best weekend ever

happy birthday danielle

one veiw of montorosso

one of the beaches

i have tons more and better pictures to post, but these are the only ones i can get at the moment. more are sure to come.

wow, im not even sure where to start. going to cinque terra was so incredibly amazing. for so many reasons. it really was one of the most beautiful places i have even been to. it was so good to be with danielle and sarah-God really used my time with them to encourage me...we had lots of good conversations and fellowship together. It was wonderful to be outside...and sleep under the stars and enjoy Gods awesome creation.

we had lots of fun adventures. we spent the daylight exploring the little villages, going in cute shops, and relaxing on the beach. it wasn't really hot out, but it was warm enough. at the one beach area there were huge boulders at the shoreline, so we spent hours laying on the rocks, reading and talking. we had a picnic on the beach with cheese and crackers and cinque terra wine. and spent time looking for neat rocks and shells in the sand. the first night we hiked off the trail, on this little island (abou the size of a soccer field) that was connected to the coast by a pactch of rocks in our favorite village, Montorosso. there was no one there...we had the whole island to ourselves....it was amazing...we were surrounded by the ocean. the hard part came when, after hiking back to the town for dinner, realizing it was completely dark outside....and we didn't have a flashlight. so it was a very challenging hike, in the dark, down steep inclines, over huge rocks, back to our little private island. but very very worth it. when we finally got there for the night, we made a fire (my dad and brother would be so proud), and set up our sleeping area by the fire under the beautiful stars....it was really really cold, so we didn't really sleep well at all, but that didn't matter. it was so great. the next day we hiked up the mountian and to the next village. saturday night, it was colder, so we decided to try and find somewhere to sleep indoors. but everything we found was soo expensive. we searched for places to stay for a few hours with no luck. many of the places were full. we knew that God would provide us with somewhere good to sleep, but we were starting to worry a little....we saw a really really fancy hotel, and we were embarassed to go and ask how much a room would be, because we looked like we had been camping, and we also looked like we probably couldn't even afford to buy a cup of coffee from them....but sarah decided it couldn't hurt to at least ask. so we went in, and talked to the guy. he told us that they didn't have any room, but he gave us directions to his friend who could help us, Manuel. so we followed the directions, up the very top of the village. and started shouting "Manuel! Manuel!" (thats what hotel guy told us to do). Manuel came to the gate, only to tell us that he didn't have any rooms left. we asked him if he had a floor we could pay for, and he saw how dissappointed we were (and probably how tired we looked), so he said we could sleep on his terrace. we gladly accepted, even though we would still have to sleep outside, it would be better than on a rock or something. but then, as were getting our blankets out, he told us to follow him...and he took us to his shed. he said that we could sleep in it! yay....we were so excited- four walls, and a ceiling!! it was wonderful. we joked about how it was like our "stable" because "there was no room for us in the inn". haha..... also, we kept seeing this group of 4 american students in cinque terra. we had a strange feeling that they knew the Lord, but we hadn't even talked to them or anything. the one night when we were eating dinner, they were at the same restuarant! we said hello, and later they came over to our table and we ended up talking for an hour to them. they were catholic, and all loved Jesus very much. it was interesting to hear what God is doing at their school, on their campus, and in their lives. it was good for me to talk to them, and hear what they had to say, because it reminded me that people can come from different churches, and have different background, and still know, and love, and have a personal relationship with Jesus. it was an eye opening experience. anyways, this is getting to really long. this weekend was almost like a retreat of some sort. i feel refreshed and remotived. which is good because i have a lot things to do this week.

also, lets all remember to be praying for alivia haughery and ian murphy:
http://www.aliviarachelhaughery32005.blogspot.com/
http://www.prayforian.com/