back to germany from outreach

I am back in Herrnhut, Germany from a ten and a half week outreach, and the incredible experience of the past six months is coming to a close. It has been such a beautiful time for me personally, for the group of people that I’ve been in community with and, by God’s power and grace, for those that we reached out to during our outreach in Eastern Europe.

This time has been marked by growing closer to God with an intimate friendship, by healing, by friendship, by love. I could spend a lot of time writing using the word “I,” and telling you about things that I have done, but at the end of it all it wouldn’t be an accurate depiction of this experience. 

Instead, I’ll tell you what God has done.

God really moved in Eastern Europe. God took us all on adventure! Our team experienced God’s faithfulness in providing ministry opportunities, financial provision, favor with affordable living costs and His guidance all the way. He protected us on crazy train rides and all the time. He was so faithful in showing us who to connect with and how to serve in each location. Partnering with long-term missionaries gives such a sense that seeds that we planted with God will continue to be watered. Beyond that, God blessed our team with unity. With so much confidence, I want to tell you that everything that has happened since August has pointed directly to God, His goodness and His love.

Sitting in lectures for the first three months and then going to Eastern Europe to make God known has been such a practical way to learn and be discipled and then apply that learning. I treasure this time as special in a spiritually meaningful way. I have only good things to say about YWAM.

In the next few weeks we will be debriefing, having a report back night (which means sharing with the YWAM base about our outreach experiences), and having a graduation evening. At the end of the month I will fly back to Indianapolis!

Beyond that, I am excited about living the rest of life with God. I want to press into what He has for my life. As you might already know, my heart really breaks for women who are trafficked. Over the past six months, I really feel that God has given me a clearer vision for the horizon to walk toward. I would love to serve women who are rescued from trafficking by helping in the rehabilitation process as a missionary. I plan to pursue training for counseling.  

Thank you so much for joining me in this journey. Your prayers, words of encouragement and financial support have made this a reality. I cannot wait to hug you and catch up over coffee!

romania • week 9

I am sitting here, in the community center in Medgidia, Romania. It is a beautiful day with the sun coming through the windows. The rest of the week will be full of time spent with little ones who have next to nothing. Today, though, is a day of rest.

A friend has lent me a book to read so I spent a few hours this morning reading A Simple Path, a biography about Mother Teresa. It is beautiful and her life speaks of love, which especially inspiring for me and in light of the way we spend our days looking for ways to share God's love. 

"The success of love is in the loving--it is not in the result of loving." - Mother Teresa

And I think that is beautiful. We have spent our time here engaging in children's ministry at a few churches as well as at the community center. We usually have two or three programs each day, each at a separate location. The Roma children come to the community center from Tuesday to Friday for Bible lessons, meals and showers. There is always love and light in their little eyes! As exhausted as I feel by the end of the day, I do feel extraordinarily blessed to have gotten tired from doing ministry work. Here is a video about the ministry our team is involved with: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClbrlPbSsv8&sns=em


The journey last week from Macedonia to Romania was totally blessed. The bus from Skopje, Macedonia to Bulgaria had enough space for our team to sprawl out and relax. And then what should have been a long layover followed by an overnight journey on a potentially uncomfortable bus ended up being a short layover followed by discounted tickets on sleeper cabins in a train. That was Bulgaria to Bucharest, Romania. And then for the final leg of the trip, Bucharest to Medgidia, we caught a train that we should have missed, but it was delayed to depart even later than we were late. God's fingerprint was all over that day and a half of travel. 

Today is the first day of week 9 of outreach. I can't believe it is almost over! But it isn't just yet... we still have two and a half weeks until we return to the YWAM base in Herrnhut, Germany to debrief. 
If you are looking for a good read, I want to take the opportunity to recommend a book by Donald Miller, the author of Blue Like Jazz (which I haven't yet read). A Million Miles in A Thousand Years was the book that kept me occupied for the first half of the journey from Macedonia to Romania and it was so good. Here is a quote from it for you: "A story is based on what people think is important, so when we live a story, we are telling people around us what we think is important."


