To Burma.... and Beyond!

After the boys left last week, things were pretty quiet, as usual I went to the Preschool in the mornings, took Thai lessons in the afternoons, and taught English in the evenings. Kim Quinley, one of the founders of Step Ahead and a close friend of my family's, came up for a quick visit on Thursday and we went out for pizza and beer and had a delightful conversation.

Saturday morning, however, brought a very interesting string of events. I was informed, much to my surprise, that we would be leaving for a camping trip for the weekend. So I loaded up my purse with water, my ipod, my camera, my bible, and my sunscreen, and we were off. I rode in the back of the truck to make sure our precariously stacked camping supplies didn't fly out the back, and we drove to Thaptawan village to pick up a group of teenage girls Meaw has been working with for the last five years. They all hopped in the back with me and we drove to a national park about an hour and a half away. It was gorgeous up there, we had gone from beach to rainforest in a short distance. The first order of business was setting up the tents. I set up ours, only later, much to my chagrin, to realize too late that I'd put it right on top of an anthill, and halfway through the night we were under full attack!

The next morning, we took the climb up to a famous waterfall. On the way, as Gai (one of the girls here) and I were passing a shallow river, I looked in the water and saw that it was literally teeming with fish. There were so many it seemed like I could actually just reach in and grab one, so I decided to try it. I asked Gai if it was safe to get in the water, and she said yes. So I stepped off the riverbank and into the water, only to suddenly have my leg sucked under water! I lost my footing and my other leg started sinking too, and, suddenly terrified, I realized I was in sinking sand. As I started to sink, I noticed a root sticking out of the river bank, and thankfully, after a big struggle, was able to pull myself out of the sand. I reached back into the sand to find my sandal, and miraculously, I did. After I'd collected myself a little, we continued on up to the waterfall... a gorgeous place that, for me, was very reminiscent of Glacier Park (with much nicer weather). While we were camping we ate white rice and tuna with tomato sauce (I had just white rice!) and tried to ration out our water, as we only had one 5 gallon jug for 13 people. While camping has never been a personal favorite of mine (at home, for me, camping means a bonfire and a tent in the backyard... and when the mosquitoes get bad you can go sleep in the house), but there were some really cool moments with the girls. Raised Buddhist, they are shockingly open to Christianity... thanks, likely, in large part to Maew's amazing influence over the last five years. A few of the girls even asked me to pray for them and share with them about Love, so that was a really neat opportunity for me.

Sunday evening we finally packed up the truck and headed home. I'd gotten a little too much sun over the weekend so I wrapped myself up in a sheet and looked quite ridiculous sitting in the back of the truck with all the girls. It was a fun ride, and I was very happy to get home, take a shower, and see the ocean again.

Monday brought another week at the preschool and my final week of English lessons-- or so I thought, until Tuesday morning. Tuesday morning, Maew was mysteriously absent from our morning prayer meetings, until I heard a raucous coming down the stairs and saw her with a big suitcase (Maew is getting married on the 18th and has been preparing to move to Holland with her husband after the wedding). Curious, I asked her what she was doing, and she replied with "I'm moving all my stuff back to my hometown. Did you want to go to Burma today? I'm leaving in 15 minutes." A bit flabbergasted, I told her I would need to think and pray about it a bit before I gave her an answer, so I went upstairs, got out my passport and started to pray. Feeling very certain I should go, I put some clothes, my sunscreen, my ipod and my bible in my backpack and we left. It's a long and windy road in the back of the truck, but I wasn't going to complain because I was grateful for a big block of time to read, as I was almost finished reading my bible. Two weeks ago I felt it very impressed upon my heart that I needed to read the bible cover to cover. It seemed like a very big task at the time, but as I continued to read, I became more and more fascinated, and the book truly came alive to me.

Just as I started reading Revelations, we arrived in Ranong, Meaw's hometown and border to Burma. As we entered the city limits, I felt like I was hit in the head by an 80lb brick. The spiritual atmosphere in the city was crazy... I felt so much oppression and immediately felt this inexplicable sense of depression and, something I've never really felt before, actual and immediate terror. Being pretty adventurous, and having travelled a lot by myself, I don't really get very scared when I have to do things by myself, but all of a sudden, the thought of being in this place and going into Burma completely terrified me. The girls decided to get lunch together before they dropped me off on the border, where I'd have to get on a boat and go down the river. As they said goodbye, I prayed hard as a man lead me down to a huge cluster of extremely questionable boats, handed me an umbrella to protect me from the sun and started the long process of untangling his boat from all the others. Soon enough, we were off, floating down the river to Burma.

I decided that there would be no better place to finish reading my Bible than right there, so I started reading. At 4:39 on February 23, 2010, at 21 years old, I finished reading my bible cover to cover in eleven days. Never really having been a reader, I can't really describe the feeling of accomplishment I felt... partly because it was by far the fattest book I'd ever read, and also because the Bible had always seemed so boring, old, and tired to me. I thought it was something for old people, or pastors, or whatever, but not for me. I was shocked, amazed, and fascinated though that I found something that spoke right to me in almost every book. When I got to Proverbs, then Galatians, then 1 and 2 Peter I felt like it was talking right to me, and I loved what it had to say.

