"Do Something"

 Five years ago yesterday was one of the most special yet bittersweet days in my life. I stood with my husband and in front of my family, ministry peers, and friends was recognized as a licensed minister by the Nebraska District Council of the Assemblies of God and the General Council of the Assemblies of God minus two of my biggest cheerleaders, my in laws.  

For the next 2 years after I was licensed, I would watch my peers pursue the next level of ministry and receive the credential of ordination. I was so proud of them and thought to myself, I am happy where I am at. I know I am called and I am happy with my license level. But, in 2019, my thoughts began to change and I felt like I needed to "do something". I very distinctly remember telling Dave, "maybe next year I will pursue ordination."  I knew that would require going back to school--but could I do it? Challenge accepted! 

Fast forward 3 years.  My oldest son Jacob was a senior in high school, my youngest daughter Kelsey a kindergartner.  I again felt the urgency to "do something".  My exchange student business was going well and the Busch family was dreaming big dreams.  There was talk of "the lasts" as we journeyed through the senior year and excitement with the upcoming football and wrestling seasons. The thought of all my babies in school together was bittersweet but with that opportunities came.  I applied to help out at the elementary school with a special ed student as a sub. Life was perfect.  Football season came and Burwell found themselves at the State Championship game in Lincoln.  Jacob and Caleb were living the life on the Huskers turf in Memorial Stadium and came up short of the victory.  Then wrestling season came for Jacob.  He had one goal for his senior year to "do something"--and that was make it to state.  Jacob and Dave trekked all over the state for his wrestling season and the moment of truth came when it was "do or die"--so Jacob did. He qualified for the State wrestling meet in Lincoln.  Once again our family made the trip to Lincoln to cheer on a big dream.  Jacob wrestled with all his heart and then we watched as his dreams abruptly ended when his opponent picked him up, went to throw him, Jacob planted and both knees were injured.  Season over. Multiple surgeries required.  

While the boys were chasing sports dreams, I began the process of applying for ordination.  I met with Pastor Terry Brown for guidance.  Everything appeared to be a go and then March came.  Our world began to shut down.  Life then came to an abrupt stop.  The last day of in person school was March 16.  Our family had to put our foreign exchange daughter Debi on a plane back to Switzerland.  District Council was postponed.  Prom was canceled. Jacob graduated high school in our driveway with no pomp and circumstance in two and a half minutes.  Kelsey graduated Kindergarten in the living room.  It was not what we had dreamed.  I stopped pursuing my dream of getting ordained.  

Then, slowly, our little community began to open up. Summer activities resumed with restrictions. Church Camp happened.  Football camps happened throughout the summer. There was talk of school starting in person.  Rodeo was held in Burwell, football practice started with a new set of dreams for the season. We adopted a new son from Finland into our family for the school year.  We dropped Jacob off for his first semester of college at UNK and I had a first day of school for the 2020 school year as a para sub for the first few weeks due to quarantine.  District Council was held and again I felt the need to "do something" as I watched my peers being passed the mantle and get ordained--one who was a Burwell native.  Fire reignited to pursue ordination.  Not only were the boys dreaming and setting goals, but so was I.  Caleb dreamed of running a 1000 yards on the field and winning the State Football Championship, Isaac dreamed of playing varsity football with his brother and going to the State Championship. I had ordination on the brain and a crazy thought of going back to school to finish my teacher education.  This family was going to "do something". 

Football season came. I had the privilege of being a Cheer coach with a fantastic group of young ladies who cheered and yet supported my ministry as I would pray over our football team before every game.  They stood with me and prayed.  I felt blessed. 

Isaac was Caleb's backup on varsity and starting running back for the JV. He was living the dream until a JV game knocked him out of the rest of his season with a severely dislocated shoulder which would eventually require surgery.  Caleb accomplished his first dream of making the 1000 yard club for football and then the 2000 yard club.  He still had his sights set on a State Championship.  Burwell did find themselves with a very successful season and the opportunity of playing in the State Championship was going to happen--on the home field in front of the hometown.  The atmosphere was amazing and Caleb and the Longhorns had a stellar game only to walk away as the runner up--again. 

