Fall

This is one of the reasons I love Freiburg so much!!

My Hubby!

My hubby is the best, sorry ladies but it's true! He stayed home alone with all four kids last week so I could go on the outreach to the Ukraine, and today he fixed the kitchen sink!

I was washing up breakfast dishes this morning and the handle broke off the faucet! It wasn't the first time it has come off, but this time it was broken.
So we went to the store after we took the kids to school and kindergarten. We were able to get a new faucet then we had to go to a friend's house to borrow tools to be able to do the job.

Davey wanted to use the morning to prepare for Sunday and we had a guest in the afternoon. I had already cooked dinner the night before so at least I wasn't needing to cook without a sink. I did however bake a cake before we were able to get it fixed, I never realized how much I use the sink just to bake a cake! (Rose I'm sure you can identify! I was only without it for a few hours!)

But my hubby came to the rescue after our visitor was gone. He cramped himself up under the sink and got everything unhooked and re-hooked, and it works perfectly now! I am so thankful that I have a handy-man husband! Here are a couple of pictures of him hard at work!


Isn't he cute!

Ukraine, continued...

I don't have pictures yet, but I'm going to go ahead and write a bit more on my trip. In addition to the sports our team leader, the pastor from CC Heidelberg, taught an evening Bible study Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. The boarding school is run through the reformed church in the Ukraine. It is in an area known as Trans-Carpathia, the people in this area are actually Hungarian, so the school is taught in Hungarian.

Two of the guys did devotions Saturday and Sunday morning after breakfast. We attended church at the reform church in the village on Sunday morning. It was quite interesting, more of a history lesson on Hungary than a Bible study....but we decided that maybe we need the same pews in our church...it would keep people from falling asleep! It was a great opportunity to experience more of the culture and better understand where the people are coming from in their relationship with the Lord.

The hardest part of the whole trip though was Friday morning. As soon as our team leader, Chris, said what we would be doing I knew it was going to be tough. The director of the school wanted to take us to a hospital where he goes two or three times a week with some of the students.

It is a hospital where they care for abandoned babies.

I am finding it hard to write about the experience...I'm sure you can imagine the emotions involved. I cried pretty much the whole time we were there. I was able to smile and play with the babies, but I had to leave every now and then to go to the hallway and cry. These babies were between 0 and 3 years old. They are there for different reasons, some are just simply abandoned after birth while others are there because the parents have been declared unfit by the state. The kids in this hospital are on the way to an orphanage at some point. Many of those abandoned at birth are Gypsie, but not all.

The conditions were horrendous! Imagaine the dirtiest most dilapidated building you can...ok are you imagining?

This place was worse....I can't even describe it...

We gagged when we went into some of the rooms, the air was so bad. There were cockroaches on the walls and even in some of the beds. Some of the babies had bugs matted in their hair. I can still see their faces...so sweet and hungry for attention. We held them for a bit and they cried when we put them back in their beds. I know that it was heart breaking for everyone, and my mamma's heart was for sure broken! I just pray that these babies get the opportunity to know the love of a mother and a father, but even more the love of our Heavenly Father, the love that never fails and from someone who will never disappoint.

The hospital receives little or no money from the government, what it does receive from whatever sources, rarely makes it where it should. Sad to say there is still quite a bit of corruption at all levels in the country.

My heart still aches for those little ones when I think of them...like I said I knew that it was going to be tough, but I don't think you could ever prepare yourself completely for such an experience. And when I think how many other hospitals and orphanages there are with kids and babies like this I get very sad...but I trust God and I know that He knows each one of them by name and that is comforting.

Fall

This is one of the reasons I love Freiburg so much!!

My Hubby!

My hubby is the best, sorry ladies but it's true! He stayed home alone with all four kids last week so I could go on the outreach to the Ukraine, and today he fixed the kitchen sink!

I was washing up breakfast dishes this morning and the handle broke off the faucet! It wasn't the first time it has come off, but this time it was broken.
So we went to the store after we took the kids to school and kindergarten. We were able to get a new faucet then we had to go to a friend's house to borrow tools to be able to do the job.

Davey wanted to use the morning to prepare for Sunday and we had a guest in the afternoon. I had already cooked dinner the night before so at least I wasn't needing to cook without a sink. I did however bake a cake before we were able to get it fixed, I never realized how much I use the sink just to bake a cake! (Rose I'm sure you can identify! I was only without it for a few hours!)

But my hubby came to the rescue after our visitor was gone. He cramped himself up under the sink and got everything unhooked and re-hooked, and it works perfectly now! I am so thankful that I have a handy-man husband! Here are a couple of pictures of him hard at work!


Isn't he cute!

Ukraine, continued...

I don't have pictures yet, but I'm going to go ahead and write a bit more on my trip. In addition to the sports our team leader, the pastor from CC Heidelberg, taught an evening Bible study Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. The boarding school is run through the reformed church in the Ukraine. It is in an area known as Trans-Carpathia, the people in this area are actually Hungarian, so the school is taught in Hungarian.

