Back in the Saddle

I've been home 10 days now, which is just hard to believe. Time is back to moving at its familiar fast pace again. I'll tell you guys, it is a real struggle to not get caught up in the culture of busyness here. Everything in Germany moves slower, just easing its way along. I loved that you know, I think it was good for my health and my psyche, and I don't want to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of city life again. I'm trying not to anyway, but it is such a challenge already. It's taking some serious intention on my part to not speed wherever I'm driving. I know that speeding makes little to no difference, but I do it so compulsively, so automatically anyway. Speed-walking around my office in hopes of getting one more thing done before that next meeting. Eating lunch at my desk while checking emails. Just trying to cram one. more. thing. into. this. already. full. day. It's never ending though. I'm a gerbil on a wheel. I am my own problem. If I can just be a little more efficient, just get a little more work done today, then I'll be caught up in time for time....but that's not true. It doesn't matter how much I do, there's more of it waiting for me tomorrow. It's no way to live, you guys. I know that, and yet I see myself doing it as if I'm an onlooker sitting in the corner watching this crazy woman unravel. 

Flying standby didn't pan out in the end. I tried to catch one of three outgoing flights from Frankfurt to the USA three days in a row to no avail. Each day I called, and each day all three flights were booked and even overbooked. In the end, Brad saved my life. He gave me the precious gift of home by cashing in some of his frequent flyer miles. Did you know that a last-minute flight from Frankfurt to Phoenix costs $4,200.00? I know right?! I thought it'd be expensive, but not *that* expensive you know. Thank you, Jesus, for Brad's generosity and his plethora of frequent flyer miles that allowed me to finally get home in time. 

It has been really good to be back at work. I love my job and I especially love my co-workers. They are some of the best people on the planet, and I get to work alongside them! We get to meet people's needs together, and it's so cool. I missed it a lot. With that being said, I am suuuuper busy. I have so much work to do it's not even funny, haha. But thankfully I didn't forget everything. I still know how to do this social work thing kind of. The paperwork, scheduling, and phone calls are a bit of an adjustment after spending the summer cooking, cleaning, and hanging out with people. It's a change in workload, that's for sure. 

Keep you guys posted on life and other such events. 

For whoever reads this thing.

Yours truly,

City Girl

Flight Status Update

Flights do not look good for today, Aug. 7th, either. I've started praying that after all of this, when I finally get on a plane, that it might be a first class seat waiting for me. Would you join me in this prayer? (hahaha!) ;)

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go....

Well friends, we've come to the end of our adventure. The last week has been a bit of a whirlwind. I've been very busy helping folks clean their apartments, looking after their children as they pack their belongings, and giving rides to the train station and grocery store while still keeping the house open for it's normal weekly festivities. After Friday's Bible study, everyone went around the room and said some very kind things to me, said their goodbyes, and prayed for me. That's what we do around here, and we do it every time it's someone's "last Friday." I felt very blessed by this, and tried my best to really receive and soak in their kind words. I'm so grateful for this experience and for my new friendships. I could picture myself doing this full time. And shamelessly I will admit that it has increased or awakened a desire in me to be a homemaker. I just really enjoy caring for a home and having people over and the whole bit. Hospitality is a skill that I most certainly want to continue to improve and grow in. It's important that people feel welcomed, cared for, and loved. I want to meet those needs. Several of my friends will be stationed in Washington state, and I've already been invited up for a visit. Isn't that cool?

Brad and Debbie returned from their three-week trip to the USA on Saturday. Although they are laden with jet lag and claim exhaustion, they look grand to me! It has been good catching up and spending time with them. We had folks over on Sunday after chapel for a BBQ, a couple of games of volleyball, and some Olympic entertainment. It was a lot of fun! I am sad to leave the Festaburg hospitality house, but I am also excited and looking forward to being home again. I miss my friends and family very much, and I'm even feeling refreshed and ready to return to work. What a full time this has been, and yet, I'm ready to transition again.

