12 months

2011;

Well, not going to lie but you have treated me pretty darn well.
Here are a few of the bigger things that have happened...

- After 3 long years, many assignments, and many many many hours of placement I finally finished university with a 1st degree

- I handed back my keys for my Adelphi house

- I spent one month in Tanzania

- While there I got chance to visit and orphanage to play with the children. Possibly one of the most humbling experiences ever.

- I turned 21...while in Tanzania...and hiked around a mountain to celebrate

- I went to Canada and saw the first of my friends get married

- I had a road trip with my friends through the rocky mountains

- I found a summer job to help pay for all these exciting trips

- I started bible school in Germany for 6 months (...which makes the first 3 months of 2012 very exciting)

All in all, I have been very blessed by God.

Thank You Lord.

very true

#4

Remember when I posted about being 14 years behind on these books...well I've caught up a little since then, now it's 11 years! And I anticipate that number going down over the next 3 weeks!

Now then Harry, where were we...

the power of cupcakes

THE cutest little cupcake shop.

Cheers to the power of cupcakes.

3 months gone?!! what?!

(Written 14:40, Sun 18^th Dec)

I’m currently sat at Aran, the cool coffee shop in Friedrichshafen that we go to. Not going to lie, my bum is starting to get a tad numb! I’ve been sat at this seat for, let me work this out, 4 hours now ...and I have about another 2 hours until my ferry leaves to take me to the airport. So far I have completed all but one level of majong tiles, drank some tea, eaten a Panini, watched inception (...which is an awesome film by the way; is he left in reality or a dream?!! Oh my gosh, my mind was working over load when I was watching it!). And I’m pretty sure the staff have noticed that I am STILL here 4 hours after arriving, still sat at my laptop haha! In fact, I think I’ve even sat through some shift changes; the girl that walked past wasn’t on shift when I first got here! OK, enough about the length of time I’ve sat here, let’s move on...

Bodenseehof tem one is officially over. I can’t quite get my brain around this, where the heck did three months go?! I honestly can’t comprehend it. It feels weird that I’m not going to be at school for the next 3 weeks, but I’ll be at home again. I’m glad for the break to be honest. My brain has almost reached saturation point, and would probably benefit from some time just to digest more what I’ve been listening to in lectures.

Lots of us have been reflecting back on our time here so far, asking each other about our highlights. So I thought I’d share a few of mine!

One thing that everyone seems to say is how awesome the people are. We really are a little community, and I appreciate the friendships that I have here. For me it took quite a while to get settled with people; to get past the ‘surface’ friendships that you have initially with people and reach the more meaningful friendships where you feel open to share exactly where you are with things, what your struggling with etc. And that’s a big reason why I’m so excited for next term. This term, half the time was getting past that surface friendship with people. But once we get back after Christmas break, I won’t have to spend weeks getting to know people from scratch, but I’ll be able to get to know them more.

At the top of the swiss alps :)

English camp for me was another highlight. For me the first one stands out more. It was a smaller camp so I got to know each of the kids and also our team of 6 people that went. There were so many awesome moments during the camp; hiking up to the top of a mountain to see a 360 degree view of alps surrounding us; praying with some of the girls who as the start of the week were pretty quiet when it came to talking a out Christianity, but then by the end were praying aloud to the rest of the group; eating my first ever smore. It was just a great week.

I have also loved all of the social events that the school has put on, especially all of those where music was involved. We have some seriously talented people here musically, and I could sit and listen to them perform for hours.



When the Bode took over the 10k!



Doing the 10k...hard work but SO MUCH FUN!

Having a week where I didn’t go on the internet, sent no emails, didn’t go on facebook, listened to no music from my ipod was also great. When the media fast was going on the school was so much more sociable, you could seriously notice the difference. There was more time to just sit and spend time with God one on one. Go for a walk with no music to fill your head, but just quietness for you to talk to Him.

Our outreach events have been great too. It’s awesome seeing the school work together to put on events like The Crossing and Advent International. And as scary as it is afterward to go and talk to random people who have come, some of which know little English, it is kind of fun. Especially now when we recognise some faces from previous events.

Shopping at the Christmas market



Ohh, and seeing shooting stars! I must have seen about 5-6 since I’ve been here, which I think is quite a lot!

The Christmas market at Stuttgart was so much fun too, wandering around all the cute little stalls and getting in the Christmassy mood.

There have been SO MANY great lectures. Ones that particularly stand out have been the ones by Peter in the series ‘walk the talk’, the life of Abraham by Rob Whittiker, and Jill Brisco giving us some ‘life lessons’. I’m excited to have time over Christmas to maybe look through some of my notes; read back about what they said.

Mann, when I think about it my list could go on and on and on and on and on...

Can you tell why I’m excited for next term?!!

wondering

People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering.

- Augustine

four instruments

So I'm sat here doing a little bit my next paper listening to...wait for it...a cello, a piano accordion, a xylophone, and a banjo type guitar playing the most awesome Christmas song. I cant help but smile when they start playing. Possibly the best background music ever! ...Though I've written nothing since they started because I'm transfixed listening to them!

it is well with my soul

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

- Horatio Spafford -

December

Wow, your're already here!? Oh my gosh!

boats

What kind of boat are you?! A bit of a weird question I know...let me explain...

So this week at Bode we have a couple speaking; Simon and Gill Brisco. Gill have been taking a few of our lectures giving us all some 'life lessons' as they have been called. She is such an inspiration; she's just an amazing woman of God.

Anyway, today we turned to Luke 5 where Jesus gets onto the boat with Simon Peter and tells him to cast his nets out on the other side of the boat, and so they end up catching loads of fish...I'm sure you all know the story well.

