Sobering Moments on a Small Adventure

   After a long, lazy morning I finally decided that it was about time to head outdoors around 2pm. I had been watching the sun appear gloriously through my windows, only to be hidden again by rain clouds, several times this morning. When I first decided to go on a hike, I was stopped by the sound of hail on my skylights. So I determined that it would be wise to stay close to the apartment when the sun came out to play again. 
   I grabbed everything I might need quickly, as soon as the hail stopped. My gear included: gloves, an umbrella, a water bottle, a towel, my camera (of course), and The Hunger Games. Nothing extreme, just enough to aid me in finding a nice spot to perch in. I figured that I would be visited by the rain again, so I set out as soon as I could.
   I only made it as far as the train station across the street. I remembered seeing some corners near the platform that would be great to hide in. However, some local punks had already beaten me to each of the spots I had in mind. So, against my better judgment, I walked the path of the tracks and climbed onto an abandoned train. I found a nice spot on the back from which I could dangle my feet. It was covered, so I figured that it would do. 
   I spent the next two hours in utter bliss. I was delighted to read my book in private. Facing the hills and the old monument, I felt that I had the best spot in town. Every once and a while, I took a break from my book to watch the way the sun lit up the hills. Seeing the Black Forest that way was quite enjoyable. It was more beautiful than a painting. Yet, I think I felt this way because I was alone and I believed that moment to be for my own benefit. 
   I once read a journal entry that Laura had written in which she claimed the sunset to be a thing of beauty and an act of love, from God, particularly for her that evening.  At first glance, I felt that this was an arrogant reflection. Several years after her passing, I have found myself thinking similar thoughts. Tonight the sunset was for me. 
   I needed that moment. I spent the morning missing Laura. Unashamedly, I admit that I have listened to our Tailors Trail cd repeatedly every night, before bed, this past week. Last night I fell asleep to our last concert. The video brings me comfort, but it also brings me back to the sobering reality that this is not my home. 

Until I do see Laura again, I hope to absorb as many beautiful moments, such as these, as I can. 

Weihnachten

I have not been rich in money this Christmas season, but I have been quite wealthy in love and friendship.

This year God has been so very gracious to me.
So many very specific things had to happen for me to make it to Germany in time for BFA's first semester. I had to: finish all of my classes at CIU, pay off my personal debt, pack up or sell all of my belongings, and raise $10,000. All of this was on top of working hard for All American Imaging and saying goodbye to friends and family.
These seemingly impossible tasks caused me enormous stress, but God gave me the strength and the support to get through it. I'm here! I'm so thankful for everything that He has given me.

So, needless to say, once I got here I knew that I wasn't going to be able to afford to go back to the States for at least a year. While, I had embraced the idea of staying in Europe for the summer, I had not considered what it would be like to be away from home on Christmas. As Thanksgiving came and went, I began to feel the sadness of being away from my family. The feeling of being alone returned and I began having thoughts like, "why am I here?" again.

In my loneliness, I spent a lot of time walking around town listening to carols on my ipod and soaking up the true significance of the holiday. I was overcome with Joy daily at the thought of my incarnate Savior. Spending that time on my own was probably the best part of Christmas this year. I would not have spent that much time in worship and in prayer had it not been for living alone in Germany this Christmas.

Yet, God did so richly bless me with a great group of friends here who have shared so much with me. I have had great opportunities this Christmas that I never would have had if had not been obedient to God's call. Christmas markets in France and Switzerland, Christmas celebrations in downtown Kandern, a trip to the Alps, and SNOW!

