Wednesday, October 19, 2011

My God Provides.

**Sorry for the length of this post- there is just so much good stuff. Please read to the end, I promise, you won’t be upset that you did :) **

And here we are at week 6. It is crazy to me how fast time goes. KV, you were right, these are going to be the fastest 7 months of my life. I already don’t want to leave this place. This community is the best. I probably talk about that a lot but I can’t help it, it’s so freaking wonderful.

I absolutely love number 7. I am blessed with some of the best roommates ever. I live in the middle of number 7 and it couldn’t be more perfect for me. I have been blessed with a WONDERFUL roommate- and only one! It has been such a blessing to be able to get to know her more and have honest hour with someone again. (TM- makes me miss you a lot!) The rest of the girls that are in number 7 are just wonderful. I love each and everyone. I know that I can go to anyone of them and they will be there for me and pray for me. That is such an encouragement.

And the staff- oh man, I am so happy that I have been getting to know them more. We have some amazing people here to encourage and support us through our walk. I’m so glad to know each of them. I spent this past Saturday with KH. It was great to get out of the apartment and spend the morning like I would back home. We had coffee and took a walk around Herrnhut. It was refreshing to relax and not feel like I had to be somewhere in 5 minutes, like I frequently do.

That night we had a love feast- SO GOOD. I think everyone should have a love feast every day. Love feasts were started in YWAM to come together and talk about God’s blessings and be thankful for all that we have. Everyone got dressed up, we had AMAZING food, and celebrated God. It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday.

Sunday was a little stressful (at first). We have a portrait project for photography that I shot that day. It was nerve wracking just because I HATE taking pictures of people and because we had to use a VERY expensive lighting system. But I didn’t need to be nervous because it went so well! I had the pleasure of shooting a mobile DTS student, Hannah. Yup, she has the same name, first and middle, as me! She is such a gem. I loved hanging out with her, she was so easy to get along with and shoot.

AND THEN I got to see my parents!! And KN and her children. Oh my heart, I was so happy. It was exactly what I needed at that time. I talked with my parents once since I left and it was a horrible connection. I am so so happy that I got to talk with them. And then the kids! Oh my goodness I have missed their little voices so much. AJ looked adorable in her skinny jeans- she needs to learn my name though ;) And CJ! He is already so much bigger. It kills me that I’m not able to be there, to watch him play soccer and hear all about school. (I expect pictures!!) But it’s ok, because I’ll see him soon enough! It was good to talk to my BFF/second mom too. I have missed getting coffee and hanging out with her and the kids. I’m glad that we got to catch up and talk for a little, even though it’s not like our usual hang outs :) (I miss lifetime movies!!)

And so the official week begins. Our teacher this week is Dan Bouman. He has some AMAZING stories and he’s hilarious- the perfect combination! He spent 9 weeks in prison in Iran and still he can laugh at it. It’s amazing how much God has worked through him. He has told us so many stories of how God provides, it’s such an encouragement. Wednesday we talked about passion and what it looks like to be passionate for God. Passion is all consuming, suffering, unstoppable, and contagious. That’s just one thought that resonated with me. All of it was so amazing. God has the perfect way of saying just what I need to hear.

On a side note- Tuesday I fell down the stairs. Yup, I still fall even though I’m in Germany. My tailbone is sufficiently bruised. Oh and I rolled my foot last week and I think it’s sprained. Sweet, I love my life. hahaha

Wednesday night we had our first critique night. All the students had to hang up photos, read their stories, display their art, or play a song. It was amazing to see how much talent our school has. I seriously love being around so many artists. It is such a testament to God. He created each and every person here with such beautiful talents, and everyone is unique in their talents. SO COOL.

God is continually showing me that this is where I am supposed to be. I am so happy where I am. (Mom you can stop worrying :) ) I know that if I had stayed at CC, I wouldn’t have been happy. It would have probably been horrible; I would have been horrible to everyone. I am sorry to all those that I have hurt over the years with my words and actions, from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I know now that my actions were not what was right or good. I know that I could have avoided many fights and hurt words if I had watched what I said. Again and forever, I am sorry.

And I need to say another sorry to my friends and family back home (aka everyone reading this); I am sorry that I have sucked at staying in contact. Please know that it’s nothing against you personally, I really haven’t talked to anyone since I left. I am working so hard on my relationship with God right now that it’s hard to keep in contact with those that are miles away, let alone right next door (not to mention the internet SUCKS). I have not forgotten anyone; I will never forget you all. I promise to work harder at keeping in contact, promise!

