camp high

I just got back from 222 and school starts tomorrow. So many thoughts and emotions are racing through my head, I thought it might be a good idea to jot them down before trying to sleep.

List form is going to work best I think.

Emotions:

Sad- Mike can't take social dance with me.

Full- Jesus, this weekend.

Excited- the leadership team in the jr. high this year and all the kids that are going to change the world.

Hopeful- Taking youth to the nations this summer, and hopefully for the rest of my life.

Nervous- School tomorrow. (maybe a little anxious too, which isn't good)

Insecure- this one comes and goes, depending on what I'm thinking about

Safe- Jesus' arms.

Like I said a ridiculous variety.

I just finished watching the new Peter Pan, one thing they say about Tinkerbell is tht she only has room for one emotion at a time because she's so small. Sometimes, I wish that was me, but there's no adventure in that and it could probably be dangerous. :)

Oh, I need to call my sister, her first day of college is tomorrow!

Waco

So I am back in Waco and it has been really fun, watching the olympics, playing sand volleyball, celebrating birthdays, and most of all just being around people I've shared life with. I love my new house and roommates. Although, I'm a little overwhelmed when I think of all I am involved in this next semester I'm learning if I just take one step at a time and trust God, letting Him be my peace, it's not only do-able but enjoyable. :)
Gosh, I'm a senior with a semester to go.... Jesus, I am trusting You, waiting and hoping for whatever You have.

Pride

Bane of my existence and the one thing I wish I could leave totally behind.

My life since europe

So, readjusting has not really happened yet. I got back to McKinney, went to Waco for a few days, came back to McKinney for a week and then my Papa died. He has been in failing health for several years now but it still came as a shock, he had miraculously pulled through so much, he always was a fighter. My family and I drove to Chicago where we stayed for a week. I stayed a week longer to help my Nana with a few things, main;y entering in people's addresses for mailing labels. After deciphering the doctor-like handwriting that filled almost every page of the two guestbooks, i have promised myself to always write neatly, I might just save a future granddaughter a headache. It was a great week though, spending quality time with my grandmother and hearing stories I've never heard, watching shows i love, and just being together. I love you Nana. 

While I was there I got a phone call from a couple in McKinney asking me to be their nanny on their big family trip to the Grand Caymans..... uh, YEAH. So that is where I am now, I will shortly be in Waco looking for a job and spending all my free time with my girls!!! I miss you guys and can't wait to hang out.

state side

i'm back in the states, the plane ride was crazy, but it is good to be back.

Roma

I have so many stories to tell!!! And not enough time, thankfully I'll be back soon and can tell you in person. Bullet points:

• Italy= all the history and architecture that i fell in love with while homeschooling thus I LOVE ITALIA
• gelatto
• 22 hour ferry ride
• meeting up with non-Maastricht Baylor people in Rome
• THE VATICAN
• Hostel guy- Mattheus/Bart
  
• gelatto
• the colloseum
• rome
• athens

• knowing God is GOOD

• whole new respect for every homeless person aka EVERY human being God has created

I lvve you guys and can't wait to be back soon. By the way Santorini, the island I am headed to has the prettiest sunsets in the world. I'll take lots of pictures. :)

