The End of the Blog

This was the first day I visited Armenia Bonito in Honduras - where we would ultimately spend 8 years of our lives -the beginning of a season

On June 19, 2007 I started this blog.  I started it because I wanted to post on Mike's blog, and he "suggested" I start my own blog - and so I did.

As of the writing of this blog post, I had 202,614 page views, and 1,110 total posts - which averages out to 111 blog posts a year.  Blogger does a cool job of keeping your stats for you - I can even tell what countries are reading my blog posts:

U.S - 147,863 views
Russia - 8101
Honduras - 5649
Germany - 3593

Those are the big ones - but I can also see who else around the world has read them:
Spain
France
Ireland
Canada
Ukraine
U.K.
Bulgaria
Philippines
United Arab Emirates
Equatorial Guinea

My most viewed blog is Fox in Socks and Baby in Box with 5,858 views.

So why am I ending my blog (you noticed I didn't say shutting it down)?  I have plenty of friends who attempt to maintain a blog and only write once in awhile - and typically start their absent blog post with, "sorry it's been so long since I've blogged." They write once every 3 months or even longer (one person I follow hasn't written since July and another since May!)   I didn't want to do that.  And, my official capacity as a full-time missionary has come to an end.  As that was the motive for me to start my blog, it seems a reason for me to end my blog.

Now that I'm back in the U.S. - writing about my patients or my experiences won't be possible.  Gaining someone's permission to write about them here is quite a task - in Honduras or Equatorial Guinea I simply asked them there when I was sitting with them.  Here in the U.S. there's so many other factors that revolve around confidentiality, etc.

My husband's mission adventures is running full speed ahead - and his adventures will take him near and far - so his blog will continue to be a source of disseminating information and keeping everyone abreast of what The Pettengills are up to.

So why aren't I shutting it down?  My blog continues to be a resource for many people around the world - I can tell that by seeing people reading blogs I wrote years ago - it's a resource for anyone interested in missions, nurses who want an idea of what they can do on the field, a mother's perspective of raising a child in a third world country, etc.  So I'll definitely keep it up, and I'm sure it will continue to be read.

So I want to thank you - my avid readers, my faithful followers, those who have contributed to over 200,000 page views on my blog!  Thanks for coming along for the ride!

hanging out with the nurses I trained in Equatorial Guinea before we left - the end of a seson

Journaling my thoughts in a book

I have been so humbled that people  have been so excited about my book. While I recognize that it's not going to be a New York times best seller, I'm thrilled that it's on Amazon Kindle, Amazon hard book,  Nook, Barnes and Noble hard copy, Books a Million, etc.  My hope is that if just one missionary, or one person gets insight into what missions is truly like, I'm super excited about that.

It was so fun to write the book, and the fact that more than 1 person actually purchased it and read it, made it worth my time.  I recently had a pastor contact me and tell me that he used chapters in my book as topics for his preaching, and has asked that I come to his church and talk more about it.

Many a counselor has said to journal to help express your feelings and thoughts. I've never been a fan of that, but blogging has been my version of journaling.   So, funny stories, hard stories, challenging stories - check it out if you haven't already - come along for the ride and see what it's really like to live as a missionary in a 3rd world country.  Be challenged, excited, saddened, and encouraged.