Liminality

Happy two month anniversary!  Between the first and second halves of this around-the-world season, I found myself sitting in a little beach café listening to slow bluegrass and sipping a tall cold yogurty lassi. Koh Tao ("Turtle Island") is surrounded by the bluest of oceans and the sweetest of breezes. The cove is so shallow that you can easily walk from one end to the other, even if far from shore. All the signs are in English, though all the shopkeepers speak Thai. The streets are lined with motorbike rental places, massage parlors, and bars. There are more Western faces on this island than we've seen all month.  It's a far cry from Chiang Mai, our home last week. We drove everywhere, since everything seemed far away from our little huts. We made do with cold showers and innumerable bugs of various (large) sizes, but daily enjoyed the most amazing Thai food cooked especially for us.  It seems that Thailand is the land of butterflies and 7-11s, the place where all of our romantic notions and all of our practical actions are beginning to meld for the first time. We had trouble with this last week. Faced with looming midterms and essays, we struggled to find the rhythm between homework, classes, leading English camp, building a concrete wall (with no experience and two shovels), connecting with the other members of the team, connecting with the local people who supported and guided us, and avoiding getting bit by giant mosquitoes and ants (largely unsuccessfully). Somehow, all of us made it through, managing to work some good by the grace of God. Then, midterm break happened. Suddenly, nothing was the same. Somehow, all the work we did last week clicked into place in the team itself. With no schedule, the family we'd been trying to form since the beginning finally clicked together in a new way, ready to face the next half of the adventure.  I'm not fully sure what to expect from this second half. I know only that it will involve a massive surge in maturity, a lot of intense trials, a lot of intense joys, and the ever-increasing presence of God. As I finish off the last sip of my lassi, I realize that I am stable in the midst of this uncertainty. Liminality has given me the chance to discuss with God what we've learned so far and what to look for in the future. And with the voice of the Holy Spirit to guide me, I need fear no darkness. I will continue on to Bangkok tomorrow, content in the knowledge that we are protected, and we are ready. Your friendly neighborhood aethernaut, ~M~