Fried Chicken

Sunday I fixed fried chicken, mashed potatos, and corn for lunch. I invited Luci and Sabera over for lunch with Simone and I. The chicken turned out good. I mashed the potatos w/ a hand held masher as we do not have an electric mixer. They turned out good. No lumps! Amazing what you learn to use on the field. ha ha.

Espresso & Scillian Cookies

This morning Joel brought us Italian Espresso and Scillian cookies. The cookies are made once a year for All Saints Day! They were so good. Some reminded us of strangly flavored Ding Dongs! They were all good...And yes I had some espresso. I didn't finish it all but I did have a/b half a cup...which as you know the espresso cups are extremely small.

Christmas Project

Each year at Christmas I have many opportunities to give to others when at home. I get more joy out of giving to others than receiving. Here there aren't that many opportunities. The church is doing Christmas boxes for Bulgaria but it just hasn't hit me that, that is what I need to do. This morning during prayer it hit me what my Christmas project will be. This will be my first Christmas without my family. There are a lot of people who will be staying on campus for the holidays. I had a brilliant idea to do Christmas breakfast in the fellowhip hall. We can all come in our pajamas (as long as they're decent)eat breakfast, sip coffee, tea, coco around the fire, play games etc.... Just like home only with a "huge" family. Christmas at EUNC! I can't wait! I want to "mail" the invitations now....but it's way too early! You can start to pray with me for this event. That it will be a blessing to those who come and that they will feel part of a family.

Kitty Cat

I saw the most precious kitty today on my way to work. It was beautiful black, dark brown, and creamy coffee brown. She blended in perfectly with trees. She let me pet her. Her fur was so soft. I wish I could pick her up, hold her and play with her. Don't wory I brushed the fur off and washed my hands thouroughly. No sneezing yet!

Reflections

Today I pulled out my journal and desided to catch it up on some long time entries. I hadn't written in it since 9/17. I've been blogging extensively that I neglected it. So, I decided to start updating with some of the things I haven't written on here. I walked down to the Rhine and sat on the dock. It was so peaceful. I wish I had a hammock. I wrote a few things about what has happened in the last month but the majority of my writing dealt with what was going on around me. So, for those of you who like my descriptive writing style...here's a taste.
"It's around 2:45 p.m. It is so relaxing here. There are gondolas in Switzerland. I thought those were only in Florence Italy. It's bathing time for the ducks. They pick at themselves then flap their wings. There are ducks and swans on the Rhine. A lady in a kyak went by, there is an old man fishing from his boat, but I think he decided to somewhere else as it didn't look like he'd caught any fish. A couple floated by in a gondola. He steered the boat then went and took a seat beside her. What I wouldn't give to be out in a boat lying back and relaxing with the gentle rocking of the boat as the cool breeze brushes over my body gently blowing my hair.
The fisherman left to early as I just saw a huge fish beneath the dock. I'm not sure what kind it is. I've never seen a duck come in for a landing on water before. The glide across the water as they make a splash. It's 3 o'clock. The church bells just rang. I also discovered that ducks have a squeal / scream. As I arrived at the dock there was a duck pecking at the bottom of another duck. I'm not sure if it was flirting or if it was angry. At any rate the one getting pecked at was annoyed and let out what seamed to be a duck scream. Across from the dock is what seems to be an island or just an extension to land. It's gorgeous. Fall colored trees line the banks. there is a path to walk on but I"m not sure how to get there other than by boat. The orange, yellow, and red leaves cover the ground. It's picture perfect. (In my opinion...perfect proposal spot for a fall engagement). The boats are lined up parallel to the bank tied to post. It's so European. A man just helped a lady into a boat. I saw her carrying a picnic basket. I wonder if they're going to the island or just out in thee boat to sit and enjoy the snack/meal? How romantic."
I didn't right much after that. I just laid back on the dock with my head turned to the left watching the ducks and enjoying the cool air. Time seemed to stand still out there. What seemed like an eternity was only about 45 min. The wind off the water seemed to be getting much cooler. If I would have had a blanket or a jacket I probably would have stayed longer.

Ladies Night

Last night was ladies night at Litzy's. We went to her place for spa treatments and pizza. She had the classical music going, candles, and a room fixed up for massages. After we ate pizza we did manicures, pedicures, eyebrow shaping, and for those who wanted got massages or gave the massages...I opted out of that one.... It was relaxing and the night seemed to creep by. It was a perfect end to a stressful week.

sleeping in my "new" bed

I was so excited to lay my head down underneath the white mesh canopy. Only when I laid down I felt the netting against my face, as I sleep on my side. I thought about switching to the other side of the bed, but thats not the side I sleep on. Even at home when I did that I didn't sleep well. When my alarm went off the first morning my hand got tangled up in the netting as I reached for it. In talking with Lisa she recommended getting a mattress topper to put over it so I could sleep in the middle. Well, I couldn't wait so I took the extra comfortor thing (they're the size of a twin bed) folded it in half length wise and placed it over the middle. I arranged my pillows, fixed my sheet and outer blanket, turned out the lights and crawled into the middle. I laid down and I could feel the edges of both beds on my side. This was not going to work. So I rolled over to my side and went to sleep as usual. I did pull the netting back further on the side. Wasn't much of a problem.

