debriefing on Railey Beach
I love debriefing, I really do.
It's like a verbal journal entry where you relive the crazy and the calm.
It's taking a million puzzle pieces of your adventure, and fitting them together to make something whole.
Something that makes sense, the sum of it's parts.
Debriefing validates the journey that you encountered in a real, life giving, and moving way.
But mostly it challenges me to be different.
Because why the heck do we travel or volunteer or do anything if it doesn't change us?
If it doesn't make us better, more loving, more kind, and really...
more like Jesus?
When I debrief, I pray that God will lead me to some treasure that challenges me, and forces me towards the heavenly.
And today He did.
Kevin and I are in Thailand right now on Railey Beach.
I'll save most of my Railey pictures for another post
{because honestly I could write 497 posts on this place because it's seriously the most incredible piece of land in the world!!!!},
but today I wanted to share a few photos
while I stumble through some of the thoughts Kevin and I burrowed into.
We got serious about this debriefing business and printed up a list of about 30 questions that tackled reflection head on.
We found a lovely cafe on the water, spent some time praying and thanking Abba, and then jumped in.
We talked about our favorite meals in Nepal.
Like the time the girls cooked us some delicious mo mo's and samosa's {and gluten free tempura for me}!
Or when we had the girls to our house and introduced them to tacos and brownies and watched in delight as they found they really enjoyed them!
The weekly volleyball + sushi outings with Jon and Jenna, or the fun we had with our British friends Matt and Kate, where we learned the finer points of English dialects {and what the word knockered really means}.
We shared the impact the Nepali's had on us, picking one who imprinted their hands on our hearts.
Mine was one of the girls, who with so much hurt in her life, chose to celebrate God's word and use it to steer her life.
Who constantly pulled the treasure of joy from every situation.
We talked about how working at the home impacted our future plans.
I can't reveal everything now, but our time at the home in Nepal has changed the trajectory of my life forever
and i'm planning to go back to school in January-
those five sweet faces confirming my decision at every turn.
And lastly, one daunting question read "Complete the last sentence...'For me Nepal means...."
and I said "freedom".
freedom with time:
time to just be. to create space to journal and read. to actually read for fun!
to waste time with God and with people and not feel pulled in a million directions.
freedom with myself:
accepting the past and giving myself grace.
Nepal became a place where I could look objectively at life and realize it's ok to make mistakes,
that God forgives me and that I can forgive myself.
and freedom to love
with all that I have, and to accept the magnanimous love of the girls.
And then I realized, Nepal changed me.
It was in that place that God freed me of so much that has held me down in the past.
And I want to be different, live differently.
I want to go home and create boundaries of time, and feel the freedom to say "no" to things.
I want to go home and live a life of forgiveness and grace to all those who surround me, and myself.
And I want to continue press into the evil of trafficking in hopes that Jesus in me can shine justice and light.
And in this debriefing, the pieces came together and my puzzle stood before me.
Freedom.
{contrary to what this picture may suggest, I have not grown a male "part"!
My romper evidently decided to stick out at an extremely *ahem* inconvenient place}
love, Katie
and ps- if you need some good debriefing material, I would be glad to send some over:)