We played “Fish Bowl” without the charades part. Some of the words would have been extremely difficult to act out! The three people who put words in put words such as “immense”, “Rhyme River”, and some type of peninsula. My team tied with another, which was surprising to me ‘cause there were definite times I literally only was able to describe one word in the time we had! I was trying to describe “lycra” and all my teammates were able to come up with how I was describing it was “spandex”. I got a little creative and asked what words were called in a song and then they were able to guess it. We had so much fun!
The time together has definitely brought ideas to mind when I come back next year for traditions to start for celebrating Christmas! Of course, I also have ideas from books I have recently read. One of them sparked some thoughts that I wrote out in a letter to a friend of mine. Just after I sealed and made it ready for sending, I went through my devotional for the day where it talked about trust - just what I had written to my friend about! After that, I journaled out my thoughts amongst a few interruptions and came to a conclusion on what I have been praying over and semi thinking about on occasion.
For some time, I have been focused on completing school or getting out of debt. When I get back, I still will have student loans. However, for the first time, I will have some money available that Peace Corps calls a “readjustment allowance”. It will be a much bigger cushion that I had coming back from Australia so even if it takes me another 3 months to get a job (it shouldn’t - I can always go back to working at my hospital, which I am still thinking about doing just not as crazy much as I had been), it will be ok. Also, I am actually semi planning my return this time! Preparation is important even if it is only mental preparation!
That being said, I feel like after PC service I will be able to just “be”. The things I have learned about myself this past year and what I will learn this next year I will be able to ponder, pursue, and etc. without the pressures I have had in the past. It’s actually kind of exciting to think about! As I realized this, that is when I came to a conclusion about what I have been praying over. With less pressure on myself, ability to “be”, and etc. - I am going to be more open to new things than I feel like I have ever been.
God will have things fall into place in His timing. I just need to continue to trust in Him and follow where He leads. God is so cool!!! :-D Please continue to pray for the Nepali people. The unofficial blockade is still happening. Bigger cities have brownouts often and limited menus. Villages are running out of cooking gas and going to wood burning stoves. Transportation is not as crowded as it has been, but fewer rides are available. Love and miss y’all!!!
P.S. Yesterday, I met a new little girl who was afraid of me. I gave her some candy and I told her I didn’t bite children, but for the first time this comment was not ignored. The little girl actually disagreed with me and said I DID eat children! (Note: I DO NOT EAT CHILDREN!!!) A little afterwards, we became friends.