thoughts

you know that feeling when you just realized how hungry you are because the food you're cooking is just about ready? that i'm going to be sick if i don't eat really, really soon and every minute feels like forever. I'm convinced that is how it feels when you're about to come home after a long trip. When it's three months away it's no big deal, you have three months to enjoy life in different countries, but then, all of the sudden you're only 15 days away.... it feels like you have been gone for forever and you just want to be somewhere familiar with people who know you well.
on another note... I picked up my Bible to read about David's life since I'm about to go see the huge statue in Florence, and i turned to Ruth. I started there because I have today and tomorrow free. I have always loved Ruth and it's been prophesied over me a few times that I will be like Ruth. Maybe I should start a little earlier with this story. I travelled to Sheffield all by myself, the only other time i have travelled by myself was home form Colorado after visiting Kayla. I had no way of getting a hold of autumn other than facebook. It ended up being fine but for almost an entire day I was all alone. I travelled from Sheffield to London to Poitiers to Paris all by myself as well, that was intense (see previous post). France speaks French, I don't know ANY french. Finally, tomorrow night I am travelling all by myself to Florence. There are a few things i have discovered in these lonely journeys.... they are just that, lonely, sometimes scary, often stressful. I almost had a panic attack in Paris the first night. I could not in any way do this without Jesus, He has been so good and so faithful, everything has turned out better than perfect. But there is something about being in a strange city, surrounded by people who speak a different language with no idea which way to go that gives you a whole new appreciation for community and God's gift of relationships. Man, is it a gift, a sweet, precious, and necessary gift. I definitely almost cried when I saw Ash at the airport gate, it was a huge rush of relief and I definitely cried when she left. Thanks so much for coming ashley, I can't tell you how much it meant. But there is something there, something deeply true about us as human beings. We are made for relationship, we are made to want to love and be loved, to shoulder one another's sorrow and rejoice with one another's joy. As I began to read Ruth this ancient truth jumped out at me again. Naomi was all alone, ready to go home. I can only imagine the determination and love it would've taken to send her only two friends away, but I have tasted the relief that she must have experienced as one promised to stay.
I know God is with me... believe me I know, He has come through time and time again, I know He will be my comfort and my companion these last two weeks, but I am so thankful He has provided people to travel with, people to walk through life with, and people waiting for me to come home.
I miss you guys.

My birthday was incredible.... I need to document this. So Ashley and Johanna were here. We woke up and went to the Louvre, it was pretty cool to get to see in real life the things you learn about in class. We went back to Johanna's friend Tytti's house to get ready to go to the ballet at the Opera Garnier (the opera house Phantom of the Opera is supposed to have taken place). Tytti is the best hostess, she made us feel so comfortable. So we get ready and go an hour early to get half-price tickets, only to find out the show is completely sold out. :( So we went to a really famous and beautiful department store before heading to the other really famous venue of arts and music. What we saw could definitely be described as an experience. It was quite possible the strangest post-modern ballet/noise/seamstress thing I have ever seen. Ash and I could't look at each other for fear we would bust out laughing... we were doing our best to hold it in as it was. Thankfully it was only an hour so we didn't have to not laugh for that long. The terrace of that theatre looks out on the eiffel tower. Ash and I walked down while Tytti and Johanna went to get coffee. We bought tea and hot cocoa at a vendor right beside the eiffel tower and watched it sparkle on the hour. We then went to meet Johanna and Tytti but it took awhile because we couldn't find a metro. We got back to Tytti's flat around 11:30. Tytti and Johanna had bought cake and ice cream and snacks and tea and wine to celebrate. We pretty much had a feast, it was the best chocolate cake I have ever had. Oh yeah, there was bread and cheeses and salami too with strawberries and cookies. French bread really is amazing. Finally, I called my family and got to talk to them for awhile. All in all it was pretty perfect. And I think I'll wrap this post up.
Last thing, I am leaving Paris tomorrow night on an overnight train to Florence and meeting up with the Baylor gang there. Then it's to Rome and Corfu and Athens. :)

Intense Day

Today was intense... I took every form of public transformation today except a boat. Planes, trains, buses, and automobiles. but I am in Paris safe and sound.... a guy already tried to kiss me. Dont worry it wasn`t creepy, a little flattering though. I cant wait to hang out with ashley!!!!

