Recap

I returned to Germany on Saturday night, after a longish and tiring trip home.

My trip to Africa was very adventurous. The first week I spent at a University of the Nations conference, which is the educational side of YWAM. It was fun just to meet new people from all over the place (as per the YWAM usual...) and help Gabe as he was responsible for the event photography. The second week Gabe and I joined a group of DTS students that traveled into the African desert to meet Bedouin people, and work on their arts. In all there were 48 of us from the Music DTS that is just beginning their outreach, and the photo an fine art DTS students, who only spent about a day in Germany before they flew to Africa for this trip! We were able to see God's provision, protection and guidance throughout the hot and hectic week!

It was an exciting week for me personally, as Gabe and I got engaged! I realize that I haven't told many the story of how we met last fall, so read on to hear more about us :-)

Gabe and I met last fall during our Discipleship Training school(DTS), and I very quickly realized that he was the best friend I could ask for, and someone I didn't want to live my life without. We enjoy spending time together, share many things in common, and also have areas that we add to the others life. (For more details about his first impressions of me, or the "fog" story about how God confirmed to Gabe that I was the one for him! we'll have to get Gabe to tell...) During a DTS students are not allowed to begin dating relationships (and for good reason) so Gabe and I spent the fall getting to know one another better and focused on our personal relationships with God. The three month outreach was a challenge, but when I returned to the castle in Germany, the first person I got a huge hug from was Gabe :-) Needless to say, we officially began our dating relationship as soon as the leadership gave us the "okay!"

So, this last week, while we were touring in the Egyptian desert with a group of DTS students, Gabe asked me to marry him, and of course my answer was, "Yes!"
We were laying in the sand looking at the Milky Way (and making sure that the scorpions didn't get our toes!) when he told me how much he loves me. That he loves me when I am all gross and Outreach-ified, and when I am clean and sniffy. That he loves me when I am happy and laughing and when I am grumpy or pouting. The list goes on :-) SO! We are very excited and busily working at the things that are before us! I love you all tons!

Short trip south

Hello friends. Having spent the last week cleaning, training and getting a bit settled in Germany, I am off tomorrow morning on a two week trip to Africa! It will be a very new experience for me, and I am both excited and anxious for what is to come. I am headed home shortly to pack, and pray that I have all the items I will need for a trip to the desert :-)

I may have some internet access this next week, but the following week I will be pretty unreachable, so I'll do my best to let you know about my trip (and safe travels) when I return to the castle on Monday the 21st. I love you all dearly.

Fall cleaning

I arrived back in Herrnhut on Sunday afternoon, and am in the process of getting as settled as I can. I feel rather like a nomad, as I leave again on Saturday for a few weeks, and am not sure where I will be living when I get back. It's good to be here, but I'll be more comfortable when I have a home and can really move in.

I arrived just in time for massive castle cleaning, which as many of you know, makes me feel right at home. One problem with community living is that nobody takes responsibility for the general space, so the good old tragedy of the commons means that everything gets trashed! I spent a few hours this morning just tidying at my flat, and then when I got to the castle to use the internet I found that our base leader had just called out the students and staff for what a mess the castle was. It's a lot of work to keep this place clean, but very much worth it to not live and work in a sty.
I officially get to work tomorrow with some training for the "school back office" team that I will be working with. It should be a busy week before Gabe and I train back up to Berlin to catch our flight to Egypt on Saturday. I'll be there for two weeks and am anticipating some interesting adventures :-)

I hope to post some more pictures of what life in Herrnhut, aka "the Hut" looks like, so keep an eye out for the facebook album. Hugs!

Long London Layover

I'm about halfway through my move to Herrnhut, so in less than 24 hours time I will be at home! I am sleepy, but just wanted to say that things are going well :-)Much love.

Woah.

I am not frantic. Yet. I'm just trying to remember all the little things that creep into my brain before I forget to put them on a list, and I am trying to figure out how to put my life into a bag that is a)big enough to fit it all, b)small enough for me to haul around the German airports, cities and public transportation systems, c)doesn't weight more than 51 lbs. Ugh.

