friends in Tauranga with the Tauranga House of Prayer. They are helping out with a couple of different gatherings...first, Jubilee, which is an event celebrating 50 years of YWAM! I am very proud to have served 5 years in YWAM. It was a great part of growing me into the person I am today and I have amazing life-long friends all over the world because of it!

The other gathering is Call2All. "The vision of Call2All Next Generation is to see young and old gather together in hunger and humility to see a generation provoked, mobilized and permanently wounded through a life shattering encounter with the surpassing greatness of Jesus." Here is the video explaining what it is to help you get a bit more understanding.

So there you go...in case New Zealand is also on your mind, you can see a bit about what is happening in that nation.

THANK YOU! (video)

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I just wanted to post this video as a thank you to everyone who supported me this last year!

It's a slideshow of photo's from the year to see the people and places you have helped be a part of impacting!

I was very honoured to have been a part of the World RAce.

You Want Me To Do WHAT?!?!

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This is an excerpt from one of my favourite books, The Vision & The Vow by Pete Greig:

"I was giving a friend a lift in my car, and we got to talking about life. "I don't know what God's calling me to do," he confessed, and asked me to pray about what it might be.

"Why?" I asked. "I already know what Jesus wants you to do!"

"You do?" he gasped with excitement. "So, what is it? What's my call?"

I paused enjoying the suspense. Drums rolled. String quartets tuned up. My friend held his breath...

"Your call," I said slowly, "is to be a worship leader..."

He looked pleased, really pleased, so I continued: "...but not necessarily with a guitar in your hand."

"Okayyy," he murmured.

"Your call is to befriend that funny little lady at the end of your street..."

He seemed less pleased with this prospect.

"Your call is to feed the hungry and to spend yourself on behalf of the poor..."

By now he was looking distinctly troubled.

"...and to offer hospitality to strangers who just turn up in town needing a place to crash."

Consternation.

"And it's to fast."

He was starting to look furious.

"And it's to pray so long and hard that you run out of words and tears."

There was no going back:

"Your call," I continued, "is to preach the good news of Jesus to every person who will listen and few who won't. Your call is to go somewhere, anywhere, wherever, whenever, for Jesus, and never stop. Your call is to love people no one else loves and to forgive them when they treat you like dirt--or worse. Do your job to the very best of your ability without grumbling about your boss or whining about your colleagues. Your call is to pray for the sick, and when they are healed, to dance all night. And when they aren't, to weep with them and love them even more."

I glanced across at him and was relieved to see that his expression was beginning to mellow.

"Your call is to honour your parents, pray for your leaders, study the Scriptures, and attend plenty of parties. Be a peacemaker in every situation: when the fight breaks out on the bus home late at night and when the gossip starts to circulate at church. Your call is to pick up litter in the street when no one else is looking, to wipe the toilet seat, to pull the gum off from under the desk. It's to get to meetings early to put out the chairs."

By now he was smiling.

"Your call is to make disciples and to teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded. And don't forget to minister grace to them when they sin. Which they will. Your mission is to baptize and to cast out evil spirits. Your call is to bind up broken hearts wherever you find them, and you will find them wherever you look. It's to visit prisons. And hospitals. And to..."

"Yeah, yeah," he interrupted good naturedly, trying to shut me up, but I was on a roll--and I knew he couldn't leave, because I was driving the car.

"Your call," I continued resolutely, "is to listen more than you talk and to listen with your eyes as well as your ears."

He was shaking his head in mock despair. I carried on: "it's to do the chores again and again without grumbling. It's to buy ethical coffee and to recycle your bottles. And while you're at it, don't forget to leave anonymous gifts on people's doorsteps."

By now we were both laughing, and I was finally running out of steam: "And when you've done all that," I grinned, jabbing him in the ribs at each syllable, "come back and see me, and we can spend a little time praying about Phase Two!"

The problem for most of us is not that we don't know what God wants of us. It's that we know exactly what He wants of us, and it's not what we want to do!"

Village Life

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Coming to you from the village of El Tabacal, Guatemala. We are only about an hours drive from Antigua, and most of the drive is over volcanic rock and bumpy terrain. We had to ford 4 small rivers to get here. We walked the last part of the mountain as our van couldnt make it. Carlos, our contact and his son Charlie brought us here. We are the first team to ever stay overnight in this village for ministry. Our host family is Martin and Juana and their 4 daughters, aged 12, 8, 7 and 6. The mother is only 27 years old. We have been helping them finish the roof to their new house that a church team couldnt quite finish when they were here last week. Weve been sanding rust off the metal, and painting. Sometimes we cant work on the roof, for example, one day we ran out of paint and had to wait until we could get some from town. Another day, Martin had to go get corn for the family and was gone the whole day (its a long process here). And another day, he had to fix the leaking water pipes in the road. Things just take a lot longer here and you really appreciate the things you normally take for granted in everyday life.

A couple days ago, we asked Juana if we could help her. She said we could help her pick beans a short walk away. Her girls then told us to bring water because it was an hours walk away. Just a short jaunt.

It was an uphill walk and felt like we were in the jungle in the middle of nowhere. After we tripped and slipped our way along, we came out at a corn field on a steep hill. The beans all grow around the corn stalks, I guess you use less land that way, and its easier to keep track of them. We crawled around on the steep hill picking the purple beans. We gathered a few sacks full & Juana took some corn for dinner & we hiked back. We ate lunch and then went back to shuck the beans for almost 3 hours (that was with 6 adults & 4 children working)! In the end, the family got 2 big baskets of beans which should last them awhile.

I learned what it was like to live a day in a Guatemalan mamas shoes (or bare feet), except Im sure it takes her longer by herself. She is a legend!

Poverty. Can You See It If Its In Your Face?

