Chapter One: National Lampoon’s Trip to Malta
Let’s start where we left off last email: August 11th. That was the day we left for to spend 10 sunny days in Malta. Weather there in August is quite a contrast to England. It was HOT! This made going swimming all the more appealing. Unfortunately, I have no idea what country my bathing suit is in. Only one of the many perils of travelling so much. This did not dampen our dreams of jumping into the Mediterranean Sea; I just did it in my shorts and a tank top. All was well once again. Until Danny lost his flip flop to the sea. We were walking across some rocks to a small piece of land just off shore when the waves swept his sandal right off his foot and quickly took it farther and farther out to sea. Danny, being the athletic swimmer he is, instantly handed me his shirt and back pack and dove in after it. The shoe was quickly recovered and all was well again. Except that our cell phone was in the pocket of his shorts when he dove in. The phone was fried, well, drowned the fried (we did try to revive it by laying it out in the sun to dry). Thankfully the chip that records all our contact names and phone numbers was alright though. We only needed was another phone to put the memory chip into and a friend happened to have an extra one to lend us for the week. All was well once again.
Then we found out August is Malta’s month of festivals. Every night, every town has a fantastic show of fireworks. Now I know you’re saying, “Well, what’s wrong with that? Party pooper.” There’s nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all. But for some reason having fireworks at night aren’t good enough for the Maltese. Oh no. They have to set fireworks at all hours of the day. This includes 7:45 am. And 8: 30 am. And 9:17 am. And from 9:18 am until 11:00 pm. Everyday. It was like we were under attack. But at the end of each day, as we watched the beautiful display from the roof tops of Malta, all was well once again.
The rest of the trip went fairly smoothly despite those slight set backs. We went to a beautiful wedding on the beach, visited many of our friends, enjoyed many free home-cooked meals, and saw Madagascar (soooo good). We went swimming, read some good books on the beach, and didn’t even get sun burnt. Yes, all was well and right in our lives.
Unfortunately we had to return to England, which turned out not to be as easy as usual.
Stay tuned for Chapter Two: Lord of the Passports – Return of the Canadians (almost)
God Bless and have a great week!
~Alycia DeLong
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Update Overdue Charges
Hello there everyone! I hope this email finds you in good health, sunny weather, and happy times! Yes, we’ve been having our own share of sunny weather and happy times around here, noo doot aboot it (I am informed by the British that that’s common Canadian lingo). There is only ONE MONTH until the UK LifeFORCE base blasts off into action. Registration day is October 16th and the party starts October 17th. Everything is set up, but we are still trying to get a few last students in. We are looking for 3 adventurous and dedicated suckers, uh – I mean students. So far it looks like our team size will be 6, but we’re still pulling for 9! Well, actually, we wouldn’t mind if 30 students signed up over the next few weeks. We’ve got places to send them!
Life hasn’t been all LifeFORCE for Danny and I over here. We’ve been busy with a number of kid’s camps, youth nights, camping conferences, drama workshops, and tons of meetings. Since school has started up again, we’ve been involved in organizing a number of activities for classes. We’ll be running an after school drama program at Emmanuel Christian School here in Walsall and we’ve also been putting together class programs for churches in Franche, Kidderminster and Stourbridge. We’ll actually be going with church teams into schools to talk about values, choices, who is Jesus (yes, we can talk about that here) and all that fun stuff. We’ve also been offering our van to churches so we’ve been busy picking up other teams on summer missions, taking kids to camp and youth to bowling, that sort of thing. It seems that even if Danny and I weren’t here with LifeFORCE, we’d still have plenty to do!
I know I haven’t written in ages and I do want to catch everyone up to speed, but there is just so much! Therefore, to spare you from another one of my novels, I’m just going to break them up over the next few emails. I already have the chapters worked out:
Chapter One: National Lampoon’s Trip to Malta
Chapter Two: Lord of the Passports – Return of the Canadians (almost)
Chapter Three: Survivor – Kids’ Club Season
Chapter Four: Cabin Fever – Camping at a Church Conference
Chapter Five: The Iron Chef – This Week’s Secret Ingredient
Wow, so much to look forward too, eh? Yes it has been a busy month. Just one more thing before I go: A few updates ago (back in June, I think) I mentioned about a young girl named Sarah who was addicted to smack. We’d met in the town centre one day and got to pray with her. She came to a few free diners at the church and was connected with some of the staff. Well, Sarah has just returned from a camp in Scotland for kids trying to get off drugs. She’s been gone for over a month climbing mountains, making new friends, and getting counseling. We met up with Sarah yesterday afternoon and she looked great! She’s gained a bit of weight and her colour is much healthier. We still have a long road ahead, though, so please remember Sarah and all of us here who are going to be helping her with this over the next however long it takes!
Alright then, that’s all I’m going to write this time. Tune in next time for…yeesh! I need to switch to decaf tea.
God bless,
~Alycia DeLong
Life hasn’t been all LifeFORCE for Danny and I over here. We’ve been busy with a number of kid’s camps, youth nights, camping conferences, drama workshops, and tons of meetings. Since school has started up again, we’ve been involved in organizing a number of activities for classes. We’ll be running an after school drama program at Emmanuel Christian School here in Walsall and we’ve also been putting together class programs for churches in Franche, Kidderminster and Stourbridge. We’ll actually be going with church teams into schools to talk about values, choices, who is Jesus (yes, we can talk about that here) and all that fun stuff. We’ve also been offering our van to churches so we’ve been busy picking up other teams on summer missions, taking kids to camp and youth to bowling, that sort of thing. It seems that even if Danny and I weren’t here with LifeFORCE, we’d still have plenty to do!
I know I haven’t written in ages and I do want to catch everyone up to speed, but there is just so much! Therefore, to spare you from another one of my novels, I’m just going to break them up over the next few emails. I already have the chapters worked out:
Chapter One: National Lampoon’s Trip to Malta
Chapter Two: Lord of the Passports – Return of the Canadians (almost)
Chapter Three: Survivor – Kids’ Club Season
Chapter Four: Cabin Fever – Camping at a Church Conference
Chapter Five: The Iron Chef – This Week’s Secret Ingredient
Wow, so much to look forward too, eh? Yes it has been a busy month. Just one more thing before I go: A few updates ago (back in June, I think) I mentioned about a young girl named Sarah who was addicted to smack. We’d met in the town centre one day and got to pray with her. She came to a few free diners at the church and was connected with some of the staff. Well, Sarah has just returned from a camp in Scotland for kids trying to get off drugs. She’s been gone for over a month climbing mountains, making new friends, and getting counseling. We met up with Sarah yesterday afternoon and she looked great! She’s gained a bit of weight and her colour is much healthier. We still have a long road ahead, though, so please remember Sarah and all of us here who are going to be helping her with this over the next however long it takes!
Alright then, that’s all I’m going to write this time. Tune in next time for…yeesh! I need to switch to decaf tea.
God bless,
~Alycia DeLong
Friday, September 09, 2005
Don't Judge a Book by It's Cover
Hello everyone! How's it going, eh? I just had to put that in. I have no one to say that to here. Everyone just laughs at me and start saying, "Eh? Eh?" Yeah, yeah, I'm quite the novelty. I don't mind, though. The Brittish are so cute when they start giggling!
Not too much has been happening over the past couple of weeks. I don't remmeber if I mentioned it in the last email but Danny and I have moved into our own appartment right smack in the middle of Walsall. If I did mention it before I probably went on and on about the 62 steps we have to hike up and down between our place and the rest of planet earth at ground level. I won't go into that again. It's a great appartment though. It was fully furnished so we didn't have to carry any furniture up those evil stairs. The place even has a TV, but we don't watch it. Not because of any personal convictions about spiritual contamination and rotting of the brain. Oh no. It's because here there is a TV tax. You have to pay 100 pounds a year for every TV on your property that is connected to any type of station services. Basic cable is only about 7 channels and then you pay for anything extra after that. What this works out to is over $200 Canadian a year for 7 channels. $200 plus for Coronation Street, a few news updates, and the weather. There's breaking news: Today's forecast is rainy with some sunny patches. It's not even about that the price is too high, but its the principle of the thing. We come from the land of the glorius and free. We ain't paying no stinking TV tax! That's like having a separate donut tax at Tim Hortons. Yes, these are sad and sorry days. Danny and I unhooked the cables from the TV and sent them back to our landlord. We don't have any channels, but we can still watch movies on it, and there is even a DVD player with our place! And we don't have to pay any TV tax.
