Pictures

These are not all of the pictures just some of my favorite ones. You can see more of them at Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2081220&id=141301902

This is a castle that I saw from the train station. It was very pretty and amazing.
This is probably one of my favorite pictures of the whole entire trip. It just shows the whole essence of the trip. It was cold, it was an adventure, and it was a reminder of home with fast food restaurants. There is also a funny story that goes along with this photo. So I got this coke because I was thirsty so I drank it on the train. Our first part of our train ride was an hour before we got to our first transfer. However, little did I know that to get to our first stop would take more than an hour and by the time we would get there I would really have to use the bathroom. So we got off this train and I was just praying there was a bathroom on our next train so we found our next train with little time to spear and there was an older German couple sitting there and I was asking them is there a bathroom on this train and they pointed to where it was at however, I feel like they were amused by me and so we eventually went and sat down and they sat down next to us and we talked a little bit to them and I believe they talked a lot about us but only in german so I couldn't understand.

The train station in Kolon. We rode a train from Landstahl to Kolon. It was about a 4 hour train ride both days. The train station reminded me a lot of a airport. We spent a lot of time people watching here and had some pretty weird interactions here. Loved it though.

This was the cathedral in Kolon. I got to go shopping and it was a blast. I only bought one thing and I also got to eat Duncan Donuts and Mc Donalds and Starbucks. I also had an experience of having to pay one euro to use the bathroom.

Monday we went to Mc Donalds for a snack and it was really good. It was my first Mc Donalds since the summer.

I was sitting on this bench at the Landstahl castle.

This is a German flag at the top of the Landstahl castle.

We went to this castle on Monday and it was amazing.

Meghann and me in Egypt waiting for our flight to Frankfort, Germany.

Wow I am finally back but miss Germany so much. In this blog I just want to recap my spring break by just telling a little bit I did each day and something I learned about God or myself each day.

Thursday night Day 1

So this was a night of answered prayer. Leaving the country could have been potentially very expensive for me because my visa was expired and it was in immigration however we went through and it was not stressful at all we just explained everything and what we thought we were going to have to pay God had a totally different plan. We walked out of immigration without paying anything to leave. We got our stamps and got our visas renewed right there without paying anything. God answers prayer and He is faithful to those who trust in Him.

Friday Day 2

Almost to Germany Yay!!!! One statement I have you know you are in Africa when you get asked for money tips. We got into Egypt and had to go through security. I made it through however my carry on didn't. I had batteries in my carry on. The police officer took the batterities and the plastic bag and asked for a bribe. After I firmly stated that I didnt pay money bribes had taken the batteries out of the plastic bag gave three to me and three to my traveling companion and took the plastic bag and let us on our way. We finally got to our gate and in 4 hours we would be in Germany. So we finally made it after the longest flight ever or so it seemed. When we got there A.J. met us at the gate and we went to Worms, which is where Martin Luther came out with the German Bible. Then that night he took us out for steak, it was good I just had schnitzel but had a little bit of A.J's steak it was good.

Saturday Day 3

We woke up and went to base and ate breakfast at the golf course while A.J. had Bible Study. After that we went to all these little German towns and moved things. After we moved these things we went to Burger King which was amazing! Then we went back and helped with getting things ready for the youth retreat. That night was fun we just stayed in with Anna and watched chick flicks and ate popcorn. It was just a relaxing night.

Sunday Day 4

Easter in Germany amazing. We went to chapel for Easter service it was nice and then A.J. and Anna had been invited to the Officers club and so they went there for lunch and me and Meg went to the Bx/PX and had Taco Bell which was amazing!!!!! Then we went over to their friend's house and we watched Moriah find easter eggs. After that we played a card game and ate lunch meat sandwiches and sun chips and of course drank my favorite drink ever, Dr. Pepper! It was amazing.

One thing that I really focused on in my devotions today was that God uses all of our faults and our inadequacies to relate to people and to grow closer to Him. So many times I fail and God uses those failures which is just another amazing aspect of God.

Monday day 4

We woke up and we watched Moriah for a little bit . After the morning at about 3.30 we went and saw the Landstaul Castle. It was gorgeous and I have pictures that I will put up soon. We then went to help move some closets. You would think this was boring and who would want to do this but the people I met while doing this was just so fun to hear their stories was amazing. After that I got my first Mc Donalds of the trip. It was really good then we went to get Doners. These are amazing, they are turkish and it is a pita, with lamb and cucumbers and tomatoes and then this ranch like sauce they are really good. Then we just called it a night.

