dubrovnik, croatia

I'm missing Croatia today. Dubrovnik is such a cool, ancient city. This was the first glimpse we caught from our ship. Sweeto bridge and orange rooftops.

The pier:

Gorgeous church:

This is a typical view of the street:

There was a group of musicians playing outside of one of the sweeto old buildings.

Looking down another street at another beautiful church:

Neighborhood:

And then, my favorite part of Dubrovnik. We wandered around, following signs that pointed toward cold drinks. We were absolutely parched and the idea of mango juice or coke was irresistible. It was incredible, right on the edge of the cliff.

Eventually, we noticed others coming up from a staircase somewhere below. We decided to adventure... This is Aubrey, about to brave the whimsical looking steps.

When we reached the bottom, we found an awesome cliff. Aubrey and Chelsey were both brave enough to jump off. Gram and I didn't jump, but we did swim... in our clothes.

This day is absolutely in my top favorites. I loved seeing the cool buildings and alleys. I loved swimming in my clothes. I loved walking back through Dubrovnik utterly soaked. I love my Gramma and Aubs and Chels. And I would LOVE to go back!

:)

the past week, i have been in such a happy mood.

almost all my school stress has been relieved. i took one final on tuesday, and i have three next week... not too worried.

piper has been delightful. i've been sleeping in her extra bed because she's afraid to sleep alone. a few nights ago, i was watching a movie on my computer. she woke up around midnight and we decided to have ice cream in bed. it was wonderful:)

oh, and last night, i watched the very first noel. my favorite kid's christmas movie. it's all of 20 minutes long. but, its so great. it features the voice of andy griffith and rhymes through the whole movie! and, it has some pretty funny lines. i quote them all the time:)

the girls downstairs are simply wonderful! they got a christmas tree last week. it's huge and beautiful. a few days ago they were rearranging the furniture, and i went down to hang out. we had a blast trying to place the furniture and singing christmas music. also, last night liz and becca came up and we all flopped onto my bed and laughed at everything and nothing. then piper grabbed a bunch of scarves out of my closet and we wrapped them around our heads and cracked up at our work. those girls are so much fun!

i recently discovered emilie henry, a young singer/songwriter. check her out: http://www.myspace.com/emiliehenry:)

and today, i skipped my morning class. first time ever. i was shocked that mom went along with it. i totally agree with her, that going to class is important. however, this morning, i desperately did not want to step into the shower or brave the cold. (current temperature: -3. windchill: -18. welcome to winter in minnesota!). i feel so naughty. and wonderful. i've been so productive this morning, it feels great!

well, i have another class soon. last class of the semester! and a presentation... so, i'm off.

ciao, friends!

whitney

p.s. i really want to go back to italy/greece lately. oof.

so much on my mind

there is so many things i would love to spend my sunday afternoon doing.

• sunday school today. we're going through a series on biblical manhood and womanhood. i've been excited about this topic for a long time, and i want to spend some serious time thinking about it.
• thinking and praying about my role in missions. i want to go. no idea where and what or when or how... but i want to go. yet, i'm not sure if going is what God has called me to.
• loving and praying for my extended family. so many family members are experiencing really hard trials. but, praise GOD that he is always faithful and good!

there's more but, i have wayyy too much homework to do.

ciao.

every tongue, tribe, people, and nation...

that's right, it's missions week[s] at bethlehem. i've never been so excited about it. this year, i'm totally stoked. possibly because of all the cross-cultural experiences i've had this summer. maybe it's just from being around bbc another year.

not sure.

regardless, tonight at connection, my guatemala team gave a report, as well as two other missionaries sent from bethlehem. i loved remembering guatemala and witnessing the excitement and joy with which the other missionaries shared about their work and lives.

hmm, returning to my first thought:

maybe i'm so thrilled about missions week because i'm not scared of missions anymore. i used to fear that one day God would call me away from my family, friends, church, and life in america. for me, that was the scariest thing in the world. i don't fear that anymore. in fact, i think it would be incredible. now, i haven't sensed a definite call to become a career missionary, but i am totally open and willing.

conviction of the week: i don't pray nearly enough. and when i do, it often is about me. i want to be a woman of prayer. i want to live like i believe it changes things. i want to pray for others, especially our missionaries around the globe.

praise God for his faithfulness in my life and in the lives of so many who have giving their lives for the advancement of the gospel around the world.

oh photbooth...

haha em: no lips!

hahahaha, this one makes me laugh so hard. piper loves choosing the faces we should make for pictures...

basically, the cutest chinese girl in the world is MY sister!

i love my family:)

oh yes.

cute, tay.

whatta cutie!

mhmm.

i love my family. and photobooth keeps us thoroughly entertained!

life lately

• it's mid october and snow has fallen twice so far. if this means that spring comes early, i'm totally cool with it:)
• i'm on fall break. i love fall break. yum.
• emilie brown made a surprise visit to minneapolis last week. she was here for 5 days. it was so great to see her again! lots of laughing and singing!
• i've been able to go to BCS chapel two weeks in a row. it's really great!
• i'm really excited about youth group sunday school this year. the topic is biblical manhood and womanhood. and my small group leader is rachel giesbrecht. she is awesome.
• i'm loving our family's small group. anna and jon have joined, way fun. i'm especially enjoying kristin dearth. what a sweet, wise, funny woman!
• i adore this year's insight students. they are so sweet and hilarious. i love spending time with them!
• a few of my favorite songs right now: put your records on (corrine bailey rae), shadowfeet (brooke fraser), traveling soldier (dixie chicks), need you now (lady antebellum), i'd rather be with you (joshua radin), don't stop believing (journey), the way you make me feel (michael jackson).
• last week, i hung out with last years students at heather's flickinger's house. we played scattergories and laughed a lot.
• anna bramble is in nebraska for a week. she left on tuesday, i cannot wait for her to come back:)

cheesiest lyrics ever? maybe.

so, i love the song "outside my window" by sarah buxton. it always brightens my mood. however, i find the end of the chorus to be terribly laughable.

"no wars, no more, just a big rainbow outside my window!" for real? so cheesy.

anyway, the rest of the song is worth listening to, so check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99U46NAs39c