To the Islands...

Spring break is coming up, which means the Sea Tribe trip is nearly here. This week a group of 24 people (six leaders and 18 students) will be leaving for Batam, an island Northwest of Bandung close to Singapore, to work with the Sea Tribe Islands for ten days. We are going to go to two different islands to interact with people who may have never met Westerners before and probably have never heard the gospel. We will be doing a work project at each island, teaching the kids English, and sharing Christ's love through conversation and stories. To say this trip will be life changing is a bit of an understatement. This experience is going to stretch me in all areas. With the anxiety about the challenges we will be facing, I am excited to see God work through our weaknesses and surprise us with what we are capable of.

Here is the itinerary and some prayer needs we have as a group:

19th – Leave Bandung at 5.20 pm and arrive in Batam
20th – Leave by boat for base camp (appx. 2 hour ride); briefing and prep for island stays
21st - 24th – Island stay #1
24th – Morning return to Base Camp; refresh, debrief, rest
25th - 28th - Island stay #2
28th – Morning return to base camp for debrief, resting, playing
29th – Leave Base camp for Batam… leave Batam at 7.25 pm to return to Bandung

Prayer Needs...
- Strength and energy as we enter into this trip, it has been pretty busy and stressful the past couple weeks, and we would hate to be exhausted when we get there.

- Physical safety (travel, food poisoning, injuries)

- For courage and boldness in our interactions with the people

- Open hearts for us and for the people we will meet

- That the language barrier would not be an obstacle, that those of us who do not speak Indonesian would have extra patience in dealing with translators

- Team unity- we are a very large group which can make this difficult

- For spirits of humility and service--that we would focus on putting on the attitude of Christ

- That we would have a clear picture of what our role is on the team and be content to serve joyfully in that

This is going to be amazing, I am fortunate to get to join in this experience. Thank you for your prayers through this. I look forward to updating you when we get home.