First, I want to thank all of you for your encouraging words and prayers throughout the last couple of weeks!
This last week has been an amazing time. Not only were we able to relax and have some fun but we were also provided with ministry opportunities along the way. The first four days I stayed at one of my squad mate’s houses, Kayla, with two of my other squad mates, Sean and Stephanie, in Sebring, Florida. The Griffin family was SO nice and we felt right at home. They were such a blessing to us and we couldn’t have asked for better hosts. In those four days, Sean, Stephanie, Kayla and I pretty much relaxed and enjoyed the down time. We also got to hang with some of Kayla’s friends and her little sister Kendall who was awesome. They were all really cool and flat out fun to be around. One night we did go to a local church camp where we helped serve the kid’s dinner. Another cool thing is that “Shorty”, a family friend of the Griffin’s, took us all out to dinner at a nice restaurant. It is there where we ate gator. Yes, I actually ate it and really enjoyed it 🙂 We also had the opportunity to attend Kayla’s church on Sunday morning which was cool. Following service, her pastor prayed for us and our upcoming journey which was awesome.
Sean, Stephanie and I with Kayla and her family.
After church on Sunday, Sean, Stephanie and I rented a car and drove to Miami, Florida where we met Linsey, who is another one of our squad mates. When we arrived at our hotel and began talking to the man at the front desk, we mentioned that we were going on an 11 month mission trip and then he asked if it was called the World Race. We said that it was and then he stated that he had applied for the Race and even attended training camp! Unfortunately, he was not able to go because he couldn’t meet his financial goal, but how ironic is that?!
Later that night we went to a local restaurant called Flanagan’s which was like an Applebee’s. On the way there, we had an opportunity to talk to the cab driver about what we were doing for the next 11 months. We didn’t have the opportunity to pray with him but at least we were able to talk about the subject a little. At the restaurant we ate dolphin. That’s right, I said dolphin. I actually enjoyed it although we did feel guilty for eating Flipper 😉 That and I did have a slight allergic reaction to it. We think it was just the oil it was fried in.
Oops!! I guess we’ll have to apologize to the Dolphin Foundation!
The next day we went to Miami Beach for the day. It was a perfect day for the beach and the water felt awesome! At lunch I got a free cookie at Subway because the guy’s wife graduated from Ohio State. See, being a Buckeye does have its perks!
Miami Beach
Now for a little story which involves my stupidity. After a late lunch we began to head back to the hotel and waited at the bus stop which was by a canal heading out to the Atlantic Ocean. The bus arrived and the driver told us that he was on a break so we decided to rest on the edge of the canal.
Sean, Jessica and I looking happy at the canal.
We sat there for about ten minutes and then the driver motioned to us that he was ready to leave. As I was standing-up, my wallet fell out of my pocket and into the canal. Before I left I bought a snap-shut, waterproof wallet so you would think everything was safe right? Well, I had too much cash to where it wouldn’t shut correctly so the entire wallet emptied as it fell into the water! As you can imagine, major panic ensued and so I took-off my shirt and jumped into the canal and started to gather all of my belongings. Thankfully, I was able to get it all back and nothing was lost. The only problem was that I forgot to take my cell phone out of my pocket before I jumped into the canal 🙁 So, my cell phone was out of commission and to add insult to injury I scraped my chest on the cement wall while exiting the water.
Me in the canal getting the contents of my wallet 🙁
All this was going on while the driver of the bus was waiting for us so I had to rush onto the bus all wet, chest bleeding (only a little) and no shirt. Yeah, I looked awesome. We went to the back of the bus and we all did our best to air out everything. When all was said and done I realized that we were still in the U.S. If this is a foreshadowing of things to come, then please pray!! Lol.
Linsey and Jessica helping air-out the contents of my wallet on the bus.
The next day was much more anti-climactic as Lindsey, Jessica, Kursti and I went exploring in Miami. Needless to say we got lost and then just started bus hopping and walking all over the city slowly trying to find our way back to the hotel. This included wondering through Little Havana which made it feel like we were in Ecuador already, lol. 6 ½ hours later we eventually made it back to the hotel.
Me, Jessica, Lindsey, and Kursti at the Torch of Friendship in downtown Miami.
Walking in Miami. Little Havana
Well, that was a brief overview of my week! We leave for Ecuador today (the 13th)and will be in Quito for several days before departing to our ministry city. I’m not sure the next tim e I will be able to blog but I will do my best to keep you updated!
P.S.K. – See I didn’t forget about it 😉 I hope you’re doing well! We miss hanging around with you and I wish we could be eating some s’mores right now!! We have told all our teammates about you and you are now an official honorary member of our squad!! Have fun with golf and we will talk to you soon!
