and so it goes

Time is seriously flying. Just to update:

*the Pentateuch paper went well and was turned in on time.
*kFORCE bowling was perfect [minus april and jeannine being sick - we missed you!!!] it was pj's vs. gangsters vs. christmas. philip and i dominated on the pj team, duh ;) we had a blast and I just LOVE my k-group :]
*the Bible book and memory verse exam went REALLY well [thank you, Jesus!] and I eagerly await my score
*travel weekend was a very nice, much-needed break from the routine of life here at the Bode. the weather and scenery were beautiful, the hut was quaint, and the memories I have now of people I spent my time with will forever make me smile :]
*the Missionary Biography paper is due tonight by lock-up. Mine's already turned in and I thoroughly enjoyed the book I chose: God's Smuggler, the story of Brother Andrew. SUCH a great book - I highly recommend it for those both called and not called into the field of missions.
*we have 9 days left to pull The Crossing together. Things are going supurbly on that front, thanks once again to Jesus :] We have thus far figured out the theme, the message, the drama, the testimony, the decorations, and are almost done choosing songs and performers for the music portion of the evening. This weekend will be full of preparations and rehearsals, and then we'll STILL have a whole week to work out the bugs. What a relief :) Please be in prayer for The Crossing, for the hearts and minds of the local guests coming to see the program, for the speaker to use only the words God's given him, for the testimony to speak to those God's trying to reach that night, and for the smoothness of the evening as a whole. Thanks, friends.
*Yes, the Bible Study Project due date is quickly approaching. Still due December 1st, the 15-page paper on a book of our choice [off the list of pre-determined options in our student manual] will be a project indeed. I'm excited for the knowledge I gain by doing it. Maybe I should go pick my book now....
*Sing Teams still have outreach shortly thereafter - [IN] Dependence, the sing team I'm a part of, has a Sunday morning outreach on December 5th. Pray for our preparation please?

Geez.. time is flying. Just yesterday, it seems, sunny October was just getting underway and all of these assignments and activities were just a bunch of overwhelming words on paper. I'm so grateful for the development of friendships and the progress in my own faith and knowledge. I'm learning so much, both by reading and conversing; spending time in the Word and in fellowship is the story of my life these days. And I couldn't be more like a sponge, soaking it all up. Laura has grown ever so close to my heart; we spent a lot of time together at the hut, and before that we just marveled together at how AWESOME our k-group is. Today we went on a 45 minute walking after working on our own papers for the Missionary Biography [which we read together out loud and was one of the more enjoyable book experiences as a result]. I love you, Laura. I just LOVE BEING HERE. Just.. LOVE it ;)

Philip, you're awesome :P
Kendra, I miss you.
Laura, thank you for rubbing my feet.
Kirsten and Rosiland.. you MADE the Hut. Thank you :)
McKenzie, thank you for braiding my hair and rubbing my back.
Roommates, thank you for listening.
Jon, thanks for opening up and sharing. it was really, really great :)
Dylan, good > 50%
fam-bam, I can't WAIT for Mexico!! only 27 days till I fly home to you all!
and Joel, i love you :)

Everyone else, thanks for following! My experiences are far too frequent to put into words here, so I'll just let the Lord show them through my life next time you and I have a conversation. Life here simply gets better with each passing day. I'm discovering who I am, learning to forgive myself and love me for me. I'm talking through struggles I never knew I struggled with. I'm leaning on friends who have my back for all the right reasons, and will never forget me, never stop loving me.
I'm messing up, I'm failing, I'm forgetting.
I'm learning, I'm growing, I'm loving.
I'm laughing, I'm crying, I'm talking.
I'm listening, I'm letting go, I'm giving up control.

