Arise and Share in the Father's Joy

This week we have chapel every morning, as opposed to only Fridays. We have a guest speaker and worship band visiting us, for what we call Spiritual Emphasis Week. The speaker and band leader are both graduates of BFA, so they can relate well to our students. The speaker, Andi, has taken our theme, Arise, and daily shared through the scriptures what that means. On Tuesday he encouraged us to look again at the parable of the Prodigal, in Luke 15. How many sons are in the story? The younger brother gets all the attention, because he seemingly does the more horrible thing. "Dad, I wish you weren't here. Give me the stuff that I'll get when you die. Give it to me now." When he works up the courage to return, he plans to earn his way back. "Make me a hired servant in your house." But the older brother actually does something similar. When the younger returns, the older refuses to feast with everyone. He is mad that his Dad killed the fattened calf, which belongs to him! Because he too received his inheritance, he sees his brother returning as a threat to that inheritance. "Now that brother is back, that means I get less stuff!" So he is also saying to his father, "I don't want you here. I want the stuff you own." And this brother is not reconciled to the father. Jesus ends the story there, as though to ask his listeners, the Pharisees, will you come in? I am already eating with the younger brother, the tax collectors and sinners, and you're invited as well. Will you join with us?

The church I attend, Calvary Chapel Kandertal, is in need of a worship leader. Up until last week, we were listening to and singing along with YouTube worship songs. Last Sunday, I, my roommate Emily, and a BFA student, led live worship for the growing church. We plan to do so again this coming week. I really just had fun with this. We're singing songs in German and in English, I'm trying to choose songs that people already know, or can figure out quickly, but my goal is really to find worship that reflects the glory of God and fits well with the message that Pastor Frank brings. Please pray for me as I choose worship songs, pray for the team as we practice, and for God to raise up a permanent worship leader!

I ask that you also pray for the child of some of my dear friends here. His name is Broden. He is only 9 months old, and has been in the hospital since Saturday. The doctors believe there may be neurological problems, but all tests thus far have been inconclusive. Here is the most recent update from his parents, Lauren and Adam: "Broden Update #4: We are so thankful that an MRI has been scheduled for this coming Friday. In the meantime, we will remain in the hospital. We are hoping and praying that this test will reveal the issue so further action can be taken. They have also taken additional blood and urine samples in order to test for additional abnormalities. Please especially pray for us on Friday as Broden will be put under anesthesia for the MRI. Please also pray that results will determine the underlying cause for all of his issues. Thank you all for your love, support and prayers!"

4 weeks later...

Are you ever driving, when you suddenly look at the speedometer and realize you're going 90 mph? You ease off the gas pedal until you return to a normal speed. Or you slam on the brakes when you see a state trooper waiting a 1/4 mile ahead.
This summer was that moment for me. Except I realized I was driving 100 mph with my eyes closed. Don't worry, this is a metaphor. Once I had a chance to stop, rest, and reflect this summer, the magnitude of my busyness swept past me at an alarming speed. Here at BFA, we often say that the first year of service is like drinking from a fire hose. So much information and responsibility is thrown at you for so long, it starts to feel normal. This summer, my supply of busyness was abruptly cut off, and it was then that I realized how busy I had been.
Don't get me wrong, it was a great summer. Reconnecting with churches, supporters, family, and friends. Not your typical summer vacation. But there were so many moments of peace and rest. Here are a few:

Boston with Clare and Emily, roommates and besties from Wheaton. Both have recently moved to Boston, which is only a seven hour drive from Rochester, so of course I had to go and visit. We wandered the Liberty trail, showed Clare her first Fife and Drum Corps, attempted to avoid the many tourists, and cooked a delightful dinner together in Emily's apartment, above a horse barn.

Ocean view in Plymouth, MA with Naomi, Rachel (cousins), Dad, and Anna. My parents and sister actually joined me for this trip to Boston, and stayed with family in the area. I've flown over the Atlantic recently, but haven't stuck my toes in it for some time. It's cold!

Babysitting Faith's darling twins. These cuties were born last November, so I had not yet had a chance to meet them. So I volunteered to watch them while Faith worked! Spent some fun time in the pool with their big brother, as well.

Quick overnight stop in Pittsburgh with Anna and Katie! Anna and I drove out to Wheaton for two weeks, but Pittsburgh is (kind of) on the way, so we stopped there for the night. Katie was in the same study abroad program as me in Munich two years ago. It was wonderful to see her again!

