Losing my Englishness!

Are you French? Do you come from Spain? Questions from 2 different people I've had in the last couple of days! Either I am losing my English accent a bit which would be amazing.. or maybe I just look really European now or something?! Has my fashion sense changed?!

I love it that I can converse with people in the street or in the shop and they treat me like a normal German, not immediately asking 'Oh where are you from?'. Sometimes I lack specialist vocab, like with lots of painting/deco I've been doing recently and not knowing what 'skirting board' is in German. It's quite fun though seeing how hard tenses that we used to spend ages on in class throughout college and uni are just a part of my normal speech now. I love understanding a joke and laughing at the same time as everyone else! And I love contributing to discussions and being taken seriously, not just nodded at for a sentence from the person with not very good German. I do notice though at the end of a really long day, my words just do not come out properly!

It has continued to be really exciting with the Wednesday kids. The 2 brothers who have come really far took part well and at the end their mother asked how they are getting on. She wanted to ask because apparently the kids ask every single day if today is kids club day. How cool! The Thursday kids I find a little harder work in that they secretly love coming, but they don't join in and are always wound up- quite hard to work with.

My good friend Irina came to visit me this week and we had a lovely time. Days involved eating lots of Turkish food, drinking coffee in the sunshine, and chatting lots about just about everything!

So Facebook update- I am still alive after one and a half weeks clean! I am doing fine! I'm getting over not knowing everything that is going on and who is talking to who. I have had loads to do so it has helped me not to waste precious time. However I am missing sending lots of people little hello messages. It's a bit more effort with email! But thankyou to everyone for the lovely emails- I have got quite excited as if they're real letters! (Obviously still love actual post though :p )

Tomorrow morning I'm helping in Sunday school with the little ones, age 4-6 angels! I'm looking forward to a break tomorrow after working really hard and long days this week. Also looking forward to Erleuchtet (Illuminate- student service) in the evening.

Remember me this week as I look for time to be inspired for my talk on Saturday.
Keep me updated on your news!
Sending lots of love.

40 days and 40 nights without Facebook!

I always said I wouldn't (couldn't?) do it but I finally thought I'd be radical and see how life without Facebook is. I'm already doing more valuable things instead of mooching around and wasting aimless time on it. I want to give this time consciously to God. It doesn't just mean reading the Bible and talking to him a whole lot more, it might also mean that I invest the time in people or in my work generally. See what I say after a week or few! I do feel slightly cut off though in a way. Interestingly though I've found myself checking the news a lot more!

Last week was relatively quiet which meant I started preparing for this week really early- that was great and really paid off. Yesterday was SO GREAT with the kids. Praise the Lord! It was quite a peaceful atmosphere and the kids were really 'there'...not sure if that conveys what I mean! A miracle happened in that for the story, they all were waiting for me in a circle on the carpet- this does NOT happen! It is normally a struggle to get them interested or sitting down in one spot. They were quiet and all eyes were on me. Wow! It was such an odd but good good feeling! I was really inspired to make the story quite interactive so I told the story of the years in the desert when the people were to and fro with their trust in God despite all the cool things that happened. We experienced the bitter water the people found with 'bitter lemon', which they thought tasted disgusting. They were so cute! They could imagine what it was like for the people. At the end of the story where the people realise how strong God is, how they actually do need his help and how he was actually on their side, a little girl piped up: 'Ah I'd love to have such an adventure!'

Many thanks for your prayers. It is so so encouraging actually seeing positive improvements. One boy has been coming for a few months is really aggressive and was so wound up towards the beginning. As time has gone on though, though of course he has his moments, he's really softened. He asks to play with me, is learning to accept when things don't always go his way, listens and he doesn't constantly disrupt. He shows that he really wants to be a part of the group! I think it's cool that he's learning that he is taken seriously as well, not just dismissed as a naughty child. All these improvements can't be underestimated. Thanks to God! At the start of the story this week, this boy retold basically the whole story of how God delivered the people because God is strong and can do anything. It was so cool!

Today was pretty much the other end of the scale- quite discouraging! There were a certain few girls who were completely disruptive, going against everything, complaining (especially when they didn't win or get immediately exactly what they wanted), not listening and not allowing a good atmosphere for everyone else. It was so hard! I did a little impulse which was a little difficult anyway, but was made harder because the kids were so disruptive, making me lose my track and they were just not responding to me. I had a few firm words but that did not work. They just laughed the whole time! Also, who would have thought a game of 'fruit salad' could amount to such arguments. So all in all not so cool. Would be great if you could pray that the kids could somehow develop respect for me, not so that I feel cool but because I mean well for them and have something valuable to pass on to them!

Youth was great tonight, fun and they all really got into it :)

I have loads to do in the next week but also really looking forward to a visit from my friend Irina again. I do need to find and leave a lot of time to be inspired for my talk in a couple of weeks... a 'sermon' actually. Scary!

I'm going to stop now- I have the feeling this has got long! Looking forward to your many emails and letters, replacing all Facebook communication!

Back on German ground

Had such an immense time away!
It started off with visiting my favourite people in Southampton. It was just SO good to see them! We had a lot of fun, chatted a lot, laughed a lot and just enjoyed being together again. I love them a lot. A friend from Cornwall even made a surprise appearance which was just amazing! It was sort of like I'd never left, but in other ways it was really weird being in Southampton- odd to think I'll be settling back there in the autumn. Thanks to my friends too, I ate proper, good fish, chips and mushy peas- YUM! And a good bacon sandwich- definitely savoured that one!



Me with the lovely Emily, my roommate from last year



I met up with my family afterwards and we travelled up to the Lake District for my cousin's wedding, which was a lovely day! It was good to see family again. After the wedding I headed back down to London and had a great time catching up with people there. For the 2nd year in a row I achieved an appearance/interview on Bengali TV! That was fun (we went to a Bengali memorial commemorating those lost fighting for their mother tongue in '52). Also ate AMAZING real curry 2 days in a row- praise the Lord for good food!
My next stop was the lovely south of Germany. Hannes my boss/church leader was speaking at a big youth prayer congress (around 1400 people). It was really exciting. On the first night at one point I prayed and shared what I felt like God was saying- have not spoken in front of so many people before! But God gave me the words and boldness to do it. A weekend praying may not be your cup of tea but for me it was like a new revelation of how BIG God is and how he is so much stronger than anything.. because of that he can do amazing things through me. That is life changing!
It has been a good week back in Kassel. Really cool to see positive little changes in the children at Rothenditmold :) And did a little impulse at youth yesterday which I felt went well. But pray God uses what I say to do deep stuff in hearts, that they have a personal conviction to live for him.
I always say it, but I need to get on with my project! I'm not too good at concentrating on one thing, I often flick between 4 jobs. I need to focus!
Sending my love x