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.