this is eurasia.

we wanted to 'go out with a bang' for our final project with the eurasia communications team.
so here it is: our stop-motion project to show not only the diversity of eurasia but also the ways in which youth from every field are participating in the Kingdom.



it was true collaboration.
quite the labor of love. but so worth it in the end.

no strangers anymore.

while updating my couchsurfing [cs] profile this week (elle & i are trying to score a place to stay in prague in two weeks time!), i decided to fill in the cs field that asked:
'personal philosophy: what is your personal philosophy? why do you live your life? feelings? thoughts?'

whew. i could write a novel. we all could. but this patty griffin lyric came to mind instead. it says so much. in so few words.

...and we'll grow kindness in our hearts
for all of the strangers among us
'till there are no strangers anymore...

-- Patty Griffin
(song: 'No Bad News' from the album 'Children Running Through')


so for now. that is my philosophy.
on life.
on community and humanity.
on sharing and travel.
on hospitality and embodying a spirit of 'welcome'.
on listening and learning from one another.
on movement and growth.
on love in action.
and on and on...

g-funk will always be home.

coming back to my ultimate home sweet home is just.so.good.
something about it fits juuust right.
much like the old pair of birkenstocks
that i haven't worn for nearly a year.
when i slipped my feet into them this morning,
the shape still fit like a glove. a glove for my toes.
it felt like, aha! -- this is what i've been missing.

.deep gratitude for stateside travel.
.and brothers and sisters throughout my lil' u.s. tour.
.but also deep gratitude to be back in colorado.
.even if just for a week.
.i will treasure this fit.

wait, do you live in germany or switzerland?

the answer would be both.

are you scratching your head over that one?
believe me, i've tried my best to understand this conundrum
in the past six months that i've called 'the büs' home sweet home.
just read the wiki description about büsingen here.
it explains it way better than any of my attempts.
although the fotos are helpful as well.

die schweiz.
dann büsingen in die mitte mit trauben (grapes).
und deutschland.
so.happy.together.
and who whadda' thunk?

for now, i am taking a six-week break from the büs.
a vaca' from europa as well.
here they call this a 'holiday'.
which is actually a much better term.
the focus then is not on what i'm vacating,
but rather on where i'm journeying to...
which would be the states.

the büs wishes all travelers a 'gute fahrt.'
go ahead, laugh it up. at least giggle.
definitely one of the funnier deutsch phrases.
it means a good drive. a good ride. a good journey even.
all.of.the.above.
and everyone's heard 'auf wiedersehen', right?
but this phrase, too, is much richer than simply 'goodbye.'
it literally means, 'until we see again.'
now isn't that nice?

[notice how the german flag is surrounded by the swiss flag... real clever design.]

dear lil' village,
thanks for letting me live in two countries.
simultaneously.
i've carved out somewhat of a life here.
which i'm very grateful for.
and although you've gotten under my skin,
i'm still ready for holiday.
but don't worry --
i'll.be.seeing.you.
soon.
auf wiedersehen.

deine (yours),
marte

get.high.like.planes

meet my sweet swinging friend from bangalore.
just a lil' taste of an indian side street for you.
not too busy, but luckily you get some flava' from the rick-shaws, cow cameo, and passers-by.
love.love.

all around us

there is so much i want to share on here. so much to say. and so much to catch up on. but for now, this will have to suffice:

more and more, i am seeing the truth that there are saints all around us... everywhere you go. living in a million and one different contexts. but living such real and full and bold lives. i was able to see and simply be with such people this past week.

there's the two sisters in lisbon, portugal, age 50 and 60, who decided last fall that they wanted to open their home up to the kids in their neighborhood... teaching them in creative ways and loving on them by simply sharing life. these kids probably wouldn't be inclined to step into a church building, but they're experiencing community through the intentionality of these two sisters.

then there's the volunteers i met in madrid, spain; one from tijuana, mexico (we know the same people from there!) and one from nicaragua. both women, in their mid-20's, moved to madrid for a two-year commitment to build relationships in a totally new place by partnering with a local church and various community groups in the city. yes, they both were spanish speakers, but they entered a totally new cultural context in spain and have learned and loved with such openness and humility and grace. they both just love people. period. in word and in deed. they refer to their work as, "the gospel of friendship." amen and amen.

and then there's my new family member; my sister francine. francine opened up her home to my friend jenna and i while we spent time in montpellier, france. what rich hospitality. it's difficult to formulate into words how much her life and her creativity sparked something in me. francine shows me what i want 60 to look like: sanding a table and then repainting it eggplant purple, picking up fresh bread from the nearby bakery for guests, an ever-eagerness to hear someone's story, long walks in the cool of evening, allowing myself the grace to still take risks... francine is planning a solo backpacking trip in the states for the late summer - i reeeeeeally hope we get to see each other in colorado! francine loves. that was a complete thought there. she loves. loves being alive. loves tapping into creative energy through her artwork. loves her church. loves sharing her story. loves listening to other people's stories. loves helping. loves sharing. loves the creator, the sustainer, the giver of all life.

