Bits and pieces of 2016. 

January :: Texas. It’s the place to be. We got to see a handful of the old gang we loved so much during our time there. We ate at Lupe Tortillas as much as time would permit. Yes, that's important for you to know.

I had a test done to find out what is causing my migraines. No answer, but the bill for the MRI, didn’t help.  

February :: My calendar tells me I was at the Adventures office a lot.  It also tells me we ate at Red Robin. I also stopped walking for 30 minutes each day. I've convinced myself that if I didn't have to leave the house, I'd work out more.

March :: Adventures in Missions short term department offers training for those who express interest in leading trips. This includes those who want to lead for Ambassadors, ages 14-18. All hands are on deck...Don and I focus on the Ambassador leaders.

By the way, are you interested in possibly leading? Message us!

Shortly after the long weekend of training I...with a handful of other Adventures staff joined a team to Cuba, where I had the privilege of baptizing a few women. I encourage those who want to share the gospel through street evangelism, the people in Cuba are eager to learn! 

April :: We spent a week of vacation getting the Purchase Effect store ready to open. I’ve never worked so hard while on vacation. I had vision of what I hoped it would look like and Don helped make that happen. We faked it until we made it! At the end of that week, we opened up a Purchase Effect store in Gainesville, GA. It's opened up other opportunities to get involved in the community and I couldn't be more excited to see where this all leads. Don also got older this month. He is now 45.

May :: Like every year at this time, I lead the Adventures short term teams to Thailand and Cambodia back to back. I can see how returning to to the same places and people are making a impact. I also discovered, that we Americans know how to make very large duffle bags. So big, that I, at 6 feet can crawl in one and scare people. 

June :: The day after returning from Asia, jet-lag and all - Don and I went to a Journey concert and celebrated 22 years of marriage. I only feel a sleep once. The next morning, we flew to MI for our nephews wedding. Days later, we were back in GA for our Ambassador leader/participate training camp.

July :: It was off to Guatemala with a large group of high school students and 4 other leaders. The leaders included Gary (my dad) and Ben (my nephew) During this month, we mobilized 130 high school students and their leaders.

After the last team returned, Don had hand surgery for a injury he got while working on the store. He was in and out in no time. It's amazing what a splinter can turn into. 

August :: Just days after we placed our home on the market, it sold! So we closed on both the previous home and our current one just hours apart. Now we live 3 minutes from the square where Purchase Effect is and 15 minutes from adventures! We cut 10 minutes off of our commute.  We unpacked and the next week...

...and I was off to Spain, where I spent a week walking the Camino with a group of women from the Adventures family. On the Camino, I wore a unicorns cape, made new friends, broke one walking stick and peed among sunflowers. I was grateful to walk blister free. I had knee issues due to the way I was walking...but with elevating it each night - I walked and conquered. 

September :: From Spain… 3 of us took the jump to Portugal for a couple days. Please note, I finally found a wine I liked. Pretty certain it’s all sugar.  Our flight home took us through Turkey. Our layover was long enough for a bus tour thru Istanbul. I slept. 

October :: It’s craft fair time for Purchase Effect! We put up our 3 tents for Mule Camp and fought the rain. A couple weeks later, I was back in the skies…to Thailand where I’d meet up with the next Adventures team. This time Don joined me. 

November :: From Thailand, we hopped over to Cambodia and met another Adventures group. We had more males on the team than females! That's rare and wonderful! It made for a great team. We were able to explore other ways to minister with their help.

Time flew and we where on our way back to they US with a 24 hour layover in China. Wuhan, China. Never heard of it? Nor had we.

We got home in time to have our nephew stay with us for a week before we met up with the rest of the family in SC.

December :: We stayed in GA to cover the store. Christmas Day, we shot up to mom and dads for 48 hours…took dad to the airport to lead an Adventurers Guatemala mission trip then headed back to GA for another week. While they live in SC, it takes less than 2 hours to get there for a home cooked meal. 

Currently, we are back in SC celebrating New Years Eve with mom. (Dad returns Tuesday) It was party, as you can imagine.  I went to bed before midnight, nursing a headache...while Don and mom watched the ball drop.

As I reflect, I realize that there will be good and bad every year. This year, we cried with multiple families who lost children unexpectedly. We prayed for several who have now passed away from cancer. Another friend’s father was given just days to live from cancer only after knowing about it for a few weeks. Her mother, she found laying on the floor. She had-had a stroke. Sadness and heartbreak all around. And then there’s the little girl in Cambodia who had been trafficked. She was thought to be dead. Months later, she was found in another part of the country. Alive.

There are things to celebrate! …all the many weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, new friends, old friends, adoptions, babies...just to name a few.  Dreams becoming reality. As this year wraps up, I’m grateful for my family, their health and our time together. As I get older, I appreciate this more and more.

So no matter what happens in 2017, I pray that we choose joy, peace, love and a whole lot of laughter...that comes with a relationship with Christ.

Thank you for the role you’ve had in 2016.