Norway

Every month we meet with someone in the leadership of Cru for a meal. We share lunch or dinner, usually in their home, and they share stories of their time with Cru and what they are doing now. In October we went to the home of Ken and Ann Cochrum. Ken is the Vice President of Global Student-Led Movements, which basically means he is working to grow the student ministry around the world. His team has found around 60 countries where there is not a student-led movement. Of those 60, they have picked out 6 countries to focus on for the next 8 years. One of the countries is Norway.

As soon as he said that, a bell went off in my mind.

Norway? That's one of the countries represented at Epcot. I visit that pavilion every week. There are Norwegian interns that I have the opportunity to interact with every Friday.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Cru was trying to reach the college students of Norway. There were college students from Norway working at Disney. This was perfect! 

The Disney ministry team recognized the awesome opportunity they had to reach entire nations through these interns. Some of the interns would return to very influential positions at the end of their year. If we could reach them while they were in America, where you are free to talk about spiritual things, then we could possibly send them home to influence their countries for God.

I had felt the Lord's pressing on my heart to focus on the interns from Norway and France, countries with traditionally hard soil for missionaries. At Epcot I had the opportunity to build relationships in a more spiritually-friendly environment. After hearing Ken and Ann talk that night, I knew God was confirming that calling in my heart.

The only problem was I hadn't made any friends in Norway. The Norwegian interns were really hard to talk to and I hadn't had any successful conversations with them. Until a few weeks later.

At the Thanksgiving Feast, I was helping pick up interns from Disney. When I got to pick-up area, there were 3 Norwegians girls waiting for a ride. God was so good! We hopped in the car and headed to the church for the feast. We talked and got to know each other a little. I sat with them during dinner and we traced some Thanksgiving turkeys shaped like our hands. It was fun. The conversation was easy. I knew God put Linn, Elise and Emilie in my path that night.

I got their numbers and found them on Facebook. We've been talking about hanging out sometime soon. A couple weeks ago, I went to see a movie with Linn and one of my friends, Erica. We had fun, but we didn't have a lot of time to interact. After the movie, Linn actually suggested that next time we could go out to eat or do something where we could talk. I can't even tell you how excited I am!

Please pray for Linn, Elise and Emilie that their time at Epcot would be fun, that their hearts would be open to spiritual conversations, and that we would be able to work out time this year to hang out. Pray also for me that I would have the courage to bring God into our conversations and that God would give me the words.

the 25th year

The title of my blog is a reference to this year in Orlando, but it could just as easily be about my 25th year of life.

Last year, I turned 25 on the 25th. I was in Slovakia at the time, and I think I annoyed everyone around me by constantly saying, "25 on the 25th! I'll be 25 on the 25th!" Nobody was able to forget my birthday, even if they wanted to.

Whenever you turn the same number of years as the date of your birth, it's supposed to be a big deal. There are many names for this- star birthday, diamond birthday, golden birthday. Whatever you call it, it's supposed to be this most amazing year of your life so far.

Everything was all set up to be an amazing year. I had no idea how awesome and action-packed it would be.

Last year I lived in 3 different countries on 2 different continents. It still blows my mind that I have lived in 2 hemispheres. I also lived in 2 different states in the US. It was pretty epic.

God moved in ways I never imagined. He took me to places I never thought I'd have a chance to see. He took me into the desert so I would learn that only He can give living water. He made me answer the question- "Do I love Jesus more than this?" He made me question what the "this" was in my life. 

He didn't leave me in the desert. He lovingly restored me to the garden. Through the whole process, I was able to answer the question with a "YES!" It wasn't always a happy "yes" or a loud "yes." Sometimes it was all I could say in the midst of tears.

I wouldn't take back a single thing that happened last year. I learned so much about myself and about my God and about my worth. 

God loves me no matter what I've done. 

I don't have to try so hard to earn His love. He freely gives it.

God is always working- if not in my life, then through my life to work in someone else.

I am worthy of pursuit by a Godly man, and that Godly man is worth waiting for.

As long as I am following God's leading, then I am right where I am supposed to be.

Yes, Jesus is worth following and, yes, I love Him more than all this- even more than my life.

This year I am looking forward to even sweeter times with Jesus. I know there are so many areas in which I need to grow, but my focus this year will be in learning how to be still. I want to learn to sit quietly in His presence and hear His voice. He's doing big things around the world and I don't want to miss them!

So here's a toast to another great year! Cheers!

What has God been teaching you this last year? What are you believing Him to do this next year?
 

Y'all. God is so good. I hope you know that. 

