But it's upside down. whatever...
That's meeeeeee!!! holy it was cold on that day... -35...
Saturday, January 29, 2005
finally: a picture of me...
But it's upside down. whatever...
That's meeeeeee!!! holy it was cold on that day... -35...
long weekend-Exams coming up-new pants-own skates ;-) exciting Day
Hey there!
how's it goin out there??? I'm really feeling great today... no school ;-)
well, exams start on Monday here so I'm actually doing some schoolstuff on my long weekend too, but not toooooooo much.
Tomorrow we'll go to Steinbach to visit my big brother Danny and his family and I'll see my big brother Jeff again, too! Well, he's at Bible College in Steinbach and I haven't seen him for a loooooong time...he told me I should bring my snowboard and we're gonna have some fun ;-) I can hardly wait. Snowboarding in the middle of the Prairies is kinda crazy, eh? But what do you do when you're addicted to something? ;-)
Last week I wrote a blog about ...whatever, can't remember, and at the end I said- "are all girls supposed to like shopping??? cause I sure don't!" Well, I went shopping today again. It was the best shopping day for me since about 2 years (well, mayebe only 1...sure feels like more!).
Last week I was looking for pants...I don't like Jeans. I think they're too tight (girls Jeans are just crazy...takes me an hour to get in there...and I'm not fat or anything...it just takes forever....) , Jeans are not comfy at all (because they're too tight ;-) and when they get wet from rain or snow they take forever to dry. And they feel disgusting if they get wet. And...oh I could make the list waaaaay longer ;-) If you like Jeans-Ok, wear them, but I won't.
So I looked for other pants than Jeans...that IS a problem in the Mall in Brandon! I was looking for, I don't know what you call them, like brown or dark green pants with pockets on the side and not tight... track pants? is that what you call them? Yeah well. End of the story: I couldn't find any. So I ended up buying Jeans. Because I REALLY needed new pants. I had one pair of pants before. JUST ONE. and they are falling apart because I wear them so much! ;-) yeah, that's what I do. I'm crazy.
I bought Jeans. They are actually pretty cool...But it's just not really my style so I don't feel toooooo great wearing them. But I have two pair of pants now!
Well, I went shopping again today. I bought my own skates! That's why I went to Brandon. Just to buy skates (and I did! Oh yeah. I love skating. I'm just not good because I never did it a lot. But, hey, I'm in Canada now, so I guess I have to ;-) haha) Bought my skates and then ended up in the mall again, like last week. I didn't need anything, bought my pants last week...maybe I could use a sweater. what happened? -
I bought two pair of pants and a sweater. HELLO???? TWO pair of nice nice non-jeans and a black sweater saying " I love Hockey Players" ;-) Isn't that just great? I'm so happy. I changed from one pair of pants into the other about 5 times since I came home. I'm excited. Buying pants makes me excited? I guess so.
Just thought that's cxrazy and I should publish that on the Internet for the whole world to read.
just kidding. I'm happy. Steinbach tomorrow. HAPPY WEEKEND
love ya all
JULI
how's it goin out there??? I'm really feeling great today... no school ;-)
well, exams start on Monday here so I'm actually doing some schoolstuff on my long weekend too, but not toooooooo much.
Tomorrow we'll go to Steinbach to visit my big brother Danny and his family and I'll see my big brother Jeff again, too! Well, he's at Bible College in Steinbach and I haven't seen him for a loooooong time...he told me I should bring my snowboard and we're gonna have some fun ;-) I can hardly wait. Snowboarding in the middle of the Prairies is kinda crazy, eh? But what do you do when you're addicted to something? ;-)
Last week I wrote a blog about ...whatever, can't remember, and at the end I said- "are all girls supposed to like shopping??? cause I sure don't!" Well, I went shopping today again. It was the best shopping day for me since about 2 years (well, mayebe only 1...sure feels like more!).
Last week I was looking for pants...I don't like Jeans. I think they're too tight (girls Jeans are just crazy...takes me an hour to get in there...and I'm not fat or anything...it just takes forever....) , Jeans are not comfy at all (because they're too tight ;-) and when they get wet from rain or snow they take forever to dry. And they feel disgusting if they get wet. And...oh I could make the list waaaaay longer ;-) If you like Jeans-Ok, wear them, but I won't.
So I looked for other pants than Jeans...that IS a problem in the Mall in Brandon! I was looking for, I don't know what you call them, like brown or dark green pants with pockets on the side and not tight... track pants? is that what you call them? Yeah well. End of the story: I couldn't find any. So I ended up buying Jeans. Because I REALLY needed new pants. I had one pair of pants before. JUST ONE. and they are falling apart because I wear them so much! ;-) yeah, that's what I do. I'm crazy.
I bought Jeans. They are actually pretty cool...But it's just not really my style so I don't feel toooooo great wearing them. But I have two pair of pants now!
Well, I went shopping again today. I bought my own skates! That's why I went to Brandon. Just to buy skates (and I did! Oh yeah. I love skating. I'm just not good because I never did it a lot. But, hey, I'm in Canada now, so I guess I have to ;-) haha) Bought my skates and then ended up in the mall again, like last week. I didn't need anything, bought my pants last week...maybe I could use a sweater. what happened? -
I bought two pair of pants and a sweater. HELLO???? TWO pair of nice nice non-jeans and a black sweater saying " I love Hockey Players" ;-) Isn't that just great? I'm so happy. I changed from one pair of pants into the other about 5 times since I came home. I'm excited. Buying pants makes me excited? I guess so.
Just thought that's cxrazy and I should publish that on the Internet for the whole world to read.
just kidding. I'm happy. Steinbach tomorrow. HAPPY WEEKEND
love ya all
JULI
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
My Bible and me... ;-)
Hey there!!!
Oh lots of stuff to talk about today...Not really ;-) I had a good day at school and I'm incredibly tired because we had another 2 hour Basketball practice. Oh yeah.
