Heading East

Greetings To All:

Happy belated Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to all! How in the wide world are you? We are doing well. Since we arrived back in the states and recovered from jetlag we have been busy, yet not. Make sense? For Thanksgiving we shared bird and lamb with Mike and Nikki Beachy, who hosted, and other transients on the base. Our contributions to the meal were corn casserole, sweet potato casserole, and pumpkin cheesecake casserole. Well, the cheesecake wasn't a casserole. Everyone had a good meal and fellowship. A couple of days later Kathy requested that I make another cheesecake for her and a friend of ours that didn't make it to the meal. After setting aside slices for them I allowed others on the base to help themselves. It didn't last longer than two days. Don't worry, some of you will get to experience the wonderful sensation and experience that is the cheesecake. Lynette S. I have a special slice just for you.

What else have we been doing? Leaves. Lots of leaves to rake and pick up. Despite my natural aversion to such activity I pitched in. I've been volunteering for the past couple of weeks with the base maintenance crew, which is minimal right now. I've done some other things for them besides just raking leaves. Kathy helped in the kitchen with some holiday baking. She also recruited our guest for the week, Lynette Miller, to help with that. They both had a blast. The two of them took a morning to go to Silver Falls State Park. Included are some pictures of that trip. Dakota has been having fun going to the classroom for "school" with Mary. She really enjoys playing there with a couple of other children of staff. She does miss Drew Beachy who is in China right now. "Play Drew," are some of the first words she says in the day. Oh, Dakota is also busy getting aquainted with the potty. Twice now she has gone peepee on the big potty! She was duly rewarded. I'm sure she will be glad to know some day that her daddy mentioned that on the world wide web.

So this Saturday we will be in IN. We will get to see some of you who are reading this. Late Saturday night is when we will actually arrive at my folks' place, which is where we will be staying. Normally I would comment on the difference in weather at this point, but we will be shivering right there with you. Here in Salem it is getting colder, but the highs have still been in the high 40s to low 50s. That's nice.

Our thougths and prayers have been on our future. Most of you have gotten our latest newsletter by now. Our hopes are still to move to Beijing in late February, and we are doing what we can to move towards that. Please join us in prayer and support during this time. We also look forward to hearing what your lives have been like in the past 6.5 months. In a short while we can discuss life and dreams over a hot cup of coffee together. For this entry I feel it is appropriate to end with: see you later.

God's Blessings To You,

Carson, Kathy, Dakota

Back In The U.S.of A.

Greetings To All:
How in the wide world are you? We are doing well. Last night at about 7:30 we arrived on the Salem base! After many hours of travel we made it. I'm going to take this time to brag on our daughter. She did fantastic!!! From the taxi ride to the Beijing airport to the ride from the Portland airport to Salem she was a wonderful traveler! The layovers in Seoul and San Fransisco wore Kathy and I down a little bit, but that might be because we know that flying does not REQUIRE those kinds of layover. Dakota has an advantage in that area: she has no prior experience to compare these experiences with. She doesn't know that it could even be another way. Isn't she lucky? Oh, the simplicity of a child. Hey, didn't Some One at some point tell us to be like children? Hmmmm.
Other than being awake between 3:00 and 4:00 this morning, I foresee the adjustment to this time zone being fairly smooth. The time frame above is for the girls. I am still up (6:39 a.m.). So what does one do in this situation? Pray, read, do laundry, journal, and update a blog. I'm enjoying this a little bit. Oh am I gonna sleep well tonight!
Our time in China was excellent! As mentioned in the last entry, "Ketchup On Noodles", God revealed some things to us while we were there. One experience I forgot to mention, and will do so now, was our apartment guests for the last three nights. A team of six YWAMers from Indonesia were coming through Beijing on their way to Inner Mongolia for their Outreach. Where we were staying was a place that is kept for those kinds of circumstances, and for those like ours. So, we were one happy, international family. They were very thankful to be sharing the apartment with us, and we were very blessed to see how God is moving people from other countries of this tiny planet. They of course fell in love with Dakota, and she warmed right up to them. I will post a picture of them in another "photo only" entry that may get done later today.
At some point this week we will be having debriefing meetings about our Outreach. We'll also catch up with some friends that are still here on base. I'll need to get my driver's license renewed. This will be the third state from which I will have received a driver's license (IN, FL, OR.) Isn't that exciting? We also hope to get a hard-copy newsletter out to people before the Thanksgiving holiday. Oh, we'll also get the privilege of driving a vehicle ourselves! Which side of the road is correct? I'm sure I'll find out one way or another. Hopefully the OR BMV doesn't make me take a test.
Well, while the girls sleep, I will go have breakfast. There will be different faces and I'm sure lots of questions asked. I think I'll make it through okay. This morning I have the advantage of being awake for four-and-a-half hours already. As always, we'll leave the light on for you. Oh, wait, that's some one else's saying. As always, thanks for catching up on us, and please drop us a message about what you are doing. I encourage each of you to bechildlike at some point today. So, when you're in Wal-Mart and people wonder why you are rolling around on the floor crying, simply encourage them to be more childlike.
God Bless You,
Carson, Kathy, Dakota

Ketchup on Noodles

Greetings To All:

How in the wide world are you? On this side of the Pacific Ocean life is good. We seem to be in near-constant motion. In approximately forty hours we will be headed back to the states. The time spent here in Beijing has been uplifting and hope-building. As Kathy and I both feel at home here, it's hard not to make any decisions about our future solely based on our feelings. What is truly important is knowing where God wants us to be. Will you please join us in continuing to pray for our future. I know that is a bit vague, so I'll give you a little more direction (and then maybe you can help give us some.) We would like to have a sound financial support system. We would like to be a part of a team here in Beijing. We would like to have "clear" direction for being here.

