* Please pray as we put together a short video reflecting our tour in 2009 in preparation for advertising and reaching out in preparation for 2010.
* Please pray as we lift our speaker Liz Curtis Higgs who will be joining us in 2010.
* Please pray for our Thailand Orphanage as they go through a transitional period of new management. The President of WAR, Int'l is looking to visit them this summer in preparation for our upcoming trip in 2010.
Stay tuned for more updates.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The adventure of Kathy B.
Thursday, February 12, 2009 - Okay, so Semper Gumby it is (Always Flexible—our team motto)! My flight from
To be continued......
April 2009 Update
NOTE: Now that we have all settled back into our every day lives we have noticed on common denominator: We as a group of 36 women WILL NEVER BE THE SAME. Our eyes have been opened, our hearts have been broken, and our spirits have risen to know God's power works and thrives in the lives of each and every one of the women we met (even the ones who do not know the Lord). God is moving and no one is going to stop what he has in store to heal and restore his lost and wounded children. These women are truly DAUGHTERS OF THE KING!
Over the next couple months you will see more postings of our adventures through a series of letters and insights written from our Circle Tour 2009 team. Our prayer is you will join us on our continual adventure to be prayer warriors not only for the women we left in Thailand, but the missionaries who are on the front lines fighting for truth.
In Him
The Women of '09
Over the next couple months you will see more postings of our adventures through a series of letters and insights written from our Circle Tour 2009 team. Our prayer is you will join us on our continual adventure to be prayer warriors not only for the women we left in Thailand, but the missionaries who are on the front lines fighting for truth.
In Him
The Women of '09
Friday, February 20, 2009
Thru the eyes of Lora Harrington
"My beloved sister, may God be allowed to work such steadfastness of mind in you that the bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days." Deut. 33:25
We went before the Throne of grace, purified our hearts and walked into the depths of Hell. We went in as a group of four, two were from the Night Light team, and two from our team. As we walked we prayed that God would lead us to the bar where we could be used to bring the Light. There were so many girls- thousands needing a Savior. We prayed for transformation of the men, the traffickers, and the bar owners too.
As we entered, there was no fear, no condemnation, we prayed for Jesus' eyes, His touch- wow, it was incredible! Have you ever been in a bubble? To see everything, but not be harmed in any way? That was what our entire team felt last night- God is alive-Satan had no hold on us! Night light staff said it had never been like this- it was even more perverse.We had two girls who wanted to get out and were given telephone numbers to call. Praise the Lord! "He who dwells in the shadow of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. He is my refuge and fortress." He is our God- El Elyon, the God Most High. To experience His presence oh Lord God, I will never be the same- I want more!
We went before the Throne of grace, purified our hearts and walked into the depths of Hell. We went in as a group of four, two were from the Night Light team, and two from our team. As we walked we prayed that God would lead us to the bar where we could be used to bring the Light. There were so many girls- thousands needing a Savior. We prayed for transformation of the men, the traffickers, and the bar owners too.
As we entered, there was no fear, no condemnation, we prayed for Jesus' eyes, His touch- wow, it was incredible! Have you ever been in a bubble? To see everything, but not be harmed in any way? That was what our entire team felt last night- God is alive-Satan had no hold on us! Night light staff said it had never been like this- it was even more perverse.We had two girls who wanted to get out and were given telephone numbers to call. Praise the Lord! "He who dwells in the shadow of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. He is my refuge and fortress." He is our God- El Elyon, the God Most High. To experience His presence oh Lord God, I will never be the same- I want more!
A Divine Appointment
The following story is from the heart of Becky Peterson:
Before I left for Thailand, I asked God to break my heart. Little did I know it would happen as soon as I stepped foot on the property of one of the Safe Houses. An overwhelming moving of God's brokenness came over me and I could not control the flow of tears. As our group entered the room of worship, the warmth of God's love was so evident to me. We sat on the floor with the Thai women who live at the safe house. It was wonderful to see their eyes and hear their voices of praise.
After the singing, we had a young gal ask if anyone needed prayer. Becky McDonald asked to pray for me because I was so sick. I was sick with the flu and had laryngitis. We broke into groups and these precious Thai women laid hands on me and prayed over me. I felt God's power through them even though I could not understand a word they were saying. The lady to my left was crying as she was praying, so I reached over to hug her. She rested her head on me and we embraced for several minutes. Her love flowing to me and mine to her was such a beautiful picture of a God ordained moment. I had no idea that God would use me to minister to this perfect stranger and her to me. What an awesome God!
