Hello all!!!!! Well, I cannot believe it but I have finally returned home to the Unites States. It has been a weird transition. Things feel like they are mostly the same and almost like I've never left but it also feels unusual and non routine to be here and see people. It feels as if I've been here all along and yet all my memories of the past year are of somewhere else doing other things. It's hard to describe. Upon arriving home I was instantly greeted by familiar accents, faces, scenery, and smells. It was a bizarre moment to land in New York city, where I had my lay over, and to pull out my phone and start texting again. I found it weird that on the plane, lunch was served at 11:30 am. My British self went hold on, lunch isn't until at least 1pm!

So I arrived home. You will be glad to know myself and most of my stuff made it home in one piece. My day of travel was a bit interesting, starting when I arrived at Heathrow airport in London with my host family to check in for my flight. Being prepared prior to coming to the airport that my suitcase would be overweight and I was going to just have to suck it up and pay the extra fee, it turned out that my bag was so overweight that the airline couldn't take it (this being contradictory to what the bathroom scale at home said by a significant margin). So we had no choice but to take out a few things and have my host family ship them to me. Thank you again host family! This was the first God send of the day.

Once the bag made weight enough that the airline would take it and I check my carry on,  we made our way to security and there I said goodbye to the amazing host family that has supported me, loved me, accepted me, tolerated me, enriched me, and grown with me throughout the past year. It was sad to say goodbye but it didn't really feel like goodbye. I know I will see them again one day and we will keep in touch. So I left having that happiness in my heart which made it more like saying see you later.

After a slight delay in security because my book bag tested positive for explosives in the first screening, I made my flight and it was very nice! It only took a little over seven hours and really only felt like four or five. I caught up on some sleep and journaled before safely landing in New York about mid day, US time. I could tell the jet lag had gotten to me though. Next I had to re-check my luggage, so I went to baggage claim and got my big suitcase off the carousel. Then, as no one wants to hear, I heard my name being called over the intercom! So I went to check it out and there sitting next to the security lady was my carry on suitcase...split wide open! Apparently the zipper broke on the journey down from the belt to the carousel and split when it hit the bottom. (I want to say thanks to God that it didn't split open anywhere else in the journey and only did so when someone was able and willing to pick up all the stuff and bring it safely with the suitcase to me). I was just thankful that all my stuff was there and none of it was broken! The second God send of the day.

The people at security were very nice. Because I had another flight, they rushed me to the front of lines, checked my suitcases at baggage check for me after giving me a brand new carry on bag for my troubles, and sent me straight to security. I was so thankful and so blessed to have such nice people helping me out. Yet another God send of the day! Then I was on my way home to Ohio! As we lowered closer to the airport to land, I started to tear up as I looked out the window and saw familiar houses, complexes, big stores, even baseball fields on the ground. I was a bit overwhelmed with the realization that I was home! This excitement continued as I looked wide eyed out the window, screaming on the inside, as I watched the familiar Columbus airport reveal itself around me, seeing the Columbus skyline in the distance...images I hadn't seen in a year.

You will be happy to know both my bags arrived safely to Columbus and in no time I was phoning my Mom and sister to come pick me up...after an emergency charge of my battery when my phone died minutes before landing of course. The familiar muggy heat, smells, and sounds of locusts flooded my senses as I stepped outside onto the passenger pick-up point letting me know that I was finally home.

Since being home, I've been taking things pretty easy and visiting with friends and family. I've battled the jet lag a bit, still waking up at 5 am US time each morning but forcing myself back to sleep in order to adjust. I've spent time with my Mom and sister, visiting my sister at her new apartment and job nearer now to where I live. I've been out to dinner with some friends and starting the catching up process. I've started exploring the "new familiar" of streets, restaurants, and stores like Kroger and Walmart. Things that seem so familiar and yet I look at them now with new eyes of appreciation and intrigue. My first meal when I got home was a Chipotle burrito and maaan was it amazing!! I got behind the wheel for the first time in a year last week when my sister let me drive around the parking lot lol and since then have gotten myself a vehicle in order to get around.

