Just a few of the 33 boxes of books Harry and I left behind in storage.

6

Books I’ve started this year (and want to finish.)

One of the only good things about being sick is finally feeling like you’ve got time to read and getting to read fiction and not having to apologize for it! And it just feels like there’s more time for reading here. (Not that I’m any better at keeping up with email, responding to FB messages or sending out our newsletter on time!) A life without books is such a lonely life, but it seems like it’s so easy to forget to make time to read.

Since we’ve been here I’ve read 8 books. That is a new record for the adult-me. I think it takes awhile to recover from being an English major in college and an English teacher post-college. I’ve read the Harry Potter series* by JK Rowling, Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God, Noel Piper (I highly recommend this for some encouragement!) and See You in a Hundred Years, Logan Ward (This was a really interesting memoir, especially as we are learning to live simply. It doesn’t get much more simple than living without electricity and eating only the food that you grow or kill yourself!)

And…books I’ve started, but haven’t finished yet…

• Passage to India, E. M. Forster (a classic)
• Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott (a book about writing)
• Future Grace, John Piper (a book about living your life in hope of the future grace that God promises)
• White Tiger, Aravind Adiga (a book about India)
• Conversational Hindi (this one is more symbolic of learning the language)
• Isaiah, The Bible (a book about God’s judgement and redemption and faithfulness to His people that I’m reading with a small group of Christian women here)

Now the number of books that we left behind but wanted to bring with us is an entirely different list and too long to put here.

*I know that there has been some controversy over the Harry Potter books. And I started the first one in 2001 and have just now gotten around to reading the others. I think if you’re curious, you should read them for yourself and be discerning, but I wouldn’t recommend the later books for younger children — even middle school. They get pretty dark at times and definitely don’t communicate my worldview, but I really enjoyed the story of Harry Potter. I’ll be happy to talk more about them if you have questions, but since this is in honor of my birthday, I’m going to stop analyzing them now.

Our house in Spring Hill.

7

The number of addresses I’ve had for more than 1 month.

Aside from the first 18 years of my life that I spent with my parents in Birmingham, here are my seven other addresses (six in Tennessee). (Yea, so I’m cheating a little bit.

• Vanderbilt University in Nashville (1998-2002). I moved from Stapleton (freshman) to West on Peabody (sophomore) to Towers on West End (junior & senior) and had 3 roommates and 11 suite-mates, but my mailing address stayed the same.
• The Allen Family home in Franklin (the summer of 2002). I was in-between college and my first real job. Scott went from BCM Director to landlord that summer. They needed a housesitter and I needed a place to live while I was looking for a job.
• Cheryl’s Green Hills condo (2002-2005). A former college suite-mate and later bridesmaid, Cheryl and I suffered through med school (for her) and my first few years teaching together and enjoyed 3 years of twenty-something, post-college life together. I wouldn’t trade those years for anything.
• Nippers Corner (2005-2006). My one year to figure out those things you can only know about yourself from living alone. I found my love for hospitality and cemented a strong independent streak that year.
• Nippers Corner/Brentwood (the summer of 2006). After a year of living alone, I rented a room from Amy C. for three months while I was engaged. This time is unfortunately a blur of wedding planning and job searching, but it was (and is) such a blessing to have the support of a friend like Amy!
• Spring Hill (2006-2010). Marriage made me a homeowner and I had no idea how fun it would be once we negotiated the kitchen a little bit, got rid of the black bedroom and figured out how to share a space that had been something of a bachelor pad. I learned to love cooking and even to love cooking with Harry, to reach out to my neighbors and to enjoy grilling and being in the yard with friends…all in this house.
• South Asia flat (2010-??) Five months and counting in South Asia, we’ve been living on the first floor (second floor–American style) of a house. One small post like this isn’t enough to write what we’ve learned here, but I’m still learning to cook and bond with this house. It is such a blessing and we look forward to many more opportunities to use it for hospitality while we’re here. (And, there’s plenty of room for guests to come visit…don’t forget!

8

The number of cars I’ve owned.

