International NSV

It's Labor Day and I officially got to sleep in!  Seems like a small thing, but these days I've been excessively sleepy.  I don't feel bad, just truly struggling to keep eyes open some days.  I know bariatric center will be doing blood work in November, but I'm starting to wonder if I'm not a tad low on iron.  Guess we'll see in a couple of months.

But on to the reason for this post...another NSV this week - which is good because the scale didn't change at all this week. (Really trying not to focus on that because I hear it's normal and can happen, but it's frustrating, nonetheless!)  I mentioned in my Behind the Blog post that I get to spend time with International Students from a local college.  We had our first gathering on Friday night and it was really quite cute when some of the students from last year kept staring at me.  Of those students, only three knew I was having surgery - one of them being my Korean "son" whom I've seen already this summer.  The other one was a Turkish student who really tried to talk me out of surgery earlier this spring.  He was so cute back then - concerned about the surgery and such.  When he walked in on Friday night he looked at me and said, "Oh my gosh!  You must have lost 100 pounds!  You look amazing...now stop." LoL  Of course I thanked him and told him it wasn't 100 and I still had quite a bit to go.  He just kept shaking his head saying, "I can't believe it."  Another student entered and I greeted him by name and told him it was good to see him again.  He looked at me with a puzzled look and said thank you and kept doing what he needed to do.  Later in the night, he came over to me and with a hesitant voice said, "Have you lost weight?"  I laughed and said, "Yes, I have.  Did you not know who was talking to you?"  He grinned and said, "It took me a bit to figure it out!"  Granted, these are students who don't see me often, so not connecting the dots wouldn't have been unusual anyway. It was just funny when they realized why it took them a while.  The one Korean girl who knew I was having surgery has seen pictures since then, but hadn't seen me.  She was so excited when we hugged!  One Chinese student asked me what was different and then said, "Your hair is darker and longer, right?"  I smiled and left it at that.  Oh...and another NSV that night...I was on my feet the entire time and they didn't hurt.  GREAT NSV there!

These students are a blessing in my life in so many ways.  God continues to pour love into me that I can, in turn, pour back into the lives of these students.  He is so good!!   

My Korean son

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"I praise you [God] because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." ~Psalm 139:14