This was a good weekend for reexamining priorities. Dan came to visit for a conference and we got a chance to eat and walk and talk. It's been seven - seven! - years since our trip to East Timor, and we took a little time to look back on how far we'd come and look ahead toward the great unknown.

He's taking time off in the middle of his residency for an MPH and research. He's likely looking at a pediatric surgery fellowship in the future. As for international work, it's still his goal, but he's less sure what shape it will take.

We talked a lot about the difficulty of committing to overseas medicine, especially as we get older and family considerations are being, you know, considered.

Dan: Who would want to give up everything to help people they don't even know?

And the question hung in the night air, right next to the answer that neither of us had the strength to say.

Today, the El Salvador mission team was back at church and Anson spoke about seeking the Kingdom of God before ourselves. And I thought about what that meant for me.

I've started to have people ask me in earnest about my plans for after residency, and I've responded that I don't have the slightest idea right now. Whatever I decide, I should begin to make preparations towards the end of this year. It's just that, when I looked up at the night sky yesterday, there were clouds everywhere with nary a star to be seen.