The Rupps

Tulips

2008-04-17T23:19:00.000-07:00

our beautiful girl

We woke up on Saturday to the most gorgeous day of the year, by far. 70 degrees, perfectly sunny, the mountains sparking in the distance- just gorgeous. It was one of those days where we felt the need to spend every waking minute possible outside. We decided to head up north- just the 3 of us- to the annual "tulip festival". we had never taken Zara before and knew she would enjoy the fields of colorful flowers.

It was just a good day to be together- being outdoors, breathing fresh air, observing all the beauty that surrounds us, enjoying moments with each other. A day I felt grateful to be alive and experiencing the good gifts of this world.

30th Birthday Fun

2008-04-04T08:29:00.001-07:00

I had the best 30th birthday....wasn't sure how I would feel as I left my 20's....but with the help of my dear friends and my amazing husband, I felt celebrated and loved and so thankful for all the blessings my life holds. Zach planned such a fun weekend for me, starting with 3 of my college friends flying in to Seattle to surprise me for the weekend. We had a great time of reconnection and just being together. He planned the best birthday party I've ever had.....close friends, great food, sweet time of sharing, and dancing until 2am!!! I had such a wonderful night and feel overwhelmed with the love that is in my life.

Jen, Rachel and Mandi surprise me for the weekend!

My siblings sharing a funny poem they wrote for me!

Kind words from friends

Thanks Zach!!!

making up for lost time

2008-04-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

There's been a lot of absence from us Rupps on this blog. I'm going to try and make up for it with a massive amount of pictures. We'll see how it works out. I guess you can let us know. You can consider this a brief look at our last three months.

These past months have been filled with much joy and much challenge. Lots of time spent with friends and family doing fun things; and lots of time considering what may be next for us. School is quite consuming for me (zach) these days, and I'm looking forward to the term being over in a month.

Amanda continues to progress well in her pregnancy--we'll find out the sex of the kid in a couple weeks. Zara is certain that it will be a girl--actually she refuses to believe that there is even a possibility that it may be a boy. She believes that to be a biological impossibility.

ok-here's some pictures... descriptions underneath each picture.

My parents and Zara around Christmastime

Downtown Chicago with our friends Drew and Rachel

Drew, Rachel, and their dog Norm

Our friend Lynette

Zara wearing her "I'm the big sister" shirt

Zara and her favorite doll Lilly

Zach and Zara on a hike at Discovery Park in Seattle

Zara and her friend William being crazy

Our friends Ben, Mel, Jaya, and Sasha Parsons (with us in Colorado)

Zach and Zara drinking hot chocolate in Colorado

Amanda and Steph skiing in Colorado

Our friends Ryan and Elaine. Zach went on an igloo-building expedition with them.

Zara in Florida last week

Zara in Florida

Zara in Florida

snow angel

2008-01-02T09:04:00.000-08:00

Our delicious dinner....

2007-11-25T00:19:00.000-08:00

I'm blessed to have a husband that really likes to cook in general and I love this about him. And while I enjoy his cooking throughout the year, something happens at thanksgiving where he pulls out this hat of master gourmet chef extraordinaire.....this is the second thanksgiving that zach has taken over and planned, and when i say "taken over" i mean it....the recipes were top secret even to me and i had to snoop really hard to find them in the secret chef folder this year!! there is a system to this event and there is no messing with it- a group of us tackle the shopping for this meal, with the chef in charge handing out alphabetized grocery lists to each of us and sending us on our way to find items, some of which were really difficult just to pronounce! preparation for the meal takes place on the day before thanksgiving and most of the morning of.....each of us at chopping stations preparing parts of the meal and getting everything organized and ready. it is a labor of love, and a fun one at that!

the menu this year was a huge hit, once again, and we all gladly nominate zach to be in charge of whatever meal he pleases. now, for the unveiling of the menu....
lunch/starters:
Spiced Pomegranate Apple Cider
Velvety Butternut/Acorn Squash Soup
Potato/Sour Cream Biscuits
Spinach Artichoke Dip with Bacon with Pecorino-Black Pepper Breadsticks (the only culinary disaster of the day....I was in charge of this one and added baking soda to the dough instead of baking powder, causing me to take one bite, spit it in the trash, and promptly dump the whole tray in with it....oh well!)

Dinner:
Classic Herb Roasted Turkey with Gravy
Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes with herb infused olive oil (i think these won the #1 spot....so delicious!)
Green Beans with Toasted Hazelnut Lemon Butter
Sweet Potato Casserole - topped with a yummy streusel and marshmallows, of course
Cranberry/Apricot Sauce
Herb Stuffing

Dessert:
Pear Crisp with Oat Streusel Topping
The classic Pumpkin Pie with home-made cinnamon/vanilla whip cream (i'll take the credit for this one!)

and for our after dinner drink, which ended up being a next day drink since we were all so stuffed we couldn't imagine putting one more thing in our mouth....
Banana foster punch- this is basically a drink inspired by the classic dessert of rum drenched carmelized bananas topped with ice cream, only it was all blended up into a beautifully rich dessert drink....yum, yum, yum!!!
now, aren't you impressed???
I sure am.

the cute cousins relaxing together after the big meal

Togetherness-

2007-11-25T00:03:00.000-08:00

I love thanksgiving. I love the food, and the long weekend, and of course the pumpkin treats. But most of all i love the simplicity of the holiday and the idea that the whole holiday is about being together. my parents and sister came into town for the week, so all of us were together and had lots of time to enjoy each other, the kids, and the relaxed pace of the calm before the christmas storm hits. my sister and i decided it would be fun to plan a Thanksgiving fun run/walk for any of our friends that were still in town. we met at greenlake and walked/ran the 3 mile loop together Thanksgiving morning. it was such a fun way to start the day.

it happened to be a gorgeous, sunny, cold week in seattle and being out in the sunshine with friends and family and lots of other people just enjoying each other reminded me of all i have to be thankful for. thanks to all our friends who came out to our 1st Annual Fun Run....we will definitely have to do it again next year!

treat filled day....

