Beautiful Feet Inc.

Coming Summer 2011!

2010-07-12T21:59:00.002+07:00

Preparations begin soon, keep us in your prayers.

Peace Out Again

2009-06-02T07:52:00.003+07:00

Well, Josh took some dadgum Chinese classes so he said goodbye in Chinese...I didn't so I just wanted to say goodbye in my native tongue.... Here we go. Peace out bra's n foxes. I'm fitna dip to dinner so stay sweet and watch this video..I look good, n Tyson looks even better. Sleep well tiny dancers and text me what you are wearing!

Love Ery'body!!!!

zàijiàn

2009-05-27T00:31:00.001+07:00

See you soon America!

-Josh

2009-05-04T09:17:00.006+07:00

MONDAY MAY 4TH 2K9

Shouldnt have lit those socks on fire!

Hello world, its Oliver and i am never on this thing, but I have a mission today to inform the world about the first disc golf course ever set up in China! It is in Quinghuandao, China, about 5 hours east of Beijing and it is epic. Even world class pros would have problems battling all of the Out of Bounds area around the holes. We played so much that the socks that I was wearing were beyond repair, and instead of washing them, we just burned them, smoking out the whole floor. Not the best idea, sorry for gettin you in trouble T-man. We have been in Quinghuandao teaching English and partying it up with Taylor Hankins, one of Josh's friends from school. We essentially answered questions about our trip and about our lives back home. It was really good practice for all of the Q and A sessions that are bound to happen when we get back. We also got invited to a Chinese birthday party in the dorms on campus...you think that the Chinese don't know how to party, but they do. They got cards, Pi jiu, and the dirtiest floors on the planet. Mix that with the most epic mix of Chinese pop music and Backstreet Boys greatest hits, and you got yourself an experience.

Tough putt with the bearded one in the background

A solid drive, don't worry I still have both of my legs

Taylor grippin n rippin!

The bearded one tearin it up!!!

Good times had by all!

We traveled back to Beijing and met up with a friend that we made in Nanning. He is a legit slice Canadian bacon, who actually tore my jeans apart and made them into something awesome. We have spent time chillin with the Shoots in Langfang, and have had many great times tearin up the streets of Beijing. Tomorrow Brandon and I will explore the Great Wall while Josh does the scholarly thing and studies his Chinese.

The bros!

Pretty much our life motto...
"No Paint, No Gains"

Some seriously epic shades i found while shopping at the Pearl Market.

Outside the Forbidden City.

Inside the Forbidden City

Brandon, Guard, Chairman Mao

Check out this outfit

US!!

Travels in China

2009-04-27T17:49:00.008+07:00

In the past month or so, this has been a familiar sight for us as we have been doing some good old fashioned Chinese train travel. We left Nanning and arrived in Beijing just in time to join in with my sister's family (the Shoots) celebration of Holy Week. Living with the Shoots was a total blast, and we will be back with them on Thursday. I enjoyed seeing family that I hadn't seen in quite a long time. We went to the area's University district and helped some students with their English, and played frisbee in the area park. We are currently in a smaller city named QingHuanDao, where we have been show and tell for one of my college roomates: Taylor Hankins. We set up a disc golf course on the campus which has been something we have really missed. It has been a total blast with Taylor and many of the English teachers that live here, even making it out to a German themed (yes that does mean Chinese waitresses dressed in German clothes) all you can eat meatfest restaurant. Thursday we will travel back to the Shoots and party it up with them until we get some new arrivals; one Brandon from Canada, and one "Keakers" Larrabee from the Larrabee clan out of Austin, Texas(aka Oliver's lil bubba) . C"mon holla atcha boy! Enjoy what we look like, cuz we do, everydays!

Here are some of the enduring images of the last three weeks:

This is Judah Shoot. He has very expressive eyebrows.

The patriarch of the Shoot family, holding a made from scratch red velvet cake made in the shape of the Passover Lamb.

Easter Dinner with family and friends.

We decorated eggs with the youngsters. We look really normal don't we!

Some of our creations: Anime Oliver, Depressed Josh, Envious Taylor, and Enraged Nadia in Easter egg form.