DeLong's - 1; TV Tax People - 0. The MacKenzie Brothers would be proud. (If you didn't get my SCTV referrence there, don't worry about it.)
In a related story, Danny and I have kept busy reading quite a few books lately. And being that it is summer, here's some short reviews of what's been passing our eyes lately:
Stormie - by Stormie Omartian (Its a she, and that is her real name)
Category: Christian Autobiography
Some of you may have hear of Stormie Omartian before. She's written a bunch of books such as, "The Power of a Praying Wife" , "The Power of a Praying Husband" , "The Power of a Praying Parent/Grandparent/Second Cousin/Mantis..." and so on and so forth. I've actually never read anything of hers before. My reasons are shallow - I always thought she looks like the Christian poster-child for Prozac. Anyway, somehow I ended up with her autobiography for a few days. It was really good. The lady's got quite an incredible story. I do recommend it and I may just be picking up another book of hers in the future.
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5).
The Lazuras Trap - By Davis Bunn
Category: Christian Suspense Fiction (supposedly)
My interest was baited by the back of the book cover: A man awakens with bumps and bruises but no memory of who he is, where he is from, or what has happened to him. As memories flash back, he finds himself in the middle of fraud, revenge, and murder. Sounds exciting? Well, it wasn't. What a disappointment for a book with such great potential in its plot. I never really became attached to any of the characters, no real surprises (the guy had his memory back within 3 chapters so the plot was over), poor dialogue, and there were lots of loose ends. I hate to be cruel, but leave this one on the shelf.
Rating: 1 star (its a pitty star, really).
Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less- by Jeffrey Archer
Category: Fiction
Jeffrey Archer is an English writer who specializes in tales of brilliant fraud and big stakes. Ironically, Archer is in prison for a brilliant fraud in which the stakes where too high for him. No joke - the dude is doing time. I enjoyed this book very much though. When four guys are suckered and loose big bucks, they decide to return the favour by scamming the scam artist back, but for not a penny more, not a penny less. If you like that Ocean's Eleven feeling, then you'd probably like this book.
Rating: 4 Stars
Kane and Abel - by Jeffrey Archer
Category: Fiction
Another book about fraud (write what you know, as they say). This is a biggy, though. It was, like, twice as big as "Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less." It follows the lives of two men from different worlds. Inevitably, their worlds collide. Its all about the money, the power, and revenge. It was interesting because you really saw what made each man what he was and what he was about. Take note, though, this isn't Christian fiction and some parts are a bit graphic, which never enhances a book's impression in my opinion. This one is seriously 500+ pages, they could've done with out some details.
Rating: 2 stars
Black, Red, White - by Ted Dekker
Category: Trilogy, Christian Fiction
This is a set of 3 hefty books, but absolutely fantastic! A man is trapped between two realities: One of the world where a deadly virus is about to be released; One of strange creatures, true love, and the battle between good and evil. But which one is real? One world may help him save the other. And one world might save him. Let me warn you, if you pick these books up you will not put them down. They are super great fantastic! Yes, a real adventure. It's like "The Clear and Present Danger" meets "Lord of the Rings."
Rating: 5 stars (even 6 stars, they are that good).
THR3E - by Ted Dekker
Category: Christian Suspense Fiction
Okay, Mr. Dekker made a fan out of me after Black, Red, and White, but after this one, he's made me an obsessive follower. This book was nothing like the trilogy, but just as super great fantastic, which, to me, shows talent. In this psycho-thriller a man receives a call from a stranger. "You have 3 minutes to confess your sin," is the demand, "or you will die." Whoa! Read this book, but not when you are alone in the house. Or after dark. Ted Dekker has an incredible gift for taking something from the Bible, be it a verse or a principal, and building an entire story off of it. The thing breathes life - and it is exhilarating! Get ready for goose bumps!
Rating: 17 million stars (the ultimate 'read-it-now' rating).
A Painted House - by John Grisham
Category: Fiction
I am a huge Grisham fan. Many of his books have been made into movie classics such as 'The Firm,' 'The Pelican Brief,' 'The Client,' 'A Time to Kill,' and there are a few others. He usually writes a typical lawyer/underdog type of story, but A Painted House was totally different. It's written from the perspective of a 7-year-old boy growing up on a cotton farm in Arkansas during the 1950's. Another doozie of a book, around 500 pages, but it was a great read. Lots of great things that kept my attention. I admit that in this one I did find myself laughing out loud in some parts and wiping away tears at others. I'd recommend this one if you're on holiday. It was delightful (sorry for the cheesiness, but it was).
Rating: 5 stars
Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
Category: Children's Fiction
Ha ha! Just Kidding! I haven't read this one. You should have seen the madness here in the U.K. when it came out! Let me put it this way: When JK Rowling releases a new book, the Royal family could go to a McDonald's drive through, order Happy Meals and wear the boxes on their heads to the mall without it making the papers. Potter is royalty over here (although nowhere near as good looking as Prince William).
Once again, I have written a novel of my own. Is everyone still with me? Are any of you experiencing a dryness of eyes or stiffining of back or cramping of retna and that sort of thing? Maybe wait 24 hours before picking up a book.
On that note I will be off. Oh hey, one last thing. Danny and I are heading over to Malta this week for about 10 days. We will be in a few churches and taking a few potential candidates for LifeForce out for coffee (shmoozing, as we say in the business). There's also a wedding we get to attend (score - free cake). So until next time, God bless you all - I hope you are all having a wonderful summer - and give your TV's a hug this week, for me and Danny.
Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong
Not too much has been happening over the past couple of weeks. I don't remmeber if I mentioned it in the last email but Danny and I have moved into our own appartment right smack in the middle of Walsall. If I did mention it before I probably went on and on about the 62 steps we have to hike up and down between our place and the rest of planet earth at ground level. I won't go into that again. It's a great appartment though. It was fully furnished so we didn't have to carry any furniture up those evil stairs. The place even has a TV, but we don't watch it. Not because of any personal convictions about spiritual contamination and rotting of the brain. Oh no. It's because here there is a TV tax. You have to pay 100 pounds a year for every TV on your property that is connected to any type of station services. Basic cable is only about 7 channels and then you pay for anything extra after that. What this works out to is over $200 Canadian a year for 7 channels. $200 plus for Coronation Street, a few news updates, and the weather. There's breaking news: Today's forecast is rainy with some sunny patches. It's not even about that the price is too high, but its the principle of the thing. We come from the land of the glorius and free. We ain't paying no stinking TV tax! That's like having a separate donut tax at Tim Hortons. Yes, these are sad and sorry days. Danny and I unhooked the cables from the TV and sent them back to our landlord. We don't have any channels, but we can still watch movies on it, and there is even a DVD player with our place! And we don't have to pay any TV tax.
DeLong's - 1; TV Tax People - 0. The MacKenzie Brothers would be proud. (If you didn't get my SCTV referrence there, don't worry about it.)
In a related story, Danny and I have kept busy reading quite a few books lately. And being that it is summer, here's some short reviews of what's been passing our eyes lately:
Stormie - by Stormie Omartian (Its a she, and that is her real name)
Category: Christian Autobiography
Some of you may have hear of Stormie Omartian before. She's written a bunch of books such as, "The Power of a Praying Wife" , "The Power of a Praying Husband" , "The Power of a Praying Parent/Grandparent/Second Cousin/Mantis..." and so on and so forth. I've actually never read anything of hers before. My reasons are shallow - I always thought she looks like the Christian poster-child for Prozac. Anyway, somehow I ended up with her autobiography for a few days. It was really good. The lady's got quite an incredible story. I do recommend it and I may just be picking up another book of hers in the future.
