Engaged!

As by the title of this blog entry, one might draw the conclusion that I'm engaged. I hate to disappoint all of the readers, but it's not me. However, On December 18th, 2011 two of my very best friends said yes to the same very important question. It was in the afternoon time that I had gotten a call from Eric Braun and Karlee Marschner. They wanted to tell me the happy news together. They were engaged!!!! Much to my satisfaction because I had been patiently waiting for this moment! You see back in October of 2010, I invited Eric (who lives in Ohio) out for the weekend to Harrisburg for the young adult programs that were going on. He came and I introduced him to his future wife! How exciting right?

A picture of the proposal moment - I'm very excited that you set the bar high Eric!



After hearing such great news, I immediately got on the phone to call my friend Eric Blair. God, Eric Blair and the crew from Delaware (Erica Dashner, Michelle Schiavo, Jason Konieczny, Hillary Blair, and a few others I'm missing) were the reason that I met Eric Braun at GYC in 2009. I wanted to call Eric Blair and let him know that Eric Braun had proposed! Before I could get the happy news out Eric said, "JMeds, I'm engaged!" Overwhelmed at the news I did a happy dance saying, "This is too good to be true! Praise God!" I then told Eric Blair about Eric Braun. It turns out two wonderful men of God had the same idea for the same day. All of that equals a happy ME!

Eric Blair's now fiancee is Michelle Schiavo, my GirlyQuin/GCube/GQuizzle, for all of you friends out there that are so privileged to know "our language." She has been such a wonderful friend to me for many years. I can't thank God enough for putting her in my life. Oh! I must add, I'm her MOH. Maid of Honor! :-) Let the planning begin!

A picture of Eric Blair's proposal moment!



The question "Marry me?" is so profound. If you think about it, someone picked you, someone wants you, and someone loves you SO much that they are asking you to spend the rest of your life with them! Wow, so powerful! I thank God for each of these couples and for bringing them together in the way that He did. I pray that each day they will grow together and grow with Jesus. Always keeping God as the center point of their marriage. A cord of three is not quickly broken! I hope that when they think back on their wedding day, they remember it as the day they loved each other the least.

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12: "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken." AMEN!

In other news....

After my trip to Honduras, I was gearing up for my next trip to Ecuador. In November, I accompanied The Children's Heart Group with the Hershey Medical Center to Guayaquil, Ecuador to complete corrective heart surgeries on the kids. This is my second trip with the hospital and was just as big of a blessing as it was last year. I was working night shift during my time there so I don't have as many "Sight-seeing" pictures because I was catching some ZzZz's during the day! :-) This is what I have to share!

A placemat at a restaurant the night before we left...



Beth, Jamie, Judy and I hanging at the restaurant (All surgeries complete!)



Me and Mike



Karen and Barbara! (Be on the look out for more of Barbara)



Dr. Steve - endorses his new product for the MDI (The water bottle Spacer) "MacGyver Medicine"



The "A" Team (Nightshifters)



Barbara eating! Looking much better!



Me and Juan Pablo :-)



After coming back from Ecuador, I spent Thanksgiving with my family, a huge blessing. I had to work during Christmas. I went home on Dec 28th to hang out with my family a little before I packed up and headed off to Florida to celebrate the union of Tristan Bramble and Ariel Ross.

I am so very happy for my friends Tristan and Ariel. As I am writing this they are off "honeymooning" in Costa Rica! I know they will make an awesome team for Jesus and winning souls for the kingdom!

Meet the Bride! Stunning!



The Groomsmen!



Parents of the Groom! Gloria and Vernon!



The Ceremony



And my two great friends I got to hang out with all weekend- What a blessing! Micheal and Melanie Goetz



Until next time.....

Honduras and then some!

