This week has been insanely busy for the whole castle...
Today, well actually in twenty minutes we are leaving for a conference that we planned as a base, in Rechenbauch. Oh man, I am stoked. Then after this 3 day conference, the base disperses for mini-outreaches. One team is going to Serbia, another to Amsterdam, one to Czech-Republic and I am going all around Germany for Trumpet Tour.
We will all be gone for a total of 2 weeks away from the castle, but only apart from one another for a week. After Mission-Live and Trumpet tour, we are doing outreach as a whole school in Berlin. We also will have lecture that week in Berlin. I am very excited to see some of Germany and share it with everyone in the school...
I love you all, and I can't wait to share all that happens. I don't know next time I will be able to write, so I look forward to talking to you all when I can!
Here is my address for all of those I have promised it to!
Bekah Dinneen
JMEM/DTS
Untere Dorfstr. 56
02747 Herrnhut-Ruppersdorf
Germany
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Saturday, October 21, 2006
grilled cheese and the willage.
today we finished the week of relationships. to encompass yesterday and today, we started with the example of dating from the movie "High School Musical", a movie which i gladly watched earlier this year with a bubbly home group of 5th and 6th graders. then we finished with the dance scene at the wedding in "hitch". although it had its high points, i am glad to hear an end to the word courtship. there was so much learned and i am looking forward to the weekend to process it all...
to finish off today, the trumpet tour team met, my mini outreach group met for a prayer meeting and then i met with my friends. too many meetings, but lots of fun. one of the clips that tom and jen used during the teaching, was from "the village". i love that movie. it really made me miss home though. i cant tell you how many times we as a family have watched it, and therefore molly and i now refer to each other as one another´s "cherished one". uli decided that he was going to ask if we could borrow it, so tonight we had the very special treat of watching a movie.
charlotte and i got back to the castle around 10:30, after all our meetings, and everyone was anxiously awaiting the start of the movie, seriously , this is a big deal. i had gone to the store earlier and bought the makings for grilled cheese sandwhiches (they dont refrigerate cheese, ick)and all us americans were stoked for a taste of home. now despite the fact that they eat cheese and bread at every meal, the only germans who had ever had grilled cheese, were the ones who had been to the states. honestly, what a deprived culture. it was so exciting to be the one to introduce something so important. they all found it a delectable treat. so there we were making sandwhiches at 11 pm, 15 people crowded around my laptop, and one couch. haha. it was hilarious. in this moment, just saw the community building up around me, and i cant help but smile, because i it is such a privelege to be part of it. so we proceeded to watch the movie, no one really liked it like i do, oh well, and then my computer died 3 minutes before the end. hahaha. all was well, in the end we disconnected the coffee maker, microwave and hot water heater in order to hook up my computer with the extension cord (wish we would´ve thought about that before).
now, for the best part, most of the germans pronounce all their "v" with "w". so any word with a "v" sounds awfully funny. today during the lecture when we watched the movie, i was telling my german seat mates what it was called, and they would say "ohh the willage sounds like a great movie", "the willage, i have heard of that.." and so on. Now it is a huge joke for a lot of us. haha.
i realize we cant pronounce any words in german, but there is just something that perks my sense of humor when i hear..."would you like to walk to the willage with me? it might be wery scary, but we could quote bible werses as we stroll through the walley..."
to finish off today, the trumpet tour team met, my mini outreach group met for a prayer meeting and then i met with my friends. too many meetings, but lots of fun. one of the clips that tom and jen used during the teaching, was from "the village". i love that movie. it really made me miss home though. i cant tell you how many times we as a family have watched it, and therefore molly and i now refer to each other as one another´s "cherished one". uli decided that he was going to ask if we could borrow it, so tonight we had the very special treat of watching a movie.
charlotte and i got back to the castle around 10:30, after all our meetings, and everyone was anxiously awaiting the start of the movie, seriously , this is a big deal. i had gone to the store earlier and bought the makings for grilled cheese sandwhiches (they dont refrigerate cheese, ick)and all us americans were stoked for a taste of home. now despite the fact that they eat cheese and bread at every meal, the only germans who had ever had grilled cheese, were the ones who had been to the states. honestly, what a deprived culture. it was so exciting to be the one to introduce something so important. they all found it a delectable treat. so there we were making sandwhiches at 11 pm, 15 people crowded around my laptop, and one couch. haha. it was hilarious. in this moment, just saw the community building up around me, and i cant help but smile, because i it is such a privelege to be part of it. so we proceeded to watch the movie, no one really liked it like i do, oh well, and then my computer died 3 minutes before the end. hahaha. all was well, in the end we disconnected the coffee maker, microwave and hot water heater in order to hook up my computer with the extension cord (wish we would´ve thought about that before).
now, for the best part, most of the germans pronounce all their "v" with "w". so any word with a "v" sounds awfully funny. today during the lecture when we watched the movie, i was telling my german seat mates what it was called, and they would say "ohh the willage sounds like a great movie", "the willage, i have heard of that.." and so on. Now it is a huge joke for a lot of us. haha.
i realize we cant pronounce any words in german, but there is just something that perks my sense of humor when i hear..."would you like to walk to the willage with me? it might be wery scary, but we could quote bible werses as we stroll through the walley..."
