The Shock

So, I wasn't going to write about this but I feel like I should write into words how I have been feeling about Cascade closing. I was very fortunate because my dad called and told me so I wouldn't find out about it on the internet. I am very greatful for that. I'm not going to lie, I was hysterical when I found out. I cried alone in my room for a while and nearly hyperventilated, not wanting anyone to see my tears. Finally I knew I couldn't handle it so I went down to my friends room, where they were having a homework party. I cried in front of them, which i HATE, but they helped comfort me and let me use their computer to make a phone call. After the initial shock and tears and sadness my mind became a little clear. i realized that God has provided me with blessings my entire life. He gave me a wonderful family, friends, boyfriend and school. The school will be gone soon, but He does everything for a reason and I believe that He will continue to provide for me and everyone else affected. This last year I didn't really have a plan for after college so I said that whatever path God chooses for me I will follow. I guess I didn't think it would ever come to this extreme. However I must acccept this as reality, if no miracle occurs. Yesterday I went back to the refugee center to help out with a halloween party for the kids, it helped get my mind off of things for a while. I heard more of the story of a girl named Michelle. Her family life is extremley disturbed. Her mother left her in Austria to take care of her grandfather in Serbia. She is not able to be a good mother because she is always gone, after a few months the grandfather died and the family didnt have enough money for a funeral, so his body stayed in the house for three days before they could move it. Hearing this story puts my life in perspective. I had the priveledge of higher education, and even though this particual college is closing, I still have a bright future, I will never have to suffer the pain and troubles of a family like Michelle's. I still have so much, even though a huge part of my life is being taken away. This is a true test of my faith, never have a been tested to this magnitude. But you know what? God has a plan and will take care of everyone at Cascade. I just know He will, and that fact gives me comfort. I just wish I was home to comfort those at Cascade struggling right now. This is in my prayers everyday, many times a day and all of my friends here are praying as well. I got a few verses from someone very special to me and I thought I would share one of them here: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you can be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4. This verse has really helped me, I hope it will help others as well.

First Ten Day!!

From Vienna to Geneva, to Paris, to Dublin, to Amsterdam, to Brugge and then back to Vienna there are just too many stories to fit into one blog in the amount of time I have. It was a fabulous trip. I went with 5 other girls which I was a little worried about. Girls tend to have a lot of drama and I HATE that kind of drama, but it worked out really nicely.

We spent 8 hours in Geneva waiting for our next train so we couldn't do much there. Next was Paris and it was sunny every day we were there. I saw my favorite artist Renoir's paintings which made me really excited and feel like a nerd. I admit though, and embrace it. We also saw Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. After Paris we flew to Dublin and spent the two shortest days of my life there!! I have to go back, I love Ireland so much and two days was just not enough. We took a day trip out into the country side to a place called Kildare, where we got a private tour of a cathedral that was closed. It was so amazing!! At about 6:30am the next morning we flew back to Paris and got on a train to go to Amsterdam. Our hostel was in the Red Light district. It wasn't my favorite place but we took a bike tour on the only rainy day of our trip and luckily got to see more of the city and some of the country side. Then we headed off for Brugge, which is called the Venice of the North. It was beautiful, we took a canal tour and ate Belgian waffles. Mine had strawberries and whipped cream.... SO good! Our train ride "home" to Vienna was from 7am to 9pm. I get so restless on those trains, but it is worth it. I am really tired and I have a lot to get done before I go to Italy on Friday!!

Missions in Germany

I was told by quite a few of my friends at Cascade to go to Chemnitz if I got the chance. So, I did. I was a little apprehensive at first because we were a group of 18 students and I didn't feel like we could all possibly help out. God has his ways though. When we got there we joined an English bible study and sang English songs! It was so exciting! the next morning we played a few intense games of volleyball, all the kids (and adults) were really good. After that we had a pizza party and went to a castle about 20 minutes away. We played in the leaves and took a couple good pictures (Sarah and I by the castle) that night we went to an area wide song fest and had to sight read songs in German. I stink sight reading in English, so it was quite a challenge. Luckily the lady next to me knew her part so I could follow along. It seemed like we didn't do a lot to actually help the congregation. However there was a 17 year old guy named Alex there. We were told that he is an aspiring professional gymnast. He has been talking to the missionaries (Clint, April and baby Heidi) but he had not come to church on Sunday morning yet. His parents are against the church. Alex really wants to learn more English, so he was very excited that we were coming, so excited in fact that he came to church! the missionaries were very pleased. It goes to show you that even if you feel like your not helping at certain times, God is still using you to bring people to him. That is so encouraging. The church

family is wonderful. There are about 6 Americans and they all have so much fun together. Most of them came over for the Let's Start Talking program, fell in love with the town and people and have stayed there ever since. Coming on these trips really shows me how people can just pick up their lives and move across the country. It is because they literally cannot leave. If God calls me to be a missionary I will go, I want to help so bad! However, all I can do is give support where and when it is needed. I cannot wait for God to reveal His plan for me, whatever it may be.