After the thrill of football season had worn off, the need to "do something" was still very strong.  I contacted the Nebraska Ministry Network and began the official application for ordination.  I didn't know if it would be accepted due to deadlines being passed but at least I was moving forward even if I had to wait until 2022.  I also decided to join Jacob as a Loper at UNK to finish my teaching degree so I enrolled and was accepted.  I took my first class in December so I could become an official substitute teacher in the local school.  God continued to take care of me and two job openings in two different local schools came available.  I applied due to COVID not permitting a lot of exchange students to come over this year.  I was hired at Burwell Public Schools as a SPED para.   UNK then informed me I had received a grant to cover my Spring tuition and I became a full time college student!  Little did I know, God still had my dreams in mind and on December 28, I was contacted and told I would have an interview in just one week with the leaders of my state for my ordination credential.  So much change in just one short month! 

Throughout February and March I hadn't heard anything official from the General Council but my presbyter told me I would want to make sure I was at the Multiply Conference in April.  I couldn't believe it.  This was happening.  The official phone call came April 3.  I would be ordained.  

 The opening message from our Network Superintendent, Pastor Toby, at our Multiply Conference for the Nebraska Ministry Network (formerly known as the Nebraska District Council of the Assemblies of God) was "Do Something". As I listened and reflected back on the last five years of my life since receiving my license credential, a LOT of life happened but yet through this God has been faithful and the urgency to "do something" never left me. Tonight I will be the one standing before my peers receiving my ordination credential. 

It takes all kinds to make the world go round and we are doing our part! LIVING LIFE!

Howdy family and friends --or should I say ¡Holá! Been a great day today. Our morning started off bright and early! We decided we'd better try to sleep from 3 to 3:45 a.m. and then we made our way to the airport in Grand Island. Being the crazy ones that we are, we were dressed in our complete summer apparel.  Flip flops, a skirt and tank top for me, shorts and a t-shirt for Dave.  Let's just say as we came outside in Burwell to the car, we were literally freezing!
After sightseeing along the way to Grand Island and missing two deer, we made a quick Walmart and McDonald's run and then it was off to the airport.
I don't remember taking off from Grand Island airport. As soon as I found my seat, my eyes were so heavy they couldn't even stay open for announcements. I remember waking up as we were preparing to land in Dallas/Fort Worth.
After a short 3.5 hour layover, a long walk through the airport to stretch our legs, and a yummy lunch at Twisted Root, we boarded another plane for a 5 hour flight to Puerto Rico.
On this flight I barely remember take off but I did manage to stay awake while we were taxiing down the runway because I was sending pictures to Isaac.   After that, it was lights out for me again. I woke up in the middle of the flight after Dave had told me that we had just flown over Orlando. The sun was just starting to set, and the sky was a beautiful bright pink, blue and purple.
We finally landed in Puerto Rico. As we got off the plane, we immediately noticed a drastic temperature change. 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Quite different from the 33 degrees Fahrenheit we left this morning. We found our luggage and then found a taxi to take us to our place where we are staying.
We chose to stay at an Airbnb called Justin's Place. It's a little one-bedroom apartment that is definitely a very cultural experience. But, the most interesting thing about this place is that you definitely cannot put your toilet paper down the toilet! Let's just say a normal sized bowel movement has a hard time going down the pipe....
We decided to go for a walk and see what we could find to eat. We ended up at a grocery store to buy water and as we were checking out the rain begin to fall from the sky. Thinking it would let up shortly, we stood on the sidewalk with the security officer under his umbrella. But, as you guessed, there was no let-up in the rain. We had made the decision that we were going to live life like the couples on the Amazing Race and started to walk, but another customer had pity on us and asked where we were headed. We told him we were walking back to where we were saying about a mile back. He said, "Just a second, let me go talk to my wife." He came back and said, "Get in my car. I take you."
Without thinking, Dave and I just jumped right in the man's very nice car. We waited for him while he went in the store and tried to speak with his wife. Unfortunately she didn't

