Caley Peterson - Love in Action

Moldova in VIDEO

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Hey ya'll, we've officially wrapped up our final ministry. Here's video of our time spent in Moldova. One of my squad mates Margie put it together with a bunch of footage we all took with my Flip video. Hope you enjoy a glimpse into our ministry this month!

See you all soon!

Time Capsule

Fri, 5 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Greetings from Moldova. After 27 hours on yet another memorable train we made it to our 11^th and final country. We've been here a week now and it kind of feels like we stepped in a time machine and hopped out a 100 years ago. We are staying in the remote village of Cornesti. It's a small place. The church, the homes we're staying in and the work sites we are working at are all with in a two minute walk from each other. Our diet here is the same each day and consists of anything white or oily. White bread, white rice, white mashed potatoes, oily soup, and the real treat, white feta cheese. This morning I asked a girl we are working with if there was an ATM in town, her response was "What's that?" Below you can see the pictures of our bathroom and the main source of transportation we see in the village! And I've yet to shower, well, because there isn't one. There is no heat or running water where we are living.

Our ministry here is in full swing and seems to be the perfect pace for us. The church we are partnering with here has a shelter where five boys and five girls who have no parents live and are cared for. They also have a sewing school and kids program each afternoon. Our three boys are doing some tough physical work. The church here breeds beavers to earn money, so the guys have been working long days to build a new home for them to be able to house more beavers. Yesterday, they also worked with a group of boys from the shelter to dig a well. Us girls are doing house visits in the morning. We take food and pray for some people in need. We also are harvesting some fields of carrots. In the afternoons after lunch we help put on the kids program. Our time here is short so we are trying to make the most of serving each day.

Having a good old time Harvesting Carrots One of the sweetest old ladies we visited.

I am still in need of $1,200 support. November 15^th is my deadline, you can help me reach it by clicking here! (Choose the option support a racer, not a project)

Soilders on the SWAT team! Meesh and I all puffed up in our FREE coats and layers, DETERMINED to finish STRONG!

In His Grace,

Caley Sue

1228

Wed, 3 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT

First and foremost, I want to thank each and every person who has read my blogs, prayed for me, supported me financially, and sent words of encouragement. This year could not have happened without any of you. So THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for joining me in serving the Lord this year on this epic journey called the World Race.

In New Zealand, you helped share Christ with teens and young kids at camps. Because of this, Heaven is a little BIGGER.

In Australia, you helped out a church in need and allowed us to become friends with teens in the aboriginal community. Because of this, the church is growing and teens are breaking generational bonds of alcoholism and the feeling of being UNLOVED.

In the Philippines, you helped share Christ in villages and taught basic health and nutrition for their families. Because of this, people now have hope, not only in their salvation, but also living LONGER and HEALTHIER lives.

In Malaysia, you shared the love of Christ with women who had been sold into marriage, and loved on children in the name of Christ who were mentally handicapped. Because of this, some women understand their VALUE and WORTH and these precious children know they are LOVED.

In Thailand, you helped fight for the children who's lives are at risk for being sold into the sex slave industry and helped empower women already caught in trafficking to get out through learning english and other options.

In Kenya and Tanzania, you helped communities know more about Christ by sharing with them and praying for them. Because of this, faith has been RESTORED to many and the KINGDOM OF GOD grew a little bigger.

In Uganda, you helped love on orphans and bring hope to many people in dire need by visiting their homes and praying for them.

In Ukraine, you enabled us to clean up, paint, and garden around a church retreat center and teach English classes at night to the local youth. Because of this, pastors and families in ministry will have a comfortable place to be able to come relax and be filled back up, and children in the community will have more opportunities in their future.

In Romania, you are helping encourage and love the children and staff of Potter's House, as well as helping the founder do some construction on her personal home. Because of this, the children here know Christ more-- they will ALWAYS have a place to call HOME and leaders are being raised up to encourage their generation

What you have done has not gone unnoticed. You were just as part of this as I was and I would have never been able to do this without you. When you pray, when you give, when you send someone encouragement... its more than that. It is something that changes peoples lives. Mine and the people I've been sent to serve and love this year.

I know I have posted many blogs about support, and I know so many of you have responded in amazing, generous, blessed ways. I ask and pray that you consider helping out, one last time, to help me finish strong, completely, and debt-free. So here is one last shot, if you believe in the work that I've been doing this year, I'm asking that you would consider PRAYING into partnering with me as I complete this mission. Pray for the heavenly storehouses to open up and the money to pour into my account so that I may be fully funded by our deadline, November 15^th. I need a total of $1,228 in my support account to finish and complete the race fully funded. If you are financially blessed at this time in your life and are able to give, I would ask that you prayerfully consider making a donation, even a very small one, every dollar counts.

In Him,

Caley Sue

Potter's House

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT

"But Lord, You are our Father. We are like clay, and you are the ; Your hands made us all. The hand of our Creator is molding our lives like the potter does with a piece of clay."

Isaiah 64:8

This month in Romania we are serving and partnering with the Potter's House. The Potter's House was founded in 2000 by Dr. Oana Stoian Ciucure as an answer to the needs of street children in Timisoara and to share with them the Good News and love of Jesus Christ. Ten children came to live and take part in The Potter's House, and by September 2000, they officially became part of the Residential Program. In 2007, legislation changed and the living space was declared too small to accommodate 10 children at the house.

Since then, children from disadvantaged families have been involved in the Day Program. The Day Center helps prevent the children from abandoning their family and school. The Potter's House is much like a big family, where love for the Lord and for the children is the glue that holds children, leaders and volunteers together. Their hearts sing for joy at being loved and accepted.

We are here to help and serve them in any way we can. It's been a blessing and honor to partner with this wonderful ministry this month. Here are some pictures of a few things we've been up to so far ....

Helping Rebeca with homework.

Each child is taught some basic responsibility through simple daily chores at the Potter's House. Here Christina is doing the dishes after lunch.

Tony being silly one afternoon.

Charlotte & I loving on Laura and Rebeca after homework time.

The found of Potter's House as you read above is a family Doctor. She spends many of her weekends doing medical missions to remote Romanian villages treating patients who otherwise wouldn't receive any medical care. Some afternoons we've got to help her organize and sort through some of the donated medicines.

The kids playing outside during game time.

Each afternoon the kids have a short prayer time and a bible lesson. They really enjoy it. I got to teach a bible lesson on Psalm 118 last week. It was really fun. Laura here, is always the first one to sit down and quickly open up the word each day.

Alex, Cloudie, & Laura, Charlotte, & I with our cookie dough. One afternoon last week we taught a basic cooking class. We made oatmeal peanut butter cookies. The kids had a blast, Alex learned SO much and surprisingly the cookies turned out great!

Meet my SWEET SWEET Rebeca!

Rebeca is from a family of 9 children where no one really had much time for her. She was hungry for love and affection. She is SO stinking precious and so FULL of a kind of JOY I've never seen before. She didn't have this before coming to the Potter's House.

Homework time again :)

My team and I could really use your prayers right now as we are loving serving and being in Romania but are TIRED and EXHAUSTED. Prayer for energy and strength to finish the race strong and grace and guidance as we are beginning to enter a difficult transition period. Also, myself and 2 other teammates are still in need of financial support . Prayer that we'd each meet our November 15th deadline would be awesome. THANK you to the moon for all your love and prayers. Blessings over each and everyone of you. Can't wait to see you SO SOON! (25 days)

In Him,

Caley Sue

3 Days On A Train

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT

It's hard to believe month 9 has come and gone. Ukraine was a wonderful month of laughter, hard work, rest, and community. We had the opportunity to serve at a pastors retreat center in Gasper, Ukraine. We spent most days painting a bright blue fence that surrounded the property and on some days we helped with cleaning and gardening around the property. We also enjoyed teaching English through conversation and worship songs in the evenings. On Sundays we got to contribute at the church there, one of the boys would preach, us girls sang some worship songs, and we each shared some of our stories and experiences from Africa that they were very interested in. This month I learned a lot about working for the Lord, not man... :)

Celebrating their Thanksgiving with the church. We got to decorate the church the day before with all kinds of real fruits and vegetable.Then on Sunday we had a big meal and fellowship with the congregation after church.