Fishin in Germany

Found out that to fish here you don't go and buy a liscense like you do in the US. Here you have to go through classes on the types of fish, how to kill them, how to clean them etc... It's comparable to our hunting courses for a hunting liscense. Who knew there would be so much work involved to go fishing?

Spa getaway

My room is complete! I finally got the netting hung. It looks like royaly. Now there will be no bugs dropping on me when I have the window open. While it does look like a princess bed it also reminds me of something you'd see in one of those spa resorts that movie stars go to that we can't afford. Ahhhhh at anyrate I can't wait to fall asleep tonight!

"sittin on the dock of the bay"...

After confining myself to my apartment yesterday and only leaving to get groceries I decided today I would get out. Yesterday I babied my foot, propt it up, and applied ice...yet I was bored out of my mind! Today the weather is beautiful mid 60's, sun shining bright....absolutely gorgeous. I was not going to stay in all day! I had to get out and enjoy this, as I've been told it wont last for long. The winter days here hardly ever see sun. Simone, Lisa and I walked down to the Rhine. I've never been to the west side of the Rhine from school so we chose that path. We came to a bench on a hill. We decided to sit there. Stair steps decended the hill side leading to a holding area for a boat. In the states we have docks lined up with boats tied. Here there are poles at which the boats dock. It's like parallel parking for boats. As we talked we planned future girls weekend trips to Paris or London. We were intrigued my the ducks and the ducklings swiming in the water. The water was clear and shallow. It was as if we were watching the Discovery Channel. The ducklings would dive under water and fish for food. Their little bottoms sticking up in the air for a second and then they were to the bottom. They were quite entertaining.
After a while we decided to walk to the east side of the river and sit on the dock. The leaves here are starting to turn. Houses lined with vines had brilliant colors of orange, red and yellow leaves. As we walked the leaves crushed against our feet. As we approached the dock we climbed over the chain and claimed our spot. Lisa laid back dangling both her legs off the dock, I chose to dangle one leg off and pull the other knee upward, while Simone chose to pull both knees up. We laid there basking in the sun, occasionaly talking about movies, books, and so on. It was realxing and felt a bit like we were at camp. How peaceful it was to watch the planes in the sky, the swans in the water, and to here the light sound of the waves as boats went by. I could have fallen asleep out there. A hammock would have been a plus. The day was relaxing and a nice end to a slow weekend.

Obedience

Today in church the sermon was on 1 Samuel about Hannah's faithfulness in God. How she heard his voice and obeyed. Some of the points that stuck out to me were:
-Give to the Lord 1st of everything you receive
-Lord was faithful to Hannah & she obeyed Him
-Sometimes we don't recognize God's voice
-When the Lord wants you somewhere he will get you there
-We often want to do things our way instead of God's way
-When you promise God something you can not go around it
-What is the Lord telling you?
-What does he want from us?
-We need to listend to the voice of the Lord
-respond with "your servant hears" with open ears and open heart.
It is up to us to be obedient & set priorities.
If we hear God call us to do something then we need to listen and act accordingly. We need to let him be in control and trust him.
In my opinion i feel called to hispanic ministry yet here I am in Europe. I didn't know why I wasn't sent to a hispanic country, and why God wanted me here, but I listened and obeyed. Now it's more of listening to God and seeking where he wants me to be.

water weights

I've heard before that if you don't have weights you can substitue a can of soup etc... to do exercises with. Sunday night we went to Sarahs for girl's night. I was carying 2 1liter cokes. As I was walking I swung my arms up and jokingly said something about lifting weights. It gave me an idea. Today when I was shopping I picked up 2 1liter bottles of water. They're cheap. It's not something I'll drink so no big deal. After I ate dinner tonight I took the bottles in my room and proceeded to "lift weights" doing exercises to strengthen shoulders and arms. It was quite a workout. Altough as I was doing this I noticed I had picked up the carbonated water. I might need to empty it out and fill it with regular water. There is a gym on campus but I heard it isn't all that good and a lot of the equipment is broken.

La Gondola

Earlier this week Simone and I decided to go out to eat on Friday. We chose La Gondola as it was close and the food is to die for. It is owned by a Sicilian family. This was my first time to eat out at a restaurant. It was so nice. The atmosphere was great, aside from the smoke. A cute guy made our pizza. Nice to look out but I'm sure he was way younger than me. Italian! :) We ordered pizza. Simone speaks some Italian, so she talked with the lady in Italian. The pizza was huge! It was bigger than anything I have seen in the US. We got the family pizza because we're having guest over for a party later on tonight. Next time I get one I'll take a picture of it. This was the best pizza I ever had! So good that I never want pizza from the US (dominoes, pizza hut etc....) The crust was thin but ohhhhhhh so good. If you're ever here...we will definitely go. We're going to try to visit a restaurant quite often so that we can get to know the people and build community / relationships.

falling apart

Today has just been the day for pains, injuries, etc.... This morning I had the pain in the arch of my foot, later on I went to get something off the printer and as I stood there my knee (the one I've had surgery on) wanted to give out on me. Then to top it off I was walking down the steps of the ERO office when all of the sudden my left foot turned under on it's side forcing my ankle to twist. OUCH! Then a dog, who's master saw it happened and stopped to see if I was okay, lunged at me and barked a deep bark. I was thinking....ugly dog I"m not going to hurt you. i"m the one thats hurt. Maybe he knew I called him an ugly dog in my mind. He was to tell you the truth. I was finally able to walk but the left side of my ankle is still hurting.

