eat. pray. love.

it is finally here. the day that i hop on a plane to kerala, india. well, actually i'll be getting on 3 planes and i will endure 2 days of travel, which is a small price to pay (dad, i'm sure you're laughing at that) to experience one of the most fascinating places in the world. 

i have successfully fit enough clothes and shoes for a month in one suitcase, i have downloaded 5 episodes of modern family to my iphone, my dark chocolate is packed, my camera is charged, and i am ready to go. except for one thing- i kind of figured i should start a blog so friends and family could keep up with my adventures and travels in india. one night my friend, rachael, stayed up until the wee hours of the morning making a blog. she told me she didn't have anything to write about so i asked her why she made it. she said, "in case i travel or for when i have kids or something." a) she will be holding down the fort at elon this january and b) she is 20 years old and at least a good 7 years away from having her first child. needless to say, i have never seen this blog of hers (but i'm sure it's adorable). but, i figured since i am traveling somewhere i should start one! 

there are a few things you need to know/might have already figured out. i read somewhere once that capitalizing letters was a waste of time. you can probably guess that i agree. i many better things to do than worry about getting my grammar and spelling correct, so i apologize in advance. 

the big question i have been asked over the past few months is this: why india? this is a very good question. one i actually don't have a solid answer for. but i can tell you this- india has been put on my heart and i was given a desire to travel there. i am fascinated by the people, the cities, the slums, the colors, the lifestyles, the food, the stories, and lands. i am absolutely in awe of india. so when i was given the opportunity to go there i jumped on it (thank you mom & dad...i'm more thankful than you'll ever know). 

the other big question i am asked is what in the world will you be doing in india for a month?? i am traveling with 23ish other elon students plus two professors to kerala, india. it's a service based study abroad program and we will be putting on science exhibits for elementary schools throughout kerala. some of the schools will be in urban areas, while others will be in rural. some kids will be able to speak english, while others we will not be able to communicate with at all. this will be a challenging experience, but i am looking forward to it. i am not much of a science person so i decided to do the sound exhibit. it's a good thing i packed lots of advil. when we are not in the schools with the kids we will be traveling. the first two days we will be in munnar hiking and visiting a tea farm, which i literally could not be more excited about. at some point we are hanging out with elephants (hence the background) and one weekend we are living on a houseboat. i have been so encouraged by all the wonderful things i have heard about kerala and the people in kerala from friends and random strangers who have traveled there. fingers crossed i will be able to upload pictures while i'm there to share with y'all. if not be expecting them as soon as i get back! (i just got a new camera and i'm slightly obsessed.)

this is such a long post and i apologize and totally understand if you can't finish it. take a break. go to the bathroom. get some coffee....

which brings me to the most important part of this whole post (don't you hate it when you read for a long time to come to find out i saved the best for last?). the title of the blog! to be honest i would have started one weeks ago if i could've figured out a title then. i have had multiple conversations with friends about what i think i am going to be challenged with the most over the next month. foreign country, no close friends, no family, half way across the world....it is easy to say my greatest challenge will be learning to depend and trust the Lord completely and totally with everything. control has been a struggle for me in my relationship with Christ and he has slowly been revealing the ways in which i try to control aspects of my life without even knowing it. well, this is one of those times. 

one of my good, sweet friends meg gave a college life talk one night at elon about one simple question: is Jesus enough? she compared God to a cup of coffee. personally, my favorite drink at starbucks is a tall light cinnamon dolce latte with light foam. i mean, let's be real. is there even a lick of coffee in that? anyways, meg challenged me by asking if the sugar was taken away, the cream gone, if i stopped pouring in the milk, would i still like the taste of the coffee? this challenged my faith, too, and made me ask some hard questions. if my family was gone, if i didn't have my friends, if i didn't go to elon, if i didn't have the material possessions i have, if i wasn't a young life leader, if i didn't have my health, would Jesus still be enough? on instinct my answer is of course. the Creator of the universe, the King of kings, the Prince of peace...of course he's enough. but this is the first time my faith is being challenged to this magnitude. all comfort zones are being torn down and all immediate support is being stripped away. and he's asking me, "do you still like the taste of me?"