August 7th I boarded a plane to Miami. In Miami, I boarded a plane to Tegucigalpa, Honduras for a life changing mission trip. Generation of Youth for Christ (GYC) partnered with VIDA Internacional to Share Jesus with the people of El Suyutal, La Ermita, Agalteca. On this 10 day mission trip we held an evangelistic series, children's program, and medical brigade at all three sites. God is so good! Our team consisted of about 35-40 members on the GYC side. I'm so blessed to have gotten to know each one of them as well as those who are a part of VIDA! During the evening meetings, I was in charge of the children's program! Each one of the children captured my heart in a different way. I cannot wait to meet them again in heaven!

In my own thought process, I was under the impression that I was going down there to help others and witness for Jesus. Not only did I do just that, I was able to see how God used every single experience for the molding of my character. We serve an awesome God. Here are some of the shots I captured during my trip. :-)

My sleeping area!


The children of La Ermita (My site)


Me and some of the kids after the meeting :-)


MItch and I working on the road :-)


Doing Laundry! - What an experience this was. I used to think my washer was a bit on the small side. Those words will never leave my lips again :-)


Some of the group - At the airport saying goodbyes! Heaven is going to be an awesome place, a place that never utters the word goodbye. I cannot wait! :-)



Yesterday, August 21st, I aged. I was having a difficult time with the fact that I am now closer to 30 rather than 20. Then I remembered reading a friend's blog and it reminded me that birthdays are a celebration of love.

I couldn't agree with him more- He states it like this,
"I spent time thinking about my birthday. It is a celebration of life. Life is a gift of God because He is love. My life was also made possible because of the love that my Dad and Mom share. So my meditation concluded that birthdays are really a celebration of LOVE.
I celebrate God's love: Thank you God for giving me life... and for "abundant life."
And I celebrate the love that my parents have given to each other and to me: Thank you Dad and Mom for your example of love - thank you for making your children the most special people you know. I love you. And now here I am, a product of love."

The day itself was awesome! I was able to spend some of it with my dad. He gave me a card that spoke volumes to my heart!

It said, "Daughter, you amaze me. Although I have known you since before you were born, somehow you still continue to amaze me. I've watched you go through change after change. And I've seen you navigate through some pretty tough times with your heart as a compass and your strong spirit to carry you through. Simply put, I couldn't be prouder of you. You've grown from an adorable girl into a most remarkable woman - a woman I admire, love and respect more every day. When I held you as a baby I knew you were special. When I see you as a woman, I realize just how special. More so than I ever could have imagined."

I love you too daddy!

God has blessed me with friends in different places near and far. Each phone call I got yesterday made my day that much more meaningful and exciting. Thank you God for caring enough about me to give me such amazing family and friends.

Friends

It's almost the end of May! Three months until I turn 26. Someone ( I can't remember who ) told me that they were married and had three children by the time they were 26 years old. My response was, "I'm taking the slow approach."

Over the past 3 weeks, I've had such an amazing time getting to know (in my opinion) some of the greatest people on earth. No, it isn't Oprah Winfrey, Hilary Clinton, or George Clooney. It is Scott and Heather Bennett!

Ta da!


They were here being missionaries to the great state of Pennsylvania bringing music and ministry together, touching the lives of others! It was absolutely amazing. I was honored that they chose to stay with me, a lowly commoner, who doesn't have dining room chairs around her table yet. :-)

I wasn't kidding


We made the best of all situations and had a blast in the process. Doing everything under the sun from praising God, exercising, Burger King Veggie, House, cooking, traveling, singing, working sound, hiding our wives/husbands/kids, chocolate world, and of course Red Robin. I was only left with the conclusion, Scott and Heather are hands down some of the coolest people I know. I mean let's be honest here, Who guts and remodels a 1984 Coach bus and turns it into a home within a year?!?!? (Not to mention this year was their first year of marriage!) I'll give you one guess and a hint- it's not Oprah Winfrey!

I praise God for friends like these! They are both such an inspiration to my life!

Here are some fun photos of our time together!








