Hmm to be honest, i thought about not updating this week, it has pretty uneventful and i was feeling a lack of need to write. But I suppose I should or else ill probably forget all of the happenings. So as per usual we had lectures Mon though thurs. How ever we did not have lectures thursday night, becuase of a "Special night" which was their way of not calling in americain thanksgiving when it on the day of thanksgiving. It was pretty good food.
This week as for lecturers were concerned they were pretty good we had Stewart and Jill Briscoe from Wisconsin come and lecturer us on Servanthood and as well as what the church should really be. Stewart made sure immediately that we knew that Church is not a place you go but something you are. He talked about what it means to be part of the church body and that church isnt the place but the people. His wife Jill talked on servant hood, she had a ton of awesome amazing cool stories and was so fun and relaxing to listen to. I loved having both of them here and i learned so much, but also had new realization just about how I act and behave. We also had Kim lee speak on The father heart of God. Her lectures were alright in jsut the area that its nice to have a reminder of what the heart of God is like and just how amazing his love is for us.
Other then lectures we had our tract project that was due thursday so we spent most of the time before that working on it and getting it done. I got my results back but apparently I am fine so I have just been drinking cranberry juice. I have been feeling a lot better other then there is another cold going around, so sore throat yeah!! But Friday we did have a seminar on Budgeting which was far too long and all stuff I have already heard before and then friday after noon I walked to this cute cafe at the end of the canal again with Zach and had coffee. But the weather has gotten cold and so its been extremely windy and geting wet and cold. Friday night we watched a movie and just hung out. Saturday I headed to the cafe with a few girls, Jessica, Kendyl and Caitlyn and it poured rain by the time we got there we were completley soaked and muddy. So we didnt stay long but it was so fun to walk there in the wind and rain and was a moment to be remembered. We walked really fast back so that we could put our pjs on and do laundry and just wrap our selves in blankets and drink tea. It was so quiet when we got back becuase a lot of people went to a football game (soccer). I loved hanging out in my pjs it was so relaxing and was defiantly a chill day. Saturday was also German nights and so the 10 Germans put together a fun filled nights with german facts and games. After a bunch of us girls got though half the movie Sound of Music. Best movie ever!! It was a really good day. Sunday was church and one of the students here from Abby did the sermon, he spoke on Faith and courage. He did a really awesome job. After chruch I went for a nice walk along the canal, Sunday was one of the best days weather wise at least.
It really was a pretty relaxed week and not a lot of excitement going on.
Monday 28 November 2011
Sunday 20 November 2011
The power of a great friendship
I am honestly loving life here, it is so amazing. It is so cool to hear and see how awesome God is and how he is working in everyones life here. I love it and fully living it up. This week has been an actually really decent week overrall it was not bad. It turned out a little different then I thought.
Monday was fairly normal, tues I had a doctors appointment which turned out that my back is hurting because my kidneys are slightly infected. I am still waiting to hear back from the lasted test results on what is fully wrong with it. But until then if you could all just pray for my health and the pain in my back . The pain is intensive and quite horrible. It hurts when i sit or stand as long as i am moving I am doing alright and so lectures this week were hard. It was hard to stay concentrated and focused on what the lecturers were saying. Other then That i am just waiting to hear back from my test and hope that my body isnt too messed up. So hopefully this pain goes away because it is not a fun thing really.
We had two guest speakers this week one named Cristi who spoke on Sunday. i quite enjoyed him , he encouraged us to read deeper in the the passages that we were going over with him. He was speaking on the sermon on the mount, and he was able to encourage me. Our other lecturer this week was Derek Stringer, who was alright, who speaks on a radio and you can defiantly tell. his voice is monotoned and during night lectures it can truthfully put you to sleep. He was quite funny and did have some good things to say but not my favourite speaker. He spoke on Colossians.
Tuesday our essay was also due and so I finished and handed that in on Monday and so I was able to go to lancaster on Tuesday and we booked our train tickets to Paris and also our hostel in London.
Wednesday was kinda a slack day, we went into Carnforth again and then just spent more time trying to figure out Christmas travels. Thursday was a great day we walked the loop a few times and I walked to this little cafe down the canal with Zach. It was a lot of fun, and a nice change of senary. There was little mini sheep and no i dont mean lambs, they were full grown but they were mini. So so very cute i wanted to steal one. There was also this really really quant cute little store with all sorts of nick knacks. I think its going to be my new favourite hang out place while I am here. I am planning to go there a few times this next week with some girls here.