Please let me know if there is anything that I can pray for. I am trying really had to be a better intercessor. Prayer is something I have always struggled with so I figured the best way to fix that is to do it more! Feel free to email me with any requests you have! My email is hannahjo4@gmail.com. I would love to pray for anything, whether it is big or small, let me know :)

**Disclaimer. I wrote the above a week ago. And then failed to put on my blog. So here starts week 7!**

The end of last week was good. Dan was amazing until the very last minute. I was so blessed to hear of how he was encouraged in every aspect of his life. Friday was KC’s birthday! It was so great to be able to spend part of the day with her. She is such a blessing to me; I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her :) Saturday we spent the day in Bautzen with the photography track. Our assignment was to take pictures of people we didn’t know. PERFECT, exactly how I wanted to spend my Saturday (Sarcastic). But it turned out to be a great day. I spent it with JM and CS. Those two are so great. I love spending time with them. I met a man on the street named Erwin. He is a street artist in Bautzen. He was so nice and thankfully spoke a little English. That day in general was awesome. We got away from Herrnhut and were able to experience Germany in its finest.

Sunday I didn’t do anything. Of course. :) It was a good day to just chill and not worry about things to do and people to see. Monday was an art day. AKA nap time for Hannah. I was so tired, EB and I went back to the apartment, had a wonderful chat, and slept. It was good. I honestly can’t remember what I did that night- must not have been too important :)

AND Tuesday. Wow. So the day started out as a normal day, as extraordinary days often do, and quickly became amazing. We had a time for generosity. That is a huge theme of this school. Our school leaders are really trying to instill a sense of generosity within us. And I have taken them up on that challenge. So we had a time to pray and be silent and people started getting up and giving each other possessions, money, or words from God. I heard God tell me to give away my iPod. Mind you, I have only had this iPod for a week and it’s brand new. I told God no, that I didn’t want to give it up and kept praying. God asked me if I was ready to give everything away for Him. And I came to a point where, yes, I would give it all for Him. If He gave me someone specific, I would give away my prized possessions: my iPod, computer, and camera. And then I went on praying. A little while later I heard God say, “Give your iPod to Alisa, give it to her. You know where the reset button (on the iPod) is, give it to Alisa.” And I was like, crap, ok I guess. So I got up, tears in my eyes, walked over to my backpack and got my iPod. Walking over to Alisa, I reset the iPod and immediately started crying when it handed it to her. She said no, I can’t. And I said yes, you have to, it’s brand new and I just reset it, take it. We hugged, I cried, and I sat back down.

After I sat down I felt good. I realized that this iPod was a huge distraction in my life. It was taking me away from good conversation with God. And then another iPod fell into my lap, literally. JW graciously gave me her iPod touch because she felt like God told her to. Wow. He works in crazy ways people! Her story is amazing, if you want to hear it, let me know and I will tell you but for length’s sake, I won’t write it :) The whole day was amazing. It was so great to hear all the stories from everyone. I love generosity; it does crazy things to people (in a good way). God does crazy things. I am realizing His role in my life more and more each day. He is present in everything I do and I love that. He provides in amazing ways and surprises me in even more ways. I love hearing His voice and his plan for my life. I don't know what I’m going to do after DTS (I will be coming home, promise) and that is ok.

OUTREACH UPDATE:

Tuesday we found out our possible outreach locations!! YES. We have been waiting patiently for weeks to find out where we might go- and Tuesday was the day! Our DTS is doing outreach a little different. Usually there are multiple locations presented, specific places, and then the students have usually an hour to pray about it and come back with a choice. But not ours! We have two outreach “locations” to choose (or rather give a preference for) from: Southeast Asia or southeast Europe. Yup, we don’t know exactly where in these two regions we will go; we’re leaning on God for that. It’s crazy to think of spending 10 weeks in one of these locations- I can’t wait to see where God leads me. And here’s where you readers come in: I am not sure where I should go. I put down one region (I’m not going to tell you which) that I would like to go, but I have a heart for both. Well, I’m open to both. I’m trying to lean on God and put my trust on Him. If you could all pray about this for me, that would be great.

And if you really, really, REALLY want to know what region I put down you can message me :)

Love from Germany,

Hannah

Prayer request time! (I’m adding this to all my posts. I need more prayer in my life.)

-The burden on my school loans is on my shoulders. When I went to Calvin, I racked up some serious loans. Realizing that I might lead a life of a missionary, those loans keep popping up in my mind. I don’t want to have this hold me back in any way. If you could pray that this burden is lifted from me- that would be great. I know that God will provide, but it’s still a big worry. And I’m a worrier, so it’s hard for me to let go of that.

-I have been praying for a new computer for a bit now and I would appreciate prayers for that too. I know that it seems silly but I know that if I’m going to really put my all into my art, I need to get the right equipment to do that. And my computer is lame. Half of the time it doesn’t connect to the internet and the other half of the time it doesn’t read my photos. SO, it would be super to have a new (or used) computer. God works in crazy ways people :)

1 comment:

  1. HI HANNAH!!!!! You are the besetst! And I'm not just saying that because you are sitting next ti me and you gave me an origami flower in a pot. I love to see what God is doing in your life. You are gorgeous and special.

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