Yellowstone, Montana OLD FAITHFUL video

Yellowstone, Montana OLD FAITHFUL video

Day 17** Winston Oregon

Sea sick anyone?? no we have not gone on any boats.... but sea sick is the only way to explain what we have been enduring the past few days. Long story cut short: Our van broke down a few days ago... its been stuck in the shop ever since then, the computer system in it is fried, we were lent a 1991 15 passenger van that the church bought for $500 while ours gets fixed.. we all had to downsize our packing bags to backpacks while the van gets fixed and leave our suite cases with our van. We all only packed to changes of clothes each because we only expected it to be in the shop for 1 day... its been about 3 days now and we might not get it back till wednesday. AND SO THE MISSIONS ASPECT OF TEH TRIP BEGINS!!!! and you know what??? I'm actually pretty stoked about it!!! i was actually not upset about only having my small amount of stuff with me. it gets frustrating at times cause all my summer clothes are in my suitcase and it just keeps getting hotter and hotter out here.... but the Lord PROVIDES!!! Just last week i was talking to my parents about how i didnt know what i was going to do with all my extra spending money. It was my BDAY early in the trip so i was blessed with ALOT of spending monies from people.... and it was so much that i just didnt know what to do with it... and i felt weird about just going shopping crazy with it. It's a good thing i listened to my feelings about it... cause if i had gone shopping before... i wouldn't have been able to supply for myself now... when i need it most. Josh took us to the biggest outlet mall in Oregon today and we all got a chance to stalk up on some clothing until we get our bags and van back. i have to say... im almost broke now lol but i think im ok with it. I have clean clothes on my back, the best company possible, and a rickety old van that gets us to where we need to go. It might be mostly disguised... but it is a blessing :D

I wish i could have posted my new pictures and videos... but my cords and chargers are ALL with my suitcase... so i guess your just gonna have to keep using your imagination and depend on our blogs to keep you updated :P

If theres anything i could ask for from the people at home it would be prayer support!! God has been doing amazing things on this trip through and in all of us. We just ask that God keeps using us and working through us, and that we would not get prideful or even start losing faith and hope in God. Now is when things will start to get a little frustrating and short. It's almost time to go home and we're a long ways away and stuck in close quarters. We've done an amazing job with keeping our cool, patience, and love for each other. But it IS a trip... and the last leg is always the hardest. If you guys could just keep holding us up in prayer that would be AWESOME and APPRECIATED!!! We miss you all and love you so much! Thanks to all of you who helped give us this opportunity to travel and tour with our school!!!

Today was such a great day!!! We put on an all-ages service. There was this one little girl who kinda attached herself to me.. she was absolutely ADORABLE!!!! She was 4 years old and has such a heart for worship and dance. When i told her that i love to dance too she automatically attached herself to me :) all throughout worship she would copy EVERY move i did and sing when i sang. It was precious. It reminded me to have faith like a child. She doesnt know me very well.... but she thought i was cool and wanted to be just like me. I think God is cool... and i wanna be just like him :) If he were here right beside me dancing... i would want to copy every move he makes. Faith like a child... i could get used to that :)

Day 14** Boise Idaho

Day 2 after the van issues and its still in the shop where they are trying to figure out what is wrong with it. It was a fun day tho!!! Jodi and i woke up to a lovely breakfast our house lady set out for us and then got picked up by the pastor to meet back at the church with the rest of our team. It was a little weird being restricted to what we could do because we didn't have our van. We're so used to just filing into Willie (our name for the whale of a van we travel in) and going wherever our little hearts please. So we learned how to be humble and depend on others to help us out. It was a blast... i have to say! We played some fun board games and just hung out together :) later on we split into 2 groups... half went and got their hair cut and the rest of us went shopping... AGAIN!!! seems like one of our main things to do is shopping :P im not complaining tho teehee! Afterwards we all went and had dinner with our families. It was SOOOOOOOO nice to finally have a home cooked meal!!! We had a gig tonight and i got to lead worship for it!! Sam helped me pick out the songs and told me all the musician lingo so i could communicate to the guys how we would do the songs and transitions and stuff. It was pretty cool!! I've never actually been the worship leader and told the band how things were gonna go. I think it went pretty well.... but then again i was so freaked out that i don't actually wanna know how it went lol. It was really cute tho... After the show 2 little girls and a little guy came up and gave me a hug!! they were soooo sweet!! one of the little girls told me that when she grows up she's gonna be a singer just like me.... TOTALLY MELTED MY HEART!!! I was kinda having a hard time before that... but those kids totally made everything alright. I think children are God's give to mankind... cause it doesn't matter how rambunctious they get... they can always melt your heart with their sincerity and innocence. well its gonna be an early morning.... jodi and i are waking up at 5 am... (shivers at the thought) how will i ever wake up... im not sure... it gonna be a miracle from God... cause i dont work like that haha. Sorry for not posting any pictures and videos.... my camera usb is in Willie... which is at the shop. soo tho!!! hopefully by saturday i'll have some new stuff for you to check out :D
ALRIGHT!!! Peace out everyone!!!

