shock and comfort

after that super insightful e-mail i got yesterday i had a very mild (seriously, it was mild) freak out moment during which i myspaced my friend shea who lives in germany. i told him what was going on as well as asked him a few questions. well he myspaced me back asking for my phone number and less than a half hour later i was on the phone with shea and his wife sandee getting all kinds of answers as well as a lot more info about the trip.

basically, i fly into germany and will be picked up by olivia (she is supposed to be wonderful). then i will be taken back to base where i will hang out for a few days. then on sunday i will get on a bus with a bunch of kids from heidelburg and take a 16 hour bus ride from germany through austria and up into slovakia. while in slovakia i will be staying in a cabin with a group of girls from heidelburg. i will be with those same girls during the day and we will out at a work site. at the work site about 50% of our time will be spend playing with slovakian kids, 25% will be spent doing a work project (painting, building stuff, etc.), and the remaining 25% will be spent leading a vbs or a language school or doing something like that. and at night we will have young life club with the kids (900 hundred in all from bases all over europe). that's pretty much what my trip will look like. shea and sandee told me some other things but mostly i just figure things out once i'm there.


this is more the shock part...
so i received this packet a little bit ago once i decided to go on the trip. one of
the things in it is a packing list. oh my goodness is military culture
different. the packing list has three columns, one that says the item,
one that say the quantity of each item to bring, and one to check off
if you packed each item. for example (these are what it says word for
word):
short sleeve shirts to work in 2
long pants for the evenings 1
underwear 8
toiletpaper 2 rolls
ear plugs 1

there are way more items on the list but i just wanted to give you a little taste of what i'm entering into. its craziness.

lastly i wanted to give you a little lesson on german culture so i'm leaving you with this great video i found on you tube.

why did i ever worry?

i leave for germany on tuesday and i was kind freaked out because i didnt know any of the details for my trip. like who would be picking me up, where id be staying or what id be doing. well today i got this really informative e-mail, and now i'm feeling pretty good...

Hi Loren!
This is what we have for you. . .

Flight Info: April 4, Wed. AA 84 11:10 FRA

Pick up and day time host: Olivia
Housing: Marlo

Assignment: Leader for Vincenza

See you in Slovakia!

its reassuring to know they cant even spell my name right. dont you just find this info so insightful?

i guess i'll just walk around the frankfurt airport yelling for olivia...

my first blog...

there is a lot of pressure surrounding a first blog. it really sets up what you will be about. will you be funny? or serious? informative? or mildly boring? i haven't really decided what i'll be yet but i'm hoping not to be the last one.

in the future i'm hoping this blog will be a place where you can check in and see how i'm doing in germany, or in route to germany or just wherever the Lord has me for the moment.

i was recently inspired by a video on dan bowens blog of a kid named matt who dances in every places he travels. i decided i would like to do something similar. so, i am currently looking for a travel companion. i have a giraffe named zebra and i'm thinking he might make a good travel companion but i'm just not entirely sure. i'll keep you updated.