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Me, Stephanie, Wendy and Jana

It was good to come home last night (except for the rickshaw driver who tried to charge me 3 times what he should have to take me home. don't worry, i didn't give in!)

It's good to be back - in a way where it's good even though it's not totally easy. It's good to be with steph and wendy and jana. To be with ladies who i like and who i laugh with...It's good to tell stories about my time away. and i think at a very basic level its just good to be back home, and back to the place God has called me to and where I've put down roots for this season of life.

My journey home took a long time yesterday. I ended up with a 6 hr layover along the way (due to having to clear customs before a domestic flight, and then the airline moving my flight back). As i sat in the airport i thought to myself, "this is not my best case scenario, but i think its probably good." I think it was good that i had time to slowly come home...to think and journal...and for God to prepare me for being back. It was good to be "forced" to rest - to not do anything, to not be going...to read, to think, to be still...to feel a little.

I realized on Sunday night that soon i'd get to see steph, wendy and jana again - and that was the beginning of my excitement about coming home. Then, today when i walked into the office Sheela and Leela were hid behind this little partition so they weren't even fully hidden and then jumped out and said "surprise" and welcomed me back...it was so fun and funny! and i thought, "this is good!"

People keep asking about how Bangladesh was. And it was good - but i also feel like i don't really know, not really. I feel like i had a very short, and "elitist" view of the city. I stayed in a nice part of town and had very upper class experiences. It was weird for me to be in a developing country, and living so "extravagantly." And at the same time it was good, and refreshing. it was good to sit around in the guest house and laugh with people i love...and to eat at a mexican restaurant (!) and to sit by a pool. It was also good to be with Word Made Flesh folks -which brings to the surface questions about simplicity and poverty, and the balance between honoring God and the poor...and "resting" or "recharging"

It was interesting today, as i walked into the office and began talking with people 2 or 3 different people said that i looked really good, and that i looked very rested and peaceful. Sometimes I think people notice things you don't notice yourself...cause the bottom line is that my time in Kolkata and Bangladesh was good. I rested. i took naps. i read books. I laughed. I played. I had great conversations with good friends. ahhh...