I have much catching up to do in the area of communications these days... but for now I wanted to add a long overdue slideshow of my trip to Germany over the Christmas break. (If you are NEW to this webpage and don't know about my travels, read the info I posted in December below the slideshow.) My trip was such an amazing experience... even these days as I go through day to day life back in New Zealand, I have to sometimes stop and remind myself that YES it really did happen... I did get to go on a trip half-way around the world on this awesome adventure to Germany, Ireland and America for 5 weeks. It was so funny... the first 2 weeks I was there, I just kept saying to the girls & to myself "I'm in Germany" over and over to make sure it was really real.
My trip was a sweet time of fellowship with friends, making fun memories (which you will see in the slideshow - the pictures tell the story)... being in the SNOW (a huge blessing to an Alaskan girl's heart who has lived in the tropics for 6 years)... and a time of allowing my heart to grow for a place I'd never been before & take in a little more of God's love for a nation. And on top of all my wonderful new experiences in Germany, there were the added bonuses of side trips to Ireland & California (which of course were way to short, but were an unexpected blessing nonetheless). It was so great to connect in person with my Irish & American family - there's just something about hugging a person you've missed that can't be captured any other way isn't there? I wish there was more space on my slideshow for more pictures (but I don't want to bore you by what I think was so much fun in my travels). :) Ok, well... enjoy!
a little p.s. on this trip is that God hooked me up with a ride in 1st class on my way from LA back to Auckland (email me if you want the full story). God is so cool!!!
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DECEMBER UPDATE
my Christmas plans -
While I was on my internship in NZ I became friends with a wonderful German family... it seemed that right away that their 3 girls & I hit it off and I became the adopted older sister. In July they left for home and though they hope one day to return again to NZ, they thought it would be a nice Christmas present for all of us if I came for a visit. So, from Dec 17th until Jan 12th I will be staying with them in Gaufelden, Germany (about 30 min from Stuttgart). And since I am so close, I will also take a trip to Dublin to visit my adopted Irish family for a few days after the new year... The other amazing thing about this ticket is that for the same price I got to make a 3 hr layover in LA into an extended stopover. This will give me the extra blessing of going to Susanville, CA to visit my mom's family for a week.
