Ripe Mango Chronicles

Sitting on a comfy red chair I look around the room. Amy is to my left, Bailey in the middle and Jeremy to my right. I can't help but laugh. Who would have ever thought the four of us would be sitting together in this super cute apartment in Austin, Texas? You see, Amy is from Oklahoma City, Bailey is from some teeny tiny town in Missouri, Jeremy is from Jacksonville and I am from the great white north. How in the world did this random group of misfits ever get connected??? Haiti. As I laughed about my fun afternoon with good friends it dawned on me that a large percentage of my closest friends are people I have met in Haiti. It seems as though Mission of Hope is a magnet for amazing people! The friends I have made through Mission of Hope are not your average friends. These friends are the 'for better or worse, in sickness and in health' kind, the life long kind, the 'would do anything for you' kind. The kind who open their homes to you, expecting nothing in return

I realized this afternoon that I don’t often take time to look back on my life. I tend to think more about the things I have to do, or the things I hope to accomplish in the future. Today I had to go back through some old blog posts for a project I am working on for Mission of Hope, as I searched through the titles looking for specific entries I was very quickly sidetracked as each blog title brought back memories. As I read through the blogs I laughed and I cried and I realized how much has happened in the past few years! I have had the opportunity to travel to: - California - Oklahoma - Florida - Michigan - Texas - Dominican Republic - Panama - Canada I have lived through: - Hurricanes - Tropical storms - An Earthquake - Malaria - A Poisonous Spider bite - The death of a child I have been a part of saving the lives of: - Michelove - Mackenlove - Jeremiah - Hannah - Matthew - Iverson - Galaxon - Job - Smider I have named 3 children and had two children named after me. I have learned: