Chickens...

So I know it's been a super dooper long time since I last wrote, and I know blogging rule #1 - don't comment on how long it's been since you last wrote, but oh well, I think it needs to be noted - so I sorry for all of you die-hard fans that have been WAITING and keeping up with my blog all this time, and I haven't written anything!

Yikes!

So I have chickens now.... Never thought I would have chickens, but I always sort of liked the idea of living out in the country on a farm!  So when I Evan and I were starting to talk about marriage, we ended up talking about pets.  We got on the subject - because I thought it would be neat to have a cow and have fresh dairy products!!!! but alas, we don't have enough land for livestock.

As we talk about what animals we could have, chickens came up, and Evan actually sort of liked the idea.  He spent a lot of time at his grandpa's when he was growing up and liked being out in the country on a farm.  His grandpa had chickens for a while, so I think that helped him to be more into the idea!  So in the spring when Rural King has their chicks..... wait, what?!?  Ok, so for all you city folk, who have no idea about country living (Like me!)  at least here in Indiana there is a store called Rural King that is a super store for farming type stuff.  So in the spring time, around March or so until June they have chicks in the store that you can buy!  SO CUTE!  It's really hard to look at them and pick them up and pet them, and NOT want to bring them home with you right away - which is what plenty of people probably do with all the chickens you see on Criagslist or in shelters around here.

Anyway, we gazed at chickens for a while and finally decided to get them one day!  When we went into the store though, they had pretty much sold out! (they had a sale? the day before - a sale on baby chicks? weird!)  So we ended up researching a little, and then ordered some chickens.  Before we knew it they were in!  So this spring and summer has been a frenzy to raise the chicks, without them getting eaten by hawks, cats, or other predators, and building a coup and getting everything set up.

Then we needed a shed to sell the eggs from, so Evan built that as well, and then while we're at it, we needed hay to line the bottom of the coup with throughout the year, so Evan made a homemade Hay-baler.  So we now grow our grass long and bale it!  WOW!  I guess we are farmers!

Anyway so the reason I'm writing this post - I feel like I am updating on Facebook too often about too many things, so this morning I picked up some worms(dead and alive)  I saw along my walk this morning.  When I went to give the worms to the chickens, I hear a lot of clucking coming from the coup, like someone was about to lay an egg.  So I went to check it out.  Based on our breeds, it's easy to count the numbers of chickens quickly, and I knew there should be two chickens in the coup.

When I looked in there I only saw one, and was a little worried ( we had a kitten get in the coup yesterday and we were moving things, so I was worried, maybe one of the chickens got away and I didn't realize it!)  So I went in the coup to check it out, and all I could see is this one lady standing on the edge of the nesting boxes, making lots of noise.  I looked and looked for the other chicken (there isn't many places it could be)  Then I tried to see if I could get the hen that was standing making noise to move into a box and lay her egg already.  Then I saw it!  The other hen was behind her already sitting in the nest.  and apparently, out of the 8 nests the noisy girl could lay in, she wanted the one that was already taken - no wonder I couldn't find the other hen!

So that's all.  I just wanted to share my chicken story - here's a fun video about the hazards of backyards chickens - TOTALLY me! and some pics! Enjoy!

The coup and pen (the keep the hawks away)

Charlie and his angels (we named the rooster Charlie) :-)

Hello!!!!
The semester is finally over and I feel like I have time to breathe!!!!  This semester flew by, it was very full, but I had enough time to have fun, and I have a new addition in my life, named Evan!  We met in November and started dating shortly after that.  He's from Indiana, so I have been busy driving down there on weekends, or having him visit me up here.  Last weekend he finally shaved off his beard for me.  It was good to spend some time with him, and meet some more of his family too.  He's really funny and makes me laugh, he also likes to take walks and help me cook!  He prays a lot, and is involved in his church, and tries to make Christ a priority in his life.  I like him. a lot! :-)

Other than that, my brother is getting married, so my family conversations usually revolve around their wedding plans, and I am excited I get to help my mom garden this weekend (one of our favorite past times!)

This summer I will be in Orlando for 4 weeks taking bible classes, so I am really excited to see some friends down there, but I have a LOT of reading to do ahead of time to prepare. yikes!!!!!  So my days are filled with those things, trying to keep busy and catch up on all the things I didn't get to during the semester, or last semester for that matter!

I'm excited because this summer I will have my friends from bible study to hang out with during the week when I have some free time, so I won't be as lonely, but have good community here in East Lansing.   That's all my thoughts for now!

Seasons

This season of my life has been comparably better than the past few. Last spring I was getting ready to lead a trip to the Middle East, and had a little bit of spiritual battle that really took a toll on me for part of the semester, but it really in the end helped me draw closer to friends here in Lansing, and develop some great relationships of people that really care for me, and support me.

