Spending A Relaxing Holiday In Seattle

The beautiful city of Seattle is nestled between Lake Washington and Puget Sound. It is often called the Emerald City because of its lush greenery and landscape. It is a popular tourist destination for its natural beauty, tourist attractions and a vibrant nightlife. There are several flights to Seattle from all over the United States, which will enable you to reach the city.

Some of the best museums in the U.S. are located in this city. There are special museums to enjoy Chinese and Japanese art. The museums that are extremely popular in the city include Burke Museum, the city's Art Museum and the Asian Art Museum.

Perhaps, the most striking aspect of the city is its greenery. Taking one of the many cheap flights to Seattle will allow you see lush green grass and colorful flowers amidst a concrete jungle, giving the city a unique charm and appearance. Many of the city's parks are used by residents for jogging and walking. Some of the best parks in the city are Golden Gardens Park, Green Lake and Discovery Park.

The city also has many fairs and festivals. The Sea Fair is usually held in the month of July or August. Here you can see hydroplane races, parade, rides and food stalls. Another fair that the city hosts is the Fremont Fair, which is worth visiting.

Children will enjoy the Fish Aquarium in the city, where they can see an array of aquatic life. They can even go underwater in a glass dome to catch a glimpse of the sharks and other marine life, swimming blissfully in the crystal clear water. You can also take a fishing expedition or go on a relaxing cruise.

No visit to the city is complete without checking out the Pike Place Market. This is a 100-year old market with fish stalls, fruits stalls, antique shops, and memento and souvenir shops. You will definitely find many things to buy and take home.

Those who can get cheap tickets to Seattle should grab them without delay, as it will allow them to visit the famous Space Needle. This is an architectural wonder which will ascend you 520 feet to the observation deck in a super fast lift in 41 seconds. There is also a revolving restaurant at the top. You can get a 360 degree view of the entire city from this restaurant. Close to this attraction is the Seattle Center, which is a fairground where you can buy art, discounted goods, enjoy a fountain display and allow your kids to enjoy some rides. This is also where you can see the Experience Music Project by Paul Allen.

Kids will love the Woodland Park Zoo. Kids can go on a duck ride, enjoy a thrilling ride on amphibious Second World War vehicles or take an underground tour to find out how the early settlers of the city lived here.

You can easily get cheap airfares on low cost airlines. if you book your ticket early enough on US Airways or British Airways, you can get discounted fares. It is best to compare different airline prices before doing your booking. This way you will get the best fares to spend a memorable holiday in this lush green city.

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A Mission Trip Changes You

You go on a mission trip with the proposed purpose of making a difference in someone else's life. You come back with the profound knowledge that it's your life that has been changed. My recent mission trip to Kenya proved this to me - again. In 1999, I went with a group to Honduras and that trip resulted just the same. Yes, we did some good, (building homes in Honduras and helping a church to grow in Kenya). But it is the personal changes that a mission trip creates that validates us going.

As I preparing for this trip, I honestly had mixed feelings. The total cost for 14 of us going on this trip was pretty high between airfare, lodging, vehicle rentals, food, and the donations to the church and orphanage while there. I was calculating this cost and thinking - could not that money be spent here in Hawkinsville? Was this a glorified vacation with a "mission" theme so that we could all rationalize the expense in our own minds? I was leaving behind a fellow that I had just met that had not eaten in two days - would not helping him be better than me taking this trip?

But by then, the plans were made, the money was paid, and the tickets were bought. So I went. And I can conclusively say - I am glad I did! I believe the change, the focus, in me has been permanently altered. A mission trip forces you to get out of your day to day life with your day to day perceptions. We see the same thing everyday. We talk the same politics everyday. We see the same needs everyday, and we become oblivious to them all.

Let me tell you of the trip:

Tea Village

We arrived in Kenya, got settled in, and then immediately went to Pastor Shaddrack's Tea Village Church. This particular Tea Village is owned by one of the tea company plantations. They provide housing (a block house with no running water) to the family for helping to harvest tea. There were several hundred houses in this village. This church is a new church and we were going to help "disciple" the 30-40 members so that the church could grow deeper in it's knowledge of Christian ideals. Personally, I was assigned to teach a two hour lesson on Prayer.