Helping in Taylors classes in QingHuanDao. Teaching Texas History and the Bibeau family tree. The students loved both of the topics! (But were amazingly enthralled by the passion with which the Texas presenter spoke with, not! We took a vote, the family tree rocked their entire universe!)
One of Taylor's students is a total rocker and had a concert. We went and rocked out to Lenny Kravitz, and Green Day covers. It is wild to think we saw a rock show in China. While dancing Oliver almost punched a girl in the face. But in his words... "Its a metal concert, she should know what she is getting into."

We participated in the "QingHuanDao Internation Fitness Walk". We made the walk "internation", and were rewarded with many pictures taken of us. We walked to the sea and frizzed it up with some students.

We love and miss you all. Thanks for reading!

- Josh

2009-04-03T16:14:00.004+07:00

We are in utter need to update our blog! Hanging out with the crew in Nanning China has been such a blast that the internet is boring. And that is quite a statement for a couple of avid facebookers like Oliver and I. Our almost three weeks in this city have totally flew by as we have encountered a community of like-minded and incredibly fun people. The dudes we stay with are all studying Chinese to the max and loving their lives in China. Meeting young westerners that are totally loving every minute of their lives overseas is a new sight for us, but one that really is shaking things up in my mind. Two of the three guys we live are younger then me, but are settled into their lives here in China and have plans to stay long term. We have learned so much from them and are incredibly grateful for their hospitality.

I recently have been nursed back to help thanks to all who were thinking of me! It was a rough couple of weeks but I am totally healthy. Bham! We came to Nanning knowing one guy named JP and knowing only that he skated a lot, and had some crazy stories of living in the jungles of Lao and streets of Toyko. Neither of us have picked up skating or become Rambo, but we have learned to make clothes, navagate Nanning, play Guitar Hero World Tour, enjoy Chinese Barbeque, and live in a balls-to-the-wall community overseas. All very important skills to have, especially the latter.

There are many things that I wish I could write about, but I am afraid that I can't. Many of the lessons I am learning on this trip have been culminating and are going to take a while to process. I am very grateful for my journal these days. Tomorrow morning we will be boarding a train to Beijing. We have made some awesome friends in Nanning and I would love to come back soon!

Olive got his TOM's fixed by a street cobbler! (not as good as blueberry cobbler)

Typical Chinese toddler. Those Chinese are hard workers!

Our best Chinese photo poses.
This is our friend Jade, she is a terrible card player.
A common sight from our time in Nanning: bottomless coffee, cards, and lots of friends.
Oliver got attacked by a electrical metal Chinese fan. Not to worry, his disc skills are nearly unaffected.

-Josh

WHAT WE UPTO!!!

2009-03-16T15:53:00.002+07:00

Well America, and host of nations that read our blog...I'm back, its been Joshy boy for a while, but now Olliwood is back in the blogger game!

We have been in Kunming China the past two weeks, visiting some of my old friends from a previous trip to China that I made in 2006. It has been a great time of pickup football and morning dumplings that are honestly more addictive than most drugs. It has been awesome spending time with Chuck and his family, and for me, these two weeks have been like a semester at school.

We have been honored with the stories of countless years of Chucks life experiences, and the information that we have gleaned is worth so much. Preparation is key when you are in it for the long haul. I now am armed with many legit life stories of failure and success,. Not saying that I have anything close to figured out, but its nice to have the knowledge that someone else has been through a similar situation, and has come out alive! I kind of know what to expect, in a much realer way. The struggles of the modern worker are nothing glorified, its the same thing that everyone everywhere deals with.

So we leave tonight for the city of Nan Ning with a skater we met the other night. He is an awesome guy. I know this because he is currently in the middle of serving a month long pact to wear a full blown suit! Everyday, Everywhere! This week should be a blast, and as soon as we step off of the train in Nan Ning, I expect that craziness should ensue!

If ya could Josh is feeling pretty bad right now, if you could remember him in your thoughts and p, that would be awesome.

