neuschwanstein, bavaria, germany.
well, the crazy month of june has come to pass, and i'm back in my cozy sunlit room in minnesota.
highlights of the last week:
the wedding was beautiful! michelle was absolutely stunning, radiant, gorgeous, and simon was pretty spiffed up too! the church wedding was really nice [i got to play a song during their first communion as a couple], and then we were off to the castle park to take some pictures... then to the reception, where i got to help put on the program. we had the tables write poems for the bride and groom, played a game, played a few songs live [i just called to say i love you!], had some dancing, lots of good food and cake, and i was the supremely blessed female to catch the bouquet. :) it was such a lovely day- we were all exhausted by the time we got home after midnight- but blessed it was indeed.
sunday i had a nice breakfast with the apartment girls, then we headed to church, where david guzik was teaching for his last time while living in germany. what an unexpected blessing! i didn't know if i'd get to hear him teach- it was great. just wish i could have spent more time with dave and inga-lill! they took off for the states today i think.
sunday afternoon i hung out at the church with friends, then headed to sabine's house and then on to agathe's to watch the weltmeister - germany vs england! needless to say... deutschland hat gewonnen! it was a great game. i found it absolutely hilarious that all these chill girls get so into soccer- and joined right in with the best of them. got a german flag tattoo, ate bratwurst and black/red/gold gummy bears, and enjoyed the sounds of car horns honking and church bells ringing after the game. :) it's the real german experience!
monday i had breakfast with the newlyweds, the friedrichs, and the bonners- such a nice time! i so enjoyed spending the last couple weeks in the company of these two families. i felt like an extra adopted sister. later that day i went downtown with my friend djudji [from vienna, and who i've known for 5 years- we started bible college together in 2005 in CA!] , to get a little ice cream and see her off at the train station.
all this month i've been so blown away by the amazing fellowship i have in the fellowship of believers! it's unreal! i have family
everywhere i go, and we can immediately connect and be blessed by each other! and then we realize we have mutual friends from all across the world, and it makes it so much sweeter. i saw dozens and dozens of dear friends in the past four weeks- and it felt like i saw about half of europe too!
monday afternoon i came home to chill [traveling and wedding-helping is tiring work!] and ended up recording a little song. you can hear it at my
purevolume- it's called "should i". it's pretty much how my mind works- sort of jumbled, pretty happy, lots of questions, but not overly worried. hope you enjoy it.
monday night we had a girls worship night at the apartments- there were 8 of us who spent a couple hours singing, worshiping the Lord together, praying for one another, and sitting at the Lord's feet - it was such a blessed time. i really had it on my heart to do something like that, so i could sing in german again [among other reasons!]... and was so glad it worked out.
tuesday i had breakfast with four sweet german girls at our apartment [breakfast is an occasion in germany, if you didn't figure that out yet!], which lasted until well past noon! then i slowly began packing, and had a restful afternoon. went out for pizza [the last supper!] with friends, and afterwards took my last walk up the hill. i love walking in those hills- it's so peaceful and green and comforting. i've spent many an hour in those woods and hills surrounding siegen, praying and singing and thinking. i'm blessed.
wednesday had one last breakfast at the coffeebar, then took off with katha and bini for the airport. i got my overweight bag in for free, by agreeing to be a volunteer to fly out a day later, if the flight should be overbooked. if that would have happened, i'd have also had a free night's stay at the Sheraton in frankfurt, a couple free meals, and been given an $800 travel voucher! i was all about that! but.. i got on the flight. :) i had a very talkative next door neighbor in the plane, who told me all about the world cup, blenders, immunizations, and various other significant subjects. and after a couple hours in chicago, i was back to sioux falls, and finally into the car with my brother and mother.
WHAT A MONTH. i'm tired, blessed, eager to keep on living and doing meaningful things here, and prayerful concerning the future. and of course, i am happy to see my family.
that is the longest blog i've posted in ages! way to go if you persevered all the way through. :)
going to try to put pictures up soon.
xo,a.