We also planned on teaching many Bible lessons to the children of the community. The children are the key to getting the adults to show up. On the first day, dozens of children arrived and probably 6 or 7 adults. We taught Bible stories to the children. We played with the children. And we taught our discipleship lessons to the older youth and adults that showed up. Then in the afternoon, we went to help with an orphanage that serviced 54 children. Most all of these children were orphaned due to the Aids epidemic that is in the land. BesAnn, a young 24 year old woman, cares daily for these children providing 3 meals and Bible lessons. She is a remarkable lady. Her only help is from a lady who helps cook and also some help from Pastor Shaddrack and his wife.

Both the tea village and the orphanage screamed poverty. The children had next to nothing. Some had shoes, others did not. Some had decent clothes, others had ragged garments. For the most part, they seemed happy (especially with all of us strange white people there, they kept wanting to see under our shirt sleeves to see if we were really this color everywhere!). We saw poverty, we saw situations that are unthinkable - yet they exist. It changes you. It makes you thankful, grateful, and humble at your life experience compared to theirs. It shows you what the courage, faith, and willingness of one 24 year old can do - it can change lives. Am I changing lives? Am I making a difference? A Mission trip FORCES you to ask yourself these questions.

We even witnessed a miracle We had bought 10 bags of 20 snicker's bars each. (that's 200 snickers bars for you mathematically challenged). We gave out 161 at the tea village. A diabetic team member ate one. That left, to our counting, 38 snickers bars that should be in our bag. There were 54 children at the orphanage + two children visiting from the nearby village. We knew we had nowhere near 56 snickers bars. But someone suggested that we count. So we poured them all out on the floor of the van. And, you guessed it. There were not 55 candy bars. There were not 57 candy bars. There were exactly 56 candy bars. You could not help but think about Jesus and the feeding of the 5,000. All I can say is that God provided and taught us that HE is sufficient and provides for His children!

Snickers

By the third day of visiting the church and the orphanage, interest in the community had grown. The children were showing off their Burger King crowns (we talked of sexual purity and explained that they were all princes and princesses of THE KING). We told other Bible stories. The children would go home and tell the others in their household. More children came daily. The adult participation grew. On day three, the day I was supposed to teach on Prayer, about 40-50 adults had arrived. The pastor was excited, but said, "for the most part, these are not people of my church, they are un-churched, please do a lesson on salvation instead of prayer!". I almost panicked. I had not prepared a lesson on salvation, I had prepared a lesson on Prayer. I was also thinking, "There are 3 full time preachers on this trip - Let them do it!". But deep down, I knew. I knew that THIS was why I came. I knew that GOD was in control and my job was to obey! (I did grab one preacher to go with me though). So, I began sharing in a small 16 x 20 room, about Christ. About how he changed my life. About how he loves me. About how he loves each one in that room. I shared about God sending his Son to take the penalty for my choice of disobedience. Of God sending His Son so that I could have fellowship with a Just and Holy God. I shared the story of Salvation! In this church, they don't "walk the saw dust trail" as revivals of years gone by. But many, many did raise their hand to indicate they understood and that they desired and asked Jesus to be Lord of their life. It was an awesome moment in my life that I will never forget.

By the time I finished (probably 20 minutes), another 40 or 50 had arrived. There were over 90 people in that small room. I asked the preacher that came with me, Robert Doughtery, (preacher at Antioch Baptist) to give his version of the salvation story. He did and assuredly more came to know Christ. Well, I thought it was over and I was through - but God had other plans. The pastor then asked us to "Tell them how to grow in Christ... ". So Robert and I each gave a 20 minute lesson on growing in Christ. Then the pastor said, "Question and Answer Time". And all of this was through an interpretor - what an experience!

The interesting thing was that the questions that they ask are the same questions that we ask. "Do you HAVE to go to church?" "How does one KNOW they are saved?" "Is it a sin to get mad at my favorite football team?" "What about all the different denominations and different religions?". We answered these and more the best that we could. Probably not 100% correct, but I believe that God honored the effort. Hopefully lives were changed, I know mine was. We TALK of missions. We send MONEY to missions. But it is so life changing to be an actual PART of missions.