Community / Prayer

I received an email from a group of friends here. They referenced Matt. 6:33 b
Then they said "If seeking the Kingdom of God through consistant prayer in community is something that you are able and feel led to do..." and gave the days and times this will be occuring.
The term community just stuck out to me. It took me back to the days of Connections (college praise and worship service I attended), My bible study group with them, My friends at their churches talking about community, my friends I had the prayer group with this past year at school. I long for that. I don't have a prayer partner here. I'm missing that.
I got news from my friends church in Boston (http://www.oasisboston.org) about exciting changes going on there. I went back to their site to review look at some of their archives etc....They had notes on leadership based on Neamiah (sp?) In January we're having a leadership conference that I think the focus on that is church planting. At any rate it's like things are coming together from last night to this morning. Another time for God to grow me.
Oh and yes I plan to start going to the prayer meetings. Pray that God will wake me up every morning and knock me on the floor (not literally but what i'm getting at is that I wont sleep in).

salad dressing

olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh chopped garlic (or garlic powder), few drops of fresh squeezed lime. Just make sure not to get to much vinegar. I love it on my salad. Replace cheddar cheese with feta cheese! Sooooooooooo good!

heart pounding

Friday is cleaning day....last week i skipped it as the outside didn't look like it needed to be swept etc... Today was a different day. The leaves have fallen and are begining to clutter the walk way. I had to do it. I was thankful there were different people here today working on remodeling and fixing some things. I was praying they would be down in the basement and maybe that would take some of my fear away. Unfortunately, they were not. I decided to suck it up and go for it. As I went down the stairs to the first floor I was okay but then when I got to the bottom the arch of my foot had excruciating pain. To the point I couldn't put pressure on my foot or walk. I have no idea what happened. I quickly hobbled to the stairs, sat down and pulled off my shoe. I began to rub my foot in hopes it was something like a cramp. I got up to walk but still couldn't put pressure on it. I hobbled back up the stairs to my office with one shoe on. I rested and then realized I had to clean. Nikolaj is very persistant about the place being clean. After I had rested a few min. I decided to give it another try. This time there was very little pain and I could walk. I made my way down to the basement. As I appraoched the stairs I turned the light on, took a deep breath, and told myself I would be okay. I hurridly ran down the stairs. I opened the door and cautiously walked in, scanning my surroundings. I pushed the door back into position so that I could open the door to the broom closet. The door was cracked open. Cautiously I opened the door. I tried to see if the broom was close to the wall so that I could reach in and grab it. There was no broom. I had to reach in and turn on the light. The brooms had been pushed down the wall some. I steped into the room as if I was stepping into ice cold water. I saw that there were old cabinets and a dark green chest with it's lid partially open. I quickly grabbed a broom, shut the door, and darted up the stairs.
After I had finished sweeping I had to return the broom. Again I made the same treck down the stairs wishing this would all end soon. As I descended the stairs I imagined someone or something under the stairs reaching out their hand. This excelerated my speed down the stairs. I quickly shook my head and told myself it was just my imagination. I threw the broom into the room, shut the door quickly, and raced up the stairs. As I was ascending the stairs I noticed there was a small door in the wall underneath the stairs. I wondered what this was. What did it lead to? My imagination began to run wild and I had to get out of there. I ran up the stairs, through the hallway, and up a second set of stairs to my office. My heart was pounding.
Why am I affraid of basements? Why can't I get over this fear? Why can't they keep the broom on the first floor in a closet?

"A dream is a wish your heart makes..."

Have you ever watched or looked at something and hoped that one day you would get to experience that? I've seen it a thousand times in movies where the man will gently take the lady's hand as she stretches out her arm and he gently pulls it to his lip to give her a subtle kiss on the hand. Or when they're talking he gazes into her eyes and gently strokes her hair. Oh, how I've longed for a day like that...I don't recall any of my past relationships being that romantic. It almost has a Mr. Darcy and Lizzy feel to it. This gallient knight riding in on his horseto spend a moment in time with me.
Tonight was a little taste of heaven in a sense. I was sitting in the back row of chapel waiting for the service to begin. One of the guys walked in and took the seat next to me so that he could sit by his friend. Before he sat down though he stoped in front of me. I was in shock that he was speaking to me I have no idea what he said. He gently reached for my hand drew it to his close to his lips (but not touching) and kissed it ever so gently. I think my mouth droped to the floor. Then he brushed his hand on the edge of my hair (I have recently cut it) and this I do remember he said "You're hair." Then he took his seat between me and his friend. I was in such shock I was speechless....It's like the movie You've got mail when Tom Hanks visits Meg Ryan while she's sick and devulges some information the 2 of them know but she doesn't know that it's him she's been talking to. She has a look of bewilderment and wonder of what just happened as he walks out the door. While I know that what happened tonight was just the guy being his flirtatious self and making people smile (he has a girlfriend), it was nice! and I only hope that one day when I'm blessed with a husband he will be a romantic like that. Hows that song go...."You give your hand to me and then you say hello..." One day....in God's time