Sheffield

I LOVE Sheffield. I really wish you guys were here. Let me start at the beginning, I got off the train and I was a little disoriented because I was so tired. I walk out to the site of a huge fountain, I love water, and all of these beautiful, windy streets. I went to the library to hang out because I hadn't really gotten in touch with Autumn giving her all the details of my arrival. Autumn met me there and took me on a tour of the city. It was so good to see her and connect here. This city is amazing, but the best part is all the youth. They are everywhere, skateboards and bright-colored hair and soft hearts. Autumn was telling me about life here and what she does on a daily basis, it's really intense but watching these kids, they're worth it and He's worth it. I felt completely connected to this, to what God is doing here. It's funny how youth are alike wherever you go, they need so badly to be loved and to be told they are worthy of your time and love but most of all Jesus' life. I loved walking around town, seeing all the places from pictures of the Elevate team and talking to all the youth that have stuck because of them, all the artwork and creativity that comes from these youth, and most of all experiencing God here. I never really knew that I wanted to work with youth, like give my life working with youth, until I got here. It's funny how you come alive when you are doing what God has called you to do. I mean I'm traveling around Europe but I feel most alive when I'm talking to Neive. Neive, is one of the girls who came to Inside Out last night (their version of Flipedge). I was praying for her when she got there because Autumn told me she wasn't a Christian yet. Autumn preached about community and we worshipped and hung out and played games, it was pretty wonderful and a lot like being in Waco for the Flipside (though that's apparently unusual for it to be that calm). Afterwards a group of girls headed home with us for the first ever youth girls sleepover. We were about an hour and a half into hanging out and eating and talking, we were just about to start the movie, when Neive asked to talk to Autumn. Thirty minutes later they walked back into the room and I can tell by the look on Autumn's face that she had given her life to the Lord!!!! I almost started crying, simply because I had been praying for her all that night, I can't imagine how Autumn felt. It was pretty amazing but the girls are starting to wake up so I need to go. :)

Edinburgh

AMAZING!!!! I love it here... another one of the cities I could live in. BUullet points are better since I'm paying for internet:
-man bought us coffee
-cheap hostel
-everyone wrote books here
-castle=amazing
-church=sweet people who made us feel very welcome
-free tours are the best

There's more but not enough time, I'm safe and loving Europe.

Trains

Here you are Kayla, these are the types of trains we travel in most often, I'll add more when I take more. :)

Jenny and Steven:

Aaron and Skylar:
Emily, Jenny, Molly and Christy on our way to Brugge aka first train ride:
Julia, someone i only met once, me, and Johanna on our way to Brugge:

I Love Easter

I haven't had such a beautiful Easter in several years. It was a sunny but chill spring day here in Maastricht. I, of course, forgot my camera but hopefully I will be able to describe it for you.
I woke up this morning to go to church with our chef, Esri. She goes to a large Pentacostal church in Belgium, which is a five minute drive from where I live. The service was really sweet... wait maybe I should start with waking up to the sun streaming through the blinds for the first time in what feels like years. Seriously, you don't understand how much you love the sun until you are able to bask in it's glory after months, weeks rather, of being without it. So my first thoughts on rising... "This is exactly how an Easter Sunday is supposed to be." Maybe I should explain this thought to you... Jesus sacrificed His life for mine and yours 2000 years ago, this is the holiday that celebrates not only that He was willing to give His life for mine, save me from my sins, and give me a purpose but that He rose from the dead on the third day, forever conquering death. So in my mind the third day is the essence of victory and life. Actually, now that I'm writing about it, this was the perfect weekend as far as weather goes. I really like when the weather corresponds to my life. (swiss alps, black forest, this weekend, etc.) So this weekend, Friday and Saturday, were quite possibly the worst weather days I have experienced thus far, rain, sleet, snow, dark clouds, and high winds. Then Sunday dawned, beautiful blue skies, gentle breeze, flowers blooming, pretty much perfection, a wonderful picture of the victory of Christ.
Back to church. We sang so many songs, some I knew some I didn't but only two were in English. By the way, I think I have sung "My Redeemer Lives" in four different languages, 5 different countries, and two continents... popular song. I really love being with believers, worshipping all together. We had tea and pie with people afterwards and talked about everything from dancing to cowboys.
I came back and rested and then went to meet Panos (my Greek friend) for tea at 3. He is really funny and I enjoy hanging out with him. He loves to ask questions about religion like what makes you go to heaven or hell, sometimes it's really difficult explaining that it's not about religion or works. Sunday was different, I can't really explain it but it was a good different.
He had to go study so I decided to get lost on my way back home and enjoy the sunshine. I got lost in the direction of the zoo, or rather Maastricht's version of a zoo.
I ended up following one of the tributaries of the Maas river (the city's namesake). I love water, I don't know why but I do, lakes, oceans, rivers, streams, they make me really happy. Like on a given Sunday in Waco, if I have time, I'll take my journal and just go sit on the bank of the Brazos or on the dam. I love the way the sunlight hits the water, the ripples and waves take on a new magic when highlighted by a golden yellow or bright white. Especially when the banks are a full, new green with flowers beginning to bloom, ducks swimming around, and children feeding them and laughing. It is the kind of beauty that simply makes you love being alive at that moment, your heart is so full of the goodness of God and the joy of being on this wonderful adventure with Him. You simply want to breathe deeply and take it all in, the life, the peace, the joy, and the blessing.
That was how yesterday was, peaceful and beautiful. There were so many families in the park. Playing together and laughing and feeding the animals. :) There were geese, making an awful racket, ducks, billy goats, deer, peacocks, chickens, a buck, and several baby billy goats. One actually had the long beard, it was fun seeing them eat out of the kids hands and the little children finding the courage to get close enough to let the animals eat from their hands. I'm not a big fan of geese so I didn't get real close, in my defense they were really big and I don't think they would've liked the fact that I didn't have bread.
I kept walking and the tributary joined the old wall that used to surround the city. I really wish I could tell you how beautiful it was, the grey, blue of the old wall with splotches of dark green moss and hanging ivy, the blue, water flowing and sparkling over and around boulders, next to bright green new grass with blossoming yellow and pink trees and flowers all around. :D
It truly was a wonderful, God-given day, funny, peaceful, and beautiful.
That's it for now I'm way past due on hitting the books, finals are this week. I leave on Friday to travel for a month!!!

