I seem to say this in every blog post, but it's been yet another busy week here.
I babysat 2.5-year old Johannes two mornings this week. It's been a long time since I last played in the dirt, but that's what we did for almost two hours one day, first at the playground and then in the sandbox in the backyard. Johannes had fun, and since his sister was at preschool, there were no sibling spats for me to break up. :)
Yesterday evening we had a planning meeting for the ladies' retreat that's coming up in about six weeks. Things are coming together well, and I've accepted/been given more jobs. The theme is "Your Will be Done," and one evening we're going to play a charades-type game acting out Bible stories that include prayer. I'm responsible for the stories of Gideon (Judges 6:36-40) and Daniel (Daniel 6:1-16), so I had to come up with pantomimes that show how prayer was used in each case. Last night we worked through all the scenes, making sure we could recognize the stories, and let's just say it should be very humorous when that night at the retreat comes around. I'm also going to be in one of three skits we'll be doing the first night. These skits were originally performed at a different retreat last year, and one of the young women won't be able to come in May, so I'm taking over her role.
We're also getting ready for the campaigners who will be coming in May to stay for four weeks. There's advertising and phone calls that have to be done ahead of time to ensure that there are people ready to study with the students soon after they arrive. In the middle of the advertising time, Elsa will be in California speaking at Pepperdine University's lectureships, and Mark and Karen will be in the States for their daughter's wedding, so I'm going to be doing a big part of the phone work since: 1) I'm the only other native English speaker in the congregation and 2) I did some phone work last year when Elsa lost her voice while I was making contacts for English Bible studies. When people respond to ads about the studies, we not only have to explain who the students are and what they plan to do, we also have to find out how much English and how well the caller speaks. That's not easy for a non-native speaker to do. Rüdiger has agreed to do some of the phone work (he speaks English very well), but he was hesitant about how much he was willing to commit to doing. Hopefully it will all get worked out one way or another.
I came to Bremen as a campaigner for six weeks in the summer of 2003, and I have to say it's odd to be now on this side of a campaign. In a way it feels like the transition I made from being a student worker at Harding's library to working there full-time and supervising students, some of whom were my former classmates and co-workers. It's not often in life you get to live both sides of a situation, and I pray my previous campaign experience will be useful both in making contacts and in working with the students who come this year.
Tomorrow afternoon, Elsa, Liesel, Sergej, and I will drive down to Gemünden (northwest of Frankfurt am Main) for the ETM Intensive Week. ETM officially started on the 17th, and the past two weeks have included work at home. We've been reading part of a book on personality types and doing some Bible studies looking at what Scripture says about various spiritual gifts. For now we've been concentrating on the "non-miraculous" gifts like teaching, evangelizing, and shepherding. Next week will see lectures and discussion, group work, and presentations. This week I've been trying to get myself ready to go and helped Elsa put together parts of the binders we'll be using in Gemünden.
For the entire 10 weeks of ETM we're supposed to spend 15 minutes each day in concentrated prayer and keep a prayer notebook. We're using the different elements of the Lord's Prayer as starting points and are incorporating other Scriptures as well. The goals are to strengthen our prayer lives and to learn to approach prayer from God's perspective, and it's not an easy thing to do. I've realized through this process that while I've never felt like I use prayer to provide God with a wish list of things I want Him to do for me, I still have been approaching prayer from my perspective rather than God's. I don't know how to explain that right now. I do know that I've noticed differences between my own prayers and those that I read in the Bible (David's in 1 Chronicles 17 and Hannah's in 1 Samuel 2, for example) as far as acknowledging who God is and what He's done and is doing. Beyond that recognition, I'm still working through it.
Aside from all of that, probably the biggest thing I've been doing lately is trying to figure out what step my life will take next. My 2-year commitment in Bremen officially ends in October, and my residency permit expires on December 1st. My plan has been to leave Bremen around the middle of November. I feel like I'm at a fork in the road, and unlike most forks, this one has an almost endless number of paths I could take. The two options I'm currently spending the most time weighing are: 1) going to graduate school and 2) extending my time in Bremen. There are pros and cons to each, and I'm trying to sort through them all and consider all sides. I know I can't wait too much longer to make a decision because I'll need time to prepare for whatever decision I make. I obviously would need to apply for grad school if I was going to go that route, and if I stay in Bremen I have to renew my residency permit (which apparently is possible if you can wade through the German bureaucracy again), make sure I have continued financial support, and get permission from my landlord to keep my apartment longer. As it is, I'm not the most decisive person in the world, and when it comes to big things like this I get even more paranoid about making the "wrong" decision or upsetting someone.
Please pray that I can have wisdom in making this decision. Overall I want to use my life to serve the Lord, and I know He can and will use me (as long as I let Him) no matter where I go.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
A moral and cultural dilemma
On Monday, two men probably in their late-20s were in front of me in the check-out line in the grocery store. As the cashier finished helping the person in front of them, one of her co-workers came over to ask for help with something. While the cashier was distracted, one of the men told the other to take the 6-pack of beer they were going to buy and set it on the table by the window where other customers were bagging their purchases. I watched the man do as his friend told him, incredulous that I was actually seeing this happen.
The cashier finished helping her colleague, greeted the men in front of me, and began scanning their groceries, oblivious to the fact that the beer was no longer there. While his friend got out money to pay, the man who had moved the beer swooped up their other things, took them over to the waiting beer, and hurriedly dumped everything into a grocery bag.
The entire time this scene was unfolding all I could do was think, I have to say something. I can't just knowingly let these guys steal right in front of me. But I couldn't come up with anything to say. Even if I would have known what to say, I don't know how I would have gone about doing it because the men were standing right in front of me.
I rode the whole way home on the streetcar feeling guilty and thinking I should have done something to stop them. The thing is, this isn't the first time I've seen someone stealing. One day last year while the streetcar I was on was stopped to pick up people, I witnessed a man in one swift motion pick up an umbrella from a rack outside a drug store and stuff it under his jacket, all while continuing to casually stroll down the sidewalk. I recognized that man as one I'd seen get caught trying to steal some salami in a grocery store a couple of weeks earlier.
I shared this experience with Elsa, and she said she might have said something like, "Excuse me. You forgot your beer," depending on how "scruffy" the guys looked, but that in most cases she probably would have reacted the way I did. She reminded me that those men in the store acted based on the guidelines of non-Christian, European culture. I told her there are still non-Christians who value honesty and integrity.
How does a Christian go about handling situations like this? In an effort to protect yourself, do you let someone get away with breaking the law and, even worse, being dishonest? How does the situation change when you're in a foreign culture? Or does it? How would Jesus have handled a similar incident?
I don't know the answers to those questions. I do know that the whole experience bothers me, and I hope I'm not confronted with a similar one in the future.
The cashier finished helping her colleague, greeted the men in front of me, and began scanning their groceries, oblivious to the fact that the beer was no longer there. While his friend got out money to pay, the man who had moved the beer swooped up their other things, took them over to the waiting beer, and hurriedly dumped everything into a grocery bag.
The entire time this scene was unfolding all I could do was think, I have to say something. I can't just knowingly let these guys steal right in front of me. But I couldn't come up with anything to say. Even if I would have known what to say, I don't know how I would have gone about doing it because the men were standing right in front of me.
I rode the whole way home on the streetcar feeling guilty and thinking I should have done something to stop them. The thing is, this isn't the first time I've seen someone stealing. One day last year while the streetcar I was on was stopped to pick up people, I witnessed a man in one swift motion pick up an umbrella from a rack outside a drug store and stuff it under his jacket, all while continuing to casually stroll down the sidewalk. I recognized that man as one I'd seen get caught trying to steal some salami in a grocery store a couple of weeks earlier.
I shared this experience with Elsa, and she said she might have said something like, "Excuse me. You forgot your beer," depending on how "scruffy" the guys looked, but that in most cases she probably would have reacted the way I did. She reminded me that those men in the store acted based on the guidelines of non-Christian, European culture. I told her there are still non-Christians who value honesty and integrity.
How does a Christian go about handling situations like this? In an effort to protect yourself, do you let someone get away with breaking the law and, even worse, being dishonest? How does the situation change when you're in a foreign culture? Or does it? How would Jesus have handled a similar incident?
I don't know the answers to those questions. I do know that the whole experience bothers me, and I hope I'm not confronted with a similar one in the future.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Can't say I've been bored....
Yet another busy week is coming to a close.
And it's looking like I'm going to be able to say that every week until about the end of June. I think it's just the time of year with the most things going on at the same time.
I've worked at Elsa's four days this week. The work is moving along slowly but surely, and I continue to enjoy the time spent with Elsa. She is a fountain of wisdom, both from a Biblical knowledge standpoint and that of life experience. Please pray for her as she continues to wade through the grieving process and little by little finds "normality" again.
This weeks ladies' Bible study on Tuesday morning was really interesting. Helga's been leading us through studies of the lives of various women in the Bible, and this week we talked about Tabitha (Dorcas) in Acts 9. The discussion somehow led to baptism. Hertha, who is 84, seems to believe what the Bible says about baptism but has said for years that she's "too old" to be baptized. She brought this up again on Tuesday, and Elsa responded with a story about a man she recently heard about who was 100 at the time he was baptized. "So Hertha, you're still young!" Elsa also came right out and told her that many people have been praying for years now that Hertha would take on the Lord in baptism and devote her life to His service. We'll see what happens. Please be praying for Hertha, Linda (who has a tremendous fear of water), and Rosée who continue to attend church services but for one reason or another have not taken the step of baptism.
