This last weekend we had on overnighter for the ECHT group, that s European Church History Tour. It is a group Aretta has started up, to study and learn about church history and do some Bible studies, and living in Europe making sure to take advantage of the opportunity to travel and see some of the history first hand. The theme for the year is laying down your life, so we did a Bible study, and watched the movie Romero, which is about an arch bishop in El Salvador who was assassinated. Then we spent much of the evening just hanging out and playing games. Stayed up until about 3:30 as it tends to happen w/ high schoolers. That was fun. Waking up at 7:30 wasn't quite as fun, but bearable.
On a completely unrelated note, I did the chain gang at the high schools football game, talked a little trash to the other team, got to feel important like I was part of the action. Fun times.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Always yield to tanks
I want to use this post to share a bit about how the base is laid out. We are at a unique location, having one post actually split into two seperate posts (Army term for base, this has been really hard for me to get down because in the Navy it is known as base) with a giant training area in the middle. The entire thing is known as United States Army Garrison Grafenwoehr. But there are two parts to it: Main Post, commonly referred to as Graf, and Rose Barracks, or Vilseck. Vilseck and Grafenwoehr are the towns where these bases are connected to. It takes a little over 20 minutes to drive from gate to gate. At times this can be a big annoyance. For Club Beyond we work on both sides, since the middle school is in Graf, and the high school is in Vilseck. We have an office on each side at the chapels. Working on both sides, there are some days when it is unavoidable to head back and forth, which is time consuming and a slight annoyance. Other times I see it as a benefit. It helps me get into different mind frames, that when I am in Vilseck, it is high school stuff, and vice versa in Graf for the Middle School.
The training area is cool to have here. Many days when I am working, I hear gun fire and explosions coming from the training area. A number of different countries come here to train. One day a few weeks ago, I saw soldiers from at least 7 different countries. There is a tank trail that runs back between the two sides, which if you are in a government vehicle on official business you may take, which I have done a couple of times. It is really cool back there. And yes, you have to yield to tanks. Always. They don't stop. And they have big guns. Don't get in their way.
A lot of army bases in Europe look exactly the same, that is to say, kind of ugly. Buildings all look the same and it is kind of dreary. Thankfully, the base here, I mean post, is not your typical Army post. It has a very Germanic look, and open green spaces. I am very appreciative of this.
The post used to be a German base, but the Allies took it during World War II, and it has been an American Army post ever since. This is one of the big reasons it isn't an ugly American base. It's kind of surreal, seeing Americans and Germans training in the same area, where 65 plus years ago they were fighting.
Well, that seems long enough, don't want you to get bored reading this. I would appreciate prayers as I am finding a place to stay and a car to drive. I have very promising leads on both fronts, so prayers that this goes smoothly would be much appreicated. Thanks
The training area is cool to have here. Many days when I am working, I hear gun fire and explosions coming from the training area. A number of different countries come here to train. One day a few weeks ago, I saw soldiers from at least 7 different countries. There is a tank trail that runs back between the two sides, which if you are in a government vehicle on official business you may take, which I have done a couple of times. It is really cool back there. And yes, you have to yield to tanks. Always. They don't stop. And they have big guns. Don't get in their way.
A lot of army bases in Europe look exactly the same, that is to say, kind of ugly. Buildings all look the same and it is kind of dreary. Thankfully, the base here, I mean post, is not your typical Army post. It has a very Germanic look, and open green spaces. I am very appreciative of this.
The post used to be a German base, but the Allies took it during World War II, and it has been an American Army post ever since. This is one of the big reasons it isn't an ugly American base. It's kind of surreal, seeing Americans and Germans training in the same area, where 65 plus years ago they were fighting.
Well, that seems long enough, don't want you to get bored reading this. I would appreciate prayers as I am finding a place to stay and a car to drive. I have very promising leads on both fronts, so prayers that this goes smoothly would be much appreicated. Thanks
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Cool Happening Of Week (CHOW)
In addition to weekly updates, I want to write each week about something cool/interesting/encouraging that has happened this week. And since the military is all about acronyms, I want to get in on the party so this will officially be CHOW Time. So that is what it will be posted as.
On wednesday morning, some of the students here did see you at the pole. See you at the pole, for those that might now know, is a time when students get together before school and ray for their school and community. It is completely student led and organized. One of the girls who comes to club, Bailey, organized it for here. It was really cool to see her dedication to getting the word out about this event, and to see the excitement of some of the other teens had in preparing for this event. Aretta and I got up and made some hot chocolate and muffins and blueberry bread for the kids who were there. Around 10 kids were there at first, then somewhere around 10 to 15 more joined in. Bailey then played guitar and sang (which she is really good at, we have an extremely talented group of teens). I am not a big get up early type of guy, but it was worth it to see this. Just thought I'd share.
