We Arrived Safely in Thailand! -by Nathan Albert

Our team has made it safely here to Thailand. The weather is about 80 degrees warmer than Chicago! We're currently learning Thai music and dancing. We head up north to Chiang Mai tomorrow to start work on a Covenant fish farm. We will be living with families in a small village called Hang Dong. We're having a great time here!

Important Dates for Second Semester

Important Dates for Global Partnerships Spring Semester 2010

• December 11th-10% due
• During winter break fill out paperwork, write support letters, talk to your church, apply for your driving record
• After January 10th take tests to get NPU drivers license if you are on a domestic trip.
• January 16th -All-day Global Partnerships Retreat for Spring and Summer Participants
• January 16th-All paperwork due, another 10% due
• January 18th-Scholarship applications due
• January 24th –GP collegelife
• February 1st – Spring teams pay > 50%
• March 1st—Pay total trip costs (SPRING) Pay > 50% (Summer)
• March 3rd – Commissioning of Spring GP Teams at chapel
• March 5th-14th-Spring Break Global Partnership Trips to Gulf Coast, Mexico, Appalachia and India
• May 1st payments due for summer trips
• May 10th Summer trips leave
• May 25-Alaska team leaves
Other dates to remember: weekly meetings, Debriefing meetings after the trip (usually one 2 weeks later, and a month after the trip). Also, if you are interested in leading a trip next year, we start recruiting for leaders in March/April. Please talk to Julia Styles if you are interest.

Lavishing Love in Thailand By Nathan Albert

Our bags our packed, we're finished with finals, we're ready. Correction: our bags aren't packed, most of us aren't finished with finals, and we're almost ready.

We do leave for Thailand in less than a day, but last minute details are keeping us busy. Finals are being completed, and once they are stress levels will decrease. We will pack sometime tonight, or in the wee hours of the morning. But we are excited and are looking forward to what God will do while in Thailand.

As a look back over the last couple years, I am so humbled that this will be my third visit to Thailand in less than two years. I advised a trip in May of '08, went with North Park Seminary in Jan '09, and am now helping lead another trip. Who would have thought that God would want me to experience Thailand three times?

On my first trip, as I was leaving the slums of Bangkok, through tears I prayed for God to bring me back to those streets. Nine months later I had that opportunity. Again in January, I prayed that God would bring me back and perhaps bring people to share in what I find so incredible about Thai people. And again, here I go.

So tomorrow we venture off to the Land of Smiles. We venture to a country that is 95% Buddhist, roughly 1% Christian. We venture as strangers into a land where we will be welcomed as family. We will venture into the slums of Bangkok and a small village in Northern Thailand to live with families who will take us in as their own.

Our team goal has been to Lavish Love. Because God has lavished love on us, we as a team are lavishing love on each other so that we can lavish love on the Thai people.

Pray that God allows us to do that.

Zambia09-Itinerary

UNITED AIRLINES - UA 938
SUN 27DEC CHICAGO IL LONDON GB 2107 1105
NON STOP O'HARE INTL HEATHROW 28DEC
EQUIPMENT: BOEING 767-300/300ER
RESERVATION CONFIRMED - W ECONOMY

KENYA AIRWAYS - KQ 101
MON 28DEC LONDON GB NAIROBI KE 1900 0630
NON STOP HEATHROW JOMO KENYATTA 29DEC
EQUIPMENT: BOEING 777-200/200ER
SEATS
22G/18H/18J/19G/19H/19J/20G/20H/20J/21G/21H/21J/22H/22J
CONFIRMED
RESERVATION CONFIRMED - T ECONOMY

KENYA AIRWAYS - KQ 724
TUE 29DEC NAIROBI KE LUSAKA ZM 0825 1005
NON STOP JOMO KENYATTA
EQUIPMENT: BOEING 777-200/200ER
SEATS
19G/15H/15J/16G/16H/16J/17G/17H/17J/18G/18H/18J/19H/19J
CONFIRMED
RESERVATION CONFIRMED - T ECONOMY

