European Excursions

Whirlwind

2010-08-06T06:19:00.001+02:00

The Lord is slow to anger and great in power...His way is in the whirlwind and the clouds are the dust of His feet. -Nahum 1:3

Today I sit in a dark cool basement far far away from all the sights and places I have experienced this past year. In a couple weeks I will be setting off on an all new adventure to the shores of the USA where I will be attending College and "The Masters College" in Santa Clarita, California. As look back over my final month in Europe and the month I've now spent in the states I can think of no better word to describe it, but : Whirlwind.

My last post here was a short description of my time in Ireland. Some people might refer to that week as the calm before the storm. As many of you know the news I received my last day on that little green island in the Atlantic set my whole world spinning, and changed life as i knew it forever.

We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You. - 2 Chronicles 20:12b

As I went through the motions of school, work, and life back in Hungary each day anxiously awaiting news of my mothers diagnosis, I was at once relieved that her sudden seizures were not caused by cancer or a tumor, only to find out a week later that it had been a miss-diagnosis, and in actuality she had a tumor the size of a golf ball on the left side of her brain.

For as long as I live I will never forget that night or the following day when I questioned everything. When it seemed that my life was closing in around me and there was nothing I could do about it but sit and watch my world crashing in, helpless to fix it or stop it.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face...then will I hear from heaven... 2 Chronicles 7:14

But then something amazing happened. I believe it's called the Body of Christ. My room mates, friends, classmates, staff leaders, people I'd never met a day in my life, prayed. Hundreds of God people throughout all creation paused even if for one brief moment to lift the burden of another to heaven. I felt every one of those prayers, and I know I'm not the only one. Prayer is a powerful thing.

And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus-Philipians 4:19

As my family went through the process of deciding on the appropriate course of action. I went through the motions of the life I'd become so accustomed to in Hungary awaiting their decision and learning to trust in the Lord on a whole new level. I remember looking around, in the past, at other families and friends of mine who had parents and siblings experience things like cancer, and being somewhat in awe of their strength, and wondering how in the world they managed to go about their lives normally when it seemed everything was wrong. Well now I'm one of those people and I must say, I've discovered on a very personal level that the verse above (Phil. 4:19) applies to far more than just putting food on the table. For in the past months I've seen the Lord provide not only for all mine and my families financial needs, but even more outstandingly for my emotional and spiritual needs. God really will NEVER give you more than you can bear, and He will ALWAYS supply you with the courage, faith, trust and strength you need for each and every day, hour and minute. Not more than you need, but certainly never less. His methods may vary, but He will ALWAYS, ALWAYS care for his children. Did you see that? Read it again. I mean what I say. I can't count the ways He used my roommates and friends in those final weeks as began the process of leaving school early in order to arrive back in the USA in time for my mother surgery. But it didn't even end there They have continued even now to be the very hand and feet of Christ, along with many others, as my mom has undergone, surgery and treatment. I love them all so very much and can never thank them enough.

If we are faithless He will remain faithful for He cannot disown Himself. - 2 Timothy 2:13

The end of my little adventure was not how I expected it to be. I missed my graduation, and my European Excursions were cut short. But I came to the point where those things didn't matter so much. While those were my plans, they obviously weren't Gods. I had lots of plans for this summer, and so did God, but they weren't the same. Now sitting on the other side of this phase of the whirlwind I know I've grown in immeasurable ways through it all and must conclude God's plan is infinitely better. Who am I to question His methods? Of course I didn't always feel that way. I don't want to give the impression that my faith through out this whole thing was always what it should have been. I'm only human, but thank God for his grace and mercy. That he would chose to shape and mold a sinner like me is astounding.

I remember relating to my RA that my whole "Word of Life Hungary" experience had turned into something of a furnace. She smiled at me, and with a little laugh said, "Mishaela, sometimes it's good to be in the flames." I couldn't agree more, if God want to refine us as through fire, then so be it.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows. - James 1:17

Despite all the chaos surrounding my last days I was able to make some incredible final memories, ones that I know I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Here are some pictures of those last few weeks, God truly did bless me, even during this time.

This was actually before Spring Break, but I couldn't finish this blog with out a little bit of my Lillian visit on here. Lillian came to visit me for about a week on her way back from Israel. It was so special to get to share my new temporary home with her!

I like to refer to this as my ultimate worlds collide picture - Brasil and Hungary =) Abi and I took the day off school one day to show Lillian around Budapest =)

(Me, Abi, Lillian)

~insert Spring Break Rome and Ireland trips here~

My last week in hungary the Word of Life Missions reality group from New York came. They spent time ministering in the public schools and many other things. one day we had a picture scavenger hunt...this task was to get the whole team on the tire swing =)

*I also want to insert a thank-you to this team here for all their prayers for my mom and family...many of them came up to me during the week , though i had never met them before, just to let me know that they had heard about my mom back in New York and were praying.

on my second last weekend in Hungary our whole dorm with the exception of Miri went into Budapest just to be able to spend time together before we all got separated. Yana and I sang at a christian coffee house in town and we all spent the next day just being together.

(marie-Pier, Emi, Me, Yana, Steph, Marianne)

We had a little Picnic on Margit island on the Danube.

(Steph, marianne, Yana, Me, Marie-Pier, Emi)

I love her =)

(me, yana)

Yana playing her disciplinary mother role =P

(Yana, steph, marie-pier, Me, Marianne, Emi)

On my second to last day a group of us took a bike ride down to the next village to go to the sweet shop or Cukrázda.

(Jonathan, Marianne, Trisha, Me)

We had lots of cake and ice cream and laughs =)

(Trisha, Me, Marianne)

On the way back to Toalmas we stopped on the side of the road to run through a canola field.

(marianne, Me)

From the sweet shop I rode straight to a pizza party with all my fellow Brasilians that we had been planning for the whole semester and finally fit in to my very last weekend.

(Gabriel, karine, me, Luana, Roberto, and David is behind the camera )

My last day - in between classes we went and took pictures for old times sake =)

(yana, marianne, marie-pier, Me, Miri)

The next morning, Wednesday, May 12, 2010 I put my last few possessions in my suitcases, and said good-bye to the people who had been my family for the past year. My dorm presented me with a notebook that they had passed around the school for people to sign, and lots of other little gifts that tied into the many many memories we made together. As i sat in my airplane seat jetting across the Altlantic, reliving all my precious memories, and reading everyone's notes. One of them ended like this :

" Life is short [and hard at times] , but what a gift."

Interestingly that rings truer to me now that it did then, but the phrase stuck with me. My European Excursions can be described as nothing else. A good and perfect gift, from my loving Father of heavenly lights.

