Howdy

Hi friends. My name's Jordan. Jordan Strange. And I really love fruit and dancing and Jesus and traveling and sunsets and sunrises. Those things mostly sum up my life. I'm really looking forward to this school year, and I've tried to set some higher goals for myself, even though I am horrible at reaching them and convincing myself that they'e actually important.:) I want to get all A's and pass all my AP exams. And for this year (and the rest of my life), I really want to learn to love life, not that I don't now, but in past years, it's been so easy for me to have such a negative attitude towards school and life in general. But over this summer, I learned that there's so much more to life than stress and going to school and doing hours of homework. So this year, I'm determined to love everyone and live in the moment and live simply with a purpose. 

This summer was incredible. The first 5 weeks I spent in a small, middle-of-nowhere Tennessee town, working as a counselor at a camp. It was so much fun. Another thing I love is kids. And this camp was a Christian camp so it was centered around Jesus and there's nothing more satisfying to me than seeing a child come to understand their purpose and get to fully experience Christ and eternal comfort. Those weeks were filled with wilderness fort building, tea parties, cookouts, and flower crowns. I also canoed around 14 miles to an island and  lived there for a week, eating lots of fruit, brushing my teeth out of a water bottle, and "showering" in a lake. It was beautiful. 

That being an awesome start to my summer, the fun didn't end. I came home for 36 hours, and then left on my next adventure, which was to Africa. I went on a 3-week mission trip to Arusha, Tanzania. It was the best thing I have ever experienced, without a doubt. It was so incredibly freeing. There was just something different about lack of communication and social media and experiencing a new culture. The people there were so beautiful as well. So welcoming & loving & accepting. And the children. I could go on for days about them. They were so happy and filled with joy, something that I feel most kids in America don't experience often. These kids were happy with corn shucks and sticks. CORN SHUCKS AND STICKS. It was so wonderful. We got to reach out to over 4000 high school students and it was so neat to see how different their lifestyle was. We also got to go on a 2-day safari. And I'm talking your real-life safari safari. Where you stand with your heads out the roofs with binoculars and elephants and lions and giraffes 10 feet from your vehicle. The scenery was breath-taking and  I'd go back in a heartbeat. 

Here's my picture. These girls were all around 18-20 years old, spoke perfect English, and were so fascinated with everything about America. Their hearts were beautiful and they have the sweetest souls. I love people. And their stories.

If I had to choose a superpower, it would probably be to fly, only because how cool would that be? So thrilling and you could go anywhere anytime without worrying about gas or a car, and that sounds so wonderful to me. 

Something that geeks me out is books. A really good, solid book. I could read for days with the right books. And a good romance or life story? Those are the best. I love people's stories and hearing about other peoples' adventures. It's always fascinating to see what other people are like and what they do and how they live and whatnot. Because life is just THAT great. 

My favorite website is http://faces4hope.com/wp/

It's an organization that helps rescue African girls from sex slavery. It's pretty incredible. :)