"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~!

Kelsey Grace Busch

Howdy Friends and Family,

For those of you who follow on Facebook, you have probably noticed that we added a new addition to our family! No, this little one did not come to us through adoption, she is a true blue Busch with a very unique birth story!

Let's start at the beginning...It only takes one time...and on the morning of February 11, through a home pregnancy test, I found out I was pregnant! I was quite shocked as was Dave. We thought after Jalise that we were done with having children. Needless to say, we weren't.

We had decided that we wanted to try a midwife for the pregnancy and delivery after talking with friends and so on March 26th, we had our first doctor appointment. We met Barb, the midwife and felt very comfortable with her. Baby's heartbeat was 173...we were so excited to hear the heartbeat for the first time and Barb was pretty sure it was going to be a girl...

On May 13, I felt this baby move for the first time. I was so excited! Life~! May 30th was the Ultrasound. The whole family was present...and the doctor confirmed that he thought the baby was a girl.

The month of June came and we decided that it would be a good idea to tell our parents. When I told my Mom, she did the Happy Grandma Dance across her living room. She said she knew it! I asked her how and she said that she was looking at a picture and just had this strong suspicion that I was. I told her that she could tell Dad as I was not sure how he would respond! He was of course happy too!

I worked the summer at Camp and during the third week Dave found a comic and showed my boss Toby. At first, Toby was like, "Ok?..." Dave then pointed at me and it dawned on him. He gave Dave and I a huge hug. During one of the staff meetings, a dorm leader shared a very serious testimony that brought tears to our eyes...I nonchalantly said "Sorry if I am a little emotional right now." Toby and Dave looked at each other and smiled. I said, "Would you two knock it off? Yes, I am pregnant," and without missing a beat moved on in the meeting. It took a while for those in the room to catch on, but it slowly hit.

We saw the midwife again in July and August and everything was good. Heartbeat was 147. We saw her in September and the heartbeat was 134. She kept saying this sounds like a boys heartbeat...and all of a sudden I wasn't sure what to think. Our next appointment was scheduled for October 3. At this time, I was barely showing. Some friends didn't even know that I was pregnant and thought that I had ust gained some weight.

I had braxton hicks contractions off and on over those next couple of weeks. Nothing worth talking about. I was worried though because our exchange student's birthday was Oct. 1 and my sister's birthday was Oct. 2. I kept praying, "Lord, let me make it through those two days. October 3 is a good day..." Well, I think he heard my prayers.

October 2, I woke up in the morning and contractions were 45 minutes apart. Throughout the day, I would have one but nothing that I was concerned about. I was able to talk and smile through them so no big deal, right? We took the kids to Awanas and my back had been a little sore. Dave and I decided to go out for a drive to the lake to see what the water level was like and watch a storm blow in. We drove around and I told him that I was ready to go home and take a bath to see if my back would quit hurting. That was 8:10 p.m. I climbed in the tub and began to relax. I noticed that my contractions were a little stronger and closer--about 12 minutes apart.

Dave got home from picking up the kids and checked in on me and I told him that we should call my Mom and tell her to have her bag packed. That was around 9:30. At 10:06 we called her back and told her that she should get on the road. Dave told her that maybe she could convince me to leave for the hospital. The contractions were 8 minutes apart. In the mean time, I crawled out of the tub and sat in the chair in the living room to wait for them to arrive.

They got to the house around 11. By this time the contractions were right on top of each other and I had maybe a 30 second break. Dave drug me out of the house and into the front seat of the car. We were headed for Hastings which is 105 miles away. I remember looking over and he was driving rather fast. We got to the Ord corner and he asked me if I wanted to go to Ord hospital. I said absolutely not. Keep going. We have time. So we kept going.

25 Miles down the road Dave asked me again, "Do you want to stop in St. Paul or keep going?" I told him of course to keep going because my water hadn't broke and I had not lost my plug. At 11:56 p.m. he called in to Hastings to tell them that we were coming and they said they would be waiting for us. Little did we know how fast this was going to take place. At midnight Dave said, "Hey you made it to the 3rd." We laughed and he kept driving--quite fast!

At 12:02 I looked at Dave and said, "UH OH!" He said, "NO UH OH!" I screamed, "PULL THIS CAR OVER NOW, THIS BABY IS COMING!" Dave kept up the speed and screamed back, "Are you sure?" I responded, "YES!" I grabbed the visor as my body had now gone into involuntary pushing and promptly put it back as I knew I would break it. I firmly planted my hands into the roof of the car and stood up, groaned with the pain and the next thing I knew I heard my water break and I was quickly trying to catch the baby's legs as she was on her way to the floor! I did catch her and as I sat down Dave's right hand came off the steering wheel and helped lift her head and he helped to place her in my lap! It was 12:03 a.m. October 3, 2013. We were 1.5 miles North of Elba, Nebraska. We had just experienced a true high speed delivery in more ways than one!

