After Party with Ed Sheeran

Saturday September 13th started out like any normal day. Woke up, had breakfast and headed out the door to hang out with friends. Later that night Ben and I had plans to go to the Ed Sheeran concert with my sister Meredith and her husband Justin. As 7pm rolled around we were as excited as can be because not only were we going to the Ed Sheeran concert, we were going to the concert for FREE! Thanks to a mutual friend of Ben's, we were able to text Ed and get comp tickets to the show, so of course the seats were, well...amazing...and free. 

This may have been one of the best concerts I have ever been too. Y'all, Ed is a truly talented musician. If you ever have the chance to see him live, do not pass up on that opportunity. I would go to the concert again tomorrow and actually pay for it! I cannot stop talking about how good the show was!

 ANYWAY...During his last song Ben texted Ed saying "That was an incredible show. Thanks so much for the tickets! Are y'all going out? I owe you a drink or two!" to which after the encore he responded saying "Come back stage for a drink then we are going out!"

 Of course we had a mini freak out session, because lets be honest.. its not everyday a celebrity invites you to have a drink with him. He sends Ben a contact to get us backstage, Mark (the contact) came and met us at the curtain and took us back to the "Friends & Family" room and told us to "Make yourself at home." So there we are, back stage, hanging out waiting for Ed Sheeran. About 15 minutes later Ed walks in and greets everyone. He makes his way over to us and introduces himself, we make the connection that we are who he had been texting all week about the comp tickets. After chatting a bit longer we get a picture with him because well.. why not!

We hang around a while longer, chilling, jamming out to some music, and hanging out with everyone...a few crew people come in and close down the bar, so of course we think, "okay, parties over, we'll go home." Thats when Mark comes in a gets everyone and take us to a 15 passenger van and SUV. He tells everyone to "Get in the van, its time to go" We stop him and ask him where we are going? he responds "To a karaoke bar, now get in the van!" we then ask him, "are we invited?" he responds again, "Yes, I counted you in the head count..now get in the van!" So in doing what we were told...we get in the van! Y'all I kid you not, this is the kind of stuff you see in the movies, the celebrities walk through hallways underneath venues, get into cars, drive through tunnels and upon making it to the streets we are met with crowds of screaming girls with signs that chase the car down the street. This doesn't even seem real and yet, it was just the beginning of the night!

We pull into "Santas Pub" in Nashville a few moments later and all jump out of the van. We realize this is a 21 & up place, so I (only being 19) won't be able to get in...as we approach the building Ed Is talking to the bouncer and says "All of these people are with me" and just like that we walk straight into the building and are taken to the back room without being carded. People start to realize who he is and start freaking out. After mingling in the back room for a bit Ed heads out to the stage to sing some karaoke, and so we join. He and a few of his friends sing "No Diggity", "I Want It That Way" and "Hit Me Baby One More Time."

 By this point the place is slammed! People who were there were texting there friends who were then showing up. Ed walks off stage and heads to the back room, Ben and I get lost in the chaos of all the drunk, excited people and lose Meredith and Justin and where Ed headed. Thats when Bens phone lights up with a text from Ed saying, "Where are you man? I'm on the back porch." Immediately we head back there to find him, a close childhood friend of his and two of the singers from the opening act smoking.. they offer us a cig so of course I take one.. because its not everyday you get to smoke a cigarette with Ed on a back porch of a pub. After finishing smoking, the singers from the opening act decided to head back to the hotel so Ed walks them to the car. Once the three of them leave its just Ben and I and Brad, Eds childhood friend. We spend the next 20 minutes or so chatting with him, getting to know him. At this point we meet back up with Meredith and Justin and all 5 of us are chilling on the back porch. We decide we should probably call it a night because it was almost 2am.