So, how did I spend my Christmas Eve's Eve, Christmas Eve, and Christmas day?
I spent Christmas Eve's Eve, and the 2 days prior, in the Alps with friends. We didn't leave the Chalet very much, because of bad weather. So, we stayed in and played lots of games. It was such a relaxing time of fellowship with my co-workers! This trip would not have been possible without the hard work of those who planned the trip and the Chalet, provided by the Janz Team at an extremely cheap price. On Christmas Eve, I attended a candle light service at BFA, which was beautiful. Afterward, I spent some time with a great couple I have had the privilege of getting to know. We ate great food and watched It's A Wonderful Life. However, that wasn't even close to the end of my evening. I later joined 5 friends to settle in for the night. We had a big sleepover to celebrate Christmas and a friend's birthday. We cuddled up in the living room to watch the Muppet Christmas Carol and slept by the light of the Christmas tree.
I woke up early on Christmas morning and turned to the Word for the true significance of Christmas.
Micah 5, Matthew 1-2, and Luke 1-2 filled me with joy this morning! I didn't have a chance to turn there before everybody else woke up, but I was reminded of John 1. The Word had become flesh and dwelt among us! On this day we celebrate the coming of our Savior, who bought us with a very high price.
The 6 of us gathered around the Christmas tree and opened presents from each other and from the loved ones that we could not be with today. After a long breakfast, celebrating the birthday of our friend, we passed a Bible around and read straight through Luke 1 and 2. It was the perfect way to spend the morning! Even though I had been anticipating the Skype dates I had with my family, it was hard to leave these dear friends.
I spent the rest of the day on Skype with many of my family members and then had dinner with my German parents. Fondu was our food of choice. It's more of a Swiss tradition, but certainly worth observing here in Germany. My day has been full of love and merriment. I ended my Christmas with a good time of cleaning my apartment to the soundtrack of Michael W Smith's Christmas.

I will now slide into my bed and sleep well on this silent night.
Thank you for all of your prayers and messages.
I feel so blessed to have all of you in my life this year, no matter where you are in the world.

Halloween in Switzerland

I know it has been a long time since I have posted.

This is mostly due to the fact that life has become too busy for me to be going on many out of town adventures. However, a recent holiday not only afforded an adventure outside the town of Kandern, but it was followed by a day off from school. This “holiday” was Halloween. Yet, the real honored holiday was All Saints Day. This served as a nice day of rest after a late night celebration.

It has been BFA’s tradition for students and staff to pack into rented buses Halloween afternoon to head to Basel, Switzerland. Every year, on Halloween, Basel hosts a large festival known as Herbstmesse. This event reminded me of South Carolina’s state fair, yet it was completely different.

The fair is setup all over the large city of Basel. There are at least 5 major locations filled with monstrous rides and several food booths. Willing participants are thrown to and fro on these huge rides in between skyscrapers. The cost of such rides is not cheap, but it’s free to watch, which is entertaining enough.

I spent the night with new friends that I have grown quite fond of.  Each of us got ourselves something tasty to eat and enjoyed one another’s company while hiking through the city to watch students enjoy the thrills of the fair rides.

Early in the evening we realized we would need some help keeping up with students. So, we headed down to Starbucks. I kept my fingers crossed for a Pumpkin Spice Latte, but I settled for a Caramel Macchiato when they didn’t have it. It didn’t matter. It was a good chance to be with friends and to visit with other staff.

With coffee in hand, we marched across the large bridge that divides the city. The lights of the rides could be seen in the sky. Yet, above it all, the Ferris Wheel stood tall. The site was truly magical. The ferris wheel ride, itself, was no disappointment. Six of us piled into an enclosed cart and went on a relaxing ride that enabled us to see all of Basel. It was breathtaking.

In a near proximity to the ferris wheel was a beloved activity, the bumper cars! I have heard tail of how the BFA students usually took over this arena. This year was no different from the rest. Almost every car was taken by BFA staff and students, for hours.  We all enjoyed ourselves very much.  However, most of us woke up with substantial bruises on our knees the next day. It was worth it.

            For the group of friends that I was with, the evening ended with a good time of conversation by the Rhine.  What could be better?

Jesus Wept

“When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and He was deeply troubled…. Then Jesus wept” (John 11:33, 35).

