25 November - First Advent in Germany

Today was the first Sunday of our first Advent in Germany.  We had a great weekend, establishing some Christmas traditions while we are here.  On Saturday evening, we took in our first evening "Weihnachtsmarkt" experience.  We met our friends Eric, Natalka and Lilya Eagle (and met some new friends!) in the beautiful village of Michelstadt.  The village is situated in the Odenwald, a range of wooded mountains that run north and south just east of Darmstadt.

Michelstadt Weihnactsmarkt

The weather was very mild, and the town was decorated beautifully.  We had some of the local specialties - bratwurst (of course!), curry wurst, fresh crepes and "gluwein," a warm, spiced punch.  There were rides for the kids, all the shops were open, and were supplemented by dozens of temporary kiosks where artisans were selling all sorts of gifts and decorations for Christmas.  The highlight was a life-sized, hand-carved, wooden Nativity scene in the town center.

Nativity Scene in Michelstadt

Today we worshiped at Immanuel International Baptist Church in Wiesbaden, with several families from our Darmstadt church-plant group.  It was a great service, and set the tone for the entire Advent season - we not only look forward to Christmas, remembering Christ's first coming, but we look forward to His second coming - "with great power and glory."

St Ludwigs Church, Darmstadt

In the afternoon, we attended an Advent Concert at the St. Ludwig church in Darmstadt, which featured vocal choruses, pipe organ music, and readings by Alexander U. Martens, a local author and professor.  We met Stewart and Judith Lynn Maxwell there.  It was a well done and very enjoyable. A delightful weekend of worship and preparation for this great season.  Our prayer is that we can share the true significance of the holiday with people all around us in the weeks ahead.

24 November - "Thanks Living"

Today was Thanksgiving Day in the US, and our first major holiday overseas.  Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday, so in Germany it was another day of normal routine and activity.  But for us it was very special.  We had some business to take care of early in the day, so we walked down to the city center.  It was our first visit to the Weihnactsmarkt (Christmas Market).  All throughout the Marketplace in front of the Castle, artisans have set up booths where they sell leather and wood crafts, clothing, hats and scarves, food and drink.  There are rides for the kids, pine boughs and flowers, candles and toys.  It was great.  Of course, the best time to see the Markt is in the evening, when the lights are on, so we will need to make another trip - we will probably make many trips!

After walking around the Market, and visiting with some local farmers, artists and craftsmen, we went to visit our insurance salesman.  We have mentioned Herr Beck before.  He is a delightful man who had previously sold us our car insurance.  We wanted to get "renter's insurance" for the contents of our flat.  We went in for a brief meeting, and ended up spending about an hour and a half with him.  It was not because of any inefficiency - we were simply sharing and enjoying each other's company! 

We talked about so much.  Hans asked what the story was behind American Thanksgiving.  He was fascinated and surprised by both the spiritual overtones - being thankful to God, and the historoical context - the Native Americans and early settlers sharing a meal of thanks together.  We also discussed a wide range of topics - rural and urban living in the US and Germany, travel on Highways versus back roads, cars (he is restoring an old Mercedes Benz), business and lifestyles in the US and Germany.  We also got around to talking about spiritual matters...the difference between "religion" and "relationship," how we can make our spiritual lives, and our churches relevant and meaningful instead of inapplicable and insignificant.  We actually talked with him into his lunch hour, and when we apologized, he said, "No, please don't apologize, I enjoy our conversations!  I feel like I can talk freely with you!"  It was really nice.  He speaks great English to Carol, and helps me with my Germany by speaking, and requiring me to speak German. 

After that meeting we walked back to our flat, where we continued to unpack boxes from our US shipment, which arrived on Wednesday.  (Which is why we did not post yesterday - we were exhausted!)  The delivery came on two pallets that had been well wrapped, and most everything arrived in great shape.  We had one small picture with broken glass, and one wall hanging with a damaged frame - but it was very minor.  Before the driver of the delivery truck had even gotten out of the cab, our friend, Orhan, from the restaurant on the ground floor, was at my side, saying, "Ich will sie helfen!"  His help was (perhaps literally) a life-saver!  Carrying the boxes, some weighing more than 60 pounds up two flights of stairs was a daunting task!  But it was complete in short order, and we began to unpack and place our clothes, wall hangings and kitchen items around the apartment. 

