epic published

hey all! my final Slovenia piece was published in the Southeastern Europe newsletter (the one I put together for that field).

here is the link if you are interested. (it's a PDF, story on page 4)

http://homepage.mac.com/seenaz/.Public/SEE%20Sketches/Sketches%20April%2007-H.pdf

Slovenia story links -- please read!

Here are two links to the stories/profiles from Slovenia I wrote up. This is just a taste of the people who are in Ljubljana and involved in the church. My other story has yet to be finished and published, but as soon as it is, I will link it!

Thank you for caring and reading. :-)

Darja's story: "On Fear" http://www.eurasianazarene.org/wmeurasia/Default.aspx?tabid=288

Aleks' story: Snapshots http://www.eurasianazarene.org/wmeurasia/Default.aspx?tabid=283

es schneiet. (or something like that)

I had my first German lesson last Tuesday and it was a blast. A German family, the Langes, in Buesingen is helping me, and in exchange I am speaking English with them. This is a huge answer to prayer (yeah God!) and learning German from their old children's picture books is way more fun than the boring adult language ones. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

I learned some weather phrases and I've been able to use "it's snowing" WAY too many times this week.

It's day number 4 that it's snowed and the 3rd day of spring. Sunshine ... come back!

a tribute

thoughts of spring have now vanished with last night's snow, and today's freezing cold wind. brrr. hopefully the tree outside my window will make it through this horrible disappointment.

not to mention... both my blueberry AND my strawberry juices from Slovenia are officially gone. bummer.

starbucks

sometimes you just feel like Starbucks and when the closest one is 45 minutes away, it's an event. especially for volunteers who don't always have access to a car OR tons of extra money to pay $5/gal for gas. so, last Saturday, Elizabeth and I struck out for the mall (which we never found) and Starbucks. thankfully, we found Starbucks. vanilla lattes and caramel macchiato frappechinos make life fun. here are a few snapshots:

i love this song.

Alex... a high school MK here at EuNC sings this song by Philips, Craig and Dean. I love it.

My faithful Father, enduring Friend

Your tender mercy’s like a river with no end

It overwhelms me, covers my sin

Each time I come into Your presence

I stand in wonder once again

Your grace still amazes me

Your love is still a mystery

Each day I fall on my knees

Your grace still amazes me

‘Cause Your grace still amazes me

Oh, patient Saviour,

You make me whole

You are the Author and the Healer of my soul

What can I give You, Lord, what can I say

I know there’s no way to repay You

Only to offer You my praise

It’s deeper, it’s wider

It’s stronger, it’s higher

It’s deeper it’s wider

It’s stronger, it’s higher

than anything my eyes can see

our birthday-friday bike ride

last friday was our spring big-trash day. walking to working, i spotted a perfect engagement present for our newly engaged Verne and his fiancee Rachel: bike helmets. he was much obliged, we laughed, took pictures, and then he threw them out the window.

1.) Simone modeling Rachel's bike helmet for picture purposes.

2.) this is as far as the manly helmet went. it was too gross to go any further. they were throwing it out for a reason.

3.) Ali, newly girlfriended, can't make up his mind. Just order a cappuccino already!

4.) Jenn! (and our random Swiss passer-bys)

5.) Simone and Verne: the model look.
(Simone's: compliments of the EuNC volunteer car
Verne's: compliments of Simone)

we had fun.

Lord of the Rings

"You'd never seen it before?"

Yeah. And this weekend I did. We had an EuNC "Lord of the Rings" weekend marathon. I'm never a sit-in-front-of-the-tv-for-hours kinda girl. But I watched all 10+ hours of it. Sam was my favorite.

I liked it. Hehe, but even though it's fiction, some of it was pretty intense. By the end I was curious to go back through and count how many characters I actually saw die or be killed -- my television murder witnessing number shot up the roof.

But besides my millions of questions (which my fellow LOR viewers kindly answered) to clear up the story line, I took away hope. There was SO MUCH hope in that movie. Hope gained from others. Strength in community. The value of honesty and courage. Fighting for good.

But what stuck out to me was the hope. Maybe it's because I pay attention to everything regarding hope. Maybe it's because I need more of it myself -- and I'm mustering up all I can sincerely claim. But hope is a gift. Passed through by the Creator of all good things and Giver of good gifts. Passed around through community. Hope, even when a "sensible" look at life only conjures up despair. My hope wanes, your hope re-inspires.

Thus, what I am continuing to hope for most is restoration. And I believe that it will come.

"...there is always hope." ~Aragorn, King of Gondor

Ensemble

This year I knew needed to be a year of rest. The first year out of school it's challenging not to attempt to find your worth in what you do. Instead, better understanding value in who I am as loved by God. In Buesingen, it's also included resting from busying myself with "good" activities. Good activities like playing the piano for too many events. Doing that stresses me out. I want to play for enjoyment and praise, not just to please people and make myself feel important and needed.

Last Sunday, I played out of enjoyment. Every Saturday morning, seven of us (Swiss, Dutch and American) get up at 10 am and practice singing ensemble pieces for the Buesingen Int'l Church. I get to play. Sunday was our first song of the to sing together and not only was it fun, we worshiped.

(pictured from l-r: me, Petra, Iris, Sharla, Rachel, Simone, Alex)

"We Speak to Nations"

Hear the sound

The sound of the nations calling

Hear the sound

The sound of the fatherless crying.

Who will go for us?

Who will shout to the corners of the earth

That Christ is King?

We speak to nations, be open.

We speak to nations, fall on your knees.

We speak to nations

The kingdom is coming near to you.

We speak to strongholds, be broken.