Most people think that Jesus was weeping because he had sympathy for Mary and Martha. I, however, agree with the theologians who believe that there was a lot more to Jesus’ display of emotion. I believe Jesus was deeply upset by sin and death. Watching man go through the pain of death and loss because of sin must have troubled Him. It’s not that I believe Jesus was a man without emotion, but it doesn’t make sense for His feelings to have been that simple. He knew that He had the power to raise Lazarus. So, why would He have shown that emotion, at that time, if there wasn’t more to it? Jesus wasn’t just upset, He was angry.

I get that.

I felt that.

Yesterday I couldn’t get “Jesus wept” out of my mind when I walked through the ruins of the most abhorrent event of history. On the outside I was collected, but on the inside I was boiling with anger. Yet, I couldn’t fully absorb the stories that I was hearing, because I had the responsibility of guiding 16 teenagers. If I had fully processed what had gone on where I was standing, years prior, I would probably started tossing tables or fallen over with grief.

I was at a concentration camp on a mountainside in France.

The Nazi’s took one of the most beautiful places in the world and destroyed it! They corrupted that beautiful site with the history of the most evil display of hate ever known to man. I have no comprehension of what it must have been like to be tortured in such a beautiful place. What a contrast!

I have had this strange mix of emotions once before though… When I visited Dachau.

Dachau was the first concentration camp in Germany.

Again, Dachau was in a beautiful location and we had beautiful weather the day that we visited. It’s so unreal to think that something so horrific existed in these two beautiful places.

However, reality began to set in more quickly after seeing the gas chambers and ovens at Dachau and the experimentation ward at Struthof. These pieces and places were more frightful and eerie than any horror movie I have ever seen advertised. To think that anybody could be inhumane enough to torture other humans, and find pleasure in it, is beyond my comprehension.

I can’t even imagine doing those kind of brutal experiments on an animal.

Not even an animal that I hate!

Castle Camping

The best adventures include turmoil, challenge, and characters who overcome it. In this story the turmoil was in my stomach and the (obvious) challenge was the weather. Yet, like many stories, our adventure was great because of the characters who overcame these events.

Before setting off on our fantastic hiking adventure to the castle ruins of Sausenburg, I had the wonderful privilege of hosting a portion of a progressive dinner. The dinner was for the birthday of a friend. So, in celebration of such a special event, I broke out my new fondue set*. I figured that the fondue appetizer would be heavy enough to sustain me on the hike, but not has heavy as a meal. I failed to consider, however, the affect of hot cheese on my stomach.

We had not been on the hike 15 minutes when my stomach began to demand my attention. I felt sick and dizzy all at the same time. I couldn’t believe that we had not even topped our first hill before I needed the group to stop for me. Luckily my friend Kristi noticed my anguish and stopped with me for a while and allowed the rest of the group to move on. I couldn’t believe how bad I felt and that I had become the needy one in the group. I typically can’t stand when people are dramatic and feel the need to draw attention to themselves. Here I was, in need of help and complaining about my stomach. Thankfully Kristi was kind enough to share my load and patient enough to hike at a slower pace with me. Later Emily slowed her pace and joined me as my challenge became more about overcoming my being out of shape, rather than my illness. I thought my legs were going to give out on some of those steep hills! Yet, these friends were gracious enough to help me face these challenges. The sickness seemed to fade as I turned my attention toward the physical challenge of making it up the hills.

Less than 2 hours later, we reached the castle! Unfortunately, our light was fading and rain clouds covered the sky. Each of us scattered to different ends of the castle, exploring the ruins before it became too dark. Eventually most of us ended up on the top of the tower, where you could see as far as Switzerland in one direction and France in the other direction. Following Emily’s example, we took a seat on the railing and turned our attention toward Switzerland. The clouds were being lit with lightning above Switzerland, providing us with entertainment. I could have sat there for hours, absorbing the fantastic view, if it were not for the rain that finally caught up with us.