After stopping several times along the way and praying that this random person taking my passport would, indeed, bring it back, I finally made it to the Burmese border. As I got off the boat, I was met by a hoard of men who could say "I love you, will you marry me," "America" and "Obama" in English... and had no problem practicing it on me. They were all reaching out and touching me, crowding around me, and I was just praying for protection the whole time I tried to dodge and swerve my way through them. I walked to the border office, gave them a crisp ten dollar bill, had my photo taken, then walked out of the office with a stamp and a 10 day Burmese visa. Having no desire whatsoever to stay in Burma, however, I wove my way through the "I love you's" back to the boat and jumped on, this time with several other men on board... their motives being somewhat questionable. We stopped along the river several times to drop people and packages off along the way and, in retrospect, I'm pretty positive that they were drug dealers. When we finally pulled back up to the dock at Ranong, I was so happy that I had arrived safely. After just one more marriage proposal, I had my renewed Thai visa and we were on our way.

That night, we stayed in Maew's parents' house in the village where she grew up. When we got there, I was instantly reminded of the village in Hunan province of China that I'd stayed at two winters before at about the same time. Conditions were almost exactly the same, minus the freezing cold, for which I was very grateful. Though my Thai isn't very good and none of them spoke English, I made quite a few friends, the grandma doted on me much like any grandparent, cracking my crab legs for me, feeding me until I about burst, the whole works. She also had a precious niece, she was about three and we were joined at the hip until we returned to Khao Lak. While we were in the village we made wedding preparations, picked out photo op spots, and went to an awesome morning market to have breakfast. Maew's niece rode in the back of the truck on my lap and then took me on a tour of the market... it was totally cute. The next day we finally packed up and decided to head back to Khao Lak. After a very long and hot trip back, we arrived just in time for me to teach my last English class and say goodbye to my students.

Since then I've been eating, drinking, and making merry... going to the beach as much as possible, and trying to soak up Thailand as best as I can in the next few days, as I just purchased my plane ticket for China, and will be leaving here on Friday morning. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more later!

The Famous Five

I just said goodbye to the self-titled group of travelers "The Famous Five," five guys from my Discipleship Training School in Montana that stayed in Asia after their outreach in Indonesia to "live life together and experience as much of Asia as possible on $10 a day." True to form, they hitchhiked to Khao Lak and I picked up this group of ragtag boys at a restaurant down the road. It was great to see them all, it's always fun to meet up with people from home when I'm abroad, and it was also to see how much God has changed them in the last few months. The boys were so great to have around... it was so refreshing to sit and talk about God for three hours at the dinner table.

They were here for five days, during which time we enjoyed many great talks, a ton of laughter, some great food, and some manual labor. I helped arrange for the boys to stay in beach side bungalows in the village where I work in the preschool. Having them here for so long was great because they all got to have a taste of what goes on here at Step Ahead. Despite the extreme heat, red ant bites, and millions of slivers we all got, my favorite thing we did together was chop down a bamboo forest to build shelters for the gardens the villagers are planting. It was so awesome to see the forest when we got there, pick up a machete, and start chopping. Then after we were done, we took the huge pile of bamboo in the back of the pickup truck to the work site.

The '65 Mustang

So here is my baby: a Canary Yellow 1965 Mustang Coupe. Not only is it a super sweet ride, it's close to my heart for many reasons. First, because rebuilding a car is something I always wanted to do with my Grandpa, Al Norris, but I didn't get the chance before he passed away. Though he wasn't physically there with me while I rebuilt my first car, I used many lessons he taught me along the way. Second, because I was about to graduate from college, move to Seattle, and start "real life" when this car came along. The prospect of rebuilding it lured me back to Montana. Being back in Montana, I made some amazingly strong Christians who befriended me, mentored me, and encouraged me to change my perspective on things. That, in turn, led me to doing a DTS, so without this yellow car, I wouldn't be sitting here, looking at the ocean in Thailand, ready to embark upon a school that will undoubtedly change me forever. Finally, because this is my first car- my dream car, and it is running totally as a result of my bare hands. Few people understand the exhilaration of driving 100 mph in a machine they put together with their bare hands.

Though I love this car, God gave it to me and I fully trust that if He wants me to sell my car to pay for my School of Biblical Studies, he will provide another, in a whole new set of circumstances.

Here are the specs:

A newly rebuilt Ford Crate 302 V8 Racing engine
An Edelbrock Carb
Completely new suspension kit
New filters
3 speed manual transmission
A new black leather interior
A brand new huge $1000 stereo system (Alpine Deck, Focal Speakers)
American Racing Rims (Silver)
New headlight switch
The color is canary yellow, but it is a ten foot paint job (it looks best from 10 feet away). The body is amazingly straight, no dents, but there are a few spots that need some rust control before they become problems. I also have a brand new set of all the rubber for sealing the car, but didn't install it yet because I was waiting until after I'd repainted the car (because I decided to do DTS last minute in September, I didn't have the chance to paint it). I also have a disc brake conversion kit (also uninstalled) that comes free with the car.

