So, I'm here listening to Yann Tiersen on a rainy day. We don't have many rainy days in Bulgaria, so I think that maybe I'll actually take a nap today. I do miss my dark room with great sheets from last year though, I think a nap will be a slightly difficult task here with my terrible pillow, Nemo sheets, and blinds that are kind of pointless due to the mass amount of light that comes through them.
I know a ton of people, especially the Americans here at AUBG getting sick and I haven't gotten sick yet and consider myself extremely lucky. My mom used to think that I got sick way too often, I guess I should stay in Bulgaria where I don't get sick.
I've been in Bulgaria for a little over a month and can't believe that it's gone by so fast! I have some short projects due in a couple of weeks and trying to tackle those in my down time. But, I've been dealing with intense emailing to ASU about financial aid and all of that and it's taking up way too much of my time. Planning trips is quite time consuming as well. This weekend I'm planning to go to Thessaloniki and Kavala/Phillipi. It's only like a 4 hour venture and where Paul preached. Being somewhere from biblical times is quite an experience and God used Paul's life so greatly and what an honor it would be to be somewhere that Paul has been, but sometimes when I put so much emphasis on the fact that "Paul has been here" I feel as though I'm making him higher than every one else who has shared their faith. I suppose it's because we just have some great documentation from Paul's life that it's easier to know who he is.
This past weekend I went to Varna in Bulgaria, it's on the coast of the Black Sea. We went to the beach, but it was way to cold for me to go swimming. I got to know the few girls I went with a little better and lately I've just been feeling like it's incredibly hard to show some people that I truly love them, yet sticking to my faith without them feeling like I may judge them. I think that has been something God has been showing me a lot, is to properly balance these things.
In Varna:
-I finally had some hummus in Europe, it's strange that I can't find it anywhere.
-I bought some Christmas presents.
-I saw way too much at the beach.
-I ate both a pasta dish and pizza in one sitting.
-We spent 3 hours looking for a hostel. Joy.
-I went to a Zara store, but quickly left because the temptation to spend a lot of money was too much.
-We successfully got into 2 quarrels at restuarants over the bill.
-We looked for things that we could never find.
I read a few chapters of Matthew recently and wow, I've forgotten how powerful the gospels can be. Typically if I want to look for something to enlighten my view on something I don't go to the gospels, but I have just been so convicted. I also feel like I could be pouring more of my life into people instead of doing so much studying and traveling. I really want to get to know some Bulgarians or basically not Americans, but this is so hard because of my traveling on the weekends. I've been praying for some opportunity, so we'll see what God is going to do with it.
There is an American here who is actively seeking her relationship with God and I would just like to assure you back home that I at least have one person that I see quite often to get encouragement from and be vulnerable with. We had a great conversation the other day about what we've been dealing with and sharing our outlooks on God and life. I really just thank God for her, her ambition also really pushes me and I've learned a lot from her. I've met a few really amazing girls who are my sisters in Christ and the fact that they are believers in this school quite amazes me, because it would be hard for me to be here for 4 years without the kind of body of Christ that I have back at home.
I've been realizing so much about the world and how naive we are in America. I though I was okay, but dang, after coming here, I just had no idea of how different it is. I also have been here without a cell phone the whole time and strangely it's been okay. Americans are known as being friendly, but I think that actual relationships mean more here. I rarely see someone texting, instead I see people with people here. They are indepedent, but also dependent on each other. We are independent and only dependent on our technology. It's been kind of refreshing. Someone said that they were curious as to if upon arrival back in the U.S. if since being here they could resist from using their phone as much and I replied probably not. I honestly believe that I would never really see any of my friends without being able to text them and see what they're doing. Here, I just stop by and then we end up talking. It's so different in that way to me.
I already have to start thinking about what classes to take next semester.... What the heck? I just got to this school and have to start thinking about when I go back. I also may have a paid internship next semester, which would be AWESOME. Summer plans are also needing to be thought about. Sometimes, life is just a bunch of planning. I really just sometimes don't want to plan anymore. High school is a plan for college, college is a plan for a career, dating is a plan for marriage, blah blah blah. Anyway........
I think being here, I've had to put a lot more into my relationship with God, which is worth every minute of preparing to come here. I've been growing and seeing what God can do and He really just puts me in awe.
Prayers are welcomed and I can of course still be praying for anyone, if you have any requests, let me know.
Take advantage of the fall, it's the most beautiful time of the year to me.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Pick My Brain.