As were walking out the front to get in our Lyft, Ben receives a call from Ed asking where we are? He tells him were still at Santa's... He told us he had left there and is at a place on broadway called "The Spot." Before he hung up the phone he said "Come to the spot now, I'll have someone come get you. I'll see you soon. Love ya Brother!" and then the call was disconnected. WAIT WAIT WAIT... Ed calls Ben, asks us to come to yet another after party, tells him he loves him and calls him brother? Yes. I wish I was making this up, but y'all this is nothing but the truth. We got in our Lyft and had him take us to Broadway. In the meantime Ed send Ben the contact info for someone at "The Spot" that we are suppose to call to come get us in. We give her a call and she tells us to text her when we arrive. So once we arrive we do as we were told and text her. She said she was on her way down to get us. By this point the van Ed had sent back to "Santas Pub" to pick us up had arrived and everyone we left there were now with us again. The contact comes out, finds us and everyone else and just like the movies (yet again) takes us in. Passing the line of people waiting to get in, the bouncer and cop standing at the door. We head up a couple flights of stair and are taken into a cigar club where we find Ed and a bunch of other people hanging and having a good time. There is a room off to the side with a pool table, chairs and a balcony over looking Broadway. We hang in there for a little bit talking to each other and watching the pool game. Thats when Justin points out that the guy playing pool is an actor..it takes us a while to figure out who, but with the help of Katlin Miller we figure out its Tim Robbins! (Shawshank Redemption anyone?)

 By now its about 3am and realize we have to be up in a couple hours for church so we decide to call it a night. We exchange numbers with Brad and head over to say bye to Ed. We wait around for a little bit to say goodbye but he seems preoccupied with some girl so we decide not to. As we walk past him I reach over, touch his arm and thank him for a wonderful night. He grabs my hand and kisses it and says "It was my pleasure. Im glad you could come." and with that we head back to our car wonder what in the world had just happened.

So, to sum the night up we:
-Texted Ed and got comp tickets to his show.
-Got invited backstage for a drink.
-Went to a Karaoke bar & sang/smoked with Ed.
-Went to another after party at a private Cigar Club.
-Watched Tim Robbins play pool.
-and  I got kissed on the hand.

The next day we texted Ed thanking him again, to which he responded "He was glad we could come." and that he would let us know next time he was in town.
It was a night for the books. We won't ever forget the time we were treated like celebrities and became bros with Ed Sheeran. It was a night we never Expected.

Giving My Bible Away

Stepping out side of your comfort zone is a little scary.. actually really scary, but the crazy thing is… thats when God uses us most; or so i've learned. 

A few days ago, I did something i've never done before.. gave my favorite Bible away. The story started about 3 weeks ago. I was at work, i had no customers so i decided to pull out the Nehemiah Bible study I was doing with some girls from church. After a little bit of time I had a customer come up to order, she ask me what i was studying and I told her the book of Nehemiah. She ask me what it was about so I tried my best to explain to her what the story was about. After I was done explaining I ask her if she had ever read it, to which she replied "no, i've never read the Bible before….isn't that terrible!!!!" I told her that a lot of people haven't but that it was never to late to pick it up and start. She said, "I've been wanting to go get one, but i always forget.." By this time i had a few more customers and that was the end of our conversation. My heart was a little anxious after that conversation and I didn't know why.. So i went home a prayed about it. I went to Guatemala and she completely slipped my mind. I had forgotten about our conversation completely. Until, 5 days ago,

  I was sitting in the same spot as 3 weeks ago except I was on my laptop, Cathy walked up and was her perky encouraging self. She ask me how I was doing and if my summer was going well. After a few moments I started speaking… I didn't even know what was coming out of my mouth.. as weird as it sounds my body felt like it was paralyzed, what am i doing? what am i saying? is this me talking? these are the things rushing through my mind….

All I can remember is asking her is she had the chance to get a Bible sense the last time we talked. She responded with "No I haven't!! isn't that terrible?" I stopped what I was doing, and told her I had something for her. I walked to the back and grabbed my Bible, pulled all of my notes out of it and handed it to her and told her I wanted her to have it. She looked stunned.. I said "Cathy I want you to have my Bible if you promise to read it." she said "oh I can't take yours!!" after a few moments of telling her I WANTED her to have it, it was a gift to her she finally took it. Right then and there she started crying.-which made me cry as well- Through her tears she said, "This is the sweetest, and most meaningful gift i have ever received. I don't think i can thank you enough." Those words will stick with me forever. I will never forget that hug she gave me while crying into my shoulder thanking me. 

I don't tell you this story to say "oh look what I did! i'm such a good Christian."  No, I tell this story to say that when you step outside of your comfort zone and let God work in you, you'll be surprised what he may do. 

I never expected I would have given my Christmas present away, but if that means I have one more sister in Christ, than it was totally worth it.

