I woke up this morning to my fifth day back in America. My mind races with memories, pictures and people that are still so vivid in my mind. How do I even begin to wrap up, let alone relay to you what happened in 2007. It is virtually impossible and I am overwhelmed at the task. But here I go.

Misolha, Mexico

Often people ask what my biggest challenge was. I don't hesitate to say, "Well, even though we were found without electricity, food, sleep, normal toilets, language skills, communication…(and the list goes on and on) I would have to say the biggest challenge was the community. It was the people I woke up to day in and day out that often challenged me more than any ministry I was a part of because at the end of the day, my love had to reach far beyond the orphans and the widows to my peers. It is easy to love the people you minister TO, but to love on the people you minister WITH is a whole different ball game! Essentially, I lived with the same four people all year long. Team 61 is what we called ourselves. And throughout the course of the year, they taught me how to love and how to listen and how to live with people that sometimes you don't understand! You say you want to know how this year went with my team? Some days were awful! Some days we didn't want to speak to each other. Sometimes we fought and disagreed and got so annoyed with each other. It's life, right? But we stuck it out and that is what I loved about team 61. When we had an issue, we got it out on the table and worked it out. Because of this, we came out stronger and in the end we came out friends. Not many teams can say that. But we truly ended up not only loving each other but liking each other too! I do have to say that though community was my biggest challenge, it was also my biggest delight. Never would I want to go through something like I did last year alone. Paired with the disagreements in my memories are the countless times of belly aching laughter and joy. Painted in my memory forever are the people I ate popcorn with, the people who held me when I cried and the people who knew the exact location of the itchy spot on my back. I remember the people who I prayed with and held orphans with and danced with. Jimmy, Katie, Becca and Hannah will forever be imprinted in my heart as the people I lived with and spent more condensed time with than anyone in my life. And we came out with more refined characters as a result of each other. I will never forget you.

Lomo de Corvina, Peru

Manzini, Swaziland

Hong Kong

Moving right along. The second question I get a lot is, "What was your favorite country?" Ok, people. That is like taking me to Jamba juice and making me pick my favorite flavor. I sit there for probably 10 minutes having a minor crisis while I scan the endless mixtures of flavors and outcomes that my brain just about explodes. My point is, that it is impossible to say just one. Each country has left a different impression and here is the truth: I didn't love every country! Shocking I know. But I did find something that tugged at a different heart string in every country. If you pulled my whole team together and asked them this question, you would get a different answer from everyone. But here is mine. For purely aesthetic reasons, I loved Guatemala. It was a haven of beauty. At the time, our team really needed a beautiful and calm place. I connected with God in amazing ways just staring at his creation. And I will never forget the sun setting behind the volcano we hiked up. It was a precious moment between me and my creator that I will never forget.

San Juan, Guatemala

Volcan Pacaya, Guatemala

For the people, I adored Peru and Cambodia. I created the most meaningful and deep (as deep as you can get in a month) relationships with the people in these places. When I think of these countries, faces flash through my mind at a million miles an hour. I miss these friends dearly and am so blessed to think about how God created the body of Christ. Our brothers and sisters are around the world! And more than any place I went this year, I saw such a raw passion and love for the Lord that brought me to my knees through the people of Peru and Cambodia.

Villa el Salvador, Peru

Villa el Salvador, Peru

Phom Penh, Cambodia

New Life Church, Cambodia

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Thinking back on ministries we were able to be a part of, I would have to say the ones that stuck out to me the most were the ministries in Swaziland and Thailand. In Swaziland we were able to work with a man named Kevin and his wife Helen who are changing their part of the world in Africa. They are setting up homes for orphans to come and be a part of a family. It is an active change that is taking place that will eventually save this dying nation. I was blessed beyond words to go and observe and support this man and his family as they are reaching out to the children of Swaziland who would have been dead by now. But now they are full of life and joy as they have been given a second chance. Also in Swaziland, I spent a short time at a care point in Timbeni. I was with Jon and Eric for about three days but when asked my favorite memory from the trip, I always say it was these days. All I did was hold children all day long. But it was the kind of holding where you could feel the child in your arms and know they needed it more than food or water. It was a life sustaining holding. And these kids don't ever receive it. So I loved on them like there was no tomorrow. And in return it changed me.