A few favorite things...

Since I'm all caught up on trips and I do not want to do homework right now.... in random order, here are a few of my favorite things in Europe thus far:

• riding on a train in the rain
• trains are the main form of transportation
• hiking in the Swiss Alps on a sunny spring day
• staying with Stephanie and Shannon in Berlin
• the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe
• trying to climb a lion in Trafalgar Square
• the kicking game in Colmar (I'll explain when I get back)
• seeing the beautiful church that tells me I am five minutes walk from home
• Jazz is everywhere... you can almost always find a live jazz band playing
• dark chocolate (that is made up of five ingredients)
• meeting and hanging out with Johanna and Panos
• my perfect Tuesday (once again, a story for when I get back)
• my first sunny, exploratory Sunday in Maastricht
• walking everywhere
• FRESH food
• playing "make it or break it"
• playing card games
• the fact that history is literally around every corner
• beautiful scenery
• the cutest kids with amazing accents
• quiet times at random, perfect times
• sunny skies (those very few days)

That's it for now... Hope you are having a great day!

So I have been in Switzerland these last two weekends, I went skiing and nightsledding on the first weekend. The second weekend I went hiking in the alps and in the Black Forest. It was pretty much amazing, I'm kinda out of words right now because I've been writing alot but I think there are enough pictures to make up for that...
Me on the train tracks that take you up the mountain and cliff face:

Our luncheon view:

The beautiful swiss alps:

The cute little lamb we saw on our hike, we ended up seeing cows and chickens as well... ok so the traditional job of the region is to herd cattle and sheep. You make cheese, chocolate, and milk. However, making those things does not sustain a farmer so the government subsidizes the traditional method of alpine farming. During the summer the farmer has to make hay for the winter and thus hires several "students and hippies" to watch the cows while he works... how cool of a job is that?
The peak on the left is the Eiger, recognize it? It is the peak that the North Face brand was named for:
One of the several beautiful waterfalls and trees we saw:

The random, fat cat that looked as if he owned the entire valley:
I wish I could describe the color of the rivers to you... it was water from melted glaciers and snow so it had this blue, almost aquamarine tint unlike any I have ever seen:


The valley we stayed in:

This looked like the highest peak from where we were in the valley but after we took the gondola ride up we discovered these peaks could be categorized as the base of that particular mountain:
I loved this stream:


I understand why their aren't very many swiss immigrants:

The alps glow at sunset:
A few of the beautiful falls, once again this was only the base of a ridiculously huge mountian that we hiked up:


Ok, this is what I skiied in... it was ridiculous and challenging and amazing!

Proof:
I don't know if I have ever seen so much snow... it snowed on us while skiing, and I skiied through a cloud, yep, i know, this is my life, ridiculous:


Sara and I were the only ones who wanted to ski, everyone else went paragliding:

The view when you first got off the ski-train:
It was breath-taking:


Really, I don't know if better weekends exist, I was surrounded by the majesty of creation at every turn.