2007-11-01T00:03:00.000-07:00

I literally think today was like a dream come true for Zara....I mean, come on.....getting to dress up like a fairy princess and go out of our house....carrying around a bucket and knocking on doors and just being given candy after candy, just for asking!?....her mom not caring how much candy she ate because what the heck....it's just once a year, right??
She LOVED it.....
she loved dressing up, and twirling around, and saying trick or treat, and being with her friends, and waving her fairy wand and just the whole thing. she really loved it.
and i loved watching her- the enjoyment she felt made me so happy as well. and being with our friends and family and their kids and just taking part in all of it together ....ahhh....what fun memories.....

In the fall spirit....

2007-10-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

We've been loving fall....the colors, the crisp days, and especially the pumpkin recipes!!! This time of year i go crazy about pumpkin......i wait all year for it's arrival on the scene....pumpkin lattes, pumpkin soup, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin curry, pumpkin pie, pumpkin dip!!! Pumpkin Dip is one of my fall favorites and i thought i would share the recipe here. It is super easy and super tasty and may make you a little bit famous among your circle of friends....It is best served with apples, a perfect fall afternoon snack or a great addition to a fall party or buffet.....Seriously, you should try it....

PUMPKIN DIP

3/4 cup (6 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
24 apple slices

Beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add the pumpkin and brown sugar and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add syrup and cinnamon, and beat until smooth. Cover and chill 30 minutes. Serve with apple. Enjoy!!

a few pics from the summer

2007-10-09T23:53:00.000-07:00

The first two pictures are of Zara with her uncle D flying a kite at Gasworks Park in Seattle. Also thought you might think it was funny to see her listening to the ipod...

I'm definitely in the midst of the busy-ness of school right now. I have an extremely busy next couple weeks, but then a week off, which I'm very excited about. It won't exactly be a week off of school work, but at least a week that I won't have to go to school. They build in a week each fall to allow the students to catch up on reading, assignments, papers, etc. I'm loving my classes. Very challenging, but rich with more good material than I'm able to soak in. I feel extremely grateful to be attending school right now. It's only been a month, but it's already been an enriching experience.

Starting grad school....

2007-09-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

I just had one of those weeks that deserves to be marked, remembered. It was my first week at Mars Hill Graduate School: full of classes, orientation, meeting new people. Looking back on the week I think that the thing I feel most distinctly is that I was welcomed really well into that community. Starting with walking in the door Tuesday morning all the way to the Vespers service tonight, everything fit together really well and gave me the feeling of being taken care of. It seemed like all the little details had been thought of, and there was meaning attached to everything.. There was much time devoted to connecting with all the new faces--meeting new students as well as meeting the faculty. I told Amanda today that I wished there were actually LESS people I wanted to connect with at school; I start to feel overwhelmed at all the potential relationships... That's a good problem. It just seems like it's a solid group of people who I have a lot to learn from.

Tonight during the Vespers service we had time to consider what we were hoping for as this time at MHGS commences. It's a good question, and a scary one to answer because there's something really vulnerable about exposing hope. Failing doesn't appeal all that much to me, so the idea of my failing being exposed to everyone is frightening. I guess the converse of that would be that my success would be exposed as well... I'm hoping that the disruptive, painful, and good process of going to school gives me more confidence, and in turn gives me the courage to trust myself. I think I could be a good counselor. And even more important to me, I think I could be a good friend. But I have this deep belief that I need to spend some time examining what's deepest inside of me before I can help people understand the core of themselves. There's no doubt that this program will help me achieve that goal--whether I want it to or not. Stay tuned for the details...

PS-here's a picture of Zara sneaking a peek inside one of the classrooms.

the sweetest face in the world....

2007-08-27T16:23:00.001-07:00

i'll write more soon about how we're doing.....but for now, i've mostly just been enthralled by this cute little person in my life. it's fun to be able to share her with you....

Aunt Kate visits....

2007-08-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

Zara loves her Aunt Kate....Kate came to Seattle to spend 2 weeks with us and her little niece and nephew and we sure loved having her here. She and Zara hung out every day and today Zara said "I really miss my Aunt Kate...." Sigh....it's great to have wonderful family, but hard when they are not here with us....

Hanging! Zara's favorite new pastime....

2007-08-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

As you can see from these photos, right now Zara is obsessesed with hanging...from anything she can find to hang from, her crib, our bathroom sink, and everything in the park. We try to encourage it in the park and discourage it everywhere else! A few photos of our funny little girl....

Our Saturday Tradition....

2007-08-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

In attempt to get back to posting more regularly, I thought I'd fill you in on our famiy's Saturday morning summer tradition....our neighborhood farmer's market! We have been loving the market this summer. Every Saturday I get up really looking forward to walking the streets to the market, picking up a coffee along the way, and strolling through the aisles of brightly colored produce and flowers, all grown locally by the vendors themselves. I love the connection of actually seeing the people who grow the food I am eating, and love the fact that I can support them directly in this way.

I love that the food only travelled a short distance to get to me, rather than hundreds of miles on a semi-truck to be unloaded in some major grocery store. I love how fresh the peaches and cherries taste and how we are growing to recognize faces as we shop there week after week. I just love the whole idea of it.

Zara is in heaven as she samples tastes from each stand along the way, especially when she gets to the "squeaky cheese", her favorite. I love seeing neighbors and my siblings (who recently moved here) and people i know week after week. I love the music and the freshness and the bustling activity. Just another reason I love summers in Seattle....
(my sister kate is visiting this week and took these adorable photos!)

what's new (the facts according to Zach)

2007-07-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

Thought we'd give you a little update on what's going on with YWAM Seattle... A while back we wrote an entry about how YWAM was trying to purchase some property here in our neighborhood. Our goals were lofty, but property around here is expensive, and that's just the way it is... Our goal was to raise $140,000 (20% of the total price) in a fairly short amount of time. We did pretty well, but still fell short of where we wanted to be. However, the owner has agreed to NOT sell the property to anyone else, and is allowing us to continue leasing it from him for the next year. (giving us more time to raise money)

In the midst of that process, we began to realize that we were looking very under-staffed for the DTS this fall. In addition, one of our key staff members decided to move from Seattle at the end of this summer to pursue some other interests. We were left with some hard decisions to make in regards to how we were going to pull off running the DTS. In the end we decided that it would be in everyone's best interest to cancel it. I didn't feel like we could provide a top-quality service to our students based on the number of staff that we had. The decision was a very difficult one to make for a number of different reasons:

1. This past spring and summer I've put in a LOT of time working on improving the program and implementing some new ideas.
2. We've been involved with DTS every fall for the last 7 years.
3. In essence, we made a decision that takes away a major part of our job with YWAM Seattle, at least for the time being.

