ok so i left off at the hotel...
since i was stranded in london i decided to try to make the most of the situation so after getting cleaned up i went down and had dinner and then went for a walk (there was nothing cool around so the walk was a bit uneventful but it was just nice not to be indoors), after that i went back to my room, read some letters and then went to bed at like 1030. at 1130 my phone started ringing, i answered it but there was no one there so i hung up. it rang again. and this time when i answered it there was a very demanding voice on the other end asking me what room i was in. kind of freaked out i told the man that i think he had the wrong number. he told me it was abdul from the airport (creepy baggage man), and demanded again that i tell him my room number. not wanting him anywhere in or near my room i told him i would come down (at least this way there would be lots of people around if he tried to do anything weird). i went down to see that he had dressed up and was wanting to take me out. i lied and told him i was not feeling well. he told me that i would feel better if i went out with him. i told him i was very tired and he woke me up (this was true). he told me we could just leave for a little bit and then he would bring me back. i again said no, he told me he was very frustrated. i told him i appreciated him getting me a flight and a room but that i did not want to leave the hotel. he had no intentions of leaving so i asked him for his address and told him i would like to send him a card. this seemed to satisfy him and after him asking me one last time to leave with him, and me firmly telling him again that i would not go, he finally left. after faking a pretty intense cough, so he would really believe i was sick, i went back upstairs. the next morning i woke up had breakfast and arrived three hours early for my flight. when i got there i waited in an hour long line and finally was given a ticket that would allow me to get my boarding pass. when i went to get my boarding pass they told me that my flight had been cancelled (the flight they put me on just ten minutes before). i was sent to wait in a series of lines. finally when they sent me back to where i started in the first place i just started to cry. they were telling me that i wouldnt be able to leave london for another day and every line they were sending me to was two to three hours long. i went up to one of the line guys crying asking him what line i should stand in to get it all fixed. he told me to stop crying (which only made me cry more) feeling bad he let me cut in line. i was then placed on a flight to frankfurt that left that afternoon (one that i was previously told was full). four hours later i was finally on a flight to frankfurt. i sat next to this great canadian couple who explained to me that the loud bang/flash of light/warmth on my window that happened on our way into frankfurt was our plane getting hit with lightening.... go figure. i got off the plane and went to see the british airways representative to ask about my baggage, she told me that one had been found but had been sent to the opposite side of germany (i still do not have either bag) but she told me that they would send it to me.
from here on the story gets better...
john, shannon and baby grace picked me up from the airport wearing hick teeth and holding a wel-kome sign (read that in a red neck accent), they also brought me flowers and some club beyond paraphernalia. it was all very nice. the drive back was good the scenery was beautiful. we had french toast for dinner which i thought was cool because that was my last meal in america. this morning i went to church where i got to meet some people. after that we did some errands and then went to someones going away party. most of the people i have been meeting arent really my age (and most have kids) but they are still all very nice. however, i am still hoping to make some friends my age. God has been so good since i've been here, He has just been bringing me comfort in the small things i was worried about.
the part of Germany that i live in is absolutely gorgeous, its beautiful country with scattered small towns. i cant believe i live here. the room where we have club beyond is such a cool space (i even get my own office) and John and shannon have been so accommodating (i'm not just saying that because y'all read my blog now). so things are better.
sorry this was such a long blog post but i just figured y'all would want to hear about the creepy baggage man and my london adventure and i had to close with something good, so its a bit long, but you'll be alright.
for those of you that would like to pray, continue to pray for friends and also for my luggage (both bags) to somehow make its way to me. thanks.

(note-i tried to post a picture of me in london but it was still loading after like a half an hour, so sorry there are no pictures. oh, and i cant figure out how to get pictures from my mac to my shutterfly so that wont be updated for a while. also, i wrote this last night and since then i have recieved one of my bags...)