Before I left for Thailand, I asked God to break my heart. Little did I know it would happen as soon as I stepped foot on the property of one of the Safe Houses. An overwhelming moving of God's brokenness came over me and I could not control the flow of tears. As our group entered the room of worship, the warmth of God's love was so evident to me. We sat on the floor with the Thai women who live at the safe house. It was wonderful to see their eyes and hear their voices of praise.
After the singing, we had a young gal ask if anyone needed prayer. Becky McDonald asked to pray for me because I was so sick. I was sick with the flu and had laryngitis. We broke into groups and these precious Thai women laid hands on me and prayed over me. I felt God's power through them even though I could not understand a word they were saying. The lady to my left was crying as she was praying, so I reached over to hug her. She rested her head on me and we embraced for several minutes. Her love flowing to me and mine to her was such a beautiful picture of a God ordained moment. I had no idea that God would use me to minister to this perfect stranger and her to me. What an awesome God!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The never ending Story....
As we continue our journey through the darkness God has brought moments of light to all. The stories continue and God's blessings are new every morning! There are times we just sit on the bus looking at one another in amazement over God's beauty and the tender hearts of a people group so lost. Being able to smile and share has been a gift from our Father as we unite together as daughters' of the King.
This morning as you wake up and hit the snooze button's of your alarm clocks we will be welcoming women from two of our safe houses to feast at the Lord's table. Showing them through games, worship, gifts, wedding cakes, ice sculptures, and delicious Chinese food, we LONG for them to feel the BEAUTY in which God sees in them...We continue to let them know "Blessed is HE who is in you, than he who is in the world."
One safe house woman said, "when I had money I was not happy, now that I have no money I am so happy." It is the cry of our hearts to wrap arms of love around these women and show them that God is a god of love and compassion, HE RESCUES, REDEEMS, RESTORES, AND EMPOWERS!" Amen? -- Amen!
On the lighter side: God has continued to fill us with the Joy of the Lord as we get to know ourselves better and know each other. We have women (such as Lora Harrington) who after outreach, woke up the next day, went the bathroom and found money in her undergarments, we laughed and laughed...There are days we are so tired we don't know what we are doing.
Everyone survived the night market last night without leaving with too many shopping bags...although we need to pray for these people as they smack money around their shop after the first customer has paid in order to bring luck and wealth for the night. So lost to who is the real and living God even something as pleasant as shopping is to most women has become a testimony of our faith as we reach out to this wounded city in love.
Dancing elephants at the rose garden brightened our faces, and some of use fed, rode, and got our pictures with these amazing elephants. Thank goodness for Purell sanitizer!!!
More stories are coming as we continue to experience Internet trouble...please bear with us, and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for following our journey and praying through our schedules. Please pray tonight for unity, love, and God's precious spirit to overflow and fill the hearts of each women tonight as we rejoice in God's truth together!
This morning as you wake up and hit the snooze button's of your alarm clocks we will be welcoming women from two of our safe houses to feast at the Lord's table. Showing them through games, worship, gifts, wedding cakes, ice sculptures, and delicious Chinese food, we LONG for them to feel the BEAUTY in which God sees in them...We continue to let them know "Blessed is HE who is in you, than he who is in the world."
One safe house woman said, "when I had money I was not happy, now that I have no money I am so happy." It is the cry of our hearts to wrap arms of love around these women and show them that God is a god of love and compassion, HE RESCUES, REDEEMS, RESTORES, AND EMPOWERS!" Amen? -- Amen!
On the lighter side: God has continued to fill us with the Joy of the Lord as we get to know ourselves better and know each other. We have women (such as Lora Harrington) who after outreach, woke up the next day, went the bathroom and found money in her undergarments, we laughed and laughed...There are days we are so tired we don't know what we are doing.
Everyone survived the night market last night without leaving with too many shopping bags...although we need to pray for these people as they smack money around their shop after the first customer has paid in order to bring luck and wealth for the night. So lost to who is the real and living God even something as pleasant as shopping is to most women has become a testimony of our faith as we reach out to this wounded city in love.
Dancing elephants at the rose garden brightened our faces, and some of use fed, rode, and got our pictures with these amazing elephants. Thank goodness for Purell sanitizer!!!
