Squeaky Cheese and Notes

Walking home from work at 6:30 p.m. for my hour break before I start teaching again at 7:30 p.m. It's a bit cool. A skirt may not have been the best choice of attire for the day. I walk up the steps to my apartment door as I fumble in my pocket for my key. I stop. I stare. What is this?

In front of me sits a beat up brown box. But what catches my attention on this beat up brown box is that there is English and the name 'Cindy Stotz' written on it. Boom. I know that package wasn't just randomly left in the hallway. That package is for me!

I hurriedly unlock my door and hoist the unexpectedly heavy package into my arms, carrying it as a mother would her child. I gingerly set it down by the kitchen table (by the looks of the smashed-in side of the box, I think it's been through enough already, poor thing). Then . . . I tear into. I can wait no longer! And what do I find on top first? A box of envelopes, each one holding love and encouragement inside. My apartment seems to grow a bit warmer with each card I read. Notes from people dear to my heart. My church family, both young and old, both new and familiar, sent me a little bit of home through their words tonight. A couple of you may have brought me close to misty eyes. Many of you made me laugh and smile. All of you made me miss home and appreciate the fact that I have people there who care for me enough to think of me, even though I'm half a world away. How lucky am I?

You all must be psychic or know something about the food situation in Korea, because the peanut butter and all the Mexican fixings and the AMAZING Burnett Dairy Co-op Wisconsin cheese is everything that I have been craving here. Do you understand what it is like to have a 3 month long craving for a burrito or an enchilada and not have it quenched? You are saints. I'll make sure the Lord knows the good deeds you have done. lol But seriously, everything in the box was a wonderful unexpected gift of love and thoughtfulness - even if you don't feel like it was.

Family can be anyone. It can be the mother who carried you for 9 months and brought you into the world. It can be the neighbor who took care of you all those nights while your parents worked hard to make a living. Maybe it's the friend you've known since you were two who has become the sister you never had. This package made me realize I have a very big family who thinks of me, even in those times when I feel that I've been forgotten by everyone. I am proud and honored to say that these people are my family in Christ. I hope they can say the same about me. This package brought untold joy to me, and not just because I got to share Wisconsin cheese with my co-workers (Korean and American) and brag about it. I don't really have many ways of showing my appreciation seeing as I'm half-way across the world with a 14, no, wait, make that 15 (thanks to our lovely system of Daylight Savings Time) hour, time difference. So I'll just blog about you all. Some of you will see it, some of you won't. If you do, know that I love you and miss you. Keep warm during the cold Northern winter we all know and love. Thank you, thank you, thank you - I have no other words better to say.