Some items listed above have been made more apparent since we've been here. There is a (small) team from our organization, and they would love to have us as a part of their team. They are very supportive of eachother in pursuing the individual calling that each of them has on their life. I visited a university that has a good Chinese language department. That seems like a very good prospect for me to learn the language. (Kathy won't have to order our food and tell the taxi driver where we're going all the time herself.) The program I would like to join starts in the second week of March 09. Kathy would enjoy helping one of the team members with tasks for which she desires help. Being together as a family in this city has felt natural.

We are aware of the financial situation across the country. Understatement: not good. It certainly has worsened since we left for Oregon. But, as we reflect on that time in our lives, we know we were very blessed to have been so strongly supported financially! Those times were not as bad as the current situation, but they weren't exactly easy. As we stepped out to do what God called us to do, He provided. We believe He wants to again. Hey, gas prices below $2.00 again? Awesome.

On the lighter side. Tonight at dinner Kathy ordered a noodle dish that had a red sauce. After it arrived she wanted more sauce. The waitress took it and brought it back with ketchup poured on top of the dish. As much as she argued, Kathy couldn't get them to change it. Chaulk that one up to cultural differences. Another unrelated story: this morning after church (one that is only for foreigners) three people approached us and asked if they could take Dakota's picture. (What's new?) But these three people handed me a card that said they were an agency representing foreign actors. Ah, a star is born. I told them that we were leaving in two days and that we may be back in March. They wanted to keep in touch.

Well, the next time we contact any of you will be stateside. It almost seems surreal. But, our path has not come to a lengthy resting place, yet. Each step of the way so far has had its blessings; some we have to look harder for than others, but they are there. Thank you for taking the time to catch up with us! Send us a line to let us know what is going on with you. Sorry, we don't have any videos this time. You'll have to settle for still pictures only. Maybe you can look at them while you listen to a cassette tape. (Hopefully at least some of you understand my sense of humor.) Enjoy!

God's Blessings To You,

Carson, Kathy, Dakota

Oh, The Places We Go

Greetings To All:

Sorry, we haven't updated this blog in a little while. I meant to do it this past Wednesday, but I was unexpectedly busy. I wasn't able to get online while I was at the hospital. Calm down, I was there with some one else of no relation. Our friend/hostess, Carolyn Foster, knocked on our door in the afternoon and asked for my help. A neighbor boy fell and broke his arm. I went upstairs, splinted the arm, carried him to the taxi, and then took him into the hospital. As it turns out, he broke both bones in his forearm. For a seven year old, he did remarkably well.

What else have we been up to? Yesterday we as a family went to Tiananmen Square. Neither one of us feel like doing a lot of touristy things, but I did want to visit that place. The video with this entry is of Dakota being the center of attention while we were there. A lady asked if her little son could have his picture taken with Dakota. We said yes, and the two children started playing. Well, more and more people wanted to see the children playing, and then a good-sized crowd started gathering. Eventually two uniformed guards walked over and dispersed everyone. In a picture and the video the boy Dakota is playing with is wearing split-pants. We've seen several small children wearing those. No, we are not thinking of buying any for Dakota.

We are enjoyng this time together as a family. The traveling has worn us down a little. It has been just over five months since we have had a place to call "ours". We both miss that. Here in Beijing our friends have put us up in a fully furnished apartment by ourselves. Waking up and being able to have breakfast when convenient for us is a rediscovered treasure. Dakota has been a wonderful little traveler on this past leg of our journey. She slept for most of the overnight train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, entertained people in the Bangkok airport, and then slept for most of the flight from Bangkok to Beijing. All along the way people have stopped us and asked if they could take Dakota's picture. We have yet to see any royalties from the pics. Hopefully they will be in the mail soon.

I know that in a previous entry I mentioned that I would like to visit the city of Harbin while in China. At this point it doesn't look like it will happen. It's one less overnight train that we won't have to take. We will be exploring schooling and housing options here in Beijing. It's been simply delightful to see different parts of the city. Kathy has been a wonderful guide. Finally I have the opportunity to experience this with her.

As always, thank you for keeping up with us here on the world wide web. Keep us posted on your lives, please. We'll update you on any other trips to the hospital and other adventures we embark upon. In a city of several million people something is bound to happen.

God's Blessings To You,

Carson, Kathy, Dakota

Farang

Greetings To All:

How in the wide world are you? Hopefully you are doing well. As is par for the course on this trip, our plans changed. We are back in Chiang Mai several days earlier than what we once thought. The main reason: mode of transportation. But, that is another entry for another time. Let's talk about family, shall we? Since I'm the one writing this, we shall.

I am farang. It is because I am of different color. It is because I speak a different language. It is because I come from a different land. It is because I am of different culture. It is because I am of different religion. There are so many reasons I am farang. This longing for and finding, at least a sense of, it not the actual presence of, belonging is very powerful. So many factors seem to play against us discovering that phenomenom that we may just give up. Why even bother wanting to be a part of anything? What do we want to be a part of anyway? Some people may say: other people who think/live/look like us. But I don't think that is enough. There is something more raw than that. People with whom we share beliefs, core beliefs, will help fulfill that need in our lives more than any of the other superficial reasons can. Some of the time people find that in families.

When we speak of the family of God we have a good sense of what it means to be a part of a family. Most of us have them. But what I mentioned in the above paragraph may not be found in our earthly families. When some one decides to live for God and be open to doing what He wants done, there is something that is shared with others of the same following/calling. Suddenly, there is an awareness of the attraction and connection with other people. A bond is formed on a deeper level than is normally addressed. It's almost like they're . . . . family.

