So I didn't get to write a blog last weekend...we made friends (at this point you say 'of course you did') with a German couple and spent Sunday-my internet time-with them. It was a lot of fun! We ate cake in their garden then we had some good pizza and a night of sharing our hearts. We spent the next day with them too. They took us to see an awesome stone Fortress (pictures on FB). They have adopted Joel and he goes swimming most days with their son. Joel loves it!! Actually I think most of the guys here at the school have adopted Joel. He has so many big brothers to hang with. He is in his glory! It is nice for me to not worry about him. He is playing pool with someone or Monopoly or a Polish board game or....he is always hanging out with someone and having a good time. Ethan has really taken to reading this summer. It is so nice to see his love of books taking off!
We have made quite a few German friends. Last night we had a cook-out with a few more couples. It was nice to sit around and laugh with them. We are more German then we know in fact we were told that by an American lady the other day...lol...We will take it as a compliment!!
Week 5 and 6 blend together. We have fallen into a comfortable schedule. Tomorrow we leave for Berlin for a week. It is outreach week and we have students going all over the place to minister. Spain, Lebanon, Turkey, Poland, Czech Republic and here in Germany to name a few. We will be helping YWAM put on a camp for the week. We will lead workshops and hit the streets of Berlin to witness. It is going to be a great time of applying what we have learned here to real life. There are so many logistics to planning something like this so pray everything goes well for our group of 23.
I went to the Dresden Outreach last Saturday. It was really amazing to see it. Mike had gone the previous weeks. We had everything set up under a huge tree in the middle of the park. Many people come to hang out at the park on Saturdays. We had some notecards where they could write down life things, for example I wish I knew....I would tell my younger self...ect. It has been a great way to see into the lives of those we are trying to outreach. We call it 'leave a message' tree and the cards get hung by string from the tree. We also have a Brazilian giving free haircuts which brings people over. We had tea and water to give out. There is a drama team that performs and many other things going on. We had a huge Samba circle that was amazing. It was so fun to see and be apart of. The Samba circle is where everyone gathers to play different kinds of drums. There is one leader and he sets the rhythm for everyone else. That really drew people over. We had all kinds of people playing and dancing. We were then able to share the gospel after we were done playing. We are seeing many lives touched from this outreach.
We are excited to see some new doors opening up to us. Doors we wouldn't have ever knocked on if we had not come to Germany. I love looking back and seeing God's hand so faithfully direct our lives. He is such a clever father. He leads us into position where we can best fulfill his will for our lives.
My song/prayer for the last 2 weeks has been
Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) Hillsong
You call me out upon the water the great unknown
where feet may fail and there I find You in the mystery.
In oceans deep my faith will stand
and I will call upon Your name.
I keep my eyes above the waves.
When oceans rise my Soul will rest in Your embrace
for I am Yours and You are mine.
Your grace abounds in deepest waters.
Your sovereign hand will be my guide.
Where feet may fail and fear surround me.
You've never failed and You won't start now.
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders.
Let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me.
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander and
my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior.
I have held onto this song these last two weeks. As I wrote in my last post God asked me if I trusted Him...I 'got back to Him' and told Him YES. It was not an easy yes..even though I know He has never failed me...ever!!!! As soon as I told Him yes doors begin to open up fast and things are moving forward in our lives.
Keep us in your prayers we only have a few weeks left then we will be back in the states to finish raising support and working out details for our future.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
A little bit of everything...you'll see as you read!
Not feeling so well tonight so I am not sure how this Blog will turn out! I woke up this morning with a "dry" throat and it has progressed from there to a very sore, every time I swallow throat and I think a fever :( I of course got prayed for so I am believing it be broken and I wake up refreshed and ready to go...especially since tomorrow is our 19th Wedding Anniversary!
