wasn't i supposed to write a paper tonight?

1. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
yes, they are either open or closed.

2. Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel?
yes, sometimes.

3. Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?
they always come out so i've stopped tucking.

4. Have you ever stolen a street sign before?
negativo.

5. Do you like to use post-it notes?
i use them like a fiend.

6. Do you cut out coupons but then never use them?
every now and then. most of the time we use our coupons.

7. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees?
ew ew ew. that wouldn't end good either way.

8. Do you have freckles?
nope.

9. Do you always smile for pictures?
ugh...i always make weird faces. it's a little obnoxious.

10. What is your biggest pet peeve?
ignorance? but i'm a hypocrite.

11. Do you ever count your steps when you walk?
not that i know.

12. Have you ever peed in the woods?
i'm sure it's happened.

13. What about pooped in the woods?
ladies don't poop.

14. Do you ever dance even if there's no music playing?
yes.

15. Do you chew your pens and pencils?
on occasion.

16. What kind of vehicle do you drive?
whatever kind people let me drive.

17. What size is your bed?
too tall.

18. What is your Song of the week?
anything by sufjan stevens.

19. Is it okay for guys to wear pink?
of course.

20. Do you still watch cartoons?
sometimes, yes...

21. Whats your least favorite movie?
alien vs. predator

22. Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some?
in my bank account. :)

23. What do you drink with dinner?
water. milk. more water.

24. What do you dip a chicken nugget in?
no nuggets for me!

25. What is your favorite food?
gelato.

26. What movies could you watch over and over and still love?
The Little Mermaid? Pride and Prejudice.

27. Last person you kissed/kissed you?
mom/dad before coming back to school

28. Were you ever a boy/girl scout?
nope.

29. Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine?
nope.

30. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper?
Friday night! to Marina.

31. Can you change the oil on a car?
in theory.

32. Ever gotten a speeding ticket?
nope.

33. Ran out of gas?
nope.

34. Favorite kind of sandwich?
i love me some nutella. or peanut butter and honey.

35 Best thing to eat for breakfast?
banana pancakes.

36. What is your usual bedtime?
usually before midnight. i'm getting old.

37. Are you lazy?
i'm never too far from it.

38. When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween?
princess. witch. princess. crayon? princess.

39. What is your Chinese astrological sign?
i have no idea.

40. How many languages can you speak?
fluently? one.

41. Do you have any magazine subscriptions?
nope.

42..Which are better legos or lincoln logs?
legos all the way.

43. Are you stubborn?
you better believe it.

44. Who is better...Leno or Letterman?
Letterman, actually.

45. Ever watch soap operas?
ugh. no.

46. Afraid of heights?
not really.

47. Sing in the car?
yes.

48. Dance in the shower?
i have done this.

49. Dance in the car?
aaaa...yes.

50. Ever used a gun?
no.

51. Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer?
senior photos? summer 05...dang.

52. Do you think musicals are cheesy?
they have to be.

53. Is Christmas stressful?
it shouldn't be.

54. Ever eat a pierogi?
no?

55. Favorite type of fruit pie?
cherry.

56. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid?
ballerina. something that allowed me to wear heels. doctor. gardener. taxi cab driver.

57. Do you believe in ghosts?
no, Mom calls them spirits.

58. Ever have a Deja-vu feeling?
haven't i taken this quiz before?

59. Take a vitamin daily?
yes.

60. Wear slippers?
to class.

61. Wear a bath robe?
no.

62. What do you wear to bed?
whatever i fall asleep in...sweats usually.

63. First concert?
oh jeez...Skillet? Or Coldplay.

64. Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart?
TARGET. always.

65. Nike or Adidas?
Converse?

66.Cheetos Or Fritos?
Fritos, yes.

67. Peanuts or Sunflower seeds?
sunflower seeds w/ shells.

68. Ever hear of the group Tres Bien?
i think so actually...

69. Ever take dance lessons?
yes. tap for a tiny bit and ballroom.

70. Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing?
that's a weird question.

