Back Stateside

Hello friends,
For those who I haven't spoke with either via text, phone, or personally, I arrived back in the USA yesterday morning. Once I am not jet lagged, I do have some thoughts to post telling more details about my time in South Africa. But first, I wanted to say thank you for reading and thank you even more for your prayers as I globe traveled. It was such an amazing opportunity and I am very thankful that I was able to meet so many awesome Christians around the globe and have the chance to learn so much about evangelism and mission within different contexts.

I was greeted at the airport by not only my sister (who I expected) but also my Mom and Dad which was a complete surprise as they were in from South Carolina visiting my sister. It was so fantastic to have a welcome crew once I got off the plane in Pittsburgh. I will share with you what I shared at our family dinner last night. For the past eight weeks, no matter where I was eating, my host and those I was with stopped and gave thanks before eating a meal. For whatever reason, this had an impact on my reverse culture shock. When my family sat down to eat dinner in the resturant, no one was praying....this made me upset. I think (though this may not be academic) one of the reasons all the Christians I met this summer were so inspiring was their belief in prayer. There have been other reverse culture shocks (driving on the other side of the road, warm water, WAY too many channels of TV with nothing on, etc.) but this one sticks out the most. Christians around the world should all passionate in their prayers for the thanksgiving, praise, petition, and for Christians around the world. This is one of the many things I will take away from this experience.

I hope and pray this blog makes sense as I'm still working through jet lag. Thank you for all your prayers and for reading while I was away. I look forward to sharing more stories in person soon. Love in Christ, Amanda

Sorry

Sorry about the awful formatting on my confessions post. Hope it is readable at least. :) Cheers!

20 plus confessions of a world wanderer :)

Update from south Africa will be posted in time but as I had some time to think about all I've experienced and learned this summer I thought it might be fun to make up a confessional list...merely for fun and memories not so academic :) hope you enjoy I won't number as the iPad makes numbering difficult. I've been craving good hot dogs and Chickfila since china I've slept in ten different beds this summer and started dreaming about my bed 4 or 5 beds ago I've dropped many a food while using chopsticks I took a taxi literally three blocks in south Korea as I was unable to find my hotel :) I pet stray animals even though I was advised against it It took several successful airport pick ups for me to trust that my hosts would meet me and my luggage would arrive I don't like Kenyan tea......I LOVE Kenyan coffee!!! I recycled many a sermon :) The Lord continued to open my eyes even when I wanted to shut them. I learned more about trusting the Lord than i ever have before I ran in airports more times than I care to admit As I rode through Nairobi national park, all the music from the lion king was stuck in my head I could have travelled a bit lighter :) I lied on several occasions about having a boyfriend to avoid numerous marriage proposals. I love Beijing duck...and china I think had the best food I was mistaken for a Russian and German....which is part of my heritage so makes sense The lift to get to the great wall scared me....as did walking around the wall...but it was so beautiful South Korea wins the award for best tea and cutest tea houses I'm a tall white American girl, and while I love Jesus, my dancing in worship is a hilarious sight I'm sure.:) It really is a small world after all I taught members of my china English exchange group improper southern English. Yes, I mean y'all Christians in the USA have so much to be grateful for...yet we constantly take our Christianity for granted. I really enjoyed hearing Christmas music in June while driving to the great wall While in south Korea, I secretly searched for the director of the dharma initivive and miles...oh and sun and Jin from LOST :) Though I spoke with so many amazing people and learned so much, I still have more questions than answers. I hope I remember how to drive a car :) On more than one occasion I looked the wrong way before crossing the street in Malaysia, Kenya and south Africa. I also tried to sit on the drivers side. In china, it was nice to join with other folks from the states and not be stared at by myself. I got slightly teary eyed on fathers day hearing the Chinese version of this is my fathers world. Also when I saw giraffes in the wild....love them When I heard Hanson on the radio in china, I couldn't stop smiling and laughing. I went the wrong way thru customs...twice. Though this has been the most amazing and eye opening experience...I'll even be ready to hear the Pittsburgh accent this upcoming Tuesday....and even more ready to hear a y'all :) I drank the water in Kenya...and I'm still ok People in other parts of world...china, Kenya and Malaysia especially trump southern hospitality...sorry my fellow southerns we dont come close! I love, love, love...probably too much Chinese food :) I kissed a giraffe Yes, I would do this summer over again in a heartbeat..though I'd like to bring friends and family with me next time! :) Hope you enjoy my confessions, Amanda :)

