PRIDE

P is for Perfect. R is for Replay. I is for Insecure Identity. D is for Defenses. E is for Encounter. Here we are, on the last letter of PRIDE. I'm surprised when I think about how much the purpose of this blog has changed. Yet at the same time, the underlying purpose is still the same. I wanted to help people understand the pain and destruction that comes with Pride... but I wanted to tell them by sharing my own experiences and what I've learned. Now I find myself wanting to share so much more, not just about Pride but about all that God is teaching me through my weaknesses; through my masks. The E for this series of posts has been very difficult to come up with. So many ideas run through my mind, so many different directions I could take this. But I've realized looking back over the posts that I have highlighted a lot of the nastiness of our human nature. I know that I have indeed highlighted my own weaknesses and moments that I can't say I'm proud of at a...

My last 4 weeks in Slovakia passed so fast. Last update I had written, I was in Banska Bystrica about to do school promotions for Fusion camp, and those went well! We had about 8 class presentations about Fusion and camp this summer. One thing that is super interesting that you will never see in American schools, is the freedom to promote your faith or religious programs in classrooms. It's really cool opportunity for the ministries in these Eastern European countries that JV is in.  After spending the week in Banska and hanging out with the Fusion kids, I headed back to Bratislava to have Easter with the Chases. Easter was very different away from home... After 18 years of huge celebrations at a church of 1400 people, with choirs and orchestras, and everyone dressed up, it was strange to be in a more laid back, small celebration without family. But nonetheless, it was a great day of celebrating Christ's resurrection and I was once again so thankful to be surrounded by people...

How do I even begin to sum up the last two and a half weeks? SO much has happened that I feel like being asked to summarize these last two and half weeks is like being asked to summarize a year. I have been putting off writing this update simply because it seems like there will be too much to say, but there have been too many blessings for me to  not  share them with you all. So I will start from where my last note left off. We came back to Bratislava from the JV Women’s retreat and that Sunday, Darina, Mark, Amy, Gavin, Veronika, and I lead worship at their home church, Viera. That was a fun experience and encouraging for me! I always feel like it is a gift to be able to worship in multiple languages. That week we started band rehearsals for KPM, a big youth leadership conference in Slovakia. Also that week, I began a job that I never once considered (or desired haha)… I started teaching English to freshman in a bilingual high school in Bratislava...

It’s been four weeks now that I’ve been living among the Slovak… or one MONTH. Whoa! It seems like this time has gone by so incredibly fast and yet arriving here seems like ages ago. But there is no doubt that I am beyond grateful for the experiences that I am being given here in Slovakia.            The past two weeks have held a lot! Our workshops started, got to travel, met anotherFusion, visited with old friends… If there is one thing that I have been thankful for in these last two weeks, it has been being able to see the world through another set of eyes. Being able to see God moving in so many different directions and ways that no man or group of people could ever try to put together on their own!             I am teaching two workshops in Bratislava, acoustic guitar and bass guitar. I teach two girls in my acoustic workshop and one in my bass workshop. So I get an hour of time just me an...

Two weeks ago, I flew out of Denver International Airport and 15 hours later, I was singing with the kids that I met this last summer in Bratislava, Slovakia. I want to start off just by thanking everyone who has helped me to get here financially and through prayer. I am so grateful for this opportunity and the experiences that will come from it. I can already tell that God is using this time to mold my heart, to teach me and bend me. I have learned and will learn so much. Two weeks ago, I got to experience Fusion! Over the summer our Fort Collins team got to be a part of a Fusion camp but we had little to no idea of what Fusion looked like throughout the year. So it was cool to experience the weekly gathering that they have. We started with a game and group mixer, then we began vocal warm ups! From warms ups we went into choir rehearsal and then usually we would have done a short devotional,but it just so happened that the Olympic Slovak vs. Czech hockey game was that night… (Hockey ...

P is for Perfect. R is for Replay. I is for Insecure Identity. D is for Defenses. Hello again, my friends. It really has been such a long time... and SO much has happened! Last post, was almost five months ago. I was in school, working, in a relationship, living in Colorado... Now I'm teaching teens how to play music, single, not in school and living with a dear family in Slovakia. Yup. As in the other side of the world, Slovakia. What?? To briefly fill you in, I had gone on a short term mission trip to Slovakia last summer and I loved the program that used music to teach teens about God and the Gospel. So I applied to be an intern through an organization called Josiah Venture for this spring semester, spent months working too many hours of overtime, recording music to sell for support, and boom. It all happened so fast, but here I am! Sitting in a different country, praying that God will use me in any way He wants, and missing Starbucks. (OK, so that last one may not be as ...