Life.

Get SOAPY

2012-02-11T22:19:00.001-08:00

So as a church we're going through the Life Journal this year. The Life Journal is a daily Bible reading and journaling plan and I'm loving it! Here's how it works:

1) read the passages marked out for you (I do this on my phone, the YouVersion App has a Life Journal Bible reading plan option)

2) journal; S-scripture, O-observation on that scripture, A-application of that scripture, P-prayer

As I was reading and journaling this morning, one of the scriptures in Acts stood out and I wanted to share.

S- Acts 11:18 NLT
"When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”"

O- This is one of the most critical moments for the early church. This is the response to the moment when God openly poured out His Spirit and fully forgave a completely Gentile household. Not a household that was trying to be Jewish, not "foreigners living among them" but full-blooded Gentiles.
Instead of letting insecurities rise up, instead of feeling threatened or being exclusive the leaders of the early church began praising God for what He was doing. Why? Peter, explained what happened and they recognized God's hand. They knew His voice and they trusted Him over their traditions and what they were used to. Their security and identity was in Him now, not who they once were.

A- if my security, affections and trust lie completely in Him, I will be able to accept with joy any change He brings.

P- Lord, help me position my heart and focus my eyes so completely on You that my soul is at rest and my heart is content, come what may.

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Glorify God and Enjoy Him Forever

2012-01-11T07:35:00.001-08:00

As a church we're at the beginning of our 21 day fast and I am loving experiencing the manifest presence of God at a deeper level together.

There are so many ways I've prepared for this fast, in a lot of ways I've prepared better than I ever have. I read books on fasting, I bought all I would need for the next three weeks beforehand so I won't have to walk into a store, I mentally prepared and began drinking a whole lot of water early on all to get me to this moment of spiritual preparation.

There has been a holy expectation stirring inside of me, an intense desire to know God more and see His kingdom come on the earth but I don't think I've even begun to fathom what God wants to do as we meet and make room for Him.

As that's begun to stir in me and as I've been praying over our six prayer points as a church and over my specific prayer points, I was reminded by one of my devos this morning of what it's all about: Psalm 100, enjoying the presence of God.

Have you ever heard of Westminster's Catechism? Several older, wiser men of God got together several decades ago to biblically search out the answers to some of our most basic but hardest questions. One of them being "what is the chief end of man?" aka why do we exist? Their answer? TO GLORIFY GOD and ENJOY HIM FOREVER.

This truth keeps surfacing in my heart and mind and today that's all I want to focus on; glorifying God and enjoying Him as I'm setting aside so many other things. I truly believe that's what He wants most, everything else will fall into place from there... All of the things that are heavy on my heart, all of the things we want to see happen as a church and individually... It all begins and ends with Him. So why not take today and simply enjoy Him?

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Let's Be Honest

2011-09-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

This last month and a half has been intense for me. So many lessons I thought I had already learned, so much insecurity.I am so thankful He promises His strength is made perfect in my weakness. I've felt very weak.

The key word there is "felt". I'm learning feelings aren't truth at an even deeper level. My reality isn't framed by how I feel. It could be and somedays I choose to see life through the haze of my emotions. Those aren't the best days.

The really good days are when I'm letting God frame my reality. The days I choose to dwell on His truths, His word and His goodness. The days I choose to walk in all He has for me.

The best days these days are when I fail. I cannot believe I just typed that but it's true! The best days are when I judge that I've messed up in some way, I didn't walk perfectly according to what God had planned for that day or something. Those are the best days because He is so faithful to remind me of who He is and how He sees me. His truth comes alive.

He is my loving Father, my closest Friend. He knows me better than I know myself and yet, He loves me.It's in those moments I'm reminded it's not all about me anyway.

There is a whole world of people out there who need Him, they need Jesus. They need to know He loves them, wants a relationship with them and paid the ultimate price to offer them that gift. I want them to know Him. To know hope, abundant life, joy and peace in the midst of everything. At the very same time I'm realizing I need Him. I want to know Him so much more and I can see a tapestry in my head.

