friends

I have always had a really hard time making friends. Ever since I was little I was the type of person with 1, maybe 2 friends, and that was it. I am a fairly quiet and incredibly shy person and that has always hindered me.

The year that I spend at Bible college in NY was one of the best times of my life simply because of the friends I had. I had the most, and best friends I'd ever had there. Leaving was one of the hardest things to do.

The time Dahvede and I spent in New Zealand was difficult for both of us, because neither of us felt that we had many really close friends. I had my family, and having grown up homeschooled, that was very normal for me, but Dahvede really struggled.

Moving to Arizona had me really scared for a long time. I know how hard making friends is for me, so I was really worried.

BUT - here comes the best part of the story!!! God proved Himself to me in such an amazing way and blessed Dahvede and I with so many amazing friends! While Dahvede was away, many of his guy friends got engaged and married, meaning insta-friends for me :)

Last night we had "a few friends" over to play games. The short list of friends included 10 people!! Maybe to some people that doesn't seem like much, but to me that is amazing! They are all such amazing people who are not only FUN to be around, but encouraging and uplifting! They are the reason I am falling in love with Arizona! They are my family here, and I love everyone of them!

Eric, April, Katie, Christian, Jason, Marilyn, Meaghan, and Justin you guys are amazing and we love you so much!!!!

Weekend.... Away?

This last weekend, my good friend/weightloss partner/fellow cook and decided we wanted to get away. We had plans to go to a great tourist spot a few hours south of here and camp for a few days, but being a little pinched for cash, we decided to rock the cheap version.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we camped in my backyard. Yeah, that is something you do when you're any age between 6 and 14, but we did it. I never really got to when I was younger cause it scared me, and who cares? We had so much fun! We did a day road trip to my old town and hit the GORGEOUS beach! We went swimming, and we tanned, and we drove and it was great! 

We also watched Gone with the wind, and went out on the town and shopped. It was such a fun weekend that I would love to do again! If you never got to camp in the back yard as a kid, I strongly suggest it. Except for you Northern Hemisphere people who are in multiple feet of snow. That's not such a good idea right now!

Please Pray

I just got a call from the Marine Reach office (from Susie), and they have heard from the Solomon Islands team, and three of the girls have Malaria. We know two names, but not the third. I'll update again when I find out who that is. Meanwhile please be praying for the girls and they're leaders and the rest of the team. Dahvede is co-leading this team, so it has a special place in my heart, as well as one of the girls being a very good friend of mine. 

Thanks!

Here's a picture of the team!

Heike is knealing in the front with the green striped sweater, Heather is standing on the far right in the white shirt and black dress. The third girl is one of the others. Not sure yet. Thanks for your prayers!

My Galley

So I decided that I should introduce you to the lovely land that I spend my days in!



This is my galley! :) Rather, this is one of the work bences I have. They are very limited. But you see that blessed machine in the back corner? That is my new favorite toy! AK!!! I got to make up my "wish list" for the galley and that was the top of the list! WOOO HOOOO!!! It's awesome! It's a food processor and a blender and food mill! I love it!

These are some of my darling volunteers doing the dinner dishes. Dishes for 35 people is no easy task! But look! They both have smiles (even though Duncan had just hit his head on the door to the galley - this ship is not made for tall people!)!

First of all, the girl in this picture with me is Heather. She's a fellow MK and I love her to death. Her big sis had my job before I came.

Second of all, and the entire reason for this photo, was for the apron. Oh, how I love this apron. Everyone does. It has pockets on it and it's yellow and it says "Kansas" on it! We have two guys from Kansas that work on the ship so they LOVE that it is around. It's the only fun apron so it's my favorite to wear. There's not much too fun about a plain old previously white but now very stained and gray apron.

This is Mercy. She was taking the photos but refused to allow me to take one of her. She said I could post this one though :) Go stop by her site and leave a comment!