there and back again.

I think I appropriately titled my entry with the same title as my blog, because I am now back in the U.S.

The previous entries describe TeenStreet as a whole, and by checking out that stuff, you can get a good idea for what it is like.

Leading the Newsletter team was great. It's funny how fast you learn your strengths and weaknesses when thrown into a leadership position. At first I thought I was given this opportunity so God could show me how I am as a leader and if I can do it or not, but looking back, I think that was only about 10% of the reason. I really think I was put there to meet certain people and have certain conversations that wouldn't have happened if I was just a writer.

Yesterday morning at 6:30am Hannah and I woke up in Oldenburg, Germany. We took three trains and three planes* and landed in Minneapolis, Minnesota at 9pm. Our friend Ryan picked us up.

All summer it seemed like all of my friendships started out as get-to-know-you games and by the time we got comfortable enough to reach a deeper level, it was time to move on to a different location. It was incredibly comforting having a friend pick us up who immediately said "Food cravings? Taco bell?" Now that's someone who knows us.

So what's next?

I've heard this question ... maybe ... 23 times this summer. I will do my best to make this answer as broad and ambiguous as my future. For the next 3 days I will be in the wilderness of Minnesota with Hannah and her family. Then we'll be heading to Minneapolis to hang out with our friends from school, Ryan and Kevin. Next Saturday I'll be heading home to Evansville.

I'll probably spend a few months at home organizing my life and preparing for the future. I've narrowed down the search for what I will be doing, but due to the uncertainty of the situation, I'll need a while before I can give a lot of details. Bear with me, though. Although I am at home, I am going to make it a goal to keep updating my blog - less description, more thoughts.

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*Funny story of the day: Hannah and I got upgraded to Premium Class on our flight- so our chairs were like little Lazy Boy's and had a lot of leg room. Instead of folding down from the seat in front of us, the trays came out of the armrest and unfolded sideways over our laps. As we were eating dinner, I was talking about something where I had to use the phrase "So this is my worst case scenario:" As soon as those words came out of my mouth, my tray just slid forward onto the floor and spilled out into the aisle. Hannah and I didn't even need time to process what had happened. Immediately tears of laughter spilled down my face, and I'm sure everyone around us thought us too immature to be seated in Premium Class.