Well, I mentioned it before, right? I got a Bible for Christmas. A nice, big, new ,(green haha), study Bible. And, well I started reading where you usually start reading a book- on the very first page of course... hm, well, the next day I saw a quote somewhere so I went straight to that book where the quote was from and started reading there, I read quite a few pages...
afterwards I figured, actually I should really start at the beginning...
But then I felt soooooo bad and homesick on the next day and I thought "well then, let's look for some "hope" stuff"...There's a nice couple of pages in the back where you can look that up. So I did that. And it helped a lot ;-)
well, again I thought shouldn't I actually start on the first page???
But then we talked about that one book on Sunday in Sunday school -ecclesiastes- and that just really really made sense to me and I liked it. So when I came home , I opened my bible and started reading ecclesiastes (or however you spell that...) instead of starting again-
from the beginning ;-) haha. Well, that's how I read it now I guess...You guys think that's a bad idea??? ;-) I don't think so.
Another weird thing about "me and my Bible"... I'm reading a really really really good book right now (besides the Bible ;-) and it's actually 3 books in a row, I'm almost done with the second one... So I always have to decide when I go to bed (cause that's when I usually find the time to read ;-) : read a couple of pages in the Bible-or read that other awesome book...Tough decision ! haha. well, it's kinda strange: so I'm sitting there, on my bed, ready to read, loking at these two books in front of me and I can't decide ;-) So I always feel more like finding out what happens next in the trilogy books... but I grab the Bible because I remember how good I felt the other day when I read it. happens again: can't decide-choose Bible- feel good. cool how that works. I never thought such an old book could give me so much good advice and stuff !!!
yeah, that's my little Bible story for today. guess what I'll do now? right, I'll go upstairs, sit on my bed, look at the books and try to decide!haha
love ya, good night
JULI
Oh lots of stuff to talk about today...Not really ;-) I had a good day at school and I'm incredibly tired because we had another 2 hour Basketball practice. Oh yeah.
Well, I mentioned it before, right? I got a Bible for Christmas. A nice, big, new ,(green haha), study Bible. And, well I started reading where you usually start reading a book- on the very first page of course... hm, well, the next day I saw a quote somewhere so I went straight to that book where the quote was from and started reading there, I read quite a few pages...
afterwards I figured, actually I should really start at the beginning...
But then I felt soooooo bad and homesick on the next day and I thought "well then, let's look for some "hope" stuff"...There's a nice couple of pages in the back where you can look that up. So I did that. And it helped a lot ;-)
well, again I thought shouldn't I actually start on the first page???
But then we talked about that one book on Sunday in Sunday school -ecclesiastes- and that just really really made sense to me and I liked it. So when I came home , I opened my bible and started reading ecclesiastes (or however you spell that...) instead of starting again-
from the beginning ;-) haha. Well, that's how I read it now I guess...You guys think that's a bad idea??? ;-) I don't think so.
Another weird thing about "me and my Bible"... I'm reading a really really really good book right now (besides the Bible ;-) and it's actually 3 books in a row, I'm almost done with the second one... So I always have to decide when I go to bed (cause that's when I usually find the time to read ;-) : read a couple of pages in the Bible-or read that other awesome book...Tough decision ! haha. well, it's kinda strange: so I'm sitting there, on my bed, ready to read, loking at these two books in front of me and I can't decide ;-) So I always feel more like finding out what happens next in the trilogy books... but I grab the Bible because I remember how good I felt the other day when I read it. happens again: can't decide-choose Bible- feel good. cool how that works. I never thought such an old book could give me so much good advice and stuff !!!
yeah, that's my little Bible story for today. guess what I'll do now? right, I'll go upstairs, sit on my bed, look at the books and try to decide!haha
love ya, good night
JULI
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Sundays rock!
I've been to church again today,
it was great!!! I haven't been there for a while for a couple of reasons:
our crazy ;-) basketball coach thinks it's a good idea to have practice sunday at 11 o'clock (nonono!!!),
last weekend we were in Morden to celebrate Christmas ( yeah, that's strange eh? well, the first time when it was supposed to be, we had a blizzard and so nobody wanted to travel...so we had christmas last sunday! cool) ...
Yeah so I wasn't at church for a couple of weeks- and I found i really really really started missing it! But now I'm OK again ;-)
The last days (weeks???) I'm just not feeling as happy as I used to feel ... Usually I'm pretty much always happy (or I really try hard to be happy ;-) but it just doesn't work so well right now...and it makes me kinda go crazy cause I don't even know why I'm not happy!!! aaaaah, frustrating ! I can only guess reasons... maybe I'm homesick(-maybe not), maybe I'm missing some vitamins (-maybe not)...I don't know.
Well, Basketball practice is taking a lot of my time now (and I love it, I mean, I just started but it's fun and I really like it!) and so I don't have much time after school to get outside( and sometimes if you have time, you just DON'T WANT TO-when it's -40 for example ;-) ...maybe that's making me kinda sick. I just LOVE being outside...
Yeah well, it's all good now!!! right now I'm feeling happier than I did for a looong time ;-) It was kind of a sunday like the ones we used to have (when I wasn't at basketball or something...).
Sunday school and church in the morning...with all these wonderful and really nice people there (although my two awesome big brothers weren't there :-( We talked about friendship in sundayschool, that was cool, the service was nice, too, my favourite part is always the singing... Afterwards we had lunch with my big sister's family and the last hour and a half or something, I was outside, playing with her two crazy cute kids in the snow. Oh we had fun there, maybe I'll manage to put a picture on the blog, too... Yeah, it feels like a real holiday again... I think I should watch that I don't get so stressed out again because of WHATEVER.... ;-)
Yeah that's my blog for today...Just wanted to share my happiness ;-) Amazing how a sunday like that can build you up again ;-)
love
JULI
it was great!!! I haven't been there for a while for a couple of reasons:
our crazy ;-) basketball coach thinks it's a good idea to have practice sunday at 11 o'clock (nonono!!!),
last weekend we were in Morden to celebrate Christmas ( yeah, that's strange eh? well, the first time when it was supposed to be, we had a blizzard and so nobody wanted to travel...so we had christmas last sunday! cool) ...
