I'M ENGAGED!

I introduced you to Wendy in my last blog update, and I'm happy to report that we got engaged while we were in Thailand!  We are both really excited about our future together, and SO GRATEFUL for those of you who have been sending encouraging emails and praying for us.  Many of you have asked for more details, so I'm posting the story of how I asked Wendy to marry me below.

...The Story ...
(more pictures below)

Originally, I was not planning to ask Wendy to marry me in Thailand. A lot of people I know have gotten engaged there, and it seemed pretty expected to me. I like surprises. And I really like to give Wendy surprises. I was pretty settled on that until my little sister (who has been married almost five years) pointed out that in twenty years, I wouldn't remember that a lot of my friends got engaged in Thailand. I'd just remember that we got engaged in a really beautiful tropical paradise. I've always hated it when Liz is right.

My mom has been a big fan of me and Wendy getting together for a long time now. Sometimes I have not immediately shared information with her about our relationship because I knew how excited she would get, and I did not want to unnecessarily give her a heart attack. I would have liked for our engagement to be a surprise to her (only because I already knew that she would be thrilled). But mom also has a part-time job at a jewerly store, and was going to need some help buying some jewerly. I thought about this for a couple of days after I talked to my sister about Thailand and then decided I had to talk to her. She was ecstatic of course, and a big help in getting Wendy a great ring along with her manager Tamara Newman and Sharon Dees.

Our friend Joo was coming to Thailand to vacation with his girlfriend Ashley, and he was about the only way that the ring was going to get from North Carolina to Thailand. I am very grateful to him for being the "diamond carrier" as he was later called.

Before we started vacation, I had already decided that I wanted to propose at night on the beach. I had a rough idea about what that might look like, but I had never actually been to the beach where we were going (Ao Nang Beach, Krabi Province). I bought A LOT of candles at a department store in Chiang Mai because I wasn't sure what would be available at the beach.

The morning of our first full day there, Graham and I decided to try to go scope out possible locations. We met "to go running" at 6:45AM. After a couple of ideas didn't work out, we found this little pennisula at the end of the beach where we were staying. We decided that it was the best place in the area. Then we worked out a plan for Graham and his wife Ashlei to go ahead of us that night and set everything up.

That night, we all went out to dinner to celebrate Dennis Baker's birthday. To stall for time while Graham and Ashlei were setting things up, Wendy and I took our laundry to a little shop. Then I asked her to take a walk on the beach with me. Graham called twice while we were walking (I didn't answer, but that was our signal that he needed more time for setup). It took about 25 minutes to get to the end of the beach from our hotel. When we got there, everything was dark except for the candles. I told Wendy I had gotten a Graham to help out with a little date for us. Along with the candles, there was a blanket, desserts, drinks and my iPod (w/portable speakers). One of our favorite musicians is Chris Botti (sax) and I played that while we had dessert.

It was a really clear night, and when we finished eating, we just talked and looked at the stars for a while. Then I told her that I had a little present for her. I pulled out a (wrapped) wooden box with the Chinese character for love carved on the top. She was pretty happy when she unwrapped it because she had been wanting a box made out of that kind of wood (here it is just called "ancient wood" but it is a certain kind of wood that is found in river beds in Sichuan province, and is petrified). She just held it for a minute, and then I told her there was something else in the box. When she opened it, I took the ring box and opened it, and told her that I loved her and asked her to marry me. And she said YES!

After that, we sat and talked more and listened to more music (Michael Buble I think?) and then we walked back to the hotel. We talked to Graham and Ashlei who had been waiting up for us and then our immediate families and I finally got to sleep around 2AM (LONNNNG DAY!).

We just got home from vacation a couple of days ago, and we had decided to not start any serious wedding planning before we got home. Being engaged has been really fun for us, and now starting to think about wedding and future plans is exciting too.

Again, we are so thankful for friends who have encouraged us and prayed for us, and we greatly appreciate (and NEED) your continued prayers as we look to Him to guide our future together.




This is the beach where we got engaged
(picture taken at sunrise)


This is the beach in front of our hotel at sunset


THE RING!

Mid Year Conferences

We were in Thailand for almost two weeks for conferences and development classes. I was blessed to get to take part in two conferences... one was for our first and second year interns and the other was for all staff from our country.

Intern Conference

The intern conference was a time of refreshing for me. I always enjoy getting to be around the interns. Most of them are fresh out of college, and their excitement and enthusiasm, as I have mentioned in previous posts and letters, is contagious. This was a smaller conference, and it was good to hear personal stories about how the Lord has been at work in the lives of these interns and in the lives of students on the campuses where they serve. It has truly been a blessing for me to serve with these young men and women this year.

All Staff Conference

This conference was also a time of being refreshed, but in a different way. The blessings from this conference came in several areas:

1. Worshipping Openly: For some of us, this is the only time of the year that we can freely gather and worship together. A band from the Philippines led worship for the conference. I was constantly amazed to look around me and see all of these people worshipping together.



2. Connecting with old friends: The theme of the conference this year was “One Family”, and it really does feel like a family here. This conference gave us the opportunity to connect with some people whom we don’t see very often, but have come to love very much.

