Germany Germany Germany

Things I forgot to mention in my first blog, and things that have happened since.
Well on the train ride/airplane ride to Germany I finished the book Follow me to Freedom.
I must say it was a great book and Shane Claiborne never fails to open my eyes to something new.
I also listend to a KC boiler room sermon on Prayer which was incredible.
God has really been changing my heart and opening my eyes to new ideas and concepts this last few days and it has been really incredible.
I feel so free, and like all the burdens in my life have been lifted and casted aside!

All in all God is good and, "My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus' blood and righteousness on Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand!"

Yesterday we had a real German breakfast which consisted of these delicious rolls (supposedlz some of them were wheat free) and whatever kind of spreads you wanted on the rolls. Peanutbutter, Nutella, Jelly, cheese, meat, creamcheese etc etc. It was a very delicious breakfast and the rolls were very tasty whether they were wheat free or not, I am not completely sure! After breakfast we went to a photography exhibition which was pretty neat. It was a little smaller than we had expected but it was still cool to see photography and really old nice cameras.
After the exhibition we went and tried to look for a castle, but the road was blocked off because of the bad weather so we couldn't go to it! However we went to Herborn which is this cute "very German" town which was a lot of fun.
There we had spaghetti icecream, which is icecream but they make it look like spaghetti, it is really neat!!
After our day out we came back to Lulu's house and hung out for a while, and later we went to dinner at this really cute place caled Cafe Del Sol, it was delicious! After dinner we came back and watched definitely maybe and then we went to bed! It is so nice to sleep in a comfortable bed, I almost forgot what it felt like!!

Today we went to Cologne which is a pretty big/touristy city! We saw a beautiful Catholic church that was built in the 1500's but was not completely finished until the 1800's. It was huge and really gorgeous, and is supposedly where the bodies of the three wise men lay!
After the church we walked around the city and saw all the shops and the big waterfront and then we went and had lunch at this Turkish/German place. I have no clue what I ate but it was delicious. After our lunch we went to this AMAZING cupcake place called Royal Cupcakes!
It is this little shop and they make the most beautiful cupcakes I have ever seen and each one is named after a famous or royal person. I had the King of Pop cupcake and it was delightful! It was definitely worth eating wheat for, especially since I will never be able to eat them again!

After Cologne we came back to Lulu's house and she made us dinner which was really good. We had these potatoes that are similar to tater tots, and you put this meat/cheese stuff over them or you can put apple sauce over them. I know it sounds really weird, but it was surprisingly very good. I have learned while travelling you definitely have to be open to different types of food.
After our dinner we watched a movie that we picked at random called the accidental husband, it was actually pretty cute! We also watched some friends episodes, I can proudly say I have finished the first season and am working on the second. It is pretty sad that Lulu has every single season of friends and I had never seen an episode until I traveled abroad!

Tomorrow we are going to another town near by to see more shops and go to a delicious cake shop. Another place that may be worth eating wheat for... it is definitely hard to be allergic to wheat in European countries since everything is either bread or pasta. However, the wheat doesn't bother as much here as it does in America...I don't know if I am growing out of the allergy or if the wheat is less processed or whatever but it is nice that I am able to make exceptions if something looks worth it!

Arriving in Germany

Well I awoke this morning at 5:00am to prepare for my trip to Germany. Kelsey and I met outside at 6:30 to catch our bus to the train station. We both rode the train for the first time in our lives today and took the train to the airport where we got on the tiniest plane I have ever seen.
It was so nice to see Lulu she picked us up at the airport at about 3:00pm which is 7:00am American time. We drove for about an hour to get to her house and it is the cutest house ever. Her parents are really sweet and her mom made me a wheat free cake for our arrival..which was beautiful and delicious.
Lulu, Kelsey and I just hung around and talked for a while, it was great to catch up with Lulu and discover what is going on in each others lives.
At around 8:00pm we went and a "real" German experience. Lulu's family took us out to a German restaurant where we had haxe which is a cliche German meal, and I had my first beer.
I only drank half of it and it was mixed with sprite so it wasn't too bad and it didn't make me feel weird or anything which was nice.
Tomorrow we might be going to a castle and a photo exhibition, as well as having a real German breakfast!!
I am so excited to be here and Lulu is so sweet and has the whole weekend planned!
I will try to keep updating while I am here but I can't make any promises!

