The Story, Part 3

On we go. I had been feeling pretty good thus far in the adventure. Again, here are excerpts from the journal:

Day 4 on the Mountain

I don't know the name of this camp but I've decided to call it Camp Blech. I got cocky, I really did. I thought "hey, we're 4 days in to this thing and I feel fantastic... we went to 16,000 feet at Lava Tower yesterday and I felt superb... the rest will be cake." WRONG.

On our way up Barranco Wall early in the morning and still feeling great.

I'll start from the beginning. We got up early feeling great (Dad's headache was mostly gone) to take on the Barranco Wall, an extremely steep and dangerous looking climb. I had heard it was one of the more difficult sections of the hike. In reality, it wasn't too bad. It was steep and we had to be careful during some parts but all in all, a pleasurable experience.

Dad at the "Kissing Rock" halfway up Barranco. It got it's name because you have maneuver yourself in such a way that your face goes right up against the rock. Kissing it means safety, not kissing it means falling.

 

I think this is where the cockiness set in. Since I had heard it was really difficult and didn't it find it to be so, I began to think that I was better than the Mountain... and she has since whipped my butt back in to submission. Respect the Mountain, Lizzie, or she will make you respect her. Anyway, we got to the top of the Barranco and experienced some truly unbelievable views. We could see all across Tanzania and in to other parts of Africa and we were completely above the clouds at this point. It looked like a floor of white cotton as we gazed out over Africa. 

Most of the way up Barranco Wall, taking a quick breather. 

I had a ton of energy, I was excited, and felt supremely happy as we took a long break at the top. I figured that the hardest part of the day was over. We snapped a few photos  and the loaded up to continue. 

Probably my favorite photo from the trip.

See? Told you I was getting cocky. Thats Kili in the background. Doesn't look like there is that far to go, does it?

After we caught our breath, we hiked down into a low valley and then started back up again. We went pretty high and I thought we'd stay high but saw a cliff that we were supposed to descend. The downclimbing was rough- it was pretty precarious and I slipped a few times on gravel. I wasn't loving it. We got to the bottom of this cliff and saw a small stream of glacial runoff and another huge cliff. I realized that we were going back up. The good part was on our way up, we saw this guy, who was guiding another group. He was wearing a BYU hat. That gave me a much-needed laugh.  

We took a quick break and then started back up and I realized just how tired my body was after what I had subjected it to the last several days. Every muscle was protesting. Dad's migraine came back and I had a headache starting as well. At the top of this huge cliff, we stopped for lunch. It was warm when we arrived but as we sat and started in on the meal, a thick cloud settled over the cliff and the wind got going. Pretty soon it was drizzling and freezing cold. We didn't eat much, our appetite was all but gone. We decided to keep going up. We had about 3 hours left of pretty steep uphill to camp. I could feel the air getting thinner and thinner; it was nothing like the saturated rain forest air I breathed in so happily days before. This seemed thin and course and I felt the dissatisfaction in my lungs. I began breathing harder and harder and moving slower and slower as we started yet another ascent. 


It kind of felt like there were weights attached to my arms and legs. I was feeling decent until that last hour. The trail got dramatically steeper and we were beyond 16,000 feet at this point. Although the climb we were attempting wasn't as technical or difficult as the Barranco, the air was so much thinner that I simply couldn't catch my breath. I put Harry Potter book 7 on my iPod to take my mind off things but I was pretty miserable. By the time we got to camp, which is situated on a cliff, exposed, and extremely windy and cold) I wasn't feeling so hot. I had a massive headache and felt a little nauseous. It's gotten worse since we arrived. I'm sitting in the tent and can't seem to get warm, no matter what I try. Frank and Sifuel want me to eat something but the thought of food is making me sick. They want me to drink too. I finally took a Diamox. It is supposed to help with the altitude but Sifuel didn't want me to take it unless I really need it. Most people take it from the very beginning. The problem is it makes you pee every 15 minutes or so. It helped with the nausea and the headache a little. 


