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<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" media="screen" href="/~d/styles/rss2enclosuresfull.xsl"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~d/styles/itemcontent.css"?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearch/1.1/" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:09:17 +0000</lastBuildDate><category>Introduction</category><category>Italy</category><category>trust</category><category>peace</category><category>relationship</category><category>breakfast</category><category>Oasis Coffee</category><category>People to People</category><category>France</category><category>Fundraising</category><category>Pancakes</category><category>memory</category><category>blog</category><category>garage sale</category><category>traveling</category><category>summer</category><category>travel</category><category>Joy</category><category>Monaco</category><category>Spain</category><category>twitter</category><category>countdown</category><category>sites of interest</category><category>Timberline students</category><category>Fund raising</category><category>update</category><category>friends</category><title>Change of Shades</title><description>The Journey of Colin and Kona changing perspectives:
Visiting Spain, Italy, and France in Summer, 2009</description><link>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>37</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/ChangeOfShades" /><feedburner:info uri="changeofshades" /><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/" /><media:category scheme="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd">Society &amp; Culture/Places &amp; Travel</media:category><itunes:owner><itunes:email>noreply@blogger.com</itunes:email></itunes:owner><itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>The Journey of Colin and Kona changing perspectives: Visiting Spain, Italy, and France in Summer, 2009</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary>The Journey of Colin and Kona changing perspectives: Visiting Spain, Italy, and France in Summer, 2009</itunes:summary><itunes:category text="Society &amp; Culture"><itunes:category text="Places &amp; Travel" /></itunes:category><feedburner:emailServiceId>ChangeOfShades</feedburner:emailServiceId><feedburner:feedburnerHostname>http://feedburner.google.com</feedburner:feedburnerHostname><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-7334876075435123112</guid><pubDate>Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:19:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-24T03:54:31.634-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Italy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">travel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">sites of interest</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">summer</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">memory</category><title>Roma, and The End</title><description>Sorry it's taken so long to get this post up! Our Hotel in Rome had no wi fi so I had to go bum it off some neighborhood house to even get one tweet out. Anyways, I wanted to share with everyone how Kona's and my time in Rome was!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rome is huge, and in more ways then one. If the size isn't daunting enough, Rome's history made me feel like an ant in the grand scheme of life. The first day we arrived there from Assisi we saw two major sites: The Colosseum and the Roman Forum. I'm not sure what I expected the Colosseum to be like, but it was ENORMOUS! We totally loved seeing the very area where legends and even movies have come from. Very surreal.&lt;br /&gt;After the Colosseum we saw the Roman Forum, or rather the ruins. Seeing the birthplace of the first true Republic made me think of America. How are we similar to the Romans? Very interesting.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/46.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/s_46.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/47.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/s_47.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/48.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/s_48.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/49.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/s_49.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/50.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/s_50.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/51.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/s_51.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rome day 2 consisted of waking up early so we could visit the 5th country on our adventure: The Vatican. Although our tour guide was dominent and probably hung over, it was fascinating to walk in the center of Catholocism and to see such great works. Kona and I were blown away by the Cistine Chapel! Michaelangelo was incredible! So many pictures were taken, it's hard to adequatly express everything with words.&lt;br /&gt;After The Vatican we split into 5 different groups and competed in a scavenger hunt around Rome! We had to navigate a map, and ask people directions to places like the Piazza di Espania and the Trevi Fountain! It was awesome to feel that wind in the face, that feeling of independance. Awesome times with friends! &lt;br /&gt;We ended Rome day 2 with a group get together back at the hotel. Not only was this the end of Rome, but the end of Italy, and therefor our trip as well. In the morning, we would be taken to the airport to go home.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/52.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/s_52.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/53.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/s_53.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/54.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/s_54.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/55.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/s_55.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/56.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/s_56.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/57.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/s_57.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/58.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/s_58.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/59.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/24/s_59.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kona's felt like this trip has flown by. Looking back, it seems like our homestay and time in Spain was a long time ago, but at the same time it seems like just yesterday we were pleading with people to donate money to our Summer Europe Trip. We've both put in so much time, sweat, and tears into this campaign, it's hard to believe it must come to an end. $7,000 well spent, undoubtedly. So many new relationships and great experiences. Smiles, frowns, laughs, blisters, songs, and friends. &lt;br /&gt;And all this for what? An experience? No. Try this: a chance to get out of our comfort zones, take a step, and try on a new pair of shades. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Be keepin you updated about our airport extravaganzas!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Colin &amp; Kona&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-7334876075435123112?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/9Mcs-Lmv1A4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/9Mcs-Lmv1A4/roma-and-end.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/roma-and-end.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-3870959310561848424</guid><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:14:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-21T12:56:33.179-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Italy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">travel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">memory</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Joy</category><title>Full On!</title><description>Today was our Full On day! Basically, it was a day to conquer fears and get some tools of how to live life to the fullest. It reminded both Kona and I of Teen Focus (for those of you who know what that is.) except it was only one day. We did team building exercises to learn more about ourselves and we also got to repell down an old castle tower! It was so cool and so fun! Kona zoomed down the wall in no time flat, and I had a fun time racing Creed and Alex down!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There's Kona second from left!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/21/320.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/21/s_320.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Like a pro&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/21/321.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/21/s_321.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Colin being oh so manly (far right)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/21/322.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/21/s_322.