All I can say is Expect The Unexpected when you let God use you his way.

Guatemala Day 7

Today started with a 5am wake up call. what is it with these early morning flights? geez! We got to the airport and were getting ready to board and every part of me wanted to turn around and run out of the airport. I didn't want to go home. I was able to sleep on the first flight to Dallas. Praise the Lord. Once we landed I got some Starbucks and chinese food and life was looking a little bit better. That was one good thing about being back in the states. Starbucks. Soon after we got our food it was time to board our connecting flight to Nashville. It was a short flight which was nice, But yet my heart was and still is sad. Every time I think about Guatemala or my amazing translators I get really emotional. I've already cried like 3 to 4 times. We got home in Nashville around 4:30 to 85 degrees and lots and lots of humidity. I wish I could go back to Guatemala and take the weather home with me. I hung out at home for a little bit with my sisters and then I came over to my best friend Alli's house. She and I got to catch up on life and just hang out. It was so good to see her and hear how her life is. Once I got home I got ready for bed and called it a night. 

I never expected it to be so hard to come home. I don't like being here. I want to be back in my favorite city with people I love. It never was this hard in previous years.. trying to figure out what God's trying to teach me, or show me. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

    All I can say is Expect The Unexpected.

Here are some pictures from today and the night before-

Cesar and I

Pablo and I

Julia and I

Happy to have Starbucks

Alli and I- I'm so thrilled to be home, as you can tell.

Guatemala Day 6

    Today is our last day in Guatemala. We got to sleep in till 8am and then we had breakfast and hit the road to Antigua. On the 2 hour bus ride there I sat with one of our translators, Cesar. I have known him for three years ( as well as Pablo, another translator) and have had the privilege of having him as my translator every year. We had a fun time goofing off, sharing music, having mini dance parties, and just being together. Around 1-ish we went to an all girls home called, "My Little Treasure" to have lunch with them. The house only took in teenage girls, they only had 14 girls living there currently but are wanting to expand. These girls were so sweet and even though we stayed an hour for lunch it was hard to say goodbye because they would attach themselves to you as soon as we walked in. I hope I will be able to go back there someday. Once we left "My Little Treasure" we headed to Antigua to go zip lining and shopping. Not everyone on the team when zip lining but those who did had a blast. The zip line is over an old coffee plantation, the location was breath taking. I went 2 years ago but since then they built another course and thats the one our team went on. My dad and I went together and had a great time. He's not one for heights or anything close to this but he came along and enjoyed it himself. I don't think he's ever going to do it again but at least he can mark it off his bucket list. Once we were done we had about an hour to meet up with everyone else and do a little bit of shopping. After we rushed through the market to get everything we needed to grab for friends and family members we loaded back on the bus and drove an hour to Guatemala City. 

We got to our hotel in the city and once everyone got to their rooms we went down to have dinner with everyone for one last time. Once dinner was over they gave everyone the chance to share something that was unexpected to them or something they learned this week. After hearing the amazing things God did in peoples hearts this week it was time to say goodbye to the translators and head to bed. Everyone cleared out pretty fast because they wanted to get a good nights rest before heading home the next morning. I didn't want to; Cesar, Pablo, Julia, Sarah and I hung out in the lobby till about 11:30pm trying to put off goodbye as long as possible. We talked about what it would look like for Sarah and I to come in September and see them, or next summer living with them for a couple of months. It was finally time to say goodbye, and I couldn't. My heart was breaking and I didn't know why. I still don't know why. I know I will see them again, but saying "see you later" was to hard for me. It was probably the hardest part of this trip. They all mean so much to me and I love them so much. I finally headed up to bed because tomorrow, I have to be up at 5am.

I never expected to have so much fun with Cesar on the bus or that Goodbye would be so hard. 

All I can say is Expect The Unexpected.

here are some pictures from today-

Goofing off on the bus ride

Lunch at " My Little Treasure"

Cesar, Pablo and I

The view for zip lining-unbelievable 

The zip lining group!

