23

I'm already failing at this whole photo-a-day thing... I'll try to do better, honest.

Just as I was getting used to saying I'm 22, I turn 23. Goodness. What a great day, though. One of the lovely ladies here had invited Mom and I to have lunch and hang out, a "get to know your Mom" time... little did I know, they had actually planned a whole party for me and another January birthday girl. It was so sweet of them, especially considering i didn't think I would get to see some of them that day.

Afterwards, we had our house gathering, and the four of us went out to dinner and came back for a game of Cranium, which Mom and I won, thank you. :)

I'm not one to make my birthday a big deal; in fact, I don't like it to be so. When others go out of their way, though, to make it special and to be able to celebrate together... I'm touched and so, so thankful for those He's placed in my life.

 

 

The English birthday singing may have not turned out so well... but they rocked the local version!

 

one year in

A year ago today, I stepped foot into this beautiful, hot, wonderful country. It’s unbelievable that that much time has already passed. It’s been full of laughter, awe, worship, tears, challenges, and pretty much anything else you can imagine.

10 things I love about this country (aside from the people):

• The cicaks – these little geckos not only eat the mosquitoes that carry malaria and dengue, but I also think they’re super cute.
• The food – when I first arrived in this country, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of the food. It was a lot of rice, and it was spicy. But now, it is some of the best food in the world.
• Fresh fruit juice - Divine.
• Speaking in another language – Okay, so I’m far from fluent, but it’s still really cool to be able to understand and even slightly communicate in another language.
• Driving a motorcycle – Yeah, there are some times when I fear for my life and others when I battle road rage, but all in all, it’s a rather fun experience.
• The landscape – Turn one direction, mountains. Another, the beach. Does it get any better?
• Batik fabric – this beautiful fabric is wonderful, and each province has their own unique style.
• Greeting friends with a cheek-to-cheek embrace – I loved this when I was in France, and I was thrilled to discover it’s here as well.
• Being community-oriented – Honestly, this took me a while to adjust to: neighbors coming in and peeking in my room, asking about every little thing, etc. My housemates have stories of, while battling dengue, waking up to find neighbors standing over the beds, watching them. Now, though, it’s a source of comfort. Our neighbors have our backs. The first two weeks after we moved in, the little ibu next door sat outside our gate every night, making sure we got home safely. Relationships matter.
• Dependence on the Lord – There is absolutely no denying our dependence on the Lord in this country. Day in and day out, it is very clear: WE NEED HIM. Need Him for sanity, need Him for comfort, need Him for strength, need Him to do it all really… In the States, that fact can be clouded, but here, it is very, very evident.

10 things that have changed:

• Ideas of cold - 70 degrees is coooold. Guess that’s what happens when you live in 90-degree weather with high humidity year round. When we went up to the mountains, I wore a sweater and shivered.
• How comfortable I am with physical contact with the same gender - It’s a totally normal thing now to walk hand-in-hand with a good girl friend. Nothing is thought of it. Extremely awkward at first, now it’s a common thing even among my American girl friends.
• My eating habits - Remember when you were a kid and your parents always scolded you for eating with your hands? Yeah. Forget that.
• The definition of an address - Want to know what we say when we give our address? It’s the blue and grey house next to the red house in the neighborhood behind the orange building on this one street. To receive a package, I get a text message from the post office telling me to come pick one up. To pay bills, I take last month’s bill down the street to a guy’s house who has a computer set up in his living room. Mailboxes are a thing of the past.
• My idea of showering - Warm water spraying down automatically from a shower head above me is a faint memory. Now, my arms get a daily workout as I dump cold water over my head. It’s rather refreshing in the middle of blazing hot day in the tropics though.
• My cooking abilities - Not that I’m this awesome cook or anything, but through being under some pretty awesome ladies, I can now successfully make some things taste like America (some things).
• My driving abilities – Piggybacking off of loving to drive above, my driving abilities have also changed drastically… and not necessarily in a good way. I’m a lot more aggressive now… I’m pretty sure I’m going to be in trouble when I get back to the States.
• Handshakes - After lightly shaking someone’s hand, you bring your own up to your chest. Please don’t think I’m weird if I come back and do this. It’s a really hard habit to break.
• Standards for movies - Going to the theater here is a magical experience – It’s dark, they’re speaking in English, we’re eating candy and movie popcorn… It’s almost like being in America, and it’s worth watching movies that I would never consider seeing if I was actually back in the States. 
• Ideas of cleanliness - When it comes to the bathroom, wet is clean. If the food has no roaches, it’s good. Ants? Extra protein.

