land of the living

   I have made it to the land of the living (AKA the land of wifi)! I have two hours, people. Two hours. Living in isolation is hard for an extrovert, but I have escaped to civilization for the afternoon, and I am making the most of each lovely moment.
   While I'm here I'll try to share a few things that may or may not be of interest to y'all.

• This job is hard. It is so so so good, but it is hard. Any and all prayers for the staff, the kids, and myself are appreciated and so valuable.
• I'm growing plants! I have rosemary, snapdragons, a pansy, and some weird cactus thing growing in pots right outside the door to my apartment. They bring me joy every day.
• I have set an official departure date. On December 13th I will be getting my car and heading back to good ole Missouri.
• I adore mail. Shoutout to everyone who has sent me notes and letters. Special shoutout to Pastor Brad, who sent me flat, plastic flowers in an effort to "give Arizona some life and color, for goodness sake!" They are beautiful. 
• For privacy reasons, I cannot post any pictures of the children anywhere on  the web. I can, however, send pictures directly to people. If you would to see the faces of these beautiful people I am spending my time with, please contact me directly.
• The other day, I found out that Sarah, a new house parent at Naomi House, was at Onething last year! We spent the best part of four days in the same room together, and we never would have known. This story is not exactly relevant, but we did squeal and scream like little girls when we made the connection. Just so you know. Also, this is my personal plug for the Onething conference, which is coming up in less than two months! I would strongly encourage you to look it up and consider buying tickets.
• I have been here for three weeks, and the kids still fight over who gets to sit by me at dinner.
• I wish I had time to tell you all the stories, to describe every child's personality, to go on and on about the fabulous things God is doing here. I do not have adequate time right now, but I would love to talk to anyone who is interested in hearing me ramble. Please contact me directly via email, Facebook messenger, or a phone call or text if you are one of those people. 
• For all you Midwesterners - there is a Naomi House in Kansas City! This is a recent development, but they have jumped right and are doing God's work in Missouri. Read more about what they are doing and how to help on the Naomi House website.
• I am attached. So very attached to each of the 21 kids and everyone else who is here. I am praising God for this opportunity.
• If you want to know more about Naomi House and what we do here, check out the website at thenaomihouse.org. There is also an email update that you can read and sign up for under the "News" tab.

   Thank you so much for reading, praying, and being involved in this adventure! God bless y'all.