So its all over

I leave tonight. Wow. It all went so fast, and I cannot beleive that I am actually coming home now. I have been so blessed by my host families and friends these last few days, it's humbling. I don't even know what to say, what to type, what to feel. Its a mixture of everything. I will miss everyone, but I am so excited to be home! Well I arrive monday morning around 11 am if everything goes as planned. Well, I don't know what else to say excpet see you soon,

-Hope

9 days more

Well it’s official now, I am leaving the 24th of May to return to CO after 10 months in Brazil. After all this time, I am finally going home. It’s been so long, but it’s gone by so fast. I am so ready to be home. Don't get me wrong, I have had an amazing time here in Brazil. It has been the hardest year of my life, but one of the best ones as well. I have learned so much and have been opened to a whole new way of seeing the world and those around me. I have gone from not saying a word in Portuguese to conversing fluently with Brazilians and other exchange students 10 months later. I have struggled, been torn down, and grown back up stronger. I have been faced with many foundational questions about life and faith, and while I have learned so much, I only come out of it with more questions. This year has pushed me, stretched me, and even though I have fallen down many times, God always builds me back up stronger. It has been a year of laughter, despair, joy, hurt, learning and teaching. I have lived in Brazil, experienced the people, breathed in the culture and learned the language. Now I am ready to go back home. I am ready to start studying, start working, and start the rest of my life. This may be the end of one section of my life, but it is just the beginning of the rest. I am so excited now to go back and apply the things I have learned to the rest of my life.