Outreach Week One: Adventures Nochixtlan

After teary goodbyes, a long long bus ride across southern Mexico, and great conversations with a few bus drivers later...we arrived in Oaxaca, Mexico. We were met in the bus terminal by Pastor Joel, the missions pastor for Centro Cristiano Betel in Nochixtlan, Mexico, our final destination. Joel could not have been more inviting and flexible with us. He first took us to a superstore where we could buy some warm clothes, which was nice because it is freezing here! We then loaded up in vans and made the 1hr journey to Nochixtlan. We were greeted there by other pastors and a beautiful lunch which began our introduction to the wonderful cuisine of Oaxaca, Mexico. Since being here I have eaten by far the most amazing food of my life. Everything from tamales, to traditional hot chocolate to grasshoppers to milanesa, everything has been utterly delictable.

During this first week here we asked to stay with families from the church, which has been so amazing! Maggi (another girl on the trip) and I were placed with an incredible family that has shown us the in´s and out´s of Nochix and treated us with some of the best hospitality I have ever experienced. This picture to the left is of me preparing to eat the famous champolines...aka roasted grasshoppers. The important thing about these little guys is that you must take their legs off first, or else they could get stuck in your throat...trust me about this one! Overall staying with the families has been a huge blessing but as of Tuesday we will all be moving back to the church for the next couple of weeks.

Besides the eating, ministry has been incredible as well. The church is building a three story building that will serve as their missions center and Bible school. This week we dedicated our monrings to helping witht he contsruction project and then in the evenings went out to visit some newly started house churches. By far my favorite part of being here so far has been the relationships we have made and the stories of how these people have seen God move in their lives. On Tuesday night we visited a pueblo about 20 minutes from town. We went to visit a house church that met that evening and met a man named Adrian and his family. Adrian could not stand to greet us because he was lying on a mat in the middle of the living room due to a serious accident at work that happened just the week before. Despite his obvious pain and suffering he was so joyful and excited that we, 15 gringos, had come from all over the world to share and evening with him. We truly felt the presence of the Lord in the house and were able to pray with him and his entire family that evening. God saved Adrian´s life and we were all incredibly blessed to be in his presence. And to our suprise we also saw him at church on Sunday! God is working here and if is such a priviledge to be a part of it.

This upcoming week we are going to be planning a Christmas program for the church and to present in the surrounding towns. We are all really excited about this opportunity! Thanks so much for your prayers and support! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Blessings and love!

Destination Paradise Week 11: Peter Warren, the sweeper

Here's all the girls during a fun small group at Jeff and Kristen's (DP staff) apartment

The eleventh week, the last week of the lecture phase has come faster than I could have ever expected. One speaker early on told us that as we got into the flow of lectures the momentum would increase with each passing week, and it certainly has. Our last speaker couldn’t have been more equipped to lead us through this last week. Peter Warren is the director of YWAM Denver and has been involved with the organization for over 30 years. His base is one of the largest in the world and his knowledge of everything from spiritual warfare to relationships to Aussie card games is astounding. During our first session with Peter he asked us what we wanted to talk about this week. So, we developed a list of questions that covered the topics that hadn’t been thoroughly spoken of and we moved from there. It was refreshing to study this was and much easier on our already saturated brains. Peter is such a dynamic speaker and was truly a blessing to us. He took care to make sure no question went unanswered and allowed us to candidly ask anything on our minds. Peter is such a great example of the great things God can do with a willing and surrendered life. Although it was strange to wrap up lectures, it feels good to be moving on to what lies ahead.
As of next Friday we will officially be in outreach mode. This Thursday we will sail up to Corozal, Belize (actually we haven’t decided if it will be Corozal or Chetumal, but they are both in the north of Belize). Friday morning we will disembark the boats with all of our belongings and start the long journey to Nichoxtlan, Oaxaca. I actually have no idea how long it will take, but knowing myself and buses I will most likely sleep a good majority of the way there. There are a few things about outreach that we found out this week! We have accepted the invitation of Bethel Christian Center in Nichoxtlan, Oaxaca, to work with them on the various different ministries they have to serve their community. Nichox is a small community nestled in the Sierra Madre mountains and is still has a lot of indigenous cultural. They also make chocolate! As of now that’s really all I know. There is much to be decided but it will all come together soon and I will let you know soon! I am super excited about travelling into the heart of Mexico and settling in there for a few months. There are a few prayer requests I have for you guys if you could…
1. Health: there are quite a few of our team member that have been quite ill for a few weeks now and we need them to get better!
2. Contacts for outreach and ministry opportunities
3. That I remember how to speak Spanish: I know I will but I am always a bit nervous at first.
4. Warm weather: this may sound a bit silly but we were only allowed to bring one bag and the warmest piece of clothing I have is a zip-up hoodie!
5. General safety in the physical and the spiritual!