More stories are coming as we continue to experience Internet trouble...please bear with us, and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for following our journey and praying through our schedules. Please pray tonight for unity, love, and God's precious spirit to overflow and fill the hearts of each women tonight as we rejoice in God's truth together!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Blessed
We have had trouble with getting online, so sorry that you haven't heard from us in a bit. Please stay tuned, as we will try our hardest with little pockets of time to update. The outreach was full of God's presence. Thank you for your prayers. Keep praying, especially for the banquet.
There is SOO much to say. Below is a story written thru the eyes of Beth Stone. May you be blessed by reading it, as God has blessed Beth and the rest of us by experiencing it.
This is the first thing that comes to mind in explaining my experience for the day. We had the privilege one of the Safe Houses today. Seeing such beautiful women- my sisters in Christ-in total worship today. My absolute favorite was singing "God is so good." Seeing these precious women with bigger smiles and more beautiful voices than imaginable was inspirational. They sang in Thai as we sang in English. They sang , "Now I am free, now I am free, He's set me free, He's so good to me." What a blessing! These women have been set free in every sense of the word and are praising the Lord in joy, sincerity, peace, and such passion. If I could have stopped time at any moment in my life, it would have been then. I closed my eyes and had to soak it all in as I memorized their faces and voices and praises. All I can say is I'm so blessed to have such a loving redeeming Father who allows me to share such an intimate worship time with my sisters.
There is SOO much to say. Below is a story written thru the eyes of Beth Stone. May you be blessed by reading it, as God has blessed Beth and the rest of us by experiencing it.
This is the first thing that comes to mind in explaining my experience for the day. We had the privilege one of the Safe Houses today. Seeing such beautiful women- my sisters in Christ-in total worship today. My absolute favorite was singing "God is so good." Seeing these precious women with bigger smiles and more beautiful voices than imaginable was inspirational. They sang in Thai as we sang in English. They sang , "Now I am free, now I am free, He's set me free, He's so good to me." What a blessing! These women have been set free in every sense of the word and are praising the Lord in joy, sincerity, peace, and such passion. If I could have stopped time at any moment in my life, it would have been then. I closed my eyes and had to soak it all in as I memorized their faces and voices and praises. All I can say is I'm so blessed to have such a loving redeeming Father who allows me to share such an intimate worship time with my sisters.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Day 2 - Completed and Unionized
We want to first thank everyone for their prayers! Already we are feeling them being answered. For starters one of our ladies' luggage did not make it to Thailand and today was day two without it. Once back from church and lunch, at the desk waiting for her was none other than Stacy Blank's luggage. Having clean clothing after 2 days does amazing things to lift one's spirit. Especially sense we are heading into 2 of the hardest days of the trip.
The service this morning was amazing. We surprised the church's worship team by standing and singing and praising God. We thought it was the beginning of the service (like a prelude) by the end we realized we were still the only one's there, and we were just very early. At least we helped make practice fun, LOL....boy did we think we would feel embarrassed, but you know in the end we were praising Jesus that we just had the opportunity to praise Jesus more than once!!!! AMEN!
After church we had our first experience of a Thailand Mall by going to a place called MBK. After herding ourselves like sheep up 7 escalators to get to the seventh floor we sat down and enjoyed fellowshiping with one another and having a wonderful meal. Watermelon smoothies and beef/chicken/Salmon was to be had! Yum, it was amazing.
Once our bellies were full, we all took off in little teams to explore the first five floors of MBK which just happen to be chalked full of stall after stall after stall after stall, well you get the picture of little shops. Some people learned the great art of bartering, while others helped jack the pricing up with each squeal of delight over liking an item too much (Jeanne we all know this is you!)
After shopping we had an opportunity to come back to the hotel for some free time and enjoyed hanging out and getting to know one another. There is something about being one with Christ together as the body and worshiping together that brings us closer, and by the end of the day you could begin to feel the Holy Spirits presence forming friendships and sisterhoods. Praise God for the Unity that is beginning to grow. Continue to pray for this as we need to be one in spirit in order to fight the evil one in the next two days especially.
Last night we were given a taste of the Thai culture and our faith was tested as we sat surrounded by beauty and the art of Thai dancing, yet sat across the room from a table of call girls and the men whom which they were with. GOD this country needs you! This world needs you and we call on the power of Your might hand and loving arms to rescue, redeem, and restore the women of this world. We are here not to change the world, but to allow the world to change us. We desire and crave to see these women through Your eyes. Love them! Let them some how some way feel Your presence. We don't know what to do, how to act, what to say, or where to go, but we know to turn to YOU! May be be your vessels! Teach us what You would have us learn on this trip.
After such a heart wrenching night we had to add some laughter.