Arrived safely in south Africa

Greetings friends! This is just a short blog update to let everyone know I've arrived in south Africa. I will update about my time here before leaving on Monday assuming my iPad battery makes it that long. :) today I spent some time at a local church in their children's ministry as well as their homeless outreach program. On Friday, I will visit a local church sponsored center that helps the surrounding impoverished community. On Sunday, I'll attend the morning service at my host family's church and also an evening service. Monday, I will mainly pack and get ready to head back to the states. This has been such a great opportunity and adventure. Though I've met with many fantastic and inspiring people, Ill confess that I still have many questions and have lots of information to process and sort through. I hope to update again before leaving south Africa this Monday. If not, I'll update during my layover in JFK airport...and please pray for safe travels home...and quick travels home as the last stretch of plane rides seems to always be the longest. I will update again when I can. Peace and love in Christ, Amanda

Last week of my adventure

It is hard to believe I'll be heading back to the states next week. This has been such a great opportunity to see the world and learn more about what God is doing in the world. Yesterday I had the chance to attend and meet with folks at Nairobi chapel. The church was getting ready for their special Sunday where everyone is encouraged to being someone to church with them who they have been praying for over the last several weeks. The church meets in a tent that can hold 3000 while children and youth meet in smaller tents. I could tell the people were really joyful and happy to be there. Since this is an update using my phone it will be much shorter. Please continue to pray for safe travel as I head to south Africa Tuesday afternoon.

Prayer request

Hi friends,
Instead of visiting the orphanage on Monday, I switched some of my plans around and went today. The home housed children up to five years old (any child older than five is then moved to another home). Most of the children I was with were toddler age. Most of them are orphans because HIV/AIDS. There were even several who tested HIV positive and their parents abanoned them in the hospital once finding out. As soon as I arrived, three toddlers ran up and just wanted to be held by someone. It broke my heart..still continues to break my heart thinking about all these children. Throughout the day the children are taken care of but they seemed to be slightly understaffed. The children toddler age had a brief Bible study and were encouraged to pray with me as I blessed the food. I felt like there was so much more I could do when I left besides my donation, prayers, and leaving with much love in the heart for the children...what really was heartbreaking was as I left, a five year old asked to come with me. I wish I would have taken pictures of these children, but because it did not seem right to take pictures of crying children, I did not, though their faces are engraved in my memory and heart. AIDS is an awful thing that continues to take the lives of parents way too soon and leave their children to take care of themselves. The home is a great ministry that continues to be in my heart as I pray it will be on yours as well. I will even offer a plug for adoption of children around the world who need and deserve a place to call home and love. If you have any questions about the center or would like to contact them about adopting or possibly visiting/ donating, i will try to email information. If I have free time after church on Sunday, I hope to try to go back.

Please pray for all the orphans but on my heart are the orphans at New Life Center I met today.
Thank you.
peace and love in Christ

