A White Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas from Oklahoma!

This is the worst winter storm we have had in 10 years apparently! It is seriously insane but kinda fun! My brother and I spent most of Christmas Eve with my 13 month old cousin, Braxton, while his mom and dad we stuck at work all day! Melissa got home around 5:30 pm and Justin FINALLY, after about 4 hours of trying to get home, got home around 9:30 pm. Dad got stuck at home, so we weren't with him at all on Christmas Eve and don't know if we will get to be with him on Christmas Day because the roads are so bad. It doesn't feel like Christmas this year at all but its been pretty fun and I have laughed a lot :) Last night Justin, Melissa, Jake, and I made snow ice cream and played scattergories! I am terrible at the game but still love it!

Right now everyone is still asleep, so I decided to take advantage of the little bit of alone time I have! Its quiet and peaceful! And I don't feel like that is how my life has been the past couple weeks... or really just week and a half since I have been home! I have been crazy busy catching up with family and friends!! Its been great seeing people, but weird too. Nothing has changed really. Everything is exactly as I left it. I hate feeling like this, but sometimes I tend to feel like I didn't even leave. It's only in my quiet time that I GET to stop and think about it. So I really probably just need to take a day alone and process. My sweet friend Becca, who is a missionary in Mexico, keeps yelling at me to take time to process. No excuses.

Also, I went to Amarillo, TX on tuesday and wednesday with a group from Cashion, Ok, led by Mitch and Krista Houston, who have some of the biggest hearts for people I have ever known. We worked with an organization called Faith City Ministries. It was really really cool! We got to hear testimony after testimony of how the Lord is so faithful, even to those of us who are not faithful to Him. We went basically just to put on a Christmas party for the students at FCM and it was successful! While the party was going on, I was helping watch about 15 kids, 4 of which were infants, and if you know me at all, you know I was holding a baby the whole time! She was 2 months old and was about the size of a new born. She was tiny. She had 2 older brothers, around 2 and 5 years old, and their mom was about a year younger then me. Check out what FCM is doing for people and how its changing lives everyday.

Wow... I am not very good at transitioning... How am I supposed to go from that to Merry Christmas?

Merry Christmas! I am so thankful that God sent His son Jesus, to take on flesh and save me from a life condemned to hell. We serve an AWESOME God.

God Bless You this Christmas day!

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^a]" the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Luke 2: 8-12

Happy Thanksgiving!!

This is some of the JV team on our boat ride after Thanksgiving!!

This is our 2nd turkey dinner at our church on Saturday!

I hope you had a very Happy Thanksgiving! I did! It was really hard being away from all my family, but I couldn't help but to be thankful for where the Lord has placed me!! And I got to have two turkey dinners... One with the JVSlo team on Thanksgiving Day and another with people from church on Saturday! I am so thankful this year! Especially for the past 6 months!! And all of my family, friends, and supporters who have made it possible! Words will never be able to express how thankful I am to and for all of you!!

Tomorrow I am taking an 8 hour train ride to Prague. I am really excited! I have wanted to see Prague for a long time now and I am finally going to get to! I am a little nervous about the train ride alone, but trust that I am in the Lord's hands! I will be going into schools wed- friday helping with English and promoting a concert put on by a band called Dizmas... this link will tell you more... they put on a concert at the end of the week and share the Gospel! I'll be helping them out this week. Then I'll come home on Saturday! Right in time for the last youth group that I will get to be a part of...

Then next tuesday-thursday, we are going up to the castle that we had English camp for a prayer retreat! I cannot tell how excited I am for this!! The founder and leader of JV, will be putting this on for us! It is going to be a very powerful time!! A great way to spend my last couple days in Slovenia. Then the next Tuesday, I get on a flight to come home... I cannot believe I am leaving in two weeks! I have so many mixed emotions! So if you think about it, keep me in your prayers! It will be a difficult transition!

The clock is ticking!

Last week I went to Vatja, Hungary for a conference called Speakers Week at a bible college. A couple people I know from church went there for school and it was cool to get to see part of their world. We had a great time of fellowship together... Unfortunately, when I took so many awesome pics of the place, I didn't have my memory card in my camera! Boo... So I won't be able to get the pics off my camera until I get home... I think the main thing that I took away from the week was to pray with OUTRAGEOUS EXPECTATION!! I am excited to see what God has for me when I come to Him with outrageous expectation! Can't wait :)

This week will be filled with lots of Thanksgiving festivities! Thursday and Friday is our Thanksgiving retreat with our team in Slovenia! It's going to be awesome! And then Saturday we are doing another Thanksgiving in at our church! So I need to not eat for the next 3 days :) I am so excited to cook and bake with Johnny and Brooke for the meals! I think half the fun is the preparation with family :) I will be thinking of my Grandma this week because its always our job to make all the cookies for our family's Thanksgiving and its one of my favorite things in the world! I will miss cooking with her this year!

We have a tradition, to go around the table after our Thanksgiving meal, and each one of us say what we are thankful for that year... There are always lots of laughs and lots of tears... it seems like most years I don't make it through without crying...

So what are you thankful for this year? I know what I am thankful for, but that's a whole other blog in and of its self... I will share later :)

5 weeks :(

Not a ton to update! Im doing swell!! My aunt and uncle came to visit about a week ago and it was a blast having my family here and getting to show them my world and why I love it and show them my family here :) J and B were so gracious to let them stay with us for 3 days! I took them hiking, went to the castle, gave them slovenian food, and introduced them to Lara and Maja, and the church crew! We also played cards and they made delicious davetos alfredo sauce for us!! It was soooo awesome! It was sad to see them go :( But I was really excited at the same time because they are getting to see and experience Europe for the first time!! Parts that I haven't!!

We had such a fun youth group on saturday! We played star wars mafia and Johnny shared a little bit about what God is teaching him and it was really good! It was a great night together!
my time here is unfortunately ticking away very quickly! I dont want to think about leaving... so I wont! :) OHHHH andddddd I made my FAVORITE oatmeal raisin cookies, it is my Grandma's delicious recipe. And took them to youth group!!! SOOOO GOOD!!

Tonight, Mateja and Tanja are coming over and I am excited to see them!! Hopefully J, B, and I will get to play our new favorite card game called pitch that Dave and Tamma taught us! We love it but you can only play with five people and there are only three of us! However, last night I tried to show them another fun game that Dave and Tam taught, but I couldn't remember all the rules so we kinda made them up and it was so fun! Even though Brooke and I got schooled by Johnny! Of course! It was still fun though!!

Ok sorry no pics today! But lots of love! :)

snow!!!!!

Harvest Party!

HARVEST PARTY TIME!!

Carving pumpkins!

My sweet Maja!!

Our scarecrow and decorations!

Last Saturday night we had a harvest party with the youth and it was so much! We played pictionary, roasted chestnuts, carved pumpkins, and ate lots of yummy food!! We had a blast!

October 25, 2009

"This is the day the Lord has made, let us will rejoice and be glad in it."
-Psalm 118:24

Pokey, Greg, Johnny, and me
Right before the race started and so excited!!

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." - 2 Cor. 12:9

"...let us run with perserverance the race marked out for us." -Hebrews 12:1
Johnny and I sprinting to cross the finish line!

"Run in such a way as to get the prize." - 1 Cor. 9:24
Johnny and I feeling so happy that we finished in 2 hours and 10 minutes!! 5 minutes faster then what I hoped for!

"Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom." - Psalm 145:3

"...let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." -Hebrew 10:24
Couldn't have done it without this incredible encourager for the past 10 weeks of training!

One of the best days of my life. Right now I don't have a ton of words except how thankful I am and that I give the Lord all the praise and glory for this accomplishment! It was not by my own strength that I did this :) He is so good and so faithful to provide my every need.

Tomorrow!

Holy smokes! Well tomorrow we are getting up early to drive to Ljubljana for the 14th Ljubljana Marathon!! Race startes at 10:30 am! Brooke and Polona are going to be Johnny and I's encouragers throughout the race! There are also a few people that came down from Czech that are staying with us and will be running the race as well! However, one of them is running the whole marathon and the other is running the half like Johnny and I. I am getting very excited but really nervous for some reason :) You know like that nervous/excited feeling in your stomach!! Because in exactly 24 hours the race will begin!! Right now its raining here but the forecast says that tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day! So I am praying for great weather!!

Also, I just need to say thank you to my sweet sweet friend Amanda, who sent me the most encouraging email last week, with so many verses with the analogy of running, that I will be quoting to myself the whole time :) I have my playlist on my ipod all ready to go! I have been drinking lots of water and peeing like crazy to keep my self hydrated! I don't want to be passing out or anything! I have been trying to get my carbs in this week andddd yea... I think that's all!! Oh and I have my new running shoes!! Thank you Asics! So thank you everyone that have been encouraging me up to this point and who have encouraged me not to quit! (Brooke, Johnny, Kel, Amanda, Elizabeth) I will be thinking of you while I am running! While at the same time totally focusing on the Lord who is giving the ability, and body, and strength, and lungs, and heart, etc to do this!! I am so thankful :)

K... I am going for a short little run to keep the muscles loose or something :) I will update asap!! Thank you for your prayers and support!!!!!!!!!!!

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. -Hebrews 12:1-3

just cause!

Here's a fun little survey I found on someone else's blog. You are only supposed to use one word or a short phrase for your answer-- to kind of keep everyone guessing! :) Pass it on if you are the survey type!

1. Where is your cell phone? dunno

2. Your hair? down

3. Your mother? miss her :(

4. Your father? miss him

5. Your favorite food? bananas

6. Your dream last night? no thanks

7. Your favorite drink? pear juice

8. Your dream/goal? ....

9. What room are you in? Mine

10. Your hobby? reading blogs???

11. Your fear? others

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? haha!

13. Where were you last night? a musical

14. Something that you aren’t? confrontational

15. Muffins? yum

16. Wish list item? im content

17. Where did you grow up? everywhere! :)

18. Last thing you did? talked to becca

19. What are you wearing? Comfy's

20. Your TV? what tv?

21. Your pets? eww no pets

22. Friends? far away

23. Your life? Jesus

24. Your mood? thankful

25. Missing someone? troy

26. Vehicle? wish i had one

27. Something you’re not wearing? socks

28. Your favorite store? bla bla....

29. Your favorite color? gray

30. When was the last time you laughed? a few minutes ago

31. Last time you cried? dont remember :(

32. Your best friend? so blessed

33. One place that I go to over and over? bathroom

34. One person who emails me regularly? fb

35. Favorite place to eat? maggie moo's

happy birthdays!

Kel and me at Kendi's wedding!

So this week, or really from Thursday until today, I have celebrated FIVE, yes count them FIVE birthdays!! Thursday was Kelly and Luka's Birthday, Friday was Brooke's birthday and Saturday was Naomi's birthday and today is my Mom's birthday. So I have been to 3 birthday parties in the past 4 days. One thursday night, one friday night, and one sunday night!! Oh And in two weeks from today is my sister's birthday! Insane!! All these birthdays! So fun!

But I really wanted to just send a little love from one friend to another, from one side of the world to the other!! Kelly has been one of my best friends for about 3 years now! We were R.A's together our junior year of college! Kel is seriously one of the most loyal friends I have and someone that I can tell anything and everything to... but I have already done a whole blog just about how great she is so if you want to know more about how incredible of a friend she is to me, you can read my blog about her :) Hope you had a great birthday kel! I love you so so so much!! Thank you for who you are in my life! You are a huge blessing and gift to me!!

Me and Brooke out for her birthday lunch at Čajna Hiša!

Well, I don't know how long you want me to talk about Brooke and the impact she has made on my life in the past year... bc it could take me all day and I am not kidding! She immediately felt like family to me! It's not very often that I feel that with someone and so quickly! Really she is one of the biggest blessings the Lord has given me in my life! Her friendship and mentorship has changed me and my life! I am different and better person because of Brooke. I really mean that! The Lord has spoken significant truth through her countless times in the past year of knowing her! I am so blessed by her and so thankful for her investment in my life! She will never know :) For her birthday I gave her a thank you card instead of a birthday card bc I found it more appropriate and maybe thats weird but I was just so thankful for her birthday... haha! I thank the Lord everyday for her!! Brooke, I words cant express what you mean to me! Thank you for everything! I love you more then words!!

It's been another great week! I feel like I have said this a lot lately but this is and has been the best FALL season of my life for so many reasons!! Last night, I couldn't sleep because I was just thinking and my brain wouldn't shut up, but while I had all that time to think, I just thought about how joyful I am and how happy I am and how great this season in my life has been! Its been and continues to be an invaluable season in my life!! I feel so at peace and its a glorious blessing from the Lord Himself!!

Oh and another reason I couldn't sleep is because I am so excited that tamma and dave (my aunt and uncle) are coming NEXT WEEK!!!!!!! I will get to spend just a few days with them but I am thrilled for the time that we will get!! Time is flying by! I only have 8 weeks left! I have so many mixed emotions! But no worries!! :) Life is good!! God is good!!!!!

"The Lord is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your Lord." -Psalm 45:11

Ales, Polona, Whitney, Erin, and Justin
Brooke, Me, and Amy
Johnny, Marko, and Matej

Celebrating Brooke's 29th birthday!!

The group here in Celje that I go to church with and hang out with most Friday nights for our shows, So You Think You Can Dance and Flash Forward!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA!!

