Journey

This is a reflective post that has nothing to do with the band. Sorry all. Recently I have been thinking about the word 'journey.' I think that it is one of my favorite words. It is a word of action. It is a word that describes my life. I am on a journey. I started out being born and physically, mentally and spiritually I am progressing through life. I don't really have a choice about this, but I think that is a neat thing.

No matter what I do, I am either moving forward or backward. Every action or lack of action impacts the life that I am living. There is progress that can be lost or gained and the lost can be made back up. And there are all kinds of little journeys that make up the big journey.

This journey over here in Germany is part of that big journey. It feels like the primary journey right now, but it is just part of life affecting the big journey that I am on as I grow in life, age and hopefully grow in God. That I guess is the whole point of the journey. How I grow in my relationship with the amazing figure of Jesus as God and learning how to glorify the one that sacrificed so much for me.

A hard time of the year

Hey everyone,
It is December 24th and I am sitting in beautiful Germany. And it is hard. I don't know why, but this year is harder than last. I miss my family and friends more than last year. It is harder being away. So if you wouldn't mind, just please pray for me.

And I pray that you enjoy the season with family and friends and find a time to sincerely thank God for his incredible gift.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."...Luke 2.12

Schon Weihnachten

What's happening around here? Well over the last week we have been quite busy. With the break coming so soon(this Friday), things are wrapping up. Last Wednesday were all of the parties for the small groups. Gift exchanges, scavenger hunts and many other crazy activities were carried out by small group members.

Thursday was Kandern's Christmas market and BFA offered some entertainment. A mime and all kinds of music were performed by these very talented students.

Friday and Saturday were our first basketball home games of the year. One thing I can say is that although the results weren't necessarily what was hoped for, the guys and gals played hard and were good sports.

Sunday was a very busy day as the Christmas concert was in the afternoon and the dorm Christmas party was in the evening. The students had been practicing for the concert throughout the first semester and it showed as they did an excellent job. It was a short concert at about an hour, but filled with many good sounds and memories including a funny song about the "12 days after Christmas."

Sunday evening we prepared all kinds of wonderful food and sugary type things. We sat down for a wonderful meal and enjoyed eating many different assortments of things. Then we cleaned up and moved on to the gift exchange. Everyone brought a lot of laughter to our living room for the next hour. There were funny gifts and serious ones. In the end, everyone had a wonderful time.

This week brings exams and more exams. The guys start to leave at the end of the week and have expressed that they can't wait to get back and see their families. It will be good for them and a good break for us.

Busy Weekend

This past weekend has been quite the eventful weekend. The guys had Friday off so they got a long weekend free which means that we as staff had a very long weekend. I nice surprise was getting 2 hours off on Sunday though. Very nice surprise.

Thursday evening, we as a dorm had Thanksgiving. It happened to actually be on Thanksgiving this year which is unlike BFA. But we had one of our student's parents come and help us. They brought turkey too. So the ladies did wonderful cooking and Jeff and I went to decorating the dining room. We put up all kinds of lights and green garland everywhere and it looks nice and Christmas treey. The dinner was enjoyable and there were plenty of pies for dessert. We got a football game taped and watched it after dinner. Overall a good day.

Saturday night was the Christmas banquet. All of the guys had fun asking the ladies to go to the banquet. And finally the night brought guys with corsages dressed very nicely and waiting for their dates. There was much happiness when everyone arrived and finally sat down for the meal and program. People turned in Christmas wishes over the past few weeks and then on Saturday night probably around 30 of them were granted. Ranging from having a song sung to the wishee or to fuzzy pick slippers. There were also musical acts galore, some serious and others funny. In the end the Christmas court was announced and everyone cheered happily. It was an enjoyable evening and a chance for everyone to do something different.

Those were the two biggest events of the weekend.

Well, a first of a season

It snowed today. Really it has been flurrying for the past week, but last night and today it decided to pick up. Probably got about a couple to a few inches on the ground. Also broke the shovels out for the first time of the year. I shoveled for two hours and man do I hurt. We have a long driveway. I only got about half of it done then other people came out and helped. Yippee! Let it be known that it was not required, but I went out on my own free will. A wonderful surprise was some ladies from the dorm across the street bringing me a cookie and some hot chocolate. Very nice of them.

It looks beautiful and is nice to have a different start to the winter than last year. Right now it is about two months ahead of our first snow last year. I could be in for quite the winter. Anyway, just wanted to say 'Hi.'

November

Hello all,
It has been a while, but I am coming to you with a prayer request. The year has started out quite smashingly. But it is now a bit over two months into the school year. That honeymoon period has worn off. School is a long boring day for the students and the dorm is just a place where there are a bunch of rules.