Did you ever stop and think about silence? Silence can be really great, or it can be really awkward. On my six mile adventure with Scott and Heather- we were trucking along in silence. Then Scott said, "You have to be really comfortable with someone and know them really well to be able to have long periods of silence take place." I thought, "Man! That's so true!" If two people are just getting to know each other and they are talking on the phone and there is a silent pause of (What do I say now?) it is a little awkward. Ok, a lot awkward. However, if you know the person well, you could walk, sit, stand, jump, or run in silence for long periods of time and not think about it being "awkward". We found out today that we are all very comfortable and know each other really well. I am amazed because I only met them in October of last year. This is the first time we've actually spent time together (hanging out). God sure knows what He is doing when He brings people into your life.

Today, I said goodbye to my friends. I was a little sad at the thought of being all alone in my little apartment, then I thought, "Oh wait! They asked me to come to the Michigan Camp Meeting!" I'm moving up in the world from my former "commoner" status- and I will be in MI for the first weekend of Camp Meeting- (hanging out with the "in-crowd"). Until then my friends!
Love you always and may God be with you on your travels and bless you heavily!

The Idle Blog

Wow- it's been 5 months! I was just recently informed from a friend's blog that, "When blogs fall idle it means one of two things. One, the blogger's life is terribly boring and there is nothing to write about or two, there is so much going on that there is no time to write about it all." Immediately after reading that sentence I thought to myself, "My life has definitely been boring." Then I thought about all the things I have been doing which doesn't really qualify as, "Terribly boring" or the latter, "Too busy to write about." This leaves me with the third non-existant option I decided to create myself: I haven't been super busy, but haven't felt like bearing all on my blog the past few months. It's the best I could come up with ;-).

Seeing as how I have months to catch up on, I might as well start with December. Shortly after returning from Ecuador - I was packing my bags and heading for Baltimore, MD for GYC 2010 "No Turning Back." It was every bit as exciting as last year and I am sad to report I didn't take any photos for myself! I did get to catch up with two of my dear friends Micheal and Tristan! It was so great to see them both even if it was only for a short time.

Moving into January- I joined The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training! I am scheduled to run on June 5th, 2011 in San Diego, CA to complete my first 1/2 Marathon.
http://pages.teamintraining.org/cpa/rnr11/jmedori

I've been training up until March, when I started having numerous vomiting episodes and severe abdominal pain. Turns out my gallbladder was inflamed and the ducts were clogged off which was the stem of my pain! On March 18th - I had my gallbladder removed. The way God created the human body is amazing. I don't need my gallbladder. I mean yes, it does have a purpose but once removed the liver takes over the function the gallbladder used to provide! What an AMAZING God we serve! I'm having a touch of soreness - but other than that I was back to running 2 days ago! I suppose I should have cleared that with my doctor first! Whoops!

I'm going to skip right over February because there is nothing spectacular to report.

Somewhere in the past few months I went to NYC with some awesome friends - 2 of which are dating now :-) I'm super excited to report because I introduced them back in October 2010!

The happy couple - taking 30 minutes to decide where to eat dinner :-)


Top of the ROCK


The Rockefeller Center


Top of the Rock -Karlee, Dustin, Eric, and myself!


Another "add on" in the New Year - I started babysitting on the side for some extra cash. This is Ella, Beckett, and Marley! Oh, and the dog - Ruby- on the couch! Some pretty cute kids! <3

Marley


Ella, Beckett and Ruby


I suppose that leaves us with end of March into April! I died my hair dark brown and cut it off (well up to my shoulders)! I felt the need for a little change and that certainly did the trick! I'm a new woman! Sort of...
I won a trip to Chicago - for the NTI Conference - completely paid for by Hershey Medical Center! I'm flying out early to Berrien Springs, MI to visit some good friends I've been missing immensely! I'll save such adventures for my next post - and I promise to take lots of pictures!!

Lastly, My amazing co-workers! My PICU family! <3