1 - Audrey decides to swat a mosquito and goes for the kill. Realizing we are in a Buddhist culture makes a face and says...oh no was I supposed to do that, to which Elisa replies, oh you are fine as long as it doesn't have the president's head on it. --- ask us all when we get back, but this had us rolling on the floor laughing because the president is sacred here.
2 - After handing out roommate survival kits with candy, note cards for encouragement, and earplugs we were told to add an emergency flashlight for next year as all lights are controlled by one switch (including the bathroom lights) and well lets just say Amanda has been blacking out Lauren's potty times...
All in all our time has been eye opening. Please continue to pray and know you are loved and missed! Thank you for supporting us!
The service this morning was amazing. We surprised the church's worship team by standing and singing and praising God. We thought it was the beginning of the service (like a prelude) by the end we realized we were still the only one's there, and we were just very early. At least we helped make practice fun, LOL....boy did we think we would feel embarrassed, but you know in the end we were praising Jesus that we just had the opportunity to praise Jesus more than once!!!! AMEN!
After church we had our first experience of a Thailand Mall by going to a place called MBK. After herding ourselves like sheep up 7 escalators to get to the seventh floor we sat down and enjoyed fellowshiping with one another and having a wonderful meal. Watermelon smoothies and beef/chicken/Salmon was to be had! Yum, it was amazing.
Once our bellies were full, we all took off in little teams to explore the first five floors of MBK which just happen to be chalked full of stall after stall after stall after stall, well you get the picture of little shops. Some people learned the great art of bartering, while others helped jack the pricing up with each squeal of delight over liking an item too much (Jeanne we all know this is you!)
After shopping we had an opportunity to come back to the hotel for some free time and enjoyed hanging out and getting to know one another. There is something about being one with Christ together as the body and worshiping together that brings us closer, and by the end of the day you could begin to feel the Holy Spirits presence forming friendships and sisterhoods. Praise God for the Unity that is beginning to grow. Continue to pray for this as we need to be one in spirit in order to fight the evil one in the next two days especially.
Last night we were given a taste of the Thai culture and our faith was tested as we sat surrounded by beauty and the art of Thai dancing, yet sat across the room from a table of call girls and the men whom which they were with. GOD this country needs you! This world needs you and we call on the power of Your might hand and loving arms to rescue, redeem, and restore the women of this world. We are here not to change the world, but to allow the world to change us. We desire and crave to see these women through Your eyes. Love them! Let them some how some way feel Your presence. We don't know what to do, how to act, what to say, or where to go, but we know to turn to YOU! May be be your vessels! Teach us what You would have us learn on this trip.
After such a heart wrenching night we had to add some laughter.
1 - Audrey decides to swat a mosquito and goes for the kill. Realizing we are in a Buddhist culture makes a face and says...oh no was I supposed to do that, to which Elisa replies, oh you are fine as long as it doesn't have the president's head on it. --- ask us all when we get back, but this had us rolling on the floor laughing because the president is sacred here.
2 - After handing out roommate survival kits with candy, note cards for encouragement, and earplugs we were told to add an emergency flashlight for next year as all lights are controlled by one switch (including the bathroom lights) and well lets just say Amanda has been blacking out Lauren's potty times...
All in all our time has been eye opening. Please continue to pray and know you are loved and missed! Thank you for supporting us!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Thailand or Bust!!! - We chose Thailand!
Family and friends! We have made it to Thailand without harm, in good spirits, and are currently pushing through our jet lagged minds that we indeed are in Thailand 6000+ miles away, but feel your love and prayers! Please continue to pray!
Be prepared to laugh and cry with us as we update you through the next couple days as you help us explore the culture and needs of the women we came to love on, whom in reality are going to show us God through their eyes. May we continue to find in our hearts the desire to see others through God's eyes by following their example.
To Laugh....
As we travelled many humorous things encouraged us to continue pushing through the 26 hours of travel. For instance...Those of you whom know Rachel Cole...our new beloved friend decided it would be a great idea to sleep when the Thai sleep. Sounds good, right? Ambien was taken, sleep was to be had, food was attempted to be eaten, but failure to reach fork into mouth before sleep took over lead us all to laugh hysterically as food left fork and landed on shirt, and Rachel started snoozing.....at least she wasn't missing out on the tasty airplane food, and just out on a clean shirt.