I didn't get pics of the black forest because my camera ran out of batteries but Robert, the guy I was travelling with did... oh yeah Robert, let me tell you about our weekend together.

First of all stop, no, we're just friends who wanted to see the same stuff but yes we did travel to the black forest and swiss alps together. It was hilariously awkward the first night, actually kinda the whole trip cause everyone just assumed we were together, but we definitely are not. We found some good stuff to talk about in all our hours of hiking (grandparents [grandma, nana and papa i wish you were here, i loved talking about you but it made me miss you guys], life goals, dream jobs, places we've been, etc.) but with such beauty surrounding you, the main subject was the mountains and how blessed we are and how amazing it all was.

Oh and the weather, if you've seen Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,(if you haven't you should) the weather in the Swiss Alps was exactly like that first day of spring towards the end when all the couples are singing about spring. It was gorgeously sunny, we both got sunburned, creeks were beginning to flow, ice was melting, sheep and cows were lowing, but there was still snow and a crispness in the air that is possibly unmatchable.

In the Black Forest a storm was blowing in so it was windy and the temperature was dropping and the leaves were swirling around your feet as you imagined al kinds of noises coming from the trees... exactly as a day in the black forest should be. I understand how that forest inspired so many wonderful stories.

Ask me about night-sledding when I talk to you or when I get home, that couls take up another half-page and this thing is getting long. I love you guys and I want to hear about your lives... Juarez, Model UN, Chicago, Missouri, McKinney... talk to you soon!

Colmar

So I needed a little break from all the travelling to all the big, ridiculous cities. 8 of us decided to go to Colmar, France. It's a little town in the Northeast of France, its really famous for an amazing, moving altarpiece. I'll come back to that in a bit.

We left Friday morning, we being Molly, Julia, Christy, Skylar, Aaron, Steven, Robert, and I. Sidenote: trains are the best form of transportation, you get on, you don't ave to drive, you sit in the super comfortable seat then the gentle rocking and humming put you to sleep, glorious.

Ok so we get there late, Robert had kinda hinted at the fact that he had reserved rooms for 5 and 3... we have 4 boys and 4 girls... someone is going to be alone with the opposite sex no matter how you split it up. We were trying to make this as least awkward as possible but.... I mean how do you do that? No one wants to be the first to say, "hey i'll sleep with the girls, or i'll sleep with the boys." We decide to throw odds or evens to randomly select roommates. It's like rock, paper, scissors you just throw a 1 or a 2. We're thinking this is going to take a little while but no.... first round all the girls and skylar throw 2's all the other boys threw 1's... funny. Made funnier by the fact that Skylar comes from a family of all boys... that's right... crash course in having sisters. Priceless times.

The museum we visited was in an old nunnery, it was so peaceful and beautiful. The altarpiece was exquisite but what got to me was the fact that there was an incredible depiction of Christ on the cross, a depiction that captured the grotesque pain and agony endured by a loving Savior for a hurting world, in the same room as depictions of saints and how they were martyred. The church has done so many horrible things, hurt so many people, killed some of the people it now canonizes, human being are capable of such atrocities, yet there is Christ hanging on the cross, knowing all we were capable of.... He is so GOOD.

I also got really camera happy on this trip but my internet isn't working right now so you'll just have to see them all when I get back. Love you guys, hope Juarez was amazing!!!

P.S. I am a weekend behind as in I went to Interlaken, Switzerland last weekend, but you really have to see the pictures of those so I'll post about that next weekend. This weekend I'm off to the Black Forest nd the Swiss Alps again.

