continued from the previous post
I woke up the next morning very confused. I mean, when you're in a hotel that smells like oranges and smoke almost being choked by your infinity scarf (don't sleep with one y'all, it's a bad idea) being woken up by someone whose kids you babysit, why wouldn't you be confused? Then, I remembered the night before: the news that our flight that been cancelled, the realization that we were now losing a day from our trip and I wouldn't be able to attend their youth group or go to their church, the angry scribbling in my journal. I remembered everyone (us Americans and a bunch of {really nice} Brazilians crowding around a gate agent for food and hotel vouchers. I remembered the guy who drove us to our hotel- off the book- saying all he needed was tips, and being surprisingly awake for it being 1 am. Wow, what a night. I found that my roommate had gotten me breakfast- a stale muffin, greasy sausage, an apple, and yogurt. I ate the muffin (well, tried to) and the sausage, journaled a little, and showered before we all took off for the airport to use our vouchers on good food. On our way to the airport we chatted with some other Brazilians in our same situation, but with two young girls and their flight wasn't until the next day. What a mess. Once we got to our destination, we had a little contest at La Madeline to see who could use the most of their voucher without having to pay extra. I don't remember who won, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't me. We then took the plane train over to another part of the airport to get a rental car. Mr. B and I wanted a sports car, but Mrs. B wouldn't have it. We rode an escalator down to get our car, and we were having a petty argument or something, causing Mr. B to pull out his phone and clarify whatever we were talking about with Siri. Then, in my sleep-deprived brain, I had a brilliant idea: while he was speaking to Siri, I shouted "elephant!", causing Siri to mess up. We do it a lot in my family, and the look on his face was hilarious. I later found out that it had really surprised him and helped to show him my true colors. We got in our little rental car and drove to The World of Coca-Cola, knocking something off Mrs. B's bucket list. It was fun, tasting sodas from all around the world, but my stomach hurt so badly after, and I never wanted Coke again. After a quick stop a CVS, we were back to the airport because we had no where else to go. That's when Mr. B got a text.
to be continued in my next post when I get back from Mexico
-Emily
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Monday, December 21, 2015
Adventures on the (Part-time) Mission Field {2}
Welcome to the second post in my "adventures" series! Last post I wrote about a time when things went wrong, and today I have a story about the same. Wow, having things go wrong sure does make for exciting stories, huh?
It was June 19th, and I was on my first overseas, plane-required mission trip. Our group was small- a married couple and myself. That day, we had flown into Atlanta, and would soon fly out to Brazil- a ten hour overnight flight. After dinner at Pei Wei, we went to our gate to wait. Our flight that was supposed to leave at ten was then delayed three and a half hours. My traveling companions realized we had a lot of time, so they pulled out their iPad mini to Skype their kids, while I decided to see if my friend was up for a chat. She was, and to my surprise, she was at another friends' house, twins, so I had three people to keep me entertained. I talked with them and we played Monopoly Deal over Skype (I won and will never forget that) and then my companions started a conversation with the Brazilians seated across from us. (Brazilians are really friendly, making this a pleasant layover) They kept talking and talking and I was trying to think of a way to tell my friends that I needed to go be friendly without just saying that out loud, cause, you know, they could hear me. I faked my internet problems and texted them that I needed to go, and then joined in the conversation around me. They were very nice- a husband, wife, and a little girl. We discussed the usual traveler stuff- jobs, beautiful places to visit in Brazil (we weren't going there as our final destination but at least we got tips for if any of us ever do), and kids. Then, there was an announcement. Our flight had been cancelled. Anger towards..well... everyone swelled up inside me.
Look out for the next section of the this sometime in the next few days.
-Emily
It was June 19th, and I was on my first overseas, plane-required mission trip. Our group was small- a married couple and myself. That day, we had flown into Atlanta, and would soon fly out to Brazil- a ten hour overnight flight. After dinner at Pei Wei, we went to our gate to wait. Our flight that was supposed to leave at ten was then delayed three and a half hours. My traveling companions realized we had a lot of time, so they pulled out their iPad mini to Skype their kids, while I decided to see if my friend was up for a chat. She was, and to my surprise, she was at another friends' house, twins, so I had three people to keep me entertained. I talked with them and we played Monopoly Deal over Skype (I won and will never forget that) and then my companions started a conversation with the Brazilians seated across from us. (Brazilians are really friendly, making this a pleasant layover) They kept talking and talking and I was trying to think of a way to tell my friends that I needed to go be friendly without just saying that out loud, cause, you know, they could hear me. I faked my internet problems and texted them that I needed to go, and then joined in the conversation around me. They were very nice- a husband, wife, and a little girl. We discussed the usual traveler stuff- jobs, beautiful places to visit in Brazil (we weren't going there as our final destination but at least we got tips for if any of us ever do), and kids. Then, there was an announcement. Our flight had been cancelled. Anger towards..well... everyone swelled up inside me.
Look out for the next section of the this sometime in the next few days.
-Emily
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Adventures on the (Part-time) Mission Field {1}
Welcome to my first installment of my series I call "Adventures on the (part-time) mission field"! I have so many stories swirling around in my head and it took a long time to figure out which one to write about first, but the following story holds a special place in my heart.
