party!
Hi there! I am writing to you all one last time to describe a little tradition that I created towards the beginning of the world race. Early on in September, I planned my first thank you party in Romania. I did this because it seemed right to thank the hosts we were with, to bring people together, and to celebrate! After planning and carrying out my first party I learned something about myself… parties are my thing! I absolutely love planning events. I love the forethought of decorations, music and food, I love interacting with many different people during the gathering, and I love “debriefing” after the party looking back on it. I love it! This was something that felt like Genna. It was empowering to carry these events out and fun for everyone.
But having parties is more than just having fun… having parties is a very important thing I believe because it makes you stop, reflect and celebrate. Most of the parties we had were at the end of the month, usually thanking hosts, and just celebrating what we all did that month. I learned that shifting the focus onto celebration and gratitude instead of what we did wrong or could have done better is a powerful thing.
So… as my tradition lived on throughout the year, I organized a type of celebration just about each month, and I even did one in the USA when I got back. Here is a little peak back onto my various parties throughout the past year, the reasons why we celebrated and why they were so special!
Romania
– We threw a thank you party for all the long term missionaries who had hosted us that month. There were snacks, music, and I announced a quick and thoughtful thank you to everyone who came and all the love they showed to us that month.
Albania
– My team decided to throw an end of the month party. We invited all the people we had met throughout the month, we had snacks and tea, we sang a few worship songs, we heard a short message, and then played games. It was a thank you party and a great way to introduce people to the church.
Vietnam
– I threw an end of the English class party for our students. We celebrated all they had learned, we played games, had snacks, and shared about how we give the glory to God for the blessing it was to be in Vietnam teaching!
Thailand
– This month, we did not have too much time to get to know the English teachers we were working with, so at the end of the month we threw a teacher appreciation party. We played get to know you games, we had snacks, and we all shared about things we are thankful in our lives!
Myanmar
– The host family we had in Myanmar was amazing and very supportive of us. We wanted to thank them by inviting them over to our “house” and cooking a dinner for them. It was a simple but special thank you.
Colombia
– Our host in Colombia cooked every meal for us, and made amazing and authentic Colombian dishes. At the end of the month, we threw them a USA party where we cooked American food for them. We had red, white and blue decorations, music, and of course lots of dancing!
Ecuador
– During our last week in Ecuador, we helped to make our last church service special by sharing with the church how we saw God work that past month. Then we thanked them and enjoyed watching our students perform the skits and dances we taught them throughout the month.
Peru
– In Peru, during our last few days on WR team bob, we decided to take one day off of work and have a day of celebration for the team. We ate our favorite foods, we hung out one on one, played games and reflected on how special our team was for the last 5 months.
Bolivia
– In my last month, we decided to plan a spacial sleepover party for the girls at the rehab center. We said our thank you’s, we decorated and ate cookies, and just hung out with them one last time. It was very special and unique to the girls.
USA
– Finally, during my first month back at home, I planned a thank you party for my supporters at my home church. I decided to show pictures from the year, music, and themed food from asia, south america and eastern europe. I shared about what I had learned this past year and thanked them for all of the support.
~So overall, these parties all represented a way to stop, reflect and celebrate focusing on the good. This message is something I am taking with me throughout my transition home. I am trying to stay in moment, focus on the good, and just celebrate life and each day that we are given. So thank you God for parties and for the goodness we have in life that gives us something to celebrate.
Thank you all for following my blog this year and supporting me in many ways. I am so thankful for this past year and everything it taught me Praise God!~
