Budapest, Hungary

We walked around Budapest one night with a girl we met at our hostel, Luciana


On our way to Calvary Chapel Budapest


Hanging out at another cafe


Bathroom signs at the cafe


Relaxing with a little LOTR

Prague, Czech Republic

Eating a much needed hamburger


Statue of Jan Hus-14th century religious reformer who was influenced heavily by Wycliffe. Hus was excommunicated from the Catholic church and burned at the stake for his supposedly heretical ideas.


Yes, this is Heather eating ice cream off the ground. We treated ourselves at dinner one night, and after I had eaten my share of the ice cream, I accidentally knocked the whole thing on the ground before Heather could eat any. Eating off the ground is one of the many things that you do on YHM without any second thought that you would never even consider doing at home.


View of Prague


Studying a map, of course (I really like maps--I'm a nerd, I know)

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic Pics

We had to take the bus in some random town in Czech...we were confused.


Me at the not very official looking bus stop


We met up with the Bergen 2 team in Czech and went out to dinner with them (clockwise starting from front left: Justin, Jeff, Jenn, Grace, Heather)

Cesky Krumlov


Out for gelato!

Pics from Munich

"The Tent" in Munich...A 100 bed dorm room underneath a big-top tent. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep.


"Work shall set you free"--The gate to Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany


Crematorium


Heather and I at Coffee Fellows--a cafe we liked to go to


Eating some good German pastries and looking confused on the train

Some more Europe pics...

Fondue in Switzerland with a couple girls we met, Rachel and Cory, from Colorado


The family room in our amazing hostel in Gryon, Switzerland


Views from our hostel windows


Heather hanging out at a coffee shop in Munich

A few Europe Pictures...

Our whole group at O'Hare before leaving for Amsterdam


Heather and I on our way to France from Amsterdam (right before we realized that we left all of our groceries for the next couple days in the hostel in Amsterdam...Oops)


Shelter City in Amsterdam-one of the Christian hostels that we work with--this hostel is right next to the Red Light District


Very lost in Grenoble, France


What country are we in?

YHM Pictures are Online

Pictures from this summer are now online!
Visit share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbMmLJk1bOHKw to view them.
(I will hopefully be gradually deleting duplicates and putting labels on the pictures, but I haven't gotten around to that yet.)
Enjoy!
-Sarah

Back in the States!

Hey Everyone!

So we're all back on American soil! Thanks so much for your prayers this summer. God is good. I am not home on my own computer right now, but as soon as I can get to it, I promise that I will post pictures from this summer. Until then, you'll just have to use your imaginations. Sorry.

I look forward to catching up with people and having actual face to face conversations (over some good American food)! Thanks again for your love and support these last 2 months!

God bless.
Love,
Sarah

P.S. I am currently in the apartment hunt and I'm trying to get a few other loose ends tied up before grad school starts in a few weeks...I would really love your prayers for that. The fast pace of life has hit me hard, and I need to get stuff done but I also want to be able to rest and spend time with people without worrying too much about logistical stuff, so I could really use your prayers. I've learned so much this summer and I want to be able to reflect on those things and take time to rest, which seems to be rather countercultural. Maybe we should instigate having siesta in the afternoon like they do in Europe. Hmmm.... I guess my "PS" is longer than my actual post. Oops. I guess that's all for now. Check back later for pictures!

Update from Bergen 2

To those we love,

We went to Europe with the many hopes, prayers and expectations, but mostly with our eyes tuned as best we could to see God work.
As most of you know we are back now. Hopefully, many of you have already gotten a chance to see and talk to us. It may or may not have been obvious with all that was going on in our heads when we saw you, but things have changed. We have changed. Sometimes the change feels ever so slight, maybe we don't even notice it ourselves. Sometimes it takes us by surprise, like the oddity of not having to go shopping for one's next meal (there exists a refrigerator which mysteriously refills itself), or maybe for some (Jen), no longer feeling the need to keep track of every dime spent. However, sometimes the changes are enormous, so big that we can't even wrap our minds around what God has done in us. Like looking out upon an ocean, we try to introspect and see the vastness of it all, but all we can focus on is the curl of one wave or the rough edge of an answered prayer whispered years ago (perhaps a prayer of finding identity, or strength, or knowledge of the Love God has for us personally). We have seen God work, and although we were not always seeing, he did the work in spite of us.
The first night I was back, I had a conversation with one of my closest friends from Wheaton. It was like two months of emotion were trying to escape in less than two seconds. Ever sentence seemed to lead to more insights and a handful of other epiphanies, and being overwhelmed with it all, I had to settle for incoherent streams of thought. It was wonderful. Probably a little unexpected for my friend, but wonderful, feeling so much passion and excitement fill my chest, and wanting nothing more than to run through the next five years of my life screaming with everything in me, "God is Good."
My friends, God is Good.
We knew that before we left. We knew that before seeing the red light district, or having a conversation with two Canadian brothers, or meeting Kellie our friend from London, or walking over the border of East and West Berlin, or tasting our first Kebab... or having our first "hard" team conversation... taking trains through the Czech Republic... seeing all our YHM friends in Salzburg... staying in a castle... meeting Marcello... leading Bible discussions... talking to Yanis for five hours, twice... climbing Floyen... jumping on trampolines... witnessing answered prayer again and again and again... falling for a Hungarian... running late for a cog-rail... dancing in our apartment... having dinner with Einar and his family... or riding bicycles though the streets of Amsterdam... or sharing the Gospel in Europe... or coming home after running a hard race.
We knew God was Good before all of that, we just know it a little better now.
And it is all for the sake of the Gospel,
the good news that Jesus conquered death, and we no longer have to live with the weight of sin. That on a cross, the son of God died so that we could again be in relationship with our creator, and all we have to do is ask to be forgiven and follow.
That is the good news, and we are each called to it, albeit it differently. For some, it might be the first step of belief,
for others it might be leaving all we know...
home, family, friends, paradigms, patterns of living of over forty years, lifestyles, addictions, and self-inflicting pain...
to follow,
but that step doesn't look all too different from the first.
Our step this past summer was going to Europe.
Thank you for supporting us through it. We know you were praying, and we know that without your aid, it would not have happened.
We are so grateful for your love, and we pray that God would bless you as you have us.

Grace and Peace to you all,
Jeff

PS Did I mention kebabs are probably an argument for the existence of God? They are that good.