2 Months Later

We had many missionary friends warn us that re-entry into life back home would be hard. So in an attempt to give myself some therapy I will try to write about what's going on in my head, heart and spirit.
The first 2 weeks felt totally like being a fish out of water. There were so many questions to answer in regards to our trip that we felt overwhelmed in knowing how to explain what we saw, felt and experienced, and in many ways that is still the case. Cari and I have found it very difficult to pick up were we left off at work, but have managed with the help of our co-workers. The kids overall seem to have taken the transition smoothly and of course have very much enjoyed reconnecting with friends.
Maybe one of the most difficult things for me personally has been how to deal with the pace of life here in the states. It goes much deeper than just being too busy, it is the fact that the ability to go below the surface in relationships in our society is very difficult, because of all the things we put into a day just does not leave the time needed to walk with others.
I also find myself struggling with the stewardship of this life God has given me. Where I spend my time, energy and finances is in serious need of transformation. We have looked into selling our home and questioned what our working roles could or should be. Right now its all up in the air and we pray that we do not interfere in letting it all land firmly in God's hands.
The biggest upfront positive we came back with is a greater love for people and a deeper understanding of community. It is safe for me to say that our relationship with Jesus and others go hand in hand and it cannot be one without the other if we are to live the 'Christian' life.
Please join us in prayer as we desire to be in Christ.
-Kurt

Oh, How Great it Was

When you plan something for couple years it is really easy to build your expectations to a level that just seems impossible to achieve, but in the case of our 4 month adventure we can honestly say that our expectations went beyond our hopes. I have not heard one word of regret from the family and as we all talk with friends and family the memories are so postive and exciting it makes us all want to do it all over again.

This blog will be an attempt from each member of our family to individually summerize what we took away from the whole experience. We have also added the last of our trips pictures (click the title).

Cole

I am glad our family went on this trip. It was a lot of fun. I meet tons of nice people and saw amazing things.
Some of my favorite fun things were the elephant ride in Thailand, waterfalls in Laos, safaris in Africa. The “flying fox” zip line at Victoria Falls was awesome. Seeing old but interesting stuff in Greece. Devotions with the family, card games with the family and missing school.
One family and ministry I enjoyed was friends of the Queensberry’s that ran a school for hill tribe children in northern Thailand. The students had a great time playing and an opportunity to go to school. We got to speak at their devotions and they had lots of questions for us. The school and home is on a green tea plantation. We got to spend the night there and the next day be a part of an Akha engagement party. We ate our food wrapped in banana leaves. It was impressive that two dedicated people, Luca and Ghunn could impact so many children in such a positive way.
I found it interesting that people all over the world can live with so little. I couldn’t do that for 2 days.

Meghan

This trip was a great experience for me. I loved getting to know different people and their cultures. All of them were SO different. Everyone in Asia bowed, while Africans gave you a big hug as if they’ve known you forever. It was also neat to see the difference between tribes and non-tribes. Tribes lived a more simple way as the non-tribes lived more modern. Though there is not much we could call modern in their homes. It made me feel sad to see some of the living conditions, but comforting to know that they were not dissatisfied and they were in God’s hands.

I also enjoyed being with passionate missionaries sharing God’s love to the people. One of my favorite projects was “school on a mat”. A few very dedicated teachers go to different mats and teach kids what they need to know. Those were a few thoughts, but the whole trip was a great experience!!

Jessica

I would like to believe that the last four months were an amazing experience that I will never forget, but the truth is that there will probably be pieces or events that will fade from my memory in time. The trip as a whole though is something that will remain with me forever. There were three continents, eight countries, and numerous cultures and languages that have added to my perspective on life and my character.
Asia was without a doubt the favorite portion of my trip. The culture was great, the people and language fun, and the food amazing; not to mention the warm climate that was particularly favorable. This isn’t to say though that the rest of my trip was not enjoyable, on the contrast I was having fun and enjoying myself wherever I went. I don’t think that I could ever get tired of seeing new things and learning new cultures. I am afraid that if this trip has done anything for me it has certainly given me an itch to travel and see what the rest of the world has to offer.

Cari
I find it hard to believe the adventure is over!! We are back home and grateful for the safe travel and very grateful for our own beds. Our final count had us sleeping in 45 different beds during our 4 months of travel so sleeping on our own beds is a treat!!

We were blessed with a warm welcome from friends and family who left us with loads of food, welcome signs, balloons plus some other fun “surprises” for us to discover.

Trying how to write a wrap up of the trip was difficult and I will not be able to do all the amazing experiences justice in writing about it so I am going to write about the emotions of the trip. Those of you who know me well will be surprised at this theme as emotional is not usually an adjective you might use to describe me but I am going to take a stab at it nonetheless.

Excitement- number one emotion of the trip. Every new country, town, village, place was just plain exciting to me. A new place to explore, new people to watch, new customs, dress, food, language, smells I could go on and on...it was an overload to the senses in each new spot we were at.

Amazement at the natural wonders we saw. The Mekong river, picture perfect waterfalls in Laos, the beaches and fish in Thailand, the amazing Masai Mara and the animals we saw, the hippos and leopard in Zambia, Victoria falls, everything about Greece and the peaceful green countryside of Ireland. God has truly created an amazingly beautiful world for us to live in!

Gratefulness over and over we would find ourselves just so grateful for the people and the hospitality that were shown to us along our trip. All the people that hosted our family, guided our family, feed our family helped us with our plans, showed us around, strangers that visited me in the hospital. All the World Concern staff in Asia and Africa for taking the time to show us their important work. The Quesenberry’s and the Davy’s for hosting us in Thailand and Laos. The Moyers in Zambia for hosting our family for 4 weeks and for all the amazing fun times we had with them. The Allens in Lusaka that hosted strangers and our gratefulness at finding new friends in them. And all our friends and family back home that covered us in prayers for safety and well being. Gratefulness for my co-workers at CRISTA that stepped in to cover my job so well so I could take this trip and to Kurt’s business partners that supported this idea so we could go. Gratefulness to God that we could be so blessed to have this adventure in the first place and for his protection all along the way. Gratefulness that I could have this adventure with my kids and for the awesome family time and memories we made!

