Tag Archives: Travel

Central Asia – Day #5 – The Top of the World

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It’s been hot… really hot & today was the most hot. Our hosts wanted to take us out of the city into the nearby mountains to get away for a chunk of the day – both to cool down & also to visit one of this region’s (& all of Central Asia’s) most beautiful areas.

We drove for about 45 minutes out of the city of almost 4 million people, gradually climbing towards the ever present, towering peaks surrounding the valley (Think of it as driving to Tahoe’s West Shore & the Squaw Valley/Palisades resort, or the Heavenly Valley area. This reminded me a LOT of that, esp. because of the gondola ride we ended up taking to the top of the majestic mountains)

Its not like we ever actually got OUT of the city… like most bigger cities, it just keeps going & going, but it did change & as we climbed, it got cooler – think 100 down to 85. We arrived at the base of the Shymbulak Mountain Resort & navigated our way towards the gondolas that promised to take us to the top of the 10 to 11,000 ft mountains. Y&G insisted we go earlier rather than later in the day, both to beat the heat & also the crowds; we experienced little to no people issues or wait times, unlike the Disneyland in summer type lines that were evident when we came down the mountain just a few hours later.

The 4 of us traveled together in the gondola through 3 different stations – total trip UP the mountain took about 45 minutes; we loved the 360 degree views of the surrounding valley & mountain range, although more than once I was wishing for a bigger window to be able to get some of the cool(er) air in.

We spent about 90 minutes at the top top, looking at the glacial remnants evident, the mountain passes leading to the different ‘stans’ & the people from every tribe, tongue & nation, all there to soak in the beauty, enjoy the touristy attractions (hanggliding, food & drink, yurts, & even a collection of BnB’s. It was about 70 up there, which informs you a bit more about the heat of the city. Y told us there is a mountain in the range that is rumored to be > 21,000 feet tall.

Y recommended we take the ski chair-lift style way down the hill – so theBean & I got to experience the slow descent in our very first (& most likely last) time ever being on a chair-lift. My skier of a Bean must have referenced this “first time” 20x throughout the travels down, & we took the time to snap pictures, send Marco Polo videos to loved ones, & generally laugh our way down the hill. Good times.

Had a late lunch at a little piece of Paradise (the name of the restaurant.) We shared a small pepperoni style pizza & a couple of short-ribs, then stopped at a mom n pop store for waters & Coke Zero before making our way to home base. We all took a nap – I slept for at least 3 1/2 hours & have several, very vague memories of theBean coming in to check on me; I eventually woke with a start to her sitting on her bed (we’re in 2 twins in our guest room) looking intently at me. The weight of her gaze & the power of her presence must have woken me :)

By this time it was almost 8 p.m.(!) & I was still full from lunch, so I snacked on some cool watermelon from the the fertile south region of the country, & reviewed my notes for the speech I’m giving today at church. At home we’re in Ecclesiastes so I modified a couple of messages I’ve recently done & put something together from Ecclesiastes 5:18-6:9.  Church starts around 2 & will go to 4:30-5 p.m. Then it’s packing & prep time, complete with a visit to a proper grocery store for any supplies we might need as we head in the morning to the outskirts of the city & the same “Be Fine” Hotel we stayed at with our full team of pastors last year.

Tomorrow starts the CA version of the DLT, & it will go until Wednesday afternoon, at which time we’ll say goodbye to Y&G & fly to the Caucuses for round 2.

It was a great day. Thank you in advance for your prayers & encouragements.

Central Asia – Caucuses – Days #3-5 –

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The 10 (Istanbul) & now 12 (CA) hour time difference, coupled with travel shock & not enough sleep make me doubt how many days we’ve been at this… I’m at the spot where fingers are starting to help with counting the days etc, so maybe later I’ll give it another shot. Bottom line: we’re doing well; mostly rested & settled firmly in Central Asia (CA) , staying for the next 3 days with our new friends, Y & G.

