Two Weddings and the GRE

This month I got the awesome gift of getting to go back to the States to be in the wedding of one of my best friends. Melissa and Caleb were getting married and I HAD to be there! So due to some wonderful friends and family I was able to come back to be a part of their special day (and do a lot more while there).

In the first half of my trip...I celebrated birthdays: Uncle Ken's, mom's, Brittni's and my grandfather's. I spent a lot of time with Melissa preparing for the wedding and all that goes into that. I spent good time with my parents and my grandparents and ate out way too much (gaining like 5 lbs in 2 weeks). I enjoyed the beautiful and Christ-centered wedding of Melissa and Caleb. We also danced a lot at the reception and had a great time with all our families from when we were kids.

Throughout that time, I was also studying to take the GRE for the Monday following the wedding. I studied a ton, but still had moments of freaking out (in particular the night before). God is so good though! Thanks for your prayers, because between others praying for me and my own prayers, God was faithful as always. I woke up Monday morning, spent some time stretching, reading the Bible, praying, singing, and eating a healthy breakfast. I had a great lunch with a friend who worked by the testing center and she paid for me. (Side note: God's given me some great friends and I'm reminded of that every time I go back to the States - oh and not just because they pay for me). So I went into the test a little nervous of course but really trusting in the Lord's sovereignty and knowing that His hand is over everything that I do even a "randomized" computerized test. I took the exam with that peace (and all the studying I had done) and came out on the other end alive and well. Praise God! [On another note for future blogs I'm sure - If you're asking why I took the GRE, well I'm looking into grad schools for International Development or something similar for the future and that was the first step.]

The second half of my trip...I spent in the great state of Virginia. I got to spend some amazing time with my little sister at my alma mater, Virginia Tech. It was of course interesting staying with her in her dorm room and pretending to be a college student. I was always able to use her ID and people knew I was her sister even without seeing us together. I also got to spend time with lots of people who are still in Blacksburg who are really important to me. That's still a home for me!

Friday afternoon I left Hokie Land and spent the evening at Smith Mountain Lake with Josh and Todd and Todd's parents. It was probably the first time in the whole trip that I actually got to relax. I was also (as usual when I hang out with my Young Life friends) so encouraged. I do miss having such awesome brothers in Christ who love me so well surrounding me and encouraging me regularly. Thanks, guys :)

Then Saturday, through the hurricane, we drove to Richmond for Kerry and Stafford's wedding. Our plan was to stop somewhere to eat and change into our "cocktail dress". Unfortunately the road we were on didn't have anything for so long and by the time we finally found somewhere (a Subway) Irene was in full force and the Subway was out of power with the two employees sitting outside on the sidewalk. Instead we went into the Food Lion next door running on generators. As we walked in with my dress and the boys' fancy shirts, the lady asked us if she could help us with an odd expression in her voice. We said we wanted food and to change for a wedding. She questioned whether the wedding was cancelled, a thought which hadn't even crossed our minds. Gladly the wedding was not canceled and though the power was out in both the church and the reception, nothing could have brought down the joy of that day and what it signifies for Kerry and Stafford. It was so great to get to be there and to share such sweet time with so many of my good friends from college who are still such good friends despite the long distances between us. I'm so thankful for all of you!

Our hotel that night did not have power and neither did my parents' house when I finally arrived home Sunday night. (Thanks for the rides Laura and Alex!) I packed up all my stuff and the hundreds of gifts to bring to the Dozier family all in the dark but with lots of candles (see the picture below). I slept for a few hours and then headed back here to Costa Rica to continue the adventure that God has thrown me into.

Thanks again for such a sweet and encouraging time in the States :)

Poor Puppy

While I was down at language school, my puppy was staying with a neighbor. When I got back, I found out that her leg got cut up pretty badly. She had a really deep cut - so deep that I could see her muscle and tendons. I decided to take her to the vet. When I took her there she was so obedient and friendly, all the people at the office loved her. I had to leave her at the vet that day so they could take care of her. I was unexpectedly emotional about leaving my hurt puppy in a place she didn't know. (Don't worry...no tears and I got over it quickly). They cleaned her up and bandaged her leg (as you can see in this picture above). I got medicine I had to give her every day and a spray to keep it healing after we took off the bandage. It was sad (and a little funny) seeing my poor puppy drugged up and not eating and sleeping all the time. It was also sad as she still tries to hide away from me when I have the spray in my hand, but I feel a little like a parent knowing that it's for her good though it hurts now and she doesn't like it. Aw...I so love my puppy!

Ashes is doing a lot better now. She's so tough! My jungle dog  :)

My US church & CR church

From the 16th to the 24th of July, I had the awesome chance to see God connect and work together through my home church in the US (Church of the Saviour - COS) and my church in Costa Rica (Iglesia Vara Blanca). The high school group from COS - that I was a part of way back when - came to spend time with our high school students here and be a blessing to this small rural church.

It was an odd convergence of two of my worlds where many things are different, but Christ unites.

• COS is a church of like 2000 people  -  my church here is about 30 people
• COS is all in English  -  my church here is in Spanish (obvious difference)
• COS brought a group of all high school students  -  the church here doesn't really have any youth involved
• COS is in the Philly suburbs in a pretty wealthy area  -  here we're located in rural Costa Rica

The differences are many, but I really believe that the church here was incredibly blessed and the youth and leaders who came from COS also left blessed. It's an amazing picture of the diversity of the Church. These are often things that divide and separate, but in Christ they can be things of incredible beauty and peace and fellowship. Praise God for how He unites! Galatians 3:26-28

The whole COS group

Helping us with our house  :)

Sharing with our students

Sharing testimonies with the church