Seeing the sights around the neighborhood

Today was a beautiful day. The sun was out, and even though it was a little cold, the wind wasn't really blowing. Bremen doesn't get many days like that in December! So, I decided to go for a walk, and I took my camera with me. Several of you have asked to see some pictures of my neighborhood and of the city, so here you go:


The red building is my apartment building. The building in the center has an orthopedic shoe and artificial limb shop on the ground floor, and the one on the right is a Korean Kimchi restaurant. I guess you could say it's a diverse street.


The Lutheran church that's practically right across the street from my apartment. I don't know how often they normally have services, but on Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas, the bells were ringing every hour and a half or so, and they rang for 15 minutes straight. On a side note, to me the building looks more like a castle than a church building, but I suppose they didn't ask me what I thought....


St. Jürgen Krankenhaus, the hospital that sits across from the end of my street. Rest assured, if there's ever an emergency, I can walk there in about 2 minutes. Though I guess if it really was an emergency I should be running, not walking, so I suppose I could get there in less than 2 minutes....


The Weser River. People have told me I live really close to the river, but I didn't really realize it until today. From my apartment I can walk down to the river in less than 10 minutes. By the way, those tall, skinny things on the left side are part of Bremen's stadium, where Werder Bremen, Bremen's soccer team, plays and where people like Bon Jovi get to perform.

More to come....

A new day

My Christmas "tree," courtesy of Helga. :-)

Well, Christmas is over, and I have to say that a big part of me is not all that sad to see it go.

Christmas has always been one of my favorite holidays. For me it's always been a wonderful time to spend with family, have a few much-needed days off of school or work, and enjoy lots of good seasonal cooking.

This year, though, was obviously a lot different. As I've mentioned before, it just didn't feel like Christmas for me. The biggest reason for that, of course, was the fact that I wasn't with my family. Another contributor, though, was the fact that there was no break from work or school. For the last 19 years my life has revolved around the schedule of the school year, whether because I was a student or because I was working at a university. The biggest sign of the approaching holiday season has always been the impending end of the fall semester and the dreaded final exams. This year I guess you could say I've been initiated into the "real world" outside of academia.

The only constant this year was the good food. :-) Sunday evening Jim, Elsa, Birgit, and I had a wonderful dinner at Ingrid's house. And believe it or not, I'm actually growing kind of fond of red cabbage. I guess that's a good thing since it's a staple of the German diet.

I woke up Christmas morning, realizing simultaneously that it was Christmas Day and that I was alone in my apartment. (Another first for this year: my alarm clock, instead of my siblings, woke me!) I wasn't alone for long, though, because I went over to Jim and Elsa's around 11:00 to help Elsa prepare food.

All together, there were 17 people at Christmas dinner that afternoon. Except for the boyfriends of two of the women, everyone was there because, for whatever reason, they could not spend Christmas with their family. For some it was because their family was too far away. Others don't have a good enough relationship with family to spend holidays together. A few just don't have any family at all. I was really glad to be able to spend the day with these people, not only because they kept me from spending the day by myself but also because I got to know some of them better and because it was a good chance to encourage them on a day that could have been really depressing for many of them.

Most of the day went wonderfully. We had a good meal and had a lot of fun doing the gift exchange. The gift I opened was a battery-powered stapler, complete with a box of green, blue, and purple staples and a few batteries. It even had a clear plastic top so that you could see all the mechanical stuff working inside. After all the trading was over, though, I ended up with a glass rocking horse with a music box on the underside that plays "O Tannenbaum." So, I've got another Christmas decoration to set out next year.

I was having a great time...until we started singing "Stille Nacht." We'd sung some other songs, and I was fine during those, but for some reason when we sang that song I got this weird feeling of sadness mixed with anxiety that just kind of stuck in my throat. It was all I could do not to burst into tears right there.

Stefanie finally brought me home, and I was able to talk to my family for awhile and wish them a Merry Christmas. That helped me feel a little better.