Today at work I had the pleasure of emailing 4 of my friends who are on STINT in Eastern Europe, and telling them that I will be taking care of them this year. I can't even tell you how excited I am to be working with STINTers and with this team. They are such delights. These are the people who have walked with me for 2 years- in the good and the bad, the expected and the unknown. They know what I went through and consider me an asset to their team.

I did not originally think that I wanted to be on this team. I understood that I could sympathize with the STINTers, but I still didn't want to do it. God slowly changed my heart this summer and my excitement grew to overflowing. I am blown away with the opportunity I have been given. I know God is going to use this group of servants in amazing ways, and I get to be a small part of it.

God is so good, y'all.

putting on a show

God is so good. Not just some times, but all the time. He knows exactly what He's doing. He has a plan, and we may not always see it until afterward but it's there.

I'm not very good at support raising, but it seems something I am destined to do for the rest of my life. Most of the time I start out trying to do it myself. I believe that God will provide, but I work at it like God needs my help to find the support. Every time God has to take me to the point of despair, and then He puts on a show. He says, "You've worked hard enough and gotten almost nowhere. Now it's my turn." Then BOOM! Here's $1000 in one day. BOOM! Here's a gift for the exact amount you had remaining.

Next Thursday I'll be heading to Orlando, FL. I'll be packing as much as I can into my car, along with my mom, and we'll be driving across the South. For the next 10 months I'll be living and working in the Sunshine State. God is going to do big things, and I hope I can get out of my way long enough to see Him put on a show or two.

reasons why I love my job

Working at a school is FUN! Especially a K-12 Christian school- reminds me of my school days. *sigh* These are some of my day-to-day jobs.

A couple weeks go was the high school musical. They did "Fiddler on the Roof," and man are those kids talented! The main guy who played Tevye, a senior named Justin who's going to Texas A&M next year, got so into the performance that early on in the show he fell backstage and then did the rest of the show with a bloody arm and a limp. Never missed a step!

The week of the musical is craziness! Every body helps out in any way they can. Normally I only work on MWF, but I came in Thursday just to help with the musical. I spent my day ironing costumes and sewing aprons and yarmulkes (the little hat things Jewish men wear- who knew it was spelled like that?!).

The next week I was back to my "normal" work. In the morning I'm usually at the disposal of the middle school principal. One day she has me making copies to help her get ahead for her classes next year, and the next I'm decorating a bulletin board called "A Day in the Life of a Middle Schooler."

In the afternoon, I help in the library while the lower grades come in to hear a story and check out books. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders are hilarious! (As I've told you in a past post.) It's so interesting to watch the difference in attitudes in the different grades. The 1st graders are sweet but they always leave the library a mess! The 2nd graders are just kooky, and we always have to tell them to speak English, since most of the them are Hungarian. Then there are the 3rd graders. You can tell they all want to be grown up and mature. They leave the library pretty neat and always take out a ton of books. The girls are SO OVER the boys' antics. ;)


Every Friday I grade homework for the middle school science teacher. He always has stacks to do because he gives so much work to his 4 classes. It been a good way to learn the kids names, but unfortunately it doesn't help with faces.


And now for today- I graded math tests that determine which kids should do Pre-Algebra next year. I taped library fine memos on the middle school lockers. I checked in all those 3rd grade books. :) And now I'm off to make copies of the middle exam schedule.


See? My job is awesome and I love it! I'll forever remember this semester of grading and bulletin boards and laminating (SO much laminating!). And I've got the yearbook to help me remember.

it's sanctification, baby!

That thought comes to mind often. 

This year has been quite a year for me. I have learned to make a quiet time with the Lord a priority and a lot of things have been changing within me. Moment of honesty: I used to "hide" from the Lord. (Of course, you can never really hide from God.) I avoided reading the Bible because I fully believed Hebrews 4:12 and I knew that it would call for change. I didn't want to change. I went to church every week and got all my Bible teaching from the pastor, taking just enough to get by for the week.

After everything that happened in Slovakia and the move to Hungary, I needed to do something different. Clearly my way of having a quiet time every once in a while wasn't working. Something needed to change. When I moved in with the STINT girls in Budapest, I saw how they read their Bible every day. I was curious. Even after growing up in the church and watching my grandma study the Bible every day, I still hadn't learned the importance of daily reading. (That's probably not true, considering everywhere I turned someone was talking about it.)

