the continued travels blog post.

well, hello from Prague!...
I have officially been in prague for about 7 days now.. didn't mean to stay so long, but plans got changed and i got more time here..

The city is fantastic. I have been loving every minute of my stay here. The city is actually a lot like Budapest and gives off many of the same vibes. It's like a smaller huge city.. you have more of an ability to feel like you're at home on these streets instead of the huge bustling cities of Western Europe. By now I can actually find my way around without a map. I even proved it last night when I was going to dinner. :) I don't have a ton of news because Annie and I have been relaxing to the extreme while we have been here.. Not any museums or tours.. just parks and picnics and markets and art and paddleboats and bicycles. That's about all.

Annie left yesterday to head to Frankfurt so that she could catch her plane to the states today. She actually left about an hour and a half ago on the plane back. But I am not traveling alone. Instead, my best friend from home, Adel, came and now we will be finishing the trip. She came by train from Frankfurt two nights ago. Getting in touch after she arrived was rather difficult without cell phones since the train stations are pretty confusing and there are multiple ones, etc.. but it worked, everyone was safe, and we are happily back together.

We had all day yesterday around the major city sites so Adel could see everything that everyone talks about. We even met this awesome girl from Canada who we had dinner with at this AMAZING vegetarian restaurant.. definitely thinking that vegetarian is the way to go now.. for sure. :) She was a blast to hang out with and had many of the same interests that Adel and I had so we got along really well and am planning on seeing her as often as we can while we are here.. Today, we will go to the Communist museum and buy our train tickets to our next location. We will leave to head to Venice, more specifically, Padova, where a friend of mine is going to Medical school. It will be fun to see him and get to visit a smaller city as well as take the train in to see Venice, but for a lot cheaper! Until then, here are some pictures of Prague..

Traveling traveling.. oh my oh my..

So, as I am sure most of you know, I began traveling after school ended. So I have been on the road since May 3rd. Annie nelson is my traveling partner and it has been such fun with her.

First, we started off in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, where we completely relaxed. There were a few other Americans from the Study Abroad program there as well and we were able to have a longer goodbye with them, which was very nice. We literally did almost nothing in Vilnius. It was all about walking around to find a place to sit down where we would get up and do the same thing again. Very nice.. :)

Then, Annie and I took a train to Krakow. It was a 10 hour train ride to Warsaw. But then, we got stuck in Warsaw because we missed the last train to Krakow that night. And because it was late at night we didn't want to walk around in order to find a hostel, so we ended up staying at a very pricey hotel instead.. nice nice beds.. :)

The next day we caught our train to Krakow, which took another 3 hours. Then, we got off the train, found our hostel, and began to explore the city. It was rainy, which definitely hurt our plans for exploring. But it was still fun to see plenty of gorgeous buildings, even in the rain. Then, we went back to our hostel and made dinner and stayed inside for the evening.
The next day was all about exploring the Jewish part of town called Kazimierz. We went to an Old Synagogue, explored Yiddish bookshops, and even saw a little of the old ghetto across the river. Then, we ended our evening in the main square people watching...
The next day we went to Auschwitz 1 and Birkenau. It was a very full day of depressing, interesting facts about horrible torture and inhumane treatment of many people groups. Not the happiest day, but I had to see it. Birkenau is huge. So much bigger than I imagined. And all of that gorgeous land was used just to torture people. That's the only purpose of that land. (425 acres) Then, we met some friends that we met at the hostel for dinner. That was a nice ending to our depressing day.
The next day we had to pack up, but we left our luggage at the hostel and were able to still see more of the city. We hung out in the market square where there were many events, such as music, dancing, singing, etc. Then, we walked around the park and caught a few rays of sun. Such a relaxing day.

Our train left for Budapest at 10:15 PM. We arrived at 8:30 AM. After checking into our hostel, we were able to start exploring this new city. We decided to start off by the river and there was a boat there giving tours, so Annie and I decided that that was how we were going to start our adventures. So we went on an hour long boat ride down the Danube to get a general idea of the city, it was such a wonderful start. Then, we walked around the town and took plenty of pictures.. There are so many gorgeous buildings, it's incredible.. Ever since then we have been exploring the city. And last night we even went to an outdoor music festival that was so fun. On a monday night, there were so many young people there to party and listen to some music and dance as well.. The people here are so full of life and creativity and they are very friendly..