Tuesday, though, was Germany's 3rd and last day of Christmas, and I really didn't want to talk to anyone that day. I spent the day in my apartment both because everything was closed that day, so I couldn't have gone anywhere if I wanted, and also because I just needed some time alone. I spent a lot of time thinking about what had happened the day before and why I was feeling the way I was. I finally decided that I had spent so much time trying to "prepare" myself for being here for Christmas, telling myself that everything would be okay because I had people with whom I could spend the holiday, that I didn't let myself acknowledge that I really was sad to be away from my family on Christmas. Karen and I have had several conversations about allowing ourselves to struggle. There's such a temptation to tell ourselves that we have no right to feel lonely or sad as we get adjusted here because there are other people out there who have
no family to miss or who are struggling with much greater problems than we are. We've finally had to tell ourselves that it's okay to struggle and that our struggles, no matter how insignificant they may seem (or we think they seem), are big and are important because they are our struggles. Our struggles are the only ones we can ever experience first-hand and truly understand, so of course they're going to be important to us.

Lately I've also found one part of my brain saying, "Stop whining, Alicia. After all, you got yourself into this." This thought came again on Christmas. My response was to scold myself for thinking that. Yes, I made the decision to come here, but as I firmly believe and as I've told many people, God has prepared me for being here and opened the doors for me to come. My next thought was, "Well, then is this God's fault?"

And that's when Jeremiah 29:11 drifted across my thoughts.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I can't describe the peace that gave me. It reminded me of the fact that I spent 2 years thinking and praying about coming here for the campaign and then another year and a half praying about coming back. God set this opportunity before me and paved the way for me to be able to take advantage of that opportunity. When I had my doubts and questioned the decision, there was always something or someone reminding me that I could do this and that it would be okay. There weren't the "closed doors" that so many people encounter. Why then, if I believe that God has led me thus far, would I even entertain the idea that He's making me suffer? God hasn't let me down so far, and I can't believe He's going to do it now.

...plans to prosper you and not to harm you....

Over the past several years I've heard all sorts of things about "culture shock." They say it usually sets in after about 3 to 6 months and that everyone experiences it and deals with it differently. We've all acknowledged that Mark and Karen have reached this point. I hadn't thought of myself, though, as being "eligible" for culture shock until I spoke with Elsa a couple days ago. She knew I was upset on Christmas, and I've also told her that I've not been sleeping well and have been having really weird dreams, some of which border on being nightmares. She finally said that, unlike Mark and Karen, maybe I'm handling culture shock inwardly. I hadn't thought about that, but I guess it makes sense. I think Christmas and the sadness of being away from family just complicated all the other things I've been dealing with.

Elsa said something else that I will never forget: "If this was easy, we'd be overrun with people wanting to come here." Obviously, since they don't exactly have a surplus of workers in the church here, "this" must not be easy. While Elsa's comment doesn't make it easier to be in a new culture and to be away from family, it acknowledged my struggles and reminded me that they're perfectly natural. It also boosted my confidence a bit because in a way she seemed to be applauding my efforts to take the narrow road, the one "less traveled."

I finally had a talk with God and determined to change my thoughts. To acknowledge my struggles with the language, culture, lonliness, etc. To accept my struggles for what they are and to work through them. To realize that "this too shall pass." To strive to see the positive things around me instead of spending so much energy concentrating on the difficult things.

And I decided not to wait for the new year. Today, after all, is a new day.

A "merry" weekend

I've said it before and I need to say it again: I have a wonderful family.

My family sent me a package with a few Christmas gifts. When I called them yesterday to say that I had received it, they were very eager for me to open one of the gifts, so I did. What was inside made my day: 3 CDs of Christmas songs. My family has always been big on listening to Christmas music, both in the car and at home, and I realized recently how much I've missed that this year. My dad compiled the CDs himself, so there's a wide array of our family's favorites. He included everything from Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" to The Chipmunks' "Christmas Don't Be Late." Listening to the CDs just makes me smile. Thanks, Dad. :-)

Last night I went to the Abercrombies to watch a movie on TV. Stefanie said they show it every year, and she wanted us to watch it with her. It was "Little Lord Fauntleroy," which I've never seen in English, so at times (okay, LOTS of times) it was difficult to understand dubbed in German. It's a very sweet movie, though, and I think if we watch it again next year I'll understand a lot more.

