Convinced of Community

Hi Friends,

I want to share what I experienced this past Monday. Every Monday evening we have a ladies only house group that is in German. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's just a time during the week that a few people from the church get together to grow further in their walk with God by discussing things from the sermon and serving one another in this community.

I have so enjoyed all of our meetings and always leave encouraged. Despite all my wonderful feelings toward my group I didn't want to go on Monday because I knew it would be difficult to hold myself together. It's not that things are bad in my life or that I was just feeling emotional but it just happened that I received lots of difficult news from various people I care deeply about and the situations they are facing over the past two weeks. At first I thought I was not so phased by it but the longer it had to settle in me and with no one to tell except God, I was feeling burdened. It's hard to describe because I have a peace about each situation but I still had to grieve what people are facing.

In our meetings we always begin with worship, so this usually involves singing or some other creative type of worship. We began singing and it wasn't long before the tears started rolling. They came down quietly, first a few and then some more but I was somewhat in control. Then the lady next to me put her arm around me and I lost it. It's amazing how wonderful a touch can be. Anyways, the group allowed me to grieve and be real in their midst without all of the attention turning to me and the evening becoming about me. I am so thankful that the focus stayed where it was supposed to but yet I new people were still there supporting me. I think community is wonderful.

When you want to run from it, that's perhaps when you need it the most. It's humbling to "fall apart" and be real in front of many people but at the same time I'm so glad I have a place to do this. As I was leaving and reflecting I was more convinced than ever that we need community.

So that's a little of what I've been learning and experiencing this week. I know this is more personal than previous blogs but I hope that's ok.

Due to technical difficulties I will not be posting a video. Here's my exciting news. Disclaimer: exciting for me does not necessarily mean exciting to you. Five guys have expressed interest in learning a dance to be performed at one of our services. I think this is a great response since there have not been any guys dancing since I've come here. I'll keep you posted as things develop with this.

In other VERY EXCITING news my sister, her hubby and his dad will be joining me for spring break. I'm looking forward to my vacation which I have combined with my ELE (extended learning experience) which is my chance to debrief about my time here. I won't be back until April 6th, so I'm not planning on updating you during my vacation so I will give you the highlights once I return. I wish you all a wonderful Easter!

Y'all have a great week now!

Assembling Ikea Furniture

You know you've officially arrived at a level of new independence once you successfully assemble some Ikea furniture. Our project was to get the pull out couch together and functioning. It was actually quite easy and fun but I thought I'd post some pics of our hard work and then enjoying the fruit of our labor. This is Barbara's new couch and that means I get the comfy chair moved to my room. Score!

A personal hello:

So here's the world's greatest mentors.

Here's the whole gang.

This dress was screaming Karen Sudds when I walked by....can you hear it calling you?

This is for Rish and anyone else wanting to see shorter hairs styled curly.

And finally a few sights from Strasbourg.

houses

cathedral

random street

artistic license used: I think it's better upside down :)

That's all for now folks

Tschussy!

Extra Extra Read All About It!!

This update is all about good news. I know it's the same day and I'm posting again. What madness is this? Well when you're excited about stuff you just gotta tell whoever you can and since you're my captive audience I thought I'd share with you first (seeing as it's 11:45pm).

1. You may have noticed that the thermometer has more than doubled it's first amount and it accounts for just over half of what I need! I must say I had some tears in my eyes to see how much you all have supported me. It really is overwhelming, so thank you for all of your love in this way.

2. I am taking part in a Mannheim Marathon on May 15th. I'm not crazy though, it's a relay with 4 people, so I will be running with others from our church. This is great motivation to keep active and help in preparation for the 10k I'm planning on running with my friend when I return home. I also think this will be a fun event. I forget the name for it but it's going to be a run into the dusk, which I think is a good idea when it's May! So, I'll keep you posted on some of my training but mostly on the big day.

3. I feel like any good Alliance sermon I need a third point. So here it is. I am growing so much here and I'm so often encouraged. That makes sense now that I read this - positive words bring life and that's something I'm experiencing here. I've also had a lot of opportunities to just try new things, so it's been a confidence builder. Lastly, I have amazing friends here and back home! I am truly blessed.

4. I get to dance everyday in my room because there's lots of room. In fact there's more room in here than in the kitchen so we're gunna try moving our table and chairs into my room so we can fit all our guests comfortably around the table for Sunday lunch. I think this will be funny, functional and memorable!

5. Ok I could go on and on but for your sake I'll end it here.

6. If you wanna comment I'd like to hear one thing that is great in your life today :)

K Bye!

As Promised a Dance Update

This is take number three because I only have 60 seconds on my camera at a time for recording something. I figure this is useful to you the viewer because I can't ramble on and I must stick to the important stuff. So here's my update from the weekend. Thanks for stopping by and tuning in.

BTW tonight I'll be leading communion at our house group which is another first for me!

I was struck yet again on Sunday by how different Mannheim is to Calgary. On Sundays everything is closed with the exception of gas stations and a few restaurants. I believe Calgary used to be more like that when I was a kid but not these days. While at times it's inconvenient, I enjoy this aspect of life here.

So Encouraged I'm Ready to Burst!

This was our place for the weekend and 13 of us fit comfortably in here! The interior had a wonderful lay out maximizing on the space available :)

Here's a few nature shots from our walk.

Hi Again!

A Call to Prayer

Hi Friends,

I'm sure most of you have heard from the regular news that this weekend Haiti has called for prayer and fasting. I have a friend who some of you know, Sarah Gilman, who has been in Haiti since the beginning of October. She has been regularly updating us with personal stories and I just wanted to share this report with you.

Hello,
Two things.
First I'm just writing to call you and everyone you know to join Haiti for a national weekend of prayer! Yep, Haiti it's self has called a weekend of fasting and prayer on behalf of it's nation. They have been broadcasting and speaking on national radio calling all witch doctors and everything to come and repent these next three days. As foreign staff we will be staying on the base to fast and pray for our Haitian brothers and sister, while our Haitian staff join their cities to pray. I ask that you would pray for the nation at this time. This is a huge deal, cause Haitians themselves are calling for this weekend of prayer, not foreigners, which is much more common!

We are praying that the hearts of this nation would repent for putting their trust in Voodoo, and would turn their hearts towards Jesus Christ. We are praying that the hearts of this nation would trust in Jesus as their Lord and savior. We are praying that the Lord would continue to have mercy on the people of this nation and in turn the people would dedicate this Country to Him! And, we are praying for what ever else comes to mind!

The second is this.
I just had to tell you about the event I was part of this evening. We've just been given an ambulance! Ya, there are none in this city! This ambulance came from Pennsylvania by ship. After dinner we all left our dirty dishes at our tables and trouped on out the the ambulance! We have a mega phone right now, and our director's wife spoke into it. (Our director is in the states for a few days) She spoke about the vision she has carried for twenty years that there would be a clinic. Even as we speak there is a building being built in the 5th section that will hold a clinic! We also have a piece of property that has been sort of dropped into our laps since the earthquake that we are using as a hospital right now. The ambulance is going to be used for earthquake victims for now. But once that is all finished we are going to use the ambulance to bring people from the 5th section into the city for good care! We stood around the ambulance and sang, “Give thanks with a great full heart!” then we laid hands on the ambulance and prayed for all that will happen with it.

I really felt that I'd just witnessed a historic event! The man that brought it on the ship actually flew special from England to make sure it got here.

So there you have it....
I'll try to keep you posted on prayer and praise reports.
Thanks, Sarah

I hope you're encouraged and will join Haiti in their prayers. Thanks for dropping by!