500th Post!

KMPS Chicks with Attitude!

So I decided my 500th post deserved a cute picture of me!! Yes, I know selfish, but hey, this is my blog! Anywho...that is me and Flo (KMPS Afternoon Traffic Maven) at the Charlie Daniels Concert in December. She is probably my favorite KMPS personality (along with Tony!)....she is always smiling and has such positive things to say.

Home!

Yeah, we got home to Seattle tonight at about 11pm. It was a long flight home, and we were gone way too long...17 days is a long time.

It was great....I'll write more tomorrow.

I'll try to get some pictures up as well by the end of the week.

Also to my family and friends....my email isn't letting me in so I can't contact you via email....sucks big time! So I'll try to call soon.

love you all

More Updates

Hello again!

I have a few free minutes this morning, as we are doing most of our ministry this week at night.

Yesterday we had the greatest opportunity to attend the funeral of a prominent Buddhist man, yes, we attended a Buddhist funeral. It was different; however, we believe that God worked in many lives yesterday even though we didn't see it physically. We paid our respects inside the temple praying and we were given incense to use. Now don't freak out!!! Think about it....How great is it that we were able to have the opportunity to pray to OUR GOD in the midst of a buddhist funeral in their temple????? And the fragrance? We simply prayed that it would be a fragrance unto the Lord. Sometimes you have to be a part of the local customs to share the love of Christ, and we were given that opportunity yesterday. Melissa Bixler was able to share with the deceased's sister (or sister in law) that Jesus loves her! Amazing. I also prayed for the daughter and believe that if anyone, she will be the link for that family to come to know Christ. God is working in Thailand!

Today we are headed out to the orphanges that I have been talking about. We cannot openly pray for these children, but all of you know that our prayers will still be heard as we bless them and ask for healing in their bodies, their minds and their spirits! I expect to share great miracles and stories with you all!

We have also been able to spend extra time with Nina our tour guide outside of her working. She loves being with us, but isn't quite sure what to make of us crazy Americans. We believe she is going to come to know the Lord!

We love you, and we thank you so much for your prayers! We will see you on the 21st!

Hello Again

Hi! I'm still in Bangkok, hanging out with Branden S. We are on our own for a few days as we wait for the next group of students to come in tomorrow. Some of the things we have done while here:

1. We buy food and water every day and take it to people on the streets. There is a mom with two children about two blocks from our hotel, and she is getting to know us as we go every day.

2. We have been going to red light district and praying our butts off!!! Honestly, some of what we see there is horrible, but we know God is working.

3. Praying at temples. We went to the temple here on the left, Wat Arun. There are steps actually going up that we walked (not all the way to the top). It is a Hindi temple full of demonic images and such. Just behind in one of the smaller temples someone wrote Scripture out on a piece of paper and left it under a footstool so that the Hindu temple would have the word of God in it!!!! Then right by that temple is a place that people can ring four different bells to ward away evil spirits. So as I was waiting I would go behind people and silence the bells once they rang them!!!!! It is hard sometimes to imagine how and why people worship at these places, but we know that the devil is sneaky in how he attracts people. One day, this country will be returned to God....until then? We keep praying!

The first week was an exploration week as I said in my last post, and this next week we will be doing more "work". It will be long days and nights, but it is great to be able to have an impact in such a country as this!

~marcie, Donovan is joining me this week!~

Love you all!

rachel ann

Thailand

Greetings from Bangkok!

The first group of students are finishing up here today, and are headed out to the Kalmantan Jungle (Borneo, Indonesia) tomorrow. The second group will be in Bangkok on Tuesday.

We had no real agenda coming to Bangkok other than scoping things out and praying. God is so good that he directed our paths the very first day we were prayer walking. We were looking for areas that homeless people and orphan children live in order to feed them. Pastor Christopher thought to go to a church and ask....long story short....Shannon was given time with two sisters from the Catholic church, and we have set up a day next week where we will be going to a hospital and praying with a lady who has terminal brain cancer. The same day we will also be visiting a children's AIDS hospital.....simply there to pray and more importantly to love on children.

