God, what are you up to?

God,

I sit here close to midnight pondering you, me, my dreams, and being in Nashville. My mind goes back to Switzerland and the idea of going to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. I listen to worship music and my mind begins to create dances in response to you. I sense that I am where I need to be, and at the same time I sense that there is something more that I have not reached out and grasped. I desire to live like no one else so that I can one day live like no one else. I desire to get out of debt and use my finances responsibly. I desire to work in a place where I can serve, encourage, educate, and use my strengths. I desire to glorify you in my work. I desire to study and be aware of current events. I desire to challenge my beliefs and desires so that I can challenge others. I have an income crisis, but then again you know that! You know me. You know the very core of me. You know all the complexities, all the changes, all the steps back, and all the steps forward that have occurred this past year. What am I doing in Nashville? Where do I need to be working? What do I need to be doing? How long do I need to stay here? I desire to have a broad area of influence and get back to school to be a professor. What should I be teaching? Why does Southeastern and Dr. Little continue to come to my mind while I wonder if education there would limit me. Yet, what an education and foundation I would gain! What surgery needs to occur within me so that I may better reflect you and glorify you with my life? What steps need to be taken? Life has meaning, hope, and joy with you. I know that I need to lean on you more. You are my stability. If I depend on anyone or anything else, they change and float away. You remain the same. I have seen this in a more realistic way this past year. Thank you. How does my thinking need to change? My interests are in philosophy and theology. A core of these interests are beliefs and ideas. My beliefs and ideas need to be challenged and change before I can expect others to allow me to challenge them. Father, help me to take one step at a time. I sense you telling me to take life one step at a time. Your Word lights my steps. I desire to pay attention to you, your character, and your ways to take the steps you want me to take.

Thank you for time today. Thank you for providing for my needs. Thank you for the time to see old friends. Thank you for time to cook. Thank you for the questions, dreams, and inspiration. Even though I am unsure where the next steps will bring me. I know that you are with me every step of the way. I love you! Accept love and a smile from your daughter.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Life in Nashville

I am writing after recently moving to Nashville. I am now closer to work as well as the city life that I have missed. Today I was able to go to the Mall at Green Hills and browse books on Germany and Switzerland for fun. I also drove by the Parthenon. Nashville has a replica of the Parthenon! Who would have guessed? I am now settled in my new place and ready for a new beginning. I am hopeful.

Recently, I finished the book The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer. It is an incredible book that will take a few times of readying to digest. I could take a sentence of a paragraph and ponder it all day. One thing that I recall is the importance to know the culture of the day. There is no cookie cutter way to share the gospel. One must know the thoughts and beliefs of the people one is trying to reach. That is a challenge and a challenge worth embracing.

It is now time for a new book. There may be less time since the calls are becoming more frequent in the call center with the holidays near.

1500 Miles in 4 Days

I just came home to TN after a 4 day weekend in NC. It was full and refreshing! I visited 20 people in NC and SC. I traveled about 1500 miles to and from TN. 8 cups of caffeine in the form of coffee, a latte, or a mocha kept me awake. I stayed up 24 1/2 hours on Saturday to catch up with my best friend and had 4 hours of sleep on Sunday morning starting at 5 am. That was a record! I am happy to live in TN, but I miss my friends and family.

I had confirmation that relationships are important. Community is important, and I must take action to see results. As a recently single young lady in a new town, I must make the effort to develop friendships and meet new people. My church's meet and greet time becomes more comfortable as I get to know people. I will not know people as a result of saying hello every Sunday. I need to try to spend time with people outside of church so that there is something to talk about and a true concern on Sunday morning. At the moment, I sit near many strangers at church. That needs to change.

I am still enjoying my job as a call center agent. Over the past weekend, I started to lose my voice. That will be a problem - I need my voice to work! :) I hope to move in about a week or week and a half. It is my second move in 4 months. That will be an adjustment, and a welcome change.

I rediscovered my interest in philosophy during a recent visit to Barnes & Noble. I sipped coffee and browsed through a recent T.D. Jakes book and a few philosophy magazines. I discovered the topic of fuzzy logic. My first impressions of this logic are fuzzy and one of concern. Maybe I will spend more time sipping coffee and browsing philosophy and theology literature. I hope to post notes of recent studies. I still have the same interests I pursued in college. They may just rise to the surface in new ways.

