iowa and ice cream

I just got back from an event in Rock Valley, IA; we saw some beautiful fall colors in the drive down.  The event went very well!  It was the second year they have hosted an event, and they packed over 125,000 meals!  We had a little bit of a bug problem, there were lots of flies.  We also got the opportunity to drive to the ice cream capital of the world...Le Mars, IA!  Yum.  The ice cream tasted better there too.  I got to work with Ryan and Sarah, and we had so much fun together.  One of the cool things that happened took place before the event started.  Someone donated $200 to the school and the 8th graders were each given $10 of that money to either donate right away or make grow.  They made it grow from $200 to $5,000!  Holy cow!  That is definitely they spirit of a community coming together to make a difference in the world.

 

Highland, IL

This past weekend I made a trip with 3 other staff members to Highland, IL.  Working with NiCE Foundation volunteers we were able to pack 106,920 meals.  They were an awesome group of volunteers to work with.  Included is a picture of the packing space we used and the team on the back of the truck.  We had fun, but we were definitely tired by the time we all got home.  We were able to get to know some of the volunteers pretty well as there were a lot that stayed and packed every session!  We had volunteers come from Michigan to help out with the event...that's dedication!  The only trouble we had was before the event even started....something happened that cause the truck driver to slam on the brakes causing our rice to tip and tow ropes were used in order to get the rice out of the truck.  It wasn't fun, but if that is the only thing that goes wrong on an event, we are in pretty good shape!  There is a picture of the tipped rice too. 

sorry.

Uh oh...it has been awhile.  so sorry.  i will try to be better, although i don't know that my life is that interesting, lots of travel though.  maybe you will find my travels interesting.  my most recent trip was to Portland, OR to visit some friends.  they are my teammates from my year with Youth Encounter, and in the recent years have become friends.  this trip brought us to a delicious cuban restaurant, an art festival in downtown portland, cupcakes, rei, hiking, waterfalls, mini golf, guinea pigs, and rain!  so much fun.  i can't wait to go back.