We slept on a boat and went to Burma...

Hello all you blizzard survivors,

I have enjoyed a few Dairy Queen blizzards here in Thailand. It was so hot, we needed something to cool us down! It is winter here too, but not really. I am sitting at a restaurant with my co-leader Seth, watching the news, drinking coffee and checking e-mails. I realize that in my last update I said we had over 3 weeks left here. I obviously can not count, because we leave next week for home in Oxford, New Zealand. Whoops! We are all excited to be back in the clean fresh air that is Oxford.
Since my last update, we left Ko Samui for a visa run to Burma or Myanmar, whichever you want to call it. It was quite the adventure! That story is for sitting over coffee. My favorite part of that day was riding a boat to our current location of Koh Phanang. The boat was so awesome! It had mattresses and pillows for a 7 hour night boat ride.
We are on an island that many young travelers come to for drinking. It is known for a party called the full moon party. It is a massive drinking party on the beach. Prayers are much appreciated while we are here. It is very sad to watch people waste their lives.

If you would like to see my pictures from our time here go to this:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2075397&id=26402377&l=1d52f33cf2

Hopefully you can see them, let me know if you can not.

Until next time, stay warm!
Jordan

I love hot showers.

Sorry folks. It has been a long while since I have found free Internet. I just got to chat with my parents to let them know I was not just alive, but also good. My iPod touch has been so handy! Mi madre is quite happy with that purchase for Christmas. Since the last update we spent a few weeks meeting climbers and my new friend Jess from the UK. She told me I would not forget her. I think she was right. She was very unique. A few days ago we said goodbye to beautiful Ton Sai for the amazing beaches of Ko Samui. All is well!

Now for some thoughts...

It is funny when you travel with just a backpack, you do it as cheaply as possible, and therefore learn to appreciate certain things. I miss having toilet paper in a bathroom. I miss toilet paper being free in a bathroom, rather than getting frustrated when I forget it at my bungalow or room. I also miss water being clean coming out of the tap and not having to close my mouth and hope I did not drink any as I brushed my teeth. These are the trade offs for having great adventures! The good outweighs the bad on most days. Everyone should experience a couple days with a squatty potty and no TP.

Thank you for your prayers! Keep 'em coming! There are 3 weeks and 3 days left of our time here.

Are they wearing rubber gloves? There is a first for everything.

Hello all,

The title of this post sums up an experience I talk about below. Enjoy!

It has been a whirlwind since my last update. Let's see, the last time I got caught up I was in Chiang Mai. Since then my team and I headed to a town called Pai (pronounced like pie). It is a hairpin turn drive the whole way (if your name is Erin, I recommend Dramamine). We spent about 5 days there. It was an interesting place with interesting people.
From Pai, we headed South on buses. It was some thirty hours on the move. We were called by our school leader to be a support for another leader and his team. The leader, Gabe, had been feeling ill for a bit.
The next day, Gabe and I, took a longtail boat to the mainland to see about his illness. It was finally confirmed he had a common ailment called dengue fever. It is passed by mosquitoes. One bite and a person is down.
To sum up this story, we spent many hours in a common room in a governmental hospital. Gabe and I have seen, smelled, and heard things that we will never forget but pray we do. He is finally out and doing great folks! My friend Gabe is alive and kicking, but still needing some rest. For those that were in the loop, thank you for your prayers! God provided missionary friends to bring us comfort beyond belief.

As lifechurch says, "God is good all the time. All the time God is good."

You know you're in Thailand when...

A 100 baht meal seems outrageous, but then you do the math and realize that it is a little over three dollars.
You must have toilet paper with you at all times.
A dog passing by is wearing a shirt and you don't think twice, but instead wonder if he would look better with another color.

Life is good here. We are talking to travelers in the bars in the red light district and having great conversation. Our ministry may seem strange to some, but we are seeing fruit and being led by the Lord. It is a joy to share with others how much you adore the Lord. We are at a city in Northern Thailand called Chiang Mai. The city is known for prostitution. Western men come here to meet Thai women and we see this all over the city. I actually talked with a few men last night at a British pub. You easily pick up on the brokeness of this, from the women and the men.

I leave you with this; it is the vision of twloha.com
We are only asked to love, to offer hope to the many hopeless. We don't get to choose all the endings, but we are asked to play the rescuers. We won't solve all mysteries and our hearts will certainly break in such a vulnerable life, but it is the best way. We were made to be lovers bold in broken places, pouring ourselves out again and again until we're called home. 

I hope everyone had a great new year. I miss and love you dearly. Thank you for your prayers.

fish massages, free starbucks and sweat

Merry Christmas USA! While ours draws to a close, yours is getting under way. Shout out to the lovely Goodrich's that I had the delight of talking tonight (their early morning)! So encouraging!
The title of the blog says much of what I have done for Christas today. We got a fish massage, which includes tiny fishies biting off the dead skin on your feet. It tickles so much.
It has been a trip of a week. We quickly adjusted to everything in Bangkok that at first surprised us. To sum up the week, we have learned to enjoy the tastes (food and coffee), learned NOT to make eye contact with anyone on the street (they believe you want what they have to offer), and how to barter. "No, I don't want to pay 250 baht for that...how 'bout 175?" That's less than $10USD for either. Many come for the obvious cheapness of things.
Much has happened, but must be saved for a sit down coffee date. I have a few already planned with you reading this.
We have talked to more people than I can count on two hands, including a twelve year old Thai girl I talked to about Jesus, pretty sweet!
Tomorrow, we jump on a bus for twelve hours to reach a place called Chiang Mai.

Thank you for your prayers! We feel much support and covering, but please continue it. The Lord delights in hearing you lift others up to Him!
Pray for health, protection in this dark country, and just the Holy Spirit to guide us!

Love,
Jordan

A journal from my first day...

It is the end of our first day and we are sitting and chatting with some people from England.

We have seen so much that we are all overloaded with things we have never seen before.

I strongly believe it is good to get out of your element. To see cultures hugely different from you own. To realize where you come from is not the world. To realize what you believe should be tested so you rely more on God.

This place hounds you to buy everything and it takes everything in you to resist.

Honestly, I have too much to write, but am having a hard time expressing it. I am doing well and my team mates are good too.
Please continue to pray for health and protection, that all we see will fade as we look to Christ.

Bye Bye.

This is a picture from our school's commissioning night. All the trustees of YWAM Oxford and base staff come around us and pray. They pray for protection, health, and anything else they feel. We are one team down (off to India...17 hours of flight time for them) and five more to go. It is a little bit crazy what we are all walking into over the next two days.

Living out of my backpack again. Only cold showers, non western toilets (also known as: squatty potty), really good Thai food (Thai Cafe in Stillwater ain't got nothin' on this stuff), dirty city streets, beaches, red light districts, poverty, no air conditioning, hot/humid Thai summer (which is similar to Oklahoma's summer...oh no), buddhas everywhere, temples on every street corner, backpackers searching for satisfaction, a team of five trying to live life together for two months, and so much more.

We leave tomorrow at 3am on Sunday. That is 9am in Tulsa, OK on Saturday. We fly to Melbourne, Australia. Then to Bangkok (a 9.25 hour flight).

I will talk to you all soon, maybe in February.