For staff, we are tired. It has been busy and will just get busier. My reactions are not what they should be and aren't as gracious as they were at the beginning of the year. Overall, it is just a hard time for everyone. Please pray that I will respond with grace and love to people and that November will be a happy time rather than a tired and stressed time.

Strange hours

Since we over here are from the USA, we need and want to connect back to the states every once in a while. This can lead to some strange hours. This was brought on by my fellow RA staying up to watch a baseball game of his Red Sox that started at 2am. Another RA I know calls her family in Alaska at 5am.

Last year we watched the Super Bowl which wasn't over until 5am. We frequently will call people back in the states between the hours of 11pm and 1am. This is when they start to get back from work.

Strange hours are held by us who long to connect with our other part of our life.

New in Life

Hello from cold Sonne,
It is snowing today. Nothing major, just flurries. The first of the year. The guys are really excited about that. It has been pretty cold for going on a week and finally the flurries broke through. It has been a busy week with things happening everywhere. We got to go see the US men's national team play Switzerland in soccer. That was very enjoyable and hopefully I will put some good photos up soon. We took a van of guys up to Freiburg yesterday to walk around and do some shopping.

Things are going well and I am tired. That is just part of things here though. I pray that all of you are doing well.

October in Germany

Es ist Oktober hier in Deutschland.

After September was in the 50s most of the month, for the first week of October we are in the 70s at least. It has been a nice change. Today the seniors leave for Rome. They spend a week traveling with stops in Venice, Florence and a couple days stay in Rome. Most of them have been looking forward to this trip their whole BFA life.

The juniors are gone to Normandy this weekend. They will stop in Paris on Friday and then be in Normandy on Saturday. They will be exhausted when they get back, but will have a great time.

That is the latest here.

What's happened

It has been busy. Sports are in full swing with tennis, volleyball and girls volleyball. We have 2 in tennis, 6 in guys vball and 1 in girls vball (dorm parent's daughter).

I was creeked a couple of weeks ago for my birthday, but I don't have any pictures yet. I'll get them at some point. A two friday nights ago was the fall party. The theme was movies and tv shows. I joined 5 other RAs to go as the Gilligan's Island crew. I was the skipper. Here is a pic.


Last week was Spiritual Emphasis Week. The topic was 2 Peter and talking about being fully equipped in God. The week ended on Friday with a very powerful service where many people took some big steps in moving towards God. It was nice to see the students make some important commitments.

Hard things

Many great things are happening from being over here. Some really hard things happen too. Today is the wedding of one of my best friends. I can't be there because I am here in Germany. It really stinks and I wish that I could be there.

It hurts that I can't be there.

I just have to trust. Sometimes, even the good things in life throw you nasty curveballs.

A Week In.

Here I am, a week after the students have arrived. We got 11 new students and most everyone seems to be integrating quite well. Our last guy arrived at 11.30 on Monday night. It was good to see everybody. Many happy reunions from all of us which haven't seen each other all summer. It was a busy weekend here at Sonne. Friday night the school had a big party called Chillin' and Grillin'. A chance for food and fun and everyone to meet new people. The RAs here at BFA did a fashion show on the different things that we as RAs do. Sonne was the sports dorm. I portrayed soccer, basketball, golf and fishing. It was quite fun. We all did Zoolander's Blue Steel to end the skit.

Saturday we took the guys to a big shopping area called Carrefour. They got all kinds of school supplies. Saturday night we played a bunch of soccer and then had a fire in our fire pit. The Blauen girls from across the street came over and we all had a wonderful time. Yesterday we played floor soccer. In Sonne we have three floors which have the same number of people. This year second floor won. Then we had a water balloon fight. All in all it was a crazy weekend and I am glad to have this be my first day off.

Coming Attractions

It is sunny today. I haven't seen the sun since Saturday so that is nice. We are getting the dorm ready for people to arrive. Starting Sunday 27 guys will unload their stuff at Sonne. It will be great to see old faces and to enjoy the year with them while having some history. The new faces will also be exciting because they will find out how wonderful it is to be a part of the Sonnenhof dorm.

Please pray that everyone arrives safely. Thanks.

Orientation

Well, orientation has been going on for the past two weeks. So far things have gone well as we get ready for the new year. Here at Sonne we got a new RA. Her name is Kristy and it seems like she will be a good fit for the dorm. There has been a lot of time to get to know people and develop those relationships that will take us through the coming year.

We are learning different things and the new approaches to how things can work this year. The Residence life leadership team does a great job of putting sessions together for us which are very useful.

