Skip to main content

The end of yet another leg of the journey…

I was sat fiddling with the power cable for my little Acer laptop and suddenly I see smoke coming from it. Needless to say I quickly unplugged it and pondered how I would proceed being kind of “laptop-less”. This was Monday. And that is my explanation for the absence of blog posts this final week in Fortaleza (the reason I can write now is because I managed to borrow a cable to charge up my battery before leaving).

There are many thoughts to share and reflections on God’s goodness, but right now I’ve been travelling for around 29 hours and so I think the deeper reflections will have to wait until this wee traveler has had some sleep…

Right now I’m sat in Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. I got a coffee at the Parkcafe and am sat on the 2nd floor facing the façade of the Grand Cafe, reminded by the smell that the smoking room is right behind me. I would move, but the airport is pretty busy and I’m tired. It’s been an uneventful journey, but 29 hours on the “road” (or in the air and at airports) does take it’s toll. I did have a lovely break in the journey as I hopped on the train into the centre of Amsterdam and met up with some dear friends there and talked and ate and talked and had tea… a very good way to spend 6 hours.

As I said goodbye to old and new friends at the airport in Fortaleza my heart was yet again filled with thankfulness and sadness. Thankful for the gift of friends, and sad to yet again leave people I love so much. I wish I could have everyone I love around me all the time, or at least in the same country. But I guess I’ve come to embrace the journey. The journey of being a sojourner on this earth. The journey of getting to know people and places. The journey of learning about who God is and His love through the people I meet.

And so in my slightly frazzled state I am sat here at the airport. I’m connected to the IHOP webstream using one of my two 30-minute free internet slots, and as I take my last sip of coffee (which is pretty cold by now) I feel so thankful. Thankful for these past months and thankful for family and friends at home whom I’ve missed so much. And thankful for what lies ahead. It’s amazing how easy it is to feel God’s peace in an overfilled airport, because He is with me, always with me on this journey.

Popular posts from this blog

Packing...again.

I just folded the last load of laundry and I’m almost packed. Off to the airport at 5am tomorrow morning, heading off to Amsterdam. I’m excited, a bit nervous, and wondering what it’ll be like. It’s been a good week at home with lots of quality time with family, especially the little nieces and nephew. I’m glad I’ll see them in April again. Well, not much to write and packing to be done and a bit of sleep would probably be a good idea too. Next time I write it’ll be from Amsterdam....
Read more

Single-tasking September: The art of single-tasking.

To change habits and ways of life, the motivation for change has to be strong, and the benefits outweigh the effort it takes to make the change.  For so long it’s seemed like the ability to multitask has been regarded as a great skill, but is it really a good thing? Recovering from burn-out, one of the effects I noticed was that it was harder to concentrate, and especially tricky trying to focus on many things at once. I’d try to multitask, only to realise that all tasks suffered from lack of capacity to complete any one of them. The challenge is that the habit of always doing many things at once goes deep, and when I tried to focus on just one thing, I found that it was actually really difficult.  As I did a little google search on the matter, I found it seems like multitasking isn’t as healthy as once thought, and that it doesn’t help productivity. Some even referred to it as “switch tasking”, in the sense that the brain isn’t doing many things at once, but shifting rapidly...
Read more

Walking through December: overcoming the challenge of language.

I just got done leading a Bible study in Spanish without a translation back-up, and it went really well. I am amazed at what we are actually able to do when we have no other option. It wasn’t a flawless flow of communication (that would have been a miracle), but together we figured out what I wanted to say. And I think it was good. I was blessed and they seemed blessed as well. The girls just left and I am sat here in my living room with the candles lit. It’s windy and rainy outside, and I am smiling. Happy. Not because I overcame the language challenge, but happy because of yet another beautiful time of bringing more of Jesus to the girls in our Bible study. I am thankful for the privilege of knowing them and standing with them in their journeys of knowing Jesus. And thankful that even when language is shaky, love is stronger and is communicated beyond mere words.
Read more