I will end my notes after a 7 hour road trip today by commenting on my life in TN. Only God knows why I am in Nashville. It is a weird and amazing mystery to me. I do know that life so far has brought surprises, challenges, and growth. There may be clarity as I take one step at a time. At some point, I need to write an autobiography. My story has had too many interesting twists and turns to keep it to myself. Thanks for reading and encouraging me to write.

Change and Growth

I am human and saved by God's grace. No matter what happens God is good all the time. I need to rely on God to be enough and I have not been relying on God to be enough. Times of unexpected growth and unexpected pain have occurred since my move. The move to TN began with tonsillitis. Then I found out that my boyfriend needs our relationship to slow down and he is unsure what is going on as well as a lot of stuff that he is dealing with. Surprise! God worked in me through that time. I discovered a great church named New River Fellowship where God's spirit is ministering to me. I am experiencing healing, peace that passes all understanding, and an increase in faith. My own thoughts and feelings take over at times, but these times are becoming fewer. Praise the Lord! Now I realize that the boyfriend must face the past and the future is uncertain. I believe this is healthy and I am praying for God to intervene and give both of us clarity, direction, and guidance. I also pray for more of a dependence on God and growth. Life and love is empty without God. It is superficial and leaves a hole that only God can fill. I cannot rely on people because people let you down and disappear. I have not achieved total reliance on God, but I am growing and seeing myself more clearly and my need for God.

I have been working two part-time jobs since I moved here. I praise God for the full-time job at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center beginning July 22nd. I will keep my part-time job at Banana Republic in the mornings as I establish life after college. It will be a drive to get to work, but I have been used to driving at least 30 minutes to travel to a lot of places while I lived in the Charlotte area.

Right now I am spending the weekend alone and am fighting a new round of tonsillitis. Life is stressful right now and I probably did not get over the first time of tonsillitis about a month ago. I have not had tonsillitis before TN.

I had the opportunity to get connected with many people from church on Wednesday which was a big blessing. Tomorrow I will go out for lunch after church and get to know other people my age. Then I will rest and pray that I do not have any bad side effects from powerful medicine fighting tonsillitis. I may bake some zucchini bread and go bowling. Then I will thank God for all that happened last week and thank God for all that will happen next week. God's mercy is new every morning. The sun always rises the next day. God sees the big picture and he is good.

I invite you to stay posted. I hope to post pictures of my nice little apartment. I hope to continue to post and I welcome your comments. If you feel led, please keep me and the boyfriend in your prayers especially through August. Thanks. I will try to remember to post again soon.

New Beginnings and New Opportunities

I am hoping that this post will encourage me to begin to write on a regular basis again. Time will tell if this is true.:) Life is happening, I am seeing myself more clearly, and I am enjoying a time of change and growth. I graduated from UNC Charlotte May 10th with a B.A. in International Studies and Philosophy. I have an interest in being a professor, but I do not have a specific passion. I only have many general interests. As a result of this and listening to Dave Ramsey, I am interested in working for several years. During this time, I may be taking a class or two at a time to stay in the world of academia. After graduation, I moved to Columbia, TN to be nearer to my boyfriend and enjoy a new location with new possibilities. I live about an hour south of Nashville. I am enjoying my initial impressions of the area and the evidence of music being very important. I have a cute apartment, working two part-time jobs, and discovered an awesome church in Franklin, TN. I have had time of feeling alone due to the fact of being in a new area and knowing few people. I am faced with the need to rely on God and the reality that I have not lived like He is my everything. If God is here, that is all I need. It is easy to make that statement. I am feeling a time of growth, and am thankful for all the God-moments along the way. I see many new and exciting things occurring in the next week. Stay tuned.

