I've been here for three weeks now, and I still catch myself pinching my arm- because there is no way this is real. There is no way I get to wake up to this every morning. It's perfect, I'm in love. With the beauty, with the architecture, with the people, with the history. Each day holds new adventures that I never would have imagined I'd be a part of. From exploring castle ruins, to making a trip to Schindler's house... this place is incredible.
That's all I wanted to say. Tchuse, Tori
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Where do I even begin, there is so much to be said. This last week has been filled with laughter, sorrow, tears, embarrassment, fear, joy, and guilt. People tell you to prepare yourself when you are going to see the world- but nothing can prepare you for some of the things I saw this past week. My favorite professor from my school flew in last weekend to start our World View class, was a delight! So we started class on Monday, and to be honest, having Dr. Baker here has been wonderful, because it kind of feels like home- so I am not looking forward to him leaving next weekend. He has been teaching us about worldview, reality (the really real), different scholars, etc. In a way preparing us for life later on, but also for this weekend, visiting two different concentration camps in Germany. In our class we are reading a book called Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey. It's a thick books about different cultures and worldviews and how we as Christians respond to that. It's very insightful, I recommend it. I'm learning not only a lot about the world, but myself as well. So this week has been a lot of reading and a lot of responding- but I've enjoyed it for sure. Friday, instead of heading straight for class (down the hall haha) we all piled in the vans and started out first AMBEX road trip. Check out my photo album to see everyone who fell asleep. We made out first stop at Flossenburg Concentration camp. I've always longed to tour a concentration camp, but have secretly always been afraid to. Not afraid of the horror and death, but afraid to face to face with what I'm not... brave.. strong.. dedicated.. This first concentration camp was more or less renovated as a memorial for those who were viciously killed not even a century ago. That was something that bothered me so much- it wasn't even 100 years ago- it was not long ago that thousands upon thousands of innocent people were brutally murdered for no reason at all. Makes me sick. This was also the camp where Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed. If you don't know who this is- go do some research! This is a man I hope to one day have as great of faith as. He was an incredible man of God who not only died for his people, but more so for his Great Lord. He was and is an amazing inspiration, and it was unreal to stand where he stood... even more, to stand where he was killed. One thing I will probably never forget about this trip, what our group did in the building where he was held. We stood in a circle and sung "It is well", and I have never heard such a beautiful melody before. It is such a beautiful thing to be able to sing about Gods faithfulness even in the midst of this past terror and pain, just as Bonhoeffer did. . We were not only able to tour Goethe's house and exhibition, but the Duchess Anna Amalia Library. Again, google both of these places- so incredible. There are pictures in the tab above as always. The last thing we did this weekend was visit Buchenwald Concentration camp. To say the least, it was a heavy weekend. Buchenwald was definitely a hard place to be, especially seeing the inside of the crematorium. I have no words, only tears. There are many pictures if you want to see, but I am just warning you now that it's a heartbreaking sight. We also stop at the cell where Paul Schneider was kept for years. An amazing Godly man who "knew no compromise" as Bonhoeffer said. We learned more about his life and what he sacrificed for the Lord. It was in this moment when I was brought to tears. I couldn't help but think about how dedicated he was to God, he literally gave his life for God, and I'm sitting here in my comfortable bed, eating chocolate, and typing on my expensive laptop. I almost broke down in that cell because of the fact that I sing about living for God every day... and in reality I don't. If God asked me to live a life just as Bonhoeffer or Schneider did- I don't think I could do it. And standing there made me realize not only how cowardly I am, but how much I desire to change that! I want to be able to stand before the Lord just as these men- and tell Him, "Lord I gave my all for you..." Because how sick is it that we all come to church and sing about how we want God to use us, take us deeper, and work in us. But are we really willing to go as far as people before us have? We aren't even willing to act like Jesus in our daily lives. It was just a hard experience for me- and challenging for sure. I know I didn't give you much detail, or even explain that little thought- but I hope it gets you thinking about your life- to what extreme are you willing to go for the Lord... Deep within the Bavarian Alps sit a majestic FREAKIN' CASTLE AND I GOT TO GO. Yesterday, Saturday, our group traveled a total of 10 hours to see King Ludawigs' Neuschwanstein castle, build only a century ago. Translated, it means New Swan Stone, and it was build in 1869, and never finished after Ludawigs mysterious death in 1886. We learned so much about this beautiful place, and my words will never do it justice. The palace was originally intended as a personal refuge for Ludawig, who was basically a hermit, but it was opened to the public after his death in 1886. It was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's castle, and many others. Inside is equally as beautiful as the outside, unfortunately pictures aren't allowed. Anyways, it was quite to experience and I hope I get to do it again- preferably in the snow!