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5).
The Lazuras Trap - By Davis Bunn
Category: Christian Suspense Fiction (supposedly)
My interest was baited by the back of the book cover: A man awakens with bumps and bruises but no memory of who he is, where he is from, or what has happened to him. As memories flash back, he finds himself in the middle of fraud, revenge, and murder. Sounds exciting? Well, it wasn't. What a disappointment for a book with such great potential in its plot. I never really became attached to any of the characters, no real surprises (the guy had his memory back within 3 chapters so the plot was over), poor dialogue, and there were lots of loose ends. I hate to be cruel, but leave this one on the shelf.
Rating: 1 star (its a pitty star, really).
Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less- by Jeffrey Archer
Category: Fiction
Jeffrey Archer is an English writer who specializes in tales of brilliant fraud and big stakes. Ironically, Archer is in prison for a brilliant fraud in which the stakes where too high for him. No joke - the dude is doing time. I enjoyed this book very much though. When four guys are suckered and loose big bucks, they decide to return the favour by scamming the scam artist back, but for not a penny more, not a penny less. If you like that Ocean's Eleven feeling, then you'd probably like this book.
Rating: 4 Stars
Kane and Abel - by Jeffrey Archer
Category: Fiction
Another book about fraud (write what you know, as they say). This is a biggy, though. It was, like, twice as big as "Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less." It follows the lives of two men from different worlds. Inevitably, their worlds collide. Its all about the money, the power, and revenge. It was interesting because you really saw what made each man what he was and what he was about. Take note, though, this isn't Christian fiction and some parts are a bit graphic, which never enhances a book's impression in my opinion. This one is seriously 500+ pages, they could've done with out some details.
Rating: 2 stars
Black, Red, White - by Ted Dekker
Category: Trilogy, Christian Fiction
This is a set of 3 hefty books, but absolutely fantastic! A man is trapped between two realities: One of the world where a deadly virus is about to be released; One of strange creatures, true love, and the battle between good and evil. But which one is real? One world may help him save the other. And one world might save him. Let me warn you, if you pick these books up you will not put them down. They are super great fantastic! Yes, a real adventure. It's like "The Clear and Present Danger" meets "Lord of the Rings."
Rating: 5 stars (even 6 stars, they are that good).
THR3E - by Ted Dekker
Category: Christian Suspense Fiction
Okay, Mr. Dekker made a fan out of me after Black, Red, and White, but after this one, he's made me an obsessive follower. This book was nothing like the trilogy, but just as super great fantastic, which, to me, shows talent. In this psycho-thriller a man receives a call from a stranger. "You have 3 minutes to confess your sin," is the demand, "or you will die." Whoa! Read this book, but not when you are alone in the house. Or after dark. Ted Dekker has an incredible gift for taking something from the Bible, be it a verse or a principal, and building an entire story off of it. The thing breathes life - and it is exhilarating! Get ready for goose bumps!
Rating: 17 million stars (the ultimate 'read-it-now' rating).
A Painted House - by John Grisham
Category: Fiction
I am a huge Grisham fan. Many of his books have been made into movie classics such as 'The Firm,' 'The Pelican Brief,' 'The Client,' 'A Time to Kill,' and there are a few others. He usually writes a typical lawyer/underdog type of story, but A Painted House was totally different. It's written from the perspective of a 7-year-old boy growing up on a cotton farm in Arkansas during the 1950's. Another doozie of a book, around 500 pages, but it was a great read. Lots of great things that kept my attention. I admit that in this one I did find myself laughing out loud in some parts and wiping away tears at others. I'd recommend this one if you're on holiday. It was delightful (sorry for the cheesiness, but it was).
Rating: 5 stars
Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
Category: Children's Fiction
Ha ha! Just Kidding! I haven't read this one. You should have seen the madness here in the U.K. when it came out! Let me put it this way: When JK Rowling releases a new book, the Royal family could go to a McDonald's drive through, order Happy Meals and wear the boxes on their heads to the mall without it making the papers. Potter is royalty over here (although nowhere near as good looking as Prince William).
Once again, I have written a novel of my own. Is everyone still with me? Are any of you experiencing a dryness of eyes or stiffining of back or cramping of retna and that sort of thing? Maybe wait 24 hours before picking up a book.
On that note I will be off. Oh hey, one last thing. Danny and I are heading over to Malta this week for about 10 days. We will be in a few churches and taking a few potential candidates for LifeForce out for coffee (shmoozing, as we say in the business). There's also a wedding we get to attend (score - free cake). So until next time, God bless you all - I hope you are all having a wonderful summer - and give your TV's a hug this week, for me and Danny.
Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong
Saturday, July 09, 2005
The London Bombings
Hello there everyone! Yes, we have had one wild week here in England. On Wednesday, July 6 English spirits soared when it was announced that London would host the 2012 Summer Olympics. Thursday, July 7 there were four bombings on London's public transport - three on the underground subway and one on a street bus. There has been very little talk of Britian's gain of the Olympics. All the broadcasts are about yesterday's loss.
Danny and I were not in London when that all happened, so for those of you that have written asking if we are okay, the answer is yes. Apparently this has been the work of terrorists (and not the French blowing off some anger about losing the Olympic bid). We did have to take some friends to the airport in Birmingham (about 2 hours north of London) that afternoon, and the main motorways were filled with confusion from the attacks. The electric road signs that notify drivers of road delays, construction, accidents, etc. read, "CLOSED: LONDON." At the Birmingham airport there were hundreds of police and military officers fully equipped with guns and on high alert.
The reports are that at least 50 people have been killed in the blast and more than 700 injured. That number is actually surprisingly low considering it is said that almost 3 million people commute into London everyday. Personally, I think we can thank God this wasn't much, much worse.
Security everywhere is up today as England begins to process what just happened. Thankfully, we all know that God is an expert in bringing beauty out of the ashes and that is something we can all pray for right now.
So, thank you for all your emails and concern for us - we are just fine! Thank you also for your prayers. May God bless you today with a joy and awe about the preciousness of life, and what a true gift it is to have been given another day. My prayer is that with that in mind, we will take opportunities to share our gift with others.
Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong
Danny and I were not in London when that all happened, so for those of you that have written asking if we are okay, the answer is yes. Apparently this has been the work of terrorists (and not the French blowing off some anger about losing the Olympic bid). We did have to take some friends to the airport in Birmingham (about 2 hours north of London) that afternoon, and the main motorways were filled with confusion from the attacks. The electric road signs that notify drivers of road delays, construction, accidents, etc. read, "CLOSED: LONDON." At the Birmingham airport there were hundreds of police and military officers fully equipped with guns and on high alert.
The reports are that at least 50 people have been killed in the blast and more than 700 injured. That number is actually surprisingly low considering it is said that almost 3 million people commute into London everyday. Personally, I think we can thank God this wasn't much, much worse.
Security everywhere is up today as England begins to process what just happened. Thankfully, we all know that God is an expert in bringing beauty out of the ashes and that is something we can all pray for right now.
So, thank you for all your emails and concern for us - we are just fine! Thank you also for your prayers. May God bless you today with a joy and awe about the preciousness of life, and what a true gift it is to have been given another day. My prayer is that with that in mind, we will take opportunities to share our gift with others.
Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
What God did This Week: Part II
As promised, here is the second installment of our on-going adventure here...
Tuesday, June 21
Today in the Walsall town centre we decided that it would be nice to hand out flowers to people as they suffered through another typical English day - cloudy with sporadic periods of drizzle. It went over fantastically and many people stopped to talk. About an hour into the afternoon we were out of flowers and I was elected as the one to restock our little operation. As we were figuring out how much I should spend, I said, "I know, I'll just tell the guy we're doing this because Jesus wants to show people that they are special!" Everyone laughed at me (Thank you, Ned Flanders, and that sort of thing ). So I started laughing, too. Then everyone was laughing with me. Another excellent cover on my part. Anyway, I went and bought the flowers. And we didn't get them for free. But we gave them out for free and people were really touched.
