The Way I See It: Service is out there!

In approximately 13 days I will be getting on a coach bus and starting the adventurous week that is also known as the Pay It Forward Tour. It seems like it was just yesterday that I got on the bus my freshman year for my first tour. I was a shy, quiet youngster who had no idea what was in store for her. Little did I know that those first nine days would impact my life so much and help to shape me as the person I am today.

So in honor of the tour season that is quickly approaching I'm going to throw it back and walk down memory lane a little bit. Now it's not a #throwbackthursday, because clearly it's Saturday, not Thursday. So maybe we could create a new hash tag? #sweetserendipitysaturday. It might become a nationwide trend, you never know....

The Pay It Forward Tour is a service trip for college students that goes to 7 cities in 9 days. The PIFT is put on by an organization called Students Today Leaders Forever. STLF's mission is to reveal leadership through service, relationships and action.

Freshman Year!! :)

This was my first tour ever! My roommate convinced me to go, and boy am I glad that she did!! Our final destination this year was Charleston, South Carolina. When we were in Charleston we got to help out with oyster restoration near the water with all of the other schools that were there too. It was neat to see about 200 college kids working together to get the job done. During the week we stopped in places in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and more! Another little fun fact about this tour is that this is where I met my current roommates! We all went on our first tour together and now we live in our first apartment together!

Working at the food bank.

Just casually hanging out by the beach. It's a rough life, you know?

Sophomore Year!! :)

This year I stepped out of my comfort zone and went on my first ever mystery tour! This meant that I had no idea where we were going each day. All I knew was that I would end up in Denver at the end of the week. We made stops in places like Kansas City, Memphis, Arkansas, and more! I met so many great new friends from my bus. It was also really neat because there were a lot of other Christians on my bus too. We got to hang out, talk about Jesus and do some late night worship sessions.

Exploring Memphis!

First meal in Denver. Can I have a table for 45?

Aren't we a good looking group of people? I'd say so. :)

We made it to Denver!

Junior Year!! :)

This year I am going on the Philly Mystery Tour! I have the amazing opportunity to be a part of the Bus Core, which means that I am a part of the team that plans the entire trip. My bus core is amazing and they have truly been a blessing in my life. Each of us bring a different strength to the table and it makes for a super awesome team! Our final destination this year is Philly! Since we are on a mystery bus, our participants will not know where they are going each day. We will surprise them each day with where we will be staying/serving.