Please pray that my flights may go smoothly on the way home as I am fly standby again. I was planning to fly out today, but just before leaving for the airport learned that all flights were booked full. I am told that tomorrow (Aug. 7th) looks much more promising, and so I am hopeful I will fly out this time around. But we'll see what happens. This standby gig is an adventure in and of itself, isn't it now?

Thank you all for your support. I could not have come here to serve and love like this without your words of encouragement, your prayers, and your financial giving. What a gift you are to me! Thank you for being a part of my world. COOL. Thanks you guys.

Much love,
Jess

Fresh

I think the best thing I have gained from this experience is the realization that I can easily feed a large group of adults. It's just a matter of planning and time really, but it's not hard. I can do it. I've been doing it, and I love it. It feels really good to host and feed people. I am so blessed to have the gift of time this summer that I can do this, that I can serve people in this way. I'm grateful for it. 

Pamplona was a total blast. I mean, what an experience! Everything you have seen in the movies and in photographs - it looks exactly just like that. I wish we had been there longer. We visited the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, which I do believe is the most beautiful building I have visited thus far. Holy gorgeous work of art. I couldn't help but think, if man is capable of such a masterpiece, what then, oh what, is God capable of creating? We had some neat spiritual conversations, and it was a rich time. 

On Saturday we took a day trip to a German town (an hour and a half away by train) called Mainz. Gutenberg's printing press/museum and workshop are there, along with some of the very first printed copies of the Bible. There is a large city square with a public market, a large cathedral, and dark chocolate ice cream - yum!! There was a group of 8 of us, which felt like just the right size and mix. 

There are two young soldiers that just started hanging around the Festaburg the last couple of weeks - Isaiah and Tommy. I don't believe either of them are Christians. Isaiah is a real hoot. He's got this real sassy sense of humor and so I can't help but give him crap at every possible opportunity. They seem to really be enjoying the fellowship and festivities of the hospitality house and we are really glad to have them around here. 

Tommy and I made an interesting connection the other night. And actually, maybe you guys could pray about this specifically. I'd like that. 

Tommy nonchalantly mentioned that his sister's birthday was coming up and said that we should "say a prayer for her." This seemed like a peculiar thing for Tom to say, so I decided to dig a little deeper. "How old is your sister going to be?" 

"Well, actually, she died recently. From Leukemia."

"Wow, did she. I'm so sorry to hear that. My brother also died from Leukemia. When did she die?"

"Seven months ago."

Seven months ago is so recent, so fresh. Ouch. It turns out that Tom's sister had recently had a baby, too. Since I have lost a close loved one, I know that certain days are more significant and painful that others, so I asked when Tom's sister's birthday was. I want to pray for that day in particular and I want to be sure to reach out to Tom on his sister's birthday.
"When is your sister's birthday?"

"The 31st."

You're kidding me. My brother's birthday is the 31st. So Tom and I have quite a bit in common. We have both lost siblings to Leukemia, and our siblings' birthdays both fall on July 31st. I told Tom I would pray for him and his family, and he, acting very soldierly, said I shouldn't worry too much about it. I said, "Okay, I won't worry. But I will pray." Seven months ago for me was as fresh as last week. 

On Sunday the house was open to all. There ended up being about ten of us hanging around the house. We barbequed, played an intense game of Spoons, and watched a couple of movies. It was a great day. I've been on my own for a week now, and Brad and Debbie will be gone yet another week and a half. As you can see, it's been a very full last couple of weeks, and I feel full as well. Thank you for praying and checking in with me here. As always, love you guys. 

