The Time In Between

One of the things I struggled with being away
was being in relation with my siblings. It is
good to be in the same state with them all again!

The big question I have received since returning from YWAM is: "When is your next adventure?" They assume coming back to negative degree weather, Iowa, and my family is not an adventure. I say, "I do not know." Little do they know, every day is an adventure. "So, what are you doing with the time in between then?" Mundane tasks, they assume. "I nanny and help with the high school youth." Neither are mundane, though they may appear, simply waking up and speaking to my little brother is not mundane. They offer their sympathetic face, "Well, I will be praying for you then to receive clarity from God. Just make sure that you are really listening to Him." Are we so narrow minded we fail to see all the opportunities God lays before us daily to bring Him glory? I simply reply, "Thank you."

The mission field is a large field, approximately 57,529,222 square miles in fact. In case you are confused, that is the scientific approximation of the size of the world.

Being in the presence of the Lord is a wild adventure, you never know what He is going to say to us. Acting according to our Abba's plan for our life is...magical.

The time in between is pivotal. The Egyptians fled Egypt for the Promised Land, they had 40 years as their "time in between". Jesus was on His way to Galilee when He met the Samaritan woman at the well. Saul was on his way to Damascus when he met the Lord. It was the journey to their destination when they were heavily impacted by God.

Jump starting my mornings with a little coffee and a whole
lot of Jesus!

Next destination: Las Vegas, Nevada for the summer. I will be leaving for Vegas June 3 to join summer staff in leading Mission Adventures.

But let's not get to far ahead of ourselves. The time in between is overflowing with joy and laughter. I nanny for an almost two year old in the mornings. We enjoy walks to the library where I have managed to make mommy friends and he plays trains with other little kids. My mommy friends and I discuss things such as nap time, teething and the different puzzles at the library. Occasionally I let the other moms know I am just the nanny, other times the opportunity does not arise, and I just look like the ultra young mom. Cool.

The constantly reoccurring theme since coming home, however, has been relationships. This is slightly comical because I am single and living with my parents, often waking up with cats in my bed. The youth is currently discussing love, it's almost spring and the rings are flying out of boys pockets, my job is to be in relation with kids, I have listened to the heart of the middle school girl I nanny for as she talks about waiting for her future husband, and of the struggle from a high school girl as she feels unworthy to ever accept love from a guy. In reconnecting with friends I have found many of them in college to be in relationships, or struggling to find joy as they watch others find relationships. I do not always understand.

The joy of relationships with other Christians is the ability to
spend a Friday night worship God!

Yet the desire for love makes sense. Our creator Himself is a relationship, He is three-in-one. We are designed in the likeness of God, therefore we are designed for a three-in-one love: Trinity, us and our future spouse. Everyday we choose to embark in a life of relationships. We choose to be intimate with God, we choose to engage with our family and coworkers, we choose to speak with love to strangers whom we encounter everyday. As the Tenth Avenue North song says, "We're not meant to live this life alone." God created the world so that we might walk with Him in the cool of the day. Adam himself was living in Eden, the perfect garden, and was not even complete until God created Eve.

The time in between for me is an adventure of being transformed into the likeness of the servant lover, my Christ. Being relational is an adventure, though it is difficult. Reverting back to our original intent as humans, is to be in relationship with Him, bringing Him all the glory in everything, not ourselves. Setting aside our our desire to be the center, putting aside the idea that says to God we are deserving of more attention than He is, is difficult. But when we are first relational with Him, we realize how much we need His presence to never leave us, not only because it gives us strength and courage, but because of how beautiful it is to be with Him. When we experience even the slightest glimpse of God, much like Moses, others will see Him brilliantly shining in our faces. We are here to manifest the glory of God to an unbelieving world, and the best way to do so, is through relationships.

DTS: Check!

Graduation day. I still do not recall Kevin complaining once
about being the only guy in the DTS...

