i'm home!
my flight was ok, 11 hours and 24 mins is a long time on a plane, but i was relatively entertained most of the time. i sat next to this super obnoxious lady and her puking son, that was the only kind of rough part. but it was definatly better than london.

so i went to bed at 10pm last night (ca time) after being up for 32 hours and i woke up at 4am today. dang jet lag. but i should be adjusted soon, its lot easier to adjust from europe to america than the other way around for some reason.

despite popular beleif, i'm not home.
people keep IMing me with "youre home!"
its kind of sad
i just dont want people to be pissed off because they thought i was home (and avoided them), i'm not

i get home on sat
and i am hoping to see everyone on sunday (i plan on fighting jet lag and going to church...we'll see how it goes)

so for the recap:
i'm still in germany
but i'm so stoked to see all of you so soon!

today is christmas. i thought being away from home would be a lot harder. the time leading up to christmas was really hard, missing out on so many traditions and parties, but today wasnt bad at all. i guess being with thirty other people who are also away from home makes it a lot easier. its been a full weekend. saturday i went to liechtenstien (a small country, 62 square miles, between austria and switzerland) and then spent the night in zurich (switzerland). sunday we explored zurich and then headed back here. yesterday (christmas eve) i hung out, went to christmas eve service, and then hung out some more...we even played telefax (i taught them a while ago and they love it here). today i woke up early (6am) to help cook christmas breakfast at the mill (our hang out spot) and then hung out all day and played board games, it was pretty chill. but i'm exhausted, good thing i have a job where i can sleep until noon. merry christmas y'all.

i decided a while ago that i wanted to listen to every song on my itunes at least once.
i've actually started working on that.
i realised that i have a lot of crappy music. (i have a lot of good music too, but three albums of the backstreet boys, seriously? i guess thats how you know i was super cool in middle school)


i've been so frusterated recently with where i'm at with relationships with kids. but ive been encouraged by two things.
1. remembering that God gives us enough encouragement to keep us in ministry but enough discouragement to remind us whose ministry it is.
2. the fact that God gives us all the grace in the world, sometimes its ok to give ourselves a little.


my english has gotten so much worse living outside of america, especially on days like today when all the interaction ive had has been in german...like i was struggling to write that.

this week has been crazy and i'm so excited to sleep in tomorrow and catch my breath (figuratively speaking of course). on friday my good friend ashley (some of you know her as texas ashley) came in for the weekend. we went to cologne, luxembourg, trier and burnkastle, and saw a ton of chistmas markets. it was so good having her here and i love that God knew what i needed and totally provided at such a great time. ashely left monday night and tuesday was club. since john was still gone i decided to set club up as more of an event than club so we made gingerbread houses and watched elf. even though we didnt have a club talk and it didnt look like a traditional club i think it was one of the best ones we had. we've been having several new volunteer leaders coming to club and i think this really gave them the opportunity to interact with kids, it was a good night. the next day i woke up at 6am and headed for amsterdam (i convinced my friend phil that it would be a fun thing to do while we were in the airport with ashley), i loved it and it was such a cool cultural experience, hard to see in different parts but i'm so glad that we went. yesterday (Thursday) was spent getting work done in the morning and then i went with some friends to see maroon 5 and dashboard confessional (brooke, i dont know if youre reading this but i totally thought of you during dashboard), the concert was great, way better than when i saw them at the cowpalace (or wherever that was). today i came into the office at 9am to hang out with rosanna (shes kind of like my intern, shes a high school kid that comes in during school hours and gets school credit for hanging out with us), i'm teaching her guitar which is kind of fun. tonight were taking the high school kids to trier to go to the christmas market, i'm a little nervous about them trying to get gluwein (its a hot wine) because the legal drinking age here is only 16, but hopefully we wont have any problems. so thats been my week, it know it sounds like a lot of play (and honestly it has been) but because of how hard i was working when john and shannon were gone they allowed me to take an extra couple days to play.

so i figured out that three days after my yogurt that i bought today is set to expire i'll be on a plane headed back to cali (i never really decided how i feel about calling it cali, but it is easier to say than california).