Cool story 1: While handing out flowers, I met this wonderful little 70-something lady named Judy in the town centre who loved the little bouquet she was given. She said she had been here the day before and saw us doing drama and after some one had shared about Jesus. Judy also said that she was a Christian and that Jesus had been the only one who got her through the deaths of her husband and her daughter. There were times when she felt God was so far away, but later, in looking back, realized how close he was and how he had carried her through. Seeing the drama and hearing about Jesus the day before had reminded her of this.
While she was thinking about this, the women sitting on the bench next to her was also watching what the church group was doing and remarked about how she had believed in Jesus but felt so far from God right now as she grieved the death of some one she loved. Well, Judy picked up her cue and told her all about how she'd gone through it, too, and how God helped her. She revived this woman's faith and encouraged her to hang in there, keep believing, and keep praying!
And that woman was...(drum roll)...
Okay, I don't know who she was. But talk about a divine appointment! It reminded me how important it is not just to pray for myself that God will help me tell people about how much he loves them, but also to pray for His others who are out there too!
Later in the afternoon, oops sorry I forgot...
Cool Story 2: We met a 16 year old girl named Sara who is addicted to smack (heroine). At one point last year, she was staying with her older sister in an abandon car. The car caught fire after they had forgotten to blow out a candle before falling asleep. Sara and her sister both escaped, but Sara has some serious scars on her left arm and a nasty one in her throat where paramedics inserted a tube into her esophagus so she could breath. Her sister said that it must have been God that saved them. Ever since then she's been trying to clean up her life. Sara couldn't understand why God would save her though.Why is it that sometimes the simplest answers to givee are the hardest answers to understand? So we tried to tell her in the best way that we ourselves understand it - God loves you! That evening we got together again, and she let us pray that God would help her break free from smack. I was thinking praying for some one to be healed of an addiction to heroine seems a lot more difficult than praying for some one with hay fever, or at least to me. But then that quiet voice from Heaven seemed to drop a thought into my thick head,"you praying for this may seem for difficult, but Me answering it is not." Oh yeeeaaaahhh. Duh. Anyway, there were no flashes of light or the echos of breaking the chains of addiction at that moment, but Sara and her younger sister came to church on Friday night and Sunday. And are planning to continue. Sara found out how to get connected with a Christian agency that helps teens quit drugs and has asked for help from the people she's met, and more importantly, from God.
Cool Story 3: At the end of the afternoon, the guy who sold us flowers in the market came by and gave us a bucket of beautiful blue flowers for free. (I should have joked about a million dollars. )
Today's Lesson: Ephesians 3:20-21 "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen"
And that is the DeLong Report: UK for Tuesday, June 21, 2005. Until next time, take care and God bless!
Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong
Tuesday, June 21
Today in the Walsall town centre we decided that it would be nice to hand out flowers to people as they suffered through another typical English day - cloudy with sporadic periods of drizzle. It went over fantastically and many people stopped to talk. About an hour into the afternoon we were out of flowers and I was elected as the one to restock our little operation. As we were figuring out how much I should spend, I said, "I know, I'll just tell the guy we're doing this because Jesus wants to show people that they are special!" Everyone laughed at me (Thank you, Ned Flanders, and that sort of thing ). So I started laughing, too. Then everyone was laughing with me. Another excellent cover on my part. Anyway, I went and bought the flowers. And we didn't get them for free. But we gave them out for free and people were really touched.
Cool story 1: While handing out flowers, I met this wonderful little 70-something lady named Judy in the town centre who loved the little bouquet she was given. She said she had been here the day before and saw us doing drama and after some one had shared about Jesus. Judy also said that she was a Christian and that Jesus had been the only one who got her through the deaths of her husband and her daughter. There were times when she felt God was so far away, but later, in looking back, realized how close he was and how he had carried her through. Seeing the drama and hearing about Jesus the day before had reminded her of this.
While she was thinking about this, the women sitting on the bench next to her was also watching what the church group was doing and remarked about how she had believed in Jesus but felt so far from God right now as she grieved the death of some one she loved. Well, Judy picked up her cue and told her all about how she'd gone through it, too, and how God helped her. She revived this woman's faith and encouraged her to hang in there, keep believing, and keep praying!
And that woman was...(drum roll)...
Okay, I don't know who she was. But talk about a divine appointment! It reminded me how important it is not just to pray for myself that God will help me tell people about how much he loves them, but also to pray for His others who are out there too!
Later in the afternoon, oops sorry I forgot...
Cool Story 2: We met a 16 year old girl named Sara who is addicted to smack (heroine). At one point last year, she was staying with her older sister in an abandon car. The car caught fire after they had forgotten to blow out a candle before falling asleep. Sara and her sister both escaped, but Sara has some serious scars on her left arm and a nasty one in her throat where paramedics inserted a tube into her esophagus so she could breath. Her sister said that it must have been God that saved them. Ever since then she's been trying to clean up her life. Sara couldn't understand why God would save her though.Why is it that sometimes the simplest answers to givee are the hardest answers to understand? So we tried to tell her in the best way that we ourselves understand it - God loves you! That evening we got together again, and she let us pray that God would help her break free from smack. I was thinking praying for some one to be healed of an addiction to heroine seems a lot more difficult than praying for some one with hay fever, or at least to me. But then that quiet voice from Heaven seemed to drop a thought into my thick head,"you praying for this may seem for difficult, but Me answering it is not." Oh yeeeaaaahhh. Duh. Anyway, there were no flashes of light or the echos of breaking the chains of addiction at that moment, but Sara and her younger sister came to church on Friday night and Sunday. And are planning to continue. Sara found out how to get connected with a Christian agency that helps teens quit drugs and has asked for help from the people she's met, and more importantly, from God.
Cool Story 3: At the end of the afternoon, the guy who sold us flowers in the market came by and gave us a bucket of beautiful blue flowers for free. (I should have joked about a million dollars. )
Today's Lesson: Ephesians 3:20-21 "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen"
And that is the DeLong Report: UK for Tuesday, June 21, 2005. Until next time, take care and God bless!
Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
God Bless You!
Hello Everyone!
I know you've all been waiting with baited breath for another update, so I'll use my regular format. First off, I start my emails with the usual: The Apology. I'm sorry that I haven't written for a while. Second of all: The Excuse. We've been very busy. Lame as usual. There, now with that out of the way, let's get into it.
Last week we did a mission with one of the Walsall churches. They did a week of all sorts of activities in the community and town centre to share Jesus with people. We did dramas, music, free food, free flowers, free balloon animals, free Jesus, and ended the week with a free buffet at the church on Friday night. Each day was incredible see how God will touch people's lives in such a special and personal way. Many times we didn't even use anything, we just went to the town centre and sat around. It was INEVITABLE that you would get into a conversation with some one and get to tell them about what Jesus has done in your life and for the world on the cross!
Now, this email is going to be long enough as it is, so I'm just going to send you Monday's cool story and I'll carrie on with the rest later. Oh hey, a little warning here. You may want to grab a snack or a drink or use the toilet before you continue reading because this is a doozey.
Here's my cool story now: So on Monday we went to the town centre for the first time and there were tons of people walking around, going to work, shopping - that sort of thing. This young guy came up to me (probably in his early to mid-twenties) and asked me if I had been in any accidents. He sold some sort of claim insurance just out in the street. I told him I hadn't had any accidents. But he said again, "What about your accident?" I was a bit confused but I restated a little slower, "I haven't had any accidents." He insisted again, "No what about your accident?" Now I was a bit nervous and quickly scanned my shirt and pants to see if there were any 'accidents' I was unaware of. But I could find none, so again I repeated myself slower and louder, "I haven't had any ACCIDENTS!" He looked me in the eyes and replied very slowly, "Your ACCENT, what about your ACCENT?" Then to my embarassment I realized he wasn't asking me about any accidents. "Blonde," I answered, "My accent is blonde."
Ha ha ha. But that isn't the cool part...
