update.

time is winding down at an uncanny [defined as strange or mysterious] pace. i've been home since june 11th, and now my departure date is a mere 2 weeks away!

home has been amazing. it's been incredibly busy, but i've been blessed with a great job and lots of hours, and lots of time with my family. we all went on vacation to northern wisconsin/minnesota in early july, and i've been able to attend many of my little [i refer to age, not size] brothers' soccer games, coached by my dad. this past weekend they won the district championship, so we're going to state on friday! 2 years ago their team placed second in the state tournament in a double overtime match. so this weekend should be exciting.

as noted in the previous post, i attended the Madden wedding in Appleton, Wisconsin, last weekend. it was a wonderful time, despite an almost 9-hour drive in each direction by myself. i noticed a trend in myself that after about 7 hours in a car by myself, intense boredom sets in, which generally results in some form of photographic adventure whilst zipping along the road at a good 70-mph clip. my time in wisconsin was a huge blessing; i was able to hang out with some other bible college grads from all over the Lower 48, meet a few new friends from wisconsin, and celebrate a very joyous occasion of a couple soon to be on their way to Anchorage, Alaska. most of you know Peter and Jessica, so i'm sure you echo my excitement on their behalf!

yesterday was basically my first day off at home [meaning no work, day-long projects, or long car rides] since i arrived, and it was amazing! i rode a bike to the library, and picked up my annually-read favourite book. it's Louisa May Alcott's "An Old-Fashioned Girl," and it's quite the most enjoyable and recommendable piece of literature i've ever devoured.

i spent a while yesterday posting pictures online from the past few months; you can view them on my picasa if you'd like.

tomorrow my friend jessica is coming over with her brother and sister-in-law and we're going to make Thai food! pineapple curry, here we come.

to those of you in germany, i'll see you in 2 weeks! i arrive the 6th of august. to those of you elsewhere, you're in my thoughts and prayers! may the Lord draw each of us ever nearer to His precious side. He is so good- He continues to bless my heart and blow me away with His grace. the epistle of 1 John has been speaking depths to my heart lately. all about Life, and walking in Love, and the Fellowship we have in Christ! oh so rich! i love the Living-and-Activeness of the Word.

Bis bald, und Gott segne euch!

annie.

the end, part two!

well, sort of, i guess.

we made it through the dienerherzkonferenz! [servant heart conference] last week i spent the majority of each day in the "cave" [aka kitchen], chopping vegetables, stirring pots, listening to music from circa 1997, and cutting, washing, and spinning lettuce. a LOT of lettuce. practically like 25 cases.

it's interesting to note that the combination of mass lettuce washing and mass carrot grating produces a wonderfully orangey-brown coloration all over one's hands.

the conference went really well, and all of us serving had a great time. it was always a blessing to go to the evening sessions and let the Lord "wash our feet" along with the conference attendees. it was nice seeing some old friends, and fun serving alongside the staff and a few students who stuck around for the week. it dawned on me the other day that we really are like a family here at the bible college, and looking around at one of our morning staff meetings, i felt really blessed to know each one.

in other ccbc news, there are two new additions to the bible college family! Simeon Neil Waldrop and Aaron Schultze-Petzold were born within a few minutes of each other, this past friday. Nada and Julia were roommates in the hospital, and even in the delivery room! all are feeling well, and have arrived home. hooray for the kinder, and congrats to the happy parents!

this week we have been cleaning everything again, making and unmaking beds, doing lots of laundry, yardwork, mending, furniture removal, and much more! these past few weeks have been pretty exhausting, but we were reminded again today that it is such a privilege to be counted worthy to serve the Lord. and i was reminded this morning in the Word that HE is my strength! that is really good to know.

been having to say good-bye to some dear friends- chiara left last week, christy and the kathas left yesterday, anjulie leaves monday. but we will see them all sometime soon. and sabine comes back soon too! and we are going to go adventurizing!

i go home 2 weeks from tomorrow, and i am quite looking forward to it. i love germany dearly, but a little bit of home is always sweet. family, home, room, church, job, friends, nephew, music, wedding[yeah!].. it'll be great.

but before then, there's so much fun to be had! bis bald!

