Well reader-friends, I'm on my last full day here in Chiang Mai. I'm sitting in my favorite little cafe, sipping my last frothy cappuccino, thinking about how much I'm going to miss how normal my life has been in the last few weeks here. In these next twenty or so hours, I will say goodbye to my host-family, pack up the last of my belongings, and head south.
The next few weeks look like this:
3/14 - Sukothai
3/15 - Pitsanulok
3/16-17 - Ayuthaya
3/18-19 - Bangkok
3/20-27 - Krabi, Raleigh, beautiful islands and blue waters
3/28-5/1 - Karen Village (there will be a weekend somewhere in there that I'll be in Chiang Mai for a holiday and will have internet)
It's going to be a lot of fun! Communicating with you/blogging/skyping is going to be tricky in these next couple of weeks, but we'll make it happen.
Also: I found out about five minutes ago that our housing proposal has been accepted and I will be living in The Banks House on Lisburn Road come fall, Lord willing! For those of you who don't know about our plan, a group of girls and I had a small group and went through "Irresistible Revolution" this past fall when we were in Philly. We are all abroad this semester and wanted to start an intentional community next year, implementing some of the ideas we explored together: living simply, praciticing hospitality, being intentional about our relationships with one another and our relationships to God, exploring social justice as an extension of our faith, tackling global problems together, supporting student-groups/ministries/nonprofits that are in it with us, and helping to bridge the gap for other people to get involved. Our theme is "thinking globally, acting locally" and we each have a different area of "special interest". Looks like God ironed out the wrinkles and it's going to happen! I'm pumped. Good stuff.
If I had a soundtrack for my life that represents this rollercoaster of events/emotions for this week, the following songs would be included: Stations (Denison Witmer), Chicago (Sufjan Stevens), Blessed to be a Witness (Ben Harper), A Message (Coldplay), Worlds Apart (Jars of Clay), Trust You (Justin McRoberts), Born (Over the Rhine), Hollow and Bold (Marla Hansen), Strength, Courage, and Wisdom (India Arie), Let that Be Enough (Switchfoot), Bend and Break (Keane). sing along if you know the words :)
Love. Prayers. Cyber-hugs.
A ragamuffin with open hands,
me