I am so sleepy since I didn't get any sleep on the plane or the train so I apologize for the short update!

York

Yesterday Kelsey, Bernice, Elizabeth, Kathleen, a bunch of other people and I went to York for the day.
It was quite a sight to see, York is really old and has a lot of history. When we got there we went on a two hour walking tour which was very educational and fun. We looked at walls that were built during the 1200's, minsters, abbeys, and other buildings that have been around since the Roman empire. It was neat to see how parts of the city are still have trenches where war men hid during battles.
After the tour we went to the stardome to learn about how the Vikings navigated their way through the see using the stars. It was interesting but we mostly learned about the constellations which I still enjoyed because I love stars.
After the stardome our group broke away for lunch, everyone wanted to go to this 1 pound sandwhich shop and well I can't eat sandwhiches so we went to this cute cafe.
It ended up being Kelsey, Bernice, Kathleen and I for the rest of the day which was still really fun. We went to this chocolate shop where I bought homemade dark chocolate that was absolutely amazing! We just walked around York looking at all the different shops, and we went and saw the last remaining tower of a castle which was cool. At 5:30pm we went to the Final Battle of the Vikings.
The battle was really long, and my feet were killing me because we stood there for two hours watching vikings fight, a fire show, and finally the boat burning. Although it was long an extensive we definitely got our moneys worth and it was really neat. I mean honestly how often do you get to go to a Viking festival and see a boat burning? Exactly never haha.

We were going to go on a ghost tour but the battle ran too late, which I was kind of happy about. I don't really like that kind of thing and it was late at night so I didn't want to be thinking about that all night.
We were hoping since we were going to be leaving York earlier then expected that we could catch a bus back earlier but the next bust wasn't leaving until 10:08 and it was 8:20. Kathleen, Bernice, Kelsey and I decided to go find something to eat for dinner. We ended up eating at this Indian restaurant which was really good. Thankfully eating and talking, filled up most of our time that we had waiting for the bus.

Finally at around 11:30 we arrived back in Hull, and we were able to part ways and go home.
I was so exhausted and my feet were aching. I slept in this morning instead of doing my Jillian workout video, I definitely needed the sleep.

Now I must head off to church soon, in the cold snow =( hopefully it goes away soon!

As the Brits would say, "Cheers!"

The Hardest Part

The past two days have been very relaxed and laid back which has been really nice. Today Bernice and I went for a run and then we went to the gym for some weight training. This evening Bernice, Kelsey and I went to mass which was really fun and interesting. I have never been to mass before and it was neat to see how it all works I really enjoyed it.
We also were able to have a pretty deep discussion after which was challenging but insightful because it is always good to see new and different perspectives.

These past few days I have come to realize my true purpose here and why I was struggling so much in the beginning.
Since the start of my planning to study abroad I have been calling myself an "unofficial missionary" and instilling in my head that I was coming to England for more than just studying but to be on the mission field and that messed with me...in a negative way.
With that thought process I had the mindset that this experience would be one that you would get on a missions trip, a trip full of doing things for God. However, my purpose here is the exact opposite. God has been teaching me that while I am in England I am learning how to share and be like Jesus in my everyday life. I am learning what it truly means to live out Christianity on a day to day basis and not just on missions trip.

I think this concept is almost harder for me to fully take a hold of because I feel by not doing something I am almost inadequate. I was talking to my friend Emily earlier today and she made a really good point. I constantly read these books, and hear these sermons and I instantly feel convicted about not doing things so I get stuck on this mindset of constantly needing to do things for Christ. But being a Christian doesn't always mean doing sometimes we need to just be.

As I was walking home the other day I just felt God say to me

"Hey, you don't need to do anything, just be yourself. Live your life for me daily and that is enough."

I instantly felt at peace after hearing this. God is so right (of course), I got so caught up in this idea of doing and what I wanted to do here and my expectations of God, I never stopped to think that maybe God had different plans...which he did.

