I am:

Lydia Marie Koehn (pronounced “Cane”…it’s weird, I know)

A sociable introvert! (extra outgoing, but need alone time to recharge)

Studying Communication Studies and International Studies at the University of Michigan

Living in an apartment with my sister and two friends off-campus in Ann Arbor, MI

Originally from the inner city of Detroit

A reporter and camera-girl for our campus television news station

Still slightly awkward when it comes to pop cultural knowledge (the result of being homeschooled through 8^th grade in a sheltered environment)

Super involved with my church—especially love to help lead worship for the k-5 kids on Sunday mornings

Currently chewing gum

Seeking God’s heart in relationship with Him

I like to:

Laugh until I cry

Eat pickles and peanut butter crackers

Read my Bible in the morning by the window

Chew gum continuously

Scrub the shower when I’m angry

Sing until my roommates make me stop

Play Euchre! (and all other card games)

Dip pretzels in ice cream

Bounce up and down and wave my arms in the air (I call it “dancing”)

Creep on Facebook….

Beat my brother at badminton

Watch “I Love Lucy”

Swim in the sunshine

Jump on the trampoline in the rain

I’m learning:

To let go and entrust my life and all the details to God

That things sure look different from His perspective

Patience.

That too much ice cream can be a bad thing…

How much I fall short and how far His Grace has covered me (Romans 5:20b)

That I am declared righteous in His eyes!

Spanish! (I am pretty good at comprehension, but freak out when formulating my response.)

Just how much I treasure comfort, security, and control

Not to pick my toenails

Open and honest communication

To recognize the Shepherd’s voice

Other details:

I am currently unemployed and on my own financially—surviving on some scholarship money.  I have been on one other international missions trip (went to Brazil when I was 11).  I just came back from my second trip with my church to the Bowery Mission, a homeless shelter in Manhattan, NYC.  It was rough, raw, but real.  Woke up at 5:30am every morning to worship God with His precious sons and daughters at chapel.  Learned to value brokenness as an open invitation for God’s loving work in our hearts.  God has been teaching me that my own heart is in process, and that He is glorified as I grow (2 Corinthians 3:18).  As I prepare for this trip, I’m realizing that God likes to put me in situations where I am uncomfortable, under-qualified, and unsure, so that I rest not on my own strength, but on His Power (2 Corinthians 12:9). 

Soo excited for Nicaragua--can't wait to meet you all!!