*note to parents... everyone is well and happy :) some have gotten a lil homesick... but all is well. Not much longer and you'll have to deal with us eating all the food in the house, leaving our laundry around, and coming home after curfew and accidentally waking everyone up when the alarm goes off because some silly person decided to set it when they knew we would come home later and wake them off.... See what you get to look forward to when we arrive back?? ENJOY THE PEACE WHILE IT LASTS!!! :P We love and miss you all!!! GOD BLESS!!! Keep us in your prayers!!!

** Lana **

Day 13** Boise Idaho

For more fun facts and stories about tour look up Jodi's blog!!! www.plbctour2010.blogspot.com

Its starting to get to a point where the days are all blending into one... and i'm having to check the calendar to see what day it is so i can properly update you all!!! what a chore!! just kidding!!! The past few days have been SOOO much fun!!! Last friday we met up with the across Canada tour in Billings Montana. All of the girls got to spend the night together at one house... it was good to see everyone. We hopped in our vans the next day and made a trip out to Yellow Stone National Park. At first i thought it was going to be a small little park that we go to and have like a picnic or something... NUH UH!!! it was freaking huge!! That think could take up like 3 states!!!! it was super cool... even tho i slept through half of it... teehee. We traveled around and saw the different geysers and waterfalls. its the beginning of may and there was like a snow storm!!! a few days later we had to travel through the park to get to our next place and we almost didnt make it... cause there was an avalanche the night before!!! CRAZY i know!! The park was BEE-U-TEE-FULL!! we got to see HUGE bison, bears, deers, and all sorts of animals. Some of the geysers were absolutely gorgeous.... and i was so tempted to disobey the signs and just jump in. Im sure it woulda been pretty fatal... but i wanted to do it anyways!! :P After our long day of sightseeing we headed off to Cody Wyoming and said our final farewells to the other team. For some it was heartbreaking because it was the last time they would see some of those people for years... or maybe even never. It was a hard night... but it was also joyful. We got to send out the other team with prayer and blessing. I know that favortism is horrible... and im not saying that i agree with it... but i LOVE the church in Cody!!! They are just so welcoming, accepting, and engaging!! We just offered what we had.. and they accepted us with open and loving arms. They are just so sensitive to the Holy Spirit and flexible to God's agenda. It was deffs a good service... and not because of us... it was God and the people. They are just so genuine and passionate about God!!! its inspiring! The first night there we stayed in the nursery together... but the second night.... OMG!!!! I can't even START to explain to you how much of a blessing they were to us!!!!!! ok... are you ready for this??? They put us up in a vacation home for a night!!!! one of the couples in the church owns this AMAZING country vacation home that generally costs somewhere around $1000.00 a night!!! it has 5 full bathrooms, one powder room, sleeps 40 people, has a dog wash station, 2 sets of washers and driers, a HUMUNGOUS kitchen and eating area, and an entertainment room with a projector that fits the movie onto almost the WHOLE WALL!!! it was seriously intense!!!! The fact that they decided to bless 10 COLLEGE students with a place like that for a night... FOR FREE blows my mind!!!! I'm realizing more and more how generous the church REALLY IS! I mean... when your part of the church you dont even realize how much goes into hosting people... but when your the one being hosted you can believe how hospitable people really are... PRAISE GOD!!!

