On my way home...

So I am getting ready to head to the airport to head home!!! I am so excited to get to ATL and sleep in my own bed :). This trip has definitely been a cool experience. Getting the opportunity to see a bunch of random little towns in Europe and attempt to speak the other languages has been a learning experience :). The past few weeks have been filled with long work days and not a lot of sleep so it is nice to look forward to getting some rest! I am also so excited to see all my friends and family. God has definitely showed me His strength and continued to remind me how strong He is and that I am never alone. He has also helped me to see how incredibly blessed I am to have a home to look forward to going to with friends and family that I love dearly. I will definitely post more pics when I get home, but for now, know that I love each and every one of you and am so thankful for you in my life. Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement and love. You are all wonderful!!! Off to the airport to catch my flight :) YAYYYY

Hugs,
B

France - Monday - 10/13/08

Today was another fun day of long hours and crazy French accents at work. Although the days are filled with a lot of brain power and we are exhausted by the time we return to our hotel, they definitely do fly by and I am continually amazed at the lessons God is teaching me. They are lessons that I could never explain to others as they are truly meant for me personally from my heavenly Father. He is continually showing me where my weaknesses are and mercifully showing me how wonderfully powerful he is, especially in those weaknesses. I must be honest and say I had a minor breakdown this weekend in the midst of my exhaustion (sleep is not overrated and I will be so happy to get home to my own bed and get a full 8 hours – even 6 hours would be wonderful at this point). That is besides the point…in the midst of my exhaustion and continual focus on my circumstances (just a little background here to put things in perspective ;) being away from family and friends, in a small city literally in the middle of no-where where the only restaurant was the one at the hotel, with spiders crawling in my bed and suitcase, a shower that was so small the shower curtain stuck to me…the list goes on)….once again, I digress….back to my point – in the midst of all of this, I chose to forget that I am never alone. That God is always with me! He is ALWAYS in the details and knows exactly where I am, even when no one else could ever understand. I say that I chose to forget because that is truly how I feel. I was continually reminded of the following passage written by Paul in the book of Philippians and yet I did not stop long enough to truly understand what it was telling me: “…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through him who gives me strength” – Philippians 4:11-13. I read this passage and I can only pray that God will continue to teach me how to be content whatever the circumstances. It is amazing to know that He loves me despite my weaknesses, and it also makes me want to be strong in Him knowing that only through His strength will I be able to content in any situation (even with spiders crawling in my bed, no sleep, and a shower curtain that is sticking to me) – at least I have a bed to sleep in and a hot shower (and friends and family to call crying in the middle of the night when I need to be reminded of how good I have it J. So let me take this time to say thank you to my wonderful friends and family who do continue to remind me of how good God is and how important community is to have in order to put things back in perspective and help me to see the good in each and every situation – NO MATTER WHAT!!! I love you all very much!



PS – we did move to another hotel this week in a cute little town and it is much better J. Praise the Lord!

France - End of week 1 (Sun - 10/12/08)

Hey Everyone,

Sorry it has been so long since the last post.  Last week was crazy with work and the accommodations were not the greatest so needless to say, we didn't have internet.  As I am writing this post, I am sitting in my hotel room in Paris.  We arrived here on Friday night around 11pm and are leaving this afternoon (Sunday).  It has been a wonderful weekend and a great experience to get to see this beautiful city.  Friday night my co-worker and I got a late dinner at a cute cafe down the street from our hotel.  Saturday morning I met up with one of my dearest friends, Arthur Noll (I call him my other brother since he and my brother have been best friends since I can remember and I grew up with him).  Arthur has moved to switzerland with work on a rotation for 2 years and just happened to be visiting Paris this weekend.  He had a very sweet friend with him and the three of us had a wonderful time touring the city and just catching up.  We went to Versailles, saw the Arc de Triomphe, walked down the famous shopping district - Avenue des Champs Elysees, and had lunch and drinks at a very cute cafe.  Later on that night I went and saw the Eiffle tower and walked through the city - it is absolutely beautiful at night!!! This morning I went for a run along the river and saw the Eiffle tower by day - again, very beautiful.  I am sad to have to leave, but hope that someday I can come back and visit very soon!!!  

I am missing home a lot and hope everyone is doing well!!! 

