After one month and one day (but who was counting? Certainly not me…), the Jeep is roadworthy once again! Hooray!

Natalee’s cousin, Anna, visited us for the first half of the week, which was so great! Monday night, once the Jeep had its plates on, us housemates and Anna all hopped into the Jeep and we drove to a local boba place!

We played games and enjoyed one another’s company, as we are apt to do.

Tuesday was a half day at work for me, so after working the morning, I stopped by a local coffee shop that had been recommended to me by a local!

There was so much natural light in the place and the staff were really engaging and friendly. Not to mention the food and coffee (pictured is an iced toasted coconut latte and an open-faced toast with goat cheese, pears, honey, walnuts, and cinnamon!) being yummy.

All in all, a worthy recommendation!

I’ve been working out 3-4 days a week at a CrossFit box across the street from where I work. After a particularly hard team workout Thursday morning, we all gathered for photo evidence of our survival and sweat.

Thursday evening, Melissa and I got together for chips and salsa at a local Mexican restaurant.

Melissa came to Fort Bragg around two years ago to be involved with the ministry here. We’ve crossed paths before at a conference back in January, but it was good to sit down and get to know her and vice versa.

Afterwards, I gathered with some new friends to watch The Fellowship of the Ring (extended edition, of course)! It’s a special delight to be around fellow nerdy people, especially when they are nerdy about the same things as you!

It was a late night, but also a blast!

Saturday, the ladies in the house all devoted the morning/afternoon to be alone with the Lord. We all went to a local coffee shop and then broke off to our own corners to do our own thing.

I enjoyed some coffee and a waffle while enjoying my time with the Lord and in His Word.

Later that day, we played volleyball for an hour before Mia and I broke off for her surprise going away gift!

I have gotten everyone in the house a gift to say thank you for my time here and to show how much I appreciate them. Mia had casually mentioned a few weeks ago that she would love to give indoor skydiving a try and I tucked that nugget of info away. When I looked to see if that was available around here, I found a place six minutes away from where we live! Also found out that it is one of the biggest wind tunnels in the world!

We both have tandem skydived before, but this was a different beast! It’s amazing how technical it is and how much control and awareness one has to have to move or stay put!

It was a slower day for their schedule, and they were training some new instructors, so instead of getting the promised 3 minutes each, we got over double that!

I have tried to dually savor and maximize on my time here, to find the balance between doing and being. So many memorable moments, but also an overarching experience of fun, depth, and impression.

It’s a trial by fire to navigate, but it’s been rich nonetheless!