Anger this may seem like an odd emotion to describe and not one I usually have but many times throughout the trip I found myself being angry with what I heard or saw. Listening to the real life descriptions of the lives that young girls in Thailand had to endure while they were being abused; anger at the reality of a young boy dying over lack of $10 for proper malaria treatment and drugs in Laos, anger at governments in Kenya that allow its people to languish in refuge camps without enough proper water, food or plan for returning them to their homes, anger at the choices individuals make that bring the devastation of AIDS to their home and to their children and spouses. Anger at visiting an orphanage and seeing bare food cupboards due to a shortage of funds. And most of all anger at the hugeness of the problems and the frustration of feeling that the needs are so huge.

Hope for these people and problems that does exist. It was shown to us over and over in the people that God has called to the far ends of the earth to help in his name. The hope that you see when a community receives an accessible well of clean safe water. Schools being built in areas where children didn’t have a school. Homes and boarding schools that are run by Godly men and women in Thailand to minister to young girls that have been forgotten by society. Missionaries that are working hard in Africa to equip and raise up local pastors and leaders in their communities to reach those who need hope. Teachers that are committed to education whether it be on a mat in Cambodia or a one room school house with the barest of supplies in Kenya. Time and time again we saw needs on this trip, big needs that were being responded to in the best way possible by organizations and amazing individuals that are being faithful to God and committed in their serving of all the people on this earth.

So now that we are home we will sort out what God would have us do with our experiences, our memories,our new relationships and our emotions from this trip and hopefully not move back into “life as normal” Thanks again for all the prayers and support!

Kurt

Considering that all along the way I have been blogging many of my thoughts and experiences I will keep my comments now short.

What I have taken away from this journey personally is that God loves us and our greatest calling is to love others. This was shown through His amazing creation and through the people along the way we witnessed living their lives for others. Today more than ever I believe God's kingdom is now and that we will find our joy in sharing life together with others. My hope is that our lives will be changed forever.

Were Back

We made it back home safe and tired Saturday night. Now its time to get back to our daily lives. This simple blog post is simply to say "thank you all for your prayers and encouragement". We promise to write a final post soon regarding an overview of our experiences and add the last of our pictures from Ireland.
-Kurt

Finding the Abundant Life

It has been 109 days, 7 countries, and a thousand new experiences since our family began our travels we have titled ‘Campbell’s World Tour’. We have had the adventure of a lifetime and have seen and partook of so many different experiences that it will take years to revisit most of these memories.
We had set out on this journey to see how the other half of the world’s population lives and to witness what God’s children are up to in these third world countries. From the get go we took an attitude that we would learn from others in hopes of broadening our perspectives. So what have we learned? RELATIONSHIPS MATTER! If there is one thing people in poverty excel at it is the ability to be in community and that has really opened our eyes in how we view life.
At the end of a day our family will often discuss and give thanks to the Lord for what we thought were the highlights of that day. Time and time again it was the people we engaged life together with. These people, whether they be new or old friends have paved our way throughout this trip with their time, homes and prayers. Our family has witnessed what it is to be ‘Christian’ and we have received with thanksgiving the generosity of so many. Without a doubt the greatest gift Jesus has passed down to us while we live this life is the gift of being in relationship. It is through relationships that we have the opportunity to really enjoy an abundant life.
My prayer is that those who have followed our adventure will grow in their love for Jesus and will express that love by the way in which they care for others.
-Kurt

Greece So Far…

We have seen our share of ancient ruins, visited several museums, and walked on the original Olympic Games field. We have driven hundreds of miles over breathtaking mountain passes and valleys filled with olive trees. We have walked through the monasteries of the sky (my personal favorite) and hiked to the cave of Nestor. We have enjoyed it all, and now we find ourselves happy to be in the same place for an entire week near the town of Pilos in the S.W. corner of the Peloponnese. This means we can enjoy breakfasts from our deck overlooking the spectacular bay and enjoy time at the pool without any need to hurry here or there. We have already taken some great hikes and day trips to nearby attractions including a 19 acre fort from the 1800’s we were able to walk the walls of.

Time is moving on and Meghan turning 13 tomorrow reminds us just how fast the clock is turning. With less than 3 weeks remaining I can say that I look forward to embracing family and friends and working once again alongside my co-workers.

-Kurt

Our Big Fat Greek Traffic Ticket and other things

Hey everyone-
Our journeys continue we are in Greece and loving it!!! We had a really long travel day last Sunday but were blessed by no delays and really good airlines and service. It was our first experience on an Emirates air flight- amazing plane, real service, leg room,really good food and all the movies, music, and video games you could want. It seems like airlines in America would like us to believe that this type of service is just not possible in today's day.....I think not! Our media deprived family lost a lot of sleep watching movies and playing games. After a relaxing 3 hour nap laying on the airport floor in Dubai we arrived in Athens 24 hours after we started in Lusaka.

We had a slight delay at the rental car counter but soon enough found our weary selves behind the wheel of a car in yet another country. We drove the 2 1/2 hours to Delphi incident free. We found the village of Delphi to be postcard perfect. Small little winding streets, lots of cafes and our room looked down over the gulf of Corinth far below. We enjoyed two nights there and a day exploring the ruins.

I wont bore you with a play by play of our five days so far in Greece but we have seen amazing things and find the country beautiful! We have put over 700 miles on our rental car seeing the back roads of Greece. Yesterday we explored the ruins of ancient Olympia and it was amazing.

