I just want to thank those of you who are praying for Yod. He came into class on Friday while we were teaching a few students, came over to me, and said, "Seven days." I didn't know what to think...."seven days?" What does that mean? He said, "Story, finish the story." Ahh! Yes, the story! And I did. I told him about sin and the Israelites and sacrifices. I told him about the Lamb of God who was a sacrifice for everyone. I told him that everyone has sinned. He agreed. I told him how we need a savior. He wasn't so sure. He believes that if one lives good enough then he can go to heaven. But what is "good enough?" We finished talking about these things, and I sensed that we should talk about something else. And we did.
About 20 minutes later, I sensed we should talk about the Bible again. And we did. I asked him to write a list of things that he thought God was like. He didn't really understand the exercise, but I wrote a list of things that I thought about God. I'll try to post that list later. Then I told the story of the Prodigal Son. When I teach about the Bible, I like to write most of what I say - at least the hard words. I also draw a lot of pictures (even though I'm an awful artist). I told the whole story about the Prodigal Son making sure he really understood it. At the end, I asked what do you think? He took my pen and circled one of the words I had listed about God - forgiving. Exactly! The father is a picture of our Father. I let him know that the story was important to me. It held meaning for me in my life. That seemed to make an impression on him. It wasn't just a random story. It had deeper meanings. That was all for that day. Please continue to pray that I get more opportunites to share the love of God with him.
stu
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
20 Days Left
There are 20 days left, and we're trying to make the most of it. We still have a couple of weeks of teaching and an English camp next weekend. And then back to America.
Please pray for my friend - we'll call him Yod cause that's his name. I asked him to tell me about the beginning. He personally believes we all come from a single cell (but who really knows?), and then I asked him to tell me what most Thai people believe. He told me an interesting story that truly was kinda cool. I told him what Christians believe. We walked through the 7 days of Creation. I had just finished talking about the first human sin, and then he had a phone call and had to go to a meeting. Please pray that God will give me another opportunity to finish the story and explain why we need a Saviour.
Thankfully others in our group have been able to talk about Jesus. It's refreshingly easy to speak about faith and God in this culture rather than my collegiate bubble.
Please pray that the Holy Spirit would move and convict and shed truth to our friends. I was talking with one of our missionaries last night at dinner about how it's not our responsibility to "win souls" or to "save people." We're called to be obedient. We also talked about how much faith it takes to believe that God sent his Son 2000 years ago to die on the cross and be raised to life. It's a ridiculous story. Think about how foolish it sounds. Pretend you've never heard about the Bible or God's love. Those are our friends - they haven't been taught about Jesus since the day they could form sentences. They've been taught Buddhism and how one must "make merit." Thankfully, it's the Holy Spirit's job to reveal real truth to people. We're called to be obedient.
stu
Please pray for my friend - we'll call him Yod cause that's his name. I asked him to tell me about the beginning. He personally believes we all come from a single cell (but who really knows?), and then I asked him to tell me what most Thai people believe. He told me an interesting story that truly was kinda cool. I told him what Christians believe. We walked through the 7 days of Creation. I had just finished talking about the first human sin, and then he had a phone call and had to go to a meeting. Please pray that God will give me another opportunity to finish the story and explain why we need a Saviour.
Thankfully others in our group have been able to talk about Jesus. It's refreshingly easy to speak about faith and God in this culture rather than my collegiate bubble.
Please pray that the Holy Spirit would move and convict and shed truth to our friends. I was talking with one of our missionaries last night at dinner about how it's not our responsibility to "win souls" or to "save people." We're called to be obedient. We also talked about how much faith it takes to believe that God sent his Son 2000 years ago to die on the cross and be raised to life. It's a ridiculous story. Think about how foolish it sounds. Pretend you've never heard about the Bible or God's love. Those are our friends - they haven't been taught about Jesus since the day they could form sentences. They've been taught Buddhism and how one must "make merit." Thankfully, it's the Holy Spirit's job to reveal real truth to people. We're called to be obedient.
stu
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Chiang Mai
We arrived in Chiang Mai Friday morning by overnight bus. I was actually able to sleep pretty well on the trip. It's been great so far to be able to relax and enjoy our little holiday!
