I LOVE Friends!!!!!!!!!!

Ecclesiastes 4:7-12

Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

There was a man all alone;

He had neither son nor brother;

There was no end to his toil,

Yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.

"For whom am I toiling," he asked.

"and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?"

This too is meaningless-

A miserable business!

Two are better than one.

Because they have a good return for their work:

If one falls down,

His friend can help him up.

But pity the man who falls

And has no one to help him up!

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered,

Two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Still with this passage in mind I can't help think about the amazing relationships that were built on this trip, whether they were new or old just being built upon. This is not only for myself but for the group as a whole . There were definitely new friendships started and old ones made better for most if not all of us on the trip. I mean, could we really help this with being together ALL the time, sharing these incredible experiences!?! It was bound to happen and it did.

For me personally, I LOVED being with everyone on the trip to the point where I thrived off of being amongst everyone. Yes there were times where I needed my space and my alone time and there were times where I really wanted to get out of the group, find some peace and quiet just to think, read, pray, just to be. But overall, in general I absolutely loved loved being with these amazing people. I wanted to be with my good friends I already had but I also wanted to get to know everyone else better. I loved the moments where I spent time with people I didn't usually last year at school, I loved the good conversation that when on, the great laughs that pained my stomach, and simply the good times being together. I love people. I love SSU people. If I can brag for just a moment, SSU has the most amazing people I have ever met! Everyone is so unique, so incredible, so special in their own way. Everyone has their own story, own opinions, and life experiences that I love to hear about. Everyone has their own gifts to share with the group. I loved the times when I could get to know more of these from any individual I could. I have to say that everyone I travelled with are all my friends, but we all have a different relationship. Some are really close and we will talk about anything, other's are friendships that just began on the trip and became really close friends, other's are simply friends that I was only able to get to know a little bit, but that's a start non the less.

 I couldn’t get enough time getting to know people it seemed. This was especially evident to me in Thailand.  Since we were in homestay families for two weeks that meant for two weeks we only saw each other during the week days. As awesome as the homestay experience was, it was hard to leave my friends every day, not to mention the weekends. That first weekend with our homestay felt like such a LONG time to be apart from everyone. Don't get me wrong, it was a GREAT weekend with my family, but by the time I got back into our classroom Monday morning I was so ecstatic to see everyone, to hear about their weekends, their experiences. I wanted to know what everyone did, I wanted to know more about their families. I just wanted to talk talk talk and listen listen listen! To just soak it all in. It was so amazing to be in this with everyone. We were all having these amazing experiences together yet also some other's apart.  They were good ones I tell ya! Good ones! Sigh… :D

I got back into that classroom and hugged some of my friends saying in my oh so dramatic way "I haven't seen you in TWO WHOLE DAYS and IT WAS TERRIBLE!!!!" It was a long two days.

I thrived off the people around me, I just became so excited, so happy. Just to have all these amazing people around. People around me to love and by loved by. People to help and to be helped by. People living this experience along side me and to share with each other how it was individually affecting us.

Nearing the end of the trip I was SO ready to go home, to done with the trip but SO NOT done with the people. I just wanted to take all 31 one of them home with me and keep these friendships going. I wanted to hold onto every moment I had left with them, every moment of conversation, laughter and even tears. Every moment with this group of people was amazing.

I loved being there to help my friends through their difficulties on the trip. I loved the times I could pray for them, encourage them, make them laugh and smile. I loved to be able to brighten other's dark days. But this went both ways. It was amazing to see other's care for me. It amazed me every time some one offered a kind gesture to me. It was amazing if someone noticed I was having a rough time and would simply sit with me, ask if I wanted to talk, or just go ahead and pray with me. It amazed me how much people were an encouragement to me. This group of people I travelled with was a group of unending love, compassion, care, support, encouragement…ect… they kept me going.

"Two are better than one.

Because they have a good return for their work:

If one falls down,

His friend can help him up."

Friends are good, so good! Friends are amazing! Friends are needed! There is no better way to travel then with a group of amazing friends! (have I exhausted that word amazing yet?? I can't really express this any other way it seems…but I hope the point is getting across…whatever that point is…sigh)

Oh Thank you my friends for making this trip so great! It wouldn't have been without you :)