Oh...about that traffic ticket....Kurt has had the experience of getting to know police officers now in 2 continents, unlike Zambia where a bit of under the counter extortion money solved our problem our Greek officer friend was a bit more by the books and issued Kurt a 400 euro ticket for crossing a double white line to turn into a spot where we could consult the map. We find this quite bizarre as we have rarely encountered more aggressive non law-abiding drivers then here in Greece. We regularly get passed like we are standing still going 30 km over the speed limit, and this in front of patrol officers. We see other drivers cross double white lines to pass, turn etc....so we are a bit bitter.....maybe our large rental car sticker on the back of the car had something to do with it????? anyway turns out we only have to pay half which is still quite significant but much less painful.

We will check in again soon.
-Cari

Zambia Recap

Our past 4 weeks have included the following adventures:

• We have spent the night in 12 different places (camping included)
  
• Personally driven over 2,000 (not always easy) miles
• Visited a game park where we saw hippos up close, croc's take down two Pukas (like a deer), and spotted a rare leopard
• Kurt preached at a small church in Malawi
• Played in 2 different lakes in 2 different countries
• Visited a orphanage filled with hope where Cari and Meghan were able to supply some of the things they desperately needed
  
• Kurt attended a 3 day pastors conference for Grace International Ministries
• In Livingston Meghan and Kurt did the 'Gorge Swing' (I'm going to die type of thing) while Cole did the flying fox (see photo).
  
• We visited the amazing Victoria Falls

We never really stayed still for too long and good times were had by all. Of all the fun and crazy things we did I would have to say watching Meghan and Cole play from morning till night with the Moyer kids and whoever else happened to be around was the highlight for me as a dad. In fact I would have to say that once again the people we have met and shared life with during this trip have given us the very best of times.
-Kurt

P.S. We are having picture download issues, so therefore not much to look at.

A New Perspective

At a recent pastors conference in Zambia I was fortunate enough to meet a college student/missionary from Cameroon named Joseph. It did not take long for the two of us to engage in a discussion regarding 'western' and 'eastern' views of Christianity as it refers to Africa.
Joseph shared with me that the wave of western missionaries to Africa some 50 years ago taught a Christianity that seemed totally opposed to what it means to be African. His most compelling point was that in the west we teach that a relationship with Jesus Christ revolves all around the individual where in Africa everything is centered around community. He went on to make a statement that will forever be etched upon my mind. Joseph said " An African would rather go to hell in community than to heaven alone".
I would like those who are reading this blog to dwell on that statement and use the book of 'Acts' in the New Testament to help guide your thoughts and opinions. I believe like myself you may find a breath of fresh wisdom.
Thank you Joseph for drawing me closer to Jesus.
-Kurt

We Are Alive

We are in Zambia at a game park today ready to make the 12 hour cross country trip back to Kabwe, Zambia. This has been an amazing adventure. We have traveled into Malawi and have visited many of the ministries Grace International is a part of. We never seem to lay our head in the same place for more than 2 nights. I wish I could write more and post some pictures, but the internet is poor and rare in these parts.
With Praise to God!
Kurt

One of the Best Days of Our Lives!!!!

Our time in Kenya was a whirlwind and I can say without a doubt we all could have spent much more time there! We have made our way now to Lusaka, Zambia and are having a relaxing day with our new friends Steve and Stephanie Allen and their beautiful family. It has been a good day to stop and take a deep breath and reflect on the past week.
Last Tuesday found us in Narok, Kenya. It was a few hours’ drive from Nairobi and a world away. We started our day in the World Concern office meeting staff and being part of devotions. The worship singing was amazing and something we would all do better to start our day with.
We hit the road to see World Concern projects in the nearby area. It was our first taste of the beautiful wide open land of the area. Not long after leaving town we saw our first zebra- a lonely one by the side of the road, our excitement was amusing to the people with us and we found out why later in the day. We also saw some giraffes and we were able to hop out of our vehicle to get a closer look (and lots of pictures!)
We visited a school that World Concern has helped start and grow. The enthusiastic welcome we received from the children was incredible; they were especially interested in our kids and just touching all of us. They preformed an impromptu concert with singing and dancing and lots of smiles, it was a great treat for all of us.
We next went to a nearby area where World Concern has started a bank (actually more like a credit union) and also a school and water well. The surroundings were beautiful and the Maasi people were fascinating. We were welcomed inside a Maasi hut which is really hard to describe even after being there, needless to say it was nothing like we had ever seen. The family was very welcoming and gracious at having such a large number of unexpected American guests on their doorstep. They were very interested in us, especially Meghan. One young man was so interested in fact that he asked Kurt for her hand in marriage which we all thought was quite funny (all of us except Meghan!)
Returning back to the main road we had an unexpected safari experience. We found ourselves driving overland through large herds of zebra, wildebeest, ostrich, some hyenas, tons of gazelle etc….and it was all to ourselves. Getting stuck in the mud only added to the experience. It was so cool to be in that space with all those animals and the beautiful surroundings- and we could see why that one zebra by the side of the road earlier, although very exciting because it was our first sighting, was nothing compared to all we saw by the end of the day!
Combining what we saw that day of the World Concern work and how God is using them to improve the lives and communities of the people in that area along with the interaction we had with the school children and the bonus safari- it truly made for one of my favorite days ever!!
The combination of smiling school children, unexpected safaris, and seeing God’s work truly made it one of my best days ever!!
-Cari

Please Help

This past week our family has been in Kenya visiting the work of World Concern. As many of you know this past January civil unrest broke out in Kenya during the presidential elections, unrest that left over 1,200 people dead and hundreds of thousands without homes. Today there are roughly 350,000 displaced people living in 153 camps throughout Kenya. World Concern manages 5 of these camps making sure that such things as water, food, shelter, sanitation, child education and health care is being provided. On top of all that World Concern is working alongside these people and the government to bring about reconciliation and compensation for the loss of their homes, businesses, farms and in some cases loved ones.
The road to reconciliation will take some time, but I found great hope among these homeless people, hope that comes from the outpouring of others caring for them in their time of need. Unfortunately the financial burden of running these camps for nearly 3 months has had its toll on World Concern, and unless they can raise more money soon the camps will be closed by the end of April. Closing these camps would be devastating. I feel fortunate enough to have been here during this time of great need, because I can now share this need with others and help raise the $8,000 a month it costs to run these camps. I can only pray that the Lord will lead many and that the pictures I have attached will tell more of the story.
For those so willing to give I ask that you make your gift to World Concern and specify ‘Kenya Camps’. For more info regarding World Concern please use the link in the right column of this blog
With Much Hope,
Kurt

P.S. Our family has so many stories to share and so little internet time. We promise to keep everyone posted when we can.