Fruit and Sniffles

We had a great Dinner & Discussion last night with a great group of people. We talked about an idea expressed in the book Strength Finder. The American culture values "against all odds" triumph stories, when someone overcomes their greatest weakness. The well-known movie, Rudy, is a perfect example of this. However inspirational a story it is, Strength Finder makes the argument that Rudy at 5'6" and 165 pounds was never meant to be a star football player. It simply was never in the cards for him. It took four tries before Rudy was accepted to Notre Dame. He spent thousands of hours practicing on the school's second string team for, what, thirty seconds of actual game time? Thirty seconds of game time when Notre Dame's win had already been secured, so it didn't even matter if Rudy or you or I played. Rudy wasted his time when he could have been succeeding at something he was good at and built for. Many of us were told as young children that we "can be anything we want to be as long as we try hard enough." But is this really true? Should we tell this to our children? The author shares his personal story of completely buying into this idea and trying with all his might to become the next Michael Jordan. He was serious about basketball, practicing  3-4 hours a day after school and attending basketball camps. This went on for years and years but in the end he couldn't even make the JV team. 77% of Americans believe that their children's lowest grades deserve the most attention. In general, we tend to fixate and focus on our weaknesses rather than encourage our strengths. The author and his team promote self-exploration in order to tap into our strengths and become even more of who we already are. Interesting stuff, huh.

Brad and the rest of the Burundi team will return on Saturday. A professional photographer on the team by the name of Thomas Cooper has been posting gorgeous photos everyday that really give a sense of what's going on down there. I encourage you to look him up on facebook and check them out. Thomas Cooper from Littleton, Colorado. Brad and Debbie will leave Wednesday for a busy three week stateside trip while I keep the house up and running here in their absence. Just a couple of days after their return I will be homeward bound. I'm not counting down quite yet, but it's hard to believe that my trip is 2/3 over. Less than a month's time to serve the house ministry here, but I'm still loving every moment. I have definitely been seeing the fruit of my labor, which I am grateful for. Lots of people give of their time and energies and don't get to see the results. But I do. I see that I'm lightening the load and providing some stability, and I feel appreciated and wanted. It's good to feel useful. 

I have been fighting a cold this week, but I am hopeful that I am on the mend now. A small group of us fly out bright and early tomorrow morning where we will spend the long weekend in Pamplona and Barcelona, Spain for the running of the bulls. It should be a really rich time of fellowship! Pray that nobody gets gored. And don't worry, I'm not running. I would definitely be trampled and killed. 

K, love you guys mucho gracias!! Jessica Susan

A Great Weekend

Brad and Debbie are back home, and I had a wonderful week running the house on my own. Regarding house meals, I pretty much did things exactly as I have seen Debbie do them and was amazed to sit back and watch how smoothly everything fell into place. It's a pretty awesome feeling when your house is clean and your casserole, salad, rolls, and drinks are all ready at the same time. Success! On Wednesday had a great discussion about manliness and explored ideas about what defines a man, where boys learn to become men, etc. Two new soldiers joined our group, Abby and Tom. Some stayed late to walk Sam and watch a movie. It was a great time. On Friday we started a new Bible study series and discussed being open to allowing God to change us into the people He wants us to be. Over the next several weeks we're going to be looking in depth at some spiritual disciplines (prayer and bible study are the most common examples of spiritual disciplines) we can practice that are not ends in and of themselves, but are ways that we can make ourselves accessible to God, ways that we can give God space and opportunity to speak and work in us. I was reminded that I cannot make myself righteous, even by taking an inventory of and limiting my sins nor by checking off my daily spiritual disciplines. No matter what I do or don't do, I can't earn God's good pleasure or appease him by my performance. He just loves me (and you too, by the way) and lavishes his grace upon us just because. We only need to take it in. I forget this constantly, that I don't need to do a song and tap dance. Oh my I can't wrap my head around this stuff enough.