Then the summer was great, kind of a blur traveling, leading, learning responsibilities, and just seeing and experiencing the world.

Coming back from the summer, I crashed, physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained. I was sleeping 11 hours a night for a couple weeks, and right as I was getting on my feet, it was back into the fall semester. I went in thinking I had lots of energy, and I was ready to tackle the new semester. Quickly I realized I wasn't. I got overwhelmed so quickly getting surrounded by activities and meeting new people. I think I was just hitting a hard season of my life. I felt like God had a lot of work he wanted to do in me. Help face things I have never actually dealt with, but instead just shoved down again and again. He needed me to be stripped of all the other things, and have me at a place where I was pretty raw before I would actually look at myself and see who I am, and what makes me me. I felt sort of like Job, and how Satan asked for permission to "sift" him. I felt like I was being sifted this fall, and was not found wanting. If anything, it proved to me how strong my faith is. That even in the midst of some of my lowest feeling times, I still grasped onto the Lord for dear life. well at least it felt like that. He is my lifeline, and I felt like he brought me through some things that were painful, some seemed out of the blue. Over and over and over again though he would use what was going on in my life, so I could help others dealing with the same things!!!

Yesterday I talked to a girl that told me how she was struggling with some things in her life, and even doubting her faith, even though logically she still knew it to be true. It was so cool to be able to sit with her, and encourage her. I feel like most people who claim they are Christians would probably have condemned her for doubting her faith, or tried to give her a pat answer. I was able to just speak truth to her, and let her know she's not alone. Others, even the strongest Christians doubt. 1 Peter 5 says how all over the world the family of God is facing similar things. I myself have doubted many times, but I am faced with John 6:66-69 - "Lord to whom shall we go? Only you have the words of Eternal life"

I am so thankful now for all the different seasons I've been through. It's helped me learn more about myself, what makes me tick, and really be able to relate to others in a way I never could have before.

It's so hard when you are in a difficult season. We are never promised it will be easy. But we are PROMISED hope. "(Christ speaking)I have told you these things so that you may have peace in me. In this would there will be many tribulations, but take heart I have overcome the world" John 16:33

I am now ready for the next season!!!! I currently have a boyfriend (new territory for me!) it's so weird to be in a relationship because I've always been the single friend for the past 9 years, and now suddenly I'm the one with a boyfriend. It's cool learning a LOT about relationships. Not just with him, but about how we relate to people in general. It's cool seeing God love me through him, and I am just enjoying the ride!

Thank you too for all your prayers for me. It's really been helpful for me the past few seasons, and has helped me pull through, even if you didn't know everything that was going on. I appreciate you and look forward to the continuation of the journey before me. bumps along the road and everything!

Catching up

The past few weeks have been awesome. After campus ended for the semester, I spent a week catching up on work stuff, and seeing people I hadn't gotten to see all semester.

This fall was super busy, and a bit rough. It had some rough patches, but by Thanksgiving I felt a lot more momentum, even though the semester was ending.

The week before Christmas I got to spend with my parents in Florida. It was a perfect ending to unwind from the semester. The weather was beautiful, and it was so nice to just relax and enjoy spending time with my parents.

The week after Christmas we had our yearly "Vision" conference with Bridges. Over 1000 students from all over the US filled 3 hotels, and represents about 60 nations!!! It was exciting, but also overwhelming. Each day was packed with conference speakers, seminars, small group discussion times, touring DC, and spiritual conversations. Students stayed up into the wee hours of the morning sharing the gospel with other students. Even though I got "enough" sleep, each day I could barely keep my eyes open past 8pm, because of all the activities. It was fun though. Two girls I had brought were not sure if they wanted to come. one was an American senior, and if she came with Bridges she'd mis

s out being with all her friends at another conference in Indianapolis. The other girl was Chinese, and likes sleeping, and is just starting to learn more about God, and would have preferred going somewhere warm. Well they both had an excellent time, learned a lot, had great conversations, and really got to draw closer to God and understand His heart for the world.

This week I am take a couple days to visit one of my best friends in Delaware, and just enjoy spending quality time with her and her husband. I'm getting to relax, but also get stuff done since they both have to work, but it's nice I can help them out, and just take a few days to rest before I head back to East Lansing.

I can't say I'm ready for the semester to start, and I have definitely enjoyed having much warmer weather, but I feel like I am expectant for this semester. That God will do a lot, keep me busy, and I am hoping I don't get drained.

Thanks for hanging in there despite the lack of updates since this summer! hopefully more to follow soon!

Turkish Tea (Çay- pronounced Chai)

Yesterday I was invited to my friend's home to experience a full Turkish Tea! My friend is a marvelous cook and made everything from scratch!

