"Great is the Lord and Worthy of Praise" Psalm 145

Last weekend we had our Pharos Weekend.  Though this year is only half over, I know that that weekend will definitely be one of my highlights. 

Ok, I want to start out by saying that this whole semester we have been praying that we would have twenty participants for this weekend.  I know that that doesn’t sound like a lot, especially by American standards, but getting twenty people to commit to a weekend retreat that’s theme is worship when they could instead be studying for the upcoming exams or hanging out with friends would pretty much require a miracle. 

Friday evening, when we arrived at the retreat venue, there were twenty of us, as well as Stevie Jordan, our guest speaker.  This was only the beginning of the Lord’s blessings on us.  His presence was very evident the entire weekend. 

Gratitude

So one of the weirdest feelings is attempting to celebrate an seemingly important holiday when no one around you really shares in your festivities or even understands the specialness of the day. On thanksgiving this year, I experienced this very strange occurrence.   As I was trying to explain the holiday, one of the questions someone asked was "Why do you wait until a specific day annually to express your gratitude? Why not daily?"

I really took this question to heart and am trying to be grateful daily for all of the extraordinary blessing that I have been given.  I would like to share some of those with you (and note that this is distinctly not in honor of Thanksgiving, but 10 days later, on a distinctly 'normal' day :)

Thanksgiving- American Style

1. Having clarified that this is not in honor of thanksgiving, I am grateful that we had the opportunity to bring an American custom to Belgium and share the old tradition with new friends.

The Mechelen Clock

From all of Mechelen, Belgium, the Sint-Romboutskathedraal (St. Rombold's Cathedral) tower is visible. It's brick and mortar structure stretches 97,38 meters into the sky, protectively standing guard over the city and demanding awe and adoration. Sitting in a little alcove cafe overshadowed by the tall cathedral tower, we listened as the story of the Mechelen clock was almost reverently revealed to us.

On a cold, snowy morning fifty years ago, the city of Mechelen was awakened to a thud that was said to resound for miles around. When the inhabitants emerged to investigate, they found that their huge, beloved clock had fallen from the cathedral clock tower and was now lying face-down in the snow, silenced, no longer ticking with the heartbeat of life.

Smashing Success

This last Wednesday evening, we hosted our first Women's event- and I have to say that we were incredibly blessed by the success that it turned out to be!

In planning the evening, our goal was to host a casual event where we could get to know the women in Pharos, relax and have fun together, and build each other up as sisters in the Lord. 

Terror and Triumph

So I have six minutes before I need to leave for the office (its 9:09 am here), and I thought that I would take this time to give you a glimpse into my life at the moment.

Talking to Students at Coffee Stall

So here goes…

Yesterday (Wednesday) proved to be what we anticipated- a killer day that ended in exhausted triumph.  The plan for every Wednesday is that over the lunch break we will do a coffee stall- in essence, it is street evangelism at its simplest level.  We literally set up a table with coffee and waffles in the middle of the student square and offer them free of charge to anyone passing by.  The catch is that while offering them free food and hopefully planting seeds of love in each person, we are also looking for opportunities to share our testimony and invite them to come to our Pharos events.  As you know, I am not the most outgoing person in the world and pushing things on people is one of the things that I detest the most- yet, funny enough, that is exactly what this task asked for from me.

My unexpected catalyst of growth

Team: Two or more people working together to achieve a common goal.
Team: Strength founded in unity, dependence, and trust.
Team: A process of give and take.

Being a team player is something that you begin learning about when you a very little, but it is something that you never stop learning about.  The reason, I think, is because there is an incredible value in the idea of 'team'. 

Bound for Belgium: The Reality

As I skype and talk to people on the home front, the most common question is definitely "So, what are you doing in Belgium?"  And I guess that makes sense- Belgium is kind of an obscure country, randomly known for seemingly normal things (beer and waffles), and predominately Dutch speaking (at least in this region).  Given all of this, it seems that the question of what I am doing here is a very rational one.  Well, after being here for one month, hopefully I will be able to answer that question.  

I Surrender

Ever since I decided to do a Gap year, I have wrestled with the question of how to communicate with everyone at home and how to keep those who are interested up-to-date with my life.  And I gotta say that the idea of the blog has never really sounded that great to me.  I guess that I have always associated it with people who have a lot of time on their hands and a plethora of mundane information to share.  However, I am quickly coming to see- not only with this issue, but also many other more important things- that my stereotyping is often inaccurate and causing me to miss out on beneficial things.  The point being that I have decided to try blogging and attempt to share worthwhile things.  We'll see how it goes.

I am realizing that a good place to start might be at the beginning, though it's difficult to pinpoint because everything always seems to have a backstory.