71. Can you curl your tongue?
yes.

72. Ever won a spelling bee?
in third grade.

73. Have you ever cried because you were so happy?
i think so.

74. Own any record albums?
no.

75. Own a record player?
no.

76. Regularly burn incense?
no. candles.

77. Ever been in love?
i'm in love with Jesus.

78. Who would you like to see in concert?
Michael Jackson

79. What was the last concert you saw?
Ben Harper in Roma.

80.Hot tea or cold tea?
hot unsweet. cold sweet.

81.Tea or coffee?
yes!

82. Sugar or snickerdoodles?
sugar.....

83.Can you swim well?
yes.

84.Can you hold your breath without holding your nose?
yes.

85. Are you patient?
um...most of the time.

86. DJ or band, at a wedding?
DJ

87.Ever won a contest?
yes. a coloring contest.

88. Ever have plastic surgery?
no.

89. Which are better black or green olives?
i like both, in moderation.

90.Can you knit or crochet?
knit my first scarf this past week!

91. Best room for a fireplace?
the library room.

92. Do you want to get married?
yes.

93. If married, how long have you been married?
n/a.

94. Who was your HS crush?
Orlando Bloom, Anakin Skywalker.

95. Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way?
i might, on occasion.

96. Do you have kids?
no.

97. Do you want kids?
yes, i think?

98. What's your favorite color?
i have a lot of blue things...but i also enjoy a good red every now and then.

99. Do you miss anyone right now?
lots of people!

i miss sugar!!

I have never craved milkshakes so much! I'm not even being as strict as I started out--I ate tortilla shells and popcorn--but I have not had any chocolate or cake or cookies. No Snickers that were available at my Writing Center meeting last night. No caramel apples that are sitting on our counter. Dang.

Other new things in my life are the two goldfish swimming around their new home in the apartment. Ariel saw that we had an unused glass bowl here and decided to give us a pair of goldfish for a house-warming gift. Now I get to hang out with Jack and Dora when I'm doing homework!

sugar fast update

I already cheated.

I want to be honest, this is way hard. And to be fair, I'm not trying to be legalistic so I'm not going to get too down on myself for not following this thing as strict as some might. I had pasta tonight, not whole grain, so there were your basic everyday carbs involved.

I'm counting today as a success, though, because I did not binge on the leftover apple cake on the counter or eat any of the frosting in the fridge or stick a finger in the Nutella in the cupboard--all things I have done on occasion and sometimes all on the same day. Or within the same hour.

sugar fast

That's right. I'm doing it, finally. I've been wanting to give up sugar for a while now but never actually did it...and I've decided it's time. I am doing a sugar fast for two weeks (I figured Halloween would be the perfect time to break a fast like this).

So starting today, no sugar for two weeks. Things I will be cutting out include:
-refined sugar (white and brown)
-white breads/crackers
-cold cereal
-things with sugar added (most fruit juices)

Which really leaves me plenty to eat:
-eggs
-vegetables
-fruit (I am allowing natural sugars)
-dairy
-nuts
-whole grains

I've done my homework so I know days 3-5 will be the toughest but once I get to day 7 I'm essentially home free. Also, fasts are traditionally times of spiritual/mental/emotional as well as physical purification and sacrifice, so every time I find myself craving sugar (essentially ALL the time) I'll take that as a chance to instead meditate or think about something outside of myself.
Halloween will mark the breaking of the fast. The plan is to go to Minnesota with friends from Summer Project for a reunion, perfect for breaking a fast--kind of like coming out of hiding back into the community.

Most people probably don't announce their plans for a sugar fast like I have but I find that A. J. Jacobs inspires me to do these things while simultaneously journaling about them and sharing the experience with others. :)

when i stay up late i have questions like this.

When did knowledge become a means to an end instead of the end in itself?

what i was made for

Today we got our tests back in Singles & Couples, my upper level literature course. For the essay part of the test we had to finish a play that Dr. Neary had set up for us, incorporating a number of characters from the 6-7 works we've read in class so far. That was my favorite part of the test, and to be honest I wasn't sure how well I did on the first short essay part, but no worries! I only had a point off the first part and I made up for it by getting extra credit on the creative section. Dr. Neary wasn't exactly offering extra credit on the test but he wrote that it was brilliant and he actually wanted to see it performed. :)

Thank you Jesus for giving me creativity & a passion for writing.

Reuniting!