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Its weird. We are living in our tents on the concrete floor of a church here in the village of El Tabacal. People are telling us we are roughing it. We feel like were roughing it. We sometimes cook our food over a fire, we shower under a tap filled with cold mountain water with people watching us, we go to the bathroom in a squattie outhouse with 3 makeshift walls (one open for all to see), etc.

We get knocks on the door almost every evening with the locals asking us for food so they can eat dinner, sugar for the childrens coffee (its very typical for infants & children to only have tortillas & coffee for meals). I get confused as I see the cell phones everyone carries and I feel like Im being used. I feel like they are asking for food because we are foreigners. I see crops of corn, I see chickens, pigs, etc. & cell phones and I figure they are doing okay. What I find out is, less than 10 years ago, all of the people here lived in the woods or jungle and most lost homes due to mud slides. The people would go for a month at a time without eating anything! Babies would die, people were sick. The government gave them this land where they have been given lots, and will eventually need to pay the government back. The organization, Food For The Poor, gave them a Tilapia farm so that they can have food and a business that will last. The only school is an old chicken coop with desks in it. There is one teacher (aged 21) for 40 students of all different ages (25 that attend regularly).

Its hard. Its sad. And even though Im here to help...the best help I can offer them is to pray. Pray for the Lords healing & provision in their lives. They are amazing people...if you ever get a chance to live in a Guatemalan village....do it!

Tim E. Suarez

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Some of the names we keep calling the city we are in this month are:

Timmy Suarez

Tim E. Shwarez

Teemu Selnne (by me, the hockey fan of course)

Team Salami

etc. etc. etc.

We have been loving Timişoara so far (however we may pronounce it).

We are working with missionaries from Greater Europe Mission, mainly with Dwight & Melissa and with Dawn.

Every morning with Dawn, we take children with disabilities from a local centre to places like the zoo, an indoor playground at the mall, for walks downtown, and even to the circus!!

Gaby & Iosif having fun Walking with Stefie at the zoo (Photo by S.Choe)

In the afternoon we go to The Potter's House to help street children & children from disadvantaged families to do their homework, do their chores, teach them bible stories, help with crafts, games, mealtimes, etc. The kids & staff are so welcoming, you are sure to not leave without many hugs!!

Playing Ducks & Hunters at Potters House (from S. Choe) English Class at Potters House (photo from S. Choe)

A couple people also are helping out with painting at Mana, another organization for helping street children. We also were able to help out with an outreach event with them on Saturday where we were able to help out with giving haircuts, face painting, serving 2 meals, sports & games, music & cleanup.

Brandon (on the left) giving haircuts all day Kyla face painting

Romania...month 1

Fri, 22 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I can tell you that this trip has opened my eyes to the world. I can tell you that I have met a lot of interesting and amazing people in this journey so far.

There is Becky, from Casa Shalom in Bucharest, who wanted to be a missionary in Eastern Europe before it was open for her to come here and then came as soon as she was able and has been here ever since. She used to run a children's home, but the government laws have changed and she can no longer keep running the children's home and so she is slowly saying goodbye to all of the children...some have been reuniting with their families that abandoned them so there has been reconciliation, some going into new homes, some still living at Casa Shalom. The changes in the law don't stop Becky from doing something. She continues to support 100 different children to be able to live at home with their parents in order to prevent them from being abandoned due to lack of finances.

At Casa Shalom, we basically mowed the lawn, painted, fixed bikes, tractors, golf carts, washed chairs, sorted through thousands of boxes of donated clothing, unloaded a 40' container of donated items, and then helped put on a big yard sale/festival to raise money for their ministry. We visited a few villages, a girls home for those who are mentally challenged and also got to fix up and paint a home & yard for an underprivileged family. I want to give & love like Becky does.

We also got to meet Pavel & his mother. Pavel is a 15 year old who had bone cancer when he was younger. They removed the cancer and did a bone graft in his leg...but recently the cancer came back. The doctors wanted to amputate his leg and he was adamant that the Lord would heal him and so they waited. The urgency of the situation was expressed to him by his doctors and so his faith increased. We prayed with Pavel & his mother a few different nights and after Pavel went to the hospital for the results to see if the cancer was gone....they found out it was not and that his leg would need to be amputated and even then they might not be able to remove all of the cancer. I admit I was kind of disappointed to hear that news, but continued to pray for healing. A few days later we found out nonchalantly that Pavel had another test and they found NO cancer!! NONE! He still has an infection in his leg and will need the old bone graft removed...but he is continuing believing that he will be fully healed!

Can you believe it? We asked the Lord for something big...HUGE even...and He did it and then it almost felt as if it was no big deal?! I have seen sooooooo much hurt and poverty and sickness and death in my life and I've seen unanswered prayers and I've felt some situations almost hopeless....but guess what?!? God is a God who heals. I can't explain why or how or when...but He DOES it. What happened when I heard about Pavel's healing is that my faith increased. It lets me know that when I experience sickness or seemingly hopeless situations next time...I want faith like Pavel.

Sometimes a life of faith is unexplainable, but that's why it's called faith, isn't it? Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Heb.11:1). So hope big, and put your faith in the Lord, for He is always good. He is always faithful.

Now my act of faith gets tested already. I am still in need of $1,700 USD for this trip. I am actually behind on the payment schedule and therefore there is a bit of emergency to the situation....but as I said...faith like Pavel...this means that I will trust and put my hope and faith in the Lord for this.

Also, I made this video waaaaay back in Uganga and Sara thinks I should post it...so here goes. :0) hehehe

Video

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I posted a video last week and removed it from my blogs (in case you wondered what happened to it). If you'd still like to see it, you can view by clicking HERE. :0)

Lugansk, Ukraine

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Interesting Things About Lugansk, Ukraine:

- Lugansk is the Russian name, Luhansk is the Ukrainian name.