Two of the guys did devotions Saturday and Sunday morning after breakfast. We attended church at the reform church in the village on Sunday morning. It was quite interesting, more of a history lesson on Hungary than a Bible study....but we decided that maybe we need the same pews in our church...it would keep people from falling asleep! It was a great opportunity to experience more of the culture and better understand where the people are coming from in their relationship with the Lord.

The hardest part of the whole trip though was Friday morning. As soon as our team leader, Chris, said what we would be doing I knew it was going to be tough. The director of the school wanted to take us to a hospital where he goes two or three times a week with some of the students.

It is a hospital where they care for abandoned babies.

I am finding it hard to write about the experience...I'm sure you can imagine the emotions involved. I cried pretty much the whole time we were there. I was able to smile and play with the babies, but I had to leave every now and then to go to the hallway and cry. These babies were between 0 and 3 years old. They are there for different reasons, some are just simply abandoned after birth while others are there because the parents have been declared unfit by the state. The kids in this hospital are on the way to an orphanage at some point. Many of those abandoned at birth are Gypsie, but not all.

The conditions were horrendous! Imagaine the dirtiest most dilapidated building you can...ok are you imagining?

This place was worse....I can't even describe it...

We gagged when we went into some of the rooms, the air was so bad. There were cockroaches on the walls and even in some of the beds. Some of the babies had bugs matted in their hair. I can still see their faces...so sweet and hungry for attention. We held them for a bit and they cried when we put them back in their beds. I know that it was heart breaking for everyone, and my mamma's heart was for sure broken! I just pray that these babies get the opportunity to know the love of a mother and a father, but even more the love of our Heavenly Father, the love that never fails and from someone who will never disappoint.

The hospital receives little or no money from the government, what it does receive from whatever sources, rarely makes it where it should. Sad to say there is still quite a bit of corruption at all levels in the country.

My heart still aches for those little ones when I think of them...like I said I knew that it was going to be tough, but I don't think you could ever prepare yourself completely for such an experience. And when I think how many other hospitals and orphanages there are with kids and babies like this I get very sad...but I trust God and I know that He knows each one of them by name and that is comforting.

Memory Lane

So here are some more 'blast from the past' fotos. Keep on finding these on my laptop! Enjoy!

Back in the Swing of Things (Part 1)

Well as you all know I have been away in the Ukraine for a few days. We arrived back in Germany on Monday afternoon, but I didn't get back to Freiburg until Tuesday morning. At least the girls arrived back on Monday, the poor guys, after multiple break downs in more than one van, didn't arrive home until sometime Tuesday afternoon. I am really glad to be home! I really missed my Phamily! Dariah wouldn't even come to me when I first got home! But it didn't take long before she forgave me and let me hold her again!

The outreach was great, it is hard to put into words all that happened. I will most likely be posting more than once on this subject. We were in the Ukraine ministering at a boarding school. The kids all had families, so they weren't orphans, but they stay at the school on weekends too. I'm not sure how often they go home, but I don't think it is that often. One of the girls on our team from Hungary went to a boarding school when she was in High School and she said they were only allowed to go home once a month.

Apperantly it is not uncommon for kids to go to boarding schools in Eastern Europe. The school we were at is a very good school, academically, from the graduating class last year all but one went on to University. The kids are between 14 and 18 years old, it is basically the last 3 years of High School.

We arrived on Thursday evening and left again Sunday night. We weren't sure exactly what we'd be doing, but the plan was to offer sports for the students and sort of 'play things by ear' and see how they would work out.

It wound up that the school made 2 hours of mandatory sports on Friday afternoon, from 4-6, and 4 hours on Saturday from 11-1, and again from 4-6. We offered Soccer, Basketball, American Football, Baseball (wiffelball), and Ultimate Frisbee. One person from the team was responsible for each sport; the rest of the team played which ever sport interested them. I was in charge of baseball (since it is the only one I can somewhat play and know the rules for!). Not only did we do these 6 hours of mandatory sports, we would also toss around the football before meals and stuff, and some of the team would play Basketball in the Gym after the evening Bible session for about an hour or so.

I haven't done that much sport since I was in High School, and that was 15 years ago!!!! By Sunday night I could barely move! Every muscle in my body hurt, even some I didn't know I had! It was a blast though! The kids really enjoyed it. It was fun to see those who came out to play because they HAD to, begin to have fun and get in to it. I had amost the same group of girls for Baseball each time. A couple of them really didn't want to play at first but the next day they were actually trying to catch the ball instead of just watching it fall. I'm very glad it was wiffelball, plastic bat and plastic ball, because the bat often went further than the ball!! More than one of us got hit with the bat whether behind home plate or pitching.