Last week was our debriefing week. We, as a team, reviewed the negatives and positives of our outreach. Our speaker encouraged us to spend 2/3 of our time meditating on the negatives, as he said these are the gold mines God tends to work most often in and through. We spent time as a group, as well as personal time with God, reviewing the hurts and joys of the past five months. The enemy often gives us temporary amnesia causing us to forget God's previous faithfulness in all we have been through.

Our speaker encouraged us to also drill God on why we fell in love with different foods, countries, peoples and experiences. We cannot simply nebulize the goodness of an experience, God has a reason as to why this thing has left such an impact on our life. While I may be half a country, or world away, from my brothers and sisters, I can still be in prayer for them, write them e-mails and share their stories with others here. God does not give us a second of life for nothing; every moment of life is part of our testimony that will somehow bring glory to God.

More than anything, however, our speaker prepared us to fail as we enter back into the world outside of YWAM. Such encouragement, right? Or maybe he was being realistic. We cannot simply grow, we must go through life with a game plan. Going through life expecting God to move without moving ourselves is like locking ourselves in a room with no windows and praying to see the sun, we must leave the room to see! I am responsible to kick start the engine of my own missional living. And here's the thing, the missionary lifestyle, I can live that wherever I go. We made a game plan for returning home, made commitments to each other for accountability and made a list of people where we lived we could go to who we knew would hold us accountable. For me this game plan includes living a simpler life, dedicating more of my day to being silent before the throne, and plugging myself into opportunities at home where I can love others with the love God has poured out onto me.

Mom, me and Dad on graduation day. I was so ecstatic for
them to have a small glimpse of what DTS is like!

And then we graduated. Friday January 9, I received a diploma of graduation signifying I have successfully joined the YWAM clan. My parents were there to celebrate with me. Our graduation consisted of one last worship time together as DTS students, a time to share about our adventures with the parents and guests who came, and a challenging finale lecture from our base founder. The following couple days consisted of hard goodbyes and laughs over embarrassing stories. We shared fears of going home, and prayed against the enemy of fear. Going home is simply another place God has provided us with where we can radically live for Him, a place not much different than Vegas, Mexico, Nepal or India.

So, what is next for me? Right now, it is processing what God has taken me through and praying for where God would like to take me next. I have spent much time writing in my journal, sharing my experiences with others and catching up with others. For me it is choosing to tell people about our great Healer and praying for healing, even if others think I may be crazy. For me it is going to Smokey Row and not being afraid to talk to the stranger in the next booth over, always obeying the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  Our God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He does not change from India to Nepal to Vegas to Iowa, He is everlasting, with us every moment with the same authority He always has had. While I may not have a plan for my future, my Abba Daddy has a beautiful plan, I just do not understand why He has not shared it with me!

Daddyoh and I am at Hoover Dam. I was able to take them
around town showing them places where we did ministry and
out sight seeing!

While I now type up the last post reviewing my DTS experience, I am reminded of all God has done. He has taken me to Vegas, Mexico, Nepal and India. I have prayed for people who have been healed of back pain and broken shoulders. I have held little girls who will most likely be sold into sex slavery and danced with little girls who will grow up to be world changers. I think of the people who have spoken over me, challenging me to live more intentionally and others who have pushed me outside my comfort zone to pray for strangers. Most importantly, I have grown to see more of who my Creator intended me to be; I was created to live within the freedom of the cross, clothed in grace and love. I have fallen in love with the Alpha and Omega, the one who works not within our language, cultural or skin colored boundaries, but the one who works through any willing person. Now it is my choice to neatly pack all my memories into a YWAM box, shove it into my closet and move on, or daily remember God has given me a taste of what is to come. Jesus himself said we, His disciples, would do far greater things than He did. I believe Him.