The six of us (Emily Kelly, Jill, Marit, Kristi, Emily Kremer, and I) grabbed all of our belongings and headed for shelter. We found a dry place to hang out in the corner of the main castle walls. It was a cave, so to speak. We piled our things in the corner, took a seat against the wall (forming a semi-circle), threw our food together in a community pile, and sat our head lamps on various stones in the wall (providing mood lighting). It was at that time that I shared my surprise with the group. I pulled my ipod and my portable speakers out of my bag. So, we told stories and laughed with one another for hours with the soundtrack of jazz, big band music, and Jack Johnson. I couldn’t have asked for a more chill atmosphere. There we were, snuggled up in a cave, with rain at our doorstep. It didn’t bother us a bit. We were content to relax and get to know one another better.

That night, our sleeping arrangements were interesting. Kremer and Marit took the two-man tent, Kristi and Kelly found a place in the castle tower, and Jill and I remained in the cave. I slept decently, but I was most disappointed that I was unable to use my ENO. I had set it up as soon as we reached the castle, but had taken it down because of how it blocked the entryway. When I returned to it in the rain, I found it resting in a puddle of mud. Otherwise, I would have slept in the rain.

The next morning we awoke fairly early, packed our things, and headed back to town. It was Sunday morning, so most of us needed enough time to shower and get ready for church. Yet, we had allowed enough time to enjoy breakfast with one another. So, we returned to Kristi and Emily Kremer’s apartment where Kristi prepared a wonderful meal of crêpes with various toppings, including: Nutella, jam, apple strudel, bananas, and syrup. Emily Kelly also contributed to the meal with her tasty coffee. Enjoying this delicious meal with one another was the best way to end our trip!           

Even with the challenge of my hard climb up to the castle and the rain that never let up, castle camping was one of the most memorable camping trips I’ve had thus far.

*A few weekends ago, a very kind family took me to a wonderful flea market in Lorrach. While I was there, I was able to pick up some essential and some not so essential items for my kitchen. My most prized find was a complete Fondue set. I have never seen anything like it. The set has sat in a place of honor in my kitchen for about 3 weeks now, untouched.  So it was with great pleasure that I took the opportunity to use and show off my grand fondue set.

I Can't Afford Leftovers!!

These past two weeks I have tried my hardest to fit into this German community. I've filled out paperwork, become insured, applied for my Visa, tried to use the German I have learned, and sorted all of my trash into recycling categories. There is still so much more to get used to. For instance, all of the shops in town are closed from 12:30pm till 2:30pm most days and closed after 12:30pm on Wednesdays. Water and electricity are very expensive. Every citizen must pay a television tax, monthly. Yet, the hardest difference of all is that throwing away trash is expensive!
I got a trash can when I registered in Kandern and committed to paying a set fee for 6 trash pickups in a year. Every other trash pickup costs me extra euro.
So, some BFA staff members are trying to keep their trash for two months. Did I mention that all of your trash has to fit in a trash can half of the size of an American trash can? Imagine what it would mean for your family to throw away trash every other week instead of once a week. Now consider taking out the trash every other month! So," what is the solution?" you may ask. Here it is...... Stop wasting.

Luckily many things can be recycled here that most Americans aren't used to. However, I have to think carefully every time I want to use a paper towel and prepare a meal. Whatever I don't eat may have to live in my kitchen for a month or so!

Just last night I remembered some veggies I had cooked in the microwave the night before. I left them because I was too full to eat them. I knew they would be soggy, but what could I do? I had to eat them! They tasted sour and I'm hoping that I do not become sick later. What else could do?
Leftovers are expensive!

Weekend Fun

I realize that this blog looks monstrous! So, I have divided it into sections.
Think of it as TWO blog entries.


