10 days in Orlando = happiness

I left the base in the Dominican Republic at the crack of dawn. Elizabeth woke up to say goodbye to me, she had also left me a note and some balloons by my bag in case she didn't see me, everyone else was dead asleep! I waited until I was on the plane to read it, it was so encouraging and sweet! I was waiting downstairs when Orlando, the taxi driver (ironic, huh?), showed up 20+ minutes EARLY, yes early, to pick me up. The ride to the airport along the coast watching the sun rise was absolutely amazing. SO many emotions were running through me....I was sad and disappointed to leave my team/family,  was excited to see friends I hadn't seen in 6 months, I was comforted to know I could rest for a few days and try to get well again, I was nervous to go back to the states after all the devastation haven been ruined for ordinary living and so much more!

Amanda picked me up at the airport, I thought she would just pick me up on the curb but she was waiting inside, what a pleasant surprise! FIRST stop just down from the Orlando airport....STARBUCKS! We ran some errands and had lunch at Designer Greens (a salad joint), eating CLEAN food never tasted SO GOOD! Then she dropped me off at my dear friends, Jeremy, Grace and Connor's and visited with us for a while. Connor was born a few weeks before I left for DTS and I was at the birthing center when he was born, so it was awesome to see how much he had grown. Some other friends of ours were out of town and had left their car, so I had use of a car the whole time I was there. I made four airport runs in the process, but it was totally worth it! They left a few days later for a long weekend, so I had the house to myself for a few days and just relaxed!

Unfortunately I wasn't able to see everyone as so many people were busy, but I enjoyed the people I did see. I was able to go to youth group the night I got there and attend church the following week. Jeremy had free tickets to Universal so we went one day. I connected with some friends I met in Haiti at the YWAM Orlando base and joined them for family night, worship and dinner at the base and another night I joined them at some friends house for an amazing dinner and game of Settlers! I wasn't able to make it out to see the new base, but it wasn't because of lack of effort. I also joined my LIFE group one night and stayed at my friends - Brian, Wendy and Garrison (where I stayed the last few weeks before leaving) for a few nights.

I celebrated my birthday the day before I flew back to meet my team! I hung out with Amanda and my friend, Kathi, took me to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch and we had Thai Crunch salad, my favorite and the inspiration for my Spice Thai Salad on my other blog. For dinner my friend, Mariah, took me for all you can eat Sushi, my favorite! It was an AMAZING day!