Love you,

Brenae

France - Day 1 (Tues - 10/7/08)

After a long day of travels...I am here, in Strasbourg, France (about 3 hours outside of Paris).  It has been a long day :).  We were 2 hours late taking off in Atlanta, but luckily had a long layover in Paris.  From Paris we flew to Strasbourg where I found out that my luggage had not made the connecting flight and would be put on the next flight (at least it made it to Paris :)).  So, as of right now (midnight in France), I still do not have my luggage but am waiting for the phone call....hopefully soon.  Say prayers for it to arrive!!

The town we are staying in is probably the smallest, quietest town I have ever been in.  The hotel is like a bed and breakfast with tiny rooms that only have a bed, desk and chair in the corner.  I am very surprised that the internet works...it is going in and out, but at least its working sometimes.  

We just went to dinner at the hotel restaurant (which is the only thing around here really).  I had some wine with dinner which was wonderful, especially after the long day of travels. Fortunately, the hotel restaurant has good food and one of the people there speaks English.  We are finding that it is a lot more difficult to communicate here than it was in Finland, so we will see how that goes this week and next.

I am planning a trip to Paris for the weekend which I am very excited about.  The crazy part is, 2 of my friends are going to be in Paris this weekend as well so I am hopefully going to be able to meet up with them.  

I miss you all already and will do my best to keep this blog updated daily.  With the internet connection, we will see how that goes, but there will be updates as frequently as possible :).

Love you all!

-B 

HOME (Sat - 9/27/08)

I got home last night!!!! It is so nice to be home, take a shower in my own shower, sleep in my own bed, drive my car, hang out with my roommate, see my wonderful friends and family.....the list goes on!!!  

I went out with Shelly and Mac last night for a girls night out in ATL and we had a great time just catching up and hanging out and eating some delicious food (and of course some fun drinks).  

This morning I woke up and made some good coffee at my apt and went for a run in Piedmont park.  I think I was smiling the whole time just being so great full to be in the wonderful fall weather in the wonderful city of ATL!!!  Its just so great to be home, I cant say that enough.  

I will be posting more as soon as I return to Europe.  I will be leaving for France on Tuesday, October 7th so I will be sure to keep the updates coming on the European travels.  

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful weekend!

-B

Finland - (Wed - 9/24/08)

2 more days until I am home in ATL sleeping my own bed :). YAYYYY!!! The past few days have been really busy!!! We have so much work to do to get things wrapped up here so its been a lot of long nights and early mornings. The days are flying by though.

Yesterday we decided to switch hotels to be in one closer to the city. The new hotel is just as beautiful as the last one. This one is right on a river overlooking the city...I love the view from my hotel room.

The sun has been out the last 2 days. I think its a record :). It is so beautiful here when the sun is out and it is so nice to see it! Once we left work, we came back to the hotel and decided to just order room service tonight since we both have to get a lot of work done, so I went outside and walked around in the city for a little while to take a break and got to go sit by the river and just relax for a little while, which was great!

Now I am back in my hotel room checking emails and getting ready to get back to work. I wish I had more fun stories to tell, but its been kind of a boring week with work and all (I guess thats why I am here though so I shouldnt complain :)).

Cant wait to see you all soon!

Hugs,
B

Finland - Work Day #6 (Mon - 9/22/08)

Back to work after the weekend. It was definitely nice to get some rest this weekend, I felt a little more refreshed today. We are keeping busy wrapping stuff up and having meetings to discuss steps going forward. Nothing has been decided yet, but just pray that the project would go in the direction that God wants and it would bring him glory. It has been a rough road the past few weeks and its all very frustrating so I am just praying that God would be glorified through it all because that is all I know to pray for right now in the midst of the frustration and confusion (for the whole team).

Tonight we went out to dinner at a cute little restaurant in the middle of the city. Lunch was yet again, very interesting, so we were starving tonight when we finally left work and went out to eat. My co-worker and I devoured some yummy salmon, steak and our favorite - french fries :).

I came back to my room and have been putting off doing work. I watched a movie and called some friends and now I guess I should get the work started so I can go to bed. I still havent adjusted to the time difference so my body doesnt really know what day it is. Its so weird that it is so late here (its 11pm but I feel like its only 4pm in the afternoon - im definitely still on ATL time). But, I wont worry to much about it since I will be home in a few days anyways, so no need to adjust, right?!?! :)

Love you all and hope you have a great week!
-B