Even though God has had different plans for me his plans have been greater and more successful then mine could have ever been. He has allowed me to see how he is using me to work in other people's lives as well as show me how he is changing and molding me to be more like him.

Coming to England meant that I needed to be like Christ to the people around me, but it also meant that I needed to open to what God will be doing in my life.

I see more and more each day how God is continually solidifying my faith and belief in him through the new things he is teaching me and the people around me.
I am so grateful to finally have complete peace about being here and to have finally opened my eyes and ears to the things God is doing around me as well as within me.

It's funny how we know God's plan is perfect and he has never failed us but we still try to mess with his plan and do it on our own. I am glad I realized this sooner rather then later, who knows what I would have missed out on if I was too busy focusing on my plan rather than his.

Best Day Ever

Today wasn't really that much different then any other day!
I awoke early this morning and spent some time with my Jesus, checked my emails and got ready for the day. However, as I was getting ready the doorbell rang and at that moment I knew something excited was at the door for me! I ran to the door to see the delivery man holding two packages for me!! I was so excited to not only get my packages but to get them both at the same time.
I felt so incredibly loved as I opened up my packages this morning to discover all the goodies inside.
My mom sent me a lovely package with lots of things from home like good peanut butter, chips and salsa and my rice cakes. My lovely, wonderful and amazing friends Emily and Alida sent me a box full of gluten free foods as well as chocolate, teas, and granola bars! It was so nice to get stuff from home, I felt loved and like I got to see my friends and family (cheesy cheesy I know!)
After opening my packages I wrote some letters and postcards and waited for Bernice to come over.
Bernice and I went to financial aid to work out a problem I am having with them, it seems they have charged me a large sum of money that I do not owe them. They asked me to bring my bank statement so hopefully I can get it all figured out tomorrow! After our trip to financial aid, Kelsey, Bernice and I went and exchanged our tickets to go to Newcastle this weekend, instead we will be going to York to see a Viking Festival. It sounds really fun there will be battles and a boat burning, and we get to go to the stardome and see how the vikings navigated.
The three of us went to the post office so I could buy some stamps and send off my letters and postcards and then we stopped by another fruit stand so Bernice could buy some fruit.
I love all the fruit stands around here, their produce all comes from local farmers and it is fun to buy locally instead of from a big grocery store!
I went to my gender class today which was interesting to say the least. I just have a hard time understanding these feminist women, probably because I am not a feminist and don't have the same passions as they do. However it is interesting to learn about and it is a new perspective on life and people that I can learn to understand.
After class I met Kelsey and Bernice at the gym and we went to a circuit training class..it was so intense but I loved it! The instructor was tough but fun and we did not stop moving for an hour I will definitely be sore tomorrow!

I loved today, and as each day passes I am loving it here more and more.
Praise God, he is totally working here not only in my life but in the people around me!

Cambridge

Yesterday I awoke at 5:00am to start my journey to Cambridge with the other international students.
I had a blast in Cambridge even though we didn't technically "do" anything. Cambridge is well known for its prestigious college, well colleges really. Cambridge is made up of 31 different colleges and basically is like its own little town. Kelsey, Bernice, and our new friend Kathleen and I just decided we would walk around and explore the colleges and the surrounding little shops instead of spending money on tours and what not.
The campus was absolutely gorgeous, pictures will be coming soon. I felt like I was going to Hogwarts or something this big, old, beautifully sculpted buildings sitting among green grass and a beautiful river... I could never imagine going to school there.
After we toured around the campus a bit we headed into the shopping center, we came across a Starbucks and Kelsey and I finally got to have our chai lattes. I love my chai lattes and you cannot get them anywhere here, they are definitely overpriced but it was a nice treat to have!
The Starbucks was right across from this cute little street market where you could find produce stands, flower stands, just about any kind of stand, but my favorite one was this baked goods stand. As we walked passed the little stand I thought to myself "man I wish I wasn't allergic to muffins!" At that moment below every muffin sign were the words "wheat free." With that being said I order a banana chocolate wheat free muffin at it was absolutely delicious!
The rest of the day we just wandered around to different shops, we popped in a few chocolate stores because they were giving out free samples and then headed to a museum for our last activity of the day. One thing I love about England is that the majority of museums are free, and this one was no exception. It was a really neat museum it had all different time periods, Egyptians, Greeks, Medieval, and Asian it was really neat to see old paintings, sculptures, etc from these different cultures and it made me that much more excited to go to Greece!
After the museum we headed back to the buses but of course we stopped by the infamous Mathematical Bridge. Unfortunately it was closed so we couldn't walk on it but we could still take some beautiful pictures of it.
After our three hour bus ride back to Hull Kelsey, Bernice, Kathleen and I went and got some Indian take away (take-out) and watched a few episodes of Friends.
Last night was the first time I had eaten Indian food and I actually liked it!