On wednesday morning, some of the students here did see you at the pole. See you at the pole, for those that might now know, is a time when students get together before school and ray for their school and community. It is completely student led and organized. One of the girls who comes to club, Bailey, organized it for here. It was really cool to see her dedication to getting the word out about this event, and to see the excitement of some of the other teens had in preparing for this event. Aretta and I got up and made some hot chocolate and muffins and blueberry bread for the kids who were there. Around 10 kids were there at first, then somewhere around 10 to 15 more joined in. Bailey then played guitar and sang (which she is really good at, we have an extremely talented group of teens). I am not a big get up early type of guy, but it was worth it to see this. Just thought I'd share.
September 23
Howdy. It's thursday, meaning it's time for an update. This week has been a good one, very busy, but good. Thursday is my day off, so it sort of symbolizes the end of the week. Tuesdays are high school club and wednesdays are middle school club, which are a lot of fun, but also take a lot out of me, so having Thursday off is a nice way to recharge the batteries.
I have been extremely pleased with how club has gone so far. Club is similar to a youth group at church in the states. We open up with dinner for high school, then some games, mixers, get to know you's, etc. We follow that up w/ a message, and then some small group time to discuss the talk. That is a very simple explanation of what it is, and a lot more goes into it than that, but in a nut shell that's what club is. I was a little nervous about the clubs heading over here, there is a lot of planning that goes into it, and it is very exhausting. But I have ansolutely loved them. It has been a great way to get to know the teens better. I will post some pics from the different clubs later on.
I am starting to get a little settled. This week I passed my written drivers test that you have to take in order to drive here, I got a mailing address, a phone, a bank account, and I have looked at a few different cars. I hope to have purchased one by early next week. I am still searching for a permanent place to stay, and I would appreciate prayers that I find a decent place that is affordable.
Ok, I want to make sure I am writing about something you want to know about, so give a suggestion or topic you want to know about, and I promise to write a post about it.
I have been extremely pleased with how club has gone so far. Club is similar to a youth group at church in the states. We open up with dinner for high school, then some games, mixers, get to know you's, etc. We follow that up w/ a message, and then some small group time to discuss the talk. That is a very simple explanation of what it is, and a lot more goes into it than that, but in a nut shell that's what club is. I was a little nervous about the clubs heading over here, there is a lot of planning that goes into it, and it is very exhausting. But I have ansolutely loved them. It has been a great way to get to know the teens better. I will post some pics from the different clubs later on.
I am starting to get a little settled. This week I passed my written drivers test that you have to take in order to drive here, I got a mailing address, a phone, a bank account, and I have looked at a few different cars. I hope to have purchased one by early next week. I am still searching for a permanent place to stay, and I would appreciate prayers that I find a decent place that is affordable.
Ok, I want to make sure I am writing about something you want to know about, so give a suggestion or topic you want to know about, and I promise to write a post about it.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Welcome
Due to popular demand, I am going to start a blog. I will include more day to day experiences and how life is going for me personally than I do on either my facebook page or in my Newsletter. I will post a new topic/story at least once a week, most likely on Thursday, because that is my day off. I will also post pictures of where I am living and of the teens I am working with. These will also appear on facebook, so feel free to look at either.
In order to feel like having a blog is a worthwhile endeavor, I encourage and ask for comments or questions, anything you can think of, so I know that there are people reading this and getting something out of it. And if you would like to hear about certain sapects of life here in Germany, please ask and I will write some posts about whatever you would like to know more about.
So to begin, the title of my blog is a quote from C.S. Lewis' The Last Battle, the final book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. I am committing myself to going further up and further in, committing myself fully to the work that God is calling me to.
I hope this helps to keep us more connected, and thanks for reading.
In order to feel like having a blog is a worthwhile endeavor, I encourage and ask for comments or questions, anything you can think of, so I know that there are people reading this and getting something out of it. And if you would like to hear about certain sapects of life here in Germany, please ask and I will write some posts about whatever you would like to know more about.
So to begin, the title of my blog is a quote from C.S. Lewis' The Last Battle, the final book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. I am committing myself to going further up and further in, committing myself fully to the work that God is calling me to.
I hope this helps to keep us more connected, and thanks for reading.
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