Gill explained how we are all like boats, and Jesus want to be on our boat. We are called to be 'fishers of men' and we should have Jesus as 'Lord of our ship'. Each of us has a different shore of people who we are to fish and share the gospel with; our friends, our families, our work colleagues. And through us and our boats Jesus want to reach these people.

And what is awesome is that our boats are all ready equipped with all that we need to reach these people, no matter what kind of boat you have. Some boats are big cargo ships, they can carry a lot of things, they can reach a lot of people with all the knowledge and supplies that they have. Some boats are more like submarines; they work for Jesus underwater, behind the scenes. Some are more those little pulling boats that guide the bigger ships out of, or back into, the docks. But regardless of our type of boat, God has supplied us with all the skills and talents we need to reach out to those people on our shore.

Gill challenged us to try to think of what type of boat we are, and what supplies and talents God has blessed us with in order that we may go and fish for him. She also and asked us to think about who and where our fish are. Are we fully utilising the supplies that God has given us to reach out to the people on our shores? Are we even making it to our shores, or are we just bobbing up and down in the same place in the waters?

So often I think it is easy to just stay out on that water. Or even to fish in the swimming pool of the church. We need to get out of the swimming pool and into deeper waters where there are people searching for something; searching for God. And we need to step onto that shore where our friends are, and tell them about who Jesus is.

soon, i promise

Oh, hello again internet.
As much as I would love to properly blog about life right now, I have a ton of work to do and stress levels are slowly rising. Once I have this Bible study project done and dusted I WILL update you all on my life. I promise. For now though, it’s back to Isaiah 42! ...Why I chose a chapter of the bible I know very little about, and understand even less of the context, whilst knowing I wouldn’t have internet to help me research I’ll never know!

thanksgiving

I'm thankful for my family.
I'm thankful for my friends in England.
I'm thankful for my friends here at Bode.
I'm thankful for being at Bible School right now.
I'm thankful for the huge thanksgiving meal tonight.
I'm thankful that I don't have to worry about where I'll find my next meal.
I'm thankful that I live in comfort.
I'm thankful for the autumn sunshine.
I'm thankful for the staff here at school.
I'm thankful that was brought up in a Christian home.
I'm thankful that God blessed me with a job over summer.
I'm thankful that I got to go to Africa this year.
I'm thankful that I get to go home for Christmas.
I'm thankful for the Lund.
I'm thankful that I had a great CU at uni.
I'm thankful that I don't have to worry about my future because God has it planned.
I'm thankful for God's grace.
I'm thankful for God's mercy.
I'm thankful for Jesus.

today

So today, for my work duty, we made 631 biscuits.

Now THAT was a great work duty.

proverbs

OK, so right now I'm meant to be writing an assignment on proverbs right now, but I've been staring at my screen for the past 2 hours or so, getting nowhere fast. And so I decided that I may as well cut my losses and just blog, then at least I'm being semi-productive right?!

This morning I did something crazy. I set my alarm for 5.45am, got up, put on my running shoes and ran. It was dark. It was pretty chilly. But it was awesome. I feel like I have pent up energy here, with no real way to get it out of my system, and so this morning I got rid of some of that energy. It felt so good to just run in the dark, seeing the stillness of the world.

I'm enjoying being back at school now, knowing that I'm here until Christmas (...and on a side note, some people here have starting playing Christmas music already. I'm sorry, but its not December yet, therefore Christmas music is not allowed yet. Just wait a little bit longer please!). The past weekend we had our travel weekend and I ended up going to Salzburg in Austria. It was nice to be away from school. Not in the sense that I was ready for a change of environment, because to be honest, I didn’t want to leave this environment because its become familiar to me now. But it was nice to have independence again, to go to bed when we wanted, have meals at times that we wanted. Choose what we wanted for meals. I didn’t realise how much I've missed that.

Anyway, Salzburg was great. The city is beautifully old. And I can cross off watching the sound of music in Salzburg off my bucket list!! We wandered around the city, did some sightseeing of castles and cathedrals, saw some sound of music places, shopped, went to an Irish pup! It was nice to be in a small group again. Just spend time with a core group for a few days and get to know them more.

This week in lectures we have Rob Whittaker from Capenwray Hall. And I know I say this every time, but I mean it even more this time, because Rob has a NORTHEN ENGLISH accent. And he keeps making references to places in England like Lancaster, and the Lake District, and I'm like 'I know these places!!'. And he uses very northern phrases and word. Mann, its great to listen to him. But not just because of his accent. He is a great lecturer, and I'm getting loads from him. Maybe I'll blog about it another time.

For now though I'll leave it there and get back to the book of proverbs.

fall

I've decided. Autumn is my favourite time of year.

Wait, let me be more specific with that. Autumn in Germany is my favourite time of year. England it kind of sucks, the rain sets in, the leaves get all mushy and squidgy, and the nights are dark.

But in Germany, the trees are beautiful autumn colours. The leaves crunch beneath your feet. And the weather is cold enough to wear a nice winter jacket, but not so cold that you freeze.

I love autumn.

Wanderlust:

beginning

Remember when I blogged a while ago saying my life was just busy. Well, that still remains the same. When I look at my time table of things that are coming up, I almost feel like I’m going to be sick! ...OK, so that’s a huge exaggeration, but no kidding it’s looking like it’s going to be an intense few weeks leading up to Christmas.

I feel a little bit all over the place at the moment. My life so far here has been a bit, erm, bitty! I arrived here back in September, was at school for three week, went away to Switzerland on outreach, came back to school for a week, went away again for a week on outreach, and now here I am, back at school for a mere 4 days before I go away again for a travel weekend. So yeah, it’s been bitty. I’m ready to just be here. In one place. For longer than 3 weeks at a time.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I’m not settled here, because I am. I have become familiar with this place; I refer to it as home when I’m not here, and I’m getting more comfortable.

