Church care group retreat

Last meal

It's so cold here. Great food, and I have been met with kindness every time was lost. But 90% of women wear the same shade of lipstick.

New Year's Eve

Sitting at a cafe with Irene, Pauline, and Rebecca in Seoul waiting to countdown.

The last couple of months were super hard (family and work).

But God has shown up to heal and He has given me many promises.

Emancipation.
Open, wide road.

I don't like my situation right now but God knows what He's doing. As much as I don't like 2019, I will give thanks for my God who uses all things for my good.

My resolution always seems to be "trust."

Pyeongchang

This never gets old

View from my aunt's balcony

Back to normal life

Mom was the last to leave and I dropped her off at the train station yesterday. Now it's recover from the trip and get back to the grind. It has not been a normal year here by any stretch. There's a sense of fatigue.

But I'm excited about the lessons God will be teaching me and how He will transform me.

Guatemalan empanada

It's like a soft biscuit with a sweet custard filling. I prefer Argentine empanadas.

Chicago deep dish pizza

Meh.

Retour

The highlight of returning to a less than ideal reality: getting my hands on books I ordered while I was away. Three of them by Tim Keller.

Blessings beyond compare

I feel like I lived several different lifetimes in the last few months. Not all of has been easy, but I can say that God is still good. I couldn't have planned the last few months the way they have unfolded. Sure, I would get rid of the hard parts, and that's probably why God wouldn't let me plan my life.

What will the next few months look like, I wonder?

Croatia

The water is so clear you can even see to the bottom at night.

Mediocre dinner because my mom got impatient so I sat down at the nearest restaurant. Worst food I've ever had in Italy....

Goodbye Goettingen!

Almost gone

It's almost goodbye, now!

I haven't been here long enough to feel settled, but I've been here long enough to need closure.

I've enjoyed the mostly good weather we've had this summer. I like having a mostly private office thanks to an office mate who drops in very infrequently. I've enjoyed apfelsaftschorle and flammekuchen and spaetzle, but not much else of German food.

I'm not sure I'd want to come back to travel in Germany. Maybe Bavaria. Germany seems oppresively quiet to me. I'm not sure what it is. And it's so funny that everyone keeps asking me if I want to stay or come back. Maybe my stay was too short for me to feel deeply about the country.

If I had been based in Budapest this summer, I probably wouldn't have gotten anything done. A quiet German town? There's not much else to do but work. And rest after work.

God showed up. But the God we worship is not a ribbons and fluffy lace kind of God. His holiness is terrifying. So who knows what He'll do next?

Well, I'm praying for journey mercies as I close things out here and head out for a much wanted vacation.

Routes

Moved to a larger apartment in the old town so that mom can be closer to the shops. This is what my walk to work looks like. I'm thankful.

Rest

No travel for the next 11 days because I need to rest....

Wild fruit

Raspberries and something that looks like a teeny tiny strawberry full of flavor.