IKEA Trip
I was determined not to sit at home alone this past weekend.
So, I did everything I could to make plans.
Luckily I found a group going to Ikea (pronounced ee-kay-a here).
I had been looking forward to the trip since I got here, because my family gave me gift cards for my birthday.
This, however, was also the cause of some anxiety for me.
I was assured by an Ikea representative, on the phone, that I could use my US giftcards internationally.
Yet, I did not quite believe her. No lie, I made the woman swear to me!
When we got to Ikea I checked with a customer service rep. I don't think he understood me, because he gave me my card balances, instead of letting me know if I could use them.
So, I sweat the whole trip through the store. It is hard enough to check out with a bunch of items when nobody is bagging your things, etc. It's even harder when you don't speak German. It's even MORE anxiety producing when you don't know if your form of payment will work.
It didn't help that the store was packed and that I felt claustrophobic in the small isle ways.
Finally, I reached the checkout (alone) with a full cart of goodies.
The checkouts were, of course, also packed.
So, I parked my cart and grabbed one of my items. I took the trash can to a self checkout and tried out my giftcard. SUCCESS! The card worked!! I was so excited, that I could have hugged the stranger standing behind me! I grabbed my cart and proceeded to run all of my items through.
Once again, I was filled with panic. I realized that I would have a balance to pay and could not use cash in that line. I thought to myself, "there is no way that I can undo this transaction. I will lose my giftcards for sure!" I decided that I would eat whatever international charge Wachovia would hit me with and went for the card reader with my Visa, only to be stopped by an attendant. If my heart wasn't racing before, it was racing now!! The attendant informed me that Visa was NOT acceptable. She asked if I had another card. I tried to remain calm when I replied, "no." She checked with her supervisor and said I could try the card. Even though the transaction took a matter of seconds, I felt as if time slowed down.
SUCCESS! Again, my card worked. I booked it out of there!
I didn't want any person or machine to change their mind about my transaction.
When I met our group outside, they were shocked that I was able to use my Visa.
Apparently, in my hurry, I missed the BIG signs with a red slash through a picture of a Visa card before the registers. These girls had also gone through a self checkout without the appropriate card. So, they had to have all of their items canceled and they had to go wait in another line.

This may seem like a long, dramatic, drawn out story. However, remember that my emotions are heightened right now as I go through all of my transition. Discomfort is also continuous, since I am not German and do not speak German.

Let's just say that I was praising God for his goodness to me and I still am!
It's obvious that He was looking out for me.
I continue to hear stories from others about not being able to used their Visa card.

Switzerland
In German class, last week, I learned that Swiss museums gave free admission to all of their museums on the first sunday of every month. So, that was this past sunday. It was kind of soon to be making plans to go to another country. However, I counted on the fact that somebody else would want to go. If I could just find a new friend to travel with me, I could overcome my fear of the bus system.
(No, the buses did not scare me themselves. I was just afraid of becoming that girl who got stuck in another country and had to call the school to have somebody pick them up)
It just so happened that the school counselor was entertaining a college student this past weekend and was happy to connect me with her, so that she would have fun plans and I would have somebody to travel with. I bet she expected somebody who knew what they were doing. BIG SURPRISE FOR HER! haha. With our minimal German, we were able to get our bus tickets and get off at the right stop.
Thanks to google maps on my Ipod, we were able to find the main museum easily.
What a great place! I was overwhelmed by how many well known artists were represented in the museum. To name a few, I saw works by: Rodin, Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Paul Cezzane, Pissarro, Auguste Renoir, Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, Robert Zund, Albrecht Durer, Andy Warhol (I know, random!), Matisse, Picasso, Kandenski, and Salvador Dali.
I know that's more than a few, but there really were many more. Those are just the artists who interested me the most.

The two of us promptly left the museum before closing, so that we could make the 5:15pm bus.
As we approached the bus stop, I noticed several stores down the road. My need for a cell phone (a handy, as it's called here) suddenly struck me. I knew that another bus was coming at 7:15pm. Brittany said she was ok with staying longer. So, we headed down the street to see if I could obtain a cheap phone. I had looked in all of the stores in Kandern and was not able to find a phone. So, I felt the need to take the opportunity when it presented itself. We headed down the street only to find that EVERY store was closed. I felt like slapping myself in that moment. It was 5pm on Sunday. Of course everything was closed! In Germany, stores close from 12:30 till 2:30pm every afternoon. On Wednesdays they don't open after 12:30. They most certainly are NOT open on Sunday, unless it's a grocery store.
So, we walked down to the Rhine and people watched for a little while.
Luckily Starbucks is near the bus stop. I purchased the most expensive cup of cappuccino I have ever paid for in my life there! (6 CHF, which equals 8.40 USD). It was worth it for the comfort of being in a familiar place for an hour while we waited.
I've learned my lesson. That's for sure!

