COMING HOME!

A big part of living life in another country is learning to deal with being separated-- by distance, and even time-- from so many of the people that you care about. This struggle becomes especially potent at times when you know that your loved ones are facing particularly difficult challenges in their lives. In response to these times, God has used this year to stretch my faith and trust in His love and provision for the people that I care for... and it has truly been a blessing, but it has definitely not always been easy.

It is mainly for this reason that I am very thankful to be able to come back home about five days earlier than I had originally planned-- this TUESDAY July 27th. Time is precious, and valuable, so I am really looking forward to having those extra days to spend time with my family and close friends. While I have grown to really love and appreciate Skype-- and even believe that Skype relationships and distance can in many ways grow and strengthen the bonds between people in unique ways-- I have always greatly valued physical presence and sought it out if at all possible. Whether we are celebrating, fighting, comforting or mourning, if I can be physically present with a person I care for, I want to be. Even if it is 2 a.m. and I need to drive an hour to get to them. Body language, touch and eye contact are powerful communicators for me, and they are ones that I can't wait to share (oh-so-soon!) with the people at home that I love most!

I have a post in mind to say farewell to my first year in Korea-- because I'm going to miss this place a lot!-- but I will have to save it for a little later. I will be without internet access from now until the time that I leave, so this will be the last that you hear from me until I am stateside!!!

With LOTS of love and EXCITEMENT,

Mary