We loved our time in Istanbul, & spent the evening soaking up the ambiance, resting in our hotel, & dotting i’s/crossing t’s to depart for the next leg of the trip. After a quick taxi ride, our we headed to the airport 3 hours early, just in case there were snafus. There weren’t any, but its good to be prepared.

The flight from Istanbul to CA left at 12:45 a.m., which meant navigating the airport, late-night. It’s my 2nd experience & my 2nd country having a crack-of-doom departure time, & both experiences have been Vegas-casino like. Super-bright lights, packed terminals, & all the activity & bustle you would associate with the casino night life of city that never sleeps, minus the slots & games. Of course its a peak travel time for a big chunk of the world… its just not a peak travel time experience that I am used to.  Yet.

Seamless travels & a mostly quick 5 hour trip landed us a few minutes before 8 a.m. We navigated customs & baggage over the course of about 90 minutes, & made our way out to meet our host, Y, a local Foursquare pastor & overseer that we met during last year’s trip. Y is a planter of churches, the coordinator of an inter-denominational fellowship of Christian churches throughout the country (& several of the surrounding countries as well.)

Arrived at Y’s home & was met by his wife, G, & a killer breakfast spread. The majority of what we ate came from their garden (fruits & vegetables), their neighbors (farm-fresh eggs), & a collection of dried peaches, raisins, & nuts from nearby countries. CA is super inter-connected.

No sleep the night before + a full belly = waves of overwhelming drowsiness. We excused ourselves to our room & crashed HARD for about 6 hours (!) Woke up discombobulated, but got to reconnect, albeit briefly, our dear friend Al – before he headed to the airport. We’ll see him next Wednesday when we go to the Caucuses.

The power went out around 2 p.m. (a not-usual happening in this next of the woods) so Y&G took us to a local place for dinner for laghman & shashlik. So good – & our conversations & laughter over the food was precious, esp. as we navigate the language barrier using hand gestures, best guesses & translation apps, etc.

Got back to the house to find that the power was back on (!) & there was great rejoicing. Sat around the table for a bit with good chocolate (from Sweden) & hot tea. Planned & plotted the Saturday activity – with the heat (approaching 100F) we are headed to the mountains to take a tram ride up a 10,000 footer to enjoy the views, see the sites, & hang out together.

Also, confirmed that I will be teaching at the afternoon Sunday service (if you’re up at 2 a.m. Sunday, pray for me) & I think I’ll be doing something from Ecclesiastes 5:18-6:9… a spin-off from our current “Meaning of Life” Ecclesiastes series at Hillside. We’ll be heading to the “Be Fine Hostel” on the outskirts of the city sometime Monday morning, & diving into the 1st DLT.

Thank you for your prayers & thank you for your encouragements. We are thankful & daily reminded of the relationships, care, covering, protection, & blessings God HAS & IS providing for us through this process. It’s a joy & an adventure.

Central Asia – Caucuses – Days #1 & #2 – Travel & Istanbul.

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Reno – Seattle – Istanbul.

The first leg of our travels has gone (relatively) smoothly… we left Reno Tuesday afternoon & navigated the SeaTac airport to first find our International terminal (never flown Intl out of Seattle) & then shared a burger at one of the few food places available until our flight was called & we mentally prepared for the 12 hour flight in front of us.

Good news from the start – there was an empty seat in-between theBean & I, although because of where our row was located, we had the rigid metal dividers between us instead of the usual “lift-up” arms, thereby relegating us to the actual territory of our seats. No matter – it was a blessing & a joy to be able to let-down & occupy the extra space. I was able to catch a couple hours of sleep spaced out in 30-45 minute chunks throughout the ‘night’, & the 12 hour flight eventually came to an end as we slowly descended into a city & place that I’ve only read about in history books & seen in movies, & that I never thought I’d actually BE in.