One of my favorite connections this year was with a Korean who was on my campus my first year here. I had not seen him since that year, and this year I got to reconnect with him and meet his wife. For those of you who have been around since the beginning (’02), you might remember me writing about this guy…well, I think I remember writing about him. I didn’t know for sure that he was working with us for the first month we were in class together because Koreans were on a separate team (they didn’t speak English). For the first month of class, neither one of us spoke the language here either. I knew he was a believer because he would hold his Bible under his desk and read it during class breaks. For that month, we could basically only communicate using charades and laughter. We laughed A LOT. Now we both communicate much more easily in the language here, so it was especially cool to get to understand each other almost fully when we saw each other this year.

3. Getting the Big Picture: It’s often difficult to see how things are going down in the trenches. This was a time to get a bird’s eye view from our leadership of how things have been going, and also to hear in person the direction that those leaders believe the Lord is leading us in as a ministry

Development Class





I served as the Teaching Assistant for a class called Transforming Cities. The class was taught by Dr. Eric Swanson (co-author of The Externally Focused Church and Living a Life on Loan). I REALLY liked this class, but I won’t go into too many details here. If the class title interests you, you can find out more information from the following links:

Eric’s blog: www.ericswanson.blogspot.com

The Externally Focused Church

Externally Focused Church Conference ‘08

Second Half of the Semester, Part I

Catching up

Friend, I hope that you had a good Christmas season. I pray that the Savior’s birth was REAL to you, and central to your celebration. He continues to bless me so richly with His goodness and mercy, and I hope that you are experiencing His blessings as well.

Most of you probably know how good intentions work. I’ve had good intentions to update this blog for well over a month now. The month before Christmas is usually one of the busiest times of the year. It is such a great window of time to get to share the true story of Who Christ really is through Christmas parties and outreach events. After Thanksgiving, we hosted a vision trip from the US (you can read more about that below) and then jumped right in to the Christmas season. With those events winding down and students starting to get ready for exams, I’ve had a little extra time over the past couple of days and want to fill you in on all that has been happening here. I have included a lot of pictures to try to make it a little more interesting.

I would like for you to meet...

One of the best things that has happened to me personally this semester is my relationship with Wendy. We met for the first time I came here in March 2002, and we were on the same team my first year here. We have been dating since the beginning of September ‘07. She is a very special young woman and you will probably hear a lot more about her in future updates, so I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to her. Wendy graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 2001, and she came here right after she graduated (so she has been here one year longer than me). She is originally from the small town of Hildebran, NC, which is near Hickory.

Brian and Wendy, Christmas 2007

Around Town

A few days ago, Wendy and I took a stroll around our little area of town and took some pictures along the way. It seems like everything is under construction around here! Many of the roads have recently been changed to “one way” to try to help with traffic congestion, which has gotten exponentially worse every year that I have been here. Our city is also a pretty popular tourist destination with the natives of this country, so the city is always constructing new parks etc. to try to make the city look more “green”. Here are a few pictures from our little adventure.

Workers fixing the road and sidewalk near a new foot bridge

Different view of the foot bridge construction area

The newly installed lane barrier isn't working so well for pedestrian traffic

This sign means "Pay attention to safety"


This guy, working approximately 200 feet from the above safety sign, did not give me the impression that he was paying attention to safety (I think that is cardboard that he is using to shield his face as he welds the pole)


New park being constructed a few blocks from my apartment


Bikes (and electric bikes, right) are still probably the most popular form of transportation


Parents waiting to pick their kids up from a nearby middle school


A sod truck rolls down one of the main streets and workers hop off to plant the grass in the median


The one way streets are not completely solving the congestion problem
(It really is one way, far left is the bus lane)


Another new foot bridge near my apartment. Very badly needed as you can see.

* * * Christmas * * *

Christmas was really fun this year! I celebrated Christmas with Wendy’s team, which was smaller than usual because the director and his wife were back in Canada expecting their first child (who was actually born on Christmas day). On Christmas Eve, the five of us ate turkey, green bean casserole (one of my favorite dishes), broccoli, and mashed potatoes. One of the girls made a caramel iced pound cake for dessert. After dinner, we read the Christmas story, made a funny video of ourselves and watched “Elf”. We opened presents together at my apartment on Christmas morning and then had a big breakfast together. That afternoon, the crew watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” while Wendy and I worked on Christmas dinner. We had invited another team in the city to eat dinner with us, and we made chili and twice baked potatoes.

Wendy's team: (Left to right) Wendy, Leeann, Ashley, and Lance in the back

Lance, Wendy and Ashley making breakfast

Lance, holding or wearing all of his Christmas presents. The water gun is from me. Hope I don't regret that later :)


Me with the presents. THANKS SO MUCH to everyone who sent presents and packages!!!!!!


Leeann, Lance and Ashley (sleepily) watching "It's a Wonderful Life" on Christmas afternoon

The Christmas night crowd

Anita (mom) and "Callie Noel", born December 25, 2007
(Edmonton, Alberta)