speak English and we don't speak enough Spanish to communicate quite well. But Jacob and Thomas would be very proud we tried!  We did learn that she has two children who are grown up and of the home. The man finally came back and asked us if we spoke Spanish. I replied, "un poco". He chuckled and said, "My English is very bad."  I responded, "Don't worry, my Spanish is worse!" I asked him what he did for a living and he told me he was an electrician and Environmental Activist.  He shared with us about how the big buildings were building next to the beach and several of the "Wins" he had with buildings that were too close to the water. After that, we arrived at our little apartment. We got out and thanked the couple and they took off. As we made in to our little apartment, we thought about what we had just done! Only we would do something so crazy!

Once the rain let up, we decided to venture out again and try to find someplace to eat. Unfortunately, we ended up at a different grocery store. We found some food to take back to our little apartment and cook. This food required the cooking to take place in oil, so I use the little oil that I found in the house, and threw it in a kettle on an electric range. Let's just say that it was well done! But, hey, last time I tried frying anything, I caught the house on fire so I feel pretty good about this experience... especially not in my own home!
Dave and I sat down, enjoyed our basic $12 meal from the grocery store consisting of Titan Tacos de lasaña and Goya Empanadillas de queso that I cooked all by myself right here in Puerto Rico. For a refreshing drink I served Aloe Vera King Strawberry--which is drinking Aloe Vera juice with strawberry flavoring.  And of course, one must not go without dessert--Muuu..Sandwich--its like a chocolate cookie.  From my rainy, crazy, almost burned, YUMMY chocolate picture window to yours, have a great week!

STS Ski Trip Day 3

Hi, this is Marita! This was the last day of the trip.. I had SO much fun! The skiing was definitely my favorite part, it was just amazing to go done some of those hills... I've had an amazing trip and I've made great friends! - Marita, from Norway.

My name is Shelby Castor and I am one tired girl. I feel like we’ve been going nonstop for about a week. But it’s probably just from a lack of sleep. Today we got up and started the long trip to the ski lodge after a breakfast from the amazing Buschs. After a very very quiet bus ride (everyone was sleeping) we made it to the lodge and that’s when I started to get nervous. I wanted to put off the skiing as long as possible. I was so nervous that I would break my leg or something. I’ve obviously never been skiing before. But after some convincing, Marita the Norwegian Skiing Expert made me get out there. The boots hurt and I couldn’t move…. I thought skiing was going to be easy, but the hardest part was actually moving on level ground. But after 2 trips on the bunny hill, Marita and I went up to one of the easier hills. But I hadn’t learned how to stop yet…. Marita started down the hill nice and slow as to keep up with me, but I zoomed past screaming as fast as possible. Marita would NOT stop laughing!!! I basically just kept going until I finally slowed down. But after a few more lessons, I learned how to ski pretty good and I even went on some of the harder hills! I had lots and lots of fun today!!! – Shelby Castor

Hello! Here is Rebecca the foreign from Brazil and I just have to say this: I don’t have words to describe today! My first time skiing, a different experience that I love! We arrive in Minnesota in the ski station and rent the skis and started putting it on and all the jackets and coats because was really cold, of course. We went outside and I was in front of a beautiful view, with a lot of hills and a lot of expert skiers going down really fast! I, like a Brazilian girl who have no idea how ski, took a lesson, what was really good for me learn the basic. The teacher was great and helps me a lot! We started in the small hill and then in the bigger ones. I enjoy the lift, is amazing is long, slow but with this machine we can go to the top of the hills and start the adventure of go down the hills. The sensation is hard to explain, you have to ski to fell the how delicious it is, go down the hills and control yourself and the ski, doing movements, watch in the sides for don’t crash with other people and all this together have a excellent result that I love! I skied a lot and I want ski other times, more, more and more. Was a new experience that I tried and I don’t want quit! Last day memorable and really fun! Thank you very much for all the Busch that host us in the cute and warm house with delicious food, with hospitality and for everything that they did for us. I just have to say was a incredible trip with great people that I will remember forever! Thanks and I love it!- Rebecca from Brazil!