Time with Icuga Church: Some Highlights

Greetings friends! As promised, I will try to flesh out some of my experiences with members of Icuga church and parish. The Icuga parish consists of five churches spread throughout the community (similar to smaller versions of presbyteries) During the span of five and a half days, I spoke with approximately 43 plus members of Icuga parish churches and three different congregations from other denominations....as you can imagine, I gained a wealth of knowledge from speaking with so many people in a such a short time. For now, I will only include some of my highlights here and hope to be able to share more about evangelism among the Icuga parish later. I spent a great deal of time visiting with a variety of people of all ages and backgrounds. Through hearing their stories about growing up in the Christian church, going astray as a youth, and then coming back to the church, I was able to recognize similarities in my Christian story and the faith journey of other Christians in the USA I know. Many of the challenges, such as youth wandering away from the church due to lack of interest and love from adult, that are found in some churches in the USA are found in Kenya. I was especially struck with the importance of prayer used by Christians I've met in Kenya thus far. Before we travel, go to sleep, wake up in the morning, eat, discuss, and after arriving at a destination, prayer is involved. Christians here really and truly believe in the importance and power of prayer.

On Monday, I was able to visit several of the partnership schools around Icuga. The children were so interested in seeing a tall white, American girl walking around, if you can imagine, as a foreigner, I was quite a sight for them. :) Many wanted to hold my hand, touch my hair, and were amazed at my skin. I shared a bit with them about the US, and the purpose of my coming to Kenya. I spent much time visiting with members of the church in their homes which meant lots of Kenyan tea....it is tradition and culture to welcome a guest in your home by serving them a cup of tea. I learned about a special training group in Icuga known as T.E.E (Theological Education by Extension) which works to train elders and deacons so they are able to lead Bible studies and assist with preaching and discipleship. The Icuga church also has a healthboard which works to educate members on health issues such as HIV, stroke, common colds, malaria and also counseling. The healthboard uses these talks as ways of evangelism as they not only seek to treat the health conditions but also pray for the patients and provide spiritual nurture as well. Since the community is mostly Christian, most of the evangelism is done to bring back those who have gone astray from the local church due to drug and alcohol related issues (also lack of interest in some). The local churches also work together (Catholics and various other denominations) to hold crusades and open tent meetings for evangelistic purposes. During these events, many who have left the church for various reasons, are inspired to go to church again through an intense time of preaching, Bible study, community building, and musical celebrations. Since the culture of the villages are so close-knit and community based, events such as weddings and funerals are also excellent evangelistic opportunities.

Other various evangelism techniques include: offering a service strictly for orphan children and providing a meal after the service, special youth prayer nights when youth come together to pray, have bible study, and worship with much music..youth in the church are highly encouraged to come and invited their friends who may not be Christians..this event is less threatening as it is just youth gathering together with few adults...food is involved in these events as well as music. One of the youth I spoke with stated that about five youth per prayer night begin returning back to church. Another evangelism technique that is well used among the people in the village is door to door evangelism. In the US, as far as I know, this doesn't produce great results..but because the villages in Kenya are so community based, it is not an usual thing to walk around and visit with those you don't know. The Christians I spoke with stated this method works well because people are open to forming new relationships with those they know and don't know. The culture is one that is very welcoming (I can greatly attest to this as I received hospitality that trumps southern hospitality) :) During these visits, the evangelist takes time to get to know the person and their struggles in life. Then they share verses from the Bible relating to those struggles and have a time of preaching. Before leaving they offer a pray. One person I spoke with said they brought ten people a month to church using this technique. While others I spoke with said this presents some challenges as sometimes people are not willing to listen. As I met with leaders from other churches, one pastor in particular spoke about the importance of all Christians sharing the gospel with the yet to be believers. He cited verses in the Bible, stating it is our mandate as Christians to share the love of Christ...whether we do so as ordained elders and ministers or not...every Christian has the calling to evangelize. He said we don't always have to use words reminding me of the famous quote, "preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words." Christianity is not only spoken, it is lived. One church I visited continues to remain under construction as it now holds 800 but they would like to continue to grow as their numbers grow.

One of the questions I've been curious about is the method of follow up with new members in these churches. Since so many of the churches I've visited throughout this whole experience are growing at a rapid pace, I wondered about the quality of the Christian education being offered to new believers. One thing I am observing is the leaders of these churches striving to make every effort that those who are new to the church KNOW what they believe and are paired with other believers in some type of mentoring program. This has been encouraging to watch as new believers are welcomed and quickly taken under the wings of other believers..but in this process, it is not just the new believer who is learning. It also provides a chance for church members to serve and grow in the faith as well.