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
purity and outreach.
okay. today=best day ever.
haha.
anyways. as you know, we are learning about relationships. today andy and frank put together a beautiful message about purity in relationships, not only boy/girl, but all relationships. it was incredible. they had so much wisdom and knowledge about everything that was encompassed in this topic. they used scientific knowledge, biblical background and personal experiences to share what they knew was important.
after talking for two hours, we took a break and then split up into boy and girls. when we were with the girls, we got time to pray with leaders for issues related to purity. when the boys came back into the lecture hall (they left because there are 20 boys and 50 girls) they got down on one knee, prayed for us, and then handed us all a rose. ahhh it was so precious. they then read a declaration about how they respected us, were sorry for all the boys that had ever disrepected us, and they saw us as beautiful jewels and tools for christ. i wanted to cry. it was my first time ever recieving a flower from a boy, and i can't think of a more special way i would have liked to recieve it then this way.
then we all read in unison a declaration written for the boys. we apollogized for any girls who may have hurt them in the past. we told them how we appreciated their differences and we loved the uniqueness about each sex. we told them that we liked their manhood and we respected the way they were. andy felt that god told her, the best way to let them know our feelings was to applaud them, for 5 minutes...now doesn't really seem like a long time...but when you are screaming encouragement and clapping as loud as you can, it means aching hands and light-headedness. it was well worth it though. the boys were so surprised and overwhelmed with our stamina and genuine words that all they did was smile.
it was a very memorable way to learn about purity and its importance. yay.
then later on, we learned of our final outreach locations. two weeks ago the staff said that they had been praying for months for locations but they also wanted us to pray so that we could get confirmation of locations. after praying for 2 days, i personally felt lead to zaire/congo. it was really incredible. god laid this country on my heart even though i had never thought of going there. last week we learned of possible outreach locations. they asked us last week to pray about possibilities for us personally and for direction in the plans. in the countries presented to us, congo was not an option. i was disappointed because god had spoken so clearly. i was thinking maybe ethiopia, but wasn't at peace. friday of last week, i had 2 more visions about the congo. i let the staff know, but i wasnt sure what good it would do. they warned us that "even if you thought god spoke to you, and you dont see the country, that doesnt mean god didnt speak to you, it may be for the future. dont go through this yourself, let us know so we can pray for you." i wasnt really distraught about it, i figured they were right, and it was for the future. i talked with one of my friends, and she told me that god would give me peace about it and it was right that i had let the staff know how i felt about the congo. i found out the day that i turned in my visions, that another boy also was feeling lead to the congo. i knew after this, that it was going to happen. i could NOT wait until today at 4:30. charlotte and i walked down to the lecture hall 10 minutes early, and waited and waited and waited...soon enough, they reavealed the final countries.
ethiopia
israel
china
morocco
afghanistan
india
nepal
pakistan
congo
it was amazing. yes it really was the last country, i didnt just do that for affect, but it does help...hannah is leading the outreach, and she really felt lead there. the base has never sent a team here but knows this is where we are supposed to go. i am so ecstatic. god is sovereign. i cant wait...
love you all, i cant wait to update more!
haha.
anyways. as you know, we are learning about relationships. today andy and frank put together a beautiful message about purity in relationships, not only boy/girl, but all relationships. it was incredible. they had so much wisdom and knowledge about everything that was encompassed in this topic. they used scientific knowledge, biblical background and personal experiences to share what they knew was important.
after talking for two hours, we took a break and then split up into boy and girls. when we were with the girls, we got time to pray with leaders for issues related to purity. when the boys came back into the lecture hall (they left because there are 20 boys and 50 girls) they got down on one knee, prayed for us, and then handed us all a rose. ahhh it was so precious. they then read a declaration about how they respected us, were sorry for all the boys that had ever disrepected us, and they saw us as beautiful jewels and tools for christ. i wanted to cry. it was my first time ever recieving a flower from a boy, and i can't think of a more special way i would have liked to recieve it then this way.
then we all read in unison a declaration written for the boys. we apollogized for any girls who may have hurt them in the past. we told them how we appreciated their differences and we loved the uniqueness about each sex. we told them that we liked their manhood and we respected the way they were. andy felt that god told her, the best way to let them know our feelings was to applaud them, for 5 minutes...now doesn't really seem like a long time...but when you are screaming encouragement and clapping as loud as you can, it means aching hands and light-headedness. it was well worth it though. the boys were so surprised and overwhelmed with our stamina and genuine words that all they did was smile.
it was a very memorable way to learn about purity and its importance. yay.
