England and Wales

October 2006...It has only been 4 years since I was in England and Wales, so I should remember a lot of the details...but I don't!  For those of you who know me well know that my "sharp mind" only holds a very limited amount of information!  I cannot tell you names of cities I went to, names of significant historical sites I saw...and is it embarrassing to say I had to look in my email (from 4 years ago) to remember the names of the very kind family I stayed with!? 

Justin served his mission in Birmingham, England while I was finishing up high school.  When we got married I told him we should go back and visit sometime.  He looked at me like I was crazy...then he said "you wouldn't like it."  Of course I protested and said I would love it!  He said for the two years he was there he was NEVER warm, the sun never shined, it was always raining and drab weather, people didn't like Americans and the city atmosphere wasn't that pleasant.  Now don't get me wrong...Justin loved his mission and the people he taught there...you just have to understand a few things about Justin. 

For as long as I have known Justin he was ALWAYS cold...so he always wore his red long johns with at least two sweatshirts and then a Carhartt coat on top of that.  This was in Utah...so you can imagine how cold he must have been in England, poor kid!  Justin was also NOT a fan of the big city life...he was a country boy all the way.  Being confined in a big city was uncomfortable for him, so you can imagine the relief when he was transferred to Wales where there was a lot of open country with green rolling hills.   Wales was definitely his favorite area on the mission (and after visiting I could see why). 

After we had talked about it for a while, we decided we would plan on spending our 5th wedding anniversary in England and Wales.  But he kept telling me that I probably wouldn't like it.  Since we didn't even make it to our 2nd anniversary...I obviously had to change our plans.  It worked out great that our plane to Africa switched over in England, so I decided that since I was already there I would just extend my trip for a week and visit...alone.  I had heard of lots of people who traveled alone and loved it...I thought it would be the same for me.

Justin was right...I didn't really like it.  Maybe it was because I was alone and had a hard time figuring out where I was going.  England is a very busy city and figuring out the tube system was a nightmare.  I didn't go see a lot of things for the fear of getting lost and not being able to find my way back to my hotel!  I would go again...but only if someone went with me!

After spending a few days in England, I hopped on another plane and went to Wales.  A co-worker knew a family in Wales that ran a bed and breakfast, so I stayed with them for a few days and they showed me around.  Wales was BEAUTIFUL and being in the country was fun.  It was really green back there because of all the rain...but it was really cold too.  I don't think I was warm ever the whole trip.  We saw castles, lighthouses, little Welsh shops, a really old cemetery on an island, etc.  I can't remember ever seeing the sun while I was there though...it was always cloudy.  The roads were really narrow but they were lined with rock walls which was beautiful.

It was fun to see where Justin lived for two years and it gave me a better appreciation for what we have here in America.  People are happier here...or at least we should be because we have so much.  I thought of my ancestors who came from the European countries and how grateful I am that they did...we truly do live in the promised land!

AFRICA...Kenyan Song Competition 2006

October 2006 - Almost exactly a year after Justin left this life, I had the opportunity to go to Kenya for the first time to represent the Justin Wade Gunnell Foundation that my incredible boss started.  With the help of lots of my fellow co-workers and family, we sponsored the first ever Kenyan Song Competition.  To make a very long story a little bit shorter, we teamed up with two other non-profit organizations, Reach The Children and United Families International to make our foundation's goal happen.  Reach The Children has a program called "Stay Alive" which is an AIDS prevention education program.  The have different modules/lessons that they teach the children about abstinence and self respect.  It is important to know that most of the schools we dealt with did not have paper, pencils and books.  Rather, they would learn by reciting back to the teacher what they had learned as well as singing songs to help them remember.  This is where the Kenyan Song Competition came into play.  They had new lessons but no songs, so the Justin Wade Gunnell Foundation sponsored this competition between some of the schools to come up with songs in exchange for supplies to their school.  There was a lot of planning and logistics to figure out, especially when you are bringing hundreds of school children to a central location.  For example,transportation and roads are nothing like they are here in the United States.  We also needed to feed these children since they would be there all day, and cooking in Africa is nothing like cooking with the modern conveniences in the United States.

There were so many people behind the scenes to get this organized both in Africa and the U.S.  I met a few of them and absolutely cherish my friendship with them.  Wendy Schefield, Jastus Suchi and Gaye Brown.

I will never forget the day our van pulled into the beautiful church house we were holding the competition at (little did I know 4 years later I would be there again).  There were children, youth and teachers lining the fences waiting for us to come.  They instantly stood on their feet when we pulled in and were so quiet and respectful.  There were hundreds of children there.  Each of them dressed in their school's uniform looking their best.  We walked around to each of the different schools and talked to them.  They each gave us a sneak peek of what they would be performing.  They were so excited to see us and earn prizes for their school and you could tell a lot of work had gone into these songs. 

The competition began and we had each of the schools sing 3 songs they had written for the new lessons. 

We had the Kenyan Boys Choir Director come to be one of the judges.  They travel all over performing,  so it was an honor to have him there.

