Moving Forward

Well I am mid way through week 3! Every day is something new to learn and take in. I'm going to answer my questions for you and hopefully that can give you some idea of what the days are looking like.

What I'm thinking: All day today we have been broken up into small groups based on world views we will be working with. I was put into the Postmodern group. So I spent all day looking at how a person with a postmodern world view would think and react to spiritual things. As you can imagine, lots to think about and digest there :)

What I'm reading: Well in addition to plowing through the Book Thief when I can, I am required to read another book related to the European affinity. So I chose Postmodernism 101 by Heath White. This is a quick and easy read to get a handle on where postmodern thinking came from and how it causes people to see the world and their lives. I was excited about finding it because most of the books that I have looked into on this topic have been very academic and can be hard to get through, but this one is great.

What I'm listening to: We do a lot of sitting around and singing here on the Farm. (I know, it's not helping the mental picture you already had of "The Farm"). One night we were just pulling out songs that the guys can play and we sang Always by Kristian Stanfill and it has been with me ever since. These words have brought we such comfort in these days:
                                                      "Oh my God he will not delay
                                                      My refuge and strength always
                                                    I will not fear, His promise is true
                                                   My God will come through always."
In other music, The Civil Wars' new album came out yesterday. Two thumbs way up.

What I'm learning: Oh man. What am I not learning? Yesterday we had a speaker who talked about spiritual fruit in our lives and how God needs to prune away some things in our lives some times to cause us to bear more and better fruit. It's a heavy thing to think about, but we know that if we want our lives to bring God much glory and we want to bear much fruit, then sometimes we have to make some sacrifices in our own lives. Big lesson learned there this week. Oh also, I learned how to navigate a Metro map. Handy.

What I'm watching: Well right this moment I am enjoying some quiet time in my room, but just a while ago me and some of the other Europe girls went to cheer on our friend in the basketball tournament. They got put out in the first round, but hey you can't win em all.

What I'm cooking: I feel like I should remove this question until I actually reach Germany (but it definitely needs to come back then, because I am so sure you will want to read about my cooking adventures). The closest thing I have done to cooking was eating a cookie someone else baked in our quad. That doesn't count.

What I'm buying: Thanks to the generosity of a friend who gave me a Barnes and Noble gift card before I left Murfreesboro, I just bought The Knowledge of the Holy by AW Tozer for my iPad. Way excited about getting into that. I have many many books piling up...

What I'm thankful for: I have just been continually praising God for his provision this week. I am so thankful for everything he is providing in my life and in the lives of those I love, both here and at home. Please pray with me for these here who are still waiting for unresolved things so that they can head overseas. We know that we serve a big God who is able and that he will provide. AND I am also rejoicing over my Immunization Plan that I got yesterday. If you know me well, you know that needles is my major fear in life. And we aren't talking like I don't care for them, I'm talking I will scream and faint if you come near me with one. So you can see how an Immunization Plan could get me worked up. I was expecting to not have to have many, if any at all, when I got here but then when we went through our first Medical session I was told differently. Adding things up I was expecting to have about 4 in this first of three shot clinics. But PRAISE GOD I only have to have 4 total!!! This may sound goofy, but please be praying with me about my anxiety over this. If you don't have the same fear as another person sometimes it's hard to understand, but I would appreciate your prayers for strength and comfort in the face of that fear.

What I'm planning: I have much planning to be done this week. I am planning Skype appointments, time to read these books, and time to spend with the Lord. Also my Scripture memory is going well so far! Here is the one from last week and I promise it's by heart... "I am the vine you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit for apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5 Yay! The leader of our training really admonished us as young people to take advantage of this season and commit to memory as much Scripture as we can. I found this really cool Scripture memory project. It's a Charlotte Mason method so it's bound to work :) Check it out
http://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/memorysys/

What I'm looking forward to: Tomorrow Chuck Lawless is coming from Southern Seminary to teach us a whole day of Doctrine. I am looking forward to hearing him speak on how we take doctrine and see it through the lens of missions.

