The last time I blogged, I mentioned how much of a whirlwind our first day in Germany was; and it hasn’t stopped since! There has been so much to see, so much to do, so many people to meet, so much to pray about—I really don’t know where the day goes!
Over this past week, I’ve been amazed at how beautiful this place is, how fun discovering new things can be, and how much God has really gifted me with being able to be here. I feel like every day I’m in a new episode of that cartoon “Dora the Explorer;” we’ve done or tried something new every day! Here’s the Reader’s Digest version of what our time in Germany has been like so far:
Monday—All of us slept in (praise God!), trying to get the best of jet-lag from the get-go. I’m not going to lie, it was nice to sleep until noon ☺ The church bells woke us up and then Wendy (one of the teens who goes to Life Teen in Süsterseel) came to our house. She prayed mid-afternoon prayer with us (we kinda missed morning prayer…), and then she came grocery shopping with us. It turned out to be a good thing she was there, because we forgot that going grocery shopping in Germany involves reading labels in a different language—something we’re not entirely skilled at yet (we guess a lot). Wendy was more than willing to help, and the trip ended up being a live German lesson, with all of us asking “Was ist das?” a lot, and her rattling off another German word: “mütze” “kraüter” “jacke” “blumen” etc. All in all, it was a pretty successful trip.
Tuesday—Unpacking! We spent the day getting used to living in this house, moving things around, and generally starting to try and make a house a home. We’ve been so blessed with donations from all sorts of people—everything we have was given to us—but we’re still sort of half living out of suitcases. Today was also spent trying to figure out how to work the radiators in our house. We met Gaby and Regina, who work at the church in Süsterseel, to get to know them and to try and set up our German classes.
Wednesday—Bernadette and Monica (JJ’s mom and aunt—what a small world!) came over to the house to meet us and to talk and pray about what’s going on in youth ministry in this part of the world. It was so great to meet them; hopefully we’ll have lots more interaction over the course of the year! It was also great to meet a little bit of JJ’s family (thanks for sharing them with us, brother!) and see just how far God’s family reaches. It’s been really awesome to see how comfortable it feels to meet and pray with other people who are trying to grow in faith with God; it turns out, relationship with Christ really is a universal language! We all felt incredibly hopeful after we met; we all walked away with the feeling that GOD IS HERE! and I just can’t wait to see what else He’s got in store for all of us.
Thursday—Most of the day was spent praying and talking about what we received in prayer; we joined in the Life Teen holy hour a little early since there’s such a big time difference from here and the US. God moved in holy hour (of course!) and really confirmed a lot of what He’s already revealed in prayer about this community, this year of mission, and each of our hearts. We walked away from that feeling renewed and re-encouraged that what we’re doing is exactly what God has in mind for us. Thursday night is also a big night at the Life Teen office; we have open office hours starting at 5 pm, and then a Bible study that starts at 8 pm. It was really good just to be there and see some of the teens we’ll be journeying with this year—to connect through music (a universal language!), to talk about what it means to be a missionary, and to have some more German lessons ☺ We spent the majority of the night talking with a young man named Mark who is really interested in Scripture, and who faces a lot of opposition from some colleagues at work about his faith (keep him in your prayers!). Between his limited English and our limited German, we were able to have a really great conversation, dank sei Gott!
Friday—We spent the day in Aachen (a city close by) with our new friend, Rosa, who is from Mexico, lives in Germany, and speaks great English! We had a great Mexican lunch (go figure, smack dab in the middle of German countryside on the border of the Netherlands) and then went with her to see to her husband’s beehives and pick chestnuts. We spent the day talking about our conversion stories and how we’re all trying to be faithful to where God is calling us! She is going to be one of our prayer warriors here, I’m sure.
Saturday—We went grocery shopping again (things come in much smaller quantities here) and met Wendy’s parents at the grocery store. I can’t believe how many people we’re meeting so far! In a small town, news of new people travels fast; everyone knows who we are. We found out that our German classes start next week; we have a private tutor coming to the house until January, when we’ll start regular classes at a school. We spent some time in prayer discerning what to do for the Lifenight on Sunday; there was some schedule re-arranging and we’re running our first Lifenight in Süsterseel, “Meet the Missionaries,” tomorrow. All I can say is that our night involves the “Bunny Bunny” game and a pretty funny skit involving Sr. Mary Assunta. We also went to have dinner at Gaby’s house tonight, which was so great! She has some really awesome stories of places she’s moved with her husband, who’s in the military, and she just extended hospitality to us in an amazing way. Hopefully soon we can return the favor!