Ps. the speakers are spectacular. my notebook is getting uber worn out :]

life: consumed.

mkayyyy so.. God is good. I'm feeling much better lately, both physically and emotionally, so thank you to all who have been praying. My roommates and i are getting even closer, and students here are finally becoming friends. like... REAL friends. which is great :) Philip and i talk and pray together a lot now, and it's nothing shy of wonderful. he reminds me a ridiculous amount of Joel. [ps joel I LOVE YOU]. so it's kind of nice; engaging in conversation with someone who reminds me of the one person i want most :) last weekend we had a K-Group photo shoot and right after that room 124 went out for a photo shoot as well [thank you, Kendra!!!!] and both were very fun. i love pictures!!!! :D

but recently, life just got VERY stressful.

let me just paint the picture of november for you all:
*The Pentateuch paper due tonight by 10:30 [first five books of the Bible]
*3 days later, Sunday K-Group social event [bowling!!!!]
*2 days later, Tuesday Bible Book and memory verse exam [hm. studying would be good]
*2 days later, Travel Weekend begins [Austria hut for the win!!]
*4 days after we get back, Missionary Biography paper due [i should probably start that book...]
* 9 days later, THE CROSSING [production led by Kyle, Christa, Philip, and myself]
*4 days later, Bible Study Project due [15-page paper that i'll have ...no time for? perfect].
*2 days later, more sing teams leave for outreach [15 fully prepared songs needed. hmmm]


great. there goes any chance of having free time or a social life for the next month. but it's all good. we're learning and growing and serving the Lord all the while :) and i love it. keeping myself busy will ALSO make time fly. which means i'll be home in no time. home to you, joel ;)

life here is absolutely great. Jesus is with me and my thoughts and my conversations and i'm praying now more than ever. alone and with people, both. I LOVE IT! :)

a cross to bridge the great divide.

there's a bridge to cross the great divide....
there's a cross to bridge the great divide.

communication is key.
growing in patience, understanding, and grace.
giving up pride and expectations.
with every sunrise comes a new preparation of the mind, body and soul for this challenge.
focusing on the One who gives me life and trusting that His plan is more perfect than mine could ever be.
He alone can know the need in me, before i even speak.
i will trust in Him.
He will not turn away.
there is hope reborn... and sin forgiven.

this is one fabulously frustrating year.


The Great Divide, by Point of Grace
Words and Music by Grant Cunningham & Matt Huesmann

Silence
Trying to fathom the distance
Looking out 'cross the canyon carved
By my hands
God is gracious
Sin would still separate us
Were it not for the bridge His grace
Has made us
His love will carry me

(Chorus)
There's a bridge to cross the great divide
A way was made to reach the other side
The mercy of the Father, cost His son
His life
His love is deep, His love is wide
There's a cross to bridge the great divide

God is faithful
On my own I'm unable
He found me hopeless, alone and
Sent a Savior
He's provided a path a promised
To guide us
Safely past all the sin that would divide us
His love delivers me

(Repeat Chorus)

The cross that cost my Lord His life
Has given me mine

There's a bridge to cross the great divide
There's a cross to bridge the great divide

(Repeat Chorus)

MICHAEL BUBLE :)

Michael Buble was absolutely perfect in concert :)

he was personable, funny, comfortable, sexy, musical, spontaneous, jazzy, gentle, energetic, witty, humble, confident, organized, and sang BEAUTIFULLY.

his concert set was incredible, his song choice was perfect, the lights were bright, the screens were big, the crowd was on their feet and LOUD. i have never screamed so loud myself ;) and he absolutely knew katie, mckenzie and i were there. check it out:

partway through the concert he stopped to introduce his jazz band behind him one by one [because they come from all over the world but mostly Germany and America], and when he got to a particular member he said, "this next guy.. from Seattle, Washington - "

mckenzie, katie and i screamed SO loudly from the balcony seats we were in that michael stopped what he was saying, looked up at us and said "haha uh. thank you... seattle, washington."

pretty much MADE my night. that and the fact that he opened with Cry Me a River, and closed for the encore with Feeling Good. and when Haven't Met You Yet came about.. i sensed it was next so my camera was out in time to record it in video :D

Mikaela.. thank you so much for that ticket :) everyone else, if you EVER go to Micheal Buble live and in concert and need a friend by your side i am THERE. his songs will be at my wedding, and my children will love him like we love the Beatles.

end of story.

on the road again.

mmm :)
McKenzie is playing with my hair as i type. and it feels amazing. i love this....

so. things have taken quite the turn since my last post. i've decided to NOT listen to anyone but the Lord, and if that means people still talk, then so be it. that's not my business, and listening to rumors isnt going to help me any more than it's helping other students. which is.... not at all.

the yearbook this year is going to look so good. that's all i have to say.

we ran the 10k last weekend, and it was quite the experience. i finished, and i guess i can be proud of that in and of itself. and next time, i'll actually run for weeks leading up to the event. instead of just waking up one morning and saying "yeah, today i'll just run 6 miles. whatev."