Istanbul is massive – 15 million residents. Architecture that spans every known kingdom & nation that occupied it in its long & storied history (Byzantium or Byzantion to Constantinople to Istanbul). Big pockets of modernity. The whole gamut of people groups, nations, tribes, & tongues. East meets West, literally.

Our bags came – booyah! Navigated the largest baggage carousel system I’ve ever seen in person out to the place where we could order our ride. The research I did last week on transit in Istanbul came in handy as we found our way to the appropriate space to order up a ride-share using a version of Turkish-style Uber. Our driver arrived in about 5 minutes & we were off.

The driver had 4(!) phones mounted on his dash – one for this app, three for him to alternatively talk, text, & browse IG. True story. He weaved expertly through the chaos of rush-hour Istanbul traffic for about 45 minutes until we arrived at our hotel unscathed, no thanks to the tour bus driver that came an inch from clipping the motorcycle driver in front of us as bus driver guy obliviously swerved into our lane, cutting us off, earning him an earful, complete with hand gestures & expressions of extreme disgust from a collection of drivers.

After getting checked in & showered & cleaned up from a long travel day, we walked to a small cafe across the street for a lateish (for us) dinner. Beef sausage & cheese omelettes on an open air patio (it’s hot!) Surrounded by the sights, sounds of traffic & conversation, & smells (big city & cigarettes everywhere) – its a beautiful place. We made our way back to the hotel to wind down with a Hallmark show (thank you VPN.)

Slept most of the night, with a couple hours of wakefulness in the middle of the night. We both went back to sleep around 4:30 & didn’t wake up til 9:20 or so, in time to make it to their (massive) dining room for the complementary breakfast. Eggs, omelette stations, breakfast foods, yogurts, real fruits (best watermelon & plum ever) a collection of coffee & tea stations, & people. From everywhere. Every tribe, tongue, & nation. In a room of approx. 200 people, I clocked 1(!) other American couple. I proudly wore my Pete’s Meat BBQ shirt to breakfast, thankful that it had a cow on it instead of a pig… because pigs are frowned upon in this part of the world.

After breakfast, we went back to our room & read, slept a bit more, & now we’re planning on some foot-travels to a local store to pick up some necessities we didn’t bring with us. The plan is to head back to the airport tonight around 9 pm our time, as our flight heads out at 12:45 a.m. landing in our destination city 8 a.m. ish Friday 7/25.

Thank you for your prayers – we aim to stay in touch using the blog etc. as much as we are able. Looking forward to connecting with our (old & new) friends in Central Asia; we’ve got a few days in the city, staying with a local pastor, until we head out Monday, 7/28 for the 1st Discipleship/Leadership Training (DLT) conference.

CA: Days #9 & #10

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Planes – Trains – & Automobiles… DISCLAIMER: I have lost track of days/time/hours etc. I had to confirm (2x) that it is, actually, Saturday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. as I write this.

AUTOMOBILES: It seems more like 4 or 5 days since we said tearful goodbyes to our hosts & our CA team members sometime around 12:30 a.m. early Friday to make the 45 or so minute trek in our trusty & oh special Toyota Siena van to head to the airport. Each trip in the van with our local drivers was an experience that brought you closer to Jesus… usually in frantic prayer for protection as the drivers whipped in & out of traffic like wanna-be Formula One drivers, going from 0 to whatever the top acceleration speed is of an early 2000’s Siena that has been driven hard for > a decade & a half. Imagine driving down Mt. Rose Hwy in heavy traffic… with Mario Andretti as your driver… a Mario Andretti who believes all his loved ones will die unless he passes EVERY, SINGLE, CAR in front of him… in the next 45 minutes.

PLANES… Made it to the airport with about 3 hours before our flight, meaning we needed to wait to check in, as Lufthansa only opens check in about 2 hours (max) before flight time in this part of CA. Grabbed a flat-white from a storefront & shared a few moments of conversation with the team-members that traveled with us to the airport this morning. Shared time/space/experience gives a great recipe for building relationships; our time together over the last 9 or so days has really bound us together.

