The one-month mark

Today I've officially been here in Germany for one month!  And I have not only lived to tell about it, I've had an amazing time so far.  Seriously, I haven't really had a "bad day" since I arrived.  Praise the Lord . . . He has been so good to me and helped me in so many ways!

Had lunch today downtown with Joey and Rebecca from City Light.  We met to talk about the design for the blueprint drawings, and we ate at a place on the Binnenalster that looked out over the lake on one side and down the street to the tower of St. Michaelis on the other.  It was a great time.  I asked to hear the story of how Joey and Rebecca ended up coming to Hamburg to start City Light, and it was a pretty rad story!  We basically ended up sharing back and forth how God has worked in each of our lives--how He lined everything up for us to come to Hamburg (them for ministry, me for school) and how He has been working since each of us got here.  It was really encouraging and fun too, because it just reminded us of how good God is and how He always provides even when we don't know what is going on.  For sure, I've seen God link me up with some amazing people--Christian and non-Christian--in this city, and I have seen Him protect and provide for me.  I am so thankful that I got to come on this trip!  And to think that a few months ago, I was so scared of doing it that I almost didn't come at all!  I can't believe how much I would have missed out on!  All this to say: I'm really glad that God gave me the opportunity (and the courage) to come to Hamburg, because it has been absolutely great so far.  I hope the next few months don't go by too fast!

Flowering trees . . . these are blooming all around the city!

Spent the afternoon wandering around some new streets I hadn't been on before.  Ended up being kind of a boring walk overall, but there were a few nice moments: I saw some lovely flowering trees at the Planten un Blomen gardens, passed the outer edge of the fairgrounds where the Hamburger Dom (spring fair) is going on, and popped into a Russian Orthodox church where a female choir was practicing, which was nice to listen to.  At 5:15 I went to St. Petri church to hear the free-admission organ music.  It was cool--I drew while I was listening.

Ended the day by Skyping with Mom, Joanna, and Emily.  It was fun to catch up on everything and hear stories from home.

Must go to bed!  First real day of classes tomorrow!  (At last!)

A few drawings from the week:

Petra making a late-night dinner in the kitchen

Teacups and ice cream cones at Herr Max

Stained glass nave at St. Petri