Being on outreach two times and being part of a smaller group made me realise that I haven’t yet got to the point here where I’m fully myself. When I was away, I got to know the people I was with so much better, and the ‘real Steph’ came out. I was stupid, I got really giddy at times, I said daft stuff. It’s not that I’m being fake while I’m at school or anything, but when you are around like 103 other people, it takes a while to get to know people enough to truly be yourself around them.

I appreciated the time away with a smaller group to just be me. And to get to know other people well too. We got into some great chat about general life at the Bode, and it was so great to be in an environment where I could just be open with them, and share things that I’m struggling with. And it was so encouraging to here that other people are struggling with the exact same things as me.

I almost feel as though my time here is just beginning now, 7 weeks in. I’m starting to appreciate things here more. I’m starting to be more diligent with my personal quiet times. I’m starting to get to know people a little bit more. I’m starting to be myself more.

More importantly though, I’m starting to fall in love with God again.

14 mins

OK, so the time here is 07:08.I got up early to finish my Old Testament paper before I leave again for English camp. I swear I'm not trying not leave these things until the last minute, I did actually have this paper finished on Thursday, but them realised that I'd missed out like half of the big things that I should have put in it.

Writing this paper to begin with was such a chore; I felt like I was getting nowhere with it. I didn’t know how to start, what to put in the middle, or what conclusion I should put! And every time I sat down to do it, something for more exciting was happening somewhere else. After being away the whole week before, I already felt like I'd missed out on a whole lot. Not necessarily certain things that happened, just more spending time with people. With it being still early on in school, friendships and stuff are still forming. And I honestly felt as though I was missing out on a key time of school. I felt lost for a long time when we came back, I was out of the school routine. And people seemed a lot closer than when I left. Add in a cold, tiredness, and a lot of work to catch up on, and the result was quite a hard first half of the week.

But after I got over my cold, slept up, and sat down with my paper, I suddenly noticed all this things I had missed. It was like a light bulb went off on top of my head. And I couldn’t stop writing. Everything made sense. Normally reading things in the Old Testament just confuses my brain a little bit. But when I got into this paper, I just got it. And I totally could see how it all points towards Jesus in the New Testament.

Anyway, so this week I’m off again to English Camp. Part of me is excited to be going but another part of me just wants to stay here because I still feel like I’ve just got back. But I’m sure it will be an awesome time. Anyway, its not 07:22 and I need to get ready for breakfast and finish packing ... OK, I need to start getting more organised. Last minute packing is never good.

...

Credo

Tiredness has set in at the Bode. Everyone is walking around looking like they just want to go and have a nap. I’m feeling that too. My eyes are heavy, my brain is tired, and I feel like a cold is setting in. Great.

As I come to write this post, I’m sat here wondering where to start. I feel as though I have so much I want to out on here, but when I think back everything about the last week is just one big blur; the days have all merged into one big one.

I spent the last week in Switzerland doing an English Camp with 20 kids (...well, I say kids. They were between like 13-17, so more teenagers than kids I guess) who wanted to improve their English. There were 6 of us from school went to help out. I loved the week, and there were so many highlights of my time there, but after a few days of being there, all of us missed the Bode. I valued my time in Switzerland, but couldn’t help feeling I was missing things back at school. I don’t think any of us expected to miss school as much as we did. The morning we set of home (yep, I have been referring to the school as home now) we were all so giddy at the thought of getting back into Germany.

...But what were the highlights Steph?! You said there were highlights before you started getting all soppy about missing school!?

OK, so just general camp life was fun. Yeah, it was exhausting, but we had so many laughs with the kids. And though the camp did feel quite long because it was a full week, it gave us more chance to get to know the kids there. We got pretty close to some of them, and it was to encouraging seeing them by the end of the week asking more questions about the bible talks, and praying for each other in small groups. And because it was a small camp, only a small group of us went to help out. Spending a whole week with just 5 other people from Bode was class; we all got to know each other so well. On the journey there none of us really knew each other. We were asking questions like ‘so, Natalie, do you have any brothers and sisters?!’. But on the way home, we were chatting away like friends do, laughing away, and generally being giddy.

What else happened?! ...A farmer near the place near where we were staying shot at us. Yep, you did read that right. Well, he maybe didn’t shoot directly at us, but he sure did shoot his gun with the intention to tell us to get of his land. Us guys from school had a free afternoon one day, we had a bit of cabin fever from being inside all day, it was raining, and so what else was there to do but put on bin bags, and slide down some hills. SO much fun. Got a few bruises and some very muddy clothes, but totally worth it.

We also went on a sweet hike up a mountain. And the view, not joke, was AMAZING. You could just see the Alps for miles and miles. We sat and had lunch at the top, and an eagle was flying around, soaring through the air. It was quite a sight; it was flying effortlessly though the sky. Watching it fly I couldn’t help but remember the passages in the bible where God says he will lift us up on wings like eagles. How he does not grow tired or weary. He is strong and powerful. Standing at the top of a mountain, looking out at the greatness of His creation just reminded and confirmed to me how amazing He is. He made the mountains just though speaking words. He spoke and they appeared. I mean, can you get more powerful than that?!

Honestly, I’m struggling to think of other things that we did. We played a lot of games, did general camp things. I had my first real smore at a campfire taught by North Americans and they were pretty darn good.

Anyway, I’m back at the Bode; for now anyway. Next week I’m off again with the whole of the English outreach team to lead a camp somewhere in Germany. So this week on my agenda is catching up from all the I missed from last week, doing this week’s work, writing the assignment that’s due while I’m away, and planning some English lessons for the camp. Busy?! Yes. But its all good.

                                                                                                                                                            

didnt think so

Can it get much better than waking up and seeing this out of your window?!

Or going for a walk and finding this?!

Or hiking up a mountain and seeing this?!