Dave promptly pulled over on the side of the road at the approach of Hwy. 11 and 19th Ave. and our birth photographer Jamie pulled up behind us and asked what was wrong. I looked at her and said, "We didn't make it. We had a baby!" We were all so shocked we didn't quite know what to do. Dave then called 911 and told them that we had delivered a baby and that we were on our way to the hospital in St. Paul and to please let them know. We took off again, and only after getting back up to speed did he realize that he had not rolled up my window and we hadn't checked to make sure it was a girl. I checked and sure enough Kelsey Grace had been born.

About 5 minutes has passed and Howard County Dispatch called back and asked Dave if we needed any medical assistance. He told them no because by the time they got to us in the ambulance, we would be in St. Paul. He did ask them if they could give us directions to the hospital. As they are giving Dave the directions I began to deliver the placenta. By the time we get to St. Paul I was completely done with the labor and delivery process.

After missing one corner we got to the hospital and Dave drove into the ambulance bay and out came an OB nurse pushing a wheel chair. Dave opened my door and the nurse looked at me, looked at the chair and said, "This isn't going to work!" Several other nurses have now met us out in the bay and just aren't sure what to do! The one nurse asked, "What are we going to do?" I looked at her and said, "Seriously? Here. Take my baby." She then takes Kelsey and starts to run away, but not before stopping to ask, "OH! Are you still attached?" I told her no and another nurse stepped in and took the placenta and they ran down the hall! I told Dave and Jamie to follow them. Another nurse then stepped in and said to me, "How are we going to get you out of the car?" I looked at her again and thought oh please. I said, "I am going to get out of the car. Where do you want me to go?" She responded, "But you just had a baby!" I said back, "Exactly. I just had a baby! I am not dying here!" I proceeded to climb out of the car and sit down on the gurney. They then ran me down the hall to the room to be with Kelsey and Dave.

Upon arriving in my room they again posed the question, "How are we going to get you onto the bed?" I am pretty sure I rolled my eyes at them and said, "Just like this. I hopped off the gurney and onto the bed. I think I floored those nurses. While all this is taking place, I must say St. Paul is a qualified hospital and we received excellent care! It was a lot of fun to see 6 nurses try to help take care of myself and Kelsey. Needless to say, we were the talk of the hospital. It isn't very often that you have a baby in the front seat of Red 4 door Chevy Impala at a very HIGH rate of speed. That car will never be the same.

From my windshield to yours, have a great week!

Minnesota Day 3!

Howdy family and friends! It's the last full day here in Minnesota--bittersweet! Today found me out in downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis site seeing. I went to the Science Museum with Philip, rode the public transportation bus and train system, went to the Viking Stadium, and of course, the water park...but enough from me, here's what the rest of them had to say!

Philip says that he really enjoyed the day, because other than everybody else, he didn’t spend the whole day in the mall or waterpark! I went to downtown St.Paul with Jen which was really cool and I got to see the city which was really important for me! Then we went on the bus to Minneapolis to see the other twin city, while Jen was getting mad at me because she thought I had no clue where we were. Then we rode the tram back to the Mall, went to the water park which was too crowded. Afterwards we took the cab of the other hotel back to the mall! Then we ate at Hooters and went home!

CC –double C here- WOW more shopping, I gotta stop!! Someone has to take my card away from me! BUT on the other hand, I bought prom shoes! And they are AMAZING!!! SPARKLING like diamonds. I hope my date is tall enough.. and then I bought a lot more, but let’s not talk about that.. Joy and I went to take rides today, but ended up only taking one. ONE!!!! Because of all the people, yes, it was the perfect day to go to the mall.. Saturday… But it was worth it, great ride! AND THEN, ON THE ROAD AGAIN.

Today we did a WHOLE day of shopping! From 10am till 10pm. I bought so much, but it’s all really cute, and I couldn’t buy it in New Zealand. Again we got lost in the mall, and the maps are horrible. Tomorrow we have long road trip back to look forward to. Im going to sleep in the car, im so tied. But this trip has been really fun – Olivia

Today, again mall, again shopping… Last day it s sad ! I just want stay with all the ES … It was so fun, even the water park was kind of too much but, it was really nice. We took 30 minutes to decide where we eat, but it was really fun ! Tonie

We were shopping again and we were in the Water Park. It was a lot of fun :D Today is the last day and I’m really sad, because I will miss all these pretty nice guys, my new friends! Thank you for this amazing weekend! Heli

Angela-WOOOWWW!! I think I am totally crazy today!! Me, Olivia and Bell had a wonderful time!! Holy crap, I really got to stop shopping! I bought one of those amazing shoes! We went to some really nice restaurants! Suchi! Steak! My favorite!! I spent a lot on food too! Anyway, we did enjoy our days here, we are leaving tomorrow, now I think I am in love with this place, I gonna miss it so much! BTW, the mall is so big, so I think I spend half of the day finding shops! I think I am loosing weight, just kidding. Anyway, I love it! So much fun! I know this trip is going to be one of my best memories!

