Progress.

-Buy plane tickets
-Buy plane tickets from Bangkok to Chiang Mai through Air Asia
- Find a family member willing to pay our storage rent every month
-Get shots (Typhoid, make sure we have had Hep A,B,C shots, Malaria pills)
-Buy backpacks
-Buy walking/hiking shoes
-Get passports (in process)
-Get essentials: travel clothing, travel items (clothesline, drain stopper, toilet paper, travel towels (2), earplugs, laptop, bug spray, sunscreen)
-Get enough money pledged/donated to last the full six months in SE Asia (estimated to be a minimum of about $1,000/month if no major travel in that month... currently need $4,000 more for the minimum.
-Save enough money for a plane ticket back home, as the plane tickets we bought are one way. (estimated: $1,000-$2,000).

-Find a temporary home for our puggles.

Wesley, Rollie, and Rush in Gatlinburg, TN.

The last need is so heart-wrenching for me. They're our babies. We celebrate their birthdays for crying out loud, haha. They are inside dogs who don't mind being outside, but don't want to sleep outside. I realize this may have to be adjusted if they live with a family that can only have outside dogs. They MUST be cared for together, as separating them might cause even more stress on them. As it is, I am afraid they might have problems adjusting because we take such good care of them. They are our little cuddle bunnies, as we affectionately call them. They love to play outside, but once inside, they will immediately cuddle up next to you and go to sleep. I have a recent picture of Rollie cuddling with me. I was laying on the bed, and he literally came up and plopped down, settling right into the crook of my neck, and went to sleep. They are some of the most loving dogs I've ever owned. I hate to have to leave them. I think that will be one of the hardest things for me.

Would you like two puggles for 6 months to 1 year? ;) Whoever accepts the "boys" (as we also call them) will be given a medium monetary amount to take care of them while we're gone. They need lots of love and caring. They are excellent watch dogs, whether the object of menace is a cat, a garbage man, or someone actually threatening.

God is continuing to answer all of our prayers. I know He will provide a good home for our babies. I start to worry about it, but then I remember that God sees the bigger picture, and I KNOW He will provide for all of our needs.

Philipians 4:19
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

La Musica

When I can't travel, I like to listen to songs that help me take flight. I believe everyone who enjoys to travel should have a travel playlist for those agonizing 9 to 5ers (or 8 to 4:30ers, as the case may be) where you are inside all day and can't enjoy the outside world.

In my humble opinion, there are five requirements for songs in order for them to make it to the final travel playlist. Most songs on my playlist will fill all five requirements, but sometimes less. There are songs that may have a few test runs, until I decide that they really aren't travel playlist material. But the following criteria are to be met in order for me to include the song on my personal playlist:

a) As listed, first it must make you want to travel. You have not made a successful travel playlist until you absolutely feel that longing to get in a car and drive away-- blasting the song through your speakers, rolling the windows down, and taking off.

b) At least some songs must be linked to previous trips you have taken. I am a collector of songs that remind me of different memories, and feel that a successful playlist is not complete without these. Whether it be a random song you heard on the radio and loved, or a song playing at a gas station when you picked up some gummi worms for the ride back...the possibilities are endless. Whatever brings you back to that time.

c) It must give you the travel tingles. If you love to travel, you know what this feels like.

d) It must put images in your head of travel. Whether it be scenes from a particular movie that involve travel, or your own personal experiences, or places you hope to one day see.

e) It can always be listened to with the windows rolled down.

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All this to say, here is the current travel playlist I am working with. It's rather short, because it takes quite a bit for a song to STAY on my travel list without me kicking it off.

*Disclaimer: this is my own personal playlist. If you like the songs, great! Add them to your playlist. However, if you don't agree, don't judge me. Just don't do it! LOL.

1) Ventura Highway- America It takes me back to visits to California. Even though I haven't lived there in over 22 years, it's still in my blood. Oh, how I love California.

2) Hard Sun-Eddie Vedder This reminds me of the first few minutes of the movie "Into the Wild". I didn't finish it due to content in the movie, but one day I'd love to see the edited version of it. The link provided shows pretty much the gist of the story. Chris McCandless's story is one of the most fascinating stories I've ever heard. I encourage you to read 'Into the Wild'.

3) Wagon Wheel-Old Crow Medicine Show Just a good song to listen to on a nice, open road.

4)Penny and Me-Hanson No playlist is complete without Hanson ;) And this song truly has a great sound.

5) Boston-Augustana I love the beautiful piano music. This is one of my favorite "windows rolled down" songs.

6) Pretty much the ENTIRE 'Elizabethtown' soundtrack. It is one of my favorite movies, and captured the essence and feel of a road trip in a movie like no other movies have. I dream of the day I can make a scrapbook map for someone! But particularly, the ones that really get my heart racing are:

My Father's Gun-Elton John
Free Bird-Lynyrd Skynyrd
Don't I Hold You-Wheat
Square One- Tom Petty

7) Cruisin'- Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow Hello? Cruisin is the title of the song. 'Nough said. ;)

8)Dancin' in the Moonlight- Toploader I can't help but dance around in my car when I hear this.

