Lost Camera...Found :D

So I lost my camera yesterday. After I uploaded pictures yesterday, most of the girls decided to go to H&M and then to the river to lay out because it was GORGEOUS outside!! Well when we got to the river I went to remove my camera from my backpack and it was MIA. I didn't fret though, I just figured I left it in the room, but when we got back to the apartments, my camera was no where to be found. I wasn't the happiest person yesterday. The only thing I could think of was I remembered yanking to get my wallet out of my bag yesterday at H&M and maybe it could have fallen out. After church this morning, LD went with me to H&M and I asked the lady at the check out if they had found a camera and she called the manager and he said he would call her back. When he called her back, she asked if I could describe it, so I did, and sure enough they had my camera! Praise the Lord! I love Sweden!!! I feel that my camera would have been gone in America. Since I was in a much better mood, LD & I decided to do a little bit of shopping and I bought a swimsuit. We then went to get some sushi from Dragon Deli...sooooo good.


This is our last full week in Uppsala which means tomorrow we hit the ground running making contacts and following up with Swedes. Pray that we are bold with the gospel this week and that the Lord would prepare the Swedes hearts for His Word. I'm super excited about what the Lord is doing here in Uppsala and I hate that our time is coming to an end. Please pray that we do not get discouraged, but run hard till the very end.

Thanks to my encouragement partner! My flowers and card are beautiful!!!

Times are Tough

Dinner OTP

Emily & I

Filet of Beef & Salmon = Best dinner ever

Swedish Meatballs that I cooked

Game of Truco starting at 11:36 and ending at 2:30

Rooms learning how to play Truco

This guy was just wearing this to have "fun"

We played Mini Golf and I got a hole-in-one on this hole.

IKEA!!!!

LD & Kayla eating Swedish Meatballs...YUM!!

Kubb Champion

We have learned the art of the Swedish game Kubb. Basically it's a game the Swedes play where they try to knock down blocks with sticks. It's pretty fun. I have to say I haven't lost a game yet due to my amazing teammates: Reece & Treece. I think it's because we are all a part of the WolfPack family. This picture was taken after we won three games last night.



The weather is absolutely beautiful today. It's in the mid-sixties, but if you are in the sun it feels like the seventies. Yesterday was rainy and ugly and no fun. On days like this we typically try to go to the park by the river and do Soularium with the Swedish students.

This week I have really been learning about the Supremacy of God. We are studying Colossians while we are here and I am learning a lot from my Bible Study leaders and my teammates here on project. The Lord is teaching me so much about myself here in Sweden and it's always exciting to learn from him every day.

Wednesday I was paired up with Sam and we went to Ekonimikum. We met three guys: Christian, Christopher, and Martin. Christian did not believe in God and Christopher related everything to politics while Martin was mostly quiet. We had a very good conversation with them that lasted two hours. Many questions were asked by them and by Sam and me. Sam was able to share his testimony with them while I was able to explain how God's love for me has changed my outlook on life. I think we really got them thinking about what we said. Martin plays basketball, which is not common here in Sweden, so hopefully he'll be able to play with the guys here on our team and they can reach out to him through community. Pray that Martin will meet up to hang out with the guys.

After lunch, Jen & I had Fika with Milan, a girl we met the first day. She met us at Storkens and we just spent the afternoon in conversation getting to know each other better. One of her friends would like to meet us so hopefully we can meet back up in the next week or two.

Thank you so much for your continued support and prayers. Please keep me updated on how I can be praying for you.

Hej Doa!

I Squegy My Bathroom Floor

Here are some more pictures from Sweden

Domkrkyan at "sunset"

Roomies at the Ice Bar in Stockholm

LD & I Kissing the guard at the Palace in Stockholm

Jumping Umbrella Picture (mimicking the Soularium card) I failed on the first attempt at this and ended up with two rocks in my hand.

LD & I in front of the Domkyrkan

Pictures!!!

So my roommate is amazing and is letting me put my pictures on her computer so I can post some online! Here are a few of Uppsala and Stockholm!

View of Uppsala from the Castle

View of Domkrykan from the Castle
Bikes in the River
Girls in Stockholm
My roomies at Stockholm Nation!
(Mindy, Me, Emily)

Agape Sverige

Agape Sverige is the ministry that we are partnering with while we are here in Uppsala. They have a weekly meeting every Tuesday called Real Life.

This week we started strong doing ministry on campus. We go to the nations (which are kinda like sororities and fraternities) and grab lunch and try to meet Swedes.

Monday I went with Emma to Norrlands. We were not very successful in meeting students. Everyone was pretty much already in groups, so we couldn't really jump into a conversation. It's pretty funny, because basically we just interrupt the Swedes in the middle of their conversations and at first they have this like you are crazy what are you doing, but then we tell them we are from America and they talk to us. After eating lunch at Norrlands, we went to Ekonomikum, the business school) and did surveys on a sign the STINT team had up that was "tell me your thoughts about god". First, we met Emily & Anna. Emily strictly believed in evolution and that there is no God. Anna seemed to be questioning a lot, she thought God was a woman and didn't see how a woman could come from a man's rib. Throughout the conversation with Emily and Anna, my heart was just breaking and I really wanted to cry. They don't even talk about spiritual things with their closest friends, they don't talk about their purpose in life. It's crazy because I could walk down the street and never pass another Christian. Next we met Laura and Hanna. They were a lot more willing to talk with us about spiritual things. Jenny (STINTer I was with) walked them through the gospel. We dialogged back and forth some.