I am so thankful for all those who have prayed for me as I have gone through these past five months, I know I could not have done any of this without others interceding for me. I have been blessed beyond belief for those who choose to come along side me, your help has changed me and others around the world who will continue to change the world. I send out great thanks for those who have helped me realize who I am and what I have a passion for, and I invite others to come along side me as I continue to run the race marked out before me, wherever that may lead. I am choosing to live as a revivalist, daughter of the one who breathed gifts, passions and testimonies into dust, calling these new creations very good

The Story of Us

Ringing in the new year on the strip!

New Years Eve is typically full of parties, looking back on the past year and looking forward to the new year. I rang in the new year on the strip here in Vegas, something I never anticipated nor desired. Looking back on the year, I was in awe of the way God moved. He is Jehovah Sneaky, a God who dances with us in mysterious ways. One of the biggest things I learned while in YWAM, especially in Nepal and India, is how stunning every person's story is.

The first full day back in the states, I spent most of the day in the hospital. I was quarantined because I just returned form being out of the states, (they believe my severe abdominal pain was due to parasites, nothing serious, all is good) but my room had cable television. While Kat, who came with me, slept on my bed and snored, I was catching up with CNN. The biggest news was of course of the missing airline in Asia, a concern of ours when flying in Asia. They were showing interviews from families members of those missing at sea. They were sharing the silly memories of their dad's favorite holiday tradition or their son's first steps. Each person was sharing a story, making the tragedy half way around the world, a little more personal.

My lovely hospital getup.

Being back in Vegas, we have focused on community outreaches. My favorite outreach this past week, most likely of all our outreaches here in Vegas, has been at the Rescue Mission up the road
from us. The Rescue Mission offers meals to the homeless, as well as houses people. The residents are part of a 12 step discipleship program focusing on addiction rehabilitation, job readiness, and on faith. The process is a year long total, each step being a month long. To enter into the program, a person must be willing to clean up their lives. I was able to hear much of a staff members story and his personal journey into the drug world and then the beautiful journey into his walk with the Lord.

The thing I loved most about the Rescue Mission, is they see past the current state of each person. The Rescue Mission does not deem the person as an embarrassment, but as a person with a testimony, a purpose, and immense value. Each person at the Rescue Mission is recovering from some form of addiction; their addiction is not what makes their story inspiring, it is their willingness to leave their way of life. What we overcome in life is not to be the focus of our testimony, the Lord's faithfulness and provision of strength and courage to leave behind our comfortable past is the beauty of our lives.

Serving at the Rescue Mission one evening
with Miss Nevada.

Another place we have been able to serve at this past week was a women and children shelter. I was able to chat with a lady who just left prostitution 3 weeks ago. She was telling me how her mother worked in the brothels, so when this gal was released from four years of juvi at the age of 18, she did the only thing she knew, sell herself. She herself said she was a victim of sex trafficking for the past 9 years, something most women are not aware they are apart of, they simply see themselves as worthless prostitutes. This young women realized she had more to offer, and was more. She has a story, passions and dreams. She made me laugh when she said she left everything she had at her pimp's house and was struggling only having one outfit when she came to the shelter. She's a girly girl, she needs her clothes and makeup. Of course, though! She is a young women! Often we overlook things such as that. The label 'prostitute' often overshadows who the person is. She is a living, walking, breathing masterpiece with a story, when matched with the love of the Lord, will bring girls out of prostitution and into the Father's divine plans.

In India, I lived with 67 girls, very few of which knew any English. And I wanted to know about them! I wanted to know their story! I want to know about their families, their testimony, their passions, their dreams. But there was one thing in the way: language. Language kept us from knowing their stories, and I hated it! We were able to love the girls and see their passion for the Lord and each other through their actions. Language enables us to hear the way the Lord moved through others' lives. Love, on the other hand, allows us to be a part of each other's stories without language.

Outreach: Check!

One "Fun Day" Saturday we decided to have face paint and
balloon animals with the girls.

Today was our first full day back in the states. India was amazing; I completely fell in love with the people, country and culture. Unfortunately we were in a place where wifi was not always an option, and the limited wifi did not allow me to post blogs. So, here is a short and concise overview of the past couple weeks.

