When you live with 5 people for 9 months you begin to notice all their little oddities and quirks that make them very "special". Here are just some of our quirks.
Kara LOVES. She just does and she lets us know when she LOVES. Here just some of the things she LOVES.
dry meat, the sound of flat rocks falling on each other, warm tuna, broth, food without chunks, shark shirts, wearing socks to bed, new seating charts in elementary school, wearing head bands Kara style, the smell of gravel roads in port St. John's, the way it soothes her to sleep to watch people do things, singing old catholic hymns from her childhood, verbal processing, bland food, Japanese eggs. Asians in general, babies, perfect eyebrows, blue.
Brian and Lindsey are very passionate about animals. I've never experienced this kind of selfless love for animals. It was new for me and I knew sometimes the love ran so deep that they both would have liked to shared ministry with both humans and pets.
All the animals Lindsey and Brian ministered too this year: Tipsy in Thailand. The litter of puppies in the gutter when we had no water in Malaysia, but they gave their water away to them, Chibby in Japan and the dog that looked just like Cooper. Actually, every single dog in Japan. The baby goat in Albania. Maca's dog litter in Serbia and her cat. Dragon's dogs litter. Gretchen in Romania. I believe there is a Facebook fan page somewhere out there. The two baby kittens in Ukraine. Gidget and Mila. Pigs, Annabel, Zeus, Pegasus, Phumba and Hercules in Swaziland. In South Africa, Joshua, Frank, monkeys, Timon, Phumba and Jack.
Jen. Well that's me. What have I learned about myself?
Jen shoes: 17 total for the past 11 months. It's a problem. She also makes a face when she looks in the mirror. It's called mirror face. She's not happy about it. She also says very specific things to people and hums a lot. uhuh uhuh uhuh. That's what I do a lot, so I'm told.
Kari is quiet but definitely has some obvious quirks too.
She has bought more socks than I have shoes. She carried Yoda, the praying mantis across a border from South Africa and took it on a safari. She really loves her pens. She has four different colored shoelaces to switch things up a bit in her wardrobe. Her passion for tea can bring her to tears. She's obsessed with new green shirts and cartoon monsters. She did a 24 hour prayer and then stayed up another 10 hours just for fun.
And then there's Cabe. I've never met anyone with so many plans, dreams, goals, ambitions, ideas, intents, plots, hopes and wishes. We heard dozens this year. Here's the VERY short list.
See the Hoover Dam
See the Grand Canyon
Dive the Great Barrier Reef
Write a book
record an album
Ride a bull
Become a certified skydiver
Fly a plane
Visit all the states with his wife;)
Run with the bulls
See Mount Everest
See Mount Rushmore
See half dome
Ride a camel
Ride an ostrich
Pet a penguin
Cage Dive with a great white
Climb mount Kilimanjaro
Visit James Bond island
Complete a triathlon
Graduate college
Own a paraglider
Surf in Hawaii
Dive the Florida keys
Kite board
Snow board in Colorado
Rock climb 1000 ft up
Experience zero gravity
BASE jump
Visit every continent
Visit a winery & brewery
Adopt
Own a jeep
Open a hostel/art studio/tattoo parlor/coffee shop/restaurant
Have a garden/green house
Barn with livestock
Dream BIG, LOVE PASSIONATELY, Be QUIRKY and ENJOY what you love and then give it away.
Here's to all the peace and joy living in community can bring for future teams on the World Race! And to FEEDBACK!
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble. Hebrews 12: 14-15