Friday was a blast, i really enjoyed the day and everything it had to offer. I had cleaning duty so I had to go around and give everyone clean sheets and so we ended up finishing early so we got to go lie down and relax a little bit before lunch. After lunch I walked the loop and it has been so sunny and gorgeous here. As we were comning back from our walk we meet up with a group of sheep who decided to chew through the rope on the gate and let themselves out so me and Zach herded sheep back into their cage. Quite the experience, not something i want to do regularly. And we also booked our hostel for Paris and then I went for another walk with this girl named Jordi. She is super sweet and we realized jsut how much we have incomman with each other. It has been really nice finally feeling like i have people to talk to here again. I am beginng to grow real friendships with the girls here and it has been so amazing just to see where everyone has come from. I am realizing how important deep connections with girls are. I also got to watch some glee with the girls from room three. I am in room two and our whole room is really close with room three and so we end up spending a lot of time in each others room. Its a lot of fun. Friday night there was open mic night with lots of singing and that and then a few of us went outside and watched a movie under the stars with blankets and popcorn. It was a great way to end a wonderful day. Its so crazy to think that its November and we can still enjoy being outside.
Saturday was our trip to silverdale so there was about 20 or so people form school who went. We walked along the ocean and through this forest, it was a good hour or so walk. It was so beautiful and nice to see the ocean again as well as something different. It is so easy to see the same people and the same things around here again and again. The rest of the day i just relaxed watched some more Glee and a movie. I also went swimming with a few girls and then just hung out went for a walk, talked to my dad for a bit which was really nice. I believe we are also doing Dublin for after Paris so Christmas plans are almost done. Today has just been Church and the speaker was good but I couldnt sit through the whole thing my back is hurting a lot today. There is also a meeting today for people who have had parents who have divorced.
I am honestly having a great time here and becoming really good friends with people here and learning so much. Its been an amazing experience so far and I am looking forward to the next 4 months and for christmas travels. The weather here has been amazing and sunny with some rain and more clouds but no snow.
Love you all
Monday was fairly normal, tues I had a doctors appointment which turned out that my back is hurting because my kidneys are slightly infected. I am still waiting to hear back from the lasted test results on what is fully wrong with it. But until then if you could all just pray for my health and the pain in my back . The pain is intensive and quite horrible. It hurts when i sit or stand as long as i am moving I am doing alright and so lectures this week were hard. It was hard to stay concentrated and focused on what the lecturers were saying. Other then That i am just waiting to hear back from my test and hope that my body isnt too messed up. So hopefully this pain goes away because it is not a fun thing really.
We had two guest speakers this week one named Cristi who spoke on Sunday. i quite enjoyed him , he encouraged us to read deeper in the the passages that we were going over with him. He was speaking on the sermon on the mount, and he was able to encourage me. Our other lecturer this week was Derek Stringer, who was alright, who speaks on a radio and you can defiantly tell. his voice is monotoned and during night lectures it can truthfully put you to sleep. He was quite funny and did have some good things to say but not my favourite speaker. He spoke on Colossians.
Tuesday our essay was also due and so I finished and handed that in on Monday and so I was able to go to lancaster on Tuesday and we booked our train tickets to Paris and also our hostel in London.
Wednesday was kinda a slack day, we went into Carnforth again and then just spent more time trying to figure out Christmas travels. Thursday was a great day we walked the loop a few times and I walked to this little cafe down the canal with Zach. It was a lot of fun, and a nice change of senary. There was little mini sheep and no i dont mean lambs, they were full grown but they were mini. So so very cute i wanted to steal one. There was also this really really quant cute little store with all sorts of nick knacks. I think its going to be my new favourite hang out place while I am here. I am planning to go there a few times this next week with some girls here.
