Frohe Weihnachten!

Frohe Weihnachten!  Merry Christmas from Germany!  This Christmas season has been very full.  There were a lot of special events toward the end of the semester, and this break has begun with lots of activity.  I am so blessed to be a part of the BFA community and to have many opportunities to invest in others' lives.  Check out these Christmas highlights...

Fellowship time in the classroom with my students and their families after the elementary Christmas concert 

Small group Christmas party (more here!)

Christmas bulletin board -- note the construction paper and cotton ball Santa hats and beards I added to their photos!

Class gift from my students inside this beautiful stocking -- a gift certificate to my favorite restaurant!

Silly photo booth at our class Christmas party!  I love my 4th graders!

My roommates came to help with the photo booth!

Sharing with the Italian youth group about the BFA Mission Trip I'll be taking there in April (more here!)

Me with the Italian youth leaders at their Christmas party

A special visit from my parents and brother -- one of our days was spent in the Swiss Alps

Christmas Eve service at G5, the German church I attend regularly

Christmas Eve in Basel

Getting appetizers ready with my mom and roommate on Christmas day!

Christmas gifts from Dave -- Wheaton swim team t-shirts!

Spending an afternoon reading and relaxing at the Starbucks in Basel... hooray for break!

My prayer this Christmas is that we are all reminded of the greatest gift ever given -- Jesus Christ.  May our focus be on Him and Him alone as we head into a new year, 2012!

Italy-Bound!

Over the past few weeks, I've been gathering information and planning meetings for the mission trip I'll be leading in April!  Although it seems like it's still a ways off, it's important that we begin team building now.  Prayerfully, we will feel unified as a team by the time our flight takes off from the Basel airport in just over three months.

Last Sunday, I met with most of our team for a team-building meeting over pasta lunch.  We began the meeting doing "Zoom," an activity that helps everyone to consider different perspectives and use good communication.  Afterwards, we talked about why it is important to think about these two things for our trip to Italy.  One student pointed out that we have different perspectives since we come from different cultural backgrounds (Japan, Korea, United States, Canada, Germany, France, Holland, Slovenia...), in addition to interacting with the Italian teenagers who have an even different perspective.  We also prayed that we would communicate well with one another and those we will serve.  

We'll have a lot more pasta in Italy, but we're getting started now!  Each student received a bag of pasta in his or her mailbox, which we cooked together all in one pot to symbolize our unity.  While we ate, we talked about the importance of family and quality time during meals.  The students also told a little bit more about themselves.

You can follow our preparations for this trip here:  http://bfainitaly.blogspot.com.

I would appreciate your prayers as I travel to Italy today (!!) for a few days.  I hope that the meetings with the Italian youth leaders this weekend will be productive and encouraging.  Pray that we would have good communication and come up with ideas about what projects our team can do during spring break.  Most importantly, pray that God would give me wisdom and grace as I interact with the Italians as a representation of BFA, my mission trip team, and even my home church Grace Point.  Grazie!

Rushing Wind

As I sit on the couch in the living room, I hear the wind whipping along the side of the apartment and down the street.  I witness the wind's invisible power in the dancing branches of the evergreens and the sideways raindrops.  Windows rattle.

I am reading Jesus Calling, a devotional by Sarah Young that my mentor gave me as an early Christmas present last week.  Each day of reading this book, I have heard Jesus' voice speaking directly to me through Young's words.

Today, Jesus is saying this to me, to us....

"I am speaking in the depths of your being.  Be still, so that you can hear My voice.  I speak in the language of Love; My words fill you with Life and Peace, Joy and hope.  I desire to talk with all of My children, but many are too busy to listen.  The "work ethic" has them tied up in knots.  They submit wholeheartedly to this taskmaster, wondering why they feel so distant from Me.

Living close to Me requires making Me your First Love - your highest priority.  As you seek My Presence above all else, you experience Peace and Joy in full measure.  I am also blessed when you make Me first in your life.  While you journey through life in My Presence, My Glory brightens the world around you."

I have often heard messages and read verses about being quiet before God and listening to His still, small voice.  In the quiet of this first morning of Christmas break, I wonder to myself how often I actually take the time to be still.  Do I use the excuse of being busy with "good" things?  Can I claim that I'm not very good at just sitting and listening?

The loud cry of today's wind calls out to me again.  When spending time with God is no longer my highest priority, when "work ethic" is my taskmaster, I need to hear the loud voice of a rushing wind to call me back into His presence.

I want to live close to You, Jesus.  May Your glory shine through me as I seek You above all else.

GCC Alum Profile!

Check out my GCC Education Department alumni profile!

http://www2.gcc.edu/dept/educ/ecs/AlumFeature2011_HeatherBrown.asp

Sweets and Sweet Girls!

The last time my small group and I were together was for a few brief moments at the high school Christmas banquet in beautiful dresses and special hairstyles...

Tonight we put on our pajamas to celebrate Christmas in a different way!  My roommate Brittany and I invited our small group girls to come over for pizza dinner, a movie (Elf, of course), and lots of fun.  We just love having these freshmen and sophomores relaxing, chatting, and being silly in our living room!

While watching Elf, the girls could also decorate sugar cookies!  We made icing with powdered sugar, water, and food coloring (so easy!) and set out lots of toppings.

After some time to exchange gifts in our separate groups, we had fun with a photo booth!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!