One full year abroad, two suitcases under fifty pounds...this is my challenge. And trust me, it's no easy task. My room is a complete disaster, but it is worth it. Only four days until departure, and I am beyond excited. Excited but sad, and elated, yet heavyhearted. I am so conflicted. I can't wait to meet the family I have been emailing and facebooking since April, but I can definitely wait to leave the family I have lived with all my life. These past few months in Texas have been filled with wonderful memories from going to see the bat bridge in Austin to working at the ballpark, every experience I have had here has been wonderful. I am going to miss all the people I have met here. The people at church, my coworkers at the ballpark, and the folks like Carmen, these are the people I will not forget next year. These are the people that will help support both myself and my family as I leave. I won't be here to see how my absence affects my family, but I ask that you keep them in your prayers. My family will need just as much support as I will, and I have no doubt that God will take care of that. One of the things I am really looking forward to in this upcoming year is that closeness with God that comes about during struggle. When you clearly need Him, and you cannot help but to lean on Him, I cannot wait to feel that again. "Because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5. Thank you so much to all of y'all who have supported me thus far, and thanks in advance for all the support I'll be getting in the next four days.
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Well, seeing as I have moved to Texas, I am officially unpacked..well almost. (One is never completely unpacked.) However, while unpacking I realized I have not said thank you. Therefore, thank you Appleton. Thank you Appleton for an amazing church abounding with incredible people who I could never forget. Thank you Appleton for a perfect ball park chock full of crazy fun ballplayers and new friends. Thank you Appleton for a fabulous high school brimming with marvelous teachers and magnificent friends. Thank you to everyone who impacted my life in even the smallest of ways. The things you did may have seemed small to you, but it is the little things that make the big difference to me. I cannot express how thankful I am that God put each and every one of you in my life! And now the adventure begins. Two months in Texas; then, it's off to Ecuador! Or in the worlds of Buzz Lightyear, "To infinity, and beyond!" I officially have my host city! Cuenca, Ecuador will be my new home for 2014-2015. I also have a wonderful host family! Alexandra and Fabian are my host parents. They both seem wonderful! I have been emailing my host mom for the past two weeks, and she seems splendid! I also have three host siblings. Ari, Fabian David, and James. James is going to be an exchange student in Germany next year. He is 17, and he's just as excited to go as I am. Fabian David is 20 years old, and Ari is 16 just like me. I have friended all of them on Facebook. Ari and I have been talking for the past few days. She is very kind, because she doesn't make fun of my Spanish. Which, believe me, takes a great deal of effort, because I am far from fluent. Ari has played basketball since she was 8. She has excellent English (something the I will do my best not to take advantage of overseas). I also learned that Ecuador has KFC, McDonalds, Papa Johns, and Burger King...who knew? Ari said that the food is different than it is here, but it still makes me laugh that Ecuador has McDonalds. I cannot begin to say how excited I am that I officially have a city! It makes it so much more real. This is really happening. You guys, I'm going to Cuenca, Ecuador!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The watched pot just boiled! To my great relief, I found out where I'm going! Voy a ir a Ecuador! I am going to Ecuador! My first pick, and I am going to Ecuador! I cannot even begin to describe the emotions I'm feeling right now. I am so humbled that God has chosen to send me here, and I am overwhelmed by the love and support that I have been shown. I am truly very blessed!
A watched pot never boils. And believe me, I have been watching the pot, in a figurative sense of course. I am not watching a literal pot, but I am checking Facebook every waking moment on the off chance that Kati got the list. Now I know that because I am posting this, the list is probably going to come out tomorrow (I hope!) but for all of you that know me, you know that patience is not a gift of mine. I often find myself praying, "Lord, give me patience. And give it to me right now. Please." So as you may have guessed, the suspense is killing me on the inside. But I completely trust the powers in place, and I know that all will come in due time. But why can't that time be now?
Well, it's been another day full of waiting and wondering. Is today the day? Will I discover what country I will be venturing to? But alas it is not the day. Just to remind everyone how this selection process works, I ranked a list of countries one to thirty-six. My top ten are as followed: 1) Ecuador 2) Brazil 3) Taiwan 4) Spain 5) Italy 6) India 7) Argentina 8) Chile 9) Colombia 10) Peru. Rotary will try to place me in one of these countries. When they have placed all of us students, they will email the list with our names and corresponding countries to Kati, who will then email Robb. Robb will then call me and then I will immediately let all of you know what country I will be headed to in this upcoming year. Ideally that wonderful call will come sometime in this upcoming week. I am praying it comes sooner. If I have to wait until Saturday to know where I'm going, I just may go crazy with anticipation. Oh wait it's too late for that... Oh well, now it's time to hope that tomorrow is the day I find out where my big adventure will take place.
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AuthorI love Jesus, my family and baseball. Without my Savior I know I would defiantly not be the person I am today, and the same can be said about my family. My family is always there for me, and we all love three things for sure, Jesus, baseball, and each other. Categories
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