No. I didnt think so.

They weren't kidding

Right at the start of bible school they told us that the first two weeks would drag, and then once we reached the third week, time would just fly. They weren’t kidding. And so I come to almost the end of my third week at Bode. Silly as it sound but I’m already dreading leaving this place in March; the final day here is going to suck, big style.

This week has been slightly more chilled. Now that people are settling into life here, more people are starting to just hang around at the school during afternoons, rather than head out places. And this week I feel I’ve chilled a lot. And it came to a point yesterday where I just needed to get out of the school, so four of us went out for coffee so my roommates birthday. We came across the cutest little cafe (...which we are tempted to keep on the down low!). It was awesome just to sit with these girls and just chat, there are some great people here and I love getting to know them. Because there are so many of us it’s almost hard to really get to know people. But then you head out with a small group and you can just chat and chat.

Anyway, so what has happened since I was last on here?! Oh my gosh, where to start...

We had a school trip last Saturday to Switzerland where we hiked up the Alps. It was such a beautiful day for it, and the view from the top was immense. Though reaching the point for the amazing view was hard work.

K-groups have started. Basically, the school is split into smaller groups of 12-14 people and we meet each Monday, chill out and share together. I got voted as one of our group leaders, not entirely sure how I feel about this yet. Part of me would just like to turn up rather than organise, but I guess God has other plans! And I’m also not too sure what my role entitles, time will tell!

Friday night was international night. We had a German style meal with all the staff dressed up in traditional German attire. The dining hall was all decorated and after that each country took to the stage to represent themselves. And yes, the rumour is true; I did in face rap about England! Maybe one day I’ll put my lyrics on here. Maybe.

Sunday I realised how unfit I have become and my need to stop eating the amazing chocolate they have here as I ran in a 10k race. My time wasn’t too bad, I got what I would aim for, but it was pretty hard going running the race, and 3 days post run I could still feel my legs. Not good. I need to find the motivation to run here to avoid serious weight gain.

We have also been put into our outreach teams. I think I actually put about that in my last post. Since them we have had a couple of meetings and stuff. I’ve gone from being totally overwhelmed about the amount of stuff we are doing, to really relaxed and excited, and back again. I leave with 4 other students and Justin, the guy who is staff and heads up the English team, on Saturday. I am pretty excited but it feels surreal that I’m going. I worked out than in the next 35 days I’ll only be at the school for 18 because in 2 weeks I’m heading out on another English camp in Germany. Part of me is gutted that I’ll miss loads of stuff that goes on at the school. But another part of me is excited that we get opportunities that other students won’t be getting. I’m torn.

Also while I’m away I’ll be missing the lectures by a guy called Ken (not sure of his last name!). And he is from England. Gutted. But he knew I wasn’t going to be around, so invited me and another girl out for coffee and cake today. It was really cool to chat with him. And it made me realise I want to get to know some more of the staff here.

What else can I tell you...hmmm?! I actually think I’ll just leave it there for now, lectures are starting again soon.

busy

I have little time to blog properly right now, but know that time is starting to fly by here. Life is so busy I have little time to stop and think sometimes.
We got assigned to our outreach teams this week and I got my 1st choice which I was so chuffed about. I'm on the English Team, so we will basically go to like a teen camp where the kids are learning English, and we help them learn the language whilst telling them the gospel, pretty cool huh?!
And I literally just found out about an hour ago that I'm one of the I think 5-6 people going to a camp in Switzerland in...wait for it...7 days time! And we are away for a whole week leading this camp.
My life just got a whole lot busier!

camp feeling

So it turns out finding time to blog is kind of hard. And each time I come to write something I don’t know where to start, so much happens every day here.

I’ve been here just over a week. It feels like I’ve been here about 5. And I don’t mean that in a bad way, time by no means has dragged, but I’m feeling settled, I’m getting a routine, and I’m getting to know the people here. But it’s still got that camp feeling to it a little bit, like I’ll be going home in a few days. But in reality those few days are actually a few months. That said I’m glad they are months as opposed to days, I love it here.

I’m currently sat in my room typing this. As I look out my window onto the back of the school I can see people playing football, I can see people playing volleyball, and I can hear a community. I’ve found it amazing how a group of over 100 people can come together with a mutual love for Jesus and just instantly get on. You don’t get that with other groups of people. We have a developing little community here, and I get the sense that if you give us a few more weeks and we will have some great friendships developing between people.

Our timetable seems slightly intense. We have 3 lectures in the morning, and then 2 in the evening after supper. There are some days which have exceptions, for example on Monday mornings we have a small group instead of one of the lectures, and Friday night is always free. But generally that’s what happens. We have quite a few papers to get written and handed in. I’ve already done 3 this week; my testimony, a purpose paper (basically explaining how it came to be that I am here what I want to get out of this next 6 months) and also a spiritual life survey, which asked us a few questions on our relationship with God at the moment, what we are struggling with etc etc. The last one Peter said we could hand in anonymously, and he wanted us to be brutally honest. So I was. It was actually really challenging to write, being truly honest with myself and then typing it out for someone to read.

Alongside the lectures we have 4 books to read and write reports on during the terms, learn the books of the bible in order, learn two memory verses a week, do a bible study project, read the whole Old Testament and write papers on different sections of the Old Testament once we have read them...I know right, it’s a good job we have a decent amount of free time.

I get the feeling that Bible School is a lot like other things, you get out of it what you put in. I read a couple of chapters of one of assigned books today after church. It talks about how you don’t just become a Christian and then immediately have a great relationship with God. And reading you bible all the time and studying it hard can’t create that either. Tozer in his book puts it like this, ‘The modern scientist has lost God amid the wonders of His world; we Christians are in read danger of losing God amid His Word’.

