A Decade of Hmoob

Ten years ago...

... I entered this place (and didn't leave for almost three months) and met this guy (and became BFFs) and took a good long look at the Hmong language and thought, well, I'll never be able to understand any of this. Xav tsis thoob.

Saying goodbye to hearth and home.

L-R: Wiest, Lo, Cox, Vang, S. Wilson, kuv, A. Wilson, Johns

Tsob ntoo Hmoob, our beloved Hmong Tree

Hmoob hwjchim.  Sure, it's not the most Hmong pose, but what did I know?

The first of many Elder Potter photo shoots (with a sad sorry makeshift wand).

Sometimes you get kind of kooky after all those weeks inside a fence and need to do something rebellious... like pose for a picture in this security golf cart.

There comes a time when you feel like you just need to make a break for it.

Best surprise possible when my parents and sister showed up after being invited to a devotional!  Just the thing to give me that boost before heading out to the field.

I thought I knew a lot (and sure, why not, I did), but I definitely had a lot to learn, and even though I was in my mid-20s and a good half-decade-plus older than most of the other missionaries around me, I still had a lot of growing up to do, and a lot of good friends and great experiences on the way.

Finally WI bound.  I tell you, the bus ride to the airport and the flight were like going to Disneyland.

SO much has happened in the last decade it's crazy to look back and think about it all.  But then I also remember that at this time I had already interacted with my beloved, and then she took it upon herself to continue to write to me via the old school method once I entered the MTC, and I'm ever so glad she did.  (And I confess it was nice to finally see a picture of her.)

A lot of things have changed, but some things never will.  Faith, family, friends, Hmoob, and that rad picture of me in a golf cart...  It was a long stay in a small area, but it led to a whole lot of good.