Yesterday was a combination of play and prayer. We took a boat tour down the main river...prayed over temples, government buildings, universities, etc. We believe that our main thing yesterday was simply time spent with our two tour guides Ann and Nina....both who are Buddhist. We spent from 7:30 am to about 8pm with them. It was great! The group next week will be going on the same boat tour and we will get the opportunity to spend time with them again!

PS: If you know Shannon Kapp ask him about the Thailand Zoo and Snake Show that we went to!!! :)

On a little more intense side we have spent much time walking the streets that are identified as prostitution areas. I will be honest, these are hard areas. We are walking and praying and passing out food. Shannon and Justin are doing a little more searching out the area. We don't know all that is going to happen in these areas, but we know God will do great things!

We are resting for a couple of hours right now as we are going out late tonight. Please keep praying for safety, and protection of hearts and minds as we enter into the areas that are full of sexual immorality.

We love and miss all of you!

Blessings
Rachel

Singapore to Bangkok

Hi, I'm writing from the Changi Airport in Singapore! We got here a few days ago and hit the road running. We spent the first two days prayer walking the Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim Temples. We saw God moving!

I am with the group that is headed to Bangkok, Thailand! We will be prayer walking there as well as helping the children on the streets!

I will try to write again...till later...love you all and Blessings!

Marcie...Donovan is doing great!

Countdown

We leave the church in seven hours and our plane leaves SeaTac in about nine hours!

What am I doing this morning? Teaching Sunday School....what made me think I was functioning for Sunday School this morning? That's alright, I have four/five year olds and we will have fun this morning. Not much of a lesson will be taught, but we will still have fun!

Alright, I'm off to church...have to be there in eleven minutes and I still need to make a cup of coffee!

Ta Ta

What's an office without a chair?

So you're planning on re-modeling a spare bedroom into a home office? You get all this nice furniture in: the desk, the lighting, the window treatments, art work, a pimp computer system, you name it....you got it! You start to look around and see that something is missing? Hmmm, what could it be?

A rug? Nope, in place!
Pencils, staplers, tape dispenser? Check, Check, Check!
I know a filing cabinet! Let's see, no that is right next to the desk.

I got it, I got it, I got it! A chair. Well, of course I forgot the chair. But you are in luck for I know a great site that you can go to that sells home office chairs. They have top quality leather chairs, they have upholstered chairs, they have totally cool looking oak chairs. They have chairs that swivel, that go round and round, and tilt back. They have chairs that make the peons of an office look like the CEO! You want it, they probably have it! Do you know what manufacturer you want your chair to come from? Well then, you can shop by manufacturer.

Do you need to update furniture in other areas of your home? You can find furniture for the dining room, living room, kitchen, bedrooms (adults and kids), and of course your home office. They offer great financing deals as well as a great money back guarantee. So get to browsing for all your furniture needs.

This post sponsored by greatpricedfurniture.com

Ice Cream

I scream,

You scream,

We all scream for

ICE CREAM!

Why is it that people think ice cream is a good idea in the middle of winter? It is freezing cold out and we go, "Hmmm, I think ice cream sounds good right now!" No, not a nice cup of warm cocoa with whip cream on top, but ice cream. So who were the fabulous thinkers that thought ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery would be a good idea at 9:00 tonight? Oh yeah, me and the others I was with for dinner. We went to Hunan Gardens for dinner, and as we are sitting around talking the idea to go to Cold Stone popped up. I admit, I was all over the idea until....I WALKED OUTSIDE INTO THE FREEZING COLD WEATHER!

Did I still get my ice cream?

Of course, Coffee Lovers Only please!

Was it delicious? Of course it was!

So please, the only thing I ask is if you are thinking of partaking of Cold Stone in the middle of winter that you wear a coat! (yes, I saw teenagers in there wearing just t-shirts! Dumb!)