Let's just say this is my life:
So, at least 4 times a week, I enjoy to drink a little alchohol. Sometimes so much that I can't remember the previous night. I also constantly worry about guys. I worry about which ones want to dance with me or if I might end up kissing the guys. I don't know what to tell them when I see them in daylight, I don't know if he wants more than that dance and possible kiss. I most of the time try so hard to make sure I look good, but deep down I never think that I'm pretty enough. All of this consumes my mind so much that sometimes it's hard to concentrate on my studies. But, I'd be a failure if I didn't do my studies and I just want to be known as a girl who does good in school, but also knows how to have fun. Little does everyone know, I'm a mess.
OR
So, I love to look like the good girl. I have a reputation to uphold. I don't drink, I only kiss guys every once in a while, I do decent in school. I severely care what everyone thinks, but I don't give that impression, I tell everyone that I just don't care, but I really do want to know what your thinking. Sometimes I do just want to let loose, but I want to end up with a decent guy when I'm older so that I can be a perfect wife and not be mistreated. Therefore, I try and respect myself, but all of this act now is to get what I want later in life. Sometimes I sit and ask, when will the act end and when will my real self come out. Who am I?
So many peope look down upon taking God's offer to be His child and live their lives in a way that can cause much more stress than I'm so happy to never deal with. Saying no is hard, saying no is hard..... but, worth it to me. One, it's glorifying to God to turn away from sin for Him and two, I don't have to worry about consequences. God gives us His law to protect us, not to hold us back. This is the view that so many of us do not understand. When we were young, didn't your parents prevent you from doing things and now looking back, you see that those rules were put in place to make us a happier person and maybe even to keep us alive? And it was all because they love us. God loves us and that's why we have His law. I can't even imagine the stress I would have if I wasn't a Christian, I feel so at peace and safe in my faith for many reasons, but this is a pretty great reason.
Today I took some time and read Matthew 5. Wow! Talk about a hard realization. I already knew everything that was being said, but to sit down and read and study it again was so convicting.
Jesus sat and told His people:
-Blessed are the poor in spirit (the humble and seen as insignificant) have the kingdom of heaven!
-Blessed and enviably happy are mourners (for the lost) because we will be comforted!
-Blessed are the meek (mild, patient, and long suffering) because we will inherit the earth!
-Blessed, enviably fortunate, happy, and spiritually prosperus are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness because we will be SATISFIED!
-Blessed are the merciful, because we will recieve mercy!
-Blessed are the pure in heart, because we can see God!
-Blessed, happy, enviably fortunate, and sprirtually prosperous are we whenever we are persecuted falsely on Christ's account!
Notice how blessed we are. I have a hard time with thinking that I'm blessed to be persecuted, but in 1 Peter it says that when we are persecuted it's okay because we bear the name of Christ. I would much rather be persecuted to know Christ rather than not know Him at all. The part about Followers being enviably fortunate because we want righteous is so true. When people find that I don't drink, do drugs, have sex, most people really respect me for it. I've even had people tell me I'm lucky. But, the few that persecute me for it, let them.... because maybe I can tell them of the peace and happiness I have from knowing my creator.
If you are a follower, I'm challenging you to be bold and so strong in your faith. We are the salt of the earth, if salt wasn't potent, what would be it's purpose? Nothing. We must be so into God and unashamed that we are lights. You never really notice a dimmed light, it allows darkness to come in. Be a bright light! Shining for God! Also, be sure that you're understanding that there is so much to God that you can't focus on one thing. I'm not asking for you to be strong in believing one aspect of the Bible. Shine with a maturity and understanding of the Bible, with love, with compassion, and pray for the Holy Spirit to help you understand.
Now that I've been in Bulgaria, I don't know how any Christians can take their relationship with God so casually back in America. Even I took it somewhat casually. You cannot make this faith to suit you, you must mold yourself to the Bible, to what God intended you to be. We so often think it's okay to ignore some parts of the Word, some commandments, to only focus on some, but really we must understand that it is all so darn important. I see here the need for the gospel and yet this is a reached people group. What about the groups who have no idea? My heart aches for this.
I watched a movie a couple nights ago called The Other Side of Heaven and it was based on the memoirs of a mormon missionary to islands called Tonga. Now, I do not believe that what the Church of Latter-Day Saints preach is right, but I will give them respect for their evangelism practices. I was watching this movie and just so disappointed in the lack of people at home that I know who would be too scared or just simply do not want to go out into the world to share the Gospel. I believe that we are all told to go, the only time we should stay, is whenever we are called to stay. One part of the movie really sticks in my mind, the missionary asked one of the locals as to why he believed what he said and the local said because he came an awful long way for him to tell a lie if he was lying. People can see that we truly care about them if we travel a long way to tell them about God.
I think that Bulgaria is a beautiful country, but I know that if I had to just rely for my satisfaction of the trip to just come from my travels, parties, etc. I would get used to this place fast. But, I have a focus in life, to glorify God and trust me, that never gets boring.