Exploring Chicago with Emily and Abbie. This day was rather impromptu (from my perspective) since I was invited to tag along that morning. But thank you both so much for including me! We visited the Museum of Mexican Art, found a cozy bookshop, and ate amazing Puerto Rican food.

Dreams coming true: seeing Hamilton, courtesy of Xander and Abbie. I still can't believe that happened. Go and buy your own tickets! Now!

Hiking in Stony Brook State Park (NY) with Sarah and Andrew. Picnicking and hiking go hand in hand. Plus, I miss the amazing river gorges of New York State. Perfect Saturday activity.

Salvatore's pizza with Josh, a random Appalachian mountain man. (Just kidding, he's my cousin.) Josh has been hiking the Appalachian trail for a few months, and he was about 4 hours away, so he decided to hop on a bus and meet us in Rochester! This was less than 24 hours before I left for Germany.

By no means did I take pictures with everyone. This is just a sampling of the many people who made the summer a restful and successful one. Thank you for the love and care you showed me!

Now that I'm back, it's time to slam on the gas, and go full speed ahead!

All the 2017-2018 BFA staff.

Gratitude as a Guest

We always automatically “grade” our hosts. It’s why online reviews and sites like Yelp exist. But how often do you consider whether or not you were a good guest?

Each culture has a different response the the guest/host dynamic, and each of us are taught to engage in that relationship differently by our parents (or other influential people). So, I’m curious: how do you act as a gracious guest, and how do you expect your guests to behave?

The popular Disney movie The Beauty and the Beast would suggest that in order to be a guest, one must just simply be. “Be our guest, be our guest, put our service to the test!” Belle is encouraged to sit and be served. In some places, this is the expectation. Full service restaurants, for example. But is that the expectation in someone’s home?

The biblical story of Mary and Martha having Jesus as a guest in Luke 10 reveals a harried Martha struggling to prepare every aspect of a meal for Jesus and his disciples. She snaps at Mary for simply spending time with their guest, and learning from the God of the universe. Jesus didn’t offer to help with the meal, or set the table. Instead, he offered wisdom and teaching, hoping Mary and Martha would listen. The meal does have to end up on the table somehow, though. So where do we find this balance?

I think fondly of family gatherings at my grandparents’ home. Family members arrive throughout the morning of a holiday and bring various dishes. Conversation flows throughout every room in that dear house as salad is made, bread is sliced, the table is set, and even more family members arrive. Everyone contributes to both culinary and conversational delights.

I also think of my dear friends who host a group of young women every Monday and Friday evening. We arrive sometime around dinner, where we find that everything already smells delicious. We don’t have to bring anything, though we often help set the table. All that is expected is that we rest and enjoy the company of the group.

There isn’t one specific way to be a good guest. Instead, there are many different ways to be a great one. Show gratitude and humility. Offering to help, especially if you sense that your host feels overwhelmed.


This past weekend, I visited a friend in Brussels, and stayed at her home. She already had quite a busy weekend planned, and I was grateful for her hospitality in spite of that. Enjoy the pictures of Brussels!

Le Grande Place (main square) in Brussels.

Lizzy and I exploring Brussels!

On Sunday morning, Abriel ran a 20k, ending under this beautiful archway. We went to cheer her on at the finish line after church.

Abriel (center left) was our host for the weekend! She and her financé David are getting married in July.

Relaxing in a serene park after the 20k.

Romania Service Trip

8. April
Oradea/Tinca, Romania

God, thank you for our safe arrival. Please give me strength to get through today on little sleep. I don't understand why I couldn't sleep, but you are already holding me. Help me to lean on you.

This was the first full day in Romania. We jumped right in with the hardest work we would do all week. In just one day we dug a trench (70m x 30cm x 40cm) for a new fence, carted away all the clay from that trench, spread topsoil over a good portion of their yard to level it out. All while it steadily drizzled rain over us. We were muddy and cold and sore by the end. Add to that, I can never sleep the first night in a new place, so I'm pretty sure I was running on < 1 hour of sleep. Talk about relying on God for everything.

9. April

Despite overwhelming physical discomfort and exhaustion, I will rely on you Lord. I pray that I can be effective, even if I don't feel up to the work we are doing. You can work through my muscles, and be my energy. All the same, I pray that I would know my physical limits and not try to do more than I physically can accomplish.
I don't know whether I have the energy to do the outreach, but I pray that you will work through us and help us to make the decision, so that our team will not feel burned out. 