Moses knew God, but he prayed in Exodus 33:13 ‘Now therefore I pray, it I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight’. David wrote many psalms that sign of how he seeks to know the Lord more and more, and psalms of how he rejoices God speaks to him and reminds him of His awesomeness. Paul writes in Philippians 3:10 ‘...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection’.

There is so much going on here, so many things to do, people to talk to, places to visit...but I don’t want to be too distracted from the real reason I’m here. I don’t want to become complacent with where I am, but continue to seek Him.

it sometimes sucks to be english

Life at the Bode is good; slightly overwhelming at times, but good! I’ve decided to write these posts in my room and then just copy them onto here when I get chance to go onto the internet, which I think is going to be a bit of a rarity. In a way I think it will be kind of good not to be on my computer much, because it means I’m spending more time with other people, chilling out and getting to know them. And boy are there a lot of people to get to know.

So this year at Bode there are 104 of us ...104! It’s pretty much as full as it can be. Now, remembering names is not one of my strong points; literally, I’m useless and end up feeling really rude when I ask someone’s name, knowing that I spent the previous dinner time with them, or went for a walk with them. So learning 104 names is going to take me some time. Good job I have 6 months with these people.

I’m rooming with 2 Canadian’s and an American, so I think we are one of the most international rooms. And if you maths is pretty good you’ll realise that I’m in a room of 4...phew! There are a couple of rooms that have 10 people in, and I’m pretty glad I’m not in one of those. I think that would just be a little too much for me right away. We switch rooms after Christmas, so potentially I could be in a 10 room after then, but I’ll be more used to sharing a room by then so I might hack it better.  

There are only 6-7 countries represented here I think, I was kind of expecting more. And I’m the only British girl. OK, so typical conversation with someone I’ve just met...

‘Hi, I’m so and so, and I’m from Canada’
‘Oh hi, nice to meet you, I’m Steph and I’m from England’
‘Woahhh, you’re from England!? That’s cool, keep taking so we can hear you accent’.

It’s so funny. And they ask if I think they have an accent?! I’m like ‘yeah, OF COURSE you have an accent, what are you on about?!! You sound North American’. Also, I’m really scared that I’m going to come home with a North American twang to my accent. I miss the English accent, thank goodness for skype so I can get my English fix!

On another  kind of English note ...OK, so there is an international night coming up and basically each country has to do a little (well not so little in my opinion!!) like skit/sketch/whatever you want thing of something that represents their country. Now, if you’re a Canadian there are like 50 odd people to work together with ideas to pull off a really funny sketch. And if you’re American there are I think like 20-30 people to come up with something and share the 15 minutes (!!!) of stage. Even if you’re German there are like 6-7 of you again to come up and share the joy of representing your country to the rest of the school. But it sucks to be you if you’re English. Not only do you have to come up with something on your own to do, but then you have to actually go through with that idea on your own. Fair?! I think not! What the heck am I going to do?! Seriously, please help me think of something because I have not a clue how I’ll fill 15 minutes with Englishness!!

Anyway, I don’t want to bore you with every little detail about what I’ve done so far, so I’ll give you some highlights briefly. Yesterday we just had some intro lectures, filled in some forms for visas etc etc. In the afternoon there were different options of what to do; football, volleyball, I opted to go into town on the bus and get an ice cream though! Last night was like an open testimony night, there was just a microphone at the front and if people felt called to share their testimony briefly they could (We have the same again tonight). Today we had our first ‘church’ service. I think it’s just pretty much us students that go, with the odd visitors from the local town. It was good to listen to a sermon, and it made me realise how excited I am to start actual lectures here. Bring on tomorrow.

names

Thank goodness for name tags, that's all I can say.

plane, train, ferry

Hello Friedrichshafen, my new home for the next 6 months. I’ve arrived safely, and have decided that I am defiantly a traveller. I flipping loved the journey here. The flight, train, boat...all of it, I loved being on the move, getting to somewhere new and exploring.

The flight was a short one and a half hours, felt like nothing compared to the flight back from Calgary a few weeks back. I’d barely gotten my book out of my bag and we were descending. OK, so that’s a slight exaggeration, but it did seem to go fairly fast. And it was nice to fly in daylight for a change. The past flights I’ve had have been in the dark; all my flights going to Tanzania, coming back from Calgary, and although going to Vancouver was in day light I was in the middle row so didn’t exactly get chance to look out of windows. But flying here I had a window seat, and there were hardly any clouds. It was beautiful. I sat and quite literally watch the world go by. 

After arriving in Zurich I bought myself a train ticket and off I went to catch my train...which was double decker by the way. I’d like to say I went up to the top seats but seriously, if you felt how heavy my case was you would understand why I chose to sit on the bottom. During this part journey was the only blip of my travels here. As I understand naff all German/Swiss, I wasn’t exactly sure what the announcements said as the train moved along. And as I don’t actually know how to pronounce the places I’m going to, it made knowing when to get off a tad difficult. So I thought I’d ask the guy next to me when we stopped. I was like ‘do I get off here?’ (showing him my ticket in case he didn’t understand English, and making hand gestures as if I was playing charades and asking that questions was what my card said). And he was like ‘yes, yes’ (nodding his head vigorously), so off I got. But you know when someone tells you something, and your gut tells you ‘wait, that person is wrong, don’t listen to them’ ...my gut was telling me this. And so I ran down the platform a little, caught the eye of the train lady and asked her. Random Swiss man: 0. Steph’s gut feeling:  1. Back on the train I got.

After getting off the train for a second time, this time the right time, I caught my boat across Lake Constanse which took me right to Friedrichshafen. All that I had left was to find my hotel, and oh my gosh am I glad I found it without getting lost. Lugging a 29.2kg suitcase around, with a back pack going on for another 9kg, and carrying 2 coats is pretty tough going!  I feel like I don’t need to exercise for at least a week now!

