CURRENT MISSION

To make the world more awesome.

ABOUT ME

My husband Andy (yes, his name really is Andy Dwyer) and I are missionaries with Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) in Detroit. We work with college students, meeting with them one on one and in groups for personal and spiritual development to prepare them to continue living life on mission once they graduate. Because of this, our time at home is pretty fluid.

Also important - we have two dogs! Chandler (a 40 lb cattle dog mix who is all bark and no bite) and Joey (a giant 95 lb horse of a German Shepherd/Border Collie mix who is the gentlest giant of all time). Obviously named after our favorite TV bffs.

PHILOSOPHY

Love Wins. What is the point of life unless you live it for other people?

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

By going places and sleeping on random people's couches and by letting random folks sleep on my couch!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My roommate (before getting married), Ellen, and I went couch surfing a couple of times - first in Ireland in February 2009 and then a year or so later we surfed for a week in Brooklyn, NY. Both were some of the most fun/random/hilarious weeks of my life. Another friend and I stayed with some CSers in Charleston, SC for a couple of days also in '09. Hanging out with locals who know what's good to do and what's not is definitely way better than trying to figure it out for yourself. Only hosting experience so far was several years back when I was living with Ellen. We hosted a band just for one night, but it was super fun to be able to show people around!

Being missionaries, we travel a lot but usually stay in hotels or hostels along with our students, so we don't surf as much as we would like to but we are happy to host!

Interests

I am an outgoing introvert. Love talking with people one on one and skipping the shallow stuff. I love snuggling with my dogs, watching Netflix with my husband, reading, hanging out with friends, traveling, photography, seeing movies, being in community with my church... The list goes on.

• dogs
• photography
• cooking
• movies
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• surfing
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

I was an English major so I have a LOT of books that I love but the three that I can always enjoy are the most typical hipster books you can imagine: Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Other than that, I really enjoy fantasy books like Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, Ender's Game, etc. That's a lie - I don't just like Harry Potter, I LOVE it.

Some favorite movies are Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Toy Story 1, Boondock Saints, Dumb and Dumber, About Time, and Pride and Prejudice - one for every mood.

I mostly like listening to alternative, rock, worship, folk and bluegrass. Favorite band for 10 years running is Relient K. Because some things never change.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've been to Peru 9 times so far and plan to always go back in the future. A few friends and I work with a Church in Iquitos (in the Amazon region) called Iglesia Filadelfia every time we go down. Maybe I'll live there one day, maybe not. Either way I'll always go back.

I also spent three months in Perth, Australia which was absolutely amazing. I met some of my favorite people while there and learned a ton. It's the most amazing tiny little city. Love it. As a result of my trip to Perth, I've got some seriously amazing friends in every corner of the world. I wouldn't trade those friendships for anything.

I spent three months on a mission trip in South Africa splitting time between the township of KwaMashu, Durban city, and Piet Retief. Favorite part was working in Piet Retief with the joyful little orphans.

It would take way too long to type out my favorite memories from each of these places. We'll have to chat about it when you sleep on my couch!

Teach, Learn, Share

Here's what I know and do best: English and Photography
Here's what I'd like to know and do better: speak Spanish, learn to cook, become more extroverted, learn about world religions... I'm up for anything!

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, Swaziland

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States