Left: Me, adorable Anna, and Sarah playing one night after English class. Right: This was the pastor we worked with. Pastor Nicholi. This was a night I'll never forget. He was so precious. At this point we hadn't interacted much with him because of language barriers. This particular evening he saw our team sitting together in the main sitting room and without communicating a word he brought out all this special tea and cookies and started serving us. He would speak some words and then laugh because we couldn't understand him. The joy on his face the whole night was priceless. We had such a good time!

The rat had to die! You may remember from my last post, our troubles with the little critter. After countless attempts to capture him during our sleepless nights, our FINAL night there, Lyndsie and David got him!

Left: Team night outside. Drinking hot chocolate and enjoying some 'Charlotte' worship jams! Right: Our view of the Black Sea from the top level of the resort center.

This is our Lil' David. Pastor's grandson who our team kind of took under our wings. He was always the only kid there all day as we worked. He desperately wanted attention and someone to play with, so he was constantly seeking us out and trying to help with whatever we were doing. By the end of the month he was our little buddy and like in this picture made himself welcome and comfortable in our room!

On October 5th, we said goodbye to our beautiful view of the B.S. ( A.K.A. Black Sea ) and began our 3 day trek to our tenth country. We have discovered that we have the ability to sleep anywhere. We started with a 18 hour train ride from Yalta back to the capital city Kiev. We hopped off the train at 9:00 A.M. and quickly got comfortable waiting at the train station. Two people went to hunt down tickets for the next leg while the rest of us went and gathered breakfast from McDonalds for Catherine's birthday. It was a freezing cold, yet memorable fun morning. I too was ecstatic to surprisingly run into a some of my previous teammates there. We had a few precious moments to embrace hugs and catch up. I love sudden sweet sweet moments on the race like that one. Our next train ride (27 hours) took us through the three countries of Ukraine, Moldova, & Romania, in which leaving and entering each one we were awoken throughout the night by our bunks being searched by customs, guards and dogs Weary we stood in the hall, oblivious to what was going on. At one point we all willingly, in our slumber, handed over our passports to a guy who disappeared with them. I then spent the next twenty minutes half awake begging God to return them to us safely. Although initially these 27 hours were something we were mostly dreading, we quickly realized upon boarding the train, that this was gonna be a good ride. It was full of laughter, jokes, reading, praying, sleeping, and lots of girl talk. Finally, we arrived in Bucharest, Romania where we parked it with all our packs at McDonalds once again. Still outside, still FREEZING and wearing every layer I had. Four hours later we were off on our third and final train, 8 hours overnight to Timisoara. This time, no sleeper cars, just four straight up seats that faced each other with bright lights all night long. At 7 am we stumbled off the train and were greeted by our welcoming contact, Dwight, whom we all quickly fell in love with. We somehow managed to packed has van, fitting all of our gear and the 8 of us comfortably. We prayed together and then were off to begin month 10.

Charlotte, Monica, Me, and Michelle goofing off in our room!

David and Cath :)

Up Next Tomorrow: All about our awesome month in Romania so far! Meet the wonderful children we are working with!

9 & Alive

Sat, 2 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Wow, it's October 1st already, which means I'm coming home NEXT MONTH! Sorry I'm failing miserably at keeping you up to date on the current. I am always running behind on this blog. Apologies. However, lots has happened over the last 4 weeks so... here's a rundown of last month!.

Leaving Africa was bittersweet. I will miss all the wonderful people we got to serve and their passion for the Lord, but at the same time was excited to move on and get healthy again. Stepping off the plane into Ireland felt a bit like coming home. What a relief after spending three months in Africa to discover grocery stores with rows of food I recognize, hot showers, and many smiley faces I recognized. The air was fresh and crisp, the scenery beautiful (much like Oregon), and not only could I walk alone for the first time in three months, I could do so without falling into sewage, piles of trash, or potholes in the muddy roads.

Crammed against the windshield on our last Excited to have arrived in IRELAND!

bus ride in Africa. On our way to the airport!

The Awakening : We flew out of Nairobi, Kenya and headed to Ireland for a conference called The Awakening. It is a time for all of the World Race squads to come together and get refueled and rejuvenated. The conference itself was incredible. It was refreshing to experience God in new ways. We worshiped, we heard some incredible speakers, and we explored beautiful Dublin. Over 300 racers set up our tents and joined together in community. There was instant bonding and mutual understanding as we swapped stories of the ways God has worked this year, the duration between our showers, and health struggles. We were able to encourage and pray for one another and I recognized that the world race community is something special and rare. We share a bond which no one else will ever quite grasp. I am so thankful for each of these people and the impact they have made on my life.

The end of the conference was bitter sweet. We said goodbye to L squad who finished their race and has headed back to America. It was foreshadowing of the emotions I will feel in just a couple short months when our own mission is complete. We were also able to pour into P squad who has been on the field for only two short months. I recognized in them all the feelings I experienced when I first set out. The homesickness, the confusion, the fears, the struggle between a love for home and a love for the mission field with the knowledge that there must be a separation from our loved ones for these 11 months. The desperate desire to experience God more. My favorite part of the entire Awakening was the morning our squad entered into the room where P squad was worshiping. We interceded on their behalf and spent time in the room worshiping with them and praying over them.

Worship. So many wonderful nights. Check out

Jonathan David Hesler's music. Was blessed to

be introduced to it this week! Emily and I on the bus headed into the city.

There were beautiful cathedrals and buildings all over Dublin.

Ukraine: On September 6th we flew out of Ireland heading to Ukraine. After a night in a hostel in Kiev, and an 18 hour train ride we arrived at our home and ministry location for the month in Yalta, Ukraine. It's month 9: The adrenaline has worn off. The novelty of traveling has faded. I'm terrible at living out of a backpack. I want to burn my clothes because I'm tired of the same 3 holey, stained t shirts. It's tiring not being in one place for more than 4 weeks - eating weird random food, having no control over your diet, sleeping in a small child's room with at least 4 grown people, and a FAT rat that keeps you up all night eating your stuff. Are we kind of getting the idea? Don't get me wrong! I'm having a blast traveling the world, seeing different cultures, and serving God in a wide variety of ways. That hasn't changed. But my energy level has.

Here we've been doing manual labor around a church retreat center and teaching English classes at night for the past four weeks. We are living here with a pastor who runs the place for ministers/pastors to come and rest. It is located right on the Black Sea and the view is incredible! It's amazing to see how the Lord meets you right where you are and provides exactly what you need at that given time. Our last month in Africa was rough- definitely one of the toughest months that we've had on the race and coming to minister here this month has been one of the most relaxing and peaceful places that we have been this year. We are exhausted at the end of the day but it has been so nice to be in such a relaxed environment.

Our beautiful view of the Black Sea while we work 2 of my teammates

all day. Charlotte & Lyndsie working

And maybe being tired and pooped isn't such a bad place to be. Maybe it's a blessing that the novelty and adrenaline have worn off. We GET to rely on His strength because there's no other option. We GET to be fully led by Him because we can't do it ourselves any longer.

UP NEXT: We have three days left here in Ukraine. Then on Tuesday we start our trek to Romania for month 10. It will take us three days and 51 hours on a train ride to reach our next ministry contact. I am very excited about our work next month. We will be living and serving at the Potters House in Timisoara, Romania. There we will be working with children in their day program and some medical missions to remote villages.

My prayer and challenge for myself and you over the next 49 days is that the love of Jesus would overwhelm us, captivate us, and rock us to the point that we can't help but let our lives be an outpouring of his love - in action, in word, in sacrifice.

In His Grace,

Caley Sue

* I have seven weeks left on the field and am in need of $1500 support to finish up. I'd be honored to have you partner withe me. If you feel led, you can do so simply by clicking here.

4th of July Video- America America

Sat, 2 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT

As promised here is the silly video I talked about in my 'Family Fun Night' blog. Enjoy a little glimpse into our 4th of July fun. We sure were missing home back then. :)

Video: A Day in the Life of Liyavo Village

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A place where...
... where they don't' know what McDonald's is . And there is nothing close, remotely close, to know what to compare it to.,
... kids play soccer with plastic bags tied together with a string as their ball
... they've never seen or knew what a tent was before
... they walk miles to get access to water and then carry it home on their heads
... they spend their days singing praises and glorifying our Wonderful Maker, sharing his word and hope with their neighbors
... the taste of an Oreo for the first times makes children glee with excitement
... church is family and they literally do life together
... hospitality is that of which Christ talks about... what's mine is yours. Share what I've given you with your brothers and sisters...

Below are some clips my sister put together to give ya a glimpse into our days back in the Kenyan Village we lived in, in June.