Thanks so much for your support, we couldn’t do this without you guys. I am not sure of what my internet access will be while on outreach, but I am hoping to keep up on my blog as much as I can! Blessings and love!

Israel and I...

This week has been joyous, decisive, fun, full of laughter, confusion, sorrow and lots of questions. I would like to introduce all of you to a friend of mine, Israel Daniel David. He was the first person I met in San Pedro, the waiter at our favorite spot called La Playa. The people at La Playa are exceptionally generous and kind, the let us use their internet, play volleyball and their seating is all over stuffed cushions, like large couches every which way. However, Israel certainly made the experience of being in San Pedro one I will never forget. He was always interested in hearing about our week on the boat and was truly a pleasure to be around in every way. Last Sunday we were able to have him over for dinner, which was so much fun, he was a little weirded out but nonetheless he was able to share a meal with us. That turned out to be the first and last meal we shared with Israel, Thursday night he had a stroke that would eventually take his life. Israel was only 33, he left behind a wife and three children, one of which is not even a year old. Today we will help with a fundraiser at Playa to help cover the medical and burial costs. It’s strange in that I was one of the only people who has any pictures of Israel. There are a lot of questions still lingering about everything that has come to pass, but I feel lucky to have known Israel and gotten to be a part of his life for this short while. Your prayers for his wife would be much appreciated.
Like I said this week has also been filled with joyful things as well, namely, Brenda Lewis, our speaker for the week. Brenda is one of those people, not matter who you are, you just seem to have an instant crush on and I am sure you know what I mean. She brings joy and laughter wherever she goes and the sense of life being lived to the fullest, when you are with Brenda you have the sense that you are right where you are supposed to be. I have been looking forward to her coming since week two of this adventure because she co-directs a community in New Haven, Connecticut called YWAM Axiom, along with Jeff Pratt (our speaker from week two). It’s a community that is intentionally trying to be the church in a new way that will directly influence the post-modern society we live in. Check out their website: www.ywamaxiom.com. Brenda spoke to us this week about Destiny and G, tod’s plan for us as individuals and as a whole church body. It is so excited to dig into the scriptures about God’s heart for us. Our memory verse for the week was Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans that will prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future,” and as much as we turn to these passages for security and comfort , they can start to become numb to us. Brenda breathed new life into these scriptures and blessed us all with a deeper understanding of the great purpose in which we live our lives, to be in a deep, intimate, relationship with God. We talked about our dreams and hopes for our future, and it was really exciting. Brenda and I had some great chats about many things this week but mainly about my internship and beyond.
Sometimes we have thoughts that linger with us, dreams or plans that we push to the side for a later time, or because they seem to ridiculous or impossible. One of those thoughts for me was joining the Axiom community. There is an organization that works within this community call Love146 (www.love146.org). Love146 has a mission to free the millions of children who are enslaved within the sex trade. Little girls who are sold or kidnapped with the purpose of become sex slaves for the rest of their lives. There are more people who are working in the bond of slavery right now that any other time in history. Love146 sets up safe homes for girls who have been rescued from slavery in Thailand and Cambodia. They provide the girls with everything they need to restore their lives, from food to trauma counseling to teaching them how to play children’s games to reuniting them with their families. Love146 was started by Rob Morris in New Haven and continues to be run by volunteers from all over the world. At the end of January I will be moving to New Haven for my internship to work in both of these organizations, Love146 and YWAM Axiom. Ideally for the first month of my time there I will assist Rob with basically whatever he needs while simultaneously learning the ins and outs of Love146. Then in March Jeff Pratt and Brenda Lewis will be directing a Justice and Mercy DTS at Axiom and I would staff the school all the while continuing to work with Love146. Then in June/July we would head over to India and possibly Thailand to work with projects Axiom has going there. I am incredibly excited about all of this but much of it has yet to be defined, so I would LOVE it if you would pray for me in this process and I would appreciate any input you might have for me. I will keep you updated as I learn new things. I am so blessed to have these plans and feel like they are completely where God has for me to be for a while…love and blessings!