Yeah so I wasn't at church for a couple of weeks- and I found i really really really started missing it! But now I'm OK again ;-)
The last days (weeks???) I'm just not feeling as happy as I used to feel ... Usually I'm pretty much always happy (or I really try hard to be happy ;-) but it just doesn't work so well right now...and it makes me kinda go crazy cause I don't even know why I'm not happy!!! aaaaah, frustrating ! I can only guess reasons... maybe I'm homesick(-maybe not), maybe I'm missing some vitamins (-maybe not)...I don't know.
Well, Basketball practice is taking a lot of my time now (and I love it, I mean, I just started but it's fun and I really like it!) and so I don't have much time after school to get outside( and sometimes if you have time, you just DON'T WANT TO-when it's -40 for example ;-) ...maybe that's making me kinda sick. I just LOVE being outside...
Yeah well, it's all good now!!! right now I'm feeling happier than I did for a looong time ;-) It was kind of a sunday like the ones we used to have (when I wasn't at basketball or something...).
Sunday school and church in the morning...with all these wonderful and really nice people there (although my two awesome big brothers weren't there :-( We talked about friendship in sundayschool, that was cool, the service was nice, too, my favourite part is always the singing... Afterwards we had lunch with my big sister's family and the last hour and a half or something, I was outside, playing with her two crazy cute kids in the snow. Oh we had fun there, maybe I'll manage to put a picture on the blog, too... Yeah, it feels like a real holiday again... I think I should watch that I don't get so stressed out again because of WHATEVER.... ;-)
Yeah that's my blog for today...Just wanted to share my happiness ;-) Amazing how a sunday like that can build you up again ;-)
love
JULI
Forgotten
Hm,I think this poem has been on a lot of blogs already...and I have no clue who wrote it. But I think it's really really awesome, and just to keep it and maybe share it with some of you, it's on my blog now too...
forgotten
in the dark,
i sometimes forget the light will come,
the stars will shine.
in the rain,
i sometimes forget the sun will come out,
the land will be green and fresh.
in the rush,
i sometimes forget how to slow down,
how to be still.
in the noise,
i sometimes forget the quiet will come,
the peace will return.
in the loneliness,
i sometimes forget you are always here,
you are holding me.
in the cold,
i sometimes forget who warms my heart,
who holds my soul.
in the fear,
i sometimes forget to trust in you,
to lean on you.
forgive me, god,
for not remembering
that laughter will follow the tears,
joy will follow the sorrow,
healing will follow the hurt,
day will follow the night,
because i sometimes forget.
amen.
forgotten
in the dark,
i sometimes forget the light will come,
the stars will shine.
in the rain,
i sometimes forget the sun will come out,
the land will be green and fresh.
in the rush,
i sometimes forget how to slow down,
how to be still.
in the noise,
i sometimes forget the quiet will come,
the peace will return.
in the loneliness,
i sometimes forget you are always here,
you are holding me.
in the cold,
i sometimes forget who warms my heart,
who holds my soul.
in the fear,
i sometimes forget to trust in you,
to lean on you.
forgive me, god,
for not remembering
that laughter will follow the tears,
joy will follow the sorrow,
healing will follow the hurt,
day will follow the night,
because i sometimes forget.
amen.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Veggie Tales...keep on keepin on
Hey there!
I watched Veggie Tales Yesterday. Never seen it before. A TV show (on video I guess) where tomatoes and carrots run around and talk. it's for kids. that probabaly explains why I like it ;-) well, these veggies talk about God and explain Bible stuff to little kids. That's great eh, I wish I had seen things like that when I was little. But I enjoy it now too so I guess it doesn't matter. I really laughed hard, very hard. They explain the word perseverance ( I think...how do you spell that???) and say: that's when you keep on keepin on. great great fun. even better is the story of st. patrick. I could't stop laughing it was just incredibly funny. I think that's a great great thing, making funny videos that kids love to watch and teach them important stuff at the same time. And do it a way that older kids still enjoy (like I do ;-) really cool. I just found out we have 3 videotapes here with veggietales... I'm gonna watch that!!! Oh yes I will !!! all alone by myself if nobody else wants to, I don't care. But I actually learned a lot watching it yesterday ;-) never heard of St. Patrick before! hahaha just thought that was funny and worth sharing with whoever is maybe reading this page or not ;-) well then, hope to hear from you all! love ya JULI
Ps: do all girls have to like shopping??? cause I don't. hm.
I watched Veggie Tales Yesterday. Never seen it before. A TV show (on video I guess) where tomatoes and carrots run around and talk. it's for kids. that probabaly explains why I like it ;-) well, these veggies talk about God and explain Bible stuff to little kids. That's great eh, I wish I had seen things like that when I was little. But I enjoy it now too so I guess it doesn't matter. I really laughed hard, very hard. They explain the word perseverance ( I think...how do you spell that???) and say: that's when you keep on keepin on. great great fun. even better is the story of st. patrick. I could't stop laughing it was just incredibly funny. I think that's a great great thing, making funny videos that kids love to watch and teach them important stuff at the same time. And do it a way that older kids still enjoy (like I do ;-) really cool. I just found out we have 3 videotapes here with veggietales... I'm gonna watch that!!! Oh yes I will !!! all alone by myself if nobody else wants to, I don't care. But I actually learned a lot watching it yesterday ;-) never heard of St. Patrick before! hahaha just thought that was funny and worth sharing with whoever is maybe reading this page or not ;-) well then, hope to hear from you all! love ya JULI
Ps: do all girls have to like shopping??? cause I don't. hm.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
my story ;-)
This blog was first published a couple of days ago on Jeremy's blog www.jeremysawatzky.blogspot.com I got a lot of feedback for it and I just felt like putting it on my own blog would be a pretty good idea...it explains a lot about myself. I just like to thank Jer A LOT for everything he's already doen for me! you rock. here's how he introduced me on his page (I love this litle intro ;-) :
greetings from germany (that was the blog's title ;-)
one of the greatest benefits of working at "youth for christ" is the fact i get to meet all sorts of unique and wonderful people from all sorts of unique and wonderful places. usually, these people are living somewhere on the prairies, or at least somewhere else within the boundaries of canada.