Friday was a blast, i really enjoyed the day and everything it had to offer. I had cleaning duty so I had to go around and give everyone clean sheets and so we ended up finishing early so we got to go lie down and relax a little bit before lunch. After lunch I walked the loop and it has been so sunny and gorgeous here. As we were comning back from our walk we meet up with a group of sheep who decided to chew through the rope on the gate and let themselves out so me and Zach herded sheep back into their cage. Quite the experience, not something i want to do regularly. And we also booked our hostel for Paris and then I went for another walk with this girl named Jordi. She is super sweet and we realized jsut how much we have incomman with each other. It has been really nice finally feeling like i have people to talk to here again. I am beginng to grow real friendships with the girls here and it has been so amazing just to see where everyone has come from. I am realizing how important deep connections with girls are. I also got to watch some glee with the girls from room three. I am in room two and our whole room is really close with room three and so we end up spending a lot of time in each others room. Its a lot of fun. Friday night there was open mic night with lots of singing and that and then a few of us went outside and watched a movie under the stars with blankets and popcorn. It was a great way to end a wonderful day. Its so crazy to think that its November and we can still enjoy being outside.
Saturday was our trip to silverdale so there was about 20 or so people form school who went. We walked along the ocean and through this forest, it was a good hour or so walk. It was so beautiful and nice to see the ocean again as well as something different. It is so easy to see the same people and the same things around here again and again. The rest of the day i just relaxed watched some more Glee and a movie. I also went swimming with a few girls and then just hung out went for a walk, talked to my dad for a bit which was really nice. I believe we are also doing Dublin for after Paris so Christmas plans are almost done. Today has just been Church and the speaker was good but I couldnt sit through the whole thing my back is hurting a lot today. There is also a meeting today for people who have had parents who have divorced.
I am honestly having a great time here and becoming really good friends with people here and learning so much. Its been an amazing experience so far and I am looking forward to the next 4 months and for christmas travels. The weather here has been amazing and sunny with some rain and more clouds but no snow.
Love you all
Sunday 13 November 2011
What a wonderful God !!
It's already the beginning of week 8, its hard to believe how fast time has gone by. I am loving everyday here, more and more. I am beginning to see the glory of everything, and just realizing how blessed I am. It has been an overall decent week, with a few crazy moments. My body has just been ever so kind to me this week. I having a very painful back pains right now with someother aches and pains though out my body as well as contuniation of my stomach problem or joy is me. Whatever I am surviving and doing well other then that. Our week has been pretty un eventful and dull. It has been nice most of the week with a few times of rain and mostly jsut cloudly times. Saturday and Sunday where absolutely gorgeous. It sucks cause they were suppose to be my essay writing days but its hard to do when you just want to go outside and enjoy the wonderful weather. We have been blessed over here with the weather thats for sure. Everyone told me that it just rains and is cloudy all the time here which I am thinking that the weather back home is worse then the weather here.
So this past week what has happened I dont really remember too too much. I have been trying to socialize with some of the other girls and so I have been out on walks and talks with a few of the girls in my hall. Last Sunday we had our typical sunday chruch servicce Brady, our RA did the sermon on encouraging each other. So we all wrote letters of encouragement to each other. Later we had our evening service which the Koreans did the worship and then some of the staff shared their testimonies with us. The Koreans did such an amazing job or worship. They have this way of truly showing their passion for Christ though music. Its always a blast when ever they do worship. Mon-thurs were lectures as usually. Although monday and tuesday we did walk through the new testament with Paul keeys. And then the rest of the week was lectures on the upper room discourse with Rob or principle. His lectures this week were amazing, it got us to realy take time and think about what we believe and why and then having the information to back up what we believe with things from the bible. This week I also went to town did some grocery shopping and just hung out and went for walks and started my essay and reading. Friday was seminar day for me, se it was on Singleness and Sexuality, it was interesting to say the least. Friday was a really good day overall. I went for a walk with this girl named Jessica from Alaska. She is so sweet and nice and we had a really amazing talk about jsut how amazing being here is and how awesome God is. We reflected on all that we have learned and talked about things back home. It was nice to talk to someone finally on a bit of a deeper level, and to be able to get my thoughts out and heard and to jsut hear how someone else is doing with being here. Its so easy to know everyone by name but it is hard to feel like you really know anyone. There are 173 people here and I feel like so often you jsut know their names and not really know them on a deeper level. I am beginning to feel like I need those deeper relationships with girls like the ones i have at home. I dearly miss my girls back home and just the fun crazy times we have and how they know me better then anyone here. I miss you guys! Friday I also got working on my essay and ended up talking with this girl named Chelsea who is super sweet and is from Wisconsin. I have talked to her before but not actually sat down and talked to her. It was a good day for getting to know people and jsut talking and socializing. Later that night we ended up doing a worship night, which was a lot of fun and we focused on just all the blessing we have. We also spent the evening watching the show Community. Saturday I worked on my essay for a bit and went for a walk a few times and jsut relaxed. Saturday night we did an auction for Kenya and Romania. I bought a chance to do christmas baking and also I bought the most expensive cookies I have ever bought, they were really good. Today we had church service and Christy this guy who is going to be our lecturer for the week did the sermon. He spoke on Matthew 6:28. I continued to work on my essay, I am almost done only 300 more words and we also did roomates picture. I also got a picture with a sheep today.
