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sarah_lou88
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Name: Sarah
Country: United States
State: Michigan
Birthday: 10/18/1988
Gender: Female
Interests: Music, History, Volleyball (OH YEA!), hangin with my friends and family
Expertise: Haven't quite figured that one out, but I'm working on it.
Occupation: Student
Industry: Music Education
Message: message me
Member Since:
8/24/2005
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| Hello! yes, I am still alive! So, this may be quite cliche, but so much happens in five months!!! Life may seem slow-moving right now, but to look back makes me realize that just ain't so. Christmas came and went - such a blessed season as always. We went up north for a change, the first time I could ever remember not being home for Christmas. It was a lot of fun tho to switch it up and celebrate with cousins I hadn't seen in a while and with Grandpa and Grandma. Just a couple of days later I and a few others headed back up north for Youth Retreat 2008. This was my sixth year at retreat.....wow! And I can still remember my freshman year. The Lord has been so gracious to me and it's amazing to see how much I changed since my freshman year of high school!
Changes are still taking place. Of course, that's a good thing! but it's also scary to realize that life is not slowing down and how close I am to the next stages of life. I have only a year and a half of school left..... A YEAR AND A HALF! I started college three years ago and have spent the majority of my life in school. To be that close to being done is super exciting, but also scary to say the least. I have been enjoying my teaching experience as I've continued to teach Sunday School and have a piano student, who, by the way, is doing excellent! I love teaching and am more sure that this is what I want to do. I really enjoyed my music classes (well, most of them that is.......one class in particular I'll be glad to never have to take again). I LOVED conducting class and had my first opportunity to stand before and conduct a large wind ensemble. It was intimidating as I had never done anything like this before, but the experience was AMAZING! I don't think I could even justly describe it to you, but I'm so thankful for that experience and it only made me more excited to begin teaching and conducting when I finish school.
Changes came in another form this year. I got a boyfriend :). It was a good friendship that had been growing over the last couple of years when the Lord chose to bless it into a relationship. Over Christmas break, after retreat, Nathaniel Johnston and his sister Katherine spent a few days with me and my family during which he took the opportunity to speak with my parents and then I. God blessed that time and has been blessing our relationship ever since, causing us to grow closer to Himself as we pursue one another.
So, what's in store for this summer? Well, plans are definitely being made between road trips and family vacations, but most of my summer will probably be working. Sadly no European trips for me this summer, although the experience I had last summer will always stick with me and I am really thankful for it. This fall looks to be crazy busy for me as I will be marching my fourth year :) and taking classes which lead up to screening and preparations for student teaching. I very much appreciate prayers as my college education is winding down and I prepare to set foot in the career force. I am excited to see what God has in store for me, and have been learning so much through depending on Him for life's events, no matter what comes.
I hope and pray all of you are well, even though there's probably not many who read these anymore..... facebook seems to have taken over the world. God bless!
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.....and now I'm back to homeworking and paperwriting.....
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| "They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Revelation 7:16-17
Another year over, and a new one almost begun... So I'll be cliche and say, "Where has the time gone?" No, really.
But this year has been a blessed year. God is proving Himself to be faithful, as always. Why do I ever doubt? I guess I'm human, and still a sinner. But may I ever sing with the angels, "Glory to God in the Highest!" One day there will be no more doubt, no more tears.
I can finally say that I AM HALF-WAY DONE WITH COLLEGE!!!! Yes, it is a 5-year program and by God's grace I've survived half of it. My classes are getting a lot more challenging , but classes such as Conducting are a fun sort of challenging. When I finally got my conducting baton it was like Christmas. Conducting batons are kinda like magic wands: when placed in the hands of a skilled conductor, that stick can work some magical things when it comes to music!
Perhaps the highlight of my year was the trip to Berlin, Germany combine with a trip over to Mebane, NC. God taught me a ton about Himself and His people, the work that He is doing beyond my little circle of home. It was amazing to see the work of missionaries up front and work alongside them for two weeks. It was also really neat to be immersed in another culture. I got a small taste of what foreigners go through, being a foreigner in another country, perhaps a reminder of how we are foreigners here on Earth and home is Heaven. Although I was ready to return to my own country, I will never forget trying to order ice cream with only knowing how to say "yah" and "nein" and how many scoops by the number of fingers I was holding up.
Marching Season came and went. Sadly the football team fared no better than last year, and the head coach was finally fired. Lloyd Carr (previous EMU and UofM football coach) was hired to help recruit a new coach so hopefully next year we'll have a team we can boast in just a bit more :). It was fun being an upper classman in the band, looking at the incoming freshmen/rookies and remembering what it was like when I was in their shoes. Piano studies this semester proved to be quite a challenge. I tackled the hardest pieces I've ever attempted and God really gave me a lot of help to pull them together for my final jury. My professor said that I will never have to play any pieces more difficult than the ones I played this semester - at least for the remainder of my studies at EMU. That was encouraging, but also scary to realize that my senior recital is NEXT YEAR! AAAHHHH!!!!