Tuesday I also didn't have much lunch conversing with a Swede, but LD and I got to meet up for Fika and we prayed over our Bible Study and our wonderful girls (We miss you ladies!!!).

Wednesday LD and I did ministry together. We went to Wayne's Coffee and met Charlotte and Maria and walked through Soularium (which here means tanning bed hehe) with them. Maria doesn't believe and God and is very private about spiritual things in her life. Charlotte believed in having faith and hope in herself. She struggled with the concept of forgiveness and how can a god be forgiving. They said they would meet up with us again for Fika, so hopefully that will work out.

Although I haven't had much luck meeting Swedes, the Lord has really been teaching me a lot about depending on him and the meaning of Success. We hear all the time about so many people trusting Christ in East Asia, but here that's not the case. We may not see anyone come to trust Christ this summer while we are here in Uppsala, but that doesn't mean we are unsuccessful. Isaiah 55:11 says "So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it": God's word always produces fruit. He is here and working in Sweden. We will be successful because He sent us. Barrett (ICS staff) painted a good picture for me. If each of us on the SP team meet one Swede who is questioning and searching, that's 20 students the STINT team can pour into next year and develop and deepen relationships.

Thursday was a holiday here (Christ Ascending Day), so I spent the day doing laundry and in the Word, which was really good because I was really starting to get discouraged about not having any Fika appointments. I read Psalm 116 which is a psalm of thanksgiving. The psalmist is thanking God from delivering him from a physical death, but when I read it it became my psalm of praise and thanksgiving to God for saving me from death. After much discouragement the Lord brought to my mind the definition of successful evangelism: "Taking the initiative to share the gospel, in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God." I do not get to decide the results of my conversations with the Swedes, which allows me to rest in peace that the Lord is going ahead of me. Also Joshua 1:9, "Be strong and courageous for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." This helped to remind me that God does not leave me. He is my source of strength and courage.

Last night we went to Stockholm nation for pub night and dancing. It was so much fun. For pub night it looked like the clubs on the Hills which was pretty cool. They had couches with little tables between them and served you dinner. Then later they removed all of the couches and people started dancing. It was so fun watching the Swedes dance. I'm hoping to put some pictures up soon.

Tomorrow we are heading to Stockholm for the day. We are going to visit Vasamuseet (The Vasa Museum: a museum made from an old viking ship), Gamla Stan (Old Stockholm), and the Ice Bar (a bar made completely from ice). I'm pretty excited about visiting Stockholm! Can't wait to tell you all about it!

Prayer Requests:

Boldness in meeting Swedes.
For my team to not get discouraged.
Safe travels to Stockholm tomorrow.
Nancy on my team - she hurt her foot during the end of the semester and is having to wear a boot, that her foot can be healed because we do a LOT of walking here.
Team Unity.

Thank you so much to my supporters for helping me bring the gospel to Sweden.

Hello from Uppsala

We are finally situated in Uppsala, Sweden. It was a very long flight from Washington to Germany, but the plane was pretty cool. We had our own individual TVs that we could chose our own movie to watch. I watched Marley & Me and part of Bolt. It was an eight hour flight and I only slept about two hours. While we were in the air we experienced the time change, it's six hours later here than in NC, and at 1 am NC time, the sun was shining through the windows. Which leads me to the first big difference between Sweden and the US. The sun rises at about 4:00 AM and sets around 9:00 PM. They have very long days in Uppsala. Luckily, my room faces the west, so we do not get the sun shining in at 4 am. It's also quite a bit cooler here with no humidity. Today's high was about 64, which is perfect if you are in the sun, but if you are in the shade it isn't too warm.

In Sweden, the currency is the kroner and for every one US dollar it's about 8 kroner. So it's really weird going to a restaurant and seeing 65 as the price for a meal, at least it's helping me with my basic math.

Friday was our first day in the city. We went to the nations for lunch. There we met Milan, whose faculty (major) was English. Instead of having a major, the Swedes have a faculty, and that is the only thing they study and that's the only part of campus they are on. They do not have minors or take general ed classes or "free" electives. I hope we can meet back up with Milan this week for Fika.

Fika is a Swedish tradition. If someone agrees to Fika with you they are giving you three to four hours of there day to get coffee/drink and pastries together. These are great for developing friendships with the Swedes and discussing the gospel and other spiritual matters.