This is my beautiful Mom! Do we look alike?? :) Today is her birthday! And I kind of think that she did a great job raising my sister, brother, and I and I hope she knows that! I will never understand how she did it all and with a smile on her face! I wouldn't be who I am today without her, obviously!! She has taught me so many things! So many things that she probably doesn't even know! She is one of the most selfless, giving people I know! She is incredibly generous and I just miss her so much! I wish I could be with her this day! I love her so much! And I am so thankful for my mom! So I thought she needed and deserved and is worthy of a blog just for her :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA!!! I LOVE YOUUUU!!!

prayer requests...

1. My cousin Angie and her husband Bobby. About a week ago their house burned to the ground. The only thing they got out in time were their dogs and themselves. They are my age and I haven't gotten to talk to her yet and I am just grieving with them over the loss of their home... Yes, its just stuff, however, its also memories of a life. Ya know... Ang is a pretty avid journaler and her journals from the time she was 8, were in her house and pictures, etc... you can imagine. Things that you cant get back.

2. Also my cousin Nicole and her family. Nicole is getting ready to have baby #2 in a couple months, which is sooo exciting, but she is going through a lot of stress with different things so just pray for peace and guidance!

3. I have a friend here, who will remain nameless, who is searching. :) Its exciting, but if you could pray for a soft and open heart! God is so good!

4. I only have 2 more months here in this incredible country and there are lots of mixed emotions that come with being overseas! So... if could just continue praying through this journey with me, I would greatly appreciate it!

And just so you know, if you cant tell by other blogs, I am doing really well! Really loving this season of life! I am so blessed! Today was another great day here in Slovenia... the first cold day... like the for real, its getting cold kind of day. I am a little sad that my mom is oklahoma with the sis and nephew and bro without me... BUT I am happy that she is getting that time!

Ok time for skype with my favorite little brother :)

i cant decide what to title this!

Crystal was right! Its time for an update!

This is a picture of when we went go cart-ing... I am not sure how to say that :) This is me, Giva, and Lara. It was fun! I got fourth place out of all the girls! Ha... I think there were only 7 girls total. I didn't really know anyone except Lara, but I met a couple people. I am still hanging out with Lara and Maja!! I got to have a really interesting conversation with Lara about what she believes and then I got to share what I believe. I am really excited to continue talking through some of these things with her! I got to meet some significant people in their lives :) So thats fun! I really enjoy those sisters!

Johnny, Brooke, and Me :)

This was last Monday on our day off! It was seriously one of the best days ever! We walked around town with our mint hot chocolate and ate roasted chestnuts! I now like them after trying them 3 times!! It has been and incredible fall here!! Best ever!!

Wednesday, we had our monthly team meeting in Ljubljana! It was a productive, informative meeting! It is always so good to see everyone! I love the structure of our team here in Slovenia! They feel more like a family, then just team members!! What a blessing!!

This week we had youth group! 5 students showed up and we had printed out some current event articles and talked about them! It was cool to get our minds thinking about things going on around the world and how it does or doesn't affect us. I was reminded of how small I am, but how thankful that I serve a God that still loves little, tiny, me :) Then we came back to Johnny and Brooke's to watch the soccer game and play mexican train! FUN!

Yesterday in church, I had the kids! Well the toddlers! They are so cute and fun! THEN, Johnny and I ran 10 MILES!! It was seriously the most perfect weather and day to run! It was probably the fastest, best, long run I have ever had. We both felt like we were going at a faster pace then normal, but it felt so good! We ran for about an hour and 45 minutes! Brooke was so kind to bring us water about an hour into our run! Why was it the best feeling to see her, I don't know, but it was so encouraging! She is the best encourager EVER!!! So then Johnny and I finished our run! I am so thankful that she will be there to encourage us October 25th, at the marathon! Oh and I don't know if I mentioned but Johnny just started running with me a week ago... Insane that he just busted out 10 miles! And did a great job!

Today is Monday! And can I just say, thank the Lord for days of rest! Again, Mondays are our days off so really enjoy them to the fullest! I woke up today to rain! Ahhh, its the best feeling ever when its raining outside and you know you get to stay inside all day and chill! So Johnny made home-made butter milk biscuits and then we watched the BRONCO game with our hot chocolate! Can I just say, GO BRONCOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSAHHH!!! I mean what a GREAT day!! Haha! We all three keep saying what a great day this is!

Brooke is making BBQ chicken for dinner and my stomach is growling because it smells soooo good!! I am seriously so blessed to live with J and B! I really haven't craved any food because I eat SOOO GOOD here!! They are awesome and most of the time when I think about the impact they have and continue to make in my life, I get choked up! I am sure that I will blog about that later... like a thanksgiving blog or something BUT I am a strong believer in not waiting til a season or event or holiday to tell someone how much they mean to you and how much you love them! Every thanksgiving, its a family tradition to go around the dinner table and say what we are thankful for that year and I already know what I am thankful for this year and its Johnny and Brooke! :) I wish everyone had a Johnny and Brooke in their life. I DON'T take them for granted! Ok... well I wasn't planning on going on going off about how incredible they are, but I went there!

I pray that you enjoy your Monday as much as I am! There is a little update for ya! Much love from Slovenia!

"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you, Do not be afraid; don not be discouraged." -Deut 31:8

OCTOBER!!!!

Nothing super significant to mention today but just a quick update! First... I CANNOT BELIEVE ITS ALREADY OCTOBER 3! Crazy!! I love fall and this may just be my first year to recognize my love for it! Anyway!

Last Saturday we had youth group! Only 4 showed up but we still had fun! Playing forks (yes forks, not spoons, but they were plastic so it wasn't that bad. I think I was the only one with an injury:) not really just a little slice, no big) and rock band!

Petra, me, and Maja at youth group!

Sunday night we had a birthday party for Erin, our pastor's wife. She turned 30!!! That was fun! We ate lots of yummy food! (My fav was Brooke's incredible bean dip, there are no words) Then watched the new show Flash Forward! Really good! I think we are going to enjoy it!

Justin, Erin, Johnny, and Brooke
(My pastor and his wife)

This week... I have been hanging out with Maja and Lara a lot! It has been really nice and fun! One night we got ice cream and roasted chestnuts! Chestnuts are a huge thing here in the fall!! I dont know if I love them, but I still eat them :) We grabbed coffee one rainy day at this new 50's cafe! Its just like "Grease". I loved it! Then we got lunch at a Mexican Restaurant, if you can call it that! It was yummy though, but not really Mexican like in the states!
So Lara teaches an aerobic class on Tuesday and Friday nights... She invited me to come last night! (I was there for 2 hours because she teaches one at 6 and 7, so I just stayed for both) Needless to say, I am a little sore today, but I love it!

Sorry I don't have any pics of us! But today I am going to ride go carts (or something) with her and her boyfriend, so I will take some pics!!

Wednesday for church, Justin split us into groups and we did a prayer walk around the city in the shape of a cross! It was pretty cool! I was in a group with Marko and Amy and we walked by the schools and stopped and prayed for students that attend! We are praying for soft soil in the city of Celje! There are so many that need the love of Christ!!