Powers of darkness, you have to flee

We speak to nations

The kingdom is coming near to you.

We speak to you

Be free, be free.

Hear the sound

The sound of the nations worshipping.

Hear the sound

Of sons and daughters singing

We will go for you

We will shout to the corners of the earth

That Christ is King.

Ljubljana city center

Ljubliana is a city even I enjoy! (as a not-really-big-city-girl) The public transportation is easy to navigate, the city center is beautiful and there are coffeehouses and small cafes on every corner. I spent a week there and the 24 hour round-trip train ride was well worth it. Even if I did lose a little sleep...

quote-able

henri nouwen is pretty much my favorite.

"As you see more clearly that your vocation is to be a witness to God's love in this world, as you become more determined to live out that vocation, the attacks of the enemy will increase. You will hear voices saying, 'You are worthless, you have nothing to offer, you are unattractive, undesireable, unloveable.' The more you are called to speak for God's love, the more you will need to deepen the knowledge of that love in your own heart. The farther the outward journey takes you, the deeper the inward journey must be."
~Jesus: A Gospel

the prayer card that never made it.

(photoshop fun.) what do you think???

die mountains

whenever there is a chance to go the mountains, I take it. a no-brainer, right? especially when it's for free.

 

last week it was Engelberg, CH for sledding in the Alps. EuNC took their spring retreat (mostly to help the new exchange students settle in) and the volunteers were invited to join. so, last Tuesday, we all bundled up in our ski/snow gear and long underwear and went up to the Alps.

a cable car ride was provided by the school (for paying the student activity fee) and most of the afternoon I sat in a cafe, enjoying the sun, hot chocolate, Henri Nouwen and the fact that I was beginning to feel my toes again. (as soon as i had stepped out of the car, my toes were frozen. i decided that the "boots" i had brought were definitely water-proof, but as rainboots NOT snow boots. BR!)

right at the end we made an executive decision to visit an igloo hotel/bar. the furs covering the seats did not make things even a bit warmer and even the bathrooms were icy! ooooooh, not sure i'd want to indulge myself there. yikes.


mountains, always beautiful, add some snow, even more beautiful. add the skiers and you've got your typical picture of the Alps.

i really live in Switzerland. COOL. :-)

leadership conference 2007

last week it was Leadership Conference. a time when lots of people from around Europe come together for fellowship and learning -- 4 days straight.

i wasn't feeling well most of the time, but here are some pictures, anyway. :-)

theme: "Holy Churches Becoming Whole"
speaker: Dan Boone from Trevecca Nazarene
people: almost 140 from Azores, France, Spain, Holland, Denmark, UK, Germany, and more.

lots of cookies, coffee breaks, fellowship and reflecting on the story of Noah. it was really cool to come to LC as a part of the communications team -- we thrive on story and much of what i'm learning is through it -- and then to hear an old story be opened up to themes of redemption, waiting, trusting and being the loving people of God.

(oh, it was this week it snowed! thus, the snow picture.)

snow pictures

the view out the side window. welcome snow!!
the kindergarten behind our apartment ...

.rumor had it.

i think it was november 3rd. tiny, almost invisible snowflakes dropped from the clouds amounting to traces of white on the ground.

then nothing except spring temperatures mixed with a few cold days has graced our village. seriously, where did winter go?

last week, 100 kmph cyclone winds were predicted and my friend Sharla's Swiss husband, David, told us that winter can't come until the winds come.

they came and yesterday ... it snowed! and snowed.

"13 centimeters," Joe said.

"however much that is," i replied. he showed me with his hands and i translated it into 3-4 inches.

today, traces are coming down from the white sky again. winter has come. (finally!)

ou pale?

A French-speaking couple gave their testimonies in church yesterday ... the telling of the story of God in a real way, a real experience was incredible. He was from an atheist, very intelligent background and God revealed Himself as the Truth to him. They are on their way to Uganda as missionaries. Missionaries to the very unknown.

I remember, especially as she was talking, wondering if I would get a chance to talk with them. A French part of my heart felt connected, I think! Haha. But my self-esteem has been beat-up lately and all I knew was that they probably had too many conversations to have and what would they want to talk to me about anyway?

Fastforward to Monday night: I came out of my apartment to find my ride to Bible study and there they were again, except as soon as she heard my name she said, "Lisa? You are Lisa?"

"Yes."

"Oh, we wanted to meet you! We have been using your van in Kansas City... Thank you."

Right then, if it hadn't been dark, I'm pretty sure they would have seen my mouth hanging open. For one, I never expected to meet the missionary couple who had been in a bad accident and were able to take Vanna White (the van's name) for free. Second, I never expected that the ones I wanted to meet and talk with were one and the same!

God is surprising. He knows how to humble us in really unexpected ways. I was kind of in giddy shock ... I had dreamed (yeah, once a vehicle is part of your family for 16 years, you have dreams for it) that the car could possibly be a blessing to someone. It has, just in cooler ways than I expected. What next?

Pam said it's like the movie "Pay it Forward". I watched that for the first time a few nights ago. I agree.

waking up

Need a tip for waking up faster?

The night before, set an almost full glass of water on your nightstand (right above your head). Then when your alarm goes off in the morning, in your sleepy state reach to snooze and knock the water glass all over your pillow, books, and head.

Believe me, I had NO troubles getting out of bed today. Good morning sunshine! :-)

The love of God is greater far and than tongue or pen can ever tell.

Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the sky of parchement made.
Were every stone on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade.
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky.

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure the saints' and angels' song.

Advent Banquet 2006

one pic from the Christmas-y night of fun.

1 December 2006