An Adventurous Day!

Definitely had an adventure of a day today with Vanessa and Jessica!! 

First Jessica and I slept in, which was lovely, after which we had a delicious lunch at a cafe right in front of the cathédrale :) 

Then, we ran to the tram and just barely made it, jumping inside right before the doors closed. We went to a meeting for internationals at our university, and then met up with our new French friend Vanessa to take the bus into Kehl, Germany, where we went grocery shopping, had dinner together, and almost got attacked by a homeless man...well, not exactly, but he did have a can attached to the end of a fishing pole which he thrust at us (with a smile), frightening us a little bit. Haha. Then we went back to the bus stop, where we waited in the cold for about 30 minutes before realizing that the busses weren't running tonight due to a workers' holiday or a strike or something like that. So we took a taxi instead. Then, when we were just about to enter the Foyer (where we live), we were approached by two young men, one playing the guitar, and both wearing labcoats (and nothing else besides the labcoats, mind you). They were high school students from a biology program who were trying to raise money for a field trip. It was very strange, but kind of hilarious. 

Needless to say, we were very glad that Vanessa was with us during the crazier moments, or we would not have known what to do. But now we do :) Now just to learn enough German to actually find what we need at the grocery store next time...haha. 

Que Dieu vous bénisse, 

Marie 

Reality

I'm so excited to go to France...but at the same time it doesn't seem real to me. I feel like I'll still be here doing the same old things in a few days, even though I know I'll be all the way across the globe experiencing a new culture...and I think that my brain's not fully grasping the idea that I'll be in a foreign country simply because I've never really experienced it before. I've never been overseas, never been to Europe, never been to France...so my brain is having difficulty picturing myself there, imagining myself there, comprehending what I'll do and what it'll be like and what I'll see. It's as if, because my brain has no experience with it, it has difficulty picturing this trip as reality.

I think perhaps the same is true with us and heaven. We read books about it, we see paintings with an artist's interpretation of it, we may even dream about it here and there. But our brains cannot truly grasp the magnificence or the reality of the experience that we will have there when we arrive. It's something we have never experienced before, and unlike France, it's something that we can't and haven't even come close to experiencing here on earth. We have literally no idea of how it will be. Therefore, we go on living our lives from day to day in a very earthly mindset. Our brains can't grasp the reality of another world towards which we are always working, and therefore pushes the thought away because it cannot grasp it. This causes us to forget about our true purpose here on earth...to forget about the eternal souls that are around us, souls that may be going to hell if we continue to sit back and do nothing about it. We forget that everything we do, whether it's flipping a burger at McDonald's, preaching a sermon in a small church, or being the CEO of a multimillion-dollar Fortune 500 company, that it's all for something - Someone - higher and greater and more transcendent than all of us put together. We're not working for our own glory. We're working to glorify the One with Whom will we live for eternity once our life on this earth has come to an end. So why do we allow ourselves to forget these things? Life in heaven is hard to grasp, hard to visualize, hard to imagine as reality, but we have to keep meditating on it, keeping it ever present on our minds, in order that we may live to reflect those principles and that love that brings people into that eternal, incredible, and yet incomprehensible life with our eternal God. 

Que Dieu vous bénisse, 

Marie 

Visit www.gofundme.com/emariebaker to see how you can support my semester in Strasbourg, France.

Applying!! :)

Finishing up my application for the University! Hooray!! :D

I still need $7,000 in order to get there! Please help by donations and/or prayers :) 

Visit www.gofundme.com/emariebaker to donate and keep track of my financial progress. 

Que Dieu vous bénisse, 

Marie 

Study Abroad Packet!

Mes amis! Just un petit update on my week and study abroad plans!

The other day I turned in my study abroad packet to the study abroad advisor - hooray! Now I need to make some changes based on her corrections, but I won't be able to meet with her until tomorrow - which is also the day I need to turn in the final version. Soooo...tomorrow may be a little hectic. Prayers for time and wisdom would be fantastic! :) Once that is complete and approved by the ORU Study Abroad Council, I have the go-ahead to register for the University and purchase my plane tickets! I'm very excited.

This week I also had a friend give me a donation towards my trip! It was such a blessing and totally unexpected. I've gotten many donations so far, and I am truly blessed. So far I have 15% of my goal - just enough to purchase my round-trip plane tickets! :) My next goal is 30% - which will give me enough to register for school.

Making progress, with God's help...Thanks for reading!

Que Dieu vous bénisse,
Marie
P.S. Help me get to my goal! Visit www.gofundme.com/emariebaker.

Voilà une photo de l'école où j'étudierai - here's a photo of the school where I will be studying.

My Semester in Strasbourg, France

Bonjour tous mes amis - hello all my friends! :)

I decided this morning that it'd be a brilliant idea to start a blog as I prepare for my semester studying in Strasbourg, France! If you'd like to hear about it and all the details of what I'll be doing while I'm there, check out my other site at www.gofundme.com/emariebaker, and keep checking back here as I'm sure I'll post updates and pictures while in Strasbourg!

This week will be really intense but exciting as far as planning goes. My Study Abroad Proposal packet is due to the Study Abroad board, who will look over everything inside (my plans, my financial estimation, my potential classes, where I'll live, etc.) and hopefully approve it. Once they do that, I'll get to purchase my plane ticket and apply for the school and get all the details together before I leave the States in September!

Jessica (the ORU French student I'll be studying abroad with) and I have met up a few times to work on planning. We've had a super fun time talking and researching different places in Europe that we can visit during our breaks! Two places we're considering are Cinque Terre, Italy, and Bavaria, Germany:

Cinque Terre - five towns off the Mediterranean coast. I have heard that you can't even drive all the way into town, you have to hike the last twenty minutes! That's not bad, and I just love that it's somewhat secluded from the rest of the world!

The Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. This castle was the inspiration for the Disney/Sleeping Beauty castle! When I googled Bavaria, the images that appeared were simply beautiful - mountains and castles all scattered about. Bavaria is only a four-hour train ride from Strasbourg, so Jessica and I might be able to take a weekend trip for a visit. 

Keep praying for me as I finish up this paperwork and continue working and saving money to go! Your prayers are always appreciated :) 

Que Dieu vous bénisse,

Marie

P.S. I'm at 15% of my goal of $10,000! Help me get there! www.gofundme.com/emariebaker