Hawane Farm, Swaziland

Timbeni, Swaziland

Thailand was a given if you have been keeping up with my blogs. Anyone who knows me knows I have a heart for men, women and children who are working in the sex industry around the world. And working with Annie and Nightlight in Bangkok gave me a heartbreaking glimpse into a world that was so dark and devastating but so in need of the light of Christ. As I sit and think even now about my time there, I start to cry because my heart is so burdened for the girls I met in the bars. Some of those images are forever burned in my heart and make me feel ill and desperate and angry all at the same time. I so desire hope and love to be showered over them. And I am incredibly thankful for Nightlight, The Well and Rahab ministries who are actually in those battle grounds right now, fighting off the enemy and bringing the love of God to these gals.

Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand

Clearly, there are more lessons, loves and pains that I couldn't even begin to write about in regards to my experience last year. But I just wanted to give you a taste of what is running through my head right now. China is also a country where I got to see the church that is underground but very much alive. I remember Marcos in Mexico, the single remaining light left in that city and the people of his community that he weeps over daily. I remember Jaco and the orphans of Temane and Pambara in Mozambique who are still feeling the effects of the hurricane. And I remember all the unsung heroes we met along the way; missionaries who you will never hear of, but who are laborers in the vineyard and working with those in need of the love and truth that only Christ can bring.

Communion with the believers (green tea and bread) in China

Marcos and his church in Arroyo Palenque, Mexico

Pambara, Mozambique

I have been reading a lot in Matthew this year because I am intrigued by the life of Christ on earth. What is it that he cared about and how did he do ministry? Now I am not claiming to be able to relate to Christ, but there were a couple points that made me think about his ministry and the ministry we were a part of last year. First, I noticed that he had a traveling ministry. Rarely would he stay in one place very long, but the impression he left lasted. Secondly, he loved people. So many times I felt an overwhelming guilt over having such short times in each country. The World Race is intended to give you merely a glimpse into the church around the world that will end up mobilizing and unearthing passions in my generation. But I was resolved at the beginning of this year to love without reservation. Can one person make a difference? It is the classic question that everyone strains to find an answer to or even to BE the answer to. Without hesitation I say, one person can make a difference to another person. When Jesus was on earth, he touched people and they were healed. He looked in their eyes and their hearts were moved towards him. There is a world out there in need of that kind of love. Even on the streets of America, people are empty and though it is not as much outwardly noticeable it is still there.

Hong Kong

So what did I learn about myself? I am flawed beyond measure but am loved by my creator. There is something about living in community, being stripped of all my masks and who I thought I was that brings me to my lowest point and shows me who I really am. I am a sinner. Truly I am. But I have been plucked out and called forth. Did I deserve this kind of love? Absolutely not. But as a result, all I can do is give it away.

I sit and think about what I learned about the world. Out comes a "Phew!" and a big fat "Sigh." But I do have an answer, get excited. J I think it would be easy to come away from this year just feeling devastated by all the need. This world is desperate and steeped in poverty and hurt. You cannot ignore that. I have never seen such horrible things with my own two eyes. War, tears, burdens and death. It is enough to make one want to crawl in a hole and ignore it because the magnitude is so great. But instead of that, I come away with hope. While this world is dark, there is a light. And I have come away feeling encouraged by the things I saw. At the beginning of the year, my biggest desire was to connect, support, observe and partner with the church around the world. And God blessed my socks off! Wherever there was hurt, there was hope. The church is vibrant and completely sold out for Christ around this globe. And God really does take care of the widows and the orphans. I have seen it over and over again. He provides for his people. And millions are joining the body of Christ every day! So instead of feeling paralyzed, I feel mobilized at the things He is doing worldwide. Be encouraged, Church! We are in a battle for sure, but we come out victorious. Praise God.