Budaka

Sat, 18 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The last week that we were in the village of Sipi, Uganda, I had the privilege of traveling to another little town about two hours away known as Budaka, to visit an orphanage I knew of through my Aunt and Uncles church. It was definitely one of my favorite parts of this entire trip. The kids were absolutely precious. When we first arrived, they all came running and greeted us with a song. The whole time that we were there they just wanted to be loved- they wanted to sit in our laps, they wanted to sing songs for us, they wanted to take pictures, they wanted to play with my watch, play with my hair, and just talk to us. Needless to say, they were amazing. Here are some pictures from our time spent with them. To read more about Cornerstone Orphanage, click here.

Bartholomew playing with his bottle cap and string toy.

Girls, Oliver and Natasha proudly showing us their rooms.

Precious Margaret. This little girl won my heart! She is something else!

Boys having fun after a bath.

Brenda and I.

The boys of Cornerstone eating breakfast

Victoria and Natasha playing with Monica's hair.

Pastor Rogers, his wife, Me, Laurie, and Monica

Auntie Rachel (care taker at orphanage) cleaning and organizing lots of shoes!

Sad little Isaac didn't want his friend to leave.

Patiently waiting for their visitors to arrive. So exciting!

Bartholomew and I just having some fun! They loved taking pictures.

Random camel walking through the town of Budaka. Crazy things you see some days

Natasha loving on her baby brother Moses. I love the way they do family here. These kids sure do know how to take care of one another.

Teaching them a song about how good God is! They loved to learn.

Monica, Laurie and I. Laurie is a friend from my Aunt and Uncles church and is in charge at Cornerstone Orphanage. She has such a wonderful huge heart for Uganda and these precious children. She also took very good care of me while I got sick when we were visiting. I spent a whole day in her comfy bed! Such a blessing to spend time with her and Pastor Rogers in Uganda.

Helen and I having a fun conversation over breakfast. She was full of JOY!

Pastor Rogers reading to the kids. The absolutely adore him. They all run straight to him each morning for big hugs.

Margaret and I

Beautiful Natasha

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

Also, I just wanted to THANK all of your for your constant love and recent support. I could have never made it this far with out each and everyone one of my supporters. I love that each of you get to be a part of this with me. I still need $1600 to finish the race and be fully supported. You can click here to give and partner with me. I am SO looking forward to seeing each of you in 9 short weeks!

Lots of Love...

Caley Sue

Life In Uganda

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

I'm so thankful that your love never changes Lord, that you stay the same through the ages.

Life in Uganda (August) was unique and unusual, unlike any other month.

By the end of the month we'd seen and experienced many different things :
- The Nile and Team Changes
- Support Raising
- Dirt balls - where your skin is so dirty, you rub it and a balls of dirt/skin form.
-Fighting for seats on bus to get to Kampala: words can't descrie this experience. Really it's uncivilized the way it works.
- Rides on boda boda taxis (motorcycles) through the city, during rush hour traffic, in a dress, with flip flops and no helmet. (Sorry Dad, it's way faster and cheaper!)
- Day of prayer and fasting on the church mountain, what a hike that was and with no FOOD!
- Wearing the same set of clothes for 4-5 days in a row and neither you or your teammates question
- Full grown male goat being carried on a motorcycle.
- Kids (& even Adults) put their hands on you just to feel the "white" and then they attempt to rub your skin to see if it will come off.
- Lived in one small mud hut with my 6 teammates, our Pastor and his wife, their three children, kitten and 14 chickens. Thankfully, the goats, dog, chicks lived outside!
- Fighting/shooing chickens off my bed daily
- Praying for my life each time I got into a vehicle.
- Lots of monkeys in the trees.
- Getting fed at EVERY house we ever stopped at.
- Sunday Prayer visits to elderly and sick
- Dozens and dozens of kids following your every move.
- Coke and chocolate to keep us going

- Passionate worshippers of our King!
- Sleeping every night with headlamp on to fight off the rats.
- Walking and then waiting at least an hour, usually two to go anywhere.
- 12 people in 5 passenger vehicles
- Lots of talk of AIDS problems and prevention ideas
- Rice, beans, & matooke (boiled plantains) everyday, twice a day
- Two teammates with typhoid
- Two with horrible coughs and runny noses due to living in a mud hut. (lovely noises to listen too)
- 120 bug bites in 1 night for Monica, on her arms and neck only.
- Breathtaking views of countless waterfalls.
- Visit and stay at Cornerstone Orphanage
- Hiking up Mt. Elgon's dirt roads in the dark with no light, in the pouring down rain one night.
- Lots of laughs
- I finished the month off with getting sick the last week with a GI bug and Malaria.

One of the many children that was constantly peeking through our windows!

Coffee before it's roasted. Rev. Moses grows it.

One of many flat tires we had!

Isabella and I

Mama Justine Feeding the cows

Kids Praying at a school we visited

Playing with some of the kids that hung outside our home everyday.

Our Kitchen

Laundry day!

Monica sharing at a fellowship. Just one of the many speaking engagements we had. I'm not much of a public speaker... thankfully my team is GREAT!

Me after church on Sunday

Matooke before it's cooked

Monkeys in the tree!

Waiting for tire to be changed

Sipi Falls

Shower :)

Reverend Moses all ready for Sunday church!

Muddy Feet

Yes, that's an egg that was layed on my bed while I was away for the day!

"Personal Space"

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Written on July 19:

So, this past week, every morning I woke up, quietly gathered my belongings and tried my best not to wake any of the 12 others I live with. Then I headed out the front gate, made my way through Mkimbzi Village, walked down the dusty, dirt, rocky roads about 15 minutes to reach the main paved road. There, I crossed the street and waited patiently for a city "bus". (A.K.A. 12 passenger van that looks like it's going to crumble to the ground at any moment!) Typically, I let one or two pass by because it's too full for this American. Eventually, I find a seat close to the door, hop in, hold on, and say some prayers. The ride is anywhere from 20-40 minutes depending on how slow we go over the large speed bumps (every kilometer) and how many times we stop. Along the way as the van stops to pick up others, I try to keep myself distracted by keeping a running count of how many people there are. Each time I am amazed, it never fails. Just when I think there is NO possible way anyone else could fit, we slow down and 2 more grown men shove themselves in... that makes 29 people in a 12 passenger van! TYPICAL- very in, Africa. Did I mention I am recovering claustrophobic?

If living with 12 others in a small house of cement walls and no ceiling doesn't violate/strip all your rights to personal space, this daily adventure certainly will! All this excitement for only 250 Tanzania shillings which is about .16 cents!

*******************************************************************************

Thankfully, at the end of the day it's all worth the troubles because I am blessed to hop out of the van and walk up this hill to these precious little ones eagerly awaiting my arrival. As soon as they see me each night they start screaming and jumping and doing cartwheels.

How Can I Know

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This blog was written on July 25^th:

Tanzania Sunrise : July 27th,2010

I want to take time in this blog to be honest with you, real honest:

I brave these crazy transportation adventures each day because this week my task/assignment from my support coach has been to solely focus on finishing up my support raising. I've spent a lot of time this week thinking about these needs ($3,400 left to raise), if I'll get enough, and how I'll get it. For the most part I've steered clear of worry but there has been a day or two when I questioned if what I was doing was enough or right.

Not long before I left, I was visiting my Aunt and Uncles church and a guest speaker spoke on how God is enough to supply all our needs.

This morning, Sunday, while I was trying to figure out what to do next in this support raising process, I took a break for some quiet devotion time and came across the notes I took during that service.

When I opened my journal this is what I came across...

How can I know if I'll have enough?

Genesis 22:14

" So Abraham called that place 'The LORD Will Provide'. And to this day is said, " On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided."

ENOUGH to Supply

Matthew 14:15-21

ENOUGH to Live

1 Kings 17:9-14

ENOUGH to Heal

Mark 5:26

ENOUGH to Sacrifice

Mark 12:41-44

ENOUGH to get us into Trouble

Luke 22:28-38

ENOUGH is ENOUGH

John 19:30

God is working in mighty ways across His nations and I ask you to pray about being a part of this ministry. I know God uses people, and I believe you are all a part of this ministry whether through prayers, encouragement or financial support. I cannot do any of this without you. I am beyond blessed and honored already to know I have people like you in my life to support me and what the Lord has called me into during this season. Thank you for taking time to read this and following my blog!

"Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" Matthew 6:25

Tanzania Sunset: July 26th, 2010

To partner with me click HERE!

Neema

Mon, 9 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Neema means Grace in Kiswahili. Something I feel as though I'm drowning in these days!

Neema Crafts is a neat cafe, craft store and soon to be guest house in Iringa, Tanzania. Some friends and I discovered this place in the first couple days we reached Iringa and soon as I walked in I knew there was something different about this place, something special.

Neema Crafts was started in October 2003 by the Diocese of Ruaha. Its purpose is to provide handicrafts training and employment for deaf and physically disabled people in the Iringa region, and also to change negative attitudes towards people with disabilities in the local community. It is empowering an amazing group of talented people who are deaf or physically disabled. It has it all: coffee, food, library, internet, and a shop selling beautiful handmade items made right there on site by these talented people! They gain work experience through sales and marketing, learning trades, running the cafe, cooking and they are currently doing construction on a 9 bedroom guest accommodation project. This will be the first disabled run guest house in all of Africa.

My sweet deaf friend joyfully making me a special quilt!

On our first to Neema, I was able to meet the manager Charlotte and learned of the help they could use around the place. I quickly volunteered us to help out whenever we could, wherever she needed and was eager to return over the next few days. We've been helping out a couple days a week in a variety of ways. A couple of the guys are helping insulate the kiln for ceramics and build some shelved in the business office. Several others have been able to work along the employees in the workshop, where they do screen-printing, make handmade paper, quilting, weaving on beautiful old looms, sewing, make jewelry, cleaning, doing food prep and more. In short, we're in a little slice of Artist's paradise here!

Petro and I working together. :)

I've been helping in the workshop covering journals with handmade paper that they make from corn husk and elephant dung, both extremely renewable resources. There are some amazing people in the workshop. I've had the privilege to be partnered with Petro, an amazing young man who is deaf. I'm used to language barriers at this point but this one was completely different than any other we've come across. I was able to at least use a little finger spelling to communicate some basic things. He was so excited that I was trying and after the first day we were communicating pretty well. Language can be a frustrating barrier, but I m learning to let it be the first steps in uniting us. This ministry opened my eyes to ways we could be helping empower, love, encourage, and employ people with physical disabilities in the sates and I has inspired me to look into ways I can help upon my return.

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into the grace in which we now stand." Romans 5: 1-2

Iringa Ministry

Fri, 6 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This blog was written on July 11th:

So I just wanted to give you a glimpse into what a day of ministry looks like for us out here this month in Tanzania:

Yesterday (Saturday July 10th), I began my normal trek into town to give my time and thoughts to raising the last $3,000 of my support. By lunch time I headed back to village in order to change into my ministry skirt and be ready to go on time. We were scheduled to spend the afternoon, beginning at 2 pm with the village KIDS! We had split ourselves, and the kids up into three different groups. Before leaving, each group made plans for what they would do. When 2 pm came and we still hadn't left, we were reminded that we were on African time not American time and told that it's best not to get there before the kids or we would be sorry! Ok... so we waited about thirty minutes before leaving for our 20 minute walk to the church. Upon arriving only a few kids were there and the church was locked, so we sat and waited and waited and waited some more. Finally, a few minutes after 3:00 when more kids had arrived we decided to start even though the church wasn't open yet. So we split up into only two groups now, older and younger kids and began the makeshift festivities. Brian, Kate, Beth and I took the little ones. We started off teaching them several simple songs, which proved to be a challenge with the language barrier. They liked the hand motions but had a hard time with the words. Then we got a translator and told them some bible stories. Beth had brought some great coloring sheets of Daniel and the Lions Den so after the stories finished they colored those and it was SO fun to see them enjoy that. They were so excited and cute. It was SUCH a treat to get to 'paint' (colored pencils is all we had) as they called it.

The rest of the gang took on the older kids. They talked with them, sang some songs, played some games and gave a word of encouragement. Thankfully, at the end I got to catch a glimpse of their fun. See the pics below, the youth were having a blast!

Eric in the middle leading some crazy fun songs!

Annie Rose leading us in prayer.

Two of our team members, John and Tanuska, kindly offered themselves to another need this afternoon and missed out on our time with the kids. I wanted to give you an idea of all the different kinds of things we can end up doing on any given day, so below is an excerpt of Tanuska's and John's afternoon from her Blog:

This afternoon our teams were told that our ministry would be with the children. So we planned a VBS-like afternoon, but as we were getting ready to head out, the Pastor received a phone call about a funeral. John and I, in typical world race last minute fashion, decided to go along with him and minister in any way we could.

I don't know if I have shared this on my blog but two of my teammates Lyndsay and Eric lost family members this past month. Eric lost his stepmother, 35, from cancer, leaving behind a recently adopted daughter, and Lyndsay lost her grandfather. Death and the frailty of life has definitely been at the for front of our minds and as we made our way to the funeral I knew that I wanted to share with them what I had shared with Lyndsay when she got the news.

I reminded her of the story of Lazarus ( John 11) and Jesus words
"I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha? (Except I changed Martha to Lyndsay. )

The funeral was unlike any I had even been to. When we got to the home of the deceased there were people everywhere standing, and sitting, men, women, and children. We made our way into the clay home and stood in the courtyard while they made preparations for us to meet the deceased mother. (This mother had also recently lost her husband.) When we made it into the room with the mother, our translator offered our condolences. I held her hand and prayed over her and then we made our way back outside. They brought the casket out into the courtyard and John prayed. I then gave a quick word of encouragement.

I told them how I was certain that Jesus, when he first heard about his friend being sick would have wanted to go in and heal his friend. Especially, since He was doing the same for people whom he didn't have nearly the same history with. But instead Jesus waited it out. I shared how I didn't think that was the easiest thing to do, it goes against instinct. But Jesus wasn't concerned with human instinct he wanted to listen and to do God's will and he understood that somehow this "waiting" was in Gods plan.

So Jesus waited and sure enough when he did make his way to Lazarus, it looked like it was too late. It is at this point that we are told in scripture that Jesus was deeply troubled, angered and even wept.

I shared that sometimes life is like this. We expect God to act in one way, to swoop in and save the day, but sometimes God has a plan of his own. This doesn't mean the we can't be upset about it. Jesus was upset, he grieved over the loss of his friend, and in the same way we have permission to do all of this, to grieve and to question.

But at the same time we can't forget Christ's words "Lazarus's sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this. (vs4)"

This is where we have the choice to rest in God's plan and to search out for his "glory."
Just like I shared with Lyndsay, "do you believe this?" I challenged the people there to trust that the Father had it all under control and because of this we all had reason to rejoice because "our brother will rise again."

I know many of you have supported me and the marvelous things God is doing around the world -I am beyond blessed and grateful. Your encouragement, love, and faith really inspire me to give more, love more, and be who God has called me to be. I want to thank you and the Lord for the finances provided thus far at just over $10,000. Each of you reading this are all involved- whether through prayer or financially. Praise God for letting us be a part of what He is doing in His world! Please remember though I am not yet fully funded. Please prayerfully consider supporting my ministry whether in a one time or monthly gift in any amount. I also still love and need your prayer support and encouragement. You can donate online by clicking here or through mail, just contact me caleysue14@yahoo.com for more information.

Family Fun Night

Fri, 6 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This blog was written on July 25:

This month, thanks to Imago Dei we decided to begin a new tradition sort of thing. It's month seven, most of us are tired and worn down, missing home and need a little extra something to spice things up a bit. Determined to have a good time during our down time. Which lets face its, things move at slow pace here in Africa and on a much different kind of time than we do, so we found there to be LOTS of it. So every other week we had what we deemed 'Family Fun Night'. The premise of the night is to have fun together as a team it could include a special meal, some games, a movie on a laptop or anything else we could come up with. This month we had some epic family fun nights.

It began with our Fourth of July celebration. Lyndsay and Alisa managed to find hot dogs in a town that doesn't even have a grocery store. We each cooked our own over the fire or hot charcoal coals. We also had a whole platter of fresh fruits, pineapple, mango and bananas. A REAL treat that was! We had baked beans, chips, and ate our hot dogs wrapped in a piece of bread with REAL American ketchup. (Ketchup in the rest of the world is very unusual and in my opinion disgusting.)

Eric and I slowly roasting our frozen hot dogs.

The girls and I warming up ' The Miracle Fruit' AKA Beans ;)

Stay tuned for 4th of July video. Will be posted soon as internet is good enough to load it!

