Astypalea Island

Some hundreds of years ago my Italian ancestors were given an island that from bird's eye view is in the shape of a butterfly. My ancestors constructed the castle on the top of the hill that you see in the picture below. My feet have now touched ground that my great great great great greats... had once touched. I walked around the castle ruins that still remain and couldn't believe I had been giving such an opportunity. This island is where my last name originates. My ancestors started out as the Querini family, but later after living on this island changed their name to Querini-Stampalia (which is the western version of Astypalea). What an amazing journey!

Beginning of Greece Travels

Every 3-4 years WHM comes together for a mission wide conference. This year we all met outside of Athens, Greece. It was an amazing week full of prayer, praise and worship, encouragement, inspiration from the Word, fun, Greek food, dancing, workshops such as how to communicate to supporters or how to use Bible storying on the field, and endless stories of how God is living and active all over the world. I continue to stand amazed at the power of my heavenly Father. I am also thankful that through this week the Lord continued to reveal my own personal need for Jesus. As I return to Mundri I know that it is not going to be my own strength or abilities that will open doors or allow me to further the Lord's kingdom, but only through Christ.
Before I met with my fellow WHM missionaries I met up with a family that I used to nanny for in the states. They now currently live in southern Italy and gladly agreed to meet me in Greece. I could have never imagined a few years back that I would one day explore the ruins of Greece with them.

Sorry the picture is small, but this is the WHM crew that gathered for our 2010 conference.

Highlights from my time in Washington

Getting to see my fiance was definitely a highlight. Because I am in Sudan for 7 more months and he lives in Maryland we do not get to participate in the traditional wedding planning festivities together like wedding expos and endless bakery and florist visits. I am thankful that a local bakery happen to have an open house cake tasting while James was in town. We did not decide on a flavor, but just having the shared experience was enough.

My niece has gotten so big. We are predicting that she is going to be quite the pianist because of her long fingers and the fact that pushing down the keys keeps her interested for over 20min.

The main purpose of my visit back to the Seattle area was to be a part of my friend Michelle's wedding. It was an honor to be a part of the activities leading up to the big day and then of course to witness Michelle and her husband committ their lives and hearts to one another. The picture above shows Michelle in the middle and our friend Rachael on the left. The three of us have known one another since the 3rd grade and have shared in many life experiences. I am so thankful to have friends like these two beautiful women.