Hey Everyone,

It's Sunday, around 4:00 pm. Twenty four hours from now we'll be on a plane bound for Beijing. We likely won't be able to update the blog again until early April, so check back then.

Please keep us in your prayers, and thanks for all the love, support, and encouragement you've shown us these past three months!

- Jake and Lauren

Here's a video!

Hello everyone!

We depart for China and the Philippines in nine days, and we wanted to give you an idea of team we'll be traveling with.  Starting with the picture on the top is Jon in the foreground (Canada), myself, Laura in the middle (from Mexico), Yohan on the right (Los Angeles), Julia on the left (Canada), Lauren, Jon in the middle (Seattle), and our leader Eric (Fort Collins, Colorado).  Overall, we have a great group and we're excited to work with kids, people on the street, teach English, participate in construction projects, and much more that we'll find out when we arrive!

As we stated in our last e-mail, we cannot provide much information on where we're going beforehand, and will not be able to update the blog for the month April, when we'll be in China.  We will send out an e-mail when we update the blog in the beginning of May.  We'll try to do one final entry before we leave on March 30.

Aside from all of that, we've been learning a lot about God, ourselves, and how we want to make a difference in the world.  Having 73 days (and counting) to spend together has brought a bond our relationship deeper than we have ever experienced.  And in the midst of all of it, a desire is growing in our hearts to return and see all of you!

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we make our final preparations over the next 9 days.  For those of you who have been supporting us financially, we did receive the rest of the money we needed for outreach!

- Lauren and Jake

Spring is here in Switzerland!

It is hard to say for sure, but I think that the sun and warmer weather is just as beautiful here as the snow and frigid temperatures were!  After living my entire life in Michigan, I have faith that we may have blizzard here tomorrow so I am loving this air while I have the chance.

Since Jake's past two additions to our blog our anticipation for outreach has been growing.  We complete our lecture phase and leave for China two weeks from today!  During our 24/7 prayer week, the previous DTS students returned from outreach and the living situation at the base became quite cramped. We heard many stories as they had ministered to Uganda, Cambodia, and Egypt.  We spoke mostly with the Cambodia team and it sounds like we should anticipate falling in love with the Asian culture.  At the moment, I do not have much new information as to what we will be "doing" in our outreach locations.  I am personally excited for the opportunity I have been given to be a supportive leader for this team.  Two of the aspects I look forward to most is being able to grow in my menu planning/cooking skills and leading "one-on-one"s with the two girls on my team!  You won't be surprised that Jake has been appointed as our team's "finance man". 

Markus Steffan, Lausanne's base leader, spoke to us last week.  He challenged us with new ways to see our purposes and callings.  The major point that stuck with me is how the majority of the world's population does not have the opportunity to even decide what to do with their lives. This confirmed in me that my vocation is important, but not God's primary concern in regards to me; my first calling is to be in relationship with Him.  

Please be encouraged that your prayers and support are truly making a difference in our hearts!  Because of the love you have generously given us, Jake and I have had the almost unheard of chance to literally spend every single day together for the past 2 1/2 months... with 3 1/2 more to go.  God has been faithful... He has a way for us... and we are committed to continue in our search for how we can co-create with Him to bring as much heaven to earth as possible! 

Be blessed this week!

Lauren and Jake

I don't have too much to report so far, but Lauren should be planning to write an update in the next day or two.  I did want to give everyone an update that of the final $1,000 we need to raise for outreach, we have had about $500 come in.  We have about two weeks to come up with the final amount.  Thanks for those of you who have given or prayed!

Also, we found this at the grocery store a couple weeks ago:

For all of you Reformed church goers, this is a case of John Calvin Swiss Beer!

We're entering week nine of our training here at YWAM Switzerland! We spent the majority of our day at the local Starbucks. I'm not sure if it's comforting or frightening to know that no matter where in the world you go, you can always count on finding a Starbucks to feel at home!

This past week and the coming week, our speaker has been an Australian named John Faull. His topic is prayer, and we're going to be having prayer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We'll accomplish this by dividing the shifts between the 25 students in our class, and it sounds like we'll each be praying anywhere from 4-6 hours per day. John has led these "prayer weeks" in many locations throughout the world, and has seen God do amazing things each time. We're excited for what the week may bring!

Our details are coming together for outreach in China and the Philippines. We are putting the finishing touches on a newsletter update, which you should receive via e-mail. Basically, we're in need of a LOT of prayer, and a little money. Give it a read when you have a chance. The most pressing issue is that our visas are currently being processed by the Chinese embassy, and we'd really like it if they went through!

Last of all for today, a book that has been having a huge impact on both of us is "Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne. After a middle-class Christian upbringing, Shane went to study at Eastern College near Philadelphia. Within a few years, he got involved with the homeless in Philadelphia, worked with Mother Theresa in Calcutta, interned at Willow Creek Church, and went to Seminary. Out of all those experiences, he founded a community called "The Simple Way," an alternative to the American dream. The Simple Way is marked by living in community, living and working with the homeless, and trying to live according to the Gospel of Christ. I wouldn't describe it as a hippie community...but along a similar vein. If you're in the mood for something that challenges the way you live and walk in your faith, it's worth a read.

Until next week,

Lauren and Jake