Sunday, May 09, 2010

Countdown to my 30th Birthday: Day 10

Since the countdown to our anniversary was such a big hit in April, I thought I'd do something similar. My 30th birthday is coming in just ten days, so I thought I'd highlight something about the number ten today.

TEN....

Ten represents the number of countries I have visited. Really, I think there may be eleven countries, but we'll settle for ten.

The first country was Kenya. I spent Y2K in Kenya with friends from WorldSong. It was a great trip that fueled my passion for international missions.

The second was Guatemala. This trip was also over New Year's (2000-2011) with friends from WorldSong.

I spent the summer of 2001 in the United Arab Emirates, working at a maternal-infant hospital. It was one of the best summers ever and I loved living in that part of the world. There is so much more I could share about this summer, but I'll refrain from that on a public blog.

Also in the summer of 2001 I journeyed to Oman. This was a short drive from our home in the Emirates, and so much fun to see another Middle Eastern country.

In the fall of 2002, I traveled to Lesotho and lived there for two years. This was one of the hardest two years of my life, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I learned so much about God, myself, about life and even death.

Lesotho bordered South Africa, so I traveled there often to shop, check mail, get massages, and just get away for a retreat.

While I lived in Lesotho, I traveled to see friends in Egypt and Lebanon. This was such a fun vacation and I loved seeing North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea! I also went to a retreat in Zimbabwe and visited Mallory in Zambia.

My list now exceeds ten, but I also spent a day in France when I had a 12-hour layover on my way to Lesotho. Then, Mallory and I went on a cruise in 2007 and stepped on the soil of the Bahamas.

So, that's my list of ten (plus) countries. Come back tomorrow for NUMBER NINE!

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