however, as a result of writing on this blog, ive been lucky enough to meet some people from the good old united states of america. even though these folks come from a country that we all know isnt quite as cool as canada, im still very grateful for their friendship.back in september, i ran a gymblast motivational assembly at a high school in the small town of wawanesa. wawanesa is a tiny farming community located about 25 minutes southeast of brandon.i always give out my email address at the end of every gymblast, and after the wawanesa event, a 16 year old girl by the name of juli started emailing me. she is here in manitoba as an exhange student from munich, germany!
we started talking via email, and i told her that i was a mennonite, and that mennonites originally migrated from russia or germany or somewhere around there (i dont even know my own heritage). i wondered if perhaps we were related in some way, but juli figured it was unlikely. i also told juli i could speak some german! yes, its true. i can count to ten. and i can say, "my fuss ist gerbrochen", which means "my foot is broken." and i know that "glockenspiel" means "bell". good times. anyhow, i told juli about my site, she started checking it out, and weve been great friends ever since!the other day i wrote a post called "tired". at the end of my entry, i put forward the following challenge:"does anyone want to guest write a blog entry for today? or for tomorrow? i think that would be fun. write down what god has been teaching you lately and email it to me, and ill throw it up here."well, juli took up the challenge (as did a few others)! she sent me her story - a story of hope - and i found it to be rather beautiful and real. juli said i could post it on the site, and thats exactly what im doing.enjoy.jerps. i encourage you guys to show juli some great canadian (or american) hospitality after you read this. post a comment, and let her be encouraged.
************************************************************************************
That was Jers cute little intro, and here's my story...
Well…I came here on August 25th last year, 2004. I left all the things I knew before behind and came here to a totally strange family, people I haven’t even seen on a picture before…Now I’m living here and I’m happy and I found an amazing second family that makes me feel at home like I’ve been living here for all my life. I really must confess that I never believed something like that could happen. Sure, exchange organisations will tell you that you’ll find a second family and stuff and that they will love and treat you like their own child…But I never quite believed that. I looked at families of my friends in Germany and imagined living with them as an exchange student but all I could think of was : no, that’ll never work! But it does, I’m experiencing it right now!I found a second Mom and Dad and even siblings, something I’ve never had before! Now I have 4 siblings, 3 amazing big brothers and an incredible older sister and I can say without a doubt they already changed me a lot… my view of the world, my actions and my thinking… The change of my environment couldn’t have been much bigger for me… The last 16 years I’ve been living in a city that has as many inhabitants as Manitoba. In a country that would fit into Manitoba 3 and a half times. In a small flat with my parents, on the third floor. With my nice, small 3 persons family. In an area where –15 degrees in January is really cold ;-) Now I’m here on a huge farm with cows and chickens and soooooooooooo much space everywhere and a huge mennonite family, 80 people at a christmas gathering…and –40 degrees. And I am really happy.Well there was something else new for me here (and that’s where your website comes in…on “stumbling after Jesus” I can’t just write about Family and stuff ;-) :I AM GOING TO CHURCH HERE. And I like it. I love it. It makes sense to me. And it changed me already.Maybe I should tell you something about Germany first, about the area where I grew up the last 16 years… Church- I’ll give you a few things that I associated with “church” til I came here…: tradition- boring- something waaaaay back then- not real- not up to date- people who talk about God and Jesus and don’t bring it in their daily lives- nice songs without meaning- baptism- weddings… It’s a lot about Tradition. I became baptised ( or however you spell that ;-) when I was a baby, and so are most of the people I know. My parents don’t go to church, or only if there’s a wedding or something like that. But I don’t think they believe in God. I have a lot of friends who go to church. In the area where I live most people are catholic. There are hardly any protestants and so most of my friends are catholic, too. Well, when I was 14 there was this protestant celebration coming up. It’s called confirmation and almost every protestant person I know does it. It’s a big family thing, you get a lot of presents and money… so I decided to do it. Partly because of the big celebration in the end and partly because I wanted to know more about God and the church. But it was more like a big disappointment for me. We had kind of a Sunday school meeting thing every week on Wednesday and we were a group of 14 people…just meeting and talking about God or reading in the bible or doing stuff…that was not too bad actually. But it didn’t bring me any closer to God I guess. After a couple of weeks I got tired of that. I wanted to do other stuff Wednesday afternoon. And we had to go to church every other Sunday… I didn’t like that at all. It spoiled my whole day. I had to get up early and go there, most times without my parents because they didn’t like it either. So I sat there for an hour or more, listening (or not listening) to people talking about stuff I didn’t want to hear and waited till it was over, …. But then it was already 11 o’clock and if my parents had planned anything for the day they were already gone when I came home. In winter it got worse… You gotta know, I love snowboarding, it’s a big thing for me and I have a lot of passion for that. Munich (the city where I come from) is close to the mountains and so we go there every weekend in winter to snowboard. But I had to go to church. So that didn’t make me happy either… well, spring came and this big celebration, too, and it was fun and my whole family came from wherever they live in Germany and we had a really good time, good food and, just as I thought, I got a lot of presents (and money). And I didn’t go to church for a year after that.There’s something wrong with that, don’t you think? Oh yes there is. I just didn’t see a way, and nobody in Germany could show me one, how to make me believe in God, show me a way to bring it in my life and stuff… why??? Hm, why?I came here and saw people are living their faith. I’m really really impressed! I went to church with my host family and I went to a youth retreat thing with my brother (he’s at bible college) and things are really starting to make sense. I started praying every day. I got a study Bible for christmas and I’m reading it every day. I got another book, “how to find