KENYA AIRWAYS - KQ 702
SAT 09JAN LUSAKA ZM NAIROBI KE 1245 1625
NON STOP JOMO KENYATTA
EQUIPMENT: BOEING 777-200/200ER
SEATS
18G/14H/14J/15G/15H/15J/16G/16H/16J/17G/17H/17J/18H/18J
CONFIRMED
RESERVATION CONFIRMED - H ECONOMY

KENYA AIRWAYS - KQ 102
SAT 09JAN NAIROBI KE LONDON GB 2359 0625
NON STOP JOMO KENYATTA HEATHROW 10JAN
EQUIPMENT: BOEING 777-200/200ER
SEATS
22A/18A/18B/19A/19B/19C/20A/20B/20C/21A/21B/21C/22B/22C
CONFIRMED
RESERVATION CONFIRMED - H ECONOMY

UNITED AIRLINES - UA 929
SUN 10JAN LONDON GB CHICAGO IL 1005 1321
NON STOP HEATHROW O'HARE INTL
EQUIPMENT: BOEING 767-300/300ER
RESERVATION CONFIRMED - S ECONOMY

Thai09-Itinerary

depart - Dec 11 - 08:10am
Chicago (ORD)
arrive - Dec 11 - 10:33am
Detroit, MI (DTW)
Northwest Airlines 7340
Class: V
Seats:not assigned
Aircraft: D9S
fbc: VLWSL84
... connection time: 2 hours 7 minutes ...
depart - Dec 11 - 12:40pm
Detroit, MI (DTW)
arrive - Dec 12 - 11:45pm
Bangkok (BKK)
Northwest Airlines 341
Class: V
Stops: 1
Seats:not assigned
Aircraft: 744
fbc: VLWSL84

_________________________________
depart - Dec 23 - 05:50am
Bangkok (BKK)
arrive - Dec 23 - 12:15pm
Detroit, MI (DTW)
Northwest Airlines 340
Class: V
Stops: 1
Seats:not assigned
Aircraft: 332
fbc: VLXSL84

Mexico09-Itinerary

12 DEC 09 - SATURDAY
DELTA 8039 COACH CLASS EQUIP-BOEING 737 JET
DEPART TERMINAL- 5
LV: CHICAGO/OHARE 835A NONSTOP MILES- 1686 CONFIRMED
AR: MEXICO CITY 100P ELAPSED TIME- 4:25
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-2
BREAKFAST
OPERATED BY-AEROMEXICO

DELTA 8106 COACH CLASS EQUIP-ERJ
DEPART TERMINAL- 2
LV: MEXICO CITY 305P NONSTOP MILES- 228 CONFIRMED
AR: OAXACA 405P ELAPSED TIME- 1:00
OPERATED BY-AEROMEXICO CONNECT
_____________________________________
22 DEC 09 - TUESDAY
AEROMEXICO 2047 COACH CLASS EQUIP-ERJ
LV: OAXACA 1225P NONSTOP MILES- 228 CONFIRMED
AR: MEXICO CITY 130P ELAPSED TIME- 1:05
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-2
REFRESHMENTS
OPERATED BY-AEROLITORAL SA CV

DELTA 368 COACH CLASS EQUIP-738
DEPART TERMINAL- 2
LV: MEXICO CITY 346P NONSTOP MILES- 1331 CONFIRMED
AR: ATLANTA 806P ELAPSED TIME- 3:20
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-SOUTH
REFRESH AT COST-MOVIE


22 DEC 09 - TUESDAY
DELTA 380 COACH CLASS EQUIP-M88
DEPART TERMINAL- SOUTH
LV: ATLANTA 930P NONSTOP MILES- 606 CONFIRMED
AR: CHICAGO/OHARE 1042P ELAPSED TIME- 2:12
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-3
REFRESH AT COST

North Park University - Christian, Urban, Multicultural - Participate in Online Auction for Global Partnerships

North Park University - Christian, Urban, Multicultural - Participate in Online Auction for Global Partnerships

GP Winter Trips

We are currently in the midst of finals, the final days of fundraising, and holiday parties. Needless to say it is a busy week for Global Partnership Participants. Many of them will be leaving next Friday or Saturday for Thailand or Mexico, and the Zambia team leaves right after Christmas. All of the students have been invited to post stories about their trip experiences, so please come back often.