I spent a good part of today running some errands. Everything except a few restaurants is closed on Sundays, even when it's not Christmas Eve, and everything will be closed Monday for Christmas and also on Tuesday the 26th (just because they can, I guess), so I had to get some groceries and other things since nothing will be open again until Wednesday. Apparently half the city had the same idea. Places were packed. I half-expected there to be empty shelves at the grocery stores, but aside from a few empty cabbage boxes, there were still plenty of things to choose from.

Tomorrow evening I'm going to Ingrid's for dinner, and Monday I'm going to the Springers' for a Christmas lunch they host each year for people who don't have family. I guess each year they have one of those gift exchanges where everyone brings something and then gets to either choose a new gift or steal someone elses. So, today I also went on a hunt for something suitable for the gift exchange, which was not an easy task. How do you choose something for a gift when you have no real idea of what people in this culture give as gifts? I suppose I'll find out on Monday, won't I?

So, for all of you who worry about me spending Christmas alone in my apartment, please don't. Because I won't. Be alone, that is. :-)

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, however you spend it, and I hope you also have family and/or friends with whom you can enjoy the day.

PS ~ Congratulations, Lydia and Kyle! (They're getting married today!) I wish I could be there to celebrate with you guys, but my heart's there with you. I pray that God blesses and guides you as you start your new life together.

'Twas the week before Christmas....

It's still hard for me to believe that Christmas is only a few days away.

I think the fact that this is the first year I won't be with my family has a lot to do with it. I think a bigger part of it, though, stems from the constant busyness of the past few months. I've been so focused on finding a place to live; learning how to do "simple" tasks like grocery shopping and buying bus passes; practicing my German; and adjusting to the culture that Christmas has been far from my mind.

Even this past week has been full. I spent a good part of the weekend in bed with a sinus infection. I really believe that a shortage of restful sleep over the past couple weeks contributed to my getting sick, so I tried to sleep as much as possible.

By Tuesday morning I was feeling better, so I went to the ladies' Bible study. In my opinion, the ladies' Bible studies have been some of the best things I've done here. They've helped me improve my German, both in listening and in speaking. The women have been so encouraging as I practice speaking! Herta, who is in her 80s, smiles so big whenever I speak in German, even if I'm speaking to other people. To her and to some of the others, the simple fact that someone is trying to learn and to use their language is exciting. It's exciting to me that they're so patient! It's also been good to get to know the women who attend regularly. They come from a wide range of backgrounds and all have their own personal struggles, which leads to some interesting discussions at times. I wish that I could also say it's good to attend the studies because of the Bible lessons, but sadly I don't understand enough yet to be able to gain a whole lot. I usually do understand the basic story or thought they are discussing, but I haven't yet been able to participate in the discussion. Hopefully as time goes by that will change.

Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon I worked in Jim's library. We're making great headway in getting things organized. Hopefully this will help Jim get the most use out of the books and other research materials he owns. I think a little organization will also go a long way toward easing Elsa's nerves. :-)

Also this week I went to Mark and Karen's apartment to wash some laundry. I don't have a washing machine, and it's a bit of a walk to the nearest laundromat, so to save me some time and money they said I could wash my things at their apartment. Let's just say it was a bit of a challenge getting my laundry to their apartment. Most of the trip was on the streetcar, but it was still a little awkward carrying my laundry bag across town. I wasn't sure if I looked more like Santa Claus or a homeless person. I'm just thankful I have some clean laundry.

Today the contracts were signed for the purchase of the new building and for the sale of the current one. The man from the Turkish restaurant next door officially takes ownership of the building at the beginning of February, but he will let us "rent" the building for a couple months while we renovate the new building. Many prayers have gone up on behalf of this effort, and it's wonderful to see progress being made and in such a short amount of time! I know that getting the paperwork taken care of before the holidays will ease a lot of burdens for everyone here.

The Christmas market is still in town and is still going strong. Here are a few pictures to try to help you understand what it's like:

The Tannenbaum at the Christmas market

Santa sets up his sled to sell Christmas goodies.

Some of the crowds of people waiting in line.