Yesterday morning I met with Jutta. We generally meet once a week for a Bible study, but she's been sick the past couple of weeks and so wasn't able to come. Basically, Jutta was baptized several years ago but has trouble understanding what that means for her life and how her life is different now than it was before baptism. I tried yesterday to explain the idea of the "old person" dying with Christ through baptism and how the "new creature" that rises out of the water has been resurrected with Jesus and lives a new life in God's service. Being a Christian doesn't mean that life is without problems or that we will be perfect people after baptism, but we're covered with the forgiveness brought by the crucifixion. While we are still responsible for the decisions we make, Jesus paid the price for our sins through the spilling of His blood on the cross. Please pray for Jutta as she continues to move out of her past and tries to find the meaning of living for the Lord.
I recently agreed to teach the youngest children's Sunday school class every other month to give Katerina a break. She's been teaching for I guess close to a year now, and she's pregnant and wanting some time off. Last fall I subbed for her for a few weeks while she was out of town, and I've babysat all of the kids in the class at different times since I've been here, so I thought it shouldn't be too difficult. Our arrangement was scheduled to begin in March, so for last Sunday I had to come up with a lesson and a craft for the kids to do. In October Katerina prepared everything ahead of time for me, but this time it was up to me. With some suggestions from my mom, a long-time Sunday school and previous preschool teacher, I decided to talk about the parable of the lost sheep and to make sheep out of paper plates. Finding paper plates wasn't difficult, but apparently cotton balls aren't very prevalent in Bremen. A couple people at church insisted there are stores that sell them, but I couldn't find them anywhere. So, I had to improvise. Here's the product of my creative efforts:
The bottom says, "Jesus ist mein Hirte" (Jesus is my shepherd). I was pretty nervous, but the class went well. Katerina was kind enough to sit in the class with me this time to help the kids adjust to me being there, and the kids paid attention. Four-year old Rebecca paid too close attention. She corrected Katerina's German at one point (Katerina is Ukrainian), and while I was telling the story, she wanted to move the flannel graph pictures to match the ones in the story her parents had read to her. We'll see what she finds to correct in this week's lesson.
I think I've mentioned at some point recently that I'm participating in ETM (Evangelism Training and Media) this spring. It's a 10-week-long program that Jim developed for German-speaking Christians. The goals include:
- learning more about yourself
- recognizing your talents and how you can use them in the church
- becoming a person of prayer
- learning effective time management
- practicing working with others
This year's group includes 14 participants from Bremen, Munich, and Chemnitz in Germany and from Bern, Lucerne, and Zurich in Switzerland. I recently learned that there is one other American and that there are two people younger than I am. Though I know the course will be really good for me, my biggest worry is the language. Elsa continues to assure me that the German won't be a problem for me. I'm just going to do the best I can and ask for help when I need it.
Earlier this week Elsa gave me the informational packet with the two books we'll be reading during the 10 weeks. ETM doesn't officially begin until the 17th, but I'm going to try to get a start on things now so I can take my time with the language. I'll let you know how things go.
Probably the most interesting and unusual event of the past week occurred last Friday evening. I went with Stefanie to Aschwarden, a village northwest of Bremen with a population of about 400, for a fundraiser for the local volunteer fire department. A group of children performed several skits; a men's choir sang several traditional North German songs; and there was a play entirely in Plattdeutsch. Plattdeutsch is considered by some to be a dialect of High German (which I speak) and by others a language in its own right, and it's spoken in a number of places throughout northern Europe. I'd seen it written before and could understand it, but I'd never heard it spoken until last week. When Elsa found out I was going with Stefanie, she advised me not to think in German but to just listen to understand. She thought I could probably understand quite a bit since I speak English. After hearing it, I understand what she meant. To me it sounded like a weird combination of German, Dutch, and English, with a little gibberish mixed in, but I surprised myself by understanding quite a bit. Since it's spoken mainly in rural areas, there were a lot of references to animals, and the play itself was about three women fighting for freedom for chickens being raised in a henhouse and the ensuing antics. The evening was definitely a cultural experience that I won't soon forget.
Thanks as always for your thoughts and prayers. Have a great weekend.
And Dad, happy birthday. I love you.
And it's looking like I'm going to be able to say that every week until about the end of June. I think it's just the time of year with the most things going on at the same time.
I've worked at Elsa's four days this week. The work is moving along slowly but surely, and I continue to enjoy the time spent with Elsa. She is a fountain of wisdom, both from a Biblical knowledge standpoint and that of life experience. Please pray for her as she continues to wade through the grieving process and little by little finds "normality" again.