Eventually the time came for check-in; got through with no issues & navigated the security line without incident. TheBean & I decided to walk the terminal & discovered it was super-small… kinda had a John Wayne/OC airport feel, so it only took about 15 to circle our whole concourse. Made it to our gate & sat & talked with Teresa, an Aussie now based in SF at a 4square church there, the lone team member traveling on the same flight as us. We talked & I crushed a coldish Coke Zero.

The time for boarding came… & passed. Everyone headed out on this flight gathered around the gate opening in a way that would have made most gate attendants apoplectic; ours seemed to think this was normal & they went about their business checking their paperwork & who knows what else until all of the sudden, out of nowhere, surrounded by increasingly agitated people waiting for the flight, she started scanning boarding documents. No rhyme or reason; just first-come, first-served.  TheBean & I made it to our seats & found that we were in a 2 seat row of our own in Economy – no middle seat for us.

Flight was about 30 minutes late taking off, but we made good time to the first stop, then had a record speed reload with passengers headed to our destination for the day: Frankfurt. It was about 7 1/2 uneventful hours in the air – a daytime-ish flight, not really conducive for sleeping, so I watched a couple of movies, read my books, & ate selections of whatever foods that were brought to us… including a sample of the very worst sandwich in the history of sandwiches… a fact that has been confirmed by theBean, a normally positive woman who, I discovered after 36 years together, is capable of incredible negativity when it comes to disappointment associated with food, unmet expectations, & esp. those sandwiches.

NOTE: we’ve been sitting so much (flights, meetings, services,) over the last 9 days that, after this flight, my tailbone & seat feel like they are severely bruised. Coming to a standing position & then sitting back down has been excruciating. It got better through the day (walking helped) but still is a pain in the rear.

BUSES… Landed in Frankfurt around 11;45 a.m. local time (3 hours earlier than where we were in CA,) & grabbed our luggage & eventually made our way towards where we thought the buses might be located. NOTE: Because of construction, our normal & easy routine of ‘get on a train at the airport & head towards Baden-Baden’ was instead a “find the replacement bus station, which is different from the regular bus station, get on the correct replacement bus which will take you an hour down the road to the Mannheim Main Train station at which point you’ll then get on a train & continue to your destination.’

And we couldn’t find it.

I was hangry & had not slept in > 24 hours, so my hangry was at DEFCON 2; I was alert enough to recognize it, but not alert nor coherent enough to fully contain it. An impromptu stop at McDonald’s helped (yay Double Cheese Double meat Royale,) but we were still stymied on how to get to the “Replacement Bus” station. Doesn’t help that the FRAPORT is as big as the entire city of Fernley.

In our impaired states, we finally navigated to a DB travel center & found a very direct & very pointy German who gave us directions to the Replacement Bus center. Instructions that, point of order, didn’t fully make sense at the time, but after getting a clarifying couple of pieces of input from a very helpful airport worker, we were able to understand & apply. Navigated all the way down to where our Replacement Bus stop was, & discovered it was directly outside a Starbucks. Since we had a good 90 minutes to kill, we grabbed some iced drinks & sat in comfy chairs in blessed cool silence.

TheBean & I got on our bus – it was not a ‘normal’ bus, but more like a deluxe charter bus, with A/C & a WC in the back. TheBean slept for the hour it took to get to Mannheim; I read & tried to stay awake… feeling like if I slept I’d not be able to wake up fully.

TRAINS… 

The Replacement Bus stop was about 1/4 mile from the Main Station, so we dragged our bags through the streets of Mannheim along with the other passengers. Found our track & had another Coke Zero while trying to determine where we needed to stand on the long concrete spit that made up the train station & loading area. (Gotta get on the right wagon…)

A little helper gave us the direction we needed & we made it onto our correct wagon & found our seats. (Close to them at least. They were taken, but the ones next to them weren’t. A different Louie might have asked for MY seat, the one I was assigned by the Man. This Louie, hangry tired Burnt Toasty Louie just thought about it while taking identical & available seats right across from the ones we’d been assigned.

