After a day of a little sightseeing, Sunday morning we got to minister in the churches.  My day started with quite a surprise.  I had told some ladies the night before that I would love to go to the children’s ministry.  They told me it started about an before the main service, and that someone would pick me up.  So the next morning while the rest of the team was either sleeping or getting ready, I headed off to be with the  kids, still tired from the travel but glad to see the children.  When I walked in, the director told me, “okay, you will have 30-40 minutes, you can do whatever you want”.  I was so surprised, still half asleep and slightly jetlagged, I told them next Sunday ( I wasn’t prepared for anything at all!)  Then, the pastor told me that they had already told the kids that there would be special program.  I can’t let kids down, so I told them that I would share.  I shared the story about Radshak, Meshak and Abednego.  It went well, and afterwards the Pastor came up and let the children ask me questions about being a missionary (they were shy, though, so he did most of the asking).  The pastor later told me that he wanted the kids to see someone who committed their life to the call of God (not a career just to make a good living), and he believes that it will plant seeds in their young hearts to be called to serving the Lord.  It really is an honor of me to be an example to young children

We arrived in Sri Lanka at 7:30 Saturday morning, and once we got through customs and gathered our luggage, the first thing I noticed was the heat!  We are adjusting, though, and it’s getting a little easier.  The second I noticed is that they drive on the left side of the road here.  This is the first time I have been in a country with a road system like this, and it is a little weird for me.  I still jump a little when I see a car coming, especially at night.  

Overall, Sri Lanka is wonderful.  The people have been more than kind to us, and we are so happy to be here with them.  This country is so beautiful!  The drive from the airport to the Chilaw, the town we are staying in, was lined with palm trees and everything is so green.  We pulled over on the side of the road at a coconut stand and drank the juice straight from the inside of the coconut.  We had lunch at the home of a family from the church.  We were able to met several of the church leadership and get to know everyone a little better. The team didn’t like the food so much because Sri Lankans like it spicy, and most Lebanese don’t.  Afterwards we went to the river where they do baptisms, we relaxed there in the grass under trees, what a nice break from the city life of Beirut!  Afterwards we went to the beach, and I got to put my feet in the Indian Ocean for the first time.  We went to the church, had tea at the pastors house, and then returned home for the night.  With the long travel and the intense heat, we were quite wore out.  We are excited though, about this trip and looking forward to all that God has in store.

I am sitting now in the Kuwait airport, waiting for our flight to Sri Lanka.  We are really excited about this opportunity to minister in Sri Lanka.  We will be working with a church in Chillaw, near the capital city of Colombo, that has an attendance of around 2,000 people.  Charbel Louka, the associate pastor at ALC, has been helping pastor the Sri Lanka church in Beirut.  we have been helping there for almost a year, now, so we have had a small taste of what their culture is like.  I've heard that Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful places in the world, so i can't wait to see!  this country, though, is also steeped in buddhism and hinduism.  it is going to very strange for me to see temples and idols to false gods, but what an awesome opportunity to bring the message of the Gospel, the message of our Saviour who is the ONLY way!

 Please pray for our team: Charbel, Johnny, Mischa and me, while we are here.  I'm not sure what our schedule is for tomorrow, but i do know that on Sunday we will start holding meetings in the church.  I will post again as soon as i have time once we arrive in Sri Lanka

Also, please pray that ALL of our luggage arrrives at the same time we do :) 

hey everyone!  just wanted to give you an updated on what is coming up.  On Friday, March 27th, I will be traveling to Sri Lanka with a team from Abundant Life Church.  Our Assistant Pastor, Charbel Louka, preach in a conference and hold meetings.  Mischa, my cell leader, and another brother in the church, Johny, as well as myself will be helping with ministry during these meetings.  We will be in Sri Lanka for 10 days are excited to be in this culture and to see what God will be doing! 

From Sri, I will be traveling alone to Malaysia where i will stay with Tony and Margaret Foster (tonymargaret.wordpress.com).    They were my leaders for 8 years before i left for Lebanon, and they have kept up with me while i have been here.  they are now missionaries in Malaysia and  I haven't seen them in 2 years, so i am excited about be with them again.  i will also travel with them to Thailand, and from there I will return to Beirut.

This is my first time in this part of the world, and I am excited to experience a new culture.  I am sure that there will be many things to share with you, so i plan to update the site often, so check back soon! Be sure to keep our team in prayer while we are traveling and ministering in Sri Lanka.  Thank you, we appreciate you being a part of this work!

I don’t know about you, but February always seems to be a “blah” time of year for me.  Maybe because it has been winter for so long, or the excitement of a new year has faded, I don’t know, but this year seemed especially so about the middle of that month.  In the part of town where I live, it’s not often I see the stars because of tall buildings that are very crowded.  The Lord knows, though, when we need to lift up our eyes. 

As I was looking out the window on one of the blah nights, I looked up and saw the stars so bright and clear.  That bleak night turned into a night of hope as one look at stars reminds me of God’s many promises. 

One, is His promise to Abraham that his descendants will outnumber the stars, which leads me to Isaiah 50 where God says that when He called Abraham, he was alone, but when He blessed Abraham, he became a great nation.  When I look at the stars I see generations to come who will serve the Lord. 

Stars also remind me of when a friend was praying for me and she saw a span of stars and the Lord told her the stars were my dreams (me, mary beth), and they were His dreams too.  When I look at the stars, I see the dreams that are still hidden in my heart but yet I see them as if they are right in front of me, and I remember that they are the dreams that the Lord has for me too. 

To see the stars, I have to look away from this world and the circumstances, problems and distractions it holds, and look up.  When I look up and I see the stars, I believe

At the beginning of the year we started an English ministry at ALC.  It has been a great time, especially for me to be able to have a service in English from beginning to end, including the worship.  This new ministry allows us to reach people who don’t speak Arabic, mainly foreign workers.  In the spring, we will be doing outreaches to reach more souls.  I am teaching a leadership class after the service and it has been an enjoyable time studying God’s Word.  We are finishing Level 1 this weekend, and we will start up Level 2 when I return from some traveling.  We are excited about this opportunity to reach foreign workers with the Gospel!