i've had a lot pf people e-mail me and ask how i spent thanksgiving, now i know it was like a week ago but i figure if i write it on here it will save me from having to re-write it in all the e-mails....
i was originally supposed to spend thanksgiving in portugal but after talking with some people about it and spending some time in prayer i decided that it just wasnt the best timing. so the wednesday that i was supposed to be flying i ended up sleeping 14 hours, life had been crazy and i think i just needed a catch-up day. thursday was thanksgiving and around 2 i went to larry and pattys (the couple that hosts navigators) with about 30 of my friends. we played board games, hung out, and ate a ton. it was really chill and really fun, i didnt end up going home until like 2am. the next day i went ice skating with some friends and then went over to my friend shauns house where we watched like eight episodes of the office. on saturday we went to cochem, where they have this really sweet castle and did a tour of the castle and explored the town. that night we went to brauhaus (no idea how to spell that) zills, which is a local brewery where they serve authentic german food and have jammin beer. we had a ton of fun just hanging out and we even ended up doing some dancing because they had these two old german ladies singing the whole time. on sunday we had the unity service at church (where all the protestant services meet together) it was kind of weird. so that was pretty much my thanksgiving weekend, it was a good weekend just hanging out but it made me miss home a lot (A LOT). hard to explain in a blog but thats why my last post was what it was.

oh, and in case you havent noticed i started another blog, its not a blog about my life like this one is, its just some lists i'd been making for fun and i thought id post a few, feel free to add to the lists if you think of anymore. www.thatwasnthelpful.blogspot.com

i want to go home.

yesterday was thanksgiving club. john and shannon left for the states so it was my first time running club on my own. it actually went pretty well (minus the hole that got put in the wall during turkey bowling). i gave my first club talk, ever. it wasnt the most eloquent talk but lots of people told me i did well, so thats encouraging i guess. i dont think teaching is my spiritual gift but just because something isnt our gift doesnt give us permission to avoid it. so i did it, and i'm glad its over, and that rosanna and patches are talking next week.

one of the strangest things about living here is how easy it is to be in another country. for example last monday i was driving home from another day of snowboarding and in ten minutes i had been in three countries (holland, germany and belgium) just because of the way the borders fell. so weird. well on friday i was hanging out at the coffee mill (our friday night hang out spot) and phil and brent, at 11 at night, decided we should go to luxembourg tomorrow (sat). so we did. its so weird how going to another country is like going to the city (and is about as far away). we drove in had lunch, walked around for a bit and then headed back. there are things that i definately miss from home but there are so many really neat things about living here that make up for a little bit of what i miss.

the middle school trip went really well. on the ride up my two girls wouldnt talk at all and all of my attempts at conversation failed miserably so i resorted to letting them control the radio and listened to more pink, avril and riahana than i think people should in one day. when we arrived at cave lazer tag in holland i discoverd my in with the girls, they each had a crush on two of the boys on the trip. during lazer tag i was able to help them get the boys (i think more of the boys got me though, but i did ok at lazer tag) and after that conversation was a lot less awkward. after lazer tag we all went to mcdonalds (the girls were so funny, on the way to mcdonalds they were telling me that we better be headed to mcdonalds and not try to take them somewhere fancy because that would be "gross") and then headed back to the hostel where i got to fall asleep to the sound of them talking about how they can find more ways to spend time with the boys they like. the next morning we woke up ate breakfast at the hostel and headed back into holland (the hostel was on the boarder but was technically germany) for indoor snowboarding. i didnt know indoor snowboarding existed but it does. i was pleasantly supirised to find that even with my bad knee i was able to do everything but the jumps (the impact of a small one made me feel like my leg was going to snap) i was even able to do a few rails which earned me major cool points with the junior high boys. overall the kids had a lot of fun and it was a good bonding with the kids that went, i'm glad it had a quick turn around though because i can only take so much talk about boys.

