Hello, friends. My name is Emily, and I want to live in the UK.
Before I was a Christian, I'd read mountains of teen fashion magazines, obsessively pouring through them for hours, with all the glamorous photo shoots and articles and glossy advertisements, and think to myself, "Oh, I'd love to go to Paris, and London, and Rome. I'd love to go to Europe. I'd love to go to those places." But never did I think it possible. Me, leave my little house in my little neighborhood in my little town in Minnesota? Really? There is no way.
And then, I met Jesus. I was 16, and my life felt purposeful. I felt love like I'd never felt before, and I felt worth that words can't properly describe. But along the way, I'd convinced myself even more that travel wasn't a possibility, that I needed to rely on God and be content with whatever location He placed me in. I'd settled for the idea that I would live in Midwestern America for the rest of my days. And I was perfectly fine with that. (By the way, should I live in the States, I think I'd choose between Minnesota or Oregon--not because I've ever been to the latter, but I've heard great things about that state.)
After a 10-day Spanish trip to Costa Rica when I was 18 and just a week after graduating high school, I realized that getting a taste of the outside world wasn't so bad. But still, I didn't think it was for me. I was still settling.
Then I came to Crown College, in St. Bonifacius, MN, and learned many things. I learned things about the Bible I never could have imagined, things about God, things about people, things about other religions in the world, and things about Europe. That first year at school the missionary family in residence was in from Berlin, Germany. I learned about the spiritual darkness of Europe, about the needs of the people there, and about the beautiful city of Berlin. And two summers following, in July of 2010, I went. I walked those streets. I ate that food. I dipped my feet in those fountains. And I never looked back.
Currently, I'm doing my Youth & Family Ministry internship (as part of my college program at Crown) with Youth For Christ in Northern Ireland. The people here are wonderful, the kids are fantastic, and the town is lovely. I'll be here until August 1st, 2011--and every day, I wake up and thank the Lord that He is letting me live my childhood dreams. How I'm going to live in Minnesota for my last year of school is beyond me, and something I don't want to think about. For the time being, I'm going to enjoy every single moment I'm across the pond. (And when I allow my mind to wander, I'll dream about the great possibility of moving back here after school is through. Really, it could happen. There's nothing stopping me anymore.)
Feel free to comment, to ask questions, to send me updates from home, to Skype with me, anything. Though I don't quite miss Minnesota, I surely do miss the people. (And the hotdish, of course.)
This is my life, for the time being. Welcome to Northern Ireland.
