Busy Bee

Hi Friends!

The countdown continues...only 8 days till I'm back in Cow Town :)

I've been up to lot's since we last spoke. I got to be patriotic and paint my face with the Canadian maple leaf as we watched the hockey game of Canada vs. Switzerland in the SAP arena. I'm sad to say we lost and deserved to. It was a crazy atmosphere. I was surrounded by hard core Swiss fans and they had drums and chants for the whole game...made me realize just how lame our cheers are. Anyways, on to other things.

As I mentioned I was off to Berlin to dance at the Berlin International Church. I was warmly welcomed and that evening I attended one of their cell groups. They were very kind and spoke in English for my sake. Two young ladies let me stay at their place. I had one day to tour the city and unfortunately it was cold and rainy. My computer is not letting me load many pictures so here's just one from Berlin.

Here is the Berliner Dom. We were fortunate to have Andrew with his major in history as our guide. We were very well informed :)

On the way to Berlin we stopped at Erfurt. This is Wartburg where Luther was hidden away for a year. I saw his room where he worked on translating the New Testament.

Next you will see a treat from the bakery, special for Father's Day!

We also happened upon this when we were walking about. We first heard some music with a small parade. Here you see the gathering of the carpenters and different tradesmen on the reunion/graduation which happens annually. They still wear the traditional clothes and it is an respected profession where men train for three years under a skilled tradesman.

Then we made our way to Wittenberg and here I am in front of the door where Luther nailed his 95 thesis. This was great to see all the places I've learned about.

The following weekend I went to Bavaria with the German Ladies Housegroup. This is where we stayed and this is at the Cheimsee Lake (which I think is the biggest lake in Germany). We went for a walk in the Alps and the next day were singing at the Lake - so fun!

Coming Up...this weekend I am going to the Haus des Herrn retreat. I will speak there on Thursday evening. Saturday I will attend and dance at a German wedding :) She's obviously got great taste since she's marrying a Canadian! Then I come home and have two days to pack.

So it's been a great ending to a year full of new opportunities and friends!

Thank you to all of you who read this blog, write me letters and support me prayerfully and financially. I am so blessed and I think I've changed a lot. I'm coming home with more passion and direction! Please pray for me as I say a difficult goodbye to a place, people and church I've fallen in love with.

-Tschussy-

1 Month 2 Go!!!

Dreams DO Come True!

Hi Friends!

It's so cool to see a lot of my little wishes, dreams, hopes and desires (whatever you wanna call them) coming true. Let me tell you of one of them that was realized last night. I got to see Samuel Harfst in concert. It's so cool cause my roomy has all of his CD's so I was really enjoying them and I was hoping that I would be able to see them in concert while I was here. Lucky for me they came all the way to Mannheim. So here's a sample of their music.

On a side note. Many people have asked when I am coming home but I've been lying all along. I just looked at my ticket last week to find that I've earned myself an extra day in Mannheim. So I will be home on June 09, 2010 and NOT on June 08th. Sorry for any confusion but I am grateful for the extra day to pack and say goodbye.

I'll update you soon on the remainder of my time here. Lots going on!

Glorious Day, Yesterday!

Hi Friends. You're probably thinking, "wow glorious is quite the descriptive word for a day" but it truly was. Please let me explain.

My sunny Sunday began as I walked to the train station when I noticed a car quickly pull onto the side walk. I looked, thinking that was rather strange, only to see someone sticking their head out the window yelling something at me. As I took a few more steps I realized it was the couple whose kids I tutor in English and they asked if I wanted a ride. I squished in the back with the kids and got an unexpected lift to church! A great start to any day.

Now this is no ordinary Sunday. We quickly passed the Trafolhaus where we usually meet and we made our way to the beautiful city center. This day we were trying out one of the potential new locations for our growing church. This was really exciting for us because the location is amazing in the sense that it is central and easy to access, as well as the building itself is positioned very well and is very visible to the community which is people who are out shopping.