Most of the pictures I tried to take didn't come out so well because it was dark, but here's a good one I found on www.bsag.de while looking up bus routes:

(Thanks to Martin Rospek) :-)

Frohe Weihnachten!

Things I've learned since coming to Bremen - Part 1

Guess what? I now have internet access in my apartment! Whew. I finally asked Elsa to call the help line, and she was able to get someone to look into what was wrong. The person ultimately discovered that the internet division of the company did not even know I was a customer. He told her to talk to someone "on the second level in Kiel," and that person was then very helpful. Apparently, 1 in 1,000 customers "gets lost" in the transfer from the phone division to the internet division. I guess the odds were in my favor.

As I've said before, I've learned a lot of things since arriving here in October, and I thought it would be fun to share some of them. Some are cultural differences between the States and Germany, some are spiritual realizations, some are simply things that make life in Bremen easier, and others are things I've learned about myself. So, here's the first installment:

1) Always take your umbrella with you.
Bremen seems to be Germany's equivalent of Seattle. It rains at least once a day. Okay, there are some days when it doesn't rain, but still. It rains A LOT.

2) Just because the map shows that 2 busses or streetcars stop at the same place doesn't mean they actually do.
Yes, sometimes the stop is at the same place, but other times you have to go around the corner or down the street, or even both. What really confuses me is when the stops have the same name but you can't even see one stop while standing at the other.

3) Do NOT, under any circumstances, walk on the red brick part of the sidewalk.
That is, of course, unless you have some strange desire to be plowed over by a speeding bicycle. You know how your mother taught you to look both ways before crossing the street? Here you also have to look both ways before crossing the sidewalk. Bremen is a bicycler's paradise. Almost every part of the city is set up to accomodate bicycles with half of the sidewalk designated as a bike lane and half set aside for pedestrians. People on bicycles get very annoyed when you walk in the bike lane, and they have little bells on their bikes that they ring at you. I had several near-death experiences before I finally learned to look both ways and to avoid the red bricks at all costs.

And speaking of bicycles...

4) The statement, "It's just like riding a bike. You never forget," is not true.
(Some of you have already heard this story, but I feel a need to record it here even if only for posterity's sake.) Four days after I arrived in Bremen, a woman at church named Yek-Len asked me to come to her home the next morning. So, that night, Ingrid drew me a map showing how to get to Yek-Len's apartment and told me I could ride her daughter's bike, which had been in the storage room in the cellar for a few years. The next morning I got ready and went to the cellar to get the bicycle. After I got it out of the storage room, I discovered that getting it back upstairs and out of the building would be no easy task. I somehow managed to carry/drag the bike back up the 15 or so basement steps, through the hallway, out the door, and down the 4 or 5 steps in front of the building. I climbed on the bike and started to ride...only to find myself tipping over into a hedge a moment later. The bike stopped at the hedge; I, however, did not. I continued through the hedge and onto the ground on the other side. Let's just say that the ground was no feather pillow. I have no idea what the whole misadventure looked like, but I'm sure that any neighbor who happened to be watching out their window at that moment had a great laugh.

That, however, was not the end of my troubles. I decided that I could not ride the bike, so after climbing back through the hedge, I locked it to the stair-rail in the front of the building. At that point I was running late, so I went back upstairs and called Yek-Len to tell her what had happened and that I would be walking to her house. I hung up the phone and headed out again, only to realize after closing the apartment door that I had left my keys inside. Ingrid had introduced me to a couple of her neighbors, and I knew that they both had spare keys, so I decided I would ask one of them to let me in when I returned. I continued down the stairs and outside, only to realize that I had also left the map Ingrid had drawn for me. Since I was running so late, I determined that I could remember enough of the map to get there without it.

No such luck. What should have been about a 15-minute walk turned into a 45-minute trek because I couldn't remember the name of the street Yek-Len lives on. I did know the house number, and I walked up to every house I saw with that number looking to see if Yek-Len's name was by the bell outside. I finally arrived, rang Yek-Len's apartment, and she said, "Come on in. I'm on the top floor." Six flights of stairs later, I entered Yek-Len's apartment looking and feeling like a truck had run over me.