If you would still like to donate to a team go to www.npumin.com/donate or visit our auction before Sunday, December 6th at 10pm at www.missionsauction.com.

Global Partnerships Build Lasting Connections

North Park students who participate in Global Partnerships nurture ministry relationships all over the world

CHICAGO (July 22, 2009) – North Park senior Chelsea Redding still isn’t quite sure how the deep relationship developed between her and Am, the woman she stayed with in Thailand during two mission trips.

“Am speaks no English, and I speak a little Thai, so there was a lot of smiling, a lot of hand gestures, and a lot of ‘I don’t knows,’” recalls Redding, who says every day Am would wake her up in the morning, feed her breakfast, and drive her to the fish farm where she and a team of her North Park classmates were working.

At night after dinner, some days Redding would stay up and watch Thai TV with Am and her husband, Dan. Most evenings, however, she would fall asleep early, exhausted from the day’s labor.....



North Park University - Christian, Urban, Multicultural - Global Partnerships Build Lasting Connections

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CHIC raises over $100 Grand for Thailand!

KNOXVILLE, TN (July 17, 2009) – Students at CHIC2009 gave $109,327 to sustainable mission projects in Thailand during the event’s closing worship service Thursday evening.

Read more here.

North Park raises $15000 for Fuentes Libres

Campus Pastor Judy Peterson presents Fuentes Libre with funds donated by students in chapel service

CHICAGO, IL (May 1, 2009) – The leader of a ministry that provides poor women in Oaxaca, Mexico, with microenterprise loans expressed his gratitude for $15,000 given by North Park University Ministries. Students raised $10,000 during a special chapel offering on March 25, and an anonymous donor matched $5,000.

Read More here.

See video of Fuente Libres receiving the donation!

Global Partnership Survey

Dear Global Partnership Participants, leaders and advisors,

I hope you had a great time on your Global Partnership trip. As you return, suffer through jet-lag, and get busy with summer plans, it can be easy to postpone processing and reflection on your experience abroad. Don’t put off this important process. I encourage you to full out the GP survey and then spend time reflecting on the following two questions:

1. What did this trip teach me about God and the world? Where did I see God working through the partner, the culture, and our group?
2. How did God transform me through the GP trip? How does God want me to respond to what I have seen, heard, experienced and learned?

Filling out the following survey may be a good way to start the thinking, reflecting process. After that you may want to write a short essay responding to one or both of the questions above. If you would like to share your reflections with others, email me and I will post them to the blog.

If you are a Participant fill out this Survey
If you are a Leader fill out this Survey
If you are an Advisor fill out this Survey

If you would like to post a story about your trip, please email it to jstyleshastie@northpark.edu and I will post it.

Bolivia, India, and Thailand Teams Home

The Bolivia, India, and Thailand teams all returned this afternoon between 2:00 and 3:30 pm.  They have had some good experiences and some challenges on their journeys.  Welcome them home and ask lots of questions to hear their stories, they're important!

Peace be with you.

Bolivia Flying to Chicago

Here is the flight information for the Bolivia team's return.  They are all on the plane.

AMERICAN AIRLINES

1763

MIA Miami

05/26/2009 12:50 PM

ORD Chicago

05/26/2009 03:05 PM

Zambia on their way home

A message from Pastor Charles in Zambia.

Greetings

l have just come from the airport to see the students off.

We had a great time in Ndola & also in Livingstone.

 

On our way to Livingstone just before the bad road nearer to Livingstone on a curve we

almost hit into cows but Ba Rodgers our drive managed to

avoid but hit a small cow causing minor damage to our bus.

The cows should not have been crossing on that road.

 

Other than that everything went well & we communicated all the time

with the leaders.