We just got back from our evening worship service which was pretty good.
This week is just another typical week, although we are planning and booking all our train and plane tickets for christmas. Our plans are starting to come into place, I am extremely looking forward to spending time in london and paris. Please continue to pray for health and safety for me over here. Also my dads dad isnt doing so well so if you can pray for his health and safety as well. Thank you I love you and miss you all so much
So this past week what has happened I dont really remember too too much. I have been trying to socialize with some of the other girls and so I have been out on walks and talks with a few of the girls in my hall. Last Sunday we had our typical sunday chruch servicce Brady, our RA did the sermon on encouraging each other. So we all wrote letters of encouragement to each other. Later we had our evening service which the Koreans did the worship and then some of the staff shared their testimonies with us. The Koreans did such an amazing job or worship. They have this way of truly showing their passion for Christ though music. Its always a blast when ever they do worship. Mon-thurs were lectures as usually. Although monday and tuesday we did walk through the new testament with Paul keeys. And then the rest of the week was lectures on the upper room discourse with Rob or principle. His lectures this week were amazing, it got us to realy take time and think about what we believe and why and then having the information to back up what we believe with things from the bible. This week I also went to town did some grocery shopping and just hung out and went for walks and started my essay and reading. Friday was seminar day for me, se it was on Singleness and Sexuality, it was interesting to say the least. Friday was a really good day overall. I went for a walk with this girl named Jessica from Alaska. She is so sweet and nice and we had a really amazing talk about jsut how amazing being here is and how awesome God is. We reflected on all that we have learned and talked about things back home. It was nice to talk to someone finally on a bit of a deeper level, and to be able to get my thoughts out and heard and to jsut hear how someone else is doing with being here. Its so easy to know everyone by name but it is hard to feel like you really know anyone. There are 173 people here and I feel like so often you jsut know their names and not really know them on a deeper level. I am beginning to feel like I need those deeper relationships with girls like the ones i have at home. I dearly miss my girls back home and just the fun crazy times we have and how they know me better then anyone here. I miss you guys! Friday I also got working on my essay and ended up talking with this girl named Chelsea who is super sweet and is from Wisconsin. I have talked to her before but not actually sat down and talked to her. It was a good day for getting to know people and jsut talking and socializing. Later that night we ended up doing a worship night, which was a lot of fun and we focused on just all the blessing we have. We also spent the evening watching the show Community. Saturday I worked on my essay for a bit and went for a walk a few times and jsut relaxed. Saturday night we did an auction for Kenya and Romania. I bought a chance to do christmas baking and also I bought the most expensive cookies I have ever bought, they were really good. Today we had church service and Christy this guy who is going to be our lecturer for the week did the sermon. He spoke on Matthew 6:28. I continued to work on my essay, I am almost done only 300 more words and we also did roomates picture. I also got a picture with a sheep today.
We just got back from our evening worship service which was pretty good.
This week is just another typical week, although we are planning and booking all our train and plane tickets for christmas. Our plans are starting to come into place, I am extremely looking forward to spending time in london and paris. Please continue to pray for health and safety for me over here. Also my dads dad isnt doing so well so if you can pray for his health and safety as well. Thank you I love you and miss you all so much
Sunday 6 November 2011
Fruit of the spirit!!