It was a quick trip & < half hour until we had to hustle off our train at Track 2 & drag-run our bags to Track 12, all in the space of 5 minutes. And we made it.

But…

There was no space for me to sit, nor to put the bags. So I stood off to the side of the exit on the train, along with a few close strangers, & sweated profusely while waiting til the 75 minutes & several stops were done & we would arrive in Achern to see our Julia.

AUTOMOBILES #2… 

We made it to Achern & I shuffled off the train, literally dripping w/sweat, trying not to look miserable – because I wasn’t. Just sweaty. At this point, I was almost past  feeling anything. Just wanted to get to Julia’s.

She & her mama, Pia, were at the station & helped us wheel our bags through the small-town station in Achern. We loaded our bags into their cars & drove the short 10 or so minutes to Julia’s flat. She lives on the 3rd floor, so we dragged our stuff upstairs & got settled &  showered.

Julia, Pia, & TheBean made tacos & then we sat around the table & ate & laughed & enjoyed catching up. We talk on a pretty regular basis with Julia via Marco Polo, we our catching up curve isn’t too great. Tacos were on point.

Cleaned up from dinner & hung out, trying desperately to stay up as late as possible before going to sleep so as to get on the local time… we made it to 8:20 pm & dragged ourselves into bed & promptly crashed.

Woke up around 8 a.m. & had coffee & read. Ended up going back to bed around 10 a.m. & sleeping for another couple of hours. Woke up around 12:30 p.m. & theBean & Julia made brunch – brown bread, eggs, cheese, salami, etc, & ate to our hearts content. TheBean made our grocery list & brushed up on my teaching notes for Church tomorrow at Die Arche Ottersweier; – aka “The Arc of Ottersweier.”

We went with Julia to the store; spent about 45 minutes shopping (I love shopping in German grocery stores) & came back to her flat & put away the groceries.

And then I sat down to blog. So there we are.

Thank you for your prayers. Thankful for food. Good sleep. Time with chosen family. Gracious wife. That hangry doesn’t last forever. And fans that blow a steady stream of air over you.

Central Asia Mission – Days #1 & #2

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We started our 24 hours of travel on Tuesday with the 1st of 3 flights. All of our scheduled connections & connecting flights were too close together (from 40-80 minutes each) but it was beyond our control to change. So, we purposed to be present, to be positive, & to “roll with” whatever our travels brought us. (NOTE: as we “rolled with” our travel curveballs, never did we actually, nor will we ever “Roll Tide.” But I digress.)

Flight out of Denver to Frankfurt was delayed by an hour; the “trip alert” software used by our airline let us know while we were still IN Denver that we’d miss our Frankfurt to our “final destination in Central Asia that shall remain unnamed throughout this series of blogposts other than calling it ‘Central Asia’ or “CA” for short, per the request of said hosts in CA.”) We purposed to stick with our chosen “be present/positive/& roll with it” motto. Got very little sleep on the almost 9 hour flight due to a very loud 18 month old in the row next to us & also (most likely) the excitement of the trip.

Upon arrival in Frankfurt, we found that even though we’d left Denver an hour later than scheduled, we still made our scheduled arrival time. Yay.

And then we sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes waiting for our gate to open.

And then we got news that we were assigned to a “bus gate” meaning we got to drive for 20 minutes in the plane to an empty spot where we’d be picked up by buses & transported to the terminal where we’d then scan our boarding passes, & — theoretically — get on OTHER buses & drive to another open area with a plane headed to CA.

And it took > 90 minutes.

And yet… we still made the flight to CA because our flight was delayed by > 90 minutes.

But our travel app, powered by the latest greatest versions of AI, informed us that our Bags were possibly missing & that they MAY have taken an earlier flight to our destination. But not for sure.