This week, I have also been doing a lot of reading! Its becoming a hobby of mine :) I think I mentioned this, but Brooke and I are trying to read through the Bible by the time I leave here December 15th! It's called a Bible read through! Right now I am in Numbers! I have a long way to go :)

Ok well, there is a little bit for now! Hope all is well with your soul! If not, let me know how I can pray for you :)

"But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." Exodus 9:16

I love the smell of clean laundry!

Just needed a change! You like it??

Warning: this could be a pretty random blog!

One... I rolled my ankle last tuesday when i was running on a trail that really wasn't meant for running probably, but more like hiking... normally this wouldn't be that big of a deal, except for the fact that I am training for a 1/2 marathon and its in exactly one month from today! I have been a little discouraged with running this race. I feel like so many things keep tripping me up, literally :) So, I originally started training with a partner and she can't run it anymore. I decided I wouldn't quit. I continued my training and got up to 8 miles into training and then the next day, I rolled my ankle... I let the swelling go down before I was going to try to run on it! (It was pretty huge, I promise I wasn't just being a baby) The morning I was going to go run, I woke up feeling sick, like sinus crap! The Lord answered my prayers by healing that sickness quickly! So yesterday I got up feeling better and went running... UGH... I only ran for like 15 minutes and had to stop... I had an ankle brace on and it was bothering my foot and it was kind of cool outside and my lungs were just hurting... Needless to say, I came home pretty discouraged and my motivation for running is dying!! But last night I talked to kel and she said she had to take 2 weeks off because of shin splints 3 weeks before she did a 1/2, so she gave me some encouragement! I CAN'T GIVE UP!!

on to the next order of business!
I L.O.V.E reading blogs... I think it may be my favorite past time :) so thank you for those consistent blog writers!! and i guess thats all I have to say about that!

next... I thank God for technology every day of my life. Skype is genius! My cousin Danny just got a new computer and getting to see him and my aunt Michelle made my day yesterday! I couldn't stop smiling! They were at my aunt's cabin and it made my heart warm slash sad to feel like I got to be there for a few minutes! Then later on, I was doing my usual skype-ing with my sis (who I miss more then words can say) and when she answered, to my surprise, it was not troy sitting on her lap, but my sweet cousin Braxton! I haven't seen him since May and he is HUGE and has so many teeth and just kept smiling, like the happiest baby ever! It was such a great day! It is kind of like I get to be in two places at once! And I had a great day with a few girls here, clear across the ocean! I grabbed coffee with a couple girls in the morning and then spent some time walking around the city checking out cafe's. Then had pizza with a different couple girls and had a great time with them!! Incredible!! Ohhhh ANDDDD, Sharon, who I nannied for all last year sent me a few video's of the kiddos from her Iphone and they are getting huge and it seriously made me sooo happy!! Uhhh! Loved it!

Ingrid Michaelson (who is my favorite), Regina Spektor, and Colbie Caillat= ALL have great new music out! You should check it out! And a new girl that I listen to is Priscilla Ahn. Just if you want some good new music! I promise I like male vocals too! But it just happens that right now these artists have new music out! But right now my favorite song is not from any of these people... its I Have Found by Kim Walker!

Ok well... I know I had more to talk about but I can't remember anymore... I think tonight we are having people over to watch a movie and hang out! Life is GOOD! Really... I serve the most loving, gracious God! It seriously brings me to tears sometimes! He wants good things for us, He wants to bless us, why do I ever doubt that?

I wanted to put a picture up because Kelly said that blogs are boring without pics but I cant seem to find one... Ohhh here is a random pic to go with my random blog of the day!

This is Delaney, who I babysat last year! And she makes me laugh :)

a day of firsts!

FIRST...
day of fall
day for me to ride the bus
day for me to drive a standard :)
day for me to go to the Slovene coast
day for me to eat nashi

Me and Tanja, who i rode the bus to meet, to drive her car to meet Mateja, to eat nashi at the Slovene coast, on the first day of fall :)

Me and Mateja!
What a great day!!!!

Full of meat and potatoes!!!

I'm just going to jump right in... We left for JV's Fall Conference in Czech on Monday and I was expecting good things. However, I was not expecting GREAT things and that is just what I received from the Lord! The Lord spoke in some powerful ways through several people this week!

The theme was Passing the Baton! Which is really JV's mission, making disciples, who make disciples! And just to state the obvious... I am not making disciples, the Holy Spirit does that! We are not called to make disciples of ourselves but of Jesus. So how do we do that? We point them to HIM always and never ourselves!! So they used the analogy of running all week, which is pretty ironic since I am trying to train for a half marathon and was a littly unsure if I would really do it because I am training by myself! Needless to say, I am doing it, so long as my ROLLED ANKLE will heal quickly :) (Thats a story for later)

I won't be able to write all the things God taught me or that I feel convicted of, or excited about, or motivated about, BUT I will try to give a few highlights of this week!

I'll start with my favorite, which was a clinic called Extreme Exposure to the Word by Greg Carlson! He is a very funny, passionate man of the Lord and I feel so blessed by what he shared with us! He gave us an article by Ron Frost about reading the Bible! When one man was asked how he gained all his biblical knowledge, he laughed and just said, I just read my Bible. Then he was asked well, 'how much reading- how do you approach it?' And he said, he tries to read through it 2-3 times a year! Needless to say, the article was SO challenging to me and I do feel like the Lord has given me a hunger for His Word and so Brooke and I are going to do a read though by the time I leave Slovenia, which is less then 3 months away! I am sooooo excited!!! And as sad as it is... this will be my first time to read the Bible ALL the way through! I have attempted many times and always failed! SO, I am ready, with the help of the Lord, to hear the Word of God and watch it transform my life!!!! I need accountability if anyone wants to check up on me these next few months!

I also went to an awesome clinic called Leading Disciples to Freedom and it was for yourself and/or for your disciples! So it spoke a lot to me! Amy Ellenwood did this clinic and did a great job! It was a lot about being in tune with the Holy Spirit in order to be set free by Jesus! The only ONE that can heal our heart is the ONE who made it! Once the lies we have believed about ourselves or others or God, and sins are exposed, by the Spirit, to the light, the power it had in our life is BROKEN! So it was really encouraging! I feel like this is somethign that I experienced at the beginning of the summer when Johnny and Brooke prayed with me... The sin was exposed and brough into the light and Jesus has been able to heal and continues to heal me! Praise God!

The last but certainly NOT LEAST, was a clinic called Discipling Girls by Connie Patty. It was a very practical clinic, which was so nice! We MUST rely fully on the Spirit, make yourself available to Him and He will use you! If you have any questions about this I would love to give you some tips that Connie gave us! But the biggest thing that stuck out to me that applies to ALL discipleship is that it is sacrifical. Jesus payed paid the biggest price by sacrificing his life and I believe that is what He calls us to as well, to give our life! Sounds easier then it is :)

These were just 3 of 13 clinics. Then there were 9 main seminars which included, The Finish Line, Mapping the Course, The First Lap, Good Shoes, Clearing the Hurdles, Training on the Run, Making the Handoff, Strength Training, and The Long Run. Talk about overload of good stuff!! Some serious meat and potatoes, if you will!