Now for today, Valentine's Day! Bernice, Kate and I are going to to church this morning, back to City Life to give it a second try. After church the three of us plus Kelsey are going to go out to lunch at what is supposed to be a really good Mexican food place and then we are going to see the movie Valentines Day. I am really excited I have never had an all girls Valentines Day or whatever you want to call it and it should be a lot of fun!

Happy Valentines Day!

Two Parts

I have decided to make this a two part blog so here it is

Part I

Yesterday was a good day, I didn't do much but I enjoyed it...I can actually say that this week went by fast, which means I am getting to the point of loving it here and time will be flying by!
Bernice, Kelsey, and I went to this shop where everything was 5 pounds or less (we had gone the day before and I bought boots but Bernice didn't have money so we went back) Bernice tried on some clothes and but a couple of cute tops, after we went back to our dorms and changed so we could go work out. I love that I have people to work out with here because it keeps me accountable for working out and staying in shape. After our workout we had our body fat percentage done, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised with my results. =)

After we got ready for our Alpha (bible-ish study) group at planet coffee. I got the deluxe hot chocolate and my oh my was it delicious! Alpha was good but a little frustrating, there were so many deep theological questions being asked and I wanted to answer them but I had no clue how. I also felt that we were not staying on track and just going around jumping from question to question without getting any direct answer. I think next week I will just need to pray a lot that God would prepare my heart and show me how to get to the root of certain questions.

Today I haven't done much, I went and worked out with Kelsey and I had a quiet time this morning which was wonderful. Jesus has been telling me everyday "Do not be afraid" " I am here" I love that. He knows my heart so intimately, that he can use the word to encourage me and lift me up everyday. I love my husband! =]

All right so here is the second part

Part II

I have been reading Mark and many of the stories Mark writes about are of Jesus healing people on the Sabbath day.

As many of you know the Pharisees didn't like it when Jesus did miracles, or healed people on the Sabbath because it is breaking the laws of the Sabbath, but that is one (of the many) things that I love about Jesus.

He does it anyway, he is a "rule-breaker" in a sense and I think that is awesome.
In Mark chapter 2 there is a story about how Jesus and his disciples are walking through grainfields on the Sabbath day and the disciples start to break the grain and eat it. The pharisees approach Jesus and say "Look, why are they breaking the law about harvesting grain on the Sabbath?" Jesus then tells them about the time David and his friends were hungry and they broke the law and went into the house of God and ate the sacred loaves that only the priests were allowed to eat. Then Jesus says " The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord, even over the Sabbath."

I love this because Jesus just breaks them of their rules and says "Hey the Sabbath is there for you, you are not there for it!" I just love how it breaks the rule aspect of the Sabbath and teaches them what it really means.

I was really excited and happy to read that, hopefully it brought joy to you as well!