On the last day we even had a few little boys from the village join us. They had already checked out all the other sports. They caught on quickly, I think they must have watched a lot of Baseball on TV because the one boy in centerfield would lay down every time a ball came to him and he would throw it from that position to the bases, just like the pros when they make a sliding catch and don't have time to stand up to throw it! It was pretty classic!

I don't have any pictures yet, someone else on out team took all the pictures, so I will hopefully get some soon. I do have a couple that I took with my cell Phone on the last night, when we said goodbye.

There is so much more I want to share but it will have to wait for another time. I was blessed by the trip, probably more than the students were! God is so awesome and faithful in all things!! To be continued...


These are two of the girls who played Baseball everyday (Edina and Soche). I'm sure I spelled the names wrong! They were so sweet!



















These are 3 more girls from the school and 2 from our team. The girl in the blue sweatshirt with the braids (Anita) was our pitcher for Baseball.

Memory Lane

So here are some more 'blast from the past' fotos. Keep on finding these on my laptop! Enjoy!

Back in the Swing of Things (Part 1)

Well as you all know I have been away in the Ukraine for a few days. We arrived back in Germany on Monday afternoon, but I didn't get back to Freiburg until Tuesday morning. At least the girls arrived back on Monday, the poor guys, after multiple break downs in more than one van, didn't arrive home until sometime Tuesday afternoon. I am really glad to be home! I really missed my Phamily! Dariah wouldn't even come to me when I first got home! But it didn't take long before she forgave me and let me hold her again!

The outreach was great, it is hard to put into words all that happened. I will most likely be posting more than once on this subject. We were in the Ukraine ministering at a boarding school. The kids all had families, so they weren't orphans, but they stay at the school on weekends too. I'm not sure how often they go home, but I don't think it is that often. One of the girls on our team from Hungary went to a boarding school when she was in High School and she said they were only allowed to go home once a month.

Apperantly it is not uncommon for kids to go to boarding schools in Eastern Europe. The school we were at is a very good school, academically, from the graduating class last year all but one went on to University. The kids are between 14 and 18 years old, it is basically the last 3 years of High School.

We arrived on Thursday evening and left again Sunday night. We weren't sure exactly what we'd be doing, but the plan was to offer sports for the students and sort of 'play things by ear' and see how they would work out.

It wound up that the school made 2 hours of mandatory sports on Friday afternoon, from 4-6, and 4 hours on Saturday from 11-1, and again from 4-6. We offered Soccer, Basketball, American Football, Baseball (wiffelball), and Ultimate Frisbee. One person from the team was responsible for each sport; the rest of the team played which ever sport interested them. I was in charge of baseball (since it is the only one I can somewhat play and know the rules for!). Not only did we do these 6 hours of mandatory sports, we would also toss around the football before meals and stuff, and some of the team would play Basketball in the Gym after the evening Bible session for about an hour or so.

I haven't done that much sport since I was in High School, and that was 15 years ago!!!! By Sunday night I could barely move! Every muscle in my body hurt, even some I didn't know I had! It was a blast though! The kids really enjoyed it. It was fun to see those who came out to play because they HAD to, begin to have fun and get in to it. I had amost the same group of girls for Baseball each time. A couple of them really didn't want to play at first but the next day they were actually trying to catch the ball instead of just watching it fall. I'm very glad it was wiffelball, plastic bat and plastic ball, because the bat often went further than the ball!! More than one of us got hit with the bat whether behind home plate or pitching.

On the last day we even had a few little boys from the village join us. They had already checked out all the other sports. They caught on quickly, I think they must have watched a lot of Baseball on TV because the one boy in centerfield would lay down every time a ball came to him and he would throw it from that position to the bases, just like the pros when they make a sliding catch and don't have time to stand up to throw it! It was pretty classic!

I don't have any pictures yet, someone else on out team took all the pictures, so I will hopefully get some soon. I do have a couple that I took with my cell Phone on the last night, when we said goodbye.

There is so much more I want to share but it will have to wait for another time. I was blessed by the trip, probably more than the students were! God is so awesome and faithful in all things!! To be continued...


These are two of the girls who played Baseball everyday (Edina and Soche). I'm sure I spelled the names wrong! They were so sweet!



















These are 3 more girls from the school and 2 from our team. The girl in the blue sweatshirt with the braids (Anita) was our pitcher for Baseball.

WOOHOOOO!!!!

Finally, Becks is back home!! After a whole day and a half of traveling, with broken vans, missed flights, separated team members, she is back home from the missions trip to the Ukraine. But I think the other half of the team is still out there somewhere! Pray they make it home safely - the replacement van for the broken-down van (1st one) also busted a fuel line! I guess, that's part of the whole short-term missions experience - total reliance on God! Anways, I am SOOOOO HAPPPPPPPPYYYYY that my wife, friend, partner is home! Feels incomplete w/o her, if you know what I mean.

WOOHOOOO!!!!