I have to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who kept up with me this year. All your comments, love from over the seas, financial support, and PRAYER was felt, appreciated and needed. I cannot express the depths of my gratitude and I just pray that the Lord's favor is all over you as you have blessed me. Thank you.

As for me, I am grateful to have had time with my family in Paupa New Guinea. We had a blast reconnecting.

Ukarumpa, Paupa New Guinea

I got to spend a week with former teammate and friend, Jon in Vancouver (it was my cheapest place to fly into in North America and consequently he lives there so we got to hang for a few days!) Now I am in Arizona visiting my best friend from college, the lovely Ms. Cherie Bradshaw. Tomorrow I head up to New Mexico to spend a few days with some more former teammates: Ginger, Morgan, Spano, Hanson, and Emily. Next week I head up to Kansas to meet my new baby niece, Sophia and hang out with my brother Adam, his wife Jill and Hannah banana. Then, after over a year of tromping around the globe I return home to good old Appleton, WI. You can be sure I will be heading down to Chicago shortly thereafter for some visits. Then after that, I am still praying like crazy to see where the Lord has me! I have several directions in mind but am in the process of receiving clarification. So I would appreciate your prayers alongside me as I make important decisions in the next month. But I will keep you updated!

How do I close this but by saying,

Thank you.

Goodbye world, I will be back soon.

Well, our crazy little adventure ended a few days ago.  I knew the month would go fast but it really breezed by!  We got to end our trip together at the beach (our favorite!)  We traveled back to an island off Thailand called Phuket.  It's actually a large island with numerous different beaches.  Our activities included mopeds around the island to the different beaches, a day tour to the Phi Phi islands, getting our nice Christmas tans and lots of chillaxin.  It was a fantastic way to end our time together and it was a bittersweet goodbye of course!

Eric, Jon and me on our sweet hogs

...ok, we will

The traveling trio

snorkeling in the phi phi islands

Last day together!! awww...

Pretty much we had a blast and I am so thankful for these guys to buddy up with me and travel a bit before we all parted ways.  Jon is home (miss you, buddy!) and Eric has continued on through Thailand (eat more pad thai for me!!) 

So in fact, the title of this email is deceptive because while it was the end of Jon, Eric and Stacy's adventures, it certainly wasn't the end of mine!  The day we parted ways I headed down to Singapore for two very lonely days.  If you know me at all you know I hate being alone and especially traveling alone because I love sharing experiences with people.  But in fact I survived. I just walked around Orchard Street for a while which reminded me exactly of Michigan Ave. in Chicago (all lit up for Christmas too!)  And I decided to go to church also.  It has been a little over four months since I've stepped into an actual church building.  For the last part of our trip, we have been in countries that have been closed to the gospel so the church is either underground or non existant.  So Sunday morning, I jumped online and googled churches in Singapore and picked the first one that had an address and a map online.  All by my lonesome I found my way there.  And let me tell you, walking into that church was like a breath of fresh air.  I have not felt as refreshed spiritually as I did that day in a long time.  And even though I was surrounded by hundreds of people I didn't know, I still felt like I was home.  Even before the service started I looked over at a man praying over another man and I just started crying. It was so beautiful to me.  THIS is what the body of Christ is for.  And it was just awesome for me to be a part of God's family in Singapore for a short while.

Just me and my crazy looking hair in Singapaore...all alone. 

Two days ago I boarded a plane for Paupa New Guinea and yesterday I was finally reunited with my parents after one year!  Thanks for all who were praying for my mom's health, she arrived with no problems at all!!  Praise the Lord!  It was a sweet reunion and so surreal that after all my planning, praying and traveling I finally got to meet up with them in PNG. 

This morning my sister's husband surprised us at the MAF hanger and flew us all the way to Ukarumpa.  For those who don't know, my sister and her husband are missionaries with Summer Insitute of Linguistics (SIL).  They have been here for 2 and a half years and had a baby girl this past May.  So needless to say I was ecstatic to reunite with them as well.  But the flight was incredible.  It was in just one of those teeny tiny planes and I got to wear a headset.  I looked good.  As we flew over Ukarumpa I was filled with joy at being able to visit my sis and see where they have been missionaries these past years.  I got to hold my niece, Alyssa for the first time.  And it has been such a great reunion with my family.  Adam, Jill, Ryan, Hannah and Sophie..wish you could be here too but we are thinking of you. 

moms, pops and me getting ready to board the plane to Ukarumpa

niner niner good buddy...