It was such an interesting experience to unload items from our home in the US that we had not seen since the end of July.  We were thrilled to open the box with our winter coats and sweaters!  We were not so thrilled with the boxes of dishes and flatware (our friends her had provided both for us when we arrived.)  The familiarity of blankets and pillows, pictures and wall-hangings - even favorite coffee mugs - make the place feel more like home.

At 5:00 our new friends Kristen and Steven came over, and we spent about an hour catching up with them before heading over to the Maxwell's for our Thanksgiving dinner.  Our regular Thursday night Bible study group gathered for a traditional meal.  A beautiful turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, cranberries, pecan pie and pumpkin roll, with a side of PACKER football, and great friends, made for a delightful evening.  There were about 20 people in attendance.  We had a chance to share the gospel very directly with a girl who was concerned about doing something bad and going to hell.  I explained that our eternal destiny in hell or heaven is not determined by our good or bad deeds - we can't be good enough!  Only by our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus - and the love of God who sent His only Son to pay the penalty for our sins can we be certain of our eternal home.  When we trust Him as our Lord, our focus changes - we don't worry about not doing the bad - but we focus on doing the right - pleasing our Father in heaven, and "living a life worthy of the calling we have received" as His children.  Pray for her.  That the Holy Spirit will be at work in her young heart.

As I reflect on it, what more is there to be thankful for on this day than the salvation we have in Christ?  Obviously, nothing else comes close. 

"Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky."

~Frederick Lehman

22 November - The Line, The Wrench & The Wardrobe

Today was a great, but exhausting day.  It started out with us finalizing the purchase of our car.  You might remember that a dear brother in Christ from the Frankfurt area, who had been transferred by his company to Singapore, sold us his Opel Meriva.  It is a great vehicle, and he was very good to us!  He inadvertently sent the registration papers to Singapore, however, so we had to wait for his boxes to arrive, the papers to be retrieved, and then sent back to Germany before we could complete the transaction.  Today was the day.

We went to the Department of Transportation center in Darmstadt, with all our official papers from the car and our residency in Germany.  The system was very efficient - there was actually no line!  We had the title transfered, selected our new license plate numbers, had the plates made while we waited, and installed the plates on the car in less than an hour.  We had hoped to continue with the same plate number as previous (PS 136) - but alas, in Darmstadt that number was already taken.  So we went with my Old Testament Life Verse PRoverbs 3:5-6.  Our new plate number is PR 356.

While driving back from the DOT, I received a text message from the furniture store that our Wardrobes were in!  So Carol and I headed off to the Moemax store to pick up two wardrobes - a large one for our bedroom, and a moderate sized one for the guest room/office.  We had also arranged to use a Moemax transport truck to bring them back to our apartment as they would not fit in our car.  The two wardrobes came in 12 shrink-wrapped packages of doors, mirrors, shelves, hardware, etc.  It took us about an hour and 15 minutes to get them to our apartment, unload them off the truck, carry them up two flights of stairs, and return the truck.

Then the fun begins!  Break out the wrench, the screwdrivers, the glue, and the step ladder, and start assembly!  We worked from about 4:00 until after 10:00 assembling the large unit for our bedroom.  We did take a short break for dinner at about 8:00. It went together pretty well, except for the missing hardware for two of the drawers...it has been re-ordered, and will be here in just two weeks!

The timing couldn't have been better - tomorrow we get our shipment from the US - our clothes finally arrive, and now we have something to put them in!  Of course that means A LOT of trips up and down the stairs - but it's a great cardio workout!

Along the way we had a chance to tell another salesman at the furniture store about the new church in Darmstadt.  He was genuinely interested, and we were able to leave a card with him.  We will be seeing him again on Thursday!  Pray for Mr. Saalan!

20 November - Small World

A few weeks ago, I received a message through our Facebook page from a woman whose husband had just been transferred to Darmstadt.  They were going to be looking for a church in the city, and had come across our Facebook page.  I shared with her that we were just getting started with a new church plant, and that we would love to meet with them and talk after they arrived.

