Today is the day the World Race officially begins. For the past 5 days my parents and a few squadmates have been staying at my aunt and uncle’s house living it up NYC style. THANK YOU, Aunt Amy and Uncle Mike, for being so hospitable to all of us…letting us overtake you home, having you drive us everwhere and drinking all of your coffee.
It has been amazing to spend time in my favorite city with some of my favorite people. My mom and I were able to hit up spots from our favorite movie, You’ve Got Mail, which was the highlight of the trip. If you are ever in NYC, go eat at Cafe Lalo. We actually didn’t eat there so I have no idea what the food is like but it is the cutest little cafe I’ve seen. (For those of you unaware of the importance of Cafe Lalo, it is the spot in the movie where Joe Fox figures out that Kathleen Kelly is actually Shopgirl…a pivotal moment.) That is now on my “to do before I die” list.
We were able to meet up with my cousin and his wife for dinner on Sunday evening. The are about to set out on their own year of misison work through Amor. Check out their blog here and please pray for them as they start out their adventure.
(Andrew stole all of my tall genes…)
God has been blessing us tremendously on this trip. Besides the obvious fact that my parents and I arrived safely at my aunt and uncle’s after 29 hours of driving (without wanting to kill each other by the end!!) we were able to find an amazing restaurant on the way, we were able to meet up with long time friend Dan Peterson, have lunch with an amazing man of God, John Hannig, randomly walk past Zabars grocery store (another YGM spot,,,), even get FREE facials from a friend of mine who works in the city! How much better could it get? 🙂
Word on the street is we have actual toilets , showers and even WIFI for the first week in Ireland so hopefully I’ll be able to update this at least a little bit. Please be praying for my parents as they drive back to Minnesota over the next few days. I am completely blessed to have parents who would take the time to drive me all the way out to New Jersey just to spend time with me and be able to meet a few of the people who I will be spending the next 11 months with.
Please also be praying for all of us as we travel to JFK airport and on to Dublin. Pray for safety, smooth travel, and an easy transition into the start of the World Race. I love you all and I can’t begin to express my gratitude for all of your support. Please keep in touch!
