Preparations

This trip has been a long time coming. I have been anxiously anticipating it and planning it for the entire semester and now it's finally here. I am so thankful for all the time that has passed between purchasing my ticket and now. God has taught me so much and blessed me richly with friendships and experiences over the last few months. Now, every test has been completed, every paper submitted and I am ready to embark upon this great adventure.

Here's the plan for my month long trip in Iceland in case you don't already know; I will be volunteering on an organic farm in east Iceland for 3 weeks and after that, I will begin my 11 day backpacking adventure on the ring road back to the capital, Reykjavik.

I am so excited for this trip! I will be updating you all here on this blog as much as I can (I'm not sure what to expect as far as internet access so no promises to post super regularly). Checkout my VSCO grid to see some phone photos of what I see (I'll try to do a photo dump from time to time so you can catch up on where I've been!); http://ana-mation.vsco.co/grid/1

Before I begin telling you about my journeys in future blog posts, I wanted to start by telling you how incredible it is that I've gotten here and what God's been doing to make this dream possible.

I feel SO supported by family and friends to be going on this trip. I will tell you that I was pretty apprehensive after the initial excitement of booking our flight wore off.
This is the first trip I've taken without family or my church family, it will be the longest time I've ever been away from home, and it's the first trip that is neither a missions trip nor family vacation.
It was meant to be my first independent adventure trip, but I now know I could never have done this on my own.
With counsel from my parents and friends' parents, conversations with mentors assuring me of my decision to go on this trip, loaned equipment and gifts from family and friends, and my parents' and sister's involvement in planning and preparing me for it, I am now ready to go on this epic trip.
It really does take a village.
In the last few days, I've run short on funds for this trip that was originally supposed to be uber cheap, but generous gifts from friends and family have come in out of the blue and covered the expenses of some outdoor gear and clothing I needed. My grandparents bought me hiking boots and lots of granola bars a few months ago, my aunt gave me a packable down vest, my grandma gifted me with a packable down jacket, a friend loaned me a brand new backpacking packpack, my parents got me some essential rain gear, and my friends' mom let me use her REI member card to get a huge discount on my purchases.
All the random to do's that have slipped my mind have somehow all gotten done and taken care of RIGHT in the nick of time.

I am overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and care for me leading up this trip. Even my bank tellers and professors are psyched for me to do this. It's an awesome and reassuring feeling to know I am so supported and have so many dear ones covering this trip in prayer and hoping the best for me.

To everyone who has wished me well, prayed for me, and helped me, THANK YOU.
I could not go on this dream adventure without your help.

I'll post sometime soon to let you know how the adventure is going.

Much love and many blessings
AM