This week has turned out to be a pretty crazy week, in a few different ways. Our week was rather short cause we only had lectures on Tuesday and Wednesday. We had all our lectures on Revelation, which was pretty awesome, our lecturer this week was by far my favourite. He had his view on things but he also allowed us and enabled us to figure out what we thought on it as well. He was a great person to listen to and he went up and I think at least talked to each of us students at least once. Thursday we had our day of prayer which was nice to be able to sit in quiet and pray and just reflect on everything. Our theme for prayer day was the fruit of the spirits, so to be able to reflect on where we are in comparsion to where we should be was a good way to just regroup and rethink. I found that I myself feel like being here the fruits (Love, joy, peace, Kindness, Gentleness, Goodness, Patienteness, and self control) of the spirit our growing inside of me. I am not perfect in them at all but I can feel a change in my attitude in some ways. I am growing slowly but I am growing which is what counts. We ended the day with doing an evening services which was lead by the Koreans, they do such a good job.
Yesterday was our seminar/ cleaning day, I was on cleaning duty for the day and so I had to collect all the dirty sheets and then put out the new clean sheets in everyones room. It was kinda gross in the way the this week the flu has been going around the school. It hit hard and fast, a 24 hour flu that really knocked you out. It is slowly leaving and everyone is starting to feel better. I myself never actually got sick but I have been very tired and exhausted and a tad stressed out which has increased the good old stomach pains once more. I also had to clean the conference hall one last time and so I was purely exhausted by the end of the day and so it was nice to just go to bed and sleep in for once. We did a roomies night yesterday and just hung out and ate food and talked till late evening.
I slept in today until 10 and had brunch and spent some time alone and reading my bible. It was the perfect day it was gorgeous out and sunny and not windy. I sat outside for a bit to just enjoy the fresh air and the beauty around me. I realized today that God is wanting me to live in the now, the today, not the future. I often find my self trying to plan for the future and wanting God to tell me what i am suppose to do with my life. I realized today though that God wants me here for a reason, his plan is for me here for me to enjoy my time learning and growing. So that one day I will be ready for his plan for me, until then he wants me to be happy and enjoy life and live it to the very fullest. I also realized how much he loves me, he provided a way for me to come here, he also has shown me how wonderful he is. I love being here and learning and growing. I love experiencing God in a whole new light.
This week has also been a week full of different stresses of sorts, i have finally started unpacking some of the baggage that I brought with me here and not the luggage baggage. That I unpacked long ago, emotional baggage, I am feeling very at peace with my baggage and having people to talk and discuss it with has helped a lot. This week I also realized the people I was suppose to be travelling with for christmas, that it wasnt going to work out at all. We weren't meant to travel together we just kept butting heads when in Scotland. So we have had to regroup and me and Brianna have had to figure out a new plan. We are still going to travel but we are thinking about going with Beth and Christy and spending Christmas in London with Beths family and then spend New Years in Paris and hopefully finish off in Amsterdam. The plans are still up in the air but thats what we are wanting to do and proabably end up meeting up with people in the last week. Also this week my friend Zach had a nice little lung problem which he went to the doctors and then got xrays but he is doing much better. Overall it was an eventful week other then there being lack of internet all week our internet has been absolutely horrible.
We had a bonfire last night over by the pond here. Yesterday was a big day here in England just becuase of the fact that it is Guy Fox Day and so everyone around here has big bon fires and lights off fireworks and all that jazz.
Yesterday was our seminar/ cleaning day, I was on cleaning duty for the day and so I had to collect all the dirty sheets and then put out the new clean sheets in everyones room. It was kinda gross in the way the this week the flu has been going around the school. It hit hard and fast, a 24 hour flu that really knocked you out. It is slowly leaving and everyone is starting to feel better. I myself never actually got sick but I have been very tired and exhausted and a tad stressed out which has increased the good old stomach pains once more. I also had to clean the conference hall one last time and so I was purely exhausted by the end of the day and so it was nice to just go to bed and sleep in for once. We did a roomies night yesterday and just hung out and ate food and talked till late evening.
I slept in today until 10 and had brunch and spent some time alone and reading my bible. It was the perfect day it was gorgeous out and sunny and not windy. I sat outside for a bit to just enjoy the fresh air and the beauty around me. I realized today that God is wanting me to live in the now, the today, not the future. I often find my self trying to plan for the future and wanting God to tell me what i am suppose to do with my life. I realized today though that God wants me here for a reason, his plan is for me here for me to enjoy my time learning and growing. So that one day I will be ready for his plan for me, until then he wants me to be happy and enjoy life and live it to the very fullest. I also realized how much he loves me, he provided a way for me to come here, he also has shown me how wonderful he is. I love being here and learning and growing. I love experiencing God in a whole new light.
