First few days in Kona...

September 26-

Wow! It has been an interesting couple of days and it feels like I've been here much longer. Got to the University of the Nations at around 4 on thursday. We spent the rest of the day settling into our rooms. There are 8 people in my small room (3 Americans, 1 girl from China, 1 Somoan girl, and 3 Korean girls). I'm excited about the oppertunity to get to know some girls from around the world and the small space, I'm sure, will be a challenge.

On Saturday we did somewhat of an orientation and then had a ceremony that night. We saw some Hawaiin dances from our group here called, "the island breezers." The dances were beautiful. Then we had a flag ceremony and introduced 41 countries in which we are all coming from. The night ended with a joyful time of worship and dancing!! Thats right... we danced a ton. Not going to lie, I got kinda excited when I saw a group start to do the electric slide, haha!

Today, my compassion DTS group bonded a lot as we went to the beach. I swam, rode a boogie bored, and did a little bit of cliff diving. Then we ended the day with some guy vs girl keep away in the ocean. It was a ton of fun!

I love my mentors. Their love for Jesus is evident and they already know us and have been praying for us. It's very encouraging. So far the biggest challenge for me is being just another face in a crowd. I have none of my close friends here and I'm not "the singer." Its just me and God. I have no other identifiers. I'm hoping to lean into him through this season and really understand who I am in Christ.

Oh... I almost forgot. It is beautiful here. You can see the ocean if you face one direction on campus and if you face the other direction there is a volcano (which just looks like a foggy mountainy area). I will post pictures on my facebook but they don't do justice to what all surrounds me. My classroom is outside under a pavillion and facing the ocean.

I do have my cell out here. Please feel free to call but don't forget I'm 5 hours behind you guys! Love and miss all of my peeps! Please keep praying. We will start our classes and everyting next week! Im excited and scared about trying a new church tomorrow. Please say a prayer about me finding a good fit. Alright, bye, for real!