Living it Up

I feel a little guilty even showing the pictures of where we have been staying the last few nights. After 4 nights of getting our blood sucked out by killer mosquitos at the last place we decided that for Cari's birthday we should up the ante a little and stay somewhere nice, but this was not going to be easy. First of all it's high season and second of all I'm cheap. Well when Cari gets motivated she can do almost anything as I am finding out. She marched into a 4 star hotel that was being opened that day and realizing they had no customers yet cut a great deal that allowed our family to stay in one the nicest places we could find in Krabi. Maybe she should be selling cars???
Our visit at Orchid Resort was simply amazing. We were their first guests and the whole place was ours. They even set up a table at the pool for Cari's birthday as if it was national holiday; presenting her with flowers and a birthday cake.
Monday we left for cheaper but still nice accomodations just down the road. They have a sea kayak that the guests can use free of charge so Meghan and I took a 2 hour journey to a private cove. We had a great time together and made it back before the lightening and rain storm hit hard. Well all in a beach day. Enjoy the pictures and try not to resent us.
God Bless,
Kurt

Counting My Blessings

Its Easter Sunday and I can’t think of a better way in remembering the sacrificial love of my savior Jesus than by counting my blessings. This trip to start is an answer to prayer. It is almost unbelievable how many things had to be put into place to pull off a 4 month trip around the world with a family of 5. There is so much to be thankful for I will simply make a list hoping to touch on some of my praises to God.
 I praise God for Cari, my partner, friend and wife
 I praise God for my children Jessica, Meghan & Cole
 I praise God for my brother Craig’s support in running the business while I’m away
 I praise God for the love of grandparents for my children
 I praise God for the many people in ministry overseas who have opened up their homes and given of their time to our family
 I praise God for the prayers and encouragement of so many friends
 I praise God for my co-workers
 I praise God for the medical treatment Cari received
 I praise God for the finances to make this trip possible
 I praise God for opening my eyes to the day to day lives of people in third world countries
 I praise God for intense family time that has revealed some of my shortcomings
 I praise God for giving me the time to just be and see from another perspective
 I praise God for His amazing creation and all the beauty we have beheld
 I praise God for His love for mankind and how it is demonstrated through others
I have one short story to add to my praise. Yesterday Cole and I took off in the morning for a day of rock climbing at the famous Railey Beach limestone rocks. Our time together was off the charts. To see my son climb 75 meters up a rock wall and really give it his all was something to see. I realized that even though as a family we do almost everything together that I rarely do the one to one time which is so badly needed with my kids and with Cari. Needless to say it was a day of praise.
To God be the Glory,
Kurt

Sunburnt beach bum by Cole

These last two weeks were full of fun. We went to the beach snorkeling, swimming and hanging out. I went rock climbing with my dad. I have been able to play with monkeys.
The beach in Phuket was great for snorkeling. It took me a while to get used to using the snorkel. It was a long swim to get to the rocks where the fish were. I went with my mom. I saw all sorts of different fish. There were really long fish that were dull except for colorful fins. I saw yellow and white and black fish and schools of tiny silver fish. It was a lot of fun. The water was warm and turquoise. It was really hot outside and we got sunburnt like nobodies business. We spent time indoors at a big mall where we saw a movie, Spiderwick it was a good movie. It was nicer to see a movie in Thailand, it was a really clean theater, you got to choose your seats, popcorn and m&ms and drinks only cost 99 baht which is just $3.00. It was nice to kill time in an airconditioned room.

We moved to a different town called Krabi, the beach area is Ao Nang. The town is nicer because you don't have to run across streets for your life from the traffic. The beach is not as good the water is cloudy. The good part about the beach here is that there is monkeys at the end of the beach. They live there by a stream and you can buy bananas and peanuts to feed the monkeys. They grab the food from your hand and jump on you.

I went rock climbing with my dad today. We took a long tail boat to a big rock climbing area Railay. Then we put on our gear. We got a harness, climbing shoes and a bag full of chalk for our hands to make us climb better. It was my first time climbing a real rock. It was fun, once you got on the top it felt like you conquered the rock. I did 4 climbs.

Our last couple weeks in Thailand have been a great time in Thailand!

Sun, Malls and Taxis

Have we said how hot it is here? It has been a cooker and yes I realize there are hotter places and that my poor friends back home would love some sunshine their way, but this heat is not for me and by looking at Meghan and her sunburn I think she would agree.
We are currently finishing a week at the beach in Phuket, Thailand before we head to Krabi to visit some World Concern projects carried over from the Tsunami disaster. The place we are staying is nice, but their advertising is a little misleading when they say the sands of the beach are at our doorsteps. Its actually a 25 minute walk on a busy, no sidewalk street, which is why we take taxis everywhere. With a family of 5 a Corolla size car is pushing the family personal space issue, but these taxis have air conditioning and is better then walking so we focus on that.
When we do arrive at the beach its beautiful, especially when you look at tropical blue water and the beautiful white sand and not the crowded beach of topless and speedo wearing Europeans that find way too much personal freedom in their retirement years for my liking.
After our first day of roasting ourselves to a nice shade of lobster red we take the tight fitting taxi to a bigger town for Cari's follow-up blood test at the hospital. Within an hour Cari has had the blood work done (everything looks good)and results sent to her doctor in Bangkok for the whopping total of $16. We then go to the nearby mall to enjoy 2 hours of aimless walking in the midst of air conditioning.
The rest of week takes on the same routine. One day getting fried at the beach, and the next finding something to do in a cooler environment. We did get some snorkel gear and have had a blast swimming with the kids and looking at the fish. Jessica for the most part has stayed in the shade and read any book she can get her hands on, making her reading habit as costly as our daily taxi service.
I have to confess this week has been the hardest. With no clear focus and so much downtime I am really at a loss. I miss work or at least a sense of purpose which is a sad state I realize when I have my amazing family by my side.
-Kurt