 Last week I went to a sweet corn festival and have now begun my travels to visit friends and family. So far I've visited my Grandma and my Dad, and attended my best friends Bachelorette party, also known as a Hen Do. I was so happy to see my best friends again all in one room. It was beautiful to see how we've all grown up, as we have been friends for over 12 years, and still very close. It was so fun and a bit emotional to celebrate one of my oldest friends getting married. I also got to see her in her wedding dress at her final fitting. Lots of emotions!! In the immediate future I plan to continue visits with family and friends, attend YAGM Re-Entry, Ohio University Homecoming Weekend, and look for a job.

I'm home!!

Aftermath of my bag

A wonderful welcome home with this adorable sign made by my Mom and sister

At the grocery store in the international section. Found some British treats!!

all the essentials lol

So many different kinds of Oreos!!

American jello...

At the corn festival. Oh America

Yay corn on the cob!!

This is Elephant Ear. Fried dough with cinnamon and sugar

My Grandma is the Queen!

The Bride to be

Team Bride

The new ride

Please pray for me as I continue the adjustment to being home and for guidance and God's blessing as I look for a job. Blessings to all of you both in the US and the UK as you start back to a regular schedule with jobs and school. Please keep the other returning volunteers in your prayers as well as the ones just starting their year of service abroad. God Bless!

Ah! So here it is. I'm writing to you on my last night in the UK. There is a lot I could say, a lot I want to say, but how? This year has been an amazing whirlwind of adventures. I use that word whirlwind a lot because that is how it felt. I mean I did have a lot of time to sit and reflect and take in my year but it also seemed week after week I was having another amazing life adventure. I think I crammed as much as I possibly could into my YAGM year lol.

This year took me to places physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually that I hadn't anticipated. I tried going into the year with no expectations where I wasn't anticipating anything but it's hard not to a little bit. What I thought this year was going to be like for me and what it ended up being was very different. My year gave me experiences I had hoped to have but in ways I hadn't imaged they would go.

There is a lot to process. I sit here on my last day still dumb founded that it's my last. I take a look at the buildings, people, double decker buses around me and can't believe that they will all be gone tomorrow. As hard as I try to sit and think, Kaley you are leaving all of this tomorrow, it doesn't sink in....except in random moments where I start to hyperventilate a little. It's been such an amazing journey and I am just so thankful that I had it. I am sad to leave but happy I came. I am happy to come home and see everyone again, but sad I have to leave here to do so. Though this day seemed lifetimes away once, it has made its way none the less. I am blessed, I am happy, I am honored, and I am ready for what's next.

So what did I do on my last day in England you might wonder? Well, after arriving back to London from a week in a rainy, muddy, camp for a week worshiping at Soul Survivor with the youth, yesterday I did laundry, and started packing my room. Today, I finished that laundry, took down all the pictures and Union Jack flag off my wall, and wrote a letter to my future self about what I hope I will have done six months into coming home and what I think it will be like. I went to lunch at one of the youth's houses to find a surprise going away party for me with all the youth from my Soul Survivor week and youth leaders!! I was so surprised and felt so blessed!! It really made my day and last day in England so special (pictures below), especially when a few of the girls told me I had become like a big sister to them.

So I was able to say goodbyes to everyone and spend one last afternoon kicking back and having some laughs with some great adults and young people. I spend another part of the day walking around various places that were special to me throughout the year including a patch of green space called Figs Marsh and a cemetery that I occasionally strolled through and had some really good reflections. I took one last trip to Sainsbury's to buy some British chocolate and then said one final goodbye to St. James church where I worked this year. In the evening I had dinner with the Powell's, my host family, and my host Mom Claire made my favorite meal of hers, chicken stir fry. The rest of the night was writing a blog, making sure I was all packed, and reading airport luggage regulations to see just how much I was going to have to pay for overweight luggage flying home. Prayers people for all the stuff I will have to carry around the airport tomorrow!!!

