my ladies. encouragers. strong. beautiful. amazing. incredible. okay I could go on and on about my people. selly, marisol, sydney jane and stanielle (nobody got their nicknames untill after this picture…like months after this picture but who cares) I love this picture because it was golden hour and because peru was the country that we really pushed to be a better team, we fought HARD for good communication, we pressed into being intentional, and we weren’t scared to say the hard things. overall peru was my least favorite country out of the four we’ve been to, but in all the ways that my team grew, this country was my favorite. we fought hard for what we have now. I’m so incredibly proud of these women.
thanksgiving. we were invited to our hosts house for an American thanksgiving meal. it felt like I was with my whole family. our hosts parents had just gotten to peru for their 6 month long trip so we got to see their sweet, sweet reunion and they still invited us over for their thanksgiving. Thankful for people like Wendy, Auden, Wendy’s parents and my team. I couldn’t have asked for a sweeter thanksgiving over seas.
olivia. olivia marie wouters. I love this picture because well, it’s olivia. she got me through one of the hardest parts of my race. she got my through the first 3 months. I got to cry, talk, vent and do random things with her. we got to have hard conversations and she encouraged me to always celebrate even the smallest victories because, well, they’re still victories. the last 6 months have been amazing— and I can say that because I often think back to things Olivia encouraged me in that I now get to declare over myself, that I get to encourage myself in, and I get to push myself just like she pushed me. INCREDIBLE W.O.G!!! I love you liv. See you next month. holy cow.
beckham.
Espero que algún día puedas leer todo lo que tengo que decir sobre ti. Te extraño tanto. Eras como un hermano para mí: el hermano menor que nunca tuve. Extraño nuestros temblores de manos, echo de menos jugar charadas para expresar mi opinión porque no sabía demasiado bien el español ¡Eres una persona increíble, Beckham y no puedo esperar para ver y escuchar todo acerca de cómo Dios te usa! ¡Te extraño tanto!
I hope one day you get to read all that I have to say about you. I miss you so much. you were like a brother to me— the younger brother I never had. I miss our hand shakes, I miss playing charades to get my point across because I didn’t know spanish too well. you’re an incredible person Beckham and I can’t wait to see and hear all about how God uses you! I miss you so much bff!!
God hand painted these sunsets each and every night. It was a promise to me that the night comes but that joy comes every single morning and it reminded me that I needed to end each night just as beautifully as this sky. This is figuratively and literally a beautiful reminder. I truly believe that Peru has the most beautiful sunsets in the whooooole world.
I love this picture because I’m proud of my art work. one day at ministry we painted the kids room at our church and i decided to use selina as a canvas and I painted Starry Night on her arm. Personally, I think my painting of the Starry Night is better than the actual one but let me know your thoughts. Should I go to art school?
I love this picture because my team mate Danielle drew this picture of me, herself and Selina on the wall in our hostel that we stayed at before going to Guatemala! We look sooooo cuteee!! (before you call dan our for drawing on the wall, all of the walls at this hostel were covered with people signing them— it was actually really cool seeing all the names and where people were from!) 
I bought these super cute heart sunglasses for myself for like $7. Not too shabby! They quickly became a part of who I was. I wore them literally every day whether it was sunny or not and sometimes my team would say “yo allyson it’s cloudy you dont need to wear them…” and that was a constant thing all throughout Guatemala!! aaannndddddd they fell apart in cambodia and it’s a touchy subject still…
But really, as silly as it sounds I would joke around and tell people they were my ‘love glasses’ and that I couldn’t see the haters with them on. Any time I would tell someone that, I would actually look at things/people through a lense of love and not of bitterness or anger. I think God put these in my tracks to change the way I look at people— only through a lense of love. Best $7 I’ve ever spent
no big deal but my mom met david crowder and facetimed me— it was MIDNIGHT but of course I wanted to meet crowder, too!! this is one of my favorite pictures from peru because this man is incredible!!!
peru feels like it lasted for only a week yet a lifetime at the same time. thinking back I realize it was only 5 months ago that I was there, but it seems like 3 years ago. Time is such a crazy concept…WOW!
In 27 days I’ll be in ILLINOIS! HOME. see you all soooo stinking soon.
love,
Allyson