Although I am talking about all these things with somewhat an authoritative tone, the truth is that I'm not worthy to. I sin so much and today I had another realization of it and I was pretty down on myself. But, I know that because I'm repenting of these things, God will forgive me because of what Jesus did on the cross. I'm reading Search for Significance and it's allowed me to see how much of a problem my pride is. I don't want to admit it, but sometimes I think I'm better than others, which is so devastatingly wrong. I'm just as terrible as anyone else, I just know the truth of forgiveness. I want my pride to go away, I only want to boast of Christ, not of my own deeds. I'm going to be praying for God to show me more of this.
I've decided to write an in depth story about religion (in general) at AUBG and the only worry is the readership. Many people in Europe just do not see relevance of religion to their life, so why should they have to read it? But I'm excited to see what will happen through this. For my own personal knowledge to see how people are here, to listen to them and not just speculate.
I have many assignments starting to pile up for the beginning of October and I'm not too excited about it, but I'm trying to stay caught up in my reading. I'm also planning trips and thinking about semester. Being a student can be hard, but I can't imagine not being in college at this point in my life.
This is what's been on my brain for the past few days. My relationship with God is THE most important thing in my life, nothing else even compares. So it's sometimes hard for me to see other things of Bulgaria. I'll be traveling to the coast (on the Black Sea) this weekend, so I'll have some traveling stories when I return. There will probably never be a blog post of mine that doesn't involve something to do with God.
I still don't have internet on my computer, so that's why I'm never ever on skype.... sorry everyone.
So, at least 4 times a week, I enjoy to drink a little alchohol. Sometimes so much that I can't remember the previous night. I also constantly worry about guys. I worry about which ones want to dance with me or if I might end up kissing the guys. I don't know what to tell them when I see them in daylight, I don't know if he wants more than that dance and possible kiss. I most of the time try so hard to make sure I look good, but deep down I never think that I'm pretty enough. All of this consumes my mind so much that sometimes it's hard to concentrate on my studies. But, I'd be a failure if I didn't do my studies and I just want to be known as a girl who does good in school, but also knows how to have fun. Little does everyone know, I'm a mess.
OR
So, I love to look like the good girl. I have a reputation to uphold. I don't drink, I only kiss guys every once in a while, I do decent in school. I severely care what everyone thinks, but I don't give that impression, I tell everyone that I just don't care, but I really do want to know what your thinking. Sometimes I do just want to let loose, but I want to end up with a decent guy when I'm older so that I can be a perfect wife and not be mistreated. Therefore, I try and respect myself, but all of this act now is to get what I want later in life. Sometimes I sit and ask, when will the act end and when will my real self come out. Who am I?
So many peope look down upon taking God's offer to be His child and live their lives in a way that can cause much more stress than I'm so happy to never deal with. Saying no is hard, saying no is hard..... but, worth it to me. One, it's glorifying to God to turn away from sin for Him and two, I don't have to worry about consequences. God gives us His law to protect us, not to hold us back. This is the view that so many of us do not understand. When we were young, didn't your parents prevent you from doing things and now looking back, you see that those rules were put in place to make us a happier person and maybe even to keep us alive? And it was all because they love us. God loves us and that's why we have His law. I can't even imagine the stress I would have if I wasn't a Christian, I feel so at peace and safe in my faith for many reasons, but this is a pretty great reason.
Today I took some time and read Matthew 5. Wow! Talk about a hard realization. I already knew everything that was being said, but to sit down and read and study it again was so convicting.
Jesus sat and told His people:
-Blessed are the poor in spirit (the humble and seen as insignificant) have the kingdom of heaven!
-Blessed and enviably happy are mourners (for the lost) because we will be comforted!
-Blessed are the meek (mild, patient, and long suffering) because we will inherit the earth!
-Blessed, enviably fortunate, happy, and spiritually prosperus are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness because we will be SATISFIED!
-Blessed are the merciful, because we will recieve mercy!
-Blessed are the pure in heart, because we can see God!
-Blessed, happy, enviably fortunate, and sprirtually prosperous are we whenever we are persecuted falsely on Christ's account!
Notice how blessed we are. I have a hard time with thinking that I'm blessed to be persecuted, but in 1 Peter it says that when we are persecuted it's okay because we bear the name of Christ. I would much rather be persecuted to know Christ rather than not know Him at all. The part about Followers being enviably fortunate because we want righteous is so true. When people find that I don't drink, do drugs, have sex, most people really respect me for it. I've even had people tell me I'm lucky. But, the few that persecute me for it, let them.... because maybe I can tell them of the peace and happiness I have from knowing my creator.