I always think in pictures and when I start thinking about what God is up to and how much He loves us, I see a Master Weaver at a majestic loom meticulously weaving with absolute joy. He is creating beauty out of our mess and working all things together for the good of those who love Him.I'm thankful.

Perfect Fairytale

2011-08-05T13:20:00.000-07:00

I just googled "perfect fairytale" and you know what came up? Thousands of wedding sites...

This has been a hard week.

Life's just like that sometimes. Hard and painful. I'm so thankful for hope.

Elevate, my church's youth ministry is raising money to build an orphanage in India. Me and a couple of my friends have been helping out by writing different content for the sponsor cards, website, and other communication pieces. My favorite piece we've written so far was a paragraph on hope.

Sometimes hope seems really far away, sometimes it's hard to see the light of other dreams as you're dying to the one right in front of you. That's what this week has felt like. While it's felt that way I'm so thankful life isn't about feelings. I'm so glad truth isn't dependent on how I feel or what I think. Truth is simple, truth is a person and I'm convinced I wouldn't be able to live my life if I didn't know Him. He's my hope.

Despite everything else that is going on. Despite all of the hurt and pain I see in this world or feel or even cause, He's bigger. He's constant. And He is love.

And while I'm not at all good at resting, I can rest in that and I'm choosing to this week.

Sometimes it's the hard and painful things in life that teach us the most and sometimes it isn't all about the lesson. I'm not sure which this falls under but to borrow one of my favorite lines ever: "All of human wisdom can be summed up in these two words; 'wait and hope.'" Wait and hope.

Guys, Girls, and God 2

2011-03-05T06:35:00.000-08:00

So quite a lot has happened in my life in regards to this whole dating thing.

Two weeks ago I went on a blind date of sorts. I went to coffee with a friend's cousin who is conducting a christian dating research project. He's a great guy, he's never been in a relationship and he's decided to see what all the hubbub is about by going on any date someone sets him up with within the next year and blogging about it. All in all a very interesting concept... I happened to be one of those dates. The experience revealed and confirmed a lot about myself and my views on dating.

I’m not really a date to get to know you person. I like getting to know someone without the weird pressure of a date. I like getting to know someone in a group setting. I like living life with people, seeing how they respond to different pressures or situations and encouraging one another through it whether that be a guy or a girl. When it comes to dating, while I’d love to ascribe to the “get a free meal/ coffee out of the deal,” I’m just not wired that way. I don’t want to invest one on one time or one on one emotional energy unless I really like the guy and I’m pretty sure it’s going somewhere… and it takes a bit for me to get there. In short, I like to be friends first.

Well, this thought opened a can of worms. I realized I wasn't really friends with guys... pretty much because I'm convinced a girl and guy aren't friends unless there is some level of attraction there on one side or the other. It's a lot easier to avoid good friendships with someone of the opposite sex and not have to deal with any of the precarious feelings that spring up than to fight through those in the name of friendship. But I realized if I really did want to get to know someone through friendship first I would have to be their friend.

It all sounds well, good, and perfectly logical but where is the stopping point? Where is the line between friendship and dating if there's interest on both sides? Is it simply a matter of guarding your heart? How much are you responsible for their's? So many questions!

Ultimately, this whole thing is a little more complicated than I thought but I think friendships are worth it. I love what God teaches you about yourself and what He teaches you through the other person. We are made to live in community and to have solid relationships... all of this to say as a single, 23 year old, woman I still have a lot to learn. :)

Guys, Girls & God

2011-02-05T07:03:00.001-08:00

If you have ever been single and in your twenties the combination of these three (guys, girls, & God) can be one of the most confusing things ever. There have been countless books written on the subject not to mention a plethora of blogs and articles addressing everything from relationships to dating to boundaries.