Sifuel says that we will get up tomorrow at 4:00 AM to see if we're feeling any better (Dad's migraine is pretty bad) and if we are, we're going to try to summit. Technically we have another day here at camp to acclimatize but Sifuel explained that it would be better to try to summit and fail and then have the opportunity to come back and try the next day. If we just sit here at camp tomorrow and rest, we'll have one shot at the summit and if we don't make it then we have to turn back around. I would rather take any chance we can get. If we try tomorrow morning, I don't think it'll go super well but I think we still have to try. Dad is running out of his headache medicine (he has three pills left) and it looks like the altitude makes his migraines worse and worse. Neither of us feel like eating. We won't last long without health and energy... we don't have time to sit around at camp, not when we're camping so high. We need to get up this stupid mountain and we need to get up soon. Regardless of how I feel tomorrow morning, we need to summit tomorrow or I don't know if we'll summit at all. I don't think I'll stop praying tonight. 


More to come!!

The Story, Part 2

Okay, where were we?

Dad stands out a little as we're prepping for the climb.

Right. We were here.Waiting at Machame gate to get started up the mountain. Realizing that turning around and quitting simply wasn't an option, I took a deep breath and started up the mountain. The scenery looked like this:

African rain forest

I realize now that it took quite a bit of gumption to get started but 30 minutes or so in to the hike, I was enjoying myself immensely. Again, some parts from my journal:

Day 1 on the Mountain

Bottom of the Mountain

Frank was our guide today and I have to say I LOVED the hike. It was gorgeous! Through lush beautiful rain forest and up lovely mountain trails- steep at times but still gorgeous. The views were INCREDIBLE. The trail led pretty much straight up the mountain so often there were these huge drop-offs that overlooked dense rain forest and beautiful wildflowers. 

Amazing leaves on trees

The path was well kept and muddy. We went for about 7 hours today but I could've gone longer. I felt great. Maybe it was because we were at such a low altitude. It was cool and overcast- not hot at all. the air seemed drenched and the humidity felt great because it wasn't coupled with stifling heat. I took  deep breaths as we went and enjoyed the African rain forest. Frank pointed out beautiful flowers and bird calls.

Beautiful flowers

I really like Frank, he is very good-natured and funny. We discovered that he used to lead hunting expeditions but left that work because it was far too dangerous. He likes being a guide and has been to the top over 50 times. He's in his late thirties and has a deep kind voice. Something happened to his right eye because his pupil is damaged and clouded over. He taught me Swahili as we walked. Frank is married to Beatrice and they have a 10-month named Faith. His face brightens when he speaks of them. Faith has malaria right now and I get the impression that it isn't very uncommon here. He said she's doing okay now though and isn't worried. 

Hiking with Frank. He's actually taller and bigger than me, I don't know why I look like a giant in this picture. 

We got to camp tonight around 5:00 and had hot chocolate and dinner. I'm surprised how cold it is when you stop moving. The nights are very chilly and the fact that we're climbing higher and higher means that they'll just get colder. I'm so cold that I'm going to be early. We need to be up and ready tomorrow at 6 so the earlier the better. Frank keeps encouraging us to drink as much as well can to stay hydrated but I must admit that the idea of getting out of the tent to take care of business doesn't seem like a very attractive prospect when it's so cold. And if its this cold right now, I don't want to even think of summit day. Tomorrow we will be getting in to the African moorland, which is full of heather plants. Sifuel says tomorrow will be pretty hard and very very steep. 

Day 2 on the Mountain

Woke up early this morning to find Dad already up and rummaging around. We got up and dressed, packed our bags,  then went to eat breakfast. We got started around 6:30. We took a slow pace, which I was grateful for because today was really steep and difficult. 