Today alone was an adventure in itself... i didn't want to own up to it at first.... cause i didn't want the team to hate me... what i am about to say is result of MANY years of research and testings to prove this theory true. What happened today was the result of having a Sullivan on the team!!! It is a fairly well know fact that the Sullivans don't go on vacations... we go on adventures!!! Each adventure either consists of either getting lost, getting stuck in a rainstorm, the car breaking down, or stopping at rest stops so we can all catch some sleep or make porriage on the sidewalk. WELL... today contained 2 of those curses.... the car broke down... and we drove through a rainy windy storm like thing. THE SULLIVAN CURSE WILL FOREVER FOLLOW ME!! (or at least until my last name is legally changed.... im working on it... just havent found a name i like yet :P) we were rolling on cruise control for a bit... then all of a sudden it stopped working. about 5 minutes later it kicked in again and started working by itself. They it all just stopped working all together!!! the car went into neutral mentality and gave us just enough power to pull off to the side of the highway. we were about an hour away from our destination for the day... and there we were.... stranded in the middle of nowhere Idaho... the state of famous potatoes. we got stuck around 1:30 in the afternoon... our tow truck didnt arrive till about pm!!!! poor Willie (the van) had to get towed all the way to Boise!! Now... because theres 10 of us... the guys had to bring the tow truck AND a van to transport us to the town. 9 people crammed into the van and 3 into the truck... it was a long and squishy hour. it was deffs a ride to remember tho!!! we played a few road trip games with our driver and made fun of him because we saw canadian geese and he didnt know what the were called! when we asked him what the people here called them this is what he said, " I call it a duck... a BIG duck!!! how am i supposed to know if it came from canada or here.... they're just ducks to me!!" hahahahah i laughed soooooo hard!!! i dont think he understood that its the name of the duck... not whether it grew up in canada or not :P

It was a fun and adventurous day!!! Now i am about to head off to bed and be thankful for the lovely older couple who is sooo willingly putting up with having 2 college girls in their home for 2 nights!!! Jodi and I are soooo thankful!!! they are a lovely couple and so genuinely sweet. The are retired ministers who just love the Lord and are willing to serve him. I pray that God blesses them abundantly for taking us in. He is soo good!!! and you know what??? His love endures forever!!! I love God... He's so good to me and loves me for being me :)
Peace out!!
**Lana Sullivan**

Day 10** Billings Montana

Today we woke up in the early AM.. as usual .. and hit the road for Billings, Montana.. 6 hours of road and unpleasant smells.. but we're pretty used to that by now (as long as we kick the main culprits out until they finish their business.. not naming anyone in particular of course)
We finally arrived at Hope Center Foursquare Church and met up with the other half of our Tour family. The 6 week Cross-Canada team joined us for the service and were our greatest cheerleaders and prayer warriors throughout the night. D-Hong spoke a powerful message and there was a great time of response and prayer that followed.
All ten of the girls were billeted at a lovely couple's home with food, beds, showers and laundry machines, while all ten guys stayed at the church to sleep on the floor. We were very blessed and grateful for the hospitality.
Tomorrow we shall head out for a trip to Yellowstone on our day off with both teams.

Cheers
*Dawn-Marie

Day 9** Missoula Montana

Still hanging about in Missoula Montana and chillin. It was a pretty laid back day, but i feel like we accomplished sooo much! We had originally planned to go paintballing and do some laundry... but for some reason we didnt get to go paint balling!! :( I am happy that we got our laundry washed tho!! have to admit... it was time to get some cleaning done!!! Bethel and i decided to clean out the van.... EWWWWWWWW is all i can say!!! we found wet and mildewy towels, garbage, food, and all sorts of goodies gone bad! it was sooo nice to climb into a clean and not so smelly van :) after we all cleaned up we headed to walmart and did a guys against girls scavenger hunt. according to Josh the girls won.. hands down! wooot!! our goal was this: 1 item under $20, 1 item under $50, and 1 item under $100. the guys ended up with a: 3D obama poster (cant believe they actually have those there hahaha), a bug bite/rodent bite emergency kit, and a file cabinet safe. Now for the winning girls group list: a pack of mens small Depends, a manual breast pump for mothers ( hahahahah we all laughed REALLY hard!!!), and a HUGE and nasty looking floor mat. WE WON!!! woohoo.. the prize?? nothing. just the joy on knowing we won. Oh and the catch to the hunt was this: it had to be obscure objects! it was a fun day!!! not too much to report on, but i had some spare time :P so i thought i'd write a little to make up for not writing alot lately!!! we finished off our night with watching Avatar at someones house and eating some YUMMY dinner and dessert. if theres one thing you learn about touring... its this: people are incredibly hospitible and trusting. They open thier home to you without knowing you and let you make yourself right at home. its crazy!!! i've always been on the end where you open your home and serve others. So its pretty cool to be on the receiving end :)

