#11n11 Bucket List
~These 11 months slipped through my fingers quickly, but it is beautiful to reflect on this year and see how much the Lord allowed me to see and do. I am truly blessed.
~I can’t thank Him enough for the opportunity to experience life in such a variety of ways and to expand my understanding of who He is as my Father, Creator, Savior, Sustainer. To come to the realization that I am His daughter, and He adores me.
So here goes. Enjoy the photo journey!
Thailand: Ride an elephant, send off a lantern, tour the market, buy a t-shirt (Extra: Bamboo rafting)
Bamboo Rafting Fabric
Elephant Riding
Lantern Send Off Chang Mai Market
Cambodia: Tour a market, try a crazy food, see Angkor Wat, buy a t-shirt
Angkor Wat Sunrise
Tourist Market Lychee fruit
Market in Phnom Penh
Cambodia’s “T-shirt” fabric
Cow liver or tongue! Tarantulas!
Vietnam: Buy a triangular hat, tour a market, see something ancient (old), see a park, buy fabric (Extra: Star fish finding, Carrying a gang hang ron)
Park in Ho Chi Minh Market in Ho Chi Minh (food and souvenirs)
Field Hat Something Old: Notre Dame Cathedral
Fabric
Found a star fish in Vung Tau Carrying a gang hang ron (small ‘kitchens’ used to
make food to sell on the streets or beaches)
China: See the Great Wall, see a panda (kind of), see the Forbidden City, visit a market, buy a t-shirt (Extra: Visit to Tumen {North Korea Border}, washing of my feet)
The Great Wall
“Panda Sightings”
Tumen, China (North Korea Border)
Overlooking the Forbidden City
Market in China Foot Washing by a teammate
Fabric
Swaziland: See unique animals, tour a market, appreciate the arts, try a unique food, buy a t-shirt (Extra: Hike a waterfall, Teach internationally, Paint on a mural)
Hiked that waterfall!
Taught these 44 2nd graders!
Millipedes
Appreciating the Arts
(Dance, Song, Drawing, Bracelet Making)
Painted on the World Race Mural (Train track of our race route)
T-shirt from Swazi (the options were limited)
*Unique Foods: This month we cooked our own meals, therefore, we had “unique” food for Africa. Instead of rice and beans, we had hamburgers, made from scratch pizza, breakfast casseroles, beef stir fry, and many other comfort foods from home.
Grocery Store/Market in Swazi
Lesotho: Hike, tour a market, see an awesome sunset, pet an animal, buy a t-shirt (Extra: Preach at a prison, Make bread, Eat chicken hearts and livers)
Pet an animal (Also, there were dogs and sheep who received some affection)
Kitchen Fun: Eating all parts of the chicken, and making bread with Terry
Preaching at the prison
A long ride but short hike to Sani Pass
Market Street
Fabric
South Africa: Take a safari tour (try to see a lion, elephant and giraffe), do something crazy (canopy tour, kayak), market visit, buy a t-shirt (Extra: Capture site of Mandela, Howick Falls visit, Hike in the Drakensburg Mountains, Learn traditional Zulu Dance)
Traditional Fabric
Something crazy: Find our firewood and bring it home
Something crazier: Buy, kill and cook a chicken
Visited Nelson Mandela Capture Site and Howick Falls
Hike in the Drakensburg Mountains
Market Learning Zulu Dance
Safari
(Zebra, Giraffes, Elephant and Rhino)
Nicaragua: Hike a volcano (kind of completed), market visit, try to make a meal with the natives, sketch architecture I see, buy a t-shirt (Extra: Hold a parrot, Jump off a high dock)
Helped prepare the soup with Connie
Sketched parts of the church in my scrapbook
T-shirt and fabric
Because of my sicknesses, I never got to hike this volcano but I did get some awesome views of it!
At the edge of an extinct volcano that is now a laguna
Post Market with the girls
Holding a parrot Conquering a fear: Jumping into the Laguna!
Guatemala: enjoy a hammock, visit a volcano, hike, see the ruins, buy a t-shirt (Extra: Teach crafting classes, Zipline)
Ziplining and Hiking all in one
Craft class
Lake Atitlan (three volcanoes surround this lake)
Fabric from Guatemala
Church Ruins
Bonus with the hammock: Corn Hole!
Belize: Spear fish, photograph sunsets and sunrises, collect rocks, go snorkeling, buy a t-shirt (Extra: Hold a snake, Cave Tubing) *Didn’t make it to the coast of Belize, therefore no snorkeling or fishing
Sunsets (Top two) Sunrise (Bottom)
Held a Boa Constrictor…yikes!
Fabric Rocks
Cave Tubing (Photo credit: Aly Badinger)
USA: Photograph people of my home country, create a video, try something new, prepare a Thanksgiving meal with the team, buy a t-shirt
Video:
Thanksgiving meal Fabric
Something new: Trick or Treat & Working at a Golf Charity
Photographs (Top: Sweet moments of an 80 year old man coming out of his baptism, Bottom left: Avery practicing her writing and coloring skills, Bottom right: A sweet hug of celebration after Bernice’s baptism)
Hope you enjoyed the ride!
Thanks to all of my supporters who helped to make this journey happen–who fought for my heart through prayers, celebrated the victories as the Lord answered and showed up, and cheered me on every step of the way.
