Yet again, I’ve kinda had blogger’s block the past few days, and I’m pretty sure it’s because we’re leaving Thailand in four (four!) days. I really can’t believe that time is almost here, yet Kabob and I both agree that we really do sense that it’s the Lord’s good timing.

I’ve been keeping myself busy getting ready to go back to our country of service – menu planning, reviewing our budget, collating ideas sloshing around in my head… And of course, buying fabric and fun things for our little abode in that crazy city of four million we’re calling home for this season of life.

We all have mixed feelings about returning (even Chickpea, I’m sure, if she could articulate it well. She frequently asks to see her friends back in our other country, yet I know she’ll miss restaurants that serve pancakes and seeing elephant statues at every intersection in Chiang Mai). I’m very-much looking forward to living in a place of our own again, getting things done that we still haven’t checked off since our Big Move, and generally being in a place where we can somewhat live life. As amazing a blessing our time in Thailand has been, it has felt like a season from the get-go – much like the living out of a suitcase we’ve done for almost a year now.

Kabob and I were talking about this a few weeks ago. We moved out of our home in Austin last October, and we hit the road a few days later. We traveled all over the U.S., support-raising and getting trained, until late December. From Christmas until the end of February, we either house-sat or lived with friends in Austin. We then moved to our country of service and arrived on March 1. It took us about 10 days to find a home, and then it took about six weeks for it to be fully furnished (so during that time, we were still technically suitcase-living, since we had minimal furniture and limited places to unpack). Mid-June – so about two months later – we left for our conference in Central Asia for two weeks, returned to our country, and then left a week later for Thailand. Two months later, we are now heading back “home” (whatever that means). And it’s now almost September, which, as you know, is the month before October.

This long-winded diatribe is basically to point out that we have been nomads for almost one year.

So for the next four days, we are going to relax as a family and gear up for what lies ahead. I’m going to turn twenty-ten in two days. And then we fly back on Tuesday, enjoying a three-leg international flight with insanely long layovers.

What’s up for you this weekend?

posted: 07 August 24
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