- People are bilingual (Russian/Ukrainian), but mostly only speak Russian

- It is 20 miles from the Russian border (you can attempt to throw rocks & logs to Russia if you happen to be just a small river away, ask our boys about their attempts)

- It is further east than Moscow

-We had the sweetest, old-school flowered wall paper in our flat

- I've seen stray dogs all around the world, but in Lugansk, they all seemed to be missing parts (fur, eyes, legs, insides, etc.)

- Babushka's are cute and they will typically be selling fake flowers or blood sausage in the bazaar's.

- New Tone is an English school we got to visit quite a bit. They have awesome people there. They get creative in the way they teach students English, like singing songs such as "Hotel California" and "We Are The Champions".

- Most Ukrainians know a lot of history about the city they live in (about the monuments, the buildings, important dates, etc). I believe I would fail miserably in the history department if you came to my hometown for a tour.

- Hosts often give their guests a loaf of bread with salt on the top. The ritual of offering a guest bread and salt is a ceremony of welcome which dates back many centuries. We were welcomed with such a gesture.

- Borsch is awesome. It's a beet soup. Add a dollop of сметана (sour cream) and it's so scrumptious. (Thanks Darcy!!)

- What we call "perogies" at home, they call "vareniki". They are potato filled dumplings.

...India...

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

(Team Lunchbox in Indian attire) (Lower Bazaar in our city)

My India experience was probably different than what most people think of when they think of India. When I was preparing myself for India, I thought I was going to be dripping with sweat everyday and going to have to tell thousands of children following me that I could not give them money. I thought I was going to have to turn off my compassion just to walk down the street. I was expecting a really hard month.

When we got off the plane in Delhi, it seemed my expectations were accurate. Even when we stayed a few days in Dehradun, it was similar. Our first night in town a small child with skin problems and some deformities was literally hanging on Summer's skirt as she was walking until the locals we were with told the child to let go...I was close to tears.

When we finally arrived at our destination in northern India, I had a bit of a culture shock I suppose. It was cold. We were in the Himalayas. We were in a tourist town. It was cleaner than I had expected. Add all of these things up and it doesn't mean an easier life for the people in India. There is a very prominent caste system in which the coolies are hardest working and yet the least paid & least respected.

People somewhat have freedom of choice in which religion they choose, but if they choose Christianity, they are rejected by their family, they are rejected by their village. With their "freedom", they are also subjected to Hindu extremist groups persecution. They don't know if their neighbours or friends will report them or are involved in such groups and therefore need to be careful about who knows information about them. Most people who are believers there, are believers because they have seen some sort of miraculous healing in their life or in the life of a family member. We heard story upon story about people being prayed for and being healed of things like cancer, of severe headaches, of different diseases and sicknesses. When people see the power of God, they clear their house of all of their idols & "gods" and burn them...everything that they knew and relied on is burned because they had an encounter with the one, true God who actually hears them and actually answers prayers, unlike the pieces of wood that they used to pray to.

While we were there, we heard from a village 80km away that a man who was preaching the gospel was taken by a Hindu extremist group. Because of this, we had to change our schedule of what villages we could visit and we could not work with certain organizations or enter certain hospitals, because the locals we were with had told us that it would draw too much attention to have foreigners there.

I was thinking about the freedom we have in North America. We often take that for granted. We have the freedom of choice and often choose to be complacent about life. It's so different after sitting in the homes of those who put their lives at risk just by believing that Jesus is Lord.

So India was a lot different than I had expected...but still eye opening and still life changing. Pray for those who face persecution in India.

(Coolies carrying our packs up the mountain) (Parading around a Hindu idol in the streets)

Isaiah 44:6-22

"This is what the Lord says--Israel's King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let them proclaim it. Let them declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come--yes, let them foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."

All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame. Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit nothing? People like that will be put to shame; skilled workers are only human beings. Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and shame.

The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals; he shapes an idol with hammers, he forges it with the might of his arm. He gets hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint. The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker; he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses. He shapes it in human form, human form in all its glory, that it may dwell in a shrine. He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let is grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow. It is used as fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, "Ah! I am warm; I see the fire." From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, "Save me! You are my god!" They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, "Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?" Such people feed on ashes, a deluded heart misleads them; they cannot save themselves, or say, "Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?"

"Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant. I have made you, you are my servant; Israel, I will not forget you. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you."

(Living in the clouds) (Team Lunchbox at Taj Mahal)

We've Got Banditz In Our Lunchbox!!

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

So this is pay back to the Banditz who stole our Lunchboxes back before Tanzania. Here is our response:

Christi & Lindsay in the classic Rarity tug o' war game

Brandon stylin' the latest in beard accessories

Dan displaying the moustache warmer

Brandon & Dan tug o' war...Lunchbox wins.

This is for stealing our Lunchboxes!!!

Sara tamed the wild stallion and had it doing tricks in no time.

Lindsay joyriding Rarity in her stolen shirt....

We only keep items we eat inside our Lunchbox...

....See???

She IS on the floor and some of our feet ARE touching her.

How's them apples???

Random Africa...

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Well, after being in Africa for 3 months, I've started to get used to things a certain way. Some of the things I have gotten so used to that I might try and incorporate into my life even outside Africa are...

* I'll say "take care" & "sorry, sorry" whenever anyone else trips, falls, steps on thorns, etc.

* I'll secure my house at home with walls covered in shards of glass or a thorn bush fence.

* I will get a keyboard to play diddily's in church during introductions and good words in a sermon.

* I'm going to get myself a beating stick to use on misbehaving animals & children.

* I'm going to put up signs on everything I have that is NOT for sale.

* I will dig a hole in my yard to put all of the trash. Then I will burn it from time to time.

* I will buy a 13-seater van and pack about 30 people in it and drive them around town for cheap.

* I will grow coffee beans and export them all so that I can only drink instant coffee.