Mercy

A few years ago I did a spiritual gifts test. One of my top gifts was Mercy. For a minute I was shocked but then as I reviewed past situations I could see that I did have mercy. This lesson started with the scripture reference of Matt. 18:15-35. It’s the question of how much should we forgive someone and the parable of the servant who owed money. The servant begged for the King to be merciful to him and he would pay him back. The King agreed. As soon as he was free he went in search of a man who owed him money. Far less than what he owed the king, but as you know every little bit counts. The man was in the same position as the servant. He pleaded for mercy as the servant had toward the king only the servant did not show mercy on him and threw him in prison. The king found out and was infuriated. He in turn through the servant to be tortured until he could pay the debt back. His debt was so large that the torture would be never ending. He suffered greater consequences because he did not show mercy.
In the next section she talks about forgiveness…even as I write this I’m checking myself on judging…It’s so easy to say “so and so needs to hear this” etc… Beth defines Biblical forgiveness as letting go from one’s power, possession, to let go free, let escape…to cut someone loose. It’s like having the burden tied to your back. Hence, “unforgiveness is the means by which we securely bind ourselves to that which we hate most.” She then illustrated this by saying “forgiveness might best be demonstrated as the practice of cutting loose the person roped to your back.”She brought up the point of how difficult it is to live a Christian life when you have “somebody” strapped to your back because you won’t forgive them. Sure it’s easy to put on the smiling face and act like nothing is wrong but your actions speak louder than your words and in the long run you are doing more damage to yourself. You’re miserable! “The one who will not forgive always suffers more than the one not forgiven” Beth Moore. Re-read the parable again. Unforgiveness tortures the person who harbors it. She goes on to point out that forgiving doesn’t make the action right but it will make you all right. In that aspect you will not be tortured the rest of your life with this thing you would not forgive.When we don’t forgive we’re opening the door for Satan to harbor those thoughts, actions, circumstances etc…in us which then prohibit things from happening, destroying relationships, etc….
Beth closes with this thought ‘Only Satan wins in the war of unforgiveness. When he sees a rope, he sees an opportunity to hang us!”

Judgement

Day 3 was another “hit you in the face” day! It was on judgment. Beth points out that “if we are going to become vessels of God’s patience toward others, we must also learn to be void of judgment toward others.” This reminded me of the recent school shootings in the Amish school. The news went crazy over the fact that the Amish were forgiving the man who killed their children and were there to support his widowed wife. What an awesome testimony of God’s love towards others.
Some of the reasons she listed as to why we should not judge that stuck out to me are: (Rom. 2;1-5)
- when we judge others we cause God to be harder on us
- we do many of the same things we condemn in others (I’ve been in this position before)
- we do not know the whole truth
(Matt. 7:1-5)
-we risk applications of the same type of judgment to ourselves-we can not judge the speck of sawdust in another’s eye because of the plank in our own.

The final thing that stuck out to me was “how patient must we be toward others with whom we share the same sin. Judgment strangles patience and grieves the Holy Spirit.”
I never put judgment into this perspective. Often times I have been so quick to judge others when it was never my place to judge. Beth’s final thought for this lesson was to petition God for an extreme awareness of judgment. For an immediate sense of conviction over the sin of judgment and our tendency to condemn. We have no idea how deeply imbedded this sin may be in each of us until we invite Him to expose it.” What a challenge. A difficult one at that being that it’s a “refining” challenge but once you’re through it you’ll shine!

Patience Part 2

Patience part 2 In the Bible study Beth said “Paul emphasized the importance of being patient in respect to persons and enduring in respect to situations or circumstances.” I have never looked at it that way. It sheds new light when you turn the focus in a different direction. She also pointed out that “How we respond to others is critical” This really hit me in the face. I think sometimes I’ve been to quick to react to someone or a situation. She then referenced Heb. 10:36 and summarized it as ‘we should actively petition God for endurance in our circumstances…Patience is the release of the fruit of the spirit…supernatural outcome of being filled with the Holy Spirit is impossible except when expressed by God through us.” She then had us look at Gen. 6. It’s funny when you don’t read passages that often it’s like finding a lost treasure or something. I had no idea. She brought up the point that she seeks repentance for more thoughts than actions. It’s refreshing to hear other people do the same as you….because to tell you the truth there are times when I think something is wrong because I’m repenting for something I thought.The homework for this day was to wakeup before the sunrise then go out and sit facing east. She gave us 3 scriptures to read (Gen. 8:22, Lamentations 3:22-23, ands Psalm 30:5). The morning of this I awoke at 5:30 but with a splitting headache. I therefore slept in and didn’t do it. I finally did it today. Here the mornings have been fogy so we don’t see sun until the afternoon. This morning I made up my mind I didn’t have to see the sun rising. I fixed me some earl grey hot tea and with my Bible and notebook went and sat on the front steps of the building. The cool mist from the fog dampened my face but it was quite refreshing. As I read the scripture I heard different birds chirping and it was like I was in my own garden with God. Just me and him. The assignment after the reading was to then “write a prayer of response to God as the Sun of Righteousness rise in the morning breaks, simply record your thoughts toward Him”.It was so refreshing to do this. I could tell a different in my step as I walked to work. A smile was on my face which hadn't been there the last couple of days b/c I'd awken with a headache or woke up late. It’s like I wanted to kick up my heels.