 

Pastor Charles

Bolivia Return Trip

Brett from the Bolivia team called this morning at 8:45 am.  Their flight into Miami arrived 2 hours late, causing them to miss their 8:30 am flight to Chicago.  I spoke with American Airlines and the team is on the waiting list for flight 1763, departs at 12:50 and arrives at 3:05 in Chicago O'Hare.  She says there is a good chance they will make this flight, but you never know.  If it is too full, they will have a very good chance of making flight 467, which arrives at 4:20.  

Call the NPU GP Emergency number if you have questions about their arrival plans.  I will try to post whether or not they made flight 1763 around 1:00 this afternoon.

Blessings,

Jeremy

Alaska Team has Arrived!

Luke Bruckner called from Alaska and says the team has arrived safely and has begun work on the camp.

Bolivia Team Having a Good Trip

I got a message from Nicole, the team's co-leader, at 2:00 reporting the team is having a good time and has been safe in the jungle.  She also says she's seeing God move in the lives of her students and the folks they're serving. 

More on Bolivia

Susan Roland (Latin America Regional Director for International Teams)called University Ministries office May 19th @ 4:10pm to give an update of our GP Bolivia Team. The Students are all doing well with Jason & Patty in the jungle. They have been serving with Jason & Patty since Sunday and will return with them on Sunday May 24^th. There is only one phone in the closest community to the jungle, so information takes time to receive.  So We are hopeful to receive another update from Craig, on Thursday as he will be returning from the jungle then.

Peace,

Grace

Bolivia Team Update

I spoke with the airline who the team flew with to Bolivia this afternoon.  The team did take the flight and landed safely in Bolivia Wednesday, 5/13, in the morning.  Have not yet heard from the team, however phone communication in Bolivia is sometimes challenging and we look forward to hearing from them soon.  Stay tuned, as more information is received we will post it.

Blessings,

Jeremy

India Update

The India team spent 4 very short days with the TruthSeekers. We had a wonderful time with them, learning about India's history and and religion. We learned about Phule, Ambedkar and Bali Raja. We washed people's feet and let them know that they are valued and empowered. We will explain more about what we did there in later posts, but if you would like to check out truthseekers go to www.truthseekersna.org.

We went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, which was also short and rushed, but worth the trip, because the buildings are beautiful. It was so hot, that we had to leave early, but that gave us more time to hang out with our new friends.

Now we are in Mumbai. Today we went to the biggest dump in India, over 500 acres of land, with visits from 3000 dumptrucks a day. Over 5000 adults and 2000-3000 children work as ragpickers, sorting through the trash to find recyclables. Many of these children live near or at the dump, have little to eat and can't afford to go to school. The Hindustani Covenant Church hosts informal education everyday from 10-2pm, so that children can learn to read, write, do math and speak english. We got to visit them today. I spent most of my time encouraging young women who attend school and are learning mendhi to make some money. Most of the other women played, sang, and taught english to kids ages 6-10. All of us received Henna designs. Stay tuned for photos.

Tonight we are going to the Gates of India and the Taj Hotel. This will be a striking contrast to where we were this morning, and we will wrestle with the reality of the very rich living near the very poor.

India team has landed

After 17 hours in the air and 12 hours walking around London, North Park students have finally made it to Delhi, India. We had a great time walking around like zombies taking pictures of Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the Parliament, the Thames River and Herrods. We even took a nice long nap in Wellington Park. It is currently 38 degrees celcius in delhi, but it might get hotter! We expect to see Prajakta in a few hours.

Zambia team has arrived!

Keon from th Zambia trip called at 2am. Everyone is good. They landed in Lusaka and are now in Ndola. 

Bolivia Team in Miami

This morning I received a message from the Bolivia team:

This is just a quick note to update you regarding the Bolivia team. Sunday when we arrived in Miami, and found out that are flights are cancelled to Bolivia. We were able to rebook for a Tuesday evening direct flight to Cochabamba. We will be arriving on Wednesday morning at 8:00am. Regarding our stay in Miami, the airline is paying for our motel and food costs. We spent today downtown and plan on doing a service project in Miami tomorrow.