Day 8** Missoula Montana

WHAT A FEW LAST DAYS!!! Yesterday we were trapped in the van for about 8 hours!!! we travelled from Washington, through Idaho, and ended up in Montana. It was a LONG day!!! I don't know what Curt has had to eat the past few days... but whatever it was came out in the van... and it WASN'T pleasant!! Did you know that even when you sleep you pass gas?? YUP!!! Curt proved it true hahaha!! We've been having a blast on the road!! And you know what?? we still all love each other! i know... surprising right? We're really good about sorting out our issues or determining if its something we really need to share or if its just us being stupid. God has really blessed us with a team that just jells. I started to write this yesterday... but i got interrupted by an epic water fight! crazy i know!!! So i am going to continue writing this as if i were still in the yesterday :P
All day i was nervous and uncomfortable... Josh had just told me the night before that i would be preaching at the night service today... and i had NO plans set for what i would talk on. We got to the church and i pretty much paced back and forth outside.... choking back tears because i was stupid enough to listen to the lies that were bombarding my mind. I felt so inadequate and unprepared to speak to a group of mixed generations... what do i have to offer them??? im only 20 and don't have very much life experience!! Somehow i made it up onto the stage... and went on with the night. I was on for playing keys for worship... so i stood up there and worshipped God with tears streaming down my face because as far as i could see... the night was going to be a BIG failure... and i would just end up embarrassing myself in front of a bunch of strangers. We went on with the plan... we performed our skits and drime... and then it was my turn to take over. I can't even try to explain what happened that night.. it was just so strange... and just not what i expected! Its like, as soon as i stepped up there God just kept placing words in my mouth... but i didnt just say them... i FELT what he was saying. I couldn't just stand up there and say.." Ohhh yea.. by the way guys, God loves you and stuff like that." No man, it was like a heart breaking sensation that took place in my heart... and God just poured out his heart and passion through me!!! it was AMAZING!!! I've never felt so free and confident about speaking. Here's the key: it wasn't me. Sure.. it was me standing up on the stage and communicating to people... but it was God speaking through me! He just kept placing analogies and pictures in my head and said share it. the coolest part was... it all flowed and connected perfectly with each other! its like it was all scattered at first... but in the end every little detail wove its way together to form the big picture. At the end i got to pray for a young girl who wanted soooo badly to be anointed with the Holy spirit and receive the gift of tongues!! IT was deffs a night to remember!!! Our team had an AMAZING response and quite a few people signed up to receive more info about our school and programs!!! woooohooooooo!! We spent the night at the church so we played an epic game of volleyball with the girls against the guys and the pastor... sad to say.. the guys won. But my excuse is this: Girls just wanna have fun.. girls just wanna have fun :P BECAUSE we're all outta shape, we had to take NUMEROUS water breaks... which eventually ended up in a MASSIVE water fight... i mean... clothes drenched... floor covered in water... everyone laughing till they hurt. It was EPICLY AWESOME!! the pastor (a friend of Josh's from when they both went to PLBC) decided i would be his main victim.. so he attempted to pour a pitcher of water on me... but then realized i was standing next to the piano... so he decided not to. his excuse was "dont worry i would never do that!" SO, guess what i did!?!? As he went to get the mop to pick up some of the water i filled a pitcher up with water!!! YUP!!!! I drenched that sucker with water!! VICTORY!!! as it poured out and covered him from head to toe i proclaimed "maybe you wouldn't .... but I WOULD!!!" and victory was mine. Here's where it becomes embarrassing tho... apparantly being beat by a girl isnt cool... so he chased after me with a pitcher of water... and i thought i would be safe if i ran to the sanctuary because he said we weren't allowed to go in there if we were having our water fight... so i ran there for cover... BUT HE FOLLOWED ME!!! For some reason i freaked like i've never freaked before... screaming as i ran down the hallway and between church pews... this is where it gets embarrassing... i was soooo scared that I PEED MY PANTS!!! the weird part is that i walked right back to everyone and announced that i peed myself hahaha. The boldness and shamelessness that you gain from being a tour family is unbelievable!!! I was pretty much the laughing stalk for hours... but it was a blast :D how we can go from having heavy and intense gigs to water fights and laughter is crazy.. Thats why i love us and our sillies :)

Birthday/seattle tour :)

More Birthday Fun!