I told him I was from Canada. He asked why I was here. I explained that my husband and I (yes, I brought that up as quickly in the conversation as possible) had moved here to plant a new training centre for a Christian theatre company and a bit about why we are doing it. I was brief in my explanation (if you can imagine), but it was because I usually try to avoid conversations with young men I don't know. I mean, why should they get their hopes and dreams up only to find out I'm already married and older than them anyway? Right. Well, we got to talking about Christianity and the Bible and I was able to ask him what he thought about Jesus as a person, not just a church. He said he did believe in God and had believed in Jesus as a child, but was interested in learning about other religions right now and persueing other things. The entire time we talked he was always sneezing and blowing his nose as if he had a really bad cold. He apologized after a fit of about 4 sneezes in a row and revealed that it was hay fever. He'd never had it as bad as this before, apparantly. He took echinacea and a bunch of other herbal stuff, but so far he just had to suffer it out. At that moment, God really did something and before I realized what I was doing, I'd offered to pray for him right there and he'd accepted! I don't even remember what exactly was prayed, it was only a second or two.
When we had finished he looked up at me a bit confused and aked, "What was that?"
I thought, 'Look, I know I'm no Billy Graham of a prayer warrior, but I meant what I said.'
"That was a prayer?" I sheepishly responded.
"No," he said and he took a deep breath, "I feel different! I don't have a scratch in my nose or anything!" And he took another deep breath.
Well, I looked at him sideways thinking, 'Okay guy, what are you talking about?' Then it sunk in. He had stopped sneezing! In fact we continued talking for over 15 minutes and he never sneezed again. At this point the door was wide open to tell this guy about all the things Jesus could heal a person of and share about the things Jesus had healed me of. Every ten seconds or so he would interrupt me and say, "I'm sorry. I just feel so different! I feel so much better!" We talked about many scriptures in the Bible, we talked about Jesus, we talked about the cross. He went away thanking Jesus and rekindling an new relationship with Him!
Okay, I know maybe this isn't the biggest miracle - you know, not exactly some one jumping out of a wheel chair or anything. But isn't it so amazing that God, the creator of all things, the one who sees all the pain in the world, thinks that hay fever is worth helping some one with hay fever! Wow, God is good! I just don't know what more to say about it! I've never really seen anything like it before, and I don't know if I will again. Why not, though, I guess! It's really reminded me of how much God wants to use us to touch other people and bring them to himself! It also reminds me of how powerful the Holy Spirit is that he could totally take over the whole situation and move me around to pray for that guy!
Wow, if you are still reading - three cheers for you! Stay tuned for the next, soon to be released (hopefully), installment of "DeLong Reports: UK!"
You can't say I didn't try to warn you about taking a bathroom break before the story. Hate to say I told you so, but there it is.
Unitl next time, take care and God Bless!
Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong
I know you've all been waiting with baited breath for another update, so I'll use my regular format. First off, I start my emails with the usual: The Apology. I'm sorry that I haven't written for a while. Second of all: The Excuse. We've been very busy. Lame as usual. There, now with that out of the way, let's get into it.
Last week we did a mission with one of the Walsall churches. They did a week of all sorts of activities in the community and town centre to share Jesus with people. We did dramas, music, free food, free flowers, free balloon animals, free Jesus, and ended the week with a free buffet at the church on Friday night. Each day was incredible see how God will touch people's lives in such a special and personal way. Many times we didn't even use anything, we just went to the town centre and sat around. It was INEVITABLE that you would get into a conversation with some one and get to tell them about what Jesus has done in your life and for the world on the cross!
Now, this email is going to be long enough as it is, so I'm just going to send you Monday's cool story and I'll carrie on with the rest later. Oh hey, a little warning here. You may want to grab a snack or a drink or use the toilet before you continue reading because this is a doozey.
Here's my cool story now: So on Monday we went to the town centre for the first time and there were tons of people walking around, going to work, shopping - that sort of thing. This young guy came up to me (probably in his early to mid-twenties) and asked me if I had been in any accidents. He sold some sort of claim insurance just out in the street. I told him I hadn't had any accidents. But he said again, "What about your accident?" I was a bit confused but I restated a little slower, "I haven't had any accidents." He insisted again, "No what about your accident?" Now I was a bit nervous and quickly scanned my shirt and pants to see if there were any 'accidents' I was unaware of. But I could find none, so again I repeated myself slower and louder, "I haven't had any ACCIDENTS!" He looked me in the eyes and replied very slowly, "Your ACCENT, what about your ACCENT?" Then to my embarassment I realized he wasn't asking me about any accidents. "Blonde," I answered, "My accent is blonde."
Ha ha ha. But that isn't the cool part...
I told him I was from Canada. He asked why I was here. I explained that my husband and I (yes, I brought that up as quickly in the conversation as possible) had moved here to plant a new training centre for a Christian theatre company and a bit about why we are doing it. I was brief in my explanation (if you can imagine), but it was because I usually try to avoid conversations with young men I don't know. I mean, why should they get their hopes and dreams up only to find out I'm already married and older than them anyway? Right. Well, we got to talking about Christianity and the Bible and I was able to ask him what he thought about Jesus as a person, not just a church. He said he did believe in God and had believed in Jesus as a child, but was interested in learning about other religions right now and persueing other things. The entire time we talked he was always sneezing and blowing his nose as if he had a really bad cold. He apologized after a fit of about 4 sneezes in a row and revealed that it was hay fever. He'd never had it as bad as this before, apparantly. He took echinacea and a bunch of other herbal stuff, but so far he just had to suffer it out. At that moment, God really did something and before I realized what I was doing, I'd offered to pray for him right there and he'd accepted! I don't even remember what exactly was prayed, it was only a second or two.
When we had finished he looked up at me a bit confused and aked, "What was that?"
I thought, 'Look, I know I'm no Billy Graham of a prayer warrior, but I meant what I said.'
"That was a prayer?" I sheepishly responded.
"No," he said and he took a deep breath, "I feel different! I don't have a scratch in my nose or anything!" And he took another deep breath.
Well, I looked at him sideways thinking, 'Okay guy, what are you talking about?' Then it sunk in. He had stopped sneezing! In fact we continued talking for over 15 minutes and he never sneezed again. At this point the door was wide open to tell this guy about all the things Jesus could heal a person of and share about the things Jesus had healed me of. Every ten seconds or so he would interrupt me and say, "I'm sorry. I just feel so different! I feel so much better!" We talked about many scriptures in the Bible, we talked about Jesus, we talked about the cross. He went away thanking Jesus and rekindling an new relationship with Him!
Okay, I know maybe this isn't the biggest miracle - you know, not exactly some one jumping out of a wheel chair or anything. But isn't it so amazing that God, the creator of all things, the one who sees all the pain in the world, thinks that hay fever is worth helping some one with hay fever! Wow, God is good! I just don't know what more to say about it! I've never really seen anything like it before, and I don't know if I will again. Why not, though, I guess! It's really reminded me of how much God wants to use us to touch other people and bring them to himself! It also reminds me of how powerful the Holy Spirit is that he could totally take over the whole situation and move me around to pray for that guy!
Wow, if you are still reading - three cheers for you! Stay tuned for the next, soon to be released (hopefully), installment of "DeLong Reports: UK!"
You can't say I didn't try to warn you about taking a bathroom break before the story. Hate to say I told you so, but there it is.
Unitl next time, take care and God Bless!
Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong
Hello from the UK
Hello Everyone!
We have landed in the UK! Yes, this is one small step for the DeLongs, one giant leap for LifeFORCE...
(We didn't sleep much on the flight so the jet lag is hitting us something fierce this time)
As we both try to gather ourselves and put a list of priorties together, I just wanted to pass on some prayer requests:
1. The LifeFORCE Base
- Please pray that everything would fall together for getting a place where we can facilitate the teams, the training, the eating and the sleeping for all the students will come.
2. The LifeFORCE Students
- Okay, we need those students to put in the new LifeForce base. We are looking for about 10-14 students, and actually already have one!
3. The LifeFORCE Leader
- We already have one leader for our local team, but we do need one or two more for our international team going to Malta and Northern Africa. If all else fails, Danny and I will lead that team (which may not be such a bad thing. We love Malta and have never been to Northern Africa before).