Finally, Becks is back home!! After a whole day and a half of traveling, with broken vans, missed flights, separated team members, she is back home from the missions trip to the Ukraine. But I think the other half of the team is still out there somewhere! Pray they make it home safely - the replacement van for the broken-down van (1st one) also busted a fuel line! I guess, that's part of the whole short-term missions experience - total reliance on God! Anways, I am SOOOOO HAPPPPPPPPYYYYY that my wife, friend, partner is home! Feels incomplete w/o her, if you know what I mean.

FIXED - Problem with Slideshows

Well, I checked out the Picasa.com forums and it seems they 'fixed' the problem with embedded slideshows. But you have to go and manually 're-embed' all the slideshows into your blog again. That is, go to Picasa, log in, pick the web albums you had on your blog, click the 'embed slideshow' link, copy the html code, re-embed into your blog. Then it should work - at least I can see ours again. Can someone comment and let me know if they can see ours, of is it only me? Anyways, at least there's a workaround/fix. Hope that helps you bloggers who use Picasa.

FIXED - Problem with Slideshows

Well, I checked out the Picasa.com forums and it seems they 'fixed' the problem with embedded slideshows. But you have to go and manually 're-embed' all the slideshows into your blog again. That is, go to Picasa, log in, pick the web albums you had on your blog, click the 'embed slideshow' link, copy the html code, re-embed into your blog. Then it should work - at least I can see ours again. Can someone comment and let me know if they can see ours, of is it only me? Anyways, at least there's a workaround/fix. Hope that helps you bloggers who use Picasa.

Home Alone (well, with 4 kids...)

This is day 6 of Becks' trip to the Ukraine. She sent an SMS saying things are going well ministering to the kids in the boarding school / orphanage. On the home front, we are doing well also - but really missing Momma. Because of Jesaiah's weird school schedule and Taliah's kindergarten, we are constantly on the go.

My day starts at 6.00 when we all get up to get ready for school, kindergarten, work. Throughout the day, I am running around bringing kids to school or kindergarten, changing diapers, getting kids from school or kindergarten, cooking (yes everything from scratch and healthy - no instant stuff!), changing diapers, cleaning, changing diapers, washing clothes, answering emails, changing diapers, refereeing disputes, changing diapers, building Legos with Zachie, meeting with people - and oh, did I mention changing diapers??!?!!

After the kids go to bed at 20.00, then I have 4 uninterrupted hours to prepare the messages for Sundays, to work on administrative tasks, answer more emails and of course to write a post or two. Often I am too pooped to really think, but have to force myself to continue (obviously in God's strength). But He is faithful and we have made it so far. Sometime between 24.00/00.00 and 00.30 I fall asleep or slip into unconsciousness (you decide)...to start all over agin in 6 hours.

At least a couple of the kids' patentante (godparents/god-aunties) came over to help for a few hours this week. Thanks ladies! But, man, I am really looking forward to Becks' return! Not only for her help, but i miss talking to her and just having her near me. I guess that's part of what it means when 2 become 1! But overall, I am really enjoying the time with the kids, no, really, seriously. I am, it's great! Maybe if I say it enough, it'll be true! NAWWW, just kidding - I love it! Well, I gotta go - gotta change diapers (!!!) and go get Jesaiah from school!

Here are a few fotos of Auntie Doro playing with the kids...





Twister!!









Zachie, Dariah and Auntie Doro




Ohhh, the tension is toooo much!

Home Alone (well, with 4 kids...)

This is day 6 of Becks' trip to the Ukraine. She sent an SMS saying things are going well ministering to the kids in the boarding school / orphanage. On the home front, we are doing well also - but really missing Momma. Because of Jesaiah's weird school schedule and Taliah's kindergarten, we are constantly on the go.

My day starts at 6.00 when we all get up to get ready for school, kindergarten, work. Throughout the day, I am running around bringing kids to school or kindergarten, changing diapers, getting kids from school or kindergarten, cooking (yes everything from scratch and healthy - no instant stuff!), changing diapers, cleaning, changing diapers, washing clothes, answering emails, changing diapers, refereeing disputes, changing diapers, building Legos with Zachie, meeting with people - and oh, did I mention changing diapers??!?!!

After the kids go to bed at 20.00, then I have 4 uninterrupted hours to prepare the messages for Sundays, to work on administrative tasks, answer more emails and of course to write a post or two. Often I am too pooped to really think, but have to force myself to continue (obviously in God's strength). But He is faithful and we have made it so far. Sometime between 24.00/00.00 and 00.30 I fall asleep or slip into unconsciousness (you decide)...to start all over agin in 6 hours.

At least a couple of the kids' patentante (godparents/god-aunties) came over to help for a few hours this week. Thanks ladies! But, man, I am really looking forward to Becks' return! Not only for her help, but i miss talking to her and just having her near me. I guess that's part of what it means when 2 become 1! But overall, I am really enjoying the time with the kids, no, really, seriously. I am, it's great! Maybe if I say it enough, it'll be true! NAWWW, just kidding - I love it! Well, I gotta go - gotta change diapers (!!!) and go get Jesaiah from school!

