This past weekend was our first weekend completely free from school activities.  We spent the weekend relaxing and laying low at Starbuck's in Lausanne.  Here are a few interesting facts you may not know about Lausanne. (Obviously this is Jake's idea....)

(click the map for a larger view)

• Lausanne is located in the southwest corner of Switzerland
  
• The global headquarters of the International Olympic Committee are in Lausanne
• Ecole Hoteliere, known as one of the top hotel training schools in the world, is located in Lausanne...across the street from our chalet.
• Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA, lives in Lausanne

As we mentioned below, our outreach will be in China and the Philippines.  Our original desire was to travel to Tanzania and Burundi, as Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world.  As we discussed this with the leaders, they asked us if we would consider China and the Philippines.  Since Lauren has already completed a YWAM DTS, they wanted her to serve as an "unofficial leader" for the China trip  (and since I was her husband, they'd like me to come along too!).  All of the other locations had 2-3 staff members leading the trip, while there was only one leader headed to China.

This was a change of our plans, but we agreed to think and pray about it.  After some time, there were many compelling reasons for us to head to China and Philippines now.  Some examples are....We are filling a leadership need, and improving the experience of other students who will be traveling.  China is a rising global super-power, and will play an increasingly important role in the world.  We've never realized that neither of us has ever had much of a heart for Asia, but God desires that we care for all "tribes, tongues, and nations."  Finally, we figured it would give us a good excuse to plan a trip to build wells or work with AIDS orphans in Africa sometime in the next couple years!  Let us know if you'd like to be a part of that trip!