Goodbyes and Hellos

“Do you keep a blog anymore?” my youngest sister asked me yesterday. Yikes. Has it been that long since I’ve written?

Yes, I still keep a blog, but in the midst of a very busy and somewhat tumultuous season of life, the blog has gotten a little dusty. So now it’s time to blow off the dust {woooosh} and get back to writing, even though I don’t know exactly what to say. Continue reading “Goodbyes and Hellos”

Summer Loving

Hello, there! It’s been a while since I’ve written here, so I thought I’d give a little update.

U.S. Travels

Charles and I went to the U.S. for the summer, and we enjoyed seeing family and friends. We spent most of our time in upstate New York at my parents’ home. During that time, we celebrated my sister’s wedding which was a complete joy. The highlights were reconnecting with extended family and good friends, being together with both of my sisters for an extended time, seeing my sisters’ former foster daughter again (she was the flower girl), spending time with my best friend (during the wedding and the week after), and celebrating the beginning of a God-centered marriage between my sister and her husband. Continue reading “Summer Loving”

A Tale of Two Mountains

A Mountain in Tibet

my mountain 1I had not trained to hike a mountain. Especially not in the foothills of the Himalayas. Certainly not for a three-day hike while carrying a backpack weighing at least forty pounds.

But sometimes we do things we never dreamed of doing. Sometimes we face trials that we never expected. That’s what happened in the summer of 2004 for me. That’s when I faced the greatest physical challenge of my life so far.

I was spending my summer in a small Tibetan town in Sichuan, China. I was working with a family who was there long-term and two other short-term workers like myself. We taught English in schools, we visited Buddhist temples, we came together with the community once a week in the evening for dancing in the town square, we studied Tibetan and Mandarin, we tasted all sorts of exotic foods, we read by candlelight in the evenings when the power went out town-wide to save energy, and we rode mules into the mountains to visit with villagers–it was the adventure of a lifetime. For the sake of others, I cannot divulge many details about my trip, but I can say that it was a spiritual adventure and mission even more than a physical one. Continue reading “A Tale of Two Mountains”

A Happy Hatchling Easter

In my last post, I talked about the season of life in which I find myself: one that has been challenging but through which I am able to see God’s grace and provision. One healing aspect of walking this difficult road is celebrating small victories and accomplished daily goals. One such victory was that over Spring Break (two weeks ago), I was able to travel down to Kaohsiung via the High Speed Rail by myself to spend four days with my sisters. I went down on Friday morning, and Charles (with Emi in the car) followed on Sunday morning for an Easter celebration and then Morrison Professional Learning meetings on Monday. Though we certainly did miss each other, Charles and I enjoyed our respective vacations: me with my sisters away from my home, and him with some peace and quiet in our apartment.

This post is dedicated to several very fun days of being a “Hatchling” once again. I have mostly pictures and short anecdotes to share, and I hope you enjoy. Continue reading “A Happy Hatchling Easter”