TOP 5 things I will never take for granted.

1. Throwing the toilet paper away in the toilet. Today this is second nature to me, but when I first got here it really took me some time getting used to/ was really grossed out by it. All the unnecessary unsanitary germs that are lingering in the bathrooms are the norm. But I must admit, having 4 stalls for the whole base is prettyyyyyy...well lets not think about that....In seriousness, all the praise to the plumbing system in the states, I don’t know what it is, if the pipes are bigger or what, but thank you US for disposing of toiletries down the drain. Mad Props.

2. Having hot showers on a daily basis. 4 out of the 5 showers that I take a week are in titanic ice cold water, and I am not exaggerating. If you don’t get the first shower on the left (there are 4) be prepared to do back bends in the shower because it is so cold from your hair dripping down to the rest of you. So basically I rinse really fast, turn it off to shampoo, rinse really fast, turn it off to condition and soap up the body then turn it on really fast to rinse. Thus resulting in me shaving only once a week (good thing Im here for God and not trying to impress any boys, ya know what im sayin') when I do get the so called ‘hot’ shower which is merely luke warm and is only warm when you baaaaaarely turn it on, resulting in very little pressure. BUT I must say that when I do have that hot shower once a week I am praising Jesus for it. Never again will I take for granted the warmth of shower water AND the comforts of a nice hot bath!

3. This probably should be #1, but its hard to put a number on these things, but really this should be first priority: Grocery shopping and cooking what you want to eat. Oh My Gosh. I have never had such a hard time eating the things I eat down here. For most of you know that I LOVE to eat healthy and I am very specific on what I eat because of my stomach. WELP that has had to take a back seat while being down here, which is hard. When you are surrounded by cookies, cakes and bread everywhere, it is so hard to get the nutrients your body needs! I will never take for granted my leafy greens, my smoothies, my vegetables, im getting a little teary eyed just thinking about it! Seriously though, it is really hard to eat right because 1. You get whatever they make and if you don’t like it, well tough luck! 2. Buying your own food can get real pricey, especially if you are living your life as a missionary and do not have an income right now........I will never ever, ever, ever take for granted going to a farmers market ever again!!!!!

4. Alone time/silence. Being by yourself on a base filled with people coming and going is quite impossible. Not to mention that there is only limited spaces on the four couches that we have, so comfy places are slim to none. By chance, you might be able to snag a hammock, but usually those are taken most often then not. Sharing a room with 6 other girls—it is hard to be alone as well. But one of the hardest things is that they don’t advise you to go off the base alone (rightly so, we are in a foreign country and they just are protecting us) but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss going to the store by myself, or going to Mccafe to just “get away”, or even going to a mall and just window shopping. I do miss those weekends were I could just jet over to marshalls, grab a starbucks and just shop. Having the luxury of doing your own thing when you want and where you want is a privilege and I didn’t even know it.

5. Sleeping in. Every morning I wake up at 5:30 and go non stop until about 7:30, some days even later. We have a full and packed schedule 5-6 days a week. I am lucky if I sleep till 8 on the weekends. Oh to have my nice warm bed on Sunday mornings, watching my law and order SVU all day long would be really nice once in a while. To have the luxury of just laying around in bed all day, wearing your pajamas and just enjoying the comforts of a clean, carpeted, house is what I think about often, but I am thankful for my bunk bed.

So even though these are the top 5 things that I will never take for granted when I get back to the states; being here--living in community, in a beautiful foreign country, learning more about myself in the past 7 weeks than I have in my entire life, building an intimate relationship with our Lord-—that in itself is something I will never take for granted when I get back to the states.

Yes, the non stop schedule sometimes makes me want to scream, Yes, seeing the same 12 people everyday sometimes makes me want to just be alone in a room by myself, Yes, the teachings can be overwhelming and down right draining-emotionally, physically and spiritually, but I am BEYOND grateful for my life at this very moment. I have never been so happy living in this oversized tree house with all the people that are here. Its really tough sometimes to be thankful for the experiences I am going through, but I know that this is all a part of his plan for me. That these life situations/experiences are preparing me to what is to come in the future, a way of getting me ‘trained’ for the calling in my life which I am so excited to see what that is!!! But until then, I will keep a positive attitude, keep my eyes on Jesus and thank him in my ‘sufferings’ for they are forming and molding my character. And believe you me—mah’ character should be pretty much be formed by now, can I get an AMEN! Haha—I kid. :)