Take Two: 2010

Dominican Republic August 2010: an amazing trip for the second time. I was given the opportunity to return to the D.R. after I graduated from middle school. I was just about to enter into my freshman year and I was so excited to return and see some of the same kids I had seen the summer before. Going back again helped further my faith experience with God.

This trip was a time for me to move out of the stages of junior high and enter into the life of a high schooler. This trip no one got sick and we thanked God every day for that. For my first trip I didn't have that many of my friends so it was easier to make new ones and not make it an experience with friends. 

As I was on my second missions trip I felt more like a professional than the rest of my friends. This trip I also brought along my younger brother who was going to be going into seventh grade. He had never done anything like this before. In the few months before the trip we discovered a small heart condition that my brother, Cody, had.  It caused him to pass out if he wasn't drinking enough water or eating enough nutritional food. We notified the youth pastor who was in charge of the trip and he became worried.

My mother's exact words to him when we found out was, "Cody had a heart condition. He might pass out on you, but don't worry Kelsey will know what to do." As any adult would feel nervous if they were taking someone else's kid to a third world country and leaving his health in the hands of his thirteen year old sister would feel. He was terrified. Through this experience my brother survived and nothing went wrong, with his health anyway.
In the end we all returned safely and we spread the good news of the Lord to everyone we met. We played card games and other sorts of games to strengthen our relationship with each other as a group. We learned that even the words balloon animal could bring the biggest joy to the children with nothing.
This second trip really opened up my eyes to see the world as it was. While visiting the boys orphanage the older boys made sure the younger ones received the gifts and the most attention. Those children had nothing and they were wiling to receive nothing in order for the younger ones to get more. I knew I wouldn't be visiting again till many years later so it was bittersweet to leave, but I returned home with a better idea of how I needed to live my life.

Life Lesson #11: All the possessions in the world will never make you truly happy.

Touring a City in One Day: Boston

Before I get into today's post about my day trip to a historical city.  I would like to inform you guys of one of my friend's Courtney Davis and her awesome blog entitled Places To Escape To it's another blog about interesting locations.

It's a great day when you wake up at 6:00 am to reach your church by 6:30 to leave for a day of touring a city.  I takes about four hours to get from where I live to Boston, Massachusetts.  With the GPS malfunctioning and taking us down roads that didn't exist added about and hour more.  Spending extra time on a school bus than originally planned can be painful when it is with about 40 middle schoolers.

The streets of Boston are narrow and filled with so much history.  We visited many graveyards looking at the grave stones of historical figures.  Along with several ancient churches leading back to the beginning of the country. We also got on this boat type thing (pictured to the left) to tour the city even faster.

While in one of the cemeteries we did a scavenger hunt using names, date of birth, or death to find the rest of the information of the dead. While is was a fun activity it was very informing about the age of some of those men.


In the end it was a very long day. We stayed in the city of Boston till around 8:15 when it started to get dark.  The long drive back started with most of us sleeping after the long day of walking we had. Touring a city in one day is fun but also makes you very tired.  I plan to go back again and take more time than just a day.

Life Lesson #10: When walking around a city for a day be prepared with proper walking shoes, water, and a working camera.

Sick Little Missionaries

When I stepped into the hot humid air for the first time in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic I knew my life was going to change. I had never been on a missions trip and this was the first one. I was nervous but at the same time very excited. It was the summer in between seventh and eight grade, the air was hot but I was ready.

For the trip we stayed with Score International which was a compound within the poorer parts of the Dominican Republic.  We went to sugarcane villages each day.  We meet more and more kids as the week went on.  We went to a few orphanages to play with the kids there.  Those children taught me a lot about life even though we had no way of having a real conversation together.

We passed out food to families in some of the villages and put on a skit for them to see.  We acted out simple needs that we have or sins that we all commit while people just passed by.  But, then after it all Jesus came and saved us all from what we were suffering with.  We had someone explain what was going on in spanish so the could further understand.

On this trip little did I know that this beautiful week was going to take a turn for the worst. When one of the students on the trip began throwing up it just went down hill from there.  We had brought a sickness with us that infected us all.  Those who weren't sick helped those who were, thus spreading the germs faster among the students.  When the leaders started getting sick it was to hard to go any where and complete the mission we were sent there to do.