Ok... I'll leave ya this, my eyes full of tears...

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that YOU will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:2-3

Amen!

Last night we had our first youth group! And its so encouraging that we even have a group!! I think there was about 20 people there all together, including helpers! We are trying to decide what to call it, so as soon as we vote for a name, I will let you know! I think it went really well! We played games, did the theme song, Johnny talked, and then we all discussed what we wanted for this group! It was a success if you ask me!! I brought my camera to take a picture of the group and didn't have my memory card in my camera so that's a bummer!!!! But there is always next time :)

Tonight we are going to an outreach musical thing that is put on by a few people from church! It is a musical about God's grace! I think Maja and her sister, Lara, are coming with! So that should be fun! Then church tomorrow, and we leave for Fall Conference on Monday and will be gone all week! So you can pray for safe travels!! I can't wait to tell you all about what God teaches me at Conference!!

Much Love!!

09.09.09

Feeling excitement this day... another cool fall morning, with warm coffee, and great people! I'm excited to connect with Terry and Lori today AND can't wait to go to Maja's house today and help her with her English assignment! And maybe get a little Slovene teaching as well!
Yesterday was a great day as well! I got to go to Bovec, which is where some of Prince Caspian was filmed! I have been waiting to go there since I got here, so it was a much awaited visit!! And I was like a little kid excited!!!! I went with Justin, Erin, and one of Erin's friends. (My pastor and his wife) and they are great!! It was a beautiful day!!This is Erin. And the picture that I took with both of them did not turn out :(

Much love and appreciation from Slovenia!! So thankful for your love, prayers, and support! I have been feeling it the past few days! The Lord is allowing me to feel your prayers especially today :)

I LOVE SUNDAYS!!

I just got the best feeling... I was downstairs in the kitchen and the window was open and there is a slight crisp-ness to the air... FALL!!! I have never been more excited for cool weather!! I am just so excited for a new season, literally and figuratively!! Today is a great day! It was great to be at church!! It was good to see people and great to see Maja and Anja there (without me inviting)!! I really just felt peace today and I don't feel like I have felt that recently, so I was very thankful for that! And now watching football on Sunday afternoon... THE BEST!! I am just so excited to get into a routine!! This week I will meet with a few people and Friday night we are hanging out with students! I am really excited to see them all!! Then we leave for conference on Monday and will be gone until Friday or Saturday! I am really looking forward to Fall Conference in Czech. It is a great time of fellowship and learning about the Lord!! Can't wait!!
We, Johnny, Brooke, Kam, and I, just got back from vaca yesterday in Bol, Croatia! Absolutely beautiful!! It was so restful and relaxing! The Lord blessed us with exactly what we all needed!! We got to lay out, eat yummy food, go tubing, get a massage, and rest on a beautiful island! But like I said before, its great to be back! I feel refreshed and ready for this next season!! Ok thats all for now, but more to come!!

When we fear the Lord and do as He commands, He blesses us!!

missing today!

my brother is moving into the dorms today and its really hard sitting here in this thunderstorm (literally) by myself just wishing i was with him and my family today... maybe its silly but this is something that i have been praying for, for a long time and something that i will continue to pray fervently for!!! the Lord knows ALL about it and i am forever grateful!! i hope jake knows how proud i am of him!! i love him so much!!



'til I see You
the greatest love that anyone could ever know
it overcame the cross and grave to find my soul
until i see you face to face and grace amazing take me home
ill trust in You

with all i am i live to see your kingdom come
and in my heart i pray you'll let your will be done
until i see you face to face and grace amazing take me home
ill trust in You

i will live to love You
i will live to bring You praise
i will live a child in awe of You

You are the voice that calls the universe to be
You are the whisper in my heart that speaks to me
until i see you face to face and grace amazing take me home
ill trust in You

i will live to love You
i will live to bring You praise
i will live a child in awe of You
i will live to love You
i will live to bring You praise
i will live a child in awe of You

You alone are God of all
You alone are worthy Lord
And with all i am my soul will bless Your name

-Hillsong

Wow!

So about a month ago, there was about 10 consecutive days where this married couple kept coming to my mind right before I would go to bed. So I would pray for them and then go to sleep. I had NO CLUE why the Lord was bringing these 2 random people to my mind. I don't have regular contact with them and I really didn't even know what to pray or why I was praying for them, but I just kept praying for protection over them! So it stopped for a few nights and then they came to my mind again one night when I was trying to go to sleep. So I decided to get up and send them an email and tell them they were on my heart and I was praying for them and had no idea why... I sent it and went to sleep and didn't really think about it again until yesterday when I got an email from the wife telling me that the reason she hadn't written back until now was because she was waiting for her results back from a breast biopsy! She had breast cancer a couple years ago, so she assumed that the test would come back saying she had cancer again BUT Praise the Almighty God, it was benign!!! Wow!! I am pretty much speechless in my awe for how the Holy Spirit works!! Thank you Lord that she is okay! :)

gone

brooke and johnny just left for kids camp an hour ago and i am all alone for the next week... i have spent the past hour talking to stephen and its been great catching up with him!! i am listening to the one and only kris allen!!! i have church in 30 minutes... i cant decide if i should walk or ride a bike... i think ill take the bike... it just sucks riding it back up the hill :) maybe i will blog more this week since i will be alone more... but i am trying to be really intentional with meeting girls for coffee and making plans!! so i think im going to the pool tomorrow and grabbing ice cream or something with maja and hopefully meeting up with dasa tomorrow or friday!! i think i may try to cut my bangs by myself tonight... a little scary but what do ya do!? well... more to come im sure!

happy birthday johnny!!!

happy birthday dad!!

This my dad!! He was born August 12, 1956. I am really thankful for him! He is a huge support in my life...I love that I can talk to him about everything!! I like asking his advice and asking his perspective on things, even though I may not always agree :) We still love each other!! He is not perfect and neither am I! Thank goodness WE have a Father that is perfect!! Thank you Lord, for giving me my dad!! He is a blessing from YOU!!
My dad's love for me has given me a great picture of the way my Heavenly Father loves me! I know that a girls father affects her in so many ways and I am truly blessed to say my dad did a great job in raising me! We have a very special relationship and I hope he feels so loved this day, along with every other day! I miss him a lot today and I wish I could be with him! But the Lord has given me a great opportunity to serve Him in Slovenia and I am thankful and wouldn't change it for anything!!! I know its a sacrifice for you, too, that I am here. Thank you for your support!! Thank you for raising me in the way of the Lord!! I love you DAD!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

