ali's american adventures

I'd love to enter your contest! What a brilliant idea!

Probably the most dangerous thing I've done was in college. One of my friends and I thought that it would be a good idea to make some s'mores. At midnight. So, we took a book of matches and some old newspaper, and walked by ourselves to a deserted park at 1:00 in the morning to make s'mores. We knew that it probably wasn't the safest thing, so we took a kitchen knife with us. We found out later on that the park was frequented by drug dealers after dark, and we decided that we were NEVER going to do something like that again!

#1 Sarah Fehrman on 2010-04-26 16:37

I want a chance to win! So consider me commenting! And I'm going to go donate right now! You are such a blessing!

#2 Alex (Homepage) on 2010-04-26 16:45

That is such a beautiful necklace! I would love to win it!

The only dangerous thing that I can think of was during high school. A couple of friends and I stayed at a convention center on the top of a mountain in the White Mountain Ranges in NH. One night we decided to be brave and sleep on one of the ledges that happen to overlook the valley. Fortunately, we all woke up in the same place too!

I would love this necklace, mostly because Africa is my heart too! I am moving to South Africa at the end of May to plant a church. If you're ever in Durban, let me know! And thanks for blogging. I love reading the stories of your life and the miracles of God on a Mercy Ship. Truly inspiring.

#3 Kelly (Homepage) on 2010-04-26 18:02

I would love a chance to win the necklace, but I'm having a hard time thinking of something dangerous I have done. I am NOT a risk-taker. I am too afraid of getting hurt or looking like a fool. I suppose the most dangerous thing I've done lately was drink the tap water in Haiti when I was there at the beginning of the month. Thankfully I didn't get sick!

#4 britney (Homepage) on 2010-04-26 18:10

I would LOVE that necklace!!

One of the most dangerous things I have done is to go white water rafting in the Andes mountains. It didn't feel all that dangerous until I fell out and went UNDER the boat while we were ON the rapids. Ouch. I shook for the rest of the trip!!

#5 Eva Joy (Homepage) on 2010-04-26 18:18

I am not much for CHOOSING to do something dangerous, though I would if the reason were good enough. I have had many more danger filled experiences outside of my control than I would like to recount. One of my daughters has a tug in her heart to go to Africa. Her birthday is coming up. If I win, I will give this to her from you for that occasion.

#6 tricia (Homepage) on 2010-04-26 18:19

that is gorgeous (is that how you spell it? LOL, i'm such a dork) but i think the most dangerous thing i've done...does attempting to cut a 9 month old's nails count?

#7 krystina (Homepage) on 2010-04-26 18:29

I would love to win that necklace!! You have given me so much in your Christian walk, and if you don't return to the Africa Mercy after your around the world tour, I will miss you immensely next year! I am too conservative to have done many dangerous things - though I did receive an intracerebral bleed once from skiing (I was on an easy run, and have done lots more 'dangerous' runs in back bowls of North American mountains), and I do drive a motorcycle - albeit with a license, a helmet, and on Canadian roads!
Blessings on your continued work, and thanks for sharing a smile with us as well.

#8 Nicky on 2010-04-26 19:14

I'm in!

Um, dangerous?? for the life of me, I cannot think of a single thing! so embarassing...so tomorrow I will risk life and limb by jaywalking across my quiet suburbian street.

#9 Dina (Homepage) on 2010-04-26 19:44

Beautiful necklace!

Hmmmm, I can't think of anything terribly dangerous that I've done. I did once ride in a London taxi and the ride was terrifyingly similar to the one you described on the zemidjahn!

Love, love, love your blog! Been following you since your early days in Liberia, and I get so excited every time I see a new post.

#10 Kim (Homepage) on 2010-04-26 20:40

Spectacular necklace! Since two of my sons are from Uganda, it is all the more beautiful to me! Something dangerous, huh? I stood at the top of Victoria Falls in Zambia with roaring water pouring by, ready to fall off the falls just mere feet from where I was... no guard rails, no safety ramp. Just a big rock to stand on with a hand painted sign nearby that read, "watch for alligators"! yikes! (worth it)

#11 lisa harding (Homepage) on 2010-04-26 21:29

That is beautiful. I would really like to add this to my silver chain. But I have a friend who is totally in love with Africa (she's a nurse also and has been at least twice) and I think this is a perfect gift for her.