Some of the schools brought their own instruments.  You can see that this school is using an old shoe to play their drums. 

We did end up picking the three songs we liked best and presented the teachers with the awards.  Little did the other schools know that they too would all be receiving the same reward!  I can still remember when Suchi announced that everyone had won, the children all stood up and cheered and clapped and laughed so loud!!  I leaned over to Gaye Brown and said "Next to my wedding day, this is the greatest day of my life!"  I truly meant it.  I had never felt such an overwhelming love for the African people as I did then.  Each of the schools received a goat which they would sell the milk to earn money for their school, as well as breed and sell the offspring.  They also received a square foot gardening kit with tools and seeds to plant their own garden at school.  Many of these children came to school hungry and this was a way for them to eat.  Each school also received a trophy for their participation.  You would have thought it was Christmas morning when they found out they would get a trophy!

After the competition, we had a late lunch before we sent the children home.  We had some fabulous women in the community cook for hundreds of people.  I couldn't believe how efficient they were but also how much work it was for them to cook!  They all wanted me to take their picture while they were cooking.  One sweet woman who was probably 80 years old told me she had never had her picture taken before.  When I showed her the camera afterward, she just started laughing that her face was on it.

This was my first realization since Justin's death that there were harder things in life than dealing with death.  I realized that I had a loving family, living parents who provided for me, modern conveniences, gospel knowledge, food to eat, limitless educational opportunities, shoes to wear, more than one set of clothes, access to medical facilities, a home to live in...I had a future...and most of these children didn't.  It is something I cannot explain, but these wonderful African people changed my whole perspective on life.  They were happy and yet they had nothing compared to what I had!  It was then I realized that material things didn't matter to them...why as Americans do we focus so much on accumulating "things" when we could be happy without them? 

I even left there more grateful for my hair!  I learned that most of these schools shaved both the boys and girls hair to control lice.  I remember visiting one of the schools and being surrounded by little girls who each took a handful of my hair and just touched it over and over and over again saying how soft and long it was.  I had never been grateful that I had hair and yet I was surrounded by little girls who had none. On the way home I was thinking about my trip.  I had gone over there with the intention of changing their lives, but in all reality, they changed mine...forever. 

Oh The Places You'll Go...

Traveling...it all started 5 years ago.  I realized I needed something to look forward to and keep me going since my life had completely changed.  Five years ago I thought I would soon be a little stay at home mom, kissing my husband before he left to work every morning, joining the PTA, enduring the sound of children practicing the piano, basically doing all the domestic things that wives do at home, etc...life was going to be a big ball of bliss...SCREECHING HALT!  Change of plans, dreams, goals and whatever else you call them.  In fact, quite the opposite happened.  These dreams would be put on hold...for a very long time.  Hmmm...didn't quite have a backup plan for something like this!  This is where traveling became a constant in my life.  It all started with my cousin, Shari, who also lost her husband in the same accident as Justin.  She moved in with me shortly after the accident happened so she could finish school and I could make my mortgage payment.  We decided one weekend to just take off and do something out of the ordinary to get our minds off of our situations...Las Vegas baby!  Yes, a good old George Strait and Taylor Swift concert, eating at Toby Keith's Bar and Grill restaurant, and some warmer weather did us wonders!  We came back feeling like we could tackle another week of "blah."  Little did I know that this little Vegas trip would turn into more of an "obsession" for my way of coping with my new life.  I was thinking of all the places I have been able to see and experience because of this...and the list gets pretty long, but every trip was worth it and so many fun memories were made that I treasure.  Oh the places you'll go...

Africa

England

Africa

Hawaii

Mesa

Tucson

Jackson Hole

Washington DC

 

Africa, England, Wales, Mexico, Hawaii, Nauvoo, Reno, Carson City, Las Vegas, Tucson, Tappahannock/Richmond, Washington DC, Portland, Seattle, Omaha, Cheyenne, St. George, Jackson Hole and Mesa. 


Each of these trips has given me something to look forward to.  I always have a trip planned...ALWAYS.  For the year 2011, I have already started planning for Gila Valley, AZ, Washington D.C., and a cruise to Italy, Turkey, Cyprus, Egypt and Jeruselum...so I better start saving now!  Thankfully I have amazing family and friends who joyfully come along with me!  These are priceless memories and traveling is now my passion!  I am sure some people think I am crazy, but I am just trying to "enjoy to the end" rather than "endure" and it seems to be working well with my travel plans.

My AWESOME Mom - Mesa, AZ in our convertible!!

New to the Blogging World...

A few years ago I started writing a journal for Justin.  I know that although he is sometimes allowed a peek through the veil of what I am up to, I wanted something tangible that I could one day show him that captured what I did with life while he was away.  The journal has worked for the past few years...it looks a little boring without pictures.  I recently found out I could have a blog book printed with pictures and of course it intrigued me.  So, not only have I decided to make this blog for Justin but for my family and friends as well.  It will be out of order for a bit, but one day I will catch up on the past 5 years!  We'll see how this goes...otherwise it will be back to the boring old journal!