Nomads....

This itineration process has been a very unique time in our lives. We've been blessed by great travelling opportunities. From the time we've left our jobs in April and moved to a new place in Dallas, we were able to visit friends and family in: Washington DC & Virginia; Baltimore; New York City; Southport, CT; Nashville, TN; Austin, San Antonio, and Port Aransas, TX. It's been a nutty few months travelling, but well worth the time and effort to see people before we go. We felt privileged to get to see Jimmy D, our college friend, receive a Washington Post Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award, which is a huge honor for DC teachers. Here are some pictures from our trip, in Washington Square in NYC, with my friends Krista & Alison, Jimmy D, and dogwood trees blooming!

We have missed stability and life in Dallas as we live out of suitcases now. In fact, at the end of June we packed up all our things: from furniture, to clothes, to trinkets & frames, and drove to St. Louis to store it all in Andrew's parents' basement! You realize how much pointless stuff you accumulate through the years.
Simplifying our lives in this way has been somewhat refreshing, but very stressful too! We've really had to force feed ourselves the Gospel daily as we struggle through major adjustments, with many more to come as we move to Thailand. One of the hardest things for me has been relying on other people for things: rides to the airport, borrowing cars, staying in others' houses/apartments, and of course, financial support and prayer! We just cannot do it all ourselves and I HATE to admit that most times. It's been a lesson in learning to surrender control and rely upon the Lord to provide so many things for us and in His timing, not mine. Right now we are living in the extra bedroom of Aaron & Erin's house, Andrew's brother and his wife. It is like a slumber party every night for both Erin & me and Aaron & Andrew! We love living with them but it is hard to not have a place to call home, and to have our remaining suitcases and boxes strewn about in two small bedrooms. We are thankful for this provision in having a place to live for an interim few months.

A First and a Twenty-Sixth....

After Andrew & I returned from our trip to Bangkok, it was time to leave our jobs...I left my advertising job and Andrew, in a crazy turn of events, was actually officially laid off from his job at a commercial real estate company. The first of many adjustments we would make in the ensuing months!
We were speaking at some churches in South Texas at the beginnning of April, one which happened to be on my 26th birthday, so we were able to celebrate with my family in San Antonio. Nathan & Stacy and Matt & Kate were able to drive the one-hour trip from Austin as well. The birthday was a nice relaxation as we had just moved out of our apartment and into a smaller, cheaper apartment - across the street. This living arrangement was necessary as we only needed a place for 3 months before we'd leave for NYC training.
Our family LOVES dachshunds, especially the newest member of the family, Stacy & Nate's 2 and a half year old Maya. For Christmas I had been given a fun, black, silver-sequined shirt from Stacy (& Nathan, of course). I was astounded to find the same shirt months later: black tank top, silver sequins and all - except Maya-sized! Here we are above celebrating my birthday together in matching outfits.
A week later Andrew & I celebrated our FIRST anniversary early, as the 16th fell on Easter Sunday this year. We can hardly believe it's been a year already. I still remember our wedding day like it happened a few days ago. This year has honestly FLOWN by as we've been in the missions mindset and applied to MTW after only 4 months of marriage. Praise God for a good first year! We've learned so much about each other and have discovered how sanctifying marriage is. We still have so much to learn...but have the rest of our lives to do that!
Andrew surprised me with a trip to Fort Worth for our anniversary. Nothin like Cow-town to celebrate! We ate at the Riata, went to the Kimball Art Museum (Andrew was very patient) and then to the zoo, my favorite! A few pictures of that COLD morning. We decided all the animals were out and about because of the chill in the air.

The Blogging Universe - February Trip to Thailand

So I have joined the blogging world, lest I feel left out of the universe of MTW Thailand team's blogging efforts! I've decided to begin with our trip to Thailand in February as a start.

Andrew and I planned our trip to Thailand around PCPC's trip to Nong Khai in northeast Thailand. PCPC has been involved with Thai & Lao refugees in East Dallas since the 80's, and to this day we have a Lao Presbyterian Fellowship within our church. In Nong Khai, PCPC has helped fund the building of a new church for the Lao/Thai Christian community of believers they have worked with for years. We attended the dedication of this building in February - a grand ceremony, service and dinner celebration with entertainers - the whole nine yards! Our church's Director of Missions & Outreach, Curt Dobbs, spoke, as well as Paul Taylor, the MTW Director of Missions in Asia. We also had the opportunity to visit a group of doctors staying in Vientiane, Laos (right over the Mekong River and Thai/Lao border) and doing 40 surgeries on children with facial deformities. Every year, this group (LEAP) independently raises money to travel to 4-5 locations worldwide to do these surgeries. We felt blessed to have the opportunity to see them in action in a Russian-built hospital in Vientiane. We also visited the Providence School, a Christian (!) school with grades 1-4.

We spent time in Bangkok as well, seeing old co-worker friends of Andrew's, visiting with college friends Brandi & Frank Dixon (serving in Beijing, China) and visiting Jack, Kim, Gracyn, & Aidan Cunningham and Halley Davis, part of the MTW team in Bang Na we are preparing to join in September. Yes, they have baby elephants on downtown streets of Bangkok! I was able to see Thailand with my very own eyes for the first time, experience the LONG flight (about 24-hour travel from Dallas to Bangkok) and have REAL, authentic sticky rice with mango! My favorite Thai dessert.

Praise God for the safe trip there and back and for the fruitful time spent with the Cunninghams, the Dixons, the LEAP team, and the Nong Khai Gennesaret Church!

Pictures include: Eating lunch in Bkk w/ former co-workers and Dallas friend Kim (working at same company Andrew worked for previously); Performances in Nong Khai for church dedication; downtown Bangkok gridlock; the sanctuary of Gennesaret Church; 2 shots at Providence School in Vientiane, Laos; Board Members of Gennesaret Church, standing in front of the new building, including PCPC's Curt & Sue Dobbs; Our Klong (water canals) Tour of Bangkok with Halley and Brandi & Frank. That huge fruit is a jackfruit!