Andrew's Jeepney

a guided tour of missionary life in southeast asia

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I've Moved!

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Hey There!

Well, after a number of wonderful months on Opera, I reached my limit of capability on the site. Because I want to be able to offer you more insight and experience into my life and the mission field, I've created a new site. Click this link: NEW SITE to hop over there right now and read my new post and see some brand new photos! See you soon!

Here's a few of the benefits of the new site:
  • You can talk back to me even if you're not a member!
  • I can easily post videos, slideshows, and embed other cool stuff
  • I get a little more versatility with my design and the features I can add
  • Easier address to remember
  • It makes waffles!... okay that's a stretch.

Alright homies and homlettes, I'm going to jump on over to my new site to lay out the welcome mat for you. Pop in anytime! Mi casa es su casa. See you soon!

NEW SITE

Gratitude: the Humbug Exterminator

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As kids, Christmas always sparkled like sunlight off of glistening icicles. I remember how excited I was as soon as January rolled around again, because I knew that every year had a Christmas. Growing older, however, Christmas can lose some of its luster. As the season trudges on, we grow more overcrowded, overweight, overspent, and very overwhelmed. It seems what used to be the season of peace and joy has become the season of discontentment. So, in order to keep your heart at rest while dealing with the hassles of the Christmas crunch, try something with me. While you're making your list of what you want for Christmas (or what everyone else wants), take some time everyday to make your list of what you are grateful for.

Here's my list so far:
  • Proposing to the most wonderful woman I have ever known, Jacki.
  • Spending loads of quality time with my family, bonding through fights, adventures, and just hanging around.
  • Getting a taste and vision of life in Thailand
  • Working with my visionary father on the Quest
  • Launching the Quest and training leaders who can confidently take others through it.
  • Planting the Emerge Website and getting to cultivate it everyday
  • Mentoring a few guys I've discipled over the years
  • Learning to enjoy life in the moment
  • Spending time with people like Marichu and Joan and visiting their ministry in the squatter's area.
  • Getting my hands dirty at the Edge, producing my own radio spot, Surf's up.
  • You!

Sawat di Khrabp!

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Greetings from Thailand, the land of smiles. Everywhere you look, faces glow with a soft expression and easily break into a smile. Thailand, however, is also very clearly a land without Christ. Less than 1% of Thais know Jesus. 99.3% of the nation lives without the hope and grace that Christians know. Here are some statistics that I’ve recently found out:

One of our missionaries here told us that nearly 80% of the young men studying at the nearby University are homosexual.

Thailand earns approximately 4 billion dollars through its sex tourism trade.

Estimated amount of people living with HIV in Thailand: 580,000.

Number of Thai Christians: 438,600, constituting 0.7 percent of the population.

These precious people need a savior. The state overseer of Thailand once turned to my father and said, “There is not enough room in hell for all of my people to go there.” When Jesus spoke to his disciples about the lost, he didn’t tell them to pray that the lost would be receptive or that the disciples would be able to reach the lost. He told his disciples, “there are multitudes of lost people and they are ready. Pray for more people to choose to get into their world and tell them about me” (my own paraphrase). Knowing this call and seeing the need here in Thailand, my family, Jacki, and I will will be moving here shortly after Jacki and I get married next year. Please pray with us as we discern how we can best reach these beautiful people with the gospel. Your prayers help to break up the ground that we will soon build on.

Control the Head, Control the Man

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Did you ever wrestle with your Dad when you were growing up? Well, my dad drilled one all important lesson into us in every one of our championship bouts. He would get us in a headlock and then say, "control the head, control the man". Then we would promptly go flying head over heels into a soft landing he had prepared for us.

I didn't realize how critical this lesson truly was until many years later. It illustrates the power of a focused life. I've recently met a young lady named Maritchu who is an example of this power and the effect it has on others. After coming to believe in Christ through a miracle, she devoted her life to reaching impoverished children with His love through a weekly sidewalk sunday school. She joined our church's outreach, and has recently started her own. After only a few weeks running, she is already reaching one hundred and fifty kids. One of her assistants came to Christ through a sidewalk sunday school and is now a sponsored scholar in school.

The lesson I've learned from Maritchu's life is simple: do one thing with all your heart. It's easy to get fragmented between work tasks, family life, friendships and the many other daily worries that vie for our time. The people that I have met, though, who have truly left their mark on other's lives are those who have learned to do one thing well and do it with all their heart. I still am trying to put my finger on that one thing, but I think I'm getting a pulse

All your life is happening right now

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This past year for me has felt like pushing a 747 down a runway. The idea of Emerge has so much potential for powerful influence here in the Philippines and throughout Asia. The hard part is getting it moving with enough momentum that it can lift off of the ground. Stepping into this role as Director of the network, I had no idea what to do. Though I had spent years leading on campus at Lee University, I was not ready for the managerial responsibility that comes with a startup ministry. Everything that we are doing is innovative! The possibilities are very exciting, but at certain times I find myself frustrated by not seeing results as fast as I want. It's those moments that I feel a gentle nudge in my heart telling me that all I truly have in life is this moment right here. There are two things to do with that moment. One: give it your best. Two: enjoy it. Remembering that helps me keep it simple. After all, it is the "one small step" that becomes the "giant leap".

Welcome to my blog!

As I'm writing this blog, I'm watching The Guardian. It's a movie about rescue swimmer and the challenges they face as they brave the elements to pull one drowning soul at a time in from hungry arctic waters. Though the waters around the Philippines are far from Arctic, the analogy still holds. The reason I am here as a missionary in the Philippines is because there are lost people here and their time is running out. Every rescue swimmer needs a helicopter crew above him to hold the line and help him pull out those who are looking for help. The crew is invaluable. Without them, the swimmer would never make it into the water and never make it out. I want to thank you for being that crew. Thank you for enabling me to live here in the heart of Asia and minister in this open missions field. I hope this site is an encouragement for you as you see the work that you are engaged in and the lives that you are saving.