God” and I’m reading it all the time. I met you at the Gym Blast and started reading your site, I feel like my life has gained a whole lot more meaning and hope. My behaviour is changing, I think about what I’m saying a lot more, I treat people differently. I love going to Sunday school and church on Sundays, I’m singing as loud as I can, I’m acting in a play at church, I want to get involved…All that stuff changed me already. Just seeing that it is actually possible to believe in God and Jesus and somehow connect it to your life, be a normal 16 year old girl and be “cool” and stuff (I hope ;-) and that there are people with incredible ideas and passion and purpose for their lives out there. It just impresses me a lot. I want to be like that too. That’s the first thing I thought when I got to know some people (like my host brother…) who do that.Of course there are still a lot of doubts in my head, a lot of questions and stuff I don’t understand. But I’m getting there. I ask my family, I ask people at church, I read my new awesome bible and it’s fun and it makes sense…Well, this whole thing here gets kind of mixed up now, so I think I’ll finish it pretty shortly ;-)All I wanted to say: I’m so glad to be here, I’m so glad that I seem to find a way to God, I’m glad to see new meaning and I like seeing myself change.But I feel bad for the things I’ve done and felt when I was 14, at the confirmation… I don’t understand why it can’t be like that in Germany like it is here, the church is a meeting place, there are drums and electric guitar at church, it’s up to date, it’s real, it’s fun, it’s cool, it works. People don’t just talk about God, about being obedient and stuff, no, they find a way to live like God wants them to. And that’s what I think is “cool” (I remember one post about the “cool” thing ;-) If I say cool I think you could just replace it by “awesome” or something like that ;-)That’s my story so far. I hope that I can keep building up a faith here, and find a way to take it back with me to Germany next July and that it’s all gonna work out. I’m scared. But since I found out there’s always somebody to talk to and ask for help, I have hope and I’ll just pray for that it’s all gonna work out. Thank you Jer for helping me in all that through your posts. Thanks also to my wonderful family. And thank you God for everything you’ve done for me, for bringing me here, for bringing me closer to you every day and for giving me hope and changing my life.love ya, JULI
11 Comments:
MarkM said...
Amen brother. I am printing this out and showing it to my CCD class.
7:09 PM
Anonymous said...
AAAAH!thanx Jer, I'm allllll excited now, it's my blog! good times! hahaha you should here my heart beating now, it's crazy, it's just a blog on the imnternet but I'm all excited! and after all, reading it again, maybe it's not as bad as I thought it was ;-) maybe it's just my computer but I couldnt read a couple of sentences completely... and one says: i dont....believe in God. well thats not true and it should say: I don't believe THEY believe in God ...;-) but maybe its just my computer that doesn't show that! aaah, I'm excited ;-) ok calm down now, love ya, thanx a lot (also for the "we've been good friend ever since"- part ;-) cu JULIps oh yes, I would love to read comments on this blog... ;-)
8:03 PM
*Becky* said...
Hey Jer... and Juli :) actually, mostly just Juli. yup, just Juli. (sorry jer).I read that... its awesome! really, i love hearing people's stories, i just love stories so much. and when they are about God and his people doing nifty stuff, well, thats even better! I've never been to anywhere cool like Germany (i've rarely been outside Ontario actually), so i super duper admire your guts to leave your country and come to Manitoba (and to a farming hick-town at that! lol) and be with another family... i definitely admire you for that. and its so cool that its a great family and you're having a great time and such... i am duly impressed :) and i am SO hardcore excited for you that you are going to church and meeting Jesus and being real... yay!!Well, ya, thats all i have to say. you go girl :D (thats a big happy loving friendly radiant 'zip-i-dee-doo-dah' smile just for you Juli!!)
8:51 PM
Anonymous said...
Hey Juli! That was an awesome post you wrote. Its cool* that your having a good time out here, and having a good time at church!! yes the drums and guitars really add to the praise and worship! Its awesome that you want to learn more about God, and already are learning more! I hope you have an awesome time out here, make tons of new freinds, and especially draw closer to God. Cause in the end thats all that really matters! God Bless. -save our jets
8:53 PM
Kristy said...
to jer: isnt quite as cool as canada? still grateful for my friendship you say? so...you slam...then love? uh...does anyone see something wrong with this?Juli-God has definately blessed you by bringing you to canada. :) There is a german forign exchanged student from Germany who goes to my church. She just turned 16.I pray that when you go back to your homeland in july that you will take Jesus back with you and share him with all your friends and family. Let them SEE that change, and the new creation Christ as transformed you into. I also pray that you wont listen to jer when he disses on the USA..i live in Idaho and its a lovely place and there isnt any more bad things about it then canada. I have no hard feelings toward my northern neighbor. If you want to get to know me more you can just click on my name and go to my own blog, email me, it would be wonderful getting to know you. Swing on and be merryThe Kristy Kritter
9:20 PM
warren thiessen said...
Hey Juli!I don't know you, but I sure feel like I do, 'cause in the last few years there have been a ton of german families that started coming to our church. They all tell stories that sound exactly like yours. Most of them have come from the Wiesbaden area. Most of them went to church in germany, but they couldn't stand how everything was done just because of tradition. That's so exciting to hear how being here has strengthened your faith in God. My friend Ellie was here for a year to study at a Bible camp/bible school kinda thing, and I know she said the same thing...she hoped her faith would be strong enough that she could take it back to germany and share with her friends and family.Anywhoos, loved your post! Wanna read something good in that bible of yours? Check out Psalm 139. It's one of my favorites.Take care,Warrenwww.warrenthiessen.blogspot.com
9:51 PM
mvp said...
"Of course there are still a lot of doubts in my head, a lot of questions and stuff I don’t understand. But I’m getting there. I ask my family, I ask people at church, I read my new awesome bible and it’s fun and it makes sense…"We're all still "getting there" Juli, nobody on this side of heaven has all the answers... but it's great that you're not afraid to ask questions. Never stop asking questions and you'll never stop learning. If there's one thing that can bring us closer to God it's learning about Him.Keep strong and learn lots.
1:19 AM
Anonymous said...
