Spooky Season

I'm hoping that by giving this post a fall name, it'll speak into existence fall weather here in Okinawa. So far, no such luck. While I'm appreciating the fact that it's October and i'm still sweating the second I walk outside, i'm definitely having a little FOMO seeing my friends back in the states putting on their sweaters, picking pumpkins, and going apple picking!

Despite the heat, this is my favorite time of the year. The anticipation of the upcoming holidays, knowing i'll get to reunite with my family and friends soon, and finally getting to try that Chick Fil A mac 'n' cheese! I'm headed home at the end of November, and i'm so excited to be home for a whole month! My best friend is getting married, and i'm so thrilled to get to celebrate her.

September was such a growing month for me, and the word that keeps coming to mind is discernment. I was faced with multiple things this month where I really had to rely on the Lord, and trust in what He has for me. It can be so easy to jump at every opportunity, especially in the season i'm in right now - which is a lot of sitting and waiting. But this month, I had to really work at discerning what the Lord has for me, and not desperately jumping at things I think will give me value. I have exciting news I definitely want to share soon, but for now, something I've thought over and over this month that I want to share: What the Lord has for you, will not pass you by.

We will not be passed over for what the Lord has for us!

If you've been in a waiting season like me, i'm praying you'll remember those words.

A few favorite things from September:

Drew got home from his TDY, and we got to celebrate his birthday!

Got one of the best coffee milkshakes i've ever had! I love this lil coffee shop in American Village - they seriously have the sweetest staff, and my shake was delicious!

📍Zhyvago Coffee Works

My friend Abby found the coolest beach just 25 minutes down the road from us! It's pretty isolated, has a beautiful view, and super clear water. We've been twice already and I can't wait to go back!

We hiked 📍 Mt Katsuu - definitely harder of a hike than I thought it was going to be, but the view at the top was amazing! It pretty much rained the entire hike up and down, but we had a blast despite the weather.

Afterwards, we headed to 📍 Captain Kangaroo for a late lunch! I had heard this place was amazing, and it definitely lived up to the hype! My burger was HUGE, and the fries were also delicious. There's a beautiful beach right behind the restaurant, and we wrapped up this day by hanging out on the beach till sunset.

Drew and I also went to📍 Kokusai Street in September! We wanted to shop around, but it ended up pouring rain (Oki weather struggles) so we decided to get some Pho! I definitely miss having Pho all the time, and we really liked this little spot!

Most recently, we went and explored

📍Peace Park down in the Southern part of the island. It was a super hot day, but the park has some really interesting Oki history, and some really cool views as well.

Then we headed over to 📍 Thai in the Sky over on the east part of the island. This is the BEST Thai food i've had so far on the island! This location also has an incredible view.

Wrapping up, we headed to 📍 Azama Sun Sun beach to check out a few spots I had seen on Instagram (lol) This beach was pretty empty, but had beautiful blue water, and a really nice netted area for swimming!

I also tried honeycomb ice cream for the first time! This stuff was S W E E T, but had a really interesting texture with the actual honeycomb. Definitely a fun treat!

We finished out the month at one of our favorite sushi spots, 📍Kami Sushi, to send off some of our friends that left to go to training back in the states for a few months. We ordered way too much gyoza and sushi, and of course had to document the free dessert they give you - my personal favorite part!

I can't wait to see what the rest of the Fall season has in store! And of course - had to add in September's playlist - it was a great month for music!

Talk to you soon! :)