OLIVER

2009-03-10T12:43:00.004+07:00

So we have been busy growing beards in China. Oliver has been much busier then I:

Our Contact loves heavy metal music. On a typical evening we eat dinner with his family, then crowd around his computer to watch epic live metal concerts from days of old. He then will pick up his guitar and melt our faces with his shredding abilities!! It has been a great experience hanging with the Lenharts. We helped him clean out his garage the other day and threw away boxes and boxes of cassette tapes. He told us that when he first came over to China (20 years ago) that these tapes were his lifeline. The man loves his Hair Metal! Check this sick jam from 1987:

We are at a weird spot right now, our contact is leaving the country soon here in Kunming, and we are unsure what our next travel move will be. We hope that this weekend doors will be doing some opening and closing. There are many options and travel within China is pretty straightforward because of the train system. We should know by Monday, hopefully.
On another note, I started reading "The Heavenly Man" yesterday. It is quite a read. Intensely challenging and powerfully informing about China. Reading it feels like I am read a modern day book of Acts, and the coolest part is, it is happening now! Tight stuff ya'll.
-Josh

2009-03-04T15:38:00.005+07:00

Meet Giardia:

This has become a close friend of ours in the past couple weeks. I first heard of this cute little parasite in the infamous Keith Gogan Backpacking Class at ORU. Gogan described it as pretty hellish, and he was very correct. Luckily the medication is cheap and works quickly, but we just found it today. In the meantime, we have learned superior sphincter and esophagus blocking abilities.

It has been a while since we posted, we apologize for that, but we have been busy entertaining some friends in our small intestines. We are currently in Kumning, China and the possibilities are pretty rockin'. We are safe, sound, and hanging with the Great White Buddha (as our host has been nicknamed). Here are some photos from Laos:

Sam = stud...unicycle super star and phenomenal human being

Glorious night at the mighty Me Kong river!!!

After a night at the bus station being harrassed by tuk tuk drivers this is what we woke up to

Paul and family at there Center for Streetkids

-Josh

Learning True Religion

2009-02-12T15:06:00.008+07:00

Since Sunday we have been staying at a Children's Home in Chiang Rai. It is called River Of Life Children's Home. From the moment we set foot into one of the buildings we realized that this place was not normal. We were invited into their sunday morning service, and I expected the typical children's service; a service complete with Hillsongs' Kids video worship, a Jesus picture to color, maybe some puppets, loads of candy, and a candy coated message. Not the case at all. Over the next two hours we encountered a worship service filled with passion and excellence. The kids lead the worship and they have a spot on team! Honestly, the best worship band that we have heard in Thailand. That is just crazy the team being all under 21, but these kids just know how to worship. Not only worship, but also teach and interceed. The founders of the home, Pat and Debbie, have been incredibally welcoming to us, and better yet have shared a wealth of wisdom with us.
Not only are these kids some sick warriors for Christ, they are an absolute blast! We went swiming/fishing/noodlin'/muddin' in their pond:

We also got to hang out with two of the dudes' home village, which just happened to be an elephant village! And they drove their elephants, and we hung out with their grandparents, eating sugarcane and other sweets.

This was in my devotional like a week ago, and has been haunting me ever since:
"It is one thing to go on the lonely way with dignified heroism, but quite another thing if the line mapped out for you by God means being a door-mat under other people's feet....Are you ready to be not so much as a drop in a bucket - to be so hopelessly insignificant that you are never thought of again in connection with the life you served?"
- Oswald Chambers from My Utmost for His Highest

I am not at all close to being there, but I am closer then I was two months ago. Especially after being inspired by this 80s classic:

Much Love,
- Josh

Our Time In Mae Sariang

2009-02-07T15:26:00.005+07:00

Our Family...We stayed a whole week with these amazing people!!!

Well it has been a little over two months and, WOW or maybe even holy crap, is all we can really say. We never thought we make it this far, It may sound cliche, but we are just so amazed at all the the things that God has allowed us to do, how much He has worked in us and through us, and has done so much the words can not really describe. He has been faithful, and ever present, provided us wisdom and peace, and showed us how to deal with our circumstances and each other. This is funny, but we were hanging out with this married couple the other day, and they were recently married, and we began talking. It seems that a lot of the challenges that newlyweds come across(concerning each other)Josh and I have dealt with. Not saying that we are married or anything, but we have literally been 30 seconds away from each other at all times for the last +2 months. But God is faithful and amazing things are coming out of our friendship.

