For India, and the North!

Well friends, its finally time to 'spill it all'... well, tell you all I know about my upcoming trip to India, that is.  I will give you all the details that I know, and if you wish to join me as I prepare, then my joy would be that much more complete!


All right, here goes. Warning, this is long. 0:-)
As many of you know, I am in the middle of my 2nd year at school. I am absolutely loving it here, and could tell you all sorts of things about my major, my friends and my adventures there. For now, I'll focus on my trip to India.

-My team was originally going all over India, and there were more than 20 of us. That was a little big, so the program leadership split us up into two teams, one going to Northern India, and one going to Southern India.

 My team now has 13 members- 10 ladies and 3 wonderful gentlemen. We have already gotten so close, and look forward to developing deeper relationships as we get closer to the trip. 

-The actual mission: we'll be working with a nonprofit chidlren's organization in india. We'll be figuring out exactly what we're doing next semester when we Skype our contacts. What we know is that we'll be with the kids the whole time, pouring into them through 3-4 VBS style children's camps, games and other fun things. Our contacts have shared that they want us to plan the majority of the camps, and have a real hands-on involvement in the planning process. Our goal is to bless our contacts, and bring relief and rest to them. Through blessing them, we expect to learn and grow in our own walks with God, and have many opportunities to love on the children.

-For now though, my team is mostly focused on raising funds for the trip, and praying over every detail. We are scheming and dreaming up all sorts of fundraising plans, including my jewelry design, which I'll get to in a second.

-What about you guys? Well, my team and myself are the ones going to India, but we need so much support, both financially and in prayer. Here are some simple ways that all of you can be involved:

    1) Prayer. If you know anything about missions, or about India, you'll know that this our biggest 

        need. Here's whatwe need prayer for:

                - My team

      

                - Our contacts 

                - Planning 

                - Fundraising 

     2) Donating, or Purchasing items ;)

                - My team is coming up with bake sales & events 

               If you're in town, join us! Even if you can't donate,
               the more the merrier!

              

               - Necklaces - for once, my creativity is working, 

                 praise the Lord! I am working on making a series 

                of stamped metal necklaces to sell. To the right is a 

                sample of the stamps themselves. When I get actual 

                samples done, I will post prices and pictures all 

                over my blog and social media, so keep watching!

               - If you ARE interested in donating, here's your 

                 info. It's really easy, and takes just a few minutes. I 

                 tried it myself, just to make sure I was right in 

                 saying it is easy. If you want more in-depth information
                on how to do this, please contact me on Facebook, or
                comment below.

Well, that's all I have for you now.
Thank you guys, so much, for reading all my excited outpourings of thoughts and information. It is largely because of all of you that I am able to dream as much as I do.

Be blessed this Christmas, and know that I love you all dearly!

Have a glorious day!

--An Adventuring Friend

More on Me and This year...

Being home is such a nice feeling. I hope you've experienced the "at home moment" before- you know, when you're surrounded by people you love, in a place you love, and you are at peace?
I'm definitely feeling that today. I got in to my parents' house after day-long road trip with my best friend. Finals week is *finally!* done, and I'm officially half-way through my degree-in-three college journey. 3 semesters down, 3 more to go!

I can't say that homecoming was perfect though. There was a familiar little jingle and bark that I distinctly missed when I walked in the door. Seems like life just cannot be perfect, but we're thankful for those little moments anyway. Eh, well, you can read more of my rambles & ponderings in my "Adventuring Through Life" blog. This one's for status updates. ;)

So here it is:
This year has been so fantastic! God has taught me so much through the adventures I have been on both at home, school, and on crazy road trips with friends (maybe a future blog?). I have had so many opportunities to meet new people and build lasting friendships, learn new ideas and challenge old ones, and otherwise grow as a person.... Not literally of course. We all know that this little frame isn't getting any taller. (So sad)....
Tangent over, here are some highlights from the year:

I got to adventure through 5 different states over Fall break,

driving all over with my 4 best friends. We learned so much

more about each other than  we ever thought we could, sang

our country-music-loving hearts out at the Grand Ole Opery,

and did all sorts of crazy things.... like me getting a tattoo. ;)

So much fun.

I found out that I can graduate with my undergraduate degree in 3 years. What a blessing!

I got to intern with a local nonprofit, working with kids and pouring into them...
So many things! I suppose if you want to hear more, you just need to ask me.

Well, that's my year in a wrap.
The only thing I missed was updates on my upcoming trip to India. That'll be in my next post. I have all sorts of fun information and prayer requests to share with you guys as I talk about this upcoming trip. In the meantime, hope you're feeling "at home" this holiday season! Find time to rest, worship, work, and play, and be blessed my friends!

Contemplating an Introductory Drive

I know a lot of you don't...
But I like long drives, even through the flatness of Kansas (or places like Kansas).
I love staring out the window and just thinking about life.
That is, until I get car sick.
      Motion sickness is a real thing people.


Well, I'll spare you the details of my poor body.
Meantime, here's the scoop with this blog.
I like traveling, and I mean to do it a lot in my life.
 I also like people, their stories, and the places I go...

And remembering all these things, well sometimes my friends call me Dory.
I'm a little weird. I'm not the best writer. But I'll always be genuine.
This is going to be the stories of my travels- the little and big ones.
I'll include some random past stories, a few future dreams, and current updates.
I think of them as adventures, and maybe you'll agree. Maybe not.
Just bear with me, ok?
Or don't. ;)


Well, where am I at now?
I'm not actually going to tell you everything until I figure out what I want my privacy settings to be. Technology- what are we going to do with it?
Haha, for now, look up "dreamer" by Isbells. I'm listening to it to avoid actual sickness.
Sometime soon I'll post about my upcoming trip to India & the current state of affairs in my life.

For now, please stay hydrated and well slept, and if you are not either of those two (and you do sometimes get motion sickness) don't go for long drives. ;)
But seriously, enjoy the day!