The got here 5 days ago, and we emailed a few times about connecting this weekend.  This morning we met at a church in Darmstadt, then went out for lunch together at La Hacienda Mexican restaurant just a few doors from our apartment.  Steve and Kristen are a delightful young couple, and we had a great time getting to know them and talking about our journeys to this time and place.

Mathilden Hohe & Russian Orthodox Chapel

I mentioned to Kristen that I had noticed that on her Facebook page she has Follansbee, West Virginia as her home town.  Follansbee is a steel making city of less than 3,000.  You should have seen her face when I told her that I attended first and second grade in Follansbee!  And when I told her that my parents live in New Cumberland, just a few miles north of there, she said that her grandparents were from New Cumberland.  When I talked to my mom later tonight, I asked her about Kristen's grandma - they went to High School together back in 1957!!!

Weihnachtsmarkt Darmstadt

It was a really fun day showing Steve and Kristen around our new home town.  We walked from our apartment to the city center, around the "platz" where the Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) opens tomorrow.  There were people doing the last minute set up in the kiosks, but it was generally quiet downtown (stores and shops are closed on Sunday in Germany).  We checked out the "schloss" (palace), and the St Ludwig's Cathedral.  Then we got in the car, and drove to a few other sites around the city.

Schloss Darmstadt (1715)

A great day, and a great start to our week.  This week looks to be an eventful one.  Monday a plumber comes to do some work in our bath, Tuesday we will finalize the purchase and registration of the car, Wednesday is the delivery of our US shipment, Thursday we will celebrate Thanksgiving with our church family, and Friday we have some winter service done on the car (snow tires, oil change, etc.).  All along the way, the chance to meet and engage new people and share the love of Christ!  Thanks for your prayers and love!

19 November - Out & About

It was a beautiful day in Darmstadt!  We woke up this morning to bright sunshine streaming in through the tiny gaps in the rolladen...

We took about a 4.5 - 5 mile around the perimeter of the old US Army facility just West of our home.  The base itself is fenced off and inaccessible, but further to the West is a large wooded area, where we had a delightful walk, enjoying the autumn sun, the rustling leaves and the crisp air.

We came home, had a nice breakfast, did some reading, then headed off to do some "sale-ing."  We  had been given a heads up about a family from Frankfurt who were returning to the US.

Carol drove up to Frankfurt!  It was her first experience of the Autobahn - she did fantastic - cruising along at 100 mph while I enjoyed the scenery.  (Which, for you airplane geeks, included the landing of an Airbus A380 - the largest passenger airliner in the world, just as we were going by the Frankfurt airport - very cool!)

The sale featured lots of great stuff.  We were able to get a washer and dryer for 50 Euros!  Used, but that's OK!  The washer is a little older, but the dryer is only 2 years old.  A great bargain, and it will be nice to do laundry at  home without carrying it 8 blocks to the nearest "Wasch-salon."

We heard, via the internet, from three Americans who live in Darmstadt, and are making plans to meet them.  One contact is actually a couple who are brand new arrivals in the area, the others are individuals who've been here a few months.  There are a couple of social events for Internationals coming up the last week of November.  One is through a group called InterNations - the other is at the US Consulate in Frankfurt.  We are planning to attend both, and are hopeful that we will make new connections there.

Tonight Carol made a very nice dinner, (Mexican pork steaks, Spanish rice, American green beans and Greek Yogurt for desert - even are meals are international!) and we are going to watch some college football on the TV before crashing.

As we walked today, Carol asked, "So is living in Germany everything you dreamed it would be?"  (I have felt that God was calling me to Germany since I was 14, so it's been a life-long desire.)  I replied, "Actually, yes, it is! It is wonderful!  I feel so at home and 'comfortable'."  God has been incredibly good to us, and we know that we are blessed far beyond what we deserve - it's all by His grace and mercy.  We also know that there will be challenges and disappointments in the future.  Jesus told His disciples, "In this world you will have trouble..."  But He also immediately said, "but take heart! I have overcome the world."  (John 16:33)  We thank Him for the good times, and pledge to be faithful  and praise-filled when the troubles come!

19 November - Out & About

It was a beautiful day in Darmstadt!  We woke up this morning to bright sunshine streaming in through the tiny gaps in the rolladen...