Thanks for joining me on my journey by reading this! 
-m.

skopje, macedonia

Hello! Our team is currently in Skopje, the capitol of Macedonia. Keep reading for a little bit of history, stories of God's provision and to hear about what we are up to!

This is really a city where east meets west, both culturally and religiously. The city is split by a river and one on side are Orthodox Christians and on the other are Muslims. The architecture is pretty varied with an old castle and then also modern buildings as well as new monuments that look like they could be older than they are. The city has actually been burned down, suffered a flood and has endured war, so none of it is as old as the Bible times... but Macedonia is mentioned in the book of Acts! Also, this is where Mother Theresa was born.

Our team has experienced so many blessings from God in the past week and a half, which I feel is a confirmation that this is where He wants us to be right now. We were blessed to be put in touch with wonderful Christian friends here in Skopje. They helped us arrive to the hostel where we are staying, invited us to spend New Year's Eve with them, and have been wonderful ever since! God really blessed our team financially with giving us a great deal on the hostel. Instead of paying 13 euro a night per person for the cheapest dorm beds, we are paying 10 euro a night per person to stay in the nicest apartments, and this also includes a good continental breakfast in the morning and as much coffee as we want (God knows how much I love coffee!! I could write an entire blog post about how God has shown how much he loves me through the provision of coffee all throughout my DTS... maybe I will!). There is a local farmer's market (called a green market here), and on our first visit a friendly vendor gave us each a free banana. These blessings are so amplified when we are living on a budget!

Our ministry here is different than our other locations on outreach: as opposed to being planned out ahead of time by our contacts, the nine people that make up our group spent two hours in prayer and worship each morning and ask God what is on His heart for the day. Our team has done many prayer walks, some street art and street worship, handed out sandwiches and have made personalized booklets with our testimonies to hand out to new friends. A few of my friends pointed out what a blessing it is to be so free in this time. We have all the freedom to do whatever we feel God is asking us to do each day. What an incredible opportunity!

Yesterday was Christmas in Macedonia (so this was the second Christmas I have celebrated on outreach!), as it is an Orthodox country. Our team passed out sandwiches and candy and had the opportunity to pray with people. One of the Bible passages I have loved during this time is John 14:12-14, in which Jesus promises: "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. you can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!" So we pray for big things! Please let me know how I can be praying for you!

Our team is praying into where God would like us to serve after January 14. If you could please pray for our next location, continued team unity and ministry opportunities, we would really appreciate it!

Love and hugs,
Meghan

slava na boga!

Slava na boga! That means "praise the Lord!" in Bulgarian, and it is one of the default phrases I go to in pretty much every conversation that I have... especially when there is a language barrier and it is one of the only things I can say that will be understood. :)

It has been two weeks here in Bulgaria and our team has been blessed to be able to serve practically in a variety of different ways in the city of Kazanlak in nursing homes, orphanages, day cares for disabled children, and in a church in the Roma community. We are staying in the YWAM base that is launching here, and we have also had the privilege of helping out a bit there.

Here are a few of my most favorite times!

• Toward the beginning of our time in Bulgaria, we spent a few evenings on the streets meeting people and engaging in conversations about some upcoming church events. A friend and I met a girl who asked to meet up with us for coffee. Later that week, we met up with her and a friend and had a great conversation about everything, including God and how the country has a history of Orthodox Christianity. 
• We spent two days in a local orphanage, where many of the children have disabilities. We put on a program for the children who could attend, acting out Bible stories and singing songs with dance moves (think "Father Abraham" and "Who's The King of the Jungle?"). For the ones who were unable to attend, we were able to visit with and pray for them individually. 
• Most of our involvement in the community has been organized by the local church. They have church services three nights a week, and our team has been invited to be a part of the services in worship and in giving testimonies, which can mean our personal stories about experiences with God or sharing something that stuck out to us from the Bible. On Sunday I was able to share a reflection I had about Isaiah 58:11, which is: The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.

