Various people have sent me emails commenting on my deficit of new blog posts. Those emails have ranged in tone from "Just-wanted-to-see-how-things-are-going" to "Have-you-died?" to "Post-something-NOW." I'm not going to make excuses for not posting, but I am sorry for not keeping you all in the loop and for making you worry.
And yes, I finally did get my laptop cable back from Mark and Karen. I didn't realize how much I depend on my laptop until I couldn't use it. Besides being my access to the internet and my word-processor, my laptop also serves as my television, DVD and CD player, radio, photo album, schedule planner, news source, and sometimes my telephone. It's my lifeline.
Here's a quick rundown of what's happened over the past couple months:
- Amanda's wedding. I was able to go to the States for a short visit to be in my sister's wedding. (Hence my "leaving" and "back in Bremen" from the last two posts.) It was really good to see my family and a few friends. Almost two months later, though, it still hasn't really settled in for me that Amanda's married.
- Soyoung returned to Seoul. I got back to Bremen early enough to spend some time with Soyoung before she left. Stefanie had promised back in the early summer that she would take Soyoung to the North Sea, and Ingrid and I were able to accompany them as Stefanie made good on her promise. We went to Cuxhaven and Duhnen, neighboring towns on the coast. One of the coolest things about the North Sea (or at least this particular area) is that the tide goes out for about two miles. You can literally walk out across the sand to a small island. That is, as long as you start heading back to shore before the tide comes in and traps you there...or worse, somewhere in the middle. We didn't walk all the way to the island, but we did collect some seashells and just enjoy the nice weather. In the first picture you can see how far out the tide goes. The little dots on the ground are "mole hills" from sand worms.
I was able to study the Bible with Soyoung one more time, and the congregation had a farewell dinner for her on her last Wednesday here. Mark and Karen and I have tried to keep in touch with her and have offered to continue Bible studies long distance.
- Bible studies. I've been involved in a number of studies since I got back from the U.S. None of these are for the purpose of evangelism but instead are intended for the encouragement and spiritual nurturing of the participants. These are the studies I'm involved with:
- Gospel of Mark, with Mark, Karen, Stefanie, and sometimes others
- Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God by Henry Blackaby and Claude King, with Mark and Karen
- Book of James, with Mimi and Ingrid
- The six major covenants between God and man, with Jim
- Assorted Bible topics, with Jutta
I'm also still attending the weekly ladies' Bible class that alternates between morning and evening meetings. The morning study has been looking at the lives of female characters in the Bible, and we just finished discussing Mary of Bethany. The evening group is working through a discussion book written by Elsa on the letter to the Ephesians.
- "Work." I've started working in Jim's library again trying to organize and catalog his books. I really enjoy the job, but I can't handle more than about an hour and a half of it at a time. About half of the books are in German, and at a certain point my brain begins turning to mush as I try to decide what they are about, the authors' purposes in writing, and how Jim might use them.
Jim, Elsa, and I have also been trying to plan new evangelism projects. Jim began creating advertisements for English studies, but I honestly was not looking forward to going that route again. The last time we placed ads in the newspaper, all of the respondents were between 50 and 75 years old, and that age group in Bremen isn't exactly the most open to new ideas. I talked with Jim and Elsa about it, and all three of us are excited about coming up with new ideas and trying new methods of outreach to younger generations. I really believe the new church building and its neighborhood provide a lot of opportunities for ministry that weren't available to us before, and I'd like to take advantage of those opportunities. I'm also trying to devise ways to better reach out to the children both in the congregation and in the community.
Two Saturdays ago we had a block party to introduce ourselves to the neighborhood. The neighbors all seem to be glad that the bar (the former occupant of the church building) is gone, but they had been a little curious about the new people on the block. We had a great turnout for cake and coffee in the early afternoon and then salads and grilled sausages in the evening. Helga planned some activities for the kids, and, after learning that I had helped with the puppet ministry at church in the States, she recruited me to play a role in a puppet show. I played a Scottish boy named John who was being snubbed by another boy because he had red hair. To emphasize John's "foreignness," Helga wrote grammatical mistakes into John's lines, and let me just say my perfectionism had a difficult time letting me read them as written. Overall the day went well, and we pray that future contacts will come from the fellowship together. (By the way, the boy making fun of "John" eventually learned that he should love people as Jesus loves them.)
A lot has happened here in the past week and a half or so, but for a couple reasons I think I'll wait until tomorrow to talk about that. One, there's a lot to tell. Two, I want to get a couple updates at church tomorrow morning before posting about the situation. For now I'll just say this: Jim is not doing well. He was admitted to the hospital yesterday for more tests. Please pray for him and for his health. Please also pray for Elsa as she copes with the situation.
I pray that you are doing well wherever you are. Thanks for your prayers and concerns for me, and thanks for being patient with me. Bis morgen....
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