I am writing this last installment in thsi series from my own house (imagine that). I am having a little bit of trouble using the US keyboard, but I think I'll have it under control in a few minutes. We had a safe trip back and got into RDU around 12:30 AM (following an hour delay at JFK. As a note to American Airlines: I know you were trying to honest and open, but in the future, do NOT tell the passengers that they had to get off of the plane and have it searched because a man left a very "troubling" letter on the plane on the last flight). Anyway, all of our luggage made it safely home and so did we. The church van cranked right up and we were out of there pretty quickly. After dropping Jason and Ashley off on the way, we got back to the church around 3:30 AM and I stumbled into my house shortly thereafter.

I want to take this moment to thank the parents who entrusted their children to me, to Ms. Kim for agreeing to come along as a chaperone, to all of you who prayed for us while we were over there, and, most improtantly, to God for protecting us and drawing us closer together. Almost every day, at least one group of tourists staying at our small hotel came back and reported that their money, credit cards, passport, bags, etc. had been stolen. We never had the first problem. I could spend a lot of time telling you about the ways that He guided and protected us, but I'll just give you one small one. A couple of days ago, Ms. Kim found a "carnet" of nine metro tickets on the floor in the metro. At the time, it seemed worthless because we already had unlimited use passes. She held onto them anyway. A couple of hours later, after using our regular passes to get into the metro, Jacq's pass blew away. She finally found it near the entrance, on the other side of where we had just come through. She and Ms. Kim went back to get it, but now their card will not get them into the metro, since it was just used a few minutes ago in the same location. They used two of the tickets that had been found earlier and came back across instead of having to pay. When we checked out, we gave the tickets to an English-speaking receptionist in the hotel lobby along with a tract that Racheal had brought with her. The lady was very thankful and, who knows, might get saved. God is good, God is faithful, God is love... all the time!

Let me backtrack for a moment and thank Jason for being such a great guy and a complete gentleman on this trip. God has great plans for you, son. He has given you incredible talents and abilities. Be a faithful steward of them, and I promise you that you will love the life that He has in store for you. Thanks for the ideas (especially the poem). Make wise decisions based on what is most improtant in life. Don't settle for 2nd place. Real success is not determined by the size of your bank account or how many people know your name, but by living a life that will have a permanent effect on people's lives for the better. God has someone out there for you with those same values (and you know who I think it is). Thanks for helping me learn how to keep our room clean and not live like a slob. Thanks to Ashley for cleaning our room and displaying God's love to all people by giving our food to the homeless guy in the alley. Thanks to Racheal for not killing Jason and for not making me be the only one on stage without a choir book. Always have the courage to do the right thing in every situation - no matter the consequences. Thanks to Jacq for making sure we never got lost or had to feel bad about stopping to eat. Watch yourself when you come back this summer (and you know what I mean). If you don't find a boyfriend in Etats-Unis, you can have your pick in France. Thanks to Mary-Catherine for taking care of Jason on this trip and for almost never complaining. Thanks for helping me pick out my wife's perfume. Thanks for being a true friend. Thanks to Carrie for setting a good example at all times. Jeffrey is very lucky to have you as a girlfriend (and he knows it). Thanks for coming home safely so Jeffrey didn't kill me. Thanks to Ms. Kim for sacrificing time with your family (not to mention your knees) to make this trip possible. Thanks for your wisdom in sharing God's Word during devotions, for the example that you set for the girls, and for the sacrifices that you make on a regular basis for the students of JCA. There are very few material rewards in this life that could repay you for your selflessness, but as preacher says, payday hasn't come yet.

Sometime next week we will go through our photos and select the ones that we will publish on this website. I would also like to get each student who went on the trip to make a brief statement about the trip and how it has affected him or her. Look for it sometime between Wednesday and Friday. Until then, thanks for reading this series and pray that our efforts will facilitate revival, both at home and abroad. Jason and I hope to finish our "Top Ten Ways to Guarantee Paris Wins the Olympic Games in 2012" soon. It should be a blast!