http://julielortz.theworldrace.org The Art of Losing Myself Julie Lortz - The World Race 2007 en-us Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:08:40 GMT 30 http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=god-is-on-the-move-in-lakeland http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=god-is-on-the-move-in-lakeland Saturday, May 31: For those who don't know, there has been revival in Lakeland for the past 62 days . Allison, Cristie, Sean and I decided to check out what we have heard so much about. Sunday morning, we packed the car and headed southWorld Race style - no plans. Why am I here? Simple. I want to draw into the Lord. I want to see Him move. I know that He is a supernatural God. But there is this disconnect at times between the truth I know about Him and what I see. I catch glimpses of it, but often, I think I miss it. I want to go where I know He is moving, and Lakeland seems to be the place. I want to be a part of this movementthis movement of our nation and our generation back to the heart of God. I feel like that is happening. I want to corporately join people here in seeking Him. What I expect? I don't know what to expect. I haven't really watched it on GodTV. I've read little pieces here and there. I'm going so I can see and know for myself. And so that I can share it Tue, 3 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=have-you-been-wrecked http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=have-you-been-wrecked If not, I recommend it. Let God wreck you for the poor, or the people you interact with, or the nations, or orphans, or the American church, or human trafficking. Anything really, just let yourself be open to that. He will literally give you His heart, if you ask. And even when you don't, the Lord often has other plans... Here is a story, from Seth Barnes' blog, of how one family was wrecked for the orphans of Swaziland. I was at these same carepoints this past year. It's long, but worth it!Kevin writes: It was a 100 degree day. The drive through the sugar fields was amazing and beautiful. Then as we left the paved roads and passed through the sugar fields to the land behind the facade, it was a dry parched land. Kriek told us as we were driving there it was the only truly God-forsaken place she had ever been. You thought she was exaggerating until you pulled up and saw it. A mud hut they called the kitchen where the GoGos cooked for the 120 orphans at that care poi Fri, 23 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=how-do-you-measure-a-year http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=how-do-you-measure-a-year How do you measure a year in the life? Some would say in love, in miles, in laughs, in journeys, in truth learned, in tears cried. I have attempted to share what I have learned this year. Surely I haven't covered everything. And some of this I probably knew before, but now I know at a deeper level - I know it in my core. And some of this I am still learning. Life is a process. But God is faithful to see that to completion. I hope this tells you a little about my year and maybe it sparks something in you. Perhaps you have already learned this, perhaps God is teaching you now, maybe it won't make sense until you experience it yourself. [TRUST] -Regardless of how things may seem to my limited view, God is in everything. Nothing happens outside of Him. God is completely sovereign. He has taught me a lot about trust this year. [AUTHORITY] - We are sons and daughters of Christ and as such we have an authority that can move things; break strongholds, bring freedom, build things. We rarely Sat, 3 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=you-know-youre-a-world-racer http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=you-know-youre-a-world-racer - Your least favorite animal is the rooster. - You have trouble remembering what side of the road you drive on at home. - You carry a headlamp in your purse.- You have more than three currencies in your purse.- It has become normal to turn off the shower water as you lather up. This is either because the water is freezing cold or you're afraid of running out of water while you are still soapy. This is a legitimate fear since more than once you have found yourself with shampoo dripping down your face yelling for your teammates to bring you bottles of water. - Everyone notices when you have a new item of clothing. And often times, the response to "Where'd that come from?," is "the free table." - When you're not tenting, you always have at least 3 roommates and sometimes 50. This same amount of people will inevitably share the one bathroomleaving morning routines always eventful!- You have no Thu, 1 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=study-up http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=study-up So, I will be home in several days. I lived with 25 different people for the past year. These people have become my family. We know each other inside out. We know how each other will react in almost every circumstance. We have laughed together, prayed together, fought for each other, fought with each other, been refined by one another, cried together, been frustrated with each other and loved each other so deeply. So, for those of you at home, I thought I would give you a little heads up. I will inevitably reference these people in all of my stories, so I thought I would give you a head start of getting to know these fantastic people. Thanks to Allison, you can now get to know the people I have shared life with for the past 330 days. (here's my team...and you can dig deeper on Allison's site if you really want to get to know everyone).Elizabeth Scaife Jenny DawsonCristie Reiter Jenny BrownJane Kim Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-glimpse-into-the-life-of-pastor-antonio http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-glimpse-into-the-life-of-pastor-antonio Here is a video (made by Sean) that will give you a little insight into the heart of the pastor we have been working with and what we have been doing for the past 2 weeks. (mom: not only did i make the video, but I am putting on sunscreen). Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=our-gaurdians-of-the-sky http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=our-gaurdians-of-the-sky At times I have been frustrated with the nature of this trip. I thought the constant goodbyes were desensitizing me. Tonight, I was proved differently. Tomorrow we leave for Antigua, Guatemala to meet up with the entire squad. We are ending the journey we have lived for the past 5 weeks and moving into our final 3 weeks. The past weeks have not always been easy, but God has put us in the path of incredible people. Tonight we said one of the hardest goodbyes of the trip. We left our Army friends that we have spent the last 2 weeks with. These men and women are some of the most remarkable people I know - and that is saying a lot. We met them on a small island off the coast of Honduras. From day one they have been genuine, authentic, selfless and welcoming. We loved them so much and we knew the Lord crossed our paths for a reason, so after parting on the island, we headed in the direction of their base in Comayagua. We spent the last week hanging out with them there. They c Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=a1 http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=a1 We are taking turns blogging, so definitely read Heather, Jenny, Beth and Casey's blogs this month. God is beyond words. Here are just a few of the ways God moved and blessed us during our time at Lomas de Alabanza. I will try to write more soon...A divine appointment at the dumps in Managua, Nicaragua.Breaking and building in the heavenlies.Charging the spiritual atmosphere as our journey begins.We have now moved on to the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, but we will not be here for long. Please continue to pray for us as we seek His direction. Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=into-the-unknown http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=into-the-unknown Yesterday, we left our debrief location in Jinotepe, Nicaragua. This month is different. We have been given more freedom. We started praying about this several weeks ago and teams formed based on the urgings God placed on our hearts. God brought me together with 4 others - Jenny, Heather, Beth and Casey - who share my desire to completely surrender and know a new dependency on Christ. Our inspiration is similar to that of when Jesus sends out the twelve in the Bible (matt 10). We call it ATL - Ask the Lord. And that is exactly what we are doing. We are going wherever God leads us. We simply want to hear His voice and do what He says. We have no agenda of our own. We have nothing pre-arranged, but what we have not arranged, He has!! Not knowing what we will do when we wake up in the mornings is a beautiful affair! We want to be His hands, feet, words, arms and anything else, wherever and however He wants that to be done. I love the newness and the unknown. At the end Fri, 7 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=our-ministry-in-the-philippines http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=our-ministry-in-the-philippines I know we have left the Philippines, but God is still doing amazing things in the community where we lived. Here is a little info about what they do there. Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-different-christmas http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-different-christmas I just wanted to share a quick little note about my Christmas. We spent Christmas at a beach in the Philippines. There was absolutely nothing around us. No shopping centers. No good restaurants. It was a very bumpy ride to the closest townand there really wasn't much there. Not even an ATM, so none of us had any money. It was a very different Christmas. The coast was absolutely beautiful. The housing was not up to our Western standard, but we are used to that - no toilet seat, cold showers, no sheets either and of course no A.C. But all of that was OK. The real thing I want to share is the difference in the Christmas holiday for me. Usually at some point during the holidays I become frustrated with the rush and chaos - all the hype, all the materialism, all the celebration of self. At times it makes me want to forget everything and escape to some far off island. Well that happened this year and to be perfectly honest, I missed a little of what takes place at home. Of course I missed f Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=grace http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=grace Lately, I cannot seem to get away from the topic of grace. Maybe the Lord is trying to teach me something. One would think, that as a Christ-follower, I would be well acquainted and connected with grace - not only receiving, but giving. The cross - death, resurrection and ascension - by which Christ followers live and breathe, is the ultimate act of grace. No two words better describe these inimitable events than grace and love. But my mind, and I believe the minds of many who profess Christ, cannot seen to grasp this thing called grace. We turn the utter simplicity of grace into something rather complicated. I for one struggle daily to extend grace to others. And as I sit here thinking about it, grace seems most difficult when it is for someone close to me, someone that I love. Oh, how I desire to give the grace that I live by. But I don't always. So it brings me to my much-loved question of "why?". Do I not fully realize the grace of Christ myself? - Is that why I struggle to give g Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=block-party-in-the-philippines http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=block-party-in-the-philippines Fun with our Filipino friends at the Block Party!! Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=than-you-does-not-seem-enough http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=than-you-does-not-seem-enough This is a difficult blog to write. I am not sure I can express the way you have truly impacted my life and the lives of the people I come into contact with everyday. Your prayers, encouragement, financial support and love are a true treasure to me. You are literally Jesus to me as you constantly and consistently send your love and prayers. I see Him in each of you, and in each email, letter, blog comment and act of support. Even as I eat my meals, I am taken aback by the way the Lord has provided through you. Just as you have celebrated me, by believing in me enough to sacrifice your time, money and energy, I want to celebrate you. I appreciate each of you. Not only have you provided an exceptional avenue for me to come face to face with Christ every single day and to be completely transformed, but you have given to so, so many people around the world. You will never be able to know the magnitude of lives touched through your prayers and financial support. You have given the childr Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=opening-my-eyes http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=opening-my-eyes You read the thoughts I struggled through at the beginning of this month in my last blog. As I look back on the month I am not sure I made myself as vulnerable as I would have liked, but I am not at all disappointed. The Philippines was so great. As I mentioned last time, everything must be compelled by love. I asked God to give me a love for the people here and He answered. That was the only way I could do anything this month. Things are always better when He gives me His heart for the people. I ended up spending the majority of my time with women in the community. Esther and Elizabeth led a women's bible study and I met many women there. I didn't do anything powerful, I just loved them and spoke truth to them whenever I could. I also went to the prisons a couple times. The women there were so precious. It was amazing the way they opened up to us. They were so hungry for love and for the Word. We went in their cells and climbed up on their beds to talk with them. They said it was dif Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=how-do-we-truly-change-lives http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=how-do-we-truly-change-lives (I wrote this back at the beginning of my time in the Philippines) I sit here in Manila, with a plethora of ministries at my fingertips and options galore of ways I can go out and serve people. Yet each new ministry I try, just isn't what I long for. Passion and life don't rise up in me. I know that everything must be rooted in love - if it is not compelled by love it is utterly worthless. So do I have no love?? I don't think that is true, although I have learned that I can't love unless the Father fills me up (things you learn living communally). But my point is, that nothing is really making me come alive inside. I feel disconnected and lost at times. Sometimes, I feel like I am just doing good things. I didn't come around the world to do good things. I am not a humanitarian. I am a Christ-follower! So these are the questions that have been plaguing my mind lately. How can I truly affect this community for Christ? Is it visiting the homes, talking with women? Is it playing with the Wed, 6 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=heading-for-latin-america http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=heading-for-latin-america I left the Philippines on Feb 1 and flew to Tokyo to LA (Los Angeles), where we ended up having a 48 hour layover (it was initially supposed to be 24 hours). In a couple hours we are leaving for Nicaragua. I am so excited to be in Central America. If you know much about me, you know that I love Latin America. My heart truly beats for that place. So I am absolutely thrilled to get to know the people and enter into the things God is already doing in the places we will go. I am also ready for what the Lord has for our last several months. I cannot believe that I have been away for so long and that there are only 3 months left. I know that time will fly by, but I am not about to miss anything that God has for me. I am eager and intent on pressing in to Christ. He is still birthing things inside of me and changing me daily. In Nicaragua, I will be doing hurricane relief in Puerto Cabezas. I am not sure what that will look like. We will be briefed in the day or two follo Sun, 3 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=changing-the-atmosphere http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=changing-the-atmosphere Each month and every country holds a treasure from the Lord. Most of the treasures require some amount of struggle to push through. Each month the Lord gives me something new. He teaches me and refines me in a fresh way with a unique focus. In China, the Lord took me into Psalm 103 and I have been there ever since. He is showing me what it means to be a true worshiper and taking me to a level of worship that I have not known before. He is turning my heart to Him and giving me a hunger that calls me to get lost in praising His name - singing, worshiping, and declaring His character and truth. Worship takes me straight to the heart of God. I am realizing that getting into the presence of God is trifold - worship, prayer and His word. God has taught me a lot about prayer, since the very beginning of the race. I am learning more about praise and worship now. And with those, I know that the Word is incredibly important. It is life. So daily, I get in His Word - that is often Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=where http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=where I know that some of you may be asking that question. I am finally back with an update. Forgive me for my absence. After lots of traveling, a closed country, computer viruses, and me just taking a break from writing, I am back. And hopefully renewed to write everything that is going on in my life (and some things from the past). To start, here is a simple update. I am with all 25 June world racers in Manila, Philippines. We are all living in one house, which is wonderful. We have been here since the beginning of the year and we leave the first of February (time is flying!). We have hooked up with amazing missionaries, Jeff Long and family. Their main ministry is New Faith Family Children's Home, home to 25 orphans. But it does not stop there. Their ministry flows into every part of this community and their true desire is to see Jesus transform this community. Jeff has plugged us into every ministry possible. He gave us options, so that we may invest in the ministries where our