The Lord has watched over my coming and my going, He watches over me both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121:8 - (revised & personalized)

thanks for reading =)

The End

The luck 'o the Irish

2010-08-04T18:26:00.003+02:00

Following our almost surreal trip to Rome our jolly 6 pack split up to explore new sights and destinations, it was a saturday morning when Johanna Lutter, Abi Mahon, and myself rolled out of bed and boarded the first available bus to the airport. We spent the morning in the air, and after a short layover in England we touched down in cold, rainy, yet stunningly beautiful Ireland.
The three of us followed the directions of a rather boisterous bus driver to our new Youth Hostel just a 15 min. walk from O'Connolly street in down town Dublin. Quiet and picturesque, our Hostel was located next to a park with a little duck pond and surrounded by a neighborhood of typical European town homes with brightly colored doors and big, round, brass door knobs.

We spent a total of 7 days in Ireland, mostly spent in Dublin with the exception of one day when we took the train to Houth, on the coast. While Ireland was nothing like Rome as far as Architecture, tourism, or just things to do in general it provided us with a much needed break. We were able to sleep in, relax, explore, and managed to fall in love with the country of the Irish.

Typical street on our daily trek to O'connoly street in Dublin.

We found lots off cool looking buildings on our walks...actually most of the cool looking ones were bars =/

This is the back side of Dublin castle....apparently they thought it need a little brightening up.

the Stables of Dublin castle

I believe this is St. Patricks cathedral.

Molly Malone statue :
"In Dublin's fair city, where girls are so pretty, I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone."
I definitely heard that song more than once walking about the streets of Dublin's fair city. =)

Houth.

the coast was absolutely stunning.

later we hiked to the top of the cliffs =)...like i said the view was stunning

Ironically enough we enjoyed lots of sunshine in Dublin. We decided God must really really love us to give such unexpected perfect weather everywhere we went.

Oh our way out to the Coast we stopped in a town who's name escapes me and meandered through a beautiful park to see this castle =)

Johanna got fish n chips =)

Our favorite dublin restaurant was very American...lol
Eddie Rockets was one of our favorite hang out spots =)

Ireland was fantastic, and I am so glad that week of memories to add to my little bag of European Excursions.

All roads lead to Rome

2010-07-27T00:00:00.002+02:00

The Roma crew:
Daniel Robert Koontz, American, WOLBI intern. Laura Wilson, New Zealander, French MK, WOLBI 1st yr. student. Antoine Houle, French Canadian, WOLBI 1st yr. student. Johanna Lutter, German, former WOLBI intern, WOLBI 1st yr. student. Abi Mahon, Canadian, WOLBI 1st yr. student. Mishaela Parker (moi) Brazilian/American MK, WOLBI 1st yr. student.
Mission:
Walk till we drop. See Ancient Rome. Eat gelato...as much as possible. Eat pizza at least once. Find Kim Hagar. Have a picnic. Find cheap travel. Walk to the Mediteranian. Enjoy the sunshine.Find Luigi. Appreciate every moment.
Mission Report:
We Departed from Budapest, Hungary Monday evening March 29, 2010, and Arrived at nearly 10 pm in Roma, Italy. With a renewed burst of adrenaline and a fresh sense of adventure our team of 6 scouted out an appropriate floor space for our airport camp out. Setting up camp in a perfectly magnificent corner on the second floor, we dozed off one by one only to awaken one by one tired, achy, and cold and desperate for anything but a cold marble floor to stretch out on. At long last morning dawned, and not one person remained in our miserable little corner.
With waning energy but expectant spirits we once again set out in search of transportation to our youth hostel. Several hours, many salesmen characters, a couple hikes across the airport, and bus ride with a very helpful, friendly old man later we found our selves walking down an old dirt road to our cabins at the "Country Club Castel Fusano" in Ostia, just 1 euro away from Rome, and 45 min, walk from the Mediterranean. It took all of 2 minutes for us collapse into our oh so very soft warm beds only to awaken several hours later, shower, and set off on our first excursion to Rome.
The fascinating thing about Rome was that the entire time i was there there was never a moment when i walked down a street and couldn't find something impressive, historical, or just flat out beautiful surrounding me. We spent a total of 5 fantastic days in Rome seeing the sights, lounging on the shores of the Mediterranean and picnicking by the ancient monuments that date back to the time Paul and the Apostles walked those very same streets proclaiming the gospel for the very first times.
I thank God constantly as i remember that trip, how we would pray together every morning on the Metro before we did anything else,How he allowed us to live and experience Rome in a way that most never will. What a privilege that a group of friends could walk the footsteps of those who witnessed the life and resurrection of our very best friend and Savior, and that we, his children, could walk those footsteps each day remembering what a rare and precious gift it was to be there.
Photo Archives of the Journey:

our camp out in the Roman international airport...
(Dan, me, Laura, and Abi)

we had a picnic in a park out side the impressive monument designed by Michael Angelo pictured below.
(Me, Abi, Antoine, Laura, and Dan)

Like i said...very impressive monument.

The Spanish Steps...at the time we didn't even realize that these were the Spanish steps...sure glad i stopped to take pictures =)

The Circo Maximo...where Romes chariot races and such were held...like the place in Ben Hur...there's not very much left of the place.
(Antoine, Dan, Laura, Me, Abi, Johanna)

Chillin out above the Ancient Roman ruins watching all the lucky people who actually got to walk through them...see the coliseum in the distance?
(Me)

the girls of the trip...the Coliseum was phenomenal...incredible to think of all the early church saints that went through this place. We just have no idea...
(Laura, Johanna, Me, and Abi)

climbing around the old city...pretending to be statues =) good times
(Me, Dan, Antoine, and Abi)

This picture of Abi and I was taken on one of my favorite nights of the whole trip when we sat out side the Pantheon by the fountain of love, as i later learned, we had a picnic and listened to street performers...it was the type of night that you see in a movie, and I'll never forget it.

walking along the shore of the Mediterranean sea at the sea side town of Ostia, Italia.
(Laura, and Antoine)

The Trevi Fountain.we tried to have a picnic here too...however there was an italian guard with something of an attitude who informed us that the Trevi Fountain was a National monument, not a playground there is no food allowed any where near the fountain. oops =P

I met up with Kimmy in front of the Coliseum...amazing day and I'm soooo glad I got to see her! Talk about worlds colliding!

Wondering around rome Antoine took it upon himself to find someone named Luigi, he would randomly ask men on the street if their name was Luigi...until finally...he found someone who knew a Luigi...it was the closest we got =)
(Laura, Luigi's son, and Antoine)

We had looooots of gelato on the trip...but this was our best find...a whole kilo of gelato for 9 E!!!!!! jack pot!
(Me, Dan, Abi, gelato people, Laura, Johana...hiding..and Antoine)

The Vatican on Good Friday, I must say this place sort of gave me the chills on good friday...behind us is St. Peters, thats as far as we were allowed to go on Easter weekend.
(Dan, Me, Laura, Abi, Antoine, Johanna)

Official journey conclusion: Mission Accomplished, and the trip of a life time!!! I'll never forget it!