SO what have we done and where will we go!!!
We have been in Northern Thailand for almost two weeks now and got to spend some time with a Thai family. It was a great week as we dominated the local basketball court with our amazing American basketball skillzzzzz. We are so thug. Here is a video after a day of battle.

We taught English in a school and got to ask simple questions like..."What is your name," "How old are you," and"What do you think are the major implications of the global economic crisis". It was good times!
We then traveled to Chiang Mai, and met up with some friends of a friend and talked about one of my favorite topics for most of the afternoon...TEXAS. Being local Austinites, good times were had as we talked about Mozarts Coffee, Kirby Lane, and Freebirds...OH FREEBIRDS.
We then met a dude at our guesthouse who invited us to go to Chiang Rai for a worship conference for the youth of the area. We were already planning on going to Chiang Rai to work at an orphanage, so we jumped on the chance to party with some Thai youth!
Next is Laos, and we cant be more pumped. The prospect of a 2 day boat ride to our city is an awesome idea, one of which i can not wait to experience...More to come!!!

Josh's preferred form of transport to and from streetball magic

Over the River and Through the Woods to Rambo's House We Go...That's Right you are Looking at Burma!

To All You Haters Who Said It Couldn't Be Done...Facial Hair is a Total Go

This is Our Squad Ripe after 4 or 5 Consecutive Wins!!!

OLIVER

Pillow Talk

2009-01-31T11:58:00.005+07:00

Ok so me and Josh have lived in the same room for over 8 months now. Needless to say, we know each other very well and know how to push each others buttons. One of the things that Josh really hates is Pillow Talk. I love it and really know that if I push long enough Josh will get really ticked and utter some of the most hilarious phrases in the history of man. I kid you not. Last night after 20 min of Pillow Talk this dialogue was birthed.

Josh- "Dude I hate this"
Me-"HEHEHEHEHAAAAAHHHaAAA"
Josh-"Dude you were that kid at summer camp"
Me- "Of course dude I was MR. Youth Group"
Josh- " No dude you were that kid. You know the kid that i would plays bows and arrows with just long enough to get him to go on the blob with me."

This may be the best fat joke in the history of our friendship. For those of you who do not know me that well, I am, well lets say a lil plump. Anyway watch this video and enjoy a classic scene from the movie Heavy Weights!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Las6RXJKTLE

2009-01-28T12:04:00.001+07:00

New Video Blog:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmpBEBGq4D4

Boys Will Be Boys

2009-01-25T17:25:00.004+07:00

Ok so it has been quite awhile since my last blog post. Sorry bout that, but I was in the trenches battling a very gnarly collapsed lung. It was so brutal, but i survived... Rambo would have been proud. So last week we were in a small town named Ratchaburi and got to teach English, and minister to some Burmese refugees in a little village outside of the town. That was fun, and the kids that we got to hang out with seemed to be really interested in the Gospel, so it was an amazing chance to spend some quality time with some awesome ninos.
http://www.ywamthai.org/ratchaburi/
This next week, we will be traveling to the North of Thailand, leaving Bangkok behind for the last time. It will be weird knowing that we will not be coming back here, as we have made so many awesome connections and have, in a way, made this city home. In the North, we will spend our remaining 3 weeks(ish) traveling around visiting a village(whose name we do not know), Chang Mai, and finally in Chang Rai, before heading on to Laos. It should be a very interesting and packed time. Missing everyone!
Oliver

Here are some videos that we have finally had the time to edit and post. again like the last video these are not for the squeemish so be ready cause BOYS WILL BE BOYS

spiders taste good!!!

umm i just watched the video for the first time and now realize that youtube decided that the dragonforce audio track wasnt worthy of youtube glory so just put in some headphones and rock out to your fav jam while you watch it!

Now here is what we did in Cambodia with an awesome African named Mordegai!
http://mordegai.multiply.com/

Teeth beware, cause Joshua Bibeau got to try his hand and toof yankin!

Contagious Toothaches

2009-01-18T23:25:00.008+07:00

About a week ago Oliver thought he had a collapsed lung, Mordeggi assured him that it was not. Most likely he just sprained a muscle between his ribs. Regardless, it put him in a world of hurt. This world I was welcomed into shortly after Oliver started recovering. Last Wednesday night I thought I had a toothache, Mordeggi assured me that if I had no tooth, it would not ache. Twelve hours later I was one step closer to looking like a professional hockey player. But why not watch it happen:

For those who were concerned during the video, I was very adequately numb, and the hole is closed up. I even chewed some Pad Thai on the left side of my mouth for the first time in around a year. I am keeping the tooth and might put it on a necklace.