Item number two, the WAR between Audrey Cosgrove and the emergency notebook. Upon trying to sleep (yes another sleep story), Audrey was abruptly awaken by a falling of a large notebook (which involved all the emergency contacts and such) coming from the overhead compartment. No sleep was to be had, and next time the notebook will be put in detention in the checked luggage for its noncompliance to our no violence policies.
Item number three, a lesson in how to use a toilet...You would think after decades of being potty trained the 30 of us would know how to use a toilet...well, Mrs. Jennifer Roberts needs a quick update. Having landed in Tokyo and in desperate need of freshening up, all women head to the bathrooms. Little did our group know we needed to know how to use a bidet, a musical flushing button, and did you know the toilets turn off and on? Well you get the point. Mrs. Roberts spent 2 minutes (literally) trying to figure out how to flush the toilet and in the end attempted to use the on/off button. Nothing happened...confused and ready to just be done and finally found the flushing bar.
Tammi Dryden also discovered the uniqueness of the bidet and lets just say there is no where to hide when the bidet is turned on...
If you think this is funny you need to sit tight, keep praying, and buckle your seat belts because more is to come. So laugh with us now because we need more than enough prayers for Monday and Tuesday! Pictures of our traveling experiences may soon be coming....
As far as today's agenda we had a powerful worship and prayer time this morning and our goals are to be broken and see through our Father's eyes.
Tonight we are looking forward to more bonding as we prop our eyes open and enjoy an authentic Thai dinner with Thai dancing. Rumor has it they make us dance too...Pictures may be taken, Laughter will be had, and we will update you on the rest.
Thank you so much for praying for us we love and miss you all. Please pass on the word to all husbands, children, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, etc.
Love the Circle Tour Team 2009
PS. We also love and miss you and wish everyone a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY WITH ALL OUR HEARTS!
Be prepared to laugh and cry with us as we update you through the next couple days as you help us explore the culture and needs of the women we came to love on, whom in reality are going to show us God through their eyes. May we continue to find in our hearts the desire to see others through God's eyes by following their example.
To Laugh....
As we travelled many humorous things encouraged us to continue pushing through the 26 hours of travel. For instance...Those of you whom know Rachel Cole...our new beloved friend decided it would be a great idea to sleep when the Thai sleep. Sounds good, right? Ambien was taken, sleep was to be had, food was attempted to be eaten, but failure to reach fork into mouth before sleep took over lead us all to laugh hysterically as food left fork and landed on shirt, and Rachel started snoozing.....at least she wasn't missing out on the tasty airplane food, and just out on a clean shirt.
Item number two, the WAR between Audrey Cosgrove and the emergency notebook. Upon trying to sleep (yes another sleep story), Audrey was abruptly awaken by a falling of a large notebook (which involved all the emergency contacts and such) coming from the overhead compartment. No sleep was to be had, and next time the notebook will be put in detention in the checked luggage for its noncompliance to our no violence policies.
Item number three, a lesson in how to use a toilet...You would think after decades of being potty trained the 30 of us would know how to use a toilet...well, Mrs. Jennifer Roberts needs a quick update. Having landed in Tokyo and in desperate need of freshening up, all women head to the bathrooms. Little did our group know we needed to know how to use a bidet, a musical flushing button, and did you know the toilets turn off and on? Well you get the point. Mrs. Roberts spent 2 minutes (literally) trying to figure out how to flush the toilet and in the end attempted to use the on/off button. Nothing happened...confused and ready to just be done and finally found the flushing bar.
Tammi Dryden also discovered the uniqueness of the bidet and lets just say there is no where to hide when the bidet is turned on...
If you think this is funny you need to sit tight, keep praying, and buckle your seat belts because more is to come. So laugh with us now because we need more than enough prayers for Monday and Tuesday! Pictures of our traveling experiences may soon be coming....
As far as today's agenda we had a powerful worship and prayer time this morning and our goals are to be broken and see through our Father's eyes.
Tonight we are looking forward to more bonding as we prop our eyes open and enjoy an authentic Thai dinner with Thai dancing. Rumor has it they make us dance too...Pictures may be taken, Laughter will be had, and we will update you on the rest.
Thank you so much for praying for us we love and miss you all. Please pass on the word to all husbands, children, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, etc.
Love the Circle Tour Team 2009
PS. We also love and miss you and wish everyone a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY WITH ALL OUR HEARTS!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Join us February 12-22!
Please join us as we will be sharing what God is teaching us on this trip. Would you also be wiling to cover us, our families at home, and those we desire to serve, with prayer? We know a trip like this can not happen with out it! Thank you.
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