I can't believe I am writing that big of a number..19..I have now officially lived longer with my hubby then I have with my parents!! I married at 18. It is just a crazy thought...I get those quite often :)
19 years...I really didn't intend to write a blog about those years but I guess that is where my thoughts are taking me tonight. I love being married I was never one of those girls that was empowered to be 'on her own'. I found a best friend and never wanted to leave his side. I love that we complete each other. I am empowered because I am a part of him. He has never asked me to walk behind him. I have always been firmly at his side. He has promoted me in so many ways it would take many blogs to tell. Mike has never asked me to be less then everything God has called me to be. I can run with purpose and destiny knowing I have a safe place to land! Ok ok enough of that...I know you all want to hear about 'more important things'...lol
So we are ending week 4. It has been a good week. We went to Dresden on our day off with a bunch of friends. We went without any purpose so we could just wander around and enjoy everything. We did find a really pretty church to go into. Later I was walking down a certain street that we have been outreaching on Saturdays. (This has been my first time on the street because Mike has been going) The street is full of skate shops, graffiti, bars and many lost souls! I had a profound moment when I turned around and saw the beautiful church we had been in earlier way off in the distance. It was perfectly dead center. The song that came to mind is a very old one and the chourse goes +I want to run a rescue mission a yard from the gate of Hell, and with everyone I meet take them the gospel and share it well, look around you as you hesitate another solider just fell...let's run to the battle+ Here was this loss street in the shadows of this beautiful church. The church was so far removed from it's 'purpose'. I think so many churches have lost their way it is heart-wrenching.
I started Hip Hop and Insanity this week. Ok a few things about that...I am WHITE so I do not Hip nor do I hop...I have kinda given up on that. However Insanity is more up my ally. Hard work yes but boy do you sweat and it feels good!!
The rest of the week played out like they have been. We had fun at our small group on Friday night. We break up into small groups guys and girls and then same language grouping. So of course I am in the English speaking...lol... anyways we decided to do very girly stuff this week~~ eat chocolate cake and paint our nails~~ We did pray for those that needed it and then a few got picked to have everyone say something nice about us. I was overwhelmed by all the sweet things said by the other girls about me. I have touched their hearts as they have touched mine.
Saturday found us in Poland! We went to the Slot Festival there. It was set in the court yard of a very old castle. There were things going on inside the castle and all around the yard. It was cool to be there. It is a Christian festival put on for the unbelievers. It has been very successful and seen many saved throughout the years.
It is such a fun living environment here. I never knew I would like living this way. I love that at any point in time you can join a lively game of ball out in the court yard or learn how to spin fire sticks. You can wander inside and join a group learning each others language or sit down beside someone playing guitar and join them in song. As I mentioned before there is never an end to praying for someone or asking for prayer. There are dance parties that just break out for no reason. There is laughter ringing all around you. Joel has little friends he can be free to run and play with. Ethan can join in or have some alone time in his room. There is always someone to talk with, always someone to lean on, someone to share your heart with. I think it is a very small picture of what Heaven will look like!
I leave you with what I have been dealing with this week. God asked me earlier in the week if I trusted Him about a very huge thing in my life. It was a very clear question...I had to be honest with Him and say "I will get back to you on that"...I love that you can be honest with God :) Throughout the week I have been drawn to Ezekiel 47. Where Ezekiel is taken to the temple and there is water flowing out of it. The man keeps taking him to deeper waters. First his ankles, then knee deep, waist then it was over his head. On the way back Ezekiel saw a great number of trees that had not been there before. It was fresh water and would heal and make whole all it touched. There would be fruit trees whose leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail. I just thought and of course I am applying this to my life so it has my twist on it...that as I am obedient to step out into the waters that flow from God and take the risk of going deeper I will see fruit and fulfil the call of God for my life. Nothing will be able to hinder that!
love and miss you all!!!
I can't believe I am writing that big of a number..19..I have now officially lived longer with my hubby then I have with my parents!! I married at 18. It is just a crazy thought...I get those quite often :)
19 years...I really didn't intend to write a blog about those years but I guess that is where my thoughts are taking me tonight. I love being married I was never one of those girls that was empowered to be 'on her own'. I found a best friend and never wanted to leave his side. I love that we complete each other. I am empowered because I am a part of him. He has never asked me to walk behind him. I have always been firmly at his side. He has promoted me in so many ways it would take many blogs to tell. Mike has never asked me to be less then everything God has called me to be. I can run with purpose and destiny knowing I have a safe place to land! Ok ok enough of that...I know you all want to hear about 'more important things'...lol
So we are ending week 4. It has been a good week. We went to Dresden on our day off with a bunch of friends. We went without any purpose so we could just wander around and enjoy everything. We did find a really pretty church to go into. Later I was walking down a certain street that we have been outreaching on Saturdays. (This has been my first time on the street because Mike has been going) The street is full of skate shops, graffiti, bars and many lost souls! I had a profound moment when I turned around and saw the beautiful church we had been in earlier way off in the distance. It was perfectly dead center. The song that came to mind is a very old one and the chourse goes +I want to run a rescue mission a yard from the gate of Hell, and with everyone I meet take them the gospel and share it well, look around you as you hesitate another solider just fell...let's run to the battle+ Here was this loss street in the shadows of this beautiful church. The church was so far removed from it's 'purpose'. I think so many churches have lost their way it is heart-wrenching.