All and all, it was a great adventure.

German Pickers

Yesterday was a very special day in Kandern, Germany! They call it Sperrmüll! I would like to officially offer my definition of this holiday. I would like to refer to this holiday has Christmas for poor people. On Sperrmüll people all over the town put out belongings that they no longer wish to keep, or to use. This could be furniture, clothes, or even electronics. I could be anything! They put it by the roadside and everybody is free to pick up and keep what they want. Today was the official pick up day. Anything remaining by the road would be collected for recycling and the dump. Why do we not do this in the US?! Of course we have garage sales and people generally put things they don't want by the road for trash day, but this is totally different. It's like everybody has the chance to go shopping outside! Trust me.... I am not too proud to pick! (feel free to market t-shirts and bumper stickers with this awesome phrase).
So, after a few hikes all over the place last night, I obtained: two rugs, a hair dryer, a board game, 2 German books, some measuring cups, 2 buckets (for cleaning), 2 brooms, 2 scrub brushes, a leather satchel, and a pair of Head (brand name) skis!
I'm thinking the History channel needs to tap into some of this German picking action.
As you can imagine, there are people who jump from town to town when Sperrmüll comes, collecting what they can for second hand shops, etc.
I happened to have a confrontation with some of these collectors.
While I had my hands full with a rug and a bag of other collected items, a truck with two men pulled up and tried to ask me in German where I got my stuff. I told them I only spoke English and after trying again to get info from me, they left me alone.
Later last night I was in a different neighborhood looking through the piles when I noticed the same truck approaching. I just happened to have another nice rug in my arms and I didn't want to deal with the confrontation. However, I was not on a street that connected with any other part of the neighborhood. The other end of the street dead ended into the woods. In an attempt to avoid these men, I headed into the woods and ended up finding a trail I had just been shown that day. I'm so glad everything happened that way, because that led me to the neighborhood where I found my skis!

First Week Funnies

I purchased a used tv from some local missionaries my first night here.

I double-checked everything with them about how to safely hook up my Wii.

I went home and plugged my Wii in (properly) and knocked out my power, twice! Remember that this was my first night. I had fun finding the fuse box.

Did I mention that I live in an old building?

The second or third day I was here I decided to walk to the school. I could see it from one of my windows, so I figured it was time to make the journey.

I turned on the wrong street and ended up far away from the school.

I found somebody who could speak some English. She didn’t know how to tell me how to get to BFA, so she asked if she could take me there. So, I totally got in a strangers car, haha. I probably wouldn’t have ever done that in the states.

Her name was Iris.

Yesterday I was determined to find a place to hang my ENO hammock. I hiked all over the place and never found 2 good trees to do the job.

I came back to my apartment and hung it between two posts in the front yard. It turns out that my landlord was downstairs reading the paper and seemed worried as he watched me climb into the hammock. His expression didn’t change much as the wood began to creek. It was awkward.

Today I ran down stairs to get something. When I came back upstairs, to my apartment, my key wouldn’t turn in the lock. No matter what I did, the key wouldn’t budge. There I was, in my socks, standing outside my locked door.

It was about 9pm. My landlord does not speak very much English and I didn’t even know if he was home. I was trying to decide if it would be totally weird to walk to the school barefoot. It’s at least half a mile. Even if I were to get there barefooted without any problems, I had no guarantee that there would be somebody there to help me. So, I thought about going to a nearby missionary’s house. Once again, she was at least half a mile away.

Luckily my landlord was home. Unluckily, his key didn’t work either. He laughed and tried to tell me in the little bit of English he spoke that he would get Mr. Schmidt from downstairs. Mr. Schmidt came up and HE couldn’t get the key to work. The landlord nervously laughed some more. Eventually they had to take the door knob off. Once they manually opened the door, the key worked fine. Nobody seemed to know why it happened. I guess it was just the chance to have another funny story.  The funny part to me is that the locked door was not the annoyance. It was the two German men standing in my doorway talking about possible causes, in German, for 20 minutes. I just stood there.