The Best Day Ever!!

So I went out late on Tuesday night with a group of girls to Cafe Mozart. We got all dressed up and had a cheese platter and hot chocolate. When we got back to the Castle it was a little after midnight. I was on my way to bed when my friend Lani stopped me in the hallway. She said, "hey Brooke, want to go to Bratislava (Slovakia) tomorrow?" I said "yes, that sounds like fun." It was as casual of a question as "hey Brooke, want to go to Taco Bell? So we took a
spontaneous trip to Slovakia. How many times in my life can I do that? We had no idea what was there or what we were going to do. Our train arrived at about noon, then we hopped onto an old bus and took it to the Centrum (town center) It was so incredible! we took a tour on a little red trolly and got to see and learn about the palaces and churches in the area and then we went shopping... If you know me you, you know I love to shop, especially when things are cheap.

In Slovakia 1000 crowns is equal to about 32 euros. I used that 32 euros to pay for transportation, a tour of the city, shopping and dinner. It was all so cheap!! We also didn't have the stress of going to required sights and taking notes. It was glorious, the sun was shining and everyone was in a good mood. The train ride was only an hour so we got back to Vienna at about 8:30. I am offically in love with Europe. I love being able to take a day trip to a completley different country. I will miss it when I leave, but I can't spend too much time away from home.

Mission in Croatia

This last weekend I went to Varazdin, Croatia for my first mission trip! There was a team of 7 of us. The girls stayed with an elderly woman named Ruzita who did not speak any English, and the boys stayed at the church building. Their building is no where near being finished so we helped clean it up. I shoveled out 4 or 5 piles of dust off the floor. On Saturday we put on a three hour VBS for the Croatian kids who also spoke little to no English. Luckily the preacher, Mladen translated. We sang songs and played tag. It was so much fun! In the evenings we walked around the city, found dinner and saw some sights. Worship on Sunday was also amazing. They chose songs that were translated from English so we could recognize the melody and know what we were singing even though the words were in Croatian. This experience helped me realize just how

universal the story of Jesus is. You can get a group of Christians together who do not even speak the same language and still be able to worship with one another. Isn't that amazing!? Every morning we were fed bread and tea that was delicious. I have never eaten so much bread in my life!! that is all they serve! The entire weekend was such a blessing. It was really hard for me to leave knowing how much more work there is to be done. We could only be there for 3 days, it just wasn't enough time. However, if God calls me back to Croatia some day, I will do what He wants. I am so blessed...

(top picture is my team, bottom picture is some of the girls that came for VBS)

Mauthausen Concentration Camp

Oh my goodness, this was one of the most difficult experiences. We saw the place where hundreds and thousands of people were beaten, tortured and killed for no apparent reason. This camp was the last to be liberated in Europe by American soldiers in 1945. the first picture shows the entrance and main courtyard of the camp where hundreds of people were packed in like sardines. The second picture shows a crematorium, when the SS started using these they would burn one body at a time. After some time they began to have a surplus of dead skeletal people, so they would pile at least 10 corpses in each of these with no remorse.

It made me wonder if I would still be a faithful Christrian if I was a prisoner in this camp. I honestly do not think my faith is strong enough. I would like to think it is but I have never had anything to truly test me. I am extremley blessed and I believe in God because I see evidence of His work all around me. What if I didn't see it though? What if I didn't feel His presence at all. People in this camp lost all hope. They were fed no more than five spoonfuls of "soup" every three days, they were hit and worked to the bone, literally. How could they see the face of God? There was some grafitti left that translated to this: "If there is a God, he will have to beg my forgiveness" that really struck me hard. I hope that someday I can aquire a faith strong enough to get through the tough times, even though I know I will never have to suffer as they did. It was a really difficult experience but I learned so much, my only prayer is that this will never happen again.