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Just about to win the race!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/21/323.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/21/s_323.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is the tent/room we danced, had fun, and learned in&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/21/324.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/21/s_324.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/21/325.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/21/s_325.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today is our last day near Assisi. Tomorrow, we head to Rome! We get to see the Coloseum tomorrow, and I am so very psyched!! In two days we get to visit the Vatican, which i'm excited for also!! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Both Kona and I miss our families and can't wait to see them, and yet this trip is so fun and it's hard to accept that it is coming to an end. Looking back, we really have put our blood sweat and tears into this. I'm so glad it's been worth it, and so excited for these last few days!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Colin and Kona&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-3870959310561848424?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/PApkKAdKUWc" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/PApkKAdKUWc/full-on.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/full-on.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-7077083035233995648</guid><pubDate>Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:06:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-20T15:17:49.507-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Italy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">travel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">sites of interest</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">summer</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">memory</category><title>Kona found an Italian boyfriend... And Colin beat him up ;)</title><description>Today has been such a fun day. We started out the day with a bus ride to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We got to spend a lot of time walking around, shopping, and touring a cathedral. Colin and I had fun taking pictures at the tower. We both thought that it was very cool and very touristy. We were able to walk right up to the tower which was really cool. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/20/386.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/20/s_386.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/20/387.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/20/s_387.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/20/388.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/20/s_388.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We toured Asisi this afternoon. We got a history lesson from a nun. She spoke very good English. Oh yeah... She was from New Jersey. She told us some very interesting stories about St. Frances and then we got to walk around.    &lt;br /&gt;After that, we spent some time in Asisi itself and got to hang out. Gelato and staying out of the sun were the order for the day...it's been hot! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/20/389.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/20/s_389.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/20/391.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/20/s_391.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/20/392.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/20/s_392.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/20/393.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/20/s_393.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It turns out we get to do the repelling tomorrow, not today. Tomorrow is called our "full on day" and I guess repelling is only one of the things we're doing! Totally can't wait!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pray that these last days of our journey prove to be the best. We can't wait to see what God has in store!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kona and Colin&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-7077083035233995648?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/WlukX8OSy8I" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/WlukX8OSy8I/kona-found-italian-boyfriend-and-colin.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/kona-found-italian-boyfriend-and-colin.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-3551595296579910608</guid><pubDate>Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:48:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-19T12:48:21.192-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Italy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">travel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">summer</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">memory</category><title>Colin is in jail for taking pictures of David</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;We got to spend today in Florence! We started out the day with a tour. We got to see a lot of beautiful statues. We got to take pictures of a replica of the statue of David and at the end of our tour, we got to see the real statue of David. The real statue is located in the 'Academia' along with other beautiful unfinished statues. Colin cheated and took pictures of the real David (below).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We had a great lunch at a restaurant close by. We had some delicious chicken, pasta, and ice cream. After lunch we had some free time to walk around. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We got a tour of a leather factory where we learned how to tell the diference between fake and real leather. We had some time to shop but again, everything was super expensive. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Right now we are on our way to a pizza place where some of us will get to help make dinner. After that we will head back to the hotel for some swimming and packing. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Last night we had a talent show. A group of girls dressed up as the guys, made fun if them, and did a skit. Colin and Creed also did a skit where they each played multiple characters. It was halarious! Dee Dee got a video of the whole thing. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A few nights ago, a guy on the team was having a hard night. He was feeling homesick and he was dealing with some fears of singing in front of everybody at the talent show. Colin, Creed, and I and a few others were able to talk to him and encourage him. We even ended up singing with him while we were standing around a fountain in France. Last night at the talent show, this guy got up and thanked us for helping him deal with his homesickness and he invited us to come and sing with him. It was such a sweet moment. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Colin and I were talking about how fast the time has been going. Each day doesn't seem to fly by but when we look back at the past two weeks we can't believe that we are already one week away from seeing our families. We definitely miss them but we are really enjoying our time here. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Please pray for health and realness for our team. Also pray that we will really be able&lt;br /&gt;to enjoy our last week in Italy. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More pics are below. Enjoy!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kona and Colin&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/362.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/s_362.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/363.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/s_363.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/364.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/s_364.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/365.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/s_365.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The David replica&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/366.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/s_366.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/367.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/s_367.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/368.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/s_368.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The real David!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/369.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/s_369.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This was good to know for Kona and I. Let's just say our sense of direction is sub par.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/370.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/s_370.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ten kids in a phone booth! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/371.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/s_371.