As you can imagine, my notebook is filled with various stories from Christians in all these countries. I was encouraged by my time with members of Icuga church. They were very welcoming and worked extremely hard to not only make sure I talked to as many Christians and church leaders as possible, but made sure I stayed well, and spent time in fellowship with me which I greatly appreciated. LPC friends, Lucy, Jennfier, Joseph, Timothy, James and the rev. send their love and greetings. During my visit, we shared, laughed, and prayed together. It was a great time of fellowship. Please pray that one day they will be granted VISAs in order to come visit us in the US.

Today, I was able to do a bit of sightseeing around Nairobi. I went to a local giraffe center that breeds and rehabilitates giraffes. They are fairly tame and come up to eat from your hand. If you are willing to place some of their food in your mouth, you may even get kissed by a giraffe. (which, as an avid giraffe lover, I gladly did...if we are friends on facebook, check out the pictures.) It was quite an experience which I greatly enjoyed and will treasure the memory of being so close to one of my favorite beautiful animals that God created. I also went to visit an elephant orphanage...which honestly broke my heart. All the parents of these elephants were killed by hunters for their tusks. Some of the baby elephants were found in traps. The center does great work in taking care of the orphans and working to set them safely back into the wild. Saturday, I hope to visit Nairobi National Park and observe some more wildlife. So far, I've seen giraffes, elephants, buffaloes, a monkey, and a warthog. Later this weekend, I will attend services at Nairobi Chapel (one of the largest congregations around the city) and on Monday I will visit a near by home for orphan children and learn more about ministry and evangelism through the home for orphans. I know this will be a difficult day, as I will have the chance to hold, feed, and love on many children without homes. Please pray in advance for all the children I will meet and for all those workers who take care of them.

Love and prayers in Christ,
Amanda
*again, please excuse any typos as I am trying to record many things in a short period of time. :)

What a blessing my time in Kenya has been so far. Funny aside, travel apparently mixes up my ability to tell am from pm as my layover in Doha was 12 hours and not 20 mins. During the layover I read a whole book, took a long nap in the sleep lounge, and made some new friends. Once I Arrived in Kenya, going through customs took about two hours so I was worried my hosts would miss me but was received with happy faces and we took the two and half hour drive to icuga...very small, you probably won't find it on a map. The people were very welcoming and send love and greetings to my friends at lpc. Since it is late at night and I learned a lot during my first several days, this blog update will be several parts. During the car ride, I attempts to learn some swahilli phrases and got to know more about my hosts. They arranged for me to visit and speak with all five churches in the parish during Sunday services and I even did a bit of preaching. One thing that struck me most about the services was their use of music and prayer. I could tell the people really believed their prayers and felt the worship in their music. Like churches in the states at least down south, food was important to welcoming new visitors and attracting people. For now, I will leave this brief but will update more Friday afternoon. Sorry for misspellings as I'm back to using the iPad. Peace and love in Christ

Update from Malaysia

I had my last meetings today in Malaysia though I am here until early Saturday. Thursday and Friday are free days to explore the islands, maybe see some animals, and enjoy dinner and a movie with STS students...maybe a little more shopping as well along with resting up before the long travel day on Saturday.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Chen, a SIM worker who is working to build a mission training center at STS. This center will be a place for potential mission workers to learn skills such as language, contextualization, as well as debriefing once the worker returns home. Dr. Chen has a real heart for missions and sharing the gospel with everyone. He frequently travels to China and works to train Christian leaders there. He spoke about his years as a pastor and how he strived to inspire members of his congregation to reach out and spread the gospel. His congregation used personal evangelism (friendship evangelism) to spread the gospel. He explained the training program in place to help members of his congregation feel comfortable with sharing the gospel. Dr. Chen stated that as pastors in training, we can learn all the theories on mission there are in the world, but if we don't put those theories into practice, they are worthless. Missions is action, doing something. He explained if you plant a seed and don't water it, it will die. Likewise, if you have mission theories but don't "water" them and put the theories into actions, they are worthless and will die.