All this to say that despite all of the differences Kathy, Dakota, and I had with the children and staff of the Musekee Center we felt like family with them. Siami, the lady who started the center isn't even Thai; she's Indian. And there was another couple there (who need to have a book written about them), who are both Australian, that we connected with. Despite age, culture, and different life experiences among us, it felt as if we were among family there on that mountain in the far north of Thailand. The belief, faith, and trust in our Father that we all shared caused a bond to be formed that will not fade. I have found that we can be in the middle of nowhere and still feel like we're among family. And that is because we belong to the family of God.

Siami is the older, dark complected woman in the first video with the children singing. Don and Kay Fox are the Australian couple I mentioned, and he is the hairless gentleman wearing the red shirt in the first video. The song being sung is one that Siami made up to welcome people to her center.

"What is the center?" you ask. It is a place that school aged children live (away from their home villages) so they can be close enough to a school to attend. Also, the children are sponsored through Don and Kay's nonprofit organization "Handclasp" so that they can have money to attend school and have the proper uniforms. There almost sixty children who live while school is in session. They travel to and from school every day to this center. Musekee is a Karen area, and that is the ethnic group of these children. (They are Thai citizens.) While we were there the children were back in their villages for a national school break. But, for three days there was a Bible School that we helped with that hosted almost fifty children. We mainly helped teach them English. Somehow we were qualified to do that. On Saturday we were privileged to attend a wedding that had some traditional aspects to it. (The start of the wedding is what the second video is showing.) That was pretty neat. When we get to see or talk with you in person we would be more than happy to tell you more about this past week in Musekee. There simply isn't enough time and space to do it now. I bet you even stopped reading this two minutes ago. So why am I still typing? Optimism.

The picture of Dakota with the pair of twins is showing what she did for a lot of the week. They were her playmates. They are seven year olds who do live at the center because they were adopted by Siami. Named Yupii and Yupah, the loved to play with Dakota. Dakota would say, "Play pii pah.", which translates into,"I want to play with Yupii and Yupah." Finally, some one who could match her energy level.

Well, until we hear from you or you hear from us again, have a blessed day. Oh, thanks for all of your comments. We'll keep begging for you to leave more comments because it seems to work. And when you step out of your door today, and possibly end up on the side of a remote mountain in a foreign country or just across town, remember that family may not be only those people who are or have been under your same roof.

Blessings To All,

Carson, Kathy, Dakota

(Along With The Entry Below)

To Musakee And Beyond

Greetings To All:
Wow. I almost don't know what to say right now. But, wow. Today (Friday) is our last day in Chiang Mai for two weeks. Tomorrow we leave for a smaller town for the remainder of our Outreach. What will we be doing? We still don't know. It's almost like the "Missions Mafia": a van will pull up in the morning and we're supposed to get in it to go to an undisclosed location and do undisclosed acts of service. Well, maybe it's not that bad. We are all having mixed feelings about this transition. There are a lot of unanswered questions we have about this situation. And it's not that we didn't ask them; it's that they were not able to be answered. The reasons behind that are unclear. But, I digress. . . .
This morning we took the Home of Joy kids to the public pool for our last ministry time with them. They really love to swim! For a couple of them, their times there gave them new confidence in their abilities to swim for longer distances. Sidebar: did I say the ages of the kids yet? If I didn't, or if I told some of you different than what I'm about to write, the ages are: three six year olds, two five year olds, and three four year olds. After swimming we were invited to stay for lunch at the Home. Before we ate, one of the four year olds named Gong prayed. Kathy got it on video, and I'm going to try to post it with this entry. (Yes, he really did sit of the wall like the video shows. It's a meditation technique that the kids learn.) It was a very sweet prayer. In a way it seems like we spent more than two weeks with the kids, but in a way it doesn't. (Figure that one out.) Dakota, as always, loved the pool. There is a section that is only a foot deep that she loves to play in. She's really cute in her swimsuit!
So, once we get back from Musakee two weeks from today, we will stay here in Chiang Mai for one or two nights before we catch a night train to Bangkok on that Saturday night. We as a family will have to get a hotel room for Sunday night because our plane for Beijing doesn't leave until Monday. Beijing will be a time of relaxation and exploration for us. Where are we going to explore? A trip to Russia for me is no longer on the table for this visit. We do feel like we are being lead to investigate Harbin, China. It is a city northeast of Beijing, population about four million, and has a large Russian influence. What we are going to look for is a language university for me to study Chinese and possibly find a private tutor for me to learn Russian. Kathy is also thinking about a private tutor for brushing up on her Chinese. Living arrangements will also be looked at. A language university there has a program that begins March 2009 that we are praying about for me to attend. (If any of this is repeat information for you, sorry. But thanks for bearing with me.) All the while we will be looking for those valuable relationships to form with people whose lives we will come into contact with.
We are asking you for your prayers to receive clarity in what God has for us in the next several months. We feel that overseas work is where we are meant to be, but what that looks like, we don't know as of yet. Along with that we also ask that you begin praying about supporting us financially on a monthly basis. When we get specific numbers, we will pass that information on to you. We would also like to send out a newsletter in the near future; we would like to do that via "snail mail"(sorry, aunt Becky.) Any questions you have for us, we would love to hear and answer if we can. If any of you would like to come over tonight to help us finish packing, you are more than welcome. Packing, unpacking, and then packing again is really beginning to get old.
Once again, we thank you for your support. Please let us know what is going on with you.
God's Blessings On You,
Carson, Kathy, Dakota