This weekend was such a great time in Stevens Point, but it was a break from reality--no e-mail, homework (well, I didn't do the homework I have), or agenda--and now I have to face that reality tomorrow even though I'm not sure I'm ready. No Columbus Day for this woman.

When I got to Point on Thursday night, I was reunited with more than just my Project friends...I saw a friend from SNC who was there for Long Weekend as well, friends from CHS who go to Point, a friend from UWGB visiting for the weekend...it was truly a Small World experience.

On Friday we went out swing dancing and got caught up on everyone's lives. It was great to have so many Project people in one room, remembering our favorite things from the summer. Saturday was for taking a walk by the river, playing games, going out to Grazie's and watching a movie (with a projector and a giant white wall). Today we went to church and carved pumpkins (and ate cheesecake for lunch). I loved all the quality time we had and how we all reconnected so easily.

Now I get to spend tonight reconnecting with Andrea :) and then I have to think about those novels I was supposed to read for this week :( ...Thanksgiving Break anyone?

long weekend...because we work hard here!

Only two classes today instead of three...a couple hours at work...and then home! That's right, it's Long Weekend--the weekend of the year devoted to not doing homework, getting off campus, doing laundry, stocking up on food at home, and making people from state schools jealous. We're spoiled.

I was so excited last night I couldn't even sleep...I was like a small child on Christmas Eve. Today after work (4ish) I get to drive Greg and Andrea to the airport, where they will depart for Arizona, and then Rachel Schindler and I will make the two hour drive back to central WI.

I'll be home tonight and most of tomorrow, and then I'm headed to Stevens Point. There is going to be a small NMB reunion so I'll get to see people from this summer! I can't wait to see everyone...this time in sweaters and pants instead of shorts and swim suits and work uniforms.

Packing is almost done, now I just want to finish this book before I leave. :)

weekend list

This weekend I accomplished a number of things:

-Listened to Creedence Clearwater Revival. Obnoxiously.
-Learned CCR tabs.
-Read poetry.
-Attempted writing poetry.
-Wished I was a better poetry writer.
-Checked out four new books from the library in lieu of going to class.
-Knit.
-Watched The Kite Runner with Andrea.
-Got my laughs from mylifeisaverage.com.
-Watched the Chicago Bears make a touchdown off a punt return.
-Turned off TV.
-Helped Andrea bake cookies.
-Ate cookies.
-Started reading Dan Brown's new book, The Lost Symbol.
-Watched Saturday Night Live. On Sunday afternoon.
-Napped.

Grandmas and Brides

Shout out to Grandma! Happy Birthday and I love you!! (PS, Grandpa tells me the candy drawer will be stocked when I come home next week...) :)

In other news, one of my extracurricular activities this semester is being Andrea's Maid of Honor...honestly one of the best out of school things to be involved in. Andrea and Greg don't get married until the end of May (good thing because then I get to live with her the whole school year) but they already have most of the wedding planned: church, reception, caterer, photographer, florist, suits...and THE dress.

Tonight we get to pick up the dress, which took Andrea all of one day to find. I'm not going to go into too much detail (bad karma?) but it's from a little boutique so I'm guessing not many people have this dress. All of us bridesmaids knew it was the one when she tried it on--we loved it, Mom loved it, she loved it...plus the design is discontinued and it just happened to be exactly Andrea's size.

Now we just have to make room for it in our closet next to the watermelon and clover-colored bridesmaids' dresses. And we have to make sure no one spills the beans about what it looks like to Greg, who is very curious about this whole thing...

reminiscing

Technically the writing center is not open yet (thanks to some budget miscommunications we had to rearrange hours) but I figured if I pretended like I still had to open this morning I might actually get some work done. Not that I have a ton of work to do or anything, I just always feel pressured when I have some sort of unfinished work. This week and a half before long weekend has always been busy for me and this year is no different: I need to write a creative piece to submit to Graphos by Thursday, I have an art exam on Thursday, two papers due on Friday and another exam on Tuesday.

I still can't seem to get totally into school mode, though. None of these papers or quizzes seem real. I'll get them done, they'll be fine papers, but a part of me keeps thinking: the world won't end if I just don't write them. In the grand scheme of things, these papers and exams mean not a lot. It's not that I'm not learning anything in class or excited by what I'm learning--my classes are interesting. I guess I just feel really sheltered here at school. I'm in a bubble where nothing can hurt me and there is no danger.