I think the most dangerous thing I did was climbing onto the roof of my fiancé's house so that I could "break" into his second story room. I did this because he was moving and we were under a really strict schedule. His landlord was asleep downstairs and we had forgotten the key. It was misty outside and the roof was really slanted. I almost slipped right off but managed to hang on somehow. It still makes my heart beat faster just thinking about it.

#12 Kimi (Homepage) on 2010-04-26 21:57

While I try to read you faithfully sometimes I fall short...anyway, I am not much of a risk taker and I don't do much dangerous stuff anymore, I am a military wife, does that count?

blessing!
betty

#13 Betty Malcom (Homepage) on 2010-04-26 22:02

Wow, I would be honored to wear the necklace and would do it with pride.

A dangerous thing I have done - A lifetime ago in college, I lived in Washington, D.C., and was out late at night after a party in DuPont Square. I let a strange man come with me into a public bathroom with a single toilet and hold the broken door closed from the inside so that I could have privacy. When I think about it now, I shiver...but at the time, there must have been something about him that told me it was safe (or, at least it makes me feel better to think so).

#14 Rebecca on 2010-04-26 22:17

lovely necklace!
the most dangerous thing I've done - well, I worked as an EMT, so I did a bit there, but nothing truly life-threatening (I think).

#15 Jenn on 2010-04-26 22:35

Please enter me into your giveaway! We are seriously seeking about adopting from Africa and would love to win this as a reminder of where our heart is. Most dangerous thing? Well, I agreed to marry my husband 16 days after we started dating and then 6 weeks later packed up everything I owned and followed him halfway across the US! (We've been married 16 years:))

I also spent 6 weeks in Guatemala City with YWAM between my junior and senior year in college, I heart YWAM:)

#16 Lisa K. on 2010-04-26 23:02

I want it! It's lovely!

My sister and I used to get in our car and do speed races up and down Rudasill Road in Tucson, AZ. It was a road that didn't have much on it, but it was all hairpin turns and no shoulder or safety structures. We used to time ourselves to see how fast we could get a 1979 Plymouth Volare through that "course". It's a wonder we're still alive.

#17 Deb on 2010-04-26 23:43

I would love to register to win the necklace. I can't think of anything dangerous I've done but I just wanted to let you know you're an inspiration to me. I'm a new LPN and am going back to school for my RN. I read you blog religiously and truly enjoy your stories. What you do is exactly what I want to do once I graduate and get a little experience under my belt. Keep up the good work!!!

#18 Elisabeth (Homepage) on 2010-04-26 23:54

I would LOVE to win your necklace. I avoid dangerous things - especially if they are for "no good reason". However, I have done some dangerous things for good reason.

I have been driven by a number of very interesting drivers in India. I am not sure HOW dangerous it always was because I found it was better not to look.

In my youth my sister and I used to jump on a pony in someone's field and see who could stay on the longest while the other one did whatever they could to make the pony buck us off. Okay, well maybe that wasn't for any good reason.

#19 Lori Schneider (Homepage) on 2010-04-27 03:09

Nice necklace! I would give it to one of my daughters when she is old enough to appreciate it. My oldest is from South Africa and my newest (we still haven't traveled to her yet) is from Zimbabwe. So this would look beautiful around one of their necks!

One time on a missions trip as a teenager, in a downtown slum area in a large US city, I saw a kid accidentally run in front of a car. I rushed out to him and pushed him out of the way.
(wait, I just realized you wanted us to say something we dangerous we did for no good reason, and that doesn't really apply to this, but was the first thing I thought of).

#20 Katie on 2010-04-27 03:20

I'm another non-risk taker, though I have done some stupid things. When in was 7 I wondered what would happen if I tried to staple my hand, and I did it.
I love your blog and an excited everytime a new post comes up in my Google Reader. My sister was on Anastasis for nine months for the Segue program almost 4 years ago.

#21 Deanna on 2010-04-27 12:25

oh wow. i adore that necklace. africa has been on my heart for a long while now. i am almost halfway through a two year RN program, and then i plan to travel to africa and use my degree where it is needed.

as for something dangerous...i can't think of much. i do remember hiking when i was younger and jumping off high cliffs. it was too long ago for me to remember exactly how high they were...it seemed awfully dangerous to me at the time!

#22 Kara on 2010-04-27 12:44

I would like to enter as well - thank you for the generous idea!

I'm not much of a risk-taker. So it took me awhile to think of this. My friend and I were visiting Millennium Park in Chicago. It is twelve blocks away from the train station. We walked all the way back to the train station on lonely streets, just the two of us college girls, after dark. Brilliant.