This car is loud (dual exhaust) and fast. A blast to drive, and turns a lot of heads. It's impossible to stop at a grocery store or gas station without someone coming to talk to me about my car, which is awesome for me because I love talking about it!

Please contact me if you are interested.

A Quick Catch-up

Greetings from the beach at Khao Lak, Thailand... it's a balmy 94 degrees and I'm finally settled in to my new home for the next six-eight weeks. I'll be working at a preschool for Sea Gypsy children here in Khao Lak in the mornings and teaching English classes with adults in the evenings with a Thai ministry called Step Ahead. I came here to catch up on rest and find peace and direction from God during a less busy time... This morning I visited the preschool where I will be teaching and was informed the only way to travel the 10+ kilometers is on the little motorcycle! YIKES!!! I'm doing my best to learn as much Thai as I can while I'm here, but I'd really appreciate your prayers that I could have a miraculous break- through with Thai like I did with Chinese... who knows, maybe I could be fluent in a month?? Wishful thinking, I know, but with prayer anything is possible!

How did I end up in Thailand? A quick review… God has blessed me more than I could possibly put into words. He's used a thousand awesome opportunities to bring me exactly to where I am right now. When I was somewhat less than satisfied with my life at a conservative Christian college in Spokane, he put me on a collision course with China, where I was able to spend a year at Beijing University becoming functionally fluent in the language (and at the same time falling completely head over heals for the nation). When I returned to finish college in Spokane He provided me with new friends and I had an awesome senior year. When I wasn't sure what my next step would be, He planted the seeds for a 1965 Ford Mustang and used that possibility to draw me back to Montana where I spent the summer working to pay for it and rebuilding it. While I was in Montana I met a girl named Jess who badgered me all summer about doing a Discipleship Training School. Since then I have thanked God every day she was so persistent, because when I finally decided to do DTS, my life was forever changed. I figured out first hand that- despite the many reservations I'd been holding since I was a young teen- God is real, alive, and loving. Those three things being fact, I spent the first three months of DTS learning about what that meant for me, Anne Briggs, a 21 year old, somewhat mischievous, college graduate in the year 2009, and how I would go forward from here. The last two months I spent with a team of 12 on outreach in Taiwan and China- living it out. I had many victories and struggles, but came out more sure than ever: God is REAL He is ALIVE and HE IS LOVE.

Outreach was full of many hilarious stories –to tell them with any fairness would take way too long for today. The most ground shaking revelation during outreach is how prone we are (I am) to making excuses. I found myself making the excuses about the dumbest things like "well, I can't do devotions because the website I like to read the bible on is blocked," when I had a perfectly fine bible sitting right next to me. Or I might say "I just can't get close to God because I keep getting interrupted" when if life is anything, it is one big interruption. There will always be things "in the way" and circumstances are never going to be perfect. True intimacy with God comes from taking ownership of your (my) life and living it for him. No. Matter. What. So that's what I'm trying to do.

Which leads me to what's next… and this step has been very clearly laid out for me: I am to go back to Taiwan and do a School of Biblical Studies, a course charting the entire Bible, (a course equivalent to four years of Seminary). It's extremely intense, but I cannot think of a better way to get "grounded." (Not to mention that I cannot wait to spend more time in a place I love, learning the language I love from people I love). One of the greatest hindrances I've seen in young Christians' walk with God is the tendency to get swayed or distracted from the truth due to a lack of grounding in the word of God. Never being much of a reader prior to DTS ,in the last six months I've been reading anything and everything I can get my hands on in an insatiable desire for more knowledge. The school starts March 23^rd, so instead of returning to the USA and incurring yet another international airfare, I decided to invest this time doing a season of volunteer service. I’ve wanted to visit Thailand for a long time, this opportunity presented itself and I went for it!

Because God has always provided for me, though my bank account is currently empty, I'm going ahead and doing the school completely believing He is somehow going to provide the way. I need $3,000 tuition for the school and approximately $1000/month for the next nine months – this will cover the costs of visas, travel, books, supplies, room and board. I don't know how he's going to do it, maybe you or someone you know would like to buy my canary yellow refurbished 1965 Mustang (I put it up for sale to pay for my DTS and God provided a scholarship and several donors which allowed me to keep it). Maybe as my mom was joking "I'll find a rare ruby on the beach this month," or just maybe He'll provide through people, as he has so often in the past. It is never easy to ask people for money. Yet money is only a part of the partnership equation – If I am to succeed with the School of Biblical Studies, I will also need people who will commit to pray for me. I know it is way beyond my scope of focus to study for 40-60 hours per week, so I’m trusting God WILL bring partners for this life chapter. Please let me know if you would be willing to partner with me.... as a financial investor in ME and the continuation of my Biblical education, and/or as a prayer partner. If you want to buy the Mustang or know someone who would, let me know soon – my request will be that whoever purchases it will pray for me every time the car is started this year!!!

I would be nowhere without the people God has put in my life! Thank you all so much for supporting me with prayer, finances and friendship. I’ll keep you posted as the great adventure continues.