I’ve enjoyed being back here in Southeast Asia. The smell of calamansi (mini limes) or garlic as we pass by cooking stands, the sounds of roosters, the people singing karaoke at the arcades or electronic stations in the stores, the heat that we’ve adjusted to quickly, the delicious flavors of all of the food we’ve been eating… All my senses come alive and the memories of visiting here during my childhood so warm my heart and I’m glad that I get to share this with my family.

As much as I’ve heard that the transition will take time, I don’t really think it sunk in until this week when I started panicking that I wasn’t already settled into a routine with everything in place and already having a dedicated schedule to run our family and household. I thought our paperwork and ministry assignments would be locked in and it’d be “Go Time” HAHA. Stop laughing at me! Those of you who know me really well have witnessed how the Lord has been teaching me to rest and take it easy in different seasons. I thought our last year in SF would be that “chill” time, but I’m quickly recognizing how much all of this transitioning will take time and that the Lord is allowing us to all processing it differently. I won’t go into details how the family has been handling it, but I cried when I burned a pan trying to cook breakfast. We are currently living out of suitcases in our 5th “home” since we left SF. It’s been pretty great with a few rough days here and there, but overall we’re so thankful that the kids are adjusting so well despite all the moving pieces.

We’ve really enjoyed meeting and learning from all of our ministry partners here up north. (More details in our newsletter). I’m thankful for new friends and couple of them are seriously the Southeast Asian versions of Alana and Erica lol. It’s really been such a blessing to fellowship with those who have grown through the various ministry outreaches and to see how the Lord has been working in these communities all these years. I’m thankful that our kids are also making quick friends with some of the other kids from various belief backgrounds. (Amaryn hangs with the girls her age and Amos starts to dance and clap along with the Sunday School songs too!)