Some pictures!

I didn’t know that I could steal Bekah’s pictures, but I could!  I re-activated my facebook account, got some pics and then de-activated again.  🙂  Thanks, Rebekah!  I hope you are getting back into your normal routine…though I am sure it is a new normal after all we saw and smelled and learned.

This is at the end of our time there.  God’s creation was overwhelming.  It was almost too much for eyes to take in…sunrises, sunsets, beautiful water, gorgeous rocks, and more.

At an open market…oh, the smells.

Our fearless leader!

On a plane…where I spent an outrageous amount of time!  Like, 21 hours one way.

Fun times in the wee hours of the morning in Singapore

I gave this little dude a pack of gum.  I think all the pieces were gone before we left!

On Sunday I was able to share a bit about the trip, and I really did not want to bore them with minute by minute details, so I asked the Lord for clarity on what I should say.  What would matter from my trip to the friends I live life with here at home?

1- LANGUAGE.  Wow.  I so take for granted that I can communicate with people very easily.  I was so impressed watching my friend with her friends and hearing her speak the language.  I was clueless as to what they were saying, but I was so thrilled to see her conversing in this language.  It made me think of everyone I come in contact with here in the States….from a simple “Hello, how are you doing?” to “Isn’t this a beautiful day!”  to actually sharing the gospel.  I can say the words.  They can understand them.  A very cool thing.   I hope I will speak more, start more conversations and use my language to spread the Good News.

2-ORDINARY WOMEN.  I was able to meet ordinary women involved in an extraordinary work.  And I am one of those women and so are the women I am in class with!  As believers, the Lord has called us to be a part of His work…an extraordinary work…wherever we are.  I don’t want to miss out on one second of that.

3-PRAYER.  I am so glad I went across the world to see my friend and meet her friends.  It will greatly help me in the days ahead as I pray for them.  They desperately need it.  I also have a renewed commitment to praying for the nations as a family.

And lastly, here are a few random thoughts from my time away:

-I now know what the term “jet-lag” means.  It ain’t pretty.

-My hair had never been curlier.  The humidity was off the charts.  Hilariously, I brought my CHI blowdryer and diffuser and didn’t use it one single time.  First of all, it would have used too much power.  Secondly, my hair dried on its own in about 1.8 seconds.

-I had to carry my own toilet paper to public bathrooms.  Different.  I also learned that Asians stand in front of the stall to make a line for the bathroom; there is not just one line that waits for the next available potty.  And squatty potties were what many used.  Thankfully, I only had one encounter with a squatty potty…ends  up, I didn’t use it correctly, but that’s ok.  I did go, and I didn’t end up wetting myself…that was the goal.  🙂  (TMI?  sorry.)

-I have a new appreciation for our traffic system.  You see, over there everyone just kind of drives and goes and goes until the traffic from the other direction somehow inches their way through and then they just go and go and go.  There were lights, but I am pretty sure no one used them.  It was very exciting.  Again, I am so proud of my friend and her driving skills.  She also made me cross the street with her, which I was set against, but it worked out just fine.  Turns out, they pay more attention to pedestrians over there than I first thought.  My friend likened it to the game Frogger…i think.

-I have a new and fresh appreciation for things like the grocery store or plugging in my dryer or washing and drying my clothes or worshipping with many believers or making a meal…my coffee maker, my microwave, air condition, the Fall season AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, my sweet husband and kids!!!!!  There is no place like home—wherever that may be and with whomever you get to live life with!