Two weeks later we followed up with an equally awesome night celebrating Christmas in July!

Lyndsay, Auston, Eryn and Tanuska got their heads together and creatively planned a fun filled AMAZING night. We borrowed a Christmas tree from our Pastor and we put white elephant gifts under it (which seemed like real gifts to us), wrapped in colored wrapping paper. There was all kinds of stuff including a mirror, snicker bar, a beanie with Obama's name* on it, a notebook. a stick on tattoo, a hair pick, cashews, etc, you get the picture.

They also got used socks in town and made us our very own stockings. Each stocking contained a pen (highly sought after and stolen here on the race), a pack of peanuts, and a piece of obama strawberry gum.

After we played the game with the presents and opened our stockings we had half melted ice cream sundaes they had hid in the corner. There was even chocolate syrup and M&M's! We found the bite size packs in town and we split one pack between two people.

We ended the night sitting around the tree sharing our favorite Christmas traditions and memories and singing some obnoxiously loud Christmas songs.

It's fun to just be silly like this once in a while. I know it did wonders as far as lifting my spirits and making me a little less homesick.

Pictures & Stories from Mzungus in Kenya

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Picture Update from Life in rural Kenya

Last month, 7 of us Mzungus (A.K.A. White people) ventured into a little unknown village with intentions of bringing hope to the hopeless, sharing the love of God and good news of Christ. Little did we know we were about to embark on a whole new world. Kenya is an absolutely beautiful country filled with beautiful people. As soon as I got off the 8 hour bus ride from Nairobi I couldn't help but wonder what we'd gotten ourselves into and if we were pherhaps... LOST?! (Wishful thinking) What began to well up inside of me over the next few days I could only begin to describe as culture shock. Everything seemed so foreign and uncomfortable and I was fearing and began to experiance some serious cabin fever. Thankfully, this didn't last forever. Although, at moments I was so sick and miserable, I also began to see our little village in a new light. The people we lived with I began to adored, the squatty potties became more and more convient (still disgusting), the night gurad with the machete started to feel safe instead of scary, the ladies from the church became a prime example of servanthood, the dirt roads became the highway to spread the gospel and the mazes of corn became our pathway to bring hope to the people in their little mud houses. Our God is so Faithful! Below are some pictures from our time in Kenya.

Tony, Ephram Jesse, Tehillah and I. These are 3 of pastor James' 5 kids and I one of our first nights there. Your headlamp quickly becomes a good friend out here in these neck of the woods. I rarely left without it, day or night. I quickly fell in love with these wonderful kids, especially Tehilla as she was handed to me soon as I stepped out of the matutu (back of taxi truck ) late on the night we arrived.

This is local primary school in the village. This is what happens whenever we mzungus would pass by. All the kids come running and swarm the fence yelling 'Mzungu! Mzungu!' and reach out to touch you. It was insane, very cute, but also overwhelming. I mean they were suppoesed to be in class learning!

Here is dinner about two hours before it is served. Kate and I were going to try and help butcher it this day but we couldn't bring ourselves to do it their way. Mama just slit the throat like it was nothing. Keep in mind this was the chicken that had been roaming the yard just minutes before. We ended up being a little help by taking it in the kitchen and plucking it's feather before sister Monica gut it and cut it all up. I have a video of the whole process I will post one day! :)

Pastor's oldest son Brian helping out around the house. He was cleaning the maze (a.k.a. corn) and then dumping it from basket to basket to get all the dust off if. They hold it up high so the wind blows it away. The kids out here do A LOT of work around the house to help with everyday needs and tasks. It made me realize how much they are truely capable of. They sure do work hard but also have a lot more responsiblity than most children I know.

Washing dishes the Kenyan way. Yes Mom, they bend at the waist not the knees. :) I kept trying to get them to bend at the knees and they kept trying to get me to do it this way! Killer after a while! Thankfully my team was great at washing dishes so I didn't have to do them too much with being sick.

These three kiddos are orphans. Three siblings, a girl on the left, and two boys. They would come to the church every day for lunch after school and then hang around until it got dark. It was hard to communicate with them because they spoke no english but they loved my camera, getting sweet treats from me, and playing with pastors kids. They were so sweet and precious. It was neat to see how the church cared for them like their own.

Annie Rose & I with two sweet girls we prayed over while evangilizing.

Sick with Malaria, sleeping the day away under a net on Alisa's bed.

Pastors boys again. They'd never seen a tent before and didn't even know what it was. They were great helpers in getting them set up but then they didn't want to leave us alone in them! So this became a familiar view from inside my tent.

This adorable little girl, I found standing outside church one morning all by herself just waiting for someone to come love on her. Soon as she saw me, she looked looked down at the ground but reached her arms for me to pick her up. She spent the next few hours on my lap in church just playing with my hands and falling asleep.

Us walking the roads to share and spread the love and hope of Jesus!

Oh this lady, is so near and dear to my heart. Her name is Jane. Annie Rose and I met her on our first day out to evangelize. Her husbands name is Justice. After walking through mounds cow poo to reach their mud home we were greeted by her with tears of JOY and warm hugs that welcomed us. Jane was crying because we were an answer to her prayers. She had been praying, asking God to send us, 'her daughters' to encourage her and her family in there hard life. I've never met anyone like this amazing couple. As we stood there in their home getitng to know them, I quickly became in awe of the Joy and passion they had in their life, simply because of our savior. This picture was taken the second time we went back to visit them when God again answered another prayer for Jane. After we left the first day she started asking for a picture with us. At the very end of our second stay, I all of the sudden really wanted a picture. I felt a little rude in asking but couldnt' resist the nudge... and looked what happened! :)

Sorry this pic is sideways. Internet in Africa here is tough to handle. This is Mama Brian, one of the biggest blessings in my life thus far on the race. She is Pastor James' wife and I absolutely fell in love withe her last month. She is the epitomy of Proverbs 31. I learned so much from her about how to care for your family. Here she is doing her ironing duties. (Check out that iron with coal!) These were some of my favorite times with her as I would just go sit and talk to her and simply soak up all the wisdom she had to offer!

Me, Annie Rose, and Krump one of my first nights back at dinner. I was a bit loopy at times during my bout with Malaria. So thankful we could all have a little fun in it together!

Sister Eva helping us get water to wash our feet! None of us could carry the big buckets on our heads like they could without losing half the water on the way back. So, they always came with us to teach and help out! It's HARD WORK getting water from a well and carrying a mile back to your home. Much respect for these wonderful ladies.

I would love to add more pictures but i'm running out of time, the interent place is lockin me in. I hope you enjoy the few I got up and I hope to blog again soon! Thank you to all my supporters! Your prayers and finances are key to the success of this mission. THANK YOU for being a part of all this with me. Love you all. Praying over you each of you at home.

Krump & Craziness

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Hey guys!

Quick update on a few things:

Just wanted to thank you all for the thoughts and prayers throughout the past month. Kenya was great but pretty rough as well with getting Malaria. My neck is still sore and I some days I have little to no energy, but I am feeling better and am hoping with more rest in the next few days, I will be all healthy in no time!

-After some crazy travel adventures we are now here in Iringa, Tanzania. It only took two overloaded buses of smelly people and almost 48 hours but we made it. There was little food or sleep and no teeth brushing or showering along the way. However, there was plenty of dirt flying through the windows, werid smells, fun video's being taken with Lauren, lots of delirious laughs at Emily & Tanna's heads bobbing while they attempted to sleep as I was smushed between them. The coolest part though was cefinately seeing the wild animals along the way. (Giraffes, elephants, zebras, and bamboo!) I don't know, words can't really descirbe the experiance, but I think many of you would be proud of me for mostly joyfully making it through ;) haha! Here we will be working with Pastor Cha Cha in several different ministries for the month. It sounds like we will be doing lots of evanglism, bible studies, orphanage stuff, hospital visits, preaching, prison misnity and more. Will fill you in as we go.

- The past few months have been full of transitions and team changes. Since leaving my first team JSL (Jesus Said Love)I spent the past three months on different teams, with different leaders! Happy to say that Scott and Denise, my team leaders from Malaysia have safely made it home to the good ol' USA after two months of recovering from ankle surgery in Thailand. As we entered into Kenya, more changes, a new team leader, Sarah, and we adopted a Real Lifer for the month, Maria Krump. Sarah is a Rock star and Krump was a HUGE blessing to our team. She spent the month serving along side as one of us all month. She is now headed back to the states to start her freshman year of college in August. She brought a great dynamic to our team and was a refreshing breath of fresh air that we all needed. We love you girl!

