It has been quite a while since my last post. 

After the marathon I began taking classes to become  certified as a Phlebotomist. Between classes, clinicals and work to say that I have been busy is an understatement. So now I am officially a "vampire" and surprise surprise I love it.  Many of you are scratching your heads saying Phlebotomy, You, Toya what are you thinking?  I'm thinking that I haven't had health insurance in a while and it's a necessary evil in this day and age. While I will not be giving up my event planning life, I will be adding more to my life skills.

Enough of the boring stuff. I just came back from a short visit to my future "home" of Gainesville, Ga.

The trip was so much more than I expected.  I will admit that I was starting to have thoughts about living in a house with 12 potential other people. The thought of giving up all of my personal space and living with strangers terrified me. I actually sat in my car for a little bit after pulling up to the house, thinking what have I gotten myself into? 

What I got myself into was a house full of people who are hungry for God and they are surprisingly "normal." (If you can call a group of people living together below the poverty level and happy about it normal) :-) Of course we all know that I'm not normal either so... Farfromnormal is my usual state of mind. 

I digress... I was welcomed with open arms and had a wonderful time with everyone in the house and the AIM staff.  The experience is hard for me to describe. If you know me, you know that I am shy and don't open up to people very easily. I felt a strange sense of peace and a freedom to be completely vulnerable. Poor Amanda had to try to talk to me through fountains of tears but I left there feeling that she actually gets me. This is something that I have never felt before and it leaves me full of joy and scared out of my mind at the same time. 

We were able to talk about Com Life, relationships, food and everything under the sun that you can think of. Bonus for me, most of my future housemates like 24! We laughed, I cried and ate way too much food. I had various  times of prayer with different participants of Com Life and staff members of AIM. It felt like being at my own church Intercessory Prayer Meetings. I'm glad that I made the trip to meet everyone. I walked into a house full of strangers and walked out with a family. Most of the time I don't feel like I fit in anywhere I go but I fit there. I look forward to our future together. 

I still need your help with financial support. My goal is to have 12 people who are committed to partnering with me and AIM by donating $50 a month for the 11 months of Com Life.  You can make one large donation of $550 or donate each month by bank draft or credit card.  If you were looking for a year end tax write off here you go! If you would like to make a one time donation of any amount that is always welcome also! You can click the link to the left that says "Donate Here."

Thanks for all of your support, for being my friends and for loving me!