Lifted Up

I apologize if my blogs sound bipolar. I know one sounds like I am on top of the world and the next sounds like everything has come falling down but thanks to my Father God and talking to Barry, April, Patty and Alida have found great encouragement.
I realized that I haven't even been here for two weeks, so its okay that not everything is happening as I was expecting it to. I also had to remember that God called me here, and it is his plan I am following not my own, therefore things my happen differently then I had expected and that is totally okay. It is actually probably a lot better that way.
Yesterday Bernice and I met for our devotional/bible study and it was absolutely. She opened up and shared with me what she is dealing with right now in her walk with Christ and how she is feeling and I was able to try and encourage and give her some advice. I am really excited to be growing in our walk with Christ together and I am interested to see what he is going to do in our lives.
Today I read 1 Kings and it was totally encouraging. In kings Solomon had just finished praying and sacrificing and dedicating the temple to Jesus and when he was done he declared to the people this; "May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us. May he gives us the desire to do his will in everything and to obey all the commands, decrees and regulations that he gave our ancestors."
I just loved reading that today and found it an encouraging prayer for myself as I step out into this journey.
I love when God speaks through His word! =]
As for my day today, I woke up to again no heat and no hot water and it took every fiber in my body to push myself out of my warm bed and get ready for the day.
I went to my one and only class today to find that it was canceled, which was rather exciting. Kelsey and I worked out at the gym and she was kind enough to let me shower at her house since I still had no hot water or heat.
After we got ready for the day at 2:00pm we ran a few errands, I actually accomplished quite a bit today. I went to financial aid and had them take out the rest of my housing payment that way I didn't have to keep worrying about it. After we walked down the street and I sent out my postcards in the mail and bought Barry a Valentine's Day card. I also bought a couple of groceries that I forgot to get at ASDA and they were surprisingly really cheap, and I went to a cute little produce stand and bought a bunch of fruits and vegetables for only 7 pounds. I love buying fresh produce, it is such an amazing feeling. =)
Our heater/hot water repair man just came so now we can be warm in our house...oh the things I miss about America reliable heat and hot water!

Well I again appreciate all the prayers, and can really see God moving so much this semester, here and in the states.

A Cold Cold Day

Last night Kelsey, Kate, Bernice and I went to the Vineyard church. It was really neat. They had a different set up last night and the pastor did a workshop on healing and the holy spirit. It was kind of charismatic and I had never seen it presented quite that way, but I totally understood what he was saying. I think the other girls felt a little uncomfortable or skeptical of it, which is understandable but they are all very open minded which is great.
After church we went back to Kate and Bernice's house for the superbowl, we ordered Domino's (which surprisingly didn't make me feel sick) and stayed up until 3:00am to unfortunately watch the saints win =(. All in all it was fun, especially because Kelsey's roommate Fin and his friend came over and they had never watched American football so it was fun to explain everything to them and see their reactions to the game.
This morning I slept in a little since I went to bed really late the night before, and sadly awoke to a freezing cold house. After spending some time with Jesus, I got ready to jump in the shower and start the rest of my day. To my surprise along with having no heat, we also had no hot water which meant no shower. I went down to the accommodation office at 10:30am and they did not come and fix it until about 5:00pm needless to say I was very cold all day long.
I stayed inside all day doing some reading for my theater class, and talking to Amandine about France and the differences between France, England and America. It was really nice to finally talk to my roommates for a while instead of just seeing them as we pass in and out of the house. I also did my first load of laundry today and was surprised to learn that it takes about 2 -2 1/2 hours do wash your clothes, plus however long it takes for them to air dry.
I went to my class at 4:15, we talked about a feminist/lesbian writer named Adrienne Rich and discussed her theories and writings. She is a very interesting person and has some very different and contradictory beliefs but it was a new perspective on things I suppose.
When I got home from class I was happy to feel that we had finally received heat in our home.

Amongst all of the physical turmoil today, I was also having quite a bit of emotional turmoil. This seems so strange because not only two days ago I wrote such an uplifting and spiritual blog but today I was feeling the exact opposite. I am not sure why but for some reason I am really struggling with doubts and my purpose here. I feel really confused and I am just not sure what to make of the situation. I know this all sounds rather vague but I don't exactly know how to express the way I am feeling. I do know that I need prayer. Prayer that God will clearly reveal to me my purpose and what he has in store, prayer that I will trust him to lead me and guide me in this adventure, and prayer that I will love his people the way he loves them and be a light that encourages others.

God show me what I am doing here!

Pictures

Breathtaking

The Cathedral

Me and John Lennon

My home

Closet and Desk

My sink

My bed complete with pictures!