Cambodia

Last week I went to Cambodia with my dad, brother and sister we left my mom in Bangkok National Hospital.
The trip there was not too bad, three hours in a van. We had a long wait at the border. We were busy the whole 4 days there visiting some really awesome ministries. I will tell you some of what Cambodian Hope Organization is doing in Cambodia. The first day we visited six schools on a mat that C.H.O. has started. I helped pass out school supplies to the students and the teachers. Kings’ Children’s Center students raised money to buy these and we delivered them to all 6 schools. At the school I also blew up balloons, sang songs like “Father Abraham “ and the “hokey pokey” with all the kids. It was fun and the kids really enjoyed it. The students also preformed songs for us. I took lots of pictures.
The students at the school had very little, just a notebook and a pencil. They had school outside on a tarp. There was a white board but nothing else. There was not even a bathroom. The kids went to school 2 hours a day five days a week. The teacher goes to 4 different schools everyday to teach for 2 hours at each school. The teachers are very dedicated
My favorite thing I saw was the community house. C.H.O. has built this home for Cambodian children that have been in really bad situations across the border in Thailand. The people at C.H.O. work with them, their families and their villages so that they can go home again. While we were there visiting we were able to play a lot with the children. I had a couple girls that stayed by me and we played duck, duck, goose and other games including a banana song I just learned that day.
I really like C.H.O. and what they have done to take care of their people. We were tired, dusty and hot everyday but enjoyed seeing and doing what we did.

~Meghan

A Week in Review

This past week has brought more than we could have imagined. Cari going for a 6 day stay at the hospital here in Bangkok ranked #1 for family excitement, but there are a few other nuggets to share as well.
The kids and I said "goodbye" to Cari and left Wednesday morning for the 3+ hour drive to the Cambodia border so we could spend 3 days with 'Cambodia Hope Organization' in the city of Poipet. What an amazing ministry run by christian nationals. They are involved all over Poipet helping vulnerable children and their communities. Meghan will be posting her comments about the 'School on a Mat' program and some insight on her views so I won't go into too much detail.
Poipet is the most desperate place so far on this trip I have witnessed in regards to living conditions. Poverty is everywhere and yet the whole boarder of this city facing Thailand is filled with the lies of luxurious casinos. I believe the saddest thing I saw was the viewing of a cartoon to grade school children on how to look out for adult predators. Its almost unreal that a 5 year old would need to see this video, but yet again I am thankful that the C.H.O. team was showing it, because the problem is real.
We returned Saturday afternoon to our guesthouse in Bangkok to find Cari waiting for us. What a blessing to see her walking around and in much better health. The doctor said she will need 2 follow up visits this month for blood work, but gave the green light for travel, so we are off tomorrow to lay on a beach or by a pool on the island of Phuket for 5 days.
Once again on behalf of our family I want to thank everyone for their prayers, because they have been heard and answered.
-Kurt
P.S. Cole and Jessica have not started a life of crime as the picture above may suggest, but rather were keeping the dust and smoke of Poipet out of their lungs as we drove much of the time in the back of a pickup.

Update

Well I think of all the times I have wished for a little peace and quiet in my life...and this was not one of them, I guess you need to be careful what you wish for!!

It is Thursday morning here at Bangkok National Hospital and my condition continues to improve- so much that I feel way to good to be in the hospital! If it were not for the middle of the night check ups and being a human pin cushion I could almost be fooled that I was relaxing in a lovely hotel. (oh..and the fact they won't let me leave my room and the food and...) anyway I am trying to feel as if I were on a vacation in nice hotel room.

The care I am receiving has been excellent and I have two very good doctors that are being cautious and conservative with my situation. I am hopeful of being released on Saturday and being cleared to continue to travel with a few precautions. In Meghan's words they are waiting until my "blood is like skim milk instead of chocolate milk". That analogy was totally lost on my doctors here but I thought it was cute. In the meantime I will continue to catch up on my Thai soap operas and read the books that Jessica scrounged up at the guesthouse for me.

Kurt and the kids continued with our plan and are in Cambodia now. Today they are visiting the Cambodian Hope Organization School on a Mat program and will deliver the school supplies the kids and families at King's Children's Center were able to provide. They have promised to take lots of pictures for me! They will return to the Bangkok area on Saturday and we will continue from here to South Thailand when I get the green light.

I really appreciate all the prayers, email and well wishes so many of you have sent this direction. There are many more positives then negatives and I feel very blessed to be able to say that!