4. The LifeFORCE Van
- We do have a van, but it is a bit of a seedy thing. We need to get a few things fixed or possibly sell it and go for a new (new to us) one all together. Please pray that God will direct us there.
5. The LifeFORCE DeLongs
- At some point (hopefully very soon) Danny and I would like to be in a place of our own. Right now we are staying with some wonderful friends in Walsall, but we don't want to be squatters in their home forever! We aren't looking for anything fancy. Fancy place equals expensive place. Expensive place subtracts from my chocolate budget. Negative chocolate budget multiplies my crankiness. You can do the math. We do want to be as close to the LifeForce training base as possible.
Well, I think this is about it for now. I'm working on getting things super-organized (HA). I've noticed some of these updates have been getting bounced back to me, so if you wouldn't mind emailing me back if you got this or if there is a different email account I should use, or if you want to be taken off my update list because you're sick of my ramblings, etc. You know, that sort of thing.
Again, thank you all for your prayers and support! It is a bit strange to be here without a team in the physical. But in the spiritual, we know we aren't alone.
Thanks for joining us!
God bless and take care!
~Alycia DeLong
We have landed in the UK! Yes, this is one small step for the DeLongs, one giant leap for LifeFORCE...
(We didn't sleep much on the flight so the jet lag is hitting us something fierce this time)
As we both try to gather ourselves and put a list of priorties together, I just wanted to pass on some prayer requests:
1. The LifeFORCE Base
- Please pray that everything would fall together for getting a place where we can facilitate the teams, the training, the eating and the sleeping for all the students will come.
2. The LifeFORCE Students
- Okay, we need those students to put in the new LifeForce base. We are looking for about 10-14 students, and actually already have one!
3. The LifeFORCE Leader
- We already have one leader for our local team, but we do need one or two more for our international team going to Malta and Northern Africa. If all else fails, Danny and I will lead that team (which may not be such a bad thing. We love Malta and have never been to Northern Africa before).
4. The LifeFORCE Van
- We do have a van, but it is a bit of a seedy thing. We need to get a few things fixed or possibly sell it and go for a new (new to us) one all together. Please pray that God will direct us there.
5. The LifeFORCE DeLongs
- At some point (hopefully very soon) Danny and I would like to be in a place of our own. Right now we are staying with some wonderful friends in Walsall, but we don't want to be squatters in their home forever! We aren't looking for anything fancy. Fancy place equals expensive place. Expensive place subtracts from my chocolate budget. Negative chocolate budget multiplies my crankiness. You can do the math. We do want to be as close to the LifeForce training base as possible.
Well, I think this is about it for now. I'm working on getting things super-organized (HA). I've noticed some of these updates have been getting bounced back to me, so if you wouldn't mind emailing me back if you got this or if there is a different email account I should use, or if you want to be taken off my update list because you're sick of my ramblings, etc. You know, that sort of thing.
Again, thank you all for your prayers and support! It is a bit strange to be here without a team in the physical. But in the spiritual, we know we aren't alone.
Thanks for joining us!
God bless and take care!
~Alycia DeLong
Friday, June 10, 2005
And We're Off to the UK
Hello Everyone! First off (as usual), my apologies for the inconsistent time periods of these email updates. With that said, let's all get caught up!
Sunday, May 15: We returned to Canada safe and sound and exhausted. The following morning we began debriefing with all the teams and students.
Friday, May 20: Early Friday morning, we left Calgary with Danny's parents and drove 12 hours to Vancouver. There we met up with Danny's birthmother and the rest of her family. Danny met his 2 half-brothers, and 1 half-sister, as well as his birth mom's husband. They are really a remarkable, wonderful family and we all had a blast getting to know eachother more.
Wednesday, May 25 (I think): Things get a bit blurry here. We were back in Calgary for 2 nights and a day. Our brains hadn't even recovered from jet-lag yet!
Friday, May 27-ish: Back home to good ole' Regina, Saskatchewan to visit the family for a week. We had a great time, although very hectic! Danny spoke at the Sunday night service at the Regina Apostolic church, then we spent the rest of the week getting in those last minute Tim Horton's meetings with friends before we left again. It was wonderful to see so many people though.
Friday, June 3: Up to Edmonton for a family reunion with Danny's massive family. Thankfully, the weather was nice for a few days so we got in some quality BBQ and picnic time with all the family. We even had a Bacci ball tournament with all the grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, second-cousins, second-cousins' kids, etc. There were A LOT of people there!
Tuesday, June 7: We finally made it back to our place in Calgary. Now we've just been spending the week packing like crazy, getting all those little details in order in the house and the office. Needless to say, these past few weeks have been a blur - but it was still great to be back! We fly out to England Sunday, June 12.
I'm not sure what else to say at this point except thank you all for everything! We will do our very best to keep in contact regularly, and we will miss you! So until we meet again, God bless you and take care!
Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong
Sunday, May 15: We returned to Canada safe and sound and exhausted. The following morning we began debriefing with all the teams and students.
Friday, May 20: Early Friday morning, we left Calgary with Danny's parents and drove 12 hours to Vancouver. There we met up with Danny's birthmother and the rest of her family. Danny met his 2 half-brothers, and 1 half-sister, as well as his birth mom's husband. They are really a remarkable, wonderful family and we all had a blast getting to know eachother more.
Wednesday, May 25 (I think): Things get a bit blurry here. We were back in Calgary for 2 nights and a day. Our brains hadn't even recovered from jet-lag yet!
Friday, May 27-ish: Back home to good ole' Regina, Saskatchewan to visit the family for a week. We had a great time, although very hectic! Danny spoke at the Sunday night service at the Regina Apostolic church, then we spent the rest of the week getting in those last minute Tim Horton's meetings with friends before we left again. It was wonderful to see so many people though.
Friday, June 3: Up to Edmonton for a family reunion with Danny's massive family. Thankfully, the weather was nice for a few days so we got in some quality BBQ and picnic time with all the family. We even had a Bacci ball tournament with all the grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, second-cousins, second-cousins' kids, etc. There were A LOT of people there!
Tuesday, June 7: We finally made it back to our place in Calgary. Now we've just been spending the week packing like crazy, getting all those little details in order in the house and the office. Needless to say, these past few weeks have been a blur - but it was still great to be back! We fly out to England Sunday, June 12.
I'm not sure what else to say at this point except thank you all for everything! We will do our very best to keep in contact regularly, and we will miss you! So until we meet again, God bless you and take care!
Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong
Saturday, January 22, 2005
On the Road Again
Hi there everyone! Long time no email - but had another funny story. This one takes place at a junior school with a group of 13 year olds, in a galaxy not so far away...
So we had just finished a short drama where the four girls on our team are in a car trying to decide on the quickest way to McDonald's. One character is apathetic, one is indecisive, one is a bit anal and the last is blind. After all having a turn behind the stearing wheel, they eventually end up in the ditch. The point of the drama is about how much your attitude toward decisions is important for choosing a direction for your life. However, when I asked the audience what were some of the main points they got out of the sketch, one brave young man raised his hand and shared with such a conviction, "Women shouldn't drive."
Let's just say that his parents probably will never have to worry about their son dating too young. Hopefully he's made it home safe.
In other news, we have purchased a mini-bus! Its a long, white, 9-seater diesel beast of a van, but it will get our team around this year and in the years to come! We are leaving Walsall tomorrow evening to go to Litchfield, so please pray for our safe arrival (more specifically, the van's safe arrival).
So with that then, I will bid you all adieu until the next hilarious insight some brilliant child throws out at us!
God Bless you all!
~Alycia DeLong
So we had just finished a short drama where the four girls on our team are in a car trying to decide on the quickest way to McDonald's. One character is apathetic, one is indecisive, one is a bit anal and the last is blind. After all having a turn behind the stearing wheel, they eventually end up in the ditch. The point of the drama is about how much your attitude toward decisions is important for choosing a direction for your life. However, when I asked the audience what were some of the main points they got out of the sketch, one brave young man raised his hand and shared with such a conviction, "Women shouldn't drive."