Everyone just thank you so much for walking with me throughout the year. I've had so many people tell me how much they enjoyed my blog and I only wish I could have written more often. I cannot wait to share my year with all of you. I won't subject you to the over 7,000 pictures I have taken this year alone though, unless you really want to :D. I will see you all soon. And to the friends from England who read this blog, it has been an absolute privilege this year to walk with you and hear your stories. I have been so blessed to have walked alongside you for this one year of our lives and I hope that this one year will have meant something to you. I hope that our paths will cross again one day if God will allow it. You have all been such a huge huge part of my faith development this year and I can't thank you enough for what you all have taught me over the last year. I hope now to take these lessons home with me and see where God wants me to use them and how. I will keep in touch, maybe post a few more blogs, and keep you updated on my adventures over the next few weeks. Praise God for this year and what he has started in me. Praise God for what I am about to step into next and that he has a plan for what he has started this year and how I will go forward. Amen.

As an ending statement I would like to share one of the Bible passages that has meant a lot to me this year, especially in the last few weeks preparing to go home. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Picture from my first day in London

Picture from my last day in London...yes I'm wearing the same outfit...no that was not planned

Goodbye party today

Some really great people!

What are you going to do when you get home?
Ah! This is the question I've been asked a lot lately. (Upon arriving to the UK, my most asked questions were have you been to the UK before and do you like it here?)

So to be preemptive, I'm going to let you all know right now that I really don't know. I have a few things in mind though. This includes working in a church in some capacity, whether that be a bit of clerical work here, a bit of youth work there etc. I don't know because I don't know of an exact job position that exists which offers what I'm looking for but I will be looking don't you worry (Mom and Dad). Also, I have always liked non-profits and have always seen myself working for one. I also have considered going back to school to attend seminary or a bible college. Right now I am mostly interested in studying religion and specifically the Bible so whatever that comes in the shape of, Like I said, I really don't know but these are a few ideas. I am really kind of open to anything right now as long as it involves helping people and God is at the forefront.

If there is one thing I have taken away from this year, it is that whatever I do next in my life God HAS to be at the center of it. I have really re-found my faith this year and have realized that the way I have been living the past few years has been a life where I tossed my faith to the wayside and it sucked. I hated living like that. I have made a promise to myself and to God this year that I will not let that happen again. So if you read this and think hey, I know a job that sounds kind of like what she's looking for or or hey, there are some places around me that might be hiring right around the time she gets back.....ya know....I'm here for you and appreciate you all very much :D lol.

So anyway, I did want to highlight that little bit about future possibilities, but that is not completely the reason I am writing this blog. As it occurs to me that I have started thinking about home and all the things I am looking forward to, but also going to miss here, maybe these are things I should be sharing with you all because they might be interesting to read. It might provide a different perspective and interesting insight on what exactly a person who has lived in another country for a year might miss about that country and be looking forward to on her journey back to the good ol' Merica. So below is a list of a few things I am looking forward to when I get home, and a few things I will miss about being here in the UK. Enjoy.

Things I Will Miss

• Curry. I absolutely love curry now! It's as popular as Chinese food over here.
• Really good chocolate! Also the fact that bread here only lasts about a week before it gets moldy...this took some adjusting to since bread in the States usually lasts about a week and a half if not longer before it molds....its a bit concerning. 
• I will miss being able to walk anywhere in London at any given time and feel safe. I will miss walking past a group of men and not feeling afraid that they are going to harass me with sexual comments or follow me down the street. This is one of the first things I noticed when I came to London...and wish it was like this everywhere. London is a beautiful and safe city, one of the best in my opinion. 
• I will miss how patient people are. People here don't honk their horns, yell at each other, or get impatient that much, or so it seems. Just today I was bustling through the busy underground during rush hour...we turned a corner to greet a wall of people moving very slowly to get onto a platform and the guy next to me said something really loud, and I expected it to be an angry remark but he just laughed and said we might have to fight our way through.
• I will miss traveling on the top deck of the red doubledecker buses of London. Sometimes I would take the slightly longer bus ride home from London instead of the underground just to sit in the front seat on the top deck and watch the London scenery go by. 
• I will miss people from my host church like my friend Sarah who is the mother of twins, a boy and a girl, who I've seen grow this year from being bottle fed to walking and mumbling their first words. The people at my host church have been truly remarkable and have each left their mark on me and my faith journey. 
• I will miss teaching the children in our programs about Jesus. It has been great to see how much they have learned and understood God's love for them even when some of them are hearing it for the first time. It was really great for me as well to refresh on the Bible stories I learned as a kid and explain them to the children. It was such a great reminder of how God is so good.
• I will miss insight and support from my supervisor who I felt really understood me this year and took the time to ask questions no one has asked me before. I will miss how he always seemed to know the right questions to ask and helped me see the amazing person God made me to be.
• I will miss having a laugh and exploring with my host family the differences between our two cultures. Though sometimes very similar, at other times very different...lol. 

