Swiss Alps.

This week has been crazy busy. I got sick for a bit of it, woke up and went to bed a couple different times with very uncomfortable headaches and I was afraid I wouldn't make it to the hike up the Swiss Alps yesterday. But God is good, and I woke up Saturday morning feeling just fine with just a little bit of congestion, so the hike was definitely on my agenda that day. The hike was VERY challenging, much more so than I expected at least. Dripping sweat within the first 20 minutes, many students challenged themselves in a way they had never done before. I watched struggles and accomplishments, as I overcame the challenge myself, and doing so in and among God's beauty of the Switzerland Alps was an experience I can only hope my family and friends get someday. We didn't go to the very top [that takes some people a day or two], but we did make it to a very tall peek where we could look out north over the Bodensee to our school, and of course to the east was Austria, while standing in Switzerland. It was great :)

We met our K-Groups earlier this week. These groups consist of about 10-15 students and 2-3 staff members as leaders. These groups stay the same all year, and become our family away from home. They serve as small groups for prayer, confession, activities, games, accountability, and other such 'small group' things. I am in K-Group 4, led by Lorna and Andy Macdonald. They met here at Bodenseehof a few years back, and got married this past summer. We are their first K-Group as a married couple, and it'll be a fabulous year of helping them warm up their first home by decorating and furnishing each room :D

We find out in a few days which outreach team we are on. There are four types: Sing Teams, Drama Teams, English Teams, and Children's Teams. We filled out forms of experience and preference, but we all know God has already placed us on the exact team with the exact people through which He can do most work this year. My passion is singing, my experience is drama, and my challenge is mission work with children [only because it's not my passion like it is some people's]. I'm excited to see where God has placed me for this school year.

I'm not homesick, but I am.... people-sick, I guess. I miss Joel. I miss Sydney. I miss Mikaela [not like I'd ever get to see her if I were home, but still]. I miss Costco kids, and Jeff and Tony. But I'm doing much better than I thought I'd be. I've been waiting for the homesickness or the tears or the desire to simply be alone... and it hasn't come yet. Probably because I have Kendra :D She and I are the same person in so many ways, yet still very different. By day 6 here at Bodenseehof we were cuddling and napping together, so I have my special person already and it's absolutely amazing. Last night I couldn't talk to Joel for reasons out of his control, and Kendra saw me give up waiting for him to get online as I finally stood up and left the e-mail room very sad. Later she came into my room after all my roommates and I had gone to bed and she sad on my bedside, rubbed my back and whispered some things to me in comfort, and then prayed before saying goodnight. We've been here 9 days, and that's already what I have. See, God knows my needs and fulfills them ;) It's great. I love Kendra.