Keep them in your prayers!

Thailand Team Safe in Chiang Mai

Great news!  The Thailand team checked in Monday evening after 8:00 pm (US Central) that they have arrived safely at their destination.  Grace and Peace to the journey.

Bolivia Itinerary

Attention Bolivia Team: The previous Bolivia flights were canceled as of 5/5. The new flight Itinerary from 5/6 is below.

1 AA2378Q 10MAY 7 ORDMIA 1615 2015
HOTEL STAY IN MIAMI
2 AEROSUR 558H 10MAY 7 MIAVVI 2300 0515
HOTEL STAY IN SANTA CRUZ
3 AEROSUR 110B 11MAY 1 VVICBB 0710 0755 /

4 AEROSUR 115B 25MAY 1 CBBVVI 2030 2115 /DC5L
5 AEROSUR 557H 25MAY 1 VVIMIA 2330 0630
6 AA 463N 26MAY 2 MIAORD 0835 1050 /DCAA

India Itinerary

11 MAY 09 - MONDAY
UNITED 928 COACH CLASS EQUIP-BOEING 767-300
DEPART TERMINAL- 1
LV: CHICAGO/OHARE 605P NONSTOP MILES- 3953 CONFIRMED
AR: LON / HEATHROW 825A ELAPSED TIME- 8:20 ARVL DATE-12 MAY
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-1
DINNER-SNACK-MOVIE

12 MAY 09 - TUESDAY
JET AIRWAYS 121 COACH CLASS EQUIP-332
DEPART TERMINAL- 3
LV: LON / HEATHROW 845P NONSTOP MILES- 4190 CONFIRMED
AR: DELHI INDIA 945A ELAPSED TIME- 8:30 ARVL DATE-13 MAY
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-2
DINNER-BREAKFAST

17 MAY 09 - SUNDAY
JET LITE 107 COACH CLASS EQUIP-73G
DEPART TERMINAL- 1
LV: DELHI INDIA 1005A NONSTOP MILES- 706 CONFIRMED
AR: MUMBAI 1215P ELAPSED TIME- 2:10
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-1
FOOD TO PURCHASE

26 MAY 09 - TUESDAY
JET AIRWAYS 120 COACH CLASS EQUIP-77W
DEPART TERMINAL- 2
LV: MUMBAI 145A NONSTOP MILES- 4486 CONFIRMED
AR: LON / HEATHROW 645A ELAPSED TIME- 9:30
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-3
DINNER-BREAKFAST


26 MAY 09 - TUESDAY
VIRGIN ATLAN 39 SPCL CLASS EQUIP-AIRBUS A340-300 JET
DEPART TERMINAL- 3
LV: LON / HEATHROW 1100A NONSTOP MILES- 3953 CONFIRMED
AR: CHICAGO/OHARE 155P ELAPSED TIME- 8:55
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-5
LUNCH-SNACK

Thailand Flight Itinerary

10 MAY 09 - SUNDAY

AMERICAN 153 ECONOMY EQUIP-BOEING 777 JET
DEPART TERMINAL- 3
LV: CHICAGO/OHARE 1250P NONSTOP MILES- 6274 CONFIRMED
AR: TOKYO/NARITA 335P ELAPSED TIME-12:45 ARVL DATE-11 MAY
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-2

11 MAY 09 - MONDAY
AMERICAN 5834 ECONOMY EQUIP-BOEING 777 JET
DEPART TERMINAL- 2
LV: TOKYO/NARITA 650P NONSTOP MILES- 2887 CONFIRMED
AR: BANGKOK 1125P ELAPSED TIME- 6:35
OPERATED BY-JAPAN AIRLINES INT

26 MAY 09 - TUESDAY
AMERICAN 5835 ECONOMY EQUIP-BOEING 777 JET
LV: BANGKOK 810A NONSTOP MILES- 2887 CONFIRMED
AR: TOKYO/NARITA 415P ELAPSED TIME- 6:05
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-2
OPERATED BY-JAPAN AIRLINES INT