Here are a few fotos of Auntie Doro playing with the kids...





Twister!!









Zachie, Dariah and Auntie Doro




Ohhh, the tension is toooo much!

Hope and Jesaiah

Here's another foto I found - wow, look at how tiny they were! But ohhh sooooo cuuuute! I think this must have been when they were a few months old. Ahhhh the memories...

Hope and Jesaiah

Here's another foto I found - wow, look at how tiny they were! But ohhh sooooo cuuuute! I think this must have been when they were a few months old. Ahhhh the memories...

Times A Flyin'...

Another 'blast from the past' foto I found on my laptop as I was actually looking for some other foto! This was taken a few days after Jesaiah was born. Eric is that really you?!

Times A Flyin'...

Another 'blast from the past' foto I found on my laptop as I was actually looking for some other foto! This was taken a few days after Jesaiah was born. Eric is that really you?!

Problems with Slideshows

Hmmmm, don't know why, but I can't seem to see any of our slideshows on our blog. All I see is a white or black rectangle where the slideshow / fotos should be. They're the slideshows from Picasa web albums. I don't know if it's something with my laptop or the blog or Picasa itself. Can you guys who read this blog leave a comment and tell me if you can see the slideshows (of our fotos) ok. Or if you also can't see them. That will help me to narrow down the problem. Tanx!

Problems with Slideshows

Hmmmm, don't know why, but I can't seem to see any of our slideshows on our blog. All I see is a white or black rectangle where the slideshow / fotos should be. They're the slideshows from Picasa web albums. I don't know if it's something with my laptop or the blog or Picasa itself. Can you guys who read this blog leave a comment and tell me if you can see the slideshows (of our fotos) ok. Or if you also can't see them. That will help me to narrow down the problem. Tanx!

Shiver Me Timbers!!

For those of you not in the know, today is 'International Talk Like a Pirate Day'. Yes, every Sept. 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day. In fact, here is the official website for this 'holiday'. Oh, and if you don't know how to celebrate this momentous day, refer to a post I did a few months ago on how to talk like a pirate. Very informative. And if you really want to develop some 'pirattitude' then order this book from Amazon.com (yes, it's a real book).

So now you have all you need to go and join the ranks of piratey-talking-landlubbers worldwide. ARHHH MATEY, AHOI!! Git yur sea legs on an' set yur sails fer te Sout' Pacific. YO-HO and away we go!

Shiver Me Timbers!!

For those of you not in the know, today is 'International Talk Like a Pirate Day'. Yes, every Sept. 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day. In fact, here is the official website for this 'holiday'. Oh, and if you don't know how to celebrate this momentous day, refer to a post I did a few months ago on how to talk like a pirate. Very informative. And if you really want to develop some 'pirattitude' then order this book from Amazon.com (yes, it's a real book).

So now you have all you need to go and join the ranks of piratey-talking-landlubbers worldwide. ARHHH MATEY, AHOI!! Git yur sea legs on an' set yur sails fer te Sout' Pacific. YO-HO and away we go!

Ukraine - Revisited

Well, actually not for me - I'm not going this time, Becks is. But I guess it's not 'revisited' for her either because this is her first time. ;-) In any case, she leaves tomorrow on an outreach to the Ukraine, where I was a couple weeks ago. But this time the outreach wll focus on a boarding school (although I think it's more like an orphanage). This is Becks' first real short-term mission outreach and I am so excited for her! You go girl!!

I wish I could go with her, but alas, there are four (yes, not 1 or 2 or 3, but 4 this time!) little Phams that need me at home. This is also the first time that little Dariah has been away from Momma for any length of time (Becks weaned her a couple months ago). On top of that, we are all sick - colds, I think. Everyone has the runny nose, coughs, etc. Oh well, kindergarten and school have started so that means we get to learn about sharing - in this case sharing germs and illnesses!

Pray for us all, especially for Becks - not fun traveling with a cold, especially the flight to Hungary. Pray for the kids and I at home - that we don't get sicker. Pray that Becks and the team will be a great blessing to the people in the Ukraine.

Here are some random 'blast from the past' fotos...



Lori, Becks and Rose - 3 very pregnant ladies (this was taken 5 days before Jesaiah was born).
















'Grandma Jan' (holding Jesaiah) and Becks at Jesaiah's birth.

Ukraine - Revisited

Well, actually not for me - I'm not going this time, Becks is. But I guess it's not 'revisited' for her either because this is her first time. ;-) In any case, she leaves tomorrow on an outreach to the Ukraine, where I was a couple weeks ago. But this time the outreach wll focus on a boarding school (although I think it's more like an orphanage). This is Becks' first real short-term mission outreach and I am so excited for her! You go girl!!

