I am soooo sorry for any of you who have been checking my blog. I have failed miserably at keeping this updated. Sooooo sorry!!!

But I have something I wanted to share about a night that really encouraged while I've been on this tour (Spring Tour/5 weeks), and I could see God really working through my team and I:

One concert in Virginia, I gave my testimony about my struggles with anxiety, and 2 people specifically addressed me afterwards and told me that my testimony really ministered to their hearts. One was the youth pastor, who has felt drained from the anxiety he faces, and needed to hear that God uses our weaknesses to show Himself. He told me that I should never stop sharing my testimony. Another woman approached me and told me she has struggled with anxiety for over 10 years, and was also encouraged. That night she told me she was committed to praying for me every day. Wow! Then, there was this man there who was taking pictures for a newspaper he was starting, and talked to me for a little bit before. He was struggling with a lot of family stuff and mentioned stuff like he had to drink 3 beers the night before to relax. He left our concert, but came back later...and afterwards told me, "I couldn't stay home. There is something here that I had to come back for." He started to cry, and said that the Lord has been tugging on him for quite some time, and he never wanted to let go. I think that night, was the start of surrender to God in that man's life, and it was a beautiful thing to witness.

We are nearing the end of our Spring tour, soon to do partnership, full time debriefing and preparation for summer!! For those of you who check my site out, you can also go to: www.ctimusic.org and check out our blog there...since I am awful at keeping this one updated :)

 I'm sitting here at the CTI ministry preparing to head out for a 3 week tour all the way to Iowa and Ilinois! Sometimes it doesn't feel like a reality that I was in Hong Kong for the past month.  How quickly the realness of being there has escaped, and now I'm trying to process the realness of actually having experienced what I did.  My lifestyle here in the U.S. is so completely different than the one in Hong Kong.  We were always on the move in HK, doing 3-5 concerts a day, hanging out w/students who wanted to learn or practice their English, or spending time at the YFC building.  The YFC thought of every moment of their life as an opportunity to share Christ with someone--they felt an urgency to share the Gospel.  A lot of the schools are putting up more regulations on the opportunities to share Christ in their schools, which is why the YFC was so adament about getting our group into as many schools as we could--because there may not be another opportunity in the future. 

There are however a few nice things that I do love about being home again. For one, having food other Mc Donalds everyday...we literally had Mc Donalds' over there every other day, if not every day.  The weather there was super humid, and due to the smog in the air, you could never see the blue sky, and there was always a potent smell in the air.  Walking down the streets, we would see and smell lots of different foods, some very interesting and a bit unappetizing.  :) 

Here are a few more pictures that may describe a bit more of our time in Hong Kong:

We're singing "The Real Thing" at a church for the youth. You can see how they translated the words into Chinese characters.

This is our living accommodations for the 1st part of our trip.  The curtain was the boys' 'door' to their room, which was basically the main room.  Nonetheless, it brought us all much closer :)

This was at a school concert with about 1,200 kids. This picture is only 1/3 of how many students were there.

 In less than 24 hours, my team and I will be on a plane heading to Hong Kong. We're stopping through Tokyo, Japan, then straight to Hong Kong. I can't believe it's already here. I don't think it's going to be a reality until I step off that plane and realize I'm not in Willmar anymore.  We have had a great week of overseas preparation, yet you can never expect all of the challenges and adventures that lie ahead. 

I am so excited to have the opportunity to work with the Youth For Christ of Hong Kong.  From what I've heard from alumni that have gone there, it will probably be an intense month of sacrificing our time and what we think we need to best serve them there.  What an honor it is to be considered the Lord's servant.  However, I'm being reminded that no matter where we are, in Asia, Africa, or Minnesota, we are called to be servants of Christ.  We are all in the mission field--it's not a certain location that makes it a mission trip.

I'm not sure if we will have time to update on the internet while we are in Hong Kong, so this may be the last update until I get back on Oct. 31st.  But if you could pray that we could serve the YFC there in whatever capacity they ask of us, and that we would do it with a joyful heart. Also, pray for the students we will come in contact at concerts that we could be some type of seed for the YFC to reach those students.

I can't wait to come back and share all of the experiences and ways God will move.