On Friday, we walked around the city for much of the day. The girls enjoyed a nice American hamburger and french fries. Unfortunately for me, I had already eaten breakfast and wasn't very hungry. We walked around some more and went to the night market around 5. We had booked a trip to go zip lining for Saturday morning, and we had to leave at 7 AM so we decided to call it an early night after some good Thai food.
Zip lining was great! There were 7 of us in all, and we had 2 guides - So and Mai (or Mike, I'm not sure). I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know one guy in particular. He was a Turkish Muslim married to an Indonesian Christian (probably some orthodox version), and they both lived in Holland. They spoke English well, and we talked about everything from politics to religion to movies to computers to history. I had a hard time understanding how a Muslim could be married to a Christian, but he said there are many ways to God. I then asked what he thought about John 14:6. He didn't really have an answer. He kept referring to how the Koran and the Bible had many similar stories and ideas. I wanted to say of course, but the Koran was written well after the Bible - perhaps some of those ideas were borrowed. Anyway, we had great discussion about lots of topics! He was very interested about the States as was I about Europe. I realize how much I love meeting people from different backgrounds and experiences. The other fellow adventurers were both from Malaysia. I found out near the end of the trip that he was in banking and finance. Unfortunately, we didn't get to talk that much. Sad day.
Yesterday afternoon, I took a three hour nap. We went to the night market again last night, and I got some Mickey D's. It was fantastic. My stomach had truly missed the grease and the salt. It was nice, but I really have become accustomed to Thai food. I know I'm going to miss it when I get back to the States. I stayed up late last night reading, and woke up late this morning. It's nice to be able to relax, but I've also realized that I miss Maha Sarakham. I think that there are just too many white people here. Too much English. I feel like a pro since I know a few Thai phrases and words. But it doesn't matter here because so many people speak English. Haha, oh well, we'll be back in a few days. Hope everything is well at home!
stu
On Friday, we walked around the city for much of the day. The girls enjoyed a nice American hamburger and french fries. Unfortunately for me, I had already eaten breakfast and wasn't very hungry. We walked around some more and went to the night market around 5. We had booked a trip to go zip lining for Saturday morning, and we had to leave at 7 AM so we decided to call it an early night after some good Thai food.
Zip lining was great! There were 7 of us in all, and we had 2 guides - So and Mai (or Mike, I'm not sure). I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know one guy in particular. He was a Turkish Muslim married to an Indonesian Christian (probably some orthodox version), and they both lived in Holland. They spoke English well, and we talked about everything from politics to religion to movies to computers to history. I had a hard time understanding how a Muslim could be married to a Christian, but he said there are many ways to God. I then asked what he thought about John 14:6. He didn't really have an answer. He kept referring to how the Koran and the Bible had many similar stories and ideas. I wanted to say of course, but the Koran was written well after the Bible - perhaps some of those ideas were borrowed. Anyway, we had great discussion about lots of topics! He was very interested about the States as was I about Europe. I realize how much I love meeting people from different backgrounds and experiences. The other fellow adventurers were both from Malaysia. I found out near the end of the trip that he was in banking and finance. Unfortunately, we didn't get to talk that much. Sad day.
Yesterday afternoon, I took a three hour nap. We went to the night market again last night, and I got some Mickey D's. It was fantastic. My stomach had truly missed the grease and the salt. It was nice, but I really have become accustomed to Thai food. I know I'm going to miss it when I get back to the States. I stayed up late last night reading, and woke up late this morning. It's nice to be able to relax, but I've also realized that I miss Maha Sarakham. I think that there are just too many white people here. Too much English. I feel like a pro since I know a few Thai phrases and words. But it doesn't matter here because so many people speak English. Haha, oh well, we'll be back in a few days. Hope everything is well at home!
stu
Thursday, June 25, 2009
So it's been awhile...
Hi, I'm still alive. I think my last post was about two weeks ago. We've been really busy with teaching and planning and hanging out with students. Teaching has become a lot easier since we started. Ideas seem to flow much better and we're more flexible in the classroom. We all work pretty well with each other for the most part which is good!
Some random things...
I killed a colony of ants in my room yesterday. They deserved it because I lost count how many times I've been bitten. haha, I think I'm becoming immune to ant bites!