Faith Week!

Hey everyone! Last week I was not able to write an update for a couple of reasons: 1. Limited internet access and 2. It has taken me all week to try to find the words to tell you all that has been going on. Last week was faith week quite possibly my favorite week thus far. Faith week started with us answering a series of very challenging questions in small groups about, you guessed it, faith. After taking about a day and a half to hash through the scriptures and our minds in search of a deeper understanding to what faith is we were all sent out in our small groups to serve people, in faith, trusting that God would provide every step of the way. Our group was sent to San Ignacio, a town nestled in the Western mountains of Belize, right on the boarder of Guatemala. There we were introduced to some incredible people who were preparing to do relief work in the rural villages due to the overwhelming flood waters that have ravished Belize and beyond. The people of Calla Creek, the village we went to, had very little left but what they did have they were clinging on to for dear life. Our group, along with the amazing people at Maya Walk Tour Company, were able to give out packages full of food and basic necessities to help these people along for the time being. We were also able to provide clean water and some basic medical attention. Hannah, who is a nurse, was in our group and led the way in instructing us on how to provide care for the kids. We basically bathed their feet in hydrogen peroxide and handed out anti-fungal cream to everyone we could. Because there was no clean water in the town, the kids were left to bath in the germ infested flood waters, which gave most of them ‘jungle rot’ all over their feet. Most of the people were immigrants from Guatemala, so I was able to chat with them quite a bit. The kids were priceless and totally intrigued by us. There is so much more to say about faith week but that is a basic overview, feel free to ask any questions!
The structure of our school has truly been remarkable. Each speaker has come quite literally at the perfect time. This week we had our first female speaker, Bethann Kern! She is a fiery New Yorker who has been in the mission field for the past 15yrs, a worship leader and true inspiration to us all. She told stories of the work she did in Africa and her incredible testimony. She was encouraging, challenging, inspiring and really influenced me in some of the decisions I have been wrestling with. I am still working out many of the details for internship but feel like I am getting closer and closer every day. God has really opened my eyes to ministries of redemption, especially for young women trying to get out of the sex trade. I have come across a couple of organizations that provide holistic care to women and young girls that are either at risk for abduction in to the sex trade or simply have no other means for livelihood. The organizations take care of emergency needs first and then begin a process that helps these women receive job training, health care and education and any counseling or community they might need. I would greatly appreciate prayer while trying to decide and also prayer for outreach as we begin to plan the next phase of our DP journey. Thank you for your prayer support, I know it has made all the difference. Again, I would lOVE to hear from you guys, let me know how you are doing! Blessings and Hugs!

Destination Paradise Week Seven: Jon and John

This week there has been quite a bit of John in my life…the speaker for the week was a man named Jon Peterson and his intent was to get us completely immersed in the word of God so that we would be equipped with a deeper understanding of how to study and unpack the amazing scriptures and literature the Bible holds. He challenged us by asking us to read the book of John, five times, in five days. There are twenty one chapters in John and it takes about two hours to get through it, which may not seem like a super challenging thing to do but it truly proved to be a difficult task. The book of John and really the Bible is amazing for so many reasons, but right now, my favorite reason, is that it speaks to me in a different way every time I read it. Bible believer or not, it is full of amazing literature, poetic prose, gruesome battles and tales of the revolution that was and is the power of Jesus Christ. Reading John so intensely called my attention to how incredibly passionate and spot on Jesus was. Jon helped us put the stories in context to allow the power of what the book tells to come out even more. Jesus was not one to follow the cultural norms or expectations, he stepped out of those boundaries and into the lives of real people who were desperate for something other than religious condemnation and rejection. Getting so intimately acquainted with the book of John makes me so thankful to be in a relationship with Jesus, a relationship that challenges me to step out and love people regardless of what culture or history tells me, regardless if they choose to love me back, knowing full well that I have a hope and a peace that surpasses all understanding. It is a truly freeing realization to come into, that love died for me and by saying enough to all of the hypocrisy and injustice in the world I can begin to love, to step into the skin of Jesus and bring His heart for His people to the world I live in. I have one more session with John to complete and even though this will be the fifth time, I am not at all bored, but rather more excited that the first time.

