2006

2006 began with fireworks over Tuetting and Starnberg on the Starnberger See, surrounded by teenaged campers, with prayer and worship, in southern Germany. 2006 also ended in Germany, surrounded by German teens and 20 somethings on a soggy ridge over looking Wermelskirchen, watching a thousand fireworks, drinking sekt, and praising God for what he is doing in that little German city.

The year began and ended very similarly. How has it changed me?

I have skiied the Austrian Alps

I have stared at the North Atlantic from Europe´s highest cliff in Ireland

I celebrated my birthday with amazing brothers at an Applebee's in Marion Indiana- with as fun a group as can be gathered on this earth

I led a small but very moving Alfa course in Klaipeda

I had all kinds of complicated situations with the opposite sex

I renewed my love of the State of Michigan

I saw the museum of the Armenian Genocide, the museum of the Forbidden City in Beijing, the museum of Georgian History

I ate in a real Irish pub, ate in the back of a little bus in Kazbegi Georgia with a bunch of orthodox teenaged guys, ate in the world's most exclusive shopping center, ate donkey, stingray, and squid on the streets of Yanji

I worshipped God in Korean, in Chinese, in Russian, in Georgian, in German, and in English

I stayed with the Watson´s in Tbilisi, with Jon in Shanghai, with Kathryn in Wuxi, with my parents for two months, in a dorm at IWU, in Nigel´s house in Kill Inney Ireland, in youth hostels, on Jari´s floor in Helsinki, in a tent along the Gauja, in a guesthouse on the island of Hiumaa, in my little room 1303 at YUST, in the Hull´s house in Lansing, at the Brinkmans´in Lansing, in a cabin on Lake Superior, with Doug in Nashville, with Josh in Nashville, on a boat on the gulf of finland.

I presented at a conference in Narva

I taught German, and Thesis, and Linguistics, and English conversation

I started this Blog

I flew to Nashville twice to be in weddings, and discovered a great church there, and was best man for the first time in my life

I had an amazing guy´s small group every thursday in our orange apartment at Janonio 16, with guys from 10 countries

I spoke in Estonian, Finnish, Latvian, Lithuanian, English, German, Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese, Korean, French, and Spanish

I went to a Christian rock concert in helsinki, asia´s largest church in tbilisi, and the gigantic TSPM church in Yanji for Christmas

I carved a grapefruit for halloween, managed to find a scrap of turkey for Thanksgiving, watched fireworks over Grand Traverse Bay for the 4th of July, taught at LCC for valentine´s day, gazed at the proud skyscraper´s of beijing for mid-autumn day, had a cozy gathering at the Mueller´s apartment with my friends from YUST and some guests from the Silesian techinical school for Christmas.

I heard amazing teaching at the Exodus Conference, at Miesto Baznycia, at the Brueder Gemeinde in Wermelskirchen...

I have been really shaken to my core, stripped of illusions about myself, thrown into deep culture shock, tried and tested, and come out whole and breathing and living and still trusting God and still making the hard decision to follow him day by day.

I have shared the Good News about Jesus so many times in many different ways, everytime being amazed that i am bold enough to do that, and amazed that people actually are interested to hear about it

I have been blessed incredibly by my God and every person who has made my life possible, tenable, and rich- my family, my friends, my many supporters , my colleagues at LCC and at YUST...

Thank you LoRD for 2006... May i burn up for your glory as the Piper-lovers say, in the year 2007. Who knows what this year will bring? Bog ego znajet!