Different Stories

This article is about 2 people that shared 1 similarity and that was they both faced life threatening health issues if not properly treated; outside of that fact their lives could not been more different.
The first person I wish to tell you about is my wife Cari, who along with our family has been visiting Thailand and Laos for the past 4 weeks. On Sunday the 2nd of March Cari confided in me that her right calf was causing her a great deal of pain and that it had steadily gotten worse over the past 48 hours. After a quick discussion we decided to visit a hospital within walking distance of our guesthouse in downtown Bangkok. Within 3 hours the doctors had already performed their first test on Cari which confirmed her suspicion that it was a blood clot. She was instantly admitted and has been cared for with great results. She is to expect a full recovery and will be released God willing this Saturday. Without a doubt a community of doctors and prayer warriors have come to the aid of my wife, and we as a family are truly grateful.
Well the second person I wish to write about is a 1 year old boy named Lem from a small village in Southern Laos. Lem was found by World Concern staff about a week ago on the floor of his home surrounded by family mourning his upcoming death. Lem was losing the battle against malaria. The story does not end or start there. A week prior to this Lem was in a medical clinic getting some basic treatment that seemed to be making a difference. With the hope of Lem's recovery and the fear of a $10 medical bill Lem's parents sneaked their boy out of the clinic and back home. Unfortunately Lem relapsed without the necessary treatment and 2 days after the World Concern staff rushed Lem back to the hospital for care he passed away.
The reason I tell these two stories side by side is to bring some clarity to our world of the have's and have not's. I realize that Cari will be fine because of our finacial resources and an education that enabled her to diagnose a problem and know how to get help versus Lem's family that had no understanding about how their health care system worked (the government would have written the cost of care off) nor the means to raise $10 bucks. In 2 Corinthians 8:13-15 Paul talks about giving until there is equality and then in 1 John 3:16-18 it is written that we are to die for our brothers and give away our material possessions to those we see in need. These passages talk of what it means to follow Jesus and live a sacrificial life. I pray that Lem draws me one step closer to a life that reflects that of my Savior.

Blood Clots and Praises

Cari on Sunday night was admitted into the Bangkok National Hospital. She had severe pain in her right leg and recognized that it could possibly be a blood clot. The test confirmed her suspicion and she now faces up to 10 days in the hospital. Now for the great news. The hospital is 1 block from the guesthouse we are staying at and has all the medical 'know how' and medicine to treat her (had we still been in Laos she would have been in deep trouble). By Cari recognizing the type of pain early she avoided the danger of the clot reaching her lungs.
God has been with us every step of the way and by all means this should be viewed as a praise to Him for His continued goodness and a reminder to all of us of we take for granted. Please give thanks to God and ask for peace and comfort for Cari.
-Kurt

Planes, Trains and Automobiles and everything in between

It is hard to believe but we have been traveling for a month now- Time here has gone by way too fast and I find myself thinking if the rest of the trip goes this quick we will be home too soon!
When I think about the last month what stands out is all the really amazing things we have seen and that despite it being difficult at times I am thankful we have traveled from place to place the way we have.
Let me see.... since arriving we have traveled by Big plane, little plane, taxi, limo van, overnight train, tuk tuk, jumbo, slow boat, car, elephant, regular bus, the bed bus (yes, that is what it is...a bus filled with bunks for overnight travel- really quite funny) Traveling in all these ways has allowed us to really see real life off the tourist track here in SE Asia- and with the exception of the 9 hour bus trip from Luang Prabang to Vientiane (LOOOOONG trip on a not so air-conditioned bus, up and down moutains the whole way with a driver who thought he was Mario Andretti or something) I have loved every one!

We are back in Bangkok now after our time in Laos. We traveled almost the length of Laos on buses of some sort. We had a great time in Vientiane with the Davy's despite the slight interuption (see previous post) then headed down to Salavan on the overnight bus- the Bed Bus, we had a lot of fun and not a whole lot of sleep. There is one large mattress-like thing at the end of the bus that sleeps five- five seemingly very small people-not larger people with legs-but it worked well for our family- we piled on and giggled for a long time- I can not imagine sleeping like that if a stranger was next to you, but all over the bus people just piled on and fell asleep.

In Salavan we were fortunate enough to go see a World Concern project in a village a couple hours out of town. After 2 hours or so of bumpy dirt roads that you shared with water buffalo, families of pigs, roosters, dogs and goats we arrived at the village. It is really outside of my abilities to accuratly describe all we saw and how fasicnating it is too see the life in the village and along the way. The village has no electricity or running water and two latrines for the 58 families. The latrine we used shared space with hens laying their eggs, imagine my surprise! We were able to be part of a community meeting where they told us (through an interupter) how World Concern projects has changed their lifes. They now have a medicine box for use by the villages, a rice bank, a school and a small loan/micro-finance bank that is used by the villagers for starting small business ventures. Seemingly simple things but life changing for them.

The houses were mostly one room thatched huts set high on stilts with the families animals living underneath (and in some cases inside) The villagers prepared a meal that was quite lavish by their standards and showed us around.
The kids in the village were shy but warmed up when we handed out candy and Kurt started taking pictures and video and showing it back to them, we learned that it may have been the first time some of them have seen something like that. I had so many questions to ask and really wish that we all spoke the same language!

Overall my impression is that although they live a simple life beyond our imagination the kids were well cared by moms and dads and extended family, there was a lot of pride shown in the way the houses and surroundings were kept and everyone down to the small children worked tremendously hard. All in all these villagers had a brighter exsistance thanks to the efforts of WC staff-

Interruptions Are Part of Life

The sermon I heard last week in Laos was that 'interruptions are a part of life'; meaning that they should not be avoided, but rather seen as part of ones day. It really hit home for me that God and the lives of those around us often come together through the avenue of an interruption.
Last Tuesday our family had a minor interruption when I developed some strange pains that started in my stomach and ended up really making the area around my kidneys very uncomfortable. At the last minute we decided to visit a local doctor who then told our host Francis Davy that I needed to be driven that night back into Thailand for tests. Like a great brother Francis took drove me nearly 3 hours to a great Thai hospital and Shirley his wife kept our family for another night at their place. The kids and Cari didn't mind at all- they really enjoyed playing in with the family and their new puppy.
The hospital ran multiple tests and gave me the best of care. It was the first time I had ever spent the night in a hospital for myself and on a scale of 1 to 10 this was a 10 for hospital visits. It seemed at times more of a 5 star hotel then hospital- what a treat, great service, Francis was able to spend the night there in a connecting room, I was even given a large gift basket full of food goodies and other stuff- definatly not in America anymore! I was discharged the next afternoon with no clear explanation other than I had had a small fever and that most likely the pain was from a small ulcer in my intestine. My guess it was too much spicy food for 3 weeks (I love Thai cooking).
In the end we all felt blessed to have been taken care of by the Davy family and that after 48 hours I was feeling 100%.
-Kurt

