Coming soon...

Since I haven't blogged much lately, I'm going to pull some stuff out of my journal and talk about stuff earlier this week, and I'll try to put up some pictures to accompany my stories, but the internet is sketchy here... so wish me luck with that. I haven't been blogging too much because it's been hard to adjust to living with 70 other kids in a foreign country, but now I'm pretty settled in and ready to share! One of the things that was really cool was the other day when I went out to the orchard (yes an orchard in our back yard! It's small, but... an apple orchard nonetheless) for some time alone, I looked down and saw a tiny daisy. I smiled and took another step. Another tiny daisy. There were little daisies covering the ground! It was such a beautiful gift from God, a little kiss on the cheek.

The Hardest Part

Well, to be honest, being in Germany for 6 months is pretty hard. I've never been away from home so long, and I've never been this far away! But it's only/already been a week and we all seem to be adjusting and bonding pretty well! Other people are admitting to homesickness, so we can feel better together! The hardest thing we've done so far has been the hike in the swiss alps! We left at 8 in the morning and got back at 7pm. Obviously hiking in the alps was worth it. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I climbed to the top and was so proud! It was super super super foggy today, so you couldn't even see to the top of the mountain we were hiking! It set a cool atmosphere for the hike- especially at near the top, basically hiking along the side of a cliff, we couldn't see too far down so it was less scary. The funniest part was that there was one narrow pathway along the edge of the cliff, and there was a bride and her bridal party in it! She was switching from her hiking shoes to her high heels! So she said, "go ahead, go ahead" so we went... and on the other side people were waiting with cameras, and we walked right into the wedding!!!

Bodenseehof

I'm at the Farm on the Bodensee! Well, Bible school, but thats ok. We live like a 5 minute walk from the most beautiful farm land and a 15 minute bus ride from one of the nicest and sort of big cities in Germany! From my balcony, I can see across Lake Constance and see Switzerland if there is not fog. We're also learning so much! We just started lectures, and are learning about what it looks like to be a Christian. Today we were mostly talking about how the poor are the blessed. Haven't you noticed that the happiest people you meet tend to have less, and the grumpier people have more? I'm sorry I didn't write earlier, it was pretty crazy trying to adjust at first and now I'm trying to make friends, but I'll try to blog more specifics later, and put up pictures! Thank you for all the prayers, they've really helped keep my spirit up while I'm the farthest from home I've ever been! Love.

One Week

AHHH!!! I leave in exactly one week! The funny thing is I cried when I said goodbye to my friends that went to college last year or the year before, so I'm used to not seeing them... But their love and gentleness is what I'll miss most about home. And not knowing when I'll be back for more than a week adds to the abyss. But as I looked out my window, I saw the moon. The same moon they see in Uganda, and the same moon I'll be looking at from Germany, knowing it's the same moon my family will be watching from home in Elm Grove. 

It is exciting though. I was at the Ave last night (Elmbrook's College Age Ministry), and was reminded how lucky I am, that I get to live the ave 24/7. Worship, sharing, friends and learning about the Bible! It was also encouraging to hear from one of our peers who shared about his life. The told us his Bible Study motto, "Grow or Die"- because if we're not Growing closer to Christ, we're dying to Him. Going to Germany will definitely Grow me, thus it is the best place to be. He also shared with us what John The Baptist said when people were asking him how he felt about Jesus taking all his disciples; he said, "He must increase, I must decrease." And as I go, He must increase. And it's my joy to decrease.

Noe!

Today, the Turner family was changed forever. For the first time, the boys outnumber the girls (at least of the Turners living at home). Timmy finally has that older brother he's wanted his whole life! Noe is from Belgium, but is Italian. He has great English and is already learning a lot. He says that it is not much different than his home in Belgium, but I think he'll find more differences in the next few days, and months. He likes the Invisible Children camera gun T that I gave him, I also took my map of Africa and showed him Uganda. He gets it, but he'll learn much more about the war and IC before I leave to go to his side of the pond. 

One Month Til Germany!

I leave for Germany in exactly one month. At this time I'll be on a plane over the atlantic ocean for the first time with Maddie and Jordan, my midwestern friends that I haven't met yet. I'm pretty calm about my life changing today- I'm just listening to Bethany Dillon (one of my favorite artists) and looking at rain jackets to buy for our hiking adventures in the Alps! My room is a mess as I try to get my mind into the packing mode- deciding between which sweat shirts to bring is going to be the hardest thing... One month. Whoa. 

Circles Never End

While I was in Mexico, there was a girl sitting my the side of the empty pool. After a few years of training myself and being coached by others to seek out the lonely, God had changed my heart and mind... So I walked right up to her and said Hola. It was scary to start up a conversation with someone who I knew probably wouldn't speak any English, and I probably couldn't understand with only 3 years of high school spanish. None the less, I talked to her, and I'll never regret it. Her name is Julieta and is 17 years old. I could only understand about half of what she said, but I caught a glimpse of her soul. She seemed to me a flower that is too scared to open. She is beautiful, but almost painfully shy... until you start to talk to her. She is mostly scared of boys I think. When we started talking about another guy on the trip, Drew, I called him over to us and she hid her face and giggled. It was the sweetest thing. She isn't outgoing, but her smile tells you she has a lot of love to share. 

In the blue bracelet video from Invisible Children, Amy bonds with a beautiful and resilient girl, Roseline. As Amy is leaving, she gives Roseline one of her rings, so I did the same. I had her aunt translate for me, "You are Jesus's princess". She replied you too. She told me not to cry because it would make her cry- so I held it in... until I turned to walk away. The flood gates opened and I sobbed for about 10 minutes. She was the culmination of God's beauty. He created such a deep loving relationship between two girls who could barely understand each other.