• ’88 Maroon Chevy Camaro: Please don’t judge me, but nothing else has ever driven quite the same.
• ’02 Silver Honda Civic: Everyone should buy a new car when they graduate from college (with student loans) and get a job, right? Yea, so, this may not have been the best idea, but it was an awesome car.
• ’96 White Chevy Lumina: A gift from my parents when I realized that I needed to sell the Honda to start taking control of my finances.
• ’93 Beige Toyota Camry: This was technically Harry’s car, but we learned to share pretty quickly when mine died after 6 months!
• ’96 Toyota Camry: This one didn’t make it home. Harry has a less affectionate name for it.
• ’99 Gold Acura CL: We’re thinking that some youngster had gotten to this one before we did…given the problems we had toward the end, but it served its purpose.
• ’01 Silver Isuzu Trooper: This is the one that decided it needed a new transmission about two weeks before we left for South Asia. Other than that, this was an awesome car.
• ’98 Green Nissan Sentra: Not the best color green or the fanciest interior, but a great car for us.

If I wanted to add the gracious friends and family who loaned us vehicles in our first four years of marriage, I would have to add SIX cars. There’s way more to this story that won’t fit here. If you’d ever like to hear, just ask! But the summary is that we look back and see God’s provision and mercy as He taught us to be better stewards with our finances, to live more simply and to grow in our trust in Him alone. And I am thankful for the pain and the pruning that He did in our hearts through these 8 cars.

9

The number of countries I’ve visited in my nearly 30 years.

Considering I hadn’t been on a plane when I started college in 1998 and that I distinctly remember begging to go home while crying of unbearable homesickness at a week-long Christian camp in elementary/middle school, it’s hard to believe that I’ve been to 9 different countries!

I went to Canada with my family in between 6th and 7th grades, circa 1992 — back when you only needed a birth certificate to cross the border. I went with a school group (anyone remember Safety Patrol?) to Washington, DC, and my parents picked me up on the last day and we drove up the East Coast and on to Canada for our summer vacation. We spent a night in Montreal and a night in Toronto. I remember that even in July, the pool in Montreal was too cold for swimming. This trip and another one that we took to California, probably lit the travel fire for me. So, Mom and Dad, you have only yourselves to blame that I’m in South Asia!

In college, I had the opportunity to study in London, England for 6 weeks. And since my friend Jackie was studying in Germany, I came a little early and got to see Regensberg in Bavaria. I remember that the train from Frankfurt to Regensberg was having engine troubles, but since I didn’t understand German, I was blissfully ignorant!

While I was in London, we were blessed to have our Fridays and weekends off from classes. So, I found somewhere to go every weekend: Paris, France; Dublin, Ireland; Zurich Switzerland. And I enjoyed a few days with a friend from Birmingham in Cambridge, too.

After college, I had the chance to go on two cross-cultural trips with my church, leading worship for a group of expats in Eretria, Greece twice (and one time with Harry!) and Chiang Mai, Thailand once. In Greece, I experienced the clearest, most beautiful water and some of the hottest temperatures climbing to the top of the Acropolis to see the Parthenon. At least, I think that’s why we climbed to the top. Although, I’m not sure since I never got a copy of the group photo to prove it. (Kristi Smith, were you supposed to give that to me?

And then, last August, God sent us to South Asia* for the first time to see if this was indeed the place where God was leading us. And, here we are a year later, starting our fifth month here. On the way back from our vision trip, we had the opportunity to stop over in Paris for a short vacation together. (This trip was planned, unlike our unexpected four-day layover in New York in April of this year!)

*No, South Asia isn’t just one country. But, for security reasons, it is better if I don’t say which country I’m in, but feel free to ask privately.

Engaged! (2006)

10

The number of months that Harry and I dated before we were married.

It may seem short to some and long to others, but we are thankful for the story God gave us because it is rich in His faithfulness and provision. We were both learning to be prepared to follow the Lord wholeheartedly into a life of singleness if He chose, but each longing and praying for a spouse…when he opened our hearts to each other.

Only acquaintances for several years as members of the same church and worship team, we officially met in 2003 when I was singing on our church’s worship team for the first time at our fall retreat and Harry was doing sound. There were no sparks.

It wasn’t until 2005 that we actually noticed each other. God provided many opportunities that year for us to talk and get to know each other–a friend’s birthday party, my move from Green Hills Nippers Corner, movies in the park, coffee, preparing for cross-cultural team trips together with our church. But, neither of us knew what God was doing until later that year. (This is usually where Harry and I disagree over how many times he asked me out before we finally had coffee.

And in January, Harry started the conversation that we continue today–how to best love each other and partner with each other for God’s glory. Only then, it was in the context of dating, or courtship–whatever you want to call it.

*I promise Day 9 won’t be as sappy!