We took about a 4.5 - 5 mile around the perimeter of the old US Army facility just West of our home.  The base itself is fenced off and inaccessible, but further to the West is a large wooded area, where we had a delightful walk, enjoying the autumn sun, the rustling leaves and the crisp air.

We came home, had a nice breakfast, did some reading, then headed off to do some "sale-ing."  We  had been given a heads up about a family from Frankfurt who were returning to the US.

Carol drove up to Frankfurt!  It was her first experience of the Autobahn - she did fantastic - cruising along at 100 mph while I enjoyed the scenery.  (Which, for your airplane geeks, included the landing of an Airbus A380 - the largest passenger airliner in the world, just as we were going by the Frankfurt airport).

The sale featured lots of great stuff that they were selling.  We were able to get a washer and dryer for 50 Euros!  Used, but that's OK!  The washer is a little older, but the dryer is only 2 years old.  A great bargain, and it will be nice to do laundry at  home without carrying it 8 blocks to the nearest "Wasch-salon."

We heard from three Americans who live in Darmstadt via the internet, and are making plans to meet them.  One is a couple are brand new arrivals in the area, the others are individuals who've been here a few months.  There are a couple of social events for Internationals coming up the last week of November.  One is through a group called InterNations - the other is at the US Consulate in Frankfurt.  We are planning to attend both, and are hopeful that we will make new connections there.

Tonight Carol made a very nice dinner, (Mexican pork steaks, Spanish rice, American green beans and Greek Yogurt for desert - even are meals are international!) and we are going to watch some college football on the TV before crashing.

As we walked today, Carol asked, "So is living in Germany everything you dreamed it would be?"  (I have felt that God was calling me to Germany since I was 14, so it's been a life-long desire.)  I said, "Actually, yes. It is wonderful!  I feel so at home and 'comfortable'."  God has been incredibly good to us, and we know that we are blessed far beyond what we deserve - it's all by His grace and mercy.  We also know that there will be challenges and disappointments in the future.  Jesus told His disciples, "In this world you will have trouble..."  But He also immediately said, "but take heart! I have overcome the world."  (John 16:33)  We thank Him for the good times, and pledge to be faithful  and praise-filled when the troubles come!

18 November - Getting Stuff Done

Today was a day of clearing some hurdles.

We walked down to the Stadthaus, or city hall.  We have an appointment there on December 6 to continue work on our visa, but our tourist visa expires just a couple of days later, on December 9.  We were concerned that it might be too close for comfort.  So we went there to see if we could get an extension on the tourist visa.  We ended up waiting in a hall for over an hour with other people who had similar "auslander" (foreigner) issues.  One young woman who was there was Chinese, and did not speak any German, but spoke English pretty well.  Her husband is a student at the Technical University.  She asked what brought us to Germany, and when we told her, she seemed genuinely interested.  We gave her our business card, and she indicated that she would be getting in touch with us.

When we got to meet with a city official, we were told we could not get an extension on our tourist visa, but the woman gave us an application for the visa, and stamped it effective yesterday, which, she told us, will prevent any problems with the tourist visa expiring.  Praise the Lord!

After that meeting, we walked down to the local car insurance office that has been recommended to us.  We had previously met Herr Beck, a 30-something gentleman who is an agent there.  He is a great guy.  Speaks very good English to Carol, but because he knows I am trying to get better at my German, he speaks only German to me, and will only let me speak German to him.  He's been to the US a few times, most recently in San Francisco last month.  He also speaks French.  He lives in Wiesbaden, about 45 minutes from Darmstadt, but we have an IBC church there - so perhaps we can encourage him to attend one day. We had a very nice visit, and got the car insured, which now allows us to change over the registration at the city hall - another appointment there!

We continued our daily walk to the St Ludwig's church in Darmstadt, which we had not visited previously.  It was a familiar design as we walked in, and then Carol picked up an English brochure and read that the church is designed after the Pantheon in Rome - which was just around the corner from our flat there.  There are a couple of holiday concerts coming up at the church, and we may take advantage of those.

Upon our arrival back home, we checked our email, and found that our shipment from the US has cleared German Customs and will be delivered to our apartment in Darmstadt next Wednesday!  That is a huge blessing, as the weather is getting cooler each day, and our winter clothing is in those boxes.  We will be able to put our familiar wall hangings up, and make the apartment more like home in the weeks to come.  Carol and I have usually decorated for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, which is next Friday, so some of those boxes will get immediate use!

