"Say Hey (I Love You)"
This one goes out to you and yours worldwide
I say hey I be gone today
But I be back around the way
Seems like everywhere I go
The more I see
the less I know
But I know one thing
That I love you
Flipping through pages of journals filled and thrown into a knapsack, I sometimes wonder what God has accomplished through my adventures.. then images of places I've been and friends met along the way flood my mind and I am overcome with a sense of peace. We go through motions through this life, often forgetting this temporary place will be a distant memory- a nanosecond in the vast span of eternity. The Lord has shown Himself to me, placing His hand of provision and protection while I move along. I fall short of His glory each day, but have come to grasp the knowledge that in His forgiveness, I honor Jesus Christ, therefore His glory is restored.
Rewind to May of 2009 and you will find an empty, selfish girl. New to the age of 21, I filled my days with cocktails and dinner dates, television shows and cell phone ring tones. Working Monday to Friday at a Hilton chain hotel, I had recieved numerous promotions and was quickly rising towards a career in hotel management. I sang in the praise team at church, played guitar when I got the chance, exercised at a popular gym facility, and loved buying high heeled shoes. Talk about going through the motions. I had a wanderlust and the long, Minnesota winters brought on an intense, helpless feeling of cabin fever. I desired to leave, prayed for the opportunity to work elsewhere and send my paychecks to my friend and roommate until I was finally rid of my lease agreement.
Meet my sister, Raina Leigh, with whom no words can describe her commitment, beauty, and passion to do exceptionally well in all she does. Attending Columbia University in New York City, Raina had the early summer months free before returning in August to work a coveted internship at the United Nations. Always full of support and never too busy to lend a listening ear, I cried to Raina of how I had become a cookie cutter girl with a painted smile and broken heart. I was another face in a crowd, desperate to please corporate America, one salon visit at a time- tanning, dying my hair, painting my nails- all while shopping at Victoria's Secret. I had extravagant, unrealistic plans; Raina mentioned her latest overseas trip, and asked if I was interested.
Within twenty-four hours, I had quit my job and applied for my passport, choosing the option to have the process expidited. I began sorting through my belongings. I was so close to freedom. I filled bags with clothes and shoes, dropping them off at Salvation Army drop sites. Raina flew to Minnesota and encouraged me when I needed uplifting, walked with me when I needed motivation, and saw to it that my darling roommate, Sondra Michelle, accepted my bed and some furniture in exchange for the last two months rent. I was amazed with Raina's knowledge as we walked through the REI outdoors shop, buying a trekker's back pack and chlorine tablets for undrinkable water. Raina knew everything we were going to need and wasn't worried about the problems we may or may not have encountered. The words 'undrinkable water' were enough to scare me back to the comfort of my tempurpedic bed and shelf full of One Tree Hill DVDs, but Raina was patient and let her words be few- knowing full well I would convince myself back into excitement as easily as I had fled.
Meet my twin brothers, Tony and Nick, living three hours northwest in a small town of 15,000. Fergus Falls, complex in its simplicity, is a place of memories and shadows- secrets haunt the silence. Teeny and Nock had also made the decison to move somewhere, but where I could only be content with leaving the country, the twins were ready for a new state. We filled our two vehicles, 'Saphira' and 'The Bou', and drove the fifteen hours or so to Colorado. Staying for two days, Raina and I then jumped on a flight to NYC and spent the next 24 hours moving her from one student housing building to her second year building... right. next. door. I had the great pleasure of meeting Marisa Kaheaoli'li Lloyd who would join the journey in July. We strolled through Central Park, feasted on famous pizza and bagels, and met with friends on a rooftop bar for our farewell night to the states.
