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Where in the World

June 4, 2013

This year the question, “where in the world are you?” has been a very appropriate one, and not just due to my complete inability to navigate and incredible gift for getting lost…even in places I have been hundreds of other times. It’s a gift, really, it is.

For the past two weeks, I have been in Germany. As a college student, German was my major. No, there was no double major for me and no minor, though I do have an emphasis in Children’s Literature. People often ask me why I chose German. I don’t have a very good answer to that. It allowed me to study abroad, which was one of the most incredible experiences of my life, it was the only subject I truly enjoyed studying, I was good at it, I was already at senior status and everyone was desperate for me to just pick something, so I chose that. Honestly, learning German felt more like something I had to do. Before declaring German as my major, I had the opportunity to spend a month in Germany’s capitol city, Berlin. It was the first time I had ever spent more than a weekend away from home, I had never been out of the country before, I had hardly ever spent any time in cities, and I was going to have to find my way around Europe’s second largest city alone. It was terrifying, but within two hours of landing, I fell completely in love with the dizzying, bustling city. That was January of 2008. I also spent the fall semester of 2008 and January of 2009 in Berlin. During that time, I not only learned to speak German pretty well (something that kind of slipped during my 4 years at home, but I will lament about that soon), but I made a lot of amazing friends. It’s amazing how God leads us to just the right place at exactly the right time. In my attempt to find a church, I visited one on the day of it’s ministry fair and was invited to join a house group. In that group, some incredibly deep and long-lasting friendships were formed. Isn’t amazing how being with other believers is like instantly being with family?

Leaving Germany at the end of January 2009 was not easy and I think I began searching for a way to return the moment my feet hit the ground at home. The door remained tightly shut until last fall when I was in Thailand. It was a Facebook status that lead to a comment, that lead to a bunch of contacts, prayers, conversations, organizations, and ultimately, here I am, back in Europe. A couple years ago, I was asked to consider coming here to work with YoungLife. At the time, it didn’t work out, but the opportunity came up again while I was in Thailand and this time the door opened. I will be with YoungLife at summer camps this year. I also get to go to Ireland to help a friend with a special project. I’m excited to see what is ahead of me. I have no doubt that I will be stretched this summer.

If you’re wondering when I’m coming home, don’t worry, so am I! The opportunity to serve for more than just the summer is a possibility and I am praying about what the right direction for me will be.

So far, my days have been filled with visiting friends and trying to relearn how to speak German (I can read and understand it better than ever before, but when I try to talk it all leaves my head…goodbye sentence structure, word order, verb conjugation…).

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Chris Heck - Hillary – I’m glad that your transition has been going well so far and that you have had some time to travel around and reconnect with old friends. I’m looking forward to more updates. In the meantime, keep sharing your pictures. I’m really enjoying them and am glad to know you are taking advantage of having some great photo opportunities all around you.

admin - Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the update and the photo. I will share more soon. It felt like too much to share them all at once. Hope you are doing well!

Violin

May 11, 2013

I could go on and on about how much I love country life and how incredible this photo session for my friend, Kaitlin, was. I think I will let the photos speak for themselves instead. Kaitlin is a music teacher, hence the violin, and a country girl, like me.  We both love horses, which is kind of a big deal. That right there, is the horse-obsessed 7 year old in me who never grew up. I’m really excited to have the opportunity this summer to serve with Kaitlin on short term missions trip to Ireland and to do a bit of horseback exploration. Enjoy these photos! They are some of my favorites.

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Trudy - very pretty, Hillary!

Butterfly

May 8, 2013

I love these photos and the moment they capture. How often do you get to photograph a cute girl and a real butterfly? There will be more of this cute girl to come.

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Trudy - very sweet, Hillary – you must miss those little cuties (:

Oreo Cowboy

April 4, 2013

Just before I left Thailand I had the following conversation with one of my students. There’s no doubt that I had an influence!

“Teacher, look,” he said, swinging a rope around his head, “I’m an oreo cowboy!”

“A what?”

“Oreo cowboy!”

“Oh! A rodeo cowboy!” It took a moment to place where this kindergartener had learned that phrase. I know that I love horses in a way that everyone comes to quickly recognize, but I am in no way a cowboy. Then I remembered the story I read aloud to my class every single day, it was their favorite, Curious George Goes to a Costume Party. Guess what George dresses up as. Yep, a rodeo cowboy. I was so glad to know that I had influenced this little boy. Perhaps it’s not the biggest and most life-altering impact, but his vocabulary has grown and his imagination has new concepts to work with. That’s one of the greatest benefits of learning a second language. It opens up a whole new world. I’m so glad to have experienced both learning and teaching second languages. Linguistics is fascinating.

