Life-Changing Travel Contest Winner Melody Miller and her husband Richard
Melody Miller has a little trouble with being on time, but she always seems to be in the right place for an adventure. Her submission to the Life-Changing Travel Contest almost didn’t make the January 15 deadline - and only after the stroke of midnight ended Melody’s and fellow Finalist Kirsten Simon’s neck-and-neck race to the finish did she find a moment to share a little more of her story with us.
Meet Melody
Her sense of humor keeps her laughing even when she’s hurrying to catch the plane, discovering halfway through the voting period that her entry made the Finalist Round (thanks to our notification email ending up in her spam folder), or frantically contacting one more friend to cast their vote for her entry. Fashionably late seems to be Melody’s signature style, and in The Ambler’s Life-Changing Travel Contest, it turned out to be a winning look.
She recalls: “About a day before the incident in the Luxembourg airport, I arrived at the small Naples, Florida airport (on the late side), anxious and excited to leave for Europe… when I saw the Icelandic Airlines plane barreling down the strip… headed away from me. I busted through the gate and started running towards it, shouting “Don’t go, you forgot me - WAIT!” The gate attendant finally caught up with me and said the plane was just arriving and I would have to wait behind the gate to board. Even thinking about it makes my face turn as pink as my suitcase.”
Melody’s travels have led her to live in a cave in Crete, on a kibbutz in Israel (twice), hitchhiking across Europe from Turkey to Ireland, and on the most incredible spiritual journeys of her life. Back in the ’70s, as Melody was beginning to stretch her legs and discover her love of travel, she was simultaneously deepening her religious beliefs and developing a strong faith. It wasn’t long before she found a way to marry these two passions: in 1981, Melody embarked on the first of several medical mission trips, offering her expertise as an EMT / registered nurse, as well as her compassion as a devoted Christian, to the indigenous peoples of Oaxaca in Mexico. And since learning of the Mercy Ship Ministries in 1984, Melody has aspired to join their efforts off the Ivory Coast of Africa; she intends to apply her flight voucher towards this long-awaited trip!
Melody says, “I still love to travel, see new places, meet new people… but now at 61, I am so very grateful to have a comfortable home with a garden full of flowers and a very loving husband. My friends have said of my life: ‘You rush in where angels fear to tread.’ I’m just a risk-taker at heart, I guess. It makes life so much more memorable!”
Nowadays, Melody savors the everyday adventures of her life in rural Mississippi where she works as a school nurse. She relishes her 50-mile daily commute through the beautiful countryside of her Mississippi home, and she adores the children she looks after (her own children are grown – two of Melody’s girls are currently attending college, and her third daughter is a teacher). Melody and her husband completed an orientation for the Mercy Ships program last summer and are so excited to be able to take this trip to Africa, thanks to Melody’s success in the Life-Changing Travel Contest! “It’s been an exhilarating race,” she says.
From the team at Amble Resorts, congratulations Melody! Thanks for sharing your story with us – we wish you all the best as you continue to explore the world in search of true connection and inspiration!
Join the conversation on The Ambler
TAGS: Community Outreach Contests Must Read Press/News TravelLeave a comment to congratulate Melody or to share your own inspiring story, and stay tuned on The Ambler to learn about Melody’s next life-changing journey. Be sure to check out another Amble Resorts contest winner who took a memorable trip to Isla Palenque!
Congratulations Melody! Nicely done.
Melody,
I loved your story…& I am so glad you won the trip!
I had no idea you were such a world traveler.
It is wonderful that you are using your flight to go work on the Mercy Ship.
I look forward to hearing all about your next amazing adventure.
Way to go, Melody! Congratulations! Guess we’ll be seeing, or at least hearing from you soon, here at Mercy Ships! YEAH! !
Jan
Congratulations Melody! So happy for you! Journal the entire trip so you can share all with us when you return.
Frank – You’ve definitely got a point. The best part of this entire contest: the wonderful discussions that sprang up around submissions such as Kirsten’s, Louise Orr’s, Christy Villegas’, and several of the other Finalist’s – including Kristen Jacobson, whose inspiring story got people talking about meaningful travel and watching her adorable “Vote for me!” video… although unfortunately Kristen’s Canadian citizenship disqualified her from being able to win. The Finalists who took the initiative of helping their supporters learn more, explore the idea of “life-changing travel,” and think about what their “dream trip” might be – they have my tremendous respect and admiration – they have truly paid-it-forward.
All who supported their favorite Finalist in this contest can take away 1 big lesson from all of the candidates: don’t let anything stop you in pursuing your dreams – whether you’re hoping to experience authentic culture like Kirsten, find your “soul place” like Louise, or discover how many people are prepared to back you up in winning a travel contest like Melody.
CONGRATULATIONS, Melody, so fun to read what they said about you getting to this place–looks like the “Rumpf genes” helped after all! Have fun wherever you end up going.
Congrats Melody – Enjoy the Vaca!
Congrats Melody! I can’t wait to hear what adventure you will go on next using your prize:) Happy Travels!
Melody, so happy for you. Congratulations and enjoy your teip. Thanks for telling us about the contest and this web site. Your story was beautiful and I have used the ladder against the wrong wall several times. It fits so well in telling a story. C U soon. xoxo
Congratulations Melody… I personally enjoyed the fact that Kirsten took the time to respond to people’s comments. Because I know Kirsten, if she would have treated this as a popularity contest and “advertised” heavily than she would have won. I for one prefer quality over quantity. Regardless, you’ve won and so I wish you a congratulations again – enjoy your vacation!
Frank
Whew! What a roller coaster ride! Kirsten’s numbers kept me scrambling up to the last minute. Thank you, Rachael, taking what I scribbled out last night between midnight and 2:30 and writing such a beautiful synopsis of my life. I just got finished rereading all the other finalists’ entries and all the heart- warming encouraging comments left by those who so kindly took the time to vote. I’m sleepy, but with warm-fuzzies all over me this morning, kinda like I just birthed a baby and now I’m holding it in my arms. So thank you so much to amble.com, and all y’all that helped me get there….I get by with a “LOTTA” help from my friends. (Wasn’t that a song once upon a time? )
Congratulations, Melody! I loved your story, and am particularly pleased that you will be using your travel voucher to visit Africa (my “soul place”) and help others there with your medical skills.
It was a fun contest, wasn’t it? Best wishes and travel to you and your husband Richard!
Louise Orr
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
I am so excited for you!
Once again, congratulations Melody! Hope you’ll continue to share stories from your travels on The Ambler!