It’s been a journey!

Between being deported in Bangladesh to a surprise visit to Thailand, meeting with new partners in Australia and finally a hospitalization in India…the last few months have been interesting, to say the least!

From deportation to marshmallow towers!

On New Years Eve, when I was unable to enter Bangladesh (outside of the immigration area in the airport), I wondered if the trip was doomed. What I learned, though, is that God’s plan is always better than mine and that I had opportunities to visit people and places that I would have otherwise missed. I ended up being deported to Thailand where I had an unexpected but wonderful week with colleagues in Chiang Mai. I heard about how ministry is developing there with our IM missionaries and shared in time with those same colleagues, hearing about joys, concerns and specific ministry objectives. It was awesome!

After leaving Thailand, I continued my travel to Brisbane, Australia where I met with missionaries serving under Global Interaction as well as volunteers that work in Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of Congo. I had phenomenal conversations about how our work might be more collaborative and lead us into new ventures together, as well as preparing for future travel with a group of young people from Australia who are interested in visiting many of the ministries that IM has all over the world. The visit included a lot of visioning and I am sure I will return to Australia, soon.

Finally, by the end of the trip, I had the most unexpected hospitalization for typhoid. It’s the first time I’ve been diagnosed with typhoid and have a current vaccine against typhoid so it was definitely a shock. High fevers, nausea and some other symptoms all made it real, though. I spent a couple of days in one of our partner hospitals and I would like to publicly say that I had wonderful and attentive care. Although they would have liked me to stay longer, I also knew I had some obligations back home and so extended my stay by only one day, arriving in Atlanta on the day of the Super Bowl.

I continue to plan for events this spring and summer and even look forward to some new and amazing ventures in the coming year. I thank all of you, so much, for your continued prayers and support. I honestly could not do this work without it.