Lift up your eyes, the harvest is here

Oh, It’s Christmas time in Hannover, and it’s so evident of that. The week of thanksgiving, the city began to build and set up the Christmas markets… and they truly are extravagant. Hannover builds a huge huge traditional german windmill thing every year, and there are funnel cakes (schmalzkuchen) and warm drinks and laughter and fun and chestnuts roasting on open fires!!, and it’s so exciting.

November was quite an interesting month… and went by so terribly fast but so terribly slow at the same time. I experienced a bout of sickness that involved throwing up and running a temperature and it only heightened the homesickness and culture shock I was experiencing! Never before have I felt so down and alone and, I truly hope those moments don’t become often here. I am learning to seek Christ in each day… and learn from Him… to take each day as a gift and to ask Him to show me how to live it. Christ spoke to me so much through those moments of tears and hurt. I will recall this month so often and I don’t think I will ever forget the days of being on my knees in tears crying out to God. Through tears, I learned to bow on my knees and worship Christ. I’m not sure I can say I have ever truly done that. “God you are God, even when I can’t feel you, even when I don’t see the hope for the future, I know you are here. I know you are near, and I know you are God.”

It has been amazing to see how Father has delivered me out of my loneliness. Last weekend I left early Friday morning and traveled 2 hours by train to Hamburg and got there around 10:00 am. I met S and S at the train station and the day was full of going to shops and buying things for Thanksgiving Dinner that night. I spent the afternoon and first part of the evening cleaning and cooking and feeling like I was in family. “It feels so good to have our little sister here.” Those words filled me with a joy I hadn’t felt in so long. I spent the whole weekend there leaving later on Monday night, and it was so nice to feel like I had spent the weekend with family. One day I spent with S and C, and S poured truth and God’s promises into my life. She reminded me that I am a new creation and experiences will be so totally different for me than any one else—as is true for everyone. That Christ placed his power IN us, and that he is molding me and more. She told me things I know, but the way she said them were new, and I love her for caring about me so much in ways that I don’t really deserve.

Another amazing aspect of going to Hamburg was how encouraged I was to lift up my eyes and see what Father is doing among the generation of believers there, and among the many other communities there as well. I was filled with a passion to come back and live my life in Hannover in expectancy and to truly allow Christ to mold me to follow him and see his harvest the way he sees it and to not look at things with my eyes.

I am meeting so many amazing people, and learning more of the German culture and views than I ever have before. I won’t mention certain situations or people, but simply ask for your prayer.

Well, it is December 1, the first day of the Advent. I will eat my first chocolate piece but as advent comes I have been challenged to pray with expectency for revival… for Hannover. For the believers, for others to come to face. Emmanuel means ‘God with us,” so instead of getting distracted by celebrating Jesus this December, I don’t want to neglect spending time with him! Today Naomi arrives, and in a couple of hours I will go to get her at the airport! It’s neat to see how Christ is bringing me out of my loneliness in many ways. I think this month of her being here, and Daniel Wilson and my parents coming to spend time for the holidays as well will be a blessing. I know I am worrying already about January because it will be a busy month in which friends and family have departed, the weather is colder than usual, the hours of daylight equal about 3 hours a day, and my exams and the pressure of passing will be double time as the semester comes to an end. If you long to pray for me pray for Revival, pray for me to have a calm heart- to take one day at a time and to not dwell on the loneliness that may come in January and February.

Another prayer request is that I have been offered a maybe scholarship. If I get this, it would help me and my family and money situations SO much, as I am sure many of you can relate. I know many of you have my blog site, but if you don’t and would like it—let me know-- I also challenge you to check out trentandlindsey.blogspot.com as well.

Thank you so much,
Lara