Friends...

I have always been very blessed my whole life with wonderful friends.
Friends that I can laugh all day with, ones that I can just call and cry to, and some that help me and encourage me in every way possible. And the thought of leaving them was dreadful. But almost 3 months ago I had to. Boy was it hard! And still VERY hard!
When we for sure planned that we were moving, to be honest I was very upset. I didn't want to leave the life I new for something I had no idea about. I didn't want to give up/or put on hold friendships that I have had my whole life. But whether I liked it or not that was the path my family was going down. The last few months I was in the states I really took every chance I could to spend a lot of time with my friends. Those were very precious moments that were so much fun and I will never forget.
Because of my age and where I am in my life I was very worried that I was not going to have friends.
The first few weeks here were very lonely, and to be honest I was getting angry. I thought if this is how its going to be I am going to be miserable this whole six months!
I think it was about the second or third day of school when a mother of a student introduced her son and her son's friend. They were funny and very nice to me and for once I felt like "Wow, I might actually fit in here!" That was the first time I had had a conversation with someone my age! It was great! I went home so happy!
That next week I started to volunteer at the school, and the teachers just included me right away! I was so happy! There are a group of teachers that are awesome and I just love hanging out with them!
One of the teachers there, Lauren, is the one that I have gotten to know the best! She has adopted me like her little sister! She is very funny, sweet, nice, and even though I am 4 years younger that doesn't matter she treats me just the same! I LOVE THAT!!! We hang out a few times a week and It is just so much fun! I am REALLY going to miss her!!!!!!
Because of volunteering at the school you get to know a lot of families very well. There is one family that I have gotten to know very well. They have two kids here, Abby and Jordan. Jordan is the same age as me and Abby is a year younger. They are both vey funny and a lot of fun! I can talk to both of them forever and they are just some pretty cool people! I am so happy I met Abby. We have so much in common and just have so much fun together. We call each other our long lost sisters!! :) I am going to miss that family VERY much!
There are a lot more people that I could say and talk about how much of a blessing they are but those are just a few!
I am so blessed and thankful. The time I have had here and will continue to have is precious and very valuable and I am so thankful I have wonderful friends here to share it with!
Thank you guys! You have helped make these months some of the the best months of my life! I will never forget you! I will miss you very much when I leave!
And Thank you friends back in Tennessee! You have helped me get through so much!=]
Once again, I am blessed! :D

A trip to remember!

Hello Guys!

Do you know that feeling of overwhelming joy and peace? Oh have i experienced that feeling the past week.  Let me tell you why!

This past week i was given the opportunity to go on a short service trip that some of the High Schoolers go on. I was very excited to travel a little more in Asia. Little did i know that this trip would mean so much.

The intentions of this trip are to teach English and build relationships with the people, but as i was there i learned more about myself than any other retreat or camp. So wanna hear exactly what happened? Lets start from Day one!

Day 1: We left from the school at 1. Then drove 1 1/2 hours to the train station. Then got on my FIRST ever train ride for 4 hours. Then we all got in a car and drove 4 more hours! Needless to say we were so happy to arrive at our final destination! 

Day 2: We got up at around 8, then left to meet a community/family of a man we were working with. Then took a little to trip to a beach! The beach was so pretty! But ha funny story when we arrived it was empty, roped off, with police and military people guarding it. So we were hesitant to go but they told us we could stay for 20 minutes then we had to go. That day was the day the government was taking over the beach. Crazy!! Anyways,  We then went to our first school! Me and My Partner were teaching a class of 14-15 year olds. It was so much fun! I think they got tired of all our songs tho! We then left and Went back to the house to relax and rest! We then had lots of fellowship and ate dinner! It was a fun night! One funny thing about that night was the group of girls all learned a break dance! Yep that's right a break dance! You should be jealous! After dancing all night it was time for bed! 

Day 3: We got up at 5:30 and left for a new city at six! (I loved this City!) We arrived a few hours later and the world nicest families house! As soon as we arrived they welcomed us with love and just were so kind! They just smiled all the time and I miss them! We then left and met another man's family! After that we went to another school and i would totally teach there if i could! This time i got to teach alone. (with a translator of course). I got to teach 4th grade, the kids were so cute and their attitudes about learning were so cool and all you could do was smile! I was so sad when we had to leave! We then left and went to another School where they had a special presentation for us that consisted of martial arts, and the traditional dance! It was so cool! After we left there we went to a medical school to encourage them to learn and practice their English. That was fun! Then we went back to the house! Where we made some new friends and just had a fun time! That night we went to a fair that was a blast! It was so cool and different from any fair in America! It was such a good night! One of the funnest nights i have had in a long time! I went to bed a very happy person.

Day 4: It was time to go. :( I was not ready to leave. I loved this place. And then we journeyed back home. 

As i was riding in the car on the way home i can not even begin to describe how heavy my heart was. I felt like i was leaving a part of myself there. As i was thinking more and more i realized HE was really trying to tell me this is your future. I really believe that more and more as i spend time here i feel more called to teach but overseas. Each day i am asking HIM if this is his desire. 

Also another thing that i learned was that i need to enjoy and take advantage of the time i have here in Asia! It is a gift and it is such a great opportunity that not really many people get. 

So as i have been back here exactly a week now. I just feel this heavy burden to share His light. I am so thankful to have an awesome gift! I can not wait for more opportunities like this in my future because these are the most life changing!

So there is a little bit of info about my trip. Thanks for reading!