So we're left with the question of where do we go from here... I've been planning on starting grad school at Mars Hill Graduate School this fall to study counseling psychology, but a major component of my desire to do that was the impact that it could have on the DTS in the coming years. I've really been spending some time considering my decision to go there, and have decided that I definitely will start classes in September. The picture is still a bit cloudy as to where that will lead, but I'm feeling good about the decision.

To be clear, we're still not sure what the future holds in terms of our involvement with YWAM. For now, we're still in leadership of the base, and continue to work with the other things that our base is involved in. I'm still the organization's accountant/administrator. We see this coming year as a time for us as an organization to refine our vision, and a time to recruit more staff. I really believe that we were on our way to offering one of the best DTS programs anywhere. We'll just have to wait one more year to get it started. There has been quite a bit of disappointment in the last couple of months, but at the same time I see God leading us and protecting us--even when it hasn't always seemed or felt that way at the time. And we trust that He'll continue to do that.

One more picture of Amanda with Zara and her cousin Lucas for you...

Breathe

2007-06-28T22:24:00.000-07:00

I just had the best day. Not only was it special because Zach and I got to have a whole day alone together (that doesn’t happen often!), but also because we spent the day in Glacier National Park in Montana which is just about the most gorgeous place I have ever seen.
This week we are vacationing with Zach’s family in Montana and since we are staying so close to Glacier, we decided we needed to take a day trip to the park. I don’t know what it is exactly, but something about spending an entire day surrounded by beautiful scenery and untouched wilderness brought a refreshment that would be hard to find anywhere else. I sat back and took it all in. I felt I could breathe deeply and even just take time to listen to myself breathe. I noticed things I don’t usually notice….both in nature and in myself. I sat and watched and looked and listened. I felt at peace with myself, free for a moment from the demands and stress and insecurities that make up many of my days. I think there’s something about being in the vastness of creation that gives a bit of perspective….helps me see outside myself, helps me see that maybe I’m going to be okay and maybe the things that are stressing me out are not quite as overwhelming as they feel.
On the way home we had the windows down, music blaring and the wind whipping across our faces….a glorious end to a glorious day.
I hope for more days like today….

Beautiful Wedding Day....

2007-06-20T22:19:00.000-07:00

Today my brother got married. I can't believe it!! It's a crazy feeling sometimes remembering how we all grew up together as kids, but now that we really are adults. Having my brother get married really made me feel like an adult....those moments just hit me sometimes!! Sometimes I still feel so young, but then things hit me and I realize, wow, I really am growing up. That's how i felt today. But it was so good. We just love the girl my brother chose to marry. And it was magical to see them get married in an amazing setting on the Chesapeake Bay with so many people surrounding them that loved them. I could not be happier for them as they start their new life together and for our family to gain another sister.

Oh, and I can't forget that Zara made her debut as a flower girl today!! She was so adorable and did make it all the way down the aisle by herself....even though it seemed doubtful for a few moments!

If you're happy and you know it....

2007-06-20T22:01:00.000-07:00

We flew back to the east coast last week to visit my family and to be a part of my brother's wedding. It's always a long travel day coming from Seattle to Baltimore, but this day was even longer than most....First, the thunderstorms.....we got delayed in the air because of storms surrounding the ciy we were supposed to land in. After circling for a while, they ended up diverting our flight to another city. Once we got there, they told us we could not get off the plane. We had to wait in the airplane for the weather to clear so we could leave right away. This was after being on this plane already for 6 hours! After a while we could not contain Zara in our seat any longer and had long run out of things to entertain her so I begged the flight attendant to let me get off the plane with her just so she could run around. After some desperate pleading, she let us get off. Zara got to run around for a while and we just waited and waited. They finally announced we could get back on the plane and that we would be taking off right away. We head down the runway and then stop. The pilot announces he will be shutting off the engines because we are not able to take off as there are now too many planes trying to take off......I was about to lose it!!! I was so anxious to be home and with my family and I was SO tired of being on that plane going nowhere! About this time Zara was playing in the aisle and had caught a second wind of happiness. She soon started in on a rousing chorus of "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!!" she clapped her hands and stomped her feet and even got a few people sitting nearby to join her. Ahh, the innocence and joy of a child.....
About 4 hours later, at 1am, we finally arrived home.....
P.S. the adventures didn't stop there....to read a bit more, check out our friend chrissie's blog (she came on this trip with us!)
http://chrissieinseattle.blogspot.com/

The "Grey House"

2007-06-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

One large project that we've been working on the last couple weeks is the potential purchase of some property for YWAM Seattle. (Not US buying the property, but YWAM buying some property!)

Here's the link to the page on YWAM Seattle's website that details the purchase, including a flyer that hopefully most of you received in the mail. If you haven't received it, and would like to, we can get one in the mail for you right away.

The website gives many details, but we also wanted to communicate personally what this house means to us... This house we're trying to purchase has been a place where we have invested many hours over the last 4 years. This is the house where all of our students stay when they go through our Discipleship Training School. We've had many meetings there, eaten countless meals, and had lots of meaningful conversations with both students and staff. For more details on the program we direct, feel free to check out the Urban DTS page on the YWAM Seattle website. We've been responsible for most of the content, and it does a good job of summing up what our primary roles here are all about.

YWAM Seattle has been renting this house for 4 years, and we believe that now is the time to make some steps towards purchasing the property. We (both us personally and YWAM Seattle) love this neighborhood and are ready to put down some tangible roots here. If you're interested in hearing more please let us know.

