Bullets, because it's 2am

First day in Barneveld was a full one:

• We headed to the castle for work this morning. Never thought I'd say that one. But TWR Europe's offices are on the 3rd floor of a castle, so that statement will be true all week. We met the staff at devotions and then got our schedule for the week. I love schedules. We also got to learn a lot about the Dutch culture from Eileen, one of our hosts here.
• After Tyler and his wife Laura arrived in town from Cary, we took a quick tour of TWR Europe's offices and then went to town for lunch at a place called Barnies. We determined it was the Dutch Chick-fil-a. I ate a tasty Indonesian inspired dish: chickens in peanut sauce with fries and fruit. Yummy!
• When we got back to the castle after lunch, we finished our tour of the castle by visiting TWR Netherland's offices on the 2nd floor, then exploring the basement and castle turret. Such a beautiful place! The climb to the turret was treacherous due to the rail-less staircases and three ladders (not to mention countless spiders and fly carcasses), but the view was well worth it. I lugged by camera and tripod up with me, so I was able to get some good shots as well.
• We took some b-roll of the offices and a fake Dutch lesson for the rest of the afternoon, then we headed to dinner at Gerben (?) and HyunJung's home. HyunJung is Korean and married Gerben, a Dutchman; they have a cute little baby, Thomas, and are in the process of raising support for HyunJung to work at TWR. We ate homemade Korean food (yums, of course) and had great conversation with them about the spiritual climate of the area. 
• Then it was interview time. Set up took a while, and I managed to flip their breaker in the process, but everything came together in the end, and hopefully we got some solid stuff. The interesting thing was we had to film HyunJung's interview 3 different times: one in Korean, one in Dutch, and one in English. Now we just have to figure out the translations...
• Now it's approximately 2:20am, and we need to be down for breakfast at 8:30 for a full day at the office tomorrow. Keep praying for our energy and equipment and problem solving and the ability to use each of our talents to serve well!

From Here to There

(Jumping right into business because, well, I'm tired)

Our flight left the Raleigh/Durham airport at around 6 Saturday evening. My traveling buddies were Dr. Hagin and Ashley. Sleep was evasive. I believe I got a grand total of 20 minutes of sleep on the nearly 7 hour flight, so as an alternative I watched a couple of movies and, well, tried to sleep. 

Shortly after we landed in London, our company parted ways, with the Vienna and Bratislava groups heading to one terminal and "The Amsterdam Vijf" heading to another. We explored our terminal and enjoyed the British accents (minus the security lady who got upset with Ashley and I for trying to save our film from the death ray aka x-ray). I found the airport to be infinitely improved from my last visit there in 2005, when they were in the middle of remodeling and there was absolutely nothing to do. 

We found this super cool restaurant in the airport called the Giraffe where we ate what we all were thinking was lunch because we were messed up from traveling but was actually breakfast. Tasty, but quite expensive, which I'm finding is the theme around these parts. 

My team agreed that our flight to Amsterdam was far too short. We all crashed as soon as we got on the plan, but the 50 minute flight just didn't cut it for nap time. We all were pretty exhausted by the time we landed.

I can honestly say, though, the Netherlands is absolutely the easiest country to get into that I've ever experience. There was one person in front of me in the immigration line, so I had to wait hardly at all. I stepped up to the counter, they asked my what I was doing in the country and where I was going (I may or may not have forgotten exactly the name of our little town "a city right outside of Amsterdam... it starts with a 'b...'"), and let me right in. All our luggage arrived safely, and we headed to customs. I was a little concerned that they didn't give us customs forms on the plane, but we literally went through the doorway that said "nothing to declare," walked through some kind of machine on our way out, and were home-free. Didn't speak to a soul. I was in love with the Netherlands already. 

