Bow and Arrow

A friend of mine today made an interesting analogy. He gave a speech yesterday and it was about teaching kids affirmative language (TALK). I had prayed that it would go well and it was amazing to hear what God laid on his heart to share.

He talked about how we need to help kids set high targets to achieve, but it isn't enough to help them set this. Just like an arrow has a sharpened tip, we have to invest in our children to sharpen them. The Bible actually supports this thinking:

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. -Proverbs 27:17

It isn't enough just to invest in them, we have to go one step further. We have to pour into our children. An arrow by itself will never hit its target. It must be shot with a bow. How do you get a bow to work. You exert energy by pulling. The amount of strength you use to shoot this arrow comes through on the other end when released from the bow. The analogy is that we need to exert energy & pull on our children to help them hit their targets.

Making a Difference

It is funny...I love to write, but blogging has been a challenge to me and I know there are a number of you out there that have encouraged me to share some of my thoughts and experiences in a blog.

SO....here I go with another shot at being more loyal to posting these.

The growth of the Seacoast Dream Center in North Charleston over the 4 months has been absolutely amazing. God has allowed us to touch well over 5,000 lives. If you haven't been involved in any of it, here are some of the highlights:

- 5,000 bookbags handed out
- 300 turkeys provided
- Over 8,000 meals handed out
- Clothing beyond what you could imagine

I think what has touched me most of all were the 13 people that were baptized during one of our Sunday Morning Services in December, including 2 of our girls in Children's Ministry. It is amazing to see God work in the lives of others and exciting to see how He will use them to grow His kingdom.

Last weekend we went out for Adopt-a-Block, which is a day where the church goes out into the community, knocking on doors, handing out food, loving on people and really being the hands and feet of Christ. Our team loaded up a grill and cooked hot dogs! Funny...a round tube steak can open the door to talk to so many people. We had went from a 2 year old little boy to a 70 year man and everything in between. Smiles came out and I really feel like we are gaining the trust and love of the people in the community.

A lot has Changed

Wow!! A lot has changed since my last posting.

I can't believe how much has changed when I look back at my posts earlier this year. In July, I turned in my resignation to Big Blue (a.k.a. Maersk Line) and started to volunteer full time with Secoast Church (www.seacoast.org).

After going to Brazil last year, I really wanted to sell everything and move down there to be a full time missionary. The problem...my husband was not up for the same challenge. Since I knew that God did NOT intend for us to separate, I spent 6 months frustrated with God. I prayed, prayed and prayed some more from Oliver's heart to change. It didn't! Then I got a little ticked off at God and all the while found my job less and less fulfilling. It was a good job, but not one that I could pour my heart into.

In July...things changed! I found out our church was starting a new 'campus' in North Charleston that would focus on ministering to the inner city. It would be modeled after the Dream Center (www.dreamcenter.org) in Los Angeles. The entire idea is to find a need in the community and meet it. It was FINALLY a chance to join a missions field in my own back yard. It had been there all along, but it took making a major life change for my eyes to open. God wanted me to take a step in faith before opening the door.

Now...2 months into it, I find myself in charge of getting the Children's Ministry off the ground. Thank God I have a great team of friends, family and volunteers to support me. It is amazing the people that God brings alongside you through these adventures.

I hope now to write more about Amie's Amazing Adventures.....God style and hope you will join me for the ride.

Remember Bull Riding?

This pic is for my family, so everyone else please bear with it. Eric insisted that I take it. We were walking downtown Singapore on Sunday evening and saw this little contraption. You sit on it and it wiggles you around. Eric called it payback for his bull riding back at the Wayne County Fair. It was sooo funny that they had this thing there, but it was definitely not a bull ride!

Sailing in Singapore

On Sunday I had the joy of going out with some friends from work on the water and really relaxing. Thanks to Eric (he says hi to the family), we went out on the water for some fun and relaxed at the sailing club. I kinda felt like the lifestyles of the rich and famous. We didn't take too many pictures, but here's one of me in a completely relaxed state.

A Chinese Table

I've never taken a picture of the typical table for dinner in China and I thought the place we went for lunch was beautiful and probably the biggest table that I have sat at in China.

You will always sit on a round table for formal dinners in China. The food is served family style on a HUGE lazy susan in the middle and then the games begin. The challenge with chopsticks is that you have to have good hand/eye coordination. In principle, you would think that I would be good with that, but NOPE! I am going to buy us all a set of chopsticks and we are going to get good at this before my next visit.