This week we sailed just about two hours to an island called Caye Caulker. It is one of the more famous islands for backpackers and tourists alike and for good reason too! It was super quaint, quiet and alive and vibrant at the same time. The reef is nearby, there are tons of funky little hostels and restaurants, no cars but only golf carts and bikes, and simply breath taking tropical waters and landscapes. It was super fun to be there for the week and could be a place I would venture back to in the future. I can hardly believe we are in our 8th week here, it doesn’t seem possible that I have been here for that long! Each week seems to go by faster and it is so amazing to see God work each and every day. I am definitely in process in many ways and still waiting for details, which seems to be a place I often find myself. I am still not at all decided on an internship location so prayer over that would be much appreciated. Also we are still trying to make contacts with people in Mexico that could be our connection to a community we could serve there, so prayer for that would be a huge blessing as well. Thank you all for reading these updates and praying for me, it is such a comfort and a blessing to know you all are supporting me in the adventure God is taking me on. Love and hugs to you all!

This is one of my favorit sunsets that we have seen so far, it turned the entire sea this deep blood red color and was simply glorious!

This is 3/4 of my small group, Hannah (left) and Maggie in the middle (she's one of our amazing staff) an Liesel is taking the picture, you will see lots of her later!

Destination Paradise Week 6: Here comes the story of a hurricane...

So picture this...a beautiful tropical island, crystal clear waters, white sandy beaches, you and a few of your closest friends simply relaxing and enjoying life and the beauty of creation. Then in the distance you hear a noise, it is subtle at first but then the noise becomes a rumbling, thundering roar, the sun disappears behind an eery thunderous gray cloud and the moisture in the air increases tenfold...then you realize the roar is a wall of rain headed directly at your boat and your intimate gathering, you ask yourself, is this normal? Is there usually terenchous down poors immediately following bright and beautiful tropical days? Most of the time there is a reasonable explanations for such things occuring, like, a hurricane. So naturaly you respond by making a plan to flee to safety as quickly as possible. That would have been peachy, had both your motors been working, but no, neither one will start and the wind is coming more and more intensly from precisely the opposite direction you would like to sail...
All that to say we have had an super interesting week of 'sailing' but God is good and got us to safety. It has also been an action packed week spiritually as well...
This week our focus was generally centered around teachings on the Holy Spirit, but really each session came down to how the speaker, Matt Atkins, was led to introduce us about the truths that empower the heart of the Christian beyond understanding. His teachings weren’t so much in power point presentations or extensive notes (although there plenty of notes taken) but more so in the way he lived this week with us and demonstrated to us a way in which to move through life completely intertwined with the beautiful workings of the Holy Spirit. Matt is not a person you would describe as shy or passive, although he is very much someone who wears is spiritual heart on his sleeve and gives from the overflow of grace and love God has poured out over his own life. He and I immediately connected over coffee in the mornings and he did not to hesitate to challenge me personally in many areas of my spiritual life and worship. I am so thankful for Matt and am so thankful to know him and that he live just in Bellingham…roadtrips are in my future (Matt be afraid, ajajaja!!). Speaking of leadership I have some great news, Lynn and Chris selected two students to be a part of the leadership team and Tyler (a great guy from Montana) and I! I am pretty stoked about this and excited to see for all God will do through us on outreach! That is all from me for now, can’t wait to hear from you guys, write soon!

Destination Paradise Week Five: Guate!!!

