This past Sunday at church, I was able to listen to a wonderful message on forgiveness. And I just wanted to share with you what I got out of it because it's good stuff! We read from Matthew 18, the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. Matthew 18:21-22 says this... "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?A)' data-cr="#cen-NIV-23749A"> Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."
So here are my thoughts... In those times, saying "Seventy-seven" was just like how we say, "a million" or "all the time". So Jesus is saying, we need to forgive a million times, all the time. And the idea of forgiveness... it seems so unfair. Think about it... we don't deserve it, others don't deserve it, but it's something that we are all offered. How easy is the idea of forgiveness when we seek it from others- when we want them to forgive us- but how harsh is the idea when someone wants forgiveness from us. We love the unfairness of forgiveness when we desire to be forgiven, but we hate that we also must forgive all the time, even when people hurt or wrong us. Just think about that for a little bit. It makes my head hurt to think about it too much- but it does make me appreciate the grace and forgiveness that Christ offers us, and that we are to also model. I'm not sure if that made sense, but it was something that really got me thinking. Just the idea of forgiveness and how it IS so unfair, but in the greatest way possible. You know what else doesn't make sense? The fact that after we give or receive that unfair forgiveness- there is freedom. It's like an entire weight of guilt, anger and shame is lifted from both the forgiver and the forgiven. So where in your life are you lacking that forgiveness? Where in your life do you want to experience that freedom with whoever or whatever it is that you are in conflict with? Just some food for thought.
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This week in Paradise:
After a long and grueling two weeks of class and academic tour, I decided to spend the entirety of my free week lounging on the beach, enjoying peace and sunshine. A few of my friends and I hopped on a plane last Saturday and headed for Denia Spain. Thanks to my wonderful father and his timeshare, we were able to stay in our own apartment, just a few meters from the beach. For an entire week, we got to simply relax in o80 degree weather, and do nothing! No schedule, so responsibility, and no class. (Although, we did have quite a bit of reading to do, but reading is so much better when it's done on the beach, or pool side.) I will post some pictures soon, I know, I keep saying that… but believe me when I say that it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Soft gold sand, clear blue water, clear skies and good company. If anyone is looking for a relaxing place to spend a vacation, Denia is a great place. Probably because it is like a retirement town- so it's mainly sweet old people, not many crazy kids. However, if you are into the loud party scene, the party capital of the world, Ibiza Island, is literally right across the sea. We opted out of the island tour. instead we sat on the beach every day and tanned (burned). One day we did go and explore the Denia Castle, which was so beautiful. It overlooks all of Denia and the Port. We didn't learn much about the history, because none of us read Spanish. But that's okay. All in all, it was a very relaxing week. You ever have a week where you are so tired that you just wanted to crawl up into a ball and sleep for 11 years? Yeah, me too. This week. Don't get me wrong, it's been a wonderful couple of weeks full of adventures, new knowledge and great friends. But it has also been the most exhausting two weeks of this journey so far. Last time I wrote, I had just gotten back from my trip to Ireland, and was beginning my two week course of the Reformation. If any of you have ever studied the life of Martin Luther, or the history of the reformation of the church- you know how interesting the subject is. But try actually walking in the steps of the Reformers, and seeing the places of history that you've only ever heard about.
The first week of class was spent in the classroom, and involved enough homework to make me cry from stress. But I suppose that is what happens when you cram 3 months of work into two weeks. The only thing that got me through last week was the thought of what is coming up next week... Spain! This week we started our Reformation Academic Tour around Germany. The 15 of us (13 students, one prof and our amazing director) piled in two vans and started our journey. Our first stop was Dresden, the Florence of Germany. Actually, I guess our first stop was a town outside of Dresden, where we went to a church that Kelley has connections with. Kelley translated the message for us, and then we got to have a nice lunch with some people from the church, including a former AMBEXer. They then gave us a presentation on something their church puts on every summer. English camp! They told us all about what they do every summer for kids all over Europe. They not only teach them English, but they also teach them about the love of Christ. I don't want to bore you with details, but long story short... I'm coming back to Europe next summer and teaching English. It's already decided and planned. Pretty great right? Our next stop was Berlin. It still doesn't even seem real that I was there. I can't believe all that I saw and learned- it was most definitely one of my favorite stops so far. We spent two days there, and you can bet we went and saw the Berlin wall. But even better than that- we spent the evening with Kelley's friends and learned about their experience with that very same wall. 25 years ago, they lived on the east side of Germany (literally, their house was backed up against the fence) and everyday looked out to the west side of Germany. It was so fascinating (and heartbreaking) to hear about their experience on the communist side of Germany, only being able to see the free side. There was such a separation between the two sides, even though they were only a wall apart. And to think that this only went on 25 years ago. Next stop was Wittenberg, "Luther City". We were also there for two days, and we got to see the home of Martin Luther, where a large portion of the Reformation began. We saw were Luther nailed his 95 theses, his church, his house, and so much more! Wittenberg was a very cute little town, emphasizing little. Other than study the amazing history that took place, there is not much to do there. But well worth a day trip if you are every interested. Next we stopped in Eisenach, where we toured the Wartburg Castle. This was where Martin Luther not only hid out when he was excommunicated, but more importantly, where he translated the Bible in German- for the common people to read. We then stopped at the home of the famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach. We got to see each of the different instruments that Bach played in his time, and listen to different selections of his. It was a pretty great experience. Also there are really cool chairs there... check out my pictures soon! The days are all mixing together, but I believe our next stop was Erfurt, the town where Martin Luther began his journey as a monk. We learned about being a monk, and let me just tell you- I could never do it. We also visited the Cathedral where Luther preformed his first mass. I'll post some pictures of that too- it looks like Hogwarts. We stopped in Mainz, and visited the Guttenberg Museum, where the printing press was invented. Then drove to Worms, where the Diet of Worms took place in 1521. After that we landed here in Heidelberg, only for one night. Because tomorrow I leave for Spain! Woo-hoo! Just in time, because I am beyond tired and in need of a relaxing week on the beach. Yeah, I'm still alive.... but I'm not sure I should be after all I've don't this week haha.