* I will only serve meat covered with bones and fat.

* I will whistle instead of saying "excuse me".

* I will ride a bicycle with at least one more person and 300 lbs of supplies on it.

* I will brush my teeth with a stick.

* I will add a "Mzungu tax" to any sort of service or goods that I'll sell.

* I will tell people that the longest way to places is the shortcut.

* I will no longer be using toilet paper and I will dig a 4" wide hole in the ground for bathroom purposes.

I'm sure if you've been to Africa, you will probably find this list amusing. It's all things that you get used to, but at first catches you off guard. I enjoyed my time in Africa, but just wanted to capture the funny side of living there. :0)

We are now in India, living in the north-western Himalayas. It is very cold and the food doesn't sit with me well. :0( But it is beautiful here and we are able to go to individual homes and have "church" with them. We will mostly do home visits and also youth services and church.

David's Story...

Wed, 4 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Tanzania

As I've shared in my previous blogs, door knocking is not my favourite thing to do. In fact, it's far from my favourite thing to do. But this is Africa, the land of hospitality, and everyone here loves visitors...so we do it. We honour the culture and do it.

This one particular day I was partnered up with Tangi and our translator, Innocent. It was our second house that day and we ended up talking with 2 women and 2 men from different houses, but they gathered in the yard to meet with us. The women were Muslim and they just laughed at everything we said. The men (David & Francis) both listened carefully as me and Tangi began explaining to them why we have left our homes to travel this year... we explained what we believe about Jesus and the Bible. We told them that when Jesus died on the cross, it was to offer the gift of salvation. We are offered forgiveness of sins and eternal life. I used Ben's analogy and said "If I hold out 10,000 Shillings to you and tell you it's a gift, you can believe it's a gift, you can see it's a gift, you can even tell people about the gift...but it's never yours until you actually take it from my hand and receive the gift. Jesus is holding out his hand and offering you this gift of forgiveness and of eternal life...will you receive it?" They both said yes, they both accepted the Lord! We invited them to the church for Bible Study that afternoon and to church on Sunday.

Now, in my door knocking experience in Africa, I've also noted that many people are very friendly and tell you things they don't always mean because they think you want to hear it...not always, just sometimes.

On Sunday morning, David (who is 18 years old) showed up to the church and I was completely blown away at what the church did. Pastor Albinus & Mr. Sanga (an elder in the church) were able to talk with David and found out his story about how he accepted the Lord a few days earlier, and they embraced him and introduced him to the church, they prayed for him and they assigned him a spiritual father in the church to help him grow in his faith.

Innocent, our translator, who is also the Praise & Worship leader at church is just a few years older than David and immediately befriended him.

David gets regular visits at home from the pastor & many others.

David also started coming to everything that was happening at the church. You could see how much he felt appreciated and wanted in this new found family. He would come over and visit us during mealtimes at Sanga's house. When we said goodbye to David we had the opportunity to pray for him, especially in the area of funding for his schooling. I just found out today that the day after we prayed over him that he received the full amount of tuition that he needed for school!

I'm impressed by the change that has happened in his life just because this church family really has welcomed him in as a brother and a friend. Love is such a simple gesture with such a huge impact.

To die or not to die...

Tue, 3 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

After our ministry time in Uganda, the whole squad traveled to a town called Jinja to do some crazy white water rafting on the Nile River. I have been white water rafting before and so was excited until I had watched a YouTube video of rafting the Nile. It became something I feared the whole month after watching the video. I decided to brave it out and just do it....got in the raft and went through 3 practice rapids.... we even did a practice raft flip. Well that didn't go over so well for me. I let go of the rope on the boat and ended up underneath the raft and in a panic as I felt limbs flailing & paddles hitting me as everyone was trying to get up to breathe. I tried to surface and hit my head on the raft. I tried to swim out from underneath and found I was going lengthwise instead of widthwise and ended up coming up for air and finding myself hitting the raft AGAIN. I needed air and so I gulped and swallowed a mouthful of Nile River water. I finally poked my head up in a spot under the raft where I could grab a breath and then went back under to find my way out. Finally, I made it out choking and with water in my lungs and knew immediately that in an actual panic situation going down Class 5 rapids on the Nile where you WILL get sucked under for 10-30 seconds at a time until a kayaker will rescue you that I would not do well. I told my guide I wanted out. Yes, I chickened out. During PRACTICE! Hehe. Then a jet boat that was driving by came to my rescue and let me have a sweeeet sweet jet boat ride on the Nile, including being airborne going up the rapids, and doing twists and turns of all kinds. I spent the rest of the day in the town of Jinja full of my own little adventures while the rest of the squad braved the waters of the Nile. :0)

Stories from Uganda...

Mon, 2 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Just catching up on my Uganda blogging....

During one of our door knocking sessions, me and Eddie (one of the youth from the church) were partnered up and found ourselves meeting a Muslim man named Twalib who was very willing to talk with us about his faith. Twalib had much to say and we ended up at his place for close to 2 hours and ended up going home with a booklet from him trying to prove Christians & Jews wrong in their beliefs using only the Qur'an as proof. I took the booklet and told him to read the book of John in the Bible in return. He agreed.

A couple weeks later, I went to return the booklet to him, so I asked Marissa & Neil to go back with me. Before we went to his house, we studied up on Mohammed & Islam and looked at the website www.carm.org and searched Wikipedia, etc just so we would be better prepared. We ended up staying at his house for 3 hours!

Twalib is very nice. He is an artist and ended up giving us each one of his art pieces. Mine was worth $145 USD!! Crazy! We met his mother, auntie, uncle, cousins & sister as well. We had a very interesting chat about Islam & Christianity...he has read the Bible so he knows what we believe but he is a very devout Muslim and our conversation never really got very far. We did challenge him though what his thoughts were on child slavery and of course he is against it, and then we asked why Mohammed would marry a 7 year old girl and get her pregnant at 9 and asked if that was not a form of child slavery. He denied that was true and we told him it's from Mohammed's history. He can simply do a search on Mohammed and see that it is recorded that the child was one of his 15 or so wives. So he invited us to continue emailing him questions to research because he loves to learn.

