I'm off to "Toyland" (Thailand) - Who knows what God has in store?

As you are reading this post, I may very well be en route to Thailand, no doubt getting tired of squeezing my 6 foot 5 frame into the cramped seat on the plane.

Why, you may ask? 

I am off on a Missions Trip, a part service, part exploratory trip with my church.

We will do a little touring of the country, including touring the Grand Palace in Bangkok:

However, most of the trip will be spent doing things like visiting an orphanage, teaching English at a school to help build relationships in the community, handing out Operation Christmas Child boxes, visiting a medical clinic in Northern Thailand. The goal is to share the love of Jesus to people who may have never met Him. 

We are also meeting a number of amazing missionary couples, and exploring the options of how our church can partner with them in the future to send regular ongoing short-term missions teams to Thailand (i.e. send over doctors, nurses, etc. for a medical missions trip). 

I can't wait to see what God is going to do! I'm really going to miss my wife and my children, as I've never been apart from them for 2 whole weeks. I'm going to miss hearing them say all the things that make me smile and laugh.

For example?

My 5-yr-old daughter, when I told her I was leaving for 2 weeks, turned to her 3-yr-old brother and said "I have something to tell you. It's going to make you cry. Daddy's going to Toyland!". Now, if I really WAS going to Toyland without her, she'd REALLY cry!

Anyway, I am indeed going to be gone, and will miss them a lot. But I'm trying to trust God to care for them in my absence, and I look forward to showering them with hugs and kisses when I return.

I've scheduled a few posts to appear on my blog in my absence, but otherwise won't be posting until I get back in February.

God bless everyone!