Days go by

2010-05-28T07:26:00.001+02:00

So much has happened since Christmas break, and even during Christmas break that I never shared here. Don't worry I won't try to fit it all into one post. But i did feel that I should share a little update on this semester before I launch into my more recent adventures over spring break and departure from Europe.

-My idea of an English Holiday-

That title is sarcastic, I'll let you know right off the bat. Most of you have probably already heard this story, but for those of you who haven't I will attempt to summarize the last leg in my Christmas break journey. Flying out of Spain I was all too aware of the awful snow storms raging all around London area, however when my plane took off as scheduled my worried evaporated and my thoughts were consumed with my Christmas break required reading and thoughts of how I would get from point A (London Gatwick Airport) to point B (the Morton's house where I was planning on staying) once we landed. So needless to say I was just short of speechless when after circling Gatwick for a good hour the pilot announced our plane had been diverted to Bournemouth- the southern coast of England, and even more shocked to hear after sitting on a runway for a couple hours that the airline would do nothing to get us to London or provide longing for the night. So as an 18 year old girl, alone standing outside what I'm convinced is one of the world's smallest airports, with but 10 or so Euros in my pocket, I was pretty scared to find out that the roads and rail lines to London were all shut down. So climbing into a cab with two complete strangers from one of the other 6 flights that were sent to Bournemouth I was able to pull out some money and ended up sharing a travel lodge room with my cab buddies. after a few hours of sleep I headed out the next morning and after a few debit card complications managed pay the ridiculously high train fare to London. Finally feeling like I was back on my feet again I settled in for a relaxing ride up to London with a missionary I met on the way from South Korea. Getting off the train and making my next connection should have been a simple task, and it would have been - had I not forgotten my backpack on the train in my hurry. So making a mad dash back across the Waterloo station on central London I arrived back at my platform just minutes after the train left carrying my backpack and all it's precious cargo away with it. In near tears I explained to the security officer my situation, how my back pack contained not only my most of my schoolbooks, but also my laptop, my Brazilian passport, and a whole bunch of tickets and official papers for insurance and such. The man just looked at my incredulously - unbelieving that I could forget such a thing (obviously i could believe it either!). What followed was one of the most ridiculous days of my life. my definition of ridiculous? Well to me ridiculous could mean a lot of things. Annoying, Difficult, challenging, incredible, awesome, memorable...well this day was ll of those. The security officer stationed me at a cafe, bought me coffee and lunch retuning to me every hour and a half or so to update me on my missing backpack.

I sat in that cafe for around 7 hours, missed all possible transportation to the family I planned to stay with, struggled to give up my will and control over the impossible situations I found myself in, saw how God kept me sane by giving me little things like free hot chocolate, and saw Him reveal himself, his protection, and work as I've never seen him do in my life before. It was a long 7 hours, but God certainly provided for me and in the end my backpack was returned to me with only one or two postcards missing from the front pocket. There is so much more I could share here, but I haven't the time. This adventure literally changed my life when i think about it. It taught me to trust the Lord on a more practical level than I'd ever experienced before, and I know it's something i will not quickly forget!

~~My 13th country in a year: POLAND!~~

Every year sing team has on weekend ministry trip this year we spent a weekend in February in Poland a WOL winter camps there here is the letter I sent out to my supporters for the trip with all that happend - once again God proved Himself marvelous beyond my imagination!
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Dear Friends and Family,

I hope this little update finds you well! I just wanted to thank you all so much for supporting me and the sing team on our missions trip to Poland! God was able to do some awesome things during our long weekend there. I know it is a trip I will never forget.

(above right: view from the hotel window)

Sing Team and a few select others set out on our seven hour journey to Poland early Friday morning, winding our way through the mountains of Slovakia and up into the snowy slopes of Zakopane, Poland. We made it there around 3 o’clock without mishap. Thank the Lord, we had heard the horror stories from previous trips! We were soon ushered up to our rooms in a beautiful chalet style hotel that Word of Life Poland had

rented for the winter conference and camps to follow. Although the weather was somewhat dreary during our stay the scenery that surrounded us looked like something out of a picture book. (below: Fanni, Yana, and I at winter camp)

Our first ministry opportunity was that Friday night where we were able to perform a few songs, translated into polish and then enjoy WOL Poland director Tim Good’s thoughts on the weekend theme: prayer. The next two days of the retreat were something of a blur. Because of the many blizzards across the USA recently the conference speaker was unable to make it until Sunday- the last day. Through out Saturday and Sunday Sing team and all the other staff and students that made the trip with us were stretched to our limits, filling in the empty spaces left by an absentee speaker. We crammed in a few quick practices and threw in a few new songs, solos, and sermons. By God’s grace lives were touched, even under such last minute circumstances. I got the chance to sing part of one of our Hungarian songs in English, our sing team leader Gabor, got to lead a few meetings, and our staff joined with Poland’s to put together several beautiful special numbers. It was great to see how all the details worked out, despite our worries.

Sunday morning we were all very happy to listen to the intended conference speaker share the thoughts he originally had five hours to share. Of course because of all his traveling issues he only had two hours to communicate what God had placed on his heart. Nevertheless, despite the time crunch, I don’t think there was a person there who was not touched by what he had to say. Also on Sunday Sing team preformed a skit. Some may be familiar with the Lifehouse skit: everything. It is a very moving pantomime about a girl who begins her life in wonder at her creator and the world he created, but then a charming young man comes along and steals her heart. What follows is one thing after another: money, drunkenness, eating disorders, and finally physical abuse and suicide until the young girl realizes what she gave up in the beginning and throws herself toward her Savior, warring against the sins of her past until Jesus steps in and sets her free. If you’d like to see one version of this skit here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_M33GcJAmU Thank the Lord for using our feeble attempts to express his grace to touch other peoples hearts. Some were moved to tears. Many people were challenged to take there lives with the Lord to the next step, and some even to place their lives in His hands. Praise the Lord!

Of course we also managed to fit in time for fun, including skiing and snowboarding for some, shopping in town, and lots of fellowship. We also got the chance to visit Auschwitz and Birkenau the holocaust concentration camps. Walking through old gas chambers, prisons, and execution sites paints life in a completely different way. It is amazing the cruelty that we are capable of, and I am left even more in awe of a Savior that would die for the likes of us. (right: the famous gate at Birkenau, Auswitz 2)

Over all the Poland trip was a time of growth, ministering to others, fun and fellowship with believers from all across the globe. And I just want to thank all of you for investing your time money and prayers in making this possible! The Lord is SO good!