Team Umoja. Sarah on the bottom left and Krump is right between the two in yellow and blue!

Krump makin Chapate one night for dinner!

-THANK YOU so much to all my supporters who've helped us make it this far! The support deadline in quickly approaching or already here ( JULY 1) and I still need about 4,000 in order to be fully funded! Prayers for financial provision would be such a blessing!

'God is good, all the time... All the time, God is good, and that is his nature... WOW!' Pastor John's favorite saying this month! kept us smiling :)

LOVE and miss You all so much!

Video: Father's Day in Africa

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

I thank God every day for my family, for they have taught me what it means to love unconditionally. Today, I want to praise God for blessing me with an amazing Father. God has used my father to teach me, support me, love me, and speak hard truths to me. I couldn't be where I am today without his support. Because of his love I stand on a foundation of truth, have a solid self identity, and understand the importance of family in the deepest ways.

Our squad leaders came to stay with us last week in our village then Krissy put these video clips together from their stay with us! I hope it's puts a fun smile on your face and you enjoy getting to see around a bit of our home for the month. Love you DAD!!

Kitale, Kenya

Tue, 8 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Greetings from Kitale, Kenya.

I only have ten minutes but I wanted to let you know we made it to our ministry site for the month. On Saturday night, after a day LONG bumpy bus ride, we arrived in Kitale, Kenya. There we met Pastor James who we are living and working this month. He drove us out to his church and family's home about 40 minutes away in rural Kitale. We've spent the past few days getting settled into village life and diving into ministry. Yesterday we went out to evangelize around the village and got to pray for two families who already knew the Lord and lead another couple to the Lord. Awesome experience to say the least. We will also be doing lots of work in and around the church on Sundays and during the week as well as working at the orphanages around village. I won't be blogging for the rest of the month since we don't even have running water or electricity out in the village let alone internet. I hope to put a video together at the end of month to share with you some of our ministry. The final support deadline is fast approaching, July 1st and I still need $3,800 to cover the rest of this mission. I'm missing home and you all dearly. I'm praying for you all the time. Excited to share my work with you soon as opportunity allows. Please be praying for me and my team as community living is tough, especially with strangers. I get homesick a lot and miss all my wonderful friends and family! Please be praying for the Pastor James, his family and the people of their village that we get to minister to and serve. Their lives are hard and am hoping we can bless them abundantly this month. Thanks you. Praying blessings to you all.

For the Kingdom,

Caley Sue

24 Hour Prayer

Tue, 18 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The sex trade in Thailand is appalling. It is so blatant, so in your face. It passes itself off as normal when in fact everything about it is sick and degrading.

Tonight at 9pm marks the start of a 24 hour prayer over Bangla Road. Please feel free to join us as we stand together against injustice.

If you are interested in what we are up against take a look at this video made by a former World Racer.

Pictures

Sun, 16 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Philippines captured my heart, that's just about all there is to it. I haven't even tried to put it into words because I don't think I could. All I know is I want to serve the people there and I can't wait to go back someday. Take a peak below at my month in the Philippines through pictures :)

Teaching about Saul & Ananias at one of ICM's Pre-schools. I was continually amazed at these young kids ability to pay attention and interest in learning.

Sweet boy I was playing with at one of the 4 HOUR Pre-school graduations.

Daily lunch along with rice and coke.

13 Women came forth wanting to accept the Lord :)

Most of the kids don't have toothbrushes at home so they get to learn at school after lunch!

Auston and I in a cage, with an 18 foot Burmese Python

Jana having a blast running and playing at Nate & Chinny's awesome Wednesday night youth ministry.

Erin praying over a family's home in the dump site.

Sick little girl at medical clinic. SO sweet!

Playing with my sweet girls after school one day.

Typical Filipino transportation :)

I so looked forward to playing with this lil guy each Friday. Goats are everywhere in the Philippines, usually tied up unless they are little like this one!

Saying Goodbyes... ICM Staff and our World Race team our last night at the wonderful fellowship dinner they had for us.

Our backyard for the month. Nice view huh! Not bad after a long hot day in the sun :)

Feel free to check out a video from the month as well. You can find it here http://vimeo.com/11401126

Warning the footage will likely make you dizzy, it's about 10 minutes and may need some time to load.

Thank you sister! I love you.

I'm still in need of $ 3,800 support in order to finish out the next 6 months on this mission. I'd love to have you partner with me if the Lord puts it on your heart, you can do so by clicking on the support link about or e-mailing me. Thank you so much to each and everyone of my supporters! All your prayers, support, and encouragement mean more than words can say! Blessings to each one of you.

Sawadee Ka

Sun, 9 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Sawadee Ka = Hello in Thai

My newest friend & I, Ronald.

Things have been crazy since landing in Thailand. Upon arriving in Thailand last week, we stayed at the Bangkok YWAM base as a squad for the weekend. It was a time to reconnect with each other and go through our orientation for this month's ministry. I cherished every minute I got to spend with some dear friends, hearing about where and how they had served the month before and experience Thai culture with them through some crazy adventures. We ate some of the best pad Thai you could ever imagine, walked through countless markets that sell everything and anything, worshipped on the rooftop together, road hours in a taxi with a lost driver, laughed through major language barriers, learned a lot through two different orientations and prayer walked as a squad through one of the biggest temples in the city.

Emily & I at the market with our new favorite fruit Rambutans! You twist the soft spikey outside shell and inside is what you eat. It taste like a giant grape.

3 beds, 5 girls staying at the YWAM base on rock hard bed. SO hard some of us blew up our pads and slept on top of those. Life on the race = not a lot of personal space!

Monica, Tyler, Me, Emily right outside the Red Shirt protest. Finally on the bus after hour in storm!

We also said our good byes to Robby and Tara (our squad leaders) who are now headed back to the states. They have raised up new leaders from with in our squad.- Krissy and Auston. It was sad to say goodbyes, and I will miss their guidance, leadership, and laughs, but I am thankful for the short time we had with them and all that they taught us and poured into our lives.

Tara, Robby, & I just before they left us! Love you guys.

After an amazing four days in Bangkok on Tuesday afternoon we took a 14 hour overnight bus ride south to our ministry site in Phuket. The ministry we are working for this month is called, S.H.E (Self Help and Empowerment). It is a wonderful organization committed to helping woman and children at risk in Thailand, many of whom are trapped in the commercial sex trade. S.H.E. provides a safe place where they can come and learn a new way of life. They equip them to support themselves through various livelihoods such as making jewelry, chocolate, cookies, table cloths, cards and by getting part time hospitality jobs in a hotel and serving food at a local caf. They also offer English classes as well.

Precious little girl in the Red Light District. SHE Ministry where we are staying. Monica at the Worship service we held in bar

All together there are 20 (girls only) World Racers here at SHE serving together this month. We are staying at the S.H.E house where girls come to work everyday and some live from time to time. Our roles this month will look like : going to the bars and building friendships with these girls and then sharing about Jesus love and SHE ministries with them, helping around the house with anything that is needed, praying at starbucks during the hours other girls are in the bar, as well as prayer walks up and down Bang La Road during the day. Another part of it all is inviting the girls out to lunch or coffee or something fun during the day to get to know them away from the bars.

I feel like I'm in a different world here. There is nothing here I've ever been exposed to and most of it seems so unreal, yet it's right in your face. This place is the sex tourism capital of the world. I, by no means feel called to the bars, but am wanting to be obedient in serving where the Lord has placed us this month. I do long to help these women walk in the freedom and truth most of them don't know exists or don't think they deserve. So I am seeking the Lord and asking what his plans are for me there in this month. Each day I'm here, I feel more confident to pray for these women and hopefully get to know some of them over lunch or coffee.

If you'd like I'd love to invite you to join us in powerful prayer this month. If you can remember to pray each morning as you start your day, 7 am in the States is 9pm here & when we are starting our ministry each night.
Please Pray:
for boldness
pray for divine appointments
for God's clarity in his guidance and direction
that God's love and light radiates off us as we walk into one of the darkest places in the world.

for strength and supernatural energy as many of us are not night people

for a compassion heart and against judgments

So often we feel helpless (I do) and don't know what to do, so we think 'all I can do is pray.' Mark, the founder of S.H.E says, ' Well that's good, because praying is the best thing you can do.'

