no you can't eat my banan

We are travelling fools. Seriously... I don't know why we aren't signed up for frequent flyer miles because we are raking them in!!

We flew standby from Sweden, which was a huge blessing (it meant we got to go,) but getting out of Stockholm was insanity. There's only ONE delta flight out of Stockholm a DAY. So not once, not twice, but three times we went to the airport at 9:00 am, checked in, loaded our bags, went through customs, got a departure stamp out of Sweden, and then waited patiently and prayed we would be able to get on the flight. We would disappointingly hear the news that the flight was full, rewalk through customs, get an entrance stamp into Sweden, and WAIT 24 hours til we could try again. Although it was a stressful process, it turned out to be a wonderful blessing as we got to tour the city of Stockholm. Which is BEAUTIFUL. The old city is absolutely gorgeous, with a very Italy-esque feel. We walked and found our way through the mazes of old buildings, some even dating back to the 1200's. We walked by the pier, gazed at the range of boats, some hundreds of years old and some looking like they're from the future. It was such a blast and I cannot wait to return!!! Kyle is absolutely in love, and day one in Sweden turned to me and said, "honey, can we move here?" haha.  Anyways, God's awesome and on the third day we got on our flight! Which meant we arrived in Atlanta at 11:00 pm, only to be home for 12 hours before returning to the dreadful airport to fly to Oregon. So here we are... Bend, Oregon! at last...

Sverige...

Sverige is a magical place. a magical, magical place. haha. Kyle and I were in the tiny village of Gnarp... which at the airport on the way there, not one single Swedish person we talked to had even heard of it. But let it be known that Gnarp is WONDERFUL!
The place is gorgeous, quaint, homey. The people there are sooo nice and welcoming. Kyle and I immediately felt like family. Our favorite thing about the whole experience was the people and friendships we came away with!
What we did:
We were put in charge of the oldest group of campers whose ages ranged from 16 to 19. Our group was called the Green Banana. amazing I know. The title of the blog came from our cheer in which we changed the Lady GaGa song Poker Face to "Can't eat my, can't eat my, no you can't eat my... GREEN BANAN..." genius. haha. But the camp was so much fun. We were always running around doing some activity whether it was canoeing in the ocean, riding Icelandic horses, or dancing.
The camp is a Christian camp, however, over half of the 100 campers were non Christian. I was unsure of how this dynamic was going to work before the camp started... but let me tell you, it was incredible. It was a powerful camp that displayed amazing messages; however, they were not threatening or overwhelming to those not ready for it. But... it was so inviting and so many kids got saved and encountered Jesus' love! My favorite thing was to look around during worship at all the children encountering His love. I would walk around and talk to girls who I felt needed some prayer or love,. and one girl I went up to was just crying by herself. I went up  and asked her what was going on and her response was, "I'm... just... so Happy!!" haha. It was moments like those that just filled me with such joy!!
One of the nights, we had a message on who to turn to when bad things happen in life. I spoke on my experience with my dad dying and how Jesus completely healed and restored me and my family. It was a very powerful message, and I was shocked to hear about how many people related to my experience. It was such a blessing to hear children come up and discuss their experiences and emotions with me. And even more rewarding to hear how they have turned to God and are allowing him to work through their pain.
That was what is so great about this week long camp in Gnarp, Sweden... it is short, but powerful. I heard and witnessed so many children's lives get a little better, a little more hopeful, a little more exciting. And Kyle and I are both honored to be able to be a part of it.
Something that God showed me was that the Compassion he gave me in the Congo... is real and still very much a part of me. Some of the kids I met in Sweden have such a huge part of my heart. I LOVE some of these kids like I LOVE my family in Kelembe. And to feel that for them surprised me in such a wonderful way. yayyyyyy haha.


So in conclusion... everyone should go to Sweden. It's an amazing country!!!!
On my facebook I will be posting pictures soon!

tak  tak