Still here

The past month has been rather busy.

I've spent a lot of time helping Elsa organize Jim's books. We've cleaned out a lot of stuff, including old magazines and book catalogs. Let's just say Jim was not one for getting rid of things.

So far I've been following Elsa's lead in this project, but it's looking like I'm going to be taking over. She's doing well dealing with Jim's death, but she's getting overwhelmed. She doesn't like the books ("overwhelming," "annoying," and "frustrating" are just a few of the adjectives she's used to describe them lately), and the project of getting rid of them is daunting to her. So, I've said I want to do whatever I can to help, and with her permission, I'm going to take charge so she doesn't have to worry about so much anymore.

To complicate matters, Elsa is worried about her own health right now. The surprise of Jim's cancer scared Elsa, so she went to the doctor and said she wanted a full checkup. A couple days ago she had a stomach scan and a lump was found. They've taken a biopsy and the results will hopefully be in tomorrow. Please pray that the lump is benign and also that Elsa can relax and be able to deal with this situation properly. She's blaming herself for a lot of things right now that are not her fault, and she does not need to add worry about her own health to the grieving she's already experiencing.

I recently taught the 2 to 4-year old Bible class at church while Katerina was out of town for a few weeks. It was definitely another learning experience and another test of my language skills. Overall, despite some nervousness, it went very well, and I'm on the list to sub in the future if needed.

Mark and Karen's daughter Elizabeth arrived in town last Thursday for a visit. This is her 3rd visit to Bremen this year, and she said that this time she was coming to see me. She spent Friday night at my apartment, and she, Mark, Karen, and I are actually leaving this evening to go to Paris for a few days. Elizabeth wanted to travel some where outside of Germany, and when Karen found flights for 10 Euros per person, round-trip and including taxes and fees (no, that's not a joke. Ryanair is a wonderful thing.), we said, "Okay, Paris it is then." The only place in Europe I've been besides Germany is the Schipol Airport in Amsterdam, so I'm looking forward to this trip.

I'll update after we get back to let you know about Elsa's test results. Thanks for your prayers and support. I couldn't make it without you.