Once again, it was awkward.

Immigration

I thought that it was typically harder to get in the country than out of the country. That has not been my experience today.

Yesterday I realized that all of my packing was based on the standards of the airline that I WAS going to fly on and not on the airline I had a ticket with. After investigating, I found out that I would have to pay about $300 to check 3 bags. So, I worked hard until 2am on repacking everything into 2 duffel bags for check-in. I got up at 5am to leave for the airport. Upon arrival I found that one of my bags was 10 lbs overweight. The other was 20 lbs overweight! This wasn't the worst news. I expected that, to some extent. What I didn't expect was that it would cost me $200 for every overweight bag.
So, a sky cap helped me get another duffel bag to carry on the plane.
There I was, unpacking and repacking out on the airport curb. Luckily everything worked. I ended up only needing to pay $100! This really was the Lord's guidance.
The only drawback is that my back is killing me from lugging all of my stuff around multiple airports!

As if my luggage were not heavy enough, I found myself going on a Easter egg hunt for my terminal once I got inside the airport. I drug all of my stuff down to the group of terminals where mine should have been found. However, I kept looking from the left to the right to find a huge gap in terminal numbers. No matter how many times I looked, the terminal numbers went from 36 to 39. I couldn't figure it out. My terminal was 38. I was entirely perplexed and frustrated. I even contemplated throwing myself into one of the columns in between, in hopes of finding myself on platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station. At that moment a stranger, who was somewhat entertained by my obvious confussion, asked me what I was looking for. When I gave him my terminal number, he asked "are you sure that's not your seat number?" I pulled out my ticket and replied, "no, i don't think s.... yep" haha

When I arrived at the Newark airport, I immediately asked one of the desk attendants about where my next flight would leave from (since my boarding pass did not say). She pointed me toward the air train and said that I would need to go to concourse A. So, I boarded the Hogwarts Express and headed to concourse A. One hour of walking, two bus rides, and one security check-in later and I ended up right back where I started. Thank you random US Airways lady who doesn't know what she's talking about!!

Oh well. Thank goodness this all took place around 1pm and my flight out is not until 6pm.
Zurich, Switzerland here I come!

How to Give

For those of you who may be new to the group, because of the service at East Lake Community Church this morning... I have about $7,000 more to raise before I can fly to Germany to begin my mission.
If you would like to help me reach that goal, please send a check
(made out to TEAM with my name in the memo line) to:
TEAM P.O. Box 969 Wheaton, IL 60187-0969.
Or you can go to: teamworld.org/give/give-online.html and click on the “To Give Online Click Here” button in the center of the page and then select my name under “Missionaries & Staff.”

I will not typically use this blog for fundraising purposes. However, I know that many of you who will be checking out this blog want to know how you can help. So, I wanted to provide the information to those of you who want it. Thanks!

God Uses Everything!

Stereotyped Recipe for a Missionary:
-Solid Christian Home
-Home School lower level education
-Bible College higher level education
-A limited wardrobe from Goodwill (from the 70s!)
-And no real life experience.

While some of the items listed above are certainly part of my life (don't you dare crack on my wardrobe!), many of the ingredients in my story are different and may not have amounted to anything on their own.