this will not be a happy post.
we had our first snow today. now, on top of the fact that the defroster, heater and windshield wipers on my car dont work its now officially illegal to drive until i purchase winter tires.
the euro rate is hovering around .66-.67 when i moved here it was .74 this means that i'm paying about $150 more each month on bills and things (rent, utilities, phone, internet, etc.). i already make less than i was making when i lived in california working part time as a sub so this is pretty rough. so this means i "get" to start fundraising again...oh the joy.
i know this sounds silly but please pray for the euro rate to stop sucking. people in the military get extra money from the government to compensate for the poor exchange rate but those of us who are here in europe as missionaries are hurting and so many people are having to leave their ministries to go back home to fundraise.
on a happier note john and i are taking eight middle schoolers for an overnighter. were leaving today and heading to holland for cave laser tag and indoor snowboarding. pray for safety for that as well.
thanks y'all, sorry this was such a bummer of a post.

i have internet in my home!
its insanely slow because in the small rural town of badem, germany there is no such thing as high speed internet but i'm just greatful to finally have internet. i also finally have a home phone...well, i have a phone number, i still have to buy the phone, but its a start.




i think this picture kind of gives a feel for badem.

the rest of training was pretty on par with the first half. lots of listening (and not listening when i should be listening). i figured it out and the amount of classes we were in is equivilent to having a 43 unit college load for the week, thats a lot. some highlights were a bridal shower where i found out way more than i would ever want to know about some of the people i work with including my regional director. another highlight was this obnoxious blinky ring that katie (she works in ansbach) bought me on halloween and is still blinking. it was also fun getting to see friends that i do not get to see often because they live so far away. and i was able to get caught up on the office season 4 and we watched the last few episodes of flight of the conchords. on saturday i was in my first european car accident. i was hit from behind and pushed about a half a car length. both my passenger and i are ok, just sore. the car that i was driving only had a small dent on the bumper but the car that hit us is probably totaled, it was still drivable but the entire front on the driver side was smashed in and the door couldnt open (the driver and her passenger were ok as well). i had to spend an hour and a half filling out paper work when i got home that night, which i was less than excited about because a, i wasnt claiming anything and b, it wasnt at all my fault. o'well, military policies can be dumb but you get used to them. our football team made it into the european championships so after the accident we went to the game, we lost but it was good to spend some time with kattie, amber and some other fun kids.

training is ok. i still wish i didnt have to be here but its not miserable. i'm finding friendship in unexpected places and in people that i had previously written off. shaun and i have an intern team and were pretty exclusive (probably because were the only ones) i have a lot of fun with him. here is a picture.

last night i had some girls over for mac and cheese and flight of the conchords, it was such a good night with them. God is so good.
i leave tomorrow after our football game (our meaning the bitburg barons) for a week of tranining/school. i dont want to go. i'm sure it will be fine once i'm there but i really want to be here with kids and friends for halloween. o'well. i dont know if i'll have internet but if i do i'll try to update on all the thrilling things i should be learning (part sarcastic, part truth).

this last week has been insane, so good and so full. first off the most exciting news i will tell you, last tuesday (like the 16th) after glow in the dark club, one of the girls that i'm closest to gave her life back to Christ. she would have called herself a Chrisitan prior to that but her life reflected something entirely different. when she told me about what had happened you could just see the change in her, Christ was so clearly reflected on her face, it was incredible. God is moving here and its so fun that He's allowing me to be a part of what He's doing. wednesday and thursday were also quite full however not many details worth noting...actually thats not true. ha. so i had my friends phil and troy (D) over for dinner and because i dont have furniture we had to sit on the floor of my living room to eat, it was kind of comical. then we went to the sweet park by my house and i we were spinning so fast on this tea cup thing that i was sick and dizzy for an entire day. friday was transformers night at the studio (where we hold club), we had 21 different kinds of popcorn including, pb &j, smores, salsa, strawberry and cajun. i dressed up as a transformer and had a blast just hanging out with kids. saturday i went to my friend shauns house and played halo 3 with a bunch of people and discovered i suck at halo, i had 0 kills in the first three games (however last night when we were playing again after church i got 2 kills so i'm improving). after halo and breakfast we (sarah, phil, jared and i) went to three really cool castles and explored, it was a good day. the next morning i had some people over for breakfast (we sat on my floor and ate lucky charms...classy, i know) then we went and checked out a new church, i liked it a lot and its just down the street from my house so thats an added bonus. then we played at the park again, carved pumpkins, went to church, had fellowship dinner and played more halo 3. i dont know why i told you all that but i thought it might be a nice contrast to some of my earlier blogs where i was struggling so much. dont get me wrong, i still have good days and bad days it just seems like there have been less and less bad days.