Phew! It’s a lot, I know. There’s been tons of meeting and greeting and praying and learning since we’ve been here, and God is not done yet! I’m excited at the thought of just having scratched the surface of how God wants to reveal Himself to us through this community, our prayer, and the exchange of hospitality with the people who we’re now living with. I could write a whole other blog about hospitality and it’s important place in this mission (hmmm, foreshadowing?). As the Life Teen Missions Rule of Life states, “Life Teen Mission bases are welcome places;” I think now, more than ever, I’m realizing that the posture of welcoming first starts in my own heart, and only then can I open up for everyone else. Thank you for all your prayers as I wait on the Lord and how He wants to move.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
It's official now!
Just in case you missed the memo...I'm also posting blogs on www.lifeteen.com/missions now. They're the same blogs that are posted here, but if it's easier for you to remember that URL, check it out. All the other missionaries will also be updating that site, so you can see what the other teams are up to.
Love you all!
Love you all!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Der Leib Christi
Hallo from Süsterseel! It’s been a whirlwind three days since we’ve been in Germany, and God has wasted no time in showering down His blessings on us. Dank sei Gott!
(Alright, that pretty much exhausts my German vocabulary at the moment. But, if all goes well, we should be starting language classes next week.)
There is so much to write about already! I’m going to have to break it up, otherwise everyone would be a little overwhelmed—pretty much how I felt when we first landed, actually. It was a little crazy when we showed up at Mass on Sunday night (after 10 hours total flight time with a 3-hour layover in London and an hour car-ride) and were asked to say something to the congregation—2 minutes after we walked in the door! Needless to say, we didn’t make the most articulate impression, especially considering our poverty where German language skills are concerned.
We were all really excited to be able to make it to Sunday Mass; we weren’t sure that was going to be a possibility with the way our travel was scheduled. But, by the grace of God, we made it on time, and I think it was God’s way of continuing to reveal to us exactly what our focus is going to be for this year of mission. While sitting in a completely foreign (in every sense of the word) church, not being able to understand any of the words of the prayers, trying to fumble through the sign of peace (“Der Friede sei mit dir”), God blessed me with the ability to see the beauty at the heart of the Catholic Church. The Mass is universal: the vestments are the same, the bells sound the same and they’re rung at the same time, the priest purifies the chalice the same way they do back home, and then folds up the corporal and kind of plops it on top of the pall like I’ve seen happen a million times before. Even the songs were the same (thank you, Matt Maher). And, most importantly: Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
How beautiful. What a gift.
One of the Core members came up to us after Mass and said, “It’s very different here in Germany. Everything is different.” My response to him was, “Except Jesus. He’s here just the same.” That first Mass gave me a whole new perspective on what it means to be the Body of Christ—der Leib Christi—in a way that transcends time and space and borders and language. God is here, wherever your “here” is. I felt almost as if it were the first time I’d ever been to a Mass and really understood the significance of what was going on...I wonder if the first Apostles ever felt this way when they first journeyed into a new community after being with Jesus for so long, and finally getting it; all those questions of “Lord, what does this mean?” “Lord, what do we do?” “Lord, who are you?” finally being revealed in a more full way.
I have asked many of those questions myself throughout my life, and definitely as I was preparing for this mission year; I’ve come to realize that Christ in the Eucharist answers all of them.
“Lord, what does this mean?” : This means that God is truly at the heart of this mission; not just in spirit, but in actual, tangible reality.
“Lord, what do we do?” : What we are going to “do” is stay rooted in His love, especially as He’s revealed it to us through the Eucharist.
“Lord, who are you?” : God is love, revealed through the gift of Himself in what on casual glance can appear rather unremarkable.
God, let the anthem of this mission be: “Through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever. Amen.”
(Alright, that pretty much exhausts my German vocabulary at the moment. But, if all goes well, we should be starting language classes next week.)
There is so much to write about already! I’m going to have to break it up, otherwise everyone would be a little overwhelmed—pretty much how I felt when we first landed, actually. It was a little crazy when we showed up at Mass on Sunday night (after 10 hours total flight time with a 3-hour layover in London and an hour car-ride) and were asked to say something to the congregation—2 minutes after we walked in the door! Needless to say, we didn’t make the most articulate impression, especially considering our poverty where German language skills are concerned.
We were all really excited to be able to make it to Sunday Mass; we weren’t sure that was going to be a possibility with the way our travel was scheduled. But, by the grace of God, we made it on time, and I think it was God’s way of continuing to reveal to us exactly what our focus is going to be for this year of mission. While sitting in a completely foreign (in every sense of the word) church, not being able to understand any of the words of the prayers, trying to fumble through the sign of peace (“Der Friede sei mit dir”), God blessed me with the ability to see the beauty at the heart of the Catholic Church. The Mass is universal: the vestments are the same, the bells sound the same and they’re rung at the same time, the priest purifies the chalice the same way they do back home, and then folds up the corporal and kind of plops it on top of the pall like I’ve seen happen a million times before. Even the songs were the same (thank you, Matt Maher). And, most importantly: Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
How beautiful. What a gift.