This week was full of new adventures for us all, jungle escapades, jumping off waterfalls, street vendors, Hispanic church, fried plantains and a new perspective on relationships, all in all, it’s been a great week. We sailed down to Guatemala early Sunday morning hoping to get there with enough daylight to explore the little town of Rio Dulce upon arrival. But I guess God had other plans. While exiting the country in Punta Gorda. Belize, some of the guys thought it would be a good idea to jump off the peer. It started out harmless but one dare to led to another and Ty found himself sprinting of the peer penguin diving head first into some coral. So 4hrs and one long trip to the ER we were on our way again! We got to Livingston, Guatemala at sunset and decided to sail at dusk up the river to anchor at a small bay, appropriately named Gringo Bay. The ride up river was probably one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever experienced. Just imagine a blue-green river, thick 40ft high walls of jungle, shrieks and humming noises ringing out in every direction and me sitting on the bow of Imagine singing Latin love songs at the top of my lungs, praising God for every moment. I loved Guate and the Rio Dulce. They people we so welcoming and kind, the food was delicious and the drinks ice cold. We were able to explore the town and the surrounding area in the afternoons after lecture and during the first afternoon I was stopped on the street by a guy named Cesar. He wanted to welcome us to the Rio Dulce and tell us about the tours he organizes. We or rather I (no one else in our group spoke Spanish), told him what our purpose was in being there and he asked us if we were Christians. I said we were and he insisted that we join him for church that Wednesday. A few of us ended up going and it was totally a blast. I ended translating most of the service and giving my testimony, it was such a blessing to be there and share an evening with them. It also felt really good to speak Spanish for a while.
Yes, we had lectures this week! Our focus was relationship and John Murphy who is the director of the Boarders DTS in Denver, CO. John is rad. probably one of the most loving, ruthlessly passionate and caring people I have ever met. He was so much fun to be around and so easy to talk to. He shared with us on the first day his life story and testimony, from heartbreak to deathly illnesses, love and betrayal, he is a walking testament of a solid rock faith and the joy of the redeemed. He and his wife Bethany have three kids (and one due in just a few weeks!) and John blessed us by inviting us to share life with them in a new and brutally honest way about our understanding of relationship. He really didn’t say anything I hadn’t heard before, but to his credit, he presented every aspect of relationships in a way that held our attention and inspired us to be the change we want to see in the world. Basically Christianity is a reconciliation of relationship, between us and God. Loving God and loving people, the two greatest commandments are basically what it all comes down to. If we love God we will not help but be able to love people in a real and genuine way that will not let us settle for anything less than the best in all of our relationships. John put it this way, and maybe you will agree or disagree but it’s interesting to think about nonetheless, that the root of every problem in the world is a problem of relationship. Relationships are the most important thing we have and I came out of the week simply grateful and so thankful for all the relationships God has blessed me with.
This weekend we are back in Placencia for one last weekend here and hopefully (weather permitting) we will be in San Pedro, which is an island in the north of Belize.

Greetings from Belize! I can hardly believe we are in October! It seems like summer was just a few days ago, but this week I couldn’t feel farther away from the tasting room. We anchored off the coast of Renguana Caye, probably my favorite Island so far. Calm crystal clear waters, amazing reef life, coconut trees and a white sandy beach. This week our lectures centered around Worldview. Chris Toney, our fabulous DP director, humbly and objectively led us through a study on the major world religions, a deeper look at our own faith, and led us in some interesting discussions on some of the major issues surrounding culture today. It was a challenging week and fun to delve into these sensitive issues, and needless to say there was a lot of agreeing to disagree.

Here’s Becky, Maggie and I on the dingy riding back from Renguana Caye. There is actually a little resort of the Island and they wanted to charge us $10 a person to be there. So we kindly said no thank you, took some pictures and went back to the boats…everybody has to make a living I suppose!

“Oh Josh” is a phrase we say a lot on the boats. Josh is Chris and Lynn’s 14yr old son. He is full of energy, charisma and can pretty much climb up any structure put before him. He is the little brother we never/always wanted and the boat wouldn’t be the same without him. For example, the other night Josh decided it would be a good idea to try to fit through our bathroom hatch, which is a really small window in our bathroom ceiling, he got stuck for a while but managed to wiggle his way into our room. Then we proceeded to throw coins at each other’s heads for about a half an hour. Sweet kid. Josh also has an uncanny ability to make friends within minutes as soon as we get to a new place, it’s amazing, he knows everyone in Placencia.

Yes, I saw a shark while snorkeling this week. If I had pants on I would have probably pooped in them. The shark was about 6ft long and kind of annoyed with us but absolutely amazing to swim with.

