community

Although I am quite content spending much of my time with these two cool guys...

 ...I have found that I am made to live in community with others.  I've been blessed to "do life" with some great women (the council) and we have continued to stay connected despite distance.  However, while living in Korea I've experienced a new dynamic to community.  For the past four years we have lived AND worked with the same people.  And while there has been times were when we wanted to get out of the "bubble," our experience in living life so intertwined with others has been awesome.   I feel like I can't really articulate how much this community has meant to me, but this graduation address seems to describe a lot of what I feel.  (You for real need to read that speech.  Sadly, the girl that wrote it died in a car accident shortly after it was given.)

Here are our co-workers/friends on the roof of our apartment building for an end of the year get together:

 For better or worse, we have tried to love each other and do life together as a community over the years.  It's going to be so strange to move to the States and have so much space and separation between us and others.  I don't think I'll miss uber-crowded buses and grocery stores with old ladies pushing me out of the way, but I will deeply miss the closeness of community that we have found here.