Friends.

"Friendship consists in forgetting what one gives
and remembering what one receives." -Alexander Dumas

Today more than ever this sentiment rings true. I have a great deal of friends--many of them are "outer circle" friends, people I say happy birthday to but don't chat with on the phone for hours. I have a solid "inner circle," friends that receive handmade birthday cards or understand my sense of humor no matter how obnoxious I'm behaving. 

As mentioned before, I made many wonderful friends during college. I had some good friends in high school as well but so far I've kept in touch better with the people I met in college. Some of my best companions, the people who I essentially grew up with, I met at youth group or church, and many of us are still close. I now go to a new church and we've made new friends there as well, which is something I realize over again every Sunday, when somebody walks up to me and actually wants to have a conversation. Or, picture this: last month two women randomly took me out to lunch. 

My inner circle and my outer circle have become obsolete during the last few weeks, because of one very important reason: our GoFundMe account, aimed at getting us home for Christmas. With the GoFundMe page out there, in everyone's faces at least once a day, I have discovered sympathy and compassion from the most unexpected people, and in a way that always feels so... difficult. Money. Money is so hard to take from people because, wow, you have to be vulnerable and not worry about your pride because damaging it is the only way to get the help you need. 

So today I am thankful for friends. Wonderful, generous, compassionate friends who support me--not just financially, but emotionally. The kind of friends who say, "You have a dream? Go for it!" Sometimes they give me a hug, and sometimes they give me $5, and sometimes we just sigh at each other because we know how the other is feeling. I'm grateful for all of it.

As a treat, here's the latest update video with NEWS about our GoFundMe adventure! :)