Brad and a team of 13 other Christians from around Europe will leave Thursday for a 10 day trip to Burundi, Africa. This is Brad's third visit to Burundi. He is constantly reading and learning about Burundi, and sharing his facts and thoughts with us, which I enjoy. Burundi is a totally desperate place that has experienced mass genocide, killings, tortures, and other unbelievable atrocities as recent as seven years ago; it is still a very dangerous place to be. We have been talking a lot about Burundi around here and how well over 500,000 people were murdered there, and yet, have you heard anything about it? Yeah, neither had we. Why didn't Burundi's genocide make the U.S. news? Why doesn't anyone remember Burundi's pain? Brad and his team will be doing various things there. The specific reason for this visit is that the US ambassador of Burundi has invited our team to meet with the Burundi army and government leaders to discuss ethics and reconciliation amongst its people. Brad will be preaching and teaching about forgiveness and healing with a people that has seen unbelievable devastation. Literally everybody in this community has had members of their immediate family tortured and killed or they have been directly involved with the torturing and killing of their own community. I mean, whoa. Heavy stuff right. Debbie and I will keep the house open and running while Brad and the team are away. Please join us in praying for the people of Burundi and for our team as they go in Jesus's name to love the people there.

I am having a really wonderful time here, but today was an especially fun day for me. This wasn't anything like work for me, it was so easy. We went to chapel this morning, ate a delicious (fried chicken, mashed potatoes, a biscuits) lunch afterwards, went shopping at the department store on post for clothing for the children in Burundi, came back to the house with four great soldiers where we proceeded to organize, take inventory of, and pack all of the clothing - both purchased and donated - for the people of Burundi, enjoyed another delicious meal together (two of the soldiers went deep sea fishing last night and caught a bunch of mackerel), and then, as if this day wasn't wonderful enough, we watched Braveheart. Pretty great day, right? I'm off to bed now, but I wanted to leave you with some photos from the weekend. Enjoy! 

Still really grateful for you guys. Love ya.

 Saying goodbyes to Carrie & Ray and Daniel

 Checking out their signed picture frame gift

 Sam, enjoying the balcony on this beautiful day

 Hanging out and talking about all kinds of interesting stuff

 Some great guys

 Tyler and Debbie

 Getting the table ready for din-din (aka dinner)

The Festaberg

Salad 101

There have been some requests for recipes as well as the much sought after "Debbie Tips". I must tell you that the following content is not rocket science by any means. There are a lot of little things I am learning in the kitchen these days that are kind of rocking my world. Nothing crazy new, but just a lot of "Ah ha, I never thought of that" moments. Here is the recipe for one of the salads I made this week that I particularly enjoyed. Simple, accessible, and yummy.

Christmas Salad (named for it's mix of green and red colors; you may eat this at any time of year) - 

1 bunch of red leaf lettuce 

1 yellow apple, cubed

1 pear, cubed

3 oz. shredded parmesan cheese

3/4 cup cashews

1/2 cup craisins

1 small red onion, sliced or diced (whatever)

Christmas Salad Dressing - 

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tsp poppy seed

Debbie Tip #1:  Back at home I had always washed the lettuce immediately before preparing a salad, assuming it would make for the freshest results. However, Debbie has taught me that washing lettuce the day before a salad is to be made allows the lettuce to be clean, crisp, and fresh, yet not at all wet or soggy. I rinse the lettuce in the sink with water, use a salad spinner to drain off any and all excess water, and then put the lettuce in a tightly sealed plastic bag. When it's time to make the salad the next day, I only need to rip the lettuce up and discard any pieces that aren't looking so hot.  

Debbie Tip #2:  I'm learning to accept correction, but hey, it's a process. I am a work in process. The first salad I made here was for a small group of 4 people (it was not a house event), and afterwards Debbie kindly informed me that salad I had made needed a bit of, well, improvement. She warned me that if I don't tear the lettuce smaller for our house meals, to about an inch or an inch and a half squared in size, my salad would not feed the entire group. To be honest, I didn't believe this to be true. It seemed an optical illusion to me. I mean, you have the same amount of lettuce either way... right? So what difference does it make how small you tear up the lettuce? It doesn't change how much lettuce you are working with. But now that I have done it three times, I am now a believer. Tearing the lettuce into smaller pieces appears to make the salad go further than it would have otherwise. It looks bigger too.  