At the Nairobi airport, as we prepared to come home, I met a young lady 22 years old. (the same age as my daughter). She was going home to Colorado after spending 4 months in Africa - all by herself. I talked with her for an hour and a half. She was a changed person. Her trip was not a christian mission trip, she was volunteering to teach English. But the trip had changed her as well. I asked her if she knew my Jesus, and she did. So while I did not get to share Christ with her, it was an accomplishment for me that I tried!

I tell you all this not to boast in any way. If any good was done on that trip, it was all God's doing. Hopefully, I did not get in the way too much. But I tell you this story to encourage you. GO on a mission trip when you get the opportunity. Our own Paul Williams in this community has lead many mission trips through the Methodist Church. Dennis Phillips of the Pulaski-Bleckley Baptist Association leads yearly trips. Speak to your pastor, there ARE opportunities.

You go thinking you might change the world. But it's YOUR world that gets changed. It's your perspectives that are altered. It's your attitude that is modified. It is your pre-conceived notions that get shattered. People around the world all want the same things; to be loved; to be accepted; to survive and even thrive. People attempt to fill those wants with everything imaginable, yet, only God can truly fulfill.

Hopefully all 14 of us will never be the same. Possibly it took traveling half way around the world, attempting to change their lives, that will result in us being willing to change lives back home. When asked, GO. If not asked, then ask your Pastor, and then GO.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Acts 1:7-9

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Soak Up the Sun: The Benefits of Solar, Portable USB Chargers

Solar USB chargers are electronic devices that provide energy for your mobile phone, laptop, mp3, and other electronics. Solar chargers can connect via a USB port on your laptop or by way of a plug-in AC adapter, but they can also charge by their presence in the sunlight. Since they are solar, the weather (the sun) can play a role in reenergizing your charger so as to provide the needed energy for your electronic devices. There are a few benefits that solar, portable USB chargers provide-benefits that make them an accessory that you cannot leave home without.

One benefit of solar, portable USB chargers is that they can be carried with you on the go (portability). Many individuals like to travel and cannot predict when the batteries in their devices will die or lose a large amount of power. In those situations, individuals need to have something outside of batteries (which they may not have, particularly in camping situations) by which they can still garner an energy supply. Solar, portable USB chargers provide another way to do that through a laptop or computer USB port. Laptops are also portable devices, making them a perfect source of energy for a USB charger when you are in itinerant circumstances.

Another benefit of solar, portable USB chargers is that they are USB chargers. USB chargers can be energized by way of your laptop's USB port, making them convenient to carry (as is your laptop) when you are out of town or on a mountain bike adventure. Now that summer is here, the last thing you want to do when out of town is to be forced to reside in a hotel or a relative's home while your device is charging. After all, the mountains are gorgeous; the Grand Canyon is as wonderful as ever with the sun shining down and the blue sky and clouds in their respective places. The view is gorgeous this time of year, and you do not want your charging needs to interfere with all the outdoor fun you can experience.

Next, the portable solar powered charger is beneficial because it can be charged via solar energy. As mentioned above, you do not want to force yourself to stay indoors this summer when the weather is so nice. With a solar powered device charger, you can head outdoors and take your energy source with you! It can sit in the sun for a time and regain some of its energy (around 50%) so that you can use it to charge your other devices that could lose energy and die at any moment. You want to plan for surprises, though you may not be able to plan for them all-such as a bear coming out of the woods to visit you and your family! Solar-powered devices are perfect for outdoor adventures and long, extended trips.

A portable solar USB charger also saves money. When you are at home and your battery dies, your Android solar charger will power your Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone in no time while also saving you money on your electricity bill. If you take your Samsung S II outside a few days a week and recharge it via solar power, you can save $20-$30 or more a month on your electricity bill. You will soon wish that all your appliances were solar powered!

Better still is a solar charger that not only comes with all the above benefits, but also has a solar power backup battery. In case your charger dies, there is always a rechargeable backup battery to empower your solar charger to continue charging your various electronic devices. Having twice the energy power will enable you to have twice the fun on your outdoor travels as you talk on your iPhone 4s, surf the Web on your laptop or the new iPad, connect your iPod Touch 4G to your new, fifteen-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, and connect with friends by way of Facebook or Google+ on the iOS 6 or Android OS platforms. When you combine solar energy, portability, and convenience with an external USB backup battery, you have a combination that is hard to beat.