Well here is a very small sampling of my pictures from this summer.  If I would have been putting pictures up the whole time there would probably have been a lot more description with each one.  But most of these I've already talked about so since I already spent lots of time putting them on facebook, a small description will have to do.  I don't quite have the gumption to type it all out again, and you most likely don't have the gumption to read it all again.  So without further ado... small descriptions.

The four of us students that went to Mexico City and then to see the pyramids.  By far one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

The boys ordered worms for lunch.  I ate one just to say I ate it.  And only because it was fried and crispy.  I never would have done it if they were still soft.  It tasted kind of like a corn nut.  The boys, however, ate worm tacos.  Nasty!!!

The copper making place we visited.  It was really cool to watch and it was like a step back in time since they did everything by hand there.

Waiting for a taxi in the rain.  After a few minutes the boy in the red remembered he also had an umbrella so then we didn't have to share.  But the real reason for putting the picture on here is the guy in the denim jacket.  That's Jose, who I talked about in an earlier post.  The one who felt like a younger brother to me.

Going out for tacos in Ixtlan.

In Mexico, there's stores for just about anything.  The paper store, the tortilla store, the ice cream store... and in Ixtlan there's also the casket store!

Some of the boys from the class that Gloria taught and I pretended to know Spanish good enough to help.

The truck the kids from neighboring towns piled onto coming to and from VBS.  I think the most we had that week was 70 or 80 on the truck but they said in the past it's been over 100.  Mass chaos is the only way to describe it.

Diana (next to me) and Tara (purple shirt) were also there that week to help with VBS.  The other girl, Maggie, is from Ixtlan.

Back in Morelia... this is the famous aqueduct.  As you follow it down the road, the arches get smaller and smaller until they are just a few inches off the groung.

Onto Magdalena.  Joel and Kristi's youngest boy, Beni, was SO fun to play with.  He's at such a great age:)

Sweet little Soraya.  This is what she did most of the time I was there.

The four older boys.  From L to R: Angel, Jose, Issac and Daniel.

Quick shot with los Lemans before leaving Tuesday morning.

Now in Phoenix.  I met up with my friend Maryann who I hadn't seen in five years.  It was great to see her again and catch up.

The Phoenix part of my family: Amanda, Trevor, Sue, Joe, Brandon and Phoebe the dog.  If I ever come to the point in my life where I find myself living alone and wanting a pet for a companion, a Phoebe dog is what I want.

My Saturday night social life in Denver.  My cousin Jared and two of his roommates, Tucker and Jake.  A few of us went tubing down some rapids earlier that day but I have no pictures.  Only bruises to show for it.  And believe me, you don't want to see those.

On Monday in Denver, my aunt Boni and I took the boys to the zoo.  I didn't get any pictures of all of us there.  Only on the way to the airport (the first time) did I quick snap a couple of the boys.  Here's David.

And Mighty Mike!  When I got bumped I thought maybe then I would remember to get a picture of Ed and Boni but it just didn't happen.  It was fun to have that extra day in Denver but by the time I got back to Roanoke Wednesday night, I was ready.

So, there's that very small sampling of my pictures!

What A Journey:)

One year ago today I moved back from Alabama.  I had so many mixed emotions at the time but I felt completely peaceful that God had led me back to Illinois.  The next 365 days did not go quite like I thought they would.  I really thought that I was going to start up with classes in preparation for the Occupational Therapy Assistant program at ICC.  I was really sad about leaving Athens but I had started to get excited about this new chapter in my life.  I figured that once I found a job I would then find an apartment and move out of my parents house.  I did not foresee myself losing my excitement over the OTA program.  I did not foresee myself not getting into the program.  Nor did I forsee myself still living with my parents a year later.  I have not slid right back into life in Illinois like I thought I would.  Not at all.  And most of all, if you would have told me last year that I would spend this summer in Mexico I would have thought you were nuts.  I originally started taking my Spanish class thinking just a base knowlege of Spanish in the medical field would be beneficial.  The thought of going to Morelia crossed my mind back in the fall but I just figured that was a really big maybe for much later on in life.  But the doors completely opened up for me to go and I figured it was now or never.  From not getting into the program, to having a part time second shift job that I wasn't overly committed to, to seeing how God provided financially, there was nothing that made me think I shouldn't go.  Now, exactly one year later, I am ready to go back to Illinois again and see what God has in store.  I definitely feel like I'm back at square one like I was last summer in wondering where in the world he will lead.  What doors will open up?  Where will I be in another year from now?  Lots of unknowns right now.  And that's okay.  Not always easy and fun, sometimes a little frustrating, but okay.
Actually as I'm typing this the song that says "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord..." is playing.  So as I wait for God to provide me with some direction, I know that this time of waiting and wondering is a good faith strengthener.
I was supposed to be flying home tonight.  I was supposed to be arriving in Pontiac right about now by bus from Midway airport and get picked up by my cousin.  I was supposed to go see my friends tomorrow.  But instead I am spending another night in Denver with a nice voucher sitting in my purse:)  They asked for volunteers and hey, I don't have anything pressing to get home to so why not?  I had just told my aunt on the way to the airport that they always look for willing volunteers on the flights that I really need to get back for some reason.  I was almost hoping they would need people to get bumped because I sure wouldn't mind having a voucher!  As I was boarding the plane and buckling my seatbelt I was a little bummed that there would be no voucher for me.  Then a lady came on at the very last minute and said she was looking for volunteers to be bumped.  $300 plus the amount I paid for my ticket.  Plus a free flight back to Midway.  I was pretty quick to jump up:)  The only downside is that I watched the plane pull away from the gate with all my luggage in it.  Even my carryon luggage because it was all so fast and last minute that I completely forget to grab it from the overhead bins.  But I gave a nice detailed description so hopefully it gets to the right spot.
Hopefully the next time I post it will be with lots of pictures from the summer:)