If you are a follower, I'm challenging you to be bold and so strong in your faith. We are the salt of the earth, if salt wasn't potent, what would be it's purpose? Nothing. We must be so into God and unashamed that we are lights. You never really notice a dimmed light, it allows darkness to come in. Be a bright light! Shining for God! Also, be sure that you're understanding that there is so much to God that you can't focus on one thing. I'm not asking for you to be strong in believing one aspect of the Bible. Shine with a maturity and understanding of the Bible, with love, with compassion, and pray for the Holy Spirit to help you understand.
Now that I've been in Bulgaria, I don't know how any Christians can take their relationship with God so casually back in America. Even I took it somewhat casually. You cannot make this faith to suit you, you must mold yourself to the Bible, to what God intended you to be. We so often think it's okay to ignore some parts of the Word, some commandments, to only focus on some, but really we must understand that it is all so darn important. I see here the need for the gospel and yet this is a reached people group. What about the groups who have no idea? My heart aches for this.
I watched a movie a couple nights ago called The Other Side of Heaven and it was based on the memoirs of a mormon missionary to islands called Tonga. Now, I do not believe that what the Church of Latter-Day Saints preach is right, but I will give them respect for their evangelism practices. I was watching this movie and just so disappointed in the lack of people at home that I know who would be too scared or just simply do not want to go out into the world to share the Gospel. I believe that we are all told to go, the only time we should stay, is whenever we are called to stay. One part of the movie really sticks in my mind, the missionary asked one of the locals as to why he believed what he said and the local said because he came an awful long way for him to tell a lie if he was lying. People can see that we truly care about them if we travel a long way to tell them about God.
I think that Bulgaria is a beautiful country, but I know that if I had to just rely for my satisfaction of the trip to just come from my travels, parties, etc. I would get used to this place fast. But, I have a focus in life, to glorify God and trust me, that never gets boring.
Although I am talking about all these things with somewhat an authoritative tone, the truth is that I'm not worthy to. I sin so much and today I had another realization of it and I was pretty down on myself. But, I know that because I'm repenting of these things, God will forgive me because of what Jesus did on the cross. I'm reading Search for Significance and it's allowed me to see how much of a problem my pride is. I don't want to admit it, but sometimes I think I'm better than others, which is so devastatingly wrong. I'm just as terrible as anyone else, I just know the truth of forgiveness. I want my pride to go away, I only want to boast of Christ, not of my own deeds. I'm going to be praying for God to show me more of this.
I've decided to write an in depth story about religion (in general) at AUBG and the only worry is the readership. Many people in Europe just do not see relevance of religion to their life, so why should they have to read it? But I'm excited to see what will happen through this. For my own personal knowledge to see how people are here, to listen to them and not just speculate.
I have many assignments starting to pile up for the beginning of October and I'm not too excited about it, but I'm trying to stay caught up in my reading. I'm also planning trips and thinking about semester. Being a student can be hard, but I can't imagine not being in college at this point in my life.
This is what's been on my brain for the past few days. My relationship with God is THE most important thing in my life, nothing else even compares. So it's sometimes hard for me to see other things of Bulgaria. I'll be traveling to the coast (on the Black Sea) this weekend, so I'll have some traveling stories when I return. There will probably never be a blog post of mine that doesn't involve something to do with God.
I still don't have internet on my computer, so that's why I'm never ever on skype.... sorry everyone.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Let's Make This Brief.
Procrastination.
I'm sorry about waiting almost two weeks to update you guys.
I've spent the past two weekends in Blagoevgrad. Traveling will start almost every weekend from this point on. I really liked just being here though, last weekend I met some sisters in Christ and that made staying in Blagoevgrad all worth it. We watched The End of the Spear in a discussion group meeting that is open to everyone and later that weekend I went to an informal church/bible study meeting and it was so great to be able to worship God with the few people who do here. I've learned a lot about this culture and how religion plays in these peoples lives, in general it just doesn't. The people in Bulgaria just don't even see the importance of it in any way and it's really hard to approach.
God has been showing me a lot here, about how He works in peoples lives differently than most people I know. Even this summer He was showing me that there is no set way. I always seem to think that everyone will believe and do the same things I do, but it's not true, I'm a sinner and think everything is about me. I've gotten to tell people what I basically believe, but not expand a whole lot, for the most part people are respective.
I can't remember a whole lot about the weeks before this past weekend because I have so much going on. Homework is piling up, which isn't great, but I think I've been doing a pretty good job of getting it done and balancing it with a social life. This Wednesday we have no class and it's great, but I always feel like my schedule is so scatter brained. I've also been having to deal with financial aid and that is, as always, a nightmare, but worse because all I can use is email.