Funny and Weird Cartoons

I love to laugh, and my sense of humor, well....at times it is a bit warped. So I laugh at some of the stranget things (and people look at my like I'm weird, go figure). Anyways, there is this artist, Oliver Gaspirtz, who started with his cartoons in magazines and such. However, his work is only seen via the internet. Some of his humor is off the wall and a bit bizaare, but he is funny! Here is a picture that I enjoy!
see sidebar disclosure

Ugly Betty

OMG! Did you watch Ugly Betty tonight? Oh yeah....Daniel's dead brother came back from the dead as a woman known as Alexis....played by Rebecca Rojmin. It was definitely interesting.....Alex supposedly died in a skiing accident and then he went into hiding to have a sex change...then to come back to take over the magazine MODE. Oh it's getting interesting...and dang it I'm leaving for 18 days, that means 3 weeks of no Ugly Betty. Good thing abc plays their shows online!

Student Loan Consolidations

I went to a private college and racked up a tremendous amount of debt in the form of school loans. Let's just say it is over $20,000 and leave it at that! The sad thing about this debt is the amount of interest I am paying on it over the next few decades. One way that I have managed to cut down on some of the interest and pay only one bill to one is company was a student loan consolidation. I consolidated my loans a few years ago, and it was probably one of the best decisions I've made. In the long run it saves money because it locks in a low interest rate and it gives you that one payment to one company!! A

This post sponsored by secureloanconsolidation.com

Slowing Down

Does it seem like I'm not putting out the posts like normal? Yeah, that's because I'm not. I've been swamped the last few weeks. I've actually been working (yeah my bills are getting paid!), and I was working down at my church for a couple of weeks helping get contribution statements done, and oh yeah, I'm leaving Sunday for Asia. Did you know I was going to Singapore and Bangkok...yep I am. Hard to believe we are leaving in just a few short days. I haven't started packing, I haven't even taken my clothes out ot look at them....I don't know what is coming and what is going! I have gone to Walmart and bought some essentials, so hopefully I'm not missing anything...oh well, too bad if I am!

So anyway, if you don't hear from me for a couple of weeks, you know why! Although I have a few days free during the middle of our trip due to scheduling flight snafus so I will try to get online then.

Have a wonderful week.

Who's Calling You?

Do you ever get cell phone calls where the caller ID says unavailable? I do...all the time! What do you do when you get them? Answer the call and hope it isn't someone you didn't want to talk to? Do you let it go to voicemail and hope that they actually leave a voicemail? I'm the person that lets it go to voicemail and hope that it wasn't someone I really did need to talk to! Now you can do reverse cell phone look up to see who is calling you from all those unavailable numbers.

This is a sponsored post, see sidebar disclosure

Sunday

What a great day today! I got tons of stuff done....stuff that I haven't had time to do over the last few weeks due to working my regular job and working down at the church. I'm not complaining about working....I definitely need the money and I really do like to work! But I haven't had a lot of extra time to get ready for my trip. So I slept in (I was working yesterday and didn't get home until 1am!), went to church, had lunch with Rodney and Holly (yummy pizza that was free as Holly and I both had free pizza coupons!), and then shopping with Holly and Barb....got all my stuff bought for my trip (thanks to a friend who gave me some money for my trip!). It felt good to have a Rachel day...ya know you need days for yourself sometimes, and the people that take time for themselves feel so much better.

So take the time to pamper yourself a bit this week!

Boston Condos

Sometimes I think that owning a condo would be so much easier than owning a house. Mainly because there is no yard upkeep. Now keep in mind I don't have children yet, and a condo is perfect for a single person or a married couple with no children. I have not yet visited Boston, but is definitely on my road trip must visit cities. And I think living in a condo in Boston would be spectacular!!! But how do I, living in Seattle, find great Boston condos? I go to this site: boston.condocompany.com where they have realtors, owners and developers listing condos for sale daily. A potential buyer can then go through all the listings, pick out the ones they like and then contact the seller directly. No middleman! And we all breathed a sigh of thankfulness, because we all know the middleman takes way too much money, time and energy! It's simple and way so easy. Go on, take a look around see if there is something that you like and then contact the seller directly. It will be more efficient for you, less time consuming and less draining on your emotions and pocketbook! Are you one of those people who are looking to live in luxury high rise condo? Well, boston.condocompany.com can help you out there too....as they have "building specialists" who deal with those condos specifically.

