January 2011
6 posts
From the back country of Asia to the back country of America.
All in a month’s time.
there and here.
The past three weeks have been a bit of a blur. I said goodbye to my students. I wrapped up my time in Burma, and in Thailand. I flew. A lot. I visited the ones I love in California, Oregon, Washington, and now, Idaho. I left the warmth and humidity of Asia, and traded it for rain, snow, and temperatures that have kept me in layers.
I’ve ached for the things that feel lost after this year,...
December 2010
2 posts
I'm baaaaaack...
and it’s been a crazy few days. It feels great to be back in America, and at the same time, I’m already missing the people I love in Asia. I have a lot more than this to say, but for now I will just thank you all for praying with me (and for me), and for making me feel so loved as I wrestle through jet lag and other fun stuff like that.
Highlights since I’ve been home: A)...
November 2010
4 posts
Grateful to be feeling grateful...
Do you ever feel that just when you get a ‘plan’, the carpet gets yanked out from under you? The past several weeks have felt like a series of carpet yanking mini-disasters. But, in the midst of frustration, disappointment, and loss, I’ve been feeling grateful. And I’m grateful for that.
In September, I committed to staying at the Thai/Burma border until December. I had...
This is not how a democratic election goes down. →
Fight on.
“In light of the magnificent purpose to which we have been called, we cannot waste time nurturing our regrets. They require too much of us. We can learn from our bad days, our mistakes and then we must lay them down, leave them behind and fight on.”
Read this on a blog, don’t even know the author’s name. But it spoke to me, so I thought maybe it would speak to you, also.
October 2010
7 posts
Last week, I went with some of my students to a place where 300 new soldiers and IDPs (internally displaced persons) had arrived from deeper inside Burma. Our purpose was to give health screenings to all of the newcomers.
Some were healthy. Some looked strong. Others looked (and sounded) sickly. I cen remember one boy who looked like he was in shock. And with the things he’s most likely...
the fog.
My mind feels in a bit of a fog.
Maybe it’s that a week ago, I was amongst soldiers and IDPs. Maybe it’s because in the blink of an eye, I was down the mountain hugging a dear friend who has since lost her best friend and husband of 42 years to cancer.
Or maybe it could be the stark contrast of the life I’ve been living in Burma and the one I found myself in when I arrived in...
September 2010
9 posts
Dear Burma,
I really don’t appreciate all of the rain. But we need it so that we can shower, cook, and wash our clothes. So, though I keep complaining about being wet, please don’t let it stop. Because once you do, everyone who lives where I am will have a very difficult time, as they do every year when this happens.
There is a reason why people like to put their homes and villages...
What in the world am I doing up the 'mountain'?
For those of you who are confused as to what I am actually doing in “no man’s land” (I’ve adopted this from my friend Erin, who’s adventures you can read about here), I guess I should take a moment to explain.
You may know that the team I work with in San Diego has been working with several NGO’s that do awesome work. We’re constantly re-evaluating how we...
This isn't summer camp
Tomorrow morning, I will be heading up to the mountains again. With all of the security concerns in this particular part of the world in which I’m serving, I don’t get to be much more specific about my location than that. Out of town. Up in the mountains. To a place that feels like another world sometimes.
Since I’ve travelled to this place before, this time I know what to...
“We say, then, to anyone who is under trial, give him time to steep the soul in His eternal truth. Go into the open air, look up into the depths of the sky, or out upon the wideness of the sea, or on the strength of the hills that is His also; or, if bound in the body, go forth in the spirit; spirit is not bound. Give Him time and, surely as dawn follows night, there will break upon the...
August 2010
2 posts
WatchI recently asked my friend Koala Bear (that’s his FBR animal name) how we can pray for him, and how we can pray for his people (he is from Karen State in Burma). This is what he had to say!
June 2010
5 posts
Dengue.
Don’t ever get it. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, good. If you’re curious, ok. Dengue Fever is a virus that is carried through mosquitos, and I think its found mainly in Asia (though I could totally be wrong). It is also sometimes referred to as ‘break bone disease’, because thats how painful it is on your joints and bones. It also features an awesome...
Books.
Over the past few years, I haven’t read them for enjoyment. Which means, I haven’t finished many of them. So, being in Thailand now, I have decided that in my spare time I will try reading a novel. For fun.
So, I go get a book. I’m nervous. ‘What if I get a book that’s boring?’, and, ‘What if my book is SAD?’. So, in spite of hating books that are...
May 2010
5 posts
Bangladesh
I’ve not been the best blogger as of late… but it hasn’t been for any lack of things to talk about! I just finished a short trip to Bangladesh with Stromme Foundation. It was a short trip, with a mere 5 days in the field. Anyone who does any kind of Intl humanitarian work knows that things most never go as planned… in fact usually we end up laughing at our poor attempts to...
April 2010
2 posts
home.
there’s nothing quite like it.
March 2010
10 posts
Annie.
Everyone, meet Annie. She is one of the coolest people in my life. Annie is a mental health worker by day, but by night she’s a junk food-a-holic. And it’s awesome. Annie lives her life in such a way that inspires those around her to live more honestly. Because she lives her life that way. She doesn’t apologize for standing out from the crowd. She embraces it. She is who she is,...