Wide World of Missions

Greetings To All:
Sorry, I know it's been a while since the last update. Some may be wondering if we're still in Thailand. Yes, we are still in Chiang Mai. What are we doing? What have we been doing? Are there pictures? How's Dakota? How much longer will we be here? Questions, questions, questions. If either one of us held any answers to anything, we would let you know. Oh, I do have an answer, sort of: there are no pictures (for now.) We'll put some new ones up at a later time. (It's a little game we like to play in order to make you keep checking our blog.) Oh, and Dakota is doing fine.
For this past week and this coming week our group is spending time with the orphans from the Home of Joy. Yes, the same children we took to the zoo on that one Saturday. We've taken them to a swimming pool, the library, the park, and played with them in their home. After one week they are starting to warm up to us a little. There are seven boys and one girl. You all can probably imagine the energy level in that home. Their hesitancy to relate to new people has led me to reflect on how I involve myself in forming new relationships. At first I don't want to throw myself out into the relationship arena and simply stay to myself. I wonder if the people in the arena are trustworthy. If they are, then I might put myself out there. Security is involved. When some one is available to interact with me in a positive way (I wouldn't have attempted to interact if I knew it wasn't going to be positive) I will pursue the relationship. Of course at first progress will be slow. Eventually it will speed up. Then it will slow down. Then it speed up.

If I can get to a more personal note (I'll get back to news later) I'll explain how the speed of development changes. For me, and I suspect a lot of us, it has to do with conflict. And not just conflict, but the ability of all involved in the relationship to handle conflict. If through conflict promises are made, but then after the conflict they are not acted upon, the relationship will probably not grow as fast if at all. The broken promise doesn't promote trust. "Sit in your seat and you can have a candy." If the child sits in the seat, and doesn't receive the candy, how would that relationship be strengthened? (Of course, asking a five year old boy to sit in a seat doesn't involve only asking once.) If there is no conflict, then there might not be any growth. There might actually be separation. When the parties involved are not asked to examine themselves and their lives, they may stay in a rut. Two ruts from the same cart rarely cross each others' path; they rarely come together. (If they ever have, I'd like to see the cart.) After all of that, then I wonder about the length of time the relationship may last. The longer it may last, the more likely I am to become involved in a deeper level. I'm not saying this is right; I'm saying this is the way I view it.
Okay, back on track. This coming week we will be doing most of the same things with the children again. On Saturday we will be leaving for Musakee (sp?). That is another town about four hours away from here. What will be doing there? We polled 100 people and their answers have been recorded. Survey says: no idea. We'll be there for almost two full weeks, and then we head back to Bangkok, and then we as a family fly to China. Oh, last Thursday we had to run to the border to get our visas renewed. So, each of us has actually set foot in Myanmar. On the way to the border Dakota threw up in the van. Kathy was in the front seat holding her, and she threw up a lot. We think it was from having orange juice and dairy in her little tummy. She did fine the rest of the trip. We have been blessed with how well she handles most travel. She has her moments, but for a vast majority of the time she does well. Praise God.
Well, that is all for now. If we can get internet connection in our room again, we'll post some pictures. Thanks for reading our entries and keeping up with our lives. We would also like to hear from you, and not just what you think about our blog. Please keep emailing us.

God Bless You,

Carson, Kathy, Dakota

What Bamboo Can Do For You

To All:

Greetings from Chiang Mai on a Sunday afternoon. What has our life been like in the past week? Well, I'll tell you. Dogs barking. Roosters crowing. But enough about our alarm clocks, I'll get to the meat of the letter. This past Tuesday morning I, Carson, left for another two-night village trip with the rest of our group. Kathy and Dakota got to have some quality mommy/daughter time for those two days. These villages were "more" modern than the first two in that they were connected to the world with their electricity. In the first village we saw how tradition met the modern world. With their electricity they operated a bamboo cutting machine. And then with the 1/8" X 1/8" X 5' bamboo pieces they wove baskets by hand. I got a series of three videos with my camera of a local women weaving a basket about the size of a bushel basket in twelve minutes. That was pretty neat to see. They also use bamboo for their homes, mats to sit/lie on, woven tightly enough they can make cups and bowls, bird/chicken cages, and they can even eat bamboo shoots. Oh, they also eat the tiny grubs that are found around bamboo. Yes, I tried one. (Just one.) Bamboo is very versatile. Plus, it is very pretty scenery if used for landscaping. I would love to grow it someday.

In the other village we visited there is revival going on. The Holy Spirit is moving through them in powerful way. People are repenting and evangelizing. They have land cleared in order to build a new church. With seventy people in the village, can you guess how many people they are building the church for? Three hundred! Talk about an act of faith in/obedience to God! The pastor dreams of neighboring villages joining us in God's Family. He is not simply saying,"If we build it, they will come." But rather,"If we build, we will have a place to bring the people we reach for Jesus. God is working and we are partnering with Him." We were there on a Wednesday night. As part of the service I gave the message. I know, I know, it may not seem normal for me to do that. But I thought it went well. It was not a testimony of my life. It was a message on being soldiers. We are in a war whether we like it or not. Soldiers have weapons, they have enemies, they actively engage in war, and they don't do it alone. That was my first "official" message. I wasn't even planning on speaking that night, but on the way to the village I felt God was giving me that message to share with those people. And when I was done, one lady came forward and shared how what I said is what she was needing to hear from God at that time. I love how He works! That one response made the whole message seem valid (not that it wasn't anyway.) There is a picture of me delivering this message with this entry.