Destination Paradise Week Three: The coolest most Christ-like 40 year old ever

Writing an update for this week is kind of like trying to put the ocean into a paper bag. An email, a blog update or any sort letter will fail to convey the beauty, power and overwhelming goodness this week has held for me. The speaker for this week, Jeff Pratt, flew in on Saturday and was only with us until Thursday morning. We jumped right into his teachings and things took a turn for the personal faster than I ever expected. Jeff shared with us his journey to knowing the Father heart of God, the love that God the Father offers us in the face of our blatant undeserving humanity, and led us into a time of deep reflection on what Jesus did on the cross and the healing, restoration and freedom we can experience through His love poured out. Jeff is an amazing example of a man molded into the image of Christ, passionately loving those placed in his path, breaking down the religiosity the church has caged itself in with and seeking after the rhythm of Christ in a new and intimate way. All that to say, he blessed us with his teachings in a way that I never expected, and through Jeff, God was able to bring a deep sense of love and freedom into our lives. He was able to communicate the scriptures and the love of Christ and God the Father in a way that made me fall in love with my faith all over again. This week I was able to stare in the face of my past, the scars and pains, the joy and the laughter, and experience healing and freedom in a way I know is only possible because of Jesus Christ. Again, God is so good. I am so thankful that we have had the schedule we have, week 2 being focused on spiritual warfare and week 3 on the Father heart of God. It has been intense but has truly set us up for such a unique time together. Our group has been blessed with sense of family almost from day one, which has allowed us to be open and honest with where God is leading and carrying us.

Things on the boat have been great, sweaty and hot, but great. We are all still getting use to water usage, we have run out kind of early two weeks in a row but we are getting better. I share a cabin (really small room) with two lovely ladies, Stacey and Brenda, and both of them have been sick. But thanks to my twice a day gargling with hydrogen peroxide I have managed to stay healthy, praise God! This week we anchored at another island called Rendezvous Caye, and we got to see some awesome sunsets this week which was awesome! On our sail there and back we saw dolphins which came around the boats for a while, it was pretty exciting! Sailing is great and each week we have about a 2hr lesson. This week we learned how to unfurl, set and furl the jib, basically unrolling the front sail and make it sail for us, it’s pretty fun.

This next week Chris Toney, our Director, will be speaking on worldviews, which should be great. We also got some great news today, we are sailing to Guatemala! We will be there starting next weekend and probably stay for a week or two at Lago Izabel, I can’t wait! We are all super excited and eager to go somewhere other than Placencia. The town has been great but things are shutting down for the season and very few places are still open. I hope everyone is doing well and I would love to hear from you, write soon! Blessings! With the wind…

Destination Paradise Week Two: the shermanator

Greetings from Placencia! It is Friday and again we have dropped our anchors off the quiet little beach town of Placencia, Belize. I am writting today from The Purple Space Monkey, yes you read that correctly. It's a funky little cafe that has 'free internet' with the purchase of a meal. Fridays we have dinner on our own, which is nice because we can spread out and get some alone time. This was the first real week of DTS. Our speaker, Dean Sherman, flew in from Mongolia on Tuesday and that afternoon we set sail towards South Long Coco Caye (island). It was not quite as picturesque as reandevous caye but nonetheless it was gorgeous. This week however, we were plagued by a rainstorm, yep, a tropical rainstorm and it was quite rocky the entire anchorage. My schedule was somehting like this:
6am wake-up, make coffee (this shouldn't suprise you, I quickly assumed the role as the boat coffee maker), and quiet time
7am Yoga on the deck, if the weather permits
8am worship
9am lectures begins
1pm lunch
Afternoons vary, sometimes there are more lectures, or chores, or freet time, it all depends.
Tuesdays we have a disscussion on the book 21 irrefutable laws of leadership by John Maxwell
Wednesdays we have evening lectures
Thursdays are free, which is nice, there is always a ton of reading an processing to do
Fridays we sail to port somewhere which will vary also
Saturdays and Sundays will usually be free
This week the topic of the Lectures was Spiritual Warfare. I am still trying to process all that was spoken and all that I have learned but trying to convey it in an email does not seem possible. But the bottom line is that God is real, God is good but evil exists and we have a very important role to play in fighting against the personalities of evil that exist in this world. This week has made me to feel so empowered and equipped to step out into the world that is so corrupt and fight for its victims in the name of Jesus Christ. I can't wait to give people a real sustaining hope and peace all the while meeting their physical needs. Using actions of love, peace, hope, joy and compassion and words that convey the same eternal hope that every person on earth craves. It was an amazing week and this is just the begining. We have had such cool discussion about everything we have learned and again, this is only the second week. God is good, all the time He is good. Thank you for your prayers, thank you for your love for me.
Please continue to pray for safety, focus, unity with the team and support. I love you all and am so thankful to have all of you in my life and on this journey with me.
Blessings!