I wish I could go with her, but alas, there are four (yes, not 1 or 2 or 3, but 4 this time!) little Phams that need me at home. This is also the first time that little Dariah has been away from Momma for any length of time (Becks weaned her a couple months ago). On top of that, we are all sick - colds, I think. Everyone has the runny nose, coughs, etc. Oh well, kindergarten and school have started so that means we get to learn about sharing - in this case sharing germs and illnesses!

Pray for us all, especially for Becks - not fun traveling with a cold, especially the flight to Hungary. Pray for the kids and I at home - that we don't get sicker. Pray that Becks and the team will be a great blessing to the people in the Ukraine.

Here are some random 'blast from the past' fotos...



Lori, Becks and Rose - 3 very pregnant ladies (this was taken 5 days before Jesaiah was born).
















'Grandma Jan' (holding Jesaiah) and Becks at Jesaiah's birth.

Where in the World is A.Calles?!

Yo, Calles, found an old foto of you from high school I think. Didn't realize your hair was so long...

Just kidding man, wherever you are, keep the faith. ;-)

Where in the World is A.Calles?!

Yo, Calles, found an old foto of you from high school I think. Didn't realize your hair was so long...

Just kidding man, wherever you are, keep the faith. ;-)

Einschulung!

There are some words in German that are impossible to translate, and this is one of them. Einschulung is the festivities for the first graders before they start school for the first time. The new first graders get a 'schultüte' that the parents usually make themselves, and are filled with all sorts of goodies, from candy to school supplies. Each one is unique, just like the kids themselves. I think in most smaller villages it is a time for the families to celebrate their kids starting school, grandparents and other extended family members come and enjoy a day together. The kids meet their teachers for the first time on Einschulung day and get to see the classroom for the first time too. It is usually on a Saturday so that the parents and everyone can be there without having to worry about work conflicts. There is even a church service to go along with it. In fact, the local newspaper did an article on the start of school for first graders in other countries and interviewed Becks and Jesaiah about school in America. We'll try to scan the article in and post it soon.

Our school did it a bit differently this year and had Einschulung on a Wednesday evening. The other difference is that the school is huge (for German standards)! There were around 180 new first graders, and that is just from our neighborhood! We know people whose kids are starting school in a nearby village and they only have around 60 (i think). So needless to say the Einschulung today was a major event! When you consider parents, siblings and extended family members, there were a lot of people there - at least 1000!!

Jesaiah's 'auntie' Anja and Dariah's 'auntie' Doro came also and afterwards we had dinner together. It was fun, and a unique experience, for all of us. I just can't believe he is actually in school now, it is such a major step!

Tomorrow is his first day and he finally gets to take his schulranzen. A schulranzen is a special backpack that all the first graders carry, they are pretty big and bulky but they stand up by themselves (not like a traditional backpack). We found one that was a bit lighter so he doesn't have to lug too much extra weight. The schulranzen is also a big milestone, it has all the pens and pencils and everything that they will need for school in it.

Our little boy is growing up! He is SO ready for school, I am excited for him, I know how much he enjoys learning and discovering new things. I just pray that school will be fun for him and not a bad experience. His teacher seems very nice, I look forward to seeing how the school year will be (the kids have the same teacher from 1st thru 4th grade).

Einschulung!

There are some words in German that are impossible to translate, and this is one of them. Einschulung is the festivities for the first graders before they start school for the first time. The new first graders get a 'schultüte' that the parents usually make themselves, and are filled with all sorts of goodies, from candy to school supplies. Each one is unique, just like the kids themselves. I think in most smaller villages it is a time for the families to celebrate their kids starting school, grandparents and other extended family members come and enjoy a day together. The kids meet their teachers for the first time on Einschulung day and get to see the classroom for the first time too. It is usually on a Saturday so that the parents and everyone can be there without having to worry about work conflicts. There is even a church service to go along with it. In fact, the local newspaper did an article on the start of school for first graders in other countries and interviewed Becks and Jesaiah about school in America. We'll try to scan the article in and post it soon.

Our school did it a bit differently this year and had Einschulung on a Wednesday evening. The other difference is that the school is huge (for German standards)! There were around 180 new first graders, and that is just from our neighborhood! We know people whose kids are starting school in a nearby village and they only have around 60 (i think). So needless to say the Einschulung today was a major event! When you consider parents, siblings and extended family members, there were a lot of people there - at least 1000!!

Jesaiah's 'auntie' Anja and Dariah's 'auntie' Doro came also and afterwards we had dinner together. It was fun, and a unique experience, for all of us. I just can't believe he is actually in school now, it is such a major step!

Tomorrow is his first day and he finally gets to take his schulranzen. A schulranzen is a special backpack that all the first graders carry, they are pretty big and bulky but they stand up by themselves (not like a traditional backpack). We found one that was a bit lighter so he doesn't have to lug too much extra weight. The schulranzen is also a big milestone, it has all the pens and pencils and everything that they will need for school in it.