Tomorrow, we go to Prague on another 8 hour train ride. That is very exciting.. :)

Also, I would like to end with a little excitement.. I offiicially have gotten my first sunburn of the year! Be jealous! :) I will post pictures a little later..

Oh, May may may....

As you might have guessed, I have been avoiding writing this blog like the plague. I haven't wanted to face the fact that this will be the last blog in Klaipeda before traveling. The idea of leaving the city, school, and people that I have grown to love has definitely been haunting me. But letting those thoughts control your mind does not let you enjoy the time that you are here, so I have been trying to enjoy every moment as it comes. The only reason I am not completely breaking down in tears now is because I am so looking forward to traveling. Maybe when I get home I will cry more.. sorry mom and dad.

Anyhow, April was a fantastic month. Every part of it was beautiful and fun. I mean minus actually doing the school work... but that's just kind of inevitable. :) I have gotten to know more people so much better and found an awesome group of people to invest in. Don't get me wrong. They have blessed me more than I can express that is for sure. I have been able to have glorious weekends with my roommates to hang out and explore the city as well as times to travel with friends to see the country. There have been many times that the weather has been completely glorious where we spend the whole day out in the sun reading and avoiding homework. :) But there have also been other "study days".. (my Taylor roommates know what that means.. lots of music, occasional facebook, food, and lots of laughter with a dash of studying on the side!)

Anyways, I can't express to you how blessed I am to have found the amazing friends that I love love love! I have learned so much through their friendship and will never forget the things we have had together. The times of distress, happiness, stress, exploration, etc.. all of which have shaped me into a more understanding, kind, and loving person. None of which I am great at, but I am improving that is for sure.

I am very excited to be coming home (AZ) and going back to Taylor to show my friends and family what I have learned and what people I have met. I will never forget the stories I have heard, the lives I have shared, the lessons I have learned, and the friendships I have gained. This will not be my last time in Lithuania or Eastern Europe and this will not be the last goodbye for these people. I know that God will help me meet them again. Our friendships will last longer than this semester that is for sure!

Now, here are some pictures for your enjoyment.. a summation of my last weeks. Keep me in your prayers... these goodbyes are not easy even though I seem ok, I am honestly torn up inside. Love you.. and I will see you soon! :)

April photos!

April.. oh dang.. :(

Well, let's start out by saying that this distance thing, although it has been incredible, also majorly sucks. I miss you all and my heart is definitely crying out about it. Anyhow, I wish I could express to you in words how much God has changed me while I have been here. But I cannot. You will just have to see when I get back. God has completely changed my desires from more earthy ones to heavenly ones. I mean of course I am still sinning and such, but some little things I notice about myself are different. (Again, you will see)

Monday, I have a paper due about my semester and what I've learned and how I have changed, so I guess I am just starting to reflect on it early. I love the people here so much. I have made a home for myself. A place where I can feel safe, comforted, people who miss me when I leave, people I miss when I go away, etc. Distance is a curse. It keeps people who love each other a part for long periods of time. It makes communication with those you love nearly impossible It causes friendships to dwindle. It's horrible. And yet, God meets you in the distance. When you walk away from all you know, he's there waiting with open arms. He takes distance and makes it all worth it. He takes separation and makes it beautiful and glorious. He takes the yearning of not being with a loved one and changes you through it. He's so good Court! So, I'm not sure if that was encouraging at all, but it is to me.. so take it or leave it. Just don't let this separation a waste. Use it to feel God better and to hear him more clearly! Ok, I'm done preaching at you. I apologize for doing that...

Anyhow, three weekends ago, I went to my friend Nora's house in Latvia, which was incredible. She lives with her 2 sisters in an apartment and we got to see all around her town and her family. It was an honor to see her life like that. She's completely beautiful. I mean the type of woman you see and just leave her presence blessed every time. So, the weekend was great of course. Then, two weekends ago, I went to Germany to hang with my parents. We were in the countryside for the weekend just exploring and having fun with one another. It was relaxing to be with them again. We saw Munich and Frankfurt, which was great. Gorgeous cities. Then, this last weekend, I was in Estonia and Latvia with the study abroad group. (all of them) :) it was fun.. exploring old town Tallinn and Riga and taking plenty of pictures along the way. It was our last trip as a whole group. (SAD DAY!) They are wonderful. I have learned a lot by being with them and growing with them here. My favorite part was when we rented bikes in Tallinn and rode around for 2 hours. It was a gorgeous day and we had such fun seeing new sights and being outside.

