Hello there!

I am finally beginning to recover from jet lag... it has been a very long few days back in the States. During this time, however, I have been able to begin sorting my jumbled thoughts and memories about the time I spent in Germany, and it has been truly incredible to re live some of the amazing things God did while we were there. God did some amazing things while we were there, and really opened the door for another trip in which we will be able to do even more! This was kind of the preliminary run in which we were able to test the waters and see how the community responded, and they did so in such an encouraging way. For me personally, I was astounded to see such an interest in dance from many of the girls I met. There is absolutely no dance in the area, so there were dozens of girls who approached me after I performed, asking all sorts of questions about Belhaven, dance workshops, etc. We were performing at a school called Black Forest Academy which is essentially a boarding school for missionary teens, so there were many girls there who had danced in the past but weren't able to anymore due to the lack thereof. Knowing this now... I've really been praying about what kind of opportunities I might have in the future, to possibly go and teach, whether that be for a few months in the summer, or even for an entire semester after I graduate. I don't know if that would even be a possibility, but I will certainly continue to pray and see what doors the Lord opens up in the next few years. In terms of the immediate future, however, I know that many of us are planning on going back next summer so we can do even more than we did before!

I am enclosing a link for a video compilation of highlights from our trip. Germany Video Though so much of what we did was not caught on film, this is at least a glance into the beauty that we saw during our journey. Enjoy, have a great summer... and keep this blog bookmarked, because it will certainly be reopened in the next year. :)

Our group and our gracious and lovely hosts, Rick and Mary Beth Holladay, on our last day in Kandern.

One of the girls from Black Forest Academy, during our worship/dance improvisation.

Anna and Ethan, working with some of the BFA kids during the Acting workshop.

Another shot from the worship/dance improvisation.

Kandern, Germany from afar.

~Chelsea Stembridge