How to view our pictures

If you click the title of the post you will be directed to a web photo album of our pictures around the time that posting was put on our blog. So far that exists on our previous 2 postings. Enjoy!
-Kurt

Footloose

After a better than could have ever been expected 2 week stay with the Quesenberry family in northern Thailand the Campbell World Tour headed into Laos, and for the first time we really were on our own.
Our destination was the small city of Luang Prabang, and to get there involved a 2 day boat ride down the mighty Mekong River. Watching the jungle mountains, amazing rock formations croping out of the river, and passing villagers on the shore going about their daily life made this over crowded, bare bone boat one of the greatest trips of our lives. We really felt like we were in the middle of nowhere, as if we had stepped back into time. How anyone could doubt the existance of a god suprises me, because the beauty we took in was nothing less than spectacular.
Well if you were wondering we did make to Luang Prabang and have already enjoyed 3 fun filled days of long walks, cafes and the night market. For the record Cole would say that the night market was to much walking and he has had it with the whole walking and looking thing.
Today was our best family day in Laos as we took a Jumbo, which is a taxi where you sit in a small truck bed and do a top speed of about 35 mph, and headed to a national park that had the most incrediable swimming holes and jungle like waterfalls we have ever seen. Cole suprised us all by running to a rope swing and being the first to swing off a rock into the cool water below.
Tomorrow morning we take a 8+ hour bus ride to Vientiane the capital of Laos. There we will spend 3 nights with Francis Davey, the country manager for World Concern, and his family.
God's hand has been on us and we give Him thanks for answering the prayers of so many on our behalf. We now could use prayers as a family to just be one in the Spirit as everyone is starting to get on each others nerves a little and feeling a little out of sorts.
With Hope,
Kurt

Playing Tourist

Ok, today was all about being a tourist and I have to say our family had a blast. I mean how often do you get to ride an elephant, take a 'long boat' up a river and pose with a 12ft. python. Everyone was wide eyed and smiling ear to ear.

The Quesenberry's were great sports today and have been that way ever since we invaded their lives almost 2 weeks ago. We have seen and experienced so much that we will be eternally grateful for their frienship.

-By Kurt

A Different Kind of Valentines Day

It was a different kind of Valentines Day for me. I found myself in Northern Thailand in a remote Lahu hill-tribe village. The purpose of this two day trip was for Pete and his co-workers at the Mekong Minority Foundation to teach various village leaders/pastors how to properly vaccinate their water buffalo and cattle. The people and setting will make it an experience I will not soon forget.

-By Kurt

Surreal

With just over 1 week into this journey our family seems to be in a little bit of a fog. Everthing seems surreal. We have not stopped moving since we left Seattle and there has been so many new sights, sounds and smells that it almost overloads our minds.

After 2 nights in Bangkok our family took the overnight train to Chiang Mai where we spent 24 hours enjoying the flavor of this ancient city of trade. Pete Quesenberry picked us up the next morning to take us to his house 3 hours away in Chiang Rai. On the way to Chiang Rai we went up a narrow dirt road for about an hour to see a Karen village that Pete has worked with, a beautiful drive and a beautful village, really a fun side trip- we even got a chance to see some rice being planted along the way.

Our time in Chiang Rai has been busy, Pete and Mary being very gracious hosts to our family of five. We went to the Golden Triangle and the Brumese (Myanmar) border. Kurt accompanied Pete on a agricultual training in the village and got to see village life up close. The Campbell family helped a group that was building a church close by for a group of Akha villagers. It was great work for us, no skill needed- we just moved buckets of dirt in a line for half a day. It was fun for the kids as there were a lot of young people from the village helping that they could interact with. Kurt got his first taste of driving in Thailand, on the left side of the road and with a thousand crazy scooters!

We are all enjoying and getting our fill of rice with all sorts of stuff over top of it....most I am not sure exactly what it is but it is all really tasty! We have found the Thai people we meet so friendly and seem to be very amused by us! It is very different being in a place where we have no understanding of the language-thankfully for us enough is written in English and Pete and Mary know their way around and the language.

The kids have been doing great and seem to be taking everything in stride- we are thankful for continued health and safety! We are looking forward to see what God has in store for us this week.

We are here!

Wow- we are here! After 15 hours of plane travel you really feel like you are far away from home. Although when we landed in Hong Kong we could have been back in Seattle to look out the window-cold and rainy!
Sorry to all of you wondering if we arrived safely- we did and have been so busy since our arrival in Bangkok there has been little time for updating the blog.
We had a safe, uneventful albeit long and somewhat tedious plane journey. We were blessed to be brought to the airport in Seattle by friends and picked up half a world away in Bangkok by friends.
First impressions of Bangkok are: Crowded, cosmopolitian, clean, busy, somewhat frentic and very hot and steamy! It also brings new meaning to the the phrase "bad traffic"!
Everyone is healthy and happy and surprisingly well rested as we have had no problem with jet lag and sleeping well.
We leave tonight on the overnight train to Chiang Mai and are looking forward to our train adventure.
More later....thanks for your prayers!

The Rollercoaster Effect by Jessica

You know the feeling, it's the one you get as you wait in line for that huge rollercoaster. It's the most popular ride in the park so you have been waiting in line for hours. You and your friends know exactly when you are going to scream, put your hands in the air, and you have even prepared the perfect silly face for the camera. But as you get closer and begin to really look at the huge drop and listen to the screaming people that butterfly feeling begins in your stomach and you hear all the people screaming as they drop. The clickety-clack of the upward moving rollercoaster seems to pound through your head and you begin to wonder whether this is maybe not the smartest thing to do, and then you've boarded. The suspense kills you as you move upward and all of your common sense seems to have been left back down on the solid ground. Then your falling and that inexplainable high fills you as you float through the ride and when you stop you can't believe it is over. And this happens every time you do it.