Gabe got in last night/today, and I just wish that we had been able to travel together: I don't like traveling alone. Oh well, on the next adventure (which is only two weeks away!) We get to travel there together, even if we don't get to come back together...

Okay, I'm off to go weight this beast of a bag! Oh, and my mom loves me so much, that she's making Thanksgiving dinner tonight! Maybe I'll post pictures of Thanksgiving in August :-)

As the End (or the Beginning!) approaches.

It's been a sweet summer. I have had opportunities to be with my family, connect with all of my closest college friends, and spend three weeks in Colorado visiting Gabriel and his family :-)

I got home this afternoon from a few days visiting my grandparents with the fam, and realized that the countdown is on for my last few weeks in the states! I fly back to Germany on the 28th of August, and have plenty to do still before I leave. I'm in the process of working out some details for my activities during the month of September. The options include Egypt, Ethiopia, possibly Libya, and of course Germany! It will be an adventure no matter where the Lord leads.

Greetings from the Northwest (previous email update)

I am at my parents home in Washington for the summer and am so excited to be able to update you about my crazy happenings.

In March, I returned from an outreach adventure to Nepal (sandwiched by brief periods visiting a House of Prayer in India.) My time in Asia was both wonderful and hard. This trip was my first experience in a non-Western culture, where I understood little to nothing of the language or the culture. It was eye-opening to see the way in which so much of the world's population lives, but also reassuring that people are relational and open even with tremendous barriers to communication. There are so many stories and pictures, it would be impossible to share it all in person, let alone through an email update! But if you want an overview of our time and the places we visited, check out the Outreach photo album from my blog. Generally, I experienced the chaos that is life and travel in Asia. We had some crazy bus and jeep rides between the two countries; experienced road strikes & garbage pick-up strikes (we didn't even realize there was a trash collection service-most people just burn their refuse, or simply throw it in a ditch...); we cooked homemade Tibetian Momos; painted a wall mural which included the message "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life," shared "open programs" in villages; wrote our own Prayer flags which we hung in the high places of worship, and generally enjoyed spending time with our contacts and their wonderful families.

I don't think I realized quite how much I appreciate and love life in Germany (or the West) until we got back from outreach. It was such a relief to be able to set my clock to the Deutschbahn (German train system), to understand the language being spoken around me (well, at least more than Nepali or Hindi), and revel in drinking water from the tap, and having electricity all 24 hours of the day! Even though the awe wears off quickly, the reality of the challenges that much of the world face stays present in my mind. I am excited to be a part of a community that is seeking to meet the needs of the poor and needy in practical ways, as well as bringing the light of a life lived in relationship with God.

As I shared briefly in the winter, I will be going back as a full-time missionary at the Herrnhut base. I will be doing practical work at the base helping coordinate the various schools, I will meet with students in one-on-one and small group settings (in the future, I would love to staff schools and lead outreaches, but want to focus on serving in Herrnhut this fall) and I will focus on the long-term goal of opening a cafe in Herrnhut. Our vision for the cafe is that will be more than just a comfortable spot to enjoy a conversation and a good cup of coffee. We will do good through our cafe. Our cafe will be an open invitation for the local community to learn about and share in the work that God has called us to, both here and around the world. Our proceeds will go to help open other cafes in locations around the world, such as the cafe that opened this winter in Ethiopia, where prostitues were given the chance to take up a new line of work! We want the cafe to be a place where we can develop and share the creativity that God has given each of us. To have exhibitions of the photographs and stories that students have collected from around the world; open mic nights for musicians, story tellers and poets; an art and pottery studio where we can use our hands to express God's glory.

Whew!

I am loving having some time to be "home"--to work a bit; to celebrate High School graduation with my sister, Tressa; to visit friends in Colorado; and to spend some time with my entire family when we are all home in August. Life is full and sweet.