One of the streets downtown

Smallest window in Hull

The sunrise from the airplane

There are more pictures on my facebook if you want to see more, here is the link
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=666711314#!/album.php?aid=180063&id=525883734

Liverpool

Yesterday I woke up at 5:45am and got on a bus headed toward Liverpool.
Kelsey, Elizabeth, Bernice, this boy Leif and I all ended up hanging out together and discovering the city of Liverpool.
I ended up falling in love with the city, it is charming and adorable. When we arrived in Liverpool we went and booked our Beatles Magical Mystery Tour for 12:00pm, while we waited for the tour we went and checked out one of the museums. The museum we went to was about three of the biggest shipwrecks (Titanic, The Forgotten Empress, and Lusitania) it was really interesting to learn about different ships and what was going on during the time period of these ships.
After the museum we headed to our tour bus for our Beatles tour, which I must say was a lot of fun.
On the tour we were able to stop and go to all of the Beatles houses, along with, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, and The Cavern (where they held a lot of their performances). It was neat to see where they all grew up and the places that they wrote certain songs about. Our tour guide was hilarious and actually had the opportunity to meet Paul McCartney (which he was very proud of). After the tour we went to the 4th largest Anglican cathedral in the world.
All I can say about this cathedral is that it was absolutely breathtaking and my pictures do not do it justice. I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life. We were able to go all the way to top which is about 500 feet high, and it was incredible. The sky was filled with a deep fog, when we looked out over the city you could only see tiny little outlines through the thick fog.
The cathedral was definitely a highlight of the day, however walking back from the cathedral was not, it was freezing, thankfully the bus was warm.
When we returned from Liverpool we all went and got dinner at a pub and then Kelsey and I went to Bernice's house to plan our trips to Germany and Greece.
In the end it turned out that Kelsey and I will be the only ones going to Germany, which is fine we will still have a lot of fun, and I am really excited to see Lulu!
Greece is looking really cheap, and it is definitely going to happen which makes me so happy because I thought that was completely out of the picture.

Today Kate, Bernice and I tried a new church called city life. They hold their services in the basement of a hotel and they are a very small church, and I loved it! The church is small and everyone is one big family and very welcoming and kind. The worship was great even though it was just singers singing to a soundtrack and the pastor ironically enough gave a sermon on the goodness of God. I love when God reaffirms me. =)
I think we decided that City Life will be a great church for us to go to on Sunday mornings and we will go to Vineyard on Sunday nights (and Thursdays for bible study).
I am so excited that God is providing me with churches and a family, I love seeing the body of Christ throughout the world!!

I realized today how God will be using me here, and that I do have a purpose. He wants me to pour into my brothers and sisters, build them up, encourage them, and share his love with people. We sang this song today at church and it just pumped me up for serving him, it always does when we sing it but it did even more so today.

"The enemy has been defeated and death couldn't hold You down
We're gonna lift our voice in victory, we're gonna make Your praises loud
Shout unto God with a voice of triumph, shout unto God with a voice of praise
Shout unto God with a voice of triumph, we lift Your name up
We lift Your name up!"

Tonight Kelsey, Bernice, Kate and I are going to go to Vineyard, I am really excited to see what their church is like. I loved the people I met there and I think it will be a great place for all of us to go to. Afterward we are going to Kate and Bernice's house to watch the superbowl! I am so excited, I am not a huge sports fan but I love to watch the superbowl and it is great to spend time with all of those girls!

