New York

For some crazy reason, when purchasing tickets for Costa Rica, it was $300 cheeper to fly through New York instead of straight from California, and I am so glad. I had an amazing 5 days in New York hanging out with my brother, Benje. My dear friend Josh was also came down to visit from Boston, and then my cousin, Jeremiah, came up from Washington DC. I had a great time hangout, enjoying some amazing restaurants, wandering through the MET, going to see a great new musical, and just generally being spoiled. It was a great last few days in the State's and a really special time with my brother before I moved. Here are a few pictures from my time there. Notice the heavy layers of clothes; Costa Rica is quite a climate change!

Single mom of 5 (+2)

I have always had a lot of respect for mothers, but this week that respect grew ten-fold, especially for single moms. While we had an amazing week and a half together, I felt like I was constantly playing catch up and I never managed to get anyone to soccer practice quite on time. But I also realized, those are the details of life, that aren't always that important. Nobody's life is permanently altered because they were five minutes late for the warm-up or because the laundry didn't all get put away before going to bed. Instead, the important things are the memory making time like homemade pizza night or playing dress-up's together. This last week and half was full of crazy moments trying to rush everyone out the door with shoes, backpacks, lunches, and homework; but it was also brimming with lots of special moments playing together and sharing life. I am so thankful for the time we got to have together, though I still can't wait for my parents to get home this afternoon!


Baking with cousins Zach and Josh,, who stayed with us for a week while their parents went on a much deserved vacation.






Homemade personal pizza night. The kids wondered what happened to their older sister: they got to have pizza for dinner, didn't have to eat salad, and had ice cream sundaes for dessert!













Karlee came up on Sunday and helped organize a yard clean up. It looks great!

MTI

I don't know how to even begin sharing with you all of the amazing things God did during my 3 weeks in Colorado at MTI. God is faithful! I arrived at the retreat center feeling very emotionally and physically tired from a busy week of traveling all over the state saying goodbyes. I wasn't looking forward to building new relationships when I knew I would just have to say goodbye again. But God softened my heart and put me in the center of an amazing community of people who are all getting ready to embark on a similar journey. During our 3 weeks there, the staff taught us to share our lives through our raw and honest discussions in class, which facilitated so many areas of growth in my life. In the evenings, we had plenty of time to just be silly together playing games (Body, Body, anyone?), eating ice cream, and exploring the beautiful nature surrounding us.

I am so thankful for this community of dear friends. Through my time with them I was able to share many of my excitements and fears of moving to a new place with many both foreseen and unknown challenges that await me. I also learned how to say healthy goodbyes that help us cherish the impact our friends have made on us and grieve the loss of the physical proximity. This process leaves us ready to say full hello's to new people as they enter our lives. I know this is going to be crucial for me as we will have many short-term teams coming down to Costa Rica, and I want to be able to fully invest in each team that comes down.



I am so overwhelming grateful for the time I had at MTI. Everyone there, staff and participants, were such a blessing! I am so glad Students International said I needed to go this training, even though i was a little hesitant at first.

Weekend at the Dorens'

I was delightfully stolen away form MTI this past weekend by my Aunt Tracy. I spent the weekend exploring the small mountain town of Salida, riding bikes, visiting the farmers' market across the street, and cooking lots and lots. And of course, great family time!

Riding to the health food store with Sara and Aunt Tracy. Sara was so kind to share her pink cruiser with me all weekend!





Merry-go-rounds do still exist!!! Shortly after cousin Casey and all his friends proved why they are now outlawed in many parts of the country.





I love swings!!!

Summer/Fall Update

Sorry to those of you who tried to send this to through email, but it didn't work. I'm still trying to figure out the new program and haven't quite figured out all the kinks. But now I know how to put the newsletters up here in the blog, so you can always find them here or on the sidebar.

You can click on the link below to download my latest newsletter.

http://krystaleanne9.googlepages.com/SummerLetter.pdf

We're off.... Kind of

These last few weeks have really affirmed how truly blessed I am. I was privileged to spend the last few weeks traveling to visit various friends and family across the country, as well as spend time with my family and friends in Visalia. Each visit was filled with lots of laughter, catching up, and planning for when people come to visit in Costa Rica. Thank you to all of you who opened your home and made your schedule flexible so we could hangout.

Today Cailah and fly out to Colorado Spring for 3 weeks of training at MTI (Missionary Training Institute). We will both arrive absolutely exhausted, but thoroughly filled up with love from all time with our friends and family these last few weeks. We are both really looking forward to our three weeks of rest and preparation in Colorado. We have heard wonderful things about MTI and can't wait to experience it ourselves.

Thank you for all your prayers, especially for the process of saying goodbye. The time that I've been able to spend with loved ones has been truly joyous. I know that I will see many of you in the not too distance future, as you already have plans to come and visit. It's much easier to say, "See you later" than "Goodbye".



Please continue to keep me in your prayers. 1) That we would be open to all God wants to do in us during our time in our Colorado. 2) For the continued process of saying goodbye.

Goodbye Dinner in Visalia

This is my last week in the Central Valley. On Sunday I will bid goodbye to my wonderful "hometown" for the last two years. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here, and will not soon forget the joys the Central Valley has to offer. But before I leave we must have one last family dinner. If you are anywhere near the central valley this Wednesday (Sep 10th), please stop by for a great evening of food and fellowship.