Peter Reid is a fantastic speaker, and this past week i ordered his series of Colossians in MP3 form because it was THAT good. and because it's what our first exam this upcoming wednesday covers. so... it'd be good to have a sweet memory of our first exam material :P

tomorrow is the Michael Buble concert and the girls and i are SO EXCITED to finally train back up to Frankfurt and see him in concert for the first time!! a dream come true, to say the least. today i got Joel's 2nd letter in the mail and have read it 4 times through already. i love letters. especially from him. i love him. and miss him. and knowing he feels the same makes it SO much easier to handle something as challenging as long distance. Joel... you're the best :)

our first outreach is coming up, and all the sing teams and drama teams performed their first song/drama for the student body yesterday. we have so much talent at this school. and i'm very proud of my group. we call ourselves [IN]dependence. haha.... catchy, huh? ;)


needleess to say, life is picking back up. God is good, school is good, friends are good, and Bodenseehof is GOOD. fabuuuuuulous :)
i'm on the road again.

not... leadership?

scratch that. i feel like im in high school all over again. the gossip here is outrageous and i honestly forgot what this was like. i keep forgetting that the average student is barely 4 months out of high school.

people dont even know me yet. how can they actually have THAT much to say about me when they think i cant hear? or my true friends, who turn around and shut the gossip up. yeah they're listing too.

hope this is just a phase. else im gonna become a whole new person who just doesnt talk anymore. this is absolutely not worth it.

oh. im k-group leader with philip.

leadership

so... this isn't really shocking, but i'm finding myself falling into leadership roles all over the place here at Bodenseehof.

we found out about outreach today... and my heart leapt for joy when my name was called for Sing Team 4. an answer to prayer, indeed. AJ's on my team too, which is awesome because we spend a ton of time together as is. this will be epic :) he and i will basically co-lead: he'll run rehearsals since he'll probably be the keyboardist, while i'll be the team rep. who attends meetings in order to relay messages back to the team and i'll organize when and where rehearsals are. i'll be responsible for making sure our team is fully rehearsed and prepared for every outreach we have. mm.... my specialty :]

every room has a room representative, also to attend meetings and relay messages back to the room. my name was on the room rep. list the first week of school and it felt quite fitting ;) i also hold myself personally responsible [though this isn't part of the room rep job description] if my room ever fails the random room inspections we get once a week. i'd like to think i can hold my roommates accountable for keeping their beds made and our sink and mirror clean each morning. they actually like that; they say it helps them :D

k-groups also have leaders, one male and one female. they ALSO attend meetings and relay messages to the group and are responsible for organizing events and such. k-groups vote on that, i think next week, so we'll see what happens :)

i'm feeling called to start a women's prayer group. something that's simple, but consistent; a place for women to come and vent or pray or share or laugh or cry... or all of it in one sitting. i want a safe place for women to open up and share the things they may not feel comfortable sharing in front of guys. i want a challenge; a way to push myself in my own prayer life. i want to love on these people and be an encouragement to the women here. i took a long walk with Kendra today to Kaufland and shared this desire with her; she said she'd totally help co-lead the group with me; just to make sure one or both of us are at this small group every time it's held. if it becomes huge and we need to split off into smaller groups, awesome :) if it stays small and intimate, awesome :)


i've been missing home, but MUCH less since we've gotten busy with k-groups and now outreach. i just want to stay busy, grow in my friendships, marvel in God's awesome wonder, savor the experiences, take a ton of pictures... and then wake up and have it be time to go home. that's what i want. i feel like that's exactly what will happen. except i'll wake up, realize it's time to go home, and actually feel sadness.

Michael Buble concert up in Frankfurt on October 16th :) :) :)
thank you, Mikalea, for the early birthday gift of a concert ticket last June!!!! i'm so excited, as are Mckenzie and Katie, my Seattle travel buddies who are also going to the concert with me :D

more soon.