We left Twalib's place wondering if our conversation was going to change anything. We were glad we prepared but weren't sure how handy it had come in. I was a little disappointed.

After we left, I jumped in a Matatu (taxi) with Marissa to go pick up her dress that she was getting made from a seamstress. She ended up needing to get alterations so we had to wait for a couple hours. I wandered next door to a video library (one of the millions of stores that sells copies of any movie or tv show for about $1 USD...breaking every North American copyright law, but completely legal here as long as they have a license to sell). Inside the store was a girl about 20-25 and her 1 year old baby.

I was chatting and smiling and she told me I was very friendly and asked what I was doing in Uganda. I told her that I came as a Christian Missionary. She said that she believed in Jesus but that she was not a Christian, but a Muslim. I asked if she believed in Jesus as a prophet or as a Saviour and she said she believed him to be the Saviour. This shocked me because this is not an answer a Muslim would give. I found out more about her...her mom is a Christian, but her father is a Muslim. She attended both Christian & Muslim schools as a child. Obviously, she had a very confusing upbringing and had to be different things for her mother and different things for her father. She ended up taking the faith of her father but says that she finds Christians friendly and likes them. I told her all of the things that I had learned on the internet earlier that day as I was studying for my conversation with Twalib. I was able to share with this young woman the differences between Christianity and Islam....I explained how God is a God of Love in the Bible. I explained a testimony I read of an East African man who converted to Christianity from Islam and the 3 things he observed in a Christian friend that made him convert. 1. He was open to discuss questions about religion 2. He loved & showed interest in his wife & children. 3. How he prayed is so different, so free. I emphasized the second point to this girl. I said how I knew that the Qur'an only mentions the name of one woman, Mary, because they believe she was special. I told her though that it's not just Mary that is special. I told her that God created man & woman in his image. The Bible says "husbands, love your wives..." (Eph. 5:25). I explained how God describes the church of believers as THE bride and he is the husband. He speaks how man and woman will become ONE when they are married.....not man, woman, woman, woman and woman will become one. I said that God didn't intend for to be someone's second or third wife. She then said "or fourth wife" and looked down to the floor. She is a man's 4th wife!!

We continued to talk for awhile and I ended up asking her what she believed...not what her mother or father believe, but what is it that she believes. She said she didn't know. I explained what Christ did. Muslims don't believe that Jesus died, never-mind that he was crucified...so I explained that to her and said that when Christ died, he offered forgiveness of sins for free, that it is a gift for her to receive and asked if she wanted to receive the gift from Christ. She said YES. I also let her know that this meant she cannot serve both God and Allah. She said she was ready. I led her in a prayer of repentance and acceptance to become a Christian! I also told her she should attend the Alpha course at a nearby church. She is in need of finances to continue education and to keep her and her baby fed...so I told her Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path". I prayed for finances for her schooling and told her to let the group at the alpha course know her needs and they might know someone who is looking to sponsor someone (that's sometimes how it works here). Please pray for this girl (for her family's acceptance, for her role as wife #4, for her to feel the love of the Father, for her husband & baby, for finances, etc)

I was preparing myself to hopefully win a different Muslim for Christ....but God had other plans and led me to this girl.

Photo Blog

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Beautiful Morogoro, Tanzania

Mountain's of Morogoro.

Tanzanian Sunset

Tangi cutting our Sugar Cane snack.

Karibu to Morogoro!

Mr & Mama Sanga's House (see Sara's blog)

Sara explaining our worship songs

Jeremiah and me in church

Brandon preaching

Morogoro, Tanzania

Sat, 7 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Okay, we're in Morogoro, Tanzania. It's gorgeous! We are surrounded by beautiful mountains.

We are doing a lot of things this month...from visiting secondary schools & universities, to going door to door, leading bible studies, preaching sermons, teaching Sunday school, plus we will be visiting hospitals, etc. And this is only day 4. Wow.

Sorry it's so short, but I am seeing my time run out on the computer!! I'll have a better blog with photo's next time.

CAUGHT ON TAPE!!

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Here is a video blog that I had been trying to post for a month now. It's from our first 3 months of the race.

It's hard to believe now that we are about to head into month 5 in Tanzania on Sunday.

If you haven't heard the news yet, we are all jumbled and twisted up on to new teams. I'm on Team Lunchbox. That's right. I said Lunchbox. You know...we carry the bread of life. Kay, so Team Lunchbox consists of Lindsay, Tangi & Brandon (formerly of Karis); Christi (formerly of Quake), Dan (formerly of Transformers), Sara & Myself (formerly of Dunamis). With our powers combined, we are LUNCHBOX.

I'm doing what?!

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We are here in Kampala, Uganda. It's a million times different than our last month in Lodwar, Kenya. Kampala is tropical, green and lush. We have luxuries such as a flush toilet, a bed, and a free wi-fi signal that if you sit in just the right spot on the balcony, you can get between 1-3 bars of signal. Hooray!

This month we have partnered with the Bugolobi Church of Uganda (Church of the Resurrection) here in the suburb of Bugolobi. They have a vision for their community. Right across the street from the church they have about 5,000 people living in 32 blocks of 960 flats. Their vision is to see a small group (or cell group) form among every 8 flats where they could come together for bible studies, fellowship, etc. We are joining with the vision of the church and especially with the young people of the church to go door-to-door in the flats and see what people believe and ask if they have a few moments for us to share with them about our faith and pray with them, and see what happens from there.