The Old and The New

China is a country that is largely caught in between the old and the new and I thought this picture captured some of this struggle. They are emerging at a rapid rate and like a child, has growing pains. There are some great things about their culture that we can learn from and apply.

In general, the Chinese are still largely focused on their family. The children live with their parents and they respect their input on their lives. They also turn to take care of their parents after they are older. It always makes me thankful for my parents, but I don't think I could live with them at peace (sorry Mom and Dad)! :)

New Year's Decorations

Chongqing By Night

A peak of Chongqing at night. The pictures don't do it justice. There are lights everywhere. This weekend was the last days of Chinese New Year and they decorate like crazy. It was great to see the city decorated for the holidays! This year is the year of the P I G! You can find little piggies everywhere.

A View of the World's Largest City

This is in the city center in Chongqing. The city was surprisingly clean on the streets, but it ended there. China has a serious challenge with air pollution and today on the news they announced that China has surpassed the U.S. for the emission of green house gas...SCARY!

The Largest City in the World

Ok, I'll be honest. I had never heard of Chongqing before this trip, but do you know it is the largest city in the world based on the number of people...31 million! To give you an idea to compare to...that is the population of Japan. (Mount Pleasant has a population of approximately 60,000 if I remember correctly)

As we travelled the streets in Chongqing, I could not help but think that there is A LOT of God's people in this one location and that has to mean something. The other point I will make, there isn't a lot of visible signs of God in this area.

I only have 8 minutes before I have to be downstairs, but I wanted to post some of the pics of Chongqing. I'll write more later today. (Out sailing with friends in Singapore) :)

Love Everyone!

Asia Schedule

Shanghai: 2/26-2/28
Chongqing: 2/28-3/3
Singapore: 3/3-3/6
Ho Chi Minh: 3/6-3/9
Hong Kong: 3/9-3/12

Shanghai Surprise

Hey everyone! I made it to Shanghai without any major snaffoos. (Thanks for all the journey prayers)

After 24 hours of traveling, I am beat with a capital 'B'. We have one night in Shanghai and then get on a flight tomorrow morning out to Chongqing, China. The Shanghai skyline is incredible, but unfortunately I haven't had a chance to take any pics. I will try and start some picture taking tomorrow and posting!

Miss you all already!

Blogging Isn't Always Easy

Blogging isn't always easy!

As you can tell, I haven't been the best at keeping up with the "BLOG THING"! It takes some discipline to keep up the BLOG and I don't travel ALL the time.

I have, however, had the opportunity to travel since my last post. A trip to Europe for work (UGH) and a MISSIONS TRIP to Brazil.

I could talk forever on the Missions Trip, so please bear with me on this. Our church, Seacoast (www.seacoast.org), planned a construction trip down to Santarem, Brazil in conjunction with Project Amazon (PAZ). The goal was to assist in building a church in a river village in the Amazon River Basin. You can check them out at www.projectamazon.org if you're interested.

We had the amazing opportunity to witness God's Work in the Amazon first hand and let me say, He is doing amazing things through the people involved with PAZ. They are truely devoted to preaching the Word and taking it out into the world.

While we were in Brazil, we had 3 days to see the city of Santarem, Brazil. A city of approximately 200,000 people. I quickly fell in love with the Missions Team, the PAZ churches and the people of Santarem.

The highlight of the trip: a 5 hour boat ride up the Tapajos River to a river village named Paraua. The river village had about 1,200-1,300 people. We laid the foundation for a PAZ church while we were there. If I fell in love with the people of Santarem, I am abolutely head-over-heels for the people of Paraua!!! I can still remember a lot of the names!

I will tell you about two, Dominga and Ananias. One day, right before lunch, a lady asked us to lay hands on her husband for healing prayer. He had suffered a stroke and was not healthy enough to make the 5 hour river voyage to Santarem to see the doctor. We went to walk up to her house, but on the way, we stopped at her mother's house. Her name is Dominga and she is 97 years old. She now knows the Lord! WHY? We prayed with her and she accepted the Lord that day. PRAISE GOD! We had the honor of praying with her.

After this, we walked up to see Ananias! He is 77 years old and a man with a wise face, but saddened eyes. Ananias was ready to turn to the Lord for help and he silently prayed for accepting the Lord that day. It was truely an amazing and holy moment.

I'll post some pics as well of the trip tomorrow and write a little more! :)