We left Cambodia on Friday and stayed in Bangkok near the river closer to the city and the bus station. This was important because Monday we hit the road to go to Rachaburi to work with a YWAM couple there. Rachaburi is famous for the floating market, so hopefully we can view that, with snorkles! We spent Saturday and Sunday in Bangkok hanging with the YWAM crew, going to churches, and on Sunday night we went into some of the "red-light" alleys with a man named Jim that we met at church. Jim organizes The Well and he has one of the most amazing fathering hearts I have ever encountered. We are constantly being amazed and humbled here. Please keep us in your prayers over there! "Do justly, Love mercy, and walk humbly with The Lord your God!" I read that this morning and I love the simplicity of it!

-Josh

From Spinach Lakes to Garbage Mountians

2009-01-11T17:37:00.017+07:00

As our week here in Cambodia progressed Oliver and I kept thinking to ourselves: "How cool is it that we ended up coming here!" What we first thought was going to be a glorified border run, has completely turned divine! The missionary couple from Namibia that we have been staying with has given us so much wisdom and laughs. When asked what their country is like they responded: "Have you seen The God's Must Be Crazy?" That movie being a childhood favorite of mine, I emphatically responded a yes. They have shared much about their lives before, and during their time on the mission field. The last week has been full of some of the best fellowship I have had overseas. They also have two sons: Gideon and Anton, they are totally turbo tots. We babysat them last night, Oliver and I totally out-turboed those boys. But the after effects are hitting us; I have a headache and some swole glands, and Oliver has a lot of bodily problems. This is the first time on the trip we have both been a little ill on the same day, but it's all part of the experience. Come to think of it, Sunday afternoons really are the best times to regain your health, especially when you have a big outreach the next morning. Tomorrow morning we will be waking at 5 am (which is possible in Cambodia, remember they have real coffee), and beating to city traffic to a small village in middle-Cambodia. So please pray that we are in health when we wake tomorrow! Oh, just in case you have never been blessed by "The God's Must Be Crazy", here is a quick clip:

We have visited many orphanages as well as some important Cambodian historical sites in this past week. The NGO (Non-Government Organization) that Mordegi (our contact) is working with has connections with most every orphanage in Phnom Penh. We have gotten to work with three orphanages this week, and played with a lot of ninos. Here are some of the favorite pictures and a video montage of the week from orphanages:

And the baby with the Texas doo rag!

We also got to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and "The Killing Fields." Visiting these two places really broke my heart for the Cambodian people. I understand a myriad more about the current state of this place. Cultural research is invaluable! I am convinced of this more and more every day. I wish I did more before I left the States! To inform yourself f the bloody past of Cambodia watch the below video and be informed:

This is a poem that describes what the Khmer Rouge leaders enacted during their rule. Click the picture to inlarge it.

S-21:

The Killing Fields:We gear up for another week, and much travels. From Phnom Penh to Bangkok to Rachaburi. Keep us in your prayers!
-Josh

Happy News, Year?

2009-01-05T21:45:00.005+07:00

So since last we posted, we have become road warriors once again, or maybe we have graduated into Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hQC3nkftrk&eurl

Anyways, we traveled down to Pattaya. But on the way we stopped by the Detroit of the East (who knew!) and hung out with some good family friends, the Herrmanns:
We stayed up late after the kids passed out and played speed scrabble and Euchre! It was a lot of fun being around people (and teaching them facebook and talking about apple computers) from home even if it was for like 16 hours.

Then it was down to Pattaya. We showed up at this orphanage and it completely broke our hearts what these children have gone through and where they have come from. Pattaya is a much smaller city then Bangkok but the amount of sex industry workers is unbelievable. So you can imagine the backgrounds of these children and the necessity of the work that is being done at the Mercy House. They sent us to the backyard with a weedwacker, extension chord, hedge clippers, and a bucket. The backyard of the home was in bad need of edging and poisonous snakes had begun to sneak into the yard beneath the concrete fence and were making homes in the edge growth. We killed no snakes, but many weeds.