then later on, we learned of our final outreach locations. two weeks ago the staff said that they had been praying for months for locations but they also wanted us to pray so that we could get confirmation of locations. after praying for 2 days, i personally felt lead to zaire/congo. it was really incredible. god laid this country on my heart even though i had never thought of going there. last week we learned of possible outreach locations. they asked us last week to pray about possibilities for us personally and for direction in the plans. in the countries presented to us, congo was not an option. i was disappointed because god had spoken so clearly. i was thinking maybe ethiopia, but wasn't at peace. friday of last week, i had 2 more visions about the congo. i let the staff know, but i wasnt sure what good it would do. they warned us that "even if you thought god spoke to you, and you dont see the country, that doesnt mean god didnt speak to you, it may be for the future. dont go through this yourself, let us know so we can pray for you." i wasnt really distraught about it, i figured they were right, and it was for the future. i talked with one of my friends, and she told me that god would give me peace about it and it was right that i had let the staff know how i felt about the congo. i found out the day that i turned in my visions, that another boy also was feeling lead to the congo. i knew after this, that it was going to happen. i could NOT wait until today at 4:30. charlotte and i walked down to the lecture hall 10 minutes early, and waited and waited and waited...soon enough, they reavealed the final countries.
ethiopia
israel
china
morocco
afghanistan
india
nepal
pakistan
congo
it was amazing. yes it really was the last country, i didnt just do that for affect, but it does help...hannah is leading the outreach, and she really felt lead there. the base has never sent a team here but knows this is where we are supposed to go. i am so ecstatic. god is sovereign. i cant wait...
love you all, i cant wait to update more!
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Long Day.
I started writing a blog. However, my brain seems to be mush...we just read the whole book of Acts (good stuff), so I will attempt to finish my blog tomorrow. I didn't want to NOT post, so here are some pictures of today. After this I am off to my flat in town. Tiring day.
1,2,3=FIRST FROST!!!! How exciting! Time to wear mittens. It was awfully cold on this mornings walk. I could hardly get my camera out of the case, and then pushing the button to take the picture...jeeze whiz...
4,5,6=Lunch time outside the castle!
4=Uli feeding me undercooked rice and mushy noodles! (learning to live like missionaries!)
5=Julie and Deanna looking fly.
6=Charlotte and I being modest.
Monday, October 16, 2006
okay, its complicated to put a caption by each picture so bear with me! here are some pictures from crazy hair night last saturday...1) this is uli after the haircut...you can't really tell, but it's a mullet. there is a before shot if you scroll down.
2) mimi is beautiful. she went all out for crazy hair night.
3) yay. i am video chatting with Molly the day before she left for Uganda. I gave her a tour of the castle.
4) Here is uli and mimi's old hair. beautiful.
5) here is where i spend my days.
The Real World
I have known for the last year or so, that the society we live in gives us a tainted view of how we are supposed to live. It seems that now more then ever, this idea keeps hitting me between the eyes.
This week we are learning about "relationships". Of course everyone thinks about boy/girls relationships immediately. I figured it would be about that and relationships within our community. It seemed as if we bearly touched on either of these topics...
What really stood out to me, is how twisted of a mindset so many of us have of the world and how we think we are supposed to act. We make such a big deal of everything around us, mostly about ourselves. Everything that happens to us, we must make a fuss about, everything we don't like, we have to express our feelings so everyone knows what we think...we must always let people know what is going on with us. Ahh but the world is so much bigger and relationships are so much deeper then this. I realized how selfish I am in almost every relationship I am in. Frank talked about relationships that are anchored to the soul vs. relationships that are anchored to the spirit. I have so much to work on...We are so fallen as people, yet God is glorified when we work towards perfection. There were so many concepts discussed today, none of which I ever would have guessed, and I am still processing so much...
I often about how Steve told us to "revolutionize the way we live". I am so thankful for that mindset.
Hmm...hope you are all confused. I know I am. Haha. I will post again tomorrow. :)
This week we are learning about "relationships". Of course everyone thinks about boy/girls relationships immediately. I figured it would be about that and relationships within our community. It seemed as if we bearly touched on either of these topics...
What really stood out to me, is how twisted of a mindset so many of us have of the world and how we think we are supposed to act. We make such a big deal of everything around us, mostly about ourselves. Everything that happens to us, we must make a fuss about, everything we don't like, we have to express our feelings so everyone knows what we think...we must always let people know what is going on with us. Ahh but the world is so much bigger and relationships are so much deeper then this. I realized how selfish I am in almost every relationship I am in. Frank talked about relationships that are anchored to the soul vs. relationships that are anchored to the spirit. I have so much to work on...We are so fallen as people, yet God is glorified when we work towards perfection. There were so many concepts discussed today, none of which I ever would have guessed, and I am still processing so much...
I often about how Steve told us to "revolutionize the way we live". I am so thankful for that mindset.
Hmm...hope you are all confused. I know I am. Haha. I will post again tomorrow. :)
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Here's the deal
Hey Guys. Thanks for moving sites with me. So...I have been posting on my old site, but it hasn't been updating because someone is using my computer for the YWAM Herrnhut site. It is taking up all the space on my program because there are so many pictures and videos and all that stuff. When I update, it doesn't actually change the site at all because there is no room left. I have decided to just make a new site so that I can actually update it. Here you can comment on my posts too! How exciting! Love you guys! Sorry it took so long to get this up...things have been busy around here!
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