From My Front Porch Looking Out

Hillside Vegetable Production

My New Home

This walkway leads through a crowded neighborhood and up to our house. The house is not the tall one, but the one to the right of it that is tucked away behind the tree. Here is my new bedroom. Its just about big enough to fit two beds. My bed is the one that is halfway under the other. I caught my new roommate Pahala taking a nap, a common practice between 1-3 in the afternoon.

Goodbyes

Goodbyes are tough, but in the journey of life they are necessary. There comes a time when we leave the familiar path behind and set out to explore the new. In these instances not everyone comes along. In fact, sometimes you set out on your own and leave those you love the most behind. They remain with you in heart, but no longer in presence. A goodbye marks the moment when that new part of the journey begins.

I've said so many goodbyes over the past two weeks that I'm almost goodbyed out. There are so many dear friends and close family who I will miss, but in the midst of those goodbyes I've realized how blessed I am to have so many great relationships with so many great people. In goodbyes we feel the freedom to express the depths of our affection for one another, and often the tears alone say enough. As I leave the familiar path and peer over the ledge into the unfamiliar, I will move ahead with the joy of friendships in my heart and with the desire to grow the kind of friendships in Indonesia that will likewise make for hard goodbyes when its time to come home.

The Streets that Await

It won't be long before the lonely blacktops of rural Kansas fade away into the bustling streets of Indonesia. Just one week left in the states before I journey to the other side of the world. I'm excited, but that doesn't make it easy to say goodbyes. I've discovered, however, the very closeness of the friendship that makes the goodbye hard is the closeness that makes it worth it.

Beautiful Colorado

Here a few pics from my past week in Colorado. Ever since I first came to Colorado during the summer three years ago, it's been a dream of mine to be in Colorado when the aspen trees are brilliantly yellow against the dark green pines, spruces, and firs. And since I won't be seeing snow for a couple years, the huge white flakes falling softly from the sky provided a nice touch.

The Men

These are my some of my good friends that I've gotten to know over the past two years at KSU. I'm going to miss these guys.