A Whirlwind of New Adventures

So as expected it was a crazy 48 hours and then some... Long story short I was delayed a day, but that meant I had enough of a layover in Munich that I went into town.

This is my first time ever in Europe so I decided to live it up.  I took the commuter train into the city center. Had lunch off Marienplatz at the Ratskeller.  Toured the city on a two and a half hour open top double decker bus.  Fell asleep on part of that tour so I decided it was time to go back to the airport.

The inner courtyard at Marienplatz where I ate lunch.

The outside of the building on Marienplatz in which the Ratskeller is located.

At the airport I got to meet up with one of the Serge team with whom I've been communicating with recently.  We arrived safely, just a bit late, into Cluj.  We hit the sack finally at 2:00 am on Friday "morning".

Since then,  the group of 10 of us have been touring and getting to know each other.  There are lots of amazing things going on here and there is much potential for all of us to eventually join the Cluj team.  The coming weeks, months, and years will slowly reveal those plans to each of us.

I finally got to meet the gentleman I would be working with and we all took a tour of Ozd.  When we went to the rehab center in Ozd we also had part of another group from the UK join us on the bus ride.

The road started out paved, turned rough, then rougher, then eventually became a gravelly dirty pass.  It was great!

Just a sample of one of the rural villages in the Transylvanian countryside.  Ozd itself was much less populated even than this, I hope to add pictures from my camera later.

On Monday the rest of the visiting team will move on to their next site.  But I will travel back to Ozd to meet more of the people involved with that aspect of the ministry.  Tuesday I will spend time in the local office I would potentially be spending most of my time in.  Then I'll have three days to spend with the couple who began this team and whom would be my accountability and leadership while in country.

So far I'm encouraged, but I'm trying to patiently wait my turn. I want to respect the short time the rest of the visitors have to make sure their questions get answers, then I can have some more one on one time with my potential future teammates.

Perhaps I will have a few pictures of Cluj in the coming days.  In the mean time, if you could continue to commune with God about the following:
*Continued safety in travels
*Continued communication
*Deepening of relationships
*Understanding and discernment for all parties
*Also that I may be able to process quickly what I'm seeing and hearing so I may be able to ask the right questions and give honest answers when asked

On the Wings of Angels

The next 48 hours will feel forever long.  I praise God that I have made it thus far and I am ready to go (mostly).  My suitcase is packed.  My carry on sits open waiting for a few last minute items.  I have a meeting scheduled with my mentor for one last prayer and encouragement session before I depart.

19:43.  That is the scheduled departure time.

I will have a short flight to Chicago.  A really long overnight flight to Munich.  Followed by a decently long layover at which I hope I don't fall asleep and miss the last leg.  I will finally arrive at my destination at 00:30 Wednesday night/Thursday morning.

Things to pray for:
*Safety in travels/connections
*That all of us settle in well
*Clear communication both ways
*Discernment for all involved

Thank you so much and Lord willing in two weeks we will all know where I am heading in the fall!

What's Next?

In the past two weeks I have been so incredibly blessed!

I have known I was never alone in this process, but I have had so many people asking me about how things are working out that I'm overwhelmed by the support.  This is a huge thing for me.  It reminds me that I am loved and cared for by my family and community.  Thank you!  I appreciate you more than you will ever know.

Not much has changed in the past week.  I am comforted knowing there must be a reason for this experience and visit.  I am more than a little anxious to get to the other side to find out why.  I have been encouraged that a decision will be made with in a few days of my return from this vision trip.  So hopefully I will know what is happening by the middle of July.

My decision will be surrounded by conversations with God, hopefully on your part too;)  The following are the major things I will need to consider and determine if I can handle:
*How do I respond to the culture difference of here to there?
*Will my personality mesh well with the ministry partner I'd be assisting?
*Will my support/authority system there be strong enough to encourage AND discipline me?
*How should I handle my personal budget including student loans and emergency funds?

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I'm changing the subject for a bit because it's time.
So last night I realized I haven't really shared anything about Israel so here goes nothing...

What can I really say about Israel that can make sense?  It is such a small place with such a big impact.  I knew Israel was a small country, but I don't think I realized how small.  For a good representation in the US, think New Jersey.  They are about as close as you can get in size AND population.  Israel is about 8500 square miles with a population density of 1004 people per square mile.  New Jersey is about 8700 square miles with a population density of 1210 people per square mile.  About 6 hours and you can get from the northern most point to the southern most point.  At it's widest point it would only take about 2 hours to cover East to West.

In our Western mind set everything is big.  Bigger is better.  It has to be big to mean something.  We read the scriptures and think, "Feeding 5,000 on a mount, that must be a huge place."  Or what about that overflowing synagogue, it must have been thousands of people, how could they all hear him?

The reality is that on the mount people must have been practically sitting on each other, but the natural amphitheater shape of the area would have made his voice heard to another 5,000.  And that synagogue?  It was probably not much bigger than a basketball court, not the whole gym, just the court.

The terrain varies so much from the coastal plains where you have the Mediterranean Sea and sandy beaches, to the Sphelah (valley from North to South that was trade route/military strongholds), to the desert and finally the mountains.  So much in such a small space.  Some areas are so dry and parched you don't know if you will make it, then you round a corner and there are the flowing waters and greenery everywhere.

My favorite area was Galilee.  The Sea of Galilee (aka Kinneret) is so much smaller than Lake Michigan.  Standing on the shore you can see pretty much the entire thing.  We stayed in the northwest corner between Tiberius and Capernaum.  To go from one day standing on top of Mt. Arbel looking out over the land and the next be traveling among the Decapolis cities of the Golan Heights was amazing.  To think of the father from the story of the prodigal son standing on the shore looking out across the sea and have the Decapolis in sight, but yet it was a far country in culture so that he could not go seek out his son.  Heartbreaking.  Spending those days in those areas knowing that although it is no longer the same soil, it is definitely where Christ would have been for those three years of his public ministry.  Mind-blowing!

Clear As Mud

These last few weeks have continued to be a roller coaster of emotions.  I am still uncertain about the organization and will need to see a vast improvement in communication over the next month before I can confidently say I would be okay with working under them.

For those of you who know me well, you can understand my struggles in the financial aspect of this experience.  I am extremely thankful to my parents because without them I could not have made it through these past two years, well really any of life.  It was also because of a generous graduation gift from them that I was able to even purchase the flight.  We did not know of this particular expense at the time, but when I graduated they presented me with the gift saying, "This is so you can get a head start on what is next."  I have said all along that God will always provide when something is supposed to happen.

Last night my mom expressed that she feels responsible for what is happening right now because it was their gift that enabled me to take the next steps with this experience.  I hope I was able to encourage her that there is no fault in what they did and it was a wonderful gift.  I need to take full responsibility in not clarifying before taking the leap.

This is where I stand:

*I have been approved for the Vision Trip.

*They are willing to (at my cost) set up a support account.

*However, the account would be set up in a way that donor checks would be returned if the cost of the trip has already been met by the time they receive the check. ($2000)

*I am going for the Vision Trip in hopes of cleaning up the muddiness. (June 24-July 4)

*I have not decided about setting up the short term support account.

*If you would like to help in this first stage let me know.  If I get enough response then I will follow through and set it up so donations can be sent to the agency and made tax deductible.

*I appreciate the verbal and prayer support I have been receiving.  Unless you have been in a similar situation, you can not comprehend how much of a difference it makes.

I leave you with a prayer that God will continue to bless you to overflowing so that you may bless others!

Sincerely feeling blessed despite circumstances,

~Christine