On the fun side, we have spent time in Freiburg, Germany walking around and this last Saturday 8 of us went to the Alps for some hiking. My word is it beautiful. The Gimmelwald/Murren area is amazing. God has a great imagination. So that is what is going on.

Back Again

Well, I am here in Germany again. Not sure what is happening, but many memories from the beginning of last year are coming back. Lots of RAs are here. Many returners and 8 new people. It is interesting to see where the new people will go. I am glad to be back and very thankful for the time that I was able to spend in the states visiting many of you. Thank you for your kindness. Life will be crazy for the next year, but I am excited and am glad to be going.

Back in Germany

Well, after a quick four weeks in the States, I am here in Germany again. When I got back it felt like I hadn't left. Very comfortable. That being said, I know that I left and I am very glad that I did. I got to be around some wonderful people that I know and love. Life wouldn't be as good if I hadn't gotten to see them. These people are dear to me and pour their wonderful lives into mine.

I had a great time in the US and got to do many things that I enjoy and that are harder to do over here. I lost my luggage coming over here, but that was my only hiccup. My luggage showed up the next moring though. So God is good and I have some clothes to change into.

Thank you to all who I met with over the last month. I appreciate your generosity and relationship.

Where do I fit?

I definitely don't feel like I fit here. It is great seeing all kinds of different people. But I don't fit in here. I don't know if people actually understand this experience that I am going through.

I know that I fit with God. That is a comforting thing.

I fly back to Germany in 9 days and start the second year. Yeah.

Things I have done so far

-Gone to see a baseball game.
-Eaten at Fresco Cafe
-Had hoagies and Chic-fil-a
-Seen live jazz
-Given a presentation at a VBS
-Shown tons of pics and talked constantly about Deutschland
-Taught a few people some nice German phrases
-Enjoyed time with lots of people
-Actually updated this blog

I still need to write a letter which will be done in the next week or so.

Things to do in the states

-See live music
-Sleep
-Watch movies
-See family and friends
-Watch baseball
-Go to eaterys that don't exist in Germany
-Enjoy life
-Etc.

I'm still alive

As July has come, a change has come. I have flown back to the states for the month. This allows some wonderful time with the family and hopefully some great time with friends. This past year has been very tiring and the most important thing that I can do over this month is rest. That will prepare me for the coming year and allow me to be ready for the energy of 27 teenage guys.

June brought times of painting and yardwork while working at the school for a couple of weeks after the students left. All projects that need to be done while the kids are gone. These weeks also allowed for some more normal work/free time as the work was done during the day and we could enjoy having free time on evenings and weekends.

Have a wonderful summer and I hope to see many of you who read this over the next month.

The End?

Well, tomorrow is the graduation of all the seniors. School ended yesterday and people are cleaning up and enjoying talking to each other and signing yearbooks. Many good things are happening right now although it is very tiring and emotionally draining. Just a short update, but wanted to give one.

The End Comes...

Well,

The year is winding down. There are only 3.5 weeks of school left. It gets busier and busier. The seniors are slowly starting to get ready to say goodbye. The rest are looking forward to the summer and time away from school. It will be a crazy few weeks but a good few weeks. So many people have done so many great things this year.

The sports teams head to tournament this year. It should be a great time and maybe some winning. As for me, I am sliding into this RA thing and having a blast. It s great to be here and enjoy all that God is allowing me to.

Romania

Recently I had the privilege to spend 9 days in Romania with 11 wonderful high school kids and another wonderful adult. We spent those days in Marga, Romania at a youth center. This youth center is for kids of the village to come to and have a chance to learn about God and also hang out and play ping pong, soccer and other assorted activities. The center is run by a married couple. She grew up in Marga and he has been in Romania for about 12 years. She really has a heart for the kids of her village.

We presented a program which included a Bible lesson, music, games, crafts and a mime. After that was over and dinner we would just hang out with the kids for many hours into the night. These were long days.

We also did some work projects. We helped a family plant their potato field. We got done in 3 hours what would have taken them a couple of days. It wasn't that we were that good, we just had 13 extra people. We also added on to the ministry center's basketball court. Pouring concrete can be fun.

Romania is so poor and it was shocking at times to see how people lived. It does seem to be improving though. That is good. Overall it was a great experience and I was really blessed by it.

Well,

After the lame winter for cold and snow, or lack of, it seems that March may actually bless us with a bit of the wintry stuff. We have about 6 inches of snow here and it is supposed to snow off and on until Saturday. Maybe we will get up to a foot of snow eventually. That would be nice.

Anyway, in honor of the snow, the school has granted the students a snow day. So they are all staying home and enjoying the day off. Up here in the hills, we have enough to to play in, I am not sure what they will do down the hill. Spring break is coming up in a week and that will lead me to Romania for a week. It should be quite enjoyable.