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A flan heart that Colin presented to our waiter while the rest of us laughed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/372.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/s_372.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/373.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/s_373.jpg' border='0' width='280' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/374.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/19/s_374.jpg' border='0' width='280' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More later! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Plans for tomorrow: visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa, meet a priest in Asisi, and repel off of an old cathedral.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-3551595296579910608?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/cxdOa6zb3So" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/cxdOa6zb3So/colin-is-in-jail-for-taking-pictures-of.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/colin-is-in-jail-for-taking-pictures-of.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-5712870627699977161</guid><pubDate>Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-18T11:03:13.314-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">France</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Italy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">travel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Monaco</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">summer</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">memory</category><title>The last of France and the beginning of Italy</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;Sorry for not blogging for a long time. the Wi Fi was dumb in our last hotel. We have done a lot since our last post. We visited an American cemetery on French soil, we got a tour of a perfume factory, and we had two days to explore Nice. Finally, we visited Monaco today. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The American cemetery was very American, white, and had two mosaics. The history lesson was a little boring and Colin had a hard time because cemeteries are hard for him to be in right now. None the less, it was educational and provided time for self-reflection. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The perfume factory was fun. Kona actually smelled good for once... ;-) We talked about how perfume is made and then took a quiz which we both missed one on. Then we had time to shop but the perfume was way too expensive :(&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Nice was nice...&lt;br /&gt;We got to tour the city and even go bowling as a team! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This morning we went to Monacco. It is one of the richest countries in the world but also the second smallest. We had free time to shop but most of our time was spent taking pictures of the beautiful houses and the sweet cars.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The days are flying by. Our time in France is now done. We just arrived in Italy. So far, Italy and France look a lot alike. Most of today is going to be spent in the coach. Hopefully none if us will get carsick. The road is very windy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As our trip moves foreward we are maintaining the 'be here now' mentality. Please pray that homesickness and normal sickness don't get in the way of this.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Enjoy the below pics!&lt;br /&gt;Colin and Kona&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/211.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_211.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/212.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_212.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kona likes her some green beans!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/213.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_213.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/214.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_214.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Awesome perfume factory&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/215.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_215.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/216.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_216.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Overlooking Nice&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/217.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_217.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Creedalicious&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/218.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_218.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/219.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_219.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/220.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_220.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sweet bowling&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/221.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_221.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/222.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_222.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Monaco...so many yachts&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/223.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_223.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Don't worry, Creed and I split the costs 50/50&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/224.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_224.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/225.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_225.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/226.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_226.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A bakery in Monaco&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/227.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_227.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hmmm...I was a little sketchy when Kona bought 4 bars as souveniers...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/228.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_228.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/229.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/18/s_229.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;First glimpses of Italy!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-5712870627699977161?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/YgCvUlctnZ8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/YgCvUlctnZ8/last-of-france-and-beginning-of-italy.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/last-of-france-and-beginning-of-italy.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-7236634402254081539</guid><pubDate>Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:24:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-14T12:01:44.788-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">France</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">travel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">friends</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">memory</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">relationship</category><title>The rest of day 8</title><description>Wanted to update everyone about how the  rest of the day went! The castle and town in Carcassonne was really cool. The scenery was beautiful. During our free time there, a group of us got French crepes. Colin accidentally ordered one that was made with alchohol. It was very funny!  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After that we went to Avignon. It was an old city that housed the Pope's palace. It was interesting to look at but the audio guides prooved to be pretty dull. We got more free time to walk around Avignon. It was very crowded and exciting due to the fact that today is their independence day. We heard a lot of musical instruments, saw a lot of plays going on, and had a fun time just experiencing French culture. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although today was very fun, we are looking forward to going back to the hotel so that we can eat, relax, and shower. Please continue praying for joy and energy. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Colin and Kona&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A Funny thing that we witnessed today:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;- one of our team members peeing on the Pope's palace&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pics: The castle, wall area, and town of Carcassonne. Also, fun times in Avignon!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Carcassonne:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/224.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/s_224.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/225.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/s_225.