God bless,

Mishaela

The rain in Spain

2010-01-28T11:57:00.003+01:00

I know I said that I doubted that anything could top Germany, but after my adventure on the way to Spain I wasn't looking for anything other than relaxation, and a much needed break from the stress of school and travel, that was exactly what Spain gave me. Before going to Spain, I never would have considered it one of my top locations, however after spending two weeks there I couldn't help but fall in love with the beautiful spanish country side,and the family I stayed with. There was in fact much rain in Spain during my stay there (which I'm told is very rare) but i didn't mind it much most days I stayed dry and warm sipping "fireside coffee" by the fire, and reading my systematic theology book (oh joy!). There were many hours spent with Mrs. Humes and Adrianna watching Larkrise, knitting, talking and knitting some more.
I spent both Christmas and New Years in Spain and absolutely loved it. The Humes family sort of adopted me for the time I was there, and I can't thank them enough for allowing me to be part of their family during the time I was there. Between Christmas and New Years I joined them on a little family vacation to the magnificent Sierra Nevada Mountains in the south of Spain. The scenery was breath taking, it was a trip i will never forget. I spent a lot of time walking, talking with Mrs. Humes and Adrianna, and just thinking. The Lord really knew what i needed over this vacation, and he didn't hesitate a moment giving it to me. Thank-you!

This is the town I stayed in where the Humes live, just outside of Madrid. This particular picture was taken from the Iternational school that they work at. For those of you from Brasil, it is a ACSI school similar to AVA only bigger, and in many ways more similar to your typical US school.
This is Adrianna and I on the way down to the Sierra Nevadas. the view from the road was incredible. I was supposed to be reading homework during this four hour journey, I didn't get very far- most of my time was spent staring out the window. I cannot help but marvel at God's creation. His workmanship is so evident in this little corner of the world...you'll see what I'm talking about the more pictures you see =)

sitting on the terrace of the house we stayed in in the quaint village of La Calahorra, which is surrounded by majestic mountains and the home of a 16th century castle (as you can see) the town looked like something out of a movie...I absolutely loved it!

One day we were supposed to go skiing but due to the cloud covering the mountain top and the 100 mph winds the slope were closed, but we had a good time hanging out at the top of the world at a little theme park type thing they had there and taking lots of crazy pictures!

Eventually the skies did clear somewhat but by that time we were ready to head back down to normal altitudes but it was pretty cool to be up above the clouds. Now I don't know what it feels like at the top of Mt. Everest but I imagine if it's anything like that felt, it must be astounding!

This was the ski town at the top of the mountain

You are resplendent with light, more majestic than mountains -Psalms

Back in La Calahora Mrs. Humes, Adrianna hiked up the hill to the castle gazing at all the breath taking scenery and talking. It was so good. I have to stop here and say something about these ladies. God has used them in awesome ways in my life, and the funny thing is i don't think they know it. the challenged me in my thinking, reminded me of the power of prayer, and the spiritual battle surrounding us everyday, that only intensifies when we drop our guard, get proud, and consequently render ourselves weak. It seems there is a particular attack on those of us who a just going off on our own, still unsure and often times facing our own questions and doubts and struggles for the first time- alone. Being reminded of that battle and being fully aware of the potential outcomes gave me my fire back in a way, made me want to fight it, and made me want to win. For those us here now at WOLBI Hungary I highly doubt that any of us could look back over the school year so far and not acknowledge that we are often times at war here. The good thing for those of us who hold tight to our savior-is we know that our battle has already been won. =) And in the process of that battle God has the habit of sharpening us for his use, or as mrs. Humes put it -wetting our clay pots down so that he can reshape and re mold them into what he wants us to be for his Honor and Glory. Of course no one likes to be squeezed and punched and all the tears in the process, but always keep in mind something beyond me is happening here- it's hard for a reason and the ending is going to be a miracle of God's design.

We even made it to the Mediterranean sea!!!

NEW YEARS!!!!!! HAPPY 2010

New years was an interesting celebration. we were together with several other missionary families. One of the traditions there is eating one grape at the strike of 12 on new years eve. then if you choke on any of the grapes you will have "bad luck" on the corresponding month of the new year. Lucky for me I don't really believe in luck, but it was fun to look around at everyone attempting to fit 12 grapes in the mouth at once =)

~Duetchland~

2010-01-05T12:46:00.000+01:00

Waking up in the very early hours of December the 14th I had that irresistible sense of excitement, a little bit of nervousness, and perhaps a touch of wonder i get when ever I'm about to set out on a journey. This time was a little different though, not only because we woke up very very late and were in quite a rush to get out the door, but also because this journey was one that I had only ever dreamed I would be taking. I was the first person to arrive at the airport that morning, and I promptly set up camp on one of the vacant benches where I slept, read, and chatted for the next five hours of waiting.

As my plane approached Stuttgart I caught my first glimpses of the wintry wonderland that would be my home for the next week. Since Stuttgart was not my final destination however, I had to get on the metro and go to the train station where I could purchase tickets to Saabrucken. As most of you probably know I speak little to nothing in german, so the purchasing of a ticket was being a rather complicated procedure, until a very nice young man came over, promptly told me I looked rather confused, and offered his help. About a minute later I stood there with tickets in had, and looking up to thank my helper, found that he had disappeared. I've labeled him my angel in disguise. My first European train experience proved to be a very pleasant one as I rushed on to Saarbrucken where my friend Hanna picked me up when I arrived. What followed was one of the most memorable weeks of my life.

The next morning, a Tuesday, Hanna and I took of on a walk through her little village and the surrounding coutryside, where I took so many pictures Hanna made a point of laughing at me for it. But how could I help myself!? I was in Germany, where I had always wanted to go, trekking through light snow and hills unlike any other place I had been. Granted all the places I've lived have been rather flat, Between the Amazon and Kansas you don't get very many mountains or even hills for that matter. That evening we explored the town and visited the Christmas market, where we pointed and laughed as, with much fanfare, Santa Clause pulled by eight reindeer flew over the market from one roof top to the next. Europe's Christmas markets go all out!

(Middle: Saarbrucken, Bottom: Christmas market!)

Wednesday proved to be a relaxing day of relaxing by the fireside, reading, and movies topped of by an evening spent with Hanna's discipleship group at a traditional all you can eat "flammkuchen hause" Flammkuchen is something very similar to pizza, only it has a very thin crust and usually doesn't have tomatoe sause.
There are all kinds of different toppings including sweet ones. It was delicious! After having a gift exchange and the group leaders home (they even got something for me!) we headed home to Hanna's for a good nights rest to be followed the next morning by one of the most cherished moments of that leg of my journey.