It's been a crazy year, but I am so thankful for the opportunity to be here and witness what the Father's doing. Thank you, Asia, for making me more like Him. I'm looking forward to the year to come.


"And we know that for those who love G-d all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If G-d is for us, who can be against us?"
- Rom 8:28-31

birthday week

I don't really like to make my birthday a big deal. I don't like to be the center of attention, so I'm usually not a big fan of everyone singing to me... and drawing a lot of attention my way... It kind of makes me want to hide, just being honest. Typically my birthday consists of going to dinner with some close friends and family. Nothing big, no elaborate party, just a nice, quiet evening.

This year was a little bit different. Thursday I turned 22. It was going to be unique anyways because A: I was in a foreign country, and B: because of the time difference, my birthday was really like 36 hours long. Everyone kept asking me what I wanted to do for my birthday. I kept responding, "Oh, something low-key, maybe just a nice dinner." What ended up happening was pretty perfect.

We get to school late because I was skyping with my family, and as soon as I walk in, everyone starts singing "Happy Birthday," and one of my teachers brings out an apple coffeecake with a birthday candle, a very sweet surprise.

 

After class, we come home and relax for a little bit. Morgan makes some really awesome Mexican food. It tastes like it came straight out of a Mexican restaurant. I mean, really. It would have been awesome in the States. After dinner, Jenn and Morgan come in to my room, singing and carrying another cake! Apparently, they forgot to pick up candles, so my birthday "candles" were matches stuck on top.

  

Around the time of eating the cake, two dear friends, Donna and T, show up with flowers! We eat the cake with some super sugary chocolate icing straight out of the pan, tell jokes, laugh a lot, sing a little, just really enjoy each others company in a very laid-back night. Pretty perfect.

 

 

But that wasn't all they had in store. We had decided to go out to dinner with all of our friends on Saturday. Birthday dinners are opposite of that in America. Back home, the one celebrating the birthday gets treated out to dinner, but here the birthday girl (or guy) pays for everyone else's meal. I decided I was going to be like a national and pay for everyone's dinner. Thankfully, the local food is really inexpensive, so it wasn't going to be quite like picking up the bill in America.

All week long, that was the plan. Dinner at 6:30 on Saturday. Rachel's paying. When I get up that morning, Morgan's already dressed and heading out the door. She tells me she's going to go read. Not out of the ordinary. She likes to get out of the house, whereas I'm perfectly okay staying at home all day.

I get up and make blueberry muffin bread (thanks, Aubrey!). As I'm making them, Jenn comes in and says she's going to the store and asks if I need anything. "Mmm, maybe pick up some eggs?" She leaves. I'm home alone. I do all the stuff I would do on any other normal day at home: eat, exercise, shower, read, play guitar. Around 4:30, Morgan finally comes home. We finish getting ready right at 6:30 and get in the car. Morgan says that Donna doesn't know how to get to the restaurant, so she's going to ride with us. We pull in, and Donna's apparently "not ready" so we have to go inside and wait.

I walk up the sidewalk, open the door, and walk inside the dark room. "SURPRISE!" Suddenly, some 20 people pop up at me from all directions.

Hey, guess what? We weren't going to the restaurant. Morgan hadn't gone to read or Jenn to the store. They had this planned all along, those sneaky girls. They had gotten here earlier and decorated the whole house, made cupcakes, and even set up a "photo booth" of sorts with funny masks and hats. 