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/226.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/s_226.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/227.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/s_227.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/228.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/s_228.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Avignon:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/229.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/s_229.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/230.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/s_230.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/231.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/14/s_231.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-7236634402254081539?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/I2BvVIIM3Rk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/I2BvVIIM3Rk/rest-of-day-8.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>1</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/rest-of-day-8.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-3938733256772966</guid><pubDate>Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:15:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-14T06:39:03.459-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">France</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">travel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">memory</category><title>Colin hasn't changed his clothes yet!</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today the skies are grey. So is the mood of our team. We have hit that wall where the adrenaline is fading and we still have half of the trip left. Drama has increased little by little, and people have moved closer and closer to that line, that ledge we call rules. Some of our team has defaulted to having a bad attitude- not overtly and suddenly, but gradually.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We don't feel like our attitudes are getting worse but we can tell that rest is definitely something that we need to take into account. Each day we feel more tired than the last. We are definitely still having fun and making great friends but next time we have free time at the hotel we will be taking a nap to make up for lost sleep. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today is another full day. We are on our way to a Medievil city. This is where part of the movie Robin Hood Prince of Theives was filmed. After that we will go to Avignon where we will see the Pope's palace. The overcast skies will be nice for walking around outside. Pleae pray for energy for today. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kona and Colin&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;PS- if you want to hear the song that we wake up to every morning look up "Love Today" by Mika&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-3938733256772966?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/QQ8lhAYAQPA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/QQ8lhAYAQPA/colin-hasn-changed-his-clothes-yet.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>1</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/colin-hasn-changed-his-clothes-yet.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-4490005682956065574</guid><pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:17:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-13T15:19:14.339-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">France</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">travel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">memory</category><title>Quick post about France day 1</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hey everyone! It's late and I need to sleep, but I wanted to throw up some pics of today, and a brief summary. We drove from Spain to France today then spent all afternoon in a 'prehistoric' cave. Afterwards, we swam in a river and used a sweet rope swing. Creed, Alex, and I tried to get all 3 of us on at once. That attempt ended in failure ;)&lt;br /&gt;Dinner was at the hotel tonight, and those that brought dressy clothes got all dressed up! We had a yummy dinner, then headed off for bed. &lt;br /&gt;Which is where I need to be! Night!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Colin&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pics of teaching and French scenery:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/13/390.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/13/s_390.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/13/391.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/13/s_391.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/13/392.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/13/s_392.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/13/393.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/13/s_393.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-4490005682956065574?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/jzbjgeLlNVk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/jzbjgeLlNVk/quick-post-about-france-day-1.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/quick-post-about-france-day-1.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-6546440157246547438</guid><pubDate>Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:20:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-12T13:18:48.540-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">travel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">summer</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">memory</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Spain</category><title>Update from the tomato</title><description>Hello family and friends! Colin is finally letting me use his phone :) Now it is time for me to update you and let you know how I am doing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I left with some fears. I was nervous about being away from my family for so long. Not only was I leaving the country for the first time without a family member but I also going with a group of people that I didn't know very well. Thankfully, I was able to let go of all of my fears not long after we left.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The whole trip has been such an awesome adventure so far. I loved the homestay. I stayed with a single woman who was deaf. Thankfully I knew enough spanish for us to communicate. She read my lips and I watched her point and picked out some of the words that she said. We only had to pull out a piece of paper a couple of times. I am very glad that I got to stay with her. She had such a kind and hospitable personality. I really enjoyed giving her the gifts that I had brought her from home. She loved the huckleberry lotion and the hot chocolate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On the last night at her house, I was able to go into my room and spend a lot of time in prayer for her and her family. I will definitely be emailing her when I get home.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The beach has been quite the experience. Unfortunately, I got a sunburn on my face and my shoulders. I am slowly recovering and I am afraid that I may peel from this one...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Last night was one of the most fun nights that I have had so far. We went to a flamenco restaurant where we got to watch a flamenco dancing session while we ate. After dessert, they began pulling us up to dance with them one at a time. Then they turned on the Mocarina and we all got on stage and danced. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After dinner we went back to the hotel and went on a walk in the dark. Five of us stopped at a photo booth and took a couple of great pictures. Then we found a concert going on close to the hotel. They were playing on a stage that was in a pond. They were singing in English. I really enjoyed sitting down and listening to them. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today we played some beach volleyball and I kicked butt :) we are on our way to lunch right now. We get to make paella. I am excited.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;(update: here's some pics from lunch!) &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/12/394.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/12/s_394.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/12/395.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/12/s_395.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/12/396.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/12/s_396.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/12/397.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/12/s_397.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/12/398.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/12/s_398.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hopefully I will be able to write more soon. Please keep us in your prayers. Specifically for rest and more team bonding. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kona  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Funny things I've seen:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;- a clown kiss one of our team members the lips&lt;br /&gt;- a mother holding her five year old daughter while she peed on a tree in public&lt;br /&gt;- mannequins dressed in trash bag dresses&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-6546440157246547438?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/w7ijdA98kjs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/w7ijdA98kjs/update-from-tomato.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>3</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/update-from-tomato.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-4164861674845470727</guid><pubDate>Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:37:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-11T16:11:22.551-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">travel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">summer</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">memory</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Spain</category><title>From Valencia to Barcelona!</title><description>Colin here. I apologize for being the main poster thus far! As Kona and were just reconnected after the homestay, you can expect to here from her more often :) she'll be doing a blog post tomorrow morning at about 9 (1am Idaho time.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyways, today was awesome! We woke up early early early at our host houses and then met back up with the group at about 7am. We all agreed that although the homestays were way fun, we're glad to be back with the whole group. It was sooo nice to give Kona a hug and share our unique experiences at our homestays.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;At this point the entire group departed from Valencia with our sales pointed towards Barcelona, a 4 hour bus drive away. Time was once again taken up by iPods, cards, and much talking. It's been awesome together to know the group better each day.&lt;br /&gt;We ate lunch at a coastal town a couple hours outside Barcelona. Although the Spaghetti was bland and gross (and no, mom, that's not just me talking- the whole group agreed) we did have fun by the beach collecting sea shells and getting our feet wet in the warm water. Very awesome :)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/392.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/s_392.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Once we reached Barcelona we were all itchy to experience the sites, and boy did we ever! Barcelona is a HUGE tourist attraction (had to keep a close watch on our wallets and purses) and there were TONS of people there! It was awesome! We walked down the main drag in Barcelona for about 45 min and spent about 20min in the market section (amazing fresh fruit!) As you can probably imagine, we had loads of fun!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/393.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/s_393.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/394.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/s_394.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/395.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/s_395.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/396.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/s_396.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/397.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/s_397.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/398.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/s_398.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After doug some site seeing, both our stomachs and our overseas group leader (an awesome lady named Katty) told us it was tome for dinner. We got the pleasure of going to a Flemenco dance place for dinner and a show! We got to watch the dancers, and&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/399.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/s_399.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' align='left' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/400.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/s_400.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' align='left' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/401.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/s_401.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' align='left' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;later got to participate in the fun! The dinner ended by a group macarana and other fun songs (reminded me of focus for those who know what that means.) it was SO much fun! Once again, great group builder.&lt;br /&gt;Finally, the day ended with us finding our Barcelona hotel, then walking around some more to see the night life. We even stopped by an outside concert!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/402.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/11/s_402.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today was awesome, and I'm really glad our hotel has free internet!&lt;br /&gt;Tomorrow will be some beach time, then some more city time! Can't wait!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Please pray for Kona, as she got sunburned pretty bad on her face. Continue to pray for our trip in general as well, we need it! Thanks!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Colin &lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-4164861674845470727?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/sprjZr_U-yU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/sprjZr_U-yU/from-valencia-to-barcelona.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/from-valencia-to-barcelona.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-3100890948415859009</guid><pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:33:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-10T05:33:12.837-06:00</atom:updated><title>Homestay day 3</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Just got done seeing an awesome cathedral that houses the holy grail! Luckily, also found wi fi!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/50.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/s_50.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/51.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/s_51.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/52.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/s_52.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/53.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/s_53.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-3100890948415859009?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/rWbEHAaAHEc" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/rWbEHAaAHEc/homestay-day-3.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/homestay-day-3.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-6015001944820561828</guid><pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:55:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-09T12:08:07.296-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">travel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Spain</category><title>Homestay, day 1</title><description>Hey everyone, Colin here. I am currently writing this while sitting in my bed in a hot, un-air-conditioned room at my homestay in Valencia, Spain. I won't be able to post this until tomorrow due to no internet, but I will record my thoughts now nonetheless.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today was a 5+ hour drive interrupted by a two hour stop at a farm in Spain where they have a vineyard, groves of olive trees, but most importantly, is a breeding center for bulls. And not just any bulls, they breed the kid you see in the ring with the matadors. Very cool place! We ate lunch there, then were back on the road. here's some pics&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/09/235.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/09/s_235.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/09/236.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/09/s_236.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/09/237.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/09/s_237.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/09/238.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/09/s_238.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After long hours on the road (Kona and I watched a movie, then slept) we finally arrived in Valencia and met hour host families. Mine are a nice older couple who live in an apartment 7 levels up. At this point, I honestly don't know more then that :) &lt;br /&gt;I'm not sure about Konas, and I may not even see her until the 3 days are up. Then again, I hear my homestay group ( I'm with two other guys) may connect up with other groups. Only time will tell.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I better get to bed. Hopefully I'll have good luck with Internet tomorrow!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Colin &lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-6015001944820561828?