Dad with the heather fields

The moorland is rugged and barren, nothing like the beauty of the rain forest. I didn't love today nearly as much as yesterday, although it wasn't terrible. It was 4 hours straight up essentially. Dad loved it, he chattered away happily. When I'm uncomfortable or tired, I clam up and keep to myself. Dad talks more. "Oh, how beautiful all this is! This rugged beauty! I am loving today! It's so like a metaphor for life! Hard, but you make it through!" And on and on. I couldn't help but laugh out loud a few times, he was so cheerful and I was so... not. Some parts had some beautiful vistas but most of the time I was focused on getting up, not so much turning around and looking at where we'd come from. 

Hiking above the clouds over huge boulders.

I started counting my steps in sets of 8. "One, two, three, four..." and so on. Helped me get my mind off of the incline. When I felt like I wanted to stop, I'd force myself to finish the set. Usually at that point, I decided to do one more... and one more... and then I was at the top of a huge hill. It seemed, however, than every time we got to the top of one cliff, we could see 8 more looming above us. We scaled this rock face and wound our way around this cliff when it started to rain. Cold, wet, and tired I wasn't in the best mood when we finally got to camp, though I don't think many noticed. I'm usually pretty good at keeping that in check, I just get really quiet.

Reading back at camp, trying to get warm.

I had a little bit of a headache due to the drastic change in altitude ( we went up to 13,000 feet today... Timp is about 11,750) so I read my book while I warmed up then took a nap. Felt immensely better. General made us this amazing carrot and ginger soup. It was so good. It's colder at this camp for sure and there are these huge crows everywhere you go with white bellies that caw every three seconds. Kind of want to strangle some of them, what an annoying bird. We are hiking close to a group of 33 Scottish kids that are hiking for charity. They're all about my name. I like talking to them and mimicking their accents. One girl told me a bunch of them were already down with altitude sickness which was humbling. So far I've been feeling okay. She said she had a really sore throat. I asked her if she had any lozenges and she said no. I found some in my bag and asked another girl to give them to her because I couldn't find her. Hope she gets them. We've got to help each other up this mountain, I'm sure of it. 

I've been sleeping well. Dad hasn't been as much. When it was time for dinner, neither of us were very hungry but Sifuel says that the altitude can affect your appetite and they we need to force ourselves to eat, which we did. General made us another kind of soup with dinner that was a pumpkin something or other and it was amazing. I think anything would taste amazing after today's hike but seriously, General makes the best soup I've ever had. Tonights was some sort of pumpkin base and it tasted like Thanksgiving. 

Day 3 on the Mountain

Here we are at the Barangu Camp. It's pouring rain outside. Dad isn't feeling so hot- the altitude jump today triggered a migraine so he is trying to sleep in the tent. I'm sitting in the mess tent. He says he's doing okay, he took some of his migraine meds. Poor Sifuel and Frank have no idea what a migraine is and they think he has altitude sickness but that's not what it is. He was doing great until we got to Lava Rock, which is about 16,000 feet. That's ridiculously high. Over 15,000 is considered extreme altitude and very dangerous and we're going well above that in the next few days.

Sunrise over Kilimanjaro

We got up this morning at 6:00 AM. Today we hiked with Sifuel and got to know him better. He's married to Api and has 4 kids. Vivian is 16 and she's actually his brother's daughter that he adopted. Gidness is 14 and is his Uncle's son that he also adopted. His younger two Gregory (5) and Gresha (3) are his biological children. He has funny stories about them. Sifuel is a good man. I think he connects more with Dad because they like to talk. I like hiking with Frank because I like to think while hiking and he does too. Sifuel used to work search and rescue on the mountain so he's really well versed in the symptoms of acute mountain sickness and cerebral edema, which are both super dangerous and happen quite often up here. He'll catch anything before it gets too severe and will arrange any emergency evacuations. It is comforting to have him has a guide. He said that once he made it from the Machame gate (where we started) to the base camp (3 miles form the top of Kili) in only 8 hours when he was on a rescue mission. That is intense. That kind of ascent would kill me because I'm not acclimatized to the altitude like he is and he was essentially sprinting. We've got to take it slow and weave our way around the mountain instead of taking a straight shot so that our brains don't swell and our lungs don't burst. Sifuel is pretty hard core. He grew up in Moshi, which is a city on Kilimanjaro so he is used to the altitude. 