This past weekend a group of 14 people went up into the Rila Mountains to see the seven lakes and we spent the night up there. We hiked and ate lots of carbs and protein to stay alive. The soreness in my body is starting to kick in. Check out my facebook pictures, the place was gorgeous. I also just really enjoyed the people who went, we had a pretty great time and have awesome skills at building last minute fires. I could see God's great work in the mountains, but I was reminded recently in Ephesians that God's greatest work was bringing Christ from the dead and I never really stop and think of what a triumph that is, but it is bigger than any mountain.
One of the things I was so excited about in Europe is getting to experience dj's playing some kind of electronic music and getting to dance. There is no scene for this in Arkansas and wow, now that I've been here, I wish there was. I went to a big outdoor party with a dj who was playing House and it was great to just be able to dance. I did have a bad few minutes, when I realized how much people love their sin and I was there witnessing it, that was slightly heartbreaking. The music was great though and getting to dance.
I've realized how much I'm going to miss Bulgaria when I leave. The hardest part will be leaving these relationships. At least at home I know that I may see them again or we can plan something, it's hard to come just to Europe, so when I leave, I may never see these people again and it's an upsetting thought. I miss home and ASU a lot though, my heart is torn and I always think it will be.
This may be my most unorganized post, but I don't have a ton of time to write this. My bulgarian is getting better. I can almost recognize the alphabet and how to read it, I just don't know what the actual words mean. It's so much easier (but at the same time, more pressure) to learn the language in the actual country where it is native. I remember taking spanish in high school and I didn't actually need to learn it, so I didn't retain any of it.
I think that I'm going to pitch an idea to a magazine on this campus of writing a story dealing with religion on this campus. At AUBG, it is supposed to be similar to an American University and I don't feel like it's that way at all in the religion area. Most people just don't care, but the fact that it is so hard for there to even be avenues to explore what you want to believe at this university is where the problem lies. I wish I could just sit down with you and tell you all I've learned about everything here, it's all so interesting.
Next weekend I'm heading to the black sea and it will be beautiful, after that I'll start making plans for Croatia, Turkey, and Macedonia. I don't even have enough time to see all that I want to see here, but I'm going to try and get all that I can out of it.
I hope to get closer to God and the people here, I want people to see that I truly love them and I want my heart to grow bigger. I want so much to happen throughout this experience and I pray that God will surprise me and teach me more than expected.
For all of you back in Arkansas that are dear to me, I want to talk to you. Message me, ask me questions, I want to encourage you and to receive it from you. I love you all so much and miss you and can't wait to share my experiences with you next semester.
I have class starting soon, but I will update this more frequently so that you can know every detail of my life. :)
I'm sorry about waiting almost two weeks to update you guys.
I've spent the past two weekends in Blagoevgrad. Traveling will start almost every weekend from this point on. I really liked just being here though, last weekend I met some sisters in Christ and that made staying in Blagoevgrad all worth it. We watched The End of the Spear in a discussion group meeting that is open to everyone and later that weekend I went to an informal church/bible study meeting and it was so great to be able to worship God with the few people who do here. I've learned a lot about this culture and how religion plays in these peoples lives, in general it just doesn't. The people in Bulgaria just don't even see the importance of it in any way and it's really hard to approach.
God has been showing me a lot here, about how He works in peoples lives differently than most people I know. Even this summer He was showing me that there is no set way. I always seem to think that everyone will believe and do the same things I do, but it's not true, I'm a sinner and think everything is about me. I've gotten to tell people what I basically believe, but not expand a whole lot, for the most part people are respective.
I can't remember a whole lot about the weeks before this past weekend because I have so much going on. Homework is piling up, which isn't great, but I think I've been doing a pretty good job of getting it done and balancing it with a social life. This Wednesday we have no class and it's great, but I always feel like my schedule is so scatter brained. I've also been having to deal with financial aid and that is, as always, a nightmare, but worse because all I can use is email.
This past weekend a group of 14 people went up into the Rila Mountains to see the seven lakes and we spent the night up there. We hiked and ate lots of carbs and protein to stay alive. The soreness in my body is starting to kick in. Check out my facebook pictures, the place was gorgeous. I also just really enjoyed the people who went, we had a pretty great time and have awesome skills at building last minute fires. I could see God's great work in the mountains, but I was reminded recently in Ephesians that God's greatest work was bringing Christ from the dead and I never really stop and think of what a triumph that is, but it is bigger than any mountain.
One of the things I was so excited about in Europe is getting to experience dj's playing some kind of electronic music and getting to dance. There is no scene for this in Arkansas and wow, now that I've been here, I wish there was. I went to a big outdoor party with a dj who was playing House and it was great to just be able to dance. I did have a bad few minutes, when I realized how much people love their sin and I was there witnessing it, that was slightly heartbreaking. The music was great though and getting to dance.