I’ve spent the rest of the day just chilling out in my new town. I kind of half expected to bump into other people going to bible school, but despite hearing out for a Canadian or American accent as I was wandering around I didn’t see anyone. Which in a way has been kind of nice; I enjoyed walking around on my own, exploring the town. I sat and ate pizza looking out onto the lake where you can see the Swiss Alps in the distance. It was pretty sweet. And on a slightly more random note, as I was walking around the town I came accross a man with a camel. Yes, a camel. Ramdom.

Tomorrow I have to get myself to the actual school. It’s a little bit out of the town I think so a bus is in order I think. I went to find the bus stop tonight so I have a bit more of an idea where I’m going in the morning. Fingers crossed I make it.

Being here makes me wish I listened more in German lessons. Seriously, I know nothing of this language. Guten tag, danke ...and that’s it; that’s my German vocabulary exhausted. 

packing skills

My countdown is finally coming to an end. In 24 hours I’ll be in Germany ... that’s just one sleep away.  Oh gosh. This new adventure of mine has been a long time coming, so the fact that it’s actually becoming real within the next 2 days or so still seems pretty surreal. I can’t quite get my head around it.

It’s made it kinda weird to say bye to people, because I just don’t feel like I’m going yet. Also because I’ve said bye to most people twice because of the surprise gathering at mine that was organised that I had no clue at all about. (Deb, your totally right, I am pretty dippy not to have worked out what was been planned up behind my back). 

It not totally hit me that I won’t see any of my family and friends again for a few months. OK, so it’s hit me a little bit after last night reading some cards that people have given me. Let’s just say I hardly needed make up remover for my mascara after reading them, my tears did a pretty good job by themselves.

I’ve been reminded the past few days just how blessed I am to have friends like I do. Friends who have always looked out for me; friends who I know I could turn to if I ever needed advice; friends who support me. I know (or at least I hope!!) that I’ll be making lots of new friends over the next 6 months, but that won’t stop me missing the people I have here in England.

OK...let’s move away from the soppy stuff now, pull yourself together Steph yeah?!

I’m pretty much all packed now and mann am I glad I opted for paying more for the extra 9kg. I mean, my study bible alone weighs like 2.5kg... yep you did read that right, 2.5kg!! It’s a bible and a half! I think it might have to go in my hand luggage though, along with my laptop and camera. Lets flipping hope they don’t weigh that bag because there will be NO WAY that it’ll be less than the 7kg that it’s meant to be! 



my impressive packing skills



It’s hard to know what to pack. I think it’s going to be fairly decent weather when I first get there, but them it’s bound to get pretty chilly as it get to winter. The facebook group for the students going this year has a comment asking if anyone is taking two suitcases. And actually a fair few people are which I’m kind of surprised about because I doubt we will have all that much space in our rooms. So I’m pretty proud of myself for fitting 6 months of my life into just the one suitcase. Yeah OK, I know I’m cheating because I’ve paid for extra weight allowance, and I’m planning on wearing my winter coat, body warmer, and my boots (so basically all the heavy and bulky clothes I own) on the plane. But still, I only have the one suitcase. I feel this is quite an achievement. I also feel the flight is going to be a hot one wearing a substantial amount of layers. Good job it’s a short one huh.

Anyway, I think I’ll end it there for now; this post is getting longer and longer. Thanks for reading and following this blog. I’m aiming to post on here semi regularly whilst I’m in Germany to keep people updated on my happenings ect. I know some people have trouble commenting on these posts, but feel free to have a go if you want. I’m not sure if I’ll have a phone out there or not yet, probably will but may have a different number. I’ll put all my contact info on my facebook info page so you all to keep in touch *nudge nudge* ;)

empty plates

Do you ever see or do something that to other people would seem really small and insignificant, but to you means the world? Well last night it happened to me.
Because I'm soon to go to Germany, and my cousin is moving back down south for his placement year, my Grandad and Grandma took a few of us cousins out for a meal, and it was one of the best night's out I've had in a long time. We were taking away, struggling to get words in edge ways. We were laughing so much that grandad was nearly spilling his drink. But most of all we were all eating.
OK, so to an on-looker that's just a normal scene right!? I mean, when you go to a pub for a meal you expect to see all the people scoffing the food down when it comes. But to me it meant so much more that all of us had empty plates at the end of the meal.
I remember all too well that only a few months ago when I would visit Grandad he would struggle to eat because he was just to ill. I mean, he didn't hardly eat kitkats and they are like his favourite biscuits. But last night he had gammon with egg and pineapple, potatoes and vegetables. And not only that but it was followed by bread and butter pudding with custard. And every plate was empty.
God is good.

Fact 197

I'm just casually trolling though the internet, killing a little bit of time before I head to bed, and I come across on pintrest (my new fave place to go on the nternet when facebook becomes boring and I'm all caught up with my blogs) a photo saying the following:

'Harry Potter fact 197: Every 30 seconds someone begins reading Harry Potter'

I laughed out loud.

By the way, I've finished book one, watched the film, and am now cracking on with book two. Harry Potter geek?! Not quite, but give me time and who knows!

I'm still learning...

A little encouragement

Why hello there September 2011, your finally here huh?! And you bring with you the end of my uni career, and the start of my German adventure! Well, you can't get much better than that can you!
I thought seeing as it's a new month, and my bible reading has gone seriously downhill recently, I'd make an extra effort to try to get into a routine again! I really have no excuse for not putting time aside for my quiet times, its pure laziness!
My Grandad and Grandma get me this little book of daily bible readings. I'm not going to lie, but sometimes I don't really like these; I don't always find them that helpful. But this evening when I opened my bible I noticed that today would be the very first one in this issue. And, as I was starting my new routine I though I may as well have a read of this too. It took me to 2 Kings 22:8-23:3 which talks about when King Josiah and the people of Judah 'rediscover the joy and importance of God's Word'.
I'm just going to quote the last paragraph of the entry that I read ... 'Many today have unprecedented access to God's Word. Let's renew our commitment to 'find' it every day and by our lives show its prominence'.
Now, if that's not God encouraging me to again start seeking his guidance, love, joy, wisdom, etc etc, by reading his word then I don't know what is!

