Not right or wrong, just different!

This phrase is one we have come to say over and over again as we experience new things in Germany. 

I wanted to give you a "Winter Comparison" to give you an idea of where I am living now, and where I come from.

This was today in Germany:

This was this week back home, in Southern, Alberta (Canada):

It seems so strange to me to be walking outside in just a long-sleeve shirt and jeans in late November. While it is different (not wrong, or right), I have come to appreciate the longer fall weather we have. It's another example of how intricately designed our world is, and how God put so much incredible detail into His creation - even just the difference in country climates is all so complex. 

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." 

(Genesis 1:1) 

My first American Thanksgiving!

Last night Heather and I were invited to Storch's Dorm Thanksgiving. There were about 40 of us seated at a long table in the kitchen. I could have sat back and just watched for hours. There were a variety of conversations going on, many filled with laughter and smiles. While this group of people consisted of teacheres, students, dorm staff, and friends - there was indeed a family feel to it all.

We ate far too much - but that's what you do on Thanksgiving, right? We had a variety of things that I am used to - like turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream! A few things that were new to me this year were: fresh apple juice, bean casserole and candy pilgrim hats!

All in all it was a wonderful way to celebrate what God has done for us!

Looking forward to two more Thanksgiving dinners in the next week with friends!

                                                 Great is Thy faithfulness!

                                                 Great is Thy faithfulness!
                                       Morning by morning new mercies I see.
                                     All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
                                      Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!



"Getting back to what matters..."

This is what numerous posters around campus say. Every Thursday morning at 8:00 there is student led worship in the auditorium. This morning was the first morning I was able to attend. There were 17 students who were also at school early for this.

We sang:

All Who Are Thirsty 

None But Jesus

Never Let Me Go

God Of This City

In The Secret

The Heart of Worship

I was the only staff member there and it was amazing to watch these students come in early to school to worship. There were 3 students who led  in prayer, singing and in reading the Word. It was a great time to not only worship with the students but to see them laying down their day before Christ. It was so encouraging and powerful to see the passion that these kids have for Christ.

Please continue to be praying for these students as many earnestly seek Christ and others still seek out what that means. 

A Thankful Heart

It seems appropriate to end this Canadian Thanksgiving weekend with writing about the many things I am so thankful for.

My heart is truly overflowing right now and like so many of my other posts it seems hard to really articulate just what that feels like.

Today I started back in the Front Office after having all of last week off. As many of you know last Monday (October 4) I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth extracted. Seems like a crazy thing to be thankful for - but I am. I had been in so much pain for the few weeks before that I didn't even feel like myself. I was also able to have my surgery 10 days before I originally had thought and that in itself was a major blessing.

I am so thankful for friends, friends who care about me and really took it upon themselves to care for me when I was out last week. To not be at home with my family during a time like this I thought was going to be really hard. And while there were times when I wished I was at home - there wasn't anything that the girls didn't do for me last week. I was encouraged with cards, gifts, books, flowers, and songs (just to name a few). They were so good to me. For them I am thankful.

I am thankful for the opportunity of living and serving in SouthWestern Germany. Some days I have to pinch and remind myself that this is not a dream. I get to work in a Front Office doing what I love, I get to hang out and love on students, and I am surrounded by a community of amazing staff who come from all over the world. Wow.

These are just a few things that I am so truly thankful for. God has blessed me with so many amazing "moments" that I am also thankful for. A few of them being:
-stargazing
-Sunday afternoon worship
-German church
-Canadian Thanksgiving (I was even able to eat the entire meal!!!)

Again, my heart is truly overflowing - and my prayer is that I would use that overflow to fill someone else up. We are the body of Christ and we are all in this together.

A Day in the Life of Brittany...

(This is my day in a nutshell in the Front Office -all of the events listed have happened and I have accomplished, not in my own strength but only by the strength of my Father - what a joy it is to serve Him in the Black Forest!)

