KELLEY'S REPORT FROM HOME (1st half of sabbatical completed)

Accommodations:  Comfy bed in my own home 

Food Highlights:  Breakfast tacos on our first morning home (finally, some Mexican food!) and drip coffee with hazelnut Coffeemate....it's the little things that you miss.

Adventure:  36 hours after we arrived home from Europe, my parents came to visit.  We went to Busted Oak Ranch for 3 nights and had immediate access to Round Top Trade Days.  Very fun!

Rest:  After the jet lag died down and I could sleep past 5am, I got some really great rest.  Took a nap which is a rarity for me.

Humor:  Parker told me that my new hair cut looks like Tina Fey's....if only I could be as funny as she is!!

NO BOGGY BLOG

When starting out on this adventure, we wrestled with what to put in the blog.  We didn't want to bog down the blog (nobody wants a boggy blog) with too many personal insights, thoughts, book lists, and the like.  Now that we are back home, we still don't want a boggy blog, but did want to share more things with you, our friends.  Here goes....

MY SABBATICAL THEME

My personal theme for my entire sabbatical is "Intercultural Studies:  Counting Conversations not Conversions".

Why Intercultural Studies?    

Because I want to love people from other cultures.  I want to understand people from other parts of the world.  I want to see people like Jesus sees them.  I want to learn about people and understand about the culture and faith that has shaped them.  

Why Counting Conversations not Conversions?  

Because a wise teacher taught me that phrase and it has stuck with me.  Being who I am and where I live, I could easily see each person only as a conversion opportunity when my greatest command from the Father is to love Him and to love my neighbor as myself.  It takes more time, but I want to look into people's eyes and learn to love my neighbor and let that love guide my conversations about Jesus and His love and sacrifice for us.  I think Jesus would tell me to slow down and love more.  

GREAT CONVERSATIONS

Long great conversations we had during our travels:

(I'll use pseudonyms)

Amadeus - (Mid 20's from Austria- working at the Institute of High Energy Physics on the Higgs Particle) During a long train ride, we gained great insight  on how young European professionals view America

Mohammed & Kadijah - (Newlyweds from the Middle East)  During a 6 hour boat ride and dinner afterward, we enjoyed visiting with this young hip couple Muslim couple about their views on Ramadan and their love for America.

Lonny & Ann - (Canada) Our dinner tables were inches away from each other and as we talked they shared how the church had hurt their son in the past

Rob & Aly - (Australia) An older couple who encouraged us to "live the dream" and COMPLETELY unplug from work  while we are on our sabbatical. 

Stephanos & Jean - (Greece) Over long late-night conversations, we gained insight into the Greek Orthodox Church,  locally produced Mastica, and how to make feta cheese from scratch (which includes killing a baby goat...really?).  

The Murphys - (Ireland) Over breakfast we had a great discussion on Ireland's history and their views on immigrants, healthcare, and religion.

BOOK LIST

Books I read in Europe:

A Thousand Splendid Suns (A novel about 2 women's daily lives in the Middle East) 

While Europe Slept (A controversial book discussing the rise of Islam in Europe)

A Whisper in the Darkness (Set in Rome, I read most of this book while sitting outside of Rome's Colliseum)

An Echo in the Night (3rd book of a 3 part series by Francine Rivers - above book was the 2nd book) 

Ireland: A Novel (Full of Irish history and folklore, I read it while sitting amongst the 40 shades of green)

Books to be read by Dec 31:

From Seed to Fruit

Reading Lolita in Tehran

Christ of the Indian Road

Building Bridges: Christianity and Islam

Book Recommendation for anyone interested:  Jesus, Muslims, and Christians 

This is a great book that I read about 2 months ago.  Gain insight from a 20 year field worker (miss*ionary) in the Middle East.

THANKS GRACE FELLOWSHIP

I'm thankful to serve at a church that believes in rest and continuing education.  Grace Fellowship generously gives 2 months for a sabbatical after being on the pastoral staff for 7 years.  I can also add any personal vacation time to the 2 months.  Since I still have more sabbatical time,  i'll use it again starting November 16.  All that to say, I'm still in the middle of "Intercultural Studies:  Counting Conversations not Conversions" mindset.  Hopefully, I always will be....

Here are a few more pics from the trip.

  Greek Orthodox Priest

Small cemetery in Ireland

  Santorini, Greece

  Starbucks of course!