On Sunday, June 24, 2012, West Ohio Bishop Bruce Ough will send me on a 15 day, 6,200 mile (10,000 kilometer) motorcycle trip to Hyder, Alaska to raise money for the purchase of motorbikes for United Methodist pastors in Vietnam.  All expenses for the “North to Alaska” trip will come out of my pocket including my motorcycle, fuel, tolls, food, lodging, equipment, personal vacation time, etc. Furthermore, I will fund the purchase a motorbike for a Vietnamese United Methodist pastor, and invite others to donate for additional bikes. Shawnee Valley District Superintendent Dr. Joseph Bishman will join me for two-thirds of the trip. To say I am excited is an understatement! Please check out my website and see how you can partner with me: www.dennisalaska.wordpress.com

Please click through the pages of this blog to learn the details of this new adventure and discover how you can partner with me in prayer. For those of you who followed my blog the past two years, I have recently updated the page entitled, “About the Mission.” In addition, I have added new pages entitled, “Remembering Jim” and “Upcoming Ride to Alaska”, so check out those pages too!

As time permits, I will post new photos, videos, and stories of my travels. In the meantime, please bookmark this site and check for posts about my trip preparation. It is my hope that in reading these entries God will inspire you to fulfill His call upon your life!

In Acts chapter 4, Peter and John were called in to testify before the Sanhedrin. They had been with Jesus and they couldn’t help but talk about the amazing miracles He had done. The Sanhedrin commanded them not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus, but they answered, “We can’t help it!”

I’ve just experienced Jesus in an incredible way in Vietnam. I can’t help but talk about what I’ve seen and heard. I’ve had another mountain top experience, and I am so full of stories I am ready to pop! Mountaintops are about the ascent, the struggle, the companionship along the way, and the breathtaking view that you carry with you forever! It’s exhilarating at the summit, but I know that no one lives there. So I’m coming down slowly off the mountain. My internal body clock is adjusting to the 12 hour time zone difference, and I am refocusing on my local church duties here in central Ohio. When I read this post in one month, two, even six months…I pray I will still be like Peter and John, unable to talk about anything else but Jesus…even after I’ve come down from the mountain.

This will be my final post before flying home. Thank for you following my journey. For the past 17 hours I have been in bed with Montezuma’s revenge. The fever broke around 2 am and I am feeling much better. Yesterday, we spent the day at the United Methodist Center and the United Methodist Orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City. Some of the pastors from the Shawnee Valley District led training sessions at the center. We are departing for Tokyo late tonight (Sunday). I will post some final thoughts upon my return in a couple of days. It has been an amazing trip. Thank you for your prayers.

Our Mission Team from the Shawnee Valley District and Grove City UMC worshipped with our Vietnamese sisters and brothers in Christ at the new United Methodist Center in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday morning.

We are in Phan Theit. I got up very early this morning and walked out on the beach to watch Vietnamese fishers. I then read Luke 5:1-11. Their boat was docked after a wasted night at sea. When Jesus told them to cast their nets again they probably gave him a double take, but they obeyed. Their muscles were tired after a frustrating night, but they lifted their heavy nets and threw them over the side. To their delight, soon their nets were flipping and fluttering! What they did on their own left them empty handed, but with Jesus they got more than they ever could have imagined. God is here in Vietnam…and the fishing is good! Thank you for your prayers today. We will be in Ho Chi Minh City tonight.