Things I am Looking Forward

• Sunshine! Endless days of sunshine...well not necessarily all the time but still. 
• Burgers, beer, country music (yes shocking I know, I even shock myself). Just loud and crazy Americans who love to belt songs at the top of their lungs, listen to rock music, be rowdy, and have a good time with friends.
• Driving. I am definitely looking forward to having my own car again, driving wherever I want whenever I want and having some me time listening to music or the radio.
• Radio. Not that they don't have it here. but because I only travel on public transportation that does not have radio I really don't listen to it.
• Calling pants. pants instead of trousers. Or french fries. fries without being corrected lol. The same with chips, cookies, and saying groceries instead of shopping. Also not having to say the word toilet anymore when asking for the bathroom. I think bathroom is much more polite lol.
• PROPER BREWED COFFEE!!! Don't worry, I've managed to not be a huge grump bucket my entire year, but coffee just isn't drank the same way here as it is at home. I guess the same goes for us and tea according to the Brits.  I even resorted to instant coffee and instant decaf coffee this year...when times were desperate. But I guess after this year you can call me a true coffee addict as I've managed to live a year in the land of tea and still drink mostly coffee. 
• Having everything I want in one store. As Americans, we really take for granted the fact that we can go to one store like Walmart, Target, or Kroger and get multiple types of products. For example we can buy food for tomorrows dinner, medicine for that headache, movies or other technology we like, and school supplies for our kids school project all at the same place. That doesn't happen in the UK. 
• Time with friends and family. If there is one huge thing I have learned to appreciate this year it has been how much I love my friends and family and how much they love and take care of me. I am definitely looking forward to just hanging out with my friends again and relearning their  habits, personalities, and mannerisms. This may sound weird but when my family members came to visit, it was almost like I had to re-get to know them in a way. There were things about my family that I had forgotten about like how sarcastic my Dad is and how much he makes me laugh. How independent, crazy, and deeply connected to the world my sister is, and how much my Mom really takes care of me and looks out for me. It was a really beautiful thing being able to see these characteristics fresh again with my immediate family and I look forward to doing the same with more family and friends when I return. 
• I look forward to what God has in store for me next. I have really learned to love my religious roots as a Lutheran and look forward to Lutheran liturgy again. I also look forward to becoming more involved in the church in whatever church I find myself. God has changed me this year and I look forward to seeing how that blossoms. 

Saying Goodbye. This week I said goodbye to 11 wonderful people. Throughout our year together, living abroad in a strange new environment, we depended on each other for support, sarcasm, and sanity. No matter where you are in the world, there's nothing like a group of crazy Americans when they get together. The love and friendship I witnessed throughout this group was beautiful to see. These 11 people have so many gifts to give to the world, each with their own unique personality and God given talents to inspire the world around them. It was a pleasure to witness relationships form and bond throughout the year, and though because of the way of our happenings throughout the year, I didn't get to spend as much time with each of them as much as I would have liked, but I feel privileged to have gotten to know each and every one of them as much as I did and bear witness to the fruit they are bearing in the lives around them.

Goodbyes are never easy though it seems like I've had my fair share of them over the past several years. Things change, people go their own ways, life moves forward sometimes slowly and sometimes in the blink of an eye. This year has been a mix of those moments and I think the rest of my volunteer friends both TfG and YAGM would agree that sometimes we wish more of those slower moments were spent together.

As I approach the end of my year, still two months away but none the less, it is a bitter sweet time to be thinking about next steps. Some volunteers in other countries have already said goodbye to their placements and perhaps one or two have even flown home already. It just doesn't seem real that this is the time we are in already. I don't want to go too in depth with goodbyes now because I still have time left at my placement and here in the UK, but I pause because this week was the first of many goodbyes I will encounter in the next 63 days.....yes I just counted that out and holy wow that's a bit hard to swallow that 63 is all the time I have left of my time here.