Only 7 more days of classes, 4 days of finals, and 2 weekends left over for me here.... I'm already mourning the loss of the life I have here. I'm trying to live every moment the best I can to come back with the best memories and no regrets!

Prayers would be appreciated....
Miss you all
LOVE YOU

Update it!!

Well, hello again friends!! :)
I hope you enjoyed my pictures of Russia... what an incredible place. But coming back to Klaipeda was actually quite refreshing.. I was surprised when I walked in the door and said, "Home sweet home". I am feeling more and more at home here as I fall more deeply in love with the people and the culture.. Anyhow, classes are the same here as in the states: work, long, and not my favorite activity in the day or my favorite topic for conversation...

So, I will just tell you about my new adventures instead.. :) Last weekend (March 21st), I spent the entire weekend at my friend Ona's apartment with her family. It was so relaxing. We watched movies and cooked and talked.. great girly weekend! :) Anyways, I don't know if you remember when I wrote about meeting a Canadian lady on the street who works for Salvation Army. But she asked me to give my testimony to the youth and so last saturday I did that.

Not only did she want me to give my testimony, but she also wanted me to lead the entire time they were meeting. So for 3 hours the youth that showed up had to do whatever I told them to.. :) For the first hour and a half, I taught them a few games that we play at Taylor and that are crazy, but super fun. They think Americans are pretty silly and ridiculous now... which is pretty accurate of Taylor students, so that's ok! After games, we had banana bread (made by the Canadian lady, Bridgette) and a little fellowship with tea. Then, it was time for my testimony... I was pretty nervous and I actually have a strange philosophy about such things. Because instead of preparing like most people do, I usually just have a two sentence outline of my life in front of me and then I pray. I pray that God will give me the words to say and that they aren't my words..

I told God that these are his children and that if he wants to speak to them to please use me and my life. "Say what you want them to hear, not what I want to say." So, I started speaking and it didn't come out as smoothly as I would have liked. I stammered through my own life story actually. (Oh, did I mention the fact that Ona was translating for me the whole time... sentence by sentence) Anyhow, I finished my life story in about 25 minutes. (Even after translated!!) It was so much faster than it should've been.. They asked me to speak for an hour.. In my head I was thinking oh no! I just ruined it.. I stammered and didn't speak long enough... I just ruined my opportunity to speak truth to these youth..

But then, they started asking me questions about my life. They asked me how I saw God (because I talked about that several times). And they asked me about how I talked about wrestling with God throughout my life. And another leader was actually touched by my story and so she added a little bit to encourage what I said. Evaldas, one of the boys, isn't a Christian and he was struggling with the idea of seeing and experiencing God. So he kept asking me about that and was really cynical. But the way that he is struggling is exactly how I struggled, so I just told him to keep asking God to show himself so that he can see for himself. It actually encouraged me to see him genuinely seeking truth! Awesome!!

Then another boy, who hadn't said a word the whole time, spoke up and told about a dream he just had. He said that in his dream he saw Jesus and Jesus said, "Come, I want to be close to you." It still makes me tear up thinking about it... and at the time, it definitely gave me shivers up my spine. He said that he completely forgot about the dream until he had listened to my testimony, so he thanked me.

Anyhow, I'm not saying these things to brag about my story or how eloquent of a speaker I am. I am sharing this to show you that God is at work in this place and he's letting me see it and be a part of it! I am so lucky to be a part of it! My life story actually means something to someone. I never thought that would be the case. My years of fighting and wrestling with God is actually an encouragement for others. Thank you, God. :)

Russia :).. (St. Petersburg!)

Well, Moscow was completely amazing, but that isn't even half the trip!..

So, I guess I'm starting with Day 5 (March 11). The very first activity that we did in St. Petersburg was a 5 hour walking tour through all the beautiful parts of the city with our own tour guide. It was snowing outside and it made the city extra beautiful... Also, our guide was young and nice and really has a big passion for his city, so the tour was completely fun from beginning to end. He showed us famous places and even little communities that many people don't know about. Completely worth the 5 hours on our feet.