This has been something occupying much of our time over the last few months since we've been back from Thailand. We've been busy designing promotional material, planning open-houses, and meeting with potential donors. You can be praying for us this Thursday evening as we're helping host an open-house for some potential donors. This has really been a big step of faith for us as an organization, considering that we're quite small and we don't have much extra money. We'll keep you updated on the process. Thanks for your prayers.

we're back...

2007-05-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody... Sorry for our absence over the last couple of months. I think that once we got back home to Seattle we settled into our old routine of not updating this blog. But we're ready to get it going again. There have been some changes going on around here over the last couple months, so we want to keep you in the loop! Over the next week we're hoping to write a bit more to let you know what's been going on with us. Thanks for your patience, and sorry again for the lack of communication. Hopefully these cute pictures of Zara will make up for it!
Zach and Zara out for breakfast to celebrate Zara's Birthday

Zara opening birthday presents

Zara being funny pushing her stroller

Back in Seattle-

2007-03-10T14:00:00.000-08:00

We've been home for about 6 days now and are very happy to be here. Our bed feels extra comfy and our showers extra hot....all the little things we miss while we are overseas! We've experienced some jet-lag this week, but it really hasn't been too bad! Zara is sleeping really well and seems so happy to see all her toys and be sleeping in her own room. We are also glad she has her own room back after sharing a room with her for a few months!
Tonight we have our DTS graduation. It is our final event with our students and a final time to share together before we all go our separate ways. There is a mixture of relief and sadness as we end this time with them. It will definitely feel empty around here for a while as we have all gotten so used to being together and living in this community.
Please pray for our transition and for our students. Many of them feel nervous about going home and trying to explain all that they've just experienced. Many are also in the process of making future decisions. We are going to take it easy the next few weeks as we settle back into our life here.
Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement during our time away. We look forward to seeing many of you soon and catching up with our Seattle friends in the next few weeks!

Heading home....

2007-03-02T05:16:00.000-08:00

We've come to the end of our time in Thailand....We have had a some great last days with our team here. We were able to go to a beach for our last 3 days and have some time to relax as a team and debrief our time here together. It has been good to share together all that we have learned and process how we will apply those things as we go back home. We all feel a mixture of excitement about returning home to our friends and family and a sadness about leaving this beautiful country. Please pray for us if you think of us....we have long travels getting home (we leave in about 24 hours and it will take us about 27 hours to get home...) and as we transition to life back at home.
Thanks for all your prayers.
love, the rupps
ps. thanks for all the comments and birthday wishes :)

Amanda's birthday dinner

2007-02-24T23:30:00.001-08:00

I had a really fun birthday. Not only did we get to ride elephants, but some of our closest Thai friends came over and made one of my favorite Thai dishes for dinner….phad thai. Phad Thai is a very traditional dish and is made by mixing lots of ingredients with fresh noodles and stir-frying them all together in a wok. Then you top it with bean sprouts, lime, green onions and chopped peanuts, and spicy pepper, if you desire. Our friends brought all the ingredients to our house and we cooked together. It was fun to watch them in action….we kept asking if we could help and they kept saying “just sit!”

These friends are very special to us as we met them 4 years ago on our first trip to Thailand. We have kept in touch ever since and seen each other every time we have come here. It's really neat for us to have a friendship that has continued over many miles for many years.
We all enjoyed a delicious meal and I enjoyed a memorable birthday in Thailand!

p.s. we know there are some of you that have been keeping up with us via our blog....would you mind leaving us a comment to let us know you are out there??? sometimes it's hard to know is anyone is actually reading this :)

Reminders of home....

2007-02-16T06:21:00.000-08:00

We found this reservoir on the campus of Chiang Mai University....it really reminded me of Greenlake in Seattle and made me miss home!

A few pictures from the market

2007-02-15T23:03:00.000-08:00

Tuk-Tuk Ride

2007-02-15T09:09:00.000-08:00

Zara's first ride on a tuk-tuk....a very fun way to get around (but not the safest !:) She really loved it!

Yummy Brownies (by Amanda)

2007-02-15T08:45:00.000-08:00

it's been a hard couple of days for me. i fluctuate between desiring to take in the moments that we have here, treasure our time and enjoy it all and just wanting to go home where things are more comfortable, i know what's going on, i speak the language well and have many friends around that know me well. i find myself living in this constant state of frustration with myself....never doing enough, or trying to do it all and feeling like a failure at everything. and then i get frustrated with myself for being this way! why can't i just go with the flow, relax, be thankful? often i find i need a bit of perspective and pictures of hope to pull me away from being consumed with my own world. i need to see things outside myself. i need my heart to be softened to care for those around me more than i care for my own comfort. i need to see my own heart and repent and be moved to action and to love out of the love i have been given. please work in my heart Lord.
i was able to see some pictures of hope today. it was a hard day for me with zara, she needed a lot and i felt like i didn't have a lot to give. but i was also able to step outside myself and it was life-giving. we met with an organization today called Hope for the Nations. they have opened a home where young girls who are single moms can live. these girls all come from desperate circumstances....being disowned for being pregnant, being forced to drink poison to kill their baby unless they ran away, being shunned by their communities, being at risk for being sold into prostitution....etc.....The couple who runs this home have a heart to see these girls become whole and to begin to break the cycle of poverty in their own lives. They are given a safe place to stay and they live in community with one another as they learn about Christ, learn how to take care of their babies, and learn to handle the responsibilites of finances and jobs. the goal is to open small businesses and to train the girls in different fields that they are interested in so that they will have means to provide for their children. the first venture is to start a bakery that will sell baked goods to local hotels and cafes. so today we had the privledge of spending time baking with the girls. they are just practicing and learning the basics and we had so much fun just being able to do this activity together. we made brownies, cookies and coffeecake....it was really fun to have a taste of home and some of the sweets we have missed!

i felt hopeful as i was with these girls and as i looked at their babies....lives that could have been destroyed but are in the process of being redeemed. it showed me once again what a little bit of love and security can do to dignify someone and cause them to see the beauty and value in themselves. and it reminded me that while i often feel i have little to give, i can look into somone's eyes and smile and listen and let them know they are worthwhile and for that moment, that may be enough.