The Goodness of God

I have realized in the week that I have been here, that if God teaches me anything while I am here it will be about his goodness. From the moment I stepped onto the plan leaving Phoenix I have felt and seen God's goodness and it has yet to cease since I have been here.
Last night I was filled with this joy that I know could only have come from him, it was a joy of being amazed at how good he is to me even though I am a terrible, sinful, unworthy person, yet he is still good and still full of love.
Last night Bernice, Kate and I went to a bible study led by the vineyard church, it was at a coffee shop and everything was free (the pastor paid for it all.) I had a delicious mint hot chocolate and was immediately greeted by so many people, I loved that so many people were willing to get to know me and they genuinely wanted to hear what I had to say, which unfortunately doesn't happen often in the church. The bible is geared towards new/non believers it is about discovering and exploring the meaning of life, we start with a sermon based on a topic (prayer, who is Jesus, why did he die, etc.) and then we discuss questions in our group. I am really excited about it because I think it will be a great way to learn how people view Jesus and Christians as well as an opportunity for me to pour into people.
After bible study, Bernice, Kate and I talked about starting a bible study between the three of us, just a way to keep each other accountable and pour into each other. We decided we would do it Tuesday evenings we will make dinner together and then do the God Story together (for those of you who don't know the God Story is a podcast series that goes through the scriptures.)
Last night I had a huge prayer answered and it was such an amazing feeling, to find a community, and people who want to grow deeper in their relationship with God with me.
Lately I had been feeling really insecure about being here, my purpose and how I am going to get plugged in and I just felt this was God's way of saying "Hey, don't worry about it I am taking care of it, just follow me!" Don't you love it when God is right? ;)
After discussing bible study and church together, we started discussing travel plans and it looks like Greece is in the picture! I am beyond excited about going to Greece I had been hoping to make it there but was really uncertain but Kate said we can find some cheap flights, and her brother can get us really great deal on hotel rooms. Traveling with Kate, Bernice, Kelsey, and possibly Elizabeth will be so much fun, hopefully it all works out!
Later we went to karaoke, I didn't sing nothing popped out at me, but karaoke is every Thursday so maybe next week.
Today I am off to see if I can fix my phone once and for all, wish me luck!

A Slow Day

I realized I forgot to tell everyone that my American housemate (Maggie) went back to America and is no longer here which is why Kelsey and I wanted to see if she could move in with us. The accommodation office said they would let us know, but Kelsey and I thought that it might not be a good idea after all. Kelsey thought it would be good to get to know her roommates that we both can meet new friends, I definitely agree but it is hard having both of my roommates gone a lot.

Today I didn't have class so I slept in until about 8:45 (yes that is sleeping in for me!) I woke up and spent some time with Jesus which was wonderful and I got ready for the day. Today I realized how beautiful it is here. I was so stressed and busy these past few days that I didn't take the time to look at all the beautiful creation around me. It was very foggy this morning left over from the snow/misty rain and it just looked beautiful. It is amazing to be in a place that has so much moisture, you don't get that living in the desert. It is so wet here that the trees are covered in moss, and even though the trees are barren the moss brings out their beauty.

This morning I organized my room and hung up pictures so it is starting to look like home, because of this I finally took pictures of my room and house and will be posting them soon. I still need to figure out how to do that on here. Kelsey and I went and registered with a doctor today which was nice to finally do, its only about a 5 minute walk and they seem really friendly. After we went to the post office and bought some stamps so I can mail out some letters and postcards now which makes me really excited! They were having a huge poster sale on campus and we went to check it out and I ended up getting three posters, it was such a great deal! (3 for 5 pounds!) I got two posters for our apartment next year which will look beautiful, and a pig poster for my sister because she loves them and it was totally her!
We hit up the library next, and I checked out the two plays I need to read for class which are fairly short, and I like that a lot! The library is seven stories and the top floor has windows around the entire thing so you get a panoramic view of the city...it is absolutely gorgeous!!
After we came back to my house and looked up flight/train tickets for Germany we found a pretty good deal. A train from here to Manchester and then a plane from Manchester to Frankfurt is about 200 pounds which is actually a great deal! I think we are going to go the last week of February and visit my friend Lulu who lives there, I am so excited.
Tonight I am going with Bernice and Kate to a bible study tonight so we shall see how that goes, after I think Bernice, Kelsey and I are going to karaoke. Bernice and I sang a duet last week...maybe this week I will sing solo? We shall see!

