snow. and community. lots of it.

So it has been snowing on and off for about 2 weeks now. Today we got actual rain, only to be replaced tomorrow and the next by extreme snow. Not going to lie, I'm glad I got my winter tires put on yesterday (it's actually illegal to drive without them after a certain date in Germany). I really love snow and it makes this place look even more beautiful, especially when I go to the Christmas markets. However, I am really noticing the effect the lack of sunshine has on a person, especially when I check out Chattanooga's forecast on my iPhone: sunshine, all day, every day. So go soak it up Chattanoogans! You don't know what you got. :)

I've been really blessed with community lately. It's really rare to find a military base with a good singles ministry, and God has established one here in Bamberg just in time for me to be involved. There are two single soldiers from a unit that just got back from "down range" (war) heading it up and we go to Bible studies at different restaurants each Wednesday, go to lunch after chapel on Sundays, and have various events. This past weekend we took the train to the Nuremberg Christmas market (it's apparently "the famous one"). Above you can see me with two Germans who came along with us and Sarah, my friend who shopped with me as we held our mugs of gluhwein (hot spiced wine) close while also coming incredibly close to freezing to death.

Also involved in the singles group is my friend Jonathan who roomed with Steven (my friend that passed away this past May from leukemia) their freshman year at Covenant. Small world, huh? He just got stationed here, so it's been a blessing to reconnect with him and make friends with his fellow soldiers and have some people to explore the downtown area with. I just feel like God has orchestrated all this community and it's incredible to see His hand in that! He sure does take care of His own. :)

thankfulness.

So I thought I'd blog about how Monday was my FAVORITE day since I've been here! It was middle school/high school club day but was on a special day because of HYPE (more about that later). It began when I came into the office with Shea late morning and we met with John (new Community Director at Schweinfurt) and Elizabeth (old CD at Schweinfurt who is moving to England) to nail down the details for club. I love spending time with these people and am sad to see Elizabeth leave but I know she's going to do great things starting Club Beyond at Menwith Hill. John and his wife Mandy are awesome people as well. I met them back at training in January and they are newly married. We do high school club with Schweinfurt together (the students from Schweinfurt go to Bamberg for high school) and Shea and I travel to Schweinfurt on Tuesdays to help with their middle school club. so I get to see them all the time!

This is Elizabeth and I dressed up for the Halloween party at staff conference a few weeks ago:

and this is me with John and Mandy Ritchey:

Then a girl who is our work study student, a senior, came to work for an hour and helped us plan club and went to lunch with us at Popeye's. She is a really cool girl whose family used to be stationed in Georgia, so we both talked about missing the south. :) Then we went to the high school where we met the 8 or so members of H.Y.P.E. (Helping Youth Prepare for Excellence). They are 18-25 year olds who attend a 2-year school and commit to a year of travelling the world and performing dance/stomp/spoken word/comedy in high schools and middle schools. We helped them set up at the stage in the cafeteria while the kids were eating lunch. Their hour long performance was awesome! They spoke about Respect, Self-Worth, and Purpose. In the assembly their speaking was non-religious but later at club they were able to give their Christian testimonies and talk about Jesus. The kids LOVED the performance and were cheering and clapping, especially when they were speaking about self-worth and other things high school students struggle with. It was great to see that they could relate and needed to hear those things.

This is HYPE (for more information on them go to http://gethype.info):

Then we met after school with HYPE and the middle school students and played dodgeball in the gym/teen center for the entire club. It was so much fun and high-energy! Sadly I couldn't play because of my ankle but I reffed. One of the HYPE members spoke about having a relationship with Jesus. Then we had to get ready for high school club over at the chapel. Shea and John's wives helped with food (we serve the kids dinner before club) in one of the rooms in the chapel. It was good to mingle and eat with kids, getting to know them.