I've been training my taste buds to eat spicy things. It's getting easier and easier, and I'm starting to crave the spice.
I've taught accounting a couple of times to some of my students. They have to learn accounting in English! It may actually be the same book I had for ACCT 2001. Surprising I remember of lot of it! Thank you, Swati!
We watched Aladdin last night in English. It still is my favorite Disney movie! "A Whole New World...." yes!
Hannah and I invented a card game called "Well, Dang!" It's kinda fun. I'll explain the rules sometime when I get back. Interesting fact: having playing cards in Thailand is illegal. At last count, we have somewhere near 7 in the apartment....
Today, I have been out of the United States for exactly 1 month. Weird. This is the longest I've been out of the country.
I really like having other PK's on the trip. I don't get to interact with PK's very much, so it's cool to have that special bond. We have similar stories about things with our dads and church and stuff. I think our dads would all get along really well....
I'm currently reading "The Hiding Place," and it is really really good. Definitely recommend it! (Thanks for putting in my suitcase, dad!)
I'm currently listening to the Killers and the Republic Tigers. Also enjoying some of Embrace. Can't wait to get back and get some more music! But it's been good being able to discover what I already have on here.
Well, that's all I can think of right now. Hopefully I'll be more consistent in the future...
stu
Some random things...
I killed a colony of ants in my room yesterday. They deserved it because I lost count how many times I've been bitten. haha, I think I'm becoming immune to ant bites!
I've been training my taste buds to eat spicy things. It's getting easier and easier, and I'm starting to crave the spice.
I've taught accounting a couple of times to some of my students. They have to learn accounting in English! It may actually be the same book I had for ACCT 2001. Surprising I remember of lot of it! Thank you, Swati!
We watched Aladdin last night in English. It still is my favorite Disney movie! "A Whole New World...." yes!
Hannah and I invented a card game called "Well, Dang!" It's kinda fun. I'll explain the rules sometime when I get back. Interesting fact: having playing cards in Thailand is illegal. At last count, we have somewhere near 7 in the apartment....
Today, I have been out of the United States for exactly 1 month. Weird. This is the longest I've been out of the country.
I really like having other PK's on the trip. I don't get to interact with PK's very much, so it's cool to have that special bond. We have similar stories about things with our dads and church and stuff. I think our dads would all get along really well....
I'm currently reading "The Hiding Place," and it is really really good. Definitely recommend it! (Thanks for putting in my suitcase, dad!)
I'm currently listening to the Killers and the Republic Tigers. Also enjoying some of Embrace. Can't wait to get back and get some more music! But it's been good being able to discover what I already have on here.
Well, that's all I can think of right now. Hopefully I'll be more consistent in the future...
stu
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
"Yodshine" and Korean BBQ
Not exactly sure what it means, but it's my Thai nickname...haha
This week was our first week of teaching, and it's been really great so far! Monday was short and sweet with first year english majors. Tuesday Hannah and I were with hotel management students, and it went really well! (Tuesday, they named me "Yodshine") That afternoon some of our students asked us to go to dinner with them that night which was kinda cool. Honestly, I didn't expect them to show up, but I'll talk about that in a sec.... Yod and Tik gave us a ride home from the hotel managment building on their motorcycles which was a ton of fun! Seriously, it was really really fun, kinda scary but really fun!
Wednesday, Sarah Beth (SB) and I taught hotel management that morning, and we had the afternoon off. That afternoon I took a nap, something I've been doing a lot of recently!
Today, I have the day off with Lydia and Hannah. The other three are teaching hotel management students, and they'll have the day off tomorrow.
Anyway, back to dinner on tuesday. The students did show up! They took us a to a Korean BBQ place that the Paynes wanted to take us to last week, but it was too busy. Okay, so this is the system: it's like a buffet, there are several cooked dishes that you choose from, there are probably 12-15 different types of raw meat you can choose from, and there are vegetables and noodles. You cook your own meat and vegetables at the table. It's hard to explain what the grilling contraption looks like, and I can't find a good picture to post on here....but it was awesome! In the middle of dinner, an elephant showed up near the entrance to the restaurant! We could feed it! And we did! And it was awesome! I ate some squid and some other things that Yod would put on my plate, haha, but it was all pretty good. Dessert was homemade ice cream or fruit, and both were delicious. So we had all-you-can-eat of any type of meat and ice cream and fruit and Thai dishes.....You would think, "wow that's gotta be like 15-20 bucks at least." Ladies and gentleman, I paid a measly 3 dollars. Let that just sink in for a second....