8:00 - Open up the school - empty the dishwasher - and start the much anticipated coffee! (Will the 50 cup pot be enough for the day???)

8:28 - Answer the phone - Student A from Dorm 1 is sick. Student B from Dorm 2 will be late. 

8:50 - First bell rings 

8:52 - Sign 6 late slips 

9:00 - Put postage on the 12 letters that need to go out

9:16 - Student C and D are marked as absent  but no one called them in sick - time to call out a search party - bring on the yearbook! If I need to search campus for them - what do they look like??

9:33 - Start walking to the Post (post office) 

9:49 - Successful mail pick-up requires around 8 German words - Guten Morgen, Mail für BFA, Bitte....Danke - Tschüss! (Good morning, mail for BFA, please...thank you, bye) 

10:06 - Walk back into the office - 2 students need their computer login information - 1 staff member needs the key to the storage closet - 1 German speaker on the phone and the police walk in - take a deep breath! 

10:23 - Sort through mail:

Pile 1 = current students

Pile 2 = bills to open, sign and take to finance

Pile 3 = current staff

Pile 4 = past students - hmmm, where are they now?

Pile 5 = past staff to be given to the personnel office to find current address

Pile 6 = german advertisements

10:47 - The office is Q (quiet is a forbidden word to say as it always brings chaos), time to grab a cup of coffee and check email

10:59 - Internet Explorer opens - 48 new messages - some have to do with parent/teacher conferences and guest house bookings, and some are new staff phone numbers to add to the phone list that was printed in bulk yesterday - draft copy is a term used for most phone lists until around April! 

11:26 - Start a Resin office supply order - Now let's think - Bob wanted a stapler, Tom wanted 4 reams of the light green paper, Sarah wanted 4 packages of 10 mm staplers, Chris wanted erasers and green pens and the supply room is out of white paper - I think that was all! Now let's see... what would the German name for that be??? 

12:32 - It is the students lunch time! Many come to the office to pick up lunches, call home, or are searching for their long lost textbook. 

1:00 - Time for my lunch.... ahhh a quiet and near deserted staff room. There are only a handful of us who are eating at this time. I don't mind eating a little later and I look forward to the few moments of quiet I can get. 

1:30 - Fix a paper jam - sign for a parcel - send a fax

1:52 - A Resin order from last week comes in - time to unpack and organize. Paper is organized by colour and weight in the paper room - they are labeled now, please don't mix up! The office supplies go in the closet and are there for the staff as they need them. 

2:46 - A family of 6 is visiting to check out the school - write and sign their visitor badges and appoint them to their tour guide for the afternoon

3:50 - School is out! Kids are running everywhere. "Can I use the phone" ... "Have you seen my mom"... "Did my glasses get turned in here" ... "Do you know if there is volleyball tonight" The answer is a glad and cheerful yes! Now just one second while I answer this phone. 

4:15 - Dorm Sonne calls - "our guys are not home yet, were there buses today?" Time to track down the bus company and make sure the students get home soon! 

4:30 - The halls are quiet - time to finish drinking that cup of coffee I started this morning. 

4:44 - respond to some pressing emails. 

4:59 - turn off the computers, printers, shut the windows, clean the kitchen, start the dishwasher

5:00 - Lock the doors and home to Riedlingen I go. 

"Thank you Father for another awesome day in the Front Office!"

Mighty and Faithful is He

I just wanted to write a quick update on where I am financially.

Jennifer so graciously sat down with me this evening to find out my % as we went through each one of my monthly support statements.

I was in awe as I saw her add up the total... for the 2 years I have committed to I will need $46, 704, and my total came to $49, 754. I am at 106.5%! WOW!

Our God is sooo good!

Thank you SO much to all who have been praying and have supported me financially!

Love,

Brittany

Birthday Celebrations!

