Camera roll – Volume II

And announcing where I am heading in December!

I taught my roommates hot seat, my favorite get-to-know-you game: You put someone on the “hot seat,” set a timer (we did three minutes), and pepper them with questions incessantly until the timer goes off. Favorite beverage? Greatest fear? Worst date of all time? The possibilities are endless.

Morning lectures run Monday–Thursday from 9 a.m.–noon, and we are drinking from a firehose every week. Fridays are for teachbacks, a great learning and retention method. These opportunities, though brief, are reinforcing how much I enjoy teaching, and my classmates’ encouragement is very validating. I feel *so* alive in these moments — like I am doing what I was designed to do.

One of my favorite (and one of the only air-conditioned) places on campus is the prayer room. This space is reserved 24/7 for prayer and worship. Two classmates and I auditioned to lead worship sets in the prayer room. We were thrilled to be placed on the same team — Maddy on my left and Sunny on keys at far right. We get to worship together every Friday from 5–6 p.m., along with two new bandmates/friends. It is *such* a sweet endcap to each week.

A whole crew of classmates (only some pictured here) turned out to worship with us during our first set. I feel so supported by this fam!

Caution: This may shock you. I have started playing coffee roulette. Each weekend, I ask my friend Karen to order me one coffee-adjacent beverage — usually a latte of some kind. Even more shocking, I kind of like it. I know, I know. I’m surprised, too.

I have the best roommates! Pictured here are Yujin (South Korea), Karen (Texas), and Katie (Thailand via Kansas). Kona Joe coffee farm is one of my favorite places on the island, perfect for going off campus and being alone together.

Our class went on a family beach trip last weekend. It was clearly no fun at all.

Three of my nine roommates — ironically, our three grandmas — celebrated their birthdays within a week of each other. It was a great excuse to eat dinner *not* in the cafeteria. I ate a massive Ahi tuna poke tower in 10 minutes flat. Delicious!

I am heading to — drum roll, please — Durban, South Africa! Teams and locations were revealed on Tuesday morning. Last week, before this was announced, the whole class spent time praying for each country and writing on large posters anything the Lord brought to mind. On the South Africa poster, a theme emerged: joy! As we looked around the table at our first team meeting, it made sense. This is a *very* joyful group of people, and I am thrilled to spend two months with them in Durban! We will fly out shortly before Christmas and return to the States in mid-February. I don’t know much more yet; I will share details as I learn them!

Sometimes people ask me, “Is there anything you are bad at?” Yes, yes, there is. Swimming, whistling, and dating! I am working on the whistling part (ask my roommates), and it turns out I love snorkeling when I can hold onto a life jacket, lol. Four of us kayaked to Captain Cook for snorkeling yesterday. Amazing experience!

My friends who have visited Kona have *raved* about the fish tacos at Shaka Tacoz. We stopped on the way home from our kayaking/snorkeling adventure, and the tacos did not disappoint!