Hey you guys...oh wow thanx so much for the great great words of encouragement here, I really appreciate that! Ièm having a kind of rough day at school right now so I went here to the computer room at lunch and thought maybe Ill find something to help me make it through that day ... and now Ièm just...speechless. Ièm sooo glad about all these comments, and Ièd love to stay in touch with you all...never enough friends, eh ;-) yeah, thanx especially for that we are all getting there thing. never thought about it that way... hmmm, well then Im sure itll be abetter day now! love ya all!!! JULI
12:55 PM
Anonymous said...
yo juli...well im only gonna be nice cuz jer said 2 do that...no im jk..its cuz im canadian...haha im still jk..neways i read ur post last night and i thought it was amazing...i just sat here like a lil boy and smiled and thought wow, what an amazing/unique story...i think its awsome that u like it here in the good old snow..er canada..neways..i understand where ur comin from with the whole confirmation thing...i went through that like 4 er 5 years ago...cant remember(thats how important it was 2 me...)...it was almost pointless..so yah 2 make a long story short...my confirmation did absolutely nuttin 2 help my faith and i quit goin 2 church 4 a long time...o and the priest who was teachin us kinda discouraged me 2 but i dont wanna call him down...so yah keep on rockin it up in canada eh:) peaceloverboy
10:59 PM
alienyouth4jesus said...
hey juli. wow, thanks for blogging your testimony. that was so encouraging for me, and i'm sure for others. i'm so glad you found Jesus! He never stops amazing me with the way He grabs hold of people's lives, and completely turns them around. keep walking with Him, you are in my prayers! love carly
12:01 PM
Anonymous said...
hey juli!Great story! I really have to tell you that I kinda went through the same thing for a while. I went in confirmation for the same reasons you did, and i felt that it disrupted my life too. I still feel horrible too. But then when i was introduced to a more mordern way to live life with God, and met people that I could connect with, I started to understand my life with God. Now that I understand I can go to church now, listen, and appreciate and understand what is being said. Thanks for the great story!Stacy
6:37 PM
yeah, that was my story.. I'm tired now, good night! love ya, JULI
Thanx for listening
greetings from germany (that was the blog's title ;-)
one of the greatest benefits of working at "youth for christ" is the fact i get to meet all sorts of unique and wonderful people from all sorts of unique and wonderful places. usually, these people are living somewhere on the prairies, or at least somewhere else within the boundaries of canada.
however, as a result of writing on this blog, ive been lucky enough to meet some people from the good old united states of america. even though these folks come from a country that we all know isnt quite as cool as canada, im still very grateful for their friendship.back in september, i ran a gymblast motivational assembly at a high school in the small town of wawanesa. wawanesa is a tiny farming community located about 25 minutes southeast of brandon.i always give out my email address at the end of every gymblast, and after the wawanesa event, a 16 year old girl by the name of juli started emailing me. she is here in manitoba as an exhange student from munich, germany!
we started talking via email, and i told her that i was a mennonite, and that mennonites originally migrated from russia or germany or somewhere around there (i dont even know my own heritage). i wondered if perhaps we were related in some way, but juli figured it was unlikely. i also told juli i could speak some german! yes, its true. i can count to ten. and i can say, "my fuss ist gerbrochen", which means "my foot is broken." and i know that "glockenspiel" means "bell". good times. anyhow, i told juli about my site, she started checking it out, and weve been great friends ever since!the other day i wrote a post called "tired". at the end of my entry, i put forward the following challenge:"does anyone want to guest write a blog entry for today? or for tomorrow? i think that would be fun. write down what god has been teaching you lately and email it to me, and ill throw it up here."well, juli took up the challenge (as did a few others)! she sent me her story - a story of hope - and i found it to be rather beautiful and real. juli said i could post it on the site, and thats exactly what im doing.enjoy.jerps. i encourage you guys to show juli some great canadian (or american) hospitality after you read this. post a comment, and let her be encouraged.
************************************************************************************
That was Jers cute little intro, and here's my story...
Well…I came here on August 25th last year, 2004. I left all the things I knew before behind and came here to a totally strange family, people I haven’t even seen on a picture before…Now I’m living here and I’m happy and I found an amazing second family that makes me feel at home like I’ve been living here for all my life. I really must confess that I never believed something like that could happen. Sure, exchange organisations will tell you that you’ll find a second family and stuff and that they will love and treat you like their own child…But I never quite believed that. I looked at families of my friends in Germany and imagined living with them as an exchange student but all I could think of was : no, that’ll never work! But it does, I’m experiencing it right now!I found a second Mom and Dad and even siblings, something I’ve never had before! Now I have 4 siblings, 3 amazing big brothers and an incredible older sister and I can say without a doubt they already changed me a lot… my view of the world, my actions and my thinking… The change of my environment couldn’t have been much bigger for me… The last 16 years I’ve been living in a city that has as many inhabitants as Manitoba. In a country that would fit into Manitoba 3 and a half times. In a small flat with my parents, on the third floor. With my nice, small 3 persons family. In an area where –15 degrees in January is really cold ;-) Now I’m here on a huge farm with cows and chickens and soooooooooooo much space everywhere and a huge mennonite family, 80 people at a christmas gathering…and –40 degrees. And I am really happy.Well there was something else new for me here (and that’s where your website comes in…on “stumbling after Jesus” I can’t just write about Family and stuff ;-) :I AM GOING TO CHURCH HERE. And I like it. I love it. It makes sense to me. And it changed me already.Maybe I should tell you something about Germany first, about the area where I grew up the last 16 years… Church- I’ll give you a few things that I associated with “church” til I came here…: tradition- boring- something waaaaay back then- not real- not up to date- people who talk about God and Jesus and don’t bring it in their daily lives- nice songs without meaning- baptism- weddings… It’s a lot about Tradition. I became baptised ( or however you spell that ;-) when I was a baby, and so are most of the people I know. My parents don’t go to church, or only if there’s a wedding or something like that. But I don’t think they believe in God. I have a lot of friends who go to church. In the area where I live most people are catholic. There are hardly any protestants and so most of my friends are catholic, too. Well, when I was 14 there was this protestant celebration coming up. It’s called confirmation and almost every protestant person I know does it. It’s a big family thing, you get a lot of presents and money… so I decided to do it. Partly because of the big celebration in the end and partly