I'm not going to lie...I feel a bit like a Jehovah's Witness or a Mormon this month. I've done more door knocking than I ever would have hoped or dreamed. It's not something I enjoy and not something I am gifted in. But it is something that the church in Africa deems an effective ministry, and since I am not African, I can't argue that...I'm simply here to serve their ministry.

I wake up every morning and ask God for the words to speak to people. I ask that he will go before me to prepare the hearts of the people I will talk to that day. I've also been inspired by some verses in 1 Thes. 2:2-4 "...but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel." v13 "...when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe."

Those verses felt very applicable to what I was doing with the door knocking method of sharing my faith with others. Similar to what Paul wrote in the Bible, we are daring to tell the gospel, sometimes with strong opposition (like when people scream "GOOOOOOO AWAAAAY" at you, or when you meet Muslim's & Hindu's who are very adamant that they will not speak with you.) I also realized that I don't have to feel like I'm forcing anything on them. I know I'm not trying to trick anyone. I'm simply going with the word of God and acting out Mark 16:15 that says, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."

So, I'm stepping out in faith that by doing this seemingly crazy thing...maybe someone will come to faith in Jesus Christ....maybe someone will be healed...maybe someone is thinking about suicide and will change their minds...maybe someone will feel love...maybe someone will have hope. If we don't step out and try...then nothing will ever change in this world.

Chickens, Rifles & Buses...Oh My!

Thu, 1 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Again, another blog worthy bus ride. We finished up our time in Lodwar, Kenya. Spent Christmas Eve partially at the night vigil at one of the churches. The Kenyans are hardcore and were there from 7pm to 6am (we did 9pm to 12:30am) and then we met them again at 6am for baptisms at the river...there were between 50-60 baptisms...mostly the youth. That was definitely a first in all my Christmases thus far.

We also were split up and went to different pastor's houses in the area. I was teamed up with Sara & Neil and we drove to a community called Nabuin, where they don't have vehicles...the huts (made from sticks & grass) are all about 2km apart...and they work hard to farm their maize & sorghum fields by hand. We were able to meet a lot of the church members and pray for their health. We found a lot of people had malaria or were just unwell. Also were asked to pray for finances for schooling. Primary school is free up to Standard 8 (aka: Grade 8), but secondary school costs a lot of money because the students need to attend boarding school. The only way for most kids to attend secondary school is if they have someone decide to sponsor them, so they cherish meeting people and ask you to tell family & friends about them. They send warm greetings to our families at home...and they hope and pray that that meeting might be their chance to get an education, so they in return can provide for their families. Life is definitely difficult for them, but I'm amazed at their hospitality. That though they have little, they give what they have.

Okay, so back to the bus ride...

This bus ride back to our debrief location could take anywhere from 8 to 14 hours. We decided to take the 6pm bus because of the uncertainty of time and because it was at night...so hopefully not so hot & sweaty. The buses in Kenya are equipped with an armed police officer. Ours just happened to be a drunk police officer carrying a rifle. Interesting combination.

I find my seat, which happened to be behind a woman with live chickens as her carry-on....somewhere on the over-packed bus with again my hair being torn out and people body checking me as we go over the bumpiest road I've ever experienced, I start to feel something tickling my feet. I try kicking it out of the way or reaching down from time to time, but felt nothing....finally I get my light out and see that the chicken has found it's way to my feet and it's tail is grazing me on every bump. Dennis kicked it about every 5 minutes so it would not creep any farther back. Not to mention the drunk police officer with the rifle is sitting on an armrest behind me and has rested the rifle in between the seats next to mine & Dennis' heads. And the aisles were again packed with more bodies than the bus should be capable of handling.

We arrived at Kitale at 3am and they opened up the bus ticket office for us to sleep on a couple of benches until we could figure out when we could hop on a bus that would take us to the debrief location. Eventually around 8ish we got on a 15-seater bus with 15 people, packs, carry-ons, guitars, mosquito nets, the works...with my knee dug into the seat in front of me and my head tilted sideways because I am way too tall for the seat...we arrive at almost noon....and now I'm about to crash.

Travel days are always an adventure and I'm wishing I had some of that African resilience right about now as I'm not looking forward to our bus ride to Uganda in 2 days...but I am excited for Uganda. We are going to be working with Team Judah (Janina, Aaron, Steph, Becka, John, Elizabeth, Marisa) in the capital, Kampala and working in the slums and doing door-to-door visits.

The Twelve Days of a Kenyan Christmas

Thu, 1 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A just for fun blog:

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

12 Goats a Slaughtered Neil slaughtered a goat

11 "How are You's??" The only English phrase the children know

10 Fanta Babies Fanta is the only cold drink you can find in Lodwar

9 Hours of Church For the all night vigil at the church Christmas Eve

8 Plates of Ugali Ugali=cornflour & water...a staple food in Kenya

7 Scorpions a Stinging Heck yes we killed a scorpion

6 Squatty Visits Our toilet is a hole in the ground

5 Cockroaches The cockroaches live in the squatty

4 Roosters Crowing For the roosters who woke us up every morning at 4

3 Mosque's a Praying For the Mosque's that woke us up at 5am

2 Mosquito Bites For those Malaria-filled mosquito's

and a Song about Barrack Obama.... For the obsession the Kenyan's have with Obama

Kenya Hear Us, Kenya?!

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Okay, it's our day off and we're found an internet cafe that works decently...so I will attempt another blog.