I’ve always enjoyed star gazing. I have many precious summer time memories from lying outside with my sister, gazing up at the stars and talking about life. Since being in Thailand, I have wonderful new memories to add the collection. When I would walk one little girl to her house each night, she would always stop, gasp, point at the sky, and with excitement as though she were seeing stars for the first time ever exclaim, “teacher, WOW!” Trying to impart as much knowledge as possible to my students, I pointed out Orion, the only constellation I could find (where were the dippers!?). After that, the nightly stops also included finding the three stars that make up Orion’s belt and endless questions about who he was and what he did, of which I know next to nothing. One of the older girls joined in and as I explained that Orion was a warrior and I thought he was holding a bow and arrows (turns out it’s a sword and shield, but really, it’s a picture made of stars, I can see how it could go either way) she said, “and he had red hair!”

“Uh, maybe…”

“No! He did! And he’s a princess and his mom is a bear and his brothers are bears.”

Oh, I get it, Brave, the Disney Pixar movie, about the girl with red hair and a mom who turns into a bear. Very clever to connect that with the bow and arrows, though maybe someone should explain that a princess is only a girl.

These are some of my favorite memories, memories that cherish and think of often. When I first got home, it was hard to remember because I was so exhausted, but as I have begun to share my stories with family and friends the memories are returning. I also have a collection of artwork and handmade cards from the kids to remind me of their love and our time together. And every time I see the stars, which isn’t all that often in rainy Western Washington, I remember those nights and miss those girls.

Part of my trip home involved a 12 hour layover in Seoul, South Korea. Thankfully, I was able to take a city tour. The tour was amazing and I loved Seoul. There were coffee shops everywhere and I wanted to try them all. The colors and details in the things I saw were incredible and I hardly had my camera out of my hand. I had the opportunity to see the Cheonggyecheon stream, a palace, eat some yummy food, and meander in a famous shopping area. Here are some of my photos from Seoul. I’m glad I was able to tour, it was sort of the icing on the cake of the whole trip. The only downside was that it was almost snowing and just four hours earlier I had been in 100 degree weather. Was I prepared for the cold? Nope! It was fun though. At that point I had been awake for more than 24 hours, so sadly I don’t remember all the names and details. I hope you enjoy the photos though. 

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A Joyful Goodbye

March 29, 2013

One week ago, I arrived at home. This is the third Wednesday I have experienced in the past 8 days. Between time zones, culture changes, major temperature differences, jet lag, and the general business of life, I have spent the past week feeling like Thailand was all a dream. Finally, a week after arriving at home, I am ready to recap the goodbyes, the travel, and the homecoming.

GOODBYE

It seems like years ago that I was pounding on my suitcase, desperatelyto get the latches to stay closed, stuffing things into every little nook and cranny. In reality, it was less than two weeks ago! My small, carry-on suitcase is rather poorly designed. If it is even slightly full the latches pop open at unexpected times, spilling the contents everywhere. When I was packing, all my pounding (I may have even tried jumping on the thing, I was so frustrated!) woke my friend and roommate from a much needed nap. “Are you trying to pack a child?” she asked? No, I just didn’t want to lose my toothbrush or underwear in the Chiang Mai or Seoul airport. There were a few children that I was tempted to try and fit in. The suitcase made it to Seattle before popping open, so I only had the embarrassment of collecting items off the floor of customs in Seattle. Note to self, zippers are the way to go where luggage is concerned.

Packing was one of two difficult tasks. The other was saying goodbye to the children and people who have become part of my life and extended family. The memories of those children will live forever in my heart. I don’t know if or when I will be returning to see them again and the older ones know that. The boy I mentioned before, who begged me to stay, said, “you’re not coming back.”

“No, I’m not coming back.”

He paused and thought for a moment, then looked at me, and confidently said, “I think you come back.”

Most of the children said a quick and painless goodbye. The little girl I wrote about previously was too little to understand what was happening. She was very concerned that I was crying, but just handed me a book and asked me to read. I did what I could to make it through without falling apart. The children also gave me a hand-made poster. Written on it are, “don’t forget to come back!” and “you’ll be here where you belong, in our hearts.” My heart was touched by their gift (and many other gifts they presented me over the months, including a Hello Kitty jingle bell that I was told to put on my dog’s collar).

Saying goodbye was not nearly as traumatic as I expected it to be. Parting was sad, but I left Thailand with a heart full of joy, a new confidence, excitement about what comes next in my life, and five months worth of memories, stories, and pictures that I will share and cherish for the rest of my life. I’m so thankful for the past five months, for the children in Thailand, and for what comes next. One of my favorite Bible passages to read while in Thailand was Psalm 23, especially verse 3 and in German: Er erquickt maine Seele, er leitet much in Pfaden der Gerechtigkeit um seines Namens willen. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. God really used the time in Thailand to refresh my soul. I’m not the same girl who left five months ago and for that I am eternally grateful.

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Chris Maddox - Well said