Our little boy is growing up! He is SO ready for school, I am excited for him, I know how much he enjoys learning and discovering new things. I just pray that school will be fun for him and not a bad experience. His teacher seems very nice, I look forward to seeing how the school year will be (the kids have the same teacher from 1st thru 4th grade).

Faithfulness, Freestyle and Fun

I would have to say this Outreach to the Ukraine was probably the best (and most fun) trip I have been on so far (but I probably say that about each one!). From the very beginning, we could sense that God was doing somethng here. We went into the trip not knowing exactly what we were to do, we had no set plans, but truly relied upon God's Spirit to show us what He wanted. That just made it more exciting!

There are just waaayyy too many God moments to write about them all, so here are a few of the highlights...

After everyone finally arrived in the Ukraine (we had people coming from CC Heidelberg, CC Stuttgart, CC Freiburg and another church in Sinsheim) we spent our frst night just seeking the Lord and praying for one another, really getting to know one another in this manner. Even here, we could sense the Lord knitting us together as a team as we just laid hands on one another and prayed. It was such an awesome time of prayer and worship; you could literally feel God's presence.

We then spent the next 3 days hitting the streets - every morning from 10.00 to 12.30 we were in the townsquare talking with people. Then after lunch, most of the team went to play soccer with youth in the villages around the city while the rest went back into town again. Overall we had so many great conversations with people and invited them to the evening bible studies. For me, the best conversation actually came during one of the evening Bible studies.

Two young men Vitalik (17) and Wowa (19) had showed up, but were kinda making trouble during the study. Finally halfway through, they went outside. I followed them and started talking to them and God opened the door for me to share the Gospel of Jesus with them, and how it/He changed my life. They both were so touched by God's Spirit - sometimes you just know that you know that you know that the Holy Spirit has spoken to someone. Well, that was the case with the Vitalik - you could see it in his eyes, he was almost in tears. I know I was - as I was sharing my testimony, I was almost crying with joy at how good God was and is to me! So pray for these young men, that God's Spirit will continue to speak to them, that they will one day step into the kingdom of God.

Another highlight came on our last morning on the streets. The team leader and myself had gone to town early before breakfast to meet with the Director of the University to see if we could do anything there. But the Director was on vacation and so we ended up talking to the Head of the English Dept. and she was so excited to have us there that she invited us to her Advanced English class. So we hurried back, got the rest of the team and returned to the Uni. While the rest of the team went to the English class, I waited outside for someone who I was supposed to meet at that time. But she never showed up, so after 15 minutes, I went looking for the rest of the team. As I walked down the hallway of the Uni building, I could hear worship music coming from one of the classrooms and knew that had to be them. So I hurried to the class, just in time to catch the last few words of the last song. As I came into sight of the team leader standing outside the classroom, he turned to me and asked 'Want to say anything?'

Now I am not a gifted evangelist, nor am I very spontaneous speaker. But as he said those words, I knew that God was challenging me to trust Him and speak. So I said waveringly 'uh, sure...' and went into the classroom, with my heart beatng a mile a minute! I asked the teacher how long I had to speak and she said 30 min. at which point my heart started beating about 5 miles a minute - 'ahhhh!! What am I going to say for 30 min!?!' But God was faithful and filled my mouth with His words as I was able to share the full Gospel in those 30 min. I know it was all God because (1) I can't rememeber much of what I said; (2) many from this English class came to the Bible study that night and told me it really spoke to them and (3) how many non-Christian Universities would allow you to preach the whole Gospel!?!

Well, I could go on for hours writing about what God did (like the Christian border guard, the permission to play worship in the townsquare, etc.) but I'll stop here. As the Aposlte John wrote in his gospel - 'And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen' (John 21.25).

Ahh, God is good. Always. In every situation. He is faithful, even when we are faithless. I was once again reminded of this on the outreach. Well, Becks' turn is coming up in a couple weeks as she goes on the next outreach to Ukraine. And I am sure God will be faithful on that trip also....

Home Sweet Home - Again

Got back from Ukraine and Hungary this weekend. Geat to see my Phamily again. I'll post about the trip soon - it was a total blessing. God was really moving, stretching us all. But it was awesome to be used of God in many ways. It was also neat to connect with other bros and sis across Europe - the fellowship was awesome! Just imagine what heaven will be like as we meet each other at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! WOOOOHOOO!!

Faithfulness, Freestyle and Fun

I would have to say this Outreach to the Ukraine was probably the best (and most fun) trip I have been on so far (but I probably say that about each one!). From the very beginning, we could sense that God was doing somethng here. We went into the trip not knowing exactly what we were to do, we had no set plans, but truly relied upon God's Spirit to show us what He wanted. That just made it more exciting!

There are just waaayyy too many God moments to write about them all, so here are a few of the highlights...

