I'm home!!!

Even though I have been home a while, adjustments are now made and life is getting more back to normal...or as normal as my life gets. 

Kosovo was amazing. Everyone says that overseas trips will change you and adjusting back to life is hard, and I have to agree. Seeing everything in real life compared to the stories I have grown up hearing was life changing. 

I worked at a school with students varying from eight years old to fourteen years old. The younger kids were all so willing to learn and wanted to absorb anything I would teach them. The older kids were more interested in my stories from America and wanted to know what life was like here. 

Walking through the streets was so different from America. Young kids run through the streets like it is no big deal with no supervision. Stray, sickly animals wander around looking for food and affection. There is trash blowing everywhere and everyone pays no attention to it. Houses still have holes and are missing pieces from the war and buildings have bomb damage in the middle of town. 

Not everything was bad though. There was always the smell of fresh bread cooking and wood fires being burned to heat the houses. Kids play football (soccer) and basketball anywhere they can and there is joy on all of their faces. All of the children are anxious to learn, Houses are slowing being rebuilt and the streets are paved. Children speak English and are starting to be able to translate for their parents and communicate with more people. A lot more kids know what it feels like to have two parents. These are all huge positives, especially the latter. 

The question everyone has asked me is "would you go back?" and my answer to this question is one hundred percent YES!

I would love to work with the kids again and to continue building relationships with the people I met while I was there. Ten days just wasn't enough time to truly get to know people.

There is so much work left to do in Kosovo and I truly would love to be a part of it. 

Passport and Immunizations

Yesterday I got my passport!!!!! Yippee!!!!! I am so excited to have my passport. It is a relatively small thing, but it is a big step towards going to Kosovo.

This afternoon I am meeting with the doctors to see which immunizations I have to have and when and which ones I can take orally, since I have allergic reactions to shots I have been given in the past. Please be praying!

Bracelet fundraiser

I will be selling these bracelets as a fundraiser for my trip to Kosovo for $1. If anyone is interested or knows someone who is, please let me know in the comments and I will contact you. They are rubberband bracelets in the colors of the Kosovo flag. I can make them for younger kids as well. Thank you for the support!!!


"Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ~Matthew 28:18-20

A New Adventure

In the fall I will be starting a new adventure. I am going to Kosovo!!!!! This is somewhere I have wanted to go for a very, very long time (about ten years). It is an amazing opportunity and I am thrilled to be able to go! Of course there is a lot of work to be done and lots of fundraising. But most importantly, a lot of prayer is needed. Nothing is possible without God and doing His work is definitely not an exception. I will be posting fundraisers and any new information on the trip that I can share on this blog.

Fundraisers

Hello! It has been a while since I have posted anything, so I figure I can say something about fundraising. As a group, we really need to start raising money for next summer. If you have any good ideas for what four teenage girls could do for fundraisers we would be incredibly grateful! Thank you so much!

What we might be doing

So the Johnson's e-mailed me with all of the things that we might be doing.
The lists includes:
VBS (vacation bible school)
A Reading Program
Camping Trip

We really are not sure which one of the above we will be doing or if we will be doing more than one of them, but if you are interested please let me know so I can keep you in the loop. :) Thanks!

More info

Sorry there has not been anything up here. We lost contact for a while. They were going through a computer switch and lost my e-mail. That is okay though because we have contact again. So before I mentioned that we were going either this summer or next, but we are for sure not going this summer. Because of the loss of contact, we have not been sure. It is not entirely their fault though. We do have things to do on our part. Raising money, reading assigned books, etc. I thought it would be a good idea if I posted the books that we are supposed to read up here. I have read two out of four and I highly recommend them for anyone. They are extremely interesting books.

Cross Cultural Connections- Duane Elmer
Cross Cultural Conflict- Duane Elmer
Serving with Eyes Wide Open- David A. Livermore
Foreign to Familiar- Sarah A. Lanier

I have finished the first two on the list and am working on the third. I really do suggest reading them, no matter who you are or if you are interested in ever doing mission work.