I took this picture from a small bridge that sits above the waterfall, overlooking the alps and villages. There are more pictures in my photo tab. I know I am not too great at filling all of you in on my daily adventure, but bear with me as I am extremely bust, and drop dead tired. Speaking of, I'm headed to bed! Goodnight all, Tori Hallo Freunde! Sorry it's been so long since I last wrote- I can't even begin to explain how busy we have been these last couple of days. In the last three days I have toured most all of Regensburg (quite the journey), hiked to a 1000 year old castle, canoed 11 miles down the Naab river, and studied my toosh off for our frist quiz tomorrow. We are supposed to have memorized every country of Europe and their capitals, the German states and their capitals, the major German Autobauns, the five major German rivers, and much much more. So I'm praying we all do well. Gosh, there is so much rich history here, and most of me still doesn't believe that I am even here. I've been in multiple cathedrals, and have been in awe at the architecture. It breaks my heart that we still don't make churches like that anymore, they are simply beautiful. I've gotten to walk through some of the oldest arches in Europe, and hear incredible stories about each building we walk into. I've gotten to know many of classmates (there are only 13 of us this semester), and I can't wait to get to know them more. I love laughing with them- and sharing in all of our German adventures! It's a blessing for sure. We have all been preparing for our first independent travel week coming up here soon. This basically means that you pair up with two or three people and pick somewhere in Europe to stay for the week. My group had plans to go to Barcelona Spain and Porto Portugal, but we just decided to switch it up a bit. Instead we will be spending a week in Ireland (doing who knows what) and our Spain/Portugal trip will be postponed until our second travel week. Crazy right? I'm backpacking across Europe basically, while learning incredible information in the midst of it. On a different note, I've decided to write out at least five blessings every night, and reflect on them when I need a reminder of just how blessed I am. So..... pretty much I'm asking you to do this with me. Everyday think of just a few things that have been a blessing in your life and thank God for placing them there for you. It helps a lot with perspective, so please join me. :) No pictures on this post, but I have uploaded many more to the photo page- so check them out. Again, feel free to comment or send me emails- I This morning we had our first service at Lifestream Church in Regensburg. It was really great to be there and meet new people! It's a German church, obviously, so Kelley translated for us. We all had a radio that picked up the transmitter she spoke into, so we really didn't miss much at all. It was a good service, and this is the thought I walked away with... "I didn't really take away much from the message really, but I took away a lot from the church itself." I'll explain.
When we all took our seats, we did the usual announcements and greetings, but what happened next was what hit me the most. We started worship and like you could guess- it was in German, but I was in awe of how beautiful this act of worship was. The thought that almost instantly came to mind was the fact that they are worshiping the same exact God as we do at home. No matter where, or what language, God is the same God no matter what. He offers the same message of Hope, and he reaches people's hearts in the same way. I just couldn't get over the fact that God- almighty God- see's and hears each word of worship from across the world. No matter where we are; Yelm, Salem, Chicago, London or Germany, the gospel is the same. And when the pastor started his message, he was talking about the same God... Anyways, there's my thought of the day. After church we went back to the hostel for lunch and then went to the Regensburg fair that is happening! It felt just like a fair in the states except with a lot more beer- a lot! A few of us went on the ferris wheel which was SUCH a great idea. We overlooked all of Regensburg and all it's glory. So Beautiful!!! "Class" starts tomorrow, but it's basically an introduction course- so it should be fun. Jerry or "Coach" is the director and he will be teaching it. He is very sweet and funny. I'm looking forward to a semester with him. That being said- I should probably head to bed now since it's 11:30. Goodnight all :) I'm currently writing this blog while sitting in the hostel I get to call home for the next few months. I know, that doesn't sound too great... living in a hostel. But really, it's so cute! Or, "so süß" as our assistant director would say. It's in the middle of Regensburg Germany, right down the road from the old town, which I am so excited to post pictures of soon. There are 13 students total, which is a pretty small number for this program, but I am excited for it! There are a handful of students from Masters College in CA, a couple from IL and Ohio, and three of us from Corban. Most everyone had different flights in, so we all met in the Starbucks in the Munich Airport. Each person in our group seems so delightful! I am excited to get to know there on a deeper level, and it always is wonderful to look back (in a few months) and see how people transformed since first meeting them. I'm sire that everyone hear has parts of themselves that they have yet to reveal, and time will help do that. It always makes me happy to watch people's walls go down, including my own.
Moving on, after we all arrived, we went into Munich to walk around a bit. Ate lunch, saw a lot of beer, and wandered a bit. Now we have the evening to chill and figure out the whole jet lag thing. Luckily Emily and I have already suffered through that and our bodies are on the right time already, woot woot! In the morning we are going to a Free Church here in Regensburg and Kelly (Assistant Director) will translate everything for us- I'm excited! Also, I love chocolate. -Me I've been looking forward to writing al day, because it was such a delightful day that I just couldn't wait to write about. We started the day off by taking a bus to Saint Clemente Cathedral, which was so beautiful! It was huge, with a massive organ, and beautiful architecture. We then walked to Saint Paul Cathedral, the most popular in England, and made our way to the London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and Tower of London. We crossed the London Bridge, and it was such a beautiful sight. Pictures are posted. Then we stopped at the "Upstairs Bar" which overlooks the river and the Tower Bridge. Don't worry, I had coffee, so alcohol. I couldn't even believe the view, or the fact that I was there. So I made sure to take a ton of pictures to look back on. We started walking Tower Bridge and here is the conversations I had with Hedley and Emily...