Then we stepped outside to the train platform. It was quite chilly, but fortunately we didn't have to wait but 15 minutes or so until our first train arrived. It had wifi (or, as our bed and breakfast hostess pronounced it later, wee fee). I love the Netherlands. I spent the 40 minute train ride catching up on social media (London didn't want us to have free wifi), staring out the window, and falling asleep. I so wish I could have stayed awake for the whole ride because what I saw of the countryside was precious. I kept exclaiming to my sleeping team members how cute and adorable everything was. There was a light dusting of snow atop the surprisingly green grass, sweet little gingerbread-looking cottages, canals, horses, and sheep. I love the Netherlands.

We switched trains and rode the last 15 minutes to Barneveld. We had gotten directions to our bed and breakfast, so we drug our luggage for about 10 minutes across the city (which, thankfully, was completely flat), and arrived at our b&b without a hitch. Our hosts are Esther and Melvin, a sweet Dutch couple. We asked the people at TWR about them and found out that they are not believers, so be praying with us for them and for us to be intentional with them this week as much as we can. 

The b&b (which of course is called by an unpronounceable Dutch name), or as Tyler fondly calls it, "The Chicken House," is cute and nice. Nothing too fancy, but the TWR office building has that category covered. More on that later. After we settled in, we went out in search of some Dutch food, which Gage and I had been dreaming of for weeks after looking it up in graphics class (sorry, Ms. Karyn!). And oh, did we find it.

We dined at a restaurant a less than 10 minute walk from our b&b called De Hubberd. Phenomenal. Chicken, seafood, apple strudel, cheesecake... all amazing. The traditional french fries and mayo, though... not so much. We tried to save money by ordering water, but when they brought it out in glass bottles, we realized that plane had failed. Regardless, we have been forever spoiled and plan to eat there one more time before we leave. With full bellies and contented hearts, we crashed hard once we got back to the b&b.

Inspired

So yesterday was Saturday, but since I haven't really slept since Friday morning, yesterday really just feels like a very, very far removed this morning. Sorry, it's the jet lag talking. Regardless, we woke up Saturday morning at the TWR lodge after having made the journey from school to Cary, NC the afternoon before. 

We spent the morning talking with Tyler (TWR's sole video guy at the moment and the coordinator of our project) about the specifics of our assignments and other such details that I, of course, drank in. 

Then Tyler took us on a little tour of the TWR offices in Cary and shared with us about the ministry TWR has had in the past and how it's still growing today. It was so good to hear more about the heart of the organization we're going to be serving. Their focus on the gospel and partnering with the local church were really encouraging to hear more about, and I love how they strive to, whenever possible, reach people of other cultures through people of the same culture.

Towards the end of our tour, Tyler showed us the global TWR "promo," if you will, that he had just finished. It's not been officially released or approved yet, but it was stunning. I will be sharing it on Facebook the moment it becomes available. It was so creative and well shot and the story was so beautifully told. You could just feel everyone's reaction to it in the room. After watching it, all I wanted to do was go out and tell God's story through video. It was such a refreshing moment with everything from NRB and stressing over equipment and details of the trip still kind of dampening my enthusiasm, it was wonderful to be able to refocus on why I'm going to make videos this week and the passion that brought me to this trip in the first place. 

Speaking of refreshing, I'm literally struggling not to fall asleep on my laptop right now, so I'll have to save the rest of my update for later! Thank you for your prayers, and keep praying for us as we meet up with the TWR missionaries in the morning and do some location scouting and shoot planning! 

So this is the door

Freshman year: I was riding to NRB (National Religious Broadcasters' Convention) with a bus full of strangers, overhearing excited conversations about an upcoming trip to Thailand from all the cool video people in the back. That was my first introduction to NGU's biennial media missions trip. I knew that once my junior year rolled around and the trip came up again, I wanted to be a part of it.

Junior year: I am riding back from NRB with a bus full of friends, trying to get my thoughts sorted in preparation for my upcoming trip to Amsterdam in less than 48 hours. It's crazy to think that a dream that began two years ago is about to come true. 

