My furlough after my last few years in Bangkok felt like such a gift.  On the mission field it is easy to adapt to an incredible amount of stress and basically stop feeling it.  I think this was especially true for me as my home was also my work; I lived in a slum, children and neighbors stopped by unannounced, private space frequently became very public.  There was much about this I loved, but the sense of having little time or space that was securely “mine” and set aside when I expected it to be just didn’t exist.  Add onto this operating in a second language all day, being surrounded by intense poverty and pain, trying to minister to some of these needs (and having to say no to others), living in a loud and crazy and unpredictable city, and I was living just under my absolute threshold for stress.

So coming back to the States and being able to just rest, to enjoy people and nature, was beautiful.  It was also such a good time of reflecting on what God was doing in those last 5 years.  There is something about telling the story to others that shines light on God’s movement more brightly for myself.

So here are some pictures to illustrate a bit what this gift was like for me.  You can click on each photo for a brief description.