After everyone finally arrived in the Ukraine (we had people coming from CC Heidelberg, CC Stuttgart, CC Freiburg and another church in Sinsheim) we spent our frst night just seeking the Lord and praying for one another, really getting to know one another in this manner. Even here, we could sense the Lord knitting us together as a team as we just laid hands on one another and prayed. It was such an awesome time of prayer and worship; you could literally feel God's presence.

We then spent the next 3 days hitting the streets - every morning from 10.00 to 12.30 we were in the townsquare talking with people. Then after lunch, most of the team went to play soccer with youth in the villages around the city while the rest went back into town again. Overall we had so many great conversations with people and invited them to the evening bible studies. For me, the best conversation actually came during one of the evening Bible studies.

Two young men Vitalik (17) and Wowa (19) had showed up, but were kinda making trouble during the study. Finally halfway through, they went outside. I followed them and started talking to them and God opened the door for me to share the Gospel of Jesus with them, and how it/He changed my life. They both were so touched by God's Spirit - sometimes you just know that you know that you know that the Holy Spirit has spoken to someone. Well, that was the case with the Vitalik - you could see it in his eyes, he was almost in tears. I know I was - as I was sharing my testimony, I was almost crying with joy at how good God was and is to me! So pray for these young men, that God's Spirit will continue to speak to them, that they will one day step into the kingdom of God.

Another highlight came on our last morning on the streets. The team leader and myself had gone to town early before breakfast to meet with the Director of the University to see if we could do anything there. But the Director was on vacation and so we ended up talking to the Head of the English Dept. and she was so excited to have us there that she invited us to her Advanced English class. So we hurried back, got the rest of the team and returned to the Uni. While the rest of the team went to the English class, I waited outside for someone who I was supposed to meet at that time. But she never showed up, so after 15 minutes, I went looking for the rest of the team. As I walked down the hallway of the Uni building, I could hear worship music coming from one of the classrooms and knew that had to be them. So I hurried to the class, just in time to catch the last few words of the last song. As I came into sight of the team leader standing outside the classroom, he turned to me and asked 'Want to say anything?'

Now I am not a gifted evangelist, nor am I very spontaneous speaker. But as he said those words, I knew that God was challenging me to trust Him and speak. So I said waveringly 'uh, sure...' and went into the classroom, with my heart beatng a mile a minute! I asked the teacher how long I had to speak and she said 30 min. at which point my heart started beating about 5 miles a minute - 'ahhhh!! What am I going to say for 30 min!?!' But God was faithful and filled my mouth with His words as I was able to share the full Gospel in those 30 min. I know it was all God because (1) I can't rememeber much of what I said; (2) many from this English class came to the Bible study that night and told me it really spoke to them and (3) how many non-Christian Universities would allow you to preach the whole Gospel!?!

Well, I could go on for hours writing about what God did (like the Christian border guard, the permission to play worship in the townsquare, etc.) but I'll stop here. As the Aposlte John wrote in his gospel - 'And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen' (John 21.25).

Ahh, God is good. Always. In every situation. He is faithful, even when we are faithless. I was once again reminded of this on the outreach. Well, Becks' turn is coming up in a couple weeks as she goes on the next outreach to Ukraine. And I am sure God will be faithful on that trip also....

Home Sweet Home - Again

Got back from Ukraine and Hungary this weekend. Geat to see my Phamily again. I'll post about the trip soon - it was a total blessing. God was really moving, stretching us all. But it was awesome to be used of God in many ways. It was also neat to connect with other bros and sis across Europe - the fellowship was awesome! Just imagine what heaven will be like as we meet each other at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! WOOOOHOOO!!

Missing Daddy

David has been gone now for 6 days, and the kids are really starting to miss him! The first two or three days are always ok, they sleep normally and are not too out of sorts. But after about 4 days they start getting a bit out of sorts. They just miss daddy! And so do I! Zachy though is the one who struggles the most, he is quite the daddy's boy.

I put him down in our bed yesterday for his nap, just like everday, but when I went in to check on him later, he wasn't there! I looked every where, every bed in the house, under all the blankets and he wasn't there! I called his name and he didn't answer. I started to get a bit worried, I don't know why, I knew he couldn't have gone outside, but still, not being able to find him....then it occured to me to look in David's closet, (the doors were closed) and here is what I found...

Sound asleep!!!

Missing Daddy

David has been gone now for 6 days, and the kids are really starting to miss him! The first two or three days are always ok, they sleep normally and are not too out of sorts. But after about 4 days they start getting a bit out of sorts. They just miss daddy! And so do I! Zachy though is the one who struggles the most, he is quite the daddy's boy.

I put him down in our bed yesterday for his nap, just like everday, but when I went in to check on him later, he wasn't there! I looked every where, every bed in the house, under all the blankets and he wasn't there! I called his name and he didn't answer. I started to get a bit worried, I don't know why, I knew he couldn't have gone outside, but still, not being able to find him....then it occured to me to look in David's closet, (the doors were closed) and here is what I found...

Sound asleep!!!