New Friends and Goodbyes

I officially don't like graduation. I'm tired of classes coming to an end, and I'm not ready for school to be over. Why does it seem like it's only at the end of the year when I make the best friends? Why can't this community student get it together, get over her antisocial tendencies and make friends before April?!?

Julia via Facebook

One of the many blessings this semester has brought is my new friendship with Julia. I never thought we'd be friends, not good friends anyway. I met her in Sophomore Honors Seminar where we sat next to each other by chance and I was in awe of her super awesome discussion skills. I'm very sad to say that I didn't see her as much more than a super smart honors student. I'm so incredibly glad my first impressions were wrong! Through the student missions program, I ended up giving Julia a ride over to the retreat in Pigeon Forge. We got lost.... From being my fellow lover of Polish food (we talked about just Polish food for over an hour!), to taking over as navigator when my crazy GPS failed, Julia not only made the trip survivable, but incredibly enjoyable!

Its hard to imagine that the SM retreat was just two weeks ago, and now we'll be on completely different continents (although thankfully similar time zones) and reduced to Skype and Facebook as our only forms of contact. :( <--- Me very VERY upset!

Honestly, I'm kinda jealous of her in a lot of ways! She's going to Poland next year (best place EVER!) and she already speaks Polish! Crazy major advantage! She's super smart, super fun, and I'm so thankful that she's always willing to drag her friends up a mountain or blazing through a new trail. I will miss her like crazy!

And Julia is just one of the MANY people I'll be saying goodbye to in the next few days... :( I will miss them all so much. I'm so thankful that we all have the opportunity to meet again in heaven. May that day come VERY quickly!

Video: Part 3 - Exploring Creation

So guess what I found when I was showing some friends Drew Forsey's videos of Kenya? That's right! There's a new video!!! :) It's all about their Christmas break and the wildlife the SMs experienced in Kenya.
Most of the SMs had family that came to visit during Christmas break. Mom and Dad: Take note! :)

Part 3: Exploring Creation from Drew Forsey on Vimeo.

Gods creation is astounding! Enjoy and happy Sabbath!!! :)

Surprise Packages

The doorbell rang this afternoon, and it was the mailman with a package with MY name on it! This in itself is exciting, but what was inside the box was absolutely amazing!

Some friends had recent traveled to Kenya, and they sent me this box full of all sorts of useful things!

I actually have to write a research paper on Kenya before I leave, so these books are definitely going to be my first sources!

      

Me epically excited to be able to read travel books!

A sampling of the books I will be reading in the VERY near future!

Beautiful Kenyan Shillings

Current (as of a few minutes ago) exchange rate: 1 US dollar = 83.3 Shillings

I also found some Kenyan Shilling, "starter money" in my package. The money is so beautiful. I absolutely love all the colors! American dollars might need to step it up in the design department!

SM exit retreat - lessons learned

I learned so much while I was out in the smokey mountains this past weekend. Here are just a few highlights. 

• Never try to drive out of Gatlenburg on a Sunday morning. Bad idea. 
• The Smokey Mountains contain some of God's greatest creations! LOVE that place!
• "Chicken" tortilla soup with cilantro and avocado is pretty much the greatest thing ever. Cilantro for the win!
• By far the most popular name for future student missionaries seems to be either Melissa or Alissa. Side note: SMs with those names also tend to be going to places that all start with P (Palau, Peru, Pohnpei... etc.)
• My fellow SMs are some of the most interesting and uplifting people ever! The group dynamic of the weekend can't be beat. 
• I actually like praise songs when they're acoustic and sung with passionate voices. 
• I am truly epically bad at taking pictures. I had my camera the entire weekend and didn't take one photograph... not one...
• I have a HUGE family of current and former SMs supporting me on my journey! 

SM theme song

I spent this past weekend on an SM retreat in Gatlinburg TN.
Right now, finishing up school is consuming all my time, (or should be) so I'll write about the retreat later. But for now, here's the current SM theme song from the weekend. I'm not usually one for contemporary christian songs, but I really learned to love this one this weekend. Having said that, I do prefer it sung with just a guitar, (hence, probably not going to be buying this version on iTunes) but it's still a beautiful song.  Enjoy!

