A full weekend...(and long post)

We celebrated Peter and Mike's birthdays at the Paso's on Saturday night. Sarah made Mike's favorite dish- his grandma's spaghetti and bolognese recipe. And then she made pavlova. His favorite dessert.

I attempted Peter's grandma's cinnamon rolls and banana cake with the help of Ives and Kat. It was fun trying!

 
 
 
 

We got Peter a fire pit for the guy's backyard.

Today we went to church and then went to the beach with the Uni students. Lots of freshers came which was great- new relationships built! I rode with Anna, her cousin Emily, and their friend Mabel in Mabel's convertible. We had so much fun!
 
 

Cheeseburgers, chips (fries), and diet coke (stereotypical American meal) at the cafe by the beach for lunch! It's 10p for a packet of katsup! Ridiculous! We spent over a pound on little packets. Peter had most of them. He eats even more katsup than me.

 

Isn't it gorgeous?! Very different from the beaches I've been to in the States. No sand. Mostly rocks. Very uncomfortable to sit on...

 

 

Boys will be boys. Always on an adventure looking for something new and exciting.

 

This picture reminds me of snorkeling in Hanama Bay in Hawaii with Drew, Gwen, and Joy. I think just the shape of the hill (though much smaller here) and the way the water goes into it...

 
 

Me, Anna, Ives, and Lawrence. He's the president of CU which stands for Christian Union. In the States, there's usually numerous College Ministries to be involved with- Campus Crusade, Inner Varsity, Young Life, etc. But here at UWIC (University of Wales Institute in Cardiff- the local Uni), they have one.

 

The Gweedo Family. In Peter's interview for the GAP Team with Dan, he thought Dan pronounced his last name Guh-wee-duh. It's actually Guh-ve-duh. But, from Guh-wee-duh, we got Gweedo, and that has actually morphed into "Gweeds." This is him, his wife Kat, their son Noah, Leah (who will be 3 on Sunday!) and their miracle baby, Caitlin. She had a lot of heart problems when she was born; incredible story.

 

Anna, Gerard (which they pronounce Jair-Ah-d), and Lawrence. Gerard is from South Africa! Isn't that cool?!

 

Ben Greasely (Anna's brother) posing like a super hero. He sat next to me in the minibus on the drive back and we had great conversations about space, the universe, God's VASTNESS, His eternal-ness, our finite minds, etc. It left me more in awe of God. Growing my fear of God- who He is, His power, my utter small-ness, and yet, His care for me. Wow.

 

The beautiful Ives.

 

This is Sarah and Romani. (I don't know if I spelled his name right.) They are getting married next August! Romani actually picked us up from the airport with Dan when we first arrived. Sarah is an incredible witness. She lives with 4 or 5 girls who are not saved, and she is constantly serving them, loving them, reaching out to them, and preaching the gospel to them. What an example she is to me. I can't wait to learn more from her. She's quickly becoming a dear friend.

 

This is Caitlin. Gweedo's youngest. How precious.

 

And sweet Leah. Ah, look at those eyes. They're gorgeous.

 

And this is Kat, Dan's wife, and Caitlin.

 

I wanted a picture with that cute face.

 

We went to Troy's Kebabs for dinner. Not Kabobs, but Kebabs. "Bandana Man" wasn't there (apparently he's the best at making them) but they were DELISH. I had chicken- a bunch of people had lamb (I would've had lamb, but they didn't have enough...) and YUM-O. Definitely going back there again!

 

So. I sit here on my bed typing away, copying and pasting pictures, and am THRILLED to have the day completely off tomorrow. My plans? To have a lie in until about noon. If its later, that's totally fine by me. I'm shattered. Completely knackered. Then maybe a run (they're the highlights of my week). A shower. And prepping meals. (Meghann, I've totally looked at the Menu on your calendar and stolen meal ideas from you =).

Thanks for enduring with me in this long post- I'll try to do shorter ones in the future- I know its a lot to sit down and read.

Well, it's only just dinner time on the East Coast, but it's almost midnight here. My pillow is calling!

Hope you were aware of the grace available to you today, and that you ENJOYED it to its FULLEST! G'night!