What's this all about?

So yes... we are headed off to Thailand. And while we are excited to eat authentic Thai food and experience some warmer weather in the middle of our winter, that's really not why we're going. For those of you that know Mike, you know that he loves international travel and connecting with people from around the world. Experiencing life overseas together has been something that we have talked about doing for almost as long as we've known each other, but life here gets busy and it just hasn't happened. One of Mike's reasons for pursuing a master's degree in counseling was to have skills to work with people who may have experienced trauma or life stressors that can be accentuated about living and working in an international context. So at some point he started looking into counseling agencies that specialized in this type of work. There aren't many out there, although we have learned that there is a great need for this type of counseling. Mike sent out feelers to the agencies that he discovered, and one of them was Cornerstone Counseling in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Long story short, things have moved forward and his final counseling practicum will be with Cornerstone, offering counseling to missionaries and humanitarian aid workers from all over Asia. During Mike's Skype interview with Cornerstone, he asked what I might be able to do with my skill set if we were to come over. The counselors passed on my information to a nursing friend who is involved with prenatal education and postpartum support in Chiang Mai. It just so happens that they are in need of someone with lactation experience, so I am very excited to use my experience as a public health nurse and lactation consultant in this context. Many women come into Chiang Mai to have their babies from other more remote areas of Asia, so I will be helping with prenatal and postpartum support. So far in December there are 10 women delivering from about that many countries that I will have the privilege of getting to know. As time has developed, we have discovered many connections between Fairbanks and Chiang Mai. We have been involved in supporting an organization called Partners Relief and Development for as long as I've lived in Fairbanks. They do a lot of work inside Burma and with Burmese refugees in Thailand, and were founded by a man who grew up in Fairbanks. We are excited to be able to see and meet people on the forefront of this organization. We are also interested in meeting people that work with the Free Burma Rangers as they are also based in Chiang Mai. So know you know a little bit more about the reason for our travels, and we look forward to keeping you updated as it unfolds!
Cornerstone Counseling: http://www.ccfthailand.org/ 
Partners Relief and Development: http://www.partnersworld.org/ 
Free Burma Rangers: http://www.freeburmarangers.org/

Becoming a Reality

We have been making plans to head to Thailand since August now, but it is only in the past few days that the reality of impending travel has begun to set in. The suitcases have emerged from storage, travel essentials have been purchased, our passports have been sent to the Thai Consolate, the to do lists are being actively worked on, and we have received pictures of where we will live in Thailand... So ready or not, this is really happening! We are excited to give you updates of our journey, and are excited for what is in store for us over the next few weeks!