individu Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=abc http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=abc We are working with Phonkie and Hiya, here is Siem Reap, Cambodia. They are from the Philippines and have been missionaries to Cambodia for 5 years. They have been in Siem Reap for 1 of those 5 years. I shared their mission in a previous blog. They desire to serve the Cambodian people through education. Phonkie, Hiya, and 2 of their 3 children, Shevonne and Sean Sokly, Roselette, and Steve are working with Phonkie and Hiya here in Siem Reap. They have committed to working here for 2 years. They are amazing and it is incredible to watch as they serve and love the Cambodian people. Sokly is from Cambodia. Roselette and Steve are from the Philippines. They each must raise $100 a month to support themselves. All three of them came here with no support. They are living completely on faith. It is very difficult to raise support in their countries - in Cambodia because very few people are Christians and there is little money to spare, and in the Philippines because people do not have mu Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=struggling-to-take-responsibility http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=struggling-to-take-responsibility At least once a week, I do something that leads me into a downward spiral. I hurt someone else, or I disrespect someone, or I break my word, or I am just plain mean and selfish. I hate the shame that falls on me, so I immediately try my hardest to put the blame on anything but myself. Even when I stop and intentionally take ownership, my mind defaults back to looking for someone or something to assign the blame. My carnal self argues for the right to be right. These things that I do are bringing me to the point of tears. I detest the things I do - my actions and thoughts. They are things that reveal my selfishness, and thus I realize my disgust for the self inside me that fights to rule me. They are robbing me of joy. They steal my day. Why do I continue to do them? I wish I knew. The best answer I can think of is that I am fallen, I am broken, I mess up - I rarely get things right. So what am I to do? Keep running to Christ? Take responsibility? That sounds like a good answer, altho Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=object-pronoun http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=object-pronoun As my last blog described, the Cambodian people have been stripped of virtually everything. Just 30 years ago, the majority of all educated people were murdered. Any educational system that was in place was completely abolished. And for over 5 years, there was no education, no school - nothing but war and death. Only in the past 15 years have they been given control of their government. Because of this, the objective of the ministry we work with is to serve the Cambodian people by offering them skills and education to increase their chances of finding jobs. We spend our days teaching English, life skills, and computer. Jane even teaches a Korean class because there are many Korean tourists here. Teaching English had proved slightly challenging for me - back to middle school English class. I can't say that those were the best days for me, or my favorite. So I am relearning object pronouns and possessive pronouns. I'm not sure I could have defined those two weeks ago. Sun, 28 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-lesson-in-cambodian-history http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-lesson-in-cambodian-history We finished our debrief in Bangkok on October 10th. We then spent a long day on the bus traveling from Bangkok to Phnom Penh (the capital of Cambodia). We spent 2 days in Phnom Penh - getting our Chinese visas, being briefed on the culture and history of Cambodia, and taking a tour of the city. It was immediately evident that we were in a different country as we crossed the border. The roads have experienced much destruction. The roads are rarely paved. Usually the roads are made of dirt and rocks - they are very bumpy and often have big rain puddles (it is the rainy season now). Some of the paved roads are covered with large potholes. The main mode of transportation is motorbikes or bicycles. I love riding my bike everywhere. The border is scattered with children begging for money. Some buildings are very nice, but it is apparent that others have suffered much damage. It is not as clean as Bangkok and trash lines the streets. The people are beautiful with their dark s Sun, 21 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=b http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=b Today we went to the Well, as we do every morning. As we were worshipping, Jim and Judy came in with Guy and Kay. Kay is Meow's older sister and Guy is Meow's husband. Meow is one of the girls at the Well. She is 20 and has a 2 year old daughter. It was an incredible and joyous reunion as everyone embraced and exchanged love with tears and laughter. It was so incredible for me to witness this. I even began to cry. I could not hold back the tears. Kay Jim and Judy explained some of their story. Guy and Kay both have extremely painful backgrounds and they have been through such brokenness. But it was so evident that the Lord was working fervently in their lives. They radiated with joy and just their presence filled up the room with such love. It made me wonder if I am radiating the joy of the Lord or if I am just coming and going through life. Guy For the past 3 months, Guy and Kay have been in Chaing Mai at an addiction rehabilitation center. They were badly addicted to drugs and Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=a http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=a The difficulty of this ministry is becoming evident. The difficulty of being a missionary is becoming a reality. As I spend more and more time at the center, I see the things that Jim and Judy deal with on a weekly basis. There are girls that have attitude issues and girls that want to run away and girls that do run away, much like in the book of Hosea. There are issues of drugs and alcohol. Occasionally women go back to the bars. Some women leave and are raped. There are still pressures