Debbie Tip #3:  Mix all of the salad ingredients together in a small bowl, except for the lettuce. As you are tearing the lettuce up into a large bowl, layer it with the small bowl ingredients. Repeat this again and again. Layer o' lettuce, layer o' mix-ins, layer o' lettuce, layer o' mix-ins. Doing this means that you don't need to toss your salad. Everything is already evenly mixed/layered together. 

Debbie Tip #4:  It takes about 2 minutes to make the dressing. Before I even assemble the salad, I make the dressing and toss it in the fridge where it's going to hang out for the rest of the day. If everyone's coming for dinner at 6:30pm, I pull the salad out of the fridge at 6pm, throw the dressing on it, and stick it back in the fridge. A half hour is the perfect amount of time for a salad to be "dressed." It's not soggy from sitting in its dressing all day, but it still has time for deliciousness to permeate. Mmmm. 


Enjoy! If you guys like this kind of thing, let me know and I'll do more. Pamela Ellgen's chocolate cookie recipe is so totally killer, and I might be willing to share that with you... Love you guys.

Photos for the non-FBers out there...

I posted a bunch of photos on Facebook from my travels to Switzerland and Turkey (approx 200) that you are all welcome to peruse at your leisure. My plan is to upload the rest of my photos from my Turkey/Greece trip onto FB soon as well, within the next few days or so. But for those of you who don't have Facebook (I know there are a few of you out there), I will share my favorites here. We don't want you missing out! You won't get to see all of the photos unless you bite the bullet and sign up for that Facebook account, but you will get the meat and potatoes here at Das Bloggerstein. Hopefully I will be as good about taking photos now that I'm settled in here in Germany. Hopefully.

PS - My luggage was not decapitated on the flight back to Frankfurt like I thought it might be. It was labeled a "special needs" bag and transported to and from the plane on an extra-large conveyor belt, haha. She's hanging in there!

Home Alone

Debbie is a domestic goddess, and she is teaching me how to be one as well. With 30 years of hospitality experience under her belt, Debbie is simply the best when it comes to maintaining a home and cooking delicious meals in mass quantities that are economical. It's really an art. Debbie and I spend most of the day together. We have been meal-planning, grocery shopping, preparing meals, cleaning up after meals, doing dishes, cleaning toilets, and more. There's a lot to be done around here, but we work and rest, work and rest, work and then rest some more. And I'm finding it all to be pretty doable and pretty restful. There's still time for me to do the things I want to do, like reading and running and communicating with all of you people. 

The two regular events of the home are Wednesday's Dinner & Discussion and Friday's Dinner & Bible Study. There are frequently other events, like weekend excursions (both in and out of town). For example, this past Wednesday Debbie and I met a group of ladies and their kids for lunch, which was a really nice thing. And this coming Saturday night we will be having folks over for waffles and games and a movie. Wednesday we had 11 people over, and our philosophical conversation was about why it's difficult for us to  admit when we're wrong about things, why we so badly need to be right about things and have our "stuff" together. We kind of talked about a lot of interesting ideas, but that was the big one. Tonight Brad will finish up a study on Ecclesiastes.

Brad and Debbie leave on Sunday for England and will be gone for one week. They will spend time with their son, Richard, and his family, as well as attend to some Cadence ministry business (meetings, etc.). This means that I will be left to my own devices to keep this house running. I'm no Debbie, and I'm no Brad, but I am me. And I can sure bring my own gifts and talents and spice to the table. The house will remain open while the Ellgens are away next week. Lord help us. ;)

The army base is constantly in transition, it seems. Depending upon deployment (and other factors I'm not aware of the specifics), people are always arriving and departing in droves. It waxes and it wanes. At this time, the Baumholder base is all but shutting down, which means that just about every single person has been reassigned and is leaving. Many have already left and everyone else has their dismissal date and is preparing to leave shortly. This all means that there are goodbyes to be said on a weekly if not daily basis. I can tell this is really hard for Brad and Debbie, as they have invested themselves in relationships with folks who have been a part of their ministry for a long time, some as long as three years. And in a short while, there won't be anyone left until sometime this fall. I think saying goodbye so many times so often must be very tiring.