Here's the deal, God created us for relationship. First, a relationship with Him then relationships with others. Somewhere in there throw in a couple of passages from Genesis, Gods family plan, plus the desires of a young heart and things could get messy. I know it does for me... living in suburbia and your best friend getting married doesn't really help clear anything up but as I've taken this before God again and again I'm starting to learn a few things I thought I'd share.

First always, there is nothing more important than my relationship with God. He is my rock, in the midst of change and growth, He is the constant. He is sovereign, He knows, He sees and I can rest in His love for me. He is worth it all, all of me, all my well-laid plans, all my hopes and dreams pale in comparison to knowing Him. (this last truth can be the hardest to keep at the forefront of my thoughts but it doesn't make it any less true and there is that whole verse about loving God with all your mind ;)

There is grace for the process, thank God! I know I'm one who likes to get things all figured out, I want to see the big picture and know each step it will take to get there, I love the plan. While this attribute of mine is very helpful at work, it's not so helpful when it comes to guys or really relationships in general. There's a point where you simply have to trust God. Trust Him to cover your mistakes, trust Him to grow you up, and trust Him with the desires of your heart.

The beautiful thing about all of this could be human mess is it's a perfect opportunity for God to be glorified. While it isn't easy navigating your twenties or really life for that matter with all it's relationships, surprises, and heartache... Knowing God is for you and trusting Him with it all, especially when it comes to the dreams in your heart, is always a good place to start and it's always worth it.

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Why are you smiling?

2011-01-22T09:50:00.001-08:00

1 Peter 3:15- but in your hearts honor God as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.

ALWAYS be ready to give an account, even at the passport line in DFW. I was getting back from a mission trip to India and was thinking about all that God did, the favor, blessing, and hope He gave to us. Next thing I knew I was up at the passport line. The guard looked at me walking up and had to ask, "why are you smiling?" it was a funny question, one he wasn't sure he should have asked, said in a tone of mixed sarcasm and incredulity. I so regret not giving him the true answer... I said something about being happy to be home... The truth was I was in love with my Savior and thinking about our wonderful adventure together.

Here's the deal, that man sees hundreds of people come through, he knows what it looks like to be happy to be home... He was asking for the reason of the hope he saw within me.

Next time, I want to be ready and quick to respond. What does that preparation look like? I have a few guesses but that's one of the things I'm asking God for this year. Show me how to prepare, give me words to say, let me bring glory to You from the depth of our relationship as I honor You as Lord and as holy in my heart.

Looking forward to the preparation God has.

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Love

2010-10-16T06:55:00.001-07:00

I feel like there is a lot to say on this subject... And the way you view it forms who you are in a lot of ways.

Are you one who loves well? Do I love people well? What is love anyway... Oh wait, the bible defines it and it's pretty intense. Love is patient, love is kind, it is not easily angered nor does it hold any record of wrong... We could stop right there... Holds NO record of wrong?! So that list I have in my head of things I can recall way too quickly in areas I feel like I've been wronged... Not exactly biblical. This list wouldn't be a problem if I didn't want to love people well, so there's one option. Just ignore love, build walls, decide who isn't going to hurt me based on past experiences, and be safe.

Mmmm that doesn't sound so good, in fact it looks like it leads to a road of bitterness... I'm pretty sure that's not what I was created for...

So what am I created for?

I'm going to pull out my bible and get back to you on that.

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Community

2010-08-28T22:34:00.001-07:00

Everywhere I look I see evidence of the fact that we are made for community. Whether it's fans at a baseball game, friends in a tv show, or random people at jury duty we are made to do life together. The thing is... We're not meant just to do life with other people... How do I know this? Because the best, most fulfilling community is found in a healthy church. You see people always gather around something, there is something that draws them together... Sometimes it's similar interests, sometimes it's heartbreak or pain, and sometimes it's God.(the cool thing is God is a big God and most of the time it's Him without us knowing it).

