A long-overdue update...

I thought I would write. 

I thought I would share our story and work out our life changing in front of you.

I so want to share our struggles, our ups and downs, our months of adjusting to life here in China. But most days... I'm empty. I've jotted down titles and topics over and over again. But when I sit down to write, I get a sentence out and start over. Or close the computer and move to the next project.

Here's the truth: There are beautiful miracles happening around us. And there is so much to share that we simply can't.

If you've followed me on instagram, you probably know some the triumphs we've celebrated and the seemingly huge roadblocks we've faced. We've been snowed-in in tropical towns, celebrated the wine aisle at our local Walmart, spent an amazing month with friends from home before having to say one last goodbye, jumped through hoops to obtain visas, travelled to Thailand for a stress-filled "vacation", planned and designed the interiors for a new local shop with friends, and started the long road to learning Chinese. We share what we can and we pray through the days.

I've cried more lately than I'd ever like to admit. This move has been hard. If I can drop the adventure talk for just a second and be completely real: being away from family, moving to a foreign city (even though we "know" and love it), and generally living every moment outside of your comfort zone is tough. We are being stretched and taken to our limits constantly. But He is breathing new life into us. He is teaching me what trust looks like, when all I want to do is run home and hide out for a couple of months/years.

So we press on. We breathe deeply when there is joy and reason to celebrate. We hope for the future and the relationships that are already sprouting up. 

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From the Archives // Home Again

Since my last post, we have traveled a lot. Visited friends in the beautiful city of Pu’er and went up to Kunming to pick up James’ mom at the airport. Somewhere along the way, we both got incredibly sick. It’s the first time since we arrived, so I guess it’s about time.

We returned home and realized that our season is changing. Again

This time, I don’t feel 100% prepared. It’s knocked me off my feet a little. It’s crunch time. Time to finish up tasks that will otherwise go unchecked for almost a month as we welcome his band & our small team on a 4 week tour throughout Yunnan. Time to plan for our return to the States, jobs, finances, housing, and the whole nine.

It’s just been truly amazing to sit back and breathe a little here. I have worked along the way and China always brings its own set of challenges – the initial culture shock, the days when inside is so much less scary than outside, the comfort and newness of finding community, breathtaking new scenery and adjusting to the norms that you once viewed as so bizarre, assuming something foreign as a part of yourself. But the pace is slower and the concerns are distinctly new. My focus is outward; I’m not worried about what I look like or whether I’ve kept up with the everyone else’s lives. It’s simply been a time to adopt a new life, culture, and people; even if for a short season.

My house hasn’t been made into a home because it’s not ours; it belongs to someone else and should feel like home to them when they return. That’s a hard desire to fight off as a new wife & just because it is a part of who I have always been. (My mom and I move furniture like it’s going out of style.)

I’m rambling now… My point is that we are on the brink of something new! There is much to look forward to, but leaving is always hard for me to do.