West Texas

I don't have much to say anymore (or maybe I never did), but I have become a photographer of things that I didn't think of photographing before. Maybe one of the best things about getting to see so much of the world is getting new eyes to see the world you grew up in when you come back. I appreciate the endless plains of West Texas, the drawl of the lady who walks next to me talking on the phone in the mall, and being able to speak the language of the people around me fluently.

The last week was spent mostly with my beautiful Gramaw in West Texas.

I got to experience a little of the South Plains Fair on Monday night with my fun-loving aunt and uncle.

The sunsets in West Texas are wonderful (among the best in the world in my opinion because you can see clear across from one horizon to the other). And they're made more interesting in pictures with the cotton harvesting tractors in the foreground.

I borrowed my Gramaw's car to drive back to Abilene, enjoying a book on CD and the scenes of America along the way. A lot of windfarms have popped up like the one in the background of this picture.
I've been able to see a few friends from college and one of my middle school teachers this week, but still have a little list of people to visit. Today I'm headed to North Carolina for almost a week.

in Abilene

I was sitting outside an office waiting for my sister and bro-in-law to finish up their first check-up with Wesley and I saw my reflection in the bumper of a car. It prompted a series of pictures where I could see my reflection in odd places.

Now I'm hanging out at my parents' house in Abilene. I took some pictures of their front and back yards today after some rain.

The reflection of clouds in the street.

This stack of books (largely culled from my Mom's library) is waiting for me. I want to see some friends here in Abilene, but haven't made the initiative to do that yet. I happen to be here during Lectureship, so I went to the Asia interest dinner and went to hear Landon Saunders on Monday night. I was really impressed by his boldness, courage to speak about hard things, and his passion for people on the outside. His voiced cracked when he talked about his passion that every human would know what it is to be saved. That's humbling for me.

Two people in the art department (one of whom was my Mom) gave a talk for Lectureship on turning swords into plowshares and they had an iron pour outside Monday night. Other than that, I've been taking personality tests and working on other things in the application process for the group I'm joining. I'll be heading deep into West Texas on Friday with two of my cousins to see my grandma, then back here on my way to North Carolina for a week or so, then back to Abilene again on my way to Austin before I go to Colorado. If you're in any of those places, I hope to see you soon!

the last of Kentucky

I took these pictures of the stage in between tobacco growing in the field and tobacco in the barn. I posted them out of order, but here is the tobacco staked in the field, where it dries for a few days before they hang it upside down in the barn to dry some more.


On Saturday, there was a fall festival hosted by the fellowship next door.
There is one guy who comes to the gathering in his horse and buggy whenever he can. He offered horse drawn carriage rides and a sorghum making demonstration. Here you can see the sorghum being stirred as it's heated.
They used a horse powered sorghum press to get the juice. The guy in charge of the sorghum making gave me some rhubarb last week, so I shared the pie I made with him. He gave me a jar of homemade sorghum in return.
There were gospel bands and an auction under the tent, as well as taxidermy on display, a dunking booth, a yard sale, and other attractions outside the tent. I leave Kentucky for Texas this Saturday. I was glad to get to experience a concentrated taste of Kentucky on my last full weekend.

in case you didn't hear yet...

My sister had her baby on Friday night! He came at 7:31 PM weighing 8 pounds 4 ounces and is 21.5 inches long. Everything went really well. In my sister's state of epidural bliss, she told me I could stay in the birthing room. It was amazing to see him take his first breath and cry right away and to feel the tears on my face and see them on hers. A miracle.

He's pretty much the cutest baby ever and I am so happy to be here to enjoy his first two weeks of life. (I'm heading to Texas after that.) There are some pictures on my flickr page. You can click the badge on the right to go there and take a look.

moments of wonder

I have had a lot more time to read since I got to the U.S., seeing as how I don't have a real job here and all. The latest book in my stack was the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I loved this description of the stranded boy on the boat when he experiences a flash of lightning.

It was something to pull me out of my limited mortal ways and thrust me into a state of exalted wonder.... To Richard Parker I shouted, "Stop your trembling! This is a miracle. This is an outbreak of divinity. This is...this is..." I could not find what it was, this thing so vast and fantastic. I was breathless and wordless. I lay back on the tarpaulin, arms and legs spread wide. The rain chilled me to the bone. But I was smiling. I remember that close encounter with electrocution and third-degree burns as one of the few times during my ordeal when I felt genuine happiness.
At moments of wonder, it is easy to avoid small thinking, to entertain thoughts that span the universe, that capture both thunder and tinkle, thick and thin, the near and the far.

Hopefully it won't take being stranded on a boat in the middle of the ocean for me to experience some wonder at the amazing created world. Actually, I'm going to have an awesome chance tomorrow because my sister is scheduled to be induced into labor. I'm going to be holding my little nephew soon!

Go.

I read two posts recently on a blog of someone I don't know. They are really challenging for me. As I've been here for a month now, I realize how easy it is to be caught up in myself. I could give a lot of excuses for that, but I won't. I have gone to places where I could engage with people outside of my comfort zone and I haven't. It's not limited to my time here in the States, either. I certainly get comfortable and stuck in a routine when I'm across the ocean, too.

If you have any spare time, read and consider this. Here's one quote. (I modified it just to keep my blog on the safer side for when I go back.)

Following J requires following J; and He’s far from the home-bound, television-loving, non-Democrat we’ve made Him. The real J is out on the fringes going, moving; alive, enlivening. He might hang out with a few rich people, but mostly J is with the outsiders and nogoods. It seems to me that if many of us had to follow J through the Middle East of A.D. 30, we would have let him walk far ahead of us until finally our obsession with ourselves left us hanging out at the Jerusalem Starbucks to talk about mnstry with other Pharisees.

There's a great follow-up here. The author says "This is not a list for 20-somethings who have not yet “put down roots” alone. This is a list for 45-year olds with three kids in school, a mortgage, and a shaky retirement plan." Take a few minutes to read and consider. I know I need to.

On a somewhat related note, also check out this gem of a website: 6 Billion Others. You can click and hear different bits of life stories from people around the world. It's so good to have your worldview expanded and your heart touched. It could lead to so much more with an open heart and a willingness to go.

I won't keep going on this too long

but I just ran across another article related to my previous post:
Who pays the price for cheap goods?
We Americans need to think about where our cheap stuff comes from and whether we want to support it.