Joy – Today was amazing! – Really exhausting but equally amazing! But tbh after three days power shopping I am ready to go home to my mommy and daddy! I honestly had a super great time with super great people! A big thank you to everybody!

Alessio – It was a very good day, I’m so tireeeeeed! I’m happy to be here with everyone else. Thank you Jen.

I’m shopping with Olivia and Angela all day today and I’m so crazy because “I ate too much SUGAR” ermmmm… nothing to share. I’m so tired and I don’t want to walk now!! I bought a lot of stuff for my brother and sister in Thailand. I think my blog is so confusing because I’m so tired. GOODNIGH MN---bell

From our very tired, yet very memorable picture window to yours, have a great day!

Minnesota! Day 2

Howdy Friends and Family! Welcome to Day 2 of our blog! What a fun day we had! The students are full of surprises about their experiences and it has definitely been a day of memories...from crazy lunch at a place called Dick's Last Resort to being called by MOA Security because Mr. Italy can't produce an American form of ID since he is in the mall after 4 with out someone over the age of 21 to riding on the roller coaster with Miss China for her very first time!~

It’s so fun today because we all have time to SHOPPING and we played roller coaster and other things which is so fun and also scary. At night I go to the pool and swim with other kids which is hard for me to remember their name. Tired today but so fun !!! I love the restaurant that we went to eat for lunch by the way ! hahhaha so funnnnnn– bell
Cece and Joy on a secret mission tromme virvel, the perfect shopping team!!! We lost our heads again, shopping like there is no tomorrow. Just gotta love it, right there, js. Im not gonna lie! Jk.

Philip says that the mall was okay today, he even bought some stuff. Never thought that’s gonna happen…. The rides were really a lot of fun, and I’m totally tired now, so I’m done.


Today we planned on doing shopping all day. But really ended up spending most of the day at the aquarium and themepark. But somehow I still managed to buy a lot. The best part of the day was lunch and we were at a restaurant that “served with sarcasm”. You really had to be there. – Olivia

Heli: It was soo awesome today! The whole day shopping shopping and shopping! Toni and I take picture and bought a lot of pretty clothes. My feed are died, but it was perfect. We were eating in a nice Restaurant all together, it was fun!

Angela: WOOOOOWWWWW!!!! Jesus!!!! Today is my first time get on the roller coaster!!! It is full of fun!!!! I feel like I gonna die!!! Anyway, I survived! LOL! The most impressive thing I have experienced is the restaurant we went this noon, so much fun with the waiter, you really need to go and experience!! Shopping is also the best part for me! I AM A HUGE FAN OF SHOPPING!! Of course, I made a success today! WOOOHOOO!!! Holy crap, it seems like I got a best day ever!! I love the Mall of America! I enjoyed it a lot!!! Tomorrow is going to be a greaaaatt day too, I bet!! Anyway, thank you my host mom and Jen, because of you, I have enough courage to go on all different kinds of roller coaster! It was exciting!!

Alessio: it was so fun! I’m so tired now. We had an amazing lunch, a lot of shopping and a wonderful hot tub. But I’m here to try everything right? So I got caught, just because I didn’t have my passport with me. GOOD NIGHT! You bought it! BING BONG


Tonie : You know, when you are a little girl and you dreamt about big shops, HUDGE shops … American did it … Right I don’t feel my feet anymore but doesn’t matter. Spend time with people who understand you is just awersome… I m just a shopping addict person so, Mall of America is the paradise ! And the end of day with the hot tub Amazing … Now let me sleep in peace and let my feet die in peace !

From our very tired, full of memories picture window to yours, have a great day!

Goodbye Nebraska...Hello Minnesota!

Howdy Family and Friends! On the road again...just can't wait to get back on the road again...oh wait! 10 hours in the car with foreigners and loud music--this girl can! But the memories that we will make...priceless! Once again the students will be sharing their view of the day with you so enjoy!

