The Beginning of My Journey Home!

I’m sitting in the Incheon airport, South Korea.  This is the beginning of my journey home.  I still have a long way till I’ll be in my own country, among my own kin.  I think as soon as I get on the plane that will take me to Seattle, that's when I'll get the nervous excitement.  But right now, I'm waiting for my transit bus that will take me on a tour of Seoul!  I'm super excited!  Four countries in one trip is pretty good (India, Nepal, Thailand and South Korea).  I'm getting my fill of Asian countries.

  My bus leaves in 35 minutes.  I have an 11+ hour layover so this is an excellent option for the adventuresome type like me.  I love immersing myself in a new culture and this is no exception.  I should see a temple, a palace, a marketplace, a plaza and a stream of some sort.  What a great experience!  I can't wait!  I've charged my camera battery with plans to take pictures of my adventure!

  It was sad to leave the Rawlings, but probably not as sad as it could have been being that I'm heading home.  But still, Elyssa teared up as I was leaving and I could feel tears sting my own eyes.  It's always hard leaving dear friend who have become like family.  And we don't know when we'll see each other next.  They have plans to come to the States this summer, but you don't know what can happen.  I just pray God will bless them and their ministry immensely.

  You know what's so funny?  After all this traveling around I've done, I have become way more comfortable in an airport than I've ever been.  I don't get the jitter bugs as much, I'm not constantly worried, I know what to do at each security, and I find my way around every airport with ease (except for Mumbai, India.  That was horrible).  And here, I'm planning to take this tour of Seoul... all by myself (well, without a traveling partner, that is)!  I wouldn't have even thought of that a few years ago.  I've come a long way.  

I'd better go prepare for my tour.

A Much Needed Update!

Wow.  It’s amazing how busy I’ve been without having a chance to blog!  Or maybe, it’s because I’m enjoying myself so much I find other exciting things to do.  Maybe it’s both.  Probably so.

Mango Sticky Rice!

  Either way, I’ve been enjoying myself immensely and have started having feelings of sadness that I’m leaving so soon (tonight!).  Several people have mentioned that there’s an option that I can stay longer because Korean Air offers the first flight change free of charge.  So I could change my departure until one of two weeks later!  I can’t help but chuckle!  Aunt Lynette, Lisa Sharon and Mrs. Steck have all hinted at the idea (or maybe more than hinted… suggested strongly).

At the Night Safari!

  Yet, I am ready to go home.  I miss my family, especially my dad whose health hasn’t been the best since my leaving.  He caught pneumonia, which is a scary thing with his immune system being shot from his recent surgery.  So I’m anxious to get home and see him and help my mom.  If I stayed here longer, I’d want them to come here too! :)  I’m jealous of my time with them.

Riding a huge tortoise... not.

  What have I been doing since being here in Thailand?  Well, I swam in the pool with the kids almost everyday last week.  I’ve helped cook and clean.  I went to a Sunday night market, which was pretty awesome since I could get mango sticky rice!  That made the whole thing worthwhile!  I hope to go back this Sunday night.  I went with the family and the Mackins (a dear women and her adopted Chinese daughter) to the Night Safari, which was pretty cool!  We got to see all these neat animals in their nocturnal states!  I saw an albino raccoon, which was so cool and a giraffe stuck its head in the tram we were in and begged for food.  I never knew giraffes were so BIG!  That was my favorite part of the whole Safari!  I was only disappointed that I couldn’t take any pictures because it got too dark.

  Let’s see… oh! And we went to a sticky waterfall!  That was incredible!  The water has a lot of calcium in it, so the calcium has deposited and created this awesome cascade of waterfalls!  And you can walk right up the face of the falls, which made things even more interesting and exciting.  We found two freshwater crabs.  That generated a mix of excited shouts and nervous chattering.  Some were poking curiously at the creature while others watched nervously perched atop a safe location away from the action (Can you guess which group I was in?).  After walking around on the waterfalls a bit, we had a fabulous picnic lunch.

At the Sticky Waterfall!

Our picnic lunch

Micah looking for fish

 

Looking at the freshwater crab

 A freshwater crab!

  This last weekend, there was a retreat held here in Chiang Mai for missionaries in the south Asian countries (Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, etc.).  It was at a fancy hotel in downtown Chiang Mai and quite a number of people came.  I was able to see the Sharons, who I haven’t seen for years!  And the Stecks!  What fun it was to see all these missionaries come together!  The main speaker was a huge disappointment, so we didn’t attend any of his meetings, but rather stayed in the hotel room and read our Huguenot story and drew.

  I’ve taught Elyssa and Micah a little bit about shading techniques in drawing.  Elyssa’s really gotten the hang of it!  She’s into horses so we’ve practiced drawing horses and making them as realistic as possible.  She’s done really well, although she claims it’s mostly me.  But I disagree… I help her, but she’s learning.

A foal.

Elyssa's second drawing.  Incredible!

Destiny, Lisa's Karen baby

  Right now, the “Rawling hotel” has no vacancy!  There are a total of 26 people here!  That includes all their babies and us, but still, that’s a lot of people in one house!  The Stecks (4), Lisa Sharon and her baby (2), Myers (4), Adams (or, at least some of them) (8), Sunny (1), Mackins (2), Rawlings (4), and me!  Pretty full.  Babies crying, fingers typing on computers, boys swimming in the pond behind the house, girls making lunch, mothers chatting… it could easily be called chaos.  I’ve done my share of babysitting.  All the Karen babies are so cute!  Several of the missionaries have “adopted” them.  There are a total of 6 adopted Karen babies here.  My favorite is Lisa’s, who is such a happy little girl!  It doesn’t take much to make her smile!  I just love her!

