I'm just a girl who loves God

I'm just a girl who loves God,
Well who's learning how to love Him.
He teaches me daily through those around me,
How did I love my neighbor today?
Was I fair with my roommate?
Did I act in patience or impatience?

I'm just a girl who knows that God loves her.
For right now, that's enough--
He's still teaching me all the rest
On this roller coaster called "life."
I'm a girl who loves a God that loved her first,
That's who I am.

The Belgium Crisis

Right now, Belgium is in a state of political crisis, today is the 130th day without a national government uniting the Flemish and the French speaking parts of Belgium. Belgium does currently have both a government over the different sides of it's nation, but there is no unifying representation. Yet there are silent cries and protests for unity throughout the city of Bruxelles, as well as throughout Belgium as a nation demonstrated by a sense of nationalism and a flying of the Belgium flag from windows, Belgium still faces crisis.

There are people who would like to see Belgium divided into two countries, yet I hope and pray that the cries for unity will overcome the cries for division. Uniqueness is at the core of who Belgium is. It was formed upon that uniqueness, that two different cultures and peoples could come together under one flag, yet today that flag threatens to be defaced or worse--deleted from society as we know it.

Pray with me, stand with me for a united Belgium. A Belgium that is proud to stand together under the colors of Black, Yellow, and Red. The Prime minister hopes that Belgium can have a national government by Wednesday October 31st. I hope for a national government alongside of him. Here is an article if you want more info: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E2DA1F3BF933A25753C1A9619C8B63
Romans 15:5, "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus,"

"But I have called you my friends..."

(Vanesssa and Mai who came to small group.) Friendships. I can't imagine what my life would be like without certain friends who have helped me, guided me, encouraged me, laughed with me, and cried with me along the way. (You know who you are--and I am grateful to have to you in my life!) Last night my girls small group started and together we looked at John 15:15, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." And we talked about what it would have been like to have been there as Jesus called us His friends. One girl said that she was filled with awe and would have been shocked at Jesus wanting to become our friend, another talked about how friendship is not one-sided but mutual and there then needs to be a mutual desire and trust in the other. This is the general theme of my small group this year, to further learn how to become the friend of God.

Just writing this now awes me and reminds me that that is exactly God's heart. From the moment He lead the Israelites out of Egypt up through the sending of His son...it was done that He might have relationship with us. Wow. A lot of times, God teaches me through my life-situations, and in this instance...my friendships here on earth.

These past 15 months I have had the opportunity to live with four beautiful roommates, Vanessa (from Ecuador), Stéphanie (from Switzerland, but grew up in Tunisia), Françoise (from Cameroon), and Joëlle (from Congo). But as time has gone on this family of five has become a family of two. Stéphanie recently got married, Françoise recently found an apartment, and Vanessa bought her plane ticket to go back to Ecuador. But this year has been wonderful, and I have learned a lot from them and shared many moments with them. Right now it is just Joëlle and I here in the house which is a little quieter, but filled with memories and ready to make more as we experience what it means not only to be one another's friend, but how to also be the friend of God.

Brownies, Birthdays, and BarBeQue

I really do love back to school, even though it is definitely a change in life pace as we try to meet and greet lots of new students and try to connect with them on a friendship level to invite them to one of SFC's events. This past Tuesday we had our café SFC, we invited a Job, a Christian singer who had been involved with SFC to come and put on a concert. Then we tantalized new students with a free concert, free home-made food (and chips), and great company!

One of the things that has formed my life is that every opportunity can not only be an opportunity for people to get to know Him who I serve. Whether it be homemade Brownies at a concert, a Birthday party, or a BBQ; there Jesus is present. Speaking of Birthdays...on the 19th I turned not 19, but 26. It's strange how each year the numbers just keep on going up and I wonder "what happened?" (Although I do know some people who have been 30 and holding for at least a decade or two!) I celebrated my Birthday with Noémie who's Birthday was the 17th and we invited everyone to join us. It was a lot of fun! We mingled, played a game, ate lots of good food, then invited everyone to the SFC Barbecue that next Friday (yesterday).

After about 3 kilos of meat for the Barbecue was cooked and eaten, I can honestly say that everything was a lot of fun! There was a lot of good food (I'm still eating the Barbecued food!) but most importantly, in those three instances, people connected and friendships blossomed. As Dick Schroeder in Bozeman, MT says, "Friendships are the currency of heaven..." Therefore I say that this past week was very rich!

100% Belgian!

Well it's official now--I am 100% Belgian! At least according to an internet test entitled "What European Nationality Should you Have?" I must admit I have taken this test several times, but every time I come up with the same response--100% Belgian. Yay! I am excited, I wouldn't want to have any other European Nationality. :) But that doesn't mean that I don't like being an American, I am grateful for the nation I was born in and wouldn't want to change it. But, it is now official that I am 100% Ameri-Belge. :)

Here's my test results:

Which European nationality should you have created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Belgian Belgian 100% Danish 88% Italian 88% French 75% Swiss 63% Spanish 63% Turkish 63% Polish 50% Russian 50% German 50% Dutch 25% Irish 25% British 13% Molvanian 13%

And if anyone wants to test their European Nationality, here's the link: http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=198104&first=yes

Enjoy!

The internship has started!

September first came and went. It was the day that the internship started. The sub-title of the internship is "Un An pour Changer Une Vie" (One year which will change one life), and I can tell you that the Internship has started à fond, with punch! Our first official Internship meeting was yesterday and one thing is for sure--this year I will not have the opportunity to be bored!

Joëlle, Annayiz, and I are the three official guinea pigs, oh excuse me, I mean "pioneers" in Belgium's first Student Internship (In the picture from left to right is Joëlle, myself, and Annayiz). I have to admit, even though I have only heard about the Internship opportunity since December, I have prayed to be able to do an internship here in Belgium for about five years, again testimony to how God answers prayer!

The internship is comprised of hand's on practical guidelines and information on how to be effective on campus' as well as in-depth Biblical and Theological study (we'll be doing a verse-by-verse study of 1 Timothy!). I am excited about everything and already have homework for our next meeting. But what I am most excited about is learning more about how to be the most effective as I can be here for God! After co-leading SFC Brussels for this past years, one of the things I've learned is how much more I have to learn! So I'm excited about the process and all that God will be teaching me this year!

The US came to Belgium

Apparently it the theme of this past week was "America in Brussels" and no one let me know! Coming back to Brussels from the states, I brought with me some of my favorite indispensable items, peanut butter, Butterfingers, and Wheat Thins to start off with. But this past week a lot of "American things" happened. ;)

First off, to become more available to people living in the states, I have bought a US phone number. (541)359-1306, now with this number, anyone can call me on this number and it will be a local call to them and I will be able to pick it up on my cell phone here in Belgium!

Then just today I was thinking about how much I wanted a bagel for breakfast, but here in Belgium, bagels have never been heard of. So I went to the grocery store to buy groceries for our upcoming Leader's retreat, and lo and behold--my grocery store was selling "Trader Joe's" bagels for this week only! So I got my arms full of bagels and called some American friends and bought some for them as well and my friend and I nearly cleaned out their stock of bagels. Hopefully that'll encourage them to have "America" week more frequently. :)