Well, we're hosting a party at our apartment tomorrow night, and we need to get ready for that, so until next time!
stu
This week was our first week of teaching, and it's been really great so far! Monday was short and sweet with first year english majors. Tuesday Hannah and I were with hotel management students, and it went really well! (Tuesday, they named me "Yodshine") That afternoon some of our students asked us to go to dinner with them that night which was kinda cool. Honestly, I didn't expect them to show up, but I'll talk about that in a sec.... Yod and Tik gave us a ride home from the hotel managment building on their motorcycles which was a ton of fun! Seriously, it was really really fun, kinda scary but really fun!
Wednesday, Sarah Beth (SB) and I taught hotel management that morning, and we had the afternoon off. That afternoon I took a nap, something I've been doing a lot of recently!
Today, I have the day off with Lydia and Hannah. The other three are teaching hotel management students, and they'll have the day off tomorrow.
Anyway, back to dinner on tuesday. The students did show up! They took us a to a Korean BBQ place that the Paynes wanted to take us to last week, but it was too busy. Okay, so this is the system: it's like a buffet, there are several cooked dishes that you choose from, there are probably 12-15 different types of raw meat you can choose from, and there are vegetables and noodles. You cook your own meat and vegetables at the table. It's hard to explain what the grilling contraption looks like, and I can't find a good picture to post on here....but it was awesome! In the middle of dinner, an elephant showed up near the entrance to the restaurant! We could feed it! And we did! And it was awesome! I ate some squid and some other things that Yod would put on my plate, haha, but it was all pretty good. Dessert was homemade ice cream or fruit, and both were delicious. So we had all-you-can-eat of any type of meat and ice cream and fruit and Thai dishes.....You would think, "wow that's gotta be like 15-20 bucks at least." Ladies and gentleman, I paid a measly 3 dollars. Let that just sink in for a second....
Well, we're hosting a party at our apartment tomorrow night, and we need to get ready for that, so until next time!
stu
Friday, June 5, 2009
And Today I Fried My Alarm Clock....
It's true unfortunately. But other than that, today has been great!
We went with Scott and Valerie to eat real Isaan food at a nice restaurant for lunch. A traditional Isaan meal is similar to a southern meal at thanksgiving. Several dishes are arranged in the middle of the table, and everyone shares! Today, we had.....well, lots of things I can't say, but among the dishes were three whole fish, a spicy thai salad, plates of fried garlic pork strips, and a bowl of spicy shrimp soup. Most all of it was delicious! After lunch we went to the Paynes to have desert, and Valerie's cookies were amazing!
But tonight was incredible. We were invited to the home of "Ahh Jahhn" (Professor) Ben's house. There are three groups of people at dinner tonight - young American college students, brilliant Thai professors, and two American missionaries. We had a blast! The food was great, and the company was even better! Most of the Thai's English was excellent so communication was easy. After dinner and fruit, we played a game. I won't go into the details, but the night was filled with laughter! It was really really really cool.....
Okay, update on the week:
Monday: drove around Maha Sarakham and saw where we would be teaching.
Tuesday: drove three hours to Mukdahan to sort out some visa trouble with the two of the girls.
Wednesday: prepared to teach English for next week and went grocery shopping.
Thursday: signed up Pharmacy students for English class in the morning. In the afternoon, I got to play the piano, yes!
I would just like to say that I'm addicted to smoothies. They're like 60 cents, and they're better than any smoothie I've ever had in the states. I'm gonna get fat....
stu
We went with Scott and Valerie to eat real Isaan food at a nice restaurant for lunch. A traditional Isaan meal is similar to a southern meal at thanksgiving. Several dishes are arranged in the middle of the table, and everyone shares! Today, we had.....well, lots of things I can't say, but among the dishes were three whole fish, a spicy thai salad, plates of fried garlic pork strips, and a bowl of spicy shrimp soup. Most all of it was delicious! After lunch we went to the Paynes to have desert, and Valerie's cookies were amazing!