We headed downtown to beat the party crowd, find a guesthouse, and set up our plan for the water bottle distribution center, but ran into some problems. No inexpensive guesthouses were available (who would have thought on New Years Eve in party central, Thailand). By 4:30 we had wondered all over and exhausted ourselves trying to find a place. We were warned by many people about Pattaya. Many missionaries, Thailand residents (foreign and Thai), and even our travel books told us that it was a dark place. And by 4:30 that day, we really felt it. I sat down to eat some KaPaoGai and Oliver and I started sharing what we were thinking and seeing in this place. Oliver couldn't even eat he was so disgusted (okay may he was a little sick). I think I saw more old foreign males on the street then Thai males, and many had a very young Thai girl on their arm, and this is from 2:00 to 4:30 in the afternoon!

I may butcher these statistics so please look them up for yourself somewhere (Google it or something), Thailand's economy is based mainly around tourism. Anyone can see this, it is a beautiful place and people should vacation there. But of those tourists 62% are unaccompanied males. I don't know how many of those males are involved in sex tourism, but that is a lot of men traveling to a country alone. I hope there is a group somewhere in internetland that is Thailand Tourists Against Sex Trafficking or a group along those lines (again Google it or something). We made the decision that because of the atmosphere, tiredness of our bodies, lack of a room, weirdness of stomach, and a funny feeling in our spirit, that it would be best to get back to Bangkok. We did and both were fast asleep when the clock struck 2009. Now, five days into the new year, I am in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Crazy days it has been. We went taxi, to train, to tuk-tuk, to foot, to bus, to taxi, to tuk-tuk, to moto, to foot, and to new contact! We met lots of great people along the way, and definitely had some American personal space boundaries broken. This is us in a Thai tuk-tuk, with Rob from Oklahoma:

Cambodia is a very different place from Thailand, mainly Cambodia has real coffee; being a French colony at one point coffee and bread are abundant. Cambodia is very behind its economically booming neighbor, but we are taking to this place quite well, even driving around in it at night:
We met some friends at church and our contact convinced us to just take the car and meet them. We got wildly lost, but Oliver felt like he was back behind the wheel of old Mother Mayleye. Gotta love Toyota Camry hatchbacks (Oliver's 1994 & Mordegi's 1985!)

This is Mordegi, he is one of the most hardcore guys I know. We are living in the upper room in his house and it has been a blast. This is basically what goes on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD2CnLL8WnE

Yes, and after some muddin' he sets up a medical clinic in a village, and shares the Gospel. Since we don't know how to do medical stuff, we mostly play with kids and help him get organized:

We even tried to organize a game of baseball (with a stick and what looked like petrified cow dung), we failed, but the kids had a blast.

Oliver and I have this ongoing competition over who's home schools have more apparel in Asia. So far Texas Longhorns: 2, Michigan Wolverines: 0... It is just that type of year. No one, even in the 3rd world, wants to rep U of M!
Alright till next time, we love you guys! And please keep praying. And, to our moms...we love you!

-Josh

New Video Blog

2008-12-29T09:40:00.001+07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbcGrywIH30

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T14:50:00.003+07:00

New video Blog:

Well its Christmas here in Bangkok, and of course we miss everyone. We plan on being up very late and running out of skype credit, but it will be well worth it just to be able to talk to all of you our faithful crew.
As you can tell by our pictures it is freezing here in Thailand, several feet of snow have fallen and we are snowed in! Can you hear the sarcasm. The only thing white about this Christmas is the salty sweat stains on our sweet Tulsa tank tops that we wore everyday while working in the balmy south of Phuket, google it its gorgeous!
It is a little weird being out of the country during the holidays, but i was actually thinking that when i grow up, ha ya right, that i would make my kids spend at least one Christmas overseas. It would really teach them, and has already taught me, the real meaning of Christmas. Its funny what i miss...its for sure not presents. Its the times spent with family and friends over an amazing meal, not noodles of fire please I'm dying, catching up on whats going on with the fam, and he stupid traditions that only we get.
My extended family does secret santa, and it never fails that something exciting will occur. The best time i remember was one Christmas my cousin forgot to buy my little brother a present. It was so funny, he just grabbes 60 bucks and gave it to him, it ended uop being a hilarious story and turned out to be the most expensive gift given. Then next year we rigged the raffle so that he drew his name again, and he baught him a African American History board game, such a great memory.
Thailand however has braught many amazing memories and experiencies. Last night me and Josh feeling a little nastalgic, watched Charlie Brown Christmas. As we sat there silently attentive, it felt like home, and all was normal in the world!