Thursday morning I woke up to a light fluffy snow falling down out side my window, and so was thrilled when Hanna's mom drove us out to the stables to go horse back riding. The Krumm's have a few horses since Hanna's mother works with disabled children and horse back riding as a kind of therapy. Hanna led the horse up and around through ever snowier fields, leaving my hands free to take even more pictures of all the white hills dotted with horses grazing.

Friday was our day on the town. After spending the morning ice skating, and making complete fools of ourselves we headed home only to return that after noon for a very productive afternoon of shopping. One thing that I love about europe, and especially this little town is that very little of our shopping time was spent in malls, it was all set on two or three shop lines streets that we would walk down, peering in windows and getting a few breaths of fresh air in between stores. It was lovely. I suppose it's something similar to the "plazas" they are starting to build now in the States instead of malls. Or perhaps it's always like that in bigger cities. At any rate I was a very happy girl by the time we had enjoyed a little break at a cafe and headed home again.

Saturday was Hanna's birthday! So we made a delicious breakfast complete with home made coffee cake, all sorts of german breads, lunch meats, fruit, yogurt, coffee, juice, and more. The night before I suppose God had decided to give Hanna, or rather me a wonderful gift of heaps and heaps of snow, that coated all the world around tuning everything into a glittering wonderland. So after the guests had left Hanna and I headed out on our snow walk from her village to the next one, and back. If Hanna thought I had taken too many pictures on our first walk, she was in for a surprise during this little excursion where I only returned the camera to my coat pocket when the lens got so cold it very nearly had a coat of frost over it. The evening was followed by a delicious meal out at a fancy resturant to celebrate Hanna's birthday.

Sunday was my last morning in Saarbrucken, and the beginning of a new adventure, as all who have read my blog are well aware of. My time in Germany was one of the best weeks of my life, I'm not sure I'll be able to top that excursion for a long time! I was able to spend time with one of my great friends, stand in awe of God's beautiful creation (in this case many times the snow-which I like to think was falling at times just because He knew how special it was to me) delicious food ( with veggies!!!!!!!=D ) and as I have said memories to last me a life time. It couldn't have been a better beginning to my vacation.

Trains, planes, travel, and SNOW!!!

2009-12-26T15:24:00.001+01:00

Well, it's Christmas break, the time we've all been longing for, and thought would never come! I can say I have been a very lucky girl this winter vacation, and got to continue my European Excursions, and added a few more stories to by little collection.
Now, I absolutely love snow, but it seems that most modes of transportation do not. This is something I've become increasingly aware of over the past week or so, and have never been more grateful to be sitting in my temporary room here in Spain safe, and sound, and warm.
My latest traveling experience began in Germany (which I will tell all about, later) I was supposed to leave Sunday afternoon on a train to Paris so that I could catch my flight to Madrid the following morning. I had it all worked out for a friend from school to meet me at the station so we could go see the Eiffel tower at Christmas time, as well as a possible Hillsong concert at their church in Paris. Needless to say I was pretty excited about all that. However it seems that God had a slightly different agenda for me that day and the next one as well.
Sunday morning Saabrucken, Germany got the most snow it's had in years, according to my friend Hanna. So as we inched along the icy autobahn towards the main station we kept our fingers crossed, hoping that my train wouldn't be canceled. We were lucky, the Train wasn't canceled, but there was a 30 minute delay. So Hanna headed home in her car through the snowy weather, and sat in non-heated station and waited with a cup of very bitter coffee. At long last my train arrived, and after some confusion over changed arrival platforms and asking a few questions I managed to get on what I thought was the right train. I was wrong.

About 5 minutes before the train left the station someone came in and tried to take my seat. This left me very confused, but I got up and switched to an empty seat. Just when I realized that the train number on my ticket did not match the number of the train I was on it began to slide forward. What had happened was the train coming from Paris and the train going to Paris had switched platforms due to the delay, which they announced repeatedly, in German. When I had seem PARIS in large, bright letters in the window of the train I didn't think twice about it.
Above: as you can see it really wasn't the best day for travel =/

Oddly, the picture to the right was taken before I realized my mistake =P

You know that feeling of dread you get int he bottom of your stomach when you know something is very very wrong? Well, when the conductor came over the intercom and announced the trains destination, that was me. I was headed toward Frankfurt! For those of you who don't know your European geography very well all you need to know it that Frankfurt is pretty much the opposite direction from Paris. After sitting there for about five minutes praying my little heart out that I would somehow manage to get to Paris I got up and asked an English speaking family for help. Turns out the mother was American, the father was German and they had an adopted daughter for India, who they got from no other than Mother Teresa herself. When they asked me where I was from and where i wanted to be headed it took a while to explain, but we came to the conclusion that I am an American missionary kid, from Brasil, currently studying in Hungary, visiting a friend in Germany, on my way to Paris en route to Spain! Now If you can follow that you should have no problem following the rest of this little adventure. They were very helpful and promised to pray for me as I made a swift exit at the next stop and processed to the DeBahn information desk. I only wish I had gotten their names or and e-mail address so that I could thank them and let them know their prayers were answered.

And this point I was rather nervous, I was down to 10 E in my pocket and a US debit card that I wasn't sure had very much money on it even if they would accept it. So i explained my situation to the thankfully English speaking attendant, who looked at my ticket and promptly printed off a ticket for the next train to Paris that was due to arrive in about an hour and a half. "Enjoy your trip!" he said, and turned back to his computer. That was it, I didn't have to pay a dime! So breathing a prayer of thanks I quickly went in search of a pay phone to tell my friend i was not on the train she would expect me to be on. After buying some gum at the convenience store with my limited supply of cash in order to get change to use the pay phone I was able to reach Hanna who promised to call our friend Laura who was to pick me up in Paris.
Above: Me in some random town in Germany...not too happy about it.

From that point things went relatively smoothly, well at least from my end. The train station I was in in this random town in germany had a rather small train station. one room (not heated) and information (Above: this is the town I managed to get stuck in, you can't tell here but it was still snowing.) counter, a convenience store, and bathrooms that you had to pay 50c to use. in the main room there were three cold metal chairs. So i stationed myself there to wait for the train. Outside the snow was still falling full force, and i had long since lost all feeling in my toes when to my horror my train was delayed. the first time it was 15 minutes. That wasn't so bad. but then it happened again, and again, and again. I began making half hour rounds between the much warmer little store and the icy metal chairs. So finally after about four hours in the station I went up to my platform where the train was once again delayed for another 10 minutes. there was quite a little group of us up there stomping our feet and walking up and down along the tracks to keep warm.

