turn, turn, turn

The Christmas letter is often accused of being an antiquated, tiresome form of communication. Despite the criticism I always enjoyed sorting through the designated basket at my parents house reserved for the page-long evidence of the passage of time.

2007

January – On the night of the 29th Ben lured me into the office of John Brown University’s student paper under false pretenses. In the presence of a dozen calla lilies he presented me with a gold ring hidden in the pages of an antique poetry book and asked me to marry him. I said “Yes.” February – My 22nd birthday commenced on the sixth of the month. I ushered in another year of life by staying up all night supervising an issue of our student newspaper, of which I was editor. March – Five of us spent our spring break prowling the streets of New York City from our base on the living room floor of an Indian physician we had met through the travel site Couchsurfing.com. My highlights were coffee shops open at 2 a.m. and visiting the Museum of Modern Art. Ben’s favorite visit was to a Greenwich Village gallery featuring a show by one of his favorite photographers, Jim Nachtwey. April – The month involved staying up until the wee hours of the morning each day, trying to enjoy the last month with our wonderful group of school friends. May – Early in May we both graduated from John Brown University. Ben received a bachelor’s degree in journalism, and I received bachelor’s in both journalism and history. After graduation he stayed in Arkansas to live with friends and work the breakfast shift at a local café. I went home. June – From Denver, Colorado I flew to Kolkatta, India where I met my sister, Hannah, at the end of her year-long international travel stint. Unable to find our destination after an hour-long taxi ride from the airport, our confused driver dropped us off in the middle of an empty street at 1 a.m. We thought we had the correct address for the friend-of-a-friend we were supposed to be staying with, but the houses were dark and shuttered. In desperation Hannah yelled the name of our host into the night, and we were awed when a moment later a head peeked over the balcony above us and shouted back, “Hannah and Abby?” July – For six weeks Hannah and I explored India, a vast country with great diversity of ethnicity, religion, flora and fauna, and geography. One of the highlights of our trip was a five day trek in the Himalayan wilderness of northern India in the Lakahk region. On the last day Hannah attempted the summit a 19,000 ft. peak while I stayed behind in the tent to read. At the end of our time we both felt like our goals had been met. Ben worked hard through the summer, finally discovering a side of our university and surrounding community that he enjoyed. His most productive afternoons were spent prowling neighborhoods for people who might make a good photo subjects. August – Ben met me at the airport as I returned from India less than a month before our wedding. Guests began to arrive a week early for the festivities, and we filled the evenings with parties celebrating life and friendship. Some of the best memories in my life are from our wedding week. There was so much to be glad about, and everyone was at their most generous. On Sunday, August 19th “we did,” in front of 150 friends in Cheyenne, Wyoming. We were lucky to have great friends come from all over the world (Germany, Philippines, Faroe Islands and from every corner of the U.S.), and not even the strange flu bug that infected at least 30 guests could knock the day off track. September – After a week at home Ben and I got on an airplane to Athens, Greece. For two weeks we enjoyed the perfect weather and cheeses of the Greek Isles, and then made our way to Kosovo via Macedonia. We spent 10 days doing media work for a pair of missionaries in the capital of Prishtine, and were fascinated by the picture of a country rebuilding. October – We arrived in our new home in the Faroe Islands and were greeted by a Rasmussen family party in our honor. We have been humbled and grateful for the enthusiasm, practical help and friendship our extended family has offered us. I settled in to a life of keeping house and managing a budget, trying to live a balanced life when there isn’t a single person in the world to hold me accountable to getting out of bed before noon, and learning a new language for the first time in my life. November – Last month was enormously exciting for Ben professionally. He started a business as a freelance photographer, not knowing if there would be full-time work for him. There was, and there is. Although the dim winter light is challenging and the social injustices that motivate him rare, it is exciting to get paid for doing the thing he loves. He turned 23-years-old on the 15th of the month. My highlight for November was having my sister here for over three weeks. We laughed, we fought, we cooked, we took walks, and we talked about how to be involved each other’s lives when it seems unlikely that we will live on the same continent in the foreseeable future. Decmber – Our Christmas month has gone by quickly. We have enjoyed Faroese traditions such as three days of Christmas celebrations (Christmas Eve through Boxing Day), goose for Christmas dinner and marzipan with everything. Ben has two weddings to shoot at the end of the week, while I await word on an open job at one of the local banks. Right now we are tossing around idea for graduate school, Peace Corps applications, mission work and What Comes Next. We will be in the Faroes at least until fall of 2008, but until then we will work every day to invest here, prepare vocationally and live well. Thanks be to God -a