One year down ...

In the past year...

1. I've learned to drive a stick (including manual 9 passenger vans through the Alps and in big cities like Budapest!).

2. I signed a rental contract for the first time (the days of campus housing and living with parents have come and gone) - AND I've got an awesome roommate!

3. I've stood amazed at God's providence in getting me to Germany and sustaining me financially over the past year.

4. Enjoyed watching the Packers win their 4th Super Bowl. : )

5. I've been challenged to grow in patience and dependency on God and others as I've learned the ropes and how to navigate Ramstein Air Base and German culture (which continues to be a work in progress...).

6. Built some great relationships with students and some families.

7. Have been encouraged watching the Lord stir a hunger for Himself in the hearts of students.

8. Been blessed with strong community - with my Cadence family and the chapel and the Hospitality House ministry.

Thanks team for your prayer and financial support that has encouraged and blessed me since I began raising support in June 2008 and for your continued support this past year. It's been quite the journey so far, and I look forward to seeing how the Lord will continue to grow me as I grow in Him and as I minister to the military community He's called me to.

Fall Bible Studies

Hey Team,

Fall Bible Studies are off to a great start!!

High School girls are reading through Victory Over the Darkness by Neil Anderson. I read this book at Multnomah, and really enjoyed it. Anderson talks a lot about who we are in Christ and uses a lot of Scripture throughout the whole book. So far, the girls are liking it. They're doing their reading ahead of time and coming with questions and thoughts to talk about as a group. Last night we discussed chapter 2 and it was super fun. Girls were asking great questions and wrestling through some of Truths found in the Scriptures. As we started our time together, a few girls shared they were tired and felt out of it - but as we dove in and began talking, there was a fun energy in the group and we left not feeling tired. Praise the Lord for the hunger is stirring in these girls!!

Middle School girls are reading through Beginning in Jesus by Fields and Eastman (Youth Specialties). It's a book that teaches who Jesus is - a teacher, healer, savior, etc. Each week there are passages for students to read and questions to answer on their own, and then we get together on Wednesdays to talk through their reading and discuss the questions further and the lesson application. My middle schoolers are really sweet. Each week we start off with snacks and games (we meet right after school and they need some wind down time before we dive in). We're still working on them doing their homework and coming ready to discuss, but it'll come with time! Would you pray that they would get in the habit of spending daily time with the Lord?

I started reading through Radical with some of the other CSM gals in our community. We've been getting together weekly to discuss it. It's a great book - and I've heard a lot of buzz about it. It's a fairly easy read, but is convicting and challenging as I think about living out what it calls for. It deals a lot with the Americanized gospel - primarily a health and wealth, prosperity gospel - a gospel that doesn't call us to talk up our crosses daily and follow Christ, but a gospel that will make us happy.

That's my book update! These are all good reads, if you're looking for something.

September Update

Hey Team!

Hope this finds you doing well. Remembrance has been on my mind this past week.

On Friday, our Cadence Student Ministries team gathered in Mannheim, an Army post that is closing down. Mannheim was the first base Cadence did youth ministry at back in the 80s. The missionary who opened the base is now serving in Poland and traveled to Germany for the day to share with us about God's work in the community. It was an encouraging time to hear about God's faithfulness over the years in Mannheim.

On Sunday, as many of you did, I remembered back to 10 years ago. I was a senior in high school, sitting in my government class when I heard about the 9/11 attacks. In church we watched a few videos honoring the fallen of the day and reflecting on God's sovereignty. It was a reminder to me of what a privilege it is to minister to the military community. Although the attacks occurred 10 years ago, families continue to face deployments and increased security measures around the world that impact lives everyday. It's an honor to get to share the love and hope of Christ with this community! Thanks for joining me in this endeavor.

It's been almost a year since I arrived in Germany. I remember getting here a few months into the school year and feeling overwhelmed trying to learn names, understand the school and community and the youth group. It's been fun entering a new school year this past month and feeling like I have a clue of what's going on! God has been faithful in helping me transition.

Today I visited the high school for lunch and it was fun to see students. Most of them saw me and asked "what are you doing here?" When I told them it was to see them and say hi, they smiled. : ) It's fun to enter into their world and get a taste of their everyday lives.

Last week, we kicked off the new school year with scavenger hunts for both our middle and high school groups. In the coming weeks we'll teach through a "Youth Group 101" series. I'll be teaching on "Biblical Community" and "why we do what we do" the next two weeks.

Last Wednesday, middle and high school girls Bible studies started as well. I was really excited to have 10 middle school girls come out - that's double last year's turnout! This fall we'll be going through a Beginning and Growing in Jesus book, to lay out a solid foundation of who Jesus is and how we can know and grow in Him.

I also had 6 high schoolers come, and I look for a few more to join us in the coming weeks. We'll be reading through a book called Victory Over the Darkness - it's a great book on understanding our identity in Christ.

Both groups are hungry to learn about Jesus and grow in their faith. They're also pretty excited about our girls only time - the middle schoolers kept referring to our group as a family and sisterhood (they're an extremely sweet group of girls!).

This Saturday I'm inviting high school girls over to my house for mochas and then we're going to hike up to the castle that's right down the street! There's a lot of new girls in our group that I'm excited to get to know.

In family news...

My brother got married this past weekend (09/10/11)! He's stationed at Ellsworth AFB, SD and will be leaving in November for a yearlong remote to Osan, South Korea. He and his wife will move to Elmendorf AFB in Alaska after his time in Korea.

My dad is about halfway through his deployment to Jalalabad, Afghanistan and is doing well. He's enjoying working on the drone. When he leaves Afghanistan, he's going to fly to Germany! My mom will also fly here from Wisconsin and they'll both spend a few weeks with me, enjoying German Christmas markets!

Thanks so much for your continued to prayers! It's been super fun to watch God grow our group and stir a hunger for Him in the hearts of our students. I'm looking forward to a great year.