I had a very good visit with Yek-Len, though, and made it back to Ingrid's apartment with no problem. I managed to explain to the woman downstairs (who speaks no English) that I had locked myself out, and she let me back in. When she saw me trying to carry the bicycle back inside and down to the cellar, she also showed me the back entrance that only had 3 steps instead of the 15 I had tackled the first time. At that point in the day, all I could do was laugh at myself.

Moral of the story: You really can forget how to do things because I forgot how to ride a bike. It's been at least 10 years since I last rode one, and if I had known that I had forgotten how, I think that trip to Yek-Len's would have been much less eventful. At least the people at church have had several good laughs at my story. And like I said before, I'm sure the neighbors did as well.

5) God is multilingual.
I'm sure that sounds kind of silly, but it's something I started thinking about not too long after I got here. Ingrid and I prayed together before we ate meals, and sometimes she would pray in German and other times I prayed in English. It hit me one day that God didn't need a translator to understand Ingrid. I guess since I've always talked to God in English some part of me thought that God spoke only English.

Not only does He understand our languages, but He also speaks to us in our languages. One Sunday in Bible class we were studying I Peter and the Germans got into a discussion about 2:19. The German translates it as "Es ist Gnade..." ("It is grace..."), and they were having trouble understanding what that meant, so they asked me what it said in English. My NIV translation says, "For it is commendable...." As the discussion continued we realized that unless you know ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek and have access to the original copies of Scripture, you are reading a translation of the Bible. And every translation was done by a man or woman who had to make decisions. Some things in the original languages can't be accurately translated into other languages and still keep the same feeling evoked by the author. So, scholars choose how to translate. The coolest part about this for me is that I can read the Bible in English, and other people can read in German, Chinese, Russian, or whatever language, and God speaks to each of us through His Word, even though the words are in different languages.

Bureaucracy, library work, girls in witch costumes, and other drama in my corner of the world....

Hello again! I'm sure you've been thinking I've disappeared or something, but I'm still here, taking life one day at a time. :-)

I have to admit the past week and a half or so since I last posted has been a difficult and frustrating time for me. I mentioned that I planned to stay in my apartment that night, and I did do that. It was really exciting to realize that I was "going home" to my apartment. The next day, however, was the beginning of my epic battle with the phone company, Deutsche Telecom. Someone was supposed to come to my apartment to check on my phone between 5 and 7 pm. I waited until 8:30 and no one came. Stores here close at 8, if not at 6, so I knew no one would be coming after 8:30. I was supposed to go to the ladies' Bible study at church that night, and so I decided to go even though I was an hour and a half late.

So, Wednesday I went back and waited in line for what seemed like forever before finally reaching the counter and telling the woman that no one came for the appointment the day before. When she finally seemed to understand what I was telling her in my limited German, she called the help line and waited on hold for about 20 minutes before hanging up and giving me the number to call myself. I walked out feeling extremely frustrated. At that point it had been a week and a half since I registered for my phone service, and I had been told everything would be connected within a few days. The fact that all this communication is in German adds to the frustration for me. After relating my struggles to Elsa, she volunteered to call the help line for me. Thursday Elsa told me she had spoken with a very kind person at the help line who apologized and said that someone would come on Friday morning. So I waited again on Friday and the person finally came. I was extremely thrilled when he told me - in English - that my phone would now work. Living at my apartment with no phone or internet access made me feel disconnected from the world, so it was really nice to finally be able to use my telephone.

However, I still have no internet access. (If you're wondering how I'm typing this now, the Abercrombies were kind enough to let me camp out in their apartment today to use the internet.) I have the router that Telecom gave me when I registered with them, and I've called the help line and someone verified that my DSL line is open, but I need several numbers in order to register my internet service, and I haven't received these yet. I went by Telecom again on Wednesday, and the person there called and asked that these numbers be sent to me, but I still haven't received them. So, if they don't come in the mail tomorrow, I may have to take drastic measures. :-) I don't yet know what those measures will be, but....Whenever I start to complain about how long things take and how people don't seem to be able to help you, Elsa tells me, "Welcome to Germany!" I guess every country has its share of bureaucracy, but Germany seems to me to have been given a double portion.