I started Hip Hop and Insanity this week. Ok a few things about that...I am WHITE so I do not Hip nor do I hop...I have kinda given up on that. However Insanity is more up my ally. Hard work yes but boy do you sweat and it feels good!!
The rest of the week played out like they have been. We had fun at our small group on Friday night. We break up into small groups guys and girls and then same language grouping. So of course I am in the English speaking...lol... anyways we decided to do very girly stuff this week~~ eat chocolate cake and paint our nails~~ We did pray for those that needed it and then a few got picked to have everyone say something nice about us. I was overwhelmed by all the sweet things said by the other girls about me. I have touched their hearts as they have touched mine.
Saturday found us in Poland! We went to the Slot Festival there. It was set in the court yard of a very old castle. There were things going on inside the castle and all around the yard. It was cool to be there. It is a Christian festival put on for the unbelievers. It has been very successful and seen many saved throughout the years.
It is such a fun living environment here. I never knew I would like living this way. I love that at any point in time you can join a lively game of ball out in the court yard or learn how to spin fire sticks. You can wander inside and join a group learning each others language or sit down beside someone playing guitar and join them in song. As I mentioned before there is never an end to praying for someone or asking for prayer. There are dance parties that just break out for no reason. There is laughter ringing all around you. Joel has little friends he can be free to run and play with. Ethan can join in or have some alone time in his room. There is always someone to talk with, always someone to lean on, someone to share your heart with. I think it is a very small picture of what Heaven will look like!
I leave you with what I have been dealing with this week. God asked me earlier in the week if I trusted Him about a very huge thing in my life. It was a very clear question...I had to be honest with Him and say "I will get back to you on that"...I love that you can be honest with God :) Throughout the week I have been drawn to Ezekiel 47. Where Ezekiel is taken to the temple and there is water flowing out of it. The man keeps taking him to deeper waters. First his ankles, then knee deep, waist then it was over his head. On the way back Ezekiel saw a great number of trees that had not been there before. It was fresh water and would heal and make whole all it touched. There would be fruit trees whose leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail. I just thought and of course I am applying this to my life so it has my twist on it...that as I am obedient to step out into the waters that flow from God and take the risk of going deeper I will see fruit and fulfil the call of God for my life. Nothing will be able to hinder that!
love and miss you all!!!
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Return home the same?? NEVER!!!!
Week 3 down!
We made it to Berlin and stayed in a Hostel which wasn't all that bad. It had 2 sets of bunk beds. The boys slept on the tops and Mike and I on the bottoms. We had our own bathroom which was nice to not have to share with anyone else. There was basic bedding but no towels to use. The other married couple that went with us had a couple from Ireland in the room with them. It is a neat concept and a great way to meet other people from all around the world. It was a neat experience to add to our ever growing list!
Berlin is a rather large city with lots to see and do. There is NO way you can see everything in a day or even 2...it would take many days to tour around it. We hit the spots we could walk to. We saw the Gold Angel and tried to see the bombed out church but it was under construction. We found a cool lego store and the boys got to make 3 lego people each for about $5, which is really cheap. They got to pick the hat or hair, face, body, legs and something for the people to hold. It was a lot of fun for them and they were quite creative. Joel made a 'ginger' lumberjack which he was quite proud of. Ethan made a short boss man and his 2 hench people..I say people because one was a girl with sunglasses and a big gun! Of course we went and saw Brandenburg Gate and big pieces of the Berlin wall. I have pictures posted on FB. We were so tired by the end of the day. We probably walked 10 miles or more!! To end the day the guys ate at Burger King...lol
Tuesday-Thursday saw us back to our schedule at the school. Good things happening all around us. It is exciting to see the students opening up to God and His plans for their lives. I love at any moment you can look around and see students gathered praying for each other. You only have to say "I don't feel well" and there is a mini-prayer service held :) Worship still amazes me. We do all the songs in English but sometimes when the chorus is simple everyone will sing it in their native tongue. It is so beautiful to hear...I can only wonder if Heaven will sound like that!
