A Journey- Where Will it Take Me?

This is my second post for Gina's Summer Memories challenge- since I had a hard time deciding which direction to go I did two- one for childhood and one for more recent.

Life is all about a journey we are on. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I don't even pretend to understand or even try to predict where my life's journey is going to take me- I know where I HOPE it takes me but as I travel through life I know that THIS is how I feel: "Though while he lived he counted himself blessed..." Psalm 49:18a(NIV). When I was in college I went on a mission trip to Honduras and was thoroughly changed by that one experience. But then life got in the way (or should I say self got in the way) and missions was put on the back burner until 2003. I was attending (and still am) a missional minded church. One of the things they did was encourage members to go on mission trips. In 2003 I went to Athens, Greece- it was a work trip- quite different then anything I anticipated but a change happened within me. In 2005 I had the opportunity to go to Athens again- and again, it changed me and I fell in love with the wonderful people we worked with. Fast forward one year to 2006. This time I traveled to Athens by myself and "lived" there for 2 1/2 weeks. I worked with teens in an English camp and again my life was changed and blessed. In 2007 and 2008 I wanted to be back in Greece but knew that's not where God had called me. Instead I went to Timisoara, Romania which was a kid-oriented trip and God stirred something within me. The last two summers- due to various reasons I have not been and will not go on a trip. I am praying hard about next year and am anxious to see what the next step in my journey will be. My heart is in teaching and I know that through that God can use me anywhere- and for right now that's teaching the little ones I come into contact with daily but I am seeing this time as prep time- he's prepping me for something- now I just have to live my life- live the journey as I wait and see what that is! Because of these trips I have come into contact with some amazing people whom I miss dearly. This card was made for "them" and the time I spent with them just sitting and chatting (as I am not sure which one I will mail it to). Their legacy lives on in my life as I remember them daily!

Greece 2003-on Mars Hill with a friend (this is quite possibly my favorite view in the whole world!)

Greece 2005- with a friend and the son of the family we worked with (LOVE this boy!)


Greece 2006- Our last day of English camp (was a GREAT day)



Romania 2007- this little girl gave me the SWEETEST note along with some of HER prized possessions (I still have them- a little doll among a few other things) BTW- if you want to read the story of this trip (we left on Friday to arrive on Saturday and we didn't actually get there until Monday- and then turned around and left on Thursday) you can check out my archived posts in June 2007.



Romania 2008- This little girl- the smile says it all



My card- inspired by all the memories of this trip



Recipe:
Stamps- Fine Furnishings, Fine Furnishing Additions (Gina K)
Ink- black
Paper- Very Vanilla, Rich Razzleberry, Bo-Bunny dsp
Accessories, dimensionals, su punches, pearls

Thanks again for sticking through this LONG post- don't forget my birthday blog challenge- you can find that info HERE