Patience

This week the topic of the Bible study is Patience. On day 1 Beth analyzes Job and what all he went through. How he had patience and persevered in his faith in God. She brought up the fact that “Gold is not finished until it reaches a point of perfect luster. The chief objective of the refiner is to bring the gold to a point of greatest reflection. The gold is not as costly for its own sake as it is for the sake of that which it reflects. It is the light which exposes its qualities.” We are the gold and God is the refiner. We can not shine without having to go through some trials. It is here we learn patience and once God is through he is the light that shines through us.

Clean your room!

I'm sure we've all heard this at some point in our life no matter what country we come from. I heard this so many times growing up!
Today I got to talk to my mom on the phone. We hadn't talked by phone since I arrived and even then it was short b/c I started crying and I ended the call. We had a good talk today and got to share some things with her. I mentioned she wouldn't recognize me if she were here. Except for this week, my bed has been made every day. And now that I have a new bedspread I'm quite particular about how it is made and that is so not like me. I now can't stand for dishes to be left in the sink so they get done as soon as I'm through eating. It's like I've become a neat freak in a way. Don't get me wrong I have had a few messy days but they have been no more than 3 I'd say. It's like I'm a totally different person here.
Sooooooo who knows maybe this is God teaching me how to have a clean house and preparing me for my future husband. And to think all those years I wasted! ha ha. Just kidding...I know everything happens in God's time.

Chapel

Since this is short term (1 month) for EUNC chapel has been moved to Wed. nights at 7:30 ( instead of during the day). This is usually during our small group time. For the month of Oct. we will meet for dinner and then go to chapel. We will resume our discussion topics in Nov. Tonight, we ate chicken enchiladas. We had an ice breaker where we had to list the word Thank You in different languages. I came up with 5. Ali and Sandor (pronounced “Shawndoor”) came up with 10. It’s amazing the languages the students know. We had Dutch, African, Hungarian, and Indonesians at the table. We all laughed at each others stories or the names of our parents and how they’re pronounced. It was a good time.

Chapel here is like Plugged In or the River back home. One guy reminded me of Richard Smith or JP…when no one was standing they still stood and worshiped God. If they wanted to clap they did. It was awesome just to see the freedom in God people have. They sang a new song called “Who is This?” I’ll have to update later on with the phrases that meant a lot to me. I can’t seem to get a hold of anyone right now. At any rate it was very refreshing and felt more like home. The topic was on Timothy and ministry. I’m not sure what all the speaker said b/c my thoughts went back to when Tim, Brad, Teyerra, Amanda and I were doing Bible study. I remember Teyerra discussing the possibility of me co-leading it with her. The one thing that stuck out in my mind was when she said “I think you’re my Timothy” I didn’t quite get it then but last night it’s like everything made since. She was training / discipling me in how to lead. It’s like Paul calling Timothy “son” because he’s honored to be sending him. What a night!

Jenny

Oh that dreaded nickname I can't stand. Yet only a few people back home call me this. Here it is becoming more popular with the students and staff. Isn't it funny how an accent can change the sound of your name? So, for Europe I seem to be known as Jenny to most people. I just smile and go along with it. But for those back home....I'm still Jennifer!

Hummus

Tonight I was invited to eat dinner with Shahade, Elizabeth, Simone, and Lisa. Shahade fixed a salad with an Arabic dressing, traditional flat bread and hummus. I’ve never had hummus before. I remember Dr. Lyon raving about it in class but I thought it was disgusting! At any rate I went and tried it and I liked it! Imagine that! It had olive oil and some spice drizzled on top. The flat bread tasted like pizza crust. I was imagining sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni on top of it. Heaven! It was good by itself! The salad was different. Shahade had forgotten the lettuce so it was tomatoes, cucumbers, and crouton like pieces of bread. The dressing was olive oil, garlic, lemon (this was a strong taste) and some other spices. All in all it was a good meal. I got choked on the bread though. Everyone was talking about how big chic peas (what hummus is made from) can get when they’re in water and we had water with our meal. We were talking about being bloated. You should have seen my face! Ha ha. I hope I don’t wake up w/ an extra 5-10 lbs. tomorrow! Ha ha. Or have stomach problems.

