The Last Night...

So, tonight is the last night.  People start leaving as early as 3:30 am.  It has been a great time to hang out with these kids and get to know them on a deeper level.  I lead a small group of 5 girls who were the older ones in the conference (16-17 years old), they are awesome.  I will miss them terribly.     

Yesterday we went into Vienna and went to an amusement park called the Prater.  Its free to walk in but each ride costs a certain amount of euro.  I ended up going on two rides, one with Matt and Hailey which was like a huge swing but flipped you around as well (Hailey was screaming the entire time and was hoarse this morning because of it).  The other I went on with a few of the girls and it was a rocker/spinny type ride, which was fun as well.  After a few hours in the park we went into the downtown area for dinner and wandering.  Most of the group got pizza then a few kids wanted to go to Starbucks, so I went with them and it reminded me of two years ago when I went with Alyssa, good times.  

I'm sad that this conference is coming to an end, but excited and scared to see what God has ahead for me.  Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement.

He's OK

Yes, Mike is back from the hospital and is okay.  We're still not sure what caused his illness but he's pretty much recovered.  

The kids start filing in tomorrow throughout the day and we will officially kick things off at 6pm (Hungary time, 9 hours ahead).

Hungary at last

Yes I've arrived in Hungary (actually I made it here yesterday)!  It was exciting because this is the reason I came over to Europe for these few weeks.  The GEM-K conference hasn't started yet, it officially begins on Wednesday, right now only the staff are here.  We use these few days before the conference to become accustomed to the the town (how to use the bus system, know what is where and such), get to know each other, and prepare for the kids arrival.  I've done this once before as most of the other staff has as well, but its always good to have a refresher.  

My roommate for the week is Michaela Andrews (from Ojai Valley Community Church) and I'm looking forward to getting to know her better.  

On a down note, my cousin Michael Kingsley (Matt's brother) arrived yesterday from England, after he spent 6 weeks in Cambodia working with nonprofit organizations and visiting his family (the people that he stayed with while he lived there in college).  I talked to him around 5pm yesterday evening and he looked okay but mildly complained that he wasn't feeling very well so I left him alone to get some rest.  Soon after that Matt told me that Mike was rapidly getting worse, he couldn't keep anything down and we were afraid he would get dehydrated.  After a few hours and some homemade gatorade Mike stated that he needed to go to the hospital to stay hydrated, Matt agreed and before I knew it Mike was transported by ambulance to the hospital where he stayed last night and probably tonight as well.  If you could keep him in your prayers it would be much appreciated. 

Thank you all for your support, encouragement and prayers. 

Ireland...then Hungary

Well, I made it to Ireland late yesterday morning and managed to sleep, after a quick lunch and visit with Matt and Hailey, pretty much all afternoon and all night, it was glorious.  The flight wasn't bad and I sat next to a nice guy who wasn't weird or creepy.  (I did manage to make a fool out of myself when I assumed he was from Ireland and was really from England, I do a good job of putting my foot in my mouth)

I can't settle in too much because I leave on Sunday to go to Hungary for the GEM-K Conference.  I'm so excited, it will be nice to work with youth again, something I've missed for the past couple of months.  God has been so good.