12:36 am

I can't sleep.
I need a hair cut.
I saw The Proposal tonight and laughed kind of a lot for some reason...
I want to see Funny People and 500 days of Summer.
My blogs are always way too serious.
And I still am procrastinating updating about the 2 weeks I was gone because there is simply too much to share and I don't know how to get in words so I'm just not doing it... I mean how do I blog about 2 weeks of learning about the N.T., the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, spiritual gifts, and growing and experiencing my first bit of culture shock and spending the day completely alone in the mountains talking to God... ahhh there is so much! I am overwhelmed...
I love the book I am reading right now so much that I am reading it slow because I don't want it to be over, but you would think if someone loved a book they would read it as fast as they could... I am weird. (oh the book is called An Echo in the Darkness, its a part of a trilogy called Mark of the Lion by Francine Rivers and its freaking awesome!!!!)
I keep wondering what I should do in December even though its months away.
I am learning to feel content and its a great thing!
However, sometimes I miss my family and friends so much that my heart hurts.
Johnny, Brooke, and I ran up to the castle this morning... it kicked my butt! 20 minutes of uphill... but we did it!
I love falling asleep when there are things going on around me, like I did yesterday and today. Johnny was working on pics and Brooke and I were reading on separate couches and there was great music playing. And then I fell asleep. Like my favorite thing ever is falling asleep, next to my dad, on the couch, during football season, on a Sunday afternoon, after a big meal! (that was a lot of prepositions :)
I HATE having to get up in the middle of the night to go pee! But sometimes its nice to be like 'ahhh, I still have four hours to sleep'
Now its 12:52 am and I need to pee. And then I am going to try to go to sleep!
NIGHTERS!!!

This is in Bohinj, Slovenia and I wanted to share it with you because I think its BEAUTIFUL and so are YOU :)

8.2.09

(I didn't have internet when I wrote this but I had to get it out so I typed it and wanted to share it)

8.2.09- rough morning… I just spent about 30 min in the bathroom crying… just really missing family and friends that KNOW me… its been so hard being here with people who I feel like I am a stranger to. Just really just missing home today!

Later that day ☺ I went for a walk and wrestled with God a bit… (Which is a really cool picture that someone shared with me and I’ll share it with you. When you are wrestling with someone you have to be close to him or her. You can’t wrestle from across the room. So I just have this picture of being really close with the Lord. But just remember that HE always wins ☺) But I was just feeling frustrated… and asking God if YOU are enough for me, then why don’t I feel like you are and just feeling kind of angry… Like He says in His Word He is enough and people say that and I have experienced that and I can tell people about it, BUT at that moment, I felt nothing.

(God wants to put you in a place where you can hear and see Him the best and I think that is what He was doing because He had my full attention that day :) I think I experienced that first hand this day)

So then we went to our 430 class and Hondo talked about how our feelings are not an accurate guide to reality. That is why God gave us THE BOOK… Its ALWAYS TRUE and it never changes, the way our feelings do. If there was a purpose of Jesus suffering (which its CLEAR that there was and is) then maybe just maybe there is a purpose in ours! There’s a purpose in the midst of your sufferings!!!!!!

If you don’t tell the Lord what you are struggling with then how can you let the Holy Spirit comfort you? And if you don’t tell people that something is wrong then how can they know how to comfort you? I HATE that we all wear masks. I mean I can only speak for myself, but I just feel like I am supposed to always have it together. And let’s just get honest! I DON’T!! Maybe there is a fear in telling people you need something because you are afraid of rejection or their reaction. There is something that I long so deeply to be known by people, why don’t I feel like its enough to be known by God because he knows me in a way no else does because he created me… Then when Ana and I met for our Gospel Buddy time, the Lord divinely put us together for that moment of sharing in suffering and sadness and exhaustion and taking off our masks together and just getting it out through our tears!

That night we had a camp fire and I shared and because I shared others were able to comfort me and put their arm around me as a SOBBED!! Thanks John☺ And Matt hugging me and saying, “I’ve been there and I feel your pain”. And Trisha being a great listener and understanding the struggle with basically being a baby again because we are illiterate and can’t do anything on our own!!! So it was a pretty cool day… really hard but really encouraging at the same time.

So I got to debrief this day with Brooke a few days ago and she was just like 'sara, if you don't tell people your story, they can't know you'. So really if I want people to know me, I have to tell them and let them in. Hmmm... sit on that for awhile :)

Bohinj and debrief!

(I typed up this blog July 28th and I will put pics up on Facebook)

I went to Intern Debrief with the summer interns that were in Slovenia and I found out Tuesday night that I was going to and we left Wednesday and came back late Thursday! (July 22-23) I didn’t think that I would be a part of that because I am not a summer intern and I wasn’t with the summer interns all summer, except the first 10 days I was here because we had the amazing race and training together. And they were now all going home! I am starting to have a complex because I am in my own category pretty much everywhere I go… haha… (that is something I debriefed about during our time)

But it was an awesome time for me! We went to Bohinj (which is absolutely one of the most beautiful places ever) and stayed at this farmhouse b&b! It was so cute and nice! We went up on this gondola thing and spent some alone time at the top of this mountain reflecting on the summer. It was a really good time for me to be quiet and just think. When we were done, we went to dinner at this restaurant and just sat around all evening and told stories, just laughing and enjoying rest! When we got back to the b&b, we played a long but fun game of phase 10! The next morning we got up and had breakfast and then debriefed the summer for the next 3 hours! It was really cool to see what God had done in their lives! I shared last and basically cried the whole time. Oh well! HA! So we left and went to lunch and the rest of the day, swam in the clearest, most FREEZING cold water ever. The kind that takes your breath away when come up! Oh and finished our game of phase 10! It was a beautiful couple days! I came home late Thursday night and crashed.

Friday, got up early and went to a water park with the students from high school camp! It was so good to see them! We played hard and I got lots of water up my nose☺ Then got home and packed and Johnny and I left for Kriz, which is held at a place called Kranjskja Gora, around 6. (KRIZ will be my next blog) Needless to say, at this point IM STILL EXHAUSTED!!! It is seriously go, go, go, non-stop!

But I would love to share some of what I shared at intern debrief about some feelings and things God has taught me this summer because I believe that the Lord works through our vulnerability and authenticity. So here I go! One struggle I’ve had recently is ‘my place here’. I feel like everyone has had a specific role and I’ve just kinda been wherever. ESI (extended summer intern) is just kinda a weird position. I feel incredibly blessed to be here. Like most times when I look outside, I’m like, ‘is this seriously my life right now?’ I really am trying to soak up every up every single second! I'm really not sure how to put into words whats inside. Right now the only concrete things that I can say that the Lord is teaching me is DIE TO SELF and LOVE even when you feel like you can’t. I have had so many moments (like right now) that I feel very alone. There is NO ONE else in the same position as me and having someone to relate to right now would be really nice, but I think it’s a part of what God wants to teach me.

