* How to speak, write, & very slowly read Thai. I have the BEST teacher...Becky! She has been so patient with me & only laughs at me when I'm laughing at myself :) It's not as impossible as I first thought, but it is hard. Practice makes perfect, though...or as close to perfect as you can get with an American accent! I'm also learning not to take myself too seriously & just speak...there will be many times I'll mess up & I just need to laugh & keep trying!
* How to ride a motorcycle! This also was not near as hard as I thought it would be. It is SO much fun! I can't wait until I'm comfortable enough to ride all over all the time :) I will definitely have to find a motorcycle I can borrow from someone to keep riding while I'm home this summer!
* Hospitality...Stephen, Mary, Becky, Johnny, & Isaac have completely opened up their home & their hearts to me. They have shown me what it means to love & to care for someone. That they have welcomed me as part of their family means so much to me & has helped me tremendously during my stay here. It has been amazing getting to know each of them & spending time together whether its sharing meals, going to church, going to the market, taking Isaac to school, spending the evenings together as a family...anything & everything!
* How to trust God in all things...During this whole process of getting ready to move over here, I haven't once been nervous or worried about myself. The only thing I worry about is my family back home...I worry because I don't want them to worry about me or to miss me too much...I don't want them to hurt. If you know me, you know how much my family means to me & how much I love to spend time with all of them. From the beginning, I just knew I would struggle with being away from them. So, from Day 1, I have prayed that God would give me peace & comfort that can only come from Him. And He has! I don't want this to sound harsh, but I don't miss everyone like I thought I would. Don't get me wrong...I do miss everyone & am looking foward to seeing everyone soon, but I don't miss them to the point it hurts & is all I think about every second...which is how I thought I would feel.
I don't know if this makes much sense, but if you take anything out of it, just know that whatever you're going through, God knows & He will get you through it if you put your trust in Him alone. It's not easy...I have to decide to trust Him every single time I start to worry or wonder about something...but it's totally worth it.
Trusting Him,
Alicia
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