So now this year comes to a close. So many memories, tears of joy and sadness, laughter, and things to look forward to. Here's a few pictures from the past semester:
this is the Flute Section I was privileged to spend a season with - all 14 of us! :)
October's college and carrer found us making our way to a farm where there were hayrides, and a miniature farm....
My friend Katie who I enjoyed a growing friendship with during the marching season and also accompanied for flute choir.
Our drumline featuring the drum break to "Sing Sang Sung" - pretty cool stuff if I might say so myself.
Thanksgiving day we bundled up bright and early to participate in the Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade. This is my friend Kristen, the best seat partner ever! :)
The Eastern Michigan University Marching Band, Pride of the Peninsula!
Somehow we flutes got stuck in the back.......
Football game against Central Michigan University the day after, WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, all, I shall close, but will try to blog sometime sooner than 3 months....sorry....
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to see many of you at retreat!
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| So I realized that I have exactly one month left of being a teenager.......hmmmmm
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| Flying across the Atlantic Ocean was a neat experience, but nothing compared to what awaited us on the other side. GERMANY WAS AMAZING! Thirty-one Americans from both the North and the South... 43 (approximately) children from East Berlin... Sandwiches without tops... No Ice in our water glasses... toilets with two flushing choices (a big flush or a little flush - no seriously)... hotel keys (actual keys) attached to a 20-lb key chain... Water with or without gas... Narnia... TONS of walking... History... Many new friends... Paying 1 or 2 euros to use the public restrooms (I thankfully didn't have to do that)...
Okay, so I'll re-arrange the jumble so you can make more sense of it...
We arrived July 16th around 8 AM East Berlin time (about 2 AM Eastern Standard Time) after having been up most of the all-night flight. We were escorted by one of the missionaries that met us at the airport via public transportation (the bus and tram) to our hotel where we received our room keys with a 20-lb weight attached to it (slight exaggeration). From the hotel we were escorted by our new missionary friend via walking to the Family Center. There, we did some ice-breakers to get to know one another and then settled down to a simple German lunch: sandwiches and salad..... Mind you, we had not slept since arriving. At this point a few (many) of us were feeling quite drowsy and had to poke one another to stay awake for another couple hours as the missionaries began telling us more of what we'd be doing over the next week and a half. FINALLY! they let us go back to our hotels, settle in, sleep for about an hour, and then took us out to discover a small part of Berlin. How did they choose to let us tour a foreign city? They put us into four groups, designated a group leader, gave us maps, and said, "Meet us all at the fountain in Alexanderplatz."
So, that was day 1. I shall not go into details of every day because I think that would take a little too much space and time. There's so much to tell though!
The English Camp reached out to children from elementary age through ninth grade. These were children who knew very little English (typically the elementary age) to children who could speak rather fluently. In all, we had around 43 children participated that week. Events during camp involved short sessions of an English lesson, two fifty-minute tutor sessions with the children, club time where the children learned a bit about American culture, and times of singing and games. My primary job was a tutor, as were mos of the members of the mission team. I was given three junior-high girls to tutor, who were able to speak English well enough for good conversation. My job was to engage them in conversation as well as help them understand the concepts of the English lessons that had been presented earlier. There were numerous opportunities that each of the team members had in their interactions with the children. We were amazed by the responses we got from some of the children after just the first couple days! At the end of the week of English Camp, the families came out for the Family Day where the children showed off all that they had learned that week. It was really neat to get to meet the parents and siblings of the children that we had been interacting with all week.
Each day after camp was over we took several trips around the city discovering new parts of Berlin and learning about the history of a nation still recovering from war and communism. We saw places such as the Berlin Wall Memorial, the Jewish Memorial, the Typography of Terror, the Reichstag, Ku'damm, and many other places. There was even a day where we split into two groups - one going to Potsdamm to see castles and the other to Wittenberg to see Martin Luther's home and church. At the end of every day, we regrouped for a time of discussion and prayer. Our missionary guide posed a different question to us each night that we were given time to discuss. After discussion, we'd go around our circles and ask for prayer regarding concerns we had about anything from camp to personal struggles. This was a real bonding time as we were able to pray for one another. Some evenings we would sing favorite hymns. It was such a blessed time that although we were weary from the day we did not want to part ways. It was also wonderful to see the power of prayer working throughout the week as the children opened up to us and we were able to share the love of Christ with them and their families.
So, now I've been back in the States for a little over a month. I can't believe school is back full-swing. I pray that God would not let me forget my experiences.
My cousin Michelle and I enjoying a Turkish Doner with Bionade (sp?) sodas.
Michelle, Chris, and I in front of the Berlin Wall (what was left standing at the Memorial)
 Emily with a few English Camp kids swinging on the tire swing at the school 
View of the Brandenberg Gate and just beyond that the U.S. Embassy from the roof of the Reichstag
My three students and I: (left to right) Lin, Paula, and Janita
yay! roommates! (top to bottom) Emily, Myself, Paige, and Abby
Well, folks, I'm off to read about conducting, try to fix my flute so that I can use it tomorrow for rehersal and at the football game on saturday, and do any other homework that I "forgot" about...  God be with you! auf Wiedersehen! | | |
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