Rapidly one by one we each got sick.  I was one of the last ones to catch the horrible virus.  We each threw up so much that when we got to a point where we had nothing more to throw up.  Our bodies were weak and most of us slept a lot.  I slept through most of the day waking up at seven o'clock at night to go to the bathroom and drink more water.  Then I fell asleep that night at 9 o'clock to sleep through the night till 8:30.

Once most of us recovered we planned on going out again to visit some of the villages.  When I ate food for the first time with another girl in my room it took us all but ten minutes to throw it back up again.  Myself and a few others missed the souvenir shopping day but our friends bought things for us. Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned but God's work still gets done even if it is your own heart. This was first learning experience of what it means to be truly grateful for what you have.  There are people in this world with way less and we must think of that when we complain about the items we do have. 

This trip impacted me so much and I grew in my spiritual walk with the Lord that I decided I would come back the next summer as well.  No one got sick on that one and I even brought my little brother Cody who had just finished sixth grade along for the trip.  I got to see some of the same kids as I did the year before and even spend time with some new kids in different villages.

Life Lesson #9: Don't take anything/anyone for granted because you never know how long they or you will be around.

Lost In The Mountains

Vancouver is a city in British Columbia, Canada.  As we ventured through the mountains right outside Vancouver. The North Shore Mountains was one of our key destinations. When we arrived park rangers told us that two trails run into each other.  As the competitive people we are we decided to race to see who would get back the quickest.

My Mother and I started before them on the trail of our choice, while my two brothers and father went to the bathroom. After an hour of walking and not seeing anyone else come the other direction we began to worry. The guides told us it would take a half an hour to circle around. We had no food, no water, and no means of communication. So we kept on walking.

Another hour passed and we began to make excuses as to why it would have taken us this long to walk the trail. We crossed a bridge that the park rangers mentioned and we figured we were almost to the end. Off in the distance we say something small and black. 

Instantly I knew we were in trouble. It was a black bear cub and my mom and I walked a little faster away from that area. As we continued down the path the forest began to get more and more dense the further we walked.  Then suddenly the trail ended. Worry began to set in as time was going on. Neither of us wanted to turn around and walk another two hours back the way we came. We decided to follow the dirt path next the river until we found civilization again.  

After another thirty minutes of walking we stopped. My mom was so tired she needed to sit down for a bit.  I climbed down a little edge to reach the river.  I scooped up some water and took a nice long gulp. 

It was truly the best water I had ever tasted in my life.  I tried to bring some for my mom but all efforts failed. We continue walking and shortly after we begun we came across an old wooden cabin with signs that said keep out and not trespassing.  Scared for our lives we slowly walked to the door and knocked. Surprisingly two mid aged women came to the door.  

With their sweet tones the helped us out.  They gave us water and even drove us back to the national park entrance.  In total it was three hours we were gone and it was just getting dark. Once we found out family we told the park rangers to call of the search for us because we had just gone down the wrong trail.

After a few uneventful days in Vancouver we traveled down to Birch Bay, Washington.  In this region we came across Mount Baker which still had snow from the past winter.  It was late June and we went sledding and went to the beach to swim on the same day.  We drove a four person bike and stayed away from trails in the middle of no where.

From all the hiking, sledding, swimming, making sand creatures, and going to the aquarium the trip had much adventures. My brothers and I stood next to huge trees in the forest that had be around for hundreds of years.  Through the lens of the camera you couldn't get a picture of one full tree.  We had witnessed so much and we weren't finished.

While in Seattle, WA we wondered around and visited a fish market and all the tourist sites they had to offer. We visited many waterfalls around the area and all the towns we visited had their own special feel to them. 
Being from Minnesota being able to play in the snow wasn't the strangest thing that had occurred for me.  We hiked next to rivers and up mountains to make memories. 

Once we drove back to Birch Bay, Washington we spent one of our last days relaxing and playing mini-golf.  This is another activity in which my family can become very competitive at.  After that last day we drove back into Canada. We got on a plane and flew back to the east coast.  This trip was one of a kind.  I got to experience the culture up in Canada and the culture down below in Washington state. Even though some of the trip could've turned out better it still was and educational adventure.

Life Lesson #8: Never go on a trail in the mountains with out water or a cell phone. Even if they say it will only take fifteen minutes, and even if you are in another country.