9) Brick House-The Commodores Speaking of dancing around, especially if I'm driving alone, at some point in my road trip, I have to dance around for a period of time. One time, I was driving home due to a break at college. I got tired of my cds and put on the radio. Suddenly, this song came on, and I literally could not control my urge to dance around in the car. It made me feel SO much better too, because the trip had grown a little dull. It energized me for the rest of the trip. I definitely recommend you dance around at some point during your road trip. It adds to the whole experience.

10) Return to Innocence- Enigma I understand this is probably central to me, because this song really has nothing to do with traveling. Yet somehow, I get the travel vibe from it. I love to turn it up as loud as it will go and sing the Native American parts. One of my favorite songs.

11) The ENTIRE album Share the Well by Caedmon's Call. Reminds me of my time of preparation before going to India in 2005. Particulars are:

Dalit Hymn
International Love Song
Sarala
Mother India
Share the Well

12) Michael Jackson is SO great for road trips. I guess it's probably during the times when I want to wiggle around in my seat or just sing really loud. My favorites are:

Black or White
The Way You Make Me Feel
Will You Be There
Bad
Beat It
Don't Stop Til You Get Enough

13) Motorcycle Drive By- Third Eye Blind Oh my. I could listen to this over and over and over again and never get tired of it. A MUST for my playlist.

14) The Climb-Miley Cyrus Perhaps this is why I put my disclaimer. Or maybe I'm referring to Enigma. Or something else. I was skeptical of Miley, but she really has some good songs. Another song that is a must on my playlist is "Party in the USA."

15) John Hiatt- Have a Little Faith in Me Piano songs and road trips are such a beautiful mix. And if you haven't seen 'Benny and Joon', please go out and rent it now.

16)Vann Morrison- Into the Mystic

17) Life is a Highway- as sung by Rascal Flatts

18) The Zephyr Song-Red Hot Chili Peppers


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That's all I have for now. I'm sure there are others, but I can't think of them right this second. This will be a working list :) Were there any that you hadn't heard before? What do you think? Let me know!


Now, let's hear what songs you would pick and why!

Happy Birthday! and sickness.

I have the best friends. I always consider birthdays special, but this year, my friends have really done so very awesome. My great friends Heather and Renee took me out for a birthday breakfast on Saturday and I got some AWESOME things for our trip. Hello?! Books! and spray on pocket neosporin! and airport approved plastic bags and a crank light with no batteries and more? Genius. Also, my mother-in-law brought me a piece of cake on Sunday. Mmmm.

Then, I had the BEST birthday Monday EVER thanks to my great friend Becky. She bought me a frapuccino, then we went to get a pedicure. We then went back to her apartment and she had baked a pink cake. We ordered pizza and watched our bonding show from college days, 'Dawson's Creek.'

The problem this morning? I was up half the night with horrible stomach cramps, apparently spun from the pizza. Angry, angry! pizza.
So I am awake at 6:30 a.m. on my birthday.

I think I've noticed that since I've been eating more organically, anytime I stray from that, I usually get a sick stomach. Not fun at all.

And to think, I'll probably be going through these changes just as much overseas. I'm not looking forward to the getting sick part of things. While I'm (sometimes) no baby when it comes to getting sick, I do like to have a nice comfortable place to cuddle up in when I feel bad. My mother was always either great or horrible when I would get sick. When I was younger, she was great about it. She would give me one sippy cup with Coke and one sippy cup with Sprite, and make me white rice and noodle soup. She would always warn against drinking the sodas though, saying they were just for "sipping". But since initially, there wasn't a lot of soda around the house, when I was sick, this was one of the best things, because mom would have to buy it. I would lay on the couch all day and watch movies. It was the best.

When I got older, mom would often tell me to 'suck it up' and go to school.

Mom's latter instructions will work better during the trip. While I know I will have to take some time to rest when I get to that point, other days when I'm feeling achy and tired and homesick, I am going to have to 'suck it up' and do what God has sent me there to do.

I know I'll be able to do it, because God will equip me to do it. Hebrews 13:21 says that Jesus will "equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

And amen.

How it began.

Wesley and I were eating Thai food with Dustan and Darlene Stanley in November 2009when they asked us if we'd like to go on Revolutionary Life's next international trip, expected to last 6 months to a year. As I chewed around the thought, if I had allowed my mouth to think for me, I would have said "YES!" immediately. I hadn't had an opportunity to travel overseas since my India trip in '05, and I was certainly due for a new trip. My first trip to India, I had to pay several hundred dollars out of pocket, and being a college student at the time paying my way through school, there just wasn't money there to try and take another trip. I actually became bitter. When I first came back to the U.S., I would try to find all things Indian, to try and quench the homesickness I felt for a country that had only been my home for 10 days. However, when this didn't fill up and replace my thoughts of my beloved India, I instead did the exact opposite. I shyed away from anything regarding international travel. I became envious of people who talked of going to other countries. I literally put international things "out of sight, out of mind" to help ease the pain I felt still being in the United States. And it worked.