Monday last week I did get two steps closer to getting my residency visa. Elsa went with me to the Bürger Service-Center so I could register with the police. As she says, I now officially have a police record in Germany. :-) This paperwork is one more piece of the puzzle needed by the Ausländeramt before they can issue me my visa. The woman who helped me with my police registration told me to go to another part of the building to pick up a welcome package since I'm new to the city. So, Elsa and I went there and listened to a man describe all the things included in the gift bag. There were phone books, free passes to a Bremen history museum, chocolate, tea, and all sorts of pamphlets about other museums, concerts, and shows around the city. At the end he also mentioned that I could have two bottles of beer if I wanted. When I told him no thank you because I don't drink beer, he looked at me a bit skeptically, said okay, and asked if I had any other questions for him. I didn't, but Elsa did: "Can she have a double portion of chocolate since she doesn't want the beer?" I don't think this was the type of question the man was expecting, but he considered it and then went on a search for some extra chocolate for me. I was a little embarrassed, but Elsa laughed and said, "Hey, it doesn't hurt to try." While we were in the lobby I noticed one of those automatic photo booths, so I stopped there before leaving to make some photos of myself, which is something else the government needs for my visa. There are lots of regulations about the size, lighting, and postioning of your face in these photos, and since I was in a government building where Germans go to get their passports, this photo booth was set up with the right configurations. So, I now have my police paperwork and my photos, so I'm that much closer to getting my visa. *sigh*

I met with the Springers a week and a half ago to talk about the plans for my work here. We threw around some ideas for English Bible studies and advertising for them, but we decided we can't really put any of those ideas into action until after the holidays. Because of that and because I'm still trying to get some of the bugs worked out with my apartment, we decided that for now I will spend several days each week helping Jim with his library. When I say Jim has a library, I really mean that he has a library. There are rows of bookshelves that fill a good portion of the ground floor of their house. (Keep in mind they live in a row-house, so it's much narrower than the average house in the States.) He developed his own classification system for the books and has put the numbers on labels on the spines of the books. He has even catalogued the books and has a computer database so he can find the books easily. The problem is that Jim spends a lot of time using the books but hasn't had much of a chance to keep up with the record keeping and organization of them and hasn't had someone help him with it since the early '90s. Needless to say, he's very excited that I've worked in a library! I spent quite a while at the beginning helping him with some general organization and purging of some older items, and now I'm working on the books themselves. I've been sorting the ones that still need to be catalogued from those that have been catalogued and need to be shelved. I felt like I was back in my element on Tuesday when I was reshelving some of the books. I told Jim that this was the sort of thing I used to do and trained others to do. It was a nice reprieve to do something familiar in the midst of so many new things in strange surroundings. Jim uses his books for his sermons, Bible studies, ETM training courses, and seminars, as well as lends them to others who want to do research, so keeping his library organized will be a big help to him but will also be a lot of fun for me. After we finish with some of the reorganization, he's going to have me do some cataloguing. He apparently hasn't been able to do this for some time, so I think I have a lot to catch up on.

Bremen's Christmas market started on November 30th. It's a lot like Oktoberfest but with a Christmas theme. There are rides, carnival-type games, booths with all sorts of food and candies, and people selling lots of different handmade crafts. In order for me to get from my apartment to almost anywhere I need to go in the city I have to go through the area with the Christmas market, and there are always crowds of people filling the streets. I've had to plan extra time when I leave because it takes almost twice as long for the streetcar to dodge all the people.