This morning, I had the chance to meet with two BCCM pastors. They spoke about the challenges of reaching out and sharing the gospel in urban centers versus rural villages. In villages, prayer and miracles are very important to the spread of the gospel. Whereas, in cities, programs such as the ALPHA program are more effective. They spoke of the importance of follow-up programs. New believers have to know they are loved and cared for through one on one discipleship and mentoring.

This afternoon I went to the local little Italy resturant with Dr. Thu (the president and founder of STS) and Brenda Thu. It was nice to have a time of fellowship with them as they were living in Pittsburgh for several months. I also have to admit, I enjoyed eating the Italian style meal! :) They send their love and greetings to everyone at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, especially those from ESF and others who helped transport them to the airport.

Thursday, if the weather permits, I'll take one of the local water taxis to one of Sabbah's many islands. This is hopefully provide not only an opportunity to relax in the beauty of God's creation, but also to take time to reflect on experiences over the past five weeks. God certainly is opening my eyes to all He is doing in the world. Along the way, I have met so many amazing people who have assisted in my journey and have inspired me by their stories. Friday, I'll take time to prepare for my next long series of plane flights and spend some time fellowshipping with STS students. I think we are going to see the new Spiderman movie. :)

These are just some of my observations and notes from my time spent among pastors and church leaders in Malaysia. *I'm sorry again for any spelling and other errors. I normally type out these blog entries in a hurry, trying to share as much information as possible in between meetings.* Please continue to pray for health and safe travels. I hope to be able to update again soon once arriving in Kenya. Love in Christ.

Schedule for first several days in Kenya

Greetings friends! Happy 4th of July to all my U.S friends and family!  I will post another update about my experiences in Malaysia before leaving early Saturday. Since I do not think I will have internet access during my first couple days in Kenya, I thought it may be helpful to post a tenative schedule of what I will be doing the first several days of my visit. I will have the chance to visit Icuga Church in Icuga, Kenya (about 60 miles or so outside Nairobi) and spend time with Christians there. Lebanon Presbyterian Church has a partnership with the church there and as LPC was my field education setting, I am graciously able to visit with Christians there and learn more about their church growth and ministry. After flying most of the day Saturday and well into the night, I will arrive in Nairobi, Kenya around 7AM Sunday morning. From there I will be met at the airport by friends from the Icuga church and we will travel to Icuga in time for the morning service. I'll spend the afternoon visiting with various church leaders and members in their homes. The next day, I will have the chance to visit both the schools and meet with teachers and students there. In the afternoon, I will visit more members in their homes. Next, I will have the chance to visit the remaining four churches in the area's parish and meet with their church leaders to learn more about their unique evangelism opportunities. I will also have the chance to visit and meet with leaders from other denominations from around the local area. Wednesday afternoon, we will travel to the mountain lodge and view some wildlife and have a time of fellowship. I'm looking forward to my time spent in Kenya.

Please pray for travels on Saturday...that everything goes smoothly..I make all my connecting flights (one of which is only a 30 min. transit) luggage arrives and safety traveling around Kenya. Please also pray for those who were effected by the violence against the church in Kenya near the borders. Love in Christ.

