I thought I’d surprise Jessica, one of my new Asian friends, for her birthday with a card and some Dove chocolate, her favorite. It was later in the evening so I thought I’d just make it a quick meeting. But it turns out God had a bigger surprise for me!
Fighting for your life when crossing the street, dealing with indecisive landlords that cancel on you when you’ve already paid deposits – twice, walking through sewage on the sidewalks, encountering a different strange smell every other minute, trying to fix toilets that won’t flush, waiting thirty minutes for the bus to arrive (and then seeing four come together), getting your hair cut and having no idea how it will turn out, eating food that is so spicy you that have no idea how it actually tastes… or even WHAT you are actually eating… THIS is Asia.
3:45 a.m.
The time on my cell phone reminded me that it was way too early to be awake, and yet it was the third time I’d woken up during the night. After over 40 hours of travel and two full days of work in a new city, struggling with intense jet-lag and lingering back pain, I can barely stay standing. Am I really ready for this? Do I really want to do this?
Wow! In ten days I will be on a plane home. It just doesn’t seem like it’s really happening, and I don’t feel at all ready for it. On the one hand, I’m so excited to see my family and friends and enjoy all of the comforts of home. However, so much of my life [...]
“You have to meet this guy!” This was what Vicky, one of our sisters told me back in February. Meeting a boy she met on her vacation didn’t seem like a priority to me though, and so I never got around to it. She was still determined though, and so she brought him to a [...]
Wow. Wow, wow, wow. It’s all I could manage to say – I was so astounded by the incredible beauty around me. Sheer, steep limestone peaks towering over picturesque villages were cut through by crystal-clear rivers. Inside the multitude of mountains were vast caves, most of them yet to be explored. I was on top [...]
Two hours into the Boot Camp, Echo still hadn’t shown up. Finally, just in time for lunch, she walked into the room. She had fought through the rain, shown up at the wrong location, and waited for more than a half hour while the metro was delayed. “I hope I’m not too late!” she exclaimed [...]
It’s been over a month since I’ve written. I was hoping to have a great story to tell you after traveling during Spring Festival to visit friends, but, the truth is, I never made it on the trip. Thirty minutes before leaving, I suddenly and inexplicably injured my shoulder. I couldn’t move my left arm [...]
It was the most amazing box of delightful Swiss chocolates I’d ever laid eyes on. I held it in my hands and thought deeply about the difficult decision I was about to make. I could only choose three. How did I come into to such a challenging position? These little pieces of heaven were the [...]
Happy New Year! It’s a little hard to believe isn’t it? Time is a funny thing. Sometimes things happen so quickly we stand astounded and yet sometimes we are so impatient. One thing I’m learning is that when change – or lack of it – doesn’t make sense and everything is out of my control, [...]