Complement

I had an "ah hah!" moment today. Allow me to share. I have recently pondered the meaning of the words love, complement, and commitment. I have observed relationships and even been interested in a few fellows. I always thought that having a lot of similarities was a good thing. We could relate and have shared interests. There was less room for conflict. Life could be good. Yet, one needs a complement for we are not perfect. I looked up complement on the web and discovered an eye opening definition on wikepedia. "In many different fields, the complement of X is something that together with X makes a complete whole, something that supplies what X lacks." Ah hah! Differences are good and good communication makes those differences better because one can work through the differences. Maybe it is not eye opening to you, but it helps me bring things into perspective.

Another thought came to mind in regards to love. Love is an action not a feeling. I have heard this before, but maybe it is both. One needs to feel an interest to act out the love. One needs an interest to make the commitment to love. Emotions may come and go, but the choice to act in love can remain. Happiness or interest should not be the biggest indication of love. I shall continue to ponder.

I stumbled across a quote from my pastor - "It's not what I do that determines who I am. It's who I am that determines what I do." - Keith Devine. It is good to be reminded to focus on my being rather than my actions. My being, my relationship with God, and my relationship with others are very important. Everything else should follow. I sense some more time of stretching and growth ahead. I say - bring it on!

"Have You Not God?"

This quote I read today in Andrew Murray's book Waiting on God. The words speak to me today. First, I want to copy a few paragraphs and allow the passage to speak to you before I share more thoughts.

"I do not know if it will be possible for me to put into a few words the chief things we need to learn. But, what I want to say is this: The great lack of our faith is that we do not know God. The answer to every complaint of feebleness and failure, the message to every congregation or convention seeking instruction on holiness, ought to simply be, What is the matter: Have you not God? If you really believe in God, He will make everything all right. God is willing and able by His Holy Spirit. Cease from expecting the least good from yourself, or at least help from anything there is in man. Just yield yourself unreservedly to God to work in you. He will do all for you" (Forward).

"God cannot part with His grace or goodness or strength as an external thing that He gives us, as He gives the raindrops from heaven. No, He can only give it, and we can only enjoy it, as He works it Himself directly and unceasingly. And, the only reason that He does not work it more effectually and continuously is that we do not let Him. We hinder Him either by our indifference or by our self-effort, so that He cannot do what he wants to do.

"What He asks of us, in the way of surrender, obedience, desire, and trust, is all comprised in this one word: waiting on Him, waiting for His salvation. It combines the deep sense of our entire helplessness and our perfect confidence that our God will work all in His divine power" (Chapter 2).

Pretty amazing! How often I need to be reminded of the necessity of surrender. I met with a professor at school about graduate schools today. I realized through his questions how unprepared I am for graduate school. I have no specific area of interest in philosophy, no favorite philosophers, an average academic record, no published papers, few research papers, and little time before application deadlines. I sense God pushing the pause button or closing the door while revealing the open window. The door closing - pursuing a graduate degree in philosophy. The window - studying at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Why have I studied philosophy, theology, and worldview overseas? Why has God used a professor at the seminary to teach me truths and inspire me to pursue teaching in philosophy? There is no writing sample necessary to apply to the seminary. There is a later deadline for the application. Another option is to work and study philosophy on my own while familiarizing myself with publications in which to publish.

I believe God also reminded me about a visit I had at the seminary. That week God was revealing around every corner the need for me to die to self so that Christ may live. Once again I have taken hold of the reigns and am using my strength to get ahead in life. I know where that will lead me - down an anxiety filled path. I believe that I need to deal with the consequences of past desicions in my schooling and press on while waiting on God.

A New Year!

I like to write a journal entry the eve of my birthday. This year I have chosen to post on my blog. I prefer right now to type than to write in my journal. Tomorrow I will be another year older. It is not the same as years past. I do not mind moving forward.
Looking back on the previous year, a lot has changed within me and with my circumstances. I moved from a townhome to a house and now across the street. Last year, I was on medication for anxiety and overwhelmed with my full schedule. Now I have learned to be more realistic, say no sometimes, and I am off of the medicine. This is the real me! I see in the coming year a new adventure. I graduate in the spring with my undergraduate degree with plans to attend graduate school in the fall to study philosophy. I have no idea where I want to be or which place will be the best fit. I will send out many applications and discover in the spring where I am accepted. I see more independence by moving in the summer to a place which is farther from my family. I could have graduated in December, but I decided to wait until the spring for many reasons. I believe that this will give me time to learn some more lessons, embrace some more changes, and experience some more growth before I embark on the next stage of this adventure called life. Thank you for joining me in this journey to the unkown ( at least part of it is unknown).