Happy Birthday to me!!

Eastside Foursquare

Day 6** Seattle and Tacoma

Sorry for not updating you guys more!!! i got a little lazy.. and am paying for it now lol

Yesterday was our first BIG day. We had 3 shows planned!! Our first one was at a church called Mill Creek (Jordan Christman's church). It was pretty sweet... we got to help run a junior high session and play some games with them and such. As far as our gig went... it was a bit disasterous! It seemed we were either messing up our lines or laughing at someones last minute additions. The youth seemed to like it tho! guess the more we mess up, the funnier we are! From there we went to an island called Oak Harbor and did 2 services at Living Word Fellowship. It was AMAZING!!! especially after messing up alot in the gig before it. On the way there our leader gave us abit of background on the people there and the kids lifestyle. Its kind of a town where Marines/navy/soldiers and their families live. So basically the kids have grown up not seeing their fathers alot, and in broken homes. I was SOOO EXCITED to go there, because i feel like we havent really done much yet on our trip... and for some reason i felt like it was going to be a GOOD night. The youth pastor remembered our group from the past trip and was excited to have us back.

Funny story: Last year's team had a skit/drime where they ended up ripping the American flag in half as the cause of division in families and churches. they didnt actually rip it.. it was in half already and velcroed... but when they did it on stage at Oak Harbor some people got REALLY offended... as in, they left the building. i understand American pride and all... but it wasnt until i actually went there that i realized why they would get soooo offended. REASON: The island consists of mostly people who have family off in the Navy. OF COURSE THEY WOULD BE TICKED!!! as far as some of them were concerened we were insulting them and their family. Makes sense now... but i dont agree with it... dont tell them ok?? haha. It was meant to represent how division in even just families can tear a nation apart. HMMMMMM something to think about!!!!

But anyways... on with my story! the first service went fairly well!! people laughed... and Sam gave an AMAZING word on unity. In preservice prayer i had a strong feeling that the night would be different from our other performances tho. So we gathered our girls together and prayed for the girls in the community and ourselves in ministry. When i looked up i saw our guys huddled with the male interns at the church... just interceding and praying over hte youth and their hearts. POWERFUL OR WHAT!!! right then and there you gotta think that somethings gonna happen... cause we werent just praying... we were entering into warfare and interceding over the hearts and lives of young people we hadn't even met yet! The last service was the senior high youth. THAT's when things started to shift abit. Its like they entered in as soon as the worship started. I cant even explain to you what i felt that night... you had to be there. Its not like the worlds greatest revival took place in Oak Harbor... but i can tell you that hearts were changed and decisions were made.... PRAISE THE LORD!!!! Josh spoke a convicting yet encouraging message on being tied down by our own actions or the words spoken against us... and how there is freedom from that. One of the biggest issues with my generation is confused identity, insecurity, and fear. with each generation the plague gets heavier and stronger... but we prayed and spoke over the youth of that city that they have the power, courage, strength, ability, and tools to take that first step and make the change that our world has been praying for!!!! and you know what?? i think they got the point!!!! There was one girl that i got to pray with who knew what God wanted to do in her life, and what he wanted her to do for Him, but she was too scared and didnt want to make the sacrifice. It was amazing just being able to sit there with her and pray over her that God would reveal to her the depth of His love and adoration just for her... and the plans he has... and how far they actually go for her!! I just kept praying and talking over her... dont ask me what it was about... cause im pretty sure it wasnt really me talking. The effect the words had over her and her heart were not of my doing, so i do not take credit for them. I was only the pencil placed in God's hand to communicate the love letter he wanted to permanantly etch into that young girls heart. What broke my heart was that she was only 15, and she felt like she had nothing left to offer God in her life. It just makes me SICK when i think about how much control Satan thinks he has over our young people!!! Who the heck does he think he is that he can tell one of the sweetest and purest of hearted girls that after only 15 years of age she has absolutely nothing left to offer the kingdom of God and the people she loves!!! Screw you devil!!!! Enough pain and suffering has hit the hearts of young people. Its time for courage, desire, burning passion, zeal, hunger, yearning, and leadership to take over.