Hey there it is Dominik again. Today we had breakfast and went skiing in Minnesota. The bus ride was fun, but snowboarding was even a lot better. It was just awesome. We were teaching Andrew how to ski. He did pretty good… The hills were not that high but it was still very fun to go down there. After lunch we still went snowboarding, actually I was one of the few who snowboarded, but however it was just a lot of fun. After we were done skiing we went to a restaurant and came back home. Now we are playing some games. I really enjoyed that Day today and I am already really sad that we have to leave tomorrow….--- Dominik from Germnay

Hey, this is Charlyne! This morning,we had to wake up really early because we had to leave at 8:30am and we all needed the shower! We went skiing, it was the first time for me. I am not going to lie, I was really nervous. The boots hurt a lot and my legs still hurt too. I fell the first time I tried to go down and I was mad so I took a break. Then I asked someone to help me and I knew who to do. I finally got it! We will leave tomorrow at 8:30… I am sad because it was amazing and so much fun! – Charlyne from France

Hey, this Maria! Okay, so today was the day we have been skiing and it was my very first time. I was kind a really afraid, but I needed to try it and of course I was terrible and fell all the time. But I wouldn’t give up so I kept going and now I am still terrible and still fall all the time, but I am getting it now and think its fun!! And I just love to be here with all the other awesome people and Loretta and bill are some very good people (making wonderful good food)!!! – Maria from Denmark

Hey, this is Ilaria! Today was a really fun day! We left at 8:30 and we went to Minnesota. For the first time I skied and actually I think it’s really cool! I fell down many times but at the end I learned! Now I’m really exhausted and it’s so sad thinking it’s our last day here! –Ilaria from Italy

Day 3, ski trip to ND: Finally skiing! After about 3 or 4 hours of sleep we left bright and early to go to Minnesota. It wasn’t too cold, and I got a lot of skiing in..I love skiing! I’m so sad that today is the basically the last day of our trip and possibly the last time I’ll get to see some of these amazing people! :/ But I’m soo glad I came and can’t wait for another 8 hour trip with minimal sleep tomorrow!
—Joy (the American)

It’s Emma here again. Today was amazing! After only few hours of sleep we left at 8:30 to Minnesota. It was kinda cold and the wind was freezing, but you forgot it when you got up the hill and was ready to go down. The bus ride back to Lisbon was so much fun when everyone was singing together and dancing lol. I don’t want to think that it’s our last evening together, gonna miss everyone! – Emma the Finn

Hey, it’s Cassandra here again, and this will be the last blog I’m going to write. I had such a fun time today, we went skiing. First me and Charlyn went to the Bunny hill, and we thought we kind of knew what we were doing, so we went to one of the green hills, that was not a good idea, because we didn’t know how to slow down. So I first saw Charlyn fall down in front of me and then I fell down too. So we walked down, through the trees..Then we decided that we should ask someone how to ski, so a guy who worked there helped us with the basics and we practiced a little on the bunny hill again and then we tried and green hill, and we made it, so we went on that hill a couple of time. First I hated Skiing and now I like it. So I say the day went pretty good, except that I broke my cast.- Cassandra

Hey! This is Edith..last night we played hide and seek in a close by church which was really scary!!!!!!!! Today in the morning everyone was really tired so we all slept on the bus to Minnesota, where we went skiing. It was soo much fun and even the people who have never skied before learned it pretty quiquly! We had so much fun on the bus ride home!! It was such an amazing trip, I had so much fun and I hope we will do it again some time!-Edith from Austria