Who Am I Becoming?

I completed a sermon series today on Kairos - Greek for right or opportune moment. Naeem, the pastor of Mosaic church, spoke of Kairos as the moment God intersects our life. The series challenged me at this present moment. There are many college classes demanding my time, the GRE in the near future, and graduate schools to consider. What are my motivations? In the past, I see my motivations greatly along the lines of success and perfectionism. How much could I do while an undergraduate? How many concentrations and honors could be recognized at graduation? After about a year of stress and anxiety, I view life more realistically. The interest of success is still creaping to the surface as I consider Yale. It is a good time to pause and prayerfully consider some questions. Who am I becoming? What am I known for? Who do I want to be? I heard an analogy about people in a bus. God needs to be the driver and I need to be a passenger. Who will I welcome into the bus? Who do I want to be with on this journey? Once I answer the question of who?, I can consider what we will be doing and where we will be going. What am I passionate about consistently? When am I at my best realistically? What can best drive my resource engine practically? Naeem made a statement in one of the sermons. He said, "You and I are the sum of the things we say yes and no to." What am I saying yes and no to? Does it require faith? Will it bring me closer to God?

These thoughts and questions come at a good time. In a week and a half, I will send my GRE scores to graduate schools. What schools will be on that list and why? I have considered going to a seminary for the Master of Divinity with Apologetics. Then I could go to a state university for my PhD in philosophy. Or maybe I will just enroll directly in a PhD. program. I may not be ready for this step and first earn my M.A. in Philosophy. I sense that I am on the edge of a new adventure. I have no idea of where I will be next year. How exciting and how frightening! Thankfully, God is in control and knows the best for me. He knows where I will be able to make a difference and bring Him glory. I sense that God's vision of the future is greater and richer than my limited vision. I am reminded that God's ways are often not man's ways. May I hear God's direction and step out in faith no matter what man may think.

Where is the Passion?

Where is the passion?
I pondered this question as I was driving home tonight from epistemology class. This question arose from a program I heard on the radio as well as a conversation with KA today. She believes that I will regret it if I do not complete German to graduate with International Studies. I agree. This necessity to work on German is slowly becoming more urgent in my mind. Currently, my passion is not with German. I have more interest in the Holocaust and even more interest in philosophy. German is on the back burner of priorities. Yet, where is even the passion in these subjects? I so easily become distracted and allow myself to be interested in a variety of things that take up time. I am reminded of a conversation with CS. He challenged me to go all the way. If I am going to do something, I should juice it for all it is worth. If I am going to do something, I should do it. I should do it with passion. Passion needs to be defined. I could look it up in a dictionary, but I prefer to search within myself the meaning that I am using presently. Then I will seek the dictionary. Passion implies not doing something half-heartedly. My whole being is involved in attention, interest, attitude, ambition, discipline, and commitment. I am wiling to do all I need to do until there is nothing left to do. How does this relate to me and my life? I need to study the philosophers with the intent of understanding even if it means reading the text a few times, spending time to discuss ideas with friends or professors, and writing ideas in my own words. I need to carve out time for studying German and completing the assignments even when I am emotionally disinterested. I need to act until my emotions catch up with my actions. I need to keep my eye on the goal of completion as motivation to do the work. More importantly, what does this mean for my relationship with God? Time to do Bible study, pray, and journal is important as a foundation for my focus, ideas, and actions thorughout the day. Journalling online or in a book allows me to process thoughts or activies of the day. It allows me to connect ideas, discover thoughts inside my mind, or reflect on activities.
Where is the passion?
I am unable to answer this question fully tonight. I see a lack of passion and discipline in my life. Simply asking this question is driving me forward. I need to act as if I were passionate until the passion rises up within me. The life of meaning, purpose, and intention was meant to be lived fully. How full is my life? How will I choose to live? I pray that I will choose to live with passion.