Destination Paradise Week One, orientation week:

This week has been full of newness. New relationships, new country, new weather and some of the most amazing new experiences I have had in a very long time. I arrived safe and sound to Belize, a little tired but nonetheless super excited to be here. I was greeted by the wonderful Destination Paradise, (DP) staff, Lynn and Chris, the directors, Andi and Maggie, two of the staff on our DTS. They took me and Torguier aka Simba, directly to the boats where we began the interesting process of orienting ourselves with the boats. I took off my sandals Tuesday morning and haven’t worn shoes since, it’s pretty amazing! We stayed on the boats in a little marina about 5 miles south of Belize City, called Cucumber Beach. The marina was kind of like a little resort village, they had a huge restaurant that catered to the cruise ships, also a beach with a huge water slide, kind of strange but the people were amazing, so friendly and welcoming. We stayed their one night and tried not to get eaten alive by the ‘noseems’ which were these seemingly invisible bugs that left stinging itch bumps all over. It was a surreal experience to arrive here, step aboard the boats where I will be living for the next three months and meet the people who I will be experiencing this all with. There are 13 students total, Simba (Norway, no one can say his name so he told us to call him Simba), Hannah and Andreas (Sweden, a wonderful married couple), Lisel (Minnesota), Beck (Canada), Stacey (Oregon), Brenda (Wisconsin), Tyler (Michigan), Tyler (Montana), Jordan (North Carolina), Jessi (Germany) and Corbin (Minnesota). We are a wonderful collect of people from all over the world, with very unique giftings and stories to tell. I have know these people for about a week and I already feel like they are all family. We live in such tight quarters and I know things will get intense, but this community centers around others, putting others first in all we do in the small and big things, this helps a ton.
Wednesday afternoon we set sail (literally) for the Spanish Islands. This was my first sail ever and I absolutely loved it and no sea sickness!! Praise God! The waters were calm and a beautiful turquoise green. Early Thursday morning we woke up and continued sailing until we reached Rendezvous Island. So, picture a deserted tropical island, look it up in the dictionary even, you will see a picture of this island we have been anchored at for the past four days. Utterly amazing. The colors of the waters are so vivid, crystal clear waters make snorkeling such a treat as well as the amazing reefs just a few yards away from my bed. Orientation week has been focused on building our team, getting to know one another and learning the contents of the student handbook. The handbook highlights the important aspects of living on boats, conserving water and energy, pumping the toilets, garbage, cooking, how we plan to live together, etc. We were tested on it Saturday morning and I am happy to say I did quite well! I have been overwhelmed by the beauty here, God’s creation is magnificent and I am so blessed to see a whole new side of it. But even more I am so impressed by the relationships and the people, all that we, collectively as a group have sacrificed to come here, all that we purpose to do, it’s amazing. I know that these months of studying and growing are going to change me in such beautiful ways, I can’t wait to see what God does.
Our schedule for the school is pretty much the same week to week. We will usually sail out of port on Sundays, find a place to anchor for the week, have school during the week days and then return to port on Friday for the weekend. So I will be able to respond to emails on the weekends which is nice. I hope everyone is doing well, I miss you guys a lot and will update you soon! Write me when you can.

My grandparents' 60th Wedding Anniversary!

Over Labor Day weekend we celebrated my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary! We met up in Mendocino, CA and enjoyed a beautiful weekend on the beach. My Nana and Papa are an incredible couple and we had a wonderful time celebrating them. One of the highlights of the weekend was when my grandmother read an old letter she had saved that my grandfather had written her parents before they were married. We also found out that they will soon be adopting a miniature Schnauzer named Freckles, he will be a great addition to our family!

I have finally been able to steal some time to post some pictures from my two week trip to Israel. I went in May with my Nana and Papa, my mom and 45 other wonderful people...it was an amazing trip and I continue to be blessed my my experiences there.

Part One: The Dead Sea, Masada, Petra, Aman and the Jordan River

Part Two: The Sea of Galilee (and all that surrounds it), Cesarea and Jerusalem

The Summer Months...

As of a few days ago I was provided with two great summer jobs! I am currently an employee of Bergstrom Winery in Newberg, OR and the Dapper Frog (a high-end art boutique). Both positions are part-time and will hopefully provide me with enough financial stability to make it through the summer. The weather has been great in Mac and working in such beautiful settings is no work at all. I am very thankful that I get to stick around this summer, continue to grow my support community and connect with friends and family.