Towards Memories

A year in the life...

First night in the Big Green House with Canadian David and Davis

Crying with new friends at orientation

My birthday was our first full day in the city

We spent a week developing our community covenant and had our first fight

Our first time volunteering at the Presbytery Meeting

Halloween was when Canadian David let us know he was leaving

Emily and I bonded over exploring our storage unit

Eden House had its annual fundraiser,  Building Dreams

Spent Thanksgiving with my host family, Sarah and her husband David

Went to Celebration in the Oaks with Emily

My best friend in Austria, Leah, and her friend, Marie, visited for New Year's Eve

Performed my first liturgical dance over MLK weekend

Had some bonfires with the house community
with some dramatic neighbor instances

My small group babies from Elon visited me

I went to a Mardi Gras Ball with my boss, Susanne (sorry for the terrible quality picture)

Spent Mardi Gras Day as a butterfly with Elton John (aka Emily)
after spending the night at Eden House to be closer to the parades

Visited Alabama with the Asheville YAVs for a retreat
and lost my voice completely

Crawfish season meant learning how to pick, pinch, pull, suck, and repeat

My mom and dad visited for a very anxiety filled weekend
as we wondered if everything would shut down

Nate and Davis evacuated and Sarah, David, and I began quarantine

Sarah and I went for weekly walks during the quarantine

After a month of quarantine, we were all so happy to have Nate back

We reconnected with the Asheville YAVs over Zoom

My housemates were guinea pigs as I started exploring old family recipes

Spent a community day doing yard work and taking breaks
 
After doing yard work, I baked 13 dozen cookies to be distributed with meals

Nate played guitar for my second liturgical dance performance for Pentacost

As the world opened up again, I went kayaking on the bayou

Taking it back to the basics, enjoying sno-balls with the sunset over the lake

Had a COVID-19 scare, so Sarah, Nate, and I stood in line
at the French Market for 2 hours to be tested

Visited Sarah's host family for a community pool day,
our first community activity after Davis left the program

Crafted a parasol to fight against the sun
and dressed up to take pictures with it

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Luke 2:19

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