If you haven't figured out the metaphor yet this is pretty much how our whole family is feeling. We are all done planning and getting ready and all that we have left to do is dwell on our upcoming adventure and everything that might go wrong. But the best part about all that is after we go up the only place left to go is down and once we get going it's going to be a blast.

24 hours and counting......

Answering a Few Questions

There seems to 4 repeated questions regarding our trip. The first is "why are we going?" I feel our first blog posting answered that fairly well, but the other 3 questions are as follows.

2) What are the kids doing for schooling? Well we are blessed to have a school that thinks this trip is one great education and has given us 100% support. There will be some math and reading, but nothing so much as to make real teachers out of their parents.

3) What are you bringing on this trip? Not much. The picture shows the backpacks each one of us will carry on the plane along with a small handbag. The reason is quit simple; we will be moving about the countries so often that we just didn't want the headache of being bogged down with stuff. It also helps we are spending the first 3 months in a hot climate; so no need for heavy cloths. In all honesty I still can't believe Cari went for this, but after all she did marry me.

4)What are you going to eat? I have to say this question cracks me up, and I am surprised this is one of the most common questions. My only answer to this one is "when we get hungry enough I guess we will eat whatever everyone else is eating".

With only 5 days from take off I am starting to compile an extensive list of my own questions. I feel God is reminding me of what he laid on my heart 3 years ago, which is to simply to go and experience life outside of my comfort zone.

The Process of Elimination

We have had a lot of questions about how we are packing for this trip....well that has been pretty interesting. I prefer to call it “eliminating” rather then packing and the process goes something like this.

Kurt decides for the family that we need to keep it SIMPLE and simple means we travel only with one small size carry-on backpack per person, ( mine being just somewhat larger then my favorite big red purse I manage to fill for a days travel to work and the grocery store and all stops in between) but this is ok I can see the logic in this. Especially if the Campbell family needs to run along the train tracks to swing up onto a fast moving train, ford a fast rushing river or flee from a herd of angry elephants or anything along these lines. I, however, can still picture doing all those things successfully with a somewhat larger sized nice square suitcase on wheels. He is also convinced we can just pick up things we need as we go. I however am skeptical of being able to pick up clothes or shoes made for a slightly generous sized middle aged women with size 10 feet in Laos, Cambodia or Thailand so I prefer to pack what I need.

But I am ok with this...really.....
Sometime late last summer we started acquiring items off the sale racks....(the irony in the amount of money we have spent on preparing for this eye opening travel experience to less developed countries does not escape me!) These must-have items mostly consisting of shirts and pants you can wear continuingly for 4 months that are odor free, bug free, wrinkle free and whatever else free; underwear for all of us that you can wash in the sink or water bottle or whatever else you have handy and will probably dry in 4-7 days in a tropical climate, hats, socks, the perfect hiking/walking shoes, sandals etc...etc....keep piling up next to our backpacks.

Then the day comes when we “practice” packing it all in to the backpacks. Obviously there is no amount of rolling, folding, vacuum packing, or any other creative method that will allow me to have 3 pairs of shoes, any hygienic amount of under things or even close to enough clothes. So we get to the process of eliminating, making choices between my shoes and any clothes for the kids, or underwear and swimsuits (can’t they be the same thing??) or say deciding between bringing deodorant or malaria medicine, snacks or travel information.

After many attempts and some bribery paid out to the kids for space rental in their backpacks I closed my backpack! then I realized, there is no medicine....no snacks.......no bug spray....no gifts for our hosts and hostesses so for now it would appear that I am back to wearing 2 pairs of shoes and 3 layers of clothes on the plane but I am close!!

The good news about our packing is that we are fully aware and very comfortable with the fact that we are not cool. It is an advantage to know this from the start as it eliminates any pressure at all to keep up the appearance of “cool” So remember that if you see me...a frumpy middle-aged women dressed like an Indiana Jones groupie running after a train with my wet underwear hanging out to dry on my backpack that I already know I am not cool so it is ok to laugh!- just doing my little part to tickle the world’s funny bone!

Back to the process of elimination!

The Plan

It is interesting as you start planning a trip like this how God has things fall into place. We had a couple goals in planning this trip. The first goal is to see first hand the awesome things World Concern is doing around the world. Kurt's long time involvment with World Concern has instilled in us a desire to learn more and to experience how World Concern is changing lives in some tough areas. We knew that this would bring us to places outside the normal touristy spots, outside our comfort zone and will open our eyes to how a vast majority of the world lives.
The second goal was simple...we wanted to show the kids (and ourselves) new places, new people, different cultures; maybe even find a corner or two without a Starbucks! After many countless hours spent on Airtreks trying to plan the "perfect" itinerary that would fit in our budget we hit on a great combination.

We will start our trip by visiting SE Asia. We are exicited to travel in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. We will be able to visit many World Concern projects as well as spend time in Chiang Rai with friends Pete and Mary Quesenberry. We will continue our trip in Africa spending a short time in Kenya to see a bit of World Concern's microfinance projects then on to Zambia.We will spend time with friends of ours Dan and Tina Moyer and see some of their work with Grace Ministries. We will end the trip traveling in Greece and in Ireland. All with one little carry on backpack each! ( oops.....more on that later)

So that's the plan....until it changes!

What Are We Thinking

The idea of taking our family on this adventure started with a desire almost 3 years ago to see, and to some degree feel, how other people go about their lives around the world. We have the hope of gaining a greater understanding of the world; the people in it and our place and responsibility to it. This idea has had its share of road blocks. After some initial problems to overcome, mostly concerning work and school the doors to what looks like an amazing adventure have been opened. In the past our family has been fortunate to participate in short term mission trips to various countries, but always felt we were only dipping our toes in the water. Our hope during the next 4 months is to dive in deeper and to come back with perspective greater than the one we left with.So.....we are diving in, the backpacks are bought and almost stuffed, countless hours have been spent on the internet, a small fortune has been spent in immunizations and medicines and off we go........26 days and counting....