Yesterday our group took some local orphans to the zoo. This was also Dakota's first trip. All the kids seemed to love it. Dakota also loved it. There are a couple pictures of her below this entry. What is hard to process for Kathy and me is the lack of long-lasting relationship with these kids. That has however spoken to us in a different way. We feel called to be in a place (we don't know where yet) where we can form those lasting relationships. A time and place where we can plug into other peoples' everyday lives for an extended/indefinite period of time. The kids we took to the zoo had been there before, because other groups like ours have come here, and among other things, taken these kids to the zoo. It's just a quick trip and then we may not do anything else with them. Granted, while we were still in Salem our group thought we were coming here primarily work with these kids, but when we got here, some one planned other stuff for us to do. (That's another entry for another time.)

Kathy is giving a brief testimony of her life tonight at an evening service here at the local church. It's been a while since she has had to use a translator. And it probably won't be the last. This past Friday Kathy went to the hospital again to visit children. That has been one of favorite activities here. The children enjoy the company.

Well, I could probably write for another hour if I tapped any more of memory, but I'll end this entry shortly. Please check out the latest pics before and after this entry. Oh, feel free to leave a comment. It's nice to know that people are reading this (special thanks to Jen B. and Jon D.) But we do appreciate your checking in on us and the prayers you say for us. It's not just through the internet that we feel close to you; it's through the Holy Spirit. When you find yourself in a hard time in life, remember you can try to use bamboo in one of it's many functions to solve your problem(s). Or, a more effective method of problem-solving is to rely on God and our fellow believers.

God Blesses Each of His Children,

Carson, Kathy, Dakota

New Pics

These pictures go along with the other pictures and the entry below.

(Not "The")Village People

Greetings To One And All,

Whew! This past weekend seemed to be really busy. However, what is considered "busy" by western standards and Thai standards differs. Our group traveled north to visit some hilltribe village people. We drove by truck and van for four hours to get there. The two villages were only about a ten minute walk apart from one another, but they are still considered two separate villages. What did I (Carson) expect to see there before we left? Well, I was thinking it would be primitive. Part of that is because of the information I received from our leaders before we left. So, were they? Compared to us, yes. As what we think of caveman days? Not by any means. The Thai government takes care of its people. There is a program to bring solar panels to people who live in the hill villages. So, the villages had those by almost every house. And what comes along with electricity? TV. That was somewhat hard for me to see. Why? I don't exactly know why, it just was. But the people there were very hospitable. Their main form of financial support is the crops the grow: corn, lychees, and peanuts. They harvest their crops and then sell them to some one who takes them to market. All of the kids walk down to the (paved)road and all of them cram into the truck taxi to drive about one hour to get to school. The truck taxi is one of the smaller Isuzu or Nissan trucks from the 80's. There are sides that go up from around the bed and join to form a roof over the bed, and there are bench seats along both sides. (We have ridden in several of those since being in Thailand.) In total there are about 25 kids. They enjoyed the games we played and songs we sang while we were there Saturday afternoon. That night we were in charge of the church service. I gave a short testimony followed by a brief message from another member of our group. What an experience that was! I spoke in English to a lady who went with us, who translated into Thai to the village pastor, who translated it into the local dialect. (There is a picture of a group member in this same scenario with this blog.) Sunday morning we gave another service, and then drove down the hill to another village. Sunday night we gave another service at that village church. In all we were gone for two-and-a-half days and two nights. I now have another least favorite way to be woken up in the morning. Behind a ringing phone in first place, a dog barking in second, and a vehicle honking in third, I place five roosters crowing. Oh, my word! For some reason it wasn't as glamourous as some farm people make it out to be.

One of the main nuggets of insight I walked away with from this trip is this: even in remote villages that are not completely modernized, the people share some of the same problems, emotions, and desires that we do. For instance, we saw a grandfather holding a tiny baby. As we talked with him, he told us that the baby's mother left the village shortly after birth. And the baby's father, the man's son, went to look for another mother. We didn't find out exactly why the mother left, but she did leave. Saturday night some of the village girls performed a dance for us. Instead of cheery, bright faces, half of the eight eleven-year-old girls looked like they would rather have been cleaning up after the pigs. Saturday afternoon as we were walking from hut to hut each on of our group members had a child there to hold our hand. I was doubly blessed because two boys, about six years old, each grabbed one of my hands. They kept standing real close to me and seeing how tall they were compared to me. I joked with a group member that my local village name would be "measuring stick."

Another thought that came to me on the drive back to Chiang Mai was this: as we each pursue our own idea of happiness, why wouldn't we want to take other people on that journey with us? Buddhism focuses on the self. What I do for other people is only so I will receive good from people. I wouldn't care what happened to them as long as something good happened to me. Karma. If what we pursue as happiness is soooo awesome, then why wouldn't we want to share it with others? We, as followers of Jesus, share the happiness of forgiveness and love. We do so not to receive in return, but to pass on what has been given to us. It's not just a better life for me that I seek; it is a better life for those I encounter that I seek. As each one of us has been blessed and continues to be blessed, let us pass it on to others for their well-being, not ours.

While I was away, the girls did play. Kathy and Dakota stayed behind from this village trip. Over the weekend they spent time with the local pastor, Gampon, and a long-term missionary, Anne, who lives here in Chiang Mai. (Gampon's wife, Miriam, and Anne's husband, Sean, were on our trip as translators.) Along with the helpful conversations Kathy had with both of them, she and Anne visited the "Walking Street" Sunday market. One of the streets in the middle of the "ancient" city is closed down and vendors bring out their wares. Kathy really enjoyed it. Also, Gampon and his two boys took Kathy and Dakota to a mall where there is an indoor play center for kids. Dakota absolutely loved it! We went there today as a family because we had a free day to do as we pleased. We also walked around different parts of Chiang Mai.