Tonight was our small group expo at church. I was overwhelmed at the feeling of community, of belonging, of peace. It makes worship richer, communion more palpable, and my heart more open to receive all God has. I was looking around at the end of worship and I couldn't stop the tears of joy... So many people from all different walks of life and from all different seasons of life. There's the guerras and peases right next to the kalers and soon to be peoples :) I love it!!! The overwhelming thought of Who was bringing all of us together, of the beauty of a King who draws all of us to Him... Powerful and awe inspiring.

It's late and I don't know if this is really making sense. I simply couldn't stop thinking about the wonder of a God who creates us this way and then fulfills His creation for perfect community is found in Him..

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2010-08-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

"I'm letting go of the life I planned for me and my dreams, losing control of my destiny, it feels like I'm falling and that's what it's like to believe, it feels like I'm falling and this is the life for me..."

So excited about all God is doing and learning to trust and delight in Him :)

Grief

2010-08-12T12:13:00.001-07:00

There have been a couple of situations in the past few weeks where I have come face to face with grief, my own and that of a friend.

I've learned I'm not very good at dealing with grief. My first thought is always, "this isn't how it's supposed to be!" (As if I'm all-knowing of every situation.) Now sometimes this thought is true. God has placed eternity in our hearts... Death was never a part of the plan and in some ways death isn't how it's supposed to be.

But then there's the pride in me that thinks I know how things are supposed to be, my stubborn will that says "Lord, I know better than You" or maybe worse: "how can you work this together for good?" questioning His sovereignty or ability to do things in my life is never a good thing and definitely never peaceful.

Then there's just the sadness. What do you do when you experience loss? Especially when you know and trust the character of God? Somehow there is joy in the midst of sadness but sometimes that makes for a weird mix of emotion.

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Location:Dallas

Long Time

2009-03-10T21:09:00.000-07:00

My life is pretty much amazing right now. I like beginning blogs that way. This time it's not amazing because I'm in a foreign country seeing age-old monuments to man, it's amazing because I am exactly where I am supposed to be. I love my job, I love my new friends, I love my apartment... I love a lot of things and for real too, not that wishy-washy I really like this right now... the deep everything-feels-right type of love. I didn't know life could be like this and I know there are seasons, but I am sure glad to be out of that last one and in this one. :) God is always good and faithful but sometimes those facts are easier to ackowledge.
Take this week for instance. Last week was insane as a side-note. Monday morning, I accidentally sleep through all my alarms and wake up just in time to get dressed and get to work. Normally, that would be stressful but not really this time. I get to work and do a few things then realize I don't have a ton to do, kinda nice. Then Pastor Derrick calls to ask me to do a few things and inform me that Vanessa and I get Tuesday off and they're sending us to the spa... what?!? I have the best job ever, not only do I get to see women set free on a Victory Weekend, I get sent to the spa for doing it!!! Somewhat ridiculous but hey, I'll take it. :) Then Cassandra and I are emailing back and forth and she invites me over to dinner. Seriously, my week was off to the most amazing start ever.
Dinner was so naturally fun and boy can those Lopez' cook. :) I loved getting to know them and starting to feel like part of the family.
Then today (spa day) was incredible. I got to sleep in, get good time in the Word, work out, and meet V at Central Market for lunch. Then we met RussellAnn at the spa. I had never been to a spa before. They give you these big, fluffy, white robes that are somehow lightweight and slippers and send you into the perfectly ambianced dressing room. Then you get to go to the relaxation room. By the time you get to the massage you've been inundated with refreshing and relaxing scents, peacefully serenaded by a waterfall fountain, and placed in awe of God again as you view the overwhelming ocean via the gigantic home theatre system. The massage itself was amazingly relaxing.
Next V and I were off to our small group outreach. We had an ice cream social at Whitley Place, a local retirement home. It was so natural and fun sitting with Winnie, Veragene, and Elsie talking about life, eating ice cream, playing bingo, and singing hymns.
Finally, V and I went to Chapps to eat one of the best burgers I have ever had outside in the perfect weather.
Seriously, can a day get any better? Or a week for that matter? I wonder what tomorrow holds...