Hey, it’s Fabian! Today we went skiing in Minnesota. It took us two hours to get there. Even if it was really cold and windy, we had a great time. It was lots of fun to watch the exchange students who never have been on skis. But they did really good for their first time. Everybody was able to leave the “bunny-hill” at the end. When we were on our on our way home we had a quick stop at Arby’s and McDonald’s to get our supper. I found it pretty mean that they left me at the gas station just because I had to wait for Dominik, who was in the bathroom. I figured out that there are no snow free side-walks in Minnesota while trying to get back to the bus! Fabian, the cooler German! ;)

Our final day here on our ski trip was inevitably filled with skiing... WHO'D HAVE THUNK IT? We woke up pretty early considering that we had only slept about 5 hours that night. Most of us slept on the 2 hour drive to the resort. Even though this was the first time I had ever skiing, I ended up being pretty good. All of the foreigners who had been skiing before helped us newbies out they were really good teachers. I really enjoyed the entire weekend and am glad that I was able to go and meet all of the people that I met. Andrew

STS Ski Trip Day 2

Howdy Family and Friends! It's another cold but sun shining day here in ND and once again the students have shared their thoughts on sledding here! Read all about it below!

Hey, it`s Edith..The second day of our ski trip was so much fun!! We went sledding and I got really wet, but we still had an amazing time! After the sledding we went home and changed into warm clothes, then we went to a Coffee shop, where we met a Reporter from the local Newspaper…After that we went to the Pizza Ranch and ate a lot of delicious Pizza J Edith

Hello! This is Cassandra. This was our first whole day here in ND, and we had so much fun sledding. It got really wet, but I guess I made up for today’s basketball practice I missed, by running up the hill, it wasn’t that hard though. Then we ate at pizza ranch and it was good. Right now we’re playing games and eating amazingly good caramelized popcorn! Cassandra- The Swede

Wuhuu, this is Fabian! When I woke up today it was almost time for lunch…. We had an awesome lunch, made by Grandma and Grandpa Busch. Thanks!! After lunch we went sledding. We had lots of fun, but at the end Dominik became injured and had to go to the hospital. So we had to move on without Dominik to our interview with the local news reporter. We had a cool interview, and luckily Dominik could join us for the group picture later. The day ended with a nice supper at the Pizza ranch… Yummy!

This is Shelby the native from Nebraska. Last night was really fun! All the kids stayed up until 3 am taking turns saying phrases and words in their own language. We Americans picked out things for them to say. Then after waking up, our amazing host and hostess had set breakfast out for us to eat whenever we got around to it. After taking a coldish shower, I headed upstairs and we played cards and did magic tricks until lunch. Lunch was another amazing dish made by the fantastic hosts. After lunch everyone got all their warmest clothes on and we piled in the bus to go to the sledding hill. Sledding was very fun and very cold but afterward we went to a cute coffee shop and we were interviewed by a woman from the newspaper. Then we went to Pizza Ranch!!

This is Charlyne from France. I was really tired this morning because we went to bed at 3am. I had so much fun today! We played in the snow and after that, we went to a coffee shop. We were interviewed by the newspaper, it is the first time for me! Then, we came back home and we said some words in every language. We ate pizza and we are going to play some games… I enjoy this trip so much because I am with so many awesome peoples.

This is Maria from Denmark. Yesterday night we stayed up kind a late and I didn’t really get much sleep, but of course I had enough energy for sledding. It was fun, I had done that for a while, and it felt good to be a kid again. Afterwards we went to the coffee shop to have an interview with the newspaper in North Dakota. Supper was at a pizza buffet place it was delicious!! And now I am standing here in a noise, because the other are playing a really loud game called spoon. It gets pretty wild!!