Besides the long drive, today has been great. The Mall of America was amazing. So many shops that I have never heard of. I can’t wait to go shopping tomorrow. – Olivia McRobbie

It takes a long drive to come to MN but we did it !!!! we go to mall of America which is huge! I’m so excited to go to that mall again so I can buy clothes and other stuff which I already plan. Now, is 11:09 PM but we still waiting to eat pizza for supper !! we are starving !!! I love this trip by the way--- Bell

Ok, 10 hours of road, too much for me but be with other foreign exchange students is amazing. They just understand what are you feeling . Being is MN, is just awesome, because is the first time I really see a “city”. Mall of America, is hudge. Either way everything is hudge and bigger in Usa. I enjoy every seconds of this trip ! Antonine

Cece – WOW! I LOVE THE MALL OF AMERCIA! It’s a girl’s dream, I want to live here!! Is that legal? Traveling from burwell all the way to MINNESOTA was totally worth it!!! AND having Joy in the car with made everything just so much better! It’s sad to think of that this is the last trip we are gonna have together as the group, but let’s not be sad!!! WE ARE YOUNG, WILD AND FREE.

JOY – The mall of America is pretty darn intense! Just gotta love it! Can’t wait to go back tomorrow! Cec and me are a perfect shopping team! Not gonna lie, right there!
ALESSIO – I can tell you that stay with 7 girls in the Mall of America it is pretty intense. I never thought that the Mall was so hugeeeeee! CULTURE SHOCK!
The travel was a lot of fun. We talk about all our new expressions  Minnesota is awesome! It is the first real “city” I visit in America and I love it! Spend the night in the ‘Mall of America’ with all pretty nice people. I love shopping and I thing we have a amazing time here! - Heli -

Angela: BEST SHOPPOING TRIP EVER!!!! WOW! I know I am going to like this place. Though we had a long driving day, we still made a great time! Being in MN, is just amazing! Honestly, I am a big fan of shopping, tomorrow is going to super awesome! Love all of you exchange students! I hope I can make more memories here!! Too much fun, too much love.lol!!!

Philip says that the drive took forever, but we’re in the US, that’s okay. The first trip to the mall was okay, although I really cannot understand why all the girls are freaking out sooooooooo bad. Oh well, I’ll never understand……….. The rides tomorrow are gonna be fun, but we did the “worst” one today and it kinda wasn’t really bad at all.

And now me, Jen...what can I say, driving, having to stop so they can go potty because Mr. Italy is doing the potty dance in my front seat---even Jalise doesn't dance that good, ya, those are memories for me! From my foreign picture window to yours, have a great day!

Christmas Break, Sledding and Skiing with the foreigners!

Howdy family and friends! It's another foreigner blog! This time we write to you from the great state of North Dakota where we are only half our group, but having a great time in the snow!

Alessio- So happy to be here, I decided at the last minute to come here, but I’m so glad I decided to go. Yesterday was looooong, because of the nearly 8 hours we spent in the car. When we arrived here we had a super supper. After supper we tried to watch a movie, I’m saying try because I fell asleep after the first 10 minutes. This morning I woke up at noon and it was awesome. In the afternoon we went to sledding hill and I had a fight with Jen, I definitely won! After that we went to a coffee shop and we had dinner at the local Pizza Ranch. Now we are doing the interview for Tanner, and it is so fun to learn so much stuff from every country. BE BEEEE BEEEEEEEE

Cece/the best foreigner ever - we are finally doing something as a group again! Yesterday was long, but to spend nearly eight hours in a car with a bunch of foreigners and then there’s Jen/my American mom, is just so much fun. We arrived at our destination later than planned because of
GERMANY… but we’re not gonna go there. AND I MET GRANDPA FOR THE FIRST TIME, he is one cool man! He was also very good-looking as a senior! We played spoon, the first time for me! It’s a winner! Grandma and Grandpa Busch are amazing!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Simone – yesterday we went to Jens house and drove to North Dakota together. The ride was so much fun whit a lot of musik.. Today we have been sledding and eat at pizza range. We also went to a café, it was a nice place. They had a lot of nice dresses ect. Now we are doing an interview whit Tanner, it is a nice way to lean about others country’s.

Angela---The trip is just what I expected though yesterday’s trip is a long drive. Anyway, we are all here, really delicious food last night, I am appreciate. I was so sleepy because of a long drive, anyway I went to bed at midnight Today is awesome, I love it! Sledding! I really like to shout when I am going down the hills, we tried all kinds of ways to sledding! Yeah! A hot coffee after sledding, we even talked to local newspaper journalist, sometime I think being a journalist might be one of my dream jobs. All in all, pizza range for supper is a nice choice. THANK U SO MUCH! Another amazing part has to be that video. Students from different countries talking about their own culture and language, pretty awesome, because it is an amazing experience. I am looking forward having a great day tomorrow!

Jess- After a peaceful long trip up, an amazing supper and an intense game of spoons our first day came to an end. Then a new day started, a fun filled day at that. We got to have a bit of a sleep in which I enjoyed greatly. We then had a delicious lunch and were off to have heaps and heaps of fun sledding down the hills AWESOME! Finishing the day off with an awesome meal at the Pizza Ranch.