All I can say is its been a roller coaster of a year. Not necessarily in events that happened but more so the learning experiences and emotions I went through this year. It will definitely be interesting to try and condense this whole year into some form that I can share with all of you. I hope that you have been enjoying my blogs. I apologize for the increased gaps between them but instead of trying to post frequently about day to day things I thought it would be more valuable to write specifically about significant thoughts and feelings I was having at particular points in my year. I felt my blog would more real that way.

 I've never been the greatest at sharing things with other people so I take this blog as a step in the right direction of communicating more with people about anything really that takes place in my life. I thank you all so so very much for reading and keeping up with me through this blog this year. It has been a real testament to me on just how many people support and love me and how wonderful you all truly are as people to take time out of your lives to read a long blog post to see how I am doing. If your anything like me you tend to take one look at long paragraphs and run the other direction lol. So thank you all for your unimaginably important roll in supporting me this year.

My many blessings towards you all. I hope your summer has kicked off well and the heat isn't weighing you down too much. It is supposed to get in the 80's next week here in the UK. So I do get some of the summer heat after all. Good practice for coming home lol. God bless all of you :).

Hello all! I am well into my ninth month in the UK. Time is starting to fly by now. I can't believe tomorrow is June! As my time comes closer and closer to ending, I feel that I get more and more busy running around and taking it all in. It is a good busy though and I've found I feel a sense of comfort and content during this time in my journey. It is a nice place to be in, where I know home and reconnecting with loved ones is nearing but I am still able to be here in a different country continually having new and miraculous experiences. Over the last month or so I have continued to have new and unexpected adventures here in the UK. Pictures below..

Had a ladies day out at the church learning how to make flower arrangements.

My traditional table centerpiece arrangement :). Not bad for my first try.

My host sister hosted a Murder Mystery Dinner at our house. It was the first one I'd ever been to and it was fantastic fun!!

Finished another bulletin board for one of my weekly groups.

I learned how to sew bunting at our Friday night youth club!

The new royal princess was born last month. I thought it would be fun to go that Saturday to see if I could catch a glimpse.

Four hours later I got to catch a pic of all three! (apologies for the parking sign in the way...but what can you do). 

Found this outside the church in the bushes one day when I was picking up litter...

The ever growing wall collage in my room of memories from this year.

Went to a quiz night at a local primary school one night last week. Despite my American disadvantage I was able to help quite a bit and even with the question..What US State comes last in the alphabet...Wyoming!

Friends David and Marianne dressed as Heisenberg from Breaking Bad and Bat Girl, why?.....

Because we got to go to London Comic Con! It was my first time and I was so excited to get to go while in London! San Diego here I come next year!!

I also got to go on holiday this past week to Barcelona, Spain for some sunshine and relaxation! We visited La Rambla, Sagrada Familia Cathedral, Park Guell, and various other places including the Mediterranean coastline :).

I went with these three lovely ladies Anastasia, Catie, and Elie, all fellow UK YAGM.

Hiya! Happy May everyone. I'm afraid I wrote this blog post in April and didn't realize I hadn't published it. So sorry! So it is in the context of the 24th of April....

I write this blog particularly excited because the next round of YAGM 2015-2016 volunteers have just been chosen this past weekend. I am just so happy for the amazing journeys these 79 volunteers are about to embark on in a short few months! I find myself being so stoked for them, as I was myself, on the weekend of my DIP. I have seen pictures and have read a few blogs from the volunteers who have just been chosen and have seen their thoughts and feelings about what they are about to get themselves into. It has just been a blessing to hear and see just how many people are willing to give a year of their life to God and whatever he has in store for them. It's so comforting when I hear their words, that there are so many people out there that think and feel like I do. It gives me hope and makes me realize I am forever a part of an amazing community that is ever growing with people who have been changed and are making changes in our world for God. It is definitely an instant love relationship with anyone who says they've been, are, or will be a YAGM. I already love the new 79 YAGM and I haven't even met them yet!

