travel

Be adventurous.

Hyderabad, India

Be free.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Don't forget your sense of humor.

Donald Duck Bay, Similan Islands, Thailand

Plan your hostels, but leave room for things to change.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Don't forget your passport.

Town on the Nakasendo Highway, Japan

Rediscover your creativity.

Matagalpa, Nicaragua

Stop wishing, start doing.

León, Nicaragua

Learn a new kind of art. Crochet, anyone?

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Create new lists of things to do.

Inverness, Scotland

A friend once told me: "You will learn not to worry because 

you are so useless that God has everything ready for you anyways" 

Hyde Park, London, England

Make a new wish list. (Mine includes a polaroid camera, film and a study bible)

Whitby, England

Live in the moment, not two months from now.

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Stop worrying about what other people think.

Beijing, China

Note: all pictures are credit to Nanda Navis (myself) and will be for sale as fundraising to go to Egypt for $3 each. Let me know if you want any copies (11x17)

food for thought

I have recently been assailed by reminders to trust God. A friend wrote me a thank you card, today I reread it when I found it in my backpack. His last words: TRUST GOD. I'm reading Simply Jesus by N.T. Wright and have been profoundly challenged in where the basis of my faith comes from and how hard it is to the simplest things God asks me to do.

I'm interviewing for a position that would take me to Egypt this week. The other two I was looking at fell through. How do I know that it was God making them fall through? How do I know if I am supposed to say yes? Wait until after the interview, I guess.

if You are willing...

I don't know where to begin seeing as I am in mid-thought at the moment, so we shall see.

I feel incredibly selfish. I am taking a semester chalk-full of incredible classes: sociology of education, European myths of identity, contemporary sociology, TAing for modern global lit and the Gospel of John. I am so excited about them, but at the same time am ridiculously overwhelmed by trying to balance them, their workloads (already), trying to exercise, remembering to eat, worrying about what being gluten and lactose free is doing to my body in the sense of probably lacking things like iron and calcium, wishing I talked to my family more and trying to find time to spend by myself and with friends. The conundrum of all college students.

You would think living off campus would make you more on top of getting homework done.

So what do I do? I want to pray, requesting peace or the ability to focus more than I think I can. Coming back to take five 250-430 level classes is a shock when you haven't taken more than one class at once since last May.

In chapel yesterday, Mindy was talking about prayer from Mark 1:40 "A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean.'" How do I accept that maybe a prayer won't be answered? Being perfectly honest, my prayer right now is "Lord, if you are willing, please let me stop having to say goodbye to people." One that I wish I didn't have to preface with 'if you are willing'.