In 30 Days....

In 30 days....


 ~it will be June 27th, 2011, the day I travel to Miami.
~ I will wake up at 3am.
~I will take off before 7 in the morning.
~ I will spend over 7 hours traveling.
~ I will arrive in Miami around 5:30pm (Miami-time, which will be around 2:30 our time)
~I will be meeting my teammates and roommates for the first time.
~I will be participating in my first ever FUAGNEM.
~I will find out which part I get to play in our drama.
~I will be giggling, laughing, learning, talking, traveling, worshipping and growing with over 300 other teens. :)

I cannot wait to be Never the Same!!!!!

I'm Done!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Exciting news... in case you didn't notice on my little fundraising tracking bar.... I'M DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  God is sooo good, and it was totally amazing to see how he provided each little bit that I needed. I still might have a few small expenses pop up that I'll need to get money for, but the trip itself... trip costs, plane ticket, luggage, passport.. .even food in the airport! It's all ready. I'm sending in the final payment check on Monday.

I'm so so happy to be done. Even before the trip, I have been learning so much. God is amazing. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you so so much for all of your prayers and support. I couldn't have done it without you. It means a lot to me. Thank you! <3

50 Days left!!!

I made this collage using a bunch of pictures from our countdown blog.
Looking back, it seems like the last 50 days passed by so quickly! About a month and a half now, and we're off! :D

Shopping!

Since we have gotten the packing list, we've decided we need to  make a couple shopping trips.. :P On Wednesday, we went to Target and picked up a bunch of random stuff on the list...  personal sized peanut butter and nutella, sunscreen, bobby pins, makeup removal wipes,medicines we're supposed to bring... :)
Lots of good stuff... I was surprised how many things come in travel sized containers! hehe, I love it! I was looking at our cart and thinking "Ok, this is probably a quarter of the stuff that I am going to need to fit in my bags... how is this all going to fit?"

We still need to make trips to a few more stores... Dollar Tree, Thrift Stores, here we come! haha...and I still need to get my suitcase. :P But I have time.

Also, team lists and t-shirts are supposed to be coming out soon. Team lists are basically a list of everyone going, but just broken down into leaders and teens on each team. It's going to be so exciting to find out who I'll be in a team with, and be able to get in touch with them before the trip. :) T-shirts are going to be mailed out soon, and we are all wearing them when we travel to Miami for drama training at the start of the trip.

Please be praying!  A lot of girls are still having trouble with fundraising, and I still have $300 to go. :) We are less than two months away! Also, please keep praying for the people of Ecuador, that God would prepare them for His message. :)

Thank you soo much for all of your support everybody!! <3

Please be praying!

This isn't exactly good news.

Yesterday, a volcano erupted in Ecuador, in Banos, a city 81 miles southeast of Quito. This volcano, Tungurahua Volcano, is one of eight active volcanoes in Ecuador. This will not stop us. We are still going. God has a plan.

Please be praying for all of the people that had to evacuate because of this, and please be praying for my sponsored child Erika.

http://www.digtriad.com/news/national/article/173374/175/Tungurahua-Volcano-Erupted-Today

Updates...

I haven't updated in a bit... I've just been trying to get some stuff finalized..... fundraising, meeting my child, passport info, flight schedules... the list goes on. I am getting super excited, not like I wasn't already. :]

I'm all signed up to meet my sponsored child while I'm in Ecuador. I am so so so happy and excited that I get to meet Erika!!!
I (think) that I finished getting shots to go..... might have to go back and get one more. :\ *sigh*
Everything has been going pretty well.
We found out what hotel we'll be staying in. :] I'll post more about that later.
Also today, we got our packing list!!! Yes, it was quite long (4 pages!) and I sat there thinking, "Hmm, I wonder how I'm gonna fit all that in my suitcase?" :D haha...

Please keep praying for the people of Ecuador; for everyones fundraising; for us, as we prepare our hearts, minds and bodies to go on this trip. Keep Erika (my sponsored child) in your prayers too, if you would. :] Pray that we'll get everything finalized and finished smoothly and without too much trouble. :)

Thank you for all your support! <3

Love you all!!

Some facts about Ecuador!!!!!

The weather in Quito is mild, having a spring-like climate all year long. :] We'll be there in July which is part of it's dry season. The temperatures in July are usually between 50 and 70 degrees.

Ecuadorian cuisine sounds delicious! :D It varies depending on where you are, but most regions follow their typical 3-course meal, consisting of soup as the first dish, some sort of rice and a protein (e.g. meat,fish,poultry) as the second dish, and dessert and coffee as the third dish. In the Highland Region (which is where Quito is located) pork, chicken, beef and cuy (guinea pig) are very popular and are often served with a variety of grains (e.g. rice, corn, potatoes).

I will post more stuff, and some pictures later.

86 days to go!!!! :]