Hard Moments:

• ·         We went to 3 different slums. It was very difficult in one particular slum; we come around a corner and there is a small baby girl sitting bare bottomed in dirty water on the ground next to her mom who is cleaning things. It is hard to see the children, then leave.
• ·         People were always watching us. They would stare like crazy, even when we were in the Jeeps traveling. People would ask for photos with us in public. It made traveling and ministry difficult, it also limited our opportunities to go out.
• ·         You must have a preaching permit to preach in India, something we did not. This also limited our opportunities because of the press and persecution to believers. We had to cancel a couple speaking engagements because of this.
• ·         We went prayer walking in Calcutta around this temple where human sacrifices of baby girls are still prevalent, and baby girls are also offered as temple prostitutes. Two things that are actually acceptable and encouraged.



After our zoo visit we went to play and have a picnic at a park.

• ·         Saying goodbye to the girls on Christmas night. We gathered all the girls together and debriefed as a large group. We then had the girls all line up so we could say goodbye and hug every one of them. We were crying, they were crying, it was crazy hard. I have never had a more difficult time saying goodbye before that. 

Our Christmas saris!

One of the villages I was able to speak at. I preached out
of Matthew 20 at this church.

Highlights:

• ·         The girls taught us different Hindi songs, words, games and dances. They were so patient with us. Granted they laughed at us more than anything, but it was such a loving relationship.
• ·         Tea was brought to us 3 times a day: 8:00 a.m, 11:45 a.m, and 3:45 p.m. It was brought to wherever we were, even if we were in the garden.
• ·         For a week I was able to teach English to the girls. I learned I really enjoy teaching English, but it is also difficult. The girls were varying in ages and some of them have already learned English. Then of course there are all those grammar rules, past tense, future tense, and so on and so on and so on. It is actually difficult to keep the English language simple.
• ·         We went to a couple different villages. I loved being able to see the different cultures of each village. They were amazing at welcoming us. Some villages welcomed us with parades, some with drums and dancing, others with strands of garland necklaces.
•  Strangers allow you to hold their babies in villages. Naturally I asked to hold the smallest baby at each village
• ·         The food. I would not eat a lot of food in America because it did not look appealing or I simply did not want to try it. Being a guest however requires you to eat a lot of food, and being in a foreign country, you have no other food to eat. Turns out I really like Indian food!
• ·         Each night we had an hour with the girls for Bible time. We had worship, Bible lesson, then an activity. At first it was difficult because of the translator, then we began to simplify and cut straight to the point, a much easier way to get a message across anyhow. The activity was also an amazing time for us to sit with the girls.
• ·         We went to the zoo with the girls. It was so much fun to go out with the girls. The zoo is not anything like American zoos.
• ·         I learned how to use one bucket for showing, which was heated by a light bulb, and fell in love with the squatty toilets. Two things I did not expect AT ALL!
• ·         Christmas!!! Christmas Eve dancing began at 3:00 p.m and ended at 12:00 midnight. Then Christmas dancing began after the morning service for a couple hours, then there was the children’s program then more dancing from 4:00 p.m to 12:00 p.m. There were fireworks and lots of dancing. It was insane! The director and his wife purchased saris for each of us girls for Christmas. It was a beautiful Christmas, by far the best Christmas I have ever had!

We visited Queen Victoria's palace in Calcutta. Naturally we
pretended to drink tea.

As we enter back into the states, I begin the last two weeks of DTS. I have no idea what I will be doing after the DTS, and that is okay. I have had so many, fell in love with so many new people, and have been exposed to so many new possibilities. The crazy thing about conquering something, no matter how small, is you begin to realize how through the strength of the Lord, anything can be conquered. I have come to realize I have limited myself so much in the past. I have believed lies saying I am incapable, I am too young, I have no special gifts. The beautiful thing about God is He lives inside of us. By limiting ourselves, we limited God in us. By living without limits, by living in freedom, we are allowing the limitless God to freely move through us.

