These Little German Füße

Hello Family and Friends!

I am currently in the Frankfurt, Germany airport, writing to you after spending several hours touring the city. It has been a lot of fun to try and remember what I can of the language, but I’m realizing that I didn’t know that much to begin with and I’ve forgotten a lot in the past 3 years. Although, it has been interesting how easy it has been for me to slip into automatically thinking of basic sentences in German.

Since we left the airport today I officially have gotten my first stamp in my passport! How appropriate that it was in Germany J Lauren and I sat next to a German gentleman on the flight here and it was fun to talk to him a little bit and hear his accent and try to make sense of what he was saying. We had to ride a train to get to the main part of Frankfurt, hence, I rode a train in Europe!! I feel so sophisticated J We mostly just walked around a lot. We found the Rheine River and took some pictures there. We ate at a place called Hanz and Franz, where I had a beef bratwurst, mit potato salad (true German potato salad), und Kaffee. It was a bit cold to be sitting down and eating outside, but otherwise it was a lot of fun, afterward we got gelato from an “authentic Italian café.” I’m not sure how authentic it was, but it was good all the same. We visited an old Lutheran church and a Catholic church. The Catholic church reminded me a lot of my Art History class from my Freshman year. The style in which it was built was very familiar to me. The other thing we did was go to the Rheine River. The bridge we went over had locks on it where couples put their lock on the railing and throw away the key as a symbol of their love for each other. Or something like that. It was cool nonetheless. I have attached a picture of me and this cultural experience J

Well, I did not really sleep on the plane, so I have been awake for 27 hours straight and am running mostly on coffee fumes and am getting a bit light headed as I stand here writing this. So I will try to be in contact with you all again as soon as possible.

Auf Wiedersehen!! 

Washed Feet

Thoughts from last day of Pre-Feild Orientation:

• Yesterday we got the chance to take part in a video call with a young woman from Bulgaria who became a Christian a year or so ago. At the end of the call she challenged us. She told us to take off the cloak of invisibility that so many of us wear as Christians. She said that in order for Christians to show Christ, others need to know that there are actually Christians around them. This invisibility is a problem both in Bulgaria and the U.S.

• Last night at the end of our evening service, we each got prayed over as teams by the other teams and the staff here at NMSI. I have always loved that act of surrounding others in prayer and being surrounded in prayer, everyone speaking to God at once on your behalf.

• We also got our feet washed by our team leaders last night. This for me signaled the end of training and the start of our journey. Our feet had been fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. We've put on our shoes and are ready to continue walking and following where God leads us. 

Beginning Steps

An odd habit that I picked up in college was watching people's feet as they walked by. I enjoy seeing all the different ways that people walk and I am more likely to remember what a person's feet look like than I will the color of their eyes. I find feet oddly fascinating. Something that I heard often in high school was this verse in Romans 10:15 that says, "And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'" Our feet carry us to those who need to hear the gospel if we follow God in response to His call. All we need to do is step out in faith and follow His lead as He takes us on this journey.

This summer I am taking a big step and going to Zambia and Zimbabwe. As I take this journey I will attempt to share with you what I am experiencing along the way. I will also share prayer requests with you throughout the summer.

My team and I will be leaving in a few days on Thursday, May 29th. We have been in Ft. Meyers Florida for the past several days going through some training before we leave. I have gone through some moments of feeling overwhelmed and on a bit of an emotional overload, but it has been a great time to get prepared and to get to know my teammates better. We should arrive at our destination in the afternoon on Saturday.

• Please pray for safety as we travel. We will have a layover in Frankfort Germany an will spend some time touring the city, so safety there as well.
• Please pray that God would give me a passion for this trip and the people we will encounter. 
• I also ask for the courage to be as outgoing as possible so that I can learn.