I did grow up in a solid Christian home. I was VERY blessed to have two Christian parents that truly pursued God. They were both incredibly involved in the church. Therefore, I too grew up to become a committed follower of Christ who was very involved in the church. Yet, before the age of 15, I would say that my faith was nothing special to speak of. I was a typical church going kid. Church was kind of like a club that I belonged to. Awana was my replacement for the Girl Scouts, I suppose.
God changed my heart when I was 15 years old. I was with my youth group, at the LIFE 98 conference for the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination in Salt Lake City, Utah in the summer of 1998. One night the speaker was talking about the power of the Holy Spirit in Christians. Something clicked for me and I realized that being a Christian wasn't about being a good person who knew a lot about the Bible. It was about being united with Christ and serving Him through Him! Talk about a hard concept for a teenager to grasp. I chewed on that for years!
However, right away I knew that the only way to truly commit myself fully to Jesus and to serve Him with everything I had was to become a missionary. I just had no idea what that looked like for me.
So, I weighed my options and decided Africa wasn't for me. Instead I began to look at serving in Europe (because those are the only two options in the missions world, DUH!).
France intrigued me, so I signed up for French class in high school. After four years of french, I could say "Bonjour," "Salut," "Je vais du ski nautique," and I could count to 10. That's about it! I did not take well to the french language and I was further discouraged by a missionary who visited our church from France. Everything this man was doing in France was related to Americans who lived there.
I soon learned how private and closed off Europeans were. So, I put my dream of becoming a missionary there away in frustration. This left me without any real direction.
All I knew was that the Christian and Missionary Alliance said that I needed to begin my journey with a Bible College degree and that I should study something besides, or as well as, Inter Cultural Studies.
How I ended up at Columbia International University is a long story in itself, but I will say that I was positive that it was where God wanted me to be and it turned out that they required all students to major in Bible as well as their other focus. So, I began to attend CIU as an Inter Cultural Studies major with an interest in the Communications department. Yet, this part of my story probably seems unfamiliar to many of you, because most of you have only known me as a Youth Ministry major.
One of my classes in my freshman year at CIU was about how God has gifted us. To be entirely honest, the class seemed ridiculous. We took a few of the spiritual gifts quizzes that many of you are familiar with, but we also did a more detailed study with a book and break out groups. My break out group was with the new Youth Ministry teacher, Karen Grant.
God used Karen and her experience to teach me that it was ok to pursue something that I was interested in. It was clear that God had made me for youth ministry. Everything about me seemed to equip me well for that calling. I was just scared of abandoning missions. I found myself praying over and over again, "are you sure God? because I'm totally willing to go." I struggled with guilt when I decided to move into studying Youth Ministry. I knew it would lead to a job in the US, rather than a mission out of the country (which it did).
I thrived in my youth ministry classes and gained an interest for Psychology and Counseling. So, I took a job at East Lake Community Church with Barry Russell and continued my education in the Pastoral Counseling program in the Seminary at CIU. My job with Barry was right up my alley. It was a flexible job at a newer church with endless possibilities. However, I was never able to go full time and I learned to live with very little. Despite the typical struggles of working in a church, I was very happy at East Lake. Working with youth was my dream.
Before the summer of 2008, I went on a study tour with CIU across Europe. We visited several countries and ended our journey in Germany. While we were there we visited the Black Forest Academy. Our class attended their Sunday morning worship service. It was at BFAchurched youth to a job that worked with missionary kids. In the end I said, "I will try to remain open and allow the Holy Spirit to work in my heart. Speak to me Lord."
Well, I certainly felt like He spoke! It wasn't hard to hear Him.
I lost my job when I got back from that trip.
God had a plan though and He immediately took care of me.
I got a full time job right away at All American Imaging.
I had always been interested in photography and graphic design, but i loved ministry too much to have a job in the general work place. Working at AAI was what I needed to do to survive and to pay the bills. I didn't see it as a ministry opportunity. I struggled with the idea that working there was a waste of my time and spiritual gifting. Yet, God knew what He was doing. It was through that job that I learned about how cameras work and I gained a lot of knowledge about Adobe software, computer networking, and design. It hasn't been easy maintaining that job while finishing school and helping out at East Lake, but I have been stretched and I've put a lot more tools in  my belt.
Now I have come full circle. I'm about to approach the mission field, but not just as an eager teenager.  I am an equipped adult now. Every experience of mine in the last 13 years has been an important ingredient in this recipe. By themselves the ingredients are all good, but together they make for an amazing creation that God alone has made.

I have always been willing, but now I am equipped.