"Lord we just commit our hearts and hands to you!! Stir in us a new and refreshing zealous passion to desire and long for only you!!! wake us up and reveal our true identity in you!!! raise up and train the leaders of tomorrow, shielding and supplying the armor they need. Guard their hearts and let no weapon form against them! Lord, if there's one thing we as a team can instill in the hearts of the youth... let it be that they realize who they are, and all that you have equipped them with, that they would know the depths of your love, and they would feel contented with whom you have made them to be. Lord, take over the hearts of the youth, and teach us to learn and walk alongside of the generations who walked before us! teach us to learn from one another and love one another. We love you Lord!! and we invite you to come and breathe your breath of life into our ministry. AMEN!!!"

Day 4 ** HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

Sorry this post is a little late... i started to write it... but then i kinda of lost my internet connection... AND theres 4 other girls who want to use my lap top to update their blogs haha.

Day 4 was a happy one for me!!! It was my 20th birthday!! woohoo!! we spent the day at Lani's (a former PLBC student) and hit the road to go see a Seattle Mariners game :) I was SOOOO excited because i have never seen a mens baseball game before... i know... sounds pathetic that i would be excited. But when i was growing up, softball was a big part of my families life. I was living life at the diamond pretty much the first game my sister had after i was born.. maybe a few days old? SO as you can imagine i was pretty stoked to see the game. I played ball for like 9 years and would go to alot of Canada Cup Womens games with my family and friends. It was the best birthday EVER!!! Dawn-Marie and Lani showed up with a gift for me from the team.. a pink stuffed monkey with a jersey and hat. Made me smile :D i think i've taken that thing with me EVERYWHERE since i got it... DONT JUDGE ME!!! hahaha :P Every switch up for batters would have a different song... so me, jodi, and Jen would party it up in the bleachers... and dance the game away. I experianced my first garlic fry... dont ask me why they are such a big deal... cause i dont know. All i know is... DONT GO TO THE GAME ON A DATE AND ORDER THE GARLIC FRIES!!! cause its like the BIGGEST human repellant EVER!!! Lets just say gum makes all friendship mendable... even the garlicie ones :P needless to say... it was a blast! afterwards Josh attempted to take us on a city tour in the van... but we all fell asleep. So we decided to grab a bite to eat and head on back to our host homes. The celebration didnt start only on my birthday however... a few days before... when we were at Eastside... we all decided to go to Red Robin after our service projects and eat dinner. There was about 30 people maybe... and Jodi let the waitor know it was my birthday in a few days... so next thing i know... I'm standing on my chair.. with a sunday in one hand and a spoon in the other with 40 people singing the most REDICULOUS birthday song ever!! at first i went beat red because i was embarrased... but then i was told i just kept getting redder and redder. Little do they know it was because i got gutsy and looked around at the people who were singing to me... reason for extreme reddness?? REALLY GOOD LOOKING WAITORS singing to me :) i felt special... and then i was embarassed that i thought they were good looking... so i embarassed myself because of myself... twisted world eh?

It was an awesome day with great memories!

Day 4

Hit the Road Jack!!!

Everyone wants to touch the poofy hair!
"What are you looking at?!"
Besties for life <3  ... even on road trips haha
Cuddle buddies!!
FUNNY STORY!!!! curt cannot see out of his right eye.. and we have this little instrument called the melodica. they're kinda funny looking its like a handheld piano/recorder whistle thing.... ANYWAYS... the piano part is on the right hand side... and Curt wanted to play it... but he cant see it.... SO... he got a little air tube thing and hooked it up to it and played it through the tube so he could see what he was doing... RESULT: us getting annoyed PRETTY quickly... just think of a kid playing a recorder for 7 min straight in the back of the van... YUP thats what it was like hahaha