Ukarumpa, the missions base where my sister lives.

***Will update on my Christmas time, but until then I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas filled with the Lord and a great New Year!  Party on!***

Tonight I was sitting at a small table outside our hostel waiting for the boys so we could go to dinner.  A girl caught my eye.  She was the same girl who had made advances at my guys earlier that day and I knew she wasn't just offering a $5 massage.  I watched as she grabbed a hold of another man and she wouldn't let go.  You could see the pleading in her eyes.  He kept waving his hand at her saying "No" but there must have been something he said that gave her a hope that she held onto tighter than his hand.  I watched for a good five minutes before he broke free.  Minutes later I looked back and she had another man in her trap.  I started to cry and pray over this woman as I realized this isn't over. 

Working with the girls in the bars in Thailand was one of the most eye opening and hard things I have done this year.  And I would be a fool to believe that it is only a problem there.  Even here in Vietnam I see girls prostituting themselves and my heart is broken for them.  And I realized tonight that even though I have technically finished the World Race, my life moves on.  My ministry is not 9 to 5.  It is my life.  And I am held responsible for the things I've seen, the people I've touched and the knowledge I have. 

My tears tonight were for the world.  E'en so Lord Jesus, quickly come.

Phew..so I have to wrap up an entire month in one blog.  This will be exciting.  Let's get started!

This past month (and our last month of the Race) was both a challange and a blessing all wrapped up into one little chinese package.  It was challenging becuase for the first time we were entering a closed country.  Internet was cut off, phone calls were cut off and we were and still are unable to report which city we were in, names of missionaries or students we met, etc.  We want to protect them from the government finding out why they are there and what they are doing.  Therefore, I apologize for continuing to be vague in the details.  But I will try to give you a good picture of what our month was like!

We arrived in our first city as "cultural exchange students"  wink wink.  Therefore, every morning we were in class.  This ranged from subjects including Chinese philosophy and history, Mandarin, calligraphy, tea art, music, etc.  We got a full scope of what Chinese culture was like and it was very intriguing.  I especially enjoyed the classes because I am fascinated by culture.  In exchange for them helping us understand the culture, we helped the students at the University with their English.  So every day we went for two hours and had English Corners where we sat and chatted with students.  This opened doors of opportunity to later have dinner with them and share with them our testimonies.  It was a good two weeks!!  For me, it was a little more difficult.  I am finding more and more that my heart is a shepards heart.  I am not built an evangelist but rather enjoy and thrive when I am working with believers.  I love discipleship and the growth process and encouraging the body.  So I struggled a little more during that time being in an evangelism situation.  But I learned a lot about myself during that time and got to meet some great students along the way.  We got to go to some school events, learn how to eat cafeteria food with chopsticks and learn how to say, "Please don't make my food spicy!"  haha.  Well, that's what I learned how to say at least!

Tea art

Calligraphy..I wasn't very good. smiles!

A student who did calligraphy for me..he IS very good!  It says, "Happy Birthday"  on "October 25, 2007"

After our two weeks doing the cultural exchange program, all our teams broke down again into our smaller teams and spread out among China.  Our team traveled by train to a larger city where we partnered with a group of missionaries who are working with a Musilm group of people.  This was much different than anything we experienced all year and I loved it.  We got to do a variety of things including hanging out with students from the Athletic training school, paint the apartment of one of the missionaries, hear testimonies of Musilm people who came to know the Lord, go to another English corner, and meet with lots of students of a University nearby.  Also we ate ALOT!  I've probably gained all kinds of pounds eating all those yummy carbs.  And many of our meetings were over dinner.  But we didn't mind.  We love Chinese food!  It is also every mothers nightmare because all you do is stick your germy little chopsticks in every dish.  No serving spoons!