India: Check!

After a short hour and a half flight from Kathmandu into Kolkata, followed by a four hour train ride and a ten minute jeep ride, we arrived at our new home for the next 3 ½ weeks. Our new home is shared with 72 orphan and semi-orphan girls who have never seen blonde hair before and 6 other staff. Our new home is a school, orphanage, church and meeting center for these young girls. The 6 of us ODTS girls share two conjoined rooms. There are two single beds and two double beds. The best part however, is the small cat who is very fond of our small abode.

We are extremely spoiled. The girls have morning work duties at 6:30 a.m. which include sweeping the halls, washing floors, and cleaning the bathrooms, we have no work duties or cleaning to do. We have morning tea brought to us in our rooms at 7:30 a.m. as well as mid-morning and afternoon tea brought to us. And oh my, can they make tea! Our meals are prepared for us. We are spoiled with Indian food, orange juice in the mornings, oranges and bananas! Unlike Nepal, we actually have enough silverware, as in soup spoons, spoons, forks and knifes enough for us all. They have several different dish sets and a vast array of tea sets. They even have a dining room complete with table and chairs.

There are multiple differences that two months ago I would have been annoyed with but now I barely even notice. We take bucket showers we have to warm up with a light bulb. One bucket I learned is actually more than enough water. In the afternoons from 1:00-4:00 the electricity does not work. Occasionally it does not work at other times as well. Our home is the very last on the electric line, so sometimes there is no electricity left for us. And the wifi is very difficult to use and does not allow us to upload photos. It is very slow; what would be a five minute internet usage time back even in Nepal here turns into twenty minutes.

The orphanage is Christian based and ran by a YWAMer. The girls have 6 a.m. worship time, work duties, personal devotion time, schooling, and then we work with them in the afternoon. We teach English and music, we are preparing a Christmas program with them, organized Christmas decoration time, then we play with them for an hour outside. The Christmas program is going to be 3 hours long, something we though was very long, but then they told us the Christmas celebration begins December 24 and goes until December 26 with dancing all through the night. After dinner is 30 minutes of out loud prayer time, then the girls usually have an hour of studying, but the director decided to change that and have us lead a hour of Bible time.

I have teaching the girls English which I find to be very difficult. The girls can read English and pronounce the words, but it is the sentence and conversation formation that is difficult for them. They are drilled in memorization. Their schooling is very structured. We have found it difficult when we ask for creative responses or if they have any questions, they do not have either.

The girls are complete servant hearted young women. I was going to do my laundry the other day so I took my clothes to the water pump in a bucket. Instantly a group formed around me. One girl took the bucket from my hand, said, “Sister, sister,” and waved her hand at me. A couple other girls filled four other buckets with water and they washed my clothes for me. At first I was shocked, then amazed, then embarrassed at how dirty my clothes were, I definitely have not been washing my clothes the right way. They took a bar of laundry soap and scrubbed each of my clothes, balled up the clothing article, pounded it into the ground, then rinsed each piece in all four buckets. In my defense, most of the clothes I had worn while on our four day trek, which actually was just two different outfits. I was very embarrassed. They took my clothes, hung them on the line, and I found them folding my laundry later in the evening.

I find myself in a service based culture, not knowing what to do. It can be rude of me to try to help, and yet I feel inadequate not helping. One morning we came back to our room which they cleaned for us. It does not feel right to expect them to serve us, yet that is what this culture expects. The way the girls are serving us, is the way they would be serving their parents. This is the service Jesus talks about in Matthew 20:28 when He says, “The Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve.” The girls service with a cheerful heart, no complaining, no arguing. In an honor based, service based society, I find myself struggling both to service and to be served. I am learning to serve sacrificially in new ways, such as giving up time alone, playing duck duck goose for the 80^th time, and to be patient while teaching Hindi speaking preschoolers English Christmas carols. I am very much loving all my new sisters! 