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!! - Oliver

In case you haven't watched them this season yet:
Charlie Brown Christmas part 1, 2, & 3
Garfield Christmas part 1, 2, & 3

Welcome to Christmas in Asia, this is actually what it feels like over here!!!

Last Two Days

2008-12-24T00:06:00.001+07:00

Monday:

We served some excellent Thai food to an elderly community for a Christmas celebration. Oliver worked as backwait staff, and I got to bust out my server skills. It was a lot of fun. I felt like I was back at my high school job at Fox Run Retirement Community. We joined a YWAM team for the outreach and it looks like we are going to be working with them a bunch in the next couple days.

Tuesday:

While talking on monday with one of the YWAM team members they suggested we visit a temple in order to get a better feel for the nation's spiritual atmosphere. So we jumped on a bus and rode it all the way downtown (1.5 hours).

We spent also of time in silence praying, observing, and journaling while in the grounds of Wat Pho. After walking out of the forty-six meters long and fifteen meter high Reclining Buddha, I was a little shaken up from the intensity of the atmosphere, but Oliver had one thing to say. He said, "Is that the biggest one they got!?" I was glad we went and experienced the temple, it pushes me on much stronger to make known the Good News. Speaking of Good News, while walking in the temple ground we heard some Thais celebrating the birth of Christ:

Then we sat in this for three hours to make it back to the YWAM base for a Christmas Party Outreach.
We have been listening to and singing tons of Christmas carols, and I admit, despite every Christmas tradition I have done my whole life is near impossible here in Bangkok, it is beginning to feel like Christmas.

-Josh

2008-12-22T12:17:00.003+07:00

NEW VID CHECK IT!!!

Since this video really still doesn't want to work, go to our YouTube to view it.

2008-12-19T13:07:00.001+07:00

Well...It has been a crazy first two weeks in Thailand! To give you a lil taste of the craziness we came here having never met anyone, and only having contact with one faceless person. Well two weeks later and we still have not met this hombre, and we have made three other contacts just by Gods providence. Our trip to the south started off with a 12 hour bus ride to Krabi. From there we went to Railai Beach and camped out in a backpacker village, living on mango and sticky rice for two days. We then got onto another bus, four hours this time, and headed to Phuket, one of the areas hit hardest by the tsunami of 2004. We worked with a couple from So Cal, who have been living in a poor part of the island for ten months. WIth them, we practiced the common catch phrase, "Preace the Gospel, using words if you have too." SInce March, the man we were staying with has been clearing out vacant lots of weeds and overgrowth, and cleaning up the roads which were a complete mess. It is an awesome testimony to sweat for the salvation of a community, and it opens so many doors. The simplest forms of ministry can often lead to the biggest breakthroughs. We then went to a small village in Krabi, Thailande worked with a national there by the name of Radt. From her, the biggest thing I learned was that ministry starts in your own backyard. Her father is a local pastor, and his heart turned from the church he started to the poor area behind his house. The government had set up a little projects area, and he has started holding church and childrens services in the community center. We got there and immediately put on two childrens services on Saturday, and then another childrens service on Sunday, then we spoke at the adults service. We also got to pass out Christmas presents to the children thanks to the awesome donations of Operation Christmas Child. From there we went into a village called Au Nong. We stayed with a couple from San Francisco, and they LOVED Muay Thai. God can totally use all of our gifts, and fighting is no exceptoin. Because of their Muay Thai affiliations, they gained access to a Muslim village that is completely closed off to Christianity, but they are treated like family. God can use any of our giftings and our talents to proclaim his name. We then went back to Phuket to clean more streets and clear out more vacant lots. Now we are back in Bangkok after an all night bus ride. What does Father have in store for us...your guess is as good as mine, but I know that it will change Thailand, and shape this country into exactly what God's sovreign plan wants it to be!