International Festival

Today was the International Festival at UNC Charlotte. The last time I was at the festival was in 2004. It is very similiar this year. I do not believe that it changes very much every year. I volunteered in the morning and met up with friends in the afternoon. I met many people. One lady was a teacher at a school in France when I was visiting in 2003 and shared at her school. That was four years ago! How amazing is that! Today is the first day that I met her.

Overall, I had a great time. I laughed a lot and enjoyed all the company. It was a great break from a Holocaust thesis paper, philosophy classes, and a senior portfolio. I am finalizing plans to go to Washington, D.C. and Rhode Island soon. I am looking forward to that. I have never visited Washington, D.C. and I do not believe I have ever been in Rhode Island. It has been a while since I have traveled extensively. This is not overseas, but it will be an adventure!

Return from a long absence

Hello! Since my last post, I have been a university student pursuing a B.A. in International Studies and Philosophy with a minor in German. I have also continued to work at a jewelry store. I have reunited with old friends and met a lot of great people! I have learned more about myself and grown. Now I am in my last year at UNCC and quite excited about the opportunities that are before me. My mind will dwell on ancient philosophy, the Holocaust, and my last three years at the university. I desire to spend time being, and have my actions be an extension of who I am. Hence, I must recognize who I am and intentionally step out. This new school year brings with it many realizations. I really enjoy philosophy, reading, and spending time in coffee shops. I see a lot of my time spent reading philosophy books while drinking tea or coffee in a coffee shop. I also recognize that I think about many things but do not speak or act on my thoughts. Dusting off the keyboard and updating this blog is an action that is past due. I enjoy freewriting in my journal to remember thoughts and actions as well as communicating with God, my Savior. I am able to focus on my thoughts when I write and discover ideas which were not given space to be free. Welcome all who happen upon these pages. I welcome your comments, critique, and encouragement. I thank you for visiting.

A Day in the Life of a Worldview Staff

Hello everyone,

I am sorry for taking so long to write. This worldview has caused a lot of thoughts and a lot of work. Now that I return to blogging, I decided to write about a typical day as staff. I usually wake up about 6:15 a.m. and am at the base by 7:30 a.m. for staff prayer. Then at 8 a.m. the school has prayer or worship for an hour. Then at 9 a.m. lecture begins and lasts until 12:15 p.m. At 12:30 we have lunch for 30 minutes. Some days I have meetings after lunch and other days I have free time until lecture in the afternoon. Afternoon lecture is from 4-6 p.m. Dinner is at 6 p.m. After dinner, I usually e-mail. Some days there is afternoon lecture and other days there is evening lecture. I also tutor one student meeting with her once a week for an hour to process the lecture. I also grade some papers. I am also in charge of hospitality for the school. Today there was a birthday in our school. This past weekend, I prepared some rooms and baked a cake. Then I helped organize a celebration over morning break. Tomorrow I have the day off and I will do some journalling, grade a journal, and read How Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer. One time this week I will help some English speaking students with their papers in regards to footnotes, quotes, and grammar. I enjoy this aspect of writing. On Thursday, it is two weeks until I return. I look forward to seeing everyone again. There is still a lot to do, to learn, and to experience before I return home. I look forward to seeing everyone soon! Until next time :)

Rebecca

A Taste of America :)

Well, this week has been a week of transition. Today students began to return home and go on outreaches while I discovered a clean room after living with five other girls in a small room. The room is now clean because it is almost empty - I am the only one left. I now take a rest before beginning to work with the School of Biblical Christian Worldview on Monday. I must share about my joy of service this week and all the people which visited the base.

Wednesday was cleaning day and I was in charge of preparing a morning snack and cooking lunch. I have been very interested in baking some cookies. Beate suggested that I bake some cookies for cleaning day's morning break. I was very excited. Through suggestions of others, I decided to bake some peanut butter cookies and brownies. I began baking on Monday afternoon the peanut butter cookies and then finished baking on Tuesday evening the brownies. The cooking team had the joy of helping me taste the brownies to make sure that they tasted good. It has been a while since I tasted the rich chocolate of brownies. One German lady thought that is was a German chocolate cake. Maybe the Swiss cocoa powder made a difference. Either way, I was thrilled to taste some American dessert and to share it with the base on Wednesday morning. Then I cooked sausages with artichoke soup and bread for lunch. Then in the evening I had more of a taste of America with French Fries! I was so excited to have so many tastes from home in one day. I finished on Wednesday very tired but very pleased. Now I enjoy some time of rest and reading before another eventful week :)

I also saw someone else I knew from my time here in 2002 and 2003. His name is Mirko from Germany. It is amazing how small the world can seem at times :) Be blessed - until next time

~Rebecca

Flies, Snails, and Slugs...Oh My!