It’s already the second night here in North Dakota. I just love it here. It is so much fun and it helps me a lot to forget that Le Shai is gone. It helps me to talk to the other exchanche students and I think I found some really good new friends. We do a lot of things here, like today we went sliding (however you call it ;)). I also teached the others how to play the game “Werwoelfeln” its so much fun! We also teach each other our language what is so funny! I hope it stays like that! – Megan

Day 2 of Ski trip to ND: It wasn’t as cold today, (0 degrees!) although we did go sledding for a few hours and my toes felt like they could be severed off by the end of it. But then, we went to a coffee shop to warm up and talked to a newspaper reporter about the students. For supper, we ate at the Pizza Ranch which was very delicious and from then on it has been nothing but playing games, speaking languages, learning about each other, and a lot of yelling (right now we are playing pit/spoons) Tomorrow, skiing!!
--Joy (The American)

Well its day 2 now and I just love it here. I woke up when it was time for lunch J. After that awesome lunch which was prepared by Grandma and Grandpa Busch, we went sledding down a street. That was a lot of fun but at the end I crashed and was injured at the chin. It was bleeding a lot, so I went to the hospital with Jen. The doctor was very kind and glued my chin back together. I missed the first hour of an interview, but I returned when they were taking the pictures. After that we ate supper at Pizza Ranch and now we are playing spoons and we are having a lot of fun. :D --- Dominik (from Germany)

Hi! This is Marita. This day has just been great! We’ve been sledding, had an interview, ate at Pizza Ranch and played a lot of spoons. It has just been awesome. I am really looking forward to skiing tomorrow, and for the rest of this trip. I hope everyone are enjoying themselves as much as me!
- Marita, from Norway.

Hey, this is Ilaria! Today was awesome! After taking a shower we had a delicious lunch. Later we went out sledding and it has been really cold! I had already seen snow in Italy but never that much and never that temperature! At 4 we went to a coffee shop where we had an interview. For supper we went to Pizza Ranch…Pizza was not bad but nothing compared to Italian pizza! Tonight we played spoons and right now hide and seek! –Ilaria (Italy)

Hello everybody!!! Here is Rebecca. Second day is almost in the end, but was a amazing and memorable day. We wake up, had a good breakfast and then a delicious lunch and we went sledding! Was my first time in this adventure but I love it! Was cold but we had a lot of fun together. Then we went to a coffee shop for an interview which was great and finally we went to supper in a place called Pizza Ranch which is really good with a lot of kinds of pizza and others foods. Now we are playing a incredible game called spoons and doing some fun things all together! This is was excellent and and I love everything ! I’m so excited for tomorrow for going skiing! Rebecca from Brazil!

Hey, it’s Andrew again. Today has been a day filled with lots of fun, and too much cold. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being here in North Dakota. The one thing that wasn’t so great was the fact that my roommates found it to be a good idea to stay up until 5:00AM. We went sledding, went to an awesome coffee shop, ate at Pizza Ranch, and played lots of games, including night hide-and-seek, and spoons. It’s been really enjoyable so far, but I’m really looking forward to finally skiing tomorrow.

From our slightly cold sledding picture window to yours, have a great day!

STS Ski Trip Day 1, 2014

Howdy Family and Friends~
Welcome to our blog--this time from my foreigners! We have made a very cold, fun, LONG trip to North Dakota and soon to Minnesota to go skiing! So, here's to Day 1 for our STS Trip!

Hey there, this is Dominik and we went up to North Dakota for our skiing trip. The ride up there was pretty fun and I met a lot of new, awesome people. We had a lot of fun in the bus… when we arrived, we brought our stuff in the house and warmed up. Then we took some pictures and now I’m writing that blog… Dominik J

Hey, this is Fabian. Today we arrived in North Dakota, after an eight hour trip. The tour was pretty fun, we played lots of games and talked a lot, but it also was cold. At the time we arrived I couldn’t feel my feet anymore… Now everything is fine again, the house of Dave’s parents is nice and warm…. Fabian J