No worries. We had our carryon backpacks with supplies for 3 Louie outfits (black polos & shorts for the win!). TheBean prayed for an upgrade on the flight, & I must say, I wasn’t too hopeful (man of great faith!) only to find out that we were indeed upgraded to Premiere Economy, which meant MUCH bigger, recliner-lite style seat with footrest & menus. Thank you Jesus. Made for a much more comfortable flight, albeit with just A little tiny bit of sleep on a ‘daytime’ flight.

Eventually we Made it to CA at just before midnight Wednesday, & noted that we are exactly 12 hours ahead of home on the clock. So when it is 7 am in CA, it is 7 pm the previous night at home. (My brain still feels silly at this point, so I needed to talk that out.) Met up with Teresa, a team member from a church in the Bay (by way of Australia) & got our BAGS(!) from the baggage claim; navigated customs & met our driver, a wonderful man named S that spoke no English but used his translator app to communicate with us while driving us to the hotel. (Adventures in Driving in CA.)

Hotel is super-nice & very Soviet-era chic. Spacious room, incredible A/C & big Euro style bath & shower. Headed to bed around 1:45 am & slept fitfully til about 7:30 (4 good hours or so). Made our way to the breakfast area & had several cups of premium coffee made by the Machine of Joy. I ate beef vienna looking sausages & oatmeal w/raisings. Tried the yogurt only to find it was sour cream. Talked w/Teresa & theBean for a couple hours, milking our access to the Machine of Joy (MOJ)… the ladies stayed to talk & I decided to tour the exercise room & sauna area, which I plan to hit later today.

Only thing on the agenda is lunch & team-time from 1:30 – 4 p.m. The rest of the day is dedicated to rest & getting acclimated to CA.

Very thankful for traveling mercies. Made connections in SPITE of all sorts of rumors & threats of missing them, & got our BAGS even though the Machines told us we most likely wouldn’t. (Don’t trust SkyNet. Ever.)  God is already answering prayers, & we are both looking forward to our time here with our team & new friends.

Deutschland 2023 – Day 1

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We flew out of San Francisco around 2:30 pm on Tuesday, which I think was yesterday, but after an 11 hour, overnight flight, where I may have gotten 3 1/2 hours of sleep. Very fortunate that theBean & I had an empty seat between us (thank you Jesus for the unforeseen blessing) so we could stretch out a bit. Spent the last couple hours of the flight watching The Office (including THIS gem), & mentally preparing for the sometimes grueling first day in country, where we do our best to stay awake & push through the urges to sleep/lay down/succumb to travel shock.

Passport control was a breeze, though very slow. One of the American guys in front of us (worked for the US State Dept. He even had the backpack for it,) was incredulous at “the poor customer service” of the German passport control officers. Dude. Time to chill. You aint in Kansas any more.

Bags arrived safely (thank you again Jesus) & wee went outside & caught a taxi to the home of our friends, Eddy & Laura Dück. After a quick trip, we settled into the room we’re staying in tonight (thank you Taylor – Eddy & Laura’s oldest son – for giving up your room for the night.) Then it was time for coffee & talks with Eddy. Loved getting to catch up on the last few years of happenings & to hear what God has been & is currently doing in & through the Dück family. Eddy had to dive into some work, so theBean & I took turns showering & getting freshened up & getting ready to re-meet the Dück kids (Taylor, Ellott, Max, & Kira) when they get home from school. That’s where we are right now.

I just wanted to let you know we made it – we’re doing well – we’re loving the talks & fun we’re having so far as the late teen age kids arrive home, one by one, from their school. Tomorrow we’ll hang out here in Frankfurt until about 3 pm, at which point we’ll head to the train station & make our way to our dear Julia in Achern (southwest corner of Germany, near the French border.)

Thank you for praying – will be in touch.

