And Then There Were Pictures...

After weeks of picture-less reflections, here's a long overdue post that's heavy on pictures (phone pictures, but still) and light on words.

Work -

Sometimes it looks like sorting through a big ol' pile of guest house towels. 

Sometimes it looks like digging for fossils sorting through storage cabinets to create an inventory of what we actually have for the guest house...

...and decide what we should probably get rid of.  (Like this toaster that was over twenty years old and in dubious condition.)

This is my office.  At least when I'm guest house Rachel.  About a month ago, I also started training in the business office several mornings a week.  I'm really enjoying both, especially as I get into them more.  (On a keeping-it-real note, I'll admit I wasn't entirely sure about the business office at first.  Everything was so very new and I felt rather overwhelmed by the sheer amount of learning staring me in the face.  Thankfully, I have an excellent and very patient teacher, and I think things are going well in that department.)

I've got some ideas in mind for decorating my office, which I hope to tackle this week.  And I'll be sure to have pictures for you when I do.

Kids -

Sometimes I get to babysit these two kiddos, Isaac and Ezra.

Isaac is such a crack-up.  He reminds me a lot of Calvin, from Calvin and Hobbes...so naturally I love him.  Ezra is just a wee bit older than Malachi, which is special and fun.  Really the whole family has very quickly found a special place in my heart.

Random stuff -

Curry leaves!  I was so delighted to find them.  The other week, some of us girls made an excursion about forty minutes away and found both an Indian and a Korean grocery store.  Now I just need to make some curry with those leaves tucked away in my freezer.  (Sounds like a good excuse for a party.  Really, who am I kidding?  Have I ever needed an excuse to throw a party?)

A late Christmas gift...almost too pretty to use! :)

Such sweet friends I have here.

I have no idea why this picture frame (which I've had for several years) suddenly decided to warp so badly.  Perhaps it's the weather here?

Too funny. :)

I love making mini-notecards.  I love just about anything mini, really.

Last weekend's big project was getting new prayer cards (and a couple packages) ready to mail.  It felt so good to have that finished when Monday rolled around.

Mom sent me a care package this week - 'cause she's cool like that - and, among other things, she sent me this puzzle.  Doors and windows are my one weakness.

Snow -

I've not gotten tired of it yet.  I still find myself standing at the windows, fascinated by this magical white world I live in - fascinated, too, by how different each snowfall can be.  Heavy, wet, sloppy, dry, crunchy, soft, with big flakes, or flakes fine like powdered sugar.

I also love watching the kids play in the yard just outside my office window and hearing their noisy glee.

It all just takes my breath away, this quiet beauty, and I shake my head in wonder over the fact that I know the God who paints these scenes so perfectly.

The school -

Here's the place I call home now.

Such a gloriously unlikely word for it.  Sometimes I think God must have been smiling over how He planned to unfold my story when I thought I had it all figured out.

I'm glad I didn't.

I'm glad He did.

Social(ish) stuff -

Baking day!  What could be more fun that baking up a bunch of different goodies and sharing them?

Having girls over for dinner is one of my most favorite things to do.  I mean, people.  Food.  They make my heart happy.

So far the dinners have followed an international theme (we've done Senegalese, Filipino, and Mexican), and I don't foresee running out of ideas on that score anytime soon.  What will it be next...Indian, perhaps?

We had some visiting missionaries give a presentation one evening.  We got to experience a cultural event (a Thai meal, served in traditional style on mats on the floor), then he talked about their belief system and gave us a lot of insight into their world.  It was a really good, informative evening, but also very...heavy (for lack of a better way of saying it).  I came home just feeling the weight of fear and need that people live under without Jesus.

Of course, not all our school events are serious in nature.  Some are just fun.

Meet Lizzie, Pico, Ellie, Jill, Sadie, Emily, and Alix.  Ellie and Jill were visiting, but the others are students.

Campus Life organizes various activities throughout the semester (like school picnics, ice skating, etc.).  Last Friday they put on something called Escape Room.  Basically, we were divided up into teams and each team was locked into a room.  We then had to crack codes and figure out clues in order to escape.  If we didn't figure it out within an hour, we died.  Thus the "organ donor" signs around our necks. :)

It was a good bonding time.

Quiet time -

I've been reading through Psalms and just drinking it all in.

I love how this book is both so full of humanity and honesty about struggles, yet also so full of God's promises and the reminders of His faithfulness.

This past Thursday morning, I woke up feeling pretty overwhelmed by all that had to happen that day.  I plopped down with my Bible and coffee, and here's where my reading started that day.  When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  It's as if God was saying, "Look, I know you're overwhelmed right now.  Let's talk about that, shall we?"

He knows where we're at and He's always willing to meet us in that place.  Two things I'm so very grateful for.