my wonderful sunday

I love my church here in Brussels! Today I was greeted by hugs and kisses all the way to my seat. Then we sang “Not to Us” in French, which everyone loves and gets really excited about. Although I still have a hard time understanding all the sermon, it was encouraging to hear what I did understand. Today they let me pass the bread and juice  for the Lord’s Supper. I was so excited that they asked me: ) It made me feel like I was a a part of the family. After church was a little coffee social, then I was invited over to my friends house for lunch. It was a wonderful time of French/English conversation and great fellowship. I am so grateful to God for the church family I have found here!

 

Quand je vous comprends seulement

Each Sunday I go to church here in Brussels and understand very little. The songs are easy because they have the words up on the screen, but the sermons just make me tired. Instead of being concerned with the worship of God, my time is reduced to making meaning out of babble. On my way to church this week, an interesting prayer came out of my mouth that changed the day for me. As I was asking God to just help me get through the next 2 hours I said, “God if I understand nothing else today may I just understand You”. When I heard those words that seemed to come from some other place besides from inside me….I felt comfort. I went to church with new resolve. To wait and listen to the Lord instead of straining to understand the conjugations of verbs. What was interesting, is that I accomplished both. Through the speaker’s words about the faith of Abraham, I felt refreshment from the Lord and encouragement about my knowledge of French. God is a great multitasker.

 

things that remind me i am no longer in america #4

S-T-Y-L-E

so much happening in one outfit…and the ever-impressive euro mullet…

 

the joys of international living

in the last week so many humorous things have happened to me and i have found so much joy in them. maybe it is because i was in some sort of funk before, i don’t know. but i have laughed till it hurt quite a few times this week alone. 

it all began with 2 different people at 2 different times telling me that i look famous. the first was an arabian man who said that he could tell that i was american because i looked like a native american. more specifically Pocahontas. now granted it was dark outside and my hair has grown quite a bit since being here…but really? i laughed so hard when he said that and he did not know why i was laughing. i found this picture online…and i suppose if you squint with one eye and don’t look out of the other…let’s just say i won’t be painting with all the colors of the wind any time soon.

the second person to say i reminded them of someone famous was an african girl in my language class. we were joking around during break on monday and she said “you know, you really remind me of someone but i cannot put my finger on who”. like 10 minutes later (in the middle of class) she yells, “brittany spears”. after a few seconds of confusion, as i had already forgotten the previous conversation, i started cracking up because i realized what in the world she was saying. i remind her of brittany spears. apparently we have some of the same facial expressions. ok people. i will give you pocahontas, maybe. but brittany*?

*not pictured because all the pictures i could find were inappropriate. which is just more evidence of the heinousness of this accusation.

next is the story of the french teacher. this might best be categorized under my “things that remind me i am no longer in america” because this women is vicious. teachers like her get fired in america because the educational system is worried about self esteem. let’s just say i am really glad i have a healthy self esteem, because the woman can be brutal. if we are doing an oral exercise and i make the same mistake the person before me did she yells “brianna, s’il tu plait. écoute!”. translated: please listen!! it could not possibly be that i do not understand the exercise. it is clearly because i am not paying attention.  i know this seems strange to put on a list of humorous things, but if you met her you would understand. she is extremely eclectic and disheveled. i always feel like i am being yelled at by mrs. frizzle .

“let’s take a closer look…at how badly you all speak french…”

and last, and probably the best of all, is the story of the italian man and fuzzy-wuzzy. now if you have not heard of fuzzy-wuzzy, the story goes a little something like this: “fuzzy-wuzzy was a bear. fuzzy-wuzzy had no hair. fuzzy-wuzzy wasn’t very fuzzy was he?” for you to understand just how funny this story is, close your eyes and picture a young, tall, dark and handsome italian man trying to say this english riddle with the thickest possible italian accent. now picture him growing more and more frustrated because he cannot say it correctly. he keeps saying faster and louder, hoping to get the hang of it. “I SAY FUZZY FUZZY HAD A BEAR…” ahaha. i could not even help him because i was doubled over laughing at the situation. pretty soon the whole class is staring at us wondering what is happening. why does vincenzo look angry and red and why is brianna laughing so hard she is crying? i have never confused someone so badly with my english.

tomorrow’s agenda: the chucking habits of the woodchuck. this should keep poor vincenzo busy for days…

 

i think that the Lord knew that i needed some cheering up this week. and i found joy in the small, but wonderful things. hope you were able to laugh along with me, although i know it is hard to translate humor through a blog.