  Well, I leave tonight.  I have mixed feelings, but mostly, I’m excited to get back to my family!  I miss them so much!  And my friends… I miss them too.  I look forward to catching up with some of you as soon as I can get back! :)

Introducing...Thailand

Mosquito bites.  Walking barefoot.  Eating mango sticky rice.  Trying a new exotic fruit.  Drinking coconut water from the coconut.  Sweat.  Great friends.

...Thailand.  It doesn't get much better than this!

  I'm here with the Rawlings family, enjoying my two weeks of warm weather, swimming and sightseeing.  It's truly a vacation from the cold weather of northern India and all the hard work I exerted during that time.

  But you know what's so funny?  Although I'm really enjoying my time, I am intensely drawn to the remote villages with their small huts, dirt floors, dirty children and rummaging dogs.  This last Sabbath, as we were leaving the academy (the only Adventist academy with a high school in all of Thailand), Steve took us on a little tour of the village nearby the school.  As we bumped along the rough road, my eyes were glued to the car window.  Everything was so familiar that it felt like I was home... in this filthy wisp of a village.  And yet, I wanted to jump out of the car and throw myself wholeheartedly into living these villagers' life.  I never realized how strongly this lifestyle tugged on my heart.

  Sure the living conditions aren't the best.  Most people in these 3rd world countries don't have clean water.  They don't have sanitary ways of washing dishes or bathing.  They sleep on the ground.  They walk barefoot and get parasites.  They contract diseases that usually don't cause a problem in the U.S., and yet they'll die from them.  What on earth would be so appealing about this life to a young girl from the States?

  It's so simple.  It's so un-extravagant.  It's so unpretending.  And it pulls on my heartstrings.  If I lived in conditions like this, I would do all in my power to stay clean, safe, sanitary and sane.  But, when you love something, you're willing to sacrifice comfort and security.  I realize... I love these people.  Not the Thai specifically (although, they now have a special place in my heart), but every "underprivileged" group of people.  Why do I put underprivileged in quotes?  Because, really...are they underprivileged?  Some may think they are, but they possess some of the greatest qualities in life... contentment, hospitality, thankfulness, selflessness, happiness.  Who's to say they are underprivileged?

   Driving through that "underprivileged" village, I was reminded of my time in India just a week back. My heart got heavy as all the memories of my time there with the girls came flooding back.  I miss them.  I really do.  I've come to the conclusion that I love - and I mean love - working with young people, be they small orphans or blossoming young ladies.  Either way, they absolutely steal my heart away.

  Steve interrupted my thoughts when he mentioned that Pastor Phamor had 12 young ladies (I think it was 12) who he [Pastor Phamor] was sponsoring to attend the Adventist academy.  They are Karen girls from Burma, all high school age.  Pastor Phamor has worked hard to train these girls to be proper Adventists.  The problem is, the academy has a strong Buddhist influence because of all the young people attending there who aren't converted.  Phamor is nervous to have these young ladies swayed from their beliefs, so he keeps them in a small "house" off of the campus (it's a boarding academy).  Problem is, he hasn't found a "housemother" to care for the girls (what he's doing now, I'm not sure).  Steve has discussed this predicament with Pastor Phamor and has been on the lookout for a suitable lady.  He brought the issue up to me to see if I was interested.  And I am super interested... except that I have committed myself to finishing college.  If I was done with college, I would jump on the opportunity.  But I feel led by God to finish what I've started.  Plus, being trained in dental work will help me be of better service.

  But, oh! how I want to be done with college!  I want to get on with my life, be of better help to mankind, throw myself into service.  But I'm yanked back to reality every fall when I sign up for another year of school.  Bother.

  But, then I remind myself, I can still find my mission field while in college.  They could be a neighbor, a VBS kid, a single mother, a group of young people, a classmate.  Why wait to be a missionary till I'm done with school?  Why can't I start now?

  And I am.  This trip has helped me refocus on my mission.  It's helping my eye be single to what God has planned for me.  And I'm ready to go wherever and whenever He calls me.

Photos

Well, I finally have fast enough internet to post pictures.  I'm in Thailand now, but haven't had a chance to blog.  I'll do more later, but here's to let you know that I've posted pictures on different blogs.  The easiest way to find those pictures is to click on the label at the end of this post that says "photos" and it will bring up all the posts that have pictures on them.

  I'll post some pictures here too of different events with my comments.  Enjoy!

Our little home (with the green sheet in the doorway)

Our bathroom, where we bathe, relieve ourselves and do laundry

Krystle and me heading to market

Waiting at a print shop

Walkin through market

Meeting some girls from the center

Displaying our water bottles

Teaching a Women's Ministries class 

Hannah translated for me

Christian sleeping on the way back from Siliguri

Being good company to Krystle... I really did need a nap though

Holding a very pocky fruit which I can't remember the name of

At market in Siliguri

Helping buy produce for the Center

Returning from market with Sandra Miss and Krystle

Our favorite snack!

Cleaning Suzanna's teeth

Krystle surprised me with her camera!

Cleaning