"Holp!!!"

Jajajajaja! That was my favorite line from Bobby, Trixie Belden’s little brother. It’s just cute. (And yes, I know I just laughed in Spanish, but if you haven’t figured out by now how crazy I am, just keep reading.) Trixie Belden was a member of a good gang that solved mysteries. If you are near my age and haven’t read her books, ask your parents and maybe they have heard of her. I highly recommend the whole series. It’s wholesome and exciting!
Anyway, this post I am going to make you laugh at me. Hopefully it won’t be too hard. I was just looking at old pictures from the team I went on a missions trip with to Guatemala. Ok, let’s rephrase that. I went on a missions trip to Guatemala my freshman year of college. More on that some other day. (I know I also owe you an explanation of my awesome Honduran family, the Vieras and more thoughts on abiding). Briefly, it was awesome, I got a new perspective on God and had the sweetest fellowship with other believers I have ever had in my life. We still hung out together after the trip and the pictures I was just looking at are from a dinner we had several months after our trip together. I am a noisy person and tend to interact with my computer (please understand that in the cleanest way possible). So, I saw this picture of us I hadn’t seen in a very long time and just started going “AawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwOhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!” or something like that. It’s a good thing I’m home alone!!
And then, after I stopped sounding like a bugling elk I had a very rapid thought process and a few things happened. I got a SWEET e-mail from Abuelito Jack, the current president of the Latin America Mission. If you ever want to become a missionary of the LAM I recommend you apply now (more like a few weeks ago might be better) so that you can go to orientation in January and meet him before he moves on. The new prez is coming in for the January orientation and I am excited about him, but I know Jack now and think the world of him. Maybe I’ll think the solar system of the new president once I meet him. That would be great! Anyway, Jack wants the Carrie Cartwheel I just sent out last night to be used as one of the examples for other new missionaries who need ideas for prayer letters. Wow! That’s so exciting! (If you would like a copy please e-mail me and I will send you one)
Then I thought about-well I’m not even sure. I think I wished I had someone to share that exciting news with. I don’t know, I have had so much change in my life-especially in the last 4 years it has just been INSANE!!! Seriously, if it weren’t for God, I would be in the loony bin or drunk on the streets...or somewhere scary and icky. But anyway, another reason why I am really excited to get to Costa Rica March 15 is that means I will be there in time for Semana Santa (Holy Week-the week before Easter). If I am there for Semana Santa that means I will have been there for Semana Santa 3 years in a row!!! That is amazing! That last time I was somewhere three years in a row for a holiday was from 2002-2004 when I spend Christmas (and Thanksgiving and the 4th of July) at home, all three years in a row. Mommy, correct me if I’m wrong. But ever since 2004 I have spent the holidays all over the place. There’s nothing wrong with that. Overall, it’s been fine and I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve had some great opportunities to see people. But after so much change and traveling, I’m excited for some stability. So, there’s my “nother” reason for going back Costa Rica.
Yeah, so at some point I decided it would be nice if someone were here. I’ve spent most of the day by myself. Actually in the last 2 months, I’ve spent a lot of days mostly by myself. It gets kind of lonely after a while. But, it’s been fine. I have fun, and that way it’s ok for me to shriek at my computer like an elk or laugh at ridiculous e-mails or pictures.
Ok, I’m dancing around this, but I’ll just say it-I get lonely here. I’m weak. Sometimes I wish I were married just so I could have someone to share my day with. I am a verbal processor so if I don’t talk or journal through something, the thoughts don’t develop and nothing happens and that’s no good. There will be a lot of other bonuses (and plenty of challenges) that will go with getting married too, but I am looking forward to knowing and loving and becoming one with my life companion. That sounds selfish and I know God really is enough for me, but I’m just being honest and open right now. And don't worry, I'm not about to go nab any human with a y chromosome. I have a lot of waiting and growing to do.
But here is a tough thing about relationships. As I mentioned in my post about my birthday and Thanksgiving, there is nothing like family-those people who have known you your whole, entire life. Ok, maybe some of you have actually lived in the same house your whole life and so did all your neighbors and your whole town, but that is NOT the case for me. I have lived all over the place (though mostly in the general northeast of the country) and had to change friend circles as many times as you change partners in a square dance. Part of that is really cool. If I hadn’t lived in all those places I wouldn’t have experienced so many different things and met so many people. But, it’s hard to keep meeting new people and have them not know anything about your previous life. Obviously that is part of getting to know someone. But…I don’t feel like I’m explaining myself very well. Hopefully you’ll just “get it”. But I’ll give you a brief example. I made friends with this guy named Luciano this summer. He’s from Honduras and he’s awesome He’s also 37, so don’t get any ideas about anything on the romantic end. We had the same day off and had so much fun hiking together, eating together and working on his English. He is also a Christian and we had a lot of great conversations. God provided us with one another so that we wouldn’t totally shrivel up from lack of fellowship over the course of the season. We got to know each other pretty well and learned a fair bit about one another and made a lot of good memories together (like that ridiculously long day in which we went on a float trip, hiked 8+ miles, ate amazing pizza at Dornan’s, watched my friends go cliff diving in Phelp’s Lake in the southern end of the park and went up to Huckleberry Hotsprings at the northern end of the park). But, there just seems to be this barrier that exists because, well, he hasn’t known me my whole life. He knows me well, but there’s just a lot about me he doesn’t know. Maybe more of that would come with time. But, I don’t know. That might seem like a poor example because we grew up in different countries, but this is the case with other friends I have as well.
Hmm, this part of the post isn’t so funny. Oh well. You had to know I would settle down a little bit. ;-) or maybe not. Well, time to run. I have to go babysit and write on the backs of more prayer cards after the girlies go to sleep. Thanks for all the grace you extend to this loquita!!! (little crazy girl)