It was the morning of December 31st, 2014 and it was time to leave Mexico. Our team of ten had an amazing time, but this day had one agenda: go home. As was discussed the night before at devotions, everyone would get up early and leave the hotel at 4:30, in order to cross the Mexican border quickly, so the out-of-state teams could catch their flights at the airport in the nearest American town. Our team, however, was a exception. We didn't fly to Mexico, we drove. This made sense, because we only lived six hours away. And, because my dad was leading our team and he likes his sleep, we decided to sleep in and leave the hotel two hours later, around 6:30. So, we woke up and did some last minute packing, but it didn't take long for problems to arise. My dad had gone out to our van (our only form of transportation) to load some luggage, finding it, well, not there. Others from our team who had loaded their luggage the night before began to wonder where their luggage (and our way home) was. It didn't take long to find out. Dad called the leader of the whole trip, who was at the airport dropping people off. He had our van. On the other side of the border. Oh, joy. The only logical next step was for us to load up in three taxis and drive to the border, then walk across the Rio Grande (on a bridge, of course). Typical day, right? To make things even better, it was cold. As in, the 40s. And raining. Fun fun. As we crazy gringos carried our luggage (it was at this point that I regretted bringing my stuff in three different bags) across the bridge with 4 inch puddles, I did a lot of thinking about the people who do this, cross the border, everyday, in search of hope. Keep looking, my friends, keep looking. After going through customs and getting a few funny looks (especially when my dad tried to make me do the splits against the wall of the customs office), someone from another church came to our rescue. After we dropped him off at the airport, we sped away before anyone else could take our van. We were on our way home, but not before having breakfast at Chick-Fil-A (there may have been a honey eating contest between myself and my pastor). That was a memorable and tiring trip indeed, as evidenced by the fact that I could barely stay awake to rush in the new year that night. Things didn't go right that day, but that made to all the better.
-Emily (always being flexible)
It was the morning of December 31st, 2014 and it was time to leave Mexico. Our team of ten had an amazing time, but this day had one agenda: go home. As was discussed the night before at devotions, everyone would get up early and leave the hotel at 4:30, in order to cross the Mexican border quickly, so the out-of-state teams could catch their flights at the airport in the nearest American town. Our team, however, was a exception. We didn't fly to Mexico, we drove. This made sense, because we only lived six hours away. And, because my dad was leading our team and he likes his sleep, we decided to sleep in and leave the hotel two hours later, around 6:30. So, we woke up and did some last minute packing, but it didn't take long for problems to arise. My dad had gone out to our van (our only form of transportation) to load some luggage, finding it, well, not there. Others from our team who had loaded their luggage the night before began to wonder where their luggage (and our way home) was. It didn't take long to find out. Dad called the leader of the whole trip, who was at the airport dropping people off. He had our van. On the other side of the border. Oh, joy. The only logical next step was for us to load up in three taxis and drive to the border, then walk across the Rio Grande (on a bridge, of course). Typical day, right? To make things even better, it was cold. As in, the 40s. And raining. Fun fun. As we crazy gringos carried our luggage (it was at this point that I regretted bringing my stuff in three different bags) across the bridge with 4 inch puddles, I did a lot of thinking about the people who do this, cross the border, everyday, in search of hope. Keep looking, my friends, keep looking. After going through customs and getting a few funny looks (especially when my dad tried to make me do the splits against the wall of the customs office), someone from another church came to our rescue. After we dropped him off at the airport, we sped away before anyone else could take our van. We were on our way home, but not before having breakfast at Chick-Fil-A (there may have been a honey eating contest between myself and my pastor). That was a memorable and tiring trip indeed, as evidenced by the fact that I could barely stay awake to rush in the new year that night. Things didn't go right that day, but that made to all the better.
-Emily (always being flexible)
Friday, December 11, 2015
Latest Happenings
Hello friends
It's been awhile. I know the cardinal rule of blogging is that you are never never supposed to apologize for not blogging, so I won't. Bust just saying, it has been awhile. I've been busy. School, dance, Jesus, traveling. Blogging hasn't been a priority. It doesn't have to be. I'm okay with that, and I hope you are too. But, I want to do something. So, I began to think about what I could write about. Blank. Then, I realized that I could write about what I love talking about: missions! So, over the next 4-6 posts, I'll share the most memorable things I've experienced on past mission trips, and I hope you enjoy them. After that, I hope to get a comprehensive list together of all of the spiritually-relating books I've read, along with a mini review of each, so you can enjoy them too, since books have been a huge part of my spiritual journey. Stay tuned to hear about my adventures, from random dance parties to blunders in Spanish!
-Emily
It's been awhile. I know the cardinal rule of blogging is that you are never never supposed to apologize for not blogging, so I won't. Bust just saying, it has been awhile. I've been busy. School, dance, Jesus, traveling. Blogging hasn't been a priority. It doesn't have to be. I'm okay with that, and I hope you are too. But, I want to do something. So, I began to think about what I could write about. Blank. Then, I realized that I could write about what I love talking about: missions! So, over the next 4-6 posts, I'll share the most memorable things I've experienced on past mission trips, and I hope you enjoy them. After that, I hope to get a comprehensive list together of all of the spiritually-relating books I've read, along with a mini review of each, so you can enjoy them too, since books have been a huge part of my spiritual journey. Stay tuned to hear about my adventures, from random dance parties to blunders in Spanish!
-Emily
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