One of the Core members came up to us after Mass and said, “It’s very different here in Germany. Everything is different.” My response to him was, “Except Jesus. He’s here just the same.” That first Mass gave me a whole new perspective on what it means to be the Body of Christ—der Leib Christi—in a way that transcends time and space and borders and language. God is here, wherever your “here” is. I felt almost as if it were the first time I’d ever been to a Mass and really understood the significance of what was going on...I wonder if the first Apostles ever felt this way when they first journeyed into a new community after being with Jesus for so long, and finally getting it; all those questions of “Lord, what does this mean?” “Lord, what do we do?” “Lord, who are you?” finally being revealed in a more full way.
I have asked many of those questions myself throughout my life, and definitely as I was preparing for this mission year; I’ve come to realize that Christ in the Eucharist answers all of them.
“Lord, what does this mean?” : This means that God is truly at the heart of this mission; not just in spirit, but in actual, tangible reality.
“Lord, what do we do?” : What we are going to “do” is stay rooted in His love, especially as He’s revealed it to us through the Eucharist.
“Lord, who are you?” : God is love, revealed through the gift of Himself in what on casual glance can appear rather unremarkable.
God, let the anthem of this mission be: “Through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever. Amen.”
Thursday, October 8, 2009
I'm just a little girl
“I just want to be in your heart, I just want to be in your arms, moving ever closer to your heart.”
Miller was just playing that on the guitar (thanks, Miller!) as I’m sitting here in our converted classroom/conference room/office/lounge, and it beautifully sums up what I’ve been praying about this evening. I just want to love God. Really. That’s it. The more I know of God, the more I want to know of Him.
Sometimes I feel discouraged, because I know that I will never be able to love Him enough. But I think that I’m learning that there’s a beauty in that—learning that my imperfections somehow turn out beautiful in His eyes. It reminds me of when I was a little girl, and I would make something for my parents out of old strawberry crates, or macaroni noodles, or clay and beads (there were a lot of those); I don’t think anyone would necessarily call that art. But I had taken what I had and tried to turn it into something beautiful to give back to those who loved me first, and even though it was a far cry from beauty when compared to other things, my parents knew that my little hands and heart tried, and that was what mattered. Acts of love, no matter how imperfect, no matter how unpracticed, how unsophisticated, never go unnoticed. And just like there is something so beautiful and pure in a child handing you a page of multicolored scribble that they drew “just for you,” all of our little acts of love are gathered up by God and kept as keepsakes and treasures.
I want my life to be one big scribble-fest, a series of little art projects for my Father; and hopefully I can hand Him something new every day.
Miller was just playing that on the guitar (thanks, Miller!) as I’m sitting here in our converted classroom/conference room/office/lounge, and it beautifully sums up what I’ve been praying about this evening. I just want to love God. Really. That’s it. The more I know of God, the more I want to know of Him.
Sometimes I feel discouraged, because I know that I will never be able to love Him enough. But I think that I’m learning that there’s a beauty in that—learning that my imperfections somehow turn out beautiful in His eyes. It reminds me of when I was a little girl, and I would make something for my parents out of old strawberry crates, or macaroni noodles, or clay and beads (there were a lot of those); I don’t think anyone would necessarily call that art. But I had taken what I had and tried to turn it into something beautiful to give back to those who loved me first, and even though it was a far cry from beauty when compared to other things, my parents knew that my little hands and heart tried, and that was what mattered. Acts of love, no matter how imperfect, no matter how unpracticed, how unsophisticated, never go unnoticed. And just like there is something so beautiful and pure in a child handing you a page of multicolored scribble that they drew “just for you,” all of our little acts of love are gathered up by God and kept as keepsakes and treasures.
I want my life to be one big scribble-fest, a series of little art projects for my Father; and hopefully I can hand Him something new every day.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
God is moving among us
First off, an apology for this prolonged period of silence; time always seems to escape me here at Covecrest! I can’t believe I’ve already been here for 3 weeks; time seems to have fast-forwarded from when I left California. At the same time, there seems to have been so much packed into this small space of time that I’m just now starting to catch my breath. God (as is His way) is still showing me just how crazy and adventurous a life of following Him can be!