Dad, Sifuel, and me

Today's hike was great. I felt just fine the whole time. We rose steadily 3,000 feet and I barely noticed the change in altitude. I just danced my way up the mountain as I listened to my iPod. We got to Lava Tower (a huge rock) and I started to notice how hard I was breathing. I still felt okay but I could tell the air was thinner. Sifuel said this is where most start to feel really sick.

Looking up at Lava Tower

We stayed up on top of there for 15 minutes or so and then started back down to sleep at a lower altitude to acclimatize. We went downhill (very steep) for nearly 2 hours to get to camp. I hate downhill. My lungs relax but it is hard on my knees and muscles. The terrain today was fascinating. Weird looking. It looked like we were on some other planet- I've never seen these plants and flowers before in my life. They are really pretty though. 

Incredible scenery unlike any I've ever seen.

Camp is situated in Kili's shadow. The daunting and intimidating task of climbing the steep and perilous looking barranco wall hangs over us. I can see it from camp and we'll tackle it first thing tomorrow morning. When we got here, it was a bit chilly but it was clear and the sun was out. Now all of camp is enveloped in a thick cold cloud. The fog makes it so you can't see very far in front of you and the rain is pounding on the tent. There are these white-necked ravens everywhere and quite honestly I want to strangle each and every one of them. Their screeching is extremely obnoxious. I love hearing the Swahili chatter everywhere though. Africans are loud and social people. They laugh and call to each other until well into the night and I love it. I'm grateful I brought earplugs though. I can't help but adore these people. Kind, polite, very gracious... they remind me so much of Moses and William, my Nigerian friends in Italy.

Gordie (one of our support team) just came in and played around with my digital camera. He kept taking pictures of me, but sometimes would only capture half of my face, unsure as to how to hold the camera. He's never used one before. This is only his 4th time up Kilimanjaro so he's fairly new to the business. His English is... well, lets just say his efforts are heroic. He's probably about my age, maybe a little younger. He brought me popcorn and wanted to know what I was reading. He studied the cover for a while and then said "You is good book." Thanks Gordie. 

The product of Gordie's photography skills 

I want to learn Swahili. It is such an interesting language. Dad tries to learn it but struggles to remember phrases well sometimes. He's getting better. "Jambo" means "hello" and he kept calling out "jamba!" today to passers-by. I kept saying, "Dad, jamba is a juice, not a greeting." He's not a complainer so I don't really know how bad his migraine is but I hope it passes soon. 

More to come!!

The story, Part 1

It is amazing. I am actually posting. Sorry about the blog absence... I think the prospect of trying to summarize the events of Kilimanjaro seemed almost as daunting as the mountain itself before we hiked it so I kept putting it off. But after constant chastisement from someone (*cough*mom*cough*) I figured it was about time to make this happen. So, without further ado, I present the details of Kilimanjaro, in parts. 

Sunrise on Kilimanjaro

It took quite a while to fly from Salt Lake to Chicago to Amsterdam to Arusha. 36 hours of traveling is too many hours, I assure you. By the time our HUGE plane rolled into the TINY Kilimanjaro airport (which was essentially a garage) we were exhausted and I at least was extremely nervous. I'll write another post about what hiking Kilimanjaro actually meant to me but suffice it to say that it was something I really wanted to accomplish for numerous reasons. I was pretty scared that something would happen that would prevent the ascent and it caused a fair amount of stress. 

The following are excerpts from my journal, which explains things far better than I could right now.