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/gF56dHOk-0Q" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/gF56dHOk-0Q/homestay-day-1.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/homestay-day-1.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-2342320868695282832</guid><pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:53:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-10T05:30:56.568-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">travel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">update</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Spain</category><title>Auqarium/homestay day 2!</title><description>Today was awesome! My group of 3 guys met up with a nearby group of 4 girls from ppl to ppl and we all went to the Aquarium in Valencia today! We spent just about the whole day there, and it was a total blast! Again, I'm not sure when this post is going to make it online, but I am glad I was able to get yesterdays on earlier!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Please pray that Kona and I have a great rest of our time at our homestays. I have yet to hear from her, but I hope to tonight (our team has a wallow talkie system set up for every night.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanks!&lt;br /&gt;Colin&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pics of today:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/40.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/s_40.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/41.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/s_41.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/42.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/s_42.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/43.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/s_43.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/44.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/s_44.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/45.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/s_45.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/46.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/s_46.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/47.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/s_47.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/48.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/10/s_48.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-2342320868695282832?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/s0MMs-Vbg6A" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/s0MMs-Vbg6A/auqariumhomestay-day-2.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/auqariumhomestay-day-2.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-5389635631009577574</guid><pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:36:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-07T14:36:18.275-06:00</atom:updated><title>Tired day</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Been without Internet all day! Paid 3 euro to get it in hotel. Soooo tired, waking up at 8:30 tomorrow which should be nice. &lt;br /&gt;Both Kona and I have felt mildly sick at different points in the day(s) but are feeling much better tonight. Sleep will do wonders.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Madrid is so beautiful! Apperently we have a 5 hour drive ahead of us tomorrow! We'll be with our homestay families for the next 3 days. More to come!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here are some pics of the day. Thanks for your prayer! I'll post when wi-fi is available!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Colin&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/350.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/s_350.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/351.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/s_351.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/352.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/s_352.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/353.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/s_353.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/354.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/s_354.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-5389635631009577574?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/a2ucQ5v__30" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/a2ucQ5v__30/tired-day.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/tired-day.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-3242387253198629770</guid><pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:24:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-07T14:24:28.356-06:00</atom:updated><title>Day of Travel</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;Hey!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We've been crazy busy since the past post yesterday! Travling takes loads of energy, and time!&lt;br /&gt;The Boise to Chicago flight was pretty uneventful. Most people slept, considering it wad 6am, but some still found I hard to catch z's. The layover in Chicago was LONG, but time was filled up with games, walking, and talking. Our group is coming together rather nicely, considering it's still rather early in the trip. &lt;br /&gt;The beastly flight, Chicago to Frankfurt, is by far the longest flight totallying 7 hours. Sleeping, listening to music, reading, talking, and watching a movie still left time to spare. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And now we're in Frankfurt. We don't have wi-fi so by the time this gets posted, we'll probably be at the hotel. This is a good way to kill our 5 hour layover, tho.&lt;br /&gt;Thoughts so far on the trip:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kona: "I've enjoyed bonding with team members, and am tired."&lt;br /&gt;Colin: "Definitely. The people are great, but the time change is a killer. Looking forward to getting caught up so I can fully enjoy everything."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here's a couple pics:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/343.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/s_343.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/344.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/s_344.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/345.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/07/s_345.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Keep ya posted!&lt;br /&gt;Colin &amp; Kona&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-3242387253198629770?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/v893L9FLvd8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/v893L9FLvd8/day-of-travel.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/day-of-travel.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-2036089345999577238</guid><pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:28:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-06T05:34:23.109-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">traveling</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">update</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">twitter</category><title>And so it begins!</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The trip has begun! We just made it past security in Boise airport, and are ready to fly! I can already tell this is going to be an amazing trip! Stay tuned for more updates, pics, and anecdotes! Please check http://twitter.com/ChangeofShades for frequent updates on the go!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Colin&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/06/76.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/06/s_76.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-2036089345999577238?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/jv3U6qAl3p8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/jv3U6qAl3p8/and-so-it-begins.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/and-so-it-begins.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-5936047550623716574</guid><pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:42:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-05T17:42:26.627-06:00</atom:updated><title>The Final Day</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/05/567.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/05/s_567.jpg' border='0' width='200' height='133' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Well, today is the final day! After so much prep, it's hard to believe it's actually here. As the time draws closer, I find myself reflecting on all the fundraisers, letters, and crazy ideas. These last months have been hard, no doubt about that. After talkig with Kona though, we believe His hand has so been on this trip. It's clear there's a reason we're on this team, though that reason may never be 100% clear to us. It is evident, however, that we will be given the opportunity to truly Change our Shades while on this trip. Please pray that Kona and I take every one of those opportunities, and through them grow. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanks once again to everyone who has given us support. Stay tuned as we blog (here) tweet (http://twitter.com/ChangeofShades) and trust God on this adventure to Europe!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Colin&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-5936047550623716574?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/ak4oD7VnEjA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/ak4oD7VnEjA/final-day.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/final-day.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-6651336412055551493</guid><pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:14:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-04T07:39:14.347-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">update</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">countdown</category><title>Due giorni rimasto!</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/Sk9ZTCBOupI/AAAAAAAAAVs/1sJx6JMMTlY/s1600-h/flag.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/Sk9ZTCBOupI/AAAAAAAAAVs/1sJx6JMMTlY/s200/flag.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354596665461226130" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;First of all, happy Fourth of July!&lt;br /&gt;I hope that through all the fireworks, food, family, and friends you are able to appreciate the true meaning of today. If it weren't for the brave men who gave there lives 233 years ago, this nation would not be the same place.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/Sk9bGKfmD_I/AAAAAAAAAV0/9VGkgG7lIps/s1600-h/two.gif"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/Sk9bGKfmD_I/AAAAAAAAAV0/9VGkgG7lIps/s200/two.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354598643421024242" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There are only two days left! I finished packing all my major items yesterday, giving me two days to remember everything I forgot ;-) Kona and I are looking forward to kicking off our trip with these last two days of partying and hanging with family and friends, both for the Fourth, and for our last day in town!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today, you can pray that while on this trip God will open the doors to things we never thought possible. To leave room for God to work in ways we never could fathom. That would be awesome!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Have a fantastic day!&lt;br /&gt;Colin&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-6651336412055551493?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/sL9M7TejwaY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/sL9M7TejwaY/due-giorni-rimasto.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/Sk9ZTCBOupI/AAAAAAAAAVs/1sJx6JMMTlY/s72-c/flag.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/due-giorni-rimasto.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-1540570076259037205</guid><pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:11:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-03T17:17:36.586-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">update</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">countdown</category><title>Trois jours!</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/Sk6RcNw_PkI/AAAAAAAAAVk/hWJDAJcHbRw/s1600-h/three.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/Sk6RcNw_PkI/AAAAAAAAAVk/hWJDAJcHbRw/s200/three.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354376920907595330" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;The final countdown has begun! With only three days left on the clock, Europe seems closer then ever! I am right now in the midst of packing, making money arrangements, and charging all of the electronics we will be taking!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Again, thank you to everyone for your continued support in getting Kona and I overseas. We are so ready for this trip to change our shades as we plunge into the depths of brand new cultures!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Prayer request for the day: that as the trip goes on and we begin getting tired, God will give us a fresh burst of energy every morning! The last thing we want to happen is to get tired and miss what He has in store for us!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Colin&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-1540570076259037205?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/ss4s_pr_gfE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/ss4s_pr_gfE/trois-jours.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/Sk6RcNw_PkI/AAAAAAAAAVk/hWJDAJcHbRw/s72-c/three.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/trois-jours.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-6818839327345728055</guid><pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:04:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-02T22:06:26.094-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">update</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">countdown</category><title>Count them! 4 days left!</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/02/607.jpg'&gt;&lt;img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/07/02/s_607.jpg' border='0' width='500' height='500' style='margin:5px'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Well, we're down to the final four! Each day brings a new wave of excitement as last-minute purchases are made, and final packing gets done! I'm dedicating all tomorrow to get my bags ready! (I still need to catch up with Kona!)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Please pray that the home stay families we will be staying with the very first week of the trip are good fits and awesome people. I can't wait to spend time with locals! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thank you all for your tremendous support! If you would like to recieved email updates as soon as we update the blog, please feel free to subscribe (look right).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanks!&lt;br /&gt;Colin&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-6818839327345728055?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/V1cNSu_PSwI" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/V1cNSu_PSwI/count-them-4-days-left.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/count-them-4-days-left.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-1103459127325556000</guid><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:41:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-01T17:45:27.713-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">update</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">countdown</category><title>Cinco dias!</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.alixaxel.com/wordpress/wp-content/2007/09/five_dollars_front.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 417px; height: 173px;" src="http://www.alixaxel.com/wordpress/wp-content/2007/09/five_dollars_front.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Five days left!&lt;br /&gt;Kona is done packing...I'm not even close =/ I guess it's to be expected from a girl though, right?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Getting more excited by the day!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Prayer request: That while in Europe, we will take each day as it is. No comparisons, just live in the present.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanks!&lt;br /&gt;Colin&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-1103459127325556000?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/sl8k4Y_pVKc" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/sl8k4Y_pVKc/cinco-dias.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/07/cinco-dias.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-4721302647986726945</guid><pubDate>Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:59:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-06-30T16:06:24.063-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">travel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">update</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">countdown</category><title>And on the sixth day...</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/SkqLzxHUBiI/AAAAAAAAAVc/JNxZDXLWyMA/s1600-h/six.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/SkqLzxHUBiI/AAAAAAAAAVc/JNxZDXLWyMA/s200/six.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353244828556854818" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;One more day down! As the trip approaches, Kona and I are finding it more and more necessary to stock up on sleep and rest. All this fundraising and work is tiring!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Prayer request: that our team will mesh and completely get along. No fights, no drama; only friendship and good experiences.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanks!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-4721302647986726945?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/CHbtOxAD-3g" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/CHbtOxAD-3g/and-on-sixth-day.