June 2/3 - by airplane - JFK to Bangkok, Thailand with a layover in Tokyo
June 5/6 - by overnight bus - BKK to Krabi, Thailand
- by longtail boat - Krabi to Railay and Hat Ton Sai
@met real life vagabonds, first outdoor rock climbing
June 9 - by express boat - Railay to Ko Phi Phi
June 11 - by express boat - Phi Phi to Phuket
June 13/14 - by overnight bus - Phuket to Bangkok
June 15 - by airplane - BKK to Kathmandu, Nepal
@Prisoners Assistance Nepal - Childrens Home
Indira
Nishu, Sabnam, Asmita, Christina, Sujana, Samir,
Manish, Apa, Robin, Sarita, Santosh, Ashish,
Rohit, Jenifer, Manisha, Kasmir, Sujan, Nisha,
Susma, Kalpana, Shanti, Bibek, Sajina, Monika,
Nima, Ranjana, Poonam, Laxmi, Sarita, Pooja,
Alisha, Subani, Samjhana, Dilmaya, Parbhat
Shova mommy, Geeta mommy,
Roz auntie, Jo auntie, Helen auntie, Raina auntie, Kelsey auntie
June 29 - by bus - Kathmandu to Chitwan, Nepal
@took a bath with an elephant - Sum Sum Calli
July 1 - by bus - Chitwan to Kathmandu
July 6 - by bus - Kathmandu to Pokhara
@trekking the Jomsom Trek on the Annapurna Circuit
July 13 - by bus - Pokhara to Kathmandu
July 17 - Kathmandu to Bangkok
@meet Marisa Kaheaoli'li at New Joe Guesthouse
July 18 - by overnight train - BKK to Chang Mai
@cooking class, rode bicycles around the city
July 21 - by plane - Chang Mai, Thailand to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
July 22/23 - by overnight bus - Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Besut
- by speed boat - Kuala Besut to Pulau Perhentian
@snorkeling <3
July 23 - by speed boat - Pulau Perhentian to Kuala Besut
/24 - by overnight bus - Kuala Besut to Kuala Lumpur
@Petronas Towers, random breakfast at Five-Star Imperial hotel with US Army
July 25 - by airplane - Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Penh, Cambodia
July 26 - by bus - Phnom Penh to Siem Reap
@The crumbling glory of Anchor Wat
July 26 - by bus - Siem Reap to Phnom Penh
@Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and The Killing Fields
July 28 - by airplane - PNP to Bangkok, Thailand
July 30/31 - by airplane - BKK to JFK, NYC, USA
August 1 - by airplane - JFK to Minneapolis, Minnesota
@Nicole McGuire marries Kyle Nash
Fergus Falls, Moorhead, Sauk Rapids, Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Cloud,
Moorhead, Fergus Falls, Eagan, Maple Grove, Albertville, Fergus Falls
August 25 - by car . Adam Kinunen - Fergus Falls to Denver, Colorado
August 26 - by car - Denver to Colorado Springs
@Worked as 'Giggles' the waitress at Gunther Toody's 1950's diner
October 2 - by airplane - Colorado to Seattle, Washington
@Mitch and Amanda Braaten's wedding
Bellingham
October 5 - by airplane - Seattle to Colorado
November 26 - Thanksgiving in Littleton, Colorado
Jon and Laura Kristinsson, Ruth, Julia, Sara, and Peter. Raina, Kelsey, Tony, Nick. The Egebergs, The Davis', Tajahn Cloud, Trisha Dougan, Liz, The Aprea's, David Glasspool, Amanda Hamilton, Kyle Christopherson, Hans Brue, Treston Wold, Jeffrey Risbrudt, Calvin Brue
November 29 - Roadtrip with the Boys - Denver to Moorhead, MN
December 19 - Rideshare by car - Minneapolis to Denver, CO
@Christmas with Raina and Tony (Nicolai in Nepal with YWAM)
December 30 - Roadtrip with Raina Leigh - Colorado to NYC
@NYC for New Years!!!
2010
January 21 - Rideshare by car - NYC to South Beach, Miami, FL
@worked at Jazz International Youth Hostel
worked at the Hilton Bentley
April 20 - by airplane - MIA to JFK
April 22 - by car - NYC to Minnesota
@Sondra Paulson marries Todd Kirkof - May 1, 2010
May 10 - by car - Minnesota to NYC
@Raina Leigh graduates from Columbia University - May 18
May 22 - Graduation Road Trip with Raina Leigh, Marisa Kaheaoli'li and Marissa Cheung
NYC > Chicago, Illinois
May 23 Chicago > Minneapolis \/
Fergus Falls, Moorhead
May 27 Moorhead > Lake Okoboji, Iowa
May 28 Iowa> South Dakota: Wall, Mt. Rushmore, Black Hills, Sturgis > Denver, Colorado
May 31 Colorado Springs > Four Corners > Flagstaff, Arizona
June 1 Grand Canyon > California \/
Los Angeles, La Puente, Big Sur, Monterey, San Francisco
Pacific Coast Highway
June 6 - by plane - SFO to Honolulu, HI
@Kodak moment: new drivers license
June 15 - by airplane - Honolulu to Oahu
June 17/18 - by airplane - Oahu to San Francisco, HI
June 24 - by van - San Francisco to Mendocino/ Fort Bragg, CA
@worked at Camp Mendocino as a summer camp counselor
August 14 - by car - Camp Mendocino to San Francisco
August 18 - by airplane - SFO to Seattle, Washington
@Jordan Ferkingstad and Rachel Braaten get married - AHHH!
August 22 - by car - Seattle to Boise, Idaho
August 23 - hitchikedit - Brigham City, Utah to Colorado Springs, CO
September 28 - by truck - <3Saphira - Colorado to Minneapolis
October 1 - Saphira - Minneapolis to Fergus Falls to Moorhead
@worked Security for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
The world is a book, those who choose not to travel read only one page.
I love you, I love you, I love you.