Then, we went back to the hostel to get ready for the ballet. We left in our huge American-sized herd and headed off in our fancy dresses and shoes. The theatre was beautiful inside and out, but the ballet on the other hand was contemporary and confused the entire group. If there was a mesesage locked inside of the dancing, we all missed it! But it was definitely a great experience that we were all happy we had. Then, we came back to our rooms and crashed.

Next day, March 12, we broke off into smaller groups and headed off in separate directions to explore the sights of the city. I went to Peter and Paul fortress where we went inside the cathedral and a small museum about the island that it's located on. After that we headed over to the Hermitage museum, which is the 2nd largest art museum in the world (after the louvre). So, needless to say, it was impossible to get through the entire thing in the 2 hour timespan allotted to us. Then, after a quick bite to eat, we headed back to the hostel to get ready for the opera. Again, we left in a nice American-sized herd to see the opera. It was a spectacular show by the way with very talented singers and actors in a small production. Then, we had free time to wander the city with whomever we chose. A few of us went to a restaurant to relax for the rest of the evening.

Next day, March 13, we woke up and headed out in small groups again to explore the city. My group decided to go to St. Isaac's Cathedral. It was so beautiful and it's one of the biggest in the world. We were even able to go up to the top and see the entire city from there. Then, my group went to the small pie place to eat lunch, which was some of the most delicious food I have ever eaten. It was like bread filled with chicken, meat or sweets of any kind fresh and warm. Then, we met back at the hostel to get ready for the sauna (traditional russian sauna). WOW.. LOVED IT! The girls went to a sauna that we rented all for ourselves that had it's own pool, showers, and changing rooms. Such luxury! There was about 9 of us that spent our time there relaxing and chatting the afternoon away. Afterwards, we headed to Kazan cathedral, which was completely spectacular, to attend a normal Russian Orthodox service. Then, we had the rest of the evening to ourselves to relax and explore even more if we chose to.

Final day, March 14, the entire herd left to go see the Spilt Blood Church, which is a compltely incredible sight. The church was built on the place where Alexander the 2nd was killed and it was built to honor his life. The outside of the church is meant to resemble St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow and the inside is nothing but Mosaics on the walls. Pictures do not do justice to this goregous building. Then, we went across the street to the market to buy plenty of souvenirs. After that we all headed back to the delicious pie place to eat lots more calories! yum! Then, we headed back to the hostel in order to collect our bags to leave St. Petersburg. But before we left completely, we went to the Feel Yourself Russian Show, which was full of singing and dancing all representing traditional Russian culture of course! Such a fun time. I even met other Americans who had come to watch the show. Then, we gathered our bags and were hurried into taxis in order to make it to the train station in time. Finally, we got on the train, which took us back to Riga through the night. Then, we got on a bus back to Klaipeda, where we made it safely home!

I will post pictures tomorrow!

Russia.. :) (Moscow)

ok, this is my second attempt to post this.. SO... moscow!!

So, we start this journey on March 7th at approximately at 7 AM, where my leader knocks on my door and says, "Abby, you coming to Russia?" to which I respond.. WHAT?!? you mean I'm not up already! (I was supposed to be on the bus at 645.) Woops!! After that whole scene was over, I got into the bus with the rest of the on time students and we were off towards Riga. On the way, we stopped at the Hill of Crosses, which is on the Lithuanian side. It has 500,000 crosses or so that were placed there by citizens of the Baltic States that started during Soviet times. Incredible how this simple act brought hope to so many!

Then, we finished our drive to Riga, Latvia, where we got on the train towards Moscow. This train ride was 17 hours. We reached the Russian border at 12 midnight where we showed them our passports and we were officially in RUSSIA! (new stamp in passport if ya want to see it!!) Anyhow, we went to bed on the train and woke up to get ready for our new adventures in russia. When we arrived (March 8), we got on the Metro and headed to the hostel. (Godzillas Hostel) We dropped our stuff off, divided into smaller groups and left for the Red Square.