because I wanted to know more about God and the church. But it was more like a big disappointment for me. We had kind of a Sunday school meeting thing every week on Wednesday and we were a group of 14 people…just meeting and talking about God or reading in the bible or doing stuff…that was not too bad actually. But it didn’t bring me any closer to God I guess. After a couple of weeks I got tired of that. I wanted to do other stuff Wednesday afternoon. And we had to go to church every other Sunday… I didn’t like that at all. It spoiled my whole day. I had to get up early and go there, most times without my parents because they didn’t like it either. So I sat there for an hour or more, listening (or not listening) to people talking about stuff I didn’t want to hear and waited till it was over, …. But then it was already 11 o’clock and if my parents had planned anything for the day they were already gone when I came home. In winter it got worse… You gotta know, I love snowboarding, it’s a big thing for me and I have a lot of passion for that. Munich (the city where I come from) is close to the mountains and so we go there every weekend in winter to snowboard. But I had to go to church. So that didn’t make me happy either… well, spring came and this big celebration, too, and it was fun and my whole family came from wherever they live in Germany and we had a really good time, good food and, just as I thought, I got a lot of presents (and money). And I didn’t go to church for a year after that.There’s something wrong with that, don’t you think? Oh yes there is. I just didn’t see a way, and nobody in Germany could show me one, how to make me believe in God, show me a way to bring it in my life and stuff… why??? Hm, why?I came here and saw people are living their faith. I’m really really impressed! I went to church with my host family and I went to a youth retreat thing with my brother (he’s at bible college) and things are really starting to make sense. I started praying every day. I got a study Bible for christmas and I’m reading it every day. I got another book, “how to find God” and I’m reading it all the time. I met you at the Gym Blast and started reading your site, I feel like my life has gained a whole lot more meaning and hope. My behaviour is changing, I think about what I’m saying a lot more, I treat people differently. I love going to Sunday school and church on Sundays, I’m singing as loud as I can, I’m acting in a play at church, I want to get involved…All that stuff changed me already. Just seeing that it is actually possible to believe in God and Jesus and somehow connect it to your life, be a normal 16 year old girl and be “cool” and stuff (I hope ;-) and that there are people with incredible ideas and passion and purpose for their lives out there. It just impresses me a lot. I want to be like that too. That’s the first thing I thought when I got to know some people (like my host brother…) who do that.Of course there are still a lot of doubts in my head, a lot of questions and stuff I don’t understand. But I’m getting there. I ask my family, I ask people at church, I read my new awesome bible and it’s fun and it makes sense…Well, this whole thing here gets kind of mixed up now, so I think I’ll finish it pretty shortly ;-)All I wanted to say: I’m so glad to be here, I’m so glad that I seem to find a way to God, I’m glad to see new meaning and I like seeing myself change.But I feel bad for the things I’ve done and felt when I was 14, at the confirmation… I don’t understand why it can’t be like that in Germany like it is here, the church is a meeting place, there are drums and electric guitar at church, it’s up to date, it’s real, it’s fun, it’s cool, it works. People don’t just talk about God, about being obedient and stuff, no, they find a way to live like God wants them to. And that’s what I think is “cool” (I remember one post about the “cool” thing ;-) If I say cool I think you could just replace it by “awesome” or something like that ;-)That’s my story so far. I hope that I can keep building up a faith here, and find a way to take it back with me to Germany next July and that it’s all gonna work out. I’m scared. But since I found out there’s always somebody to talk to and ask for help, I have hope and I’ll just pray for that it’s all gonna work out. Thank you Jer for helping me in all that through your posts. Thanks also to my wonderful family. And thank you God for everything you’ve done for me, for bringing me here, for bringing me closer to you every day and for giving me hope and changing my life.love ya, JULI
11 Comments:
MarkM said...
Amen brother. I am printing this out and showing it to my CCD class.
7:09 PM
Anonymous said...
AAAAH!thanx Jer, I'm allllll excited now, it's my blog! good times! hahaha you should here my heart beating now, it's crazy, it's just a blog on the imnternet but I'm all excited! and after all, reading it again, maybe it's not as bad as I thought it was ;-) maybe it's just my computer but I couldnt read a couple of sentences completely... and one says: i dont....believe in God. well thats not true and it should say: I don't believe THEY believe in God ...;-) but maybe its just my computer that doesn't show that! aaah, I'm excited ;-) ok calm down now, love ya, thanx a lot (also for the "we've been good friend ever since"- part ;-) cu JULIps oh yes, I would love to read comments on this blog... ;-)
8:03 PM
*Becky* said...
Hey Jer... and Juli :) actually, mostly just Juli. yup, just Juli. (sorry jer).I read that... its awesome! really, i love hearing people's stories, i just love stories so much. and when they are about God and his people doing nifty stuff, well, thats even better! I've never been to anywhere cool like Germany (i've rarely been outside Ontario actually), so i super duper admire your guts to leave your country and come to Manitoba (and to a farming hick-town at that! lol) and be with another family... i definitely admire you for that. and its so cool that its a great family and you're having a great time and such... i am duly impressed :) and i am SO hardcore excited for you that you are going to church and meeting Jesus and being real... yay!!Well, ya, thats all i have to say. you go girl :D (thats a big happy loving friendly radiant 'zip-i-dee-doo-dah' smile just for you Juli!!)
8:51 PM
Anonymous said...
Hey Juli! That was an awesome post you wrote. Its cool* that your having a good time out here, and having a good time at church!! yes the drums and guitars really add to the praise and worship! Its awesome that you want to learn more about God, and already are learning more! I hope you have an awesome time out here, make tons of new freinds, and especially draw closer to God. Cause in the end thats all that really matters! God Bless. -save our jets
8:53 PM
Kristy said...
to jer: isnt quite as cool as canada? still grateful for my friendship you say? so...you slam...then love? uh...does anyone see something wrong with this?Juli-God has definately blessed you by bringing you to canada. :) There is a german forign exchanged student from Germany who goes to my church. She just turned 16.I pray that when you go back to your homeland in july that you will take Jesus back with you and share him with all your friends and family. Let them SEE that change, and the new creation Christ as transformed you into. I also pray that you wont listen to jer when he disses on the USA..i live in Idaho and its a lovely place and there isnt any more bad things about it then canada. I have no hard feelings toward my northern neighbor. If you want to get to know me more you can just click on my name and go to my own blog, email me, it would be wonderful getting to know you. Swing on and be merryThe Kristy Kritter
9:20 PM
warren thiessen said...