GOOD MORNING!!! day 2

Bethel, Josh and Sam goofing it up at the breakfast table :P

Jen and me... in our morning tiredness
Josh making fun of D Hongs crazy morning asian hair ahha

Curt... being curt
Our leader... who's pretty much just as mature as us...you would have never guessed he'd be the one incharge of us us hey?? JUST KIDDING!!! :P

Day 2** Eastside Foursquare Church Washington

Day 2... and we've already experienced the consequences of Taco Bell!!  :S We had an amazing night in Stanwood staying with the pastor's family. All of the girls got to sleep in the beds... and the guys got couches and floor space... i'd say things are working out perfectly haha. Today we hung out with the pastors family in the morning and hit the road around noon. They laid out an amazing breakfast spread for us and blessed us with their amazing hospitality and company. Not to mention... their 2 year old daughter Jane.... cutest thing ever! 

We packed up the beastly van and hit the road again. If there was one word to describe our tour team to you... it would be: LAUGHTER. The amount of laughter that goes around in the beast is shocking!! We just have so much fun together! IF i were into Miley Cyrus music... i would be singing "Party in the USA" pretty much everday... cause it pretty much describes our fun times... AND we're just that cool... AND you wish you were with us so you could sing it too... just admit it... you secretly listen to her music :P We were gonna start a journal with all of our funny quotes... but it turned out that in the past 2 days we could have filled up a WHOLE book!!! Kramer is probably one of the most RANDOM and hilarious people to trip with... and Jodi... where to start with her?? Lets just say that shes the Christian version of drunk when she's tired... and in the morning she ACTUALLY has a hard time remembering what she did the night before hahaha. Last night at McDonalds she tried to return the ketchup to the people behind the counter.... and then somehow convinced me to play leap frog with her. ALL THE WHILE.. the guys were having a somewhat serious convo. Whoever said that guys are the life of the party was seriously mistaken... im pretty sure a short clip of our girls in a typical tour team moment could prove that theory wrong no problem!! I think the guys are a little culture shocked... Dont know if they've ever come across such entertaining/hyper girls before :P 

We stopped off for our first shopping trip at Target. Jodi, Jen and I hit up Famous Footwear and all bought our first pair of converse shoes... YES WE ARE BEAMING!!! we're soo stoked about them! but... we need to dirty them up a bit... cause they're too white!! shocking... i know. So yea, we stopped off to go shop.. and then hit up Taco Bell. THAT is a whole nother story in itself! We crammed all 10 of us in one rounded corner booth!! YUP!!! hip-to-hip... knee-to-knee. It wasn't till after we were done eating that we realized half of our meals had beans in them!!! OH BOY!! so far we haven't had too many rear-end speeches.... but they have been making themselves present... whether we are in a van... or touring the church. WELCOME TO OUR NEW LIFE!!! OH and just incase you are wondering... the public rear speeches have only been from the guys... the girls woulda killed me if i left it so general just incase you guys thought it was us hahah. ITS THE GUYS!! but thats nothing new.. is it? Enough about indigestion... lets talk about something different haha. Right now we are currently at Eastside Foursquare Church, where we will be spending the night. This is the church that Curt (one of our guys) spent his last 2 summers interning at. It's pretty cool to have some sort of connection to a church we're staying at. We dont have anything planned for tonight other than some service work that the church is going to hook us up with. Not quite sure what that means yet... could mean folding bulletins... and their church is huge... so that could take a while LOL.

ANYWAYS... i should probably get back to hanging out with the team... we're just chillin in the Youth room playing games. Hope you enjoy the updates and pics :)

**Lana Sullivan

OUR TEAM!!!

left to right: Sam, Lana, Curt, Jen, D Hong, Dawn Marie, Kramer, Bethel, Josh, Jodi

Day 1 ministry in Stanwood

 Dawn Marie staring up the skits
 D Hong adding his Korean charm into the mix
 D Hong(nose) and Dawn Marie(heart) in the first skit
 Dawn Marie

Travel Day 1

 Me and Bethel getting ready to leave Canada :)
 Sam and Jen ;)
 Jodi trying to get off of the van roof... much assistance needed :P
 Packing on the van roof
 Up in the roof

Day 1 ** Stanwood Washington

... And we're off!!!! Day 1 in a 15 passenger van with 10 people... let the fun times begin! if we weren't comfortable with each other before... WE ARE NOW! Its funny how such a short time together in a squishy van can bring people closer (and I'm not just talking about them practically sitting on you due to no room). From just one day, i can say that we have a pretty amazing team :) We're all pretty high energy, passionate, and striving for God to move in the churches we visit. I have to say, I think God knew what he was doing when he put us all together :)  .. and this is JUST the beginning!