This weeks ladies' Bible study on Tuesday morning was really interesting. Helga's been leading us through studies of the lives of various women in the Bible, and this week we talked about Tabitha (Dorcas) in Acts 9. The discussion somehow led to baptism. Hertha, who is 84, seems to believe what the Bible says about baptism but has said for years that she's "too old" to be baptized. She brought this up again on Tuesday, and Elsa responded with a story about a man she recently heard about who was 100 at the time he was baptized. "So Hertha, you're still young!" Elsa also came right out and told her that many people have been praying for years now that Hertha would take on the Lord in baptism and devote her life to His service. We'll see what happens. Please be praying for Hertha, Linda (who has a tremendous fear of water), and Rosée who continue to attend church services but for one reason or another have not taken the step of baptism.
Yesterday morning I met with Jutta. We generally meet once a week for a Bible study, but she's been sick the past couple of weeks and so wasn't able to come. Basically, Jutta was baptized several years ago but has trouble understanding what that means for her life and how her life is different now than it was before baptism. I tried yesterday to explain the idea of the "old person" dying with Christ through baptism and how the "new creature" that rises out of the water has been resurrected with Jesus and lives a new life in God's service. Being a Christian doesn't mean that life is without problems or that we will be perfect people after baptism, but we're covered with the forgiveness brought by the crucifixion. While we are still responsible for the decisions we make, Jesus paid the price for our sins through the spilling of His blood on the cross. Please pray for Jutta as she continues to move out of her past and tries to find the meaning of living for the Lord.
I recently agreed to teach the youngest children's Sunday school class every other month to give Katerina a break. She's been teaching for I guess close to a year now, and she's pregnant and wanting some time off. Last fall I subbed for her for a few weeks while she was out of town, and I've babysat all of the kids in the class at different times since I've been here, so I thought it shouldn't be too difficult. Our arrangement was scheduled to begin in March, so for last Sunday I had to come up with a lesson and a craft for the kids to do. In October Katerina prepared everything ahead of time for me, but this time it was up to me. With some suggestions from my mom, a long-time Sunday school and previous preschool teacher, I decided to talk about the parable of the lost sheep and to make sheep out of paper plates. Finding paper plates wasn't difficult, but apparently cotton balls aren't very prevalent in Bremen. A couple people at church insisted there are stores that sell them, but I couldn't find them anywhere. So, I had to improvise. Here's the product of my creative efforts:
The bottom says, "Jesus ist mein Hirte" (Jesus is my shepherd). I was pretty nervous, but the class went well. Katerina was kind enough to sit in the class with me this time to help the kids adjust to me being there, and the kids paid attention. Four-year old Rebecca paid too close attention. She corrected Katerina's German at one point (Katerina is Ukrainian), and while I was telling the story, she wanted to move the flannel graph pictures to match the ones in the story her parents had read to her. We'll see what she finds to correct in this week's lesson.
I think I've mentioned at some point recently that I'm participating in ETM (Evangelism Training and Media) this spring. It's a 10-week-long program that Jim developed for German-speaking Christians. The goals include:
- learning more about yourself
- recognizing your talents and how you can use them in the church
- becoming a person of prayer
- learning effective time management
- practicing working with others
This year's group includes 14 participants from Bremen, Munich, and Chemnitz in Germany and from Bern, Lucerne, and Zurich in Switzerland. I recently learned that there is one other American and that there are two people younger than I am. Though I know the course will be really good for me, my biggest worry is the language. Elsa continues to assure me that the German won't be a problem for me. I'm just going to do the best I can and ask for help when I need it.
Earlier this week Elsa gave me the informational packet with the two books we'll be reading during the 10 weeks. ETM doesn't officially begin until the 17th, but I'm going to try to get a start on things now so I can take my time with the language. I'll let you know how things go.
Probably the most interesting and unusual event of the past week occurred last Friday evening. I went with Stefanie to Aschwarden, a village northwest of Bremen with a population of about 400, for a fundraiser for the local volunteer fire department. A group of children performed several skits; a men's choir sang several traditional North German songs; and there was a play entirely in Plattdeutsch. Plattdeutsch is considered by some to be a dialect of High German (which I speak) and by others a language in its own right, and it's spoken in a number of places throughout northern Europe. I'd seen it written before and could understand it, but I'd never heard it spoken until last week. When Elsa found out I was going with Stefanie, she advised me not to think in German but to just listen to understand. She thought I could probably understand quite a bit since I speak English. After hearing it, I understand what she meant. To me it sounded like a weird combination of German, Dutch, and English, with a little gibberish mixed in, but I surprised myself by understanding quite a bit. Since it's spoken mainly in rural areas, there were a lot of references to animals, and the play itself was about three women fighting for freedom for chickens being raised in a henhouse and the ensuing antics. The evening was definitely a cultural experience that I won't soon forget.
Thanks as always for your thoughts and prayers. Have a great weekend.
And Dad, happy birthday. I love you.
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