Chiang Mai (by Zach)

2007-02-13T21:42:00.000-08:00

We've been in Chiang Mai now for a little over a week now. It hasn't gone quite as we expected it to go, but it's still been good. We've had a number of things planned that have either fallen through or have gotten moved back. There has been some frustration, but I really think that we're making the best of the situation. Our team has been able to meet quite a few people, which has been really fun. Tomorrow night we're inviting our neighbors over for an Ice Cream Social. How social of us...

We've been learning a lot about the issues of prostitution here in Thailand, and specifically the northern part of the country where we're located. I think I've learned more about this issue this time in Thailand than I learned my other 4 times combined. It was more of a focus for our team coming here this year, and so we've tried to make it a priority in terms of how we're spending our time.

Last week we met with two different organizations who are working with women coming out of prostitution. The first one is called Garden of Hope. It's an organization that provides training and skills for the women, so that they have other means of creating income. The other organization that we heard from was International Justice Mission. They are a large organization that does some incredible things around the globe. In Thailand, their work invloves rescuing women (and girls) who have been trafficked and are now being held against their wills as sexual slaves. Both organizations are doing great work here, attempting to be a part of the solution to an issue that is overwhelming here in Southeast Asia--the sexual exploitation of women. I apologize if the language seems graphic, but the issue itself is inherently graphic. There are no easy words to describe what is happening here.

It's been a very eye-opening week for our whole team. The issue of prostitution is a very obvious one here, as the city we're in is littered with bars proudly selling women. There are so many layers to the issue: Who are the girls? Where did they come from? How did they get here? Who's making the money? Why is it ok for men to purchase women so openly? What happens after the girls' value is diminished (with old age or disease)? One of the most disturbing things we learned is that the blatant prostitution that we see is only a very small part of the extent of the problem. Western tourists make up only a very small percentage of the overall number of people soliciting prostitutes here. (Thai nationals make up 95% of the customers)

The challenge for me personally is to continue to have hope in the One who is bigger than all these issues. It's too easy to focus on the surface circumstances and get completely overwhelmed by them. The issue seems too big to do anything about it. And the reality is that I can't "solve" the problem by myself. There's a quote from Mother Teresa that says: "In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love." That's what I'm seeing as the mission for our team here. We've done a lot of praying, a lot of learning, and had a lot of conversations. On some days that doesn't seem like enough, but we're doing all that we can.

Last night we went on a prayer walk with a couple people from Garden of Hope in one of the main areas of prostitution here. The two people we went with had spent quite a bit of time in the area, so they were very familiar with everything. As we walked down the street, girls in the bars came running out to see our two guides. It gave me a boost of hope/faith to see that happen. Our guides were loved and respected by the girls because they had been coming to this area consistently over a 6-month period. It helped me see the power of doing a few small things, and how those seemingly small things can make a huge difference.

Moving!

2007-02-02T03:02:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody... Our time here in Chiang Rai is coming to an end quickly. Monday afternoon we'll be getting on a bus and taking a three hour trip south to Chiang Mai. Our last couple of days here will be fun. Tomorrow (Saturday) we'll mostly just be around the Youth Center, hanging out with the kids we've gotten to know over the last month. It's been fun to see our team really get to know a lot of the kids. It seems like each of us has 2 or 3 that we've really clicked with. It'll definitely be a hard transition as we have to say good-bye to the kids. On Sunday, we'll be visiting a church up near the border of Burma. We'll take a brief visit across the border and visit Burma for little while. Gotta get Zara into as many different countries as we can!

The focus of the second half of our trip will be very different than the first half. We will have two main types of ministry that we're working with:
1. We're working with a couple different organizations that work with women coming out of prostitution. Most of what we'll be doing will be centered around education (us getting educated). Because we're only there for 3 1/2 weeks, our involvement will be somewhat limited. But we're really praying and hoping that our eyes would be opened to this enormous issue that is so prevalant here in Southeast Asia. The organizations we'll be working with help to provide education and training for the women, enabling them to get jobs. The issues surrounding prostitution here are myriad, so we're hoping to get a glimpse into this problem.

2. The other thing we'll be doing is hosting an English club for University students at a University that is very close to the house where we'll be staying. Basically all students here really want/need to learn English, so that's an easy way for us to meet people. Our desire is to build relationships with the students we're able to meet. When we came here 4 1/2 years ago, we met some friends that we still keep up with, and who we'll be seeing when we get to Chaing Mai. We hope that our team can also build lasting relationships with people here.

Thanks for your continuing prayers. We appreciate them. Things have been going really well. You can be praying that Zara does well on the bus ride Monday.

a few more photos...

2007-01-27T23:02:00.000-08:00

The team playing the thai version of duck-duck- goose with the kids

The boys having a great time in the water

Zara and friends

Little village girl

Not that different.....(by Amanda)

2007-01-27T22:41:00.000-08:00

I think there is this settling in thing that happens when you are in another country for 2 months. At first you are on a bit of a high, noticing everything that is new and different and amazing and taking it all in. You have lots of energy and enthusiasm and are willing to jump in and work with all you’ve got. You’re fascinated by the culture, the language, the different foods (spicy seafood potato chips anyone??) Then there is a bit of a shift that happens. You start to settle in and realize, ok, I’m going to be here for a while. This is starting to feel more like real life. I’m starting to come down from the high and my energy isn’t quite so strong anymore.
I think this is where I am at and I also sense this settling in our team. The roosters and crazy barking dogs are more a way of life, the language doesn’t catch you off guard as much, the food seems normal and having rice at every meal is now what you expect. You get used to talking in broken English and making large hand gestures to communicate. You are used to being stared at and also laughed at. It’s all just the normal way of life here.
I like being able to come to other countries for longer periods of time because this settling seems important. It’s not as easy to romanticize another place when you are there long enough to feel some frustration. The joy you noticed in the people at the beginnig is still there, but you also start to notice the sadness too. You start to realize that people really are all the same and the same problems that exist at home exist here too.
And it’s good to see these things. It makes the people here more human and me more human. It makes me realize we are all just doing our best to cope with life day to day, deal with our problems, love our family and the people in our lives, work hard at our jobs and develop some sort of meaning.
I had a long talk with my friend here the other night. The sun had gone down, the moon and the stars were shining bright and we just stood breathing in the cool night air and sharing our souls. She helps manage the youth center here. She also is just working hard to take care of her 3 kids, love her husband, and manage her friendships well. As we talked I just got this overwhelming feeling of solidarity with her. Our lives look so different on the outside, our cultures have just a little bit in common, we are clearly from different worlds, but life and the struggles are so much the same. How do I stay true to the things God has called me to? How do I take care of my children and balance my own life and desires with caring for them? How do I deal with relational difficulties in my work? How do I live faithfully and maintain joy even when things are hard?
And so the journey continues to live well and love well, whether across the world in Thailand or sitting in my home in Seattle. May God grant us the courage to feel deeply and be responsive to the calling and desires he has place in each of our hearts. And may we encourage others in our lives to do the same.