This week has also been a week full of different stresses of sorts, i have finally started unpacking some of the baggage that I brought with me here and not the luggage baggage. That I unpacked long ago, emotional baggage, I am feeling very at peace with my baggage and having people to talk and discuss it with has helped a lot. This week I also realized the people I was suppose to be travelling with for christmas, that it wasnt going to work out at all. We weren't meant to travel together we just kept butting heads when in Scotland. So we have had to regroup and me and Brianna have had to figure out a new plan. We are still going to travel but we are thinking about going with Beth and Christy and spending Christmas in London with Beths family and then spend New Years in Paris and hopefully finish off in Amsterdam. The plans are still up in the air but thats what we are wanting to do and proabably end up meeting up with people in the last week. Also this week my friend Zach had a nice little lung problem which he went to the doctors and then got xrays but he is doing much better. Overall it was an eventful week other then there being lack of internet all week our internet has been absolutely horrible.
We had a bonfire last night over by the pond here. Yesterday was a big day here in England just becuase of the fact that it is Guy Fox Day and so everyone around here has big bon fires and lights off fireworks and all that jazz.
Tuesday 1 November 2011
We came, we saw, we conquered...Scotland
We got back yesterday from an amazing weekend away. The weekend defiantly had some highs as well as some lows. Spending 3 straight days with 4 girls was bound to have some crabby moments. Day 1 we learned that we should not allow lunch to wait untill two and that we should start looking for a place to eat at like 12:30. Girls with no food in belly and doing a lot of walking can be quite destructive. So what all did we do exactly, well we woke up walked the streets of Edinburgh visited the famous castle. I thought it was pretty sweet, it was rather large and old, making it really cool. We also shopped, very bad and dangerous. However during our shopping experience we ran into 3 guys from our school who we took them shopping, so that we could help find the one new clothes. Which was funny because just this past week we had talked about helping him find better clothes. He looks a lot better, trust me on this one, it was an amazing transformation as long as he can keep it up. We ended up going for dinner and just hanging out. Sunday we slept in a bit, did some more shopping, went up to these ruins on this little mound. You could see over all of Edinburgh. I ended up going up again with one of my friends from the school who i meet up with . It was amazing to see in the day time but at night it was unbelievable, speechless. I loved it so much probably my favourite thing was just the amazing buildings and how everything is so old and so beautiful. I almost want to stay here and live in Europe forever, I can defiantly see why some people said I would never come home.We did have pretty amazing weather while we were there other then a lot of wind and a bit of rain but we all survived and made it home safe and sound, ready to sleep in our own bed with all our stuff and free food.
This week is a little different we only have lectures today and tomorrow. Thursday we do a day of prayer, so in preparation for that they suggest fasting from the media for a few days, so internet, tv, music, so that it can allow you before hand to become used to the quietness. I am looking forward to the day of prayer, i think it'll give a much needed time to think and pray of course. For those who are praying for me back home, continue to pray for my health and safety but also for my sanity. Its hard living with so many people sometimes. But also lately, I have just felt lonely for the people back home, for my support group, my friends my family. I may be surrounded by so many people but at the same time its not the same. Also pray for my friend Zach who is having problems with a lung of his. Before he came his lung partially collapsed and he says it is starting to feel like it did before it collapsed.
This week is a little different we only have lectures today and tomorrow. Thursday we do a day of prayer, so in preparation for that they suggest fasting from the media for a few days, so internet, tv, music, so that it can allow you before hand to become used to the quietness. I am looking forward to the day of prayer, i think it'll give a much needed time to think and pray of course. For those who are praying for me back home, continue to pray for my health and safety but also for my sanity. Its hard living with so many people sometimes. But also lately, I have just felt lonely for the people back home, for my support group, my friends my family. I may be surrounded by so many people but at the same time its not the same. Also pray for my friend Zach who is having problems with a lung of his. Before he came his lung partially collapsed and he says it is starting to feel like it did before it collapsed.
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