such a joy to share this work - 

a shirt folds to catch

light moves, paths of least resistance

 white space to vantage

dawn shadows lead us

a top Mogul ruins, passage

back in time, a view

                                            

Fabric sways back and

forth the train chugs down the tracks

chennai arrival

on internal questioning

i'm home from india!

like i mentioned before on this blogbaby i'm not very good at the play-by-play, so i won't attempt it with the words that follow. i'm more in for honest opinion and arising questions. so with that, i'm hoping to do a series of post. something from the internal self, something from the lens of my eyes, something from the creation of my hands, and something of the words that spoke most loudly. 

- - - - - - 

somehow the people in my life seem so much more real upon this return from india. i want to tell each person how special they are to me, how they have impacted my life (tremendously or in a microscopic way). my only great trouble is that people live all over the place and i can't reach many of them face to face. also, i have been in desperate need of time alone, contemplative and restful time. what are our internal battles? the moment i stepped back into my life here in san anotnio there was a sweep of familiar battles that swirl in my head. who to spend time with? when to start training for an upcoming run? that still empty room in our house? what "educational architecture" books should i spend my time reading? most of these somewhat silly questions are connected to time and having it and giving it away. God wants our time. he wants time everyday.

even though the last season i was in india i was there for quite a bit longer, like 5 months longer than this time, but somehow my heart hurt a little more to leave this go-round. i'm not entirely sure why that is, but then again this world will tell you that answers don't always succeed questions. and definitely not always in a timely fashion, if at all. i'm okay with this. 

i've grown a little more inside. a friend recently mentioned something about our internal life and the importance of having one. sadly, there are people who don't listen to their internal self, or develop it much so. i guess this comes out in the form of "knowing yourself". but what does that really mean? if we spend time alone do we develop a friendship with ourselves? for me, while i really really really enjoy being with and around other people, i've come to notice that time with yourself is time so well spent. getting to travel and experience new cultures and lands is something that helps me bring to the surface more of who i am made to be. i learn a little more each time, and this journey to india was no different. my communication with others more open to listen and thoughtful in speech, my reflections more intentional, my reservations in speaking with christ less restrained, my mind more open and many others to mention. by the process of intentional thought i've come to realize these things. 

// sending out some handmade postcards this week //

a pilgrimage back to mother india is upon me. three weeks out to be exact. on this trip we will start down south near chennai and make a trek north where we will wrap up in delhi. here is a little bit about the project, a rehabilitation campus, in Oddanchatram, Tamil Nadu: 


// PROJECT SCOPE — RAKSHAK TRUST
Rakshak Trust looks to help people cut loose from their ties to drug and alcohol addiction.  Substance abuse is prevalent in India across every social / economic class, leading to brokenness and physical abuse in families.  Addiction rehabilitation leads to a significant opportunity to show all types of people the love of Christ.  Rakshak Trust plans to create a campus that can be used to shelter addicts from outside influences but also create a space where they can begin a life changing transformation away from a life of addiction to a life fully devoted to Christ.  //


i'm beyond excited to return to a place constantly on my heart
i'm thankful for the opportunity to take this journey
i'm reminded of God's beautiful provisions
i'm full of gratitude for being capable to serve

[ s i t e   c o n n e c t i o n s]

mappings_christchurch_02

scale // regional // n.t.s.

"don't take the taxis" they told us. 
"you should probably skip the metro, it's way too crowded and messy", someone mentioned. 
"bullets don't go through guys", he replied with heavy sarcasm.

comments like those mentioned above made for an even more enticing landscape for this curious body. mexico city has been a city i've wanted to explore and personally experience for some years now. ever since my Roma roommates went directly from rome to mexico city for the summer and came back to arkansas saying how much more they enjoyed their time there. it it left me intrigued. so 8 years later i finally made the quest.

accompanied by four other friends. awesome people. male friends. friends or strangers turned friends, who is by your side when you journey through new destinations is just downright special.

well, myths were debunked on the dangers of inner city mexico city. that or we were being hovered by angels the entire time, i'm not throwing that one out, but we also put ourselves in all kinds of...i'll say playful...situations.

chaotic - squinting for beauty - delicious - vibrant - multi-modal - grimy - spanish speaking mexico city

[a sense of the city scene]

mappings_christchurch_01

scale // regional // 1:100.000_metric

southern hemisphere location / new zealand landscapes / green field surface

christchurch - site industrial

auckland - site social

Current area of fascination


NPR : national public radio :: Borderlands [texas+mexico]

there is a little place in texas called the hill country

it's roughly 11,000,000 acres

i guess that is not so little

that is a big chunk of texas land

it's prosperous and beautiful

the night sky shines brighter here than in most

its water is life for those in the cities below

we, you+me, must give the hill country attention and love
that is, if it means something to you

(this is one step in that process)


facebook\hillcountryalliance

[things we do in this office / / china project comparisons // gaochun + yangzhou]

hwy 90

i finally made it west. west to west texas. the part of this humangous state that holds our mountains. the chisos landscape seems to emerge right out of the rio grande river and sits in beautiful contrast to the flat desert living below. did you know that the rio grande is the border of texas and mexico? 

well, of course you say. 

but really, the actual border is a river. that is cool. many of the states in america have some imaginary line that float above and you don't experience, similar to the yellow 10 yard line the television adds to football games. magic lines. well, texas + mexico have the rio grande. and one of the, if not the, least visited national park in the lower 48 states...big bend. right where the river takes a large curve, giving the park its namesake. bending in a big way.  


the journey was a solo trip and allowed for a deep breath of mountain air. i wouldn't have wanted to start the new year in any other fashion: sleeping on the ground, facing healthy levels of danger, making vagabond friends and precious thoughts of the past years growth. prayer and thankfulness seemed to be recurring. 

dryden: population 6 or 11

south rim trail 

seminole station hit

coming into town

bike by train

read a map, drive a car

south rim view #2

cacti

emory peak, chisos view

south rim view #3