14 years later...

OK, so I've decided I need to find out what all this hype is about Harry Potter. Until now, I'd read the first chapter of the first book, watched the first film and half of the second film...and that was it. I don't have a clue what happens after that. When the last film came out a few weeks ago people seemed to have Harry Potter fever. I want to know why.
And so, 14 years after being published, I have started reading the first book. Six to go...I think?!!

32 days and counting

32 days! It's now only 32 days until my flight to Germany. Oh. My. Gosh.
I seriously can't believe just how quickly it has snuck up on me. I'm a mixture of feelings at the moment, ranging from unbelievable excitement that makes me want to dance around my room, to the feeling that I'm a rabbit caught in the head lights worrying that 6 months is quite a long time to be away from my family and friends and that I'll get home sick! OK, so that's a slight exaggeration as I am coming home for Christmas! But still, it's a long time right!?
I keep checking the facebook group for the 2011/12 year! ...it's made its way onto my group tabs on my facebook home screen, so I'm kind of obsessively checking it at the moment! As far as I can tell, I'm still the only British person going, which I think is kinda cool! There are like 85 odd people in the group, and words cannot describe how excited I am to meet all the people in this group.
I've also come across, through my increasing blog addiction, some blogs of people who went to Bodenseehof the last few years. Reading about how much they loved it just brings a smile to my face. It's clear reading these blogs that these guys had a class 6 months, and their relationship with God just grew during there time there. I'm so excited to get stuck into God's word. Taking 6 months of my life to do just that; awesome. I feel like at the moment I'm missing out on being fed spiritually. My quiet time have become much less regular than I would like, and I don't really have a home church at the moment which I'm struggling a bit with. Hence my excitement.
My last ever placement started this again this week (is that light I see at the end of the tunnel!? Heck yes it is!!) and all the staff have been asking 'ooh, so your job hunting?! Have you got a job lined up yet?!'. And I've just been honest with them. My previous placement, I kind of didn't tell them that I was taking time out straight after I finish my training. I guess I though they would this I was daft doing that. Not about going to bible school, just more not going straight into a job. And so whenever they asked my, I would just say something like 'well, I'm keeping my eyes open for any jobs that I might like. But I've not applied for any yet'. Which wasn't a lie, I was occasionally having a look on the NHS website to see what the job situation was like, and I hadn't applied for any jobs, but I wasn't really telling the whole truth.
But this placement I just told them from the start. Yeah, they probably do think it's not the best move to not go straight into a job, but to be honest, I don't care. I believe it's the right thing for me to do. I believe this is what God has planned for me right now. So I'm going for it.

the shape of love

nap converted

Naps aren't a common occurrence for me but after THAT nap, they could well become more regular! I may have just been nap converted ...zzZ!

letters

There is something about receiving a hand written letter, I just love it. It makes you realise how much you mean to someone, that they took the time to sit and write you a letter rather than just get in touch via text or facebook. It puts a smile on your face when you read it (...assuming its a nice letter of course!).

And so I plan to try and make people smile while I'm away in Germany. I'm going to get myself some nice stationary, envelopes, stamps and use the good
ol'fashioned method of communication to my close

friends and family.

How, what, why, who, when

HOW, WHAT, WHY, WHO, WHEN.

Psalm 96:

Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all gods of the earth are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of nations,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.

Say among the nations, "The Lord reigns."
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the people with equity.

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;
they will sing before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples of his truth.

The Lord is worthy of ALL praise; ALL should praise him ALWAYS.

its cold in fridges

I love spontaneous moments like theses, they make life more fun :)

gleaning the fields

I’ve realised that sometimes I’m quick to complain about things. And that sometimes I complain in a sneaky way, so it doesn’t sound like I’m complaining but still I’m letting those around me know that I’m tired, or that I’m too busy to do anything with my friends, or that I’m not on my summer holls yet because I only get 3 weeks off for summer not 3 months.

But I think the big one at the moment is money. Degrees really take a hit to your bank account, especially when in the last year you decide to go to Tanzania, Canada, and then after go to bible school in Germany!! So really my financial situation is down to my elaborate spending and travels, which I do believe to be totally worth it by the way!

I never really had to think about money when I was growing up. I think I’m very much like my dad when it comes to money; I’m a bit of a saver. I remember when I was little if I wanted something, I would work out how long it would take to save my weekly pocket money for that thing. Before I went to uni I worked the whole summer and earned a lot which kept my bank balance pretty healthy. But the second and third year my balance went downhill, yet I didn’t feel as though I was spending it all on useless things. Yeah I treated myself now and again, but the bulk of my loan and bursary went on paying my rent and bills.

Since Jan this year I’ve started to struggle to get a monthly statement that has ended on a positive figure. And this has often stressed me out. I worry that I’m not going to have enough money for things, that it will take me too long to get them positive numbers back again. I know that I will get out of my overdraft once I finish uni and bible school and get working again, but here have been times when I’ve just broken down in tears because I feel just stuck in debt and powerless to do anything about it.

Yet during all this I’ve been too quick to forget that I need not worry and let this get to me. I remember back in Feb time I prayed to God that he would just provide for me this year, both in terms of energy, time, and also financially. And the following week I get a letter in the post with an encouraging not from a friend and £50 going towards my trip to Tanzania. That then was a great reminder to me that God is totally in control and he has my back; he will provide for me.