#23 Anna (Homepage) on 2010-04-27 13:12

i'd love to be entered in the giveaway! thanks for risking life and limb to offer the necklace

i have a list of stupid things i never should have done (and, fortunately, haven't added to the list lately)...

1) driving home from college on over probably three inches of ice to see a guy i liked (i married said guy several years later...)

2) accepting an offer to share a cab with a man i didn't know when i lived in the philippines. this was stupid for many reasons, among which was the fact that i didn't speak much tagalog -- all worked out though as he dropped me and my sister at the right location without any harm.

i know there was a third, but it isn't coming to my mind right now...

#24 katherine (Homepage) on 2010-04-27 13:33

Oh. My. How pretty! Please enter me in your giveaway.

My brother is studying nursing and then plans to go to Africa as a missionary. It would be really neat to have a necklace from Africa!!

I can't really think of any thing risky that I've done. I like to stick to safe, sensible things.

Thanks!
Amy

#25 amy (Homepage) on 2010-04-27 14:08

Oh, I definitely would love to have that necklace!

I can't really think of anything dangerous that I have done, not yet at least

Kelsey

#26 Kelsey on 2010-04-27 17:11

Gorgeous neclave- almost as beautiful as the stories you tell! Think of you often in my cozy, modern day NICU and remind myself of what else is out there..

#27 Mackenzie on 2010-04-27 19:50

Most dangerous thing I've ever done was to drive from Seattle to Portland in the middle of one of the worst snow storms in my little Honda Civic. About half way I watched an SUV skid out and hit the median in front of me...and I kept going. At that point I didn't even want to think about getting off the freeway and turning around.

#28 Cecelia on 2010-04-27 19:54

Hi Ali! I love the necklace! You're awesome for riding through the village to get to the necklace. : ) If I don't win this time around, I'll ask you to go with me to get something when I'm there. I'm 20 now (one more year of nursing school). My dream since I was 5 yoa has been to be a nurse on the Mercy Ships!!! I hope you're still doing it when I get there so I can meet the author I've been stalking for about 1.5 years. : )

I can think of 2 "dangerous" things off the top of my head.

1- Last summer I agreed to ride on the back of my friend's R1 streetbike. We went 180 mph! That was such a thrill. : )

2- This was an adrenaline rush too. When I was 7-15 yoa I would swing on that same friend's swing. This swing wasn't a normal swing... it was attached to a branch about 10 stories above us. I would climb onto their deck, grab on to the triangular handle and jump. If you let go, you'd fall down the side of the cliff and eventually into the river. Two girls that I knew of slipped off and broke their backs and are never able to have kids... I'm so blessed that never happened to me.

I'm donating now. See you in a few years! ( I hope!)

#29 Lana R. on 2010-04-27 20:32

Hi Ali,

Beautiful necklace!

I can't think of anything really dangerous that I've done for no reason...how about staying home alone with my siblings...there are fourteen of us! Four of my siblings were adopted from West Africa.

I really enjoy reading your blog. Keep it up!

Blessings,
Emily

#30 Emily on 2010-04-27 21:24

I would love to win this beautiful necklace!!

So pretty....

Well, 2 weeks ago I was at the beach and there was a high warning for dangerous marine life. I live in FL. Due to the onshore winds, there were thousands of Portuguese Man O' War in the water and washing up on shore. When I got to the beach, there were lots and they were big and alive.

But it was such a lovely day and I wanted to swim, and the tide was going out ....

so I said a prayer asking God for protection, figured there's a first time for everything (if I did get stung) grabbed my boogie board, and headed out. I swam and body surfed for over an hour, caught some great waves, and didn't see a single one in the water!

#31 Jean Marie (Homepage) on 2010-04-28 00:12

Hi Ali,
Great idea!
I think the most dangerous thing that I've done is to climb a volcano in Guatemala.
Thanks for sharing your adventures with us! It has been so neat to hear how God is working.

#32 Elise on 2010-04-28 09:13

I just found your blog and find it so interesting and inspiring.
Probably the most dangerous thing I have done is hitchhicked to a party by myself and was picked up by some pretty shady characters..live and learn..
We are adopting a sweet baby girl from South Africa and I plan on giving this necklace to her if we win it!

joc

#33 Joc Farrell on 2010-04-28 09:59

Does jumping out of a perfectly good airplane from 10,000 feet even put me in the running? I have the pictures to prove it! Too much fun!

#34 Mila Hightower on 2010-04-28 17:12

@Mila Hightower- I jumped out of an airplane, too.