For a little while.

A few months before Dustan and Darlene extended the invitation, I had become restless. I was so very ready for a change. At the time, I thought that change meant to extend our family. The natural course of action in a woman's life at my current stage was to begin trying to have a baby. I had a stable job, we were doing ok financially, and I had baby fever worse than ever. But, it didn't work as easily as I had planned. Through much difficulty and heartache, I began to learn that perhaps God had a different path for me than what I expected. I mean, if we obey a God that doesn't shake things up pretty regularly, what kind of God is that? Did God ever promise anyone in the Bible stability in life? Certainly not. Look at the way Jesus approached the disciples. They were given what appears to be minutes to decide if they wanted to follow Christ or not. Matthew 4:20 says "At once they left their nets and followed Him." At once!

When we were offered the invitation, I struggled with it. I felt like I had to choose between having a baby or going on the trip. Someone helped me to realize that our whole life is ONE path. Choosing one decision doesn't mean we will stray from another if it is God's plan. And I knew that God wanted me to have lots of children due to my insane love for them. He had promised me children when I first began praying for them. It was at that moment that I realized I had to just let go. Once I truly did, it was one of the most freeing things I've ever experienced.

We struggled with the decision. Though we both had excitement about the opportunity, we were terrified to leave. But when we really began to examine these feelings, we realized that we, ourselves, didn't become scared at the unknown. It was other people that had beat into us the fact that we had to: be stable! Grow up! Don't leave a good job in this poor economy! There are plenty of people here that need God! You both have great jobs with great benefits! etc., etc. Always the exhausting etc.

When Wesley and I finally made the decision, this overwhelming peace washed over us. We KNEW that God wanted us to do this, no matter how crazy it was. So we were going to succeed. We were going to do this and do it right. We were going to show others that dropping everything to follow God is what God requires of us EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. No matter how much it doesn't make sense. Whether that be leaving all that is comfortable to journey into the unknown for the sake of the gospel, or simply dying to ourselves daily by taking our thoughts captive. Whatever that be, once we made that decision, we realized that this was for real. We would never be the same.

Because, you see, what it means to be a Christian is to give our all. Whatever that looks like. Take a look at your life and figure out what the ultimate sacrifice is. What would be the hardest thing to do for God? Now, figure out if you could do it or not. If you think you couldn't, pray for God to change your heart, and He will. Because it's not a matter of whether or not you could do it. You CAN do it. It's just allowing God to do it through you.

Wesley and I are no different than anyone else. Just because we have decided to go on this trip doesn't mean that we are any more spiritual than anyone else. We just happened to hear God tell us to do something...and we decided to do it.


So, we have our plane tickets booked. We will leave from LAX on September 16 at 5:40 p.m. We will travel 12 hours by plane, where we will have a 9 hour layover in Taipei, Taiwan. We will get back on the plane and fly to Bangkok, where we will catch another flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand. We will minister and travel all over. We will live out of backpacks and sleep anywhere rest can be found. SE Asia will be our home for the next 6 months.

And I am so very ready.

One Beginning Leads to Another

Some of the greatest memories I have are of when my mother would check me out of school early and we would take off and go somewhere. It could just be to the movies, or even back home, but occasionally, she'd surprise me with mini trips over the weekend.

Once, she picked me up with nothing packed at all. We drove for a while, then stopped at a thrift store. She said "pick yourself out a swimming suit. We're going to the beach!"
I laughed and played in the sun and ocean all weekend long, and my mother was my hero for this wonderful memory.

I'm not sure what it was first that caused me to get bitten by the travel bug. The easy answer would be to say that it's genetic; my mother is the same way. Always traveling, always craving new sights. Maybe it was the trip we took the summer I turned 14, a cross country road trip from Mississippi to California. Or the other trip right before college, through the Great Smoky Mountains of TN and NC. My first international travel (besides vacations here and there in Mexico) was in the summer of 2005, when I went on a missions trip to India. My time there changed me. From waking up to the sound of native tongues and clanking dishes, to the hot, stifling heat of New Delhi, to the unmistakable, mouth-watering scent of red curry hanging in the air.

From there, my heart for international missions grew into this bubbling inside of me that would not go away. The type of zeal and exuberance that would lead me to smile at every Indian I saw, and crave to be reunited with the orphan children I played with in the market. It is a feeling I can't describe, but if you could take the feeling I have when I see a plane take off, slowly making its way away from the clouds...bottle that up, and that would be this feeling. The way the song "Ventura Highway" by America makes me feel. The way I felt when I finished the books "On the Road" and "Into the Wild." The way I felt when we drove across the New Mexico desert on that trip at 14. How my dreams of hitchiking across the U.S. and taking care of children in other countries make me feel. It is all the same.

Whether here or there, it will always be the same.