Thanks again for our prayers and support, you guys. I would appreciate it if you would continue to remember me in your thoughts and prayers. Specifically, you can pray that everything goes well next week, that I don't burn dinner, and that I don't burn down the house. Haha! Pray that I remember to feed and walk Sam the dog, and that I don't feel stuck or lonely on the days that there are no quote ministry events end quote.

And now I'm off to make the chicken salad casserole with Debbie for tonight's dinner. We already made a broccoli salad this morning, so that is ready to go. Yum yum!

Broken

That was a close one! Charlotte and I nearly missed our ferry from Mykonos to Naxos yesterday (by the way, we decided to add another island) - as in the boat's engine was started, the passenger ramp had been raised, and they were just about to raise the main ramp and take off. Boy that got our hearts beatin' good. As soon as we got on board Charlotte and I looked at each other, took a big sigh of relief, and then let out a big laugh. It wasn't our fault, because I'm sure that's what you're thinking. Tisk tisk. Our hotel manager (Bobby) was 15 minutes late in picking us up, and then he needed to drop this Italian guy off at the airport first, so then, late we ran.

I've had an encouraging last couple of days following a couple of rough days. Greece was just so much hotter than I thought it'd be. The beaches (depending on where you go) are way overcrowded and overstimulating. Greece has a lot more trash and litter than I though it would. (They don't show that part in Mama Mia or in any of the pretty magazine pictures either.) Somewhere between Syros and Mykonos I got ten or so mosquito bites below the knees. (Charlotte got none, by the way. I guess my A+ blood is sweeter than hers.) And then, my new luggage turned into something of a hot mess. I didn't really think that part through fully - how much I would  be lugging it on and off of ferries, up and down hills, over cobblestone roads, up and down stairs. It never occurred to me that this was a backpacking kind of trip. I only really pictured the beach part of it all, I suppose. I now deeply and genuinely wish I had brought a giant backpack instead of a rolling suitcase, especially now that my suitcase handle is broken. My attitude was broken for a while there, too. But then it occurred to me, "Good grief woman, you are in one of the most beautiful places in the world; let it go and enjoy." I cannot let this stuff steal my joy; it's not gonna happen. Regarding the luggage, we've done all that we can do, and so it appears that my luggage handle is forever at attention, ready to be rolled away at any and every moment. I have a strong inclination that when I pick it up after my flight back to Frankfurt it will have been decapitated. Oh but later on then I saw a lady with the wheels broken off of her bag, dragging it around town, and it occurred to me, "Oh thank God the wheels on my luggage work. They are still attached. Oh yes yes, thank God."

Naxos is the best island we've visited. Tomorrow we are headed to Athens for our last two nights. I have been taking lots of photos - hundreds in fact, keeping up better on my journaling than I have in a long time, and reading quite a bit, too. I read Prince Caspian of the Narnia series. Mehhh, not my favorite so far. And now I'm on to With by Skye Jethani. Ever since we visited Ephesus I've been hanging out in Ephesians, too. Paul's, like, too smart for me though...or I, too lazy. I wish I had a small group readily available to study and talk about it with right now. That would be nice. I've been working on memorizing Ephesians 3:17b-18. You should join in on the fun and memorize it with me. 

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me if I was Russian, I'd have about $12 right now, ...and well that would buy my lunch, which would be great.

