Mission Academy Year 2

I am running behind on getting my blog outK

I’ve been back in Germany for about a month and a half and things have been very full thus far.  Getting here was no easy feat taking that 5 days before my flight I started dealing with the flu (Just a note -procrastinating packing then being forced to pack for 10 months with the flu is not fun, and you will leave items at home that you wanted to bring with you.) With how horrible this flu season has been I am very thankful that when it came to fly day I just had a chest cold and horrible cough.

The flight started out with no major issues that is till we were about 45 minutes away from Frankfurt. Everyone was up getting ready for landing, the person sitting next to me had went to get his shoes  and while I was up letting him back into his seat our plane hit some extreme turbulence and I, in turn was practically knocked to the ground. The fasten seatbelt sign started flashing, as well as different bell alarms going off, and the captain told everyone including flight crew to get to their seats and buckle up immediately.   The next 10 minutes was pretty intense. The plane stabilized then the pilot told flight crew to quickly prepare for landing and told the passengers that we were facing some pretty intense winds so the ride down would be rough. At one point the plane went completely quiet (which isn’t really a comforting sound when planes are typically extremely loud) then the pilot asked for flight crew to check in… which kind of left everyone in the plane thinking we were about to crash. The rain and clouds outside didn’t show that we were actually at the airport till we were basically touching down. Needless to say we didn’t crash and the pilots showed some incredible skill during that flight. Yet for a person who already hates flying that was the most terrifying event of my life and I am currently looking into boats to get home or just trying to be an EU citizen so I never have to fly again J 

Okay so that may be a little dramatic, but it was super scary.

Training here in Wuestenrot has been in full swing and so far the classes have been challenging but great. This year there have been more reflective classes which has been much needed for me, with still dealing/ processing some of the emotional hardships of last year. Last week we had a class on homiletics how to develop a sermon, then on Friday as a final we had to preach a sermon to the class. I preached over Philippians 4:4-9, speaking on having Peace and how we can have peace even within troublesome circumstances and also how we can cultivate an environment of peace. This being my first official sermon, the process was challenging but I really enjoyed the work and process of development. After giving our sermons some of the girls decided to celebrate by going out to one of our favorite little towns and enjoying some take out Thai food in the freezing cold.

Ice cream in the snow :)

 We have a larger class this year at Mission Academy. Dani and Dina with their adorable little boy Micha, Dani comes from India and Dina is German. Lance who is from Oregon and just planning on being a part of MA for one year while he is working with “Move In” a project that encourages Christians to move into lower income areas to reach the people within that area. Some of the students from last year returned, Inessa from Germany as well as Michael and Kayla from the States. So this year the class makeup is quite diverse and it brought a great mix during discussions.

 Last month we took a group trip to visit the Ritter Sport Chocolate Factory (there may have been a lot of oompa lumpa singing on the way) It was a wonderful group outing and we ended up buying a lot of cheap delicious chocolate that should last us all awhile.  

Be praying

•         For the classes here in Wuestenrot. This year we are covering quite a lot of heavy topics, be praying for steadfastness, that we remember that our focus is to love people and share the incredible gift of Christ and his grace with them.
•          I have been in contact with a ministry in Spain (I had met the leader in Paraguay last year at a missions event) I will be visiting her ministry this March for a few days. (So yes I will actually get into an airplane again… A $40 2 hour direct round trip flight -you can’t really pass that up) be praying over this visit, and that God is in the center of it all. I am hoping to maybe partner with this ministry next year but I’ll explain more about that in another blog.
•         Be praying for continued healing for me. Last year was a rough for many reasons, if you read my blogs or emails before you have a bit of a view of why that was. Being back at mission academy has really forced me to start going through some of those hurts from last year. Be praying for strength, for grace, and a willingness to work through these things now so that In April when I am in my new place that I can be fully there and focused on loving the people of Dresden and helping my mentors in whatever way they need.

Thank you all for sticking with me through Year 2 of Mission academy and partnering with me wherever God is leading.