But tonight was incredible. We were invited to the home of "Ahh Jahhn" (Professor) Ben's house. There are three groups of people at dinner tonight - young American college students, brilliant Thai professors, and two American missionaries. We had a blast! The food was great, and the company was even better! Most of the Thai's English was excellent so communication was easy. After dinner and fruit, we played a game. I won't go into the details, but the night was filled with laughter! It was really really really cool.....
Okay, update on the week:
Monday: drove around Maha Sarakham and saw where we would be teaching.
Tuesday: drove three hours to Mukdahan to sort out some visa trouble with the two of the girls.
Wednesday: prepared to teach English for next week and went grocery shopping.
Thursday: signed up Pharmacy students for English class in the morning. In the afternoon, I got to play the piano, yes!
I would just like to say that I'm addicted to smoothies. They're like 60 cents, and they're better than any smoothie I've ever had in the states. I'm gonna get fat....
stu
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Stu "Baaah"
Means "crazy stu." Such is learning a new language. "Ba" means "let's go," but I must have held it a little longer than I was supposed to and it turned into the word "crazy" in Thai. And the Thai girls thought that that was pretty funny so that decided to stick it to the end of my name. haha I hope "stu baaah" won't stick too much.
Yesterday we met up with some Thai students and went to the Big C to meet our missionaries to eat. The three girls were Rinda, Lek (which means small), and Tiap. They were so welcoming and jumped at the chance to practice their English with us. In the process we also learned a little Thai. This reminds me how I always enjoy diving into another's culture and language and customs. It's definitely not easy. Thai is a whole other system. The language is tonal, and it has 5 tones: mid, low, high, rising, and falling. So what this means is that the same two words can have totally separate meanings based on the way you say it. For example: "sahm" with a low tone means "fork," but "sahm" with a rising tone means the number 3....I think...
Anyway, enough with the language lesson.
I'd like to go ahead and say that this team is incredible. So far our trip has been bathed in prayer and scripture. I feel like I've discovered a new love for the Word of God. I am reminded how active and living it actually is! I know that God has great things in store for our team and our ministry here. He is so good, and his love endures forever!
The missionary family is so great as well. Scott and Valerie have both been here for 12 years and I sense in them an amazing love for the Isaan people. Their three kids are cool too. Elliot, 8, is a ton of fun! I've never been great with kids, but I love this kid! I think he likes me pretty well too.
This morning our team had church. It was simple. And it felt right. We read and discussed a passage in 1 Peter, prayed, and worshipped with music. It was good :)
This afternoon is the Thai service. Which I won't understand....haha but that's okay! But this is it for now. Here's a thought: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
stu
Yesterday we met up with some Thai students and went to the Big C to meet our missionaries to eat. The three girls were Rinda, Lek (which means small), and Tiap. They were so welcoming and jumped at the chance to practice their English with us. In the process we also learned a little Thai. This reminds me how I always enjoy diving into another's culture and language and customs. It's definitely not easy. Thai is a whole other system. The language is tonal, and it has 5 tones: mid, low, high, rising, and falling. So what this means is that the same two words can have totally separate meanings based on the way you say it. For example: "sahm" with a low tone means "fork," but "sahm" with a rising tone means the number 3....I think...
Anyway, enough with the language lesson.
I'd like to go ahead and say that this team is incredible. So far our trip has been bathed in prayer and scripture. I feel like I've discovered a new love for the Word of God. I am reminded how active and living it actually is! I know that God has great things in store for our team and our ministry here. He is so good, and his love endures forever!
The missionary family is so great as well. Scott and Valerie have both been here for 12 years and I sense in them an amazing love for the Isaan people. Their three kids are cool too. Elliot, 8, is a ton of fun! I've never been great with kids, but I love this kid! I think he likes me pretty well too.
This morning our team had church. It was simple. And it felt right. We read and discussed a passage in 1 Peter, prayed, and worshipped with music. It was good :)
This afternoon is the Thai service. Which I won't understand....haha but that's okay! But this is it for now. Here's a thought: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
stu
Friday, May 29, 2009
I <3 Cold Showers!