[and, in case you haven't heard, i burnt my hand. TWICE. with bratwurst. but don't worry, it'll be all right.]

the end, part one!

tonight is happy graduation night! the end of the semester has arrived! and the sun is even out, so we hopefully don't need to wear our winter coats for graduation this year.

next week: dienerherzkonferenz! [servanthood conference]

lobe den Herrn meine seele, und seinen heilige namen.

sweden update.

Hey everyone,

Thanks so much for your prayers over this past week or two. Everyone has arrived safely home from outreach trips, and each person is encouraged by what the Lord has done in each place and in each heart. I've heard some great stories from the other students and staff members.

Our Sweden trip was absolutely amazing! We stayed with Mike and Sofia Ortiz and Joel Wickstrom, who are leading a Bible study in Stockholm. It was a sweet time of fellowship, laughing, cooking, eating, walking, exploring Stockholm, and hanging out together. We flew in on Tuesday, and hung out at their house all evening. Wednesday and Thursday we spent walking all over Stockholm, having coffee, doing a little shopping, and enjoying the beautiful weather! The entire week was sunny and bright and warm. It was so refreshing! On Wednesday night we met up with Joel and another friend for a prayer time. We climbed uphill to a tower that overlooks the city [Stockholm is city made up of 14 islands], and saw the city at sunset as we prayed. It was really cool!

Friday was spent getting ready for the women's retreat. Sofia, Rebecka [a Swedish girl who goes to school with Sofia], and Chiara went grocery shopping, while Inga-Lill and I stayed home and made "bullar"- Swedish cinnamon rolls. We ran out of flour and had to improvise with oatmeal and graham flour, but ooh, were they good! :)

The retreat was at a large house/retreat center in the outskirts of Stockholm. It was beautiful countryside to walk through, and a nice cozy house for us to stay in. There were 12 of us altogether at the retreat: 6 in our twenties, and 6 a little older! One lady was actually in her 70's. It was a wonderful group, and as we spent time together all weekend, we were really blessed! Inga-Lill taught several different times, Chiara and I led worship, and we all helped cook and clean up after each meal. The Swedes amazed me with their excellent English- all of the worship and teachings were in English, and only rarely did Inga-Lill have to explain things in Swedish. What a blessing for Chiara and I to be able to understand what was going on [most of the time]!

We really enjoyed our times with the younger girls- Sofia, Rebecka, Evelina, and Erica- it was so encouraging to see that there are sincere believers who truly love the Lord and desire to serve Him, no matter where you go!! All of the ladies were from different churches and backgrounds, but it was sweet to see the fellowship we had together. We also learned a great Swedish tradition- Fika! Fika is what Minnesotans would call "a little lunch." :) It takes place about 2 hours after a meal, and consists of coffee, tea, fruit, cookies, candies, and Bullar! It's a great little time of hanging out. Basically, we ate all weekend. But hey, it's a women's retreat- what else could we expect?

We came home Sunday after an interesting adventure around the greater Stockholm vicinity [got a little lost], pretty tired and a bit carsick- and hopped onto the train almost right away to head into town for Sunday night Bible Study. On the train ride into town [about 30 minutes or so] Chiara and I picked out songs to lead for worship during the Bible study. We decided we should learn a Swedish song, so we had about 20 minutes to get down the pronunciation before our stop at t-Centralen [Central Station]. We hurried through the streets to get to the Bible study, said our hellos, listened to a beautiful song written by our friend Evelina, and led a group of Swedes [and Swedish speakers] in our very first Swedish song, Ära Till Ditt Namn [Blessed Be Your Name]. It's always a trip singing in a different languages, especially when you're leading a group! It's so amazing though, and it really is a huge blessing to the people who speak that language.