Along with this entry are photos and a video(hopefully) of the village and Dakota's time of fun in the pool of balls. God bless each one of you, and may each one of you be a blessing to some one else today. Thank You for keeping up with us.

Carson, Kathy, Dakota

Dateline: Bangkok

To All,

We made it! Bangkok, Thailand, here we are. Even though we are leaving for Chiang Mai at five this evening, we have been in Bangkok for the past two nights. We've gotten an excellent taste of the local food (love it!) As far as the culture as a whole, we will get a better feel for it when we are in Chriang Mai for a longer stay. Today the rest of the group went on a Temple tour in the city. We opted out because of jet-lag on all three of our parts. Yesterday was a stretching day for our little cherub, too. However, last night she got better sleep with a two-hour intermission to watch "Happy Feet" with Mommy. Our plane rides were uneventful (thankfully), but the constant security checks in the airports were just plain OLD after a while. As everyone has told us, Dakota is a very popular attraction when we walk around our little area of the city. The Thai people believe that lighter skin is more attractive than darker skin. Popular cosmetic companies even have "whitening cream" on the supermarket shelves. They don't understand why we would ever go tanning or buy those self-tanning lotions. Beauty is in many forms. If "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", then everything is beautiful because God beholds all. (I, Carson, am very blessed to behold two of God's most beautiful creations every day of my life.) It is challenging and yet fulfilling to attempt to communicate in a different language. Why fulfilling? For me it satisfies a desire in me for a challenge. However frustrating it may be, when the time comes that I successfully, in however broken Thai, receive an understanding nod from a Thai person, it encourages me to do more. Better language skills will come with time.

We'd like to apologize for not sending a newsletter lately. The last week of class seemed to fill up quicker than we expected. At some point from Chiang Mai we will get one to you if we have your mailing or emailing address. (If we have neither of those for you, then please email us that info at: hershy414@yahoo.com .)

Thank you for your prayers! When we get distracted from our purpose for these next two months we get back on the right path by remembering who we are truly serving. And we know that your prayers help tremendously to bring us back into focus. Enjoy the pictures that we post. There will be a series of photos of a stow-away that came with us. Oh, the mischief he'll get into. No telling where he'll show up. He helps to lighten our spirits, too.

God's Love To You All,

Carson, Kathy, Dakota

P.S. The one picture at the top is from our six hour layover in L.A. We took the time to leave the airport and go to the infamous Santa Monica Boardwalk/Boulevard.

at the beach

On The Twelfth Week Of DTS. . .

So, here we are about to begin the last week of the Lecture phase of our DTS. This past week we had a speaker describing to us what it means to minister cross-culturally. It seems like there was barely any room left in any of our brains, but we squeezed in what information we could.
This past Thursday morning at all-base intercession time our group was leading. We split up the seven spheres of influence amongst us(education, arts and media, government, family life, etc) and found prayer points for Thailand and Myanmar. During prayer time one person prayed that we (the team) would be heard and remembered for the message that we bring, not because we are white people. That is my prayer, too. I wonder how many white people have entered Thailand with a message other than the gospel and have left a lasting impression on the Thai people. Especially in the area of the sex-trade, which was brought to Thailand during the vietnam war, mainly by american soldiers. There are a lot of forces that we as Believers are going to have to work against in order to be effective on this trip. One challenge (and I won't give weight to it because I wouldn't know what to weigh it) is how to pull out aspects of Thai culture that are already in-line with Jesus' teachings. We can't simply sit back and say,"They're buddhists, so that's incredibly difficult to deal with." One of our speakers compared Mennonites with buddhists and muslims, because Mennonites understand what it is like to live out your faith in your everyday life. How our faith is not just expressed on a Sunday, but an integral part of how we live our lives everyday. This is what he said, "In my travels I have found that of the Christian denomination, Mennonites have an easier time adapting and relating to people of other religions, such as buddhists or muslims, and are able to see how their religion is woven throughout their entire life. I see that very much in the Mennonite denomination; that living out of their faith everyday, not just once a week and on holidays." So, in that way we can understand how buddhists are affected by their beliefs in a daily way. Please pray that God will give our team insights and initiative to seize opportunities for sharing Jesus' love and life as they are shown to us.
Okay, another question that some of you might have is,"What other country may Carson possibly be visiting?" Well, after our Outreach, we as a family will go to Beijing for a little while. Once there, I, Carson, would like to take an exploratory trip to Perm, Russia. There is a YWAM base there that is in need of staff to help operate their King's Kids ministry, which is a ministry that is growing rapidly and they are looking to expand their locations in the city. Also, the city of Perm, Russia has hundereds of thousands of orphans and Kathy and I would like to get involved in orphan ministry somehow and this particular YWAM base has a huge orphan ministry focus. I've called the base through Skype twice and they are hoping I can make it there from China. The only question is how to get the entry visa. From what we understand I can get a tourist visa from the Russian embassy in Beijing once we get there. That is another prayer request that we have: that receiving a tourist visa will be easy.
If any of you have tried to call us for the past two weeks, then you know our cell phone has been turned off and we now make all of our calls through Skype. So, if we call you and a number doesn't show up on your caller ID, it might be us. We will always get your emails. We check email regularly everyday and hopefully will continue to while in Thailand and China.
Well, hopefully we will update this again before we leave for Thailand. If not, then we'll do it once we get there. Thank you for logging on and praying for us. God bless you all.