When we got off of the train, the sight took my breath away. I am really in a place with so much history and splendor. I couldn't even believe it. We had time to stop and stare while taking lots of pictures of course and then we were obligated to go on a group tour through the Kremlin. We met our tour guide and she explained to us many of the historical details of Russia that I was completely ignorant about (now I'm slightly less ignorant than before). We went through the Museum and several other sights inside the Kremlin. Then, we collected tickets and grabbed a bite to eat on the way to the Circus. The circus was such a fun experience with many acts from people all over the world. Animals and people alike with many talents. So much fun! Then, we were all exhausted and headed back to our hostel for a good night's sleep.

Day two (kind of 3/ March 9), started off by going to Christ the Savior cathedral, which was an incredibly beautiful orthodox church that was used as a swimming pool during soviet times. Then, we went to St. Basil's in the Red Square, which is famous for the onion shaped domes. Completely beautiful on the inside with handpainted details everywhere you look. Then, after we grabbed a bite to eat, we headed to the Vernishazh market, where we bartered our way around to buy souvenirs. (Bargaining like this is not my best talent that is for sure) But I did get some pretty good deals if I do say so myself. This was followed by a tour through the State History Museum. Then, we headed to Arbat Street for dinner and hang out time. This is the street that many tourists go to because it has two Starbucks, Hard Rock Cafe, and McDonalds.(All of which I avoided like the plague) But walking up and down the street for a while was quite relaxing and the food at a Russian style barbaque was delicious. Then, we finished our evening back at the Red Square to see the buildings all lit up at night. So beautiful. The evening was gorgeous and the weather was quite nice (for Mosocw in March anyhow) and so we spent plenty of time taking pictures and dancing in the square! This was of course followed by more sleep.

March 10, last day in Moscow. We walked over to see Lenin's tomb, but he was on vacation until April... so unfortunately, we did not get the chance to see dead Lenin. :( But we did get to go to the New Tretyakovskaya Museum, which houses lots of propoganda posters from Soviet times, etc. However, a large portion of it was being renovated, so we didn't get to see much there either. But we did get to eat before we got on the 5 hour train to St. Petersburg! The train ride was deifnitely needed because so many of us were worn out by the hustle and busyness of Moscow.

Next post will be St. Petersburg. It's way too much for one post...enjoy lots of pictures!!

is it really march?!?!

wow..
March crept up on us so fast! :) I can't believe it's here already. And school is already half over. The thing that is the most surprising is realizing how much God has already taught me. I feel completely different than when I was at Taylor... It's like God can really speak to me here, unlike any other time in my life. He is releasing me from so many things that tie me down back home and at school. He is letting me be almost worry-free, which is so rare for any person. He's releasing me from being tied down, so I can experience real freedom in him and what it really means to rely on him for comfort and rest. He's allowing me to step outside of myself and everything that I rely on for emotional stability, comfort, etc.. in order to re-evaluate why I believe what I do and what needs to be changed in order to serve him better. It's not the prettiest picture that I have ever seen and it's definitely strange to realize that what you've desired for so long is not what God desires. However, he's making my heart more beautiful with a better ability to serve Him and communicate to others how glorious he is.

Anyhow, more details about normal life. Lately, I have been feeling really comfortable here... and I asked God to give me a bigger and better love for Lithuania. So what does he do? He sends me to Lithuanian high school students. :) I am helping out with this program called CMAP. It's a program about multiculturalism and diversity and it teaches all of these concepts to local high school students. This is definitely an area that I am interested in, so I asked if I could participate. I meant as a volunteer to run the thing, but instead they put me in a high school group! :) It's been so fun. We watch movies like crash and discuss them as well as doing games and activities that illustrated minority/majority groups and how they should interact. Also, we did a debate about immigration in Lithuania. Very interesting! :) Now, their next mission is to share this information with somebody. So I get to present my ideas on this to a group of high school students in their school! Wow.. who knew?! Also, I have just become friends with a few of the students who are just wonderful. They have such big hearts and are so smart and have so much potential for their futures. Who knew that they would want to get to know some random American girl for a few weeks. They have decided that they want to take me around Klaipeda and show me how to have a good time Lithuanian style. (hopefully, that doesn't just mean drinking....)