i realize now that the three examples that came spilling out were all from women; of course i don't espouse that one gender has more to offer the church than the other, but i guess for me, i seem to connect most quickly with women who are living lives of risk and purpose and even adventure in their local context. i love seeing that age is no issue for them; there's no thought of, 'oh, i'm too young to be doing this,' or 'i'm too old to be doing this.'

they just live life. and love life. and love people. deeply and truly and beautifully. if you look, really look, the saints are all around us.

piece o' couch will do.

It's official.

I'm a real couch-surfer now. My new travel friend from work, Amy, and I joined the couch surfing community a few weeks ago in hopes of scoring a place to stay when we flew up to Berlin for Bob Dylan. And after a lot of searching and what felt like endless requests (Berlin has more users on couchsurfing.com than any other city in the world!), we found a place to stay -- and just in the knick of time. The place we found was not your standard house/apartment but really more of an intentional community; intentional in the sense that they want to practice real hospitality. And they really do.

At 'Project Volunteering', it was more like your typical hostel experience where you're sharing living quarters with strangers (but soon strangers turn to friends -- well that's the hope anyway); I think we had about 12 people crammed into every imaginable space on the floor/mattresses/couches in the living room of a Euro-style flat. The photo above is what the living room looks like without anyone in it. So you can use your imagination to creatively fit 12 travelers into that space. : )

As soon as we arrived, we were welcomed in by our contact and literally told to "make ourselves at home". So we tried our best to do just that... The permanent members of the home are friends from various countries who wanted to create a shared space that would always be open to travelers by offering the true gift of hospitality... like 365 days a year. Read all about their efforts and their dreams by going to the Project Volunteering web-site; you'll definitely want to peek at their ideas and practices described on each page. This is a real community of hospitality... I've never seen nor experienced anything quite like it.

Word to Berlin. Word to experiencing hospitality from strangers. And word to couch-surfing (look into it yourself -- no matter what corner of the globe you may find yourself in; of course be wise and be safe, but be adventurous too!)

I can't wait to keep this up in my travels... no hostel fees and new friends in new places... why didn't I use this site before now?!

lavatory-lovestory

Alles Liebe zum Valentinstag...

The Deutsch greeting for Valentine's Day is so much better (yes, better) than the English greeting on this day. It basically translates to, "All love at Valentine's Day". Nice, huh? I sure like it.

I've been in Europe for over two weeks now (photos & posts concerning both Taize and Büsingen are pending... I need to get on that), and it feels like home. It really does; I'm not just saying that. A new home for the next six months... It feels pretty natural to be here, but at the same time, I have to remind myself that I'm actually living here – and not just passing through.

For those who have traveled a bit in Europe (henceforth to be referred to as Europa -- the Deutsch spelling) you've no doubt experienced the "pay to pee" policy in public restrooms.

It often costs a couple Euros to use the facilities -- especially at big train stations and various tourists’ attractions. So, you always have to be prepared... because when you gotta' go, you gotta' go. Am I right? While you might think this is an absurd policy, think again.

In most of Europa, higher education is virtually free or close to free. While traveling in Deutschland this past summer, a friend asked me, "Would you rather pay for your entire college education or have to pay to use the toilet now and then?" Umm, yeah. That's not a hard question for me; no deliberating there -- especially as student loans are already staring me down and will be for the next 10 years... eek. I opt to paying for die Toilette.

So, in honor of both love and lavatories today, I present my new favorite short film for your viewing pleasure. It's a Russian film (by Konstantin Bronzit), but not to worry -- there's no dialogue. Instead it uses all non-verbals to convey the story, quite brilliantly actually. Also, take note, Lavotory Lovestory is in the running for an Oscar right now (in the Short Film category). The Academy Awards are on February 22nd -- one week away. There are a lot of good short films this year (nytimes: Oscar Shorts, Low-Hype and Sweet), but I think I'll be rooting for this one.

You can't help but smile... It is simply de-lightful.



All love to you and yours today!
{Because pouting on Valentine's Day is soo overrated. Get over it (this is me talking to myself); celebrate life; and love people. But, remember, you (still talking to myself) should celebrate life and love people every day of the year... I guess we might as well emphasize the fact of the matter today though. Right? Sure; why not.} ♥

go before us...

walk among us,

surprising God of Peace.

go before us

that we might encounter You in our travels.

sanctify our joys

and our sorrows;

turn our hearts to You.

at the name of Jesus,

we bow before You.

may Your name

be glorified

in and through

Your people,

now, and always.

amen.