July 7, 2015

I can honestly say that the best way to see the sun rise is on an airplane 35,000 feet in the air (and wouldn't it suit my luck that I couldn't reach my phone/camera to take photos :-/)!  I have never seen such vivid and distinct colors.  And it was equally awesome to see the sun rise above the clouds.  We are in San Salvador right now for a stop/layover and will arrive shortly in Managua.  I can't wait!
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We had a welcoming ceremony from the community we are serving.  There was lots of music and dancing and interaction with the people of Miraluz.  We were all able to express our gratitude (both the community to us and us to them) for being able to be a part of this project.  Even though we were all tired, we were excited and had a great time.  One girl even taught Stephen a dance.  It was funny.

Part of the Welcome Ceremony

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We have some amazing cooks - Rosa and Marta - that will be cooking most of our meals.  For lunch, we had a kind of pork stew and for dinner, we had Gallo Pinto (a rice and beans dish) and chicken in a sweet sauce.  SO GOOD!!!

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We are staying at a place called "Mundo de Fe" (trans. "World of Happiness" which is very fitting).  It is gorgeous!  So green and lots of colorful vegetation.  And always butterflies flying around to get some nectar from the plants.  Birds are constantly chirping and sound so different from the ones back home.

Some of the beautiful and colorful foliage

They have a couple of cages with parrots in them

Sunset at Mundo de Fe

July 6/7, 2015

At the airport!  I'm very tire because I didn't sleep well last night.  I was too excited for this trip.  I can't wait to see what awaits us when we get there.  Being given this opportunity to serve others is just the thing I've been looking for since I graduated last year.  I hope and pray that our team stays safe and has a good time.  I also hope that no one gets sick.  I think that's the thing I'm most worried about.  But most of my excitement is related to the opportunity to learn and explore another world.  It's exciting!  :-)

Some of my youth waiting to board the plane at the airport!

Nicaragua 2015!

It's been a whirlwind since I last wrote in here just 10 before my trip to Nicaragua.  Thankfully, I wrote everyday while I was there and took a ton of photos.  Having the chance to travel to an underdeveloped country and get to know people who have less than me puts many things into perspective.  The next series of blog posts will be all of my entries from that trip.  Enjoy!

10 days!!!

Wow!  It certainly has been awhile (too long for my "wanderlust"-ing taste, but what can you do?).  But if I am posting on here, that means that SOON I will be on an exciting and amazing adventure!!!  In 10 days, I am heading off to Nicaragua with my church on a mission trip.  I am so excited to go, it's killing me, hahaha!  I don't think I've been this excited to go anywhere since my trip to Europe almost 10 years ago.  Anyway, stay tuned for more entries :-)

Going home...

I was at my Fortress of Solitude this weekend for an all too brief stay (only an hour). But it was still just what I needed. As I wandered through the camp, I walked up to the point and was about to be alone with my thoughts. While I was there, I kept thinking, "Something's missing." I thought, as I walked back down to McGiffen, that maybe it was the people but it still didn't feel right. An then, as I continued past McGiffen and down into the fire circle, it literally hit me - right in the nostrils. The scent of the trees hit me like a ton of bricks and for a moment, it was camp. Then, I realized that many of my "thin space" moments occur at the fire circle. That is the place where I feel God's presence the most. So, I sat there for as long as I possibly could and rejuvenated my soul for as much as I could.

Four Corners and Navajo Nation - August 2011

I neglected to mention in my previous entry that I also had the opportunity to be in SIX "places" at one time! By six, I mean that I traveled to none other than the Four Corners National Monument. Now, I understand that it can be confusing that I say six places instead of four but what most people don't know, at least until they go there, is that when standing at Four Corners, you are at the crossroads of Colorado, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico AND the Native American territories of the Navajo and Ute tribes.

The original marker was placed there in 1912 and has become a major tourist spot. They have vendors there selling handmade Native American crafts, t-shirts, post cards, etc. I even got some of the youth that I was traveling with to "plank" there. For those of you who don't know what "planking" is, that is where you lie face down with your hands at your side and legs straight out (like a wooden plank). It was pretty funny and silly. Driving out there was equally exciting because I got to see the AMAZING Arizona desert landscape. It was very relaxing and beautiful.

I had the privilege to spend a week repairing a chapter house for the Navajo in a place called Teec Nos Pos through an organization called Sierra Service Project with the youth group from my church. It was a pretty amazing experience being in a VERY remote part of the country and in a place that is considered holy by its people. Teec (pronounced TEES) is in what is called "Monument Valley" which consists of a bunch of natural areas that are admired and revered by the Navajo people. The landscape is GORGEOUS! The colors are just spectacular and breathtaking. The pictures I took don't do it justice.

On Tuesday of the week I spent there, I had the pleasure of hearing a young Navajo woman speak about her people. I learned so much Navajo culture; things like: blue, yellow, black, and white are the colors that represent the four directions. I also learned about Navajo basket making. There is a specific design of the basket that has to face a certain way. Part of the basket represents the darkness and some of the design is in memory of those considered holy. We also heard the creation story. It was all very interesting to hear about.

I mostly enjoyed the landscape, though. I think that of all the places I've been, Arizona is my favorite in terms of landscape. I honestly can't get over the beauty of it. It's absolutely amazing!

The Grand Canyon

One of the most amazing places I got to visit briefly over the summer was the Grand Canyon! I visited here when I was a little girl and enjoyed the trip, not because of the beauty of the canyon but because I was with my parents and got to know a mule named Susanna (who belonged to my grandmother's cousin). As I grew older, my memory of the Grand Canyon faded and I was deeply saddened by that because it is one of the World's natural wonders and although I could technically check that off the Wonders of the World list that I've seen, the fact is that I don't remember it at all. I don't remember riding the Grand Canyon Railroad from Williams into the canyon, seeing the sunset over the canyon, or anything in between. I made it a goal of mine to go and see it again and was delighted to hear that the church's SSP trip was going to be in Teec Nos Pos, which is about a ten minute drive from the Four Corners monument and about 3 hours east of the Grand Canyon. On our way back from Teec, we decided to go to the Grand Canyon!

I was like a giddy little school girl when I found out that we were going to go. When we got into Grand Canyon National Park, my heart started racing and it continued to race as we parked and walked to the Desert View Watchtower (which, I was told, is one of the spots I stopped at when I was a little girl). Finally, we hit the tower and all I could do was stare. The view was literally breathtaking! All I could think was, "Wow! God is amazing for creating this so that I could see it!" I could not believe my eyes. The colors were just as vivid as they are in pictures and as you look down into the canyon, you see the river that carved it all (with God's help, naturally), the Colorado River. It was spectacular, to say the least! I could not believe my eyes and I never wanted to leave.

Our second point was Yavapai. That was equally beautiful, and it was the spot where we had our group picture. It was wonderful. We spent a little over 2 hours in the Canyon and I will never forget it. I'm sure my group was a little annoyed that I kept taking pictures but I kept thinking, "Whatever! This is one of my life goals, so I'm going to document it!" It was truly a wonderful gift to have been given the opportunity to see something so glorious and magnificent and I hope that everyone gets a chance to see it someday :-)

P.S. I'll post pictures as soon as I get a new computer :-/ (update: Here is the pic! This pic was taken at Yavapai by one of my youth. Look at the giant smile on my face, hehe.)