Guatemala Day 5

Today was our last day at the orphanage. Just like the morning before we all got up and went to breakfast, loaded the bus and then headed to "The Little House Of Refuge." The painting team finished up within no time on arriving at the orphanage, which was great. The sewing team finished everything right before lunch, and the construction team. Well lets just say theres always work to be done, but we were able to accomplish what we set out to do with our time here in Guatemala. After Lunch with the children we did VBS and had lots of free time with the kids which was such a blessing. I got to spend most of my day with Julisa reading books, doing puzzles and just walking around laughing smiling and barley even talking. After VBS we had a big game of volleyball, which everyone played and had a blast being a part of. Around 6:30pm we left but before that we had to say goodbye. There were many tears involved and it was so tough to kiss and hug them goodbye wondering if it was your last time to see them or if you could say "see you next year." After at least 30 minutes of goodbyes we went to the hotel and had dinner and then ice cream at an ice cream shoppe next to our  hotel. It was so good! 

       Earlier I mentioned I got to spend a lot of time with Julisa today. I barely know any spanish and she only knows about 3 words of english, so she and I don't' do a lot of talking. Just laughing and pointing, but what I realized is that when you are with someone you love, you don't always have to talk. Just being in their presence is enough. I know sometimes, depending on who it is, you can talk and talk and talk and talk and never get tiered or run out of things to say to the person you love, but also within that silence is good. When you are with the person you love being around, silence isn't awkward; for me, being around Julisa and not talking, actually makes me happy, and joyful. My heart is content just sitting with her, holding her hand and kissing her on the forehead. Saying goodbye to Julisa wasn't easy, and I knew it wasn't going to be, but I knew I had to until next year. Loving someone like her makes me want to try even harder to make it back each year because I know that the 3 short days of seeing her, holding her, kissing her is totally worth it!

I never expected to feel like a mom, to love someone so deeply that it hurts to drive away, and know you won't see them for 365 days. I never expected that sitting in someones presence would bring so much joy.

 I'm so thankful God has shown me how deep you can love someone and relate it to how much he loves me. God doesn't always ask us to talk to him, he calls us to sit in his presence which is something I've learned just by being with Julisa.

All I can say is Expect The Unexpected

Here are some pictures from today-

Julisa and I

Love that little smile

What most of today consisted of.

Everyone from "The Little House Of Refuge" plus our team. 

Sarah and I's Ice cream

Guatemala Day 4

      Tonight I'm not going to write about what I have experienced today, but what my team has. Today was a normal day for us. No one woke up at the wrong time, everything was great. We ate breakfast and then headed to the orphanage, when we got there everyone knew where to go and what needed to be done. Just like yesterday we had a construction team, a painting team and a sewing team. The construction team worked just as hard as yesterday. Moving rocks, clearing land to build on and preparing to build stairs. Tomorrow we will start laying concrete for the stairs. The painting team has done a great job painting the house. They have worked very hard and are so close to being done. It isn't easy working in those fumes the paint contains. so kudos to you! The sewing team has had the peddle to the floor. They have been working on curtains for the boys rooms and they look great. Everyone here is heathy and doing well. Everyone is getting along and having a blast! I know that was a quick overview but i'm excited about what I have to share next.

I wanted to keep this post similar to what my blog is about, expecting the unexpected. It's still going to be about the team and not myself. So tonight at dinner I ask a few team members questions and here were their responses. 

"What is something that was unexpected to you?"

One person responded with, "I never expected to become attached to the children. I knew I was going to love them, and love being around them, but I never thought I would become attached so quickly… like their my own children." Another response was, "The children's eyes have so much hope. Thats something I never expected. This is my first missions trip so I didn't really know what to expect. I've only seen children in orphanages in movies and pictures and they portray them as sad children with no hope. When I saw these kids I saw hope in them, I saw Joy, especially in their eyes. These kids come from hard, sad backgrounds and have every right to want to give up, but they still hope and care for the future. That was something I never expected."

"What themes have you seen in the past few days, or things God is trying to teach you?"

"I am a Type A kind of person. I have a list for everything and a time to get it done. If there is ever stand still in one project, why not do something else off my list till I can continue my other project and get one more thing checked off my list. I really feel like God is teaching me to live. I know they could use some help here, or I could go work on this and mark that off the list or should I play with this little girl tugging on my pant leg wanting me to play? He's teaching me to take those moments when I do have a break and could fill it with something else and instead hold this little girl in my arms, see her beautiful smile, hear her joyful laugh and see God in the moment. Taking time to live and love and not be so busy is what God has been teaching me." that was the first response is got. The other was, "Flexibility. Everyone on the team is very flexible. From delaying our trip a day due to the plane difficulty to changing up small stuff within the day, everyone is so chill and able to go with anything. No one is set in stone, we have to do this, we have to do this..which is such a blessing."

