Summertime Stateside

Hello all!
Thought I'd give a little summer update. :)
Returning back to the states at the end of May was an exciting time! Having never been away from home this long before, I was very ready to spend the summer with my family and friends. :)
This summer was full of wonderful people, beautiful God-glorifying weddings, air conditioning, CHEESE, ice cream, fast internet, travel, and overall great memories with friends and family.
Highlights of the summer include:
-Standing in my dear friends Sarah and Justin's wedding on the shore of Lake Michigan in beautiful Frankfort. Easily the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. That is until 2 weeks later...
-Flying to Louisiana and standing in my dear friend, Kendall's wedding. Now tying for the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Both weddings were so incredibly glorifying to our Lord and some of the strongest love I've ever been blessed to witness.
-Taking day trips to visit friends around the state. Also friends taking day trips to visit me in Clarkston.
-Getting a voucher for taking a later flight home from Louisiana and using it to get a free flight out to Colorado to visit my favorite person in the world aka my brother, Todd.
-Being incredibly blessed with donations from family, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers. (God is amazing!)
- Eating cheese every single day
- Eating ice cream most days too
- Soaking up summer time fun in my hometown with my parents
-Overall just being in the same timezone as loved ones, having the ability to immediately contact them, or even see and spend time with them.


It was also full of some new challenges. While I have obviously spent the majority of my life in America, there were some strange feelings that came with familiar places. I found myself pretty overwhelmed in any store I went it, to the point where I'd get head aches from how largely stocked each shelf and wall was. I also found myself unusually shocked at some of the lifestyles I saw in my home country. Not that I saw anything this summer that I hadn't seen before, it just seemed to come from a new perspective after living in a third world country for a year. At one point I even had a complete meltdown over my frustration with the fact that every single person around me had a smart phone, not because I want one but because I DON'T want one. Reverse culture shock is a funny thing.
Still all in all it was a refreshing time to restore my energy for my new year here in Rwanda. While I felt ready and excited to return here, I still had some pretty difficult good byes in the days leading up to flying out of DTW. Goodbyes have to be one of my most hated activities. The good news however is that despite the hard goodbyes, I was flying in to a country full of joyful hellos. It felt great to by flying "home" to a place on the opposite side of the world that was full of familiar people, places, and the majority of my possessions. It feels great to be back! I'm excited to see how God will work in my life here this year and in the world around me. :)