At long last the train pulled in and climbed on with legs and feet so numb I could barely walk. I climbed into the wrong car however. Having made myself comfortable in the luxurious first class car, I was forced to move back to second class (a whole 6 cars away) because I couldn't read my German ticket and had mistaken the platform number for the car number. It was a rather ironic moment for me when the train rolled through Saarbrucken, the same town I had started in nearly 6 hours before. Once the train crossed the border into France things just took longer and longer. Because of all the snow the train was forced to stop three times in the middle of no where, each time for about 15 minutes. I did manage to borrow a cell phone from a french couple across the aisle from me, so I could call Laura and let her know I was going to be later than expected. At this point i have to take back every mean thing I've ever said about the french and their treatment of foreigners. They were all extremely helpful, and for that I am very grateful.

Right:

Me and laura! Finally in Paris!

Below: unfortunately all I saw of Paris this time was the train station.

At long last the train rolled into Paris EST where a very cold and I can only guess quite bored Laura was waiting for me. After getting some food in me, we went straight home. By that time I had missed the Christmas market, Eiffel Tower light show, and concert, but I was just happy to be safe.

Of course Paris got it's fair share of Ice and snow as well...which made for another adventure the following morning. If my flight had left on time, which it didn't (go figure) I very well might have missed it. We made it to the counter about 5 minutes after it was supposed to have closed, but due to the bad weather in Madrid there was a delay of an hour. Well as the story goes...one hour turned into 2, then 3, then 4. At that point the airport was required to feed us. So everyone on the Madrid flight was given 5 E, about enough to buy a small sandwich or a drink. it wasn't much, but it was more than the 2 E i still had in my pocket. When 4 hours turned into 5 we were not a very happy bunch. Still i managed to occupy my time reading homework and talking to a nice lady from the US embassy in Norway.
(Top right: we finally made it to the airport, Bottom right: and then I waited there forever!)

Our plane finally did arrive and I'm convinced there has never been a more eager bunch of people to get on a plane! But when the plane landed in an oddly snowy Madrid it landed in a different terminal than was expected...so for about two hours after we landed you could find the passenger of the flight from Paris BVA wondering about the Madrid airport in search of their luggage. Thankfully I found mine after about an hour, by sneaking back into a different baggage claim area. Adrianna Humes, the second oldest daughter in the family I am currently staying with was there waiting for me. Mr Humes expertly maneuvered his way through rush hour traffic and ushered me into the house. Chilli and cornbread never tasted so good in my entire life!
Through out all this mess I was acutely aware of God protection. Things could have been so much worse for an 18 year old girl traveling alone through Europe, for a large part at night time. I'm overwhelmed by how God protected me from dangerous situations and got me to Spain safe, and with what now seems like a rather humorous story. One more adventure to tell my kids some day!

Falling Leaves

2009-11-01T22:08:00.000+01:00

Snapshots of WOL life lately

Sing Team twins. Megan and i realized that we both have the exact same winter coat, and since we were in sing team "uniform" we decided it merited a picture. This was taken at Sing Team's first ministry.

Princess Costa Rica, likes the pretty fall leaves just as much as me =)

Then after the princess got bored, this butterfly decided it wanted to be a part of the photo shoot too.
Over Fall Break I went with my lovely RA Yana to Romania with her adoptive "parental units" for their wedding reception with Timea's family.

Yana and I had a fun time entertaining ourselves for 10 hours of more food than you could ever imagine (i think we finally counted 7 or 8 courses) lots of loud traditional Romanian music, and turned down dance invitations turned gospel presentations. We loved it, both of us felt like we had stepped into the world of "My big fat Greek wedding"

At around 11 pm after everyone had left (this was a rather early ending according to all the Romanians) Timi threw the bouquet for Yana and I. Yana caught it =) I guess I still have to wait a little while before I get to get married- that's okay, I'm only 18, i have time ;)

Since the title of this post if Falling leaves, it think it's only fair to put up some pictures of the campus during fall...as you can see we have a lot of yellow around here now. =)And here is my lovely home sweet home...well I suppose technically I don't live here, but I like to think that i do. =)
As for the other happenings here at WOL, I'm sorry but you'll just have to be patient and wait till I get a chance to breathe. Things have been very busy lately, but of course that is to be expected at the end of the first quarter. I have been learning so much about life, myself, others and the awesome God I serve. Thanks to all of you for your love and prayers!

Paper People

2009-10-16T20:46:00.000+02:00

This week was the the end of our first two major classes, Bible Study Methods, and Systematic Theology. Both of them were amazing classes and I have to say that after these past several weeks I'm happier than ever that i chose to come here. I will say though that of the two Systematic theology was the one that left me really thinking. Sitting around in class for two hours a day and discussing the unfathomable mysteries of God was honestly one of the highlights of my day. I am convinced though that until we realize and can accept that we are two dimensional paper people attempting to understand a four dimensional world that is beyond our comprehension then it will do nothing but frustrate us. My teacher, Alex Konya used something similar to this illustration, and it's sort of become the theme of our class.

In other news life here at WOL has continued to move along much faster than most of us are okay with, we spend most of our time just trying to keep up. We've had a number of birthday parties and fellowships to break up the stress of school, homework, and ministry preparation. There is never a dull moment, mostly because if things never slow now quite enough for that and on the rare occasion that they do it because we are all getting much needed sleep.

Sing team, my ministry, will be going out for the first time on this Sunday with three songs and a pantomime. I have one solo and am the main character of the pantomime. All the songs are in Hungarian, so it is interesting not having any clue what I'm singing about. I would appreciate prayer this area of ministry though, it's not always easy, and is usually very time consuming, but I know God can use this in great ways.

Fall break is just around the corner bringing on a new country to my list: Romania! I'm so excited, I'll be traveling with my RA, Yana and a staff couple. It will be a much needed vacation and I cannot wait!

~Pictures of lately~

The castel is currently undergoing a massive restoration project so that in the near future we will be able to move the whole school into the castle, dorms and classrooms included. Here what I and one of the interns Dan are wroking on is covering one of the staff apartments in plastic so that their things wouldn't get ruined by all the dust when the workers replaced the heating system. Needless to say it was quite the undertaking!

Roasting hotdogs and marshmallows over the fire at on of the first fellowships at the Konya's.

The Sunday school team, plus me and a few others just hangin out in Budapest

Johanna, Hanna, me, and Yana at one of my rommie's 19th birthday! One of the staff ladies had a bunch of us over to celebrate to occasion. She is an amazing cook, and needless to say we were very happy to have chilli and corn bread over lunch meat sandwiches =)

The birthday girl, Miri, blowing out the candles on her beautiful cake!