Last but not least:

If you could be praying for one of my dearest teammates, Denise Allen (wife of leader Scott), she fell while we were in Bangkok and broke her ankle in two spots. She was taken to the hospital and had surgery that evening. She is currently recovering in the hospital there until further notice. I miss her dearly and am hoping she has a speedy recovering.

For My Mama!

Sun, 9 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women do noble things,but you surpass them all." Proverbs 30:28

4 Lucky girls

Mama,

Here is your blog! Happy Mother's Day to the best, most selfless, Mother in the world! I love you SO much and wish I could be there to spend the day with you. Words can't really describe how blessed I feel to have such a wonderful mother in you. I'm praying that our good and gracious God showers you with His LOVE and continues to reveal himself to you more and with each passing day. Your unconditional love support and encouragement has kept me going through the years and pushed me to be the woman God intends for me to be.

LOVE YOU BUNCHES

Yer,

Caley Suester

I give thanks to my God upon every remembrance of you. Philippians 1:3

One of my favorite memories with you. Hawaii 07' Can't wait for our return in 11'

'You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.' 1Peter 3:4

Ray of Hope

Sun, 2 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

So as you can see we've clearly and thankfully moved on from serving in Malaysia. I just wanted to give you a glimpse into my month before I tuck the little lessons I learned away down in my heart and put the intense experience behind me. I don't really know how to describe it, besides Malaysia was TOUGH. Hot, painful, and uncomfortable in more ways than one. With each new month on this mission, comes a load of change. At the beginning of this month there seem to be much more change this time around and the change seemed to carry a heavier weight than ever before. Without going into much detail because I have no to desire to revisit the place I just came from really, that heavy weight seem to carry on with me throughout the month. All month I was tired to the point of exhaustion, couldn't sleep at night and then couldn't get up on the mornings. My heart was stuck in the Philippines, I was painfully (to the point of physical) homesick, began really missing my old teammates and the call to prayer that rang 5 times a day, as well as the Indian temple ringing it's bells all day and night just about drove me crazy.

Leaving the Philippines and our awesome ministry there was the first and hardest change, I would have stayed there the rest of the year had they let me. Then upon leaving the Philippines, just as my team was starting to figure things out and enjoy being together, our small teams got changed with up in our squad so I went into Malaysia with a whole new group of 6 people, virtually strangers. On top of that I was painfully homesick, exhausted and unsure of how our new busy ministry schedule was going to work out.

Of course, as always, throughout this dry season the Lord remained faithful and showered me with Rays of Hope from time to time just when he knew I needed them most. Those little rays of hope looked like : a fun, late night attempt at trying to form a worship band with 3 of my unmusically talented teammates, speaking to my Grandmother for the first time since I left home, helping a young Vietnamese immigrant learn how he can share his faith in Jesus with others, and the biggest one, allowing me to be a blessing to a little school called Ray of Hope.

Ray of Hope is a school for kids with Autism and Down Syndrome. It's a non-profit org set up by St. Peter's church in Ipoh. It was established with the objective of bringing hope to people with learning disabilities. Their mission is to help students reach their full potential, encourage greater parental involvement in their educational and social development and increase the public awareness and support for these people with learning difficulties. They do this through several different programs which include academic classes, life skills, and pre-vocational training.

I spent my days from 10 am to 5 pm at this school. It gave me hope and purpose each day. I was able to help teachers plan and evaluate their lesson plans, love on and encourage the precious children, as well as help the director catch up on some administrative/office stuff she has been trying to get done for years. It was so fun to walk in the building each morning and see the kids gleaming smiles. On our last day they had a vocational training for serving. So they set up a cafe in their classroom and three students got to practice their skills as a server. They invited us to be their guests. It was so kind of them and really rewarding to watch them learn and see the growth they made in such a short period of time. They were filled with excitement for what they were getting to do. We had some yummy Lo Mein noodles, Vietnamese spring rolls and an interesting pink drink called rose tea. (The only way to get it down was to chug it all at once!)

Alisa and I with Ray of Hope staff and students on our last day after eating at their Cafe!

" Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything."

James 1:2-4

This month I certainly had some hard lessons in learning to find joy amidst the misery. I pray I never pass by opportunities for my endurance to grow and character to develop. Thank you Father, for showing me how me how to walk with you upon the waves.

Barabbas

Sun, 4 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Hello and Happy Easter to All...

Of course it's been entirely too long again since I've last blogged! Truth is, as much as I'd love to be, I'm just really not a blogger! Not yet at least... True story, I actually have 9 blogs sitting on my desktop waiting to be finished up and posted but I can't seem to get around to it. There is continually so much going on and I'm still trying to figure out how to remain present each moment, then process things and eventually hopefully I'll get to point where I can make more time to share with you all.

I'm in Malaysia now. After several long days of fun, adventurous travel via planes, buses, taxis, and trains we made it to our destination in Ipoh, Perak. It's pretty crazy different here and I'm experience quite the culture shock. I have so much to tell you all about recent changes but will have to do so throughout the week as time allows.

Today, I just wanted to share the video below with you all and my fellow World Racers. Some neat, talented guys I know from Oregon put it together a while back. It is written and spoken by Sol Rexius with the video Production by Caleb Rexius. I think it's a unique and powerful presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ... all about GRACE! I hope you enjoy. I love you all dearly and am missing you tons. Thank you for your support and encouragement. Know that God is working in wondrous ways around the world!

Wiggly Toes

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Aussie was a LONG HOT SWEATY month. Needless to say God was on the move... and I was continually being stretched, learning to choose JOY and have patience with the young people we were trying to reach.

Below are a variety of HIGHLIGHTS from the month in pictures: People that captured my heart, memories that were made, events that took place and what the Lord showed and taught me.

You alone are my hearts desire and I long to worship you'

I sang this line of the song 'As the Deer' over and over again the first week we were here. By the second week I was singing or humming most of the song every day the entire month. Thank you to my teammates for never SSSSHHH' ing me once!

These three little girls showed up at the house we were painting out of no where. We had no idea where they lived or where their parents were. They were literally the happiest little girls I've ever seen, shoeless and all. They wanted to help us paint and clean, it was so cute. They were so fun. I don't think I'll ever forget their smiles or how young and independent they were.

2 of the many Banjo kids. There father is a witch doctor but their Uncle goes to the church so they have gotten to get involved in youth night, band practices, and Sundays. :) They are all incredible dancers.

This kid I only spent one day with and it was watching him play this guitar. He had just gotten out of jail the night before for stabbing another kid that weekend and had come to the church to do his service hours. He picked up this guitar and never put it down. He is one the most talented players I'd seen in a long time. He asked if he could come to church and get involved in the band! I'm praying he does so and can continue to turn His life around. It's neat to see how much the music can help!

Auston & I goofing around in the house!

Team JSL @ a huge curtain fig tree on our way back from our day off at the Volcanic Lake! Thanks to our awesome ministry contact Gail, we got to see a few extra things this day. She was so wonderful to us!

This was our first project at the church. Emily and I conquered it in a day. This was the day I started singing ' You alone are my hearts desire and I long to worship you' Emily was so gracious, she never once told me to shut up. I was thankful because I needed to keep singing it for the heart and mind to stay in the right place. I saw the most colorful bugs I'd ever seen before in this room, under dolls, in their hair, lizards on the wall etc. There was plenty dead and alive of everything we found!

I will forever think of toads when I think of Australia. These little guys were EVERYWHERE, seriously tons and tons of them, dead and alive. They were quite the distraction during prayer at night the first week we were there. Then I just got used to them... I counted the flattened ones on the road at at times during our long walks. 20+ several times!

Meet HOPE! This is her and I at the huge curtain fig tree they showed up on our way back from Lake Eachum. Hope is a 14 year old missionary kid and wise beyond her years. She has grown up with Aboriginal kids and is well equipped with the best ways to really reach these kids. The Lord has given her a passion to minister to them. She is a gifted leader and it was just a JOY and honor to learn and serve with her this month. I look forward to seeing her make a difference in this community in the future! I know the Lord is going to use her to bring HOPE to this community!

'Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before him with joyful songs.' Ps 100:2

OH I almost forgot the wiggly toes part...haha. It's what you get when you crawl into the backseat of a car and cockroaches scatter across floor. :)

ICM Ministries

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Greetings from the Bohol, Philippines.