Most likely I'm just thrown off balance after so many months of constant stimulation. Now it rains outside and I vaguely remember a time when I lived in a city where it always rained. I see a map of the US and my eyes are drawn to the southeastern region. Are people still riding the tram in Rome? How are the waves today in North Myrtle? Did I actually live in those places or were the last eight months of my life a dream?

And then I think it's just way too early to be thinking these things...I think I'll just listen to some Italian music and look at my pictures some more.

where did you go, weekend?

Almost five on Sunday and I feel like I've finally recuperated from the weekend. On Friday a group of us went to a Barn Bash (bonfire, food, games, wagon rides) and Greg, Andrea and I left from there to drive to Madison. We didn't get there until almost midnight, so after getting a condensed tour of Amanda's house we crashed.

I was up again by 7:30, though, getting ready to meet up with Bailey to volunteer at the Badger game. Once we realized that Amanda's house is pretty much next to Edgewood, we met for breakfast (cereal and COFFEE) at Bailey's apartment and then walked together to Camp Randall with Kelsey, a fellow volunteer.

As is usual on Badger Saturdays, Camp Randall was a flurry of red. Street vendors sold clothing, brats and cheese curds while people paraded to the entrance gates. Bailey, Kelsey and I sidestepped all of this, though, and headed for a discreet side entrance where we signed our names and received limited access passes.

Our job during the game was to fill racks of cups with soda (Coke and Diet Coke) and hand those to vendors who then took them out into the stands to sell them. These vendors were probably between the ages of 12 and 17 from the looks of them but conducted themselves like adults--tossing around phrases like "Give me a half-rack" and "Bad day for business; we need more sun" and handling cash like mini-investors. These kids buy a half or full rack for $30 or $60 and then sell it, bringing back the money for another rack. At the end of the day (which for them was after Jump Around--no vending during the 4th quarter) each rack was counted. The after school program who sponsored the vending station got a portion and the kids also got their own percentage of the profits.

By the fourth quarter our arms were sticky from soda but the Badgers were up and we got to catch some of the game before leaving to make the trek back to Bailey's apartment. Then we met back up with Andrea, Greg, Amanda, Julie, Steve and Tom to visit an apple orchard (no picking but we did find apples nonetheless) and find ingredients for dinner: a chicken/rice/pineapple/pepper dish.

We didn't get back to De Pere until about 11 last night and after a full day of soda-filling and visiting with friends all I could do was shower and climb into bed. Church time came way too early this morning, but I survived...and showed my true colors by curling up on the futon and napping like a champion this afternoon.

I had it coming.

I have a bruise on my arm.

I should be more precise: I have a bruise on the inside of my arm spreading out from a needle puncture. I tried doing my civil duty yesterday by donating blood, but while my iron count and blood pressure were fine, my veins just weren't in it.

Usually I find the mini-physical more stressful than the actual donation part--the finger prick for the iron hurts more than the needle I think. And I feel like it's a job interview where your body could get any question wrong and you are automatically disqualified. Iron too low? Out. Temperature too high? Out. Have you gone to remote countries lacking clean water and basic medicine practices? Out. Once my blood pressure was too low so they made me drink a can of Coke to raise it. I passed all the tests yesterday, though.

Then in the donation lounge chair (it's kind of a lounge chair...there are old ladies walking around bringing people water, you get to sit there while everyone does things for you) my nurse, Lynda, searched for a suitable vein.

"Did you drink any water today?"

"Yes..." I did, I drank more water yesterday than usual, I promise.

"Well, let's try this." And she did. Try, I mean. The needle went in and I waited for the warm feeling of my blood flowing through the tube taped to my arm. Nothing. She pushed the needle in...nothing. "We need Julie to come wiggle this," she said, calling her over.

I guess Julie is the expert on veins, and as she held the needle in one hand and felt my arm with the tips of her fingers I believed it. She looked at my arm and seemed to see through it; a quick twist of the needle and blood was flowing. Now the problem was the vein she found wasn't the swiftest flowing one. They let me sit for a while, telling me to squeeze the little stress ball hard each time. When they returned to check on my bag, though, it wasn't filling fast enough.