Village Life Round 2!

My "Birthday baby"

It was a long, bumpy 5 hour van ride. There were squatty stops, snack breaks, and a stop for those who got motion sick. Sunday night I slept in a strangers house, a believer who had only two rooms in their mud house. I slept with another gal from our DTS on a board under a mosquito net, a first for me.

December 1, my 19th Birthday, I woke up feeling well rested. I was greeted with a "Birthday cake". It was an Oreo cake mix brought from America put inside a semi-empty old peanut butter jar. 2 years ago I would have laughed at it, 1 year ago I would have called it a poor college kid cake, 5 months ago I would have called it a ghetto cake, now I call it a love missionary cake. The more God moves me around locationally, the more I fall in love with where I am. Being away from my family for the first time on my Birthday did not bring me to tears, being surrounded by all these people who love me did.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we hiked over 25 miles, over 358 stories, for hours and hours. We

Acquiring drinking water out of a bamboo spiket on the side
of a cliff. 

were soar, hungry and thirsty. We drank from streams, crossed rivers, washed our faces in waterfalls, trekked through marijuana fields, avoided goat stampede, and treed lightly on the edge of cliffs. We ate dole beans with pebbles in it, ate honey with bees and bee larva still in it, had to wait for dinner because our rice was being carried up a mountain, and drank water that had to be hauled from a 3 hour hike away. The tropical jungles and the fields of poppy, mustard, and rice were screaming with the beauty of creation.

We were able to to stop in 7 different churches to share a message to encourage the congregation. The churches were either mud huts with thatch roof or a tin roof, or they were bamboo walls with boards for floors with stables underneath. The floors were either mud or dirt and the walls crawling with spiders. The people were dirty, had head lice, and the babies did not wear diapers. We even road on top of a bus through water, as in the bus drove through rivers and sandbars.

We had an incident where our base director was drumming and yelling at us to hurry up and pack one morning. One of our translators rushed into the mud church and said he must stop, he sounded like a witch doctor.

On top of the bus that crossed the river.

I would often stop to catch my breath and I had to shake my head when I realized what I was doing. I am living what I always dreamed of. It is not easy. There were many moments when I wanted to sit on the trail and cry. I was in physical pain. I did not see the point of what we were doing at times. We stopped at churches, we did not need to go because they were already reached. It was worth it. It was worth the hike just to be in fellowship for 20 minutes with one church. It was worth the pain to meat my brothers and sisters for just one time and never see them again until I join them in eternity.

I have never pushed myself so hard. In Philippians it says, "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength," Paul means anything. When we are in the will of the Lord, we will be given extraordinary strength. There were people in our group who kept falling, rolling their ankles and they would stand up fine. We were beyond dehydrated, but not one of us got sick from dehydration. The energy and physical strength needed for us to complete the trek was not our own. The strength and protection of the Lord is often unseen. It is up to us to stop and realize we are living, breathing miracles. Everyday is not our own. We do not live according to our own will and ability. We live in accordance to Him who gives and takes away. There is no other place I would rather live than in that presence.

Naplese Thanksgiving: Check!

My first Thanksgiving away from home was...amazing. My day started as it normally does, 4:45 I roll out of bed, boil some water for coffee and spend time in devotions. Our ministry day began earlier than normal. 7 we left for our contacts house, a mile from our home. Wrong house. Mile there, mile back, half mile to the right place. Oh, did I mention the hills here in Kathmandu, they definitely give you a good leg work out. We arrive 45 minutes late; we Westerners are very upset and frustrated, we hate being late. The Agape ministry we are working with greets us and laughs, thankful we finally arrived!

After futball, we gave rice and chicken soup to all the kids and
shared a skit about the armor of God.