I've realized how much I'm going to miss Bulgaria when I leave. The hardest part will be leaving these relationships. At least at home I know that I may see them again or we can plan something, it's hard to come just to Europe, so when I leave, I may never see these people again and it's an upsetting thought. I miss home and ASU a lot though, my heart is torn and I always think it will be.
This may be my most unorganized post, but I don't have a ton of time to write this. My bulgarian is getting better. I can almost recognize the alphabet and how to read it, I just don't know what the actual words mean. It's so much easier (but at the same time, more pressure) to learn the language in the actual country where it is native. I remember taking spanish in high school and I didn't actually need to learn it, so I didn't retain any of it.
I think that I'm going to pitch an idea to a magazine on this campus of writing a story dealing with religion on this campus. At AUBG, it is supposed to be similar to an American University and I don't feel like it's that way at all in the religion area. Most people just don't care, but the fact that it is so hard for there to even be avenues to explore what you want to believe at this university is where the problem lies. I wish I could just sit down with you and tell you all I've learned about everything here, it's all so interesting.
Next weekend I'm heading to the black sea and it will be beautiful, after that I'll start making plans for Croatia, Turkey, and Macedonia. I don't even have enough time to see all that I want to see here, but I'm going to try and get all that I can out of it.
I hope to get closer to God and the people here, I want people to see that I truly love them and I want my heart to grow bigger. I want so much to happen throughout this experience and I pray that God will surprise me and teach me more than expected.
For all of you back in Arkansas that are dear to me, I want to talk to you. Message me, ask me questions, I want to encourage you and to receive it from you. I love you all so much and miss you and can't wait to share my experiences with you next semester.
I have class starting soon, but I will update this more frequently so that you can know every detail of my life. :)
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Travels and Classes
In 11 days I will no longer be a teenager and I'm writing this while eating a "Lion" bar which is basically a Kit Kat and 100 Grand mixed together and so darn good. Today I got off of a bus at 5 a.m. and got to my room, showered and then passed out until 10 and spent most of my day planning and reading and then went to class at 5:45 p.m. and learned about Adobe Illustrator, which is pretty cool I'll say.
Classes started last week and the way classes are put together are so weird. I have Monday/Thursday classes, Tuesday/Thursday classes, Monday/Wednesday classes and they are all an hour and fifteen minutes. Luckily, I don't have class of Friday so that I can travel or just have a long nice weekend.
This is my class list:
1. History of Christianity
2. Bible as Literature
3. Intro. to Bulgarian
4. Investigative Reporting
5. Design and Layout
BUT, I dropped Bible as Literature for Web Design due to Bible as Lit. and History of Christianity being taught by the same professor. Although it was different content, many points were being made in both of the classes and the professor is so intense that it would be hard for me to be in both of those classes. I understand that all people believe what they want to believe and I wasn't expecting a Christian to teach these classes but on the other hand I didn't expect such a devout Atheist to teach the classes. On the first day of class he said "There is no God, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news." The only problem is that he teaches in a way to prove God to not exist, when it should be unbiased, but I'm trying to look on the good side and see how an Atheist would argue, what points that will be made in a conversation against God. It breaks my heart to hear him say what he does, so I am praying, praying, praying and also trying to take in what I can from this man to be more assured of my faith. He is also so very educated and it would be intimidating to get in a class discussion because I feel as though it will more so be a class attack upon what I believe. I know with everything in me that I am so blessed to have faith, to really know and be pursued by the God that created me. So, please pray for me as I take this History of Christianity class, for it will test me and the enemy will use it.
Last week I decided to travel with some people to Athens, Greece. We had Monday off for a Bulgarian holiday so we hopped on a bus on Thursday night and spent 4 days in Greece and that's why I got off a bus at 5 a.m. this morning. We arrived and spent the first day seeing all the sights of the Acropolis, great things built by Hadrian and the Ancient Agora. Wow! it's so amazing to be in a place so old and so stupendous. My favorite thing out of the whole trip though was when we came to Aereopagus Rock/Mars Hill/Rock of Ares which is where Paul gave his "Men of Athens speech" and it is spoken of in the book of Acts and he spoke about Athens being a city of people being "religious" and worshipping idols. He basically laid down the Good News to the people right where I was standing at that point. I almost had goosebumps. It was also slightly convicting because Paul dedicated his life to spreading the Word and I don't feel as though I've been truly doing so lately. I look at the map and now that I'm here, I realize how much time Paul just had to spend traveling to spread the Word, what an inspiration. The enemy has made it so "uncool" and frowned upon to be so intense about what we believe that it actually affects us and I get upset thinking about it. Evangelism is so important and especially because now I see how many people do not want to believe here, I see the need and I feel the need.