We are in Lodwar, Kenya. They say that Lodwar is so separated from the rest of Kenya that when someone travels from Lodwar into an urban centre of Kenya, they are actually "going to Kenya". This is the Turkana district. The languages are Turkana, Kiswahili, and English. We are also in the desert and it's very hot here....I think it gets up to 42 degrees Celsius (108 F)

Getting here was an adventure and a half. We left Kijabe (which is close to Nairobi) on a Friday. Our bus was to arrive at 9:30am...it arrived at noon. We got to Eldorret and stayed the night with Pastor William & the rest of our teams being hosted by him. We then we to leave at 6am the next morning to get mosquito nets & sunscreen and then off to Lodwar....and somehow ended up getting in the vehicles to leave at 5:30pm....we then got out of the vehicles and stayed the night again in Eldorret while our packs went ahead of us. We eventually left the next morning on a van to Kitale. We sat on curbsides in Kitale for a few hours (and we used the restrooms in people's hotel rooms) and then hopped on the 9am bus (which we got on again near noon) and there was only 2 seats on the bus for 12 of us and no space for our backpacks & food. Our friend Patrick hopped on the bus and started shifting people and explaining to them that we had bought seats. People started fighting over top of Christi and eventually were kicked off the bus and somehow, someway all 12 of us had a seat somewhere with our stuff on top of us.

The ride is about 350km and took us 9 hours and we picked up about 30 more people who had to stand in the aisles on the bumpiest ride of my life. I had been vomited on, had 2 girls I have never met lay their heads on my lap, my hair pulled on every bump we went over and thought our bus would tip over about 12 times...but it was an adventure!! This is what I had expected the race to be! And I have never been so thankful to walk off a bus before. Praise the Lord through the good times & crazy times. :0)

This past week we have gone out to the desert to the shepherds & their families to go hut to hut evangelizing. The huts are pretty far apart and we would walk up and introduce ourselves and then ask them if they know Jesus Christ as their Saviour (via a translator). Most of them tell us that they do and ask us to pray for them for jobs for the young men and for the health of the babies and the elderly. There is a lot of malaria, pneumonia & malnutrition. They are also desperate for rain, but if it rains, they also get malaria breakouts...so they need to see the Lord provide them rain & protection from disease!

We have also gone back to the desert for women & children's ministry. The women who seem so expressionless when they talk to you, jump up and down and clap and dance in worship like nothing I've seen before. It is amazing to be in the middle of a desert, where they walk for up to 2 hours to find fellowship together and to worship their creator. They have so little and yet they have so much. I feel like they could come to North America and teach us a thing or two.

There is also an orphanage called "House of Hope" that we have gone to a couple times. They have just opened up their doors a month ago and they have 15 children. They have room for a lot more, but they only have funding for 15 so far. Their funding comes from an American company called "Serv International". Most of the kids are orphaned by AIDS and had their grandmothers taking care of them...but the grandmothers are elderly and sick and if something happened to them, the kids would be left with nobody, so the orphanage is making a new life and home for these kids. They treat them as a family and they are the most loving kids ever. The second time we rolled up, they wouldn't even let us out of the vehicle they were jumping all over us and hugging us!

My heart also hurts everyday as I have people walking up to me and say "Mzungu, money" (Mzungu means white person)...and then shows me their thin stomach or the skin & bones of their arms. Their is just too much of a need to hand out 50 Shillings to each person who asks...and the need doesn't just end when you give them money....it's much greater. I don't know the answer, but I know who can answer. These people need our prayers. They need us to do what we can....if we can give through ministries, or churches, of our money or of our time, or through our prayers.....imagine what difference we could make if EVERYBODY DID SOMETHING?!?!

A blogless life

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

So, that wasn't supposed to be ironic. I didn't mean for the blog titled 'A blogless life' actually contained no blog.

Well, just to give an update....we are safe and sound in Kenya and learning to adjust to African time. I love the people, the culture, the hospitality, the food...and I'm excited to see what is going to happen this next month.

My team is going to Lodwar...I don't have a map in front of me, but I believe it's in NW Kenya...apparently it's reallllllly hot there. We'll be living with families there and getting an African tribal name.

I will probably be blogless for a while seeing as the Internet may or may not be available there.

Please pray also for my finances as I'm $4000USD short for raising support on the race. Thank you to all who have gave and are praying for me!

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly of China

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Hello blogging world! I'm baaaaaaccck!! I don't have much time as I'm sitting at a coffee shop in a busy mall in Hong Kong using their free wi-fi to compile my thoughts on China and share them to you through the mind of Brenda....

Let's start with the bad & ugly of China....shall we? At the end of our time in NW China in a city I can't spell the name of (but can tell you where to get the best food), my camera was stolen from me. They left me with the case, however, which I thought was quite thoughtful. But they did get all of my photo's (so don't mind me if I direct you to other people's blogs for photo's or only put up Beijing photo's)....did I also mention that it was stolen the day before my birthday?

So basically that left a bad taste in my mouth. I got on the train to Beijing mad at China and wrote the following in my journal...

"I decided that I hate China. The stealing of the camera mixed with all of the awkward & annoying experiences have just been adding up. Things like the poop filled troughs without doors (aka: squatties) that I stood in to go the bathroom, being stared at, pointed at, being ripped off for food, the driving rules (there are none), the constant honking & blasting karaoke on buses....I've come to the 'I hate China' part of my life. I do know that they need the Lord though. So even as my flesh hates this place right now, the Lord has brought me here to love it anyway. Love the people who he loves...to love those who grow up with no truth. Those who work hard their whole lives to please their parents, their teachers, the government, their ancestors, or their religion. They need truth. They need freedom. I need to forgive the theft of the camera. I need to love where I've been annoyed. I'm here because to LOVE them anyway. China needs to know truth & freedom in Jesus Christ!!!"

My anger turned into prayer and love and hope for a nation I was mad at for a couple of days. Now that I think about it...I think China is amazing and I would love to return.