The past few weeks have been pretty hectic for me. I’ve been working at placement full time then spending my evenings working trying to earn some extra money. I tended to complain a bit about my lack of free time to just spend chilling out. I was tired; I was stressed, and just ready for some time off.

One night I turned to the book of Ruth and read the first two chapters, and as I was reading I just knew this was the passage God wanted me to look at. Ruth followed Naomi back to her home land. She was a widow in a foreign land having to glean in the fields for food. She worked hard. She didn’t complain. She trusted God would provide. He did.

I’ve been worrying that I have no money. I’ve been complaining that I have no time. Yet when I read this I realised that actually God is totally providing for me. Yeah I have no time, but that’s because I’m out working to try to earn some more money. God has blessed me with a new job for the summer so that I can work hard and sort out my money situation. He is in control and he does provide. I’ve been reminded that we shouldn’t just sit back and wait for things that we pray for. We should still take the initiative, like Ruth, and go and glean those fields.

the law of procrastination

The law of procrastination: When one task needs completing, other less significant and meaningful tasks arise preventing one from completing the original task in hand.

I have a presentation on Tuesday. So far all that has been done for it is re-finding a few photos that I already had on my laptop from my previous presentation on the subject. Yet so far today I have messaged some of my friends, put the washing out, checked my e-bay account, checked my e-mails, checked my other e-mail account, directed a man who was lost, given my room a quick tidy, washed up, tried to do some budgeting for my summer...the list continues.

This is a prime example of the law of procrastination.

badai tanzania...

What I'll miss...
- Witness's cooking
- The flavours of the food
- Cakes from Picasso's
- Milkshakes from Afrocafe
- Speaking Swahili
- John's taxi music
- The community of the house
- Chipatties
- Visiting the orphanage
- Thursday BBQ
- Friday lala day
- Having time to read lots of books
- Taking the dala dala into town
- Via Via
- How cheap things are
- Bartering at the maasi market
- Having pancakes for breakfast

What I'm lookin forward to...
- Seeing my family and friends again
- Cereal
- My own bed
- Hvaing electric 24/7
- Not having to use deet
- Being able to walk down the street without being shouted 'mzungu' at/being stared at/being harrassed to buy something
- Washing machines
- Being called by my name rather than 'muzungu'
- Light nights
- Being able to leave food on my plate when I'm full and not feeling really rude
- Pedestrian crossings

and then there were 4 ...

Gosh, it feels like ages since I've written on here!
I'm back in Arusha again now! It was weird as John (our taxi driver) was driving us back to the house after picking us up from the airport. As we approached Arusha and I recognised the area, it  almost felt like I was back home! I loved Zanzibar, it was really relaxing and beautiful, but it made me so glad  that I'd chosen to do my elective in Arusha rather than the other places in Tanzania!
The house is now down to just 4 people, which is kind of weird! Its now a 2:2 ratio of Canadians: UK people. Next week I'm pretty confident we'll take the upper hand haha! The new small group is nice, it means you can have more 'me' time if you want, but there are still people to chat to if you want! I leave before like 12 people arrive. The house gets really full after this week. I told our cook,Witness, to make the most of not having as much work because she is going to be flat out as of  Sunday! She says she loves it when the house is full though!
I've now moved to a different department in the hospital, I'm now on the labour ward! Today was my first day and we (well I say we,I didn't do loads of hands on stuff, but I was there  for most of the births!) delivered...wait for it...7 babies! Amazing! They are all soooo beautiful! No joke, the women were seriously lucky that I didn't sneak one home with me, I did come pretty close at one point! They were so tiny, I'd never held a baby less than 24 hours old before, let alone less than 5 mins old! Today I mostly just weighed the babies and wrapped then up in the congas, and filled in some paperwork. Emily is there too which is great actually because  she has been there for the past 3 weeks and knows what she is doing. She helped me get more stuck in, and its nice to have someone to chat to when there is a lull.
This weekend just gone was actually nice and quiet and chilled out. I did think at one point that I might have gone on a safari, but  it was abit last minute and people kept dropping out, and it was just getting more and more expensive, so we didn't get in the end. My whole view point on it has totally changed during my time here. When I was planning my trip, going on safari was top top of my list of things that I really wanted to do while I was here. And when I arrived and found out most people were either leaving soon, or had already done a safari, I think I could have cried. I was so disappointed. But as I have spent more time here, I have realised that actually, I count myself INCREDIBLY blessed to have even had the option of going. So many people wouldn't even get that. I have decided also to give some of the money that I'd saved for going on safari to Paradiso Orphanage that we have visited a couple of times. I  cant remember if I mentioned it in a previous post, but they are currently building a bigger house so the can accommodate more children. I think it's such a great cause. I'm sad that I will only get to visit it one more time.
Yesterday  (Sunday) we went on a coffee plantation tour which was actaully really good. We made ourown coffee to drink,and I'm not gona brag, but our coffee was actually the best coffee I've ever drank! ...OK,so it was probably more down to it not being transported across continents, and having things added to it, but still, it was awesome. We has to peel the beans, then pound them, then sive out the skins, roast them, pound them, sive them, pound some more, sive some more (ect ect...) and then boil it....mmmmm! In the afternoon we took a tour around a lake, the name of which I cant rememer! Again, it was beautiful. At one point we had a view across some ofthe plains of Tanzania, with the  mountains far in the distance. It  really was breathtaking. I dont think the photos I took will do it justice.
This final week is seriously going to be jam packed. There is still so much I want to do, and I only have another, what, 4  and a half days here! Time has seriously flown.  I have loved every minuite of it here. Though I will be very sad to leave, the clock in my head that is counting down the days until I go home is  getting louder. As Saturday gets closer and closer, I'm getting more glad that home isnt to long away.