Weekend in Kudat

Hi Friends! :) For those at PTS who had the opportunity to meet Dr. Thu and Ms. Brenda, Dr. Thu spoke very kindly of the hospitality received at PTS..made me a little homesick. :)

Early Friday morning, I travelled back to Kudat only this time I travelled with the intent of meeting with various churches in rural settings. During the four hour car ride of bumpy mountain roads, I had the opportunity to speak with Rev. Daniel, a pastor at a rural church just outside the city of Kudat and enjoy the beautiful scences of mountains and tropical forest in Malaysia. Rev. Daniel spoke more about the issues facing many Christians in Malaysia such as some ways of persecution such as lack of jobs and schooling opportunities. During our car trip we had several stops. The first stop was a bible training center (which works to train not only potential future pastors, but also various lay leaders and those who may be able to help and teach Sunday School) The teachers at the small training center, along with the students, were very welcoming but it was once again encouraging and saddening to listen to some of their stories. One spoke of how they use to be able to use and cross but now since being controlled by the government, they are unable to do so. They spoke about the challenges facing Christians as evangelizing to Muslims is illegal. Some take the risk and try to reach out to Muslims regardless through speaking with them about their beliefs and then opening up the conversation for questions and ideas about Christianity. Some times this is successful, other times it is not..but as one student said, it is still important to plant the seeds even if we don't know the outcome of the harvest. It is also very difficult since when a Christian falls in love with and marries a Muslim he or she is expected to convert to Islam. One student spoke openly about their friends who end up leaving Christianity because they fall in love with a Muslim. They shared evangelism techniques that can help plant seeds such as revivials, inter-religion dialogue, and said it is easier to spread the gospel in villages over cities.

One thing I'm learning quickly about Christianity in Malaysia is there is no real way to track the growth and spread. Since converting to Christianity is a huge crime in Islam culture, many Muslims maintain their status as a Muslim but follow Christ in their hearts. As one pastor stated, they may be a Muslim on paper in the government office, but they are Christians in their hearts. This presents many challenges as some former Muslims are caught in Christian churches.....many move elsewhere to Singapore or neighboring countries. The situation provides unique challenges for evangelism in Malaysia...some are willing to take the risks and switch their documented religion while others do not...in efforts to protect their families, jobs, etc. It is a difficult situation.

Next, we visited a Christian domestic training center for women. Here women are taught basic home skills and trained to make crafts for fair trading companies. The center gives women an opportunity for education and Bible study as well as life skills such as cooking, raising children, etc. A church established the center as a response to the needs of the community.

After walking around a bit to observe a local festival and eating some seafood with Rev. Daniel and his wife, I checked into a hotel. The next morning I was greeted by an English teacher and his daughter to help me speak with more rural churches. The pair provided such great company during the day and I enjoyed the time of fellowship. The first stop was to a church meeting at Rev. Daniel's church. We exchanged questions as the members asked some questions about churches in the US and I asked about ones in their area. One member explained the importance of follow up education as people in their church were converted because the village chief was and they did not actually make a personal decison to follow Christ. In situations like this, he explained the importance of education so these villagers can have a real, personal, relationship with Christ. They spoke about the importance of extending the love of Christ to others in their every day lives and how the village people are able to evangelize well since they enjoy mingling with others and can relate to various peoples (languages, skin colors, etc.) Many spoke about the importance of prayer when trying to show the love of Christ with others. At the next coffee meeting, I met with various church leaders from a local congregation. They spoke about their churches involvement in the local community. The elder explained the importance of youth involvement and how the local youth in the congregation reach out to the community through inviting their friends from school to church and sharing the love of Christ with elders in the community. He explained that within the past year, four families joined the church because one of the youth invited their children to church and they saw their children experience the love of Christ.

At the last meeting, I spoke with various church leaders from the local parish. They shared stories about how they decided to follow Christ. Many of their stories spoke about how with their former religion (animism) they lived in fear...they could not farm, enter homes at certain times..and had many rules to keep in order to avoid evil. If they broke any rules, they would end up becoming very sick.  When Christians came to their villages to evangelize, the people observed how they were not keeping all the rules and the evil spirits were not making them sick. People in the village became curiou and spoke with the Christians about Christ.  Once they were told about Christ and how He conquered the world, they were at peace from all the evil.

I have several more days here with various meetings and other activities. I will try to update my blog before heading the Kenya as I don't think I'll have internet access the first several days..I'll include a rough schedule of my time in Icuga, Kenya for everyone's information. Thanks for the prayers...keep them coming. :)