I should mention on all these little trips I am just picking A.J.'s mind about interning and what really goes on more at the ministry.

Tuesday Day 5

Youth Group DAY!!!!!!!!!! I loved helping out with youth group. I met some really fun people on this day. So I started out the day with cleaning out the closet in the chapel for A.J. Then the middle schoolers started to come. So I got to share a little bit about what I was doing and I got to see Sara again, we stayed with her the first time I was in Germany, and got to lead games which was a blast and they liked them. Then Jordan and Daniel took us out for dinner, we went to Burger King again and it was still amazing!!! THen high school I felt more comfortable with this group because I had my warm up with middle school. So we ran games and A.J. wasn't feeling the best so we played another game inside and then just worshipped. Then Jordan, Daniel, Julie, Meg and me went out for ice cream. I loved being at the youth group and really just taking interest in the youth. This generation is going to make an impact on the world for Christ.

Wednesday Day 6

We traveled to Kolon on a train. It was a pretty amazing day. I got to go shopping and it was a blast. I got to see an amazing cathedral and it was so much fun.

Thursday Day 7

TOday we just really hung out and watched some movies. Then A.J. made us Red Robin Burgers on the grill. UM!!!!!

Friday Day 8

I watched movies today before we left. Then we went to the base and I got to help out again. Sara came and picked us up to go to her house for the night and then take us back to the airport.

Over all this week was amazing and I love Germany. I can't wait to go back hopefully sometime soon.

Thanks for all the prayers!

Im leaving on a jet plane...

Today is the day. I will be leaving from Ghana to travel to Germany for 9 days. God has been good this week. In Bible we have been talking about the different days leading up to Easter and it has been a good experience. Yesterday our Bible topic was what does the cross mean to you and I have a couple of students that I believe are searching for what it really means for them. I got to write in some of their journals about this great gift God gave us and that all they have to do is receive this gift from God and believe that He took their sins. It was nice to be able to write to them last night and open myself to answer any questions they have or if they need someone to pray with. God is planting the seed in these students. I have one student that I would like to ask prayer for He is muslim and I just pray God opens his heart to Jesus. Yesterday he wrote in his journal that the cross means nothing to him and that breaks my heart.

While in Germany I am going to be working with a missionary who works on military bases to help reach the youth. Not only will we be going around Germany I will be running games for about 100 junior high and high schoolers at their youth group on Tuesday night. This is kind of funny because that is what I did my sophomore in college when I came to Germany. Please pray for safe travel and the opportunity to share Christ with this kids. I will blog when I get back to tell all about the adventures that I have been on while there.

Continue to pray for safety in travel and the hearts of my students and the kids i will be working with in Germany. Love you guys

A simple Friday night in Ghana

Iron sharpens Iron so one man sharpens another.

(Proverbs 27.17)

Sitting at home on a Friday is not unusual for a Friday night here in Ghana however tonight I started working on some seeds that God has planted in my heart since I have been in Ghana. I would love to share them with you.

1. A mentoring program for Junior high and high school students with teachers at AIS.

This came to me this semester and I can't really say what made me want to do this however I mentioned something to my housemate and she had done a mentoring program at her college and so she was more then willing to help me start on this plan. Then while at the retreat I ran this idea of mine past the directors wife and she was thrilled. One thing that was said at the conference was that my generations is going to be the group that really starts a revival for Christ. We are the ones going to make a difference for Christ in the world. So tonight as me and roommate sat on the couch watching a t.v. show we have developed a flyer to see how many students are interested in this program. This we would hopefully start next year. So pray for the development of this program. We have sent our flyer off to our directors wife in the states right now.

2. Bible study for 9-12th grade girls

This started because of a book called When God Writes Your Love Story. This book really encouraged me and while I was reading it, it made me really think that if high school students gave the pen to God to write their love story then how we look at love and relationships would be changed. I went to the website of Eric and Leslie Ludy and I ended up buying a set of all their books and I am really praying about maybe next year starting a study on the book with a group of girls. I don't know how I would go about all of this and I have not even talked to our director or anything like that it is just something that has been pulling at my heart.