Then, I stayed my first night in a hostel, which wasn't bad. I would definitely recommend staying at hostels because the people who work there are typically travelers and know cheap awesome things to do. The shower situation slightly sucked, but I got clean..... eventually. Side Note: The bathrooms in Europe are simply terrible and don't flush any toilet paper down the toilets. On Saturday we went on a ferry to a nearby island and when you think of Greece in the movies, the islands are where you need to go. Unfortunately we didn't get to go to a really nice island, but we got to go swimming on the island Aegina and I have never in my life seen such beautiful water. It was pristine and the perfect temperature. We spent the whole day at the island and maybe got a little too much sun. Half of our group stayed the night and the rest of us went back to Athens. The girls I was with had a few drinks and then we went to go see what Athens night life is like and it was PACKED and ridiculous. People really enjoy they're partying over here, but all the places were bars and we were more interested in finding a disco (primarily for people who just like dancing and appreciate the music), which was no where in the Gazi district. So, we went back to the hostel and fell asleep.
The next day we met up with the rest of our group who came back from the island and then we went to the museums. It was really handy to be a student in Bulgaria, because any student in the E.U. got to get into everything for free, so we didn't have to pay any entrance fees. I saw things that we had learned about in FA Visual back at ASU, so it was actually some knowledge that I could use. I did notice throughout Greece at the few churches that we stopped in that they were very bright. The Orthodox churches that I've been to in Bulgaria have been so dark inside and the ones in Greece were much more inviting. We stayed in Greece for a couple more days and mostly shopped around, but once we got out of the tourist areas, we came to find out that Athens is quite the sketchy city. I, at least saw two big groups of gypsies on the side of the streets making and shooting up herione and they were crouched down and when we walked by this scene, all of us kind of knew to almost start jogging because it was pretty scary. We also believe we saw a girl on the side of the street who had overdosed the night before and was dead. All of these streets were not dark alleys either, just in the open broad daylight. Grafitti was everywhere and I would suggest only spending about 2 days in Athens, because that's all you need to see everything.
In Greece I ate:
-prawns that weren't that great
-awesome ham and cheese phyllo dough pies
-the best pastries I've ever had in my life
-chicken gyro
-lamb gyro
-lamb souvlaki
-legit tsatsiki
-awesome slushes that I can't get in Blagoevgrad
I really need to meet people at this school from other places, lately I feel as though I have only hung out with Americans, which I really like the girls that I do know and think that we'll have some really great friendships. But, I want to get to know people and where they come from. I can't wait to travel some more and see these other places. This is definitely the most exciting thing that has happened to me.
If you have been praying for me to be able to get encouragement, I feel as though it's worked. I have been asking God to give me at least one person to have the same beliefs as me and I believe that I found her now and we're having lunch soon. I might cry from the excitement of having someone to talk to God with who is easy at hand. Now, I'm just trying to concentrate on getting to know people and finding the time for my quiet times which is so very hard, but I will make sacrifices because I never realized how MUCH I need it, until it was all I had.
Bulgaria and God will treat me well, please keep praying and following and I'll try to put more posts up more frequently because if I can encourage you be sharing what God is doing in my life, then the purpose of this blog is fulfilled.
I encourage you to read Acts 17:15-34, that was what Paul was telling the Athenians upon that very rock that I stood not but a few days ago.
Classes started last week and the way classes are put together are so weird. I have Monday/Thursday classes, Tuesday/Thursday classes, Monday/Wednesday classes and they are all an hour and fifteen minutes. Luckily, I don't have class of Friday so that I can travel or just have a long nice weekend.
This is my class list:
1. History of Christianity
2. Bible as Literature
3. Intro. to Bulgarian
4. Investigative Reporting
5. Design and Layout
BUT, I dropped Bible as Literature for Web Design due to Bible as Lit. and History of Christianity being taught by the same professor. Although it was different content, many points were being made in both of the classes and the professor is so intense that it would be hard for me to be in both of those classes. I understand that all people believe what they want to believe and I wasn't expecting a Christian to teach these classes but on the other hand I didn't expect such a devout Atheist to teach the classes. On the first day of class he said "There is no God, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news." The only problem is that he teaches in a way to prove God to not exist, when it should be unbiased, but I'm trying to look on the good side and see how an Atheist would argue, what points that will be made in a conversation against God. It breaks my heart to hear him say what he does, so I am praying, praying, praying and also trying to take in what I can from this man to be more assured of my faith. He is also so very educated and it would be intimidating to get in a class discussion because I feel as though it will more so be a class attack upon what I believe. I know with everything in me that I am so blessed to have faith, to really know and be pursued by the God that created me. So, please pray for me as I take this History of Christianity class, for it will test me and the enemy will use it.
