#65 Swim in Crystal Clear Water and #68 Be in the Water for a Baptism{Life List Wednesday}

On a high school missions trip to Belize in July of 2010 we took the students to the keys on our final day there. It was amazingly beautiful. While we were there we also had baptism which was an incredible experience. Each person being baptized took a conch shell and wrote his or her sins on the shell or wrote some kind of message to God on it. When it was time for that person to be baptized each of us leaders asked them a question and then they threw the shell out into the ocean. After they were baptized one or two of the leaders would go with them and pray. 

Throwing the shell

Praying together after baptism

2011 in Review {Part 2}

July


In July I had the privilege of traveling to Haiti with about 40 high schoolers and a few other leaders. We had an absolutely awesome group of people. We worked with Global Aid Network (GAiN) and Nehemiah Vision Ministries. We got to run a Vacation Bible School for the kids, organize the warehouse, and visit people in the village of Chambrun. Some of the others got to paint, plant a garden, and do other various projects around the compound.

A Haitian toddler with a Manning jersey? Too cute. 

Heather and I also got to go to the NKOTBSB concert. AMAZING.

August


I got to photograph a golf tournament, but I assure you, the photos are not exciting. I also started my internship and got the news that I was accepted to go to Rwanda.


September


I did lots of Rwanda fundraising, did the bulk of the work for my last class, and did lots of work for my internship.


October


I carved my first pumpkin.

And celebrated my 23rd birthday by running a half marathon. While I felt very accomplished, I think I was sore for a week. I think maybe I should celebrate my birthday with something less painful next year.

Mom, Heather, and I went to HersheyPark in the Dark with the free tickets I got from the half marathon.

And later that weekend we had a snowstorm!

November


November included my trip to Rwanda, Thanksgiving, and returning to volunteering with the youth group (Circl3).


December


Finally, this month I finished my MEd, got to serve on Christmas Eve by handing out hot chocolate, tea, and warm winter clothing to people waiting in line for food early in the morning, and celebrated Christmas with the family.

All in all, it was quite a great and eventful year!

2011 in Review {Part 1}

I figured I'd do my 2011 recap in two parts. Here we go with January through June.


January

For the first time since I was 10 or 11 years old I did not stay up till midnight to greet the new year. I spent New Year's Eve driving back from a grueling week of classes in Virginia at school. So, when I got back I grabbed some food and went straight to bed.

Later in the month I attended the Winter Attack for our high school students where we did some crazy sledding down the hill in large cardboard boxes, slept at the church, and served in Philly.

Finally, at the end of the month I joined my LIFE Group. We are a group of very diverse individuals from 23-32 (I think) who all love Jesus and having fun. It is such a privilege to get to spend time studying the Bible, playing board games, and watching movies with these guys every Sunday night.

February


Nothing too exciting happened in February. I continued grad school and got to know my new LIFE Group better.

March


In March my friend Emily and I got to go see Chris Tomlin, Louie Giglio, and Rend Collective together. It was an awesome show!

I also got to take photos for Baptism services, which is always an amazing experience. I love being reminded of the saving power of my God. I would love to show some of the photos, but in the interest of protecting the privacy of the individuals who chose to be baptized, I will refrain. If you are interested in seeing the baptism, though, you can go here.

April


More school. More LIFE Group- the girls in the group all got together to decorate Easter eggs. It was such a blast-I felt like a little kid again!

May


In May my cousin Aunnalea got married- as you can see, she was a beautiful bride.

Heather put icing on Mom's nose

Sisters!

May was also full of finishing things up for grad school and getting ready for crazy summer classes.

June

In June I went down to school again for what turned out to literally be a life-changing course on group counseling. It was exhausting, but so great to really see some progress happen in some areas of my life.

Heather and I also took a little sister day-trip to Baltimore just for some fun.

Lunch at the Cheesecake Factory

#60 Ride the Amsterdam Canals {Life List Wednesday}

I even got to  drive
(it was a really wide area)

My favorite shot from the ride

#58 Eat Sausage in Germany {Life List Wednesday}

While we were waiting for our train from Cologne, Germany to Amsterdam I decided to grab a sausage and fulfill #58 on the list. It was a little weird to me because they serve the sausage alongside a small roll, but don't put it in the roll like we usually do here. Nevertheless, it was really good.

Can you tell that I was really tired and really cold?

You May Call Me Master

On Thursday I finished my internship and as of Friday, I had officially completed everything necessary for my Master's of Education. And then over the weekend I got my grades for the semester and discovered that I am graduating with a 4.0 gpa. I can now cross #26 Get my MEd off of the life list (and #31).

There are no photos yet, but I will be going down for graduation in May. Can I tell you how excited I am to be able to write my name as

Shannon A. Madara, MEd

It feels pretty awesome!

#53 Go to a Holocaust Memorial in Europe {Life List Wednesday}

When I visited Chan Mi we also went to Amsterdam for a day and a half. While we were there we went to the Anne Frank House. We waited in line for a very long time and it was rather crowded when we finally did get inside. Originally when I wrote this on the list I though I would go to a concentration camp somewhere in Europe, but this seemed to be more personal. It was really hard to see the photos and the footage from the concentration camps that Anne and her friends and family were in. As a class we read Anne Frank's book Diary of a Young Girl in school, but this certainly made it more real.

Statue of Anne Frank
Note: This is not life size

Entrance to the Anne Frank House
No photos were allowed after this