Photo Fun!

This weekend and last, I went on two adventures... first to Burgess Falls and then to Cummins Falls. They were glorious hikes, but what made it most fun was the friends I went with. See Sister Beka below me, and bestie Christina Fowler to my left. Lavy is on the far right - she and I are going to El Sal together. Sarah Mascaro is on the far left. These are girls I've lived and studied with in the last year and a half, and learned to love... so much.

Friends

Lavy and I

This is my friend Lavy and myself. We will be going to El Salvador together this summer. Lavy was born and raised in El Salvador, then came to the U.S. and lived in Georgia for a time. Now she is on the Latin America team and planning to move back to El Salvador to do missions there full time. She's my age and a cheery, energetic addition to the team. I'm excited to spend time with her this summer.

Last summer, the Latin America team built a house on the land that they purchased for our ministry in El Salvador. This is it! A lot of my friends laid these bricks by hand :) . I'm excited to see it for the first time in person!

Though the kinds of memories I've been making here differ greatly I'm sure from the ones I will make in El Salvador, I'm grateful for both opportunities. It's funny to look back on my blog posts from India and reminisce on those early times that were so full of questions, doubts and fears... though I had my moments of faith! I approach this trip with much more confidence, both in myself and in those I go with. I think I believe far more than I initially did in that quote I posted by Ghandi... "A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history."

In joining with the organization and community that I now study, live, and travel abroad with, I have found that body of determined spirits. Together, with prayer and much belief, we plan to do great things for the LORD in El Salvador this summer and in times to come.