Happy New Year!

I wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year!  In Kazakhstan the New Year's holiday is huge.  We celebrate with Santa coming to give children gifts, a huge meal, a presidential speech, New Year's movies, and fireworks!  There are times that I miss this time that I would spend with my Kazakh family, seeing the joy of their children as they bring in the New Year.  

I have had a wonderful time in Montana with my family.  It has been a chance to rest and relax and spend time with people I love.  I figured I'd list some of the things that have gone on during my time here.  I will head back to Muncie for a few days on January 4th before heading to Lynchburg.  

• Walks with family in the beautiful scenery here in Montana
• A quiet Christmas Eve and Christmas with my family
• The realization that this will be my last Christmas "home" for a few years
• Getting to talk to and see my Kazakh family on Skype
• Finished reading The Good and Beautiful God, a really good book
• Helped mom set up her first Kindle book 
• Seeing the house that Comfort and Steve have put an offer on
• Geocaching with my family 
• Finding out I am allergic to both gluten and dairy
• Playing games each day

I am so thankful for all the friendships God has given me.  May your New Year be filled with much joy and blessing!

Year-end donations towards the work of Interlink Resources can be made here. 

Quick Note

I was notified that the graph on the side of my blog related to the financial support still needed for my return to Kazakhstan was confusing.  I have fixed it and think it shows more clearly where things are.  Sorry for the confusion.  Have a great day!

A Busy Fall

I arrived in Montana last Friday and have a few weeks with my family for Christmas.  It has been nice spending time with them.  We have played games, gone shopping, and seen some great views.  I am looking forward to this time with them as I know it will be my last Christmas in the States for a while.

This fall has been a busy one.  I have been updating my blog from many locations doing many different things.  I have been highlighting some of the fun I have been having and relationships that I have been making.  I thought it would also be good to let you know some of the projects I have continued to work on for Interlink.  Although I am traveling around a lot, I have still been accomplishing much in order to prepare to return to Kaz this spring.  Here are some of the highlights that I have been working on since I returned from Kaz at the end of July (in random order).

• Attended daily training with the new team heading to Kazakhstan next year.  We met each morning for 6 weeks.  We spent time discussing some of the foundations of the work we will be doing in Kaz and making sure we were all on the same page. 
• Attended our annual board meeting.  During this time I was able to share with our board my journey over the last several years and my sense that this coming year is the right timing for me to return to Kaz long-term.  
• Moved to Lycnhburg, VA to be part of the training for a new team going to Kaz.  This has also allowed me to be part of a small group of people that are interested in the work taking place in Kaz. 
• Helped with the set-up of a Kids Connection sponsorship drive that is set to take place in Lynchburg early next year.  
• Helped train the new staff in our Muncie office for responsibilities related to delegations. 
• Prepared and took care of many of the details for the delegation that went to Kazakhstan in the fall.  
• Completed my third class towards a masters degree in Special Education.  I have a total of 10 classes to complete, so I am almost 1/3rd of the way through the program.  My classes are all online, so I can continue them once I return to Kazakhstan.  I am hoping to use what I learn to benefit the children of Kaz.  
• Worked with my team to help my team leaders prepare their house for our move to Kaz.  
• Continued communication with my friends and co-workers in Kaz.  
• Focused on support raising for my return to Kaz.  This included visiting several States and seeing people that I hadn't seen in a while.  
• Attended an interesting and informational conference in D.C.
• Read many books to continue my preparation to return.  
• Helped people process after their delegations to Kaz.  

Traveling Again

The challenge and joy of being at this place in my life is that I get/have to travel a lot.  I have been back in Lynchburg for a little over a week and am preparing for my next trip.  On Friday morning I will be heading to Muncie.  I get a chance to spend about six days with friends in Muncie.  During my time there I get to be involved in two of my favorite activities, Help Portraits and the Inside Out Christmas Store.  It will be fun to be able to serve among my friends.  I also have my final for the class I cam currently taking.  

On the 16th I will be traveling to Montana to be with my family.  I am looking forward to spending a few weeks with all of them in one place.  I can't wait to see my parent's new house.  I'm sure we will play games and just enjoy visiting and catching up.  

I have had some fun memories with my new friends here.  We picked out a Christmas tree at a local nursery.  This included getting to ride in the back of the pick-up truck and having it cut down with a chainsaw.  I am also getting to go to a Christmas concert tonight.  We have enjoyed singing Christmas carols and laughing together.  I feel blessed to have these new friends and will miss them when I am gone.  However, I also can't wait to be back in Muncie.  I continue to find joy and blessing in all these friendships.  

Blessed

The last week has been yet another reminder of how blessed I am.  I had a great time with my extended family in Oklahoma.  It was wonderful to see my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  I enjoyed the time I got to spend with each one visiting.  I am thankful for the extended family I have (on both sides) that have helped me become the person I am.  What a joy that many of us could spend time together enjoying each other's company.  My mom and dad even got to Skype into our visit for a while.

I had the unexpected joy of spending some time with my sister and her husbands family when I returned from Oklahoma.  They welcomed me into my second Thanksgiving dinner, which was also extremely yummy.  It was fun to see all of them and reminded me of the blessing that our family has as we have been brought together with Steve's family.

Upon returning to Lynchburg, I was able to celebrate my birthday with my new friends here, while hearing from so many of my friends all over the world.  My birthday was a special day, filled with words of encouragement and fun.  Thank you to all of you that helped make it that way.

I sent out a newsletter in November sharing what the next few months looks like.  If you didn't receive it and would like to, please let me know.  There is a financial update on the right side of my blog, for those of you that have been asking.  Thanks again for your encouragement, birthday wishes, and support.