AMERICAN 154 ECONOMY EQUIP-BOEING 777 JET
DEPART TERMINAL- 2
LV: TOKYO/NARITA 535P NONSTOP MILES- 6274 CONFIRMED
AR: CHICAGO/OHARE 325P ELAPSED TIME-11:50
ARRIVAL TERMINAL-5

Zambia Flight Itinerary

Zambia Flight Itinerary

depart - May 10 - 10:05pm Chicago (ORD)
arrive - May 11 - 11:40am London (LHR)

British Airways 298
Class: N
Airline Ref: 22LTYL
Elapsed: 7.35 hours

... connection time: 7 hours 25 minutes ...
depart - May 11 - 07:05pm London (LHR)
arrive - May 12 - 06:20am Lusaka (LUN)

British Airways 255
Class: N
Airline Ref: 22LTYL
Elapsed: 10.15 hours

depart - May 26 - 08:50am Lusaka (LUN)
arrive - May 26 - 06:05pm London (LHR)

British Airways 254
Class: N
Airline Ref: 22LTYL
Elapsed: 10.15 hours

depart - May 27 - 05:50pm London (LHR)
arrive - May 27 - 08:05pm Chicago (ORD)

British Airways 299
Class: N
Airline Ref: 22LTYL
Elapsed: 8.15 hours

SWINE FLU UPDATE

Dear North Park UMin Global Partnership Participants and Families,

The safety and health of North Park students is a number 1 concern for the university. This is the case while students are on campus as well as when they travel abroad.

As of today, the countries we are traveling to with Global Partnership trips this summer have no known cases of swine flu reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition, we are heeding the advisement of the WHO as follows:

WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders. It is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention, in line with guidance from national authorities.

There is also no risk of infection from this virus from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products. Individuals are advised to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water on a regular basis and should seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms of influenza-like illness.

We have protocols for illness and emergency medical situations that are followed on all Global Partnership trips. This includes instruction for the trip advisor (traveling with the students) to contact the North Park supervisor with any concern. The North Park supervisor would then call the emergency contact the student has provided. Clinics and hospitals have been identified in the areas where our students are traveling.

Please use our blog or UMin Emergency Phone number for communication during the weeks of your student's trip.
UMin Emergency Number: 1-773-649-8914


Influenza A(H1N1) - update 17 http://www.who.int/csr/don/en/


6 May 2009 -- As of 06:00 GMT, 6 May 2009, 22 countries have officially reported 1516 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection.

Mexico has reported 822 laboratory confirmed human cases of infection, including 29 deaths. The United States has reported 403 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death.

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Austria (1), Canada (165), China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1), Colombia (1), Costa Rica (1), Denmark (1), El Salvador (2), France (4), Germany (9), Guatemala (1), Ireland (1), Israel (4), Italy (5), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (6), Portugal (1), Republic of Korea (2), Spain (57), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (27).

It is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention, in line with guidance from national authorities. Individuals are advised to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water on a regular basis and should seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms of influenza-like illness.

WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders.

There is no risk of infection from this virus from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products.

Further information on the situation will be available on the WHO website on a regular basis.

Donation Versus Payment

Sometimes we have confusion over what is considered a payment and what is considered a donation. Hopefully the following will help clarify any confusion.

We attempt to identify payments that come from Parents, friends, and other relatives to support students on these trips and when these payments are processed and there is no direct benefit received by the donor (they are not taking part in the actual trip), then the gift is noted as a tax-deductible donation when receipted.

If a student who is going on the trip and receiving a benefit of trip support in exchange for his payment, this is not considered a tax-deductible donation.

These are the guidelines that our University Business office has approved for audit purposes.

Safe Arrival

All three teams--Appalachia, New Orleans, and Mexico--have arrived safely at their respective destinations. Please continue to pray both for their safety and for God to use this time to nurture and strengthen their faith even as they seek to obey his will by serving others.

And We're Off!

41 students are headed to Appalachia, New Orleans and Oaxaca, Mexico for spring break. Please pray for us and our partners while we are gone.

Thanks,

Julia