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Saturday 19 February 2011

German lessons, Hungarian visitors and Garmisch

Alan und ich lernen Deutsch zusammen. Wir gehen in der Schule. Es heisst die Volkshochschule. Wir haben am Montag morgen begonnen. Es dauert von 9Uhr bis 1Uhr Montag bis Freitag. Alan ist in der erste Klasse und ich bin in die dritten Klasse. Der Lehrer und Die Lehrerin hat uns gut gefallen. Ich habe drei Lehrerin und ein Lehrer. Alan hast drei Lehrerin. Wir haben viel schon gelernt.

Auf Englisch:

Alan and I are learning German together. We go to a school that is called the Volkshochschule. We started class on Monday morning. The class is from 9am until 1pm Monday - Friday. Alan is in the beginners class and I'm in the third class. We really like the teachers (male and female). I have three female teachers and one male teacher and Alan has three female teachers. We have learned a lot already!

Last week we had our area leader (Cathy) and another missionary from Pioneers in Hungary for a visit. It was nice chatting with them and getting encouraged by them. They were also able to attend our church housegroup that night which was great. Alan and I were able to share a lot of our early anxieties and stresses that we experienced when we first moved here. It was good because we got a lot of confirmation that what we were going through was completely normal - especially given we're also expecting our first child and are so newly married.

Right now we're on a church retreat in Garmisch, Germany. It's on the border of Germany and Austria. We weren't sure we should go given we are so new to Germany but it seemed like a good opportunity to get to know members of the church better so we made the decision to go. We're staying at a hotel called the Edelweiss which is a military hotel and it's really strange because there are armed guards at the entrance and you have to show military id or be accompanied by someone in the military to get in. Apparently the US military purchased this hotel to entertain soldiers and it's very nice but the security is a bit over the top for me.

Tonight the church group is going out for an early Bavarian dinner together. I think I'll try and go with them to the ski hill tomorrow so I can watch Alan ski some. The World Alpine Ski Championship is also going on this weekend so I might be able to watch some of the mens giant slalom if we get there in time. It wouldn't be a problem but we have to leave for another hotel for one night only due to a mix up here. I'm not sure how many rooms are moving but in a way I'm glad to move away from all the security.

Unfortunately we'll have to miss school on Monday so hopefully we won't fall too far behind. We have really enjoyed getting to know the people in our classes. In my class alone there are over twelve countries represented. We have two girls from Poland, a girl and a guy from Brazil, guys from Iran, Sri Lanka and another place I can't remember and girls from Australia, Chile, Kirkistan, China, South Korea, France and India. What a great group to learn German with!

Well, I just got off skype with mom and dad and sweet Charlotte. In just a little over a week her vocabulary seems to have doubled. She is amazing but to me it's a little sad she's growing up so fast! And without me too :(. Ah well, Chloe will love growing up with her cousins and talking to them on skype. Family is great and we are truly blessed.

Sunday 6 February 2011

Waiting on the Lord

Waiting as a general rule makes me uncomfortable. I'd rather be doing anything than waiting pretty much any day of the week. Why is that? I'm not sure although I know it has something to do with the way I was raised. Both my parents are doers. So much so that they sometimes frighten me! Though I will say that they both do take time to themselves. My dad studies for the bible studies he teaches, works on wonderful wood turning pieces for family and close friends, attends twice weekly book clubs with his guys friends and works out a lot. My mom spends lots of time praying for her family, friends, church and internationals as well as reading the word, she loves painting, working out twice a week and she fields about a dozen plus phone calls a day from her three children (10 from Christine, 1 from LeeAnne and 1 from me!) They also both give themselves wholeheartedly to their grandchildren. So it's not all work although they do more work than any other retired couple I know.

As far as Alan and I go, we are waiting now. Waiting on the Lord to tell us what we should focus on and who we should talk to. We're waiting for language school to be able to communicate. We're waiting to evangelize and disciple until we can speak the language. We're waiting on health insurance to decide where we can have Chloe and we're waiting for Chloe to be born so I can stop feeling so uncomfortable and fat! :) So, why do we hate waiting? Why does God tell us specifically to wait on the Lord, to be patient, to be long-suffering? I don't know but I would love to know your thoughts on this.

Since my last post, we've managed to get everything moved down here (finally), purchased all our furniture, put it all together, unpacked and cleaned until we didn't think we could do any more and now the apartment is looking pretty good I think. I'm going to finally include some pictures here so you can see where we live an.d how things are coming together :).





This was when we first arrived. We still had the van and trailer loaned to us from a friend. We then drove them back to England, got our car and dog Webster and drove back. This is what we've accomplished since then...




This isn't all our pictures but it gives you an idea. Schönau is a beautiful place. We've taken a couple of drives just around our village and the mountains and streams that flow into the Nectar make it such a special place to live. Here are just a few pictures. I'll try to take more in the coming weeks and post some of the area around our church and Heidelberg.






This week Alan is volunteering at the church trying to help out in any way we can. I've asked if I can help with the youth group as the church doesn't have a college group (yet!) and we'll have housegroup on Wednesday night at our friends Matt and Tamara's house. Our language school starts on the 14th and hopefully we'll catch on quickly and not find it too overwhelming.
Chloe is pretty quiet during the day and decides to wake up and do summersaults at night. Her health seems good but I'm still waiting on health insurance which will ensure we can have the baby here rather than back home. We know that no matter what God is in control and that He has us in the palm of his hand. We appreciate our followers, supporters, prayer partners and friends so much and would love to hear from each of you as to how you are doing and specifically what can Alan and I pray for you for? May the God we know and serve guard each of your hearts as you trust Him for your future.

Alan and Mary