W H A T A Y E A R ! ! !
Seriously. In honor of the end of the year, I thought I’d write a 2017 highlight blog to remember all the GREAT memories. When the dog bites, when the bee stings, these will still be some of my favorite things!
- Went to Passion 2017!
- Had an amazing worship night on Good Friday
- Graduated from my Dietetic Internship in May
- Went to Training Camp and met my amazing squad
- PASSED my RDN exam!
- Made memories with friends in July
- Went jet skiing and paddle-boarding with Kristyn in Hot Springs
- Had two friends live with me over the summer
- LAUNCHED in August!
- Went to France, Spain, Morocco, Cyprus (with a layover in the UK), and Jordan so far!
- Worked with refugees in Paris from all around the world
- Helped move the refugees to a new facility
- Slept in a refugee camp
- Shared the love of Jesus with people from Afghanistan and Sudan
- Saw the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, the outside of the Louvre, and Sacred Heart
- Ate authentic French crepes
- Saw the Eiffel Tower light up at night
- Took a trip to the cliffs in northern France
- Hey Nathan, remember that time we almost got hit by a bus? 😀
- Went to Omaha Beach and saw where D-Day happened
- Went to Hillsong Paris
- Biked around Paris with Lila and Lauren
- Ate too many French baguettes
- Walked one day on the Camino without pain
- Stayed in hostels…with bed bugs
- Walked through the Pyrenees Mountains
- Strained a ligament in my foot…
- Got a free ride from a nun when I couldn’t walk anymore
- Got piggyback rides from my teammates across Pamplona
- Slept on the streets in Leon behind a train station
- Hobbled around Spain on crutches
- Shared the gospel with a girl at a hostel in Fisterra
- Spent a week at the end of the world
- Swam in the Mediterranean Sea
- Took a ferry across the Straight of Gibraltar to Morocco
- Got food poisoning (& lived in a house with 1 bathroom and 7 people with diarrhea)
- Went to the hamam
- Went to the doctor and did physical therapy
- Rode camels and stargazed in the Sahara Desert
- Went sand-boarding down the dunes
- Danced with Berber nomads
- Got sick while having lunch at someone’s home
- Ate LOTS of couscous
- Drank lots of mint tea!
- A new friend had a dream from God
- Visited the second cleanest city in the world
- Had a girls retreat in the Atlas mountains of Morocco
- Dressed up as a ballerina for Halloween
- Had a layover in London on the way to Cyprus
- Landed in Cyprus with no host, no housing, and no where to go
- Prayed and saw God come through in multiple ways
- Lived in a mansion for free in Cyprus! And the house came with a free car
- Saw Aphrodite’s Rock
- Worshipped at the sea caves
- Got 4 free meals in one day
- Went to a seminar about helping victims of trauma
- Celebrated Thanksgiving with 20 new friends from 9 different countries
- Taught a nutrition class at Logos School
- Wrote a newsletter for our host’s ministry in Cyprus
- Expanded my cooking horizons
- Picked an olive tree
- Made SO many good friends around the world (like Natalia!)
- Planned a debrief
- Rearranged debrief plans the day of
- Worshipped in French, Arabic, and Greek
- Floated in the Dead Sea
- Saw Mt. Nebo
- Stood where Moses would have stood as he looked out over the Promise Land
- Saw the remnants of the palace where John the Baptist was beheaded.
- Saw God move in amazing ways through doing logistics
- Made lifetime best friends with people on my squad
- Realized that the Holy Spirit does speak to me
- Went to the border town in Jordan for Iraq and Saudi Arabia
- Went to a Turkish bath—an hour and a half spa with a massage!
- Saw the place where Jacob fought with the angel
- Explored Petra
- Sat on a ledge about the Temple Treasury
- Saw persecution against the church firsthand
- Participated in a 24-hour prayer vigil
- Celebrated Christmas in Jordan!
- Went to the Amman Boulevard to see Christmas lights
- Roasted marshmallows in front of the heater and made smores
- Participated in house churches
- Taught Sunday school and ESL on the spot
- Wore socks and chacos together more times than I’d care to admit
- Explored a Byzantine castle
- Saw ruins from Hercules temple and a Roman amphitheater
- Took my first uber
- Drank coffee…and hated it
- Got carsick more times than I can count
- Made a prayer room in our house in Jordan
- Saw the Israeli border
- Worked with the best logistics partner ever!
- Pulled too many all-nighters
- Started a bullet journal
- Ate lots of chocolate
- Attempted to learn Arabic (I can count to ten!)
- Got words from the Lord for people
- Found cheap housing in Israel
- Slept in 34 different beds so far
- Watched my faith grow tremendously