This post sponsored by boston.condocompany.com

George Strait

Look who I get to go see in concert tonight? Yep, that's right I'm heading down to the Tacoma Dome to see George Strait. Of course I have to work for six hours or so outside the Dome before I get to go in. I guess that is the trade off for free concerts...you work then you play. I just wish we weren't working in the cold! Oh well....

....so he is bringing an odd combination with him for his starting acts. Taylor Swift, she is the 16 year who sings about Tim McGraw...personally not a favorite of mine, and Ronnie Milsap....yeah, Ronnie Milsap hasn't been heard of in years....but I'm looking forward to seeing him (if I get in there quick enough) because he's good. Old timer, yes, but good!

Free IT Training

I'm smart, at least I think I am! However, when it comes to computers and how to actually get them to work besides hitting the power button I get so lost. On my church computer I have great IT guys who come running everytime something goes bonkers. But now I have the opportunity to learn some of the details they know in an online free network+ training. They are giving free training to showcase some of their topics! What a way to learn IT information, plus they have practice exams so you know if you are "getting" it or not!

This post sponsored by trainsignaltraining.com

Burn Baby Burn...Word of the Day: FUEL

As a word junkie I love checking out words in Webster's Dictionary....I have a small FREE space on FUELMYBLOG.COM. The creators of this totally tubular (I can use that word as I actually lived during that era!) site that is free for bloggers....you go to the site, pick the square you want (hurry, there are only 175 spots on the front page left), submit your information with a picture and there you go...FREE advertising. You can then run your mouse over pictures and a brief synopsis of that blog comes up! Cool.

Ok, ok, back to my Webster Dictionary fetish: The word of the day is FUEL...let's see what they say....

fu·el /ˈfyuəl/

1. combustible matter used to maintain fire, as coal, wood, oil, or gas, in order to create heat or power. fuelmyblog.com is is the matter mainting my fire! The help me and other bloggers burn baby all over the internet community!
2. something that gives nourishment; food. Yep, fuelmyblog.com gives great nourishment, in that they are nourishing the amount of people who visit me!
3. an energy source for engines, power plants, or reactors: Kerosene is used as jet engine fuel. Once again, fuelmyblog.com is a powerful energy source...the horses underneath the hood!
4. something that sustains or encourages; stimulant: Our discussion provided him with fuel for debate. –verb (used with object) Do they encourage? Of course they do.....they encourage readers to visit my blog!
5. to supply with fuel. –verb (used without object) One final Hurrah for fuelmyblog.com.

In other new news....they are starting a new weekly live radio show where those of us who owns blogs on the site get to talk about our blogs! What a great opportunity for someone like me who loves to chat! Do you want to chat? Just ask, I'll chat!

Nope, this isn't a sponsored post!

6. to obtain or replenish fuel.

Days of Our Lives

Come on admit it...you watch soap operas now or you have in the past! I have...in fact, I started watching "Days of Our Lives" when I was just a young child. One of my favorite aunts (Helen...love you auntie) watched it all the time, and when we visited her house in the summer we would watch it together. I then moved onto watching it more and more as I went through junior high; however, I haven't had much time to watch it the last few years. I distinctly remember the summer that Patch and Kayla got married....ahhhh, it was the stuff dreams were made of! How do you keep track of all the ins and outs of of the soap opera Days of Our Lives? You read the Days of Our Lives sections of soaps.com...you can get daily recaps and updates, latest breaking news, info about the actors and actresses as well as spoilers. Anything and everthing you need to know about you favorite soap opera. Sit back with your afternoon cup of coffee and enjoy escaping from reality for an hour or so!

This post sponsored by soaps.com