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All my life I have never thought I would travel to Europe to share the gospel. But as I sit in my hotel room at 11:30pm, I have a huge smile on my face. Nothing remarkably “God-worthy” has happened yet, but let me explain what I have experienced.

As soon as my plane arrived at our terminal in Frankfurt, I could wait on the plane no longer. Nine hours in one position, with a chair in front of me leaned back so far I could still smell the Head and Shoulders shampoo the lady had used. I stepped into the airport and a huge smile snuck across my face. I hadn’t even been outside in the fresh air of Frankfurt yet, and I already felt at peace.

Right before I had boarded the flight in Houston, I got a call about my job I was supposed to start as soon as I returned. They asked to meet face-to-face to go over some stuff. From the sound of it, my heart sunk and I truly believed I no longer had the job I had been excited about for so long. Was the devil messing with me? Was God testing me? These are questions I still don’t have an answer for. But as soon as I stepped into the Frankfurt airport, those thoughts faded away. New thoughts of “I could definitely live here!” consumed my mind for the next two hours.

 Ecstasy in Europe

After we left the airport and boarded the train to take us to our hotel, I had not stopped smiling. I was still smiling as we checked into our rooms, and again as we left our hotel for a “scavenger hunt” to learn more about the city and how to navigate Frankfurt. As I was walking out of the hotel, one of the other missionaries on the trip from Seattle, whom I had not yet met, told me I looked like a little kid at Disney World.

I was in such ecstasy of being in another country and also being there to do God’s work.

I have been so amazed at how Europe operates, how people interact, and how surreal this experience is. While boarding trains and escalators, if you aren’t right behind the person in front of you, someone will literally cut right in front of you. I didn’t start screaming like a preschooler, but I have been shocked how I have been standing right there and if I’m half a second too slow, someone will dart right in front of me. The first time, I just smiled and waited for an “excuse me” but apparently German’s don’t even look strangers in the eye… I learned this the hard way after making eye-contact with strangers and smiling, which is nice in America, it’s considered suspicious here in Germany. So I am trying to learn to be the nicest mean evangelist ever.

Lowered Expectations

How different from the U.S. My first bathroom experience was in the Frankfurt Airport. I walked in and wondered where the urinals were. This was my first time in Europe, so I just assumed they didn’t use urinals. I did my business and as I was washing my hands and three women walked in, who made me feel very awkward. Maybe I would have felt more comfortable making this mistake at Target.. haha.

Using the bathroom in the city is even more weird. I walked into a McDonalds’ in the City Square, has to have a nice bathroom right? I passed who I thought was a beggar, but he was actually taking money for the bathroom, 50 cents per flush. The light switches are weird; there is no air conditioning, beer is cheaper than water, and if you ask for water you get served sparkling water.

There are refugees everywhere. Literally everywhere. I thought they would only be near the refugee centers, which are outside of Frankfurt, but the refugees far outweigh the Germans. I’ve also realized that deodorant is a very American thing, if you know what I mean.

My expectations of what Frankfurt would be like, have been torn, crushed, stepped on, and burned. After realizing I set my expectations like an American, I tried more to fit in and fell even more in love. The hardest thing for me so far is not smiling at people..

The Refugees

The past two days, we have not had the chance to share the gospel with any refugees. We have been training all day on how to approach them, and also learning about the city so we are able to navigate on our own. Tomorrow we will be dividing up into teams of five and going to meet refugees. I can’t exactly say where, nor will I be able to post pictures of people we meet, but just know that I am here and I am doing my best to stay as obedient to God as possible.

The refugee crisis is real, and since most people can’t or won’t go to the Middle East, this refugee crisis has created an opportunity for me and other missionaries’ to come here and spread the gospel. God has used a terrible situation and turned it into an opportunity for many to come to know Christ.

Europe and most of the refugees are so lost, and being here has opened my eyes to what I am called to do.

Tomorrow we will be prayer walking, playing soccer, and going into refugee’s homes to talk to them about Jesus!

The Impact on Me

Wow. This one is huge, and I know once my parents read this, they probably won’t be excited. As soon as I stepped off that plane into Frankfurt, I felt at home. The same feeling you get when you walk through your home door, or when you walk into Kyle Field (for you Aggies.) That was the feeling my heart was engulfed with as I arrived. I have felt God tugging on my strings to return here soon, or eventually. I am not sure which, but I know I belong here.

With my job back in Houston on the fence, has God created an opportunity for me to come back to Europe? Or will He still give me the job for a year or two in order to raise money to return? I wish I knew the answer, but I don’t.

However, when I do return, I will be here for a while. I spent the last hour applying to jobs in France, Belgium, Australia, Mosbach, South Africa, and Hungary. I know some of those aren’t even in Europe, but we’ll let God decide where I belong. I applied for these now, so that if I get accepted, it will be easier for me to obtain a visa for that specific country. Each job is 3 years long and they need help as soon as possible. Jobs range from coaching American Football in Hungary to directing missions for Muslims in Australia. I applied for a broad range, because I wanted to be open to how God uses me, if that is the route he has for me. I still will be happy with my Houston job, but it will only be used for saving money to return here. I am excited to see where the Lord leads me.

Two days ago I could’ve cried about possibly losing my job I was once so excited about, now I am ecstatic either way. I will be just as happy to minister to the work force in Houston, as I will be coaching football in Hungary, or being a Student Minister to international students in South Africa.

How Can You Help?

Great question. You can start by sending me money.. Just kidding haha. I could definitely use your prayers. For the refugees, German’s and myself. I ask that you pray that tonight, and throughout this week that the refugees begin having dreams of Jesus. We are told that dreams are the way that a lot of Muslim’s come to Christ, and so by praying for them to have those dreams would be extremely helpful since we will be starting with them tomorrow.

Also please pray for the German’s. Christianity is almost non-existent in Europe and it is very sad. I love to sing and dance to worship Jesus, and thinking about someone not wanting to do that, breaks my heart. There are only around 6% of Europeans that are Christian, which is extremely low. That is one of my big motivations to coming here, is to let God use me to help grow that percentage.

Lastly, I ask that you keep me in your prayers. The spiritual warfare on me has been very real. The devil is trying to use the uncertainty of my job status in Houston to worry me, and not make me excited to witness to people. So please pray that I seek comfort and joy from God and not a job. Also that I obey Him throughout this week. When He instructs me to go pray for someone or speak to someone, that I do it without question. He has called me here for a reason and I am ready to be His hands and feet.

Brothers & Sisters

Thank you all so much for your support through donations to help get me here, the countless prayers, all of the supportive text and messages. I really appreciate your obedience to our father and your encouragement. You have all been a huge blessing in my life to help get me here and to help me see what God has called me to do.

I love you all! Tschüss