hello. goodbye.

These two words have been the essence of the past month of my life. While so fun, this time has been the busiest of the entire year (as you have probably noticed from lack of blog updates) Just to give you an idea, here is an outline of events during this time:

Dec. 12: Hello to the GBC Vision Trip
Dec. 21: Goodbye GBC Vision Trip
Dec. 22: Hello family!
Dec. 30: Goodbye family L
Dec. 31: Goodbye 2008
Jan. 1: Hello 2009
Jan. 1: Hello Nottingham, England
Jan. 5: Goodbye Nottingham, England

I would love to update in detail of every event, but will just give you some highlights and pictures of each one. So this might be a little long, but you can now get caught up on my life if you so desire. It’s been fun, crazy, new, emotional, exhausting, and exciting!

Vision Trip

As mentioned in my last post, a group from Grace Bible Church joined our ministry here for 10 days. These people could not have been more of a blessing to me during that time. They were all so eager to share the Gospel and equally as eager to prayer walk the campus when students shut down the schools. Although they did not get to meet as many students as they were probably expecting, they had the best attitudes and saw Christ in every situation. I loved their company, their genuine desire to follow the Lord, their passion for the Gospel, and their fun personalities. I seriously cried when they left. It was such a fun, joyful week!

Merry Family Christmas

I was so blessed to have my entire family come and visit me in Athens for Christmas! They arrived 3 days before Christmas and stayed for 8 days. We stayed in a wonderful little flat in the center of the city, close to all the Christmas festivities. We enjoyed the Christmas tree, a carousal ride, Santas smoking cigarettes, miniature ponies, and clowns…kind of a weird mix between Christmas and a crazy carnival. We did have an enjoyable Chistmas meal, brunch at the Apel’s house, a trip to the Acropolis, and plenty of Greek food! It was so wonderful to show them my world and enjoy the holidays as a family. I already miss them so much!!

New Years

New Years day was spent at the McGuffy’s house and was a bittersweet celebration. While we had a great time, it was also the last time our entire team was together in one place (the Huddleston’s are moving to Russia in a couple weeks). We at wonderful food, played games, and did a gift exchange! The Greeks open their gifts on New Years day, so we followed the tradition. I received a wonderful icing spreader and cake decorator from Paul...so I can perfect my cake making skills!!

I still cannot believe it is 2009!! I feel like the years have gone by so fast. Was I not just graduating high school in 2004?? I think God has been showing me how fleeting our lives truly are and how little time we have to do His work here on Earth. I am so blessed to be doing it though!

Fireseeds Conference

Three weeks ago Andrew and I found out we would be attending the “Fireseeds” conference in Nottingham, England! This was a conference put on by Agape (the European Campus Crusade) and held for college students and recent graduates. We attended the conference with 2 Greek students from Thessaloniki, Sophia and Kimon. The conference centered around encouraging students to bring the Gospel to the nations. The best part was hearing of Sophia and Kimon’s desires to go on mission trip and share God’s world with others. This is exactly what we are praying for in the lives of Greek students. One day we hope to be sending groups of Greeks to the world with the Gospel of Christ!

There was also a GREAT band that played called “Bluetree.” Definitely worth checking out if you’re interested!

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So there it is! My past 3 weeks in a nutshell. My New Years resolution is to update my blog more often…so get ready! Talk to you again soon!

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (Eph. 1:3)