10 things i'm thankful for

1. running water. hot. cold. from a faucet. from a hose. drinking water. well water. in a pool.
2. my mommy.my daddy.my sister...yeah, my brother-in-law too. they are irreplaceable (and indispensable, and indisposable, and irrevocable, and...hehe)
3. skittles....my mom had a 41 OUNCE bag of skittles waiting for me when i arrived!!
4. my own coffee pot. for a year i've been pouring boiling water over coffee grinds and just letting them sink to the bottom, or (frown face) drinking nescafe!!! bye bye grinds, bye bye instant!
5. going out of my house and not stressing...because EVERYONE here speaks my language. it's a circus when most of your communication with people is charades or desperate attempts at sign language...or through a translator.
6. fields of green and skies of blue...and texas sunsets!! i start to wilt a bit when i can't see these things...oh and stars too!
7. rest.
8. a job (i took a teaching/coaching position at lee junior high!!), a house to live in, and hopefully wheels of my own very soon...(anyone selling or know of anything?)
9. steadfast friends that love me despite the fact that i leave the country for long periods of time and am not the greatest at communication...
10. hope in Christ...that i can't seem to get rid of or push away or sleep off or forget about or talk myself out of or label as nonsense. there it remains, because He has remained.

my cup runneth over...

ok and to change gears...i'm happy to be a texas girl. the last couple days i've enjoyed time working out at the ranch. i'm working on a farmer's tan and it ain't pretty. today we ear-tagged spring calves and sold off some bigger ones...it was fun. and my hot shot daddy shot a rattle snake!! i am definitely back in the lone star state!

back in the sweet state of texas

well, here i am back in texas...


and it's a little strange. what was the norm for me (which the world would consider far from norm) is now over and gone. a chapter in my life that is over. the people and places are no longer tangible, they're stories and pictures. now i'm back to what was once my norm...san angelo, texas. each time i leave and come back it becomes a little more difficult to settle back in. i'm not sure i'd call it culture shock, maybe just a challenging transition. i've lived out of a suitcase for a year sharing space, time, and life with 12 other girls. now i've got my own room, my own space. i can eat what i want, watch what i want, go where i want, talk to who i want, have what i want...being back in my own culture is a little overwhelming. being a constant learner of new culture has become what i'm used to. somehow i think there's a Jesus culture i can continue to learn and take on...while embracing the good of my own culture and resisting the not so good (consumerism, materialism).

rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will in Christ Jesus...hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.

i've been so blessed to be spending alot of time with my family. they're such a blessing to me...it's been nice to be able to come home, myself. i can just be me, processing and pondering and crying and laughing and remembering and plotting for the future. my family continues to teach me about the unconditional love of the Father... thanks dad, mom, susan
the past year was a challenge, an adventure, a struggle, a joy...a priceless experience. i welcomed new life into the world and mourned over little lives that didn't make it. i sang and prayed over laboring moms. i layed my hands on countless bellies moving with expectant life beneath my palms. i held babies smiling over their futures filled with hope and opportunity. i taught women about Jesus and healthcare alongside my teamates, bla bla...and when i say i, i mean we. i did life with a group of amazing, godly women...and Jesus was there through it all, crying over loss and rejoicing over life. He's been good to me.

my team along with some cherished friends in indonesia

little indian treasures

a lovely indonesian woman

kid in an indonesian slum area

training women in mother and child healthcare in indonesia

taking blood pressures in the maternity hospital in india

indonesian child whose mother was attending our teaching

training the sudanese traditional birth attendants

sudanese momma and babe

indian pastor and wife that we worked with in india

praying for christian student nurses

that hall we'd walk through almost every day with expectancy and prayers for life

my amazing german midwife friend aline

a precious woman we met in the antenatal ward, with her new baby girl

life.hope.dreams.

the day we practiced taking blood and starting iv's on eachother

a family that let us do antenatal care and pray for women in their home.

canadian bethany and i at the beach in perth our last week

me and ash laying in the grass gazing at stars

lindsey from atlanta; my laughing buddy

we had breakfast on the beach our last week in perth, it was sooo windy

our indonesian friends that owned a cute little clothing and accessory store. we'd always go and practice our extremely limited indonesian phrases with them....haha.

a woman we did an antenatal check for, i hope that babe is born by now!

friends we met in an indonesian mallme and some of the girls
some beautiful sudanese mommas

well, on to the future. i'm applying for teaching jobs. yes, it's true. i'm thinking of sticking around for a while, so instead of trying to write anymore we can just go get coffee or something.