Then we had high school club in the sanctuary (which is not where we normally have club- so as not to scare off the non-chapel kids) and I was super nervous because I was not only doing music for the first time as their leader at my 2nd week of club but they have never ever had music at club before! And I was doing with with a couple off-and-on volunteers, Myles and Kelly, who are married and friends with Shea and Sandee and play lots of instruments. Kelly played drums and Myles played bass and I played guitar and sang on a mic. It was Glee themed club, which is a popular show in the states with lots of music, so we sang a few songs from that. The students LOVED IT. They raved about club afterwards saying how fun it was and how they wanted music at club more. Shea said it was his favorite club he'd done all year. Later after we dropped kids off at their houses Shea told me about a girl who comes to club because her friends are not true friends and just want to use her and Club Beyond is the only place where anyone really cares about her. I love that we can be that for kids, showing them Jesus' love when they can't find it anywhere else. We came back late to clean up some more, and Shea looked up and said "Hey Laura. Thanks for coming here." and told me how glad he was God had put me here. Despite the long journey to get here and the major transition, I know this is where God wants me and I love it. I love these students already, they are so broken and so in need of Jesus and that is so obvious. God has allowed me to contribute to this ministry using the gifts He has given me and the tough things He has brought me through. I. Love. My. Job. Even after a long, exhausting 12 hour day. God is so so good ya'll!

And that night, as I was putting my key in the door to my apartment building next to the Frucht Bar, the owner came up to me and introduced himself. He'd emailed me earlier about using my cellar space during the winter, and we ended up having a long conversation and getting to know each other and he was telling me about all the best places in Bamberg and about his life and I got to share what I was doing on the military base and how much I love living in German culture so far. He spoke pretty good English like most Germans and it was amazing to be able to connect with people in my German community. I'm not sure he understood what I do with military teens but I hope that eventually that will open doors for me to tell him about Jesus. Europe is a place that is incredibly dark spiritually.

My apartment door and the Frucht Bar:

Sorry this is so long, but I just wanted to thank everyone for the ways they are supporting me in prayer, finances, and encouragement and tell you about the ways that God is using us in Club Beyond ministry to military teens. I am overflowing with thanks this year. God is amazing!

Thank you!

Have a blessed Thanksgiving, everyone.

Leaving for Deutschland!

Hello faithful blog followers of mine,

I may have already told you, or you may have already heard, but I have received news that I am moving to an army base in GERMANY!!!

This is great because 2 1/2 years ago I was on an airplane coming back from my weeklong missions trip to Berlin with Covenant College and writing in my journal about how I didn't want to come back to the states. I've long since had a feeling that I would return, specifically, to Germany.

Turns out it was God. :)

Unfortunately, there are some things up in the air in regards to the exact army base, but the good news is I'll know that in 11 days when I go to Community Director School in Colorado Springs until the 22nd of this month. After that, my friends and family are throwing a going away party for me on the 23rd (you're invited), I will be commissioned at Grace Church on the 24th, and leave THAT AFTERNOON FOR GERMANY!

(that's me & my team in Berlin in front of the Brandenburg Gate in '08)

THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU donors and prayer supporters!! I could not have made it to this point of leaving without you and the hand of God in all of this. It is all of us who are leaving for Germany on the 24th. You're going with me on this journey, and I am grateful for you. It just feels surreal to be at this point after well over a year of anticipation. God is so faithful.

Newsletter coming your way soon, but a word about funding, if I may...

I am at 95%. You're thinking, I thought you had to get to 100% to leave? Well, MCYM has graciously agreed to cover the remaining costs to get me on staff overseas. However they are still a ministry that needs money, and if I can find donors to cover that remaining $200/month, it will not only free up money the ministry can use in other areas, but it will also help give me the option of being able to ask donors to continue to give if God calls me to stay longer than my minimum 3 years. Think and pray about becoming part of this!! Military teens need the love of Jesus. There are specific kids over there right now with faces and names that I will meet very soon and whose lives you have the opportunity to change. Let me know if you're interested.

********IMPORTANT upcoming dates:

October

17-22 Community Directors School, Colorado (training in doing ministry on a military base)

23 My going away party, Grace Church, 5pm (I want to see ALL of you before I leave!!)

24 Deploy for Germany!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (can you tell I'm excited?)

25 Arrival in Frankfurt, in-processing in Heidelberg

26-Nov 2 MCYM Europe Staff Conference, Black Forest, Germany

November

2-6 MCYM training, Black Forest, Germany

6- Arrival at my base assignment, apartment and car hunting!

Auf Wiedersehen!