Carson, Kathy, Dakota

Dakota riding on her trike

On The Ropes

Greetings To All,
How are you? Please feel free to contact us and let us know how you are. This week is slightly different for us. Monday and Tuesday we were in the classroom, but Wednesday and Thursday we are on the Ropes Course that is here on base. The purpose and design for the course is team building, trust, and leadership developement. It is very unique and extremely exciting. From an 800 ft. zipline to a 100 ft. pine tree to climb, you can push yourself, encourage some one else, and place your trust in others as well. Through trust, your faith is also affected. Many parallels are made between what we do in the physical sense and how that relates to our relationship with God. The leadership team for the course is phenomenal.
Kathy and I shared a moment today on the Giant Swing, which is a twenty foot steel cable that is attached to another steel cable stretched between two pine trees. (It really is thrilling!) To "ride" it you have to climb a twenty foot tower and then jump off when you are attached to the swing. Kathy and I did it together! While sitting on the platform Kathy got a little nervous. As great as our team is they all started yelling encouraging things to her. Even though they were well intending, what she need most was a single voice to focus on. I was privileged to be sitting right beside her. I said, "Just listen to me. You can do this. When you're ready, we'll go. Don't worry about them, just listen to me." Then we went! I'm glad we did that together.
How many times are we wanting to do something to advance God's Kingdom and there are well-intended voices all around us all shouting at the same time? They're all supporting us, right? Well, then why is the decision that WE ALONE can make so difficult? My theory: because we don't listen to the One Voice that truly matters. The One Voice that we should let be closest to us. It's awesome to be encouraged and supported, but if you only act on those words alone and not on God's words, you may act prematurely. God can still use what you do, but He will do wonders with those who listen to His voice above all.
I want to explain a little bit more about what I mentioned in the last update. (No, I'm not revealing the mystery country.) I love it when I hear a thought of mine put into words by some one else. We had a treat in class last week: we watched a movie. In it a man was leading a choir and trying to bring out the best in people. He wrote a song that contained the line "I want to live my life knowing I was good enough." It really explained what I want to help instill in people. I want to show them that they are good enough, but I don't want to wait until they have MANY obstacles to overcome. We feel that working with young children has been laid upon our hearts. Tell them that they are loved, not just by us, but by Some One who loves them even more than we do.
Well, good night. As you tuck your children in tonight, if you have them and they are tuckable, tell them how much they are loved and how they are exactly who Father created them to be. And that they are valued for who they are.
God's Love To You,

Carson, Kathy, Dakota

a promise to all

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:
he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Psalm 121:3

Conception to Birth

Greetings to all. This entry is actually accompanying the previous one that Kathy wrote. It was a unique experience for me to hear an author explain his book and his feelings and stories behind it. William P. Young, author of The Shack, is one more example of how God planted a seed in one person's life, and then He tended it to bear the fruit that it has produced. The Shack truly does have an amazing birthing process to it.
What has been happening to me? God. More specifically? During our base intercession time I was truly moved. I won't mention the topic now, but it does relate to what I shared in a previous blog entry. Question: have you ever had an Idea that wouldn't go away? You knew it was a good Idea, but it must have originated from your own human thought process. Over time anything related to your Idea catches your attention when it normally wouldn't have if the Idea wouldn't be there in the first place. (A simple example of this is when you look to buy a new vehicle. You think you would like a four-door Jeep Wrangler. Once you realize this you start to notice them everywhere you go. And before you wanted it, you never even saw them on the road.) So far, for me, I've known that I've had an Idea. But it got stronger, and I saw more representations of this Idea throughout everyday life. I was thinking all of this was simply in my head. Thursday morning a shift happened. What was in my head moved to my heart. I felt the shift. It was like nothing I've ever experienced before. The closest I can relate this to from my own life is how I knew that I needed more training in discipleship, and then Father placed it my heart to go to YWAM.
So now what do I do with what's in my heart? Pray. Pray for confirmation and guidance. (Could you pray with/for me, too, please?) If Father has His way, and I hope He does, then the three of us are in for a great adventure!
Speaking of adventure. . . . The other week I got a taste of adventure. Some people on base got to climb our 32 ft. climbing wall one evening. And this next monday we might get to again. It was so fun. Yes, I was secured to some one on the ground at all times. Also on base is a one hundred foot pine tree that is rigged to climb. I am looking forward to that as well. The tree is a part of our Ropes Course and is meant to teach us to overcome our fears and to reach our goal(s). Sound like fun to anyone else?
Well, I'll sign off now. I will be sure to update you on my (former Idea) new Desire. Oh, I do have a Scripture to go along with this. Philippians 2:13 : "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and power to do what pleases Him."
Don't forget to read the entry just underneath this. This one is meant to accompany that one. Our Heavenly Father's Love To You, Carson

Friday, July 25th

Yet another week of learning...learning...learning. I(Kathy) am reminded as I am writing this that we are all students in this life and we are all learning no matter if we are in a classroom or not. Being in a classroom with a teacher is only one of many, many ways that we can learn, yet it is certainly not the only way. God can speak to us and teach us through any circumstance that we find ourselves in, any job, any ministry, any family, and this learning never stops, if we choose. Because we are finite(limited, human) beings, we will always need a relationship with our infinite(immeasurable, exceedingly great, not limited to time or space) father to help us in this life.

