Tag Archives: building relationships

CA: Days #13-#15

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Thanks in advance for your patience… the last couple of days have been low-key & quiet, with a lot of hanging out around Julia’s house & also in the surrounding countryside.  We’ve been starting the morning with coffee (& raisin-bran muffins for me!) & quiet reading time in the coolness of the day. Sunday-Tuesday were HOT.. in the 90F hot, getting down to maybe 80F in the evenings. Most places in Germany don’t have a/c so the only respite from the heat comes in the form of an occasional fan, & even then they are not everywhere. Makes me very thanikful for our Reno/Sparks weather & the coolness of the day that we get (most) every evening/morning.

With the 9 hour time difference, its actually been more difficult here than in CA to keep up on what is happening at home, though we have been able to listen to/watch church at Hillside & get the occasional Marco Polo calls from loved ones. The slowed down pace of the last few days have really driven home the point that our time in CA was a LOT. TheBean & I calculated that our last day in CA – travel day to Germany – we were up for 34 hours w/o more than a short nap; the body & system take a bit to recover from that. When I was younger I would have tried to “push through” the fatigue & mileage adding up on the proverbial odometer, but at this point in life I’ve learned that if I don’t pay attention to the signs of a need for rest & acknowledge that I’m out of rhythm, I may end up with a body that makes me stop. So far, so good… with daily naps we’re doing ok, though I am currently battling a head-cold & some epic sneezes. I’m still feeling a 7-10, but prayers for health & wholeness are appreciated.

Tuesday Julia took us to the Mummelsee, a little alpine tourist-y village type area with a rustic (Bean says “quaint”)  hotel & lots of old-style gifts shops selling the things this area is known for:  Black Forest ham; cuckoo clocks; every kind of schnapps made from every kind of fruit; Black Forest cake; & lots of trinkets. The whole mountain area reminded me a bit of a super small version of “Heavenly Village.”

We walked all the way around the Mummelsee (think Virginia Lake & you get the understanding of it- a brown colored, gnarly smelling body of water not so big – with a whole bunch of people from all over the European Union (this is a tourist destination, don’t you know?) swimming in the lake. Julia was having NONE of that – thinks it is gross.

The path around the lake snaked up to a paved road that wound its way up the mountain to the summit; a path about a mile long with a climb of > 500 feet. It was cooler here than in town, but still flipping hot – & we climbed up all the way to the restaurant where we would have lunch: the Grinde Hűtte. I had a burger & theBean had a version of raviolis; Julia had some vegan sweet potato business. I won.

Eventually we made our way down the mountain to the car & drove the 30 minutes or so to her flat, where we spent the rest of the evening relaxing; the girls watched a Hallmark movie (they are everywhere) & we loosely planned out our next couple of days & visits with Julia’s family.

Wednesday was cooler – dropped to 85F & there is hope for even more of a drop the next few days before we leave on Sunday. Wrapped up a luxuriously slow day with a nap then dinner at the Haus of die Familie Kern: Julia’s parents. Since we met them in 2007, we’ve come to treasure our times around their table, talking about life & spiritual things & normal things & disappointments & joys… all while sharing good food & lots of laughter. Julia’s parents, Klaus & Pia have a great sense of humor & are so hospitable. Like our time with Pastor Roland & his family, we stayed until the clock reminded us we would all turn to pumpkins if we didn’t sleep soon.

Today, Thursday – theBean made another round of bran muffins: blueberry, raisin, & banana this time, & I am a fan. I still don’t know what the deal was… why I was craving these so much, but at least for this trip, I am committed to doing my part to remove them from the planet… one muffin at a time.

The girls are getting ready & in a bit we will head out to one of the close & local vineyards/wineries in the area for some great views, good local wines, & (probably) over-priced charcuterie boards (isn’t that what wineries do?)

I’ve spent a lot of time  reading & praying & wondering… what will come from this trip? What are our ‘next steps?’ Esp since there are so many possibilities & invitations etc… Makes me dive deep into Jesus to hear what His God-ideas are for us & HOW & WHERE He would like to pour out our lives in the portion we live outside of our local Reno/Sparks/Hillside context. There are so many possibilities & good ideas… Praying for some God-ideas & insights.

Thank you for your continued support & prayers – enjoying our time (& rest!) immensely, but also missing home.

CA: Day #3

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I woke up this morning at about 3 & couldn’t go back to sleep, so I read for about an hour & then tried again. Next thing I knew it was 9:30 a.m. & I was alone in the room. I threw on some clothes to get down to breakfast before our vans left at 11. Sat with theBean & Will from Atascadero; they talked & I ate my oatmeal & a sausage, egg, & cheese omelette. Ever have those mornings when you don’t have any words to offer & you just need to BE & drink your coffee & get something in your belly & pray that you don’t sound as snippy & grumpy as your voice sounds in your own ears? That was me this morning… Coffee from the MOJ helped, but I definitely felt discombobulated for a while.

The team headed out to our ‘mountain trek’ in a collection of 3 vans; theBean & I in different vans. Our driver was T; a guy I met years ago through FB world, through a mutual German/Kazakh friend, Eddy Dueck. I’d been trying to find some Russian language translation for some songs John P was writing. Very cool to hang out & get to know him a bit on the drive. We headed into the foothills of some pretty big mountains & went on a short (1 mile or so) hike, straight up a canyon to one of a series of waterfalls. At the first waterfall I sat with one of our guides, a pastor from the local Church named Al who is about 33 years old. We spent about 30 minutes talking about life & ministry & how relationships are the foundation of both. I shared with him my saying that it takes shared time, space, & experience to build relationships; he has a similar philosophy: share food, clothes, & experiences to build relationships.

