Kindred Spirits

"Kindred Spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world." Anne of Green Gables

The more I venture beyond the boundaries of my hometown, the more I find such wisdom in this. From my time at APU to my time in Nepal, there are some people who have become a part of my very soul. Our lives intertwine, even for a moment, but the impressions on our hearts last forever. Today I felt the strong urge to flip my Bible to Esther and I my eyes met a dried red flower and a word: boldness. The flower, given to me by a girl who never left my side at Morning Star children's home in Nepal, represents so many memories and joys from the kindred spirits I encountered in that beautiful, broken country. My whole body sighed because I miss it in ways words can not express.

Me, Simrun (the girl who gave me the flower), and Tika (bottom)

 My handwritten "Boldness" embodies the theme of many lessons learned in Nepal.

"For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

I could go into lots of detail and make this blog super long, but no one likes to read anymore so I will just sum it up with: "For such a time as this" With every step, possess boldness, like Esther (it's an amazing story, go read it if you haven't), for you have a purpose and importance in this world. Don't let it pass you by while you are too consumed with fear or worry. Our spirits connect with others "for such a time as this" and we should dare to allow them. Rome holds kindred spirits who my heart longs to embrace. I will miss the love I experience here, in California, daily, but I am anxious to find new love in Rome, even if this new love is contained within my gelato cup or a frame in a museum.

4 more days and I am just beginning to pack, and by pack I mean throwing things in piles on my bedroom floor I hope will all fit into my suitcases. Of course I want to bring everything, I usually have a whole car's worth of space and weight limit? what? Well, at least my "To Do" list is shrinking quite rapidly. Bio test passed. Euros picked up from bank. Little necessities bought. New laptop case made.

It has an elephant. Would you expect less? :)

And now back to "packing"...