Lately (by Zach)

2007-01-27T22:27:00.000-08:00

This past week has been a good one. Last Sunday night our students spent the night in a village. It went really well for them. It wasn’t too primitive (they had electricity), but it was a good first experience in a village.

The next morning I picked them up and we all went fishing—but not like any fishing that I’ve done before. On the way back from the village we stopped at a small river (maybe 2 feet deep at the most). The way the people in the village fish is basically this: weight down a large tarp in the river, keeping one edge of the tarp out of the water. Then we essentially walked on our hands and knees towards the tarp in the water, herding the fish towards the tarp. Once we got to the tarp we lift it up, sorting out the rocks and keeping the fish. We did this over and over until we had walked upstream probably a ½ mile or so. By the end, we had caught a lot of fish. Then we stopped, built a fire, and roasted the fish over the fire. As I stopped to look around, I was in awe of the scene around me… In the middle of nowhere in Thailand, being guided by a man who we didn’t share a single word of language with, beautiful hills surrounding me, perfect stillness. It was really a moment to treasure. I was thinking about how it contrasted with the busy-ness of life back home. It made me realize again what a privilege it is for us to get to lead these teams and go on these trips.

The rest of the week was spent finishing up some concrete work, and then spending some time playing with the kids here. We only have one more week here in Chiang Rai before we head south to Chiang Mai for the final month of our time in Thailand.

I feel so privileged to work here with Pastor Luka. I think this is the 7th team that YWAM Seattle has sent here, and it feels so great to partner with a ministry that is doing so many amazing things. Because the nature of our trip is short-term, it’s nice to know that we’re partnering with a ministry that is working toward the long-term good of so many people. Luka’s vision for his people is broad and far-reaching, and yet incredibly focused. He realizes that for people in Akha villages to be successful, they need to grow in so many different ways. They need to hear, know, and live out the Gospel, but they also need very practical things—nutrition programs, better health-care, ways to generate income, better education. And he’s doing things that are effecting change in all of those areas. It’s been great to come back here over the past few years and see all the progress that is being made.

Zara has been a bit of a challenge the past few days—not sleeping so well and being a bit cranky during the day. Nothing too bad, but harder than she’s been so far on the trip. The kids are all really sweet with her, but i think sometimes she gets a bit overwhelmed with all the people grabbing her and wanting to hold her and touch her. If you could keep her and us in your prayers we’d appreciate it. You can also be praying for our team to keep its focus as we change locations (Feb 5th). As we approach the 2nd half of the trip, it’s quite easy to start thinking about home and lose sight of what we’re here to do.

2007-01-24T18:41:00.000-08:00

zara has a crowd watching her wherever she goes!

eating ice cream and loving it

zara having fun with Luka's mom

making new friends....

Another blog to check out-

2007-01-23T04:54:00.000-08:00

In case you're interested in reading more, our Thailand team is writing a blog with different team members taking turns writing posts. If you'd like to check it out, here is the address:
http://www.ywamseattle.org/outreach/thailand/

Settling In....(by Amanda)

2007-01-19T01:39:00.000-08:00

We've been here in Thailand for about 10 days now and I think we're feeling settled into our life here. It has been so good to be here, especially reconnecting with friends and familiar faces from past visits. The first part of our trip we are living in northern Thailand in Chiang Rai which is a small town surrounded by many hill tribe villages. We are living at a youth center where kids from the villages are given the chance to live and receive education so that they will have a more hopeful future. We have worked at this center 3 other times so the kids know us and it's so fun to see how they've grown since the last time we saw them. Our team is helping to do various projects around the center....they worked in the tea field this week and pruned all 5000 plants....they have been working for 3 days laying cement in what is to be the new tea factory. The center has plans to process and sell the tea they are growing in order to create more income and become more self sustaining (right now many of the kids are supported monthly from people in the US) We are so happy to be able to be part of this work that is making a long term impact on the kids and their families and villages.

We have been enjoying lots of sun and warm weather!!! :) (we are not missing seattle weather right now) It has been so fun to be able to let Zara run around outside all day and to have freedom from being bound indoors. She is doing amazing. She is a real superstar here with everyone wanting to touch her smooth white skin. The kids at the center just love her and she has them playing ring around the rosie with her and singing jingle bells (her 2 favorites right now!) She welcomes everyone with her sweet little smile and is making friends very quickly. She is very entertained with having 60 kids to run around and play with! It has been neat to see this new world through her eyes and to see how she responds. She was tentative for about 2 days and then she settled in easily to this new community. She amazes me with her resilance to all this change.....

The pace of life is so different from what I am used to and I am finding it refreshing....well, now I am.... The first few days I felt irritated at the long days, lack of freedom (it's hard to communicate, I can't drive myself anywhere, I can't get on the internet to write home!) It's a strange feeling to be a foreigner and so out of control. It reminds me what the refugees I work with in Seattle must feel on a daily basis. It can be so tiring when the simplest task takes a long time to do. But yesterday as I was spending the morning with Zara while the team worked, I just sat and looked at her for a while. I stared at her little face and mouth, I listened really closely to what she was saying. I played with her and did whatever she wanted to do and just let her lead me. We walked around the yard, picked up rocks, took out all her toys, ate lunch and ice cream and it got all over her mouth and clothes and it was so nice that it didn't matter. We walked around in the dirt and ran under the sprinking hose and just enjoyed the day. And I found myself so happy and so content and noticing more and seeing more than I had in a long time....And I wouldn't trade this for anything.....