camp high

2008-08-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-01T20:02:00.001-07:00

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

My life since europe

2008-06-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-30T21:41:00.001-07:00

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

Roma

2008-04-21T09:09:00.001-07:00

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

2008-04-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-05T01:58:00.001-07:00

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

2008-03-30T05:32:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-03-19T02:57:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-03-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-12T13:38:00.001-07:00

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

2008-03-03T02:09:00.000-08:00

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)

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

2008-02-27T00:56:00.000-08:00

Here are the two cathedrals

This is the French one:

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

Berlin

2008-02-22T04:35:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-19T04:31:00.001-08:00

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

2008-02-18T02:19:00.000-08:00

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!

Brussels in Pictures

2008-02-13T02:42:00.001-08:00

Brussels was our day trip right before leaving for Istanbul. We got off the train and headed to the chocolate museum, the guys were the most excited about that one. ;) Next we went to the art museum and the lady told us if we waited 20 minutes we could get in for free, so we had lunch in the middle of this really busy circle. Most of the pictures are form that.
This is the clock tower in the circle (Skylar, Christy, Jenny, Emily, Johanna, and Steven):
This is one of their "must-see" statues, it was a little awkward (Johanna, Skylar, Me, Steven, Molly, Emily, Jenny, and Christy):

The girls in front of the Carnival posters that spanned several years:
This is for you brother, I love you and miss you:
This is in the center square, everything is decorated here, it's incredible:

Brussels reminded me a lot of D.C., there was a lot of marble everywhere. We ended up going to the art museum, where Johanna and I fell in love with a man in a painting :) and the museum of instruments, which was really interesting. Once again, thank you mom and dad for all those years of violin lessons. :)

Home in Maastricht

2008-02-11T08:33:00.001-08:00

I have way too much to tell you in this blog....

1. Wednesday in Brussels, Belgium

2. Thursday travelling to Istanbul and experiencing Taksim Square

3. Friday

a. The Hippodrome

b. The Blue Mosque

c. Hagia Sophia

d. The Grand Bazaar

4. Saturday

a. Boat tour of the Bosphorus

b. Lunch

c. The Palace
1. The church the Second Ecumenical council met at
2. The armory
3. The treasure room
4. the room from which the ottoman empire was ruled for 400 years
5. Ancient relics room, including Joseph's turban, Moses' staff, John the Baptist's right arm, Muhammed's beard, and Abu Bakr's sword, to name a few

d. Turkish Bath

5. Sunday, Travelled back home to Maastricht

That is alot to write about in one blog, so here's what we are going to do... tell me which day you want to hear about the most and I'll write about that first. My internet is still cutting in and out so I'll try to put pictures and video up when I have more patience.

I would love to hear about Juarez training and which team everyone is on. :)

That's all for now...