So I got to spend the evening with some great friends who, despite always starting and showing up at things late, actually arrived early to surprise me! They are awesome. So, in the end, it was the perfect combination - a quiet, chill birthday evening and a crazy surprise party on the weekend. I wonder how long I can keep this birthday celebration going...

 

 

karaoke time

The stereotype is true: Asians love some karaoke.

This week, in honor of our last week of break, we had a girls' night with some pretty great ladies. The night started with dinner at Black Canyon Coffee, which is actually famous for their coffee and cappucino art, but they have some good food as well. And then it was karaoke time.

Karaoke here is a lot different than (what I imagine it to be) in the States. You reserve a room for just you and your friends, and there's a system in each room with a little computer set in the table for you to pick your favorite song to belt out in front of your friends. The words come up on the TV in the front (sometimes with correct lyrics, sometimes not). We went to a place called Happy Puppy (yep, that's right), and each room had a theme. We were in the underwater/submarine room. With the lights dimmed, black lights on, and the music loud, it was the perfect set up to let the inner rockstar come out.

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

Also, I'd just like to share - Dr. Pepper has been spotted in southeast Asia. We've heard it only happens once in a blue moon, so today, when we got a text from one of the awesome women here saying the local grocery store had it (THANK YOU), we made a stop on our way home and stocked up. Thank you, Father! What a great gift!

Give thanks with a grateful heart

Our Father truly knows how to give good gifts to his children. While it's easy to want to fall into self-pity and moan about how I miss family, friends, etc. during the holidays, I really am truly blessed. Thank you, Thanksgiving, for being a perfect reminder of what I have been given.

I am thankful I got to meet my team and spend Thanksgiving in the capital with them.
I am thankful for a family away from family to laugh, celebrate, and remember with.
I am thankful for those back in the States and around the world who encourage, love, and are walking with me on this journey.
I am thankful for the opportunity to focus on learning the language (really, I am).
I am thankful for being able to enjoy a washing machine and a shower a little while longer.
I am thankful for having peanut butter and oreos in this country.
I am thankful His mercies are new every morning.

And I am thankful for Christmas, for sweet fellowship (and some tears) with roommates while decorating the tree and reflecting on the Promised One who came to redeem His people.

It really is a truth too great for comprehension. G-d - great, mighty, part-the-Red-Sea, pillar of fire, glorious divinity. Leaves glory. Comes to earth as a baby. Lives out perfection, unrecognized by His own people. Is killed by His own people by a criminal's death. To be our sacrifice. Our righteousness. Our redemption. Our hope.

 What glory.

"O come, O come, Emmanuel

And ransom captive Israel

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of G-d appear

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel."

I thank my God every time I remember you...

It seems like just yesterday that I was browsing through the dozens of pages with hundreds of jobs opportunities located all over the world. I was overwhelmed by the options, not having the slightest clue of where or even how I wanted to serve. As terrifying as it all was to contemplate leaving my home for two years, I was flooded by an incredible peace as I slowly narrowed down where God was leading and finally settled on my top three choices. In reality, that was four months ago. Now, I have 28 days before I leave the city I grew up in and step foot into new territory. It's still terrifying, but I also have that astounding peace that can only be from God. It is with confidence that I move forward, knowing that my God is sovereign and good and worth abandoning everything for so that his name may be known and glorified among the nations.

For those who are wondering, July 25th is when I leave for a 2-month orientation. After that, I'll have three months of strictly language school in country, so I will arrive at my final destination in early January (Lord-willing). I'll be working with students at an English center, but the details of my visa are still being worked out, so I'm not certain what exactly I'll be doing beyond that.

The support that I have received from family, friends, churches, even those I do not know has been incredible. So I want to take a moment to say - THANK YOU. Your words, hugs, prayers mean so much than you could ever possibly know. Thinking about it even now brings tears to my eyes. I have been so, so blessed and love you all so very dearly. May God bless you, and may his love be rooted firmly in your hearts.