It's not been easy to get to this point. At the beginning of last semester I had almost talked myself out of even considering going on this trip for financial reasons. Even after witnessing time and again (for one example, see my post below) the Lord providing money to accomplish His calling, I still wasn't willing to trust His provision. But during the last service of global missions week, God confirmed He was going to send me somewhere over spring break, and I was pretty sure it was going to be this trip. 

That night, I wrote in my journal, "Thank You that You will show me how to best spend my spring break, even by closing doors. So I ask that You'd help me not to get attached to any particular door, but that I'd be more and more passionate about serving and proclaiming You no matter where You put me. And You will provide. And You will answer..."

And answer He has. My parents were able to support this trip financially, which was a completely unexpected blessing. I also was able to save up and purchase a new camera and lens which will be extremely beneficial for this trip. 

But what exactly is this trip, you might ask? In short, three groups of students will be going from March 8-17th to different locations in Europe: Vienna, Bratislava, and Amsterdam, to work with TWR (Trans World Radio) to produce short videos for their missionaries on the ground in those cities. Our goal will be to connect these missionary's work to one of TWR's main goals, equipping the church. The missionaries we'll be serving aren't your typical pastors or church planters. They work behind the scenes at radio stations that broadcast the gospel to closed nations and fill administrative roles that enable the church planters to remain on the field. It's so important to show to these missionary's supporters how what they are doing is directly related to the spread of the gospel.

This trip is so special for me because it will give me an opportunity to gain practical experience in something that I want to do long-term after I graduate. I'm so excited to get the chance to partner my love and talents in media with the Great Commission. It's like I was made for this or something.

So how can you pray for us?

• Strength will be a big one, since over half the people on my team have been at NRB all week and are already worn out from this trip. The others have been working through midterms, so we're going to need a lot more energy than we currently have to serve the missionaries well.
• Film is hard. I've only been really learning and practicing with it for about a year or so, and I'm the person on my team with the most experience with it. So, there will be a lot of learning as we go. Pray that we'd be good learners/teachers and will be able to produce some great videos for the missionaries.
• Pray for unity among the teams. None of us on my team have really worked together or been around each other for an extended period of time. Add into that the fact that we'll be tired and pushing to get work done, and you have prime conditions for arguments and ridiculous drama. Pray that we'd represent the body of Christ well and would intentionally seek to serve each other in addition to the missionaries. 
• Amsterdam is a city far from Christ. The first few words that came up in Google the other day when I typed in "Amsterdam" were "pot" and "red light district." Basically, anything goes. It is a very post-Christian city. My team and I are praying for opportunities to love and serve and share the gospel with the people there, so pray with us that we'd recognize those opportunities and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading. 

I'm required for class to keep a blog of this trip, but this is something I wanted to do anyways. I'll probably post an entry just about every day, in addition to random things on Facebook (Elizabeth Pirkle) and Twitter (pirkey_pirk). I'd love to have you guys join me in my adventures! 

Faithfulness Undeserved

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." -- Ephesians 3:20-21

God is faithful.


He has said so Himself and proved it throughout history. He has demonstrated it in the lives of my friends and family. I have witnessed His provision over and over and over again. He has never let me down. But His stellar track record just wasn't enough for me, and my heart clung to doubt rather than the Creator of the universe. In spite of this, He proved bigger than my fears (again), and this story adds another line to His incredible resume of faithfulness.


I suppose this journey began last summer. For some "strange" reason, Alaska kept popping up in random ways. I'd never really given it much thought, but several times throughout the summer, I'd read something about it or see something on Facebook about friends serving there and would think, "Hey, I'd really like to go there someday."


Enter Freshman Move-in Day 2011. I was on campus early to help out BSU prepare for the upcoming school year and help the freshmen, well, move-in. My church was also there, and I helped them pass out invite cards. These invite cards, in fact:

Guess what jumped off the page. It's hard to explain, but I knew the Lord wanted me to pursue the Alaska trip. I was really excited, thought and prayed about it during the next few days, would check the Renewal website occasionally to see if they posted any details. 