Sitting here in Arusha, Tanzania. All is dark outside my mosquito net, Dad is still asleep. Our plane got in last night around 9:00 PM local time and the jet lag had me confused and drowsy. But I knew this trip was going to be a success the minute I looked out the window and saw them wheeling a flight of stairs up to the plane's door. I don't know why but I've always wanted to walk down stairs to get off a plane. The Kilimanjaro airport is SMALL. We waited in a line to get our passports and entry forms approved. My shoes squeaked with every move on the bright orange floor. I watched the woman reviewing my Dad's passport. She is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen- large dark wide-set eyes with dark curled lashes, hair braided neatly into tiny ropes, clear skin the color of dark chocolate- stunning. Everyone here reminds me of my Nigerian friends in Italy. The airport smelled like bananas.

Stephen picked us up from the airport. He's a quiet African man with a shy smile. He turned on some Matisyahu and rolled down the windows. We wove through the streets of Arusha, cold air blowing on my face. It smelled exotic and different. I was exhausted yet excited as I looked out the window and saw my first glimpses of Africa. Small steel buildings, old cars and vans filled to capacity, people smiling and calling to each other as they stood in the middle of the street listening to music on old radios, no street lamps on, no moonlight- just standing in the dark. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck and near my temples begin to curl as the damp humid air blew in the car. 

Our hotel is quaint to say the least. Colorful, but quaint. Dad calls it a dive but says "we didn't come all the way to Africa for the accommodations." I'm sure it'll seem like a palace once we get off of the mountain after a week of hard-core camping. The showers are hot-ish and the beds are somewhat comfortable so I'm not complaining. It's 4:30 in the morning and I am wide awake. I hope this lasts- we typically need to go to bed early and wake up early to hike throughout the hike. I hear roosters crowing. This early? Man, African roosters aren't kidding around. 

Just got back from the Arusha markets. We needed to get some shillings, Tanzanian money. Our money had old dead presidents on it... theirs has lions and tigers on it. Africa is way cooler than America. Walking around the streets was pretty thrilling. We were the only white people in sight. Everyone greeted us warmly with "Jambo!" (hello) and "Karibu!" (welcome) and I just loved all of them. Most of them wanted us to come into their shops to see what they were selling. "Please, my friend! Come my sista' friend! Pretty girl, come with me! Come see what I have for you! Come to look, not to buy, it's ooookaaaay!"Hilarious. I bought a beautiful nativity set, some scarves for friends back home, and other trinkets. I just walk around with a goofy smile on my face. 

Tomorrow we begin the hike. I am extremely nervous.

Night before the hike. You can see the anxiety on my face, can't you?

Banana trees.

By the markets of Arusha in the outskirts of the city. 

 

 

 

Day 1 on the Mountain

Last night we met out Guide- Sifuel- a small wiry man with a big smile. He speaks English pretty well. He says he's been to the top over 100 times and has guided thousands up the mountain. We got up this morning at 5:00 AM and I was a mess of emotion- nervous, exited, hungry... 

I took one last shower and got dressed then we went down to meet our team, including our other guide Frank. We also met General (he introduced himself as a stomach-engineer, which is a fancy way of saying he'd be helping to cook our food properly) and also Nixon, Thomas, Eludi, Good News (Gordie) and a few others that would be helping us get to the top. We crammed into this hilarious 70's style bus and started driving to the Machame gate. 

The drive to Machame gate on the first day of the hike.

 Looking out the window was incredible. I was captivated by what I saw- little boys on bicycles pulling heavy loads behind them or sometimes a huge hand cart loaded up with bananas, women with impossibly large bundles of sticks or buckets of water balanced perfectly on their heads dressed in the beautiful and traditional African wear, children playing with rocks, babies strapped to their mothers' back as she works, shacks nd shanties made of aluminum or wear mortar, some houses of sticks, bright colors painted on cement buildings- teals, bright yellows, oranges, reds, etc. with the green lush jungle in the background with coconut, banana and avacado trees everywhere you look. We listened to Sean Kingston and Rihanna as we drove. 

