Summer 2016

What an amazing summer this has been! It all started with the marriage of my beautiful cousin and her one true love. This was the event that set the rest all into motion. Just days after the ceremony, I was whisked away to a small Mexican island off the shore of Cancun. The island is called Isla Mujeres and there I met an abundance of spiritual brothers and sisters that, with their happiness and zeal for God and for life, changed my perspective on my own life. I would like to thank the Pate family (again) for including me on that trip. Ah! What an experience! My 10 days in Isla Mujeres ended too quickly as from there I traveled back to the States to meet my mom and stepfather in Dallas and watch my stepbrother graduate from his university. Congrats G!! Only hours later, we left for Maui, which filled my heart with nostalgic memories of my childhood. For 10 years, I had spent every winter in Maui, and finally, as a young adult, there I was again. After my invigorating experience in Mexico, my excited outlook on the future meshed inspiringly with the nostalgic beach setting. That trip, too, came to a quick end... Only to return home to boring Ol' Oklahoma for four days and pack for my next adventure--ITALY! I had never been so emotional leaving the country before. Suddenly, the hard realization that I would be on my own in this venture made me even doubt my decision to go. I cried! But this was my DREAM! Ever since my first trip to Europe as a little girl, I knew in my heart I would return on my own one day and live as a local. The opportunity to study my favorite subject, Art History, in my favorite country, Italia, was literally a dream come true. The four weeks I spent there went by too fast. I was sad to leave, but my next destination proved to be worth the departure. I arrived in Arnhem, Netherlands one rainy summer day, sad and depressed from leaving my dreamland of Florence. My mood quickly changed to optimistic when I began making friends with locals and spending time with the lovely Holwerda family (thank you Lauren for everything! You are amazing!). I left Europe for good on July 4th, just in time for our 2016 Regional Convention which was so beautiful and touching! The following Friday, I met up with my beautiful cousin Jayden and tagged along with her family road-trip to Sante Fe, New Mexico. We made some new friends from the local congregation who made us laugh and forced us out of our comfort zone while hiking Tent Rocks. In Riudoso, New Mexico, we were reminded of the healing powers of nature and how sometimes, getting lost out in the mountains during a rainstorm can actually be a lot of fun. I returned home, refusing to unpack, and prepared for my next trip: St. Petersburg, Florida. There I spent time with my lovely father and his wife and their two naked cats. I also learned a little Bosnian and Bulgarian and how make it very clear to your High Tea waiter that you do not belong at High Tea. Leaving Florida was harder than I expected. I found myself uncharacteristically missing home... Stability... My own bed and my dog, even. This was a weird feeling for me. I remember a get together at my home in May, just after coming home from Maui, and saying these words to some friends: "I could easily move to another country. I don't have any attachments that would keep me from leaving." As I boarded my flight to Nicaragua just yesterday, I began to realize how wrong I truly was with that statement. I miss my home! My family! My friends! My mom and her cooking! Thinking of my loved ones made my heart swell with sentiment and actually made me regret taking this next adventure. I highly recommend NOT thinking these things when boarding a flight to a third-world country. It just makes adapting to the lack of modern luxuries (hot water, comfortable bed, air-conditioning, language barriers) that much harder! I am writing this on the second day of my week here in Nicaragua and thankfully my attitude is already shifting back to the initial excitement I felt while booking the trip. Like every trip I find myself on, I'm so happy I am here and so ready for the adventure. So, here's to more experiences ahead! And to always exploring! Ciao (: