Friday's Fave Five: International Treasures

Woo hoo!! It's Friday! Today is Fall Break for my university -- not today and yesterday, not today and Monday, but just today. It's not a break really, but rather just a pause from the routineness and business of classes and life on campus. Jessie (twin sis) and I came home for the three-day weekend; campus is only ten minutes from home, but in order to feel like we had a break (rather than just a weekend,) we needed to come home.
I love home and everything about it. The stains, the creaks, the tears.. everything. It's home. I especially love my room and its serenity. Why? Because it's my room. I painted and re-decorated my room just a few days before returning to campus, so it felt like I was coming home to a new place. It was hard to limit, but I have chosen five things from my room to highlight this week. Maybe later this week I'll post more.. I have a room full of souveniers from at least thirteen countries!
I want to preface this post by saying that it is not so much the "things" that I treasure, but the love and memories that they represent.
Log on at Living to Tell the Story and share your own Friday's Fave. Five!

1. I found this beautiful conch shell on the bottom of the Carribean Sea while snorkeling on the Isla de Caja de Muerto (Coffin Island) in Puerto Rico - July 2010. When I found it, it was a nasty dirty color and filled with sea gunk. I broke off some barnacles, and carried it to the surface, hoping it would clean off. I carried it home the following week, and soaked it for three days in bleach. Now it is a nice ivory white color, with soft pink in some creases. Beautiful! It's a reminder of how God pulls us from the dark depths of sin, prunes us, and purifies us clean.

Thank you to my dear PNG friend Kari (Sea, Sand and Shells) in Thailand for sending me the elephants, gorgeous ceramic pot, and scarves (not pictured.)

2. I bought these pictures from a young boy at the Russian Market in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in May 2008. They were painted by his grandfather, a landmine victi who had to have one leg amputated. Left there by the Khmer Rouge, there are still some 6 million landmines scattered around the Cambodian countryside and alongside boarding Vietnam. These pictures are representative of Cambodia's colorful beauty.

3. This box from Haiti is part of my Granddad's collection of souveniers from his many missions trips around the world. I look at it everyday as it sits on my desk at school, holding all of my jewelry (in fact, much of the jewelry that I wear is from around the world too!) Granddad is my hero and, many times, my strength and inspiration in ministry. His legacy continues in my passion for missions, God's hurting world, and preaching the Good News.
4. This is a simple piece, though the detail in the carving is incredible. It pictures the chapel at Escuela El Sembrador in Catacamas, Honduras, where I first accepted my call to life a life of missions. El Sembrador is a home and school for boys; the school provides vocational training, and woodwork is one of the largest programs.
5. Finally, because this is one of my most-cherished posessions, I am highlighting the larger of the two elephants - another piece from Granddad's collection. When he traveled to new countries, Granddad collected elephants and dolls... now I collect elephants, and some dolls also. I believe the larger elephant - crafted from wood, with small decorative jewels glued on - is from India, and the smaller from Zambia. The box at left was also his, but I do not know its story.
Thank you for visiting my room!