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."    Ephesians 3:17b-18

It's All Greek to Me

Hello friends! I am writing to you from an internet cafe on the island of Samos, Greece. Thank the Lord for air conditioning. With some conversion here and there, we believe that it is approximately 89 degrees Fahrenheit outside with 80% humidity...pretty warm, folks! Charlotte and I finally nailed down our travel plans - well, mostly. We will be visiting Samos, Syros, Mykonos, and Athens this week. I'm sure it will fly by as everything seems to have done thus far. Samos is really just a starting point for us in Greece, as we are not staying long. We will take a ferry boat tonight in just under five hours. I would describe Samos as a quaint historic port town. We have walked around and explored quite a bit here. There's a city square, a small park, some churches, and lots of cafes, restaurants, ect. We visited the museum today, which has this giant old human sculpture in it. And by giant I mean two stories giant. They only discovered it 30 years ago, and it is really really cool. As it turns out, Charlotte is a wonderful traveling buddy (haha!) - not that it ever crossed my mind that she wouldn't be, I swear it.

Our time in Selcuk/Ephesus/Sirince with Chelsea was - dare I say - perfect. It was so very restful and complete. We stayed at the most wonderful little pension/hotel there called Hotel Nazar (in case any of you are thinking to visit Turkey/Ephesus. I would definitely stay there again, and I will be certainly let Trip Advisor know this as well. Osman and the staff there took very good care of us and said that we were like "the angels of the pension." :)

My time is about to expire...ahh!! Farewell for now.

Ef - God - Is - Stow.... Say that altogether fast and it means "thank you" in Greek. Love!

Istanbul'dayim

Translation: I am in Istanbul. I wasn't so sure I was going to make it here after all because the staff of Turkish Airlines decided to have a strike the day I was scheduled to fly out. I made more than a few friends in the airport waiting area as we talked about if and when this flight was ever going to leave. Apparently, per contract, Turkish Airlines is supposed to cancel the flight and offer hotel accommodations to its guests once the flight has been delayed for five plus hours, but no, we waited eleven hours. They refused to cancel that flight. An 11:45am flight ended up actually being an 11pm flight...but I made it at last! Arriving at Anneliese and Marc's doorstep two shuttles and a taxi later with the sunrise. Praise the Lord. I have been pleasantly surprised to find that so MUCH of my Turkish language flooding back to me. It was as if a light switch went on. I'm still pretty terrible at communicating with Turks, but I understand a lot of the things I am hearing and reading. It's been quite the sensation.

My time here has been so nice. Anneliese is doing a great job with new baby Rahel, and Rahel is a very good little baby. Perfect combo really. She doesn't cry or fuss much at all, and her temperment is pretty darn easy going, I'd say. Easiest baby of the year award goes to...Rahel Madrigal!! We are trying to be a support to Anneliese in whatever ways we can be....I hope it's working. But honestly, she doesn't need a lot of support. She's a really good mommy already.

Today we had an outing with baby and visited a small island just off the coast of Istanbul called Büyükada. (It means big island.) Charlotte and I rented bikes and road up and down Büyükada's many hills. It felt good to do something active. I hadn't really done anything active (aside from walking the city) since the aggressive adult hike last weekend in Switzerland. The scenery was beautiful. Only emergency vehicles are permitted on the island, so everybody else must get around the island by horse and carriage or bicycle. Charlotte and I had to dodge some stray horses and cows on the bike pathway...kind of funny. 

We will say goodbye to Anneliese and Baby Rahel this Thursday and travel down the coast of Turkey a bit. Chelsea will visit with some friends in Izmir, and then the three of us will stay one night in Selcük, which is the town nearest to Ephesus. We will walk around the ruins during the day and then have dinner nearby in Şirince. The next day we will travel on to Kuşadası, where we hope/expect to find a Turkish bath. Charlotte and I will catch a ferry out of Kuşadası for our nine day "Mama Mia tour" in Greece. (We're not really taking a Mama Mia tour, we're not even really sure which islands that movie was filmed on, but we would be pleased if the islands we visit are just like the ones in the movie.) I will then return to Germany on June 18th where I will stay a while. Anyway, that's the general itinerary. When I get back to Germany, Brad and I are going to sit down and talk more in depth about expectations and what my time will look like while I am there. I'm looking forward to this conversation.