This past week, I've done some unforgettable things! I've been all over Ireland, in some of the strangest situations, and it has honestly been one of the best weeks of my life. Five of us girls flew from Memmingen Germany to Shannon Ireland- with the wonderful help of a site called "Couch Surfers", some busses, trains and planes. I think overall, in the past week I've been on 7 trains, 5 busses, 1 taxi, and 1 plane. Meanwhile, I'm typing this as I am all snuggled up in the airport in Ireland. I'll get to that in a second. So we flew into Shannon, where two of my friends split off and went one way- and three of us went another. We took a few trains to Dublin where we stayed in the middle of the city! I won't go into too much detail, but the few days we spent in Dublin were like a living hell... Just don't go to Dublin- unless you are a party animal. That is all they do there! And the hostels are... interesting. While we were there, however, we did get to do some really wonderful things. We toured the Guinness Store House- FUN! We took a train to Belfast where we toured the city on a "Hop on- Hop off" bus- FUN! It was so crazy to learn about the history (and present days) or Belfast. We drove right passed the Peace wall, which separates Catholics and Protestants. It was originally built in the 60's and intended for a few months use, but it is still up and even bigger today. They have a gate that joins the two sides, but it is only open during certain hours of the day. How crazy! We also passed the site where Titanic was built, and we were tempted to go in the museum but we are all cheap.. We also passed a few cites on the "C.S. Lewis" tour, since he did live there and all. Then we did quite a bit of shopping too, and back to Dublin we went. Luckily we were only in Northern Ireland for a few days before we made our way to Ennis. Let me just say- Ennis is now my favorite town on the face of the earth. I am in love, and I hope one day I get to move to Ennis, or somewhere in South-West Ireland. We took a train from Dublin to Ennis where we met some very friendly people who told us all about Ennis. We had heard that it's called "The friendliest town in Ireland", and boy is that true! People are so delightful, and love to help you out or just chat. Our hostel, the Rowan Tree, was one of the loveliest places I've ever been, I definitely recommend it for all you travelers. And by the way, Brittney, they are already expecting us in the summer! Can't wait :) It felt like home, and it was right in the middle of the small town, I already miss it! We got comfortable right away, and went on the explore the town and all it's glory. We had a wonderful supper at one of the many pubs, and I slept so well that night! Which, if you know me, is a BIG deal. The next day we booked a tour with Barratts tours, which I also recommend. We spent the day touring west Ireland, from the cliffs of Moher (SO AMAZING), to Galway, and so many places in between. I secretly don't remember the names of most of the places, but I do have pictures! :) Guys, the Cliffs of Moher was my favorite part of this trip. I literally sat on the edge of the cliffs with my feet dangling over the water. But shhh, you're not supposed to do that.... I took many pictures, so please take a took in the "Part 3" section of my photos. Our tour guide was amazing and I hope when my best friend and I go back, we get him again. The next day we relaxed, after running around Ireland for five days. We did some shopping, some napping, some coffee drinking, and some hanging out with our new friends. We met people from New Zealand, Germany, America, Italy, and Spain. That was a cool experience. Guys seriously, you have GOT to check out my pictures. I don't upload all of my pictures on here, because they are all posted on facebook, but a majority of them are here on my blog for those of you who don't have FB (Shannon). ;) Anyways, it is about 1:00 PM here in Shannon Ireland, and our plane leave around 6:00 AM in the morning.... tomorrow. But the three of us are all sitting in the airport lobby, ready to stay the night here... This will be an adventure! The busses don't run early enough to get us to the airport tomorrow, so we decided to put up camp here. Luckily I have quite a bit of homework to do- and they have wifi! Alrighty, that's all for now. Miss you all! 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 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 |
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