edit:
I'm at my friend D's house and he helped me figure out how to get videos i edited posted to you tube so here is our sept 07 high school club beyond video, i edited it and we showed it at our first club in october, were planning on making it a monthly thing so enjoy...

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i had an incredible weekend. friday bitburg high school had its powder puff and pep rally, i finally felt like i know enough kids that i'm not standing around awkwardly wondering who i should talk to. then saturday was the homecoming game, the barons won by one it was such an intense game, the kids i was sitting with were freaking out the entire time, it was pretty funny (well not for them, they were quite stressed). then that evening i went and hung out with some girls while they got ready for the dance and then i ended up chaperoning the dance. it was so fun, i got to be the photographer so i just walked around all night taking pictures of kids and hanging out, it was awesome. as a side note the dance was unlike any dance ive ever been to, all of the dancing was relatively clean (there was only like two songs that a couple kids freaked to). at a couple points almost the entire school busted into synchronized dance moves and the kids actually knew how to dance. they danced to hip hop, salsa and country, i was so impressed. then sunday i moved out of heidi's and into my own place, its kind of weird living on my own but hopefully i will be a good thing. then after church i went bowling with some of my guy friends and i kicked their butts by bowling a 119, i'm never that good, but it was pretty awesome. so that was my weekend.

so yesterday after spending four hours at ikea i was driving to my casa and there were cows crossing the street, i guess thats how you know you live in the country. then my friend phil and i spent four hours putting together a diy closet with only a monkey wrech, today i bought some tools.
tonight is powder puff and tomorrow is the homecoming game and dance, it should be a fun weekend with kids.
oh, and this is the most recent picture of molly...

it was quite the weekend.
so on thursday i went to this sweet park with my high school jessilyn, it was really good. it was fun just to spend time with her and get to know her a little better (she is one of the girls i met at the football game) and it was also cool that God provided me with a sweet park by my new house because of how much i loved the park by my house in dublin. i'm learning more and more that God wants to romance us in the details, He knows the desires of my heart and delights in seeing my excitement when He provides for them. the picture is of jessilyn on the zipline, the zipline is crazy because at the end the top of the rope stops but you keep going, i ended up completely horizontal with the ground, it was awesome.
after the park molly about near exploded so jens dad came to rescue me and we left for the weekend. it was really cool that they allowed me to crash their family vacation. we went to oktober fest on friday and rode rides and explored munich, it was kind of like the alameda county fair only like 100 times bigger and these huge halls where people can go in and get liters of beer. it was cool to see it all. then on sat we went to this town where the passion of christ play happens every ten years, it was fun just to walk around the town. on sunday we went to newschwanstein and this other castle next to it, it was beautiful on the outside and i had tons of fun exploring the area around it but i wasnt that impressed with the inside of the castle. then yesterday we went to this other palace and it was beautiful, it was where the king that built neuschwanstein spent most of his life living, it was rad, it even had this sweet cave/grotto/concert hall thing. so that was my weekend with the kirk family. it is such a blessing to have a family that cares for me so well.
this is the kirk family

spain was good. the people that i was nervous about spending a weekend with were totally fine. we mostly hung out, relaxed, ate and walked around (most of our time was spent eating or walking). i had some good conversations and fell in love with spanish culture. overall the trip was not the best trip i've ever been on but it was good, and for a free trip who can complain (it was technically a work trip, thats why it was free).

