summer 2011 in a nutshell

Yet again it has been quite some time since my last post. I have decided that I really like blogging though... not necessarily for the people to want to read or follow it, but for my own sanity. Just to get things out sometimes. Sometimes sad i suppose, but also just to share my joy!

So basically... a lot of things have happened since those first couple weeks of summer.

1. I went to Palm Desert for 2 weeks with a family that I nanny for and love dearly. We stayed at their house there, that is on a golf course. They have a pool which is the only thing that made those 110 degree days bearable...

Mary fixing my non-existant "owie"

We rode around in the golf cart a lot and played and shopped and just everything. Then every night when we were finished and the kids were going to bed, I got to go to my little casita off of the house and just relax. Watch some tv, have snacks, shower, and sleep. All in my own little space. It was the very best and i thoroughly enjoyed that couple weeks I was able to spend with them. It was awesome to observe another Christian family, 24/7 for two weeks and see how their family unit works and functions.

Belle and Mary in the golf cart after getting ice

 

2. After that fun trip, they flew me back, but i went to the San Francisco airport because I was meeting my family there, who had driven all the way there from Washington! (This is the longest road trip my family has ever had... and i only had to go on it one way... hehe) I had to take a semi-scary train type thing called the BART... Bay Area Rapid Transit, to my destination where my parents were meeting me. Meeting up with them was a joyous occasion and it felt awesome to see everyone again. We spend a few days in Danville, CA where my family lives (mom's cousin... but age of an aunt for me... so our cous-aunt she decided) and then we traveled to their beach house in Monterey, CA and we went on bike rides and swam in the freezing ocean and visited and aquarium and it was awesome.

3. Driving home was quite an adventure... We left and drove all day until we got to somewhere in Oregon, where we found a hotel and stayed the night. All this time I am just thinking about all the awesome people that I know who live in Oregon and wondering if I could see anyone... So I called the one and only Danielle Christine Scherlie to find out her plans. Long story short, we were able to leave early enough to make it to her home town area, and go to church with her that morning! (i was especially excited because i had been church deprived for over three weeks until then... sad day!) But getting to see Danielle was the greatest thing ever. Living with people for an entire year, makes it hard to go all summer without seeing them. Then we went to lunch together and off we went, all the way home :)

4. Suddenly I'm in the 2nd week of July and wondering where in the world my summer has gone. However, getting home from California was extra exciting because Chris was here! Ah i just love so much, spending time with him and getting to know him better, and really, i'm just super glad that we are friends and that he has had the awesome opportunity to visit so much. We spend about three wonderful weeks together where he stayed with me most of the time, and we always had a blast :)

Also somewhere in the mix of all that, we were able to go to Spokane for a weekend and we went to my baby cousin's birthday! She is so tiny and precious and it was awesome to be with my family. I also got to see my sister which is always such a blessing when that happens, because it really isn't very often.

5. The end of July and Chris has to say his goodbyes. We know that he will be back but losing a friend for at least a year is really rough and sad no matter how great the month was that he spent here. We had a going away party that even Kimberly was even able to make it to :) We miss Chris but he is doing civil service for his country at a hospital in Vienna right now, which is awesome!

6. This is where the real countdown begins... 4 days after Chris left, I had a flight that was going to take me to Guatemala. SCARY! How did that happen so fast? It just jumped out at me.  But when it finally came, it was just like all the the anticipation of the last (almost) 9 months, caught up with me and I was feeling so many emotions that i just felt...                        ..... like that. haha! I want to give a quick Guate run down because... Maybe there will be another to follow after this one...

     1. Nat drugged me twice, and i have now learned my lesson of taking medicine from her...

     2. All 9 girls made it safely there and back

     3. Nat and i were placed into "Mis Pasitos" which was a miracle

     4. My family was awe.some.

     5. There was so much love, happiness, laughter, strong friendships and relationships

     6. Also, a fair amount of stress, frustration, poop stories, tears, sickies, and sad tummies.

     7. I found out while in Guatemala, that Kimberly had transferred to WSU, and that due to a flight

         delay and other things, that Hope was not in Uganda and had decided to stay home.

     8. God was present there. We were able to supplement in some ways, the light that was already

         there, but especially looking back, God was doing amazing things. duh.

     9. The children are so loving, i was miss susana or seño. And they loved getting abrasos y besos.
   10. The typical greeting is the coolest things ever, a hug and kiss on the cheek. I miss that
   11. The culture is awesome. Hard to get used to in some aspects, but all in all, a wonderful experience

Coming back was kind of hard, but I know that there are people who love and care about me and want to hear about my trip and who can relate to my experience.
I have learned so much and I am continuing to learn more and more about my experience and how it relates to my daily life.

I think that the rest of this quarter deserves it's own post... so that will be coming soon. I'm so behind but talking about it on our floor has re-inspired me :)
loves <3