London

Aaron, Steven, Skylar and Johanna in front of an entrance to Trafalgar square:
The Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace:
The famous red telephone booths, they are everywhere:
Big Ben Clock:

I think this is still Big Ben:
Johanna, Me, Aaron, and Steven on a lion in trafalgar square, it was really hard getting up there, I've never felt so un-athletic :)
I don't remember where this is but it's a tight pic:

This is a government building, that I would know more about if I had gone on the tour:
The scary bird that flew in front of our picture and me beginning to freak out about it:
London Bridge:

Johanna and Skylar showing off their muscles on London Bridge:

Steven and Aaron on our last leg of the journey to our hostel:

Johanna and I:
We road the underground EVERYWHERE, we need systems like this in America:

London was a lot of fun. I went with Johanna, Jenny, Skylar, Steven, and Aaron. Jenny had a friend there so I didn't see much of her the entire trip. We, being Johanna, Steven, Aaron, and I (the others left on wednesday cause they didn't have class on thursday) arrived late friday night. My first glimpse of London was a little blurry seeing as how I couldn't keep my eyes open on our super-comfortable bus. We arrived at our hostel around midnight London time, 1:00 am maastricht time, and 6:00 pm texas time. Steven booked the hostel rooms (so far anytime a man has booked the rooms funny things have happened). So we get there to find out that he booked the girls in a coed dorm and the boys in a male-only dorm... why you may ask? I have no idea. :)

So Johanna and I go to our room, it turns out to be one of the coolest hostels ever. For those of you who have seen Finding Neverland the whole hostel looked like the boy's house. We were n full size sturdy, wooden bunk beds with off-white linen curtains that went all the way around. Each bed had it's own little light and there was a soft center light in the middle. It was really peaceful and charming. The guys ended up being in a not-as-charming room that had a distinct man-scent. So it all worked out. (Except there was one guy who was snoring louder than I have ever heard in our room, but hey that's what ipods are for right? {thanks, mom})

The first day we eat breakfast at our hostel and set out into the city. Aaron and Steven caught p with Jeny on their free tour while Johanna, Skylar and I went to buy a few cheap tickets for a west end show. After we bought the tickets we tried to catch up with the others via text message and ended up a site behind them the entire morning. :) I tihnk it was stressing Skylar out a little bit but Johanna and I were completely enjoying traipsing around London and seeing all we could see. We ended up stopping for a cup of coffee and relaxing until they were done with the tour. We all met at the river side of Big Ben, poor Aaron and Steven were freezing because Skylar told them they didn't need their coats but had forgotten to factor in the wind-chill of the Thames.

Side-note: Johanna and I had already decided we were going to go to Hillsong London.

We're walking along all together now, heading towards food, when Steven goes, "hey, you guys wanted to go to Hillsong right? those guys back there had some kinda badges on." I spun around and headed to find them, here was how the conversation went: (They're in italics)

Hi

hey are you guys here for the women's conference.

no, but if we had known abot it we would have been, we were wondering when your services are tomorrow.

oh, good timing our services are at 10:30, 3:30, and 5:30 but you should come to the 10:30 service cause we're recording our 3RD LIVE CD and dvd about our church and our vision... where are you guys from?

At this point Johanna and I are so excited we are nearly jumping up and down and the men had to take over the conversation.

We finished talking to them and planned to be at the Dominion theatre the next morning at 9:30.

We got to eat lunch and every pub is pretty crowded, so we walk for a bit and come across a huge demonstration of the Serbs against England recognizing Kosovo's independence. It was pretty crazy, we took the long way around. People were waving flags and banners and all were in red, white or blue. Some had a banner that called the US the UN and the UK the fourth reicht. That was strange, but they weren't really mad. It seemed like a lot of friends getting together for something they believed in.

We finally end up at this pub, it's around three and our stomachs are telling us we need to eat. So we walk in, sit down, and order. Johanna and I ordered the crazy things, like meat pie and chicken and curry. It really was one of the best meals I have ever had. (Although I think I have burned my tongue on every meal i've bought so far).

After lunch we walked around and visited buckingham palace, scotland yard, and several other random but significant places that I can't remember right now. :( I think I'm going into way too much detail on this post, sorry.

Anyway, we went to see Stomp that night. It was pretty stinkin amazing and a ton of fun. Later we walked down Camden street and got a bite to eat, all the club places were pretty crazy, every single one of them had a bouncer, intimidating. We went back to our super-comfortable hostel and prepared to wake up early the next morning for church.

Hillsong London was AMAZING. Johanna and I were both a mess afterwards, we had already talked about how we cry in church on a normal basis, when you add that we hadn't been in church in a while and God showing up in a powerful way, well let's say we went through a lot of kleenex in the best possible way. It was incredible to hear about all God has done and is doing in London and the world via Hillsong. We spent the rest of the day going to Abbey road and taking a Beatles pic and shopping. We had to leave around 5 to get to our flight in time.