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/SkqLzxHUBiI/AAAAAAAAAVc/JNxZDXLWyMA/s72-c/six.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/06/and-on-sixth-day.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-3032301996843862627</guid><pubDate>Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:12:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-06-29T18:24:31.326-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">travel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">update</category><title>One week!</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/SklbH10aFjI/AAAAAAAAAU8/EHKVNQu_9Rw/s1600-h/7NumberSevenInCircle.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/SklbH10aFjI/AAAAAAAAAU8/EHKVNQu_9Rw/s200/7NumberSevenInCircle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352909822370649650" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;First, I must apologize for the lack of communication on the blog as of late. Kona and I have been slammed busy with last minute fundraising and out of state trips.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That being said:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:180%;"&gt;We leave for Europe in a week!&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span style="font-size:180%;"&gt;WOO HOO!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I would like to reiterate that we will be posting to this blog on a regular basis while in Europe, and we will also be tweeting from our &lt;a href="http://twitter.com/ChangeofShades"&gt;ChangeofShades twitter account!&lt;/a&gt; Feel free to follow us on either or both of these; we can't wait to share our adventure!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanks to everyone who has donated to our trip. Although all of Kona's and my money is in, we do have a few outstanding "parental debts" to pay off- so if you would still like to donate or put us to work (even after the trip) please contact us on this blog by leaving a comment!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And last, but most certainly not least, please pray for Kona and me while we are away. God has been so good through this whole experience, I can't wait to see what He has in store for us on the trip!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanks, and stay tuned!&lt;br /&gt;Colin&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-3032301996843862627?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/J7aQzz2bZ3g" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/J7aQzz2bZ3g/one-week.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/SklbH10aFjI/AAAAAAAAAU8/EHKVNQu_9Rw/s72-c/7NumberSevenInCircle.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>1</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/06/one-week.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-3335430635402027379</guid><pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:43:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-06-04T07:43:00.390-06:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">trust</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blog</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">peace</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">update</category><title>Gearing up</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/Sid7U6pr_jI/AAAAAAAAAT0/KO1rpjwjN-o/s1600-h/gearing-up2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/Sid7U6pr_jI/AAAAAAAAAT0/KO1rpjwjN-o/s200/gearing-up2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343375082170089010" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;These last months have been a whirlwind! Fundraisers, support letters, school, life. I feel like everything has come to a final cataclysm, a final push through this bottleneck, right as school ends.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I want to take just a minute and look back. I want to look back at what this experience, this journey really is about.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"Through pictures, video, information, and good humor, this blog communicates the heart of who Kona and Colin are." This quote, found right, summarizes what this blog is about. Not merely words, nor funny speech. Not information, pictures, or updates. This blog is about Kona's and my heart. Our heart for Jesus, for traveling, for building relationships- all of it. &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Change of Shades &lt;/span&gt;is about showing how one small group of teenagers can venture outside their comfort zone and reach into the world beyond. Take a pin to the bubble of adolescence, and the natural naivety therein.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, as the June 6th deadline looms over us and grips with it's iron claws, Kona and I trust in the One who has gotten us to where we are at. It is no accident that we have gotten involved with People to People, and no accident that we have come this far.&lt;br /&gt;We have a little over $1,000 left to raise, and we know that all things are possible through Christ.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thank you all for your continued support and prayers, we need both now more than ever. If you would like to donate, whatever the amount may be, please contact me at &lt;a href="mailto:colin.mansfield@gmail.com"&gt;colin.mansfield@gmail.com &lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanks!&lt;br /&gt;Colin&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-3335430635402027379?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/kjFzeRdaCGE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/kjFzeRdaCGE/gearing-up.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Colin Mansfield)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_B4T5c7QO8yI/Sid7U6pr_jI/AAAAAAAAAT0/KO1rpjwjN-o/s72-c/gearing-up2.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/06/gearing-up.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436531991825952428.post-8456255098618658747</guid><pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:50:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-06-01T20:11:44.719-06:00</atom:updated><title>Oasis was a success!</title><description>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_hBz4fubWXxw/SiSKWRIMjeI/AAAAAAAAABg/-JdY0zHfhE8/s1600-h/kona+and+colin.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: undefinedpx; height: undefinedpx;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_hBz4fubWXxw/SiSKWRIMjeI/AAAAAAAAABg/-JdY0zHfhE8/s320/kona+and+colin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342547173127785954" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hey Everyone!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So far, every one of our fund raisers have been a success! Oasis was definitely another one!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Colin opened Oasis at 2:00pm and I went over as soon as I got out of school. We had people pulling through that were regular customers and others that were friends. Colin and I had planned on closing at five... that was a nice idea... Just as we were about to close, a customer pulled up, and then another, and another. It turns out that we weren't able to close until 6:30! The extra time was definitely worth it. Colin and I were able to provide Timberline with a little cash to put towards their fund and we plan on helping them raise more. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here is a list of other events that are to come:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;June 18th, 7:00pm: Flip-flop and fondue jewelry party! This party is especially for mothers and their daughters. Others are definitely welcome! There will be prizes awarded to people with the best flip-flops!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We will be having a quarter carnival. The date is yet to be anounced :-) We will have games, music, kareoke, dancing, and much more so start saving your quarters!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thank you so much to everyone who has supported Colin and I these last few months! We are so excited to share our Europe experiences with you! Please continue to keep us in your prayers as far as finances go. Colin and I have both raised around $4,000. We have $2,000 left to raise in one month! We both trust that God is going to provide and we are so thankful for what He has already done!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thank you again!&lt;br /&gt;Kona Estes&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6436531991825952428-8456255098618658747?l=changeofshades.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~4/sNIvoZnbMTg" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChangeOfShades/~3/sNIvoZnbMTg/oasis-was-success.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Kona Estes)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_hBz4fubWXxw/SiSKWRIMjeI/AAAAAAAAABg/-JdY0zHfhE8/s72-c/kona+and+colin.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://changeofshades.blogspot.com/2009/06/oasis-was-success.html</feedburner:origLink></item><language>en-us</language><media:rating>nonadult</media:rating></channel></rss>