We have had a definite connection & I told theBean it reminds me of the first time God spoke to me about our connections with brand new friends in Germany in 1997. We will see what comes & what develops, but at least right now it feels like I have a much better idea about God’s ongoing direction for our lives with coming to CA…

The team drove down from the foothills to a local restaurant on the side of a hill. It was really cool (atmosphere, not temperature. it is hot as hot right now) & had a long table for us all to gather around. Several rounds of appetizers, (breads, pasties, meat salads, eggplant dishes, tomatoes & vinegar,) were followed by the main dish, which consisted of rice (think pilaf style) with shredded lamb, boiled quail eggs, & round slices of horse sausage. I tried the horsey: it was meaty.

NOTE: Coke Zero is a delicacy & tastes like heaven in the heat of the day. Lots of mineral water keeps us hydrated. Probably going to walk to a local market for couple 1 liter  Coke Zerios (the biggest they got).

We went over to the local host church & gathered in one of the rooms where we got to hear the story of our host team leader; spent some time hanging out, talking & then praying for him, & now we’re back at the hotel for a 1 hour recharge & rest. In about 30 minutes we head out for a night tour of the city. Evidently we’re going to get in a gondola that goes over the city so we can get a (literal) birds-eye view.

The tentative plan for tomorrow includes breakfast & the MOJ; trips to several ‘rehab homes’ set up for men, women & kids, & just women as they work through addiction, homelessness, gaining job skills, etc.  There is some sort of service tomorrow night & but its hard to think that far ahead right now.

Step by step.

Thanks for your prayers & your patience – I’m posting when I have the time & space to do so, & my brain is still catching up with the 12 hour time difference.

Deutschland 2023 #10 – Lumpia for Lunch & a Worship Night at CFA…

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It was a slooow paced Friday morning, which was especially nice after the cold, windy, & intense visit with Street Church last night. TheBean was still trying to shake the cold from her toes over our late breakfast/coffee routine this morning… which probably led to drinking waaay too much coffee… which led to the jitters later for her. 

There is a pastoral transition happening at CFA; the founding pastor, Ewald Zelmer, is transitioning to lead missions to the ‘stans on behalf of Germany, for pastoral training, opening new territories to the Gospel, & maintaining new/long established relationships. He truly is an apostolic leader – a ‘sent one’ that establishes, builds, maintains, & ‘exports’ the Gospel in new locations within nations, people groups, cultures, & language-groups. He is so filled with joy & is also such a fierce person in prayer (in the best sense of the word.) He & his wife Kerstin have pastored CFA as long as we’ve been at Hillside, beginning in the same year (2000).

The new pastor couple at CFA is Toby & Ginny Huyssen – he’s from the US by way of the Philippines by way of Germany (his mom, Gisele, pastors in Frickenhausen – yes, that’s a real place.) Ginny is a Filipina as well & they are in their late 30’s, very charismatic & full of joy, & they love to worship & to lead people into worship. Anna Marie took us to their place & we spent a little time connecting at the lunch table while the food finished, while listening to their kids Zach 11 & Erica 9, entertain us with the happenings of their lives & Zach’s regular interjection of his best imitation of “Murica.” 

Lunch was lumpia, vegetables, fried tofu, & some incredible, ginger-based sauces to season the food with & dip the lumpia into. So good. The table was full of talk about life, family, origin stories, pastoral life & transitions, & navigating God’s call on our lives in changing & varied contexts. Toby is a very different pastor/leader than Ewald, but I have a sense he is going to do very well at leading the church in their next phase of life together. CFA is a church of & to the nations, with approximately 15+ nations making up the people of the congregation. They are truly learning to BE the united church around Jesus, not national identity, culture of origin, personal preferences, &/or language.

Tonight is a Worship Night Toby & Ginny are leading at CFA, so we departed & made our way back to Anna Marie’s flat to get some rest. We were out shortly after our heads hit the pillow & both took a good 45-60 minute nap in advance of the evening happenings.

We made our way to CFA (about 200 meters away down the street) & theBean found the cafeteria, where the worship team was eating a preservice meal of lasagna, which she was overjoyed to jump in on; it’s a favorite. Talked with some friends (new & old) at the table, then went upstairs to the sanctuary as the worship night began.

The focus for the night was worship with times of prayer for the youth of the church, city, & Germany (from what I could tell.) Toby & Ginny led a team of 8 or so excellent musicians & it was obvious from the beginning that this is an area of great skill, gifting, & calling for them. About half the songs were in English & 90% were recognizable, even the German translation songs, so it was simple to jump in & worship along with those in attendance. It was a glimpse of heaven, with a selection of people from many tribes, tongues, & nations gathered together singing, literally, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lamb” or some variation of that in their mother tongues. 

Worship, prayer, & celebration lasted from about 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm & people hung out & talked until 10. We did our best to connect over conversations & I got to talk in English with two young guys, about 25, from Pakistan & Syria. They learned their English from Looney Tunes Cartoons, & had all sorts of questions about cartoons & other American language sources, like rap, music videos, IG, TikTok, & YouTube. 

They both shared, in their own way, their testimonies of Jesus’ ‘rescue’ of them, how He brought them from being “lost & broken” & how He was making them whole. Precious young men who were excited to flex their English vocabulary & at the same time talk about their Jesus.

By the time we made it to Anna Marie’s we were tired, but we took an hour or so to talk & debrief about the night, sharing our perspectives, & also hearing hers as someone who is firmly inside the church. Headed to bed at 11:15 & read a bit before crashing hard. 

What a great day with great food & an incredible night of worship. Thank you Jesus.