HOME - What I'm Looking Forward to About Kansas

I’m so excited to be co-hosting The Circle linkup with Kiki today! I’m looking forward to connecting with some new bloggers and am really interested to read how everyone is going to take the prompt of  ‘there's no place like home’.  

Let me share a little bit about myself – Since November of 2014 my husband and I have been doing mission work in Myanmar and Thailand. In Myanmar we teach and my husband runs a medical clinic. In Thailand we help in various prison ministries. We committed to serve here for 1 year so our time in Myanmar & Thailand are quickly coming to an end.

Although I’ve lived  in various places (Brazil, South Korea, Oklahoma, Florida and now Myanmar) Kansas will always be home to me, hence where Kiki and I came up with the idea for ‘there's no place like home.’

Kansas is where I have spent the majority of my life. It’s where my parents are. It’s where my life long friends are. It’s where the familiar Panera is, the familiar parks, the running paths and more. It’s home!

I was originally going to share about my ‘home in Yangon’ but the more I thought about it the more I just kept thinking about all the things I am so excited to do when I get home to Kansas! So today I’m sharing with you some of the things I’m so looking forward to about Kansas again!

1. Wide Open Spaces

Seriously! You can see for miles and miles in Kansas. I can drive for a few minutes outside of the big city and can just gaze out into that beautiful horizon.

All you mid-west people! You know what I’m talking about, right?

That was one of the most difficult things moving to Myanmar for me. There are walls everywhere and lots of the streets are narrow so I felt closed in. *Insert – emotional panicking*. Thankfully God gave us an apartment here on the 11^th floor so I can still see out far.

2. Sidewalks

I know! It sounds crazy but for those 7 people who visited Myanmar during our time here they get it.

Let me give you a run down of sidewalks here – first off, they are uneven. Like majorly uneven. Then the sidewalks have ‘removable parts’ where the sewage and sludge are under. Sometimes those ‘removable parts’ aren’t there or they are fallen through which means if you aren’t looking where you are walking then you will fall into that nasty sewage / sludge. Then add in the massive crowds on those sidewalks and it’s just kind of gross.  I won’t even tell you in detail about the amount of red betel nut they spit on the ground….

So, clean sidewalks – I am excited to walk on you!!!

3. Familiar Landmarks

In downtown Wichita there is a park area called ‘Keeper of the Plains’. I love walking there and I am so looking forward to seeing not just that sight but my familiar walking paths, the parks I go to, etc.

4. Food!

Seriously! Bring on all the bacon and cheese.

Dave and I are both excited to eat at restaurants that we love in our hometown. It’s nice to drive in your hometown to your favorite restaurants. Plus, I gotta say it will be fun to go eat somewhere without thinking "Am I going to get explosive diarrhea from this restaurant????" ;)

5. Fellowship

This one trumps all the other items (except maybe the sidewalks….). I can hardly wait to sit a coffee shop with my closest friends and hear about their year while I was away. I’m super thankful for technology but no technology can replace face to face conversations over a cup of java.

I’m also looking forward to get together with family where we laugh, cook and just hang out as family. No Skype. No e-mail – real time together.

It’s not just that it is friends and family but these are the people that get me and Dave. They have known us for years. They have loves us through some of the lowest points of our lives and have cheered for us during our highest points. And this is a whole other post coming but this year has been 100 million times easier because of the support of our family and friends!

Those are my top 5 (although technology is in the top 5 too!). 

I just want to end by saying that although I'm looking forward to American conveniences I hope my list doesn't sound like a whining / whoa is me post. The more things I see here in Myanmar the more I realize how blessed by God I really am. 

Blessed because they actually have sidewalks here. Blessed because God gave me two legs to walk on those sidewalks and at night I have a house to go to and in that house I have a real mattress to put my head on at night. I've seen lots of people here who don't have that and it has been eye opening to me. It's helped me see how much God has blessed me, which is more than I deserve. 

What do you love about your home? 
If you live abroad what do you think you will most appreciate about home when you move back? 

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