It was such an amazing time hearing people share tonight. God is already doing great work in peoples lives and no one is ever going to be the same. I know these were just a few examples but I thought they were good and powerful. 

All I can say is Expect The Unexpected. 

Here are a few pictures from today-

The sewing team

Preparing lunch

Construction team

One member of the Painting team

Guatemala Day 3

     Well today started out just like the past 2 mornings. early. We needed to be down at breakfast at 7:45am, so my mom set our alarm for 7am. We get up and dressed while trying to stay warm. The hotel has no air conditioning which also means no heat; the low for last night was around 52 degrees, so thats about the temperature of our room. We are finally ready and go downstairs to breakfast only to realize... whoops, my moms phone hadn't changed time zones, so it was really 6:45am. After killing an hour on my laptop waiting for the team to wake up and come to breakfast, my mom and I realize yet again, we have the wrong time. Forgot about Guatemalan time change. So that really means, my mom set her alarm for 5am. which means 1. we woke up 2 hours before we needed to be and 2. I got 5 hours and 15mins of sleep, that is more than I got the night before but a lot less than what i was hoping to get.
    Once 7:45am rolled around( for real this time) we went downstairs and enjoyed some nice, hot Guatemalan coffee. By this point I was very much in need of a cup.... or 4, which is the number of cups I consumed within 30minutes. I greatly enjoyed my Guatemala breakfast, my favorite meal every year. We loaded the bus and headed to "The Little House Of Refuge" the orphanage we would be working at. By the time we got there the temperature had warmed up a lot, the sky was crystal clear and I was ready to see Julisa.
    After a nice welcome and tour of the place we broke up into teams and got to work. We had a painting team, a construction team, sewing team, and VBS team. I wasn't put on any team in particular so I floated from team to team, but ended up spending most of my day with the men on the construction team, and man did we work. From digging trenches to moving bolder's we did not have an easy job to do. Did I mention I had on skinny jeans and toms? yeah not really construction attire. I have blisters and skin rubbed off my hands from shoveling and digging so much, but I had a great time getting to know some of the guys from my team and feeling a sense of accomplishment once the work was complete.
    I finally got to hold Julisa in my arms and see her smiling face. I had been antsy all morning waiting to see her and the time finally arrived. I saw her walk past me and I couldn't help but smile. I hesitated to go see her, Sarah told me to go but as strange as this sounds, I was almost scared, well, nervous is more the word I should use. I hadn't seen her in a year! I was nervous she wouldn't remember me, nervous she would want someone else to hold her. I finally went for it. Ask her if she remembered me, she smiled, her big brown eyes looked up at me, and said "Si!" I wanted to cry. I was so happy. That big knot that was in my stomach from fear fled. For about the next hour, before she went back to school she wouldn't let me put her down, which I was totally okay with. Once school was over she and I reunited and were inseparable from pretty much the rest of the day. I walked around the orphanage with her in my arms, not ever wanting to put her down. I walked up to my dad and started talking to him. He got one of the translators to tell Julisa that he has a picture of she and I hanging in our house. Her little mind was blown. She didn't know how to respond. He told her she was bigger now and more beautiful than the picture. He looked at me and said "She really is so beautiful." once again, I wanted to cry. It was weird, I felt like a mother, proud of her child. Wanting to kiss her face, give anything for her, never put her down, never wanting her to grow up. I felt (i think) like my mom. It reminded me of how much my parents love me, how much they give for me. It made me appreciate them even more.
    So much more happened during day 1 at the orphanage, but those are stories for another time. We left the orphanage around 6:30pm and went to dinner. It was, just like every meal so far, fantastic. My favorite... Nutella Crapes. yup, thats right. What a good way to end a good day.

    Never expected Julisa to remember me, or to have wanted to cry- of happiness/joy- so much.

All I can say is Expect The Unexpected

Here are some pictures from today-

Holding Julisa for the first time in a year!

Painting team. Abby and Ragan

Part of the construction team

Working on the bolder.

Nutella crapes-soo good!