The Harvest

I should be in bed. I mean, who stays up until four hours before the alarm clock goes off, doing unnecessary things like blogging? Especially when the blogging has not been important in the past three months?

I guess I just feel like I can't leave without at least making a post of gratitude about this trip.

And as for the blogging silence over the past three months... is it weird to say that I am fresh out of words? I haven't posted to social media with nearly the regularity I had been either. I think I am an introvert at heart (though I hide it REALLY well) and when things happen that take lots of interactions, lots of words, like the LIVE thing, I kind of go silent for a while afterward.

But back to the trip...

I am so very grateful for this opportunity again. This year it means so much more to me because I know the names and faces of the children we will encounter, the workers I respect so much, and the team we have assembled. I look forward so much to seeing Phirom, the boy our family decided to sponsor once I returned home. I felt an immediate connection to him from the very first moment we arrived and it's been really special to introduce the girls and Kraig to him over the past year through his sweet letters and correspondence. I can't wait to take him a few gifts and the letters we have each written to him. I can't wait for that feeling I get from travel where my senses are sharpened and the colors are so bright and vivid. I look forward to watching Emma and Kraig experience another country for the very first time. I am excited to see the integrated farm that we didn't get to see last time, to see the progress in Andong where PCL is building a city. I can't wait to see the faces in the orphanages in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, to visit the market and Ankor Wat. I am excited for the moments of connection in the children's camps, for the knowledge the children will gain and the fun we will all have.

I am in awe of the power of God and the generosity of our friends and family. I didn't send a single letter out this year, but He must have. We worked our tails off making apple butter, cake pops, and tshirts, tshirts, tshirts, but He sent the customers. Our family raised $9000 in just under 9 months and it is honestly a miracle.

The blessing will be in the harvest, friends. And I can't wait to see it.