Indonesia and China

Bubble tea in ChinaCrash a wedding photo shoot in Hong Kong..
Bat. No, wait..Lizard...


Indonesia:

It's Set in India

India. I never would have guessed it would take part of my heart. I have been taken by the bright fabrics, dark skin decorated with gold or silver bangles, nose studs, mendi, too much chai and crispy snacks that are forcefully offered to me from a generous heart. Multiple generations live in a single room. Water from hand washing laundry runs through the uneven stone alleyways. Children shout out Hello and push their hand into mine as a greeting. A few words of broken English and Hindi with expressive hand gestures show the story and big, white smiles tell the rest. The heat is almost unbearably humid and being constantly sweaty has become an unavoidable reality. This is an unexpected love, which is perhaps the best kind.

Ponderings from the Nile River

I made it back alive after a 3-day felucca trip up the Nile. A felucca is a traditional wooden sailboat used primarily to sail the Nile. 30 of us had 2 feluccas with 2 crew members on each. We ate vegetarian each meal and plenty of pita with various toppings. We took a night train Friday from Cairo to Aswan, and boarded the boat Saturday afternoon. I showered Thursday night before we left for Aswan, and then not again until this afternoon, Tuesday. I am definitely being pushed from my comfort zone; at home I shower at least once per day. And Egypt is hot. I mean hot. We were dripping sweat most of the time, which meant of course-we must cool off in the Nile.

It is extremely questionably water; I am sure it was not too safe for my new tattoo (see previous post..), but no one got sick and it was nice to float around with no real agenda. Free time is a new concept to this group, because we are always rushing somewhere, having classes, studying or taking tests. This semester has been my busiest yet, even without my job or friends and family to spend my time with.

Saturday night I spent a few hours just laying on the boat and praying. I journaled, I re-read my posts from the beginning of the trip, and pondered my future. It is difficult to dwell on the future when I am thousands of miles away and a continent and oceans prevent me from planning every or any details.

I read Tales of a Female Nomad this weekend. It showed me that I do not have to worry about providing for my every need. There are so many people out there that have helped me find a place to stay, a job, transportation, friendships, etc. God has me in his hand. That concept is so abstract, it doesn't always fit in my head very well. But while I know the value of planning and hoping for a good job and for things to turn out well, this time I want to fully depend on God. It is perfect, because I have no ability to work out my own future this far away.

My felucca ponderings have given me a peace about these next six months. I cannot wait to see my family and friends in December, and what is beyond Christmas I have no idea. I will rest in that, because God has always, always, always revealed the next step for me.

Tonight we leave for Kenya, and internet will be intermittent, if at all. If you don't hear from me, just pray that God would continue to work in this team and in my heart. Daily He is showing me how to trust in his plan rather than stress about how to provide on my own.

Pyramids at Giza

I'm studying for our World Religions midterm tomorrow morning, but here are a few pictures from today!

Preschool Christians, a narrative of change

Lucas is almost 3 years old. I have learned a lot from Lucas as his nanny for the past year. Mostly, he has taught me about Jesus. After spending 30 hours per week with a child, you begin to see life from a different perspective.

Lucas started pre-school yesterday. He came home, wide-eyed, slightly oversized backpack, lunch pail and coloring pages in hand. His mom reported she was glad he didn't cry when she left his new classroom.
As I "worked" (read, colored and cooked) with Lucas the rest of the afternoon, I discovered a fear, sadness and confusion behind those eyes.

And yet again, I learned how we react to Jesus' love and grace--with completely the wrong mindset.

We often see change as an opportunity, or maybe as a punishment. Getting fired from a job, not getting into graduate school, a friend or family member dying, a broken relationship. But God's perspective sees much farther than our current circumstances, and beyond what our minds can dream up. I am going on this trip to change the world, but I am starting to see that God wants to have the world change me. Change our group. Change our mindset, our expectations, our desires. He wants to take them, shift them, mold and shape them, to look more and more like Jesus.

Praise God, that he is our Father. His children have scared eyes, ambitious eyes, greedy eyes. But God takes our oversized backpack full of hopes, fears, unspoken dreams, and He leads us on an adventure that is greater than any experience we could contrive on our own.
Amen.

Pictures of the team