Let's just say that his parents probably will never have to worry about their son dating too young. Hopefully he's made it home safe.
In other news, we have purchased a mini-bus! Its a long, white, 9-seater diesel beast of a van, but it will get our team around this year and in the years to come! We are leaving Walsall tomorrow evening to go to Litchfield, so please pray for our safe arrival (more specifically, the van's safe arrival).
So with that then, I will bid you all adieu until the next hilarious insight some brilliant child throws out at us!
God Bless you all!
~Alycia DeLong
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Out of the Mouths of Babes
Hey there everyone! It's a balmy day in England (rainy) and we've just reached our first-week anniversary of our trip! We've been in about 5 different schools, done youth group, church services, kid's programs, and a whole lotta eating!
Straight to the funny story of the week:
Saturday morning we were handling the children's program at the church for kids between the ages of 4-11 years. After presenting a short funny drama about how gaining money and other stuff really can't give you true happiness, Jana stood to give a short speak about the skit. She asked the children, "What is something that you really, really want?" To which a sea of small voices responded with their various desires: "A barbie"; "A dog"; "Candy" and so on. Then Jana asked, "Well, kids, do you know what I really want?" Without missing a beat a small boy emerged from the audience and called out, "A boyfriend!"
I missed her point after that.
We leave Walsall on Monday and head to Litchfield for a week. Please pray for us as we are trying to buy a small 9-seater van for this trip and the new LifeForce Base. We are sorting things out with insurance (woo hoo).
I will write again as soon as I can. Until then, God bless you all and take care!
Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong
Straight to the funny story of the week:
Saturday morning we were handling the children's program at the church for kids between the ages of 4-11 years. After presenting a short funny drama about how gaining money and other stuff really can't give you true happiness, Jana stood to give a short speak about the skit. She asked the children, "What is something that you really, really want?" To which a sea of small voices responded with their various desires: "A barbie"; "A dog"; "Candy" and so on. Then Jana asked, "Well, kids, do you know what I really want?" Without missing a beat a small boy emerged from the audience and called out, "A boyfriend!"
I missed her point after that.
We leave Walsall on Monday and head to Litchfield for a week. Please pray for us as we are trying to buy a small 9-seater van for this trip and the new LifeForce Base. We are sorting things out with insurance (woo hoo).
I will write again as soon as I can. Until then, God bless you all and take care!
Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Did the Pigmys Get You?
GREETINGS EARTHLINGS! After a short trip to my home planet, I have now returned to your little blue planet until the mother ship comes for me again.
That is for those of you who thought I had dropped off the face of the earth. We are still alive and well here in the Philippines. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for our website, so I am returning to the old fashioned general update. Internet access has been difficult over the past month.
Let me catch you all up. I'll start from the beginning of March. Once upon a time...
March 6th
We left San Pablo for Davao in the southern part of the Philippines. Our mode of transportation was Superferry 15, which was a 55-hour ride! We had a great time and enjoyed air-conditioned cabins, cable TV, and a buffet for that time.
About a week before, the headlines of the papers read, "124 Missing from Superferry 14 Bombing." Much to our dismay, there were no bargain prices for Superferry 15 in light of the previous ship's mishap. We did arrive safe and sound in Davao though.
March 9th
Danny and I celebrated our 3rd year anniversary staying at the House of Jubilee in Davao. There we were involved in many school presentations, drama workshops, children's ministry, mall outreach, etc. We were very busy and the 3 weeks we spent there just flew by!
Originally we were going to be working on a building project and assisting in the Mercy Maternity Clinic. However, schools everywhere began opening their doors to us and we were in sometimes 2 or 3 a day! It was non-stop!
The building project was put on hold for a different team and us ladies only spent three days in the maternity clinic. However, it was still quite the experience! Though we did not see any babies being born, we had opportunity to do many things in the clinic. I took blood from women's fingers to test for - I don't know what actually. Frankly, I could have past out every time. They do not have the same equipment we do. Oh no. It was not some handy-dandy little pen that you click the top and the little blood-test-elves to the rest inside of the device. No. It was a sharp piece of metal called a lancet that I STABBED women in the finger with and then tried to catch the dripping blood into a thin glass tube about as long as my pinky finger. Yeah, let me just restate that I am positive that the good Lord has not called me to be a nurse or in any way, shape or form supposed to be in the medical field. You got a problem? I got a band-aid. If that doesn’t work, it was nice knowing you. Goodnight.
March 29th
Good-bye Davao – Hello Superferry 16! Yes, let us tempt fate twice. We crawled on that 55-hour boat ride once again and returned to Manila. We were only there for one night before we caught a small 50-seater plane to the island of Catanduanes in the Bicol province. There we were involved in 2 separate Vacation Bible Camps. I swear every kid in those villages and then some came out. I guess we shouldn’t have advertised, “FIRST EIGHT KIDS GET A FREE CANADIAN.” (Ha ha. A little humour from some one who has had too much sun today.) We spent 10 beautiful days running ourselves ragged, trying to understand the dialect, gluing paper crafts with water and flour paste, and learning the names of the animals on Noah’s Ark in Tagalog (the main language here). My group was the Elephants, which in Tagalog is Elephantes. Yes, it is tricky. We had a great time though.
April 13th
We are now in Manila, our final stop our on 4-month tour. It is hot here, averaging between 35-40 degrees! Right now we are staying at an orphanage until Monday. It is quite the place. We have 2 small rooms: one for boys and one for girls. The school season is finished so we will be helping out more with the odd jobs, local Bible studies, and just playing with kids. There are about 35 kids at the orphanage between the ages of 7 to 18 years.
We will be moving into a bigger place that belongs to a local Pastor’s sister. We will be working closely with their church groups doing services, Sunday schools, visitation, and outreach stuff, etc. There are 35-million people in Manila, so we can always find something to do.
Okay, now you are up to date! Internet is a billion times better here (even though the server has had to be rebooted 3 times while I have written this email) so hopefully I can get that crazy website happening again!
Thank you for your patience and understanding! Most of all, thank you for still emailing me! I love hearing from you all! Thank you for your prayers and constant support and encouragement! You know, since January we have seen around 350 people decide to follow Jesus for the first time in their lives! Bible studies, support groups, and youth activities have been started in homes, schools, offices, and communities all over the Philippines and you have a part in that! So God bless you!
Love,
~Alycia DeLong
That is for those of you who thought I had dropped off the face of the earth. We are still alive and well here in the Philippines. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for our website, so I am returning to the old fashioned general update. Internet access has been difficult over the past month.
Let me catch you all up. I'll start from the beginning of March. Once upon a time...
March 6th
We left San Pablo for Davao in the southern part of the Philippines. Our mode of transportation was Superferry 15, which was a 55-hour ride! We had a great time and enjoyed air-conditioned cabins, cable TV, and a buffet for that time.
About a week before, the headlines of the papers read, "124 Missing from Superferry 14 Bombing." Much to our dismay, there were no bargain prices for Superferry 15 in light of the previous ship's mishap. We did arrive safe and sound in Davao though.
March 9th
Danny and I celebrated our 3rd year anniversary staying at the House of Jubilee in Davao. There we were involved in many school presentations, drama workshops, children's ministry, mall outreach, etc. We were very busy and the 3 weeks we spent there just flew by!
Originally we were going to be working on a building project and assisting in the Mercy Maternity Clinic. However, schools everywhere began opening their doors to us and we were in sometimes 2 or 3 a day! It was non-stop!
The building project was put on hold for a different team and us ladies only spent three days in the maternity clinic. However, it was still quite the experience! Though we did not see any babies being born, we had opportunity to do many things in the clinic. I took blood from women's fingers to test for - I don't know what actually. Frankly, I could have past out every time. They do not have the same equipment we do. Oh no. It was not some handy-dandy little pen that you click the top and the little blood-test-elves to the rest inside of the device. No. It was a sharp piece of metal called a lancet that I STABBED women in the finger with and then tried to catch the dripping blood into a thin glass tube about as long as my pinky finger. Yeah, let me just restate that I am positive that the good Lord has not called me to be a nurse or in any way, shape or form supposed to be in the medical field. You got a problem? I got a band-aid. If that doesn’t work, it was nice knowing you. Goodnight.