Video Part 2: Finding Purpose

For those of you who missed the Student Missions vespers, or just want to see part two of the documentary, here it is!!!

Part 2: Finding Purpose from Drew Forsey on Vimeo.

The phone call

Guess who just got a phone call from Kenya?!? That's right!
After being questioned about my willingness to be an SM and my lack of tattoos, I have officially been accepted to be a science tutor and lab assistant at Maxwell!

When I decided to be an SM, I never dreamed that I would be going as a missionary to Africa. My dreams had always centered around Asia and India specifically. When I applied to the SM program at Southern, the only thing I knew was that I wanted to teach, and that I didn't want to go to the islands... Those two things seemed pretty contradictory at the time since the only positions I knew about where the ones in Micronesia where a lot of SMs are sent. I had dreams of serving in a school in India, surrounded by my favorite food on earth! (I pretty much love all the Indian food I've ever had... hands down the best stuff ever!) Turns out, there really aren't many schools listed with student teaching positions in the area, and God had a different plan.

This is just how sure I was that I would be going to India next year

I first heard about Maxwell in Southerns Student Missions vespers program. (ok, this isn't really accurate. I had heard about the school before from friends who had visited Africa, but honestly, it didn't really register in my brain... Sorry!) At vespers they showed the second of Drew Forsey's documentary films about his year at Maxwell. In the video I saw individuals I remember seeing at school serving as tutors and deans in a country I hadn't even considered.

To be fair, I was hoping to go to Egypt, which is also in Africa, however, I don't know how useful it is to compare Egypt is with the rest of subsaharan Africa... Since when were continents the most useful way of grouping people? I don't know...

So here I am. Ready to embark on an adventure that I never saw coming, hoping to have my view of Africa blown to smithereens, and praying that this will be the best year of my life!

Blessings

While I still haven't heard back from Kenya saying whether I have been accepted or not, I did hear back from Nebraska this week. I had applied to a Chemistry summer research program in Lincoln, and the program looked GREAT! Great for my resume, great for figuring out my career, and also great for my wallet. The only thing that wasn't great was the timing. I would have to be out in Lincoln Nebraska for ten weeks, and I wouldn't get back until august 10th, three days before I have to be in Africa.
Yep, that would have been a little stressful to say the least! Whatever the reason I was rejected, I know God played a roll in their decision.

My NEW summer plans are to take physics from UTC right here in town. While physics might not be as thrilling as Chemistry (by a long shot...) I still need to take it, and this way I'll be able to live at home and spend some quality time with my family and friends before I leave.
Sometimes when one door closes, it's the best thing that could possibly happen.
Happy Easter!

Chosen to Serve - Video

And here it is! How I first heard about Maxwell in the first place. Drew Forsey is a SM over there this year and has made some great videos about his experience! Enjoy!

Part 1: Chosen to Serve from Drew Forsey on Vimeo.

Scholarly Farewell

One of the hardest things about going away as an SM next year is the friends I leave behind. Almost everyone in the original Southern Scholars Honors is either traveling next year, or will be gone by the time the travelers return. Due to this sad fact, my dear friend Emil pushed us to have one last game night together. It took several tries (over almost 4 months!) but we finally got a group together for games and hours of solid laughter!

In honor of the occasion, I decided to try making those crafty jello aquariums I found on pintrest. While mine didn't turn out looking quite as good as Martha Stewart's, I was still proud of my artistic experiment. 

Jessie, thankfully, loved my aquariums :)

Once the party got rolling, the evening flew by with Dutch Blitz (Best. Game. Ever!), Apples to Apples, the animal game, and two crazy rounds of good old fashioned Mafia. I don't believe I've laughed that hard in a long time!

The party planner himself!

Co-narrators, and winning Mafia team!

How I feel about Jessie not being in Tennessee when I return. 

:( sadness aboundeth..

The group (minus a few key members)

Next year Thomas will be in Denmark, Cherie Lynn in Austria, Eric in Costa Rica, and I will be in Africa! I can't imagine us going any further apart! I'm so blessed to have these wonderful friends in my life. It's moments like these that I'm not looking forward to leaving behind.

I'll miss you guys! Here's to having a strong finish to a wonderful school year!