Athletes

Eating off the street..my favorite!

English corner

Yummy Chinese food..eating family style!  Ok, so we ate a lot in China.  I can't help it!!

Possibly my favorite memory of China was in the second city where we got to meet with some of the local believers.  We met in a small apartment with about 6 of them.  There, we each went around and shared our testimonies, prayed together and read Scripture together.  I would have to say that one of my favorite things all year has been hearing the Word of God read in another language.  It is so beautiful to me that God would give his Word to every tribe and every nation and every tongue.  We read Isaiah 61 together in Chinese and in English (the chapter by which our team is named after).  Tears came to my eyes as I heard it read, knowing that THAT exact word is changing lives in China.  Wow. 

After that, we all took communion together and it was such a sweet time.  I was in awe as we broke bread and filled our dixie cups with green tea, reading the account of the last supper together and realizing that we are brothers and sisters.  I wish I could explain in words how precious a moment it was for me to be with believers in that tiny apartment knowing that their decision to follow Christ was not a decision that was flippant.  Often, them coming to know the Lord will ostracize them from their families.  And the Bibles they held in their hands were illegal for them to be holding.  Who knows what it took for those exact Bibles to cross the border.  It just made me realize how freedom of religion is both a blessing and a curse.  On one hand, we can worship God whenever and wherever we want.  But I think in that, we have lost the awe and the seriousness of our committment to our faith.  It challenged me to remember why I came to know Christ in the first place and to live like I mean it.

Thanks for all your prayers, emails and love from all over the world this past month.  Know I am slow at responding because this is our last week of the Race and I am trying to wrap things up which has been consuming.  I will try to respond as much as I can in the next few weeks after we have finished.  But continue to pray that we will end well and that God will reveal himself in awesome and unique ways to each one of us.

Love from the East. 

Stacy

Well, I am another year older.  And I got to spend my birthday with "family" in China this past month!!  And I have the most amazing friends here on the race who put together an amazing day for me that I want to share with you.  My day started with my team waking me up with a knock on the door.  When I opened it, a sarong was held up to the door that I had to jump through (a Bischoff family tradition) where they had a traditional bautza (warm bread filled with meat) and a candle inside.  They sang me happy birthday and that was the start of my wonderful day!

We attended class in the morning and after that my team took me out to the only Western food restaurant in the city:  KFC.  Good ol' KFC.  Ha!

Coincidentally, we sat in the "Birthday section" of the restaurant.  Yay!  After that, I had a special birthday surprise from Jon...he took me up to the top of the mountain in our city by cable car and it was incredible!  It took 45 minutes to ride up to the top where the view was just breathtaking.  Katie and Jimmy were also there and what a way to spend my afternoon than up in the crisp, cool mountains with some of my best buds on the team. 

Then, Katie gave me the best present a girl could ever wish for...a platter of chocolate.  yipeee!  And so worth a picture:

We then prepared for a dinner together with all my buddies from the team at a beautiful restaurant:

Over yet?  No way!  I was then instructed to dress in my best "Office" attire for an Office party.  The show, "The Office" is pretty much the funniest tv show known to man. We watch it all the time here and I love it so it was fitting that my birthday theme would include that!  Everyone dressed in their best attire (or what we could muster up with all our dingy clothes..haha!) and I entered the "Conference Room" aka..a hostel room.  This is where I was presented with a video that Eric put together including many of my teammates telling me things they loved about me, and pretty much being really funny too.  It resembled the interview style of The Office and even had re-enacted scenes from episodes I love.  It was hilarious!!  If you want to see it, just ask and I'll show you when I get home. 

After THAT, I went into the "Office" where there were desks set up and a birthday cake waiting for me.  They all sang happy birthday to me and I was wowed.  I could never asked for a better birthday with people I love so very much. 

And what day would be complete without a viewing of an episode of the Office just to top it off!  Thanks to all my sweet teammates for making my birthday so far away from home make me feel like I was at home..with you!