Drive to Machame

 Then was saw her- Kilimanjaro in all her glory. I couldn't quite see the top due to cloud cover but the sight was still impressive (and intimidating) enough. Truly a huge free-standing mountain that looks as if it popped out of nowhere. There isn't any mountain nearby- Kili stands on her own in the middle of the moorland. Absolutely majestic.

First view of the mountain.

We stopped for some supplies and then made our way through the foothills and the mountain city of Moshi, which lies is Kili's shadow. Many of our team are from this rustic town. We left the jungle and began our ride through the African rain forest, which is unlike anything I have ever seen. Incredibly green and thick with wide wild vines falling this way and that and crazy sounds emitting from the trees. Finally we pulled through Machame gate and got out to register and obtain permits. I studied the signs with numerous warnings and kept thinking to myself "what the heck have I gotten myself into?!"

Warnings.

 We waited for everything to get organized and I felt a little nauseous because we were actually attempting a climb up Kilimanjaro. It all seemed to foolish all of a sudden. We decided to climb the mountain on a whim back in February. I was upset about a recent break-up and my Dad wanted to think of something I could work for and look forward to... and somehow Kilimanjaro was thrown on the table. But standing at the gate and looking at the trail, it suddenly seemed like the stupidest idea in the world. I was nervous and apprehensive, but there was no turning back. No giving up. We'd come all this way and I was going to get up that mountain, no matter what.

Nervous to start.

More to come later!!

We did it.

We made it to the top. It was amazing. I am still trying to process all the details but it truly was an incredible achievement. I will write a more detailed post soon (like within the next few days, Mom, I promise), but just wanted to say that we did it!

Tomorrow.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... ETC.

Lion King Broadway

Saw this. It was INCREDIBLE. I took one of my good friends. We laughed the whole time. I maybe cried a little bit. It is my favorite show I've ever seen and I got to see it again. Inspiring, beautiful, unbelievable, phenomenal, LOVED IT.

Flaers

In general, I have really great days. I love my job, I love the people around me, I love where I am, and I love my life. But today was a hard day. At work I was really frustrated and a good friend and co-worker Eric (see exhibit A) noticed. I got home tonight to see something(see exhibit B) on my kitchen table.

Exhibit A: the only picture of Eric I could find

Exhibit B: "Flaers"

Needless to say, Exhibit A + Exhibit B= Exhibit Lizzie is so grateful for good friends.

Book Reviews

My most recent reads: 

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Brilliantly written, incredible story, the characters are deep and delightful. It is a meaningful and important book. Above all, the voices in the book are phenomenal and I love the careful (and not overdone) description of each of the women. I couldn't help but speak in a Southern accent every time I put the book down. I absolutely loved it.



Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Really intriguing plots, page-turners, great novels. I have to say that the writing is a little over-dramatized and juvenile and it annoys me when writers give 16-year-olds the emotional capacity and maturity of a 45-year-olds. However, I think it is completely recommendable and will most likely buy the third book as soon as it hits shelves. 

 The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

I've read this book a few times but haven't reviewed it yet. This is an incredible book. Many times I'd read a line and put the book down to think about it for a quarter of an hour. It is unbelievable the places that C.S. Lewis had to mentally go in order to make this story work. The best part of this book is that though it is written of darkness and evil, it inspires thought, understanding and light. Fabulous... one of my favorites. 

Medallion Manor

When I get really busy, all I post on this blog are a bunch of funny videos. I'm trying to rededicate myself to posting a little more about the more serious or profound musings of my life. It's good to work to express myself... cathartic even.

These past few weeks have been really... important. I guess important is the best word I can use to describe them. I've learn a lot, realized how much I have yet to learn, and have had some important growing experiences. I am weeks away from leaving for Africa, which thrills me and terrifies me at the same time. I have crossed some major personal milestones and look back with satisfaction and peace at some of the things I've left behind me.