So a short summary of things I shared:

• No one else is in the exact same position as me/ feeling out of place at times, yet know this is where God has called
• Still learning from things that were taught at intern training
• How powerful my prayer time was with J and B and how the Lord is still using that
• Camp exhaustion and being homesick
• Dying to self
• Am I fully surrendered?
• This waiting position I'm in and trusting the Lord provide

After I shared, David gave me a really encouraging way to look at being away from my family! We are a lot alike, in that we are wired for family, and he said that he looks at it like its his tithe or his offering. Kind of like a drink offering, it doesn’t burn or smell and it doesn’t make smoke, its pretty much invisible. No one else sees it but the Lord and it is PRECIOUS to Him! So I have a great new perspective on how to look at feeling homesick! Thank you Lord!!!

camp #2

So Monday (the 13th) we went and picked up another team of 7 and they were from Washington! So we had two teams here at once. So we, Johnny, Brooke and I, were doing debriefing with one team and orientation with another team! So we made it through that, and the TN team left early Wednesday (July 15th) morning and then we started our Jr. High Day Camp at 10am and went until about 10:30pm and did that until Saturday! I was relieved about this camp because I was not going to be in charge of teaching or leading a small group, I was just going to be in charge of the late night’s and I was so excited about that! Well I think the KEY to missions is a little thing called FLEXIBILTY!!!!!!!!!! So Brooke and I ended up teaching, but it was good. We had two really sweet girls!! We only had 5 students show up, so it was really small but I think it was a success. This was the first time to do a Jr. High camp, in Celje, so it was the ground-breaking work! ☺
The day camps look a little different. We started around 9 getting stuff ready and the kids came at 10! We would literally play games with them for 2 and a half hours and then go get lunch together. We would teach English from 2-5 and then have an activity for them that went with the theme for the day! Then have dinner, our discussion time, and our late night activity! Then they would go home around 9:30 pm and we would clean up and go home! Fun, but exhausting!!!!!!!!!
OH and how could I forget? For both camps, Brooke and I taught the theme song every night! It was “Wake up, Wake up” by Everyday Sunday! The dance was awesome! Good times! We laughed a lot!
So that camp ended Saturday night! Sunday we had church and a beautiful afternoon of rest!!!! Oh how Sundays afternoons and evenings are becoming my favorite time of the week ☺ Tuesday we went and visited a school that one of the moms from one of the kids from the Jr. High camp, works at, if that makes sense. It was a horticulture school. So she gave us a tour of the place and it was really interesting and then she taught us all how to make bouquets of flowers. I know now that that is not a gift of mine!! After we were done with that, we took a couple kids to the pool and hung out with them for awhile. That night we debriefed with the team and went for ice cream. A packed but fun day!

These were plums that were so so yummy!! Brooke and I picked and ate a lot :)
Learning how to make a bouquet. There is a great reason why I should never work with flowers :) Mine was terrible but it was fun!! But the tiny baby spiders that were crawling everywhere were not so fun :)

here we go!!

A team of 12 from Nashville, Tennessee got here July 3! The got here safely with NOT ONE PIECE OF LUGGAGE and didn’t get their luggage for FIVE days but were troopers about it!! They were and are AWESOME!! I quickly begin to feel like I had known some of them my whole life, Kirby, Jenn, and Paige!! I miss them already! So we did orientation with the team for 2 days and then loaded up a bus and went to camp, 16 students, the team of 12, 4 translators, 5 JV staff members, and the pastor and his wife. So total I think there were 39 of us!

So a typical day at camp looks like this:
8: Breakfast and we sing a song before every meal!
9-12:30: English class until with a 15 minute break in between and every other day the second half of class was a workshop of some sort… ex, cooking, knitting, photography, beading, etc… I had a class of 3 girls, Karmen, Maja, and Petra. Kirby was my helper and Polona was my translator! ☺
1: lunch
1:45-3:30: games where we were split into colors and teams (My team was blue and we won the overall games!!)
3:30-5:30: free time
5:30: a mixer game
6: dinner
7: evening program where we sang fun songs and then went through the story of God, starting with the fall of Lucifer all the way to the church today. So Johnny would tell the story and Andre would translate. (They did an INCREDIBLE job btw!) So we started with the Fall of Lucifer and demons, then creation, then the fall of man, Noah, Abraham, Moses, kings and prophets, birth, life, and death of Jesus, resurrection and church. Then talked about how we can join and be apart of this story. I CAN’T STRESS enough the power of the Spirit moving in these students and in ME. We saw kids the first day of camp say that they don’t like to talk about God to fully engaging to the story by the end of the week!! And ONLY by the power of the Holy Spirit!! And its because the story of God is ALIVE AND ACTIVE!! I think we so often forget the power of Scripture!
Then whenever we were done with discussing the story we would have a late night theme party! So we did like game night, 1950’s night, Asian night, bunko night (I was partners with Petra and we WON the whole thing but only because she was throwing bunkos like crazy!, movie night, coffee night, and Slovenia’s Got Talent! All were fun!

If I can have a moment of real honesty… By God’s grace alone did I survive that week of my life. We left on Sunday the 5th and came home late Saturday (the 11th) night and then had church Sunday (where 9 of the 16 students showed up!!!) and an follow up picnic with them (where 3 more came!!) When I was at camp, I was out of my comfort zone in every way. I was a teacher and leading a discussion group, living, eating, and breathing with 39 other people for 7 days, so basically just on 24/7, LITERALLY. And feeling this FALSE responsibility that I shouldn’t have felt, but I did. So when I finally got to take a breath later that afternoon when we got home, I lost it!! I cried and cried! I have never felt more exhausted in every way, spiritually, mentally, and physically! And it was the first time that I felt SO homesick. So I called my dad just crying from exhaustion and really missing family and friends! So I got a little time to rest that afternoon and evening and the Lord truly allowed those few hours to be enough to get me through the next week…

Also and most importantly, one of the students accepted Christ! There were lots of steps made!! Praise the Lord!! I am SOOOO excited to see what these next few months hold with the relationships that I have made!

Hopefully soon I will have some pictures up on facebook!

ONE FULL MONTH!

So how am I now that I am a month into living in Slovenia? Loving it! Thank you for asking :) It has been a very enjoyable first month. Of course, I have my moments that I miss home and friends and family, but I wouldn't trade where I am for anything! Why get in a hurry, if you are where you want to be? I feel blessed beyond words to be here.

Camp is quickly approaching... We leave on July 5th. We had a team meeting yesterday, just talking out logistics. I have been working on my English lessons for class. I am excited! I think it will be fun! However, I know why I didn't pick the profession of teaching :) Even though this is a lot different because its more just like planning activities to have conversational English! I just don't have the gift of creativity like many of my friends, so its interesting!!