Earlier this year, God walked me through Biblical forgiveness. It was amazing. I had never handled a situation in this way before. I wrote out what I wanted to tell them and felt total peace about it. I didn't have any expectations for a response from them; but I knew that in order for full forgiveness to come, I needed to tell them I forgave them. Fortunately, God granted me a godly HR person to go this conversation with me, and through his help I did get a response and even discussed more than I originally planned. I left that Skype call feeling free- free from all bitterness and unforgiveness and free to move on from the situation. I knew that we handled the conflict well and Biblically.

Now God has given me an opportunity to walk through Biblical reconciliation. Like when I first began on the journey to forgiveness a few months ago, I don't know where to start. Pray that I can handle this well. It would be such a beautiful blessing if reconciliation could come. I know God has a plan and brought this person back into my life at this time for a reason.

If you have ever handled reconciliation, how did you do it? Did it go well? Is there anything you would have done differently?

tales from the library

Part of what I do in Budapest is help in the library at the International Christian School of Budapest, especially in the afternoon when the elementary kids come. Yesterday I was checking out books to the 2nd graders. One of the cutest little boys (okay- they're all cute!) brought his books up to the desk. He had a book named Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. This was our conversation.

Me: That's probably a good idea- not letting a pigeon drive a bus.
2nd grade boy: Why not?
Me: Can you imagine a pigeon driving a bus in Budapest?
Boy: But there are other pigeons that drive a bus. His uncle drives a bus and he's a pigeon.
He shows me the page and reads about the uncle driving the bus.
Me: Well, I don't want to ride in a bus with a pigeon driving. Can you drive a bus?
Boy: Me?
Me: Yes, you.
Boy: Sure. It's easy. You just push the peddle to go. And if there's a turn in the road, you yell out the window and tell the road to turn!

Little boys are the greatest, aren't they?! I love his imagination. These are the types of conversations I have while working in the library. It's the best job!

By the way, I think a pigeon might be able to drive a bus better that some of the bus drivers I've ridden with in Europe. Ha!

go and make disciples

I don't know if it's just the church culture I grew up in or if there has been a real shift in the thoughts and actions of the body of Christ, but as I've gotten older I've heard about a lot of churches and ministries that are grappling with the idea of true discipleship. There seems to be a push toward reaching the unreached, growing them in the faith and then sending them out to do the same. This is the whole idea of Campus Crusade for Christ's ministry. Over the last year I've been learning what it really looks like to work toward student-led ministry. A large part of that is discipleship. Believers need to be taught what it means to be a Christian and then be encouraged to go out and teach others.


My college pastor wrote a blog post about this topic. He raises some interesting questions about how we do ministry among college students. I highly recommend that you read it. It's short but thought provoking.

3 hours

Today I found myself overcome by feelings of fear and doubt. I questioned God’s leading in my life. Did the plan I had for my life come from God or from me? I was overwhelmed by the unknown future.  Satan had wormed his way into my thoughts. He jumped at the chance to confuse me. It was just two harmless comments. One was a question from a friend, the other a comment from a stranger who would never know the effect of her words. My mind was sent reeling. So many thoughts turned in my head. I didn’t know what was right and acceptable any more. As I spiraled into the abyss of confusion, I felt the Spirit speaking to my heart. He calmly reminded me not to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Mt. 6:34) For those horrifying 3 hours, I had allowed Satan to have a foothold.

One thing I’ve noticed about God’s working in my life is that He doesn’t choose to show me what He has planned beyond the next year. He has worked one year at a time. In December 2008, God gave me a new career path. In November 2009, He showed me the company at which I would work. Later He showed me that for the school year of 2011-2012, I would go with that company to Eastern Europe. This January, He showed me that I would be spending my next year in Orlando, FL. So far my 4-year plan is going accordingly for the most part. But did that 4-year plan come from God or from me?

Today, Year 3 of my 4-year plan looked unsure. My next step was in doubt. Realistically speaking, Year 3 isn’t supposed to start until summer of 2013. That’s over a year away, but I allowed myself to be overwhelmed by fear. Lately I’ve been anxious to get to the next step. I don’t like where I am right now, and I just know that the future is going to be so much better.

God, can’t You just fast forward the next 3 months? The summer is bound to be better, right?

No, My child. Everything happens at just the right time. Besides, you are not guaranteed tomorrow. You are but a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (James 4:14) God is sovereign so why should I worry?

restoration

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

    He delivers them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

- Psalm 34:17-18

Though you have made me see troubles,

    many and bitter,

you will restore my life again...

My lips will shout for joy

    when I sing praise to you -

I, whom you have redeemed.

- Psalm 71:20, 23

And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ,

after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you

and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen!

- 1 Peter 5:10-11