I am thankful for....

It's been a while since I've written - things have been pretty busy lately! I don't even know where to start. The last blog I posted was titled, "Am I halfway through tour already?" Now hear I am and it's 2 weeks and some odd days until the kids fly back to Kenya!! My how time flies when your having the time of your life. I have truly been blessed in these last two weeks. It's been such a blur that I can't even tell you where I've been or what I've been doing in detail. I do know that I've been to Birmingham and Decatur, Alabama, Townsend and Hixson, Tennessee, Brasstown, North Carolina, Alpharetta and Atlanta, Georgia and Greenwood South Carolina. And best of all I got to go HOME to Toccoa, Ga for 2 days! One of the fun things that I can remember was eating at a Japanese steakhouse with my host in Birmingham. It was great seeing the kids faces as the flames burst in front of them and as he flipped rice into their mouths! We have had 7 concerts in the past 7 days and I was soooooo exhausted when they came to an end on Tuesday night. 


As I said earlier - it was so refreshing to go home for a few days. I was able to realize how much I am loved and missed by my friends and family and it was a huge encouragement and spirit lifter for me to see everyone. My roommate from college, J Lo and my best friend India came into town to stay with me and see the choir. It was so good getting to catch up with them both. I also got to see some other friends at church. I can't forget how amazing it was to see my family as well. Getting hugs from them all was the best. I am so incredibly blessed to come from an amazing family, have the best friends a girl could ask for, and have an incredible church to welcome me and my new Daraja family. Thanks to everyone who made my few days at "home" very special - I love you ALL. 


The night before leaving Toccoa, India, J Lo, Mandy, and I decided to go mattress surfing - pretty much the most amazing thing I've ever done! My brother has been doing this with the college class at the church for a while now, but I've never been able to participate so I thought I'd take advantage of the opportunity while at home with my best friends! We had a blast. For those of you who don't know, mattress surfing consist of tying two mattresses that have been inserted with metal poles to the back of a truck with a big rope. Then you put on a ridiculous amount of clothing and head gear, hop on the mattress (stand if your able) and hang on for dear life as your brother plows through a wet field of grass and fire ant beds. Oh the joys of having grass pelting in your face and globs of dirt smacking you against the head, and we can't forget the ants biting any inch of you that isn't covered. Sounds like fun, huh?? Oh but it was!!! There are pictures from this adventure on my facebook page - if you want to see how utterly ridiculous I looked :)


Daraja was able to come down and hang out at my parents house while in Toccoa as well. It was so neat to be able to show my kids and the Kenyan adults where I grew up. Thanks everyone in Toccoa who hosted the kids too. They had a blast and I'm glad that the rest of Daraja was able to have a small glimpse into the lives of those who have made such a lasting impact on my life. Toccoa FUMC - you're amazing and no matter how far I go from this church you will always be, "my church." (I just have two "my churches" now, b/c Brooklet UMC is as close to home as I can get w/o having grown up there!!)


Now I'm in Greenwood, SC where I have been for the past 3 days. We have celebrated Thanksgiving with our host here and have really been blessed by the people here in Greenwood. We have been treated to breakfast at Shoney's, a library tour, complete with books for each kid, bowling, Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas tree decorating, Wii playing, I could go on forever. My host has really made this time special for the girls and I and I'm very grateful to them for being my "fill in family" for this special holiday. Tomorrow I'm off to Thomasville, NC! Please pray for us as we near the end of tour. Pray for my heart as I begin to prepare myself for departing from the choir. It's a reality that I don't want to face! Pray for everyone on tour to being preparing themselves. Pray for the remaining time we have together and the we will not take a single moment for granted. I love you guys and will see you soon. God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving!


Allison :)


Phrase of the day: Nipe Heshima (give me respect) - haha, I just learned this, perhaps a little too late! :)