Hello everybody!!! My name is Rebecca and I’m from Brazil!! We made it!!!! Yeahh! This trip going to be awesome and my first ski adventure. Memories for the entire life that will never end… It’s so cold! I’m freezing! I can’t feel my body anymore, but it’s ok! This is part of my dream! Thanks Jen and Dave for this amazing trip that is only in the beginning !!! Xoxo… Becca

Hi! This is Marita, the weird Norwegian. The bus trip was long, but we survived! I’ve had a lot of fun already, and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the trip. It is super cold right now, almost 17 below 0.. But it’s okay! These people are amazing, and I hope I will keep in touch with them for a long time. – Marita

Hey! This is Cassandra. The day started with that me and my host mom had to wait for the bus for 45 min, basically because we were early. I was really nervous, but when I got on the bus everyone was so nice, and we had so much fun, just during the bus ride, so I bet we’ll have a lot of fun! – Cassandra

Hello! This is Charlyne from France. I was on the bus at 4:00p.m because I went to a drama camp to see Shelby’s performance. By the way, she is my host sister. The trip was not really bad and was not so long. We played games on the bus and it was fun! The bad thing is that I just realized that I forgot a lot of things like clothes and this is not fun! – Charlyne

Hi, this is Ilaria and I’m from Italy. This is the first day in North Dakota… I’m so happy! Before leaving I was quite nervous because I didn’t know anyone but as soon as the bus left I met all of the others people and I really had a funny trip! We played games and laughed a lot! I can’t wait to spend other three days with them! –Ilaria

Hi, this is Edith from Austria. We started our trip at 14:30pm and we had a long drive to North Dakota…But we had a lot of fun in the bus, playing games even though it was really cold because the doors kept opening..I`m really looking forward to spending three more days with those awesome people!-Edith

Hey! This is Emma from Finland. It’s the first day of our skiing trip and I’m excited. After an 8-hour bus drive I’m happy to feel my body again. It was freezing! But it was all worth it, we had a lot of fun and I’ve become closer with everyone. It’s nice to get to know the people better and I’m looking forward to the next few days! –Emma

Hi! This is Maria from Denmark. I am so exited for the next couple of days, because I have never tried to ski before or been such a cold place. The bus trip to North Dakota was really interesting and pretty long. We learned fast each other better to know and I only looking forward to the next couple of days, its going to be awesome! – Maria

This is Joy and I’m from Broken Bow, U.S. Today is the first day of the ski trip and I’m very excited! We just got to Lisbon after 8 hours on a very freezing bus ride, so we are all very glad for the warmth! I feel like I have gotten to know everyone a lot better, and I can’t wait to go skiing on Friday! Also it is -18 degrees right now and getting colder. –Joy

This is Megan Wenger from Switzerland. The first day of the ski trip was awesome. We drove 8 hours and 12 minutes to Lisbon North Dakota. We played a lot of funny games during this long drive. It is very cold here and at the moment we are watching The Hobbit or playing cards. I like it!

This is Shelby Castor from Ericson Nebraska and I think making me blog is crazy because I am not an exchange student. *cough Jen cough* But I met the “party bus” in Atkinson and joined all the students in the freezing bus. But thankfully I got the seat right above the heater, so I was fineJ Dave’s parents have so kindly let us stay in their house. (Which is a crazy thing for them to do) And I am very thankful for that! But I’m very excited to go out in the frozen tundra and sled and ski and try not to break a leg! - Shelby

Hey, it’s Andrew Fields from Ord, NE. I had a great time coming up here on the bus. It was a decent drive with 8 hours of hanging with a bunch of foreigners playing Mafia and Truth or Dare. I met a lot of pretty cool people and I’m really glad that Jen let me come up with the group. Dave’s parents are so nice and extremely hospitable. The one complaint is the weather… it’s WAY too cold. I’ve been used to about 20 degrees Fahrenheit and it was about -15 all the way up here. I can’t wait to have a nice relaxing day tomorrow, and then go skiing on Friday. – Willy D.

From our fun filled COLD travel day to yours, have a great night~!