Friday-Seek God day- was really nice this week. Mike and I took a 2 1/2 hour walk together. We prayed for 2 hours about everything out loud. We even prayed for all of you! Then we were quiet for 1/2 hour to allow God to speak to us. It was such an amazing time and I want to continue to do it when we return to the states. Life gets away from us and we forget to focus on what really matters...our relationship with Christ and each other :) There are so many things I am learning here that I don't think I gave much time to in everyday life.
This week my prayer has been
~Psalm 139:24~
Search me, O God, and know my heart.
Test me and know my thoughts.
Point out ANYthing in me that offends You.
Lead me along the path of Everlasting life.
The first week we were here one of the speakers asked "How many of you are afraid of going home exactly the same way you came?" My hand shot up. That is my biggest fear to remain the same as I am. To not be changed. To return home no different then how I started this summer. I don't want to let anymore of my life slip by and not grab hold of all God has for me. When He formed me, breathed life into me and called me by name He had so many great plans for my life. He still does!!! I have just let to many things get in the way of those plans. To many worries and fears. To many times of self reliance. To many day to day mundane things that draws my affections away from my creator.
I challange you this week to pray that Psalm and really ask the Father to search your heart and point out things in you that offend Him. It is not pretty I can promise you that but so very rewarding in the end!!!!
We made it to Berlin and stayed in a Hostel which wasn't all that bad. It had 2 sets of bunk beds. The boys slept on the tops and Mike and I on the bottoms. We had our own bathroom which was nice to not have to share with anyone else. There was basic bedding but no towels to use. The other married couple that went with us had a couple from Ireland in the room with them. It is a neat concept and a great way to meet other people from all around the world. It was a neat experience to add to our ever growing list!
Berlin is a rather large city with lots to see and do. There is NO way you can see everything in a day or even 2...it would take many days to tour around it. We hit the spots we could walk to. We saw the Gold Angel and tried to see the bombed out church but it was under construction. We found a cool lego store and the boys got to make 3 lego people each for about $5, which is really cheap. They got to pick the hat or hair, face, body, legs and something for the people to hold. It was a lot of fun for them and they were quite creative. Joel made a 'ginger' lumberjack which he was quite proud of. Ethan made a short boss man and his 2 hench people..I say people because one was a girl with sunglasses and a big gun! Of course we went and saw Brandenburg Gate and big pieces of the Berlin wall. I have pictures posted on FB. We were so tired by the end of the day. We probably walked 10 miles or more!! To end the day the guys ate at Burger King...lol
Tuesday-Thursday saw us back to our schedule at the school. Good things happening all around us. It is exciting to see the students opening up to God and His plans for their lives. I love at any moment you can look around and see students gathered praying for each other. You only have to say "I don't feel well" and there is a mini-prayer service held :) Worship still amazes me. We do all the songs in English but sometimes when the chorus is simple everyone will sing it in their native tongue. It is so beautiful to hear...I can only wonder if Heaven will sound like that!
Friday-Seek God day- was really nice this week. Mike and I took a 2 1/2 hour walk together. We prayed for 2 hours about everything out loud. We even prayed for all of you! Then we were quiet for 1/2 hour to allow God to speak to us. It was such an amazing time and I want to continue to do it when we return to the states. Life gets away from us and we forget to focus on what really matters...our relationship with Christ and each other :) There are so many things I am learning here that I don't think I gave much time to in everyday life.
This week my prayer has been
~Psalm 139:24~
Search me, O God, and know my heart.
Test me and know my thoughts.
Point out ANYthing in me that offends You.
Lead me along the path of Everlasting life.
The first week we were here one of the speakers asked "How many of you are afraid of going home exactly the same way you came?" My hand shot up. That is my biggest fear to remain the same as I am. To not be changed. To return home no different then how I started this summer. I don't want to let anymore of my life slip by and not grab hold of all God has for me. When He formed me, breathed life into me and called me by name He had so many great plans for my life. He still does!!! I have just let to many things get in the way of those plans. To many worries and fears. To many times of self reliance. To many day to day mundane things that draws my affections away from my creator.
I challange you this week to pray that Psalm and really ask the Father to search your heart and point out things in you that offend Him. It is not pretty I can promise you that but so very rewarding in the end!!!!
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