My motivation

I have never done a blog before and I'm not exactly sure how this is going to go. I can't figure out how to design it and make it cute like everyone else does, but I've never really been much of a creative person, so I guess what I've got here is gonna have to do.

I've also always been rambler when it comes to writing things down. I write a whole lot of nothing most of the time... another reason I've never done a blog. BUT I now have a really good reason for setting and keeping this up here.

We are going to have some CRAZY adventures this Summer, and I'm horrible at writing regularly, so I figured that creating this blog will be the best way to keep everyone updated.

Now you wonder... What are they going to be doing this Summer that merits the title of CRAZY adventures? Well let me break it down for you...

I graduate from Utah State on Saturday, May 8th (insert cheers and shouts of joy here)! On Monday, May 10th my husband and I fly with my family to CanCun Mexico, where we will spend a week on the beach at an ALL-INCLUSIVE resort. Basically, it's going to be a week of sheer relaxation and enjoyment, with lots and lots of FOOD! Who could ask for anything more!?

We fly home from Mexico and arrive in Salt Lake on the evening of the May 17th, THEN only 15 hours later we hop back on a plane headed to ACCRA, GHANA where we will catch a ride about an hour and a half to 2 hours north to a little town called ABOMOSU, and it will be in this little town that we live until AUGUST 5th!!!Accra is located on the Southern edge of Ghana, right on the coast, and Abomosu is somewhere north of that... If you were to draw a line in between Konongo and Koforidua, you would find Abomosu right in between the two and right below Nikawkaw :)

So, I'm sure you're all wondering what could possibly give us the drive to head to Africa for the better part of the summer... especially knowing how much we are going to miss out on. My brother Josh is leaving on an LDS Mission to Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico on July 21st. This will be 2 out of 2 brothers who have left on their missions while I've been out of the country. I MUST be a horrible sister! My husband, Spencer's sister is getting married in August while we're still gone, and one of his best friends is getting marred at the end of May. I guess I never realized how much you can miss in only a few months... but it's becoming apparent quickly.

But back to the reason for going to Africa. Spencer got an internship there with a program in the school of business at Utah State University, where we attend school, called SEED. Small Enterprise Education and Development, I think :) It's going to be an amazing experience!

So Spencer and this other kid, Joey (who is also bringing his wife!), will $2,000 given to them, to go around the town and figure out what kind of business opportunities there are in the region, find people who have the ambition and work ethic to run the business, give them a micro loan to help them start their business and educate these people as to how a business should be run, and what they need to do to be successful and provide for themselves and their families.

What a adventure that will be, and such great experience for them too! I am so proud to have a husband who is so amazing and driven to go out and find these kinds of amazing opportunities. He's absolutely incredible!

As for me... I am just kind of the tag-along in this operation. Luckily Joey's wife, Emily, will be there, which I am so grateful for! But it turns out that there are some schools there in the town where we will be able to help out. We also learned this week that we will be staying with a family there who are members of our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... aka, The Mormons). WOW! What an amazing blessing that will be! I honestly believe that God has had a major hand in us going to Ghana. We are supposed to be there for a reason, and I can not wait to get submerged in their culture and get to know the amazing people there. I can't help but think about how I'm going to learn to love these people so much, and only staying and a half months is going to be WAY too short of a time.

The only motivation I will have for leaving Ghana will be the next two and half weeks after that, when we leave from Ghana and head directly to HELSINKI, FINLAND and take a ferry across the Gulf of Finland to the Promised Land of ESTONIA!!!! It makes me cry just thinking about it!!!

This wonderful land is where I spent a year and a half of my life serving the Lord on a mission for my church. It was honestly the best thing I could have ever chosen to do. The things I learned in Estonia, from those wonderful people and from those I served with, is irreplaceable. As much as I'd like to say that I love every minute of being, I definitely can't. But I wouldn't trade a single one of those minutes for anything else. I am so grateful for all the time I spent there, serving and teaching and most of all, learning. I wouldn't be where I am today or who I am without my wonderful Estonia and the opportunties that the Lord gave me to learn and grow while I was there. Those people changed my life, and the opportunity I have to go back there and visit those that I love for the first time since I came home in December of 2008, is an opportunity I will never take for granted. The excitement inside me, just thinking about being back in that place, really does bring me to tears. I honestly can't wait!

And my trip there will end our Summer with a bang. We will have to head back to the States on August 23rd, where Spencer will be starting his last 2 semesters of school at Utah State on the August 30th.

What a breakdown of our summer! I can't wait for it to all start, and even now, I NEVER want it to end!