Me: You know, we've lucked out so much already, and seem to have perfect timing for everything (Royal Guards walking by, Changing of the Guards, Victoria station) it wouldn't be surprising if the bridge lifted to let a ship through. Hedley: Ah nooooo, it rarely happens. It won't happen today, I've only seen it a couple times since living here.... So anyways, we started to cross the bridge and OF COURSE as soon as we get to the center of the bridge an alarm sounds and they close the gate on us. So we just so happen to be at the VERY FRONT of the gate right where they stop people to open the bridge. We were ON the bridge when they opened it up- how insane!!! Check out the tab above for some pretty cool pictures. Our last stop was the tower of London, where we sat and ate lunch. Guys, can you believe this is happening!? It's perfect. The above statement is so very true! Goodness, there is so much here! So much history, art, sights, places. And it is such a diverse place, people from all over the world reside here. It's been such a delight to be here exploring- following our noses and seeing where we end up. We have no plan, no time budget, no responsibility. So each day has been filled with all sorts of crazy adventures. So let me start where we last left off. Emily and I had yesterday (Wednesday) to explore, and we found ourselves at the ever so famous British Museum. Since every museum is free here, we figured we had no reason not to. We spend hours there, and my word is it huge! We only saw but half of it before it closed and we had to leave- but what we did see was amazing! I mean come on- the ROSETTA STONE! That was my personal favorite, but the mummies were pretty cool too. If you are interested in seeing what was there, check out my "Through my Eyes" tab. But here is a glimpse of just how big it was- and this doesn't even do it justice. Moving on, you won't even believe what I did today! One of the friends we are staying with, Hedley, wanted to show us around- which we were so thankful for! He acted as our tour guide, since he has lived here for so long- seemed like he knew everything! We started out at the Marble Arch, and took a stroll through Hyde Park- one of the many royal parks owned by the queen. We ended up at Wellington Monument, where we made perfect timing to see the Royal Guards riding through- making their way from the Barracks down to Buckingham Palace. Which is where we ended up next! Just in time for the changing of the guards, which was so fun to watch! Again, pictures of all of this are posted in the tab above. We then went down to Victoria Station, which is HUGE, and looked around at all the busy people rushing to and fro. We then had lunch at a park over-looking the Tims River, right behind the House of Parliament and Big Ben- our next stop. It is so insane to see the architecture, how much work was put into it all! right across the street is Westminster Abbey- again SO BEAUTIFUL! We walked to number 10 downing street, Trafalgar square, Lester Square, Regents street and oxford street. But somewhere in there we stopped at the national portrait gallery, wow! It was almost as big as the British Museum, but instead filled with paintings by artists like Leonardo, Botticelli, Duccio, Van Eyck, Michelangelo, Bruegel, Rubens, Van Dyck, Claude, Rembrandt, Degas, Van Gogh, and so many more! Incredible. Pictures are posted from there also.
To say the least, today was so eventful and I am so content. Tomorrow will be just as great, since we are going to the London Eye, Tower Bridge, and many other wonderful places. So stay tuned. Cheerio! It's day 2 here in London and I'm loving it. There is so much to do, so much to see, and so much to eat! Next on the menu, fish and chips. Emily and I have really just been bumming around Queens Park (Where we're staying) trying to catch up from Jet lag. We spent yesterday walking about the neighborhood and seeing the locals hang out in the beautiful parks. It's not too different over here, people are nice, kids are crazy, and everything is over-priced (much like home). Last night we went to a pub, don't worry- no alcohol for us- to watch our friends' friends band play. It had been 10 years since they last played together, but you couldn't tell- they were so delightful! They played some Jazz, rock n' roll, oldies, and some of their own stuff. It was fun to experience that and I hope we get to do something like it again. Today we are taking the tube (underground train) to Piccadilly, one of the most lively parts of London, to walk around and sight-see. Since all the museums are free here, we have plans to go to the British museum today, and a couple others later this week. We will also see Buckingham palace today, and a few other famous landmarks. The people we are staying with want to take us around London Thursday and Friday to show us their favorite places, so that will be so fun! If you want to see more pictures, be sure to check out the "Through my eyes" tab up top. Much love!
Cheerio! Can you believe it? I'm in London! London, England. This is pretty amazing.
Emily and I just go to our new home (for the next five days) in the beautiful city of London. Our friend Carol picked us up from the airport, after our 7.5 hour flight. It wasn't too bad, since I had Candy Crush and Ben Rector to keep my company. It's a little past 1 am here, so the city is quiet- however my body is in Central time, so it feel like 7 pm, which would normally be 5 pm at home. Wow, can you keep up? Anyways, the point is I should be going to bed soon so that I can catch up with everybody else here and get on their time. But I'm just too excited to lay my head down- there is so much to think about! Emily and I have no plan for the next 5 days, other than to explore. Our friends are going to show us around when they are home from work- but until then we are on our own in this giant place. I don't have many pictures, but here is a shot of Emily and I when we landed in the UK! |
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