This week we had Matt Rawlins come and speak to us, he currently lives in Singapore, but is from Salem, Oregon and he spoke on "who is God?" He told us on Monday that by Friday we would probably have more questions than answers and this is true. He covered a lot, but woven through the fabric of his teaching was "God is good and He is Big". He mentioned that most christians don't wrestle with God being Good, but we often question if he is big enough. Is he big enough in my finances, is he big enough in my relationships, is he big enough to take care of my failures. Is he bigger than any mistake I have ever made in my life? He then went on to taking us through our Solar system and to the world that God has created. I would invite each of you to check out Nasa's website, I believe it is nasa.com. We think that earth is SO big, yet earth is a drop in the bucket compared to all else that God has created. A million earth's fit inside the sun! Matt remarked this week that when we begin to feel 'insecure' in our faith, we should just go do a study on the universe that he has created, that he 'spoke' into existence. Study the vastness of his creation. Do a study on fish. Do a study on stars. Did you know that we have over 2 billion stars and do you happen to know how big one star is? I didn't. Yet, God knows each star by name and by his knowledge, not one star is unaccounted for(Isaiah). Wow. He talked about us being created in God's image. What does this mean? God is sovereign, God is good, God is all-powerful, all-knowing. Does this mean that we are all-powerful and all-knowing? He explained it to us as this:there are 2 aspects of God; his nature (sovereign, all-knowing, all-powerful, BIG) and his character (loving, caring, GOOD). When God says we are created in His image, we are created in the image of his character, not his nature. This makes a lot of sense.

A few things that I took out of this week are a)God is a whole lot bigger that I have believed Him to be b)He is better than I thought!!! c) what is man that he is mindful of us? Yet he knows us so intimately, even down to our very cells d)the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and true relationship with Him e)I am not in control.

I want to pass on a quote to you from Henri Nouwen. This quote has really impacted me this week, so much so that I went and bought a journal and am preparing to paste this quote on the front of it. Here goes:

"For most of my life I have struggled to find God, to know God, to love God. I have tried hard to follow the guidelines of the spiritual life---praying always, working for others, reading the scriptures---and to avoid the many temptations to dissipate myself. I have failed many times but always have tried again, even when I was close to despair. Now I wonder whether I have sufficiently realized that during all this time God has been trying to find me, to know me, and to love me. The question is not "how am I to find God?" but "How am I to let myself be found by Him?" The question is not "how am I to know Him" but "how can I let myself be known by him"? and finally the question is not "how am I to love God" but "how am I to let myself be loved by God?" It might sound strange, but God wants to find me as, if not more than, I want to find God…I am beginning now to see how radical the character of my spiritual journey will change when I no longer think of God as hiding out and making it as difficult as possible for me to find Him, but, instead, as the one who is looking for me while I am doing the hiding." (Can the finite find the infinite or must the finite let himself be found by the infinite...added by me)? Henri Nouwen

Just a thought....

Also, we had the priviledge of having the author of the Shack (book), William (Paul) Young, here at the Ywam, Salem campus, he was here on Monday and Tuesday speaking in the counseling school. Carson and I got to sit in on one lecture and also got to hear him speak in our Tuesday evening service. We are planning to get copies of his testimony, what he shared on Tuesday (highly recommended), and if anyone would like a copy, please let us know, and if you haven't read the book, we would highly recommend it to you. Paul mentioned that when he wrote the book, the Shack, he wrote it for his children and when he tried to have it published, noone wanted it. So he and 2 friends opened up a new publishing company, just so they could publish it. In all, they spent less than 300$ in marketing (and this is generous). Basically, God got ahold of the story and is using it to His glory. People all overthe world are 'having conversations', which Paul is really happy about. It is the number one book being read in chinese universities, they have sold over 2 million copies, and now there is a movie in the process of being made via David Cunningham, the son of Loren Cunningham (founder of Ywam). He mentioned that the other day Will Smith was in an interview with Queen Latifah and as they were talking he turned to her and said "boy, do I have a role for you" (he had just read the shack). And if you don't know what I'm talking about, you'll just have to read the book. Carson and I have a extra copy, so let us know if you want it and we'll send it to you, or you can find it at any local bookstore or Amazon.com. By the way, Paul mentioned that The Shack is a metaphor for each of our souls. The Shack is us. Interesting.God wants to "habitate" our shacks, he doesn't want 'visitations'.

We'll, I have said too much. We hope you all are well, many of you enjoying fair week! We miss and Love you.

Oh, Matt Rawlins (who was with us this week) happens to be an author and he has an excellent book that has just come out, in fact we got to pray and comission the book with him, it is called "there's an elephant in the room" and it is about effective communication in businesses, in churches, and just basically any relationship. You can order it on Amazon.com and you can check out his websites for his other books at http://www.anelephantintheroom.com/, http://www.thegreenbench.com/.

Carson will probably be writing too, so you can hear what God's been doing in His life. We would LOVE to hear from you via comments on this blog or via email, hershy414@yahoo.com.

Kathy

Every week on thursday morning we have a base-wide time of intercession for a paticular country or for particular workers from this base that are in other countries. This week we prayed for the Amdo Tibetan people who live in Western China in Sichuan, Gansu, and Qinghai provinces. This group of Tibetan people are mostly Nomadic people as they herd yak in the mountains. The Amdo are friendly, cautious, hospitable and devoutly religious people. They are and have been difficult to reach because of their nomadic lifestyle. I (Kathy) was able to visit this region of China in 2002. One thing that gripped my heart during this intercession time was a picture displayed that was titled 'Himalayan Art' with the 'lost sheep' scripture written on it. I got a sense of how much God loves these people and just like a shepherd and his sheep, he cares about every one the same and He wants to find every one. I want to share the verse and the picture with you: ""Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he hasfound it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And wen he comes home, he calls together his friends ad neighbors, saying to them, 'rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' (John 15). "All the nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee" (psalm 86:9). God bless you all, have a wonderful weekend.