We made it....

2007-01-09T23:50:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to write a quick note to let you know we made it to Thailand safely!! It was definitely a long trip, especially with Miss Zara.....I think she was very confused why we were on the plane for so long!! She didn't sleep very much during the trip so we were in constant entertainment mode, which got tiring, but thankfully our team helped us out a bit and gave her a change of scenery!
Overall, things went very smoothly.....except for one major mishap....we realized last night at 4am that we had left our computer on the plane!!! a few moments of panic but we called the airlines right away this morning and they had found it and had it waiting for us.....Thank you Lord....
Our team did great during our travel and customs and immigration all went very smoothly. We had an orientation today and now we're just trying to stay awake until we can let ourselves go to bed. The time difference here is 15 hours ahead of Seattle.....
It is warm and sunny and it felt really neat waking up in a place that is so familiar to Zach and I and to be able to have Zara with us. Pray for her if you think of it, I can tell she is confused and a bit insecure. We are doing our best to reassure her and give her what she needs as she gets adjusted.
Thank you for your prayers and we will update as we can!

Counting Down....

2007-01-02T01:12:00.000-08:00

Well, we leave for Thailand one week from today....It is hard to believe this time next week all our packing will be done and we will be sitting on the airplane on our way! There are many emotions as we prepare to go....sadness as we are ending this time in Seattle with our students and will be separating into 2 different teams....excitement as we will get to see friends that we have made in Thailand over the years....hopeful as I think of the adventures that await us....nervousness/anticipation as this will be our first time taking Zara to Asia.....dread as I think of 20 hours in a plane entertaining a 20 month old!!!
Please pray for us as you think of us this week. Of course there is much to do and many lists to check off.....many things to worry about as I try to sleep at night....and yet I hope to be present as we are still here and as we seek to end this season well and say goodbyes for a few months to those that we love.
We will be updating as regularly as we can while we are away.
Thanks for your prayers and for caring for us....

Learning to cook....

2007-01-02T01:07:00.000-08:00

Here is Zara with her favorite Christmas present- her retro pink kitchen. She is loving it and has a great time making us cookie, coffee and eggs every day! We had a wonderful, relaxing Christmas in our home in Seattle. It was a special time for just the three of us to hang out and enjoy being together.

Advent Prayer (by Henri Nouwen)

2006-12-18T02:17:00.000-08:00

Lord Jesus,
Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.
We who have so much to do, seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy, seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking light.
To you we say, Come Lord Jesus....
Amen.

Christmas tree fun

2006-12-08T09:15:00.000-08:00

We had a great time cutting down our Christmas tree with friends on Sunday. It was a beautiful day and there was snow on the ground and mountains all around. Zara had fun as well, although she thought it was very strange when we cut down a tree and then placed it in our house!

Day with Zara

2006-12-07T22:58:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the avalanche of posts, but I guess there's a lot to say...

On Thursdays I (Zach) normally watch Zara, while Amanda does YWAM work. Today was an interesting day for Zara and I. Maybe you'll find it amusing. I wish I could show you some pictures of the day, but unfortunately our camera didn't have a memory card in...

Zara and I took the bus downtown, and the bus ride itself was a bit of an adventure. We were in a rush to get out of the house (of course), and I proceeded to get on the wrong bus. It didn't take us too far out of the way, but it added a bit of excitement to the day. So instead of one easy bus ride to get downtown it took us three confusing buses. By the time we got there, Zara was ready for some walking around. (As a sidenote here, Zara has just learned the word "Starbucks" but I'm going to try and weed it out of her vocabularly somehow.) It was fun to watch her walk down the sidewalk and just take everything in. She gets very distracted by people, and loves to watch them. We didn't really have much of an agenda other than walking around and maybe doing a little Christmas shopping. However we only made it to one store (Old Navy) because I quickly realized the futility of trying to shop with Zara and no stroller to strap her into. She's just too busy to sit still and let me look for anything.

After our "shopping" experience we were looking for something else to do when I saw a Carousel that is set up every year downtown for kids. She seemed really interested in it, so I thought it would be fun for her to ride it. I was definitely wrong. She hated it. In fact, they had to stop the ride to let us off because they thought Zara was about to go crazy. She rode her horse for approximately 13 seconds before jumping into my arms. At that point my only goal was to assure her that not all horses were as strange and crazy as these.

After that the trip (and the rest of the day) went rather smoothly. We made it home safely and later in the afternoon continued our weekly tradition of going to a cafe in Queen Anne to see our friend Rachel. It was a fun and eventful day.

Thailand team

2006-12-07T22:49:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to pass along a picture of the team that will be going with us to Thailand. We leave January 8th or 9th, and will be returning in early March.

Jeremiah 29

2006-12-07T22:16:00.000-08:00

This week we have one of my favorite speakers. His name is Ron Ruthruff, and he's the Director of Ministry and Program Development at a downtown Seattle street-youth drop in center called New Horizons Ministries.

The focus of the week has been two-fold: 1. Give our students a look at what life is like for kids living on the streets--specifically in Seattle. We watched a documentary called "Streetwise," which followed the lives of a few kids from Seattle who are living on the streets. We've been talking quite a bit about child & adolescent development, and the issues that these kids are facing--realizing that much of their formative years are being shaped very differently from those of us who have had parents around to help us navigate the confusing waters of adolescence. 2. Secondly, Ron has been spending quite a bit of time talking about cities--the formation of cities, issues in cities, and what our role as Christians can be to be a part of transformation in the cities we live in. It's too much to attempt to summarize here, but I really find these subjects fascinating. I find myself wanting to become more educated on the subjects--especially in terms of specific issues happening here in Seattle.

He uses a pretty extensive bibliography for his teaching, but there are a few main books that he references, if you're interested in checking them out:
The Corner
A Theology as Big as the City
The Prophetic Imagination

He also uses scripture extensively in his teaching, but one of the key ones is found in Jeremiah 29, where God commands the exiles to "seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." The main idea being that our welfare as individuals is intimately connected with the welfare of the community (city) around us.