And there's more:

So we were taking a really cheap airline which meant there was a limited number of options as to when we could fly back and the airport was a little out of the way. All in all I searched for an hour and a half trying to figure out how we were going to get back to Maastricht from Brussels... end result? We could get as far as Liege, which is a good hour train ride from Maastricht, but the trains stopped running as soon as we would get there. Our options were, take the train to Liege and rent a cab for six people home, rent a hotel room in Brussels (which would be about 20 euro a person and we would only be in for about five hours), take the train to Liege and sleep outside, stay in the Brussel's train station, save money, and leave on the 6:24 am train. We chose the last one. Yes, I slept in a train station. We were pretty glad the guys were with us around 2 in the morning, well actually probably all night because there were several drunk men coming around. They weren't mean or dangerous or anything just drunk and looking for someone to talk to. It was cold, but the girls snuggled together and got a few hours of sleep. All in all it was fun and I'm glad we did it but hopefully, never again.

Cathedrals

Here are the two cathedrals

This is the French one:

Here is the German one:
Love you dad. :)

Berlin

The mother mourning for her son, housed in a building that has changed hands and purposes with every war:

The statue that Napoleon pointed to:

Our first hostel!!! It was called the three little pigs :)

The "Ministry of Ministries" during Cold War communism, it was a stark building, tall and imposing bt was built to give friends of the government jobs doing very little:

A part of the propagandic mural on the Ministry of Ministries building, this was the ideal attitude towards communism, in the courtyard facing this mural, was a real-life picture the same width and heighth of people protesting:
The German Cathedral, built opposite the French Cathedral:
A part of an old train station, through wich millions of elderly Jews were shipped off, never to be seen again:

My favorite, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe:
Brandeburg Gate, the one gate almost every great army of the West has walked through:

It was so interesting hearing the history of the city in our free tour. Berlin is old. Sometimes you forget all that was going on before WWII, simply because the Nazis are so infamous. But Berlin has a very rich and vibrant history and it was fun to rediscover it. Friedrich the Great, Wilheim I and II, Napoleon, and WWI and how these made the people who they are and set the conditions for WWII. Mom, Molly, do you remember that famous quote by Napoleon when he was pointing to Freidrich the Great's statue and said "If this man was still alive we could not be standing here now."? I saw the statue!! It was one of the greatest compliments Napoleon ever paid someone. The Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe was my favorite though. It was extremely moving. It takes up a city block and is made up of rectangular, grey, cement blocks. As you look out over it the blocks are of varying heights but they are all even and evenly spaced, then you begin to walk through and you discover that the gound is terribly uneven. As you continue to walk the cement blocks rise higher and higher over head. Every once in a while you catch a glimpse of someone but for the most part you feel completly alone and isolated. It is deathly silent as you are walking through, it is somewhat disorientating. You are surrounded by towering grey cement blocks it is almost oppressive. Then you begin to think about what it must have been like for the Jews. They were being forced into a trap that would most likely lead to their death, they could make friends but more than likely those friends would be gone soon, never to be seen again, they were oppressed and disoriented, helpless and hopeless. But then one begins to see more sunlightand the blocks gradually become shorter, you emerge on the other side, the hate, prejudice and injustice that had been so oppressive and strong is fading and losing power. You are free but never the same. I suppose I liked Berlin so much because the entire city is that way, they are free but not the same, they cannot and will not forget the circumstances and passions that have brought the city to it's knees many a time, but they refuse to be broken, they continue to build and hope and live fully.
That could be the exact description of the Antioch church there. They live and love so well, hoping and building. I truly enjoyed being there. Worship was incredible! I stayed with Stephanie, Shannon, and Sarah on Saturday night. They made me feel so at home and loved.

That's it for now... London coming soon.