On the good side (I like to end with a good side)...we met a man named "Mark" on a very random day. A day where a crowd gathered around Dennis, Carly & I and we found Mark to be the only English speaker. He led us to a school where we met teachers & spoke to an English class, ate lunch together and then met up later with the rest of our team where we toured a mosque, a villagers home, and had dinner where Mark shared with us about his life's perspective and the struggles he faced and what he believed. He in return asked us the same (answering our prayer earlier that he would ask us because at this point we weren't sure if he was working for the government or not)...and we shared the gospel with him and he was ready to receive it at our dinner table in some extremely long winded and hard to pronounce town somewhere in China! We took him back to our hostel and taught him to pray, gave him a Bible and to share what he knew. Please pray for Mark and his journey in China.

We also did a lot of prayer walks, praying in temples & mosques to the one true God. We would play with kids and pray over them out loud. We blessed the towns we visited and the people we met. Communication barrier was there, but love is communicated with smiles and without words.

Tomorrow we fly to Kenya. Please pray for us. I have one more blog I hope to post before we go, but free wi-fi means slow wi-fi. Bear with me.

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly of China

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Tomorrow we fly to Kenya. Please pray for us. I have one more blog I hope to post before we go, but free wi-fi means slow wi-fi. Bear with me.

so long philippines...

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

So I'm no longer in the Philippines. It's hard to believe that a month has already passed by. My time there was great. I feel like I carry a piece of Cuatro in my heart and would love to one day come back and visit the beautiful people that I met. The kids in the nursery were precious. The ladies at the prison were inspirational. The experiences...unforgettable. I wish I had more words to describe it for you. Here are some photo's of the little faces I was privileged to know and love this past month.

Daniel Moses

Me & Angel (she was photographer) CoyCoy (read Carly's blog for his story)

Now we are moving on to our next destination. It should be an amazing time! We will have no internet access for the month, so this will be my last blog until I can get on again. Please be in prayer for our squad and my team as we prepare to leave in a few days. In the meantime, here are some snapshots of our "race day" in HK! Please feel free to keep emailing or commenting!! :0)

Beautiful skyline You'd better believe it's Bruce Lee

Okay, so not race day...but Karaoke fun during debrief

Does the word 'Blog' sound weird?!

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

So I'm finally updating my blog. I'm probably the worst blogger on this site. I apologize. I guess I need to look at it as writing an email to an old friend instead of thinking too much about it, which I've been doing and therefore, never finishing.

I'm going to just go ahead and talk about my experiences, thoughts & ministry updates from our first 3 weeks here in the Philippines.

Last week I got to go to a women's prison with 3 other girls and the women there are incredibly open and loving and it was easy to build a friendship with these woman after only an hour! Every morning they do a memory verse and praise song. There is a woman, Pearla, who grew up in a Baptist family and said that she knows it was her family's prayers that helped her find the Lord in prison 2 years earlier. She asked that I would pray for her and for her 3 children and 1 grandchild...and that when she is released from prison that she will be strong and teach others what she has learned. The woman sleep on bunk beds (3 high) that are made of a board. No mattresses and all of their belongings hang around them or are on the bed. It's funny in what seems like such a depressing place, a lot of the women (not all of them though) find their hope and joy in Jesus Christ. Their joy brings life to the dingy, dirty cell that they live in. We got the opportunity to go into the cell and pray with a woman who was severely sick with asthma. I heard a report that the girls who went back there today said that she is better!! She isn't keeled over on her bed fighting to breathe anymore!! Thank the Lord for his healing!

We so far have built a sidewalk for the community and are now painting at the Children's Home transforming the old kitchen into a living room for the girls. Also, I have been watching the babies in the nursery at the orphanage. There are 8 of them (ranging in age from 2 months to 3 years) and they typically only have 1 staff per shift for all of them. We are trying to help and release the staff to have a bit of a break as they work a 6 day work week. The babies are so lovable!! It is a great opportunity to pray over these kids...it makes you feel like family to them when you get to be a part of their lives.

Ben & I got the opportunity to go to Baguio (about 5 hours north) to help launch The Jeepney Magazine there along with Jeepney staff, Reah & Edna. The Jeepney Magazine is actually the first street magazine in the Philippines. It's purpose is to create employment opportunities for the homeless, or those who cannot earn enough money to care for their families. The vendors are given 10 magazines as start up capital and they sell them for 100 Pesos. When they need more magazines, they buy them for 50 Pesos from Jeepney. If they can sell 10 magazines a day, they can earn 250 Pesos (which is like $5.50USD) which is twice the amount they would make at a construction job. My job was to help the vendors sell their first magazine and to distribute the magazine to magazine/newspaper stands and also to present advertising packages to businesses who care about improving their communities and the lives of Filipino's. Please pray that this magazine takes off and please visit their website at www.thejeepney.com!!

Mega Living

Mon, 6 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

So Sunday included going to a Mega Church and a Mega Mall. I thought it deserved a Mega Video. Enjoy!

What can I buy for a million peso's?

Fri, 3 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

So I don't have a million peso's...but if I would like to donate it to this ministry we are staying with here in Manila. KIM (Kids International Ministries -- www.kidsinternationalministries.org). They are an example of what happens when LOVE happens to people. In a place where opportunities to help the poor, feed the hungry, hug the orphan are endless. A place where you could get overwhelmed by it all and quit before you even know where to begin....KIM seems like an amazing place to start. They want to be a difference here in Cuatro. They are full of vision and hope for this community. They see the individual child among the 200,000 street kids here in Manila.

I feel like I'm about to learn a whole lot from the people that I will meet here. I'm on night shift with Carly tomorrow night to feed, hold and pray over the babies in the nursery at the orphanage. I can't wait to start!

The Lord has been doing amazing things among our squad here in the Philippines. We have come together like family. We have our amazing coaches and squad leader & others working with us and for us to see us be all that God wants us to be. To be more and more like Jesus. It's the beginning of an amazing journey.....

Welcome!!!

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Hello!

I couldn't figure out what to type as a welcome message on my blog...so I made a video! :0)

I will eventually fill in "My Story" soon...stay tuned!