The next day was Sunday, which was not a workday, but I still felt the effects of little sleep and very sore muscles. Our team split into 3 groups to visit 3 churches in nearby towns with Roma communities. My group actually attended a Hungarian church. And our translator spoke Hungarian and German. Which meant that I became the German-English translator for the non-German speaker on our team. I don't think I ever listened so carefully to a sermon before!

After church, all three groups met up again for lunch and shared experiences and impressions. Clint, our trip leader, shared with us the opportunity to hold an outreach later in the week with the Roma community where we were working (Tinca). He shared this opportunity first with the leaders. If we as leaders didn't feel up to planning such an event, there was no way we could motivate the students to participate as well. That day, I did not particularly feel motivated myself to plan and pull off something so ambitious, especially during an evening after a full day of labor. Good thing God was in control, and not me.

Stay tuned for part II. Coming soon!

Life-Giving Conversation

This weekend I visited London and Oxford. My grandmother, aunt and cousins were also in the city, providing the excuse to finally visit the island. We visited the Tower of London, Tate art gallery, Shakespeare's Globe (ahhhhhhh!), 221B Baker Street, and Trafalgar Square.

Sunday, however, I traveled to Oxford to meet up with a friend doing ministry there with refugees, and a friends studying at the university. As beautiful as Oxford was, the real treat was our conversations over burgers at the pub and over tea and scones in the afternoon. Grace and Bex hadn't met eachother before, as I know them from different points in my life, but as we all sipped our tea and spread clotted cream on our scones, the conversation flowed smoothly and unhaltingly. We share a love for the Lord, an affinity for tea, and a mutual friend (me!), which created the perfect environment for life-giving conversation.

Honestly, it probably doesn't matter what we discussed, but the connection we made fed my soul in a way it has hungered for lately. The sermon I heard at Magdalen Road Curch that morning was about some of Jesus' last words before he died: "I'm thirsty." To which the answer was a sponge soaked in wine vinegar. The pastor challenged us to thirst after Christ, for the righteousness that comes from a relationship with him, for the everlasting peace which only he can provide. On that cross, Christ took upon himself not only our sins and sorrows, he took on our thirst for everything that does not satisfy. My soul hungers and thirsts for connection. I can find that connection in friendships and human relationships, but that will never satisfy. After the burger at the pub, I needed to eat again. The hunger returned. But a relationship with Christ lasts and satisfies forever.

That said, we still need human connection. And God works through friends like Bex and Grace to provide the needed moments of peace and connection. We have a need to be known. And in that Oxford cafe, I was known by my friends, but more importantly, by my savior.

Silliness with the cousins!

Tower Bridge over the Thames

The Tower of London

It was a very windy day, and Charis was quite chilly, so I lent her my coat!

Taming of the Shrew at the Globe. Phenomenal performance. 

The Globe at night

St. Paul's, also at night.

Had to visit this street on my way out to Oxford! 

Can you believe the beautiful weather I got this weekend?

The door which supposedly inspired a certain children's book (insert something about lions, or was it a witch?)

Grace, Bex, and I after afternoon tea. (Don't forget your Oxford commas, people!)

The whole crew on tower bridge! (Minus our photographer, Aunt Rachel!)

Frühling kommt früher!

The German word for Spring is Frühling, which has the word früh (early) hidden inside of it. Makes sense, since here in the Black Forest we've had Spring for the past several weeks. Sorry, Rochester friends. This means I've been enjoying the fresh air and sunshine for quite some time already.

Though with the end of the 3rd quarter looming at the end of this week, I don't actually have much time for outdoor play. Instead, I'm inside grading tests and homework assignments. Monday night, I had a chance to get out and fellowship with some other Ladies in the community. We had a Progressive Dinner, with a dipping theme. That meant we had to dip all our food in something. Appetizers- Chips and guacamole, veggies and sour cream/ onion dip. Dinner- oil fondue (cooking raw hamburger, chicken, and veggies in hot oil right on the table) with BBQ, Curry, and garlic dipping sauces. Dessert- We loftily wanted to do chocolate fondue, but were too full at the end of the night for this! The highlight of this experience was not the food, but the conversation. I got to converse with people I work with, but don't necessarily spend a lot of time with. We discussed every thing from love languages, future plans, housing for next year, and recipes (such as other uses for avocado). All in all, a delightful dip dinner!

Speaking of housing for next year, please continue to pray that God will provide. Will I be able to move into town? Will I have a roommate or two? Will my rent go up? God only knows, and I'm trusting him to take care of it. Next week, I'll be viewing two different apartments.

Hiking in Switzerland!