Wednesday was St. Nicholas Day. I remember talking about this in my German classes in the U.S. and about how children put their boots outside their doors in hopes of receiving candy from St. Nicholas. While I didn't see any boots outside any doors on Wednesday, I did see DROVES of children in Santa hats. I don't know whether this is a practice in other cities in Germany or if this is just a tradition in Bremen, but Wednesday afternoon all the children of the city went around to the different businesses in hope of receiving candy. They carried bags with them, and most of them were dressed in costumes. While the prevailing theme was "Santa," with most children wearing traditional red and white Santa hats, several wore angel wings and princess-like dresses with crowns. I think the girl who won my award for the strangest costume, though, was the one dressed as a witch. Her outfit was complete with long black cloak and tall pointy black hat and was even accessorized with a broom. That was a little unsettling to me considering that I've never equated Christmas with witches, but I walked on by anyway. From what I understand, the children go into businesses, sing songs, and receive candy or other little gifts from the shopkeepers. I think every child in Bremen and all of their cousins and friends from the rest of Germany decided to participate this year because there were so many children in the streets that the streetcar could only crawl down the road. There were children in shoe stores, butcher shops, travel agencies, grocery stores, and bakeries. It reminded me a lot of trick-or-treating at Halloween in the U.S., but Halloween can't even be compared to St. Nicholas Day here. It was definitely a new experience for me. Since the Christmas market is also going on, it was almost impossible to get anywhere that evening.

Monday last week my landlord came by my apartment and told me that a painter would be coming on Tuesday morning to paint my window frames. I learned on Tuesday that he would also need to come on Wednesday and Thursday because the windows needed three coats. So, Tuesday morning the painter came and merrily began his work. He was a really nice man probably in his 60's who whistled and sang while he worked. I was in another room working on some things while he worked on the kitchen window when I suddenly heard some very angry words coming from my kitchen. I went to the door and asked if everything was okay only to find the painter holding my window because it was hanging by only one hinge. The windows here have hinges on one side as well as along the bottom, and there's a handle on the side opposite the hinges. When the handle is turned one way the window can "tip" using the bottom hinges, and when it's turned another way the window swings open using the side hinges. When he opened the window all the way, I guess he pushed it too hard and it hit the corner of my kitchen counter, snapping one of the hinges and taking a big chunk of wood out of the window frame. So, I ran to call my landlord while he tried to put the window back into the window frame. Needless to say, he was not able to paint that window, and it looks to me like the whole window frame will need to be replaced because of where the break is. While I know it's not something I'll have to pay for, it's another frustration to add to life while I wait for it to be fixed. I think the painter also told my landlord that the corner of the counter needs to be removed in order for him to do his work, so there may be some kitchen demolition in my future as well.

Speaking of demolition, we all will be doing a lot of that very soon. For the past year, the congregation here has been considering buying a new building because of recent growth and subsequent overflow of the current building. The men decided last Monday that everything looked do-able. The owner has agreed to their offering price, and the man who owns the Turkish restaurant next door to the current building has agreed to buy it. The only problem is that the new building used to be a bar, so there's a lot of remodelling that needs to be done for it to be usable as a church building. I think that's going to be the big project occupying everyone's spare time in the spring.

Please continue to pray for Wolfgang. I mentioned in my last post that he was in the hospital, and the doctors have decided that he actually did have a heart attack. He finally was able to come home from the hospital last Monday, but he still will have to go back to the hospital for therapy for awhile.

I realized on December 1st that I've been in Bremen for 6 weeks. When I came for the campaign in 2003, we only stayed 6 weeks. So, as of last Saturday, I'm in uncharted waters. I think this realization has made it sink in for me that I'm not just here for a visit like before. That combined with all the frustrations of getting settled in my apartment and lack of restful sleep over the past week has made me feel really overwhelmed. I wouldn't say that culture shock has set in yet, but the past few days have been rough for me. This weekend has been a little better because I've had a chance to spend time with some of the Christians from church, and that has encouraged me. I guess everyone has their up and down days, and when you're in a different culture trying to adjust, both the ups and the downs are amplified. The tiniest achievements are huge victories, but the smallest disappointments can be tremendous let-downs. Please pray for me and for Mark and Karen as we continue to figure out how to live here and as we battle the up-hill struggle of learning the language.

Overall, though, life is good. I'm enjoying my new apartment and getting to know the area. The people at church have been very welcoming to me and are very encouraging as I try not to butcher their language. :-) I've been blessed more than I take time to realize. I pray that you also might see the blessings God has showered upon you and your family, especially as Christmas is approaching. Even though life throws a lot of junk at us, God has given us a lot to be thankful for.