After meeting Milan, the STINT team had a scavenger hunt set up for us to get to know our way around the city. The first place my team went to was the Domkyrkan (pronounced Domshirken), which is the largest church in Scandanavia. It is huge and beautiful and sits in the center of the city. It also has two large spires and a rose window. It is so beautiful, but then again everything about this city is beautiful. Uppsala also has a river running through the middle of it and underneath one of the streets, "the walking street". This is the only street in the city that doesn't freeze over in the winter. This street is also where we find H&M, a really fun place to shop for clothes. :D

Yesterday we got moved into our permanent housing. The rooms are pretty tight and there are three of us in here. Two are on cots. Each room has a kitchenette and a shower and a bathroom. In the bathrooms, there is no division in the floor for the shower, there is just a drain and a curtain, so the shower pretty much floods the whole bathroom. Our kitchenette is in the corner and has a small sink and a two top stove piece, which will be good so I can cook some while I'm here.

This morning I had my first Fika. All the girls got up before church and went to Wayne's Coffee (the Americanized coffee house). This was the only coffee shop open at 9:30 am. Everything was so quiet, unlike in the US by 9:30 everyone is out and moving about, especially at coffee shops, but not here. I'm ready to experience real Swedish coffee, I've heard it's amazing!

For church we went to the Korskyrkan. The service was in Swedish, but we had headsets and could listen to service translated in English. It was so cool to see Swedes worshiping God. We sung praises in Swedish and it sounded so beautiful.

Tonight we have our first ministry team meetings. I'm on the community team, or fun team as we are calling it. I'm excited to help plan what we are going to do on our days off.

Tomorrow morning we dive into ministry on the campus, which I'm really excited about. I'm ready to see the Lord at work amongst our team and city of Uppsala, Sweden.

Sorry this has been all over the place, but it's a lot of thoughts.

Prayers:

Team Unity.
Boldness in our conversations with students in Uppsala.
Ministry. Students in Uppsala are very serious about their studies and exams are fixing to start, so many students will be studying a lot.
Continuing to get use to the culture in Uppsala.


Thank you so much for your support and prayers! I am having the time of my life here!

Tomorrow!

So we just finished up our briefing here in Greensboro. It has been so amazing getting to know my team and staff. Tonight we had our first team dinner at Hams. Tomorrow, we fly out of Greensboro at 2:50 pm to Washington, DC. From there we have a four hour layover before we fly to Munich, Germany. We have a two hour layover in Munich then we fly to Stockholm, Sweden. We should arrive in Stockholm around 3:00 pm Sweden time, which will be about 9:00 am eastern time. I am so excited to be finally heading to Sweden.

Here are a few prayer requests:

Team Unity. That we will all bond and develop close relationships.
Safe Travels.
That we would all adjust well to the time change.
Our staff. That the Lord will give them wisdom and knowledge.
Our team.
The Swedes: that the Lord will open their hearts to the gospel and that He will pave the way for our conversations.

My team:

Me
Lauren
Sam
Mindy (my roommate)
Emily (my roommate)
Amber
Ally
Nancy
Emma
Kayla
Donovan
Josh
Alex

Staff:
Ben
Jen
Reece
Stephanie
Jeanette
Eden

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support and I can't wait to update you on everything the Lord is doing in Uppsala!!!

Please send me any prayer requests you may have and updates on your summers! (georgina.mclawhorn@gmail.com)

Briefing

Currently I am at briefing in Greensboro. The following teams are here: Sweden, Lebanon, East Asia, and Senegal. I already love my team. The girls are so amazing. Please be praying for me. I only got 3 hours of sleep last night and I have a feeling I'm going to have a hard time sleeping for a while and I really need good rest!

Until I write again,
Georgina

Sweden Update

Well, today is the day. I leave for briefing in just a few short hours. I am so excited about this amazing opportunity and so blessed to have such amazing supporters. It is so comforting to know I have a team of supporters home praying for myself and my team. I can't wait to get to briefing and meet the rest of my team and hear about what we will be doing while in Uppsala, Sweden. My plan is to update my blog when I get the chance with what's happening while I am in Sweden!

I don't have much time since I'm leaving in an hour and haven't finished packing or getting ready (gasp!), but here are a few prayer requests:

That my team would have unity and we will all get along well.
That my team and other project teams have safe travel.
Those that we will come in contact with in Uppsala and that their hearts will be open and receptive to the gospel.
That I will continue to grow in my walk with the Lord while on project.

Please send me any prayer requests that you have! (georgina.mclawhorn@gmail.com) I would love to be praying for you while I am in Uppsala. Also send me updates on what is going on with you while I am gone!


Your Sister in Christ,

Georgina McLawhorn

Done (Just for you Colleen)

Well, this semester is officially done (hehe, Colleen you will not break me!) and I'm officially a Senior! That's pretty exciting if you ask me.

Here's a recap of the semester:

Bring in the New Year at Encounter in Greensboro with the best people in the World.
Get accepted to Sweden Summer Project.
Celebrate my 21st birthday with some great friends!
Preview Weekend in ATL! Got an idea of what an internship with Campus Crusade would look like.
Spring Break to NYC. Got to lead someone to Christ at Pratt!
Began raising support for Sweden.
Saw the Lord provide all of my support for Sweden!
Got to hang out with the most amazing girls ever.
Had the honor of co-leading the freshman (now sophomore) girls East Campus Bible Study.

All in all it was a great semester! I'm now in the process of packing and getting things together for Summer Project. I'm so excited, but can't believe that we leave in a week. Crazy!!!

Keep an eye on my blog for updates while I'm gone!!