Last week I decided to travel with some people to Athens, Greece. We had Monday off for a Bulgarian holiday so we hopped on a bus on Thursday night and spent 4 days in Greece and that's why I got off a bus at 5 a.m. this morning. We arrived and spent the first day seeing all the sights of the Acropolis, great things built by Hadrian and the Ancient Agora. Wow! it's so amazing to be in a place so old and so stupendous. My favorite thing out of the whole trip though was when we came to Aereopagus Rock/Mars Hill/Rock of Ares which is where Paul gave his "Men of Athens speech" and it is spoken of in the book of Acts and he spoke about Athens being a city of people being "religious" and worshipping idols. He basically laid down the Good News to the people right where I was standing at that point. I almost had goosebumps. It was also slightly convicting because Paul dedicated his life to spreading the Word and I don't feel as though I've been truly doing so lately. I look at the map and now that I'm here, I realize how much time Paul just had to spend traveling to spread the Word, what an inspiration. The enemy has made it so "uncool" and frowned upon to be so intense about what we believe that it actually affects us and I get upset thinking about it. Evangelism is so important and especially because now I see how many people do not want to believe here, I see the need and I feel the need.
Then, I stayed my first night in a hostel, which wasn't bad. I would definitely recommend staying at hostels because the people who work there are typically travelers and know cheap awesome things to do. The shower situation slightly sucked, but I got clean..... eventually. Side Note: The bathrooms in Europe are simply terrible and don't flush any toilet paper down the toilets. On Saturday we went on a ferry to a nearby island and when you think of Greece in the movies, the islands are where you need to go. Unfortunately we didn't get to go to a really nice island, but we got to go swimming on the island Aegina and I have never in my life seen such beautiful water. It was pristine and the perfect temperature. We spent the whole day at the island and maybe got a little too much sun. Half of our group stayed the night and the rest of us went back to Athens. The girls I was with had a few drinks and then we went to go see what Athens night life is like and it was PACKED and ridiculous. People really enjoy they're partying over here, but all the places were bars and we were more interested in finding a disco (primarily for people who just like dancing and appreciate the music), which was no where in the Gazi district. So, we went back to the hostel and fell asleep.
The next day we met up with the rest of our group who came back from the island and then we went to the museums. It was really handy to be a student in Bulgaria, because any student in the E.U. got to get into everything for free, so we didn't have to pay any entrance fees. I saw things that we had learned about in FA Visual back at ASU, so it was actually some knowledge that I could use. I did notice throughout Greece at the few churches that we stopped in that they were very bright. The Orthodox churches that I've been to in Bulgaria have been so dark inside and the ones in Greece were much more inviting. We stayed in Greece for a couple more days and mostly shopped around, but once we got out of the tourist areas, we came to find out that Athens is quite the sketchy city. I, at least saw two big groups of gypsies on the side of the streets making and shooting up herione and they were crouched down and when we walked by this scene, all of us kind of knew to almost start jogging because it was pretty scary. We also believe we saw a girl on the side of the street who had overdosed the night before and was dead. All of these streets were not dark alleys either, just in the open broad daylight. Grafitti was everywhere and I would suggest only spending about 2 days in Athens, because that's all you need to see everything.
In Greece I ate:
-prawns that weren't that great
-awesome ham and cheese phyllo dough pies
-the best pastries I've ever had in my life
-chicken gyro
-lamb gyro
-lamb souvlaki
-legit tsatsiki
-awesome slushes that I can't get in Blagoevgrad
I really need to meet people at this school from other places, lately I feel as though I have only hung out with Americans, which I really like the girls that I do know and think that we'll have some really great friendships. But, I want to get to know people and where they come from. I can't wait to travel some more and see these other places. This is definitely the most exciting thing that has happened to me.
If you have been praying for me to be able to get encouragement, I feel as though it's worked. I have been asking God to give me at least one person to have the same beliefs as me and I believe that I found her now and we're having lunch soon. I might cry from the excitement of having someone to talk to God with who is easy at hand. Now, I'm just trying to concentrate on getting to know people and finding the time for my quiet times which is so very hard, but I will make sacrifices because I never realized how MUCH I need it, until it was all I had.
Bulgaria and God will treat me well, please keep praying and following and I'll try to put more posts up more frequently because if I can encourage you be sharing what God is doing in my life, then the purpose of this blog is fulfilled.
I encourage you to read Acts 17:15-34, that was what Paul was telling the Athenians upon that very rock that I stood not but a few days ago.
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