March 29th
Good-bye Davao – Hello Superferry 16! Yes, let us tempt fate twice. We crawled on that 55-hour boat ride once again and returned to Manila. We were only there for one night before we caught a small 50-seater plane to the island of Catanduanes in the Bicol province. There we were involved in 2 separate Vacation Bible Camps. I swear every kid in those villages and then some came out. I guess we shouldn’t have advertised, “FIRST EIGHT KIDS GET A FREE CANADIAN.” (Ha ha. A little humour from some one who has had too much sun today.) We spent 10 beautiful days running ourselves ragged, trying to understand the dialect, gluing paper crafts with water and flour paste, and learning the names of the animals on Noah’s Ark in Tagalog (the main language here). My group was the Elephants, which in Tagalog is Elephantes. Yes, it is tricky. We had a great time though.
April 13th
We are now in Manila, our final stop our on 4-month tour. It is hot here, averaging between 35-40 degrees! Right now we are staying at an orphanage until Monday. It is quite the place. We have 2 small rooms: one for boys and one for girls. The school season is finished so we will be helping out more with the odd jobs, local Bible studies, and just playing with kids. There are about 35 kids at the orphanage between the ages of 7 to 18 years.
We will be moving into a bigger place that belongs to a local Pastor’s sister. We will be working closely with their church groups doing services, Sunday schools, visitation, and outreach stuff, etc. There are 35-million people in Manila, so we can always find something to do.
Okay, now you are up to date! Internet is a billion times better here (even though the server has had to be rebooted 3 times while I have written this email) so hopefully I can get that crazy website happening again!
Thank you for your patience and understanding! Most of all, thank you for still emailing me! I love hearing from you all! Thank you for your prayers and constant support and encouragement! You know, since January we have seen around 350 people decide to follow Jesus for the first time in their lives! Bible studies, support groups, and youth activities have been started in homes, schools, offices, and communities all over the Philippines and you have a part in that! So God bless you!
Love,
~Alycia DeLong
Friday, December 26, 2003
First Website
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Hope you've all had a wonderful holiday! No complaints from me. We have a bit of a wesite up and running. It is still under construction but the basics are up. I will be updating it regularly from now on instead of sending these mass general emails from now on. Hopefully, this should makes things easier on all our email accounts. Our website is:
www.delong.bravehost.com
Have a great week and a happy new year!
Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong
Hope you've all had a wonderful holiday! No complaints from me. We have a bit of a wesite up and running. It is still under construction but the basics are up. I will be updating it regularly from now on instead of sending these mass general emails from now on. Hopefully, this should makes things easier on all our email accounts. Our website is:
www.delong.bravehost.com
Have a great week and a happy new year!
Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
In the Beginning
Seasons Greetings everyone! This is the first official email update from the exciting lives of Danny and Alycia DeLong! Some of you are probably thinking, "Its about time those lazy snobs wrote!"; and some are thinking, "I've received mass emails before, what makes this one any different?" Still others are thinking, "How did you get my email address? Will my Block Sender option work?" Well, in response to all your thoughts:
1. Please forgive us for not doing this sooner. We did not mean to be lazy snobs.
2. Our general emails will be filled with exciting tales of adventure, inspirational testimonies, but mostly embarassing mishaps. That is not an empty promise.
3. We have our ways of sending you our updates, whether you like it or not. There is no escape. So you might as well enjoy!
So without further delay, here is the premier segment of the "DeLong Adventures" (though I'll try to make DeLong story short...ha ha ha!) (Please don't stop reading already)
We have officially passed the half-way point of bootcamp here at LifeForce, which means everyone is pretty drained from the intense classes and relentless practises. The Malta team has been doing great! There are 11 of us on the team (there was 10 until a couple of weeks ago when the England team was dissolved due to lack of missions and team members). We have split our 6-guy-5-girl group into 2 sections; one drama and one music. The play we are taking to Malta is a sort of musical mockery of the recently popular programs "Teen Idol" and "Pop Stars". In the drama there are 5 characters competing for fame and fortune, and one janitor with her mop just doing their job. The entire play is the same scene acted out 5 times, only each is from a different character's view point. Through the different characters issues such as peer pressure, drugs, relationships, acceptance, and true happiness are portrayed. All the music is performed live by our very own actors and band, so it makes for quite the production!
The schedule for our time in Malta is quickly filling. We will be in almost every school performing our play and sharing in classes. Every Sunday we will be in a different church, as well as taking part in youth groups and Bible studies on a regular basis. In addition we are planning a small mission for the girls and guys separately. Hopefully in April the men of our team will accompany a pastor from Malta into Libya to help take supplies to the Libyan churches. Meanwhile the ladies of the team would take a short trip to Sicily to work with some churches there. We have been working on raising $5000 for this exciting opportunity!
Another exciting opportunity that will be happening is that we will be hosting another team on a short-term mission. The Regina Apostolic Church will be sending us a group of prayer warriors in Febuary/March for two weeks. They will be supporting the team in prayer as well as ministering in churches and taking part in outreaches.
This is about all I have for right now. It could have been much longer but I left out all of the everyday details concerning classes and practises (which are going great by the way). I will work on sending some team photos and such with our next email. Until then, have a wonderful holiday season and God Bless!
Sincerely,
~Danny & Alycia DeLong
P.S.- Oh yeah, as for non-LifeForce stuff, we are doing great - loving Calgary, LifeForce and the Lord! Also both of us are doing well healthwise, though we would like a little more sleep!
1. Please forgive us for not doing this sooner. We did not mean to be lazy snobs.
2. Our general emails will be filled with exciting tales of adventure, inspirational testimonies, but mostly embarassing mishaps. That is not an empty promise.
3. We have our ways of sending you our updates, whether you like it or not. There is no escape. So you might as well enjoy!
So without further delay, here is the premier segment of the "DeLong Adventures" (though I'll try to make DeLong story short...ha ha ha!) (Please don't stop reading already)
We have officially passed the half-way point of bootcamp here at LifeForce, which means everyone is pretty drained from the intense classes and relentless practises. The Malta team has been doing great! There are 11 of us on the team (there was 10 until a couple of weeks ago when the England team was dissolved due to lack of missions and team members). We have split our 6-guy-5-girl group into 2 sections; one drama and one music. The play we are taking to Malta is a sort of musical mockery of the recently popular programs "Teen Idol" and "Pop Stars". In the drama there are 5 characters competing for fame and fortune, and one janitor with her mop just doing their job. The entire play is the same scene acted out 5 times, only each is from a different character's view point. Through the different characters issues such as peer pressure, drugs, relationships, acceptance, and true happiness are portrayed. All the music is performed live by our very own actors and band, so it makes for quite the production!
The schedule for our time in Malta is quickly filling. We will be in almost every school performing our play and sharing in classes. Every Sunday we will be in a different church, as well as taking part in youth groups and Bible studies on a regular basis. In addition we are planning a small mission for the girls and guys separately. Hopefully in April the men of our team will accompany a pastor from Malta into Libya to help take supplies to the Libyan churches. Meanwhile the ladies of the team would take a short trip to Sicily to work with some churches there. We have been working on raising $5000 for this exciting opportunity!
Another exciting opportunity that will be happening is that we will be hosting another team on a short-term mission. The Regina Apostolic Church will be sending us a group of prayer warriors in Febuary/March for two weeks. They will be supporting the team in prayer as well as ministering in churches and taking part in outreaches.
This is about all I have for right now. It could have been much longer but I left out all of the everyday details concerning classes and practises (which are going great by the way). I will work on sending some team photos and such with our next email. Until then, have a wonderful holiday season and God Bless!
Sincerely,
~Danny & Alycia DeLong
P.S.- Oh yeah, as for non-LifeForce stuff, we are doing great - loving Calgary, LifeForce and the Lord! Also both of us are doing well healthwise, though we would like a little more sleep!
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