Tonight a few of us are going to preform a few songs in the local village Christmas concert, so I am going to head off to get ready for that! 

Oh, and one more thing! After much prayer, our team has decided to go to Macedonia next. We plan to leave Bulgaria on December 29, and then stay in Macedonia for about two weeks. We are excited to see what God has called us to do there!

Love and prayers and Merry Christmas!

Meg

from Czech to Bulgaria!

Wow! I cannot believe that today is day 12 of outreach. It seems like way more and way less all at the same time. Our team has experienced so many blessings and has been able to invest in relationships since we left Herrnhut, Germany on Monday, November 26. We spent about five days in Cheb, followed by visits to various cities around Czech, ending with a journey to Bulgaria. Read on for the fun details! :)

We began on Monday by revisiting Cheb, which is on the border of Germany and Czech Republic. We met high school students during our mini outreach in October. It was awesome to reconnect with those friends and make new ones as during our daily cafe ministry times! Two nights last week we reached out to prostitutes in the region, offering warm tea, words of encouragement and of their value, and prayer. The women really are so precious, and it was such a blessing to be able to connect with them. We spent a lot of time in prayer and worship as well. 

When I was in Cheb in October, I was nervous to bring up God in conversations. God was gracious though, and the students I spoke with actually paved the way by asking lots of questions about what I was doing and Christianity. Czech is mostly atheist, maybe the most atheist country in Europe. This time around, I asked God to help me to be bold, and for Him to highlight opportunities for me to bring up faith in conversations, instead of relying on the people I wanted to talk about God to to bring Him up! God is so good, guys, and he did just that. I was able to be the one to bring God up, and sure enough good conversations followed. God really is doing amazing things in the hearts of young Czechs!

On Saturday, we left Cheb with some of the YWAM Cheb team to do a four day tour of the Czech Republic, connecting with various churches and student groups to share about YWAM Cheb, which is beginning its first DTS this coming February. We spent Saturday and Sunday in Prague (such a beautiful city!), splitting up into teams and visiting different churches and staying with families that have a heart for hosting missionaries. I was so blessed to be staying with a family whose ministry is encouraging missionaries! I felt God's love in the nightly conversations, the warm shower, a delicious breakfast and the donation they gave to our team in a letter that said "to open after you leave." I visited two churches, one of which actually meets on a boat and has a cafe inside! That one had maybe 40 people in college or in their 20s. 

On Monday, we left for Pilsen, the third biggest city in Czech. After a 3 hour train ride, we gave a presentation to a group of university students. It was fun to set up the presentation which included worship time, a PowerPoint, testimonies and info about the Cheb base.

On Tuesday, I woke up and quickly showered. I am helping out with hospitality on my team, and we realized we needed one additional chocolate bar as a gift for our hosts, who allowed us to stay in a room rented by Christians above a club. I had a fun time running quickly to a store to grab it with just  enough time to leave to catch our train! :) We spent 6 hours on trains and buses to Berno, the second biggest city in Czech. This time our leaders were busy coordinating dinner and such, so I was asked to help arrange the presentation. We had a great time and there was a great group of high school and college aged students. That night we stayed with families from the church. It really helps our team when churches offer this to us, because on those nights we don't have to pay and on top of that can engage in new friendships with our hosts!

And then on Wednesday, we began what would be a 33 hour journey to Kazanlak, Bulgaria! We spent about 12 hours on a train from Berno to Serbia, and then another 12 or so from Serbia to Sofia, the capitol of Bulgaria. After the wait, we spent 3 hours on a bus and then our friends who are starting a YWAM base here in Kazanlak picked us up in an epic blue van. After many days of ministry, presentations, carrying around our massive backpacks and traveling, it was such a blessing to have today to relax.