We didn't learn too much Swedish, but we could say thank you [Tak!], hello and goodbye [Hej!], Fika, and Rebecka taught me how to count to ten [I think I can remember 1-7]. Swedish is a beautiful language though! It sounds like they're little birds chirping. :)

Monday we went into town with Sofia and Rebecka, and met up with Evelina for some fika and a little shopping. Then we headed for the bus, plane, and car ride home!

So- our trip was great! Thanks for praying!! We were so blessed to hang out with the believers up there in Stockholm. I've been learning a lot about ministry this semester, so it was great to be able to talk with Mike and Sofia and Joel, and see that ministry really is about people, and about being a light in a dark world!

Now we're heading into the last 2.5 weeks of the semester. Pray that we'll have diligence in finishing well! Hebrews 6:10-12 was read this afternoon in our staff meeting- a fitting encouragement for us in these last weeks! Springtime is finally here- everything is green and blossoming! That makes everything even better. :)

Also, please pray for one of our students, Faith. She's been in the hospital since Monday, and they just discovered she had a blood clot in her lung- it's pretty serious! Praise the Lord they found it today, and she's being treated through next Monday. She's doing well. Pray that she'll be encouraged while in the hospital too, and have good time spent with the Lord- it can be a boring and lonely place sometimes!

God bless you all! Thanks for reading, and for praying. God is so good!! Let us rest upon His everlasting arms.
Kram! [hugs]
annie.

i'm lame, and never update.

this week was speaker's week here at the Bibelschule. i got to sit in on several of the sessions. it was a blessing! john bonner and scott vincent taught the simple truths of the Word, and we were all encouraged and built up.
last year during this week i was in the krankenhaus. this year i was sick, but no krankenhaus, praise the Lord! i do have my 3rd sickness/sinus infection in 2 months, however, so if you think of it, please pray that my antibiotics [which i got today] will do their magic quickly! :)

i think it's easy and most natural to give the impression that things are amazing and life is absolutely wonderful. it isn't exactly true. lately i've been going through some hard times, and being stretched in areas that i didn't think needed stretching- it hurts! but i've been learning that it all is profitable- for i shall be conformed more into the image of Jesus, which is my desire! [just didn't exactly foresee the means by which the transforming would take place!] but it's all so good, and all according to His plan. though He bruises, He also binds up, and though He wounds, He heals! His promises are faithful.

tonight i'm meeting my german family [i, the auslander, am adopted yet again] for dinner, with my american 'sister' charlie. it should be pretty fun! grill season begins in freudenberg tonight! then ratatouille with my sweet michelle.

ciao!

rejoice!

Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

God is so gracious. i've been sick for the past week, but i'm on the way back to gesundheit! pretty much felt like i fell off the face of the earth for a few days there, but things are still rolling along, and the Lord is blessing me with new joy and new mercies each morning.

weekend team was amazing, with 2 american girls, a finnish guy, and a bonafide chilango from mexico. we had so much fun, the food turned out really well [all praise to Jesus for that!], and the weekend is over! amen.

this weekend is our trip to Lippstadt! it's a church of about 12 people, a couple hours from here. we're going to spend the weekend with the pastor and his family, lead worship at church, and spend time in fellowship with the church. our team of 8 [so far] met today to go over details and pray. i'm really encouraged, and blessed. we need one more guy to go with us, so pray that the right team comes together. otherwise, the 8 of us will be ok too. pray that we'll be a blessing to our family there in Lippstadt!

tonight i get to lead worship with 2 of my dear friends, ela and ludwig, at monday night class. then tomorrow we have intern meeting, and i work coffeebar in the afternoon. staff meeting and koinonia group on wednesday. and after thursday comes...

FRIDAY BABY!!!!!!!!!

Gott segne euch!
heart!a.