Here's another random story. I was walking to school one day and I saw this lady in front of me and she was talking in English to a Lithuanian man. When I passed by she said Hi to me, which wouldn't normallly surprise me, but living here for 2 months and never getting spoken to on the streets makes you kind of skeptical when someone does. Anyhow, I said hi back and because we both spoke english we started talking. So, are you on your way to LCC? Yes (why else would I bet in Lithuania) Are you Canadian?Yes( i could tell by her accent) Anyhow, she works for the Salvation Army in town and is taking Lithuanian at LCC. She helps with the elderly, youth, and the homeless and I asked her if I could get her contact information so I could help sometimes. So she gave me her email and we said our goodbyes. I'll beat around the bush and say that she asked me to give my testimony to a group of youth that meets every once in a while at Salvation Army. She wants me to bring pictures and illustrate some struggles I have had throughout my life. She thinks that if the youth heard a young, American Christian's testimony and how I have struggled throughout my life that it would be encouraging to them. WOW.. not the answer I expected. But I am completely excited about it and cannot wait to prepare how God has worked through me. I was also thinking of inviting my new high school friends from CMAP.... Anyhow.. that is fantastic.. and I'm very excited about it.

Last thing.. I leave for Russia on Saturday morning for our spring break. I won't be back until the following Sunday.. So I will update as soon as possible when I get back. with LOTS of pictures!!!! :) XOXO

A small view into my future life...

This post is not just an update on my life here.. its an update on my heart and the changes that God is making there as well. He has changed my ambitions, dreams, passions, loves, etc so many times and in such great ways I definitely don't have time to express it all here. However, lately it's something unexpected (not surprising for God though..). The things that I have stopped desiring are now becoming the things that he has put back into my life and allowed me to desire for different reasons. I'll explain through telling the story of the family that I stayed with in Germany.

Werner and Elizabeth Frerr are a beautiful German couple living in the countryside in an old farmhouse built by the grandparents of Werner. He is a carpenter by profession and now teaches this subject at a Christian High School one town over. Before this job, he moved his entire family to Singapore to be a missionary for 8 years where they had the role of caring for the missionary kids of other missionaries. They decided, while in Singapore, that God was calling them home to Germany, so he began to renovate the house in Germany from Singapore. When they got back, the family spent an entire year living in one room of the house, while Werner and others finished building the rest of the house by hand. Most of the furnishings in the house are made out of wood, completely designed and crafted by Werner himself.

Elizabeth, during this entire process, was a stay-at-home mom for her 4 children, where she would try to provide a German environment to grow up in while in Singapore. When they were all settled back into their German home, Werner and Elizabeth began to understand why God blessed them with so much room in their house. God wanted them to become foster parents. They currently have 4 boys living with them temporarily. (that makes 8 children now although 2 are grown and moved out) Elizabeth definitely has to continue being a stay-at-home mother since she needs to care for these young boys every day, which as I saw was exhausting, let alone her own 2 children. But even after all of this, Werner teaches sunday school at church for all the little children and Elizabeth usually helps him out with it as well. They are highly respected individuals in the church who many go to for advice and comfort.

Their oldest daughter is married and having a baby soon. Their second is flying missionary airplanes for MPA. Their third son wants to be a missionary in Hawaii for surfers with YWAM. And their youngest daughter is a very talented musician, who was just baptized the Sunday that we came to the church.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that Werner is remodeling a portion of their house so that his parents can live with them? They are getting too old to live on their own and because of this, they needed a place to stay. And due to the generosity of Werner and Elizabeth, they couldn't think of a better place for his parents to live then under his own roof.

I was completely astounded by the lives that Werner and Elizabeth have led. I also found myself completely drawn into this chaotic, frustrating, painful, difficult life as well. They have lived with more love, generosity, and servitude in a couple years than many people will ever experience in one lifetime. Staying at their house for one weekend impacted me.. I can't imagine those foster children not being affected by living with them for a few months or years. I hope to keep in contact with them and I hope they understand what volumes their lives have spoken.

Weekend getaway.. Destination: GERMANY!!!!

Hello to all!
it's definitely time for me to write here again.. woops.. !! Time flies when you're across the world..

Anyhow, last week went by so fast, I don't even know what I did to be able to tell you!! oh my..

Instead, I will tell you about my amazing weekend in Germany..

