Consensus: I need to take more pictures

Last year on STINT, of the 40 weeks I was living in France, I averaged 33 pictures a day. In the 3 weeks I have been here in Orlando, I think I have taken a total of 33 pictures. LAME!

This past weekend, I actually flew home for the wedding of my dear friend, Jennifer Flieman, now Visser! Jenn and I met through Campus Crusade, and became great friends on Summer Project (Yeahhh 08 VA Beach!). Brandon was there too!

It was an honor to stand up with them on their special day as they began the journey of marriage. As I have watched Jenn and Brandon's relationship unfold, I have constantly seen them pursue God individually, as well as making Him a priority in their relationship. I am excited to see how God uses them in ministry in the future. These two people are sold out for Jesus, are genuine people and love to have fun! Here is a video from their wedding ...

ORLANDO!

Hi Friends!

Last Friday, I began my journey down to Campus Crusade headquarters. I got to stay with some friends along the way. Splitting up the drive made it bearable. I was excited to get down to Orlando, meet my team and start my job!

I arrived Sunday evening, meeting all of my roommates (Sara, Erin and Sharon). I unloaded, freshened up, and with my new roommates, headed to the guy interns house for our celebration dinner. It was great to meet my new team and hear a little bit about how God lead them to this unique internship.

The next morning started our 3 day retreat filled with, planning, vision casting, games and team norms. I think we gelled pretty well. During the tail end of our retreat, we met the ministry team serving at Disney (YES, there is a team of people who's focus is Disney. Think about it, over 5,000 international employee's cycling through each year? It's the nations coming to us!). They were every enthusiastic and excited for us to be joining them every Friday. I am looking forward to this too because I am hoping to meet several French girls who I can practice French with, but more importantly show them God's overwhelming love for them.

The days following the retreat have been "unpack and set up life" time. I spent some time at the local DMV yesterday getting my Florida Driver's license (defiantly not as nice looking as Michigan, but I may be biased) :) .

I am looking forward to going to church tomorrow and meeting some of the locals and getting plugged in. We'll see what this new week will bring, cause this last one was jam packed with many new experiences!

Here are a few photos:

Some of my family the morning I left.

The Cline Family - I stayed with them in Atlanta, Georgia.

FLORIDA!

My new bike which I plan on riding to work which is about half a mile away.

Sweet Video...

http://youtu.be/Hzgzim5m7oU

Open Houses!

I will be hosting an Open House on both Tuesday July 12^th and Wednesday July 13^th from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at my house. There will be a continuous slide show of pictures and videos. I will share some stories and answer any questions about my time on STINT as well as my next assignment in Orlando – working on the PR team and Conference and Event Planning team. I would love for you to come to whichever evening is more convenient. Drinks and deserts will be served.

If you are unable to attend, but would like more information or have questions, please email me.

Thank you again for all your support. You guys have been a great team!

Email me with questions :)

Home... and not a day too soon!

Wow! I am so thankful for God's timing.

Early Wednesday morning, I lugged all my suitcases (5 of them!) - (with the help of Sarah and Beth) into the car and headed to the airport with Beth and Chelsea. Our Paris to Chicago flight went well and we even arrived early. Chelsea and I watched the Justin Beiber movie a couple times :)

Once I landed in Detroit, my parents, sisters and grandma were waiting for me. They even brought my dog, Rocky! It was great to see them all. They had American flags, flowers and a sign saying "Welcome home Hannah!" And, as some of you might know, my sister Olivia was pregnant - so other passengers commented, asking them if they were waiting for a solider to come home for the birth of his child. Haha! Nope, just me.

Instead of going straight home, I went and visited with some family friends I grew up with - the Hatfields. Kelli had just got engaged and Katie had a baby while I was in France! It was my first time to meet little Laedin! He is so cute! I ended up staying up until 1am Michigan time = 7 am France time! It was totally worth it.

THE NEXT DAY, - after we had taken some family pictures since we all knew Addison would be born soon - Olivia, my sister, got a call from the doctors office wanting to see her to check her fluid levels. I went with Olivia to the check up, and they told her she needed to have the baby! We came home, packed some bags, and Olivia went with Mom and Dad to the hospital.

Gracie, Joel, Luke and I were waiting at home for the call to come, when the time was nearer for the delivery. We didn't want to crowd the room too much! Dad called and said he would call again early in the morning. I was so tired and jet legged...

8 a.m. Dad called us - I was already awake since my body was telling me it was 2 p.m. AND I was super excited!!! - time to come in! We picked up Noah, Addison's brother and got to the hospital at 9:30 a.m.

They broke Olivia's water and 10:20 a.m. and the contractions started to increase immediately. Olivia went from 5 cm to 10 cm in under and hour (which is abnormal for first time mothers! Usually it's more like 1 cm per hour!) At 11:45 a.m. Addison Olivia was born! This was the first delivery I have ever seen. The miracle of birth is breath taking. The burst of life, emotion, joy!

Yesterday was a whirlwind of pictures, doctors, laughs, smiles and THE SMELL OF A NEW BABY! Addison is so cute! She looks just like Olivia and is very healthy. I am excited to be able to still be a part of her life as she grows and grows.

I want to take some time to thank God for allowing me to be here for this. It was my prayer since I found out seven months ago. Not only was I able to be here for the birth, but Addison is healthy, beautiful and sweet as can be. I can't wait to show her off to the world! He not only answered my prayer, but allowed me to be apart of this beautiful start of life! Thank you Lord!

Ending

So STINT is officially done. We had our last night of 'debrief' today. It was a good start to processing all I have learned, experienced, and the ways I have grown. I know there is still much more to process. We ended the night by watchingI made a 45 minute slideshow of pictures, video and inside jokes. It was happy and sad. (This is a picture of my team minus Katie, with our STINT coaches, Chrissy and Mike.)

Since France is a developed country, I am not sure what "culture shocks" I will experience. Yes, they do have flushing toilets. Yes, they do take Saturday and Sunday as their weekend. Yes, they have farmer's markets. Yes, I could wear short sleeve shirts. Yes, I could buy Honey Nut Cheerios.

Time will tell... less than 8 days till I fly home! "What will you be doing?" you might ask. Lots of packing, good byes, wrap up meetings at the office with my supervisors, helping my teammates -who are returning- move into their new house, seeing the Eiffel Tower one last time...

This journey is not over! This summer, I am excited to share with everyone stories, pictures, and videos from this past year. And share a vision for where God is leading me next!

I would love your prayers for:

- Processing

- Ending well

- Safety traveling

Love,

Hannah