But a week ago, I had a really sweet experience that I need to take time to record. My friend Chris and I are in charge of certain things in our ward and we had to plan a ward service project. Chris and his brother go visit the residents of Medallion Manor most Sundays, bringing them friendship and love. The residents of Medallion Manor are all mentally and sometimes physically disabled. Some are old, some are about my age. Chris suggested that we organize a carnival put on by the ward members for all of these people to brighten their day. We organized the activity with some help and last Saturday loaded up cars with games and pizza to bring over. I wasn't quite prepared for what we walked in to.

Everyone was seated at long plastic tables and there were several members of the staff sitting with these people. We started organizing the pizza and drinks with loud shouts and humming and drumming in the background. A flood of memories came back to me and I looked around with a big smile on my face.

For several years I worked with a young boy named Griffin. Griffin was born with a disorder call congenital muscular dystrophy which affected not only his physical  growth but his mental growth. He was taller than I was and only a few years younger than me but he was on the level of a 4 or 5 year old. It was exhausting work. It took a lot of patience and love some days as I helped him with his exercises, tried to teach him social boundaries, and pretty much played with him all day while his Mom took a much needed break. Some days I'd come home frustrated with him and others I'd come home laughing at something he'd done or said. But I always realized that I was lucky to have him in my life. His condition is one that drastically shortens a life and Griffin wasn't expected to live much past his early twenties. It seemed like he took a lifetime's amount of love and crammed it into his 17 year old body. He loved me so purely and so deeply. He never stayed mad at me for more than about 2 minutes, he'd call me his best friend and hold my hand and tell me he loved me every day. When I went on my mission and stopped working for his family, I thought about him a lot.

I walked into Medallion Manor a week ago and one of the first people I met was David. He had his arm around Kara, another resident, and they were talked about pirates.  David asked me to get him a whole plate of chips. Chips were Griffin's favorites.

David and Kara

   David is about the age Griffin would be right now and within minutes I realized that David has the exact same disorder as Griffin. My eyes filled with tears as he took my hand and told me that we were friends. I played with David for the rest of the day. We had a donut eating contest and he beat me, which means I owe him a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. He asked me to come back again soon.

Here's David with TJ and Aaron while we ate pizza.

This is Virginia. She has the sweetest tiniest voice you've ever heard. She drank about 10 cups of root beer.

Katie smiled like this pretty much the whole time we were there. She gave me about 200 hugs.

Here is Paul with Rob. Paul was one of my absolute favorites.

I blew bubbles for Aaron, Paul and Ray for a good 30 minutes. They just laughed and laughed the whole time.

Erik and the other Paul were running the donut contest stand. This Paul was also a favorite. He was hilarious.

Ray couldn't move his arms very well so I helped him swing around the tube that made a whistling noise.

It's been over 4 years since I've seen Griffin but I felt so grateful for him while interacting with these people at Medallion Manor. Any sense of awkwardness or reservation I might have had while working with the residents disappeared years ago while I learned from and loved Griffin. I felt like I was back in my element working with such special people with such a great capacity to love. It took me almost a half-hour to leave as I went around and said goodbye, received many hugs, had sticky fingers pat my face, had them call my name as they waved goodbye... it was such a great experience and I can't wait to go back with Chris and Rob to see them again.

I miss my sister...

This is my sister Kathy and her friends from forever ago. She's the pirate one with dark hair and underwear on her head. She's hilarious.



4 more months!!

Beachy Keen

We went to Washington to visit Ashley's family. One day we went to the Oregon coast and it was awesome. Observe:

Lizzie

Lizzie and Andy

Kirsti

Lizzie

Andy

Ashley, Lizzie, Kirsti

Lizzie

Andy

Yep, we're cool. Pretty awesome and cool and great. You might want to be us...