"I'm going to have to pull it," Lynda said. "Sorry."

I think I was more sorry--I felt like I wasted a bunch of their time and now I was going to go eat the food and walk out of the gym wearing the bandage and purple wrap like some sort of hero when I was actually a phony.

And today I wake up with a pretty purple bruise and a sore arm. Badge of honor? More likely just karma.

it's been awhile...

...but I've finally decided to get back on here and write. Since you've heard from me last:

-I moved into my apartment in De Pere with my lovely & engaged roommate, Andrea
-I started my senior year @ St. Norbert College
-I started work again @ the SNC Writing Center
-I got a haircut!

...and that's about it.

Just kidding.

The transition from Rome to South Carolina to home to school has definitely done something to me. I don't know if I have culture shock, reverse culture shock, senioritis or if I'm just getting old, but I have been feeling a tad out of sorts these past few weeks.

It took some time for me to get back into school mode, and I'm still not all the way there (although maybe I am because I'm definitely procrastinating like usual me). My classes are interesting for the most part, though, so that helps.

And as a co-senior consultant at the Writing Center I got the lovely job of creating the schedule, revising the schedule, and cutting hours from the schedule after realizing just how underfunded we are.

A lot of days I feel pretty stretched and if I don't write things down I forget them almost instantly, as if there are so many things and nothing for them to stick to inside my head. I've also developed a clumsiness that maybe I've always had and never before acknowledged, but either way it's kind of embarrassing. I run into things constantly--the futon, bookshelves at school...it's like I'm a little out of step with the world.

But despite always wondering where I am and how I got there (honestly, at least once a day I have to stop and think about these things), life is good right now. I don't want this to be a depressing return post--I really have little to complain about. I'm home-ish, I'm a senior, my hair is blond once again (and will be for some time...I promised Mom it would stay that way at least until next summer).

There are a billion other things I could mention now but my alarm is going to go off in about seven hours and I know it will be a much better Friday if I'm not wondering when nap time is. I'll be traveling to Madison this weekend to visit friends and the younger sister and I promise I'll be more specific about my life the next time I post.

PHOTOS!

Find them here: NMB 09

Beautiful Feet

Ah yes, back in the Midwest. I love that I no longer sweat when I go outside before 9 AM...though I do miss the beach. There are far too many words to say about this summer so I will not even try to wrap it up in this blog post. I can say I'll miss my Project friends like crazy and I hope the things I learned this summer stick. I know I learned a lot about myself- I feel much more patient, more okay with where I am in my life and less like I need to rush around trying to be something I'm not.

The last week and days of Project we focused a lot on what going back home and to school would be like. Here was our theme verse for the last week, a fitting one from Romans:

"But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed?
And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard?
And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?
And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent?
As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'"

[Romans 10:14-15]

Two Weeks.

Tomorrow marks the day each student on Project is supposed to hand in their two weeks' notice. Only two weeks of work left! I feel like I just got comfortable, just got settled into my routine of cashiering Monday-Wednesday, having off on Thursday, cashiering again on Friday, serving on Saturday, and off again Sunday.

I finally got the hang of the cash register, how it sometimes freezes up for a second when you ring up too many adult buffets and how it still features menu items that have been discontinued long before I started working at Ryan's.

I finally feel comfortable with my coworkers--Chris and Dot and their passive aggressive arguments, Rhonda's bouncy steps and hairdo full of colorful barrettes, Beverly's sharp attitude punctuated by her Jamaican accent, the way Cortillia slyly asks how I'm doing when she knows my section just got slammed, but then offers me some of her contraband candy. I know I'll miss Willie and Sam, the dishwashers, especially them calling me and the other women at work "Baby Girl" and "Darling" or "Pretty Mama" in the case of Miss Ellen, resident Grandma. I'll even miss Sylvia, who I can't for the life of me seem to please.

All of us here, whether we enjoy our jobs or not, are going to miss some parts of it. Some of the best times we have here are telling funny work stories. Like how all the Wal-Mart kids share the secrets of that mysterious corporation--its morning cheer for example. (Who's number one? The customer, always! What store is number one? 5087! What do we want to be? Accident free!). And then there are the fast food kids--the ones at McDonald's, Chick-fil-A and Wendy's--who love to brag about how many people they got through their drive through that day, how many sandwiches they made and wrapped, or the crazy milkshake creations they invented during down times.