Our morning ministry was futball with the slum boys. It was very organized. The little kids played in one part of the large open field and the older kids played on the other. I joined the older boys, about ages 13-18. We split into 3 teams. Dilip, our contact, explained the rules which all the boys knew, prayed, then began the game. We would play for 10 minutes or the first team to score would win, then the losing team sat down and the team sitting out would play the winning team. This went on for about 3 hours. Despite being slum kids, they all arrived at the field, then went and changed into their soccer jerseys and shorts which were extremely clean and well kept. It was one of the most clean soccer games I have ever seen.

Me with part of my futball team and some younger boys.

It was interesting to watch the older boys then be with the younger boys. The younger boys were extremely violent. They would just punch, wrestle, and curse at each other. Watching the younger boys, it seems very distressing. These boys, maybe age 6, are a reflection of all they know. They know no other life than violence. Hitting each other can be an act of play, an expression of hurt feelings, a way to prove a point, essentially, hitting each other just goes with everything. But then you look at the older boys. The older boys were well organized, they called in a boy from the team sitting out to ref the games, there was no fighting after a team won. Occasionally I would catch the Nepalese word 'ramri', or beautiful; it made me laugh that they would smack talk and call each other 'beautiful'. But it gave me hope that, yes these young boys are violent, but nobody is stuck. There is always time for change and growth. No person is helpless or hopeless, they simply need someone who is willing to invest in a relationship with them.

Last night Hannah and I made the Thanksgiving dinner. It was tricky. We struggled because most
 American recipes call for butter, lots of butter. So, we spoiled the group and bought butter. We have a limited amount of utensils, as in for dinner I ate with my hands because we do not have enough spoons and forks for all 9 of us (I also like using my hands, something very acceptable here). We only have 2 propane burners to work from as well, no oven. Somehow we managed to make frozen corn and peas, chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. The mashed potatoes were an effort. We only had a broken whisk; I partly whisked, partly fork mashed and partly hand mashed the potatoes. But they had buffalo milk and butter in them, kind of like America. The gravy was chicken bouillon soup and some flour that is nothing like our flour back in the states. For dessert we tried to make butterscotch roos, but for a bag of about 1 pound of sugar cost $17 American dollars, so we used butter and crystallized brown sugar that made caramel, we had to use off brand chocolate ricecrispes that were a bit stale and some sugar free corn flakes. For some reason Hannah brought butterscotch chips to Nepal and I had a jar of Skippy peanut butter. Peanut butter here comes in small jars and is very expensive, and they do not sell chocolate chips here. We had only two coffee tables to eat on and no chairs. Somehow, it all worked together.

I could easily say this made me thankful for all the things I have back in the states, yet none of that came to my mind. I was so focused on how much fun it was to cook with Hannah. I was caught in this moment of extreme love. The 9 of us are a family. We bicker with each other, we make fun of each other's smelly poop, we wash clothes with each other, we pray with each other, we love each other.

Kev, Jenny, Kat, Chel, Kreu, Hannah, Me, Vacheral. The
wonderful family with Teresa taking the photo.

For me, the big lesson I learned this Thanksgiving, was to be appreciative where I am at with what I have. It does not do to focus on all the things God blessed me with back home, that is being thankful for the past and for the future when I return to those things. I discovered how thankful I was for the present. No American football, but I was welcomed in by a bunch of slum boys to play futball. No glass of A&E milk, but we had buffalo milk in the mashed potatoes. No chairs to sit on, but I am so thankful for the blankets we did have to cover our cold tile floor. No Macy's Day Parade, but our neighbors across the street had a wedding which included a parade, complete with dancing, trumpets, drums and a tuba that lasted at least an hour.

When I stop and think about it, I do not understand how we all wound up in Nepal. We come from all different backgrounds with different stories, but we all share a deep passion for the Lord. Being under the shadow of the cross I see only testimonies. The crazy plans God laid out for us before we were even a thought to our parents, before our parents were even a though to their parents, brought us together. I am overwhelmingly thankful for the divine appointments God predestined for me.