 

great film!

I just saw this movie today and it was really great. You should watch it. I think the English version is called something like “Go Live and Become” or maybe just “Live and Become”, I’m not sure. It is worth the time though.

 

proof of belgium’s existance

A friend of mine showed me this website a while back and I thought it was hilarious. We are unsure if the author is an actual conspiracy theorist or if it is a joke…but check it out for yourself.

http://zapatopi.net/belgium/

Anywho, these are some pics I have taken of famous things in Belgium in case you are now worried that I live in a non- existent country.

 

 

mon père

Sunday is my Dad’s 5(cough, cough)th birthday. And Father’s Day is just around the corner. So I thought I would take this time to share my top 10 memories/favorite things about him.

#10:  When I was about 9 my Dad did a piano concert at our church and he let me be his page-turner. I got to get all dressed up and be on stage next to him. I felt like a princess, and he made me feel like he couldn’t have done it without me.

#9: I secretly think some of his jokes are funny. But I cannot tell him because it would only encourage him.

#8: I love when he is leading music at church and he forgets everyone else is there. You can see worship all over his face.

#7: I will try to explain this memory, but the pictures that follow will do it better justice. My dad and I went to Disneyland a few years ago and we decided, against better judgement, to go on the ferris wheel. We didn’t know that this particular cart we were in was a “special” cart that had its own track. As we ascend the great heights of the ferris wheel the cart suddenly starts falling. Yes falling. My dad and I, in attempt to spare our lives, hit the floor and held on. (There may have been girly screams coming from one of us. But I promised I wouldn’t say who). The 2 other passengers in the cart, approximately 4 and 75 years old, were laughing at us!…they apparently do not realize we are plunging to our death. The cart came to a halt and started swinging in the wind. My dad and I quickly realized that the cart was supposed to do that. Some “imagineer” at Disneyland thought it would be fun. Fun = scariest moment of my life? No. (No wonder they are currently taking it down). At least dad was there to be scared with me: )

 We came, we saw, we conquered. 

#6: Any dad would want to go to a volleyball game. And my dad did. But when he came to the basketball games to watch me be a cheerleader, I knew he really loved me.

#5: There is so much joy in our house. When we are together, we laugh. Thank you dad for enjoying the company of your family and being an example of joy and love to us.

#4: I don’t know if you all know this, but my dad can bring the house down on the piano. I love playing the “can you play…” game with him. He usually can. You should try it out sometime.

#3: Superman and under-doggies. If these words mean nothing to you, I am sorry. Your life has not been complete. Hours of entertainment and quality laughing time.

#2: Surprising him for his 50th Birthday with a house full of people. The look on his face was so worth the complication of getting him where he needed to be at the right time. He is always in the mood for people and a party. I love that about him.

#1: Dad and I share the bond of Starbucks. I love going with him and chatting about life.

Dad, thank you for being you! Have a great birthday! I love you!

 

things that remind me i am no longer in america #3

Random English phrases spray painted in public areas.

 

a song from my childhood still speaking truth

I found this postcard the other day and knew I couldn’t find a better picture to describe my ministry here. These ladies are overlooking a basilica here in Brussels. This picture portrays the 2 dominant religions in Brussels; the Catholic Church and the Islamic faith. The latter being the more devout. The task seems huge, but as I was reminded this week, my God is bigger.

My God is so big, so strong, and so mighty there’s nothing my God cannot do.

My God is so big, so strong, and so mighty there’s nothing my God cannot do.

The mountains are His, the valley’s are His, the stars are His handiwork too.

MY GOD IS SO BIG, SO STRONG, AND SO MIGHTY THERE’S NOTHING MY GOD CANNOT DO.

Selah

 

things that remind me i am no longer in america #2

even their dogs wear scarves!