Jonas- North Dakota, snow, skis, taking pictures of a sleeping Italian guy, having fun, eating pizza, getting ice cold snow in your warm face and drinking limonade in an espresso shop. We had/have so much fun! We aren’t so many exchange students this time as we were in the south Dakota trip. That’s great because so you really get to know each other very very good. Thank you Jen for taking me again to that trip!

Philip – I’m really enjoying my time here, it’s very interesting to talk about other countries with the other student, and the sledding was very cool too. I’m very excited for skiing tomorrow, and just can’t wait!

From our snow filled, interviewed by Tanner day to yours, have a great night!

South Dakota Day 3 From the Students Perspective

Howdy Family and Friends...what a day! Started out by waking up to foreigners extremely excited to see snow for the first time in their life! No words can describe the sounds I heard coming from them! EPIC!

Angela—Can u imagine that it snowed today! It is beautiful! We didn’t go bear country, but we did went to some awesome shops! I bought really yummy chocolate! Horay! And going to the mall this afternoon is the best part for me today! Me and Mrs. Barker and Mr. Barker really had a good time! I just cant stop buying all those shinny stuffs! Anyway, I did enjoyed a lot! It was a niceeeeeeeeeee day! I love it!
Joy – day 3 – survived, didn’t even fall down, didn’t freeze to death. Success!
Sid: This day began with snow and very tough driving on the road, just so scary. We froze all day, but it was still very nice and we felt so Europeans in the House of Scandinavia, even eating sushis because going to Japanese restaurants is such a European thing!
Simone – Today we visited the house of scandinavia which I loved! I Bought a lot of Christmas stuff and Danich food. We ate great food today I got sushi it was delicious..
Frenchie : day 3 with snow. So exciting ! The museum, the house of Scandinavia, the slide park. It was so much fun to spend the day in the swimming pool and look at the snow outside. I lost my phone on the morning so well I miss something. But I’m gonna survive !
Bell- I love water park do muchhhhhhh I have so much fun there. I love this day and I love SNOW !!
Diana: the waterpark is so amazing! I almost die there!!! But that is all right cuz I have my life saveior-Bell with me!! I am so sad I didn’t go there last year and see what I missed last year! But I am happy I didn’t go last year so all the things are new for me today! I hate climbing upstairs. I think I climbed at least 30 times today! And it was so cool to see everyone swimming inside while outside is snowing!
Philip: I’m tired…. Day 3 was real cool too, getting up wasn’t cool at all. I think we started at the Journey Museum, that was really interesting and you saw a lot about the life of Indians. Then we drove to the Norwegian Chapel in the hills. It was officially closed, anyhow that didn’t keep me, Cece and Angela from walking up there to take some pictures. After that we headed up to House of Scandinavia, where I spent 25 bucks on sweets. That’s just me lol. Bear Country was closed which upset me a lot, always wanted to hug a *real* bear. Then we headed for lunch, where I quietly sneaked away from our group to have lunch with Tim’s mum and sister at one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been at. Nobody could wait to go to the Watiki water park, which was great fun and real good at making me exhausted. Afterwards we cruised around forever to find a place to eat, finally I got to go to that awesome Japanese restaurant a second time. The cook was far better the first time! Then we got ice cream at some ice cream place, which was/is real good too. This best blog entries of all now ends with me questioning myself why I always write so much, it’s just work……….

Jonas: 17 people… white stuff is coming from the sky… adventure… one mission: Having FUN! When we watched out of the window today morning, everybody still had the cold feelings of dark winter month… OUT OF SARA AND MELINA! They jumped around and enjoyed this white “wonder”. “Jurney Museum”, “Stavkirke”, “Scandinavia Shop”, Lunch at Tacco Bell, Watiki water park and this AMAZING dinner! Everything was great and we had the opposite of “no funny”. I don’t want to repeat everything what the other students wrote but I had just a wonderful day and I really want to say thank you Jenn that she took such a small german boy with on this trip. Good night Nebraska, good morning Germany!
Jess- Survived day 3, had an awesome time! I loved seeing snow for the 2nd time in my life this stuff is amazing. It was a little cold but we thought the cold was the best weather go swimming. The pool was the highlight of my day! All very fun! The Japanese food was delicious but once again a kids meal was too big. The Journey museum was also very informative, I enjoyed it a great deal, I got to experience a side saddle, very uncomfortable and I’m glad chicks don’t ride horses like that! Everyone found out my phobia of bird, Jen thought it was funny, I did not! HAHA awesome day! 
Alex- everyone is so romantic, by using wonderful words! I’m sorry but it’s 1.18 a.m. and I was sleeping just before this!  the only thing that I can do now is describe Jen in this moment; she is sleeping sitting on the chair, this days killed her. Everything was perfect and it was just for her! Nothing can stop her, the snow tried this morning though, but she won! Good job jen we love you!
Cece: Day three is over, well not over-over but we are getting there. THIS MORNING IT SNOWED!! Since we are all foreigners, we knew that some of us probably didn’t have seen snow before, like Sara, that was hilarious!!!! she freaked out and started running in the snow and made a snow-angel, me on the other hand was inside or walking calmly beside the kids. I do not like snow! Today’s program: visiting a museum. Breaking in to a Norwegian stavkirke, the gates were closed and the Norwegian in me said: go in!!! we also went to a Scandinavian store!!!!! Denmark and I went nuts and decided to buy a lot of food and stuff you need that you can’t get around here. And from there on we were supposed to go to this bear something, but that was closed because of the bad weather so we decided to go to a water park. That was awesome!! I loved it. You can’t think that that’s the end of the day.. when you are on a Jen-Trip it never ends. Japanese, Sushi grill was for supper today!!!YUM, let’s just put it that way. I finally got my sushi in America.. I will be satisfied for days!!
Sara: The only thing I recall from this day was the snow… It actually snowed!! And it was sooo much fun!! We had a snowball fight, tried to make a snowman, it was extremely awesome!! I will always remember this trip as the best one ever!!

