by Jason Joyner | Mar 12, 2012 | Blog, Mission Monday, stories, travel
I woke up on the bus, looked out the front window, and jumped when I saw the vehicle careening toward us.
About then I figured we weren’t in Kansas anymore.
When you’re on a mission trip there are two things that are inevitable: crazy food stories and travel adventures. You have to get there, and you have to eat.
Going to Thailand from Lakeside, Montana was an adventure in itself. Kalispell -> Spokane -> Seattle -> Tokyo -> Bangkok. Eleven hours to Tokyo and another nine to Bangkok. That’s some serious seat time.
Too bad Bangkok wasn’t our destination.
We were heading to Chanthaburi, a town about 5 hours away by bus (I’ve heard there’s a new highway and it’s only 3 hours – nice!). When the mission leaders met us at the airport, they talked to us and refreshed us with some fruit (got another food story there, maybe another time). We then loaded the bus around 1 or 2 am local time. The excitement from hitting the ground ended, and we all crashed.
That leads us to my near panic attack.
I was on the very back seat lying down. I had the view straight down the aisle when I awoke. The bus was passing another vehicle, and I was freaked out when I saw another car coming right at us. This wasn’t hundreds of yards away, mind you. We swerved back just before the car sped by.
Remember the line in Pirates of the Carribean (the first one that was really good, not the crappy sequels) when Barbossa tells Elizabeth that the Pirate Code is more like guidelines than actual laws?
Yeah, that’s Thai driving laws too.
I held on for dear life the rest of the way.
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| Watch out for bumps! |
And this was a nice bus. It wasn’t one of those Asian ones with people hanging out the back or riding on top (been on those too).
I also rode as the third person on a motorcycle built for two, and almost fell out of a Thai version of an El Camino, except the back was the size of a Toyota Corolla. Good times.
I know other missionary friends that have hiked over scary suspension bridges, climbed mountains, and ridden elephants, all in the pursuit of reaching people they want to help. My experiences are tame compared to some stories I’ve heard.
They say life isn’t just a destination, but it’s a journey as well. Sometimes the journey is all the adventure you need!
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by Jason Joyner | Mar 5, 2012 | Blog, local missions, Mission Monday, Native Americans
It’s Mission Monday again here. I’ve discussed before how I am a believer in foreign missions. However, I know there is a great need for outreach here in the United States.
One of my heroes was Rich Mullins, a Christian singer who died in a car crash in 1997. He could have been living a very comfortable life in Nashville as a popular musician and songwriter. Instead, at the time of his death he was living on a Native American reservation in the Southwest to help spread the gospel to children through music. He didn’t just support a cause with prayers or money, he lived it.
I live next to the Shoshone-Bannock Reservation in southeast Idaho. It is a poor place with a lot of needs. I know that some of the poorest in the country are Native Americans.
I’ve found a few links to ministries or agencies that work specifically with Native Americans. I’m not endorsing them, but they are a place to start if God is speaking to your heart on helping this unreached people group within our own borders.
These are just a few suggestions. I hope this will touch someone’s heart to find a way to be a blessing to the various Native Americans tribes in the country.
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by Jason Joyner | Mar 5, 2012 | Blog, local missions, Mission Monday, Native Americans
It’s Mission Monday again here. I’ve discussed before how I am a believer in foreign missions. However, I know there is a great need for outreach here in the United States.
One of my heroes was Rich Mullins, a Christian singer who died in a car crash in 1997. He could have been living a very comfortable life in Nashville as a popular musician and songwriter. Instead, at the time of his death he was living on a Native American reservation in the Southwest to help spread the gospel to children through music. He didn’t just support a cause with prayers or money, he lived it.
I live next to the Shoshone-Bannock Reservation in southeast Idaho. It is a poor place with a lot of needs. I know that some of the poorest in the country are Native Americans.
I’ve found a few links to ministries or agencies that work specifically with Native Americans. I’m not endorsing them, but they are a place to start if God is speaking to your heart on helping this unreached people group within our own borders.
These are just a few suggestions. I hope this will touch someone’s heart to find a way to be a blessing to the various Native Americans tribes in the country.
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by Jason Joyner | Mar 1, 2012 | Blog, revision can be fun, towel therapy, writing craft, Writing Wednesday
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| H/T to Paperback Writer |
There comes a time in any writer’s life when they confront the dreaded beast.
Revision.
I’ve been plugging away at my novel for so long, making slow and (sometimes) steady progress, that I haven’t really confronted this issue yet.
That time came with my entry into the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis contest.
I had written my opening chapters years ago. I had edited them many times when trying to get unstuck, but I had never really revised them. I knew with entering the contest that I had some fatal flaws. The generic weather opening? Check. The first character has nothing to do with the main story? Check.
Since I’ve heard how horrible it is to revise, I didn’t look forward to it, but a handy thing called a deadline forced my hand.
I sat down, hands at the keys.
It flowed.
It wasn’t bad at all! In fact, I rather enjoyed it. It took me a few days to do the first two chapters, but because I had a framework to build off of, I could adjust weak links, build up strong points, and overall tighten things up and make my characters jump out more (I hope).
I guess some of it is I’ve learned so much in the last several years that I can see what didn’t work with my initial thrust, but I could identify the kernel that did click in the writing.
I don’t know if this will be true through the whole novel. I still need to finish it, so I went back to my new work. I really wanted to keep revising, because I felt a sense of accomplishment and improvement. I know that I need to get the skeleton laid down though, and come back to help put the muscles and skin on later.
Hopefully it won’t be long until I get back to revising again. Does that make me strange?
Don’t answer that…
P.S. In an attempt to be a little more helpful, here is a link that talks about revision.
P.P.S. You can actually buy the towel above here. You’re welcome.
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by Jason Joyner | Mar 1, 2012 | Blog, revision can be fun, towel therapy, writing craft, Writing Wednesday
|
| H/T to Paperback Writer |
There comes a time in any writer’s life when they confront the dreaded beast.
Revision.
I’ve been plugging away at my novel for so long, making slow and (sometimes) steady progress, that I haven’t really confronted this issue yet.
That time came with my entry into the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis contest.
I had written my opening chapters years ago. I had edited them many times when trying to get unstuck, but I had never really revised them. I knew with entering the contest that I had some fatal flaws. The generic weather opening? Check. The first character has nothing to do with the main story? Check.
Since I’ve heard how horrible it is to revise, I didn’t look forward to it, but a handy thing called a deadline forced my hand.
I sat down, hands at the keys.
It flowed.
It wasn’t bad at all! In fact, I rather enjoyed it. It took me a few days to do the first two chapters, but because I had a framework to build off of, I could adjust weak links, build up strong points, and overall tighten things up and make my characters jump out more (I hope).
I guess some of it is I’ve learned so much in the last several years that I can see what didn’t work with my initial thrust, but I could identify the kernel that did click in the writing.
I don’t know if this will be true through the whole novel. I still need to finish it, so I went back to my new work. I really wanted to keep revising, because I felt a sense of accomplishment and improvement. I know that I need to get the skeleton laid down though, and come back to help put the muscles and skin on later.
Hopefully it won’t be long until I get back to revising again. Does that make me strange?
Don’t answer that…
P.S. In an attempt to be a little more helpful, here is a link that talks about revision.
P.P.S. You can actually buy the towel above here. You’re welcome.
—
