On paper, flying to the other side of the world is a long trip with many hours of travel. It felt a lot longer than it seemed on paper though. I'm sure it didn't help that we had a lot of multi-hour layovers at various points on this little globe we call Earth.Here are the places we've stopped at so far along the way.
- Jacksonville, FL
- Atlanta, GA
- San Francisco, CA
- Hong Kong (somewhere in China)
- Singapore (is that its own country?)
- Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Total travel time: about 50 hours. Same clothes, same deoderant, no toothbrush. ;)
It wasn't as bad as it sounds though. The international flights were filled with a lot of perks. Here comes another list (in no particularl order)!
- Decent food
- Hot towels to wash your face
- An LCD screen for each passenger
- Lots of on-demand movies and music
- Video games (I beat Super Mario Brothers 1)
- Mall-esque airports (they put our airports to shame)
So now that I'm finally here and well rested (let me add sweet down pillows and comforters to my previous list), it's time to rock and roll.
Right before we left Jacksonville, we circled up to pray for the trip. Afterwards, I looked around and saw everybody with their "Hope Cambodia" t-shirts and God reminded me of Romans 5:3-5.
Romans 5:3-5 (NLT) 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
I love this verse because it talks about a hope that does not disappoint. The hope of salvation.
The magnitude of what we're doing here is eternal. I got that reminder when I heard there over a thousand people and 250 salvations on opening night.
So this verse has become my prayer. That this Festival of Hope is one that also brings the Hope of Salvation.
It's time to rock and roll.
-Alex Tran
8 comments:
Alex -- Thanks so much for setting up this blog. I know that it will bless many people to read about all that God is doing in and through our team. We love and miss all of you, and are believing God for world- and life- changing ministry!
Blessings to all,
Stovall and Kerri
Alex, we so wish we were with you! God is going to use the team so massively over there! We definitely can feel it here! We got your backs rockin the gates through prayer!
Gary and Rachael
Hey,
Alex, yes I know you will be leading the team in rocking and rolling for Jesus! Go Team! We love you guys. Lisa Johnson. P.S. Tell Tracey, I am so excited she is there!
Alex,
I am so glad you guys made it safely!!! I have definitely been praying for you guys and can't wait to read more blogs. Tell Jenny I said hi and the townhouse isn't the same without her!
Meghan
Hey Alex,
I miss you guys already, I'm so excited for you. Marcus and I are continually lifting you guys up in prayer. I can't imagine how much impact you will have for the Kindgom of God. You guys are going to set captives free and bring freedom and deliverance...Go God!
Mercy
Hello Alex, I am a late niter at Celebration and I have been checking out this blog and I also wanted to say thank you for doing this. This is my first time posting a comment, hope it works!
Yolanda Reschmeier
This is Alex (FYI).
Thanks for all the comments. It's super cool knowing we all have you peeps back in Jax praying for us.
@Yolanda - Yup, the comment works. ;) Come track me down at LateNite sometime. I'd love to put a name to a face.
Alex, I meant this was the first time ever posting a comment on any blog, very neat!I said a prayer for you guys! So glad this blog works and everything! And if there is anything specific let me know.
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