That's the news for now.

Curling

So there is this sport called curling. It got pretty decent coverage during the last Olympics. Well today I had the opportunity to try it out. The entire Residence Life guys went. We made teams and everything.

Let me just say something. It is a lot harder than it looks. It is definitely a game of touch and balance. I was hilarious to watch. The first couple-few times I tried to slide the stone, I wiped out.
I also found out that Canadians are much better at this sport. Maybe it is because they do things like learn it in their PE classes. I got to do everything except what the guy is doing in the above picture. That was better left with someone that knew what they were doing.


Now this is what I did most. Sweep. They tell me to sweep. They tell me to stop. I just try to get it done. Overall, I really enjoyed myself and want to do it again. Once I learned how not to wipe out, it was cool.

In other news, we had our high school retreat this weekend. It was really good. Maybe I will write more about it later. Some kids are definitely asking themselves tough questions though.

Up-to-date?

Well, it is the end of February and school is starting to wind up. Basketball just ended and next Monday soccer and track start up. Soccer is the big sport here. The doldrums of February are being left behind and this weekend will be a help for that as the entire high school heads off to Nuernburg for a winter retreat.

Now you wouldn't even know that it is winter here due to the warm weather we are having, but a winter retreat will be attempted anyway. Either way, an enjoyable time should be had although I will most likely be exhausted.

Does anybody know what time it is?

Hey all,

It has been a while, but here I am. February is upon us and March is just around the corner. It is amazing how fast time seems to move. February is known as a hard time around here. It is a long stretch to a break and the guys are feeling it. Attitudes are hard and many aren't happy.

Please pray for us as we navigate and help the guys make the best of it. Also that we don't get stressed out.

An added opportunity

It was very unexpected, but it looks like half of my spring break here is going to be full. I am going to Romania. I was asked to be a leader to go on the trip. There are ten students going and 2 leaders. We are going to a center that works with youth where we will do a Bible school thing and also a building project.

I wasn't planning on this and I was looking at a relaxing time, but there was a need. Please pray that I will have the energy for this and that the trip preparation will go well. If you could also pray that the finances for the trip would work out well that would be great.

Thanks.

Pictours

Hey everyone, I decided to post some pictures of where I live with snow. These pictures were taken out of my 3 windows in my room.

This first one looks up the hill. Hochblauen is in the top right of the photo. It is a bit concealed by cloud cover.
This is the second pic. It looks down the hill towards Kandern.

This is the third pic. It looks up to the middle of Marzell and beyond. The Blauen dorm is the first house across the street on the left. Those are our vans in the driveway.


You can click on them to make them bigger!!

Oh the weather outside.

Well it took a while, but winter is finally here. It started to turn cold on Sunday and has gotten colder ever since. We had snow last night and then again it started tonight. It is falling lightly and beautifully and isn't supposed to stop until tomorrow night. Yeah, I am happy.

Also, if you could pray, fellow RAs Matt and Sarah recently had a baby. Her name is Anna Pearl. I had said before that the right side of her heart didn't work. She has heart surgery tomorrow. They are putting a shunt between her aorta and pulminary artery. Please pray for her and them.

Windsday

Crazy weather. I have been told that the weather was wonderful here and have yet to see any snow. January has been rainy and in the 50s. What crazy weather. People here are even shocked about how it is. We also have had crazy winds over the last couple of days. I don't know if you have seen it on the news, but Europe has been getting pounded by a system that brought winds upwards of 120 mph. We here have experienced winds around 60 or so mph.

Oh well, besides that the guys are back. They have come back rested and excited which is crazy. Unbridled energy can be a scary thing, but it is good to see them and I am glad that they are back. I hope y'all are doing well.

Announcement

I HAVE A PHONE!!!!!

That's right. After 5 months of not having a phone, I have one. It has been a hard thing, but this is a great happy thing. Much better now.

YIPPEE!!!!

It's coming

Well, it is about to start. The next semester of stuff at BFA. The guys start coming back on Sunday. And then school starts back up on Tuesday. The fun insanity will pick back up.

God give me strength.

New Year's

This was quite the strange night to behold. The bigger towns and cities have an official fireworks thing, but a small town like Kandern doesn't have anything. That does not mean a lack of fireworks though. The grocery stores sell a bunch of fireworks for anyone to buy. And then at midnight people come out of their houses and spend 30 minutes or so lighting fireworks. Some are bigger than I expected, but there are a lot and there is trash just everywhere.

It is a very un-German thing to do to just make a mess and a lot of noise late at night, but it seems that 1 night a year they let loose. In other news, yours truly had to light his share of fun stuff on fire. Yippee.