[Easter verse: For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. 1 thes 1:9-10]

p.s. i miss you chilanga.

gears are turning, praise is rising, and God is good!
He is doing amazing things in my heart, and is reviving my vision and my heart for others.
soon we shall see if an opportunity to minister opens up: i emailed a church today and they wrote right back with encouraging words! pray for wisdom and guidance, especially concerning outreach week also.
how great is our God! let us be vessels to pour out His love upon each soul we encounter today.
mit lieb!
akj.

locked out of my house.

so i will update!
i have been so bad at updating! sorry.
things here are super busy to the extreme. but everything is going really well, and i love it here so very much! i haven't taken any pictures, otherwise i'd post.
my days pretty much consist of helping in the kitchen, figuring out my m199ers' schedules [i am the laundry intern this semester], leading worship [yesterday devos + tonight for all-girls koinonia], and going to inga-lill's block class "women of the bible" [3 hours/day, 5 days/week, 2 weeks].
classes and devotions have all been so encouraging!!! i'm so blessed to be here and to sit under such rich teaching. and worshiping together with the Body of Christ is also so great.
this weekend i'm on weekend team, and we're going to the Wartburg, which is the castle in Eisenach where martin luther was held captive. been there before. it's cool. so it'll be a crazy weekend of continued cooking and running around.
the Lord keeps reminding me that it's only in His strength that i am to begin and to complete anything. i've been given a lot of responsibilities, and i tend to get going in my own strength and start to burn out before i realize that all along i should have been relying upon His sufficiency in everything.
so that's definitely a prayer request! keep us all in your prayers, staff and students.. we all have a LOT going on this week and next. pray for wisdom, strength, clarity of thought, and most of all a closeness to the Lord in this time.
love!

deutschland!

i am here! it is going well! not too jet-lagged.. i stayed up all day yesterday after an early morning arrival.. it was a little rough but i made it through! slept pretty well besides a 4-hour awake time in the middle of the night.
that's about it for now! hoorah.

last day at church.

we have had such a wonderful weekend! john bonner came out friday night, after being at the missions conference in murrieta all week. we so enjoyed his fellowship. saturday morning all of "The Men" from church plus a few other friends gathered at our restaurant in the meeting room for a breakfast fellowship. all the reports say it was fantastic! afterwards there were around 8 people from sioux falls calvary who came over for lunch and an afternoon of fellowship. that too was encouraging. then after a quiet evening at home last night, we headed off to church this morning in the beautifully falling snow!
church was great. i led worship with my little bro for the last time before june. :( it really hit me that it was my last sunday with our calvary Body until summertime when i started the last song.. which definitely had to be "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases! His mercies never come to an end! They are new every morning, new every morning, and great is Your faithfulness, O Lord! Great is Your faithfulness!" it was one of the hardest songs ever to get through without breaking down in tears [although several escaped me!]. truly, truly, the Lord's faithfulness is SO GREAT! just looking at how He's blessed our church, our family, how He's blessed me so infinitely beyond what i ever imagined.. what a great God we serve.
so it took a bit during pop's announcements to pull myself together before they called me back up front to be officially sent out by the church to Germany. i explained a bit of what the next year may entail, and then all the men of the fellowship came up and one of the leadership-type guys prayed for me. i was blessed. i cried, haha. but what a privilege to be sent forth into the world!!
john's message was great, just exhortation to truly Know the Lord, and some ways that He might speak individually to us. plus he worked in his testimony. all of it was very encouraging! afterwards our "fellowship feast" [aka potluck to beat all potlucks] was great, with tons of amazing food. plus, i got to catch up with some college friends who are back in town to start classes this week, and nearly everyone stuck around after church for the feast, so that was great!
so we all [my parents and i] compared notes this evening and agreed that we have certainly been blessed and refreshed through these past few days. the Lord is so good.

quickly comes wednesday's departure, and not long afterwards the beautiful donnerstag morgen im Deutschland!

but i get to play with Bryce tonight! no packing till tomorrow! :)