Birthday girl with Timea and Randall (this is the couple that will be taking Yana and I to Romania next weekend)

Tea, tea, and more tea!

2009-10-02T13:34:00.000+02:00

Yes in Hungary we like to drink tea. Now this tea is usually not of the iced sort, nor is it of the hot and steamy sort. It is just tea. No one is quite sure exactly what flavor it is, although some have suggested that it is some sort of fruity mixture. In any case this tea is served at every meal, and I must admit that while I was not particularly happy about this upon my arrival, it does grow on you. This is just one new aspect of life here at WOL hungary, and while I certainly miss my daily dose of Brasilian coffee, I think by the end of the year I could very easily find myself addicted to tea.

~A typical day at WOL hungary~

In other news school has officially started! After two weeks of easing us into the new schedule we are finally into what the second year students call normal. Devos are at 6:45 which means getting up around 6:00 or 6:15, much to my dismay. Then breakfast follows at 7:20 where we have 40 minutes to stuff our faces (with cereal and whatever else they happen to be offering) and grab our books, laptops, and names tags so we can make it to class on time at 8:00. Then after two mind boggling hours of systematic theology (currently my favorite class) we have an hour of chapel, to be followed by another two hours of class. This time the course is Bible Study Methods. The school day concludes with lunch at 1 pm. Our afternoons are free for the most part. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons are Language classes (my new theory is that if i can master Hungarian I can do anything!), and for me those are also my work days, where I spend 2-3 hours of the day up to my elbows in soapy water scrubbing everyone's dishes. Then also, there are usually ministry meetings/practices depending on what your weekend ministry is. Since I'm on the sing team we have practises at least three times a week although the days differ. Supper is at 6:oo followed by required study at 6:45. This was another thing I was not so excited about..."a whole hour of just sitting in a class room studying, no talking, no music? I'd rather study on my own time." I must say though, that lately I have been very greatful for that hour of peace and quiet when you dont have to wander what fun thing you're missing out on, because everyone is sitting right there studying right along with you! After required study we have the evening free to do with as we please, usually some people go play basketball, others sit around the piano and make music, others just relax in their rooms, or continue working on their homework. But what ever people are doing at 9:15 everyone is in their dorms for room devos, which I have found to be one of my favorite parts of the day. At least in my dorm we have all become very close partially because of this time we spend together. Lights out/in rooms is at 11:00, I have yet to hear anyone complain about that curfew since school started, by the end of the day we are all so exhausted all we want to do is fall into bed anyway. So there you have it my day in a nut shell.

Here are some pictures of life in my little corner of the world for the last three weeks or so.

Yes, that is a cat on my bed. During my first week here we had a very cold little visitor wander into our room (the door has a nasty habit of opening on it's own) she was affectionately name 'princess costa rica' by our RA and is currently residing in one of the missionary homes, after she got kicked out of our room.

Costa Rica dorm! you can sorta see how each person has her own little corner area. Straight down the middle to the back in the Bathroom, which I didn't think I really needed to share.

Our room in the other direction, otherwise known as the kitchen area.

The living room area.

Now i would put up pictures of my little corner, but it's rather hard to get it all in one picture so if you really want to see those you can see them on my facebook =)
Hanna and I on our way to Danube international church in Budapest last Sunday.

Me and some of the girls from my room shopping in Budapest last Sunday (me, miri, marie pier, marianne)

Then last sunday night--yes we all had a rather busy day that day-- my RA (who happens to be a professional hari styleist) attacked me and whacked all my hair off! she crazy and I'll admit I was freaking out a little during the process, but I really like it now.

We're getting our first hints of autumn here in Hungary...of course i'm just a tad more excited about that than anyone else =) And as you all know with the fall come the cold, it always takes me a few moments to remember to breath again when I am greeted by the frigid (to me) air every morning on the way to breakfast!

Our attempts at study parties usually turn into silliness...this one for instance turned into walking around campus taking pictures =)

Just a bit of goofyness on the tire swing, this is my favorite spot on campus =)
(me and Abi)

Elet Szava:Home Sweet Home

2009-09-21T17:37:00.000+02:00

In all honesty I can't believe how fast time has gone since I arrived in Hungary. In some ways it has not been at all what I expected, in some ways it was. If I'm honest I'd have to say that it's really better than I ever imagined. I've only been here for two weeks now, but I already feel at home. There is something special about this place, and I'm so excited to see the ways that God will work not only in my life but in the lives of my classmates and all those around me. Here's a little peak at my new home and my first couple weeks here.

This is the side walk leading from the Castle to all the dorm rooms and the main meeting room. Lots of time we call the dorms the barracks because they were originally built here when the Soviet Union took over the castle grounds.

This is the path on the opposite side of the castle that leads to the lake, soccer field, volley ball courts, and basketball slab. If you keep walking there is also a very nice trail through the woods.

The Castle! as you can see there are currently renovating it. This is where some of the staff lives and works, where guests stay, where we eat, sometimes work, and do laundry. =)

This tire swing is along side one of the trails through the woods on a little island in the middle of the little creek that runs into the lake.

A good friend of mine from the states surprised us by showing up and announcing he was staying for the school year, and one day he took my dad and I out to see Budapest =) This is St. Stephen's basilica, a church that you can go up in to see the whole city from.

Hungarian Parliament on the Danube River =)

Hero's Square in Budapest.

Dad and I on our second to last day together in Hero's Square.

Back at Elet Szava, int he days before all the students got there just hanging out with some of the prospective RAs playing games. Girls from left to right: Yana, Gina, Fanni, Hanna, and me!

Costa Rica girls! (our dorm room name is Costa Rica) before the opening weekend banquet.From left to right: Yana (the RA from Ukraine and the USA, Me, Marianna (Quebec), Miriam (Germany), Marie Pier (Quebec), and Stephanie (Quebec).

Our first class as first year students was Personal Evangelism, fro the second years it was Street Evangelism, after four days of classes we headed out onto the street of Budapest on thursday afternoon and friday to put what we learned into practise during OAE (open air evangelism). This picture is one of the second year students using the sketch board to illustrate salvation.

Marie Pier (one of my room mates), me, and Lili (one of the interns and a great friend) talking to a girl from Sweden in the market place.

Hanna explaining the gospel during OAE. Over the course of the the two days we spent on the streets over two hundred people heard the gospel, even more received tracts, and 9 people made professions of faith!