RFTC

As I was reading the news from my hometown online I saw the headline “Record setting Race for the Cure.” I jumped for joy. This year Little Rock hit the 42,000 mark. I was so happy. When I was captain and co-captain their goal was to get 40,000 and this year they finally did. Only I didn’t get to be a part of it. I miss the days of leading the team, writing newsletters for the office, and being a part of a team to design the shirt. Granted it was stressful, but I loved every minute of it! I saw the pictures of the women lined up on Broadway waiting for the race to begin. I can feel the brisk air hitting my face, I can hear the quietness of the streets at 6 am. I remember the last time I did this race with my mom and family 2 years ago. Mom and I stopped at the gas station to get gas and I got a “gas station” cappuccino (sooooo good!). As we arrived we went booth to booth collecting free samples and running into people we knew. Writing on the pink signs in honor of Carolyn Soltis (my aunt) and attaching it to the backs of our shirts walking with pride as we began the race. Seeing the sea of pink crossing the Main street bridge as we crossed the Broadway bridge. I remember the guys on the side lines encouraging us as went and others who entertained us. The thrill of it all. I finished that race in less than an hour. I was so proud of myself. It was probably best I didn’t walk this year, as my aunt died in November. I think it would have been too hard. My cousins did the one in St. Louis in her memory. I’m sure it was hard for them….I never asked them about it. At any rate the days of being captain are gone for now, but maybe another year I’ll be back. I did fine they have them in Germany and Italy. I missed the one in Germany. It was Sept. 24 I think. Italy was in May ’06 so maybe they’ll have one again in May 07 and I can participate in that. That would be awesome!

God is working

Today in church we started off worship with the song God is Good. It was a reminder to me that no matter what God has always been good to me and faithful. We then sang a second song (one I’ve never heard of) Cry of my Heart talk about really speaking to you and bring you back to what God has called you to do. Some of the lyrics are “It is the cry of my heart to follow you. It is the cry of my heart to be close to you… All of the days of my life… Teach me your holy ways oh Lord. So I can walk in your truth. Teach me your holy ways, oh Lordand make me wholly devoted to you… Open my eyes so I can see The wonderful things that you do. Open my heart up more and more…” (Terri Butler)
For the focal scripture that was also used as the sermon it was Psalm 27. The pastor talked on fear. Funny how God works! The reference was good and he read it several times. And parts of it stuck out to me like God was emphasizing those particular parts to me. “The Lord is the light of my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes they stumbled and fell Though an army may encamp against me; My heart shall not fear Though war may rise against me in this I will be confident. One thing I have desired of the Lord. That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life…(vs. 1-4) vs. 14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!" The first part dealt with my fears. It’s not something I believe will go away over night. I believe it will be a process. The preacher did mention “fools rush in where Angels fear to tread.” There is good fear and bad fear. The bad can be from Satan where he gets us to be so sure of our self that we have no fear and then he drops us in the midst of trouble. The fear from God is sometimes us thinking we’re all alone in a situation when in reality God is right there with us protecting us.
The last part was just a reminder to me to wait on God and not to rush anything in my life. That in his time his will for my life will be carried out and it will be well worth the wait!

Zurich

Yesterday Simone, Lisa, and I went to Zurich for the day. It was a much needed brake. It was my first time leaving the town w/o actually going grocery shopping or to Wal-mart. I also hadn’t been this direction since my arrival. Zurich is so beautiful. At times I felt like I was in Europe with the steep cobblestone streets and at others I felt like I was in New York City. To get to Zurich we had to go through a tunnel, which seems to be the longest tunnel I’ve been in. They have green arrows and Red X’s above the lane which ever direction you are going you want to be in the one with the arrows. This way they can switch the lanes if they need more.
Parking….Interesting concept here. There are signs that tell you which parking decks are open and how many spaces are available. Then you drive to that place and wait in line. Each parking space has a sensor so it knows when a car arrives and when it leaves. Once there are spaces available the gates will only let that many people in. Then it's like being on a hunt. You follow the arrows that lead you to the row where a space is available. To leave the deck, there are machines, before you walk into the garage, that you slip you’re card in and pay.
We found my favorite shop Crabtree and Evelyn. I was in heaven. I treated myself to some lotion. Now I can smell pretty! J The sales associate asked if it was for a present and I promptly said yes. The gift wrap is free so why not? Plus it was a present! For me! It was a pampering present for me. We then went to a store H & M. It was different. I felt like I should be in a club. But they had some cute clothes. Even though they had the US size marked they’re still a size or 2 smaller!. I found a sweater and Simone helped me put an outfit together. I got the Sweater and a tank top. Something I probably wouldn’t have tried in the states. I was very Fall like today in church! If you want to see some of the photos I took you can look at the photo album on line. We’re planning another trip back but to see the sites and the parks.

