just a taste...

I went to Africa.

It was beautiful and painful, inspiring and scary, challenging and stirring.

There were moments when I was in absolute awe of the beauty of the city and the ocean, the traditions of the culture, the honor of women’s heads wrapped in colorful scarves, the new flavors of cous cous and tajine.

But other moments I was frustrated with gender issues, scared I would suffer death by taxi, sick of frites being served with every meal, no vegetables, language barriers, and my lack of ability to go out at night or anywhere on my own.

It was a very hot and cold struggle for me for two weeks, but here are some things that I learned or were stirred in me.

-I want to immerse myself in a culture that is not my own and become fluent in a language that is not my own.

-Children bring me joy and I would love to end up in some foreign country working with orphans, teaching them praise songs, or teaching English to school-age kids.

-The love of Christ is so rich and so free. I met so many amazing women, several who love and fear God, but who feel so far away from Him because of their culture’s need to achieve His love and earn points for their salvation. My heart broke for their pure hearts so exhausted by the striving nature of their faith.

-I am so thankful for freedom and vegetables.

I am still processing so much from this trip, but will share as it comes. For now, these are the big things that are lingering on my heart from my 2 weeks abroad.

The job hunt is still on. I had 2 very good interviews this week and have one more scheduled for next week. I already know I was not offered the first job, which was hard because it was the one I was most excited about and felt I had the highest chance of getting. But life continues. I am exhausted of the search, but there is a perfect plan waiting for me to fall into it.

I got a crazy last minute experience to go to Fenway on Thurs night for free. A friend didn’t want the tickets she bid on at our auction, and I got to spend my first MLB game in the Pavillion Box – and it was sweet. Except for the minor fact that the game itself was a bust. It was a lovely first experience.

I’m in Maryland for a nice long weekend. 2 college friends got married on Saturday and it was so great to see bunch of college friends I haven’t seen in way too long. Stickin’ around a few extra days to spend time with family I also haven’t seen in way too long. I played a concert last night at the barn – it was a very casual, last-minute kind of event, and we didn't get a bunch of people to show up, but the people that did blew me away. I got to see a bunch of people from all different random areas of my life - people I didn't I was going to get the chance to see in my brief time at home. But it was great. My brother played some music with his friends to start off the night, then I played some and ended up jamming with people a bit. Music and friends = good times.