~The End for now!~

The City of Lights

2009-09-19T11:48:00.000+02:00

Oh what to say about Paris! Dad and I arrived there the evening of the 5th of September and were promptly picked up by a staff member of Word of Life France. I can easily say that we had our best accommodations in Paris, a whole three bedroom apartment all to our selves! It was nice to relax and get some much needed laundry done. The next morning we made our way into the actually city by way of train, some how managing to get to the right places and the right times despite all our failed attempts to understand french. We only had one day touring around Paris, and surprisingly this was all we needed considering we were so tired. I will say it was a day very well spent and it was worth every moment! The Arch of triumph! this was interesting, this arch lines up exactly with the Great Arch and a smaller arch in front of the Louvre, and all the main streets at some point lead to here.

The architecture is amazing!

There were so many pretty street, right around here is where we spoted the eiffel tower!

Look what we found! =) not to in any way reduce how awesome this tower is, but i did wonder why exactly it was there...it doesn't really serve any apparent purpose other than a hot tourist spot...

Can't believe thats me and my daddy in Paris! The Eiffel Tower is great because it's surrounded by parks and these massive green lawns, just a perfect place to sit around, relax, and enjoys the scenery.

Louvre!! once again incredible architecture!

The cieling of one of the rooms in Louvre, at some point on this trip I decided that in most old buildings that are worth visiting the cieling is almost always the most impressive aspect of it...in a church it's usually the windows.

There she is folks...The Mona Lisa...preatty much the only reason Dad and i even visited Louvre..well that and just to say we'd been there. =)
And this is why we decided not to stay for longer...incase you can't tell by this crowd all looking at the Mona Lisa it was really crowded there...free on the first sunday of the month...it was craziness!!!!
Notre Dame!!! almost the whole time we were standing outside the bells were ringing and I kept thinking of the Hunchback of Notre Dame movie...imagining him up there hard at work. yes I know I'm a little strange =)
while we were waitng around outside for our turn to go into Notre Dame this lady gave me some rice in my hand and on my head! I think the pidgeons like it...hehe.

Like i said in churches it's the windows that are impressive =)
While we were there there was actually a service going on...see the priests??

Did I mention that this church is AMAZING!

Guess what, I bought a red bare, guess what else, I wore it to a very picturesque sidewalk cafe
The tower when I first started lighting up, and the last picture i could take before my camera died, but all in all Paris was amazing...we did have an extra half day in Paris but we chose to stay in the apartment and catch up on some sleep before we headed of to my new home sweet home in Hungary!!

Good 'ole England

2009-09-16T18:45:00.000+02:00

Early in the morning dad and I once again took to flight, making our way back one hour and crossing the English channel. After running across the runway through much chillier wind than I was used to and making our way through England's tighter security we were met by none other than the Nash family. For those of you who don't know the Nashes used to be missionaries in Belem as well. I was pretty excited to be able to hang out with Chloe again and see where they live in Luton. After a spending a lovely time with them in Bedford we headed into London where we met up with the Smalls, old friends of my parents from college, and took up residence on their living room floor. It was wonderful to have some one who knew their way around to give us tips on where to go and how to get there.

Chloe and I in a lovely little park in Bedford (which happens to be the home town of John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim's Progress)

Anna, Chloe and I in John Bunyan's pulpit.

Buckingham Palace in all it's splendor, wish I had pictures of the inside though, it was even better!...no guards on the outside though =(

Oh, you know, while in England you can't pass up the chance to take a picture with a red phone booth!

Big Ben!!!! sorry guys there's no drug store inside or anything....haha!

Parliament, easily the most impressive building we saw there =)

The British museum. This places houses THE Rosetta stone, lost of mummies, the oldest known picture of Christ, Easter Island heads and soooooooo much more that we didn't even get to see. You could spend days in there and still not see it all!

The tower of London, which is really more like a bunch of castles surrounded by a very thick walls and several towers. This was the home of the Royal family for around 500 years.

Inside the Tower of London this is also where the Crown Jewels are kept, and several be-headed royals are buried.

"London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down,...my fair lady! Take the key and lock her up"...interesting how after i learned this history of this place a little better that song makes sense, and it's rather depressing =(

British Library =) This library has the oldest New testament in the world I think is was, Dad was very excited about that. I was excited about the original manuscripts from Jane Austen.

Over all I think London was my favorite place. I wish we would have had a few more days there, there were so many things to do and so little time it seemed! the Transportation there was great as well, very clear and simple. It also made a world of difference to be able to stay with a family instead of in some hotel room, even if it did mean sleeping on air mattresses. I was sad when it was time leave, but then again how could I possibly complain about taking off for the next destination, the city of lights: Paris!!

~Whirl Wind Tour~

2009-09-15T17:40:00.000+02:00

Most of you that are reading this will know that I recently moved from my beloved home in Brasil to a new home in Word of Life Hungary. Of course getting here was no small task. My dad and I said a very tearful, on my part, goodbye to Belem and friends and family on August 30th and set off on a trip that most people only dream of taking. I will say that leaving is never easy for anyone, and I am no exception to that rule. Even though that day was one of the hardest days of my life it was also one of the most exciting.
After landing in Sao Paulo my dad and I entertained ourselves in the airport for 6 hours before taking off on the longest flight of my life. Here’s a little tip for all you dreaming of one day coming to Europe, reserve your plane seats way ahead of time. You do not want to be stuck with the middle seats in the middle row. After 12 greuling hours of flying at last life long dream came true, and we touched down in Europe.

~Amsterdam~
Of all the cities I visited with my Dad Amsterdam was by far the most picturesque. The canals, quaint homes, and cobble stone streets make it a very nice city to walk around. Although if we had been able to figure out the tram system I’m sure our feet would have been very grateful. Amsterdam is jam packed with museums and history, so we were never at a loss for something to do.

Typical street/canal in Amsterdam
All around Amsterdam there were these painted elephants from the 2009 elephant parade. This was dad's favorite one. =)

I had to try on some wooden shoes in Holland! I don't think the shop keeper appreciated me taking pictures very much though...oops.

The flower market, it goes all along a street with lots of tourist shops.

This is a statuette of Anne Frank just before the house that she hid out in for around two years during the holocaust, which now serves as the Anne Frank Museum.

The Hiding Place in Corrie Ten Boom's room. The Ten Boom house in in a small town called Haarlem just outside of Amsterdam. It was beautiful, definitely the highlight of our Amsterdam excursion.

This is The Great Church, formerly a catholic church, it became protestant during the reformation. It was also the church where Corrie Ten Boom attended. The organ in this church was played by both Handel and Mozart!

Dad and I were very impressed with the bike traffic in and around Amsterdam...lots and lots of bikes, everywhere! they had their own roads and traffic lights even!

Yay for Holland!!! Other than jet lag and sore feet I have great memories of Amsterdam and Haarlem. The history is simply astounding. We were there for two and a half wonderful days, before heading off to our next destination: good 'ole England =)