Well, rain is here with more moments of sun and warmth. With the rain and the warmth, there are more animals to pass on the road every morning and evening. Let me try to paint a picture in words of my morning commute from the farm house to the base. I wake up at 6:10 a.m. and get ready for about 30 minutes. I have already taken a shower the night before - I am not that fast :) Then I begin my walk around 6:40 a.m. The first animals which I meet are the cows eating on the left immediately following the house. Then on my right are two sheep which usually talk to me in their unique way as I pass. Next, as I round the corner I see horses on my left having their breakfast. By the horses, there is a fenced in area with the guinea pigs and chickens. The rooster crows to announce a new day. Then I may pass a snail on the road before I walk down the gravel road leading to the base. On the gravel road, there are often bugs that I think look like slugs. I am not the expert in bugs. There could also be worms on the road after rain. Among these friends I meet along the road, I may have to dodge birds which fly above my head. At least they seem so close I feel like I need to dodge them. Once I reach the base, I have breakfast between 6:45 and 7:15 a.m. During that time, there may be flies which want to join me at the table. I have a break after breakfast until 8 a.m. and at 8 a.m. my day officially begins. Now you know about my morning and the friendly critters I meet thankfully mainly outside :)

This week is the last full week for the schools here. They are preparing to go on outreach to China, Mongolia, Cameroon, Madagascar, and countries in Europe. I am preparing to transition from work in hospitality to staffing the worldview school. Today I cooked lunch for the last time. I realized that after the fact. This afternoon, I looked through the applications for the worldview school. There will be seven nations represented in the school. They are the U.S., Switzerland, England, Norway, Germany, India, and South Korea. Most of the students are around my age. One student is younger than me by a few months. Otherwise, I will be one of the youngest in the school as staff. They may not realize this though unless I tell them. Some staff at the base thought I was 25-27 years old. I realize my age is perceived based on who I am around. In the university, people thought that I was younger.

This week I have had the opportunity to experience the necessity to choose my reaction. I learn, not only in my mind but with experience, the ability to choose to follow my feelings or not. Yesterday, it was raining a lot. I came down from the farm house with my umbrella keeping me dry to a warmer building after it cooled down outside. In the evening, it was still raining, but as I left, I discovered that my umbrella was broken. I pushed the button to open the umbrella, but the button went in and stayed in without opening the umbrella. It was almost funny. My umbrella broke when I needed it, of all times. So I asked a student if I could borrow their umbrella. On my way to my room, I realized that I could easily be upset and frustrated because I now had no umbrella or I could be thankful that I had an umbrella at that moment to keep me dry during my journey. I chose to be thankful.

Well, that is a little about my time at the moment. I will move on Saturday from the farm house to the base for the remainder of my time here. I will miss that room, but I look forward to the people I will live with when the worldview school begins at the beginning of July.

Until next time,

Rebecca

An International Community

Well, another weekend has come and is in the process of leaving. This weekend has been rich with fellowship and different cultures. On Thursday night, I was invited to have dinner at Beate's apartment with another German and a lady from Cameroon. Much discussion was about the different cultures, different living conditions, and different ministeries. Simple things like which floor is the first floor and which week is next week can have different answers depending on the culture. It was fascinating to realize this. On Saturday, I helped clean a flat of two ladies who are moving to China within the month. My job was to clean the chalk in the bathroom. The water here has chalk which builds up on faucets and in hot water kettels. The chalk can be quite stubborn! :) Then I enjoyed the afternoon and evening with some people from Germany, Switzerland, and Madagascar. The evening included a flavorful pasta with Swiss cheese and an American movie. I do miss America at times. The evening was long and pleasant. I went to bed at 12:30 a.m. which is much later than my usual 10 p.m. in a farm house.

