new photos on the roma photo site. check it out. (link to the right)

i'm about one week away from the 'one year marker' since i arrived here.
the year in review:
moved to a new country. walked everywhere for weeks in deep snow. learned a language ("learned"). met foreign nationals and americans that i would have never met on another route of life. bought a cruddy bicycle. fixed up a cruddy bicycle to "working order". started a project to make fire wood from old paper. became a lunch lady. ate fried fish-whole-eyes and all. learned to dance the roma oro. made deep friends with some roma families. written a couple songs. been to bulgaria, france, sudan, greece, all over macedonia. taken countless taxis. walked countless miles. found a real friend. made some friends with some sweet people from all over. learned to play guitar in the dark. knitted 8 scarves. baked a ton of things. learned to make hummus from scratch. rode my bike on the autobahn. climbed some small mountains... like really big pointy hills really. saw God move in several volunteer groups from the states. saw God answer prayers, long term prayers and instantaneously. saw God shake up and change some lives. have felt loneliness like i have never known. have felt the presence of God like i have never known. worn out two pairs of jeans and four pairs of shoes. have been broken down and humbled. have been encouraged and built up. have seen my ugliness in full force. have experienced Christ's beauty. have driven a car only one time. learned to make paper beads. have not used a dish washer at all. have not used a clothes dryer at all. sang in front of a big-ish crowd. learned the amazingness of prayer walking. eaten wild blackberries of a bush on the side of the road. confirmed my neighbor's suspicion that i am an idiot (the day i left me keys in my door...). taken over 4500 photos. read a few books. laughed a lot. cried a ton. got mad. got over it. lost weight, gained more. been to the movie theater once. missed my family like crazy. missed my dad's 50th birthday. talked on skype a ton. got a new computer. been the to ballet 4 times. been to one opera. have traveled by bus, car, jet, propeller plane, in the back of a truck, foot, bike, motor scooter, small boat, ferry. have experienced the longest dry season in creative flow i have had. have failed at a lot. have experienced grace beyond what i can understand. found food in online sermons. discovered brian regan and jim gaffigan. have grown very very very hungry for community and fellowship and corporate worship. learned how to worship and fellowship in solitude. have made plans for the next nine months and then have no idea what will come after that.