Khun chu arai ka?
What is your name?
My response to this question has always been simple and automatic. "My name is Savannah", but is that the extent of it? I don't think so and more importantly neither does God. 
For the first time in my life I am embracing that my name means much more than a dry/treeless plain in Africa or some city in Georgia. A name is given as a way to identify, therefore a name reveals the identity of its beholder. In order to understand my name and what my identity is I have to learn to respect and revel in one FACT: God made me in his image so I am a daughter of the most high. This fact is what connects me to the rest of humanity, but God also gifted me with a set of traits and sub-identities that allow me to view the world in a way that no one else can. It is though processing these sub-identities that I will be able to fully embrace being a daughter of Christ.
Being a foreigner in a foreign land brings countless opportunities for introductions. I came to Thailand for many reasons and naturally a few expectations. Being exposed to so many broken people following very broken lives musters up a tall order of empathy. When people ask me what my name is, I have begun to realize that I want to say so much more than "Savannah". I long to find commonalities in hopes of forming relationships. Especially in the midst of blatant language barriers, it is a relief to find something in common with the person you are speaking with because it helps break the barrier down. So when someone asks my name I long to say that I am a Christian, that I am a writer, that I am a singer, that I am a student, that I am a lover, that I am broken, that I am stubborn, that I am funny, that I am lost, that I am a fighter, that I love to love, and love to be loved.
Thailand has taught me to embrace the unique compilation of traits our God has graciously given me. Thailand has taught me that asking someone their name is more than an introduction, it is a request to learn and love another one of God's creations.
When someone asks me my name I will respond, "Savannah" but I vow to not stop there. We are all God's children and he intended us to be a family. Choosing to learn about someone is a choice to learn about God, because we were all made in his image. I am still learning, but I now know that I will only find my identity through Christ alone.
My name is Savannah: daughter of the most high