I will be here for the next 3 weeks! I am super excited to spend time in the local community. We are planning to help in local kids clubs and orphanages, in addition to partnering up with local churches in what they are doing. Our days are split up in three ministry times: morning, afternoon and evening. One of my favorite things about doing missions this way is that we are partnering up with long term teams, so the seeds that are planted will continue to be watered even after I leave. I love being able to come into a city and be able to see what God is already doing and how He can use the talents he has given our team to be a part of it!

If you are supporting me through prayer, could you please pray for God to continue to point out areas for me to step out in boldness for Him, and for a healthy time in Bulgaria? I would so appreciate it!

Love and prayers from the mountains of Bulgaria,
Meg :)

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Does God care about injustice?

This week was the last week of the lecture phase (part one of two) of my Discipleship Training School. We discussed worldviews as they relate to justice. In our lectures this week, we looked at the question: Does God care about injustice? 

And the answer: Yes, God cares deeply. The prophets in the Old Testament talk about God’s justice constantly. And we know that God’s character does not change. Here are just a few verses:

Micah 6:8

Amos – the entire book

Ezekiel 22:23-31

I think that one of my friends put it well during a discussion this week: If God is your thing, then justice is your thing.

So, this week we will be preparing for outreach. We will also be celebrating Thanksgiving (my mom sent some stuffing mix and a fudge kit!)! And then on Monday, November 26, I will begin the outreach phase (part two of two) of my DTS.

Here's my outreach team and our newsletter! :)

If you’d like to keep up with us while we’re out and about, we will try to update our Facebook page here.  I am not planning to bring my computer, so I anticipate that updates on my blog might be much fewer and farther between. I will do my best, though! Please feel free to keep in touch via Facebook and email. :)

Go God :)

This week was amazing! Our speaker was Dan Baumann, and he spoke on loads of practical things—living with passion, decision-making as a Christian, priorities—and he also shared some AMAZING stories. For example… he almost died by falling off the side of a boulder but was saved by three blades of grass, he was imprisoned in Iran, and then a funny story about how he can’t get change in a drive thru the normal way due to a problem with his arm in college… among others. He is hilarious, authentic and a good story teller. Here are a few things I took away from this week:

• Everything you do for God needs to come from intimacy with God.
• The Christian life is about discovering the love of God over and over again.
• I would rather live my life stepping out and leaning into what I think God is saying and trusting in His character than stepping back and waiting until I know that I know that I know.
• God is more committed to fulfill His will for my life than I am to find it.
• God wants to give us His dreams and then wants to walk them out with us.
• How can we give Satan so much attention when God is so huge?
• Instead of making a list of priorities, how about having God in the center of everything you do in life?
• Comparison has killed passion.
• Your passion isn’t based on emotions; it’s based on the cross and on commitment. When you buy milk the morning after a wonderful worship time with God the night before, are you just as passionate about God? Sure; there isn’t a shift of commitment when there is a shift of emotion.
• Concentrate on who God is, not your emotions.
• Be a thermostat (changes & everything around it has to change) not a thermometer (changes depending on the culture around it).
• The preoccupation of our lives shouldn’t be sin; instead, joyfully repent and move on.
• God will fix you as you focus on His priorities.
• You can hear God’s voice better by spending time with Him and including Him in your life.
• Trust God’s character more than your ability to feel peace.
• Trust God’s character over your experiences.
• If something happens and you don’t understand why, put it in the mystery of God box and by God’s grace, move forward in your relationship with Him.
• God’s biggest will for us is to love God and love people (always a good reminder!)
• What God wants to do today is based on how great He is, not based on what happened yesterday or how you feel.

And a piece of advice from him to consider – If analyzing doesn’t bring joy and peace, shut it off.

We had more great lectures on justice! I’m reading Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community by Wendell Berry and it’s totally making me want to live more sustainably by supporting a local food economy.

The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. – Exodus 14.14

(what Moses said to people freaking out about the Egyptians coming after them before the sea parted)

Also, praise the Lord—due to great generosity I will be able to pay the remainder of my outreach fees this week! God is so good!