We then printed up copies of a Family Advent Devotional that we can distribute that include information about the new church efforts in Darmstadt.  Later in the day we took another walk to the local Staples for supplies, and stopped at the Golden Arches Coffee Bistro for a Latte (well, Carol had a McFlurry, I had a Latte!)

In the evening we Skyped with Nicole and Asher - always a blessing.

Pray for Loo Nah - the Chinese woman we met today, and for Herr Beck - the car insurance agent.  We want to build friendships leading to evangelism with all the people God brings across our path.

Thanks for your prayers!

17 November - Praying & Planning

Tonight we had a great meeting of our Darmstadt planning team.  We had several new people join the group this week, and it was a fun time!  Kevin and Nicole are brother and sister who live in, and are from the Darmstadt area.  Nicole has lived in Madrid for a couple of years, and has recently moved back home to Darmstadt.  Kevin is 18 and is in an apprenticeship in business management in the city.  We met them at church in Oberursel this past week, and they were excited to hear about a new International Church in their city!

Mark also joined us this week.  He works at the US Military post in Darmstadt, and is the third person we have welcomed to the team from Dagger.  Mark is a great guy (from West Virginia!!!), and it is a blessing to have him join us for Bible study, prayer, and  planning.

Nicole, Kevin and Mark joined the rest of the group tonight in doing a bit of strategic planning.  We were all given post it notes, and asked to think through what the first worship service of the new church will look like when it takes place in the future sometime.  We were encouraged to write down each element of the experience as we envisioned it - for example, "someone greeted me at the door with a smile,"  "there were clear directions to the rest rooms," "the lyrics for the songs were easily available and read," "the nursery was clean and safe..."

Then the post it notes from each person were put on a large piece of paper that had been unrolled on the wall, and they were separated into categories ("spiritual," "physical," technical," "relational," etc.) and duplicates combined.  We discussed them as we reviewed each major item.

In future weeks, we will begin to look at how we begin to pray, work and prepare in order to get from where we are TODAY, in order to arrive at THAT DAY with all the essential ingredients in place.

It was a fun activity, and a very important step in the process of planting the church.

On a personal level, we are still waiting to hear about our shipment from the US.  Our boxes have arrived in Germany, and are in Hamburg, awaiting Customs clearance.  We have sent off the paperwork, and paid the fees.  Now we wait for the government officials to release the shipment for the final delivery by truck to our door.  Pray that there are no setbacks or delays.  We would love to have access to our winter clothing and coats as the temperatures drop below freezing.

We are also finalizing the purchase of the car this week.  The paperwork from the owner in Singapore has made it back to Germany, and we are getting our insurance in place so that we can register and license the car in our name.  Just another of the steps to officially being settled in Germany.

God is so good.  Thank you for your prayerful support of us and the work God  has called us to.  God bless you.

1 November - Home Again

Hi everyone!

It has been a very busy couple of weeks.  We have been spending more and more time at our apartment, which did not have internet until yesterday, so there has been less opportunity for Skype, Blog, phone and email.  We also had an incident with the laptop computer - the screen somehow got cracked - we were using it in the morning at our apartment, then packed it up to take it to the Maxwell's and when we got there, it was cracked.  The Maxwells generously loaned us an external monitor, which we are able to use with the laptop.  Praise the Lord, it is under warranty and will be repaired at no charge.

Last week we were in Rome for a week of meetings.  We had a New Pastor's Orientation with the International Baptist Convention, followed by two days for the Convention's annual business meeting, followed by a meeting of LEAD Teams, where we do strategic planning for new churches around the world.  It was an amazing time of learning, fellowship and forward-looking with a wonderful group of Christ-followers.

This week we have our kitchen installation on Thursday, a visit from a couple of friends from the States, and a meeting of our Darmstadt Church Plant Team.  We have heard from some more interested people, including university students from Korea, and new arrivals from the US.  Pray for us as we prepare to go to Madrid, where we will be speaking at the IBC Single's Retreat.  We will update more when we catch our breath!

Pictures from our Roman Adventure can be found at:  https://picasaweb.google.com/111647787508890220265/IBCMeetingRome