We left friday 21:00, on a bus to Riga, Latvia. It arrived at the Riga airport at 2:20 AM. So, Ben, Annie, and I slept on the airport benches until 8, when we checked in to Ryanair. Our plane to Germany left at 10:05, so we had plenty of time to sit, wait, and chat with Gerard and Claire (two other study abroads going to Bremen with us!) We arrived in Bremen at 13:30 (unfortunately, no stamp in my passport!) and Ben, Annie, and I walked around to find our host. (Ben's family is with a mission in Japan and they have connections with a family in Bremen, Germnay. We were hooked up with them. Keep in mind that Ben has never seen them before and they have no idea what we look like.) Ben walked around with a sign that said that man's name on it.. finally we found him with two of his eight children. He took us to his car...speaking perfect english the whole way. (Thank God.. none of us speak any German) He told us that they live an hour outside of Bremen and that on the way back to his house he was going to drop us off in Oldenborg (another beautiful city) so we could look around for a while.

We walked around Oldenborg for 6 hours and it was spectacular.. Valentine's Day.. sunny..lots of people.... shopping..architecture.. WOW..!! We fell in love with the city and the people we were encountering. We took tons of pictures in the parks and in front of many beautiful buildings. We even ate Italian food instead of German food.. woops. But the day was filled with seeing as much as we could in our limited time. Our host, Werner, picked us back up and we headed to his house for a huge family dinner. Did I forget to mention that he has 8 children (4 of his own & 4 foster children)? WOW.. (6 live at home) So we had a huge family meal that his wife prepared for us.. and basically.. we fell in love with their family.

Next day, we went to church with them.. German Baptist church.. wonderful place. Didn't understand any of the sermon, but there were baptisms and a huge celebratory feast after church for the entire congregation. It was so fun to sit and eat with the church.. we felt so welcomed by everyone.. The rest of the day was about the family's children; we played basketball, puzzles, and many other games with them all day. No sight-seeing, but it was a wonderfully relaxing day of course ending with another great meal with the whole family!

Monday, we were taken to the train station and we took the first train to Bremen, where we were meeting Claire and Gerard. We checked into our hostel and headed out to the city to see the sights.. Oh my goodness, I was blown away by the architecture and the beauty of this city. Wow... I hope the pictures do some justice to how amazing the city was. We ate Bratwurst in the big square. looked in the cathedral that is 1000 years old, and wandered the city for hours. Then, we ate doner kebabs for dinner (Turkish style kebabs ALL over the place in germany.. SO good).. and went back to our 10 person, co-ed hostel room and headed to bed. The next day we headed home. Only 1 plane, 7 hours in Riga airport, and 1 bus until I was "home" again.

[I will tell more about the amazing family next time.. STAY TUNED!!]

Goodbye week number 4..

This is definitely late. My deepest apologies..

Last week was an interesting one that is for sure. I am starting to feel a little more each day that this is home and comfortable. It's hard some days, but others are so full of fun and joy that I can't help but to love everything. The reason that I haven't posted a blog in a long time is because my mind has been so full of thoughts and feelings that I didn't know how to write down. I also wasn't sure how other people would feel when reading them, so I kept most between myself and God. (sometimes Annie) Something that I was struggling with was the idea of leaving. I know it's not even close to time to start thinking this, but it's only because there are so many people I have grown to love deeply. The fact that part of my time here is all about the countdown until I leave is just depressing in so many ways.

It's depressing for the obvious reason of leaving a place that I have grown to love. Not even talking about the people that I have grown to love, who don't even live in Lithuania, but actually live in several countries across Europe. So, the day that I have to say goodbye is something that I am not looking forward to, but what makes it worse is this anxiety I feel about being here at all. Let me explain. I chose to come here and make myself a part of these people's lives. I chose to put myself smack dab in the middle of their normal lives and supposedly they are supposed to just watch me come, love me while I'm here, and then watch me as I leave again. Of course, there is that very small hope that I will come back or at the very least that we will keep in touch via skype. But, let's be honest, how long do people keep in touch after they part from one another? A few weeks? A few months? Maybe a few years every once in a while.... (sorry to have a depressing blog.. just somethings that have been on my mind)

The amazing thing that I'm learning while thinking about my departure is how much love and kindness everyone is showing me. My roommates are trying so hard to bond with me and show me parts of their life that I would never be able to see otherwise. We go out together and talk about our beliefs and how are lives differ. We share food and watch American movies and drink lots and lots of tea followed by talking. If the roles were switched, I would have a really hard time loving someone who is coming into my life with a start and end date. And the previous relationships that I have had with study abroad students are definitely over. I don't want this experience to just be something fun that I look back on. I want it to be something that I can say "This is my friend from Ukraine; she was my roommate at LCC." I don't want to just be a visitor for a time. I want to be a friend. Relationships seem so hollow when you know the exact date that it will be over. In fact, the date that may be the last time i see these people is written in my planner.