From our last day in South Dakota...goodnight South Dakota, Nebraska, Good morning rest of the world! Have a great day!

South Dakota Day 2 From the Students perspective!~

Howdy Family and Friends! Today was a day of adventure in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Keystone area! From my seat in the suburban, the roads were hard to see as it was SO foggy outside! Thank goodness for Joy--my copilot--who told me when corners were coming up and which way they would be turning. It was almost impossible to see the end of the front of the suburban!

Jonas: Mount Rushmore was just amazing. The whole story, the background and the implementation is just impressive. And I taught this 4 heads would be big… but then there was this “crazy horse”. Just the whole day was brilliant. Well… after 3 hours sleep last night, of course everybody was/is very tired but I think we still could enjoy this freezing, but wonderful, “South Dakota Day”!
Cece: Where to start? Well.. First of all, after the minimum hours of sleep we got last night we managed to get out of the door a little after than we were supposed to, but what are late nights with foreigners really about? Other than being extremely exhausted and also being very excited at the same time, we were at Mt. Rushmore, which was just like in the movies, GREAT, and visiting “Crazy Horse” was crazy big. I had a fun day and have gotten to experience a lot of what South Dakota has to offer!
Alessio: ciao, now I can say that South Dakota is not a boring state :D we had a lot of fun! We were at a museum , at dinosaur park, it was cooooooooold. We are having wonderful time, I can’t wait for tomorrow!
Philip: sooooooo…….. this day really was awesome. Gettin outta the bed wasn’t too much fun, after 4 hours of sleep, but it was worth the struggle! Dinosaur Park was – cold. Guess one has a real nice view on Rapid City from up there, but no, it has to be foggy…….. Anyway the dinosaurs were cool and the iceskating was too! The wildlife museum we went to was also cool, got a lotta pictures I could never get in nature – I know it’s cheating…. Then we drove to Keystone, which was kinda funny. It was foggy – I fell asleep – I woke up again – Fog was gone! Well the little village in the valley was sooooooo beautiful and had some real classical western buildings, like they have em in the movies. The cheap souvenir shop was cool too, just because it was cheap! And that candy shop – ohhhh I wanna live there! Anyway, after that we drove up to the faces, the landscape becoming cooler the further you drive. The guy who told us about the monument was real good, and the 4 presidents were even better! It’s much cooler than in any movies, but I guess everything you see yourself is better than in movies. I still just cannot get the idea of climbing up there outta my brain – To-Do list! Then we drove to Crazy Horse Memorial. The landscape fascinated me so much that I thought “I’m gonna be back in 10 years on a bike!”. Would love to do that right now. Since the memorial is still work-in-progress and will be that for a loooooooong time, the actual monument wasn’t too interesting, but the museum with the story about the guy who started it all and the display of tools they use was really interesting. Since Sara can’t wait to get her fingers on this computer, and I’ve written way too much anyway, that’s it from me!
Sara: So many amazing things happened today that it’s very difficult to summarize all the awesomeness that happened, but I’ll try. First, who wakes up at 8am after sleeping for only 3 hours? Seriously Jen, we’re teenagers, we need to sleep!! Second, I love the dinosaurs! And there was ice in the trees!! ICE IN THE TREES!!! Isn’t that extremely amazing?? I don’t think I could ever see that in Brazil… Third, the cruel animal museum… I don’t even want to comment on that. Fourth, Mt. Rushmore… How amazing, definitely the highlight of our SD trip! It was sooo much more than I could ever expect. It’s just incredible to see such a great monument and learn a little bit more about American history. Fifth, The crazy horse thingee… I still don’t get that thing.. Why would you build something that big?? Hahahha It was fun though and Dave kinda creeped on us ;) And just to share my opinion, I don’t think those carvings will ever be done… And last but not least, sixth highlight of our day, t.g.i Fridays and the pool!! Just hanging out with my fellow exchange students is a blessing and getting to know them a little bit more makes me so happy!! Love you all <3
Jess: I had a fantastic day even if I was suffering from minimal sleep also. The Dinosours were awesome but the view from up there was even better! I enjoy the Outdoor place a great deal! Seeing all the American animals was so interesting except for the creepy birds hanging off the roof and scaring me! Mt. Rushmore was certainly the highlight of my day. The history and all the thought behind the mountain is incredible! I thought Mt. Rushmore was big, but was shocked when I saw the Crazy Horse. The museum there was very interesting and we were even stalked whilst visiting there! To top it off I had a lovely kiddies meal which was BIG! Awesome day!
Simone: I s had a fantastic day! This trip is amazing and I loved to see Mt. Ruschmore it’s was so big and I have always wanted to see it. But whats makes this so amazing is that we have so much fun toghter and that we are laughing all the time.
Joy: we had way too much fun! Our sightseeing tour was very successful even though it was REAL cold. Mt. Rushmore was overwhelming but I found Crazy Horse even better since the story going with the memorial is even more interesting.
Sid: Visiting all of those places we’ve seen so far is just fabulous. Especially because it is not very common for a foreigner to go to South Dakota just to visit Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse! It makes the trip even better to know we are so lucky. Those two places were majestic and wonderful. It is even cooler than in the movies! But it was still very cold outside! Being together is the funniest part of this trip and I love it!
Angela: What an amazing day I had! We went to the amazing dianosour park…hahaha. Actually I like MT.RUSHMORE the best! I learned a lot and did enjoyed myself! Crazy Horse is also cool! I did saw a lot of things that China does not have. Well, guess what, I like my dinner!! It is sooooooo yummy!!! The best dished I had ever!! I am so happy today!! Expecting a new day comes!!
Bell: it was a awesome day ! I take a lot of picture and I love dianosour park so much !!! because it was very cold !! and that’s my first time to saw ice on the tree. AMAZING!! I love it and I always keep thinking when it snow, how’s is look like…. Love it !
Diana: I like dinasour very much because of the snow! It was so fun to see the snow on every piece of leaf. And the Mt. Rushmore is cool, too. I like the Outdoor campus west a lot! The animals look so real!!!
Frenchie : It was a niceeeee day ! …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Yes it was fabulous ! We saw dinosaurs, it doesn’t happen every day. I took pictures of Sara, my incredible sister, seeing ice on the tree for the very first time ! That was really sad to see stuffed animals. Poor innocent animals but still cuuute. Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse was amazing. And I obviously I enjoyed taking pictures of everybody. I found my job 

