Are you my mother?

Guess what? My own mother is in India! Can you believe it?

If you want to get the low-down on her time here, you can call her cell. haha. But I'll give you an overview.... 

She came with a team of songwriters. 

To lead two incredible songwriting conferences.

Where brothers and sisters from all over learned to write songs in their own heart languages. 

And she got to experience a lot of India along the way.... trains and rickshaws, markets and street food, fun food and crazy colors.... 

She rode an elephant... And nearly escaped a crazy one-horned-rhino attack! 

MORE TO COME....

Oh brother.

Whoa whoaaaaa! My little brother moved to my city!

It's rather mind-blowing. 

We'll be neighbors and co-workers for the next year. 

To celebrate that fact, and my birthday, we went on an ole boat ride. 

He's pretty cool.

We're pretty Indian.

We squat well. 

We like using umbrellas in the sweet sunshine.

We jump on/off things well...

 

Like trains, buses, and other random cars.

You're free to join us. Come on over. 

Father's Day should be everyday.

"We're just people"

When I was saying goodbye to my grandma before I left the States, I told her I'd miss her, and she said, "We're just people. There are people everywhere." Hmm. It's hard to think about the ones that hold chunks of my heart in their hands as "just people," but the more I travel, the more He provides people to love on me and encourage me. It blows my mind that He uses "just people" to remind me of His love over and over again. 

"Just people" sent me out and promised to love me forever. 

"Just people" do life with me.

"Just people" come visit me. 

"Just people" let me live with them for 6 weeks in Thailand. 

"Just people" Skype in just to say hey. 

        

But, you know what? They're just people. It's true, but the One who sent me on this journey is with me every step of the way. 

"It is God to whom and with whom we travel, and while He is the end of our journey, He is also at every stopping place." 

— Elisabeth Elliot

My Mother.

In honor of Mother's Day, I couldn't decide whether to write a poem or tell some 'your mom' jokes (like... your mom is so poor your family had to eat cereal with a fork to save milk), so I'll settle with telling you about a stunning woman named Eva Jo Wilson who means more than the world to me. 

Beautiful. 

Selfless. In every way. 

Compassionate. 

Hospitable. 

Kind.

Witty.

Sassy.

Passionate.

Lovely.

Strong.

Brilliant.

Humble.

Faithful.

Hilarious. 

Nurturing.

Spontaneous. 

Mom.

And... she's pretty much encompasses every part of Proverbs 31. Read it. I'm not kidding.

Goodbyes.

Saying goodbye was a lot harder than I thought it would be. 


I have to admit, I've sobbed like a small child over and over the last couple days. Through all of the tears, I kept on thinking about what life might look like if it wasn't hard to leave home. What if I didn't have anyone to hold on tight and not want to let me go? What if I didn't have any friendships that were hard to leave? I realized that I wouldn't trade the tears for anything. I am so so blessed with a family that loves me unconditionally and friends that show me how to love authentically. 


I hope it's always hard to leave. All the people I befriend. In every chapter of life. 

Bidding farewell to material things isn't the hard part. Watch:

Goodbye house. 

Goodbye Sopapilla.

Goodbye big plate of cookie dough.

It's walking away from people I love, people so close to my heart, that hurts so bad. 

I'm learning how to drop my nets and follow Him with absolute abandon. (I'll probably be learning this my whole life)

One week.

It turns out, one week from today I'll be headed to South Asia. This is my week of goodbyes and farewells. I'll try to document it for you. 

We got some family pictures made (yes, in matching t-shirts) in honor of Ruth's upcoming World Race. 

Some sweet friends came in from Nacogdoches (my Sarah came from Jackson, MS), and we hit up the beach for sunrise.

 

I love them dearly and didn't think that it would be so hard to say goodbye. 

I closed my old bank account and took out my life savings. $1.98 exactly. 

 

I got to spend some time with my beautiful sister. 

We had a little sister photo shoot. It was fun.   

We made some fun meals. 

 

Is she crying because I'm leaving? Nope. Onions. 

My Nephew.

It's crazy how family grows. New people literally pop into my life before I even know what happened. Sometimes they're blood related, and sometimes they're not.... in this case, he is. My nephew Jacob is the cutest little guy that I know.

Just saying.

Here's proof:

 

AAAANNNNNDDDDD guess what? We just found out that Daniel and Candas (my brother and sister-in-law) are expecting another baby boy in December. I can't wait to see his little face on Skype. 

This my dad.

This is a snippet of why I like him.

- He tells me he loves me. All the time. And he's not lying.
- He patiently listens to my opinions even when everybody knows he's right.
- The way he loves my mom set the possible husband bar real high. It's insane that their 25th anniversary is this week. Always respectful. Always selfless. Always serving.
- He supports the decisions that I make. Even things like skydiving and setting up camp overseas.
- He prays. More than to "bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies." I'm not really sure if that awkward meal prayer even makes since. Since I was a little girl, I've seen my dad on his knees.
- He sees people through God's eyes... no matter what they've done or who they are. He loves. Listens. Gives. Invites over for dinner.
- He laughs at his own jokes. For a long time. That screams self-confidence.
- He works at a church and still likes going to church. Talk about strong character.
- He watches CSI reruns with me.
- He wakes up every morning with purpose.
- I know he loves me.

Sister Saturday.

I absolutely adore my family.

I've got to spend the whole weekend with my family. The fact that I'll be living in India for the next few years has really started to sink in, so each second I get to spend with my family is really precious. 


A few reasons I love my family:
- There are a TON of them. 
- There's always something to talk about, and ALWAYS something to do. 
- They make me feel a little more normal than usual (because they're crazy too!)
- They've never met a stranger. I love having random guests, extra kids, and new family members all the time. 
- I know I'm loved no matter what. 


I really wanted to take a few family pictures today, but no one was on board. You'd think that out of ten people, AT LEAST SOMEONE would want to pose for a picture, but no. I've had fun though. Here's a little snippet of my weekend so far:

Obviously our first experience with baby chicks. Haha.

All I had to say was "jump," and this is what I got.

Three of my favorite ladies. Why is my family so cool?

Ruth-- my sister and best friend.

This is our family "band." Lydia loves the spotlight. =)