from family members. Many families are angered by the girls' choice to go to the well, since they made more money at the bars. There is the difficulty of communication because of language. All this coupled with the hormones and rebellion of teenagers, and the struggle of 10-15 women living in the same housewith no A/C! Today after lunch we were all getting ready to begin work on the cards. One girl(Taan)'s sister, who does not stay at the well, came to the door. She said something to Taan and I saw Ta Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=into-the-darkness http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=into-the-darkness The past several days have been hard. The weight of this place is beginning to catch up with me. I find myself walking down the street holding back tears. Maybe everything I see is starting to break me down; maybe as I begin to hear more of each girl's story, I am seeing the enormity of the pain in their hearts; or maybe living with seven other people day in and day out is taking its toll. I think it is all of the above. The good news - I have nowhere to fall but in the arms of Christ. I am at the end of myself. I want to share some of what we learn as we build relationships with the women. The majority of the women are from a very poor, farming village in Northeast Thailand, called Esarn. The daughters are responsible for rescuing the family from the hopeless poverty, while the young men are usually free to live as they wish. The young girls find out that they can make good money at the bars in Bangkok. Sometimes a friend tells them; sometimes people come to the villages to recruit Tue, 2 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-day-in-bangkok http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-day-in-bangkok For those interested in how I spend my time, this is a typical (if you can say that) day for me: 8:00 roll out of bed. Shower (maybe). Spend some much needed and much desired time with the Lord - reading, journaling, praying for the woman and asking for Christ's heart for the day. 10:00 travel to the Well - 10 min walk followed by 12 min taxi ride 10:30 English class. Attempt to teach girls English. This usually involves me making a fool of myself several times. Including once when I yell over to Jenny "Where's the verb in this sentence?!" 12:00 lunch time - spend some time with the girls or walk to seven (that is 7-11). There is one on every street corner. The perfect air conditioned retreat from the heat. This is also when I try to avoid being offered any meat (only because I don't really like meat) or spicy Thai food. I secretly try to eat my food of choice - the PB&J sandwich. 1:00 Time to start work - making cards. I cut paper usually. Sometimes they let me glue. Her Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=the-bar-scene http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=the-bar-scene The prostitution industry in Thailand is enormous. There are two main areas, the Nana district and Soi Cowboy. They are lined with bars. Women stand outside to lure the customers inside. Some bars are outside and offer a place for men to have a drink and talk with the women. Some bars are places you can go to play pool. Some places have the front of amassage parlor, and I guess that isn't a complete lie. Others take you behind curtains to a dimly lit sitting area. There you can take a seat on the plush chairs and watch the women dance in next to nothing on the dance stage. At all bars, a waitress will approach to ask what you would like to drink. It is customary that you also buy a "lady drink" for one of the women. Then the women will entertain the men, charm them, do everything possible to entice the men to pay their bar fine for the night. The bars are called go-go bars because the women go with the men. Once a man decides that he would like to take a woman out for the night, he Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=falling-in-love-with-bangkok http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=falling-in-love-with-bangkok The moment I set foot in Thailand it felt different. I loved Africa; I loved the people and the children there. The time we spent there was definitely a time of growing, learning, stretching and being refined. But Thailand stirred something inside of me. The people immediately stole my heart and God instantly burdened my spirit to pray for the people and the land. The people are beautiful. They always greet you with a smile, usually accompanied by a wai. The wai is used in situations where we would shake hands. It is a prayer-like gesture of hands held together in front of the chin coupled with a slight bow of the head. They smile so much that Thailand has been coined the "Land of Smiles." Our time in Thailand will be spent working in Bangkok with a ministry called The Well. The Well was started by Jim and Judy Larson, an amazing couple from the Chicago area. The Well's mission is to love Thai bar girls and sex workers in the same way that Jesus loved the woman at the well (John 4) Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=dispelling-lies-speaking-truth http://julielortz.theworldrace.org/?filename=dispelling-lies-speaking-truth We were driving to Mozambique, on our way from South Africa. Debrief had just ended and we were thrilled about our upcoming time in Mozambique. I am in charge of the finances for our team. This involves keeping track of all money that is spent, reconciling all receipts, handling all money transactions, etc. I needed to withdraw money to pay for the ride from South Africa. We stopped at a big travel complex with a gas station, a store, a fast food restaurant and an ATM. I decided to withdraw money there because I wasn't sure we would have another chance. I asked Jenny Brown to join me at the ATM for safety. We went to the ATM and began to withdraw money. The machine spit my card out once. This had happened before, so I reinserted the card. It happened again and someone came up to help. I am not exactly sure how the man got passed Jenny and into the small booth, but suddenly he was there and then there was another. He showed me how I should insert the card. When it did not come back out, Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT