Asia 2017
This summer, God willing, I will be sharing the "Delighting in the Almighty" series of messages to churches, schools, and conferences in Southeast Asia. Here is the itinerary:
May 14 - 29 Manila, Philippines
May 30 - June 4 Iloilo, Philippines, Philippine Youth for Christ conference (PYC)
June 5 - June 10 Bangkok, Thailand
June 12 - June 17 Chiang Mai, Thailand, Chiang Mai Adventist Academy
June 19 - June 25 Chennai, India
The purpose of this blog is to share briefly some of the experiences that I have and how God leads and blesses in this ministry.
The trip to Manilla took 29 hours and routed me from Chattanooga, Tennessee, through Atlanta, Georgia - Detroit, Michigan - Nagoya, Japan and finally Manila, Philippines. I arrived at 11:40 p.m.
The plane to Nagoya, Japan was fairly empty, I had a two-seat row to myself. It was quite comfortable.
In Nagoya, I had a 5-hour layover. Not much to do but take selfies.
Nagoya from the air looks similar to most cities from the air.
I do not usually do a diary, but I needed some good way to give Julie a better insight into my daily life on the trip.
Here are some of my diary entries for the trip to Manila:
I woke up this morning at 4 a.m. due to an incoming text from Delta Airlines about checking in for the upcoming flight. Even though I went to bed at 12 a.m after having driven for 6 hours from Missouri last night, I woke up at 4 feeling refreshed and ready to go. I was able to enjoy an unhurried hour in prayer and God’s word before getting up at 5 to get ready and to get to the airport by 5:30.
At the airport, I forgot about the water in my water bottle and had to go out, drink the water, and then come back through security again.
My first flight was for Atlanta. There I picked up some breakfast and hurried off to my flight to Detroit.
In Detroit, I checked in to get my boarding pass and then called my mother to wish her a happy mother’s day. Then I immediately boarded the flight. The plane was pretty empty and I ended up getting a two-seat row all to myself. This is flying in style!
I am halfway through the flight from Detroit to Nagoya, Japan. It is amazing how movement catches the eye and draws my eyes to nearby movies that are playing on the backs of the seats. The only safe place to look is straight forward. There must be a spiritual lesson there someplace. :)
Arrived in Nagoya. I had thought it might be nice during my 5-6 hour layover to go into the city and check it out. But I forgot that this is not an option. I think I’m stuck in the International connections lounge for the duration. Not that the lounge is not a nice place, I have free WiFi and comfortable chairs, so that helps.
So far on my trip I have studied God’s will and worked on a vlog on God’s will, written a vlog on faith, tried to listen to a couple of sermons on audio (plane too loud), and started reading a biography about John Paton, Missionary to the New Hebrides.
It turns out that the airport in Nagoya is an island. It looks man-made, completely flat. The international lounge is great in many ways. It has free WiFi, many good reclining options, and is fairly sparse of people (It’s 7 p.m. and I feel like I have almost the whole place to myself). But the food options are extremely limited. It has a Starbucks and a small Cafe. I was able to get a tofu noodle dish that was decent, but I think I almost exhausted the vegetarian menu options. There was a vegetable hot-dog. From what I could tell it was lettuce and tomato in a hotdog bun.
My flight from Detroit to Nagoya today was 13 hours long. Then I had a 6 hour layover in Nagoya, and soon I will be on my 4.5 hour trip to Manila. I will be arriving at 11:40 p.m. so I’m hoping the person picking me up finds me successfully.
When I arrived in Manila I was met with a huge line at customs. It took an hour just to get through that. I felt very sorry for those who were picking me up. We had arranged to meet at “Meeting Point D”. It was not obvious where this might be, but through questioning I eventually found it. I was picked up by Teodie Flores and his wife. It was sure good to see them.
The drive to their home took about 15 minutes. They are both medical professionals and work at the hospital across the street from their house. The conference office and the church are also on the same block.