Today, I really felt like I lived in Europe because I took the train all ALONE. I helped the Patty's with some cleaning at their new house they are renovating. Johnny and Brooke are the photographers for a wedding all day and night, so they dropped me off for the day! Apparently, Slovene weddings are long... Brooke just said the activities are going on until wee hours in the morning... so I have gotten some time alone... ANYWAY... back to my train experience all by myself. I just took a train from Ljubljana to Celje and I really enjoyed it. I was a little nervous about getting on the right train but it was no big deal and the ride was so enjoyable. I read my awesome book, "A Voice in the Wind" by Francine Rivers, its a trilogy and cant put it down!! Check it out if you are in need of an awesome novel!! It was a beautiful ride. So we get to Celje and I was just going to walk home because its not that far from the train station... well I forgot my UMBRELLA and walked home in the rain... but for some reason I enjoyed it... I did a little singing in the rain :) It helped me feel a little bit of indepence and confidence about living in another country!!

I just talked to Andrea for almost 2 and a half hours on skype... it was so refreshing and awesome... it was seriously like we were just hanging out together... I was finishing up broccoli salad and did all the dishes and hung up my laundry and brushed my teeth while we talked... and she cleaned her room and ate lunch... I am SOOOOOO incredibly thankful for technology!! And for my incredible friend Andrea Green!! She is one of the most caring people I know and has the biggest heart for ministry!! It is really encouraging to see her desire to serve! One of the biggest desires of my heart is to do ministry with her someday. Lord knows :) we talk about it often!! Anyway... I love you Andrea and I know that the Lord has INCREDIBLE things in store :) Thank you for your heart and friendship. Don't know what I would do without you!!! LOVE YOU!!!

Ok thats all for now!! I gotta work on my lesson plans :)

yay!!!!

SO... yesterday and today we set up a table with flyers to advertise for camp and handed them out to teenagers in the center (equivalent to a downtown area). We feel like it has been a success... We thought that even if ONE student signs up to go to camp, it would be worth our hours of handing out flyers!! WELLLLLLLLLLLLL GUESSS WHAT??!?!?! We had one sign up!! And she said that her friend is going to sign up as well!!! I think right now we have around 22 students signed up! So its a total success!!! (And we are doing the same thing 3 days next week too)

There was a group of teenagers that were kinda hanging out with us and I (with the help of Brooke's pushing) started up a conversation with a girl named Maja. We talked for awhile... just basic things because she doesn't know a ton of English but can definitely hold a conversation! I really feel encouraged that she simply just talked with me... cause yesterday she didn't want to have a conversation with us at all!! So for whatever reason, she decided to come stand by me today and I got a chance to start getting to know Maja!! Then Johnny made friends with another student and I think they are grabbing coffee tomorrow!! This is what its all about!!!

YET...

"Yet, the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show me compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are ALL who WAIT for him." -Isaiah 30:19

Justin (the pastor of Calvary Chapel which is the church I attend here in Celje) spoke on Isaiah, chapter 30, Sunday and I feel like from this verse the Lord revealed some things to me. There is a part of my life that is in waiting and to be honest, I feel pretty impatient and a part of me doesn't believe that He will provide. So yesterday, I spent some time before Lord, kind of wrestling with this. He has been so patient with me as He allowed my eyes to see to what is true and to see what lies I was believing. As I was having a hard time giving this part of my life FULLY to the Lord, I started to think to myself, "Okay, what is true and what is not true about what I am believing right now?" I was believing that the Lord would not provide. I was believing that I knew better. I was believing that I needed to be in control. Then as I asked the Lord to reveal truth to me and this is what I began to see...

ONE, that the LORD ALWAYS provides. I never go without. "...but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." -1 Timothy 6:17
TWO, the Lord gives PERFECT gifts. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father..." - James 1:17
THREE, God has PERFECT timing. "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" -Esther 4:14
FOUR, His plan is ALWAYS better then mine and better then what I think or imagine. "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us..." -Ephesians 3:20

These are specific verses that at one point in my life, the Lord has used to reveal truth to me. So these are things that not only, God has said through his Word, but also things that I have personally experienced. And they are just a few of the promises that I am standing on!
Here are a few more :)
Psalm 27:14
Psalm 130:5
Psalm 40:1
Romans 8:25

And not to say that I still won't struggle and everything is going to be easy... BUT I have truth to turn to in those moments of weakness! So maybe that is a little encouragement for you today :)

Much love from sunny celje!!! :)

Update!!

I have now been in Celje for over a week!! And it has been awesome!! It is a little slow right now because the kids are still in school, so we have been doing random stuff. We made a list of supplies for camp and went through the themes for each night! It is going to be so fun!! One night is an Asian theme and Brooke and I might learn a giesha dance :)

We had a prayer meeting Wednesday morning and Bible study that night. It was about the Holy Spirit and was a great time of learning for me!! Other then that I have just had time to get adjusted to Celje.

So lately its been coffee shops, learning a few Slovene words, running, picking cherries, birthday parties, church, and picking cherries!! Oh btw, Brooke and I signed up to run the half marathon in Ljubljana in October!!!!! We have already started training and she is great with pushing me!! It is such a blessing to have her and to have the ability to run!!! Thank you Lord for the ability to run!!

Picking cherries is a highlight because we get to climb this huge awesome cherry tree and then make YUMMY homemade cherry pie from scratch!!!! Thursday was awesome!! We picked about 12 pounds of cherries from the cherry tree and pitted like half of them, including the worms! YUCK!!! But they are still yummy!!

Then went on an incredible hike!!!! SOOOO MAD that the camera I brought to take pics with DIDN'T have my memory card so I have NO pictures to show for the incredible hike I took. But I will do it again soon bc it was awesome and challenging and BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Friday we went to Ljubljana to help the Patty's, a missionary family here, with their house they just bought. They completely gutted it and are now renovating it. So Johnny and I sanded 5 door frames and I primed almost an entire room by myself. (Brooke was at softball practice). It may not sound like much but sanding little tiny cracks and crevices is not easy, but we did it with the joy of getting to serve!!

Today is Saturday and has been a really busy, but great day!! We left at 8 this morning to go the the warehouse to sort out camp supplies! It was a little overwhelming but got me really excited for camps!!! We were doing that til about noon. Then we had a staff cookout and celebrated Rachel's birthday! Brooke and I got sunburned! Josh Patty, who is our country leader, prayed with us and we had a great talk just about this summer and the road ahead of us. He said expect trials because we are going onto a battle field that is opposing the enemy. We will experience really big, significant, eternal things in a very small country. Something that one of the other missionaries, Joel said, was that some kids will have NO IDEA how simply registering for camp will completely change their life forever. I am so exciting to get to be a part of God's kingdom building!!!

So then we left from there to go to another birthday party for a girl from church! Her name is Polona and she is awesome!! I am hoping that she will be my translator at camp!! I played with a PRECIOUS little girl named Naomi and she wore me out!! Haha it was so funny watching her try to say one, two, three with me right before I would throw her in the air!! She is not quite 2 yet and just about the cutest thing ever!! So after a very long day, I am finally sitting on the couch trying to catch up with emails, getting ready for bed and for church tomorrow!
NIGHT!!!!