First Week of School

Well I made it through the first week and it wasn't so bad!
Last night Bernice, Kelsey and I went and checked out the trampoline club...yes they have a club for jumping on trampolines and doing tricks. It was really neat but a little on the pricey side about $113 for the semester so we decided to go with the gym memberships. We got the gym memberships for $120 which is a good deal because it is $40 dollars a month but the guy was really nice and gave it to us for February until June 3rd.
After that Kelsey and I came back and we watched the first disc of the first season of friends!
I have never seen friends before but Kelsey has every season so by the time I come back I will have been completely caught up and whatever it was I have been missing all of these years.
After Kelsey left I got on skype to talk to Barry and he told me he sent me an email. I checked my email and found what was probably the best surprise of my lifetime, a flight confirmation to England from March 13th-20th. I was so happy I actually cried (I am still on the emotional side, crying is not going to become a regular thing) I felt so blessed.
I was able to be skyped in into the old bible study it was really wonderful to see everyone and be apart of it for a little. I didn't stay for the whole thing it was getting too late (almost 3 in the morning) but what I did stay for was great.
Today I went to my theater class and I am really excited for it, it sounds really interesting and the people seem like a lot of fun.
Today Bernice, Elizabeth, Kelsey and I all went to the grocery store and finally went grocery shopping. We went to ASDAS which is a huge grocery store and it even had a lot of gluten free and organic items which was refreshing. We called a taxi to take us home and waited outside in the cold while it was snowing for about 20 minutes but it was well worth it.
Tonight we signed up for our gym memberships and I was able to have my first workout in almost a week. A workout that was long over due but it was nice to check out the equipment and get my abs into shape.

I am really starting to like it here now that I am getting into a routine and everything is starting to come together.
I just want prayer that God will continue to reveal to me my purpose here and what he is calling me to do.
The prayers are appreciated!

Oh and I had fish and chips today (you have to its England!)
The fish was surprisingly good but way too greasy for my liking, and I have had better chips here but it was worth the try.

http://alidaoegema.blogspot.com/2010/01/blog-post_18.html
Here is a link to my friend Alida's blog she made me a prayer card, and I wasn't able to send it to everyone's email address. If you want to save it on your computer or print it out to remember to pray for me that would be wonderful! Thanks again!

Communication is Key

Yesterday I registered officially with the University of Hull. So no I am an official student, I.D. card and all. After registration I had to go around to each department and sign up for the classes I wanted, thankfully it all went smoothly I was able to get into the three classes I wanted (including the one I need for AHI credit), none of the times clashed and I didn't miss a class.
My Schedule:
Monday: 4:15-6:05 Postmodernism and Gender in Society (1975-Present)
This class will be...interesting it is about gender in the postmodern world of America. The entire class is outlined and basically it sounds like we will be learning a lot about the gay culture through different areas of media (we are watching movies, looking at art, reading poetry and novels.) The only thing I am worried about is the class we discuss pornography because I think the book we are looking at has pictures so that will be very weird. Our only project is a 5000 word paper due May 18th.

Tuesday: 10:15-11:15, 4:15-5:15 Consumer Cultures Britain and America in the 1950's
This class is a lecture and the second part is like a tutoring/question answer portion. I actually have this class with Kelsey and we went to it today. It seems really interesting and our professor is really funny. He says it is really easy and if we fail it he will come shoot us! We have two projects one due March 17th right before spring break, we have to answer 4 questions in less than 500 words. Then our final is a 2000 word essay due May 19th.

Wednesday 9:15-11:05 British Modern Theater this is the class I need for AHI credit so I am so excited I was able to get into it. I think our only project is a 3500 word essay, which is nice.

My classes seem pretty easy I just need to stay on top of all the writing, and make sure I get it done, depending on when my paper is due for my Theater class I might try to come back early.

After I registered for all of my classes, Kelsey, Bernice and I went downtown to see if we could figure out why my phone was not working, after walking and forth between T-mobile and the place where I got my phone unlocked and we discovered that my phone was locked in America. Thanks to my wonderful dad he did a lot of calling and got it unlocked so it should be unlocked within a few hours (it takes 24 hours).
The three of us then rushed to the grocery store since I had class soon, and picked up a few groceries to get us through a few days.
I went to my class and really enjoyed it and my teacher seems really cool. I am so excited to finally be starting a routine here.

I will update a little later today to inform everyone on how my day was, Kelsey and I are going to see if she can move in with me!