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

South Dakota Day 1 from the students perspective!

Howdy family and friends! Today we embarked on an adventure of a lifetime...or shall I say, meeting of the nations! The STS exchange students plus one (Jonas) and 3 adults left Burwell to drive to Rapid City, SD. Here are a few of their thoughts about the trip this far. (We passed the computer around the room to get their thoughts on the day so far!

IHOP Cece
best place ever Sara
Chocolate cake…Adam Barker
Super clean hotel! Diana
The pool was awesome, it was hot and cold, Cece
Sara loved the waterslide,

Sara!! Jen is sooo awesome!! Hahahaha Love you…
Adam Schaefer…… I love you ilove you I love you. I love you I love you I love you… chocolate cake
Joy – we should have at least stopped one more time on the way up here (I almost peed my pants, bro!) eating pancakes at ihop was a great idea!
Melina – Frenchie says that we should do it forever. Let’s stay together. First evening was extremely awesome.
Sid – We should go on trip like this one all the time. This is so much fun. Gathering with all our STS group is just awesome!
-Alex Don’t eat the chocolate cake, I love you
Simone- This is so much fun! Love u
Diana- love the hotel sooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!
Angela-it is an awesome trip today! We had soooooooo much fun! Lov u Miss Jen!
Bell- AWESOME TRIP !!!! I love pancake !!
Cece- Norway says that ihop has the best pancakes in the world. I love our foreigners group AND MOST OF ALL I LOVE YOU, MAMMA
Jonas- Awesome, just awesome! Many people asked me “What is the perfect trip for you?” and I didn`t knew an answer. But now I can say: “THIS IS A TRIP! WITH JUST SO AWESOME PEOPLE!”
Philip: As everyone above said, it’s just AWESOME being in SD with a bunch of crazy kids and an even crazier Jen! If we would do that all the time – I would be in! I’ll be sleepy in school on Monday, well who cares!
Jess – Having the best time, love seeing another part of America, thank you Jen

Although the Thanks are great, its all about the students and providing an opportunity for them to see the world...one small piece at a time.

