Life at the base

Wow, what a crazy, busy, fun, and information-packed week this has been!
Good morning friends! It is Saturday and I'm writing to catch you up to speed on my life here at the base.....woo hoo!!!
This week was "Intro Week." Lot's of information to take in! We started off by getting work duties assigned to us. These are duties we are expected to do each day of the week (excluding weekends) The purpose of these duties are to keep the base running, to keep us busy, to work together as a team, and to hear from God during these times. The choices to choose from were: kitchen duty, hospitality, and housekeeping/maitenance. I am in the kitchen and I love it! The other day I was making a curry stew and ended up smelling like it for two days....but that's ok....I love curry :) I hope no one else minded.

We've been attending lectures and also getting to do a lot of really fun things. On Thursday we got to attend a Celidh (kay-lee). It's a traditional Scottish celebration of eating and dancing. This was a formal event so we all got to dress up and made our way down to the candle lit dining room. The evening started off with a traditional and ceremonial-like presentation of the haggis. Haggis is a sheeps stomach filled with oats and left over parts of the animal like liver and intestines....all the good stuff (I'm trying not to barf as I type this). We were also served nips-n-tatties which are turnips and carrots mashed (like mashed potatoes). Did I eat the haggis? Was I brave enough? Well, the answer is NO! I did eat the gravy though which was made from the juices and fat from the meat...nasty. I'm happy to report that I'm alive and well. Seriously though, it was really awesome to come together like one huge family (about 75 people). It felt like a holiday. So after the meal we got a chance to learn and participate in Scottish dancing! Scottish dancing is danced to a three-count music (like the Polka). It's not hard to learn at all and boy is it a work out! It's a very fast-paced style of dancing. One of my favorites is called The Flying Scotsman. This dance involves eight people....four guys and four girls. We each pair up in two's and stand in corners. Couples dance together and then meet in the middle, and then (this my favorite part) two of the couples come together in the middle, the girls wrap their arms around the guys, and the guys lift them up by their shoulders and spin around. The girls legs end up flying out and the guys move up and down while spinning! It was really fun to be the one flying! I slept very well that night and wow, I'm still feeling sore today!

Speaking of sleep...I am SO incredible happy to report that I've been sleeping well here!!! So well that I sleep right through my alarm clock most mornings! Some of you reading this may already know that I have struggled with insomnia since I was about 14 years old. It's SO nice to be able to sleep through the night. Thank you for all of you that have been lifting me up in prayer! Praise the Lord!!!

We also learned on Thursday of the places that we will be sent to on outreach. We have the weekend to think and pray about which one we would like to go to. The choices are:
Scotland, Cambodia, and Morrocco.
I have no idea which one I would like to go to. I'm open and willing to go wherever. For those of you lifting me up in prayer, please join with me and pray that I will hear the Lord speak clearly and also be open to go wherever He may be calling me.

I would also like to say that my family here is amazing! We have all been connecting and growing together so much already. The other day on our tour of Scotland we went to Loch Lomand (lower part of the Highlands), and on this visit to I got to witness the first official YWAM dare with our DTS. I think it's pretty much a rule that you have to be crazy when you become a YWAMer....although I don't think it's written anywhere. :) There's a large pier with a gorgeous view of the hills and water. On this pier there's a huge sign that says "absolutely no swimming from the pier." So what do we do? We decide to pool together as much money as we can and see if we could get someone to jump in the water! We ended up with 30 pounds (roughly 60 American dollars) and got one girl and two of the guys to take on the challenge of swimming in the ice cold water and race to the pier and back! Luckily I had my camera ready to capture this all on video. While they were in the water a few of the observers in our group ran off with their clothes and shoes! It sure was funny and absolutely insane.

Setting all silliness aside, we have been leaning on eachother for support and prayer and really going deep in our conversations. It's so fun to talk with them because we all come from different walks in life of culture, traditions, values, and so much more. It truly is beautiful to hear so many different accents all in one place too! We have people from South Africa, France, Germany, Canada, Alaska, New York, California, Georgia, Wisconsin, Scotland, England....and even more than that, I just can't remember all of them at this moment. God has called us all to be here together. I can't wait to share with you the experiences to come of how He unfolds His plans for us and unites us more as His body.

Well I'm going to get going now.....I think I will take advantage of this sunny day (very rare this time of year) and get outside!
My love goes out to you!
Oh, and don't be afraid to write me a letter :) It's so fun to look in the mail box and find a letter waiting for you from someone you love at home.
Cheerio!