My visit to Calvary Baptist in southwest Florida signified my last church visit of this home assignment. I was given ample time to share the vision that God has given me for our work in Cambodia. As usual, I enjoyed being with them and hope that I was able to bless them as well.

Trinity is an interesting place. It's a seniors church and has no children's or youth ministries. But it's an exciting place filled with lots of energy for the Lord. It's always a blessing to see Bill and Darlene Millican. We got to visit with them in June at the Annual Meeting too. I had lots of time to share with the mission committee and then in the service and then in the fellowship hall- more than 2 hours in all. I think they were able to really get a full grasp of our ministry.

SPCC had moved to a new location since my last visit. This new location has a lot more breathing space- and room to grow. We had a nice meal together in the fellowship hall where I was able to get to know some folks better. Pastor Randall told me that there was a new momentum building in the church. May their light grow bright in their neighborhood. Again, I was encouraged by the people and hope that I was able to bless them in return.

Southgate Baptist Church is in St. Croix, one of the US Virgin Islands. It was my first visit ever. To me the island felt a bit like Thailand, but not as hot. The water was the most amazing blue - in Thailand it's green. It definitely felt like a foreign country to me.

They were very gracious to me. I was the second missionary ever to visit their church. Needless to say, they made a big deal about it. Many thanks to Pastor Ed who gave me a tour around the island. It was fun to see him invite nearly everyone we met, whether at the bakery, the shop keepers or even tourists, to come and hear my message.

A very special thanks to Doug and Isabel for hosting me at their house. The view from their house is amazing.

One morning I was able to help out at their Lighthouse mission, a ministry to the down and out and children. God has really blessed this ministry located in the worst part of Christiansted. Much of the church volunteers there. Other churches are getting involved. Even the community is taking notice of this good work. PTL!

I was a little surprised when I arrived form my visit and discovered that I was giving the main message. No worries however, I shared the vision that God has given me for work in Cambodia and gave him praise for what he has been doing there.

I can't put my finger on it, but there's something I really like about my Florida church visits. As usual, it was a tremendous blessing to be with friends. I always marvel at how I can go anywhere in the world and be with family in Christ Jesus.

It was interesting to learn that Crystal Cove has their own little barnyard in the back with donkeys and a camel. They have live animal services for Christmas and Easter every year. They also have school kids come out on a regular basis.

Horizons marked my final visit to the Phoenix area this time around. Again, it was a pleasure to see Pastor Tony and meet some folks from the church. One big surprise was seeing an old friend, Marlene, from seminary that I had lost touch with and didn't even know she was in Phoenix.

I was encouraged to see the church meeting in their own building now; last time I visited they were still in a local high school. The church had also doubled in size since then. It's good to see God working and bring unchurched people to himself. PTL!

It was also special to have my good friend Clark along for company. Clark was a huge help with driving and just made the trip more fun for me (Phoenix is about a 6 hour drive from San Diego). Clark also doubled as my photographer.

My visit to Sun Valley was reminiscent of my visit to Cornerstone the prior week. It also had grown tremendously since my last visit. They too had built a new worship building since my last visit that they had outgrown and are building yet a larger one. In all that growth, it seemed they didn't know me anymore.

Again, God was gracious in renewing key relationships. I want to thank Matt Swartz and Dennis McMains for taking so much time to meet with me. Also for Seth to find some time as well. I could tell they had a genuine interest in getting to know me and my vision for Cambodia.

I want to thank my friend Scott Eckert for coming along to help me with the drive to Phoenix. It was really nice to have a friend along. And it was a huge help. Scott is part of my Sending Team in San Diego.

I was greatly encouraged when Matt and Dennis told me that they had been in contact with Cornerstone and were already talking dates to visit Cambodia next year on joint vision trip with intentions to sponsor a village school house.

My visit to Cornerstone had a really different feel than my previous visits. Cornerstone has probably changed more than any other church that I've visited. It had grown many times larger since my last visit.  As a result, no one knew me. My goal in visiting was to renew some significant relationships with key leaders of the church.

I have to say that God certainly honored my desire to strengthen ties-with much assistance from Marty McIntire. Thank you Marty for introducing me to everyone along the way. I was very encouraged by how people received me and my vision for Cambodia.

One of the most exciting things to come out of my visit is that there is some very serious talk about sending a team on a vision trip to Cambodia next year with the purpose of sponsoring a new village school house. Awesome!

Mai I had a great visit to CCCTO this past weekend. We attended this church for two years in 1996-7 before we went to serve in Thailand, so we have many friends there. It was great to get reacquainted with some old friends and meet the new pastor. We were a little bummed that several of our other friends no longer attended the church or were absent that day. They were very accommodating and gave me two opportunities to share that added up to almost 2 hours - plenty of time for a full presentation and Q&A.

We also had a chance to drive around town and visit the place that we used to live and the one house that briefly owned. It's such a lovely place, Thousand Oaks, CA.