I'd better get back to the girls. Tonight is our last night altogether, which is hard to believe. It has totally flown by. Is anyone reading this thing? Show some love and leave a comment, people!

The Hills are Alive

The best word to describe Switzerland has to be: Glorious. It has that too-beautiful-to-be-real look about it. Very similar to the first time I visited the Grant Canyon, I was thinking to myself that everything just looks like a giant backdrop or an enormous painting...you know because you can't perceive its depths. You try to perceive it, but it can't be done. And then taking photos is rather deflating, because those don't turn out anything like the real deal either. A small group of us went on what Brad described as an "aggressive adult hike" on Saturday, which was the highlight of my wonderful weekend. It took about six hours to complete and had a good incline the whole way. We climbed 4,500 feet, which my butt and calves can confirm. I have posted a bunch of pictures on Facebook, but I will try to throw some up on Das Bloggerstein as well for those of you who are not Facebookers.

Elliot, a 19 year old soldier here, has been a great source of encouragement to me over the last few days. Elliot has been hanging around with Brad & Debbie and the Festaburg crew since January and recently decided to follow Jesus about six weeks ago. He is, just as Brad described, a sponge. Elliot says he never really thought about or was exposed to Christianity. Elliot's questions, observations, and insights are so honest and refreshing, and his curiosity is contagious. He recently wrote his story down on paper, which will be highlighted on Brad & Debbie's blog this week at www.ellgens.com. Super cool guy. I am very grateful to the new friends I am making here and the great conversations we have had. 

And I'm on the move yet again tomorrow. I fly out in the morning for Istanbul, Turkey to spend 10 days with a very special Mrs. Anneliese Madrigal and her newborn babe, Rahel. Cannot wait to meet her child and spend time in a city so near and dear to my heart! Chelsea and my roomie, Charlotte, will be joining in on the fun as well. I'll keep you up to speed on the happenings here. 

Much love.

I have arrived!

I cannot tell if I am actually in Germany or if I am dreaming. A pinch may be necessary here soon. There has been so much time spent over the last two years thinking about, preparing for, and imagining this adventure that I can't really grasp that it's happening now. Is this real life? Is this really happening? Or is it Dream Land? The fact that I've had approximately ten hours of sleep since Tuesday probably does not help, ha ha. 

jet lag

 

noun

a temporary disruption of the body's normal biological rhythmsafter high-speed air travel through several time zones.

I arrived this morning at 7:30am GST (German Standard Time), and Brad & Debbie are taking great care of me already. A few of the friends I made during my 2010 visit are still here, and I got to see Angelica (pronounced an-hel-ica) today briefly already. I'm really looking forward to connecting with new and old friends here! I've already had some great conversations. Man I love good conversation, I'm a sucker for it really. In approximately four hours, we will be on our way to Switzerland. A group of 40 (25 adults, 15 children) of us will be camping in the Swiss Alps for Memorial Day weekend. Brad & Debbie have put in a ton of work and preparation for this trip. The base is in the midst of major transition right now and many of the soldiers and their families are leaving very soon to go to one place or another, some as soon as this week, which means this trip is bitter-sweet for a lot of folks. It's like the last hurrah. I was chatting with a couple of soldiers connected to the Festaburg ministry here, and learned that something like 96% of the businesses in downtown Baumholder are strip clubs. The other 4% are tattoo parlors. Crazy, right? It just sounds...imbalanced. They said they were so so glad when they met Brad at chapel and learned about the Festaburg, because they didn't want to go to the strip clubs or the bars or get tattoos but they didn't want to sit in their rooms and do nothing either.  

More praises - 

1. They are already putting me to work here! Today I washed the griddle, watered the plants, and helped load the camping trailer. 

2. I was able to fly standby with almost no trouble whatsoever and arrive in time for the group camping trip this weekend. Not gonna lie, so excited. I'll have to post some photos soon. 

I'll check in again soon, friends. Thanks again for your support. 

Jess