I would love the charm.

#35 Connie on 2010-04-28 20:37

I'm not the biggest risk taker. While I have done some dangerous things, I think they've largely been done for good reasons. Or, at least for a reason, be it good or bad

. I've done the active volcano climb, the taking the bus over night on a dangerous route in a third world country thing, been in planes that are tiny and a bit shaky, etc.

I love missions, to travel, and to be adventurous (but not dangerous, go figure!) and LOVE reading your blog! Thanks for letting us all know about what you're doing!

#36 Emily on 2010-04-29 11:16

I would like to enter the giveaway!

Most of my risks have been horseback riding-related. Clambering on top of a 1200-lb animal is an adventure every time!

Long-time reader, first-time commenter.

#37 Carole (Homepage) on 2010-04-29 14:59

Just wanted to say I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog. It brings back fond memories and warms my heart! Keep it up!

As for the most dangerous thing I've done there are a few contenders:
1) scuba diving with sharks, 2) being face to face with a barracuda, and 3) almost getting nailed by a bull sea lion because I was in his territory. But I think the top is accidentally taking a picture of a Liberian police officer. It's only by the grace of God that I'm here in Canada and not some Liberian prison!

Blessings to you Ali!

#38 Erica on 2010-04-29 16:26

I am encouraged and inspired whenever I read your blog. It is wonderful to see how God is working in Africa through His people, even in the difficult times.

Most dangerous thing I've ever done? I guess that would be taking a taxi in Cape Town, South Africa. And even that wasn't bad when compared to the zemidjahns! (And I've lived in South Africa all my life, so I should know better... =P)

#39 Renate (Homepage) on 2010-04-29 16:27

Oh, Ali! I love reading how not only are physical lives transformed but spiritual lives as well. May Aissa know the safety and security of unconditional love and may it point her toward her Father.
As for dangerous-I mistakenly walked off a trail in the Bosnian countryside. Which sounds fine and dandy but Bosnian was heavily covered with land mines during their civil and the field that I was by was a known mined area.
I think going to Kibera, Kenya this summer may also count as a dangerous act.

#40 Shanda on 2010-04-30 00:12

I would love to win this necklace! The most dangerous thing I've ever done? It's hard to know where to start - most of the dangerous things I've done have been for good reason, but there have been a few - like trying to hike up Mt St Helens with only a little bottle of water - that fit quite well in the "for no good reason" category.

#41 Vanessa (Homepage) on 2010-04-30 02:19

I am constantly inspired by your blog - as an African living away from home, you're love for my continent inspires and challenges me!
Most dangerous thing I've ever done ... hmmm ... I think hanging off a bus with one foot and arm counts as top although I only stayed on for one stop as i decided i valued my life after all!! That was a few years back. The most recent was crossing a flooded street in a bid to get home and almost being swept away! I had to grab onto a random man (who was also crossing at the same point) and try to expalin what the problem was - he didn't speak English :-s!

#42 Clara on 2010-04-30 02:50

What a gorgeous piece of someone's heart.

My most dangerous escapade was manyyears ago. I flew in a military medevac helicopter at treetop-level due to a thunderstorm aloft, with the bays open... I was the patient. Strapped to a stretcher, alternately looking upside down at the ground when I tipped my head back and then right side up at the ground again over my very pregnant belly when the chopper banked the other way... and the fun was only just beginning. My baby was born with a TGA that demanded repair when he was only hours old, at a time when the surgery of choice was NOT performed on neonates. Thank God and surgical skill that he is still with us and has a healthy heart 27 years later.

#43 janfrn on 2010-04-30 18:24

Ok having lived most of my life fearful to go down the block alone, at 50 I was thrust out of the nest I thought I had made myself. The demise of a 25 year marriage led me to go back to school and get my Nurse Practitioner license. Grateful to God for getting me through that dark time of change, I wanted to pay back. Although small, I served on the Mercy for 2 months last year. (Ali I had followed your blog and sooo wanted to meet you last year, tell Linda who is my adopted daughter hello). So 1/2 way around the world alone, did ride a zimidjon my last week and when I returned I moved to the mountains of Virginia and lived on 80 acres at the top of a hill in the worst winter in 30 years, me and my dogs. Some people may not think that was dangerous, but for me was huge. And the more I risk in God's name, the more I learn that He so blesses, abundantly even decadently. Take care girl you are doing an awesome thing...and if you ever get to Virginia, come visit.
Bonnie

#44 Bonnie (Homepage) on 2010-04-30 19:23