*insert title about how amazing 2012 was here*

hello there!

so.
2012.
it's over.
ever have a moment when you stop and think for a second...and can't really believe all the things you saw and did last year? i have.

2012 was an amazing year for me.
so many of my dreams came true and so many things that i never would have dreamed about happened.

i look back on my life from January-December 2012, and i see God's faithfulness.
i saw Him give me a vision, then provide everything i needed in order to fulfill that vision.

here's a little overview of my year. (if this is boring to you, skip to the abbreviated version at the bottom.) :)

January-March 2012:
i babysat, took photos, worked on the farm, did fundraisers, and watched God provide OVER the $6,000 i needed for outreach...BEFORE i left for Hawaii in April. and i knew without a doubt that i was supposed to go on this DTS thing.

April-June 2012:
i discovered i was crazy...and that crazy was okay. :) i heard God's voice clearly for the first time. i learned what intercession and worship meant. i ate frozen yogurt for the first time. i got sunburnt (like fire-engine-red-all-over-plus-massive-blisters-on-my-back-sunburnt). i hitch-hiked (and survived!). and God put Greece on my heart. i KNEW i was supposed to be on Team Greece.

July-mid-September 2012:
i thought i was going to melt from the heat/humidity in Greece. i fell in love with the gypsy kids. i went to Thessaloniki, Athens, Northern Greece (Alexandroupoli), Ancient Corinth, Aegina island, and Ancient Philippi. i met the Petkof family (missionaries to Greece that i've been praying for over the past 5 years). i ate so much good food. and i left my heart in Greece.

mid-September-December 2012:
i went back to Hawaii for a week of debrief, and wished i could just go back to Greece. i traveled "home" to Maryland, but started wondering if i really belonged there. the week i got home, i started volunteering as staff in the Jr High class at church. i celebrated my 19th birthday at home, but wished that i was traveling again. i began to feel a calling to Africa. my photography "business" started picking up again. i spent most of my time on airline websites, pricing tickets to Greece, Paris, London, Colorado, Tennessee, California, and Africa.

it's been a good year.

i saw transformation in my life and in the lives of my friends. 

i truly am not the same person that i was last December. 

i came alive.

since September, i've struggled with being content in where God has me, but i know that in the season of recovering from/processing DTS, God has been preparing me for the next season which He hasn't revealed yet. i've had highs and lows, but throughout it all, God has given me exactly what i needed when i needed it. He truly is faithful and loving. and i have a feeling that there's something big around the corner. :)

aaaand here's the abbreviated recap of my 2012:
i worked hard and dreamed.
i had 13 flights in a six month time period (which is a big deal for a girl who hasn't really traveled much).
i went to 12 different airports.
i lived in Hawaii for three months.
i lived in Greece for (almost) three months.
i almost melted from the heat.
i call myself a world traveler now.
i made lifelong friends.
i took some pretty cool photos.
the Bible came alive when i saw Philippi, Corinth, Athens, and Thessaloniki.
i learned some Greek.
i ate awesome food.
and i saw God's hand of protection.


2012, it's been real.

2013, you have big shoes to fill.

PS. stay tuned to see what's coming up for me in 2013! :)