A picture to share: Ok I actually have one this week! I told you that a group of us were going into Washington DC on Saturday for just a fun day off. We took 12 of us and had a great day! We walked our tails off (about 10 miles of walking!) but we had a great day! Here is a picture of me and some of the Europe Journeygirls in front of the White House

 

It Has Begun

It's hard to believe that I have been here on the Farm for a whole week now. We often have been told  that the days are long but the weeks are short and we definitely have felt that so far. The first week here at Training has been full. Full of classes, full of new people, and full of heart. We have bonded in a way that we can't explain, and I am so grateful for each of the new friends I have made so far. I am living in a quad with four other single girls, a couple, and a family with two sweet boys. We go to classes during the day that range from Taxes and Insurance to Church Planting with much more to come. But some of the greatest times that we have had so far has just been in the evenings when we can hang out together and laugh, play games, play music and sing together. Such a rich time of getting to know these people who are on this same journey as me.

I was given the suggestion that I would answer some questions once a week to kind of let you all know what I'm up to and what life looks like here and once I get to Jena. So here's my first whack at it :)

What I'm thinking: Today I have been thinking about something that was said in our meeting this morning. We read  Luke 10:2 which says "And he said to them 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'" How liberating a thought that there is a Lord of the harvest and it isn't me. I don't have to make it happen, I just have to be faithful to the work. I've been pondering that today...

What I'm reading: Presently I am reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. A wonderful friend gave it to me before I left and I am thoroughly enjoying it. It's the story of a foster girl in Nazi Germany who steals books and learns to read with the help of her foster father. Also the story is narrated by Death, so it doesn't get much cooler than that.

What I'm listening to: Oh man so much good music is coming out soon. Sara Bareilles' new album came out last week and I'm really enjoying it. I got two new Ben Rector songs as well, Ordinary Love and Beautiful. Both very much worth a listen. As far as what I'm hearing at this very moment... it's actually quiet. Usually our quad is full of people dropping by or hanging out, but for now it's quiet.

What I'm learning: I am learning so much geography this week. We had a mapping ceremony on Sunday evening and everyone stood up and told where they were going and placed a picture of themselves on a big map in the lobby. I have never been so aware of different places in the world.

What I'm watching: There is a playground right outside of our quad so I can see all the kids and parents on the playground. Right now I can see two little girls pushing a giant teddy bear in a swing :)

What I'm cooking: I have literally not cooked a thing in more than two weeks. All of our meals are cooked for us here so I haven't had to cook anything.

What I'm buying: I don't have a car on campus here so the when ever some one is going to town I just have to hitch a ride. We went to Wal Mart on Sunday afternoon because I had to buy a new umbrella. Mine blew inside out when it rained one day last week. Brilliant.

What I'm thankful for: I am thankful for the amazing quad mates that I got placed with. They have been such a blessing so far.

What I'm planning: As a part of our training we have to set goals for ourselves that we would like to meet before leaving the Farm in September. One of mine is to memorize six Bible verses. So today I have spent some time making some notecards and mapping out which I am going to focus on this week. This week's verse is John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." Not quite from memory, but I'm getting there!

What I did over the weekend: This weekend we did our first mile run. Everyone on campus did a timed run and we have to show progress by the time we do our last one in September. So let's just say not everyone was giving 110%... Then we just hung out for the afternoon. Some of the other girls in the Europe quads and I started the Insanity workouts last week so we did our second day on Saturday evening. We had our first small group time on Sunday. None our worship gatherings at training will be western. So no group gatherings for worship in English. We meet in house churches on Sunday mornings and will eventually meet in them during the week as well. Sunday afternoon we went to town and then had our mapping ceremony that evening. A great first weekend in VA!

What I'm looking forward to: This Saturday our affinity is hoping to take a trip into Washington DC to do some touristy things for the day.