It's been a good and challenging week. These last few weeks before Christmas are always difficult ones to maintain our focus. With the Christmas break approaching (along with our overseas outreaches) it can be quite diffiecult for all of us (students and staff alike) to really be present with all that is happening. We have to be on guard against "checking out" of all the activites we're involved with--teaching, small groups, outreaches in Seattle, etc.

Please be praying that we would have a strong finish to this portion of the DTS.

Dedication

2006-11-28T16:23:00.000-08:00

Some of our YWAM students and I voluteered on Sunday to hand out water at the finish line of the Seattle Marathon. Why the city of Seattle decides to hold it's annual marathon during the rainiest month of the year is beyond my understanding, but despite pouring rain, the marathon went on!

Our job wasn't too hard handing out water (besides being very cold and wet), but I'm always amazed at the dedication of people that complete marathons. Especially on Sunday. Every runner was shivering and soaking, but continued to run for 26.2 miles just to finish and complete a goal. Made me think about how often I take the easy way out when things don't go as planned for me or when there are obstacles or frustrations in my way. I hope to be a person who continues to have perserverance and discipline in my life, even when things are very difficult and I feel like quitting.....

Happy (late) thanksgiving!

2006-11-28T16:04:00.000-08:00

We had a great thanksgiving week. All of my family was here and we had a great time being together, relaxing, and allowing them to see more of our world here. Here is our little nephew Micah enjoying his first thanksgiving!
I have to brag about my husband for a second- Zach wanted to plan the thanksgiving meal this year and he did an amazing job! He's always been a good cook, but he really out did himself....planning the menu, shopping list and giving us all jobs to do in the kitchen. Since I plan so many of the YWAM meals, it was so nice to have him take over! Some of the highlights we had that day were apple-pomegranate cider, pumpkin soup, roasted red pepper dip, butternut squash cassoulet (yes, cassoulet, not casserole!) and of course an amazing turkey. Oh and some of the best gravy i have ever had besides my grandmas (I can never do gravy right!) Needless to say, we were all very impressed and I felt really thankful to have a husband who is such a good cook!
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving day celebrating with family and friends....

Rain, Rain Go Away...

2006-11-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

In case you haven’t seen the weather for Seattle recently, we are currently living up to our reputation that it rains all the time here. Usually when people say that, I just roll my eyes and brag about our beautiful summers and argue, “it really doesn’t rain THAT much here….” But this month is proving me wrong. So far in November we have had 11.2 inches of rain!!! Our average month of Nov. usually produes 5.9 inches, and we’ve had double that and are only half way through the month! It feels like we have a long winter ahead of us….it only makes me more thankful for our cozy little house and the warm fires that zach has been building in our fireplace almost daily. Despite the bad weather, I want to be thankful for all of the things that we DO have.

Last week I spent time volunteering at World Relief, which I do each week with a group of our students. World Relief is an agency that serves refugees and particularly in Seattle they help to resettle refugees when they arrive here and help place them in homes, teach them basic skills, and get them enrolled in English classes. Our job as volunteers is to help teach an English class each Thursday. Last week we were teaching parts of the body and to help we taught them the children’s song “head, shoulders, knees and toes”. I have to say it was hilarious to see the grown men especially singing the song along with us and doing the motions too! ☺ Each of the people we teach there has such a willingness to learn and gratefulness to us for helping to teach them. I feel it is the least we can do as so many of them have come from horrific circumstances and are now faced with tackling life in a new culture, away from everything familiar to them. They have more persistence and perseverance than I can imagine having.
After class, one of the women asked for my help in filling out some paper work for her child’s school. As I sat and talked with her I learned a little of her story. She had recently lost her husband to heart disease and had just moved here with her 2 children. She knows no one and can barely speak English. That day, she was faced with the impossible task of filling out a pile of paper work to enroll her children in school. Thankfully, since I am a native English speaker, this was an easy thing for me to be able to help her with. Left on her own, it would have taken her hours and hours to complete. I felt so much joy from being able to help in just a small way to relieve her of that burden, yet I am aware she has much bigger challenges facing her as she settles in to life here as a single mother in this strange land. Being able to help this woman reminded me of importance of acts of kindness to others in our path. So often I am so focused on my life or what I need to get done that I barely take time to notice those around me. I was reminded of the ability we have to help carry each other and relieve each others burdens and it challenged me to look for more ways to do that throughout my week. I came across a non-profit organization committed to spreading kindess- they can be found at actsofkindness.org. They have declared this particular week “World Kindness Week” so we challenged our students to each look for at least one opportunity this week to show kindness to those in their path. We are going to share our stories and experiences this Friday and I’m excited to hear about the creative ways that they find to show love.

End of a long week...

2006-11-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

It's been a very full week for us. Our speaker for the week could only come for two days, so Monday and Tuesday we added a bunch of extra sessions to give him as much time as possible. We were pretty worn out after those days, and hoping for some rest towards the end of the week. Unfortunately though, a number of our students and staff have gotten quite sick (colds, flu, etc), so we've been spending quite a bit of time tending to them. This morning I (Zach) was at the hospital with one of our students who had been up all night throwing up... Not fun. She's ok, just very tired and a bit dehydrated.

This weekend should be good and restful. We're going away with our small group for the weekend. We get on the ferry late this afternoon, and we'll be getting back Sunday morning. You can be praying that we get the rest we need, and that we continue to get over the colds that we have. (Zach and Zara both have lingering colds.)

Overall, (aside from all the sickness) I feel like things are really progressing well with this group of students. We're really enjoying our time with them, and they seem to be getting a lot out of the teaching. They're quite eager to gain a better understanding of their faith, which is fun for us to be a part of.

We'll be leading a team to Thailand in January, and we'll be meeting with our team regularly starting next week. It'll be fun to start talking about that, and preparing for the trip. More details on that to follow...

2006-10-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! We've decided to start this blog as a way to keep in touch with people who may be interested in what we're doing out here with YWAM Seattle. We'll try to update it regularly so you know what's going on with us...

new students

2006-10-03T22:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of our students and our staff... The picture is taken at Gasworks Park in Seattle.