(Again, I'm sorry it's a rather depressing blog. These are just thoughts that I have been having lately and things I want to be aware about. God is definitely making me more aware of how to love people. What truly loving someone means and what everlasting love means even when you're far away from each other. Learrning is hard, but growing is worth it.)

happy february!

Well, I guess I have forgotten about this blog for a sufficient amount of time. :( (woops) This week has just flown by. It pretty much seems like this entire adventure has gone by so fast. I have almost been here a month already and I seem to still be figuring out my place here. (Flashback memories to freshman year)

This week was wonderful starting with Sunday, which I posted pictures from. A few girls from my from my floor decided that they wanted to walk with me to the market. Because we are girls, we definitely took a lot of photos. But when we arrived at the market, I was so excited. Fresh fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses, eggs, and flowers were everywhere and a ton of people were there as well to buy. These are the experiences that I came for; being involved in the everyday lives of Lithuanians. Then, we came back and the girls made me pig kidney and mashed potatoes with ketchup of course. (They definitely put ketchup on everything, which is fine with me!) It was delicious! Then, we sat with some tea and talked together, while we looked at the pictures we took of course. (There are some things that do not differ from America..) Then, I said goodbye and went back to my room to get ready for church. Church started at 5 and I decided to try out an English-speaking church. The pastor is my Theology professor and the congregation is about 30 members of LCC faculty and staff. It was a fine protestant service with singing from the hymnal and a message on John 3, but definitely not a cultural experience.

Monday, I obviously went to school and attended by cross-cultural class, which is required for all study abroads. We watched The Singing Revolution, which I highly recommend to anyone because it's all about the singing tradition in Estonia and how their singing helped them to reclaim their freedom.

Tuesday, I went to my one class and then came home and slept because I didn't feel well.

Wednesday continued on the very relaxing week with a little bit of homework and a movie after classes. My roommates and I all felt a little under the weather and Friends (the tv show) was the best medicine and definitely bonding time for us all.

Thursday, I slept in and went to my class. Afterwards, I ventured out into the city to go shopping for some new clothes. I discovered that I had holes in a few pairs of pants and that is just unexceptable. So I went to the big shopping mall downtown that looks so much like a normal American mall that it's scary. I bought pants, shirts, and a bag for 120 dollars. Brilliant sales were everywhere! On the way home, I had to take the bus because it was night time and far away, so I got on a bus. I was definitely not sure if it was the right one, but it sounded right so I got on. However, it turned too early and I got off as quickly as possible and walked back to the bus stop to catch a different one. I got on the right one this time and made it home safely. (Definitely not the smartest idea to go by myself at night without knowing the right bus number.. woops.. sorry mom and dad!)

Friday, I went to classes and then came home and cooked with my roommate. We ate together, drank tea, and watched some Friends(funny in every culture). Very relaxing friday and no homework was done!

Saturday, I woke up to something strange.. it was the sun!!! :) oh my goodness, I have been missing it! So I made my roommates get ready and we went on a walk through old town where i took some pictures of the grafitti that i like. I know that sounds wierd, but there is so much of it and it's actually quite beautiful. Then, we had a pot luck saturday night where many people came and brought food from all over the continent! delicious. i brought a jello salad because what pot luck is complete without it? :) After eating, it was followed by dancing. They tried to teach the Americans a traditional Ukrainian folk dance.( so fun!)

Sunday, again, I woke up to a sunny day with no clouds in the sky. I spent my time studying and standing by the window as much as possible. What a beautiful day. Isn't it funny how something as simple as sunlight can change your entire outlook on a day and affect your mood? Thank you God for sun!!

Updated pictures...