From OUR picture window to yours, have a great night!

Good bye Sweden and Ireland...

Howdy family and friends! This is the final blog post from the EU. Bitter sweet I must say. I truly miss my kids but will leave a piece of my heart in Sweden and Ireland! So many new memories made that I will cherish forever!

This morning found the alarm going off in Sweden before some of you were even thinking about going to bed in America! Of course it was raining. After dropping Julia off at school where she works, it was hard to hold back the tears that were so ready to fall from the eyes and wet the cheeks! For once I was glad that I was in the backseat and it was still semi-dark.

From there, Peder drove us to Skavsta to the airport to catch our plane.

Luckily for me, I was very tired so I caught a few more winks of sleep on the drive.

After saying the final good bye to him, we went through customs and passport checks again and boarded the 'lovely' RyanAir. This time we decided to sit in the back of the plane. (I don't recommend this option due to the smell of gasoline that comes from the wings.) Going up in the air, the flight was not so pleasant--quite turbulent to be honest. Dave and I snacked on our Swedish candy that we purchased yesterday in the grocery store and shared a set of headphones to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks on the ipod.

After landing in a much warmer and sunny Dublin, Ireland, we made our way right through passport checks and customs. Our flight even arrived early so we beat Blake and Katy to the airport!

They picked us up in their Speed The Light Car

and we drove into the City Center of Dublin. After dropping off our luggage Dave and I hit the streets on Dublin one last time to shop until our feet could handle no more walking. We probably walked over 3 miles today! That's a good shopping day! We enjoyed a great Irish meal for lunch together and then some very tasty ice cream before indulging in a late afternoon coffee time.

We took a final cruise in the EcoCab over to the spire and then made our way back to Blake and Katy's. Tonight we would celebrate Katy's birthday (which is tomorrow) and take them out for a meal of her choice! We found ourselves at a Pizza Restaurant. The pizza here is slightly different than what I serve at the Pizza Palace in Burwell. We had a pepperoni pizza--but theirs was much thicker--almost like a salami cut. The crust is super thin and the sauce has more of a home made taste. Overall very good!

We headed back to the apartment and had some evening sleepy tea...and now for my deep thought on that: How can Sleepy and Tea go together? Tea is usually caffeine and doesn't help one sleep until you add Chamomile... ??

From our final day in the EU to yours, have a great week!

Sweden Day 3--Rudolph for lunch...Last full day here...

Howdy friends and family!

Today we were able to sleep in! Such a nice treat again! After breakfast, Ann-Louise came to pick us up and take us to where she works. She works for the Airport Control Center. It was very interesting! We had to have a special pass just to get in the door. We were able to view the control center and even sit in a Military Control Center desk and see the planes in the sky, view their coordinates, and how that side works!

After finishing that tour, we went back to Peder's home to wait for him to finish working from home today. He then took us to Rosersberg Palace. It was a nice little castle that reminded us of a medium size hotel with beautiful green grass and a huge back yard that led you down to the lake.

We then went to Steninge Castle. At this castle we enjoyed a very tasty lunch consisting of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer for Dave and a yummy quiche/shepherds pie for me. I would love to tell you the name of the food, but it was all in Swedish...

At this castle, there was a glass blower. We were able to watch him make some beautiful pieces and then purchase them! (Hopefully I have them packed so well that they will make it home with me in one piece!)

After shopping, we picked up true Swedish handball jerseys that were worn during games and had the players (Julia and Isak)

sign them for the Busch Boys! Even though they will be a little big, it will be so much fun to watch them open this!

We were also able to tour where Isak and Julia attend school. It is so different from American schools--more like a college atmosphere. Many places to lounge in between classes with a concession stand that is open all day. Classes are structured like college only the teacher travels from room to room. Definitely no personalization of the classroom.

We then went to where Julia is working as a Teacher Aide for a 7 year old boy and picked her up. We drove to the oldest town in Sweden--Sigtuna and walked the streets. During the summer it is a tourist sight. Surrounded by water, yet beautiful and very expensive.

As we were getting ready to go, we found a ship with sand in it and Julia and I re created our sand picture. Even though we didn't have any flowers we found some leaves and took our picture together there! Special memories from when we took the original picture in San Diego, California in Feb. 2011.

After a quick stop at the grocery store to buy more Swedish treats and ingredients for supper, we made our way back home. Peder and Julia made a delicious supper of bacon and chicken with feta cheese and potatoes. They also had this yummy sauce that was made from feta cheese and cream cheese--we think, as well as garlic.

Around 8:15 we went to Isak's handball practice.

What an fun game! It's like a mixture between basketball, soccer, football, track (with all the running) and maybe even wrestling! Very intense!

From our cheery, sporty picture window to yours, have a great day!