I had an adventure today. I tried to replicate one of my favorite foods from Thailand: mango sticky rice. Here’s a photo, for reference.
It’s sweet, with a slight crunch, and the sugary acidity of the mango makes you keep going back for more. We bought it at the mall, the market outside the mall, the market by our base, the airport. I was always on the lookout for mango sticky rice. So I decided to make some for my family to try. And, well, it was sticky. Here’s our version.
The issue was that I don’t have a bamboo rice cooker and didn’t realize we were supposed to steam the rice. So I cooked it on the stove like normal, and it soaked the water and puffed up into this big porridgey mess. It looked like grits. Then I forgot to put the little crunchy dried mung beans in. I was standing there, stirring coconut milk into my giant pot of rice that I was sure no one was going to eat, and I felt sad for a second, and then I just started laughing.
I tasted the rice. It tasted just like it did in Thailand, even if the texture wasn’t the same.
And I think that’s maybe the same thing as coming home. The lessons I learned about who I am and who God is— those still apply here in Thailand. I’ve found myself in short situations where before I left I know I would have been frustrated, or really upset, and I found myself seeking God’s joy instead and smiling without even realizing it until later. Before I left, I was in such a hurry to do fun things every day, but I’m enjoying each day for the adventure with Jesus that it is. I’m changing my morning routine to include reading my Bible and journaling while I drink coffee the way I did there. I was so excited this morning to make connections between Jeremiah and Luke— my own connections, my own understanding of the Old Testament prophesies being fulfilled by the life of Christ, not one that someone told me. I was delighted to learn something new about the story of Jesus through reading the Old Testament in light of the New. That’s something I learned to do in Thailand but didn’t understand or realize until now. It’s actually so exciting to read the Bible. That’s not how I felt before. But now I’m excited to find time in my day to spend like that.
It’s not like coming home is easy. It’s a challenge to see the same things but differently. It’s strange that I always turn the faucet the wrong way, that I rewore an outfit from the other day without really thinking about it, that the bathrooms all have toilet paper all the time and that normal air conditioning is freezing and that I brush my teeth with the tap water. It’s strange that I don’t wake up every morning with my teammates right beside me and that I don’t leave my house unless I really want to and that sometimes there’s no one else here and it’s just so quiet. It’s strange to be home.
But the flavor’s the same. Life with Jesus is the same, even if it’s entirely across the world from where I was. God is the same, and He is good, always. Maybe coming home is just a bit like mango sticky rice— but if it is, it’s wonderful in its own way.
This past month was been incredible. I learned so much and loved being available there in Thailand for God to use me to do His work. I’m so incredibly thankful to have been a part of this mission. Thank you a ton to everyone who helped me get there and who prayed for me along the way. I’ve loved getting to share this adventure with you on this blog. Thank you for being a part of my World Race Semesters experience and God bless!
with so much love,
Katie
