I live for the weekend :-)

Ugh, I am so sorry that I have not posted nearly as much as I should be of late.  I suppose every three/four days would be a good time, but lately it has been every week or so, and then most of the time it merely details my weekend.  The reason for this is pure and simple:  the weekends are what I live for.  Seriously, it feels like this internship is just a medium through which I can go and visit people in various countries in Europe.

Malham Cove

  
This past weekend I left Friday afternoon to go to England.  Because of travel restrictions, I am only allowed to be in continental Europe for 90 days.  However, my trip is going to last 96 days.  So that means that over these three months, I need to go to either England or Ireland for six full days.  I know, rough, right?  :-)  I went to go see the Mechams, who are an AMAZING family I knew in Poland.  They lived in Lublin when I was serving there, and made my time there an incredibly happy time. 

  I had an absolutely INCREDIBLE time with them.  

First off, they were wonderful enough to come pick me up in Manchester, which is two hours away.  Even more wonderful, they drove me back- at 3:30 AM on Monday morning.  Then, we went on this really cool hike in Yorkshire called Malham Cove on Saturday.  It's this huge face of limestone rising out of the dales of central England.  We were also joined by Pawel, a friend from Poland who was baptized in Lublin when all of us were there.  He has been living about an hour away from the Mechams, and decided to come up for the day.  When we sat down to dinner that night, it felt like I was back on my mission:  dinner at the Mechams house (we always went on Wednesday night), with Pawel there so that we could have a lesson with him in the home of a family united in the gospel.  It was so great to talk to all of them about how their lives are.  We had fun chasing sheep (see video below) and ducks, and also pounded pennies into the wood. It's a tradition in this part of England that you make a wish and then pound a penny into the wood, thereby making sure that the wish will come true.  If I had to guess, I would say that we were probably paying the wood fairy that lives in the tree to use its powers to make our wish come true :-)   

We also played games, which is definitely one of my favorite things to do.  Watch out Morans, I got a warm up!  I got to play HALO with Cole and McKay (who did WAY better than I expected by the way.  They definitely gave me a run for my money!) And then on Sunday, some friends of the Mechams came over and we played with them as well. 

Three guys with X-Box and HALO:Reach around?  Yes.

  
I have to mention the food.  Don't get me wrong, I love the food that I have at the place where I am staying.  It is extremely nutritious.  Like...vegetables every time we sit down for dinner.  I don't think I have eaten this much salad in YEARS.  So, I was pretty much craving some meat, cuz I'm A-MURican!  I was in heaven when we had hamburgers Saturday night and chicken tacos Sunday night.  I was singing the praises of the Mechams then, let me tell you!

  
This pretty much goes back to the post from last week about friends.  I am so incredibly grateful for the friends that I have in Europe, and for the chance I have to see them again.  They make my life so much richer and happier, and the Mecham family definitely did that for me this weekend.

Cole, who isn't afraid of anything and a boss!

McKay and me, who came close to kicking my butt in HALO!

Bailey and me.  Check out those shades!

Top of Malham Cove.  Isn't it beautiful?

First try with the panoramic view on my phone.
It's pretty awesome if I do say so myself.

Pawel, an awesome guy who I had the
chance to teach in Lublin.   Last time I was with him
I was wearing a tag and had a companion!

(Former) President and Sister Mecham.
These two are like family to me, and treat me as if I was.

Thank you guys!!!!