- One hour truck ride from the orphanage in Banan to Battambang for the night…
- Six hour bus ride from Battambang to Siem Reap for three days to reconnect with other World Racers, receive our Philippines ministry sites, and visit the famous Angkor Wat…
- Fourteen hours of multiple bus rides and a pit stop at border control as we head back to Bangkok, Thailand from Cambodia…
- Ten hour overnight bus ride from Bangkok to Chiang Mai to visit Traci’s childhood home and participate in ministry at Grace International School…
- Ten hours back to Bangkok…
- Three hour flight from Bangkok to Manila, Philippines for four days of debrief and ministry before heading out to our ministry sites…
- Two hour drive to the ferry dock, THIRTY-TWO hour ferry ride through the most breathtaking Philippine islands (and cautiously anchoring for several hours to avoid the tropical strom moving through the southern islands), followed by a six hour bus ride through the magnificent mountains of Negros Oriental Island…
After two weeks of nonstop travel (84+ hours), never quite unpacking my bags, and forgetting which city (nay, country) I am waking up in, we finally arived in Dumaguete on Wednesday – our home for the next four weeks. Travel time can be a blessing, as it provides me the opportunity to turn on my iPod and drown out the world around me – time to think, to pray, to read, and to reflect on what God is teaching me. While my teammates are going stir-crazy from boredom on our ferry ride, I rejoice in catching up on correspondence, soaking in a new book, and standing in awe of God’s creation around me. This is paradise. I have needed this time.
From my journal on our “cruise ship”:
I watch the rise and fall of the horizon as the ship sways to either side, gasping to catch my breath at the sight of the magnificent mountains in the distance. The mountains rise powerfully and unforgivingly out of the depths of the vast sea. Up above, the sun peeks through the clouds to illuminate patches of lush, green mountain tops, as the islands take their rightful place amongst the swift blue waters. They do not question their geographic position or their purpose in existing, they do not cower, they are unafraid to be seen. They rise to their heights, taking pride in their formation and giving glory to their Creator.
“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
Isaiah 40v25-26
What height is God calling me to rise to?
The spark of creation, burning bright within me
The spark of creation, won’t let me rest at all
Until I discover or build or uncover
A thing that I can call, my celebration
Of the spark creation