But the details never came. As the semester continued, when people would ask me what I wanted to do for spring break, I began to tell them, "Well, I really wanted to go on a mission trip to Alaska with my church, I just haven't heard anything about it yet." Christmas rolled around, and I gave the same answer to my mom when she asked. 


Then Passion happened. In the midst of all the insane worship and community and growth, I received a Facebook message from my college pastor: "hey elizabeth, can you go to alaska with renewal crew spring break week, march 2-9 (now through the 10th)?" FINALLY! I told him I would love to and waited for more details. 


And the details came. Cost: $1350. Oh. My excitement deflated a little and uncertainty began to creep back in. Clearly, I could not afford this from my own pocket. That meant that I would have to *gasp* rely only on the Lord to provide. I continued to pray about officially signing up, and still felt the Lord calling me to pursue this opportunity, so on Wednesday, Jan 11th, I put my name on the list, praying that the Lord would help me trust Him. I took this picture that night of the first time I journaled about going to Alaska, my journal entry that night, the Renewal invite card, and Isaiah 6:8:

I wrestled with trusting the Lord for the next several days, and I was getting really frustrated with myself. Why was my heart so bent on worry? Why on earth could I not trust the God of the universe, Whose  faithfulness is written in bold letters across history and my own life? I kept praying, "Lord, I don't trust you. I know I should, and I definitely want to, but I can't. Please, please help me trust You." I wrote in my journal, "Help me to let go of [the Alaska trip]. Peel back my fingers. I know You hold it and my whole life firmly in Your hand. Enable me to trust You completely."


On Saturday, I woke up and saw a message from my mom, saying that my parents were giving me money for my trip deposit that was due in a couple of weeks. I was really excited since I wasn't expecting that they'd be able to to give that much. It was such a blessing, but, of course, I focused mainly on all the money I still had to come up with. I posted on my family group's wall on Facebook early Saturday afternoon (a family group is a small group at Passion made up of 8 people who start off as strangers and become fast friends through meeting together to study the Scriptures and praying for each other). I asked them to pray for me about Alaska, that I would stop worrying about it and trust the Lord. 


Shortly after I wrote the post, I got a text from one of the people in my family group. In short, he told me that he had been setting aside money for the past few months, waiting on the Lord to tell him how to use it. He then said that when he read my post in our group wall, he knew the Lord wanted him to give the money for my trip, and asked how much I needed. I told him I still needed $1200. He said it was covered. I responded with an "Are you kidding me?" He wasn't kidding. I got his $1200 check in the mail Friday, and was able to turn in all $1350 for the trip yesterday. I didn't ask anyone for a dime. 


I am still astounded by the Lord's faithfulness; I hope I always will be. Just the fact that I did not even ask Him to do anything like this, that I just asked to be able to trust Him, is so humbling. In the midst of my wrestling with my lack of faith, He chose to pour out His faithfulness on me. It's as if He was saying, "This is why you should trust Me." I'm reminded of an Adventures in Odyssey episode called "Run-of-the-Mill Miracle," in which a young boy, Grady, is struggling whether or not to believe that God can do miracles. The wise Mr. Whittaker tells him:


"God works in lots of different ways. Sometimes He does things that will knock our socks off, and sometimes He works and we don't even recognize it."


At the end of the story, as Grady witnesses a miracle in his own life, he responds in a way so reflective of my own reaction to the Lord's faithfulness:


"Mr. Whitaker? I guess He decided to knock my socks off."


Me too, Grady, me too.


So, as I prepare for this spring break trip, I ask that you'd keep me and the whole team in your prayers. Ask that the Lord would prepare the way for us, and the He'd prepare our hearts to serve him. Pray that we'd have His passion for the people of Anchorage, and that we'd boldly declare the gospel of His grace, mercy, love, and faithfulness, so undeserved. 