- Oliver
This is Dana. He is one dude with an attitude! Five days a week he goes into the community and does yardwork on public land that has been neglected since the tsunami. The other two days he pastors a church, and takes his wife out on a whole day date.
Dana and Cindy are missionaries from So Cal and thats their dog Muttly who totally has three legs. This is Radt...she is rad...so is her dad...dont be mad...be glad!
Heads shoulders knees and toes, knees and toes
First off hilarious in the fact that he was wearin a full outfit of masked rider gear, and i really look like i ate some bad noodles but i didn't.
This is Radt's father, a man that we lovingly refer to as the road warrior. He is an intense man of God, a great pastor, and a pheonominal community leader. He retired from pastoring, but then built a church behind his home so that those living in the government land in his community would have a place to go for church. He also had a sick protective vest that Rhys is striking a pose with while riding on the back of this motorbike-with-a-sick-side-cart.
There is nothing quite like a little red light, green light to re-inforce the good news.
Radt's father, the road warrior, agganged for the children in his community to recieve Christmas presents through Operation Christmas Child. I have been on the side of making these boxes, but it was an awesome experience to see children recieving the boxes.
One of the many photo-ops that the road warrior had us pose for.
When you pack boxes be sure to inculde winner items like this. This little guy wore those glasses for most of the church service and sharing a testimony while looking at that was just plain sweet!
Some missionaries of Muay Thai...super legit and some peeps that you really wouldnt wanna mess with!
We did take some time to hit the beach and saw lots of sun. This was my favorite.
Here's those feet! They have held up so far, keep praying they follow Christ's footsteps.

Road Warriors

2008-12-16T20:58:00.000+07:00

We have been on the road a lot. On our first bus ride to the south this movie played:

Seems fitting... More to come on Friday.

-Josh

2008-12-07T13:33:00.000+07:00

Quick update:

The most epic song about the game of Chess circa 1984 (also about Bangkok!). Also made me laugh a lot!

Last night as I was journaling I was thinking about what I have learned so far and what this trip has been, and a few of the thoughts I had were as follows.

-We got here and I expected to hit the ground running (like most missions trips I have been on), but I found that I couldn't. We arrived on a holiday weekend and the ministries have all been very low key. I was praying about it and asking God what I should be doing, and He communicated to me that I need to not be discontented in the lack of tangible ministry, but to be content and trust that I am in His will. This sent my brain into a lot of thought (could be why I hardly slept last night). I have a feeling that this trip down South is going to be a time where I learn to minister to the Lord, in refreshed ways. In order for the Lord to do His will for this trip I think He needs to do some heart work and then ministry will flow from a fresh heart. Gosh, I feel like it has been such a long time since I have really allowed, or even asked the Lord to truly work on my heart and refresh me. Don't let routine and business make your heart grow cold! I luckly think I have caught mine before it became cool. What an amazing journey Poppa is taking us on!!

-Josh

2008-12-06T22:37:00.000+07:00

Well dadgum, to be honest guys words do not describe all of the thoughts that are racing through my head. I was facebook chattin it up today with a friend back home, and i said " After this trip, I'm gonna be a Man" and i hope i will be. I have already learned so much about myself. Most of it involves me being very fickle and flakey not trusting in the leading of Pappa. But really, God has already given and provided us with so much and i am learning to look at those realities versus dwealing on the unknowns that lay ahead. I have been really thinkin about psamls 23 check it...
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, ^[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

It means so so much having these promises in scripture man i can sleep well with that verse on my heart. Anyway some legistics for you guys. In bangkok till tomorrow night then a 12 hour bus ride to the south of thailand. Man, thanks for everything guys, whether it be prayer or finacnial, all is appreciated.

MUCH LOVE

OLIVER LARRABEE

2008-12-04T16:53:00.000+07:00

Us from Japan!! Turn your volume up, the video is really quiet. We arrived safely and got a flight into Bangkok. Thanks for the prayers. Now much else has happened. I stated reading "Practicing the Presence of God" and Oliver "The Irresistible Revolution." We both journaled a lot on the plane. And strangely all the journaling has made us really greasy and smelly...who knew?

-Josh