I am having the time of my life! We got to Mahasarakham pretty late last night, at least it felt really late to me. Two nights ago I went to bed at 8 and got up at 4...hmm. Last night I went to bed around 10:30 and woke up around 7. So I'm slowly adjusting to the jet lag and the time change. It's funny...it's like 5 in the morning at home right now, but it's only 4 in the afternoon here. You're all sleeping right now....haha.
Anyway, I'd like to say that cold showers are amazing! Especially after a hot sweaty night...wait, that didn't come out right. haha. It's just that we don't have A/C and it's pretty hot and humid at night. At least until I become adjusted to the temperature over here....
On another note, the food is incredible!! And cheap! Seriously, the Thai food I've had so far is really delicious! And the people are so very nice and kind.
Well, I guess that's it for now. Tonight we're planning on going to the night market to eat and to meet some Thai students. It's gonna be pretty great! Until next time!!
stu
Anyway, I'd like to say that cold showers are amazing! Especially after a hot sweaty night...wait, that didn't come out right. haha. It's just that we don't have A/C and it's pretty hot and humid at night. At least until I become adjusted to the temperature over here....
On another note, the food is incredible!! And cheap! Seriously, the Thai food I've had so far is really delicious! And the people are so very nice and kind.
Well, I guess that's it for now. Tonight we're planning on going to the night market to eat and to meet some Thai students. It's gonna be pretty great! Until next time!!
stu
Monday, May 25, 2009
The Time Has Come
Today, I leave for Thailand. I embark on a great journey to the unknown. Well, it's a journey - an adventure! I feel an excitement that goes with every sort of mission trip. It's amazing that we can feel this feeling, as if we're about to take a cliff dive into the waters 50 feet below hoping that we can swim once we rise to the surface. This is my cliff dive for the summer, and I can't wait! Well, I don't have to wait anymore - the time has come!
"I'm leavin' on a jet plane...."
But I'll be back in August :)
stu
"I'm leavin' on a jet plane...."
But I'll be back in August :)
stu
Sunday, May 24, 2009
An Introduction
Hi, I'm Stuart. This will be a place where I can share updates about my summer in Thailand. Hopefully it will be somewhat entertaining... :)
This is what I've been thinking about lately: faith drives out fear. I once heard a message from a good friend of mine in Athens on this subject. He said faith is the opposite of fear, and on the brink of traveling to a foreign land I know what he means. I have always had a fear of the unknown that has been paralyzing. I was home schooled until I was in the 10th grade, and it scared me to go to public school. Looking back there was nothing to be afraid of! The same happened with driving a car, going to college, auditioning for a choir, etc. I have been afraid of these things when there's no real threat or danger to be afraid of! But this is different....
I would normally be freaking out on the inside, and I hide my fear very well. But this time I know God will provide for me. I have faith that he will take care of me. I have faith that our ministry will succeed even if we never see the harvest of our labor. I am trusting God with my summer because he knows me better than I know myself. And amazingly, I am not afraid!
Romans 8:38-39
"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow - not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below - indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Paul hit the nail on the head with these verses. Having faith that God loves us and that He will be with us wherever we go will drive out the fear we have of the unknown, or of failure, or of our inadequacies. What a relief! Worrying takes up too much time anyway!
This is what I've been thinking about lately: faith drives out fear. I once heard a message from a good friend of mine in Athens on this subject. He said faith is the opposite of fear, and on the brink of traveling to a foreign land I know what he means. I have always had a fear of the unknown that has been paralyzing. I was home schooled until I was in the 10th grade, and it scared me to go to public school. Looking back there was nothing to be afraid of! The same happened with driving a car, going to college, auditioning for a choir, etc. I have been afraid of these things when there's no real threat or danger to be afraid of! But this is different....
I would normally be freaking out on the inside, and I hide my fear very well. But this time I know God will provide for me. I have faith that he will take care of me. I have faith that our ministry will succeed even if we never see the harvest of our labor. I am trusting God with my summer because he knows me better than I know myself. And amazingly, I am not afraid!
Romans 8:38-39
"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow - not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below - indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Paul hit the nail on the head with these verses. Having faith that God loves us and that He will be with us wherever we go will drive out the fear we have of the unknown, or of failure, or of our inadequacies. What a relief! Worrying takes up too much time anyway!
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