Well guys, it's finally almost here. As some of you know, and many of you do not, this summer I'm off on a missions trip to the Philippines.

I'm going with an organization called Teen Missions International. They have been sending teams of teenagers on missions trips all over the world for over 20 years.

I'll be gone June 20th to August 10th, and maybe a bit longer to get life in order once I get back. First I'll be flying down to Florida where the Teen Missions base is on Merritt Island for two weeks of training, aka The Lord's Boot Camp. From July 8th to August 1st we'll be in the Philippines. The first part of our time there will be spent ministering to street children, and the second part we will be doing repair and construction projects on the Teen Missions base, which suffered much damage in the typhoon last year. Then my team and I will return to Florida for a few days of debrief set aside for fun and relaxation before going home.

The reason why I am letting you guys know about this so far in advance is because I will be completely gone from the forum, as I will not have internet access or even electricity.

But! I am not totally uncontactable. I can write letters, and I intend to do so frequently. If you wish to write me a letter - and I'd love to here from you - contact info is below. If not, feel free to skip to the end of this post!

Contact Information:

Florida Address (while at Boot Camp and Debrief):

Teen Missions Team 13018
Rose Williams
871 East Hall Rd
Merrit Island, FL 32953
USA

Incoming only Boot Camp and Debrief email:
13018rwilliams[AT]lordsbootcamp.org Replace [AT] with @

Field Address:

Teen Missions Philippines
Rose Williams
PO Box 50
Butuan City 8600
Philippines

Letters take about two weeks to get to the Philippines, so it's suggested that you might want to write in advance. Write to the Florida address until June 28th. From June 29th to July 10th, write to the field address. And from July 11th to August 2nd, write to the Florida address.

If I don't get the mail you send to me at Boot Camp before I leave, I can get it at debrief.

Email is for incoming stuff only, no outgoing email. No forwards or attachments. It will cost me 25 cents per page for emails. This does not in any way mean I don't want you to email me. I'm happy to pay a small price to have contact with you guys. Just please no one sentence or ten page emails.

Should you want me to send you a letter, please PM me your address, and I'll try to write at least once.

/end of contact info

I'm really going to miss HW and all the wonderful people here. You guys are great. But I'm so excited to see what God has in store for my team and I this summer. Your prayers would be appreciated as we go overseas to serve the Lord.

God bless,
Azlyn/Rose


PS: If you are wondering, at this point it looks like I will unfortunately not be able to meet up with our resident Filippino HWers. So close, but still so very far!

I'll pray it goes well. I have several friends who've done missions work through Teen Missions.

If I didn't have work, I'd have booked a flight to Butuan and joined you in the mission trip (if such a thing would be allowed).

I'll miss seeing you online, and I'll miss you more now that we're in the same continent--and the very same country--but still not be able to see each other.

I'll be praying and I look forward to hearing about your trip when you return.

Have a good trip! I hope it goes well.

I am so excited for you, Azzie, and I am praying.

What a wonderful opportunity! I've also been thinking about going on a mission trip this year.

I pray you are able to touch the lives of everyone you meet with your bright personality and love for God! Let Him work through you and you will find joy in all things. ^^

~Calen

Thanks, Jonathan. Oh, really? That's interesting!




Why must work get in the way fun things for awesome people? =(

It is very sad I'm not going anywhere near you... *Sniffles* One day, my friend, one day.


Thanks, Arien! I hope it goes well too!


Thank you, Airi! I'm excited too.


Thanks, Calen. ^^You're thinking of doing missions this summer too? We much exchange stories in the fall if you do.

I won't be able to attend a mission this summer because of my jobs, but I'd like to do one in the fall if I find one. (I'm looking for specific missions).

Either way, swapping stories about them would be cool someday.

Hopefully I can write you! Have fun!

I'll be praying for you, Mae! Have a wonderful time.

I know. *sniffles*

I'm looking forward to that day!

Ah, I see.

Indeed! *Grins*


Ooh! I'd love to hear from you, Elly dear!


Thank you, Elanor. *Hugs*


Me too!


I forgot to mention this before, but no one go and start a thread for my birthday. I won't see it until August!

(So...why shouldn't we just make a birthday thread for you to read in August? )

Well, I suppose if you really want too.... Somebody would have to make sure it doesn't get archived.

Another thing I forgot to mention: Here, on the Teen Missions site you can find weekly updates posted by the leaders. And if you like Teen Missions International on facebook, they'll be posting tons of photos from Boot Camp. See if you can find me.

Thanks for the link, Mae! I'll see if I can find them on FB.

I shall be sure to look out for you.

Thanks for updating us for her, Ophelia.

Thanks for the update, Mira!

The most recent update from the link that Azlyn gave says that they've arrived and have begun their mission work: http://www.teenmissions.org/2013/07/15/ ... -the-poor/.

I also found out that the did have a stopover in the city where I live, but I don't know for how long. Wish I could have been there to chat with her even if only for a few hours!

*Tiptoes in quietly* Well, I'm back. Trying to wrap my mind around being home after the most amazing summer ever. I don't even know where to start talking about all that happened. Give me a few days to process everything and then I'll give you guys a longer report.

Also, this is your advanced warning that I am coming back to go on another trip next summer.


Yay! You got my letter! Thank you for posting that.


Yes, our flights changed and we did stop in Manila! It was a very brief stop, though. We were only out of security for maybe 20 minutes before hurrying off to our gate. If I had been able to call you, I could not have told you where in the airport we were, either! *Is sad she couldn't see Alyssa*

Welcome back, Azlyn! I'm glad it went well.

Welcome back! *dumps Quests back into Azlyn's hands* Here you go; 'tis safe and sound.

Yay, you're back! How was it? I've been thinking about you, praying for you, and wondering how you’ve been doing. We need to chat and you need to tell me where you went, what you ate, etc.

And you’re coming back! I’m so thrilled to hear that! Maybe we’ll get to see each other this next time!

Welcome back!

I'm so glad you had fun AND arrived home safely!!!

Oh, how exciting! I hope it was a huge blessing for you! Lovely to have you back, dear ^^