Coming To A Close

Well my time in Morelia is over.  I flew to Hermosillo on Saturday morning where I was picked up by Joel and Kristi.  Today is my last full day in Mexico and I'll be crossing back into the good ole USA tomorrow sometime.  I still have a week before I get all the way home because I'm spending a few days in Phoenix and a few days in Denver.
In some ways it seems like July 1 was a reeeallllly long time ago but in some ways it seems like I just got to Mexico.  Wow.  Just as I'm typing this I all of a sudden started getting all reflective and I'm not sure if I'm ready to get back into life up there.  I don't know what's waiting for me when I get home.  I mean, I have plans to an extent.... probably find a job, probably find an apartment..... but that's just probably.  And I don't know what/where either one of those will be.
I have a story that I just love about my last couple days in Morelia.  There were two people that I felt very strongly that I needed to give Bibles to.  One was a man who was probably 40 something who at one point while I was there was asking me a lot of questions about my faith.  I asked him if he would want to see some verses and he said he would.  So I told him I would try to find a Spanish Bible so he could understand better.  The other was a 20 year old "younger brother" type of guy.  I didn't ever ask him if he wanted to see any verses but after a certain conversation that we had I felt absolutely compelled that I needed to give him a Bible too.  When I went to Ixtlan I picked up two Bibles and some tracts.  I also wrote a letter and had a friend help me translate it so I could better express myself.  Then I prayed that God would give me a good chance to give them the Bibles.  I didn't really want to hand them out in front of everyone and so I asked for just a few minutes alone with them.  Thursday night I went to conversation club and only four other people showed up.  Two of them were the ones I had the Bibles for.  One of the other people left earlier than the rest and the other one there was the good friend of the 20 year old.  At one point he left the table so it was just me and these two people I had Bibles for in my backpack.  I wanted to be able to give them away on my last night there and so I hesitated just a little bit.  But I knew I had prayed for this opportunity and I better take it while it was there.  After I gave them their Bibles, they both said they weren't going to be there the next day.  I was so thankful that God gave me the perfect timing and that I took the opportunity.  I was sad to say goodbye to my friends there but after Thursday night my time felt complete and I was ready to move on.
I've loved being here with Joel, Kristi and Co.  Soraya is such a sweet lil punkie poo:)  And Beni is at a really fun age.  I haven't seen much of the older boys because they're out working most of the day but they're in and out of the house occasionally.  It's a lot hotter here than it was in Morelia.  I always carried a jacket with me there and used it almost every day.  Here?  Not so much.
Tomorrow my uncle is picking me up in Tuscon and taking me back to Phoenix.  I'm excited to spend some quality time with that portion of my family.  I don't get to see them very often.
Well I better go before the internet quits working and I've typed everything up for nothing!

Ixtlan

I tried posting while I was in Ixtlan this past week but I had to enter a phone number or something before I could post and it was all in Spanish and I wasn´t for sure what it was asking for so I just decided to wait until I got back to Morelia.  So there.
Anyway, Ixtlan was great.  I was there to help with their VBS.  Since my Spanish is limited I felt like I couldn´t help as good as I would have liked to but I guess I was good for crowd control at least!  There were two other girls and a guy from the states there as well and so between us and the people in Ixtlan we had a nice little group.  I was so excited for an abundance of fellowship!  I felt completely filled up when I returned last night to my house.  They´re actually doing VBS in Morelia this week now but I don´t know how much I´ll be helping.  Probably just a day or two.  It´s really overwhelming to think about doing school then rushing off to VBS then coming back to school for conversation club.  I know, I should be tougher but I´m not.
So far two of my friends have said my Spanish is a little better than when I left which is pretty encouaging but we´ll see how it goes tonight at conversation club!
So, I pretty much decided to wait until I get home to post picutres.  Sorry.  But at this point I think it will be easier to do one or two giant posts rather than trying to play catch up while I´m here.
Well I´m supposed to be meeting some people for lunch so I better get going.  Until next time....