So we left base at about 1pm and didn't actually get across the border till 3:30. D Hong had to get his visa renewed, so we stood in a stuffy border lineup for a good hour or so. If we weren't all so tired from all of our recent late nights and early mornings, we might have actually gotten bored. BUT, somehow we all found ways to entertain one another and those around us in the lineup. 

Conclusion #1: When one is tired... everyone near will be greatly entertained. 

Conclusion #2: After being tired and a great source of entertainment for others... chances are, you make a fool of yourself and you'll regret it later.

Conclusion #3: When you learn to laugh along with everyone, life is a whole lot more fun :D

Our first stop was Stanwood Washington were we ran a youth group night. We were all surprisingly confident and not nervous. However, once the ministry started... we all started to doubt ourselves. Tough crowd much?? i think we were the only ones laughing for the most part. haha. Our message is about church unity, so we took the idea of the Brady Bunch and made it our own into the Body Bunch. We pushed through till the end and did the best we knew how. By the time we got to our drime i felt like that would be the breaking point for some. For the first time i felt the weight of my role. Basically the drime is about everyone being robotically controlled by satan. He wakes up the relationship boy and girl and then splits them up. Two guys end up fighting over the girl. Then satan wakes up vanity and shows her how gorgeous she is, and she gets totally consumed with pride. Then i am woken up. My role is "lonely". Satan calls me forward and then blocks me with a wall of fear. The rest of the drime is about everyone mocking me cause i cannot get out, them getting caught up in sin, and satan putting me down. Then they are given a rope from satan, and he persuades them into a tug of war with each other. He then cuts the rope and the become disillusioned and fall to the ground. When the rope is cut my box walls fall down. But i am so stricken with fear and tradition that i dont want to leave my 'box'. The whole time that im fighting with my insecurity the others are falling into adultary and sin... all the while wrapping themselves in the rope. Finally satan grabs the end of the rope and wraps it tightly around them and pulls them in the direction he wants them to go .... all the while im fighting with satan and myself to go and join/help the others and step out of my insecurity. the drime ends with everyone tangled in the rope and depressed... and me feeling set apart and frustrated because i didnt know how to step out and have confidence. I felt the weight of my role because for the last half it is the main focus, how i portray it can determine if it impacts the youth or not! WOAH!! what a responsibility! So i decided to throw my whole heart and body into it. By the end i was so breathless and exhausted from fighting the wall and trying to escape. I thought that i might have put all that effort out for nothing... but afterwards a few of the girls came up to me and told me how impacting and effective the drime was. HALLELUJAH!!! All our efforts WERE for a greater cause! I guess i'm really learning that you cannot always read people by their outward expression... cause maybe theres something going on in their heart that they just dont know how to communicate! I am proud to announce that we just might have some PLBC recruits coming in the next few years from the city of Stanwood :) We all had an amazing time afterwards just hanging out with the youth and teaching them new games to play with their friends and vice versa. 

SURPRISING NOTE!!! we tried to pull that whole over usage of EH thing... and only a couple of them understood the whole EH Canadian stereotype! THE WORLD IS CHANGING INTO A BETTER PLACE :P now we just have to work on convincing them that we actually do drive trucks and not husky sleds haha. 

Well... it has been a long and VERY productive day. I think we are all gonna try to head off to bed after just watching 2 episodes of American Idol and attempting to digest our McDonalds meal of preservatives. I hope to keep you all posted daily on our progress and adventures. Keep us in your prayers! GOD BLESS!!! 

*Lana and the tour team*

Tour team members:

-Lana Sullivan

-Jodi Warren

-Bethel Tamarey

-Dawn Marie Small

-Jennifer Tardif

-Samuel Romijn

-Daniel Hong (D Hong)

-Daniel Kramer (Kramer)

-Curt Branscombe

-Joshua Benzinger (OUR LEADER)