When people think of study abroad, they usually think of all the different amazing places and things those who are fortunate enough to go will see. My name is Brookley and God blessed me with the once-in-a-lifetime chance to study abroad in Leipzig, Germany in the fall of 2019. He knew exactly what He was doing when He placed me in Europe with the people I was surrounded with. I would like to tell you some about my experience!
Every new city we visited, we saw cathedrals and took a moment to go inside. Can I just tell you, they are so pretty!! I was constantly in awe of how beautiful these churches were. We often learned about the importance and history of each church we went into, like the Tomas church in Leipzig where Bach lived for 30 years, the castle church in Wittenburg where Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses (left picture), and the St. Vitus Cathedral located in Prague (right picture). I had the opportunity to walk and see the places where history was made and the world was changed by the actions of Christians who lived in these places years ago. I realized just how powerful it is and how grateful I am that people like Luther stood up for their radical beliefs and people like St. Vitus were willingly martyred for Christ’s sake. If it weren’t for faithful people like these who make up history and Christianity, then there is a chance that I would not have the faith I have today.
I would have to say that while studying abroad is about the places you go to and the history you learn, another huge part of it is the people you are surrounded with. I did not say this when I introduced myself but I am a math education major and I went to Leipzig with the COBA department. It was pretty strange going an entire semester without taking any math or education courses. It was different to be surrounded by so many business majors and hear how their in-person business classes were going. It was strange to be removed from the math department at ACU and away from all my fellow math majors. Yet, I was still able to build relationships with those around me. I was still able to laugh and have conversations with and live in a community with people who had different interests.
Mark and Laura Phillips taught a one-hour Life Design course while we were in Germany. In this course, we were challenged to assess our life view and work view. My life view and work view meshed together so perfectly. It was during this activity that I realized I want to be a math teacher because I have the heart to serve and love people, not just because I love math. I had allowed myself to place my identity in my major and future career but through my experiences, while studying abroad, I realized I am defined by my heart, and more importantly, by the fact that my heart rests in God’s hands