Summer jobs are a funny thing that way--teaching us to make fun during slow boring days and entertain ourselves when our job gets monotonous. There is a song we like to listen to here--Swing Life Away--that has this line: "We live on front porches and swing life away./We get by just fine here on minimum wage." It speaks truth to all of us minimum wage workers--we are getting by just fine. And we only have two weeks left to make the most of free french fries, getting paid to watch people on vacation, and trying not to laugh when we can't understand Southerners.

Feeding the Faith

Last Saturday's community event was one of the best this summer. The community team brought us Christmas in July--complete with mashed potatoes and stuffing. They revamped the Grassy Knoll with wrapping paper, streamers and pine cones and called it the North Knoll and we even had our own Santa of July. We made snowmen out of our own team members (our team's looked more like a white tin man but we did get runner up!) and had a "sleigh ride" (pulling people on a tarp across a field).

Then we kicked off "Feeding the Faith" week. The theme verse is 2 Peter 1:5-8: "For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours an are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

As a part of the P & WV team, I helped set up a prayer walk we did on Tuesday around North Myrtle. We also sponsored a 36-hour prayer/meditation vigil and had someone out in our prayer tent continuously from Wednesday morning at 8 until tonight at 8.

Another new event here on project is our Wednesday night concert series. There is a bar/dance club not far from us that has live bands every night and on Wednesday an 11-year old girl named Gabbie Rae sings. A bunch of us go listen and support her each week, and she now recognizes us. I don't know what the bartender thinks of us--we all order soda or water and then just dance/sing along or play pool--but we have a lot of fun. And Gabbie Rae is good! She has been on the Tyra Banks Show--check her out here!

Oh yes, and I have to say happy birthday to Quinn today and Mom tomorrow!! Just so you guys know, everyone here knows it's your birthday. :)

Agape & Answering the Call

Last week was the week our staff left and the theme was "Agape," which is Greek for love, but a specific kind of love--self-sacrificing, unconditional, consuming love.

We had an Agape Dinner on Thursday where we encouraged each other were encouraged by staff before they left for the summer. Now that the staff is gone, we are student led until August.

So far this week, "Answering the Call" week, we have all stepped up into our various roles. We have four new student project leaders (one of them is my roommate!) and then each apartment has a Bible study leader and everyone else belongs to a certain team, each with team leaders. My team is the Prayer and World Vision team; we explore different ways to pray, especially as it applies around the world.

Our weekly schedule is basically the same; the only change is planning meetings on Tuesdays for each team and we do more intentional exploring on Sunday afternoons when the beaches are full of people (not so much high schoolers anymore, now we get a lot of vacationing families).

World Vision week

All for One week ended on a high note here in North Myrtle. We had the staff v. students softball game (Red Fog v. Blu Cru) which the students won by a pretty big margin. The rules varied from inning to inning, but all 94 of us had to bat at least once. We sent different people into the outfield each time, though I am pretty sure we all made it out there at some point or another. It was neat to see such a huge group of people come together, even for something so silly as a softball game. It is cool to know that we are only the second team to beat the staff ever in the nearly 40-year history of North Myrtle Beach Summer Project (last year's students were the first).

After the game on Saturday we switched gears for Sunday and brought in this week's World Vision theme with our International Dinner. As a member of the Prayer and World Vision team here I helped plan it. The goal of it is to help students understand that we are pampered here in America as far as religious freedom goes. It was interactive and forced students to think about different people and not just North Myrtle Beach.

Throughout the week then we will be highlighting our international partnerships (6 total--France, Australia, East Asia, Ghana, Latin America, and another European country). We will get to see the things people are doing there right now and what any one of us could be doing a year from now.

It is so amazing and scary to think that there is an entire world out there so far removed from what we know. I experienced that in Italy for sure, but there are even more dramatic differences in some of these places. Sometimes here in North Myrtle we are so focused on the recent high school graduates partying and living it up for the week that we forget about all the other people in all the corners of the globe.

"What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?" --Romans 8:31