In my weakness.

This, is the beautiful campus that I get to live on this semester. (Phot cred: Campus website)

Since being here my breath is taken away every time I step outside my apartment door! This photo does not do the campus or the mountains it's justice. I go hiking/ trail running almost every day. Every time I step outside my door the mountains are calling me to explore them. On the hillside behind my apartment there is an amazing trail. Each time I run it I feel God's presence over power me as I look out across the city and to the mountains in the distance and all I can do is give thanks and praise him.

The mountains, however beautiful, are not the only thing that takes my breath away. The altitude. I feel so weak here. My first hike I had to stop every 10 min to catch my breath. How embarrassing! I thought I was fit... but honestly this has been wonderful not being able to be in control and recognizing I AM WEAK! I must become less if He is to become greater to someone else!

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considered foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And He chose things despised by the world, things they counted powerless to shame those who are powerful.... God has united us with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy and freed us from sin. Therefore, as the scriptures say, "If you boast, boast only about the Lord." 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31

He is Good! Intervaristy on campus has really taken me in and are an awesome community to hang out with and be encouraged by. I've also met a ton of international students who are here... funny thing is that ALL of the English Lang. Institute classes are where my classes are for Parks and Rec!!! Coincidence?! I THINK NOT!

There almost as many students here as there are at NCSU, but this campus is much bigger! They are the Utah Utes and the Utes have their first game this Thursday against Montana State. I wish I was going, but another game I'll go. Hopefully against Oregon or Colorado!

I have been planning adventures and weekend trips and have been trying to meet people who are crazy enough to go with me :) There are quite a few people here who are willing to do take weekend trips, but it seems that most people are waiting for snow season. Which is coming up in October! Excited, but I've never lived in snowy mountains for a long period of time.

Please keep me in your thoughts!

much love,
LR

The Salty Lake

What good is salt if it has lost it's flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out a trampled underfoot as worthless. Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone with  ears to hear should listen and understand.


I've been in Salt Lake city since Friday afternoon. I love it here! The city has so much flavor and potential. I see Him at work all around me already. Through the friends He's already thrown my way and through the community groups I have visited. Crazy! My apartment mates are wonderful and encouraging. As well as the communities I'm planning to be a part of on campus and in the city. Please be thinking of me as I am making new International friends each day. I feel like I am able to relate with them so well since my summer in NYC.


Next thing I will do is post pictures of the city and campus. It is amazing and beautiful! The mountains spring up from nowhere and and nothing like the Appalachian Mountains I am used to. The mountains surround the city like a great wall and ask me to climb them each time I step outside my apartment. His finger prints are all over this place!

Much love,
Liz

New York International Internship

As most of you know I was supposed to be in London this summer... Well, NYC was plan A the whole tome to Him. New York is a beautiful city, beautifully broken. On one street I felt like I was in the US then just around it's corner I felt like I was in Morocco, Egypt, China, Japan, West Africa, or Pakistan...etc. It was amazing! We are stayed in Queens with an amazing family. We spent a load of time commuting to Manhattan and Harlem every week. The other girls (the original NY group) live in Manhattan, just on the edge of central park. 

There was no such thing as a typical day for us in NY. My team and I spent a ton of time with new friends. We visited an Indonesian Mosque, which was beautiful. We do English Conversation groups in Harlem with the West African community. Which was so great! And we all had two conversation groups we held at NYU each week. We were always busy and always learning something new about different cultures and about the city.  

It was all exhausting, but wonderful. Before leaving FL He broke my heart and burned it for all peoples. I have a burning passion to fill the earth now, a passion I didn't really have before this summer or expect myself to have. I have always loved people, especially people of different backgrounds, but I think that in being rejected by London I have realized how passionately I do feel about wanting to go. I used to desire the adventure of it all more but now my selfishness has been slowly peeling away. There are so many people here in NY and SO many different people groups that it's sometimes over whelming to think about how plentiful the harvest is here. 

Here was one of my favorite stories about a man I had met:

A Jamaican man sat down next to me in the park one day. A street musician/mime was performing in the square and we watched without saying a word to each other for a while. I began to feel like the mime was a distraction. As soon as that feeling came this man began to stand up to walk away but the chain of his wallet caught him. As soon as he sat down to release himself I turned to him and began to ask him how he was doing. As soon as the words came out of my mouth his face broke and I could see pain I had never seen before in anyone. He was a rough looking older man who seemed to be living a rough lifestyle. He shared with me his whole life story and about his addiction to drugs. He said his dealer was the first person who actually shared Dad and his Son with him (That was just eye opening and reminded me of the verse that even demons know and believe in him and shudder). He turned to me after he was done talking and asked me what my story was. What an opening only the One could have provided! He shared with me that he had a trial coming up and that he hoped he would either go to jail or become a part of a program to get away from his dealer and the Harlem community he hated being in. I think of him often. I didn't have much with me but an apple so I offered it to him. He looked at me and said of all the things I could have given him, he said that the apple was most meaningful. Wow!

Thank you for all your thoughts! 

Much love, 

Liz

Gungor- Beautiful Things