Qiangic Speaking Tibetans (English - 9.5 mins)

ode to my hiking boots

13 1/2 years ago, when I bought my hiking boots, I bought them to actually hike.  I thought I would like hiking.  I knew I would live in the mountains, so naturally, it would make sense to hike lots and lots and love it.  I bought these shoes and a North Face sleeping bag that is also still going strong (just in case you want to know about quality and stuff).  And they have seen some hiking action.

But, after sleeping in caves full of bats and on top of monasteries (on top of the roof) that more resembled rat speedways.  And after actually hiking and learning that it's really more like:  I-cannot-breathe-I-might-die, I actually rarely use them for hiking.

I do, however, still wear them every time we travel to the mountains.  They are my most disgusting shoes I own.  They have seen some pretty nasty potties.  So I wear them because I don't want any of my other shoes to get dirty like they are.

But I was looking at them the other day and thought about all the places they've been.  They've been in my favorite place in the world (besides home) for 2 years.  Theyhe've hiked some pretty remote areas.  Like areas that no other foreigner has been before.  They've seen some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, as well as hiked in the highest mountain range in the world.  They've traveled with a handsome husband and with 2 backpack babies on my back.  They've traveled with some of my favorite people I've ever met, who've lived overseas or visited overseas.  They've been there when we've told stories that are so so precious to our hearts.  They've walked for hours at a time and for minutes at a time.

I can tell you for sure I never imagined those boots would see all that when I bought them.  And I think they'll see more since they're showing no signs of falling apart any time soon...

This is THE VOICE

We love having parties.  I think parties minister to Luke and Johnny more than almost anything else in the world. 

This year for Christmas, we decided instead of fighting the culture here, we'd embrace it.  Because when people here get together for a party, somehow, singing almost always occurs.  So, we did our version of the Voice.  The blue/brown version instead of the Red/black version...

And, can I say, it was so so so fun?  It was so easy to get every one of our friends sing.  And that little girl in the picture down there?  She sang, too.  And it was awesome.

We are blessed.

Christmas

We don't give our kids lots of gifts/toys/stuff through the year.  They get gifts for their birthdays and for Christmas.  And we save a lot of the things people send us to wrap for their birthday and/or Christmas.  So Christmas is pretty big at our house.  And not even half of the presents under the tree are actually from us.  

From Christmas Eve through Christmas morning, we love Christmas.

This year was all about dress-ups, which made Christmas afternoon extra fun!

Christmas Camp Out

On December 23, we watch Polar Express--it's our favorite Christmas movie--and then we all pile on each other and on the couches and sleep in the living room.  In the two years we've done it, it's become my favorite night of the year.  We sleep in the same room any time we travel, and I love that, too, but there is something about being in our house.  Cozy to us.  Familiar.  I love it.

This year, we've been kinda playing catch up in the days leading up to Christmas.  We hadn't finished buying presents and doing the presents for our friends in town, so we've been staying up working on projects.  So eating hamburgers and watching the movie two days before Christmas has been the perfect time as a family.  I love this family.

A Little Detour on our way to Christmas

I think one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible is what Zechariah prophesies over John.  It talks about John preparing the way for the "sunrise from on high" who is coming to save His people who sit in shadows and darkness.  I just love that.  I love reading Luke as well as Matthew--I think I just love the little bits about Zechariah and Simeon and Anna.  What awesome people with faith and patience.

And their stories just resonate with us.  Patience to see the Saviour come.  Faith that He is coming.  We work among a people that are notoriously hard to the Good News.  But He does promise that they will believe.  And we are thankful that we get to meet them and love them and tell them the stories.  What a gift in and of itself.

For some reason, when I've read the parts of the Word that have to do with the birth of Jesus, I've never really noticed the parts about the difficulty surrounding His birth.  There were so many wondrous things that happened, and I love those parts.  But there were some horrible things and some very difficult circumstances that happened right as He was born that I've overlooked.  But for some reason, that fact has brought me comfort this year.  As we have discomfort or hard moments, I want to remember that He went through much worse.  He can relate.  He is the one who can best relate.

Our Christmas season has looked different this year.  We spent over half the advent season in a tropical country without our stuff that we have.  So we've done little activity to celebrate advent besides reading the story of His birth.  Several times.  But I'm so thankful that He came.  I'm so thankful that He is still coming to us AND to people who haven't heard His name.  I'm so thankful for HIM.

Here are some pictures of the beginning of the month:

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are so thankful for so many things this year, but one of the things that happened yesterday was that we got a text from a friend that's in town from the mountains.  She wants to see us today (it's T-giving morning right now), which isn't the best timing, but we're just so thankful she's asking to hang out, we're going to make sure it happens!!

We're just thankflul that friendships are slowly going deeper.  And I'm thankful that my husband is so go with the flow about her coming, too.  And that we had 3 days of rest earlier this week :).  We are given good gifts...