I still haven't posted a wrap up for Australia but I just wanted to throw up a little something to let y'all know a bit about the ministry we've settled in with for the month and some events from past couple days.

On Saturday my team and I made it safely to our new location here in the Philippines. We will be serving on the Island of Bohol for the month of March. Yesterday morning we started our work with the ministry we are partnering with. The organization is called International Care Ministries. ICM is called to release the poorest of the poor in the Philippines from spiritual, emotional and physical bondage. Yesterday morning we got to worship with the staff of 35, the biggest staff they have ever had and then learned about their hearts for the area. ICM has 6 different programs they use to help the people rise out of poverty.

The 6 different programs are:
1. Leader Care
2.Transform
3.Preschool
4.Uplift
5.Special Medical Care
6. Children's Education
You can read and learn more about there specifics here http://www.caremin.com/index.html

I get the privilege of working with their Pre-School team. ICM's preschool program is providing education to some of the Philippines' poorest children and giving them hope for a life free from the despair of poverty. In Bohol, ICM has planted 9 different preschools in the most impoverished communities here. The kids get uniforms, a safe and free education, as well as a wonderful meal at school. It goes all day long as a normal school day would even though they are only 6 years old. You could compare it to kindergarten in the states. While the students are learning in their small classroom made of cement their mothers are just outside participating in bible studies and learning how to better care for themselves and their children. Two members from ICM team spend the morning time teaching the mothers about biblical values, hygiene, nutritional health & ways to start their own business. For example, this week they taught them how to make different soaps so they could sell them to earn money. Then they teach them how to manage and save the money they do make.

At Friends of Jesus Learning Center in Catigbian, Bohol

The past few days have wrecked and blessed me to the core. I knew coming into this year it was going to be full of mountain top highs and valley low, the past few days have definitely been highs. I am falling in love with this culture and these people here in the Philippines. AH... I have got to go my ride is leaving, there is so much more but I'll be back tonight and give you glance at what my day looked like yesterday.

I am so encouraged by these people's desire to seek the Lord and learn His ways. The passion for Christ here is so evident. You can't deny His presence and love when you look at the hearts of these people. I pray I can be used by God this month to teach, care, love, and share with these people wherever there is need. May I be a vessel to do His works. Please pray that they see Him not me as we go out to serve.

In His Grace,
Caley Sue

Ephesians 3:20 'Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we could ever dare to ask or hope. '

Meet Angela- I'll be visiting her & her family every Monday.

Mareeba

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Greetings from Mareeba! Sorry I've yet to update you on our ministry here. We've been hard at work since we landed. We flew in from Brisbane to Cairns the morning of the 1^st at 6:30 am and arrived in Mareeba, around noon. Mareeba is a small town north of Cairns through the rainforest. It's very HOT and humid here. It is one of only two places in the world where the rainforest meets the reef, the other is the Amazon.

Upon arrival, we spent the afternoon at the IMLA (Indigenous Ministry Links Australia) base where we were briefed, fed, and given free internet. IMLA has a HUGE heart for the aboriginal people in Australia and has a passion to raise up leaders and disciples amongst them. They briefed us on all the crazy wildlife we'd see here and taught us some of the basic info we'd need to know about the Aboriginal culture here.

The Australian environment is probably one of the most extreme found on earth. It's the world's driest continent. It's full of deserts, jungles and swamps. It's snakes and spiders are some of the most poisonous in the world and has crocs in the rivers as well as sharks and deadly stingers in the sea. (They were quick to mention Steve Irwin and firmly stated we are to try or do NONE of his crazy antics!) It's cultural and technological isolation are unlike most others. Such an extreme environment, I can see, has shaped tough people and an extremely unique culture and worldview. I quickly learned cross culture ministry would look very different here than any other place;. The aboriginal culture is far different from anything of the western world.

We've come to a community in great need of love , hope and restoration. Mareeba is a town ravaged by drugs, alcohol, and abuse. The children , especially the aboriginal, are often neglected and not cared for. As I lay in bed at night my stomach aches and heart cries for little kids next door who's screams and cries from their front yard keep me from sleep. Many kids don't go to school and instead spend their afternoons walk-about (wandering) or at the creek doing destructive things to themselves.

The Church and the house we'll be serving at.

I get to spend the next three weeks working through IMLA with a local church. We are going to help fix up a house the church owns and working with the youth that come to the church each day for their community service hours. These are kids who have been kicked out of school, gotten in trouble with the law and are headed towards jail if something doesn't change. I'm excited to get to know some of them and pray for the opportunity to speak life into their hearts and share the love of Jesus.

Given I don't get eaten alive by the million bugs or die from the heat, I look forward to writing again soon about our progress on the house and the relationships developed amongst the youth!

Blessings to you and yours.

Love you all HEAPS!

Acts 20:24

El Rancho

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

New Zealand Wrap Up

Tue, 2 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

So... I'm trying to wrap up month one as best I can in one blog since I didn't get many up along the way. The month was definitely one of joy and pain. It was full of firsts and lots of learning experiences. In New Zealand we ate countless plums, hitched hiked when we really wanted to get somewhere, ate peanut butter and jelly at least once a day if not more, indulged in far too many Tim Tams, spent a day exploring a huge dairy farm and most importantly got to meet and serve some wonderful people.  

We spent the month working and serving at a couple conferences wherever we were needed. That looked like loving on kids and pouring into some teens, serving lots of yummy food in the Soul Survivor Cafe with my awesome new friend Nga, standing guard throughout the night for security, cleaning toilets, to teaching kids about God's light at El Rancho during family camp week. Looking back on the month it's clear to see the Lord's hand in it all.

Below are a few pics from throughout the month and some fun things about NZ culture.

Lauren & I in the middle of the road caught in a brief rain storm on a long walk. Picture below is what followed and took our breath away!

God's promise x2. One for each of us ☺ Beautiful double rainbow after the shower Lauren and I got stuck in while going for a walk. This picture has not been edited or enhanced at all.

Em took this of me at a local coffee shop.

Jermey being silly at Soul Survivor one of the youth I got to work with at both conferences. Fun, entertaining & gifted young man. He has a HUGE heart for the Lord and it clearly shows.

Lauren's 'Golden' pic . Apparently I was really tired because I passed out while waiting for them to finish up in the bank. Lauren says I look seriously homeless.

Doesn't get much better than this. Nightly Tim Tam Slam @ El Rancho.

Lauren & I at El Rancho covered a few of our bug bites with masking tape to stop the itching for brief moment. Desperate times, call for desperate measures.

At Waikani Beach. A 15-minute walk from El Rancho.

Meet sweet Victory. One of my favorite kids I've met so far. Jesus radiates out of her. We had some wonderful conversations throughout he week about our heavenly father. She is an only child but liked to remind me each day that we are sister's because we have the same father in heaven. ☺

World Racers' Homes. Minus the fact that I can't stand up in my home and most around me snored all week, I treasure my tent for the personal space! Super thankful for it's waterproof strength too!

Leaveing El Rancho. 9 45 pm At the bus stop waiting for our 11 hour overnight bus ride to Auckland.

Waikani Beach not far from camp. Jesus Said love... team name.

World Race life style. We sleep where ever we can when time allows. ☺ So long New Zealand...Continue praying many blessings on you.

While mingling with the kiwis, I have learned a wealth of new vocabulary ☺

Locals = Kiwi

Trash = Rubbish

Flip Flops = Jandles

Bathing Suite = Togs

Prayer Team = Enablers

Volunteers = Stewards

Cookie = Biscuit

Cokes = Fizzy Cans

High School = College

College = University

Disaster = Epic Fail

Cool/Awesome = Sweet as

Bathroom = Toilet

Fishy/Suspicious = Dodgy

Sidewalk = Footpath

Hiking = Tramping

New Zealand facts I couldn't help but notice:

They didn't have toilet seat covers ANYWHERE!

Fountain pop is very odd tasting, nothing like home.

Kiwi birds are nowhere to be found.

Pretty much in any direction you look you can see a deer or dairy farm.

People are SO friendly everywhere you go.

Their culture is very laid back, they certainly aren't controlled by the clock.

Everything shuts down and closes at 5 or 6 pm.

They do not tip or pay sales tax.

The sheep outnumber the people 5 to 1!

Everything is way more expensive than in the states.

God's creation and people shines so bright here!

Sorry if the pictures don't show up... I'll have to fix that later when internet works! Check back to see if ya missed out!