The Crazy Life...

This has been a really crazy last week and a half. That's part of the reason I didn't update my blog on Saturday like I normally do (sorry Daddy). We have reached the part of the tour where sickness is starting to try and pull some of us down. But on the upside of things - everyone has gotten into a pretty good routine of how to go through each day. Things are starting fall into place and a sense of normalcy is starting to fill the atmosphere. This helps the colds and allergies to not have such a dampening effect on the group.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things to keep me on my toes, I'm pretty convinced that tour will never become THAT normal. For example, I had a day off this past Wednesday and another intern and I were staying in the "off house," meaning we didn't have any kids that night or the next day. We had decided to sleep in late and then run a few errands and take it easy the next day. The other intern is epileptic, which I knew in advance, but what I wasn't prepared for was a seizure. I must admit that I've never been so scared and helpless in my life. The morning of our day off she had a seizure just as I was getting out of the shower. I rushed downstairs and got the host, we called 911 and I contacted the tour leader, Christi, and told her what was going on. Luckily, the dad in my host home was very calm and handled the situation very well. Their kids were already at school, the wife had skipped a meeting she was supposed to be at, and the dad had been sick and was still at home resting up. God was all over the whole situation I must say! It was such a scary experience, but if it had of happened at any other time it could have been really bad. God allowed for her to be away from the kids when all of this happened and I am so thankful that I was the only one who had to be around for it. I don't ever want to experience that again - but God taught me a lot through the whole situation.

I was actually able to still enjoy my day off too, I just didn't get to enjoy it with the other intern. My host took me to Macaroni Grill for lunch, then to buy a belt, after that, a manicure and pedicure (they had a special going on, I couldn't pass it up), and then Bonefish for dinner. It was a pretty good day off despite the chaos of the morning. I finished the day watching a movie in the host's home theater - it was awesome!

Since I wrote the last time, we have visited Cranberry Township, PA where we stayed 4 days. I really enjoyed my time there. My girls and I were able to stay in two different host homes while we were there because our first hosts had a child get sick. We stayed with the children's pastor and her husband and 16 year old daughter for the first two nights. This was cool since I'm a children's pastor too. They took us to breakfast both mornings and even had one of the those cool massage chairs that massages EVERY part of your body! It was great! :) After two nights with them, we moved houses to stay with the pastor and his family (their son got to feeling better). The church had their annual fall festival while we were there and all of the kids and chaperones were given cowboy hats, bandanas, and sheriff badges to wear. We looked pretty cute in our "western wear." The kids had a great time riding the bull, milking a (fake) cow,  doing obstacle courses, playing carnival games, taking old western photos, and eating Ben & Jerry's ice cream! It was a great night.

After Cranberry, PA we traveled to Waynesboro, VA. We had a great time here and enjoyed the weather getting a little warmer. After a 2 night stay in Virginia, we traveled to Weddington, NC for another 2 night stay. This was where I had my day off. Then we traveled to Mocksville, NC and had a great concert at Blaise Baptist Church. Yesterday morning we did a concert at a middle school for the 7th graders. It was awesome doing worship songs in a public school. At the end of the concert we had the kids do the "Cupid Shuffle" with the teachers, it was great entertainment. We have a concert tonight in Statesville, NC and then fly out tomorrow morning for Cincinnati, OH.

It's been a busy few weeks as always but God still seems to find the energy to supply me with. I continue to pray for wisdom but have added strength to that list. It's becoming easier and easier to let things get me down physically because it's the time of year for colds and allergies to kick in. I know that my spiritual connection will help with my physical strength as well so I'm fighting for my time with God and really covet the few minutes here and there that I'm able to spend with Him. Please continue to pray for the group. We need prayers for health - everyone is still feeling pretty good, but the first few colds are starting to sprout up here and there. As always, pray for safe travels!

I've been trying to think of a good word of the day to leave you with. We're going to go with Jambo - jambo simply means hello! Hope everyone has a great weekend! Love you guys so much.

Allison :)

PS - check facebook for pics, I'm having a hard time uploading to my blog this time!