A picture to share: Ok I'm not fully prepared for this yet, but hopefully by next week I'll have one to share :)

Two Weeks

 

In two weeks from today, I will be packing up to leave Murfreesboro. As scary as that sounds, I could not be any more excited and ready for this next step toward Jena.
The past weeks have been both a blur and a blessing. I was able to speak and share at Walter Hill First Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, who has so graciously committed to pray for me during my time away. My home church, Third Baptist, has been overwhelmingly supportive, as seen by the many who have committed to pray. I was so honored to share with the children who attended Vacation Bible School during June. This past Sunday I was able to speak at Grandview Baptist Church in Maryville, the church where I was saved and baptized, and East Maryville Baptist Church. Every group has been so encouraging and welcoming to the mission of Connexxion and committing to pray for me and for Jena.

I was so blessed to be prayed for by these youth. The Lord has strengthened my spirit through the support of others. To each of you who is praying, thank you for your support and your love as I go. Thank you for loving the gospel and the nations and being a people that wants to see the good news spread.

In the midst of packing bags and travel details, God has continued to give me a vision for what He wants to do in this time. I go back over and over to the verse in Matthew after Jesus has taken Peter, James and John up to the mountain and they saw him transfigured. The men were so scared and so overwhelmed by the glimpse of the glory of God. The Scripture says in Matthew 17:8 that, "When they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only." Jesus was revealed to those men in a way that they weren't expecting and they weren't ready for. But when they lifted their eyes, they weren't focused on their fear, uncertainty, or bewilderment. They only saw Jesus. God wants to zero our focus in so closely that all else fades and falls away and his Son is all we see. That is my prayer for this season of life, that even when uncertainty comes, fear is real, and my spirit is on overload, let Jesus be all I see. Pray with me that the people of Jena will see him as well.

 

Thinking of Jena

Thank you for taking interest in this season of my life and joining me in prayer over this adventure! While following this blog, you will be kept up to date on my life living in Jena, Germany as well as my spiritual musings and events leading up to my exciting departure. I hope to share fun things I learn while preparing for German living, and maybe even a recipe or two!

If I haven't already told you the long story of how I got to this point, let me share the short version.
 

In August 2012, I applied to be a Journeyman through the International Mission Board. A Journeyman serves a two year term with ministries in countries all over the world. Through MUCH paperwork, I went to Expo in February. Expo, for anyone considering this experience in the future, is one of the most intense few days I have ever lived. A long list of job requests is given to you and you have to choose your top three jobs by the end of the Expo. While it was stressful, I have never been so aware of both the need all over the globe and the amazing love of God for all people from all nations. After I turned in my top three, I waited a few weeks and received a phone call telling me I had been placed in Jena, Germany! I will be working with a ministry called Connexxion which is focused on reaching the campus of the University of Jena through connections with other students and with God. This adventure begins officially in July when I will go to Richmond, Virginia for 8 weeks of training. After those 8 weeks, I will return home for a few days and fly out to Germany in late September.

 

As I prepare for these next steps, I am studying the city. It's history, important people, landmarks, and location are helping me understand more and more the heart of the city. I am also beginning to study German. The bulk of my language study will happen once I get settled in Jena, but I want to go ahead and at least familiarize myself with it a bit. Pray for me in these studies that I may be diligent and retain what I learn.

 

Other things you can be praying for include:

 

This is my first move away from home. Like ever. If you know my family, you know how close we are and I know that the first while away from home will be difficult. Be praying for my whole family in the first waves of this separation. 

Be praying for spiritual strength as I am taken out of my very church-centered life and placed into Jena, where that won't be the case.

Pray for those who I will be in contact with when I arrive.  I will be there just before the semester begins, so I will quickly meet tons of new people and get to know them.  Pray that I will "not see anyone in a purely human way" but as Christ sees them. (2 Cor 5:16)

Thank you again for your support as I take this leap!