club was so fun last night. the two times i laughed the hardest was (one) when i saw my thrid grade friend koby (jens little brother) putting on extra large mens pants for a game (they went over his head) and (two) watching brock tell ryan to make a hard right (brock was being driven by a blindfolded ryan who was pushing brock in a chair) and then seeing ryan slam brock into a wall, only to have brock give the same directions and have it happen all over again. my new friends from last week came and brought more of their friends. after we stayed to watch more of the office, it was a really fun night with kids.
i leave tomorrow for spain, i know i should be thrilled but i'm not (i went on a trip before with some of the people that are going and it was less than fun) hopefuly the other people that are going will be awesome.

i had such a good night tonight. i went over to my friend D's house, he cooked us a rockin meal, we hung out, talked, ate, and watched planet earth. i know that to most this just seems like an ordinary not to exciting moment but that was the best part. it was so nice to have another friend that i can do ordinary everyday things with.

today i tried cactus juice (its like a juice box one), its really good.
yesterday molly was revived (jens dad fixed her) to celebrate i took her on the autobahn and we drove 200k (which isnt that fast in miles but her limit is 220k) she took it like a champ.

for the past couple of months africa has really been on my heart, even more so than before. i was considering taking a trip to kenya before christmas but today my time out of community request was denied. at first i was bummed but then i realised that it was selfish (and a bit prideful) of me to think that just going to africa would somehow help when instead i could be giving to africa. i'm making a little more money than when i was in the states (actually thats not true because of substitue teaching but the money i make is more consistant) and i wasnt sure about where i should tithe the extra money. i'd been thinking a lot about sponsoring a child and today i decided to sponsor one from africa (see the connections in my thinking?). i wasnt going to put that on here but since so many of the people that read my blog are also my donors i thought y'all should know what God has been doing in my life.
so this is Elorm Sati
Birthday: October 16, 1999
Age: 7
Gender: Female
Region: West Africa
Country: Ghana
Program: All Saints Lutheran Child Development Center

Personal and Family Information:
In her home, Elorm helps by running errands. She lives with her father and her mother. Her father is sometimes employed and her mother is sometimes employed.

For fun, Elorm enjoys playing group games. She attends church activities and Bible class regularly and is in pre-school where her performance is average.

i went to the bitburger factory yesterday. it just so happened that a tourist group from england was going and we were able to get on their bus and join them on an english speaking tour. it was pretty cool to see that kind of mass production and to finally be able to take a tour of the factory bitburg is known for. now i just need to try the stuff.

when i was stealing this picture (which is a view of bitburg as youre driving up to it) i found this website that tells a bit about the area i live in. you can check it out at http://www.eifel.de/go/home-english.html

we had club #2 today and it was incredible. we had double the amount of high school kids and my cool new high school friends even showed up. everything went well and all of the poop related things were quite funny. we had tootsie roll sculptures, bobbing for turds (mountain dew with babyruths in it), a skit where kids "showed us how they go to the bathroom" (we pulled three kids out of the room and told one to act like they won the lotto, the second like they were being attacked by a bear, and the third that they were on a crazy roller coaster. then they came into the room and sat on a chair and acted those out), we also had this incredible youtube video (see below) and a reading of everyone poops. then john got up and asked kids what kind of crap they have in their lives and shared the story of the woman at the well. it was such a good night (spiz, tell sketch to steal this idea). after my new friends and i stayed around to eat cake and watch an episode of the office, it was such a good night.

tonight instead of a regular church service our chapel had a concert. dan meyers came to play, he was ok but he said something that i thought was tough but so true. he said "in a world desperate for answers, chrisitans are studdering." we as christians are called to always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have, but it doesnt seem like we always have one....food for thought i guess.

i went to my first bitburg barons football game today. it was really great, i went early to a tailgate in the classroom of the foods teacher. at the tailgate i met these two really cool girls. i ended up hanging out with them for the entire game, it was good just talking to them and getting to know them, theyre super rad.

edit:
dont freak out but...the bomb threat yesterday was apparently more than a threat. a car bomb was found trying to go on base yesterday. the guards found it and that is why our base was shut down. there are several terrorist groups that dont want our american troops here and its becoming increasingly dangerous being here, not to the point where we need to be living in fear but to the point where we need to be cautious and praying often.
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ok, pictures from last night...










it was super fun. (oh and all of the pictures were taken by shannon and rosanna)