Singapore and back... and 7 years of marriage!

We made it to Singapore and back even though Danielle went "ankle-less" for a couple days and that we had to leave our baby girl for over 10 days! On September 27th Danielle and I flew out of Washington D.C. for what turned out to be a tremendous visit in Singapore. If your new to our blog, we hope to move and serve in Singapore, November 2008. We are not exactly sure in what capacity we will be fully serving, but we do believe that the Lord has something creative planned.

This was the first time that we had ever visited Asia. We had a wonderful time, meeting new people, making new friends, eating some great food, seeing some amazing sites, and experiencing a wide variety of sorts. We are grateful to many people for helping make this trip possible, and we are thankful to all those who have been praying for us along the way. We have to many pictures to upload but we hope these few will at least tease you a bit! Danielle and I are currently working on short video of our experience which we hope to have done and uploaded to our site by the middle of July... and this is mainly due the fact that we are still traveling and speaking out east for a couple more weeks. But we should have a new photo album up by the end of June to our web sites for those really itching to see more than just these few!

What does it feel like to be traveling when your 7 year anniversary passes? How does it feel to leave your 18 month old baby girl for over 10 days? Is it weird to skype your baby girl and not be able to talk to her because the mic on your web cam does not work? What does it feel like to eat something that because it smells so strong is outlawed on public transportation - and when you ask the locals about the fruit they say; "Well, it smells like Hell, but it tastes like Heaven!"? (Honestly, that's up for debate as well!) Is it really fun to be in a tropical climate when you have strong actively working sweat glands? How does it feel to be on a plane for 17 hours and watch your ankles disappear?

You may be wondering by now how many questions Tim is going to ask, but let's just say that these are more than hypothetical... in fact, the answers are so experiential that it would take too long to explain them all. However, let's just say this... If you miss being able to celebrate your anniversary with a special "date night", even though you may be alone on a tropical island with your spouse, don't hesitate to take advantage of sleeping in, catching a movie (Indiana Jones), and eating as much new types of food as possible, while enjoying every moment alone that you can steal!

Our experience in Singapore was not only jammed packed with new sites, sounds, and smells, but full of appointments, logistic research, and ground work for our upcoming move. We spent a lot of time making connections with a variety of agencies, listening to some fellow servants, while doing our best to make some new friends along the way. Yet, above all, we feel even more affirmed in the path that we are traveling. It was beautiful to have what used to be a visionary thought and idea of future service in Asia, now come to life, literally! As we walked the streets and experienced a small bit of life in Singapore, contemplated, prayed, sought advice, and relished in the amazing melting pot of cultures that exists, we were affirmed in our spirits of still a need that God wants us to help fill.

As we continue to prepare for this move we need prayerful support, and help. Here are some areas in which you may be able to partner with us:

1. Help in finding creative platform opportunities for Danielle or Tim, so that we can live and serve in Asia as we hope.
2. Financial support of all sorts, including those who would be willing to partner with us for the long haul.
3. Summer clothes for our baby girl and future baby boy (Jeremiah is due August 11)!
4. The opportunities to share our passion, vision, and stories through creative speaking engagements.
5. Above all a group of people willing to dedicate themselves to be part of our prayer support fellowship!

Thank you again to everyone who is sharing life with us through our blog. And since Natalie's growing so fast, we thought we'd leave you all with another little video which we are sure will make you smile. (BTW, if you've received this only via email, you will need to visit our blog site in order to view the video. You can also check out all the new things we've added to our site as well.)

Peace to you all and enjoy!