Turkey 2

So let me tell you about Topkapi palace. We walk in the first enormous gate and we're in the first enormous courtyard, the church where the Second Ecumenical council met is on your left and the seven chimneys of the mile long kitchen is on your right. We first went through the collection of beautiful dishes of all ages (some dating beack several centuries). Then we entered the second courtyard and toured the vast collection of silver. The final gate was the ceremonial gate for coronations...attached to that was the room that the Ottoman empire was governed from for 400 years. Literally we were standing in places where some of the greatest minds in history reasoned and debated and governed. OVERWHELMING. Next was the treasure room, there was an 86 karat diamond!!! Everyone had the Aladdin song running through their head. Remember the pictures you saw of sultans reclining on jeweled thrones in extravagant headwear? It was all there, gold thrones coated in rubies and emeralds, boxes of jade, daggers of silver, gold, and precious stones, thrones of mother of pearl and ebony, crowns of jade, rubies, and diamonds, crystal treasure boxes full of precious jewels, the list goes on and on. It was insane but not quite as impressive as I thought it would be, it was all just stuff behind glass that tourists pay money to look at but can't take pictures of... just stuff. Lastly, was the ultimate treasure room... it was full of ancient relics like Abraham's bowl, Moses' staff, Joseph's turban, John the Baptist's arm, Abu Bakr's sword, and Muhammed's beard. Like I said overwhelming and a little strange, it was hard to believe that all of that stuff was real.
After the palace the firls went to a turkish bath. :) It was pretty much amazing, it felt like we had gone back to greco-roman times in this huge marble room filled with steam and beautiful fountains of hot water.
The next morning, Skylar, Jenny, and I walked through the light rain to an ancient tower, pretty cool. Ok that's it for Turkey, next is Berlin.

Written a week ago

ok, these are in the oppostie order, this is one of te main fountains at Topkaptapi Palace:

This is the entrance to the first court of the palace, Sandy, Sara, Tanya, Jenny, Emily:

Me in front of the Second courtyard gate:

This is the church where the Second Ecumenical Council met:

This was one of my favorites, the underground cistern, isn't it beautiful?

This is in the Hagia Sophia at the front, this is the niche for the Muslims and then above it are Christian mosaics and stained glass:

Emily, Tanya, and Jenny huddled over our faithful tour guide, Rick Steve's:

The interior of tha Hiagia Sophia:



The interior of the Blue Mosque:

The Hagia Sophia:
The giant Egyptian obelisk, it's 3600 years old!!!

The Blue Mosque:

Hey!!I'm a little tired so please forgive any bad grammar or misspellings. :) God has been SO good, there really is no where else I would rather be right now.(I do wish all of you were with me though) These past few weeks have simply been insane, I've been in 4 different countries, visited some of the most famous places in the world, and have made some incredible friends.If I could describe Istanbul in one word it would be overwhelming. Standing in the Hagia Sophia or in front of the church where the Second Ecumenical Council met was absolutely incredible. I almost fainted, that was a strange experience. But it's like all of the sudden you are face to face with everything you have read or studied about the church and history and it's just there right in front of you, you can almost imagine how it must have been centuries ago, how they debated about whether Christ was god or man,how many people fought and died, how fragile life is, how short life is, how only what God says matters, how great HE is. Now imagine all of that times ten running through your mind at once, that's why I nearly fainted (and teared up twice). It really was overwhelming. Then there was the traffic...riding in a taxi felt like you were a video camera on the hood of a nascar racer, it was insane, though everyone does pay attention to the traffic lights. No one drives in the actual traffic lanes, so a road that is supposed to be 3 lanes is at least 5, and they just all swerve in and outgoing whichever speed they wish, I think they have to get their brake pads changed a lot too. School started this week, that has been a little stressful because theyschedule classes so differently here. I'm taking International Relations,Intercultural Communication and Philosophy, Dutch Art History, and Spanish5. It's been really fun so far, philosophy is definitely going to be myfavorite, that teacher is brilliant, he speaks seven different languages andteaches in 3 on the day he teaches us. Yeah. And I feel ridiculous onlyknowing one language well and one ok. Everyone here speaks at least 3.Ok I need to run to class, last couple of things, I love the people I amhere with. We had an EMP (early morning prayer) this morning, it was sogood. I am going to Berlin this afternoon/weekend. I'm meeting up withShannon on Saturday night and then church on Sunday. :) Next weekend we're flying to London, the plane ticket was 10, that's right 10, euro. Life is beautiful!