Now I will enjoy some chicken curry dish for dinner before I walk up to my room hopefully before the thunderstorm arrives. It may be strange to walk through a field in a thunderstorm, but I am sure that it will work out. Until next time :)

Rebecca

Someties It Seems Like A Dream

Whenever I walk back to my room, I enjoy the sight of the rolling mountains, trees, Swiss farm houses, and cows. It seems like a dream. Am I really back in Switzerland? Am I really seeing old friends again? Has it really been a year and a half since I was here? I am really blessed to have this time again. There are familiar faces and new faces. There are different countries which I am discovering through the people here. There is a Finnish couple, some people from Cameroon, and a guy from Nigeria. In a couple of weeks, the base will be international in a different way as schools finish and new schools begin. Life is good.

After two days of long hard work, I am feeling the physical effects of early mornings and energy used for tearing up the carpet. This morning was missions morning and we learned about someone's time in China. It was encouraging and eye opening to see the people in that large country. I helped prepare for the snack after the program after breakfast at 7:15 a.m. The carpet was successfully torn off of the floor yesterday for preperation of new carpet today. Not only was the carpet up, but my body was sore from the use of muscles I normally do not use. By lunch I was tired and sore and less creative in my mind. Tonight I forgot the title I planned for this blog. A lack of sleep causes a lack in my memory until I get the rest I need. Even though I was tired I completed all I needed to do today and tomorrow morning I will be able to sleep in and take a break. I will be more refreshed the next time I write.

Last week I was sad when I woke up and the cows with the bells had disappeared to travel up the mountain for more fresh grass. I was pleased when a few days later four cows were in the field. I found out last night that the cows are pregnant and will stay outside of my window until they give birth. I get to enjoy the sounds of cow bells a little while longer.

I am glad to discover that I am understanding more German and Swiss German. Usually Swiss German is similar but the pronounciation causes me to not understand. This morning when pictured and descriptions were shown about China I could understand most of the German, but it was still nice for someone to translate it into English because I did not understand everything.

Well, I will stop for tonight and get some rest. I am sure many more things have happened of which I could share, but I just cannot remember right now. Take care!

New Experience: Tearing Out Carpet :)

Well, this week has begun well. I was once again in the kitchen baking a cake with rhubarb and apples. Then I volunteered to tear up carpet in a classroom. There is unity between the carpet and the floor so great machines and a chisel and hammer are used to rip the carpet from the floor. The dust was bad during the fifteen minuites that I chiseled so tomorrow I will have a bandana or cloth around my face to help with the dusty air. I was not downstairs tearing up carpet for too long because I was baking a cake with rhubarb and apples which was burning a little. It was three cakes to feed 30 people for an afternoon coffee tomorrow. Then on Wednesday morning we have missions morning. There will be a time of worship and then a snack around 10 a.m. I will begin preparing for the break after breakfast at 7:15 a.m.. The missions morning begins at 8 a.m. Elke will be sharing about her time in China. I look forward to that time of sharing and fellowship. Tomorrow morning I will be helping Alexandria cook lasagna for probably 30-40 people. I am definately getting experience in the kitchen. I also clean, and now hospitality has new carpet so the kitchen is open for business. No longer is there the dining room table and chairs taking up space. I will begin cleaning the kitchen tomorrow while finishing to clean some guest rooms. Life is full, but wonderful! :)