Hey Juli!I don't know you, but I sure feel like I do, 'cause in the last few years there have been a ton of german families that started coming to our church. They all tell stories that sound exactly like yours. Most of them have come from the Wiesbaden area. Most of them went to church in germany, but they couldn't stand how everything was done just because of tradition. That's so exciting to hear how being here has strengthened your faith in God. My friend Ellie was here for a year to study at a Bible camp/bible school kinda thing, and I know she said the same thing...she hoped her faith would be strong enough that she could take it back to germany and share with her friends and family.Anywhoos, loved your post! Wanna read something good in that bible of yours? Check out Psalm 139. It's one of my favorites.Take care,Warrenwww.warrenthiessen.blogspot.com
9:51 PM
mvp said...
"Of course there are still a lot of doubts in my head, a lot of questions and stuff I don’t understand. But I’m getting there. I ask my family, I ask people at church, I read my new awesome bible and it’s fun and it makes sense…"We're all still "getting there" Juli, nobody on this side of heaven has all the answers... but it's great that you're not afraid to ask questions. Never stop asking questions and you'll never stop learning. If there's one thing that can bring us closer to God it's learning about Him.Keep strong and learn lots.
1:19 AM
Anonymous said...
Hey you guys...oh wow thanx so much for the great great words of encouragement here, I really appreciate that! Ièm having a kind of rough day at school right now so I went here to the computer room at lunch and thought maybe Ill find something to help me make it through that day ... and now Ièm just...speechless. Ièm sooo glad about all these comments, and Ièd love to stay in touch with you all...never enough friends, eh ;-) yeah, thanx especially for that we are all getting there thing. never thought about it that way... hmmm, well then Im sure itll be abetter day now! love ya all!!! JULI
12:55 PM
Anonymous said...
yo juli...well im only gonna be nice cuz jer said 2 do that...no im jk..its cuz im canadian...haha im still jk..neways i read ur post last night and i thought it was amazing...i just sat here like a lil boy and smiled and thought wow, what an amazing/unique story...i think its awsome that u like it here in the good old snow..er canada..neways..i understand where ur comin from with the whole confirmation thing...i went through that like 4 er 5 years ago...cant remember(thats how important it was 2 me...)...it was almost pointless..so yah 2 make a long story short...my confirmation did absolutely nuttin 2 help my faith and i quit goin 2 church 4 a long time...o and the priest who was teachin us kinda discouraged me 2 but i dont wanna call him down...so yah keep on rockin it up in canada eh:) peaceloverboy
10:59 PM
alienyouth4jesus said...
hey juli. wow, thanks for blogging your testimony. that was so encouraging for me, and i'm sure for others. i'm so glad you found Jesus! He never stops amazing me with the way He grabs hold of people's lives, and completely turns them around. keep walking with Him, you are in my prayers! love carly
12:01 PM
Anonymous said...
hey juli!Great story! I really have to tell you that I kinda went through the same thing for a while. I went in confirmation for the same reasons you did, and i felt that it disrupted my life too. I still feel horrible too. But then when i was introduced to a more mordern way to live life with God, and met people that I could connect with, I started to understand my life with God. Now that I understand I can go to church now, listen, and appreciate and understand what is being said. Thanks for the great story!Stacy
6:37 PM
yeah, that was my story.. I'm tired now, good night! love ya, JULI
Thanx for listening
Tell me why- I don't like mondays...
Hey there ;-)
yeah, I'm pretty sure nobody is reading this page yet, but I just got started, eh? yeah, today is monday... Mondays...are strange I think. well, I don't know, howre you guys thinkinh bout that?? well, when I first came here, and started school with a whole bunch of people I didn't know, with a new language, with a whole new school system and stufff... I was very very very confused. holy was I confused... didn't know where to go, who to talk to...and so on and so on. yeah, so I was always looking forward to the weekends (actually, I still dothat ;-) and when it was finally there I forgot all about the week and was happy... but when I had to go back on Monday I felt terrible, I felt really sick sometimes...cause I didn't really have people to talk to, things to look forward to...everything nice and cool was on the weekend.
well, that changed. especially since I started playing Basketball. I really suck at basketball, mostly because I never played before I came here. so I'm new to all the rules, and simple stuff like dribbling isn't really working yet... ;-) but we have an awesome team spirit. none of these girls is trying to make me feel bad or doesn't like me because I can't play, no, they are all very very supportive and helpful. and we have something to talk about-on mondays for example!!! so I'm still feeling pretty bad sunday evenings, the "I don't wanna go back" thing is there again. but then I go to school-and find out I am actually enjoying it! It's great. well, it's school so it's not THAT great, but its pretty cool! It seems I forget on the weekend that school's actually not that bad ;-) weird eh? these crazy germans... yeah so thats my monday post for today, maybe I'll find somebody to read it ;-) as I said i'm just getting started... as soon as I get a really good topic then I'll post like crazy ;-) hahaha well then, love ya all, JULI
Saturday, January 15, 2005
My first blog...
Oh yeah, I have my own blog now!!! well, all that "finding out how it actually works" made me kinda tired. so this first blog won't be long and basically I'm talking about nothing. Just to see what it looks like on the page...haha. well, I'm good, if anybody cares, we didn't have school yesterday, it was toooooooooo cold (windchill -49..) and so I'm enjoying a long weekend right now. INSIDE. because...it's too cold. right. aaaah whatever. enough. let's see what it looks like! oh yeah
silly JULI ;-)
silly JULI ;-)
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