This year has already looked so different from last year, and it is so good! It’s been really amazing to see how God is moving within Life Teen Missions and forming it into something that is good and holy and faithful to His Spirit of mission. Having all the mission teams start out in one place and spend the month together is a decision that was infinitely wise; there is such a sense of unity and community among everyone, I think it’s just going to make all of us that much stronger and well-rooted. I feel like God is establishing us for great things this year.
Formation has also been completely different but so good (I feel like I keep saying this, but it’s true!); God knows His stuff about timing! I feel like I was really prepared last year so that I’m in a better place to dive deeper into formation this year, which is really all about diving deeper into God’s heart. We’ve spent a lot of time on different forms of prayer, but especially intercessory and discernment prayer, which we’ll use quite often in Germany! I’m hearing a lot of things for the second time, but everything has taken on a new meaning in conjunction with my experiences from last year.
So, in short, formation and training are going fabulously; keep praying for all of us on the mission teams from Covecrest, Mesa, and Germany!
God, of course, has also been working more specifically on my heart as well. Prayer is so much “easier” this year, and by that I mean that I’ve already done all the hard work of establishing a schedule of prayer, so I’m in a much better place to listen. Something I’ve really been praying about lately is waiting, and just what God means when He asks me to wait. At some point, I had this misconception that God is holding out on me when He asks me to wait for something; and underlying that was (I think) a fear that whatever He would give me “instead” of whatever it is that I wanted wouldn’t fulfill me as much.
God has spoken a lot of truth into that lie lately. In fact, God is a God of promises, and He keeps them. He promises to give us life to the fullest (John 10:10); we just have to realize that His definition of fullness is often a little different than ours. The revelation that I’ve had is that when God asks me to wait, it’s not because He’s holding out on me, but because He wants me to have the fullness of whatever it is that I’m asking from Him. His asking me to wait is, in fact, an invitation to draw closer to Him:
Come, so that I can give all these things to you, come without fear, come to receive, come because I love you, come with your whole heart, come so I can fill you.
Always come...come back...come again...keep on coming...come no matter what.
The beauty of this is that God is filling me, in ways that I never expected. Hm. There is truth to that old adage, “Good things come to those who wait,” after all...
Stay tuned for more on what God has been revealing specifically to the Germany team about our mission there! As always, send me your prayer requests, and know that I am so excited to journey through this year with each of you.
This year has already looked so different from last year, and it is so good! It’s been really amazing to see how God is moving within Life Teen Missions and forming it into something that is good and holy and faithful to His Spirit of mission. Having all the mission teams start out in one place and spend the month together is a decision that was infinitely wise; there is such a sense of unity and community among everyone, I think it’s just going to make all of us that much stronger and well-rooted. I feel like God is establishing us for great things this year.
Formation has also been completely different but so good (I feel like I keep saying this, but it’s true!); God knows His stuff about timing! I feel like I was really prepared last year so that I’m in a better place to dive deeper into formation this year, which is really all about diving deeper into God’s heart. We’ve spent a lot of time on different forms of prayer, but especially intercessory and discernment prayer, which we’ll use quite often in Germany! I’m hearing a lot of things for the second time, but everything has taken on a new meaning in conjunction with my experiences from last year.
So, in short, formation and training are going fabulously; keep praying for all of us on the mission teams from Covecrest, Mesa, and Germany!
God, of course, has also been working more specifically on my heart as well. Prayer is so much “easier” this year, and by that I mean that I’ve already done all the hard work of establishing a schedule of prayer, so I’m in a much better place to listen. Something I’ve really been praying about lately is waiting, and just what God means when He asks me to wait. At some point, I had this misconception that God is holding out on me when He asks me to wait for something; and underlying that was (I think) a fear that whatever He would give me “instead” of whatever it is that I wanted wouldn’t fulfill me as much.
God has spoken a lot of truth into that lie lately. In fact, God is a God of promises, and He keeps them. He promises to give us life to the fullest (John 10:10); we just have to realize that His definition of fullness is often a little different than ours. The revelation that I’ve had is that when God asks me to wait, it’s not because He’s holding out on me, but because He wants me to have the fullness of whatever it is that I’m asking from Him. His asking me to wait is, in fact, an invitation to draw closer to Him:
Come, so that I can give all these things to you, come without fear, come to receive, come because I love you, come with your whole heart, come so I can fill you.
Always come...come back...come again...keep on coming...come no matter what.
The beauty of this is that God is filling me, in ways that I never expected. Hm. There is truth to that old adage, “Good things come to those who wait,” after all...
Stay tuned for more on what God has been revealing specifically to the Germany team about our mission there! As always, send me your prayer requests, and know that I am so excited to journey through this year with each of you.
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