Hearing all these stories has helped me pause and do some reflecting of my own YAGM year and what it has meant for me. It is amazing to me how there are certain aspects of my faith that are so obvious to me now but weren't eight months ago. I know things about myself today, that I was clueless about at the start of this year. As I reflect, I still find it hard sometimes to put my feelings into words, as others seem to be able to do so naturally and wonderfully. But one thing I have found very helpful this year, something that has helped me connect to my feelings and really reveal to me just how powerful this year has been for me, is music. Throughout my YAGM year there have been certain songs that have guided me, awoken me, and have just provided the perfect words for the emotions I have been feeling this year. I realized instead of keeping them to myself, sharing them with you would be a good way to convey better the impact this year has had on me. Below is a list of songs that mean something to me and my YAGM year and what I have learned throughout. Please enjoy them. I hope you will find a connection with them as I have in my faith development.  

Mumford & Sons-Below My Feet

Carrie Underwood-Changed

Matt Redman-10,000 Reasons/Bless the Lord oh my Soul

Hillsong-Amazing Grace

Christina Perry-I Believe

Happy belated Easter! I hope it was a time of good fellowship and remembrance. Things have been pretty busy for me since returning for Israel, which already seems years ago. I still recall bits of my trip every time I hear the gospels. It truly has left a lasting impression on my life. I also find myself feeling a twinge to go back and do my part in the future. My host Dad says he believes without a doubt I will be back someday. I hope he is right. 

Anyway, since returning home I went back to work then was off again to my second week at Cliff College with my fellow YAGM (pictures below). After that, we got started on our Easter holiday club with the theme of Narnia. It was a really fun week. We did three days from 10 to 12pm and the kids loved it. We talked about how Aslan was like Jesus in the way he sacrificed himself for Edmond. There were crafts, games, stories, dancing, bible verses and video clips from the movie complete with a guest appearance from the Professor! I was even chosen to be made into a lion....complete with shaving cream. 

Easter was a growing time for me also. Apart from being my first Easter after visiting the Holy Land, one of the highlights for me during the week was attending my first Passover meal on Maunday Thursday. For the meal, we went through a traditional Jewish Passover and learned more about what the last supper would have actually been like and the significance of this in Jesus' ministry. I really enjoyed it and would be interested in trying to do it again next year. On Good Friday I attended a service in the afternoon rather than the evening and a second reflective service the same afternoon on shadows of the cross in the old testament. Easter Sunday I got up bright and early to attend a small sunrise service on the local green then a 10:30 family service later. I was also able to skype with family and enjoy the sunny day along with a little bit of chocolate :). 

If all this wasn't enough, two days later I welcomed my Dad and step mom Karen here to the UK for ten days of sightseeing and much needed quality time. For now, things will be winding down for a bit as I finish my last course assignment for Cliff College towards the end of April and a regular work routine until the end of May for half term. I hope all of you are doing well and looking forward to the upcoming summer holiday. I know for me, these next few months will go by fast. I've had so many blessings the last eight months and know I still have many more to come in the final four. God Bless and Happy Spring!!!!

Climbing up the hills at Cliff College with my YAGM

a beautiful setting for some time in nature

Sitting in class learning about Mission

The egg toss team up in the hills on hiking day

Getting the decorations ready for Holiday Club

Decorating the Sanctuary with "snow" and trees

Narnia lamp post. Brilliant work by Carol Burt

Transforming the church into a Narnian winter

Snowflakes

Also preparing for Spring. Afterall, when Aslan comes to Narnia everything becomes new

Tada!! Narnia

The center area where the kids wait to go through the wardrobe 

The Wardrobe!

Walking through the coats to Narnia

Spring has come to Narnia

and a little cameo from the Easter bunny...(made my mwa)

Our lion themed craft one day

Torben and I after being made into "lions." The kids really enjoyed throwing cheese curls at our faces lol

The Maunday Thursday Passover meal

getting ready to have some traditional lamb with the "father" of the house/table cutting the meat. Friends Torben and David

the "mother" of the house/table was offered a head cover. Friends Paula and Natalie 

visiting Paris for a few days with Dad and Karen

So excited to have visitors!