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)

today we had our kick off club. we did messy games and it was incredible. i spent two days covering a room with tarps and today it totally paid off. both the high school and middle schoolers loved it. i will try to post some pictures tomorrow if i'm not too busy. its kind of been a crazy week with our kick off club, the death of the coach and the fact that we have to clean our building for an inspection on friday and our building is huge and hasnt been cleaned in like three years.

on a more serious note...we've been having pretty serious threats to the bases here in germany. in fact two germans and a turk were apprehended during an attempted attack on ramstein (a base about an hour from here) and the frankfurt airport. and today there was a serious bomb threat to the base i work at, so serious that the base was shut down for a few hours and all vehicles coming in were being inspected (i think it was a headline on cnn for awhile...spangdahlem airbase). i try not to think about the danger in this but at certain times it hits and it makes being here a little harder. please pray for our bases and our safety, thanks.

wow, i dont really know where to begin and although i wanted to avoid writing on here i think it would be good to put an update out there just so y'all would know whats going on...
so yesterday the cross country coach here at bitburg died. he was out running with kids and collapsed and ended up suffocating. i've never before had to be the one to tell someone that someone died but yesterday i had to do that for the first time, it was really hard. i didnt really know the guy (i had only met him in the hall when the girl i went to get lunch was showing me around)so it didnt really affect me but some of the kids here in bitburg are really struggling with the loss. the school is doing a great job of providing support for the students and making people available to talk. unfortunately i dont really know many kids so there isnt much that i'm able to do. however, john (my boss/community director, he hates when i say boss, he's a bit like michael scott in that) is pretty connected at the school (hes a football coach and the football guys were practicing when it happened and several of them saw the whole thing happen) so john will be at the school with kids helping out the counselors. although this really doesnt affect me much it does affect our kids and some of them are having a really hard time, please pray for our community as we cope with this loss and pray for wisdom for john as hes with students, also, pray for open doors for the gospel to be shared in the midst of all of this. thanks.

i dont know if its appropriate to transition to something less intense after that but i'm not necessarily known for being the most appropriate person so i'm just going to do it...
i've gotten a chance to look at four different apartments (all in about the same price range). i like all of them but only two are practical enough for me. both have really great things about them and both have things that i really dont like but could live with. i really have no idea what i'm going to do but i'm going to keep praying about it and i'll let you know what happens.
today i went to burnkastle with the kirks (jen's family). it was a good day trip. the kirks are amazing, they have totally opened up their home to me (i've been there almost everyday this week) and just allowed me to be a part of the family. while it is hard not having a ton of friends it has been so wonderful having a support family like that. jen's dad comes home from iraq on tuesday (the 11th) after it getting pushed back several times, so i'm excited to meet him and they are excited to have their dad/husband back. they are relieved to have him out of a zone where his base was getting bombed at daily and into a safer transition base. the military lifestyle is so much different than anything i've ever experienced in california. its so strange to have so many kids with a parent thats gone for like six months at a time because they are in iraq. but thats just a part of life here.
this entry is long. perhaps too long. but a lot is going on, both good and bad. thank you to those of you that have been praying, God is faithful.

i think that if molly and patrick lived on the same continent they would be best friends. molly broke down yesterday so i had to leave her on base. we dont know whats wrong with her but hopefuly its something simple. pray its something simple, like something being unplugged.
i went to bitburg high school today for lunch. one of the girls made me lunch so i sat with her and her homies and ate. it felt like being in junior high again, everyone goes into the lunchroom and sits at tables (it wasnt like that at my high school). after i talked to the administrators about doing some sort of volunteering in the school (i wanted to sub but we're not allowed to have two jobs here) so they're going to get back to me on that one. tonight i'm going to have dinner with some of the junior high girls that went to camp, i heard they are a bit shy so hopefuly they will open up a bit at dinner. thats pretty much it. just be praying for my car, because i do work at two bases (that are about 30mins apart) i kind of need a car to get back and forth. thanks.

how sweet is this...

so basically this danish company invented a straw (go to lifestraw.com for more info) that "turns almost any surface water into drinking water. The LifeStraw filters out harmful bacteria and germs, preventing typhoid, cholera, dysentery and diarrhea....The blue straw is nine inches long and can purify water for a year (or 185 gallons) before needing to be replaced, and sells for about $3." -relevant magazine.
reading that got me really stoked. i love that people care enough about things like this to do something about it. i find it challenging and refreshing.

in other news i got a german cell phone yesterday (i know it was a big day for me, a car and a phone), so now i can call people with out having to ask permission which is quite nice. heidi also gave me a cabinet yesterday. i know thats such a silly small thing but just to be able to buy food and have a place to put it makes this seem one step closer to being home (but it's definately not yet, just getting closer).
my lunch at the high school got moved to friday. one of the high school girls is making me lunch and asked me to come eat it with her. should be a little awkward...but in the best kind of way.

well i moved in with heidi yesterday. it's a little awkward because i had only met her once prior to moving in with her (and it was basically a hi, nice to meet you). she said i could live with her for the next six weeks while her husband is in iraq. i'm definately ready to find a more perminate home, it would be nice to not be living out of boxes anymore.
i picked up molly (my car) today, and then took her to get registered. its nice to have the freedom of a car.
i think tomorrow will be my first day going on to campus while kids are actually there, so pray for that.

the counseling class was a lot of fun. i made some new friends (they live all over europe so it will be fun to visit them), went to a sweet dance party, learned about how jesus really has changed my life, went to the ritter sport factory, learned a little about how to counsel kids in trouble, watched ten episodes of flight of the conchords, went on a sweet hike, learned about some new bands and just enjoyed life. it was a good week. i have mixed feelings about being back in bitburg. i feel like although i've been here for a month i dont have a lot to show for it. this definately doesnt feel like home. i move out of john and shannons this week which will be good, but where i'm staying is only temporary (six weeks max). so i still need a home. i also get my car out of the shop this week, it will be good to have a little more freedom. i think i'm going to get a cell phone as well so i can make calls. and school started this last week so now that i'm back i will be able to go on to campus and meet some cool kids. i'm stoked but kind of nervous for that. so ya, thats kind of where i'm at today.