My ministry I realized this year is to the students that I work with everyday and I love that opportunity however I would love to grow these two things so that I can get to know some of the older students. I have loved tutoring these two students I have and there really is a ministry here. For instance I have a Lebanese student I tutor and at tutoring when we go to read for 20 minutes ask to read the Bible and he is asking questions which is amazing.

I am also really excited because this time next week I will be in Germany. I will be able to spend the whole week ministering to the missionaries I was with when I went my sophomore year of college. I can not wait to get out of really hot weather and be with them working with kids and other things. Pray for safe travels and that my fine for leaving the country is low. We have a fine because immigration did not get our visas taken care of in time so we have not gotten our visas extended so now we have to pay to leave the country, and get our stamp. Pray that everything works out well while we are in Germany.

Thanks to everyone that has been praying for me here in Ghana. You are a blessing.

Party all week long!!!

So this weekend was pretty much parting all weekend and week long. So Monday night we came home and there was little electricity. Then all of a sudden I heard a pop and one of my roommates came up and told me to unplug everything so we went around the house unplugging everything. It went off at about 5:00pm. We slept outside it was way to warm to sleep inside but it was so good because it was nice outside. Then on Tuesday I woke up early and made a cake for my class. we had a class party and it was so much fun. Last night my two roommates upstairs took me to our secret spot and then we went to see Alice and Wonderland at the theatre.

Prayer Request

If you could just pray for self control in a situation that has been a real struggle for me and to just be kind and positive. This situation has me stressed right now and I really dread coming home because of it.

Also pray for my students next week as they are going to be taking their Standford Achievement test.

O Lord our Lord how majestic is Your name in all the earth!

I am so glad to be back in school this week. I was so excited to see my students again. This week came with its own challenges. Getting back into the swing of the things was difficult but I love being back. Jumping back into tutoring I love working with this one girl in my class and we have been working on memorizing Psalm 8. I got to talk to her and tell her what the verses mean. It was a refresher to see her do this and be confident in what she is doing.

On Friday we had about 15 people at our house to play games. However we also ordered pizzas. It was a lot of fun. Then on Saturday I relaxed all day which was amazing. At night I got to celebrate my birthday with 17 of my closest friends. My roommate made me a cake and it was delicious. What was amazing was that one of my friends from the retreat that I went to last week came down and we got to hang out which was a blessing.

I cannot wait to see what this week holds and what God has planned for me.

One week of craziness...

Okay so we started out not having school on Monday and Tuesday. We went into school on Tuesday and we found out the rest of the week was going to be cancelled. THIs was a good and bad thing. A good thing because I know longer had to deal with a substitute and worrying about having a lot of make up work to give to my students. The bad thing was that I still had the opportunity to get sick and the schedule was going to be changing when we got back to school. So on Thursday morning I got to school and work on SAT packets for my students and then I started working on the schedule that I would have to have ready for Tuesday when I get back. At 10 o clock I got picked up to go the Women of the Harvest Retreat at Coconut Grove Resort.

At this retreat not only did I get to meet other missionary women, I also got to get pamper, and blessed by an amazing speaker who hit major points in my life. This first day She talked about resurrection when your dreams have died. There are four promises that she talked about that resurrects our dreams and who we are. 1. Jesus wept. 2. god values community 3. God brings beauty from ashes. God reminds faithful. On the second day she talked about the vine and the branches. She talked about when we feel inadequate, He is more than able to to complete the task. I am the branch and Jesus is the vine. You have to allow Jesus to flow through you. On day two she talked about how some missionaries measure success by how many people they convert but their is two things wrong with this sentence. One we don't convert people to Christ that is Jesus' job, not mine. THe second is that is not our success that is God's and we have no right to count it as ours. The third day she talked about how when we don't know what to do I should worship! All of these things I need to remember and I encourage you to think about too as you live life. I not only got to listen to these awesome messages but I got to get a pedicure, a massage, and a haircut. GOd blessed me with this opportunity and blessed me with meeting these people who came to hear my story and also to talk to other missionaries in Ghana and west Africa. I have pictures up on facebook. It was amazing and Tomorrow I have to go back to school which is going to be a challenge just because I have been gone for over 10 days.