Freaked out

As most of you know I have a phobia with basements....man are they ever popular here! This morning was cleaning day at the office (every Friday). I signed up to do the outside. There wasn't much sweeping to be done so Nickolaj told me to do the weeding and Vacum the entry carpet and dust off the cobwebs from around the door area. He was telling me where gloves where (in the basement!) and I thought maybe i could wait to get the gloves until Ali came and he could go get them for me. I figured Verne would make me get them myself as he already knows about my fear. At anyrate I began to pull the weeds that weren't thorny and here comes Nickolaj with the gloves! God answered my unspoken prayer. :) I had finished the weeding and we found the vacum cleaner...they're so different from ours. I was outside vacuming up the cob webs when Nickolaj (coming back to the office) walks up the stairs and says something. My back was turned and I couldn't hear him approaching so when he spoke I let out a highpitched scream! My heart was pounding. I shocked him. He's not used to me yet. I forwarned him in a nice way not to do that again. The guys got a laugh out of it. So I come back in and sit down at my desk when Ali comes in and says he wants to show me something in the basement. I look at him, Verne, and Nickolaj and say "is this a joke?" they all reply no. Ali is trying to persuade me to come. I said "Are yall going to lock me in the basement?" Memories of being locked in Tim's bathroom came flooding back! They assured me this wasn't going to happen. So I go, but as I walk I'm apprehensive. I stayed a good 3-4feet behind Ali. We got down in the basement and he went into another room....this was the pool room. I couldn't figure out what he needed to show me b/c Verne had shown me this last Friday. So again i approached the door cautiously but I couldn't bring myself to go in. The pool is empty. I'm not sure why, maybe because the ceiling is lower...I don't know. I wouldn't go any further than the door. Ali is talking to me but I'm too scared to hear what he's saying. He looks at me finally and ask me why I'm not coming in. I said "I told you i have a phobia. I don't like this" He said you didn't tell me. I replied "I asked you on the stairs if I had told you about my phobia and you said yes" He said "I missunderstood you" So seeing the fright on my face he said don't worry we can go. So we turned and began to walk out and he said "Did I tell you the story about the pool?" Immediately thoughts went through my head and I bolted up the stairs. Then he continues with "There was this man...." and I took off running back to my desk saying "I don't want to hear it." the four of us are back at my desk (Verne and I share a table) talking Ali is telling them what all happened when Nickolaj says I'll tell you the story behind it....I turned to the window closed my eyes and grabed my head saying "I don't want to hear it. Don't tell me somebody died in this building." Finnally they saw how bad I was taking all this and told me why the pool was there and that nobody died in this building. What a morning. And to think Ali, didn't laugh when I told him a/b the prank phone call Simone and I got. He said that in his culture it's not funny to scare people....quite a change from todays events. I look back on it now and laugh.

Sushi

Last night Simone fixed sushi. Lisa and I helped prepare it. We had crab, avacado, cucumber, and cream cheese. Since I don't like avacado (yes I did try it) or cucmber I put crab and cream cheese on mine. Wasn't to sure how this was going to taste as I've never had it with cream cheese before. We each rolled our own roll. I loved it! I made mine small. We ate with chopsticks and I found that I can controll them better using my left hand. So, am I ambidextrius when it comes to using chopsticks? Simone also fixed Thai soup. I tried it and I liked it. I think though she dind't give me much broth since she knew I don't like soup. We had so much fun. Our knives are dull. So we called Shahade. He brought us some knives and joined us. He also brought the vanilla ice cream. Then we asked Verne if he wanted to join us and he did. We had so much fun. Making faces, putting our chopsticks in places on our face they don't belong, having contest to see who could stuff their mouth with a sushi and still whistle, etc... Then Hemica came over and we gave her the extra sushi to take home. She and I did self portraits for Simone. (She has each of her friends do one and then she hangs it on her wall.) We played Rook...I think I sort of got the hang of it. Then we ate ice cream.....Shahade and Verne are "germophobics" They about died when I asked if we double dipped. Some people....nothing wrong with that. We were just given spoons and the ice cream container. So Shahade, dramatic as he is (ha ha) made a big deal about it but then I saw him dip from my corner of the box w/ the cinamon. They were just giving me a hard time. Then we played this other game that is a mix between monopoly and pit. It's like auctioning. It was down to me and Verne at the end.....and I lost! All in all it was a fun night and felt like a friday night.

Amelie

I came across a video the other day that had this song in it. It's from a movie which isn't good b/c it's french...well actually I heard over all it was good just a few scenes weren't. Anyway the song is written by Yann Tiersen. It's a piano piece. I would love to find the sheet music for this. The title is Comptine d'un autre été - L'après midi. You can listen to it by clicking on the 3rd link to the side that says "Check out this beautiful song!"

