Chao Chao Brown Cow. Peace Out, Girl Scout. See You Later, Crocodile.

Happy weekend, y'all.

One week left! ONE WEEK! Then I'm outta here.
That's 8 sleeps, for those of you keeping track at home.

Lots of REI shopping this week and I've even started packing. Oh, in case any of you didn't know, PINK is the new color for mountain babes. Maybe only because I found a wonderful coral windbreaker on sale, but I've still decided this is so.

So, this past week has held so many goodbyes already, and the week ahead of me holds so many more. It's bittersweet. It really is. and I am SO bad at saying goodbye!

Speaking of which... tomorrow is my last day working at the Coffee Grounds.

 

I spent 7 long, smelly, dirty, crusty months there!!... I've shoveled the entry in the coldest days of the year and scooped buckets and buckets of ice cream in the hottest. I've been burnt and scraped and pinched and scowled! ...But, I can really say, it was the best job I could have ever possibly had at this age. It's about attitude, yo. 

However, I surely wont miss certain pieces of Coffee Grounds... The aroma of Toasted Almond flavored coffee, finding surprises to unclog in the toilets, early opening shifts, and the smelly old men who came with them. To that I say "Hasta la visa, baby!"

But I'll miss my buddies, my co-workers, my boss-erino... You all know who you are. 

To the rest of you, take care of this place, ya hear?

Not gunna lie, I spent a few hours thinking and searching for a great way to say goodbye at the shop. I have a few really good ideas. Really great, really funny ideas. I feel I could be the master of being remembered. Do you have any good ideas or stories of hilarious goodbyes that you have created or have fallen victim to? If I think of any more, I have quite a few people I would LOVE to say 'Adios' to. Watch out. 

Anyhoo, let the goodbyes commence. 

Sometimes goodbyes are for longer than you expect.

But sometimes they dont last as long as you think. 

I hope to run into most and all of you before I head out!
Much love, family.
-G

What the heck am I even doing?!

Hey Guys.
Week 2 of a successful blogger. OW!

Can I just say... Wowza... This week has been loopy.
This week, God really taught me something that I'm SURE... SURE some of you other missionaries have felt before. I couldnt tell if it was the pre leave-for-what-seems-to-be-forever jitters or a "check in my spirit".
It was the "Oh my gosh, am I SURE this is what I'm supposed to be doing?!" mind-bomb... Yeah, that one.

Conversing back and forth with some staff members already on the mountain, I learned of some aspects of our time there that I didn't know before. I also had those "What if they don't like me? What if I'm wasting my time? If I hate it, I'll be stuck up there. What if I'm just not even YWAM material?" thoughts zipping through my mind at a bajillion miles an hour. Oh my, I felt physically sick for days.

See, this was scary because it's post-highschool life. While all my friends are skipping off to college here and there like normal American young folk; fetching degrees and money-makin' skills and whatnot, Grace is pushing "real" education aside and going to play patty-cakes in the mountains. At least, that's what it will look like on a resume for her desk job someday. Right? Well this is just ONE example of how it can be scary sometimes but also, this just purely feels like the beginning of the rest of my life, ya know?! That looks like a big deal!

Yipes!

So, I asked Jesus. and listened. and asked again. and listened some more. and this is what happened...

The cool thing about knowing God and recognizing His voice... Sometimes He speaks to you in ways you don't expect and even in ways ONLY YOU know how to understand. I love that about Him.
God reminded me of the time my dad first taught me how to rollerblade. Any of you who knew my dad, even my own siblings, would probably never guess that this happened with him, but it did. I swear. I was in 5th grade and I asked my dad to take me to a school rollerskating event. He stood a few feet in front of me as I cautiously scooted closer, bracing every muscle in my being, my knees shaking, with my hands stretched out toward him in case I fell.

  "Dont look at your feet, quit watching your feet," he said, 

"look forward, look at me." 

That is one of my favorite memories of that man. <3

After tearing up a bit, I knew what God was saying to me. Right now, even though things look shaky and scary and I cant exactly feel my feet anymore, He's saying "Look forward. Look at me." I have to learn how to trust Him, and trust what He says. And He said to lace up my snow boots and scoot.

He also reminded me of the very first time I ever felt the stunning YES to go. I was sitting in a cafe in NE Minneapolis with my mom as she shared the story of a young man that she knew who studied in Cimarron with YWAM years ago. Something about that story told me I was supposed to be there, THAT was the place I was supposed to be. I almost leaped out of my chair in excitement!! I remember that exact moment! I had never been so sure of anything in my whole 16 years of life!
Through that He reminded me that those plans never changed. They were still as sure as they were when I first attached my little heart to them. Which..... was SO assuring, it was almost one of those "duh" moments.

Bottom Line: It's still my job to DECIDE to trust Him on this.
God never changes. His truth never changes. Whether anyone chooses to believe it or not, its still truth. And that doesn't change.

I hope this means I'm officially in the missionary club.

Hopefully, I'll be better at this than I am at rollerblading.

Okay, sorry for such a long post.
Missing you all already.
Love, Gracie

Track Me!

Hey Friends and Family!

You found me! You found Grace!
Welcome to my latest blog endeavor. 

As many of you know, I am in the process of a huge life-changing event! In just a few weeks I will be starting a DTS in Cimarron, Colorado. I will be studying and training with the so-well-known Youth With A Mission organization. This training will be a total of 3 months. After that I will be traveling with my team over seas for another 3 months. But dont worry, guys! I'll be home in February. 

Anyhoo, after sharing this with so many of you I was surprised (and feeling rather challenged) at the fact that so many of you asked me if I would be blogging while I was away. WHAT A GREAT IDEA! However, if any of you know me, I stink at blogging and can be quite a hermit sometimes so I will do my very best to keep you all updated with pictures and stories and especially financial progress. 

Read on if you must:

Here's a few interesting points I've learned about my time in CO...

• Cimarron, at least the Cimarron where I will be living, is actually considered New Mexico, believe it or not. (I dont know why they consider it CO but) It's right up there in the Rockies! It's a very private base. Like, in the middle of no where. I've Google Earth-ed it a few times and to be honest, I was just a bit scared! haha! Im from The Cities, man! Well, ya do what ya gotta do, eh?


• Cimarron, (pronounced SIM-ar-ron in English) in Spanish, (pronounced seem-ar-ROWN) means wild sheep. Urban Dictionary says: Although, if it's a person's name, it means "Wild One"....it can also be used to describe someone that has a VERY free spirit & cannot & will not be tamed by anyone; Free-Spirited....Also, someone who's completely different from everyone else; beyond the norm intellectually artistically, socially, and/or in mindset...A Cimarron can also be someone who moves from place to place freely and willingly, without being forced to do so, also considered a "Maverick"....also someone who fights back, mostly about what he/she believes in or thinks is right. HAHA!! I love that! Here's why: 

• I totally feel like KNOW THAT being a part of this DTS is going to impact the whole rest of my life. Being so high up on a mountain brings you physically closer to God, right? Like, duh, everyone who has a childhood knows that... I'll get to be right up in the face of the Creator of the universe. I want to learn how to be this wild, free, un-normal, Jesus-freak, cimarron... What better place is there but Cimarron, CO? This is also, of course, why I chose to name this blog Mountain Badger. 

Ok, Im done now. 

Feel free to track me here! 

And stay updated!

Ask questions or leave comments in the comment field below!

Love you guys.

-G