I Lift My Eyes

"The heavens declare the glory of God, 

and the sky above proclaims His handiwork." -- Psalm 19:1

I was approaching The Hill this morning, load on my back, eyes to the ground, wrestling with myself and God. The dewy grass wet my flip flop clad feet as I trudged on, not in the best mood to start off my day. But for some reason, I took my eyes off the ground before me and looked up. My breath was snatched away when I saw that God had painted the sky over Tigerville the purest, cloudless blue. In an instant, my attitude of frustration became an attitude of worship. My problems had not disappeared, but they became eclipsed by Something greater, their significance overshadowed by the majesty of the Creator. I continued on my way and climbed The Hill with a new spring in my step, fixing my eyes above, reminded that even when my problems are overwhelming, my God is ever so much greater. So, in the midst of your everyday, mundane circumstances and struggles, don't loose sight of Jesus. His beauty and promises are on display all around us. Sometimes all we have to do is look up.

Lemonade Love

"I can hear the least of these
Crying out so desperately
And I know we are the hands and feet
Of You, oh God

So, if You say move
It's time for me to follow through
And do what I was made to do
Show them who You are

'Cause I don't want to live like I don't care
I don't want to say another empty prayer
Oh, I refuse

To sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself

Oh I could choose

Not to move, but I refuse..." -- Josh Wilson, "I Refuse"

Kids do the darndest things.

They make me laugh, they can make me want to cry, make me melt at their cuteness or make me promise never to have any of my own, but how many times to I step back and let them teach me? Not very often. Sometimes, however, I can't help but look at kids and wish I could be more like them. The past two days have turned out to be one of those rare occasions. 

Monday morning I shared with four groups of kids, rising K-5th graders, about the needs in Honduras and how my family is trying to meet them and share Jesus with the people. If you've been to a good old Southern Baptist Vacation Bible School, you'll no doubt remember the missions session, usually with a video of a different missionary each day. You also might remember taking up an offering throughout the week for a missions-related cause. Well, that day I was the "visiting missionary" and that week a computer for a portable ultrasound for my dad was the kids' mission project. 

My presentation was maybe 15 minutes. Super simple, super low-tech, just me and a few pictures on a screen. The middle two groups, the ones with the older kids, I thought did really well, listened and learned, and I felt pretty good about those groups. However, the first and last group, the younger ones, I felt were pretty much lost causes by the time I was finished. Someone always seemed to be talking or wandering around or getting carried away when I asked a question. But I did my best and breathed a sigh of relief when those kids left the room. 

Fast forward to 9:30 that night when I got a call from the mom of a couple of, you guessed it, the younger kids. She told me how they had come home talking about Honduras and the pictures of the kids there. They were especially impacted by what I shared about the kids who live at the dump. She then told me that they told her they felt like they needed to do something to help the people in Honduras and had been working hard for the rest of the afternoon planning a lemonade stand for the following day and inviting many neighbors to come and help raise money for Dad's ultrasound computer. The mom said that none of the neighbors could say no because they could see the passion these kids had for what they were doing and how excited they were to be doing something to help. 

Needless to say, I spent a couple hours of my evening at the home of this sweet family "helping" them do their lemonade stand. By "helping" I really mean just watching and talking to some of the people who stopped by because these kids were all over this thing. They were constantly running around asking if people wanted refills or if they'd like a cookie or lemon square or if they wanted to read about the Pirkle's in Honduras or gladly putting donations in the bucket, never saying a word about wishing they could keep the money for themselves. They wanted to do this. 

After everything wrapped up, they were all thanking me for coming by, and the whole time I just kept saying, "No, thank you guys!" I was the thankful one. Thankful for their giving hearts, their heartfelt concern for a people they've never met, and their refusal to sit around when they could act on the need before them.

Last night I prayed for a heart more like the ones this 4 and 6-year-old have. A heart of simple faith, simple love, simple obedience. A heart that puts compassion into action, that answers the voice of Jesus when He wants us to love the broken of this world, no matter how small our offering may seem. Because love isn't always lots of money or impressive campaigns. 

Sometimes love is just lemonade.