I feel pretty

"I feel pretty, I feel pretty..." la la la la la
Today was a good day inspite of the bad news I received but that doesn't matter to yall. What matters is that I looked beautiful, stunning, gorgeous! :) I wore my biege turtle neck, jeans, my long black dress coat (not a heavy one, one that is part of an outfit) and my black woven sleek heels. One of my friends (who shall remain nameless) asked me why us women wear shoes that cause us pain when guys don't even look or care. I beg to differ with him b/c I think guys do notice what women wear. On my way back from lunch one of the girls said "wow, you look pretty" I thanked her and I was all smiles. Granted I wish a guy would stop me and say that...someday! At least I was complemented. I'm having a good hair and makeup day.
Last night Simone and I were reading magazines and eating cookie dough. (We were making a batch of choc. chip cookies!) I mentioned coloring my hair. I know some of you are in shock b/c I always get blonde highlights to lighten the brown that is there. We started discussing colors she thinks something like an auburn brown not to dark but darker than what it is now. I don't know though when I was home at lunch today I was washing my hands and looked in the mirror (it's right in front of me. hello!) I really think I need to stick with what I got b/c of my complection and it seemed that my hair was accented by my sweater. who knows. Maybe one day I'll surprise you! I know this sounds a little vane. But how long has it been since I came into a room and said "I look beautiful today!" Okay some of yall wont know what I'm talking about here but that's okay.
Ciao! (pronounced chow)

UGH! THAT'S DIFFERENT!!!!!!!

On Commission unto Mexico anytime we encountered something different or a different way of doing things we were told to say to ourselves "Oh, That's different!" to keep us from being rude. In my head I am screaming this over and over! I need to vent so if you don't want to read the venting than just ignore this one. Mom sent me 3 packages last week. Each of them w/ the expidited shipping. I got the first 2. I should have received the last one on Friday. No package. So I checked today and the guy at the office said they hadn't gotten any mail today to call and check back when one of the girls came back from lunch. So I did. I was nice never lost my temper or anything. (Can't do that on the field! at least in my opinon). She said that the main person was on vacation this week and usually they just go when someone needs to go or has something to pick up. She said I could go myself and get it but the drawback to that is that I don't know how to drive a standard nor do I know where it is. Everyone is too busy here getting the website ready for tonight so they can't take me. She wasn't sure if the new guy had a new system he wanted to implement or not. She said she'd let me know when someone went. She asked if it was important and I said no b/c I think it's just clothes. Should I have said, my mom pd extra to get it here quickly? I'm so frustrated. not at her, just at how they do things. Do they not check the mail every day? Tomorrow is a german holiday and everything shuts down. So maybe someone will go on Wednesay and I'll get it.

Joy part 4/5

Today before church I finished my last 2 lessons. They were quite lengthy and I just didn't complete them on Thursday and Friday like I should have. Lesson 4 was another wake up call. It was over Elijah how God provided for him, how he revealed himself to him and what Elijah went through. What struck me was at the end Beth Moore list some ways "we may loose our joy" Below are the points that stuck out to me.
When our outpour exceeds our intake- "pouring out more than he (Elijah) was pouring in. Are you serving more than you're seeking?"
When our talk exceeds our walk- "We rarely know that exact moment that our output begins to exceed our intake, but a sure sign of lack of fuel is a talk that exceeds our walk." I have been here several times!
When we become "wonders junkies"-"He (Elijah) looked for God in the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, but he did not find Him there...the most intimate times we will spend with God will be listening to his gentle whispers. It is here that we will find true chara (joy, rejoicing)...rarely are you more at risk for losing your joy than when you have just experienced a spiritual high...anytime you've just been on Mount Carmel standing firm against the enemy, you're sitting in a dangerous place-ripe for a fall. Jesus' baptism was followed by temptation. Pray to enjoy those marvelous times, but never more than you enjoy His sweet whisper when you are all alone"
When we're exhausted- "Elijah was exhausted, neglected to eat or rest. Are you neglecting your rest? What about eating?"
When we feel alone- "as we're growing in Christ, beware of feelings that tempt you to believe you are all alone and that no one else wants to serve or love God as you do. Just because someone does not share our "cause" or our personal "passions" does not set us apart." This one was like a slap in the face! Hard! I went through this several times including being prayer coordinator for plugged in, in my journeys to going to Ecuador and Germany. There were times I felt like I was alone in this. That people did not have the passion I did for it. With plugged in especially when we first started the service I was to be "on call" to pray with anyone during the service and also to pray for the leaders, pastor, and people there. We had a prayer area set up to pray. There was a kneeling bench they could use. Nobody ever used it except for me, pastor, Rita, and three others. The majority of the time the area was empty. Why didn't people share my passion for prayer? Why didn't they want me to pray with them? Thoughts like that went through my head several times. When I would come back from Mexico and give a report people were receptive but shot me down when I asked if they'd be interested. "Oh, no that’s not for me. It's right after Christmas and we have to be with our families" I received a lot of those comments. I was so disappointed. Why couldn't these people let God lead them to an awesome adventure. Other churches had teams of 4 or more going and I was the only one from my church. Times like that I felt alone and deserted and that my passion was not their passion.
After reading and doing the lessons I see we're not all made to have the same passion and just like worship we do things in different ways. So, even though hardly anybody came to the prayer center that doesn't mean they weren't praying and even though nobody wanted to go to Mexico that doesn't mean they didn't support me financially or through prayer. For me it was easier to go to Mexico because I just have my parents. I'm not married nor do I have children.
Christmas has become more to me than getting presents. My joy comes from me giving to others by sacrificing things I really don't need.