Well outreach has already come to an end, but I want to catch everyone up and tell you about our last week. Croatia was such a blessing to our team. I couldn't think of a better way to have ended outreach. It was a week of early mornings, exhausting but awesome moments with the kids, beautiful afternoons by the sea and great team bonding throughout the week. Everyone was just so happy with not only where we were but also what we were doing. The kids camp was so much fun! Seriously... Those kids. Haha they were awesome. As for my specific part.. I helped teach English, which was great! Towards the end of the week we found out that we came in quite a but under budget, so we got to do two really awesome things together. First we got to eat seafood... SEAFOOD! Seriously, it was the first in 5 months, and it was delicious. So yeah, we went out for a really nice dinner right on the water. It was beautiful and also a great night of just encouraging each other and laughing together. That night it really hit me how much I will miss my family here when I go home. We really are a family. Second, we got to go sailing! It was incredible! I've always thought it would be so cool to go on a sailboat, and it was. It was an great way to end our outreach.
Friday morning at camp ended all too quickly, and it was time to leave Croatia. Some awesome things happened that day, but first I will share a slightly funny moment. I was checking my bag in, and they rolled it away... Then the phone rang and my bag came back. I was told I had to go through a different security check in. So I nervously went to the other check in and asked the guy, "Excuse me, but why is my bag getting searched?" His answer... "You are carrying ammunition." WHAT. Haha, yeah well I bought some bullet key chains in Sarajevo, and apparently on the scan the bullet showed up but not the key chain portion. So I dug them out of my bag, showed him, he laughed, I laughed, and he sent me on my way.
Next came our luggage miracle. We had been told anything over 15 kilos would be charged a 30€ overage fee, which none of us wanted to pay. All but two of us were good on weight, the other two put their heaviest stuff in one bag so that only one would get the charge. Well that morning after we were all packed up, we had prayed that we would get through the airport without any problems or extra charges. So up went the heavy bag, and it weighed in at 23 kilos (which was also the max before having to pay a second overweight fee). In that moment we were all praying, please God just let it go through! And that is exactly what happened! It was awesome.
Our next airport fun came in the form of Lahja walking for the first time! She had taken a few steps in the past months, but now she was really walking! All by herself. I turned around, and she was just walking away. It was such a precious and exciting moment.
Then came a scary moment personally. I went to grab some last minute souvenirs, and when checking out discovered that my debit card was missing. The last time I remembered using it was the previous Friday in busy Split after withdrawing the last bit of outreach fees. I could've sworn that I put it directly back in my purse, but it wasn't there. I panicked because there would be no way for me to get more money out or to get a new card in time, plus I was scared that I had possibly dropped it which meant that I could also have lost all the money in my account. So after crying for a few moments, Magdalena came and talked to me. She helped me to calm down and give it to God and to remember that He is bigger than any missing bank card. So we prayed that I would find it, and two days later after multiple searches, I found it. Thank you Jesus!
So that Friday night, we arrived back in Cheb! It was so great to see our whole DTS back together. I was especially excited to see my dear South Africa. Haha Andreya and I were super close during lecture phase, so being apart for those two months was tough. It's so great to be back in Cheb, and I must add that this town is so much more beautiful in summer than it was in winter! It's so green and flowery! This week was our outreach debrief and presentation work. So far, it has been great. I'm thankful for debrief because it really helps us see what we did and what happened in those two months. I was talking to Anna while we were walking home the other night, and she was saying its so weird because it feels like we are back in lecture phase and that outreach is just a dream, like it doesn't feel like we were really gone for two months. I couldn't agree more. It's such a strange feeling.
I can't wrap my mind around the fact that we graduate in just 3 weeks, and then just a few days later, I fly home. It really is such a weird feeling. Don't get me wrong, I am super excited to see everyone back home. I have missed y'all like crazy! But I'm also super sad to be leaving my YWAM family. There is also some nervousness over the adjustment of coming home. I've heard many people say that they were depressed after coming home from DTS because they had such a hard time adjusting, so I'm just praying that doesn't happen. I want to stay busy so that I don't dwell on the struggle of the adjustment.
So to all my awesome friends and family back home... Plan it up! I'm so excited to see all of you and catch up on life! I fly home the afternoon of the 29th, so yeah. I will hopefully be able to send out a message that evening to meet whoever wants to come at Starbucks & Tutti Frutti! Until then, love y'all! See you in 25 days!
xo :)
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