Not Enough Butter, but still a delicious cake

Hello,

This week has been a time of learning in the kitchen. I have baked two cakes. A different version of a carrot cake and a chocolate cake. I hope to make an American version of carrot cake one time so that they can taste the difference. For over two hours yesterday, I baked a chocolate cake for about 40 people. I had to double the recipe and doubled everything except the butter. I heard that the taste was different than the normal taste of the recipe, but it was good. Everyone enjoyed the dessert today. For preparing lunch, I have been washing a lot of lettuce. In Switzerland, they call it salad. I now know the process of cleaning the lettuce to remove fine dirt and bugs, taking away the bad parts, and tearing the large lettuce leaves into medium size. Today, I prepared the noodles for a casserole since I will cook pasta, chicken, and salad on Friday with an intern. Then I prepared salad over a nice conversation. Beate, my supervisor, talked about her time in the US. She had a variety of experiences from the family with a large, flat television and many rooms and bathrooms in the house to a mobile home with a widow. She was amazed at the vastness of stuff with the large refrigerators, large televisions, many bathrooms, and large breakfast. I was interested to hear about her time in the States. Then we cleaned and cut fennel to blanche and then freeze. I think blanche is the right word in English, but I could be wrong. The vegetables are put in hot water for a short time before being frozen. Switzerland was the first place that I ate fennel as the whole vegetable. Normally, I have fennel seeds I believe or fennel as a seasoning. I have enjoyed my time in the kitchen.

I was reminded today that God cares about the small things. I had a meeting on Monday morning with Beate about my plan for the week. I brought my mechanical pencil and my stick eraser. I thought that I lost my eraser, but in reality I left it on the table. Someone had it at lunch today. It was a miracle, because that is my good eraser that I need at times when my schedule changes and I have to erase and re-write in pencil.

I will end this time on possibly a funny note. As I walk to my room at the Zenger's house, I pass many animals. I pass horses, cows, sheep, chickens, and guinea pigs. The funny thing is that the chickens and the guinea pigs are in the same fenced in area. That is quite a picture :)

Until next time :)

Rebecca

My First Days in Switzerland

Well, I have arrived in Switzerland once again with joy and a new feeling compared to my previous visit. Switzerland is very familiar and North Carolina is also very familiar to me. I have taken time the first week to adjust to the new surrounding. I had a good flight to Switzerland with little sleep but good company. I live up the hill from the Youth With A Mission base where I volunteer. I have my own room with a kitchen, but I share the bathroom with six children. I stay in a farm house with a family of eight people, two dogs, a few cats, chickens, and cows with bells outside my bedroom window. I wake up to the sound of the cow's bells around sunrise and get tired around the time the sun sets. It is rather quiet in the house when the children go to sleep by 9 p.m. My schedule is shifting earlier. I am helping at the moment with the house team. This involves working in hospitality to take care of guests, cooking in the kitchen at least once a week, and keeping the Boutique in order. The Boutique is a sort of thrift shop in the attic where people take clothes and get clothes for free. This is how I was able to live here in 2002 for nine months doing a Bible school. I also prepare the morning snack for the staff which in Swiss German is Z'nueni. While living in the German speaking part of Switzerland, I also have the opportunity to practice my German while learning new vocabulary. I usually practice at meal time or break time, but conversations are usually a mixture between German and English. At the end of June, I will begin helping to prepare for the School of Biblical Worldview which I will staff for the remainder of my time here. I was a student in 2003, and helping to staff will help me remember truths which are taught in the school.

This week I have often been in the kitchen. I helped an Indian man cook curry chicken for about 40 people on Tuesday by cutting all the vegetables for the chicken dish and the salad. On Wednesday, I peeled many kilograms of potatoes for a scalloped potatoe dish. I practiced patient endurance while peeling potatoes and listening to a German conversation which I could often understand. In hospitality, I am learning the importance of the little things. I serve the students, staff, and guests through preparing snacks at times and preparing rooms. My advisor is a nurse and has shown me ways to make the beds nice, keep the corners of the pillow cases out, and to add color through table cloths or nice flowers.

My time here is not only a time of practical service. In this I learn and am able to use abilities that I have. I also want to spend more time journalling, having conversations with God, read good books, and develop relationships with people here. This is a time for me to step back from my comfortable surrounding of North Carolina to be challenged by God, ask for direction, and for opportunities for me to give and learn. I am praying for patience, faith, vision, and financial support. I know that God is my provider, sustainer of my life, and guide. I expect this time to be full of many moments that challenge me, moments where my eyes are opened more to the truth, and where God uses me for his purposes in ways I never would have imagined. I look forward to sharing with you on a regular basis how God is working in and through me in Switzerland. Thanks for your prayers. Until next time - be blessed.