megs

Bruge

2008-02-05T13:58:00.000-08:00

So we went to this amazingly beautiful town, but my internet keeps cutting in and out so I can't post them right now. We, being Molly, Jenny, Christy, Julia, Johanna, and Emily, stood on our first train platform and embarked on our first, belgian adventure. The train was a lot of fun and time passed quickly as we talked and laughed and got to know each other even better. Everyone is a lot of fun. Molly and Christy are super-expressive and so entertaining. Julia knows the most random facts. Jenny and Emily are just fun. Johanna is our friend from Finland. Skylar, Molly and I met her at church. Oh yeah, we went to church on Sunday night with Esri, the lady who serves us dinner. It was a lot like Antioch with Hillsong songs in dutch and english. She and I clicked immediately. I like her a lot, she is very sweet, and loves God. Skylar asked me tonight if she and I were "like soulmates or something." We pretty much are... Back to Bruge, the town we visited, it's also known as Burgess. It is straight out of a fairy-tale book, every time you turn a corner you are awed by the beauty of the town, it is gorgeous. We climbed these incredibly narrow, winding stairs to the tope of the tallest bell-tower, it was quite an adventure and totally worth it. I have a video but once again, this crazy internet isn't working so well. We ate the best chocolate I have ever had in my life and I bought a little lace hanky with my initials on it, for when I run out of kleenex. (kinda gross, but kinda cool and old-fashioned). That was yesterday, today a very out-going Greek male named Panoas moved in across the hall. He is funny and somewhat inexplicable, we went over to take him a sandwich because everything is closed here for carnival, and he ended up talking to us for an hour. He's not creepy or anything but he's very much a i-want-to-know-you-now kind of person, which means he asks very personal questions very quickly. I think he already thinks of me as a little sister (he's 24). He informed Jenny and I that he thought we were nice but wasn't attracted to us, but he would help us find good-looking, nice guys if we would help him find a good girl. He thinks we should find and have a boyfriend for the three months we're here. I think he likes to talk a lot about girlfriends and boyfriends and stuff like that but really he's a good guy who loves his family and little sister. We'll see but you'l probably hear more about him, since he's decided to take me under his wing. Ok I need to go, but coments are always encouraging. We leave for Turkey on Thursday morning but are going to Brussels tomorrow.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhod

2008-02-03T06:23:00.000-08:00

This has been my most favorite day so far... Molly, Christy, Emily, Jenny, and I decided to try walking to the building that we have classes in. We made it there and decided to simply get lost in Maastricht for a couple of hours... Here's what we found: I love this Door:
This is the main church in the city center (Vrijthof):
Jenny and I on the bridge over the river Maas:
The more commercial side of the river:
Cute heart, attic windows:
Maybe it dates from roman times?
A little river right next to the building our classes are in:
There is alot of random art everywhere, from r to l this is Jenny, Emily, and Molly:
My most favorite church so far, it's actually part of Maastricht University:

I really liked this door as well Christy, Molly, Emily, and Jenny:

Mom, this one is for you, I thought you would like the red brick, love you :)
I think this one might be one of my favorites, this is where I want to go for quiet times:
Me trying to be artsy:

Part of the very old defense system:

And that was our day, now we're all resting and getting ready for Carnival tonight, there should be some funny pictures from that, people dress crazy.

American WWII Memorial

2008-02-01T10:11:00.000-08:00

Today was very full. We visited the American WWII Memorial nearby, it was beautiful and peaceful there. A stark constrast to the stories and history of the now-hallow grounds. Maastricht's main road dates back to Roman colonial times and has been an access point and main thoroughfare for several armies. The US was one of those. This was their most strategic spot, the one that they launched attacks against German homeland. It was also the place that most soldiers killed in enemy territory were buried. Here are a few pictures:
This is the symbol of the cemetery, it is a mourning woman next to a war-torn tree, but there is hope, peace represented by the three doves, and a new tree growing from the stump of the old one:

This is the wall of all of the soldiers who died, but whose bodies have not been found:

This is the map of the battle plans, with Skylar, Steven, and Aaron:

2008-01-31T12:38:00.000-08:00

The University:

Advertisements outside of the airport:

Waiting for the bus:

Me at the airport:

My rommate Jenny at the airport:

First Day

2008-01-31T11:57:00.000-08:00

So this is the hallway we walk down, our dorms used to be a hospital.