I am sorry that it has been a while since I have last blogged... I am awaiting a new computer cord to charge my dead computer. Jennifer has so graciously allowed me to use her computer while she is out hiking, thus the reason I am able to blog this beautiful Saturday morning. 

9 days ago marked the day of my 21st Birthday - a day that I thought would be like the day before. I was wrong - so wrong! 

While showering that morning, my roommates, Jennifer and Heather put up balloons and Happy Birthday signs on my door and in my room. In the hallway sat a vase of flowers and a birthday card. 

I thought, aww how sweet! I have great roommates! Little did I know, the day was just beginning! 

Once I got to work I was flooded with food! It was donut day (Thursdays) and Betty the one who makes the donuts had wrapped me two as a gift! I also received lots of chocolate and carrot cake! I was amazed at the amount of flowers I got, from roses to sunflowers! What great gifts! They really brightened up my day- and my desk! 

Jennifer came in mid-morning and brought me two cupcakes and a birthday card. She had expressed that she needed to leave but to be prepared as the surprises were not over. 

I told Bethany she could go on her break as I had a few things I wanted to finish up. My phone rang, and it was for Tim. Little did I know that Jennifer had not left - in fact she was in the office that called. 

It was around this time that I was so lovingly kicked out of the office for a break. Tim tried to persuade me that I should take a walk on such a beautiful day but I really just wanted a cup of coffee and a quiet place to sit in the kitchen across from the office. 

I sat down in the kitchen, in perfect view of he office, I had no idea what was going on. Soon Valerie (the one who had called earlier) came in, it seemed like the perfect time for a break as a few of my close friends were in the kitchen. Little did I know Valerie was standing in the door way so Jennifer and Bethany could decorate - oh dear! 

I went back to the office after my coffee was consumed and this is what I found:

And every time I turned the corner at school this is what I found:

Needless to say, everyone knew it was my birthday! So at the end of the school day, as I am tearing down signs and cleaning up confetti, I was thinking "this was an awesome day." Little did I know - the day was not over! 

As I was checking my email and just winding down at home, I was asked if I was ready for dinner. I was a little surprised as none of us had really started on making anything. I was then told to dress warmly. Before we left I had to sit on the couch and I was handed a gift from the girls. It was a picture frame with a picture of the 3 of us in Basel, Switzerland a few weeks previous.

After many questions and trying to figure out what we were doing I jumped into the car with Heather, Jennifer, Brad and Janis (our host family/dorm parents :D). When we arrived at a parking lot half an hour later I was told it was time to close my eyes and they would lead me. It looked something like this:

I was safely led to our destination, which was this awesome restaurant called Funfschilling (spelled something like that!)! It was an awesome evening eating outside with my Germany family.

 I thought what a great ending to my birthday! (by now you probably know that the surprises were still in the works)

Two days later takes us to Saturday September 4. It was a nice morning of sleeping in. After getting groceries and spending some time outside, Jennifer asked if I wanted to go for coffee and kuchen(cake) (what they had looked into doing on my actual birthday but it wasn't open very late) I eagerly said yes and we agreed we would dress up. 

I found myself waiting on the couch for the girls to finish getting ready. Heather all of a sudden wanted to straighten her hair and Jennifer was helping Janis cut vegetables for their evening guests. 

I saw a shadow outside our door and so like anyone else would I opened it. It was Laura! She is an RA at the dorm Storch (the one I sub at). Heather was suddenly at the door and explaining how it was nice Laura stopped by on her day off. I was starting to wonder what was going on. Not too much later lots of our close friends were at our house and all dressed up saying surprise! We had great food and great fun playing farkle! Let me introduce you to some of the people that made my birthday a very special one:

Jonathan and Valerie

Brad

Janis

Kristi, Emily and Anna

I am so blessed to have these amazing people in my life who made my birthday so special!

I am thankful for these wonderful roommates I have and all that they did for me to have a great first birthday in Germany! I look forward to what God has in store for us this next year and the ways we can celebrate His faithfulness in our lives.