She was so gracious and picked us up in one part of the city, and paid for a taxi to take her straight to her house. Taxi's are very expensive here, but she wanted to take care of us. She gave us a tour of her house, and her mom's artwork. Her mother is so talented in so many different art forms. the mirror it took her 6 years to finish. The Arabic writing painting was painted with real gold melted down and watered down. I told her it must be very very expensive if she ever wanted to sell it. She told me, that in the time it took her to do all the detail, altogether, the painting is priceless. Too expensive to put a price on it.

Then we all sat down and had cookies, pumpkin, bread, crushed lentils, and others commonly found tea snacks. Afterwards, we had some fruit and homemade dessert of mini cream puffs with thick chocolate sauce! YUM! I was so full though, I could only eat half of what I was given. We also had Turkish coffee which is very very strong. Like espresso with a little sugar added. The grounds are in the cup, so you only drink about half of the espresso cup. then you put a saucer on top of the cup, and quickly turn it and let it sit upside down for

a few minutes. A favorite pastime is telling your future in the grounds of the coffee. My friend's mom was an expert in this. I don't believe in this, but she insisted on telling each girl her future. It was an interesting experience, and I was able to share how some of the things she mentioned relate to Christ, or how my life has changed because of Him.

I was so glad to be able to experience all of this. I had been hoping to visit a Turkish home while I was here, and God heard my prayer. My friend and the other girls that were there were so nice, and we had some very good conversations! I am praying they may know God! To top it off, before we left, her mom gave me and my American friend who came with me two of her paintings!!!! we couldn't believe it!!! They will be a treasure! My evening was made complete when I was able to give a New Testament to one of the girls there that I got to talk to a lot, and I know God will use it in her life.

Living in History!

One thing I have been stuck by the past couple weeks is where I really am at. I know I am in the Middle East, but this is where history happened. Paul walked these roads and next week I am going to visit Ephesus, one of the most famous churches in the bible. This country has the city where the people where first called Christians! This morning I read about Paul traveling to Attalia, the people here know it as Antalya. It's SO COOL! I can't believe this is where it all began. The other day we were in the middle of the city, and stay this tall pillar. Our friend told us even though it's not labeled, and almost no one knows why it is there, it is one of the oldest places in the city. It is a pillar Rome built to commemorate the Roman Empire converting to Christianity. Right here! Right in this city!!!!

Last week I got to visit the home of a man who in this century became one of the first 100 known Christians here. He told us about how the government skips over the part of history when Christianity ruled here. The people know nothing. We mention we are going to see the 7 churches of revelation in the bible. When we explain the first Christian churches were in this country they are amazed. I pray that God would bring this people back to himself.

My friend also told me how he took a team of about 9 Muslim raised Christians to another Middle Eastern country to share with them about Jesus. They did so by sharing the culture and history of This Country with friends they would meet. They knew they should keep good records of all the people they met and talked to and who was interested in knowing more about Christ, to give other friends of theirs in the area so they could follow up with them. At the end of the summer, they counted up that 37 people prayed to receive Christ!!! That is incredible for this part of the world! In This Country alone, only about 7 people came to faith through our friends in the past Year! so 37 is amazing! they are going to try to do this again in the future, because God is obviously moving through these people to reach others like them!

I got this incredible picture as I was reading through Acts the other day. This is where it all began. What if the Gospel came back to Antioch. it would have gone out to the whole world and finally come back again. Wow. I hope Jesus is coming back soon! maybe we won't see it in our day, but I can't help but think it is close!

living on campus

So the university I am at is very high end. The fact that all the classes are taught in English is attractive and very prestigious! They also have beautiful roses and other glowers all over the campus and today the gardeners were out. I noticed this on my way back from dinner! If you can't tell what the picture is. The round bushes were cut so there was a bare place where the face would be and the green part is the hair, and the bush has giant sunglasses on!

Other interesting things from living in the dorms includes, f

ans are forbidden until it is hot enough to use them. we think it may be because they don't want the waste of electricity. All of the lights all over turkey have motion detectors. So all the hallways in most places, in the schools, hotels, bathrooms, etc have motion senor lights. so it looks like you are going down a dark scary hallway, and then BAM! the lights come on. its annoying though when you are waiting in dark scary hallway and not moving enough, and the lights keep going out.

Also I was told I would have a Turkish roommate!!!! I was NOT expecting this! My roommate for the project did not end up coming, so I have been enjoying having the peace and quiet of not having a roommate, and extra space to myself. Well, the univer

sity doesn't understand my position. They think I am just another foreign exchange student for the summer. With all my responsibilities, it would be very detrimental for me to have a roommate, especially one that isn't Christian. Most students living in this dorm are about 18-20, so not only is there an age gap, but I am still working while here, and my room is a place of rest and comfort, away from distractions and a rest from the language and culture. I think they understand I can't have a roommate, but the language/cultural barrier makes me worried sometimes.

the view from my dorm window