Here are a few pictures of the dorm:

Maastricht is beautiful! The streets are cobblestone, some are well-organized and some are twisty, and easy to get lost on. The weather was beautiful today but it started to storm tonight.
We started off the day with a really good breakfast, nutella is abundant here. :) Then we had a tour of the city and university buildings which are spread out throughout the town, and an introductory meeting to all of the university extra-curricular activities, there are debates and classes in the bars, and i've heard "let's discuss this over a drink" at least ten times today. It's so much a part of everyday life, it's like us running to sonic.
Then we had lunch in the university cafeteria. The food here is really good, very meat and potatoes but good. The soup is delicious. They give us a lot of food.
After lunch we had a three hour cultural communication seminar which was a good reminder for how to interact with people.
As our group was leaving the seminar a couple of good-looking dutch students stopped us and told us they needed a crowd for a European Masters Thesis Award presentation. It was actually really interesting, it was all about the economics of the euro and the effect it is having on eastern and central Europe. It was fun.
We ran home (to our dorms) and ate. Now we've all been figuring out our internet stuff and skype video chatting in the same room. I really like the people I am here with. Skylar is one of the guys from Antioch, it's been really cool to have him here and the accountability, like this morning he asked how my quiet time was... with everyone talking about getting a drink and the upcoming carnival it's nice to hear that question.

-megs

In Maastricht

2008-01-30T11:57:00.000-08:00

I'm here. God is good. The flight was a little rough, the severe winds from Dallas to Houston and then the storms over the Atlantic made for a bumpy trip and not much sleep. So I am about to crash, it's 9:00 p.m. here. We arrived in Amsterdam at 4:30 am US time.
My roommate is really sweet, we're kinda together on everything, it's been fun.
Everyone is getting pretty excited about the drinking and stuff, that's weird, but I think when you are here for the long haul there isn't that much emphasis on it, we'll see, be praying for me on that. I've never been involved or near to anything remotely close to that.
That's it, bedtime.

Leaving Today

2008-01-29T07:36:00.000-08:00

I leave today at 1:30!! It's so weird, I'm going to Europe today. I can't help but be thankful. God is so good!!! So of course, I started packing last night, which means I got very little sleep and I still have a few things to do this morning. :) I'm pretty sure I have everything. I wish I would've taken pictures to show you guys, everything was everywhere in nice neat little piles, it looked funny. Now it's all crammed into a suitcase that I am seriously hoping weighs under 70 lbs.
Just to let you know, the first couple of days are packed with orientation, touring the city, and getting to know each other activities so I might not be able to post for awhile, hopefully on Saturday. On Sunday we leave for Istanbul!!! (probably the part I am most excited about, there is so much history there) I need addresses, so if you are reading this, leave a comment with your name and address.
Finally, and most importantly, I got an email from my future roommate. Her grandmother died recently. She was incredibly close to her grandmother and loved her a lot. Jenny sent me the email warning me that she might be a little sad and why. Please pray for her and for me, that I would have wisdom, that God would use this to draw her close to Him, and that she would be open to me. Pray that she would choose life, not sadness or depression.
Thanks guys, I love you and I definitely already miss you. I've read that entire encouragement book at least twice already!
I know you guys will have so much fun this weekend, I'm praying for you, and for all your kids. God's going to do amazing things!!! Go change the world.
In Him,
Megs

Over There Address

2008-01-23T13:28:00.000-08:00

Here's my address over there:
Meghan Banas
Center for European Studies (CES)
Universiteit Maastricht/Student Services
Bonnefantenstraat 2
6211 KL Maastricht
THE NETHERLANDS

Thank you for everything, ya'll are amazing.

One Week til Takeoff

2008-01-21T23:33:00.000-08:00

I can't sleep! You guys threw me a surprise going away party tonight and it was amazing. I was so blessed, am so blessed by you guys. Thank you so much for your encouraging words. Right now I feel at peace and completely supported. While it is strange to be leaving you guys for a couple of months, I am so excited about all that God is going to do there and here. He's so good.
This blog is to keep everyone updated on all that is going on over in Europe, this will be where I post things first, and probably the most up to date. (i was told this site is the easiest to load and update over there). So welcome! I hope this page will soon be filled with stories that glorify God, things that have happened, are happening, and will happen, get excited!
In Christ,
Megs