Hallo!

I am still alive! Very much alive actually. I'm sorry that I have not been keeping up with my blog. I think that I've come to find I am not the most disciplined in this area. But I'm working on it :)

I arrived safely back in Colorado on Saturday night. After traveling for about 17 hours in total, it was a beautiful sight to see my mom and brother waiting with flowers to greet me from the gate. Around the corner were Kyle, Brooke, Lauryn, Alyssa and the whole Vandenend family to welcome me back as well. I am so blessed with friends and family!

My entire time at DTS has been indescribable. I have learned more than I ever thought possible, and I feel so blessed to have been able to minister in different places in Thailand. To explain my outreach a little further, I will give a brief overview of what happened during the two months of awesomeness..

The first location that my team and I stayed at was just outside Chiang Rai, in a village called Ruammit. We were able to partner with a church in the village and help out the Pastor and his wife. We put on children's programs, helped with practical work and prayed for village members.

After that, we moved onto the next location which was an orphanage called "Home of the Open Heart." While there, we completed practical work on a new building. We were there for about a week, then we left to minister to another church called 'Sappa Luang' for about two weeks. Our team was able to partner with the pastor in his vision to see different churches in Thailand come together in unity. While there, we also got to take a trip to Myanmar to minister to another church.

Our last location was Pattaya. We were there for two weeks helping with the 'Pattaya Slum Ministries' and teaching english classes. While working in the slums, we put on kid's Clubs and administered lice treatments. When we were able to, we also helped out in the Tamar Centre. The Tamar Centre is a training facility that gives ex-prostitues vocational skills in Jewelry Making, Crafting, Cafe work and Cosmetology.

I thoroughly enjoyed being in Thailand and the entire YWAM experience.

I also want to share a little of my heart for the coming months.

I have been prayerfully considering staying on with YWAM for the coming six months as staff in the Classic July DTS in Kona. I have felt a peace in my heart about pursuing this, and I am getting ready to leave on Friday for the beginning of staff training.
I am anticipating six months of growing in leadership and having a part in discipling more young people through YWAM!

My total monthly need is right at $650, plus the airfare for outreach, yet to be determined. If you feel so led to help support me in this, I would greatly appreciate it! You can email me or write me for more information.

Thank you for listening to what God has done and what He is continuing to do!

Be Blessed!