The new potential space for our church was very welcoming and the transition into this space seemed rather smooth. There are pro's and con's in any situation but I believe this place offers more pro's than con's. One of the big differences is that there is a raised stage. There is also a balcony at the back which looks onto the paradaplatz where there is a beautiful fountain in the center and many people linger and meet at this point. Anyways, I enjoyed the new building and the different dynamics.

After church I went to a friends house for a BBQ. There were many new people to meet, the weather was nice and sunny and they had a yard where we were able to squish our toes in the grass. To all the Canadians reading this, you're probably thinking 'big deal' BUT most people my age don't have yards, so it's something I really enjoyed. At any rate, I guess it kinda marked the beginning of spring for me.

I had to leave early so I could prepare for dancing at Coffee Fellows. The fun part was that my roomy let me drive her car back to Mannheim and I had my first driving experience in Germany. She has a standard and it's been a long time since I drove one, so I was a little hesitant but was so glad that I faced my fears and made my dream come true - driving on the autobahn.

In the evening I enjoyed a mango frap and conversation with friends. The Fellow Meets God team put on a wonderful evening and I concluded it by dancing. I felt comfortable dancing in a Coffee Shop full of strangers and I think it was well received. The most awkward part for me is after the dance is finished and people start clapping. This is when I become uncomfortable.

The theme of the evening and my dance was "living water", and exploring life before and after being filled with living water. Someone made a cute clip displaying this with a flower and the sun and eventually some water, then on the way out people were given water bottles with a verse on it about how this water will not satisfy but there is another water that comes from Jesus and it always satisfies.

I think there is so much creativity and excellence employed at this event, it makes me proud to be part of it as well as just enjoying my time there. So that my friends is what makes a Glorious Day for me.

I hope you're having some of your own. Please feel free to share your story with me.

Tschuss

Dave & Seb - Was brauch ich [Official Video]

Hi Friends.

This is just a little video to bring understanding to all the bragging I've been doing of the talented musicians that play at Coffee Fellows. These two guys play twice a month after church at the coffee shop. It's meant to be a time to meet new people within the church. I hope you enjoy!

If you want you can check out their website (even though it's in German) it's www.daveundseb.de

and FYI David's younger brother made this video. Talented family!

Tschussy

Up and Coming

First let me begin by filling you in on the weekend. It was GREAT! For those of you who don't know what Encounter is, it's the name of a weekend program that helps people deal with issues in their life by letting God encounter them. There are about 7 teaching sessions on key issues and after each session there is a time for people to come and deal with their issues by praying through them with someone else. This weekend shows and equips people how to deal with issues that continue to come up when they are on their own and not in the nice atmosphere of such a retreat. This is the third one I've been to and I have found them to be helpful in my life.

The topic that I was covering as I mentioned in my last blog was sin. This is a rather heavy topic with which we all too easily identify but it's necessary to confront it and take responsibility for it. So that's the short version for you!

Alright on to this week. Baaaaahh, where is time going these days? On Sunday evening I will be dancing at a coffee shop called Coffee Fellows. Our church meets here 4 times a year with something they've coined "Fellow Meets God". I believe I've mentioned it before but let me explain in a bit more detail.

This venue is perfect for people to invite friends who may be interested in God but do not feel comfortable going to a church. Each event has a topic that explores a bit of who God is. The fun part is there's always lots of creativity here. There are often musicians playing while people enjoy conversation and coffee. Then for the more formal program there is some sort of drama, story, dance, discussion panel etc...

I think this is an amazing opportunity to be in the community and in a place people feel comfortable. God moved in amazing ways not only for us but now Coffee Fellows is opening opportunities to other churches to use their facilities and stay open later in other parts of Germany. Recently, there was one done in Frankfurt. They are also willing to have us in there more often but we just can't do that much at the moment. It's an amazing opportunity and I'm glad I get to be a part of it. I wish y'all could come out and join us.

Well folks that's all for now!

Tschussy