Louie & Joni

Deutschland #11, #12, #13+

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I’m writing my last couple of Germany posts from home, very jet-lagged, sleep-deprived & very fuzzy. So if/when you read this & it doesn’t make sense, that’s my excuse.

DAY 11 – SUNDAY

Like at home, I woke up early… it’s Sunday & I’m speaking… my brain was running a mile a minute, so it was pointless to attempt to catch an additional 20 minutes of sleep. Ate some oatmeal with Jan, then headed off to church. He delivered me to the espresso bar in the fellowship area, where I was able to caffeinate to my hearts content while he took care of business.

The EnChristo Church in Mainz feels a lot like home – informal, personal, & relational with a definite focus on Jesus. I really enjoyed worship & also connecting with Flo (big guy, about 6’6″) my translator for the service. I find that it always helps me to talk with the person translating me in advance of the actual message. Spoke on John 20:19-22 – simple message on Jesus sending us as His representatives into the world where we live, work, & play. Had several comments afterward on the simplicity of the message – & its applicability. That’s what I was aiming for. Had an interesting moment in the beginning of the message when a lady in the front row started yelling… she eventually stopped, got up & left. No one knew who she was. Good times.

After service, Jan & I grabbed a quick bite at one of his favorite Chinese restaurants – then headed to the train station.

Waves of fatigue hit me when I got on the train. Hard. I have been pushing myself for the last 3 weeks of travel (Mexico & then here) & have been running on fumes, knowing that at some point I would have to pay the price for it. And that was today. I fought off slumber because I knew if I crashed, I would miss my train stop & end up drooling & confused on the other side of Frankfurt. Somehow, I managed to stay awake until my stop – at which time the heaven’s opened & a thundershower of epic proportions kicked into full gear. It was only about a mile from the station to my host’s flat, & I was thoroughly soaked by the time I arrived. They weren’t home from their own weekend jaunt yet, so I dried myself off & threw myself on the bed. Don’t know how long I was out, but Alex woke me up just in time to head out to watch the World Cup Finale – Deutschland v. Argentina.

I can honestly say that the atmosphere in the pub was the most electric of any I’ve ever experienced – & the tension was tangible. And when Mario Goetze buried his shot in the upper right corner of the net during extra time, the celebration was beyond words… only to be surpassed when the final whistle blew. Unbelievable. Truly a life-highlight for me, as was the celebration afterwards. We drove around Frankfurt along with thousands of others, honking horns, waving flags, singing at the top of our lungs. It was AWESOME. The theme for the night was Pharrell’s “Happy.” Every time I hear it from now on, I will be transported back to that moment.

DAY 12 & 13

My last full day in Germany was packed – &, as hard as I tried, I was unable to connect with several people that I really wanted to see. Such is life. Had a great final evening of talks & dinner with Alex & Linda.

Then, on Tuesday, Levent & Ines picked me up & took me to the airport (thank you!) & I spent the whole trip home reading & trying to stay awake to make my acclimation to Pacific Standard Time easier.

Slept most of my Wednesday, & now I’m trying to stay awake so I don’t mess with my sleep cycle any more than I already have.

I’m grateful for the last 2 weeks – for the opportunity to see friends & for God to work in & through me in reaching a people/place that I love so much. And I’m so happy to be home with my theBean & my kids. And I can’t wait to reconnect with my church family – so thankful for them.

Now, back to real life. After a nap.

Thank you for your prayers while I traveled – it made a difference. Blessings to you.

 

Deutschland #7+

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DAY 7 –
I have to confess, I’m a little discombobulated & am not really sure what day it is… either of the week or the # of days I’ve been in Germany. I do know that this day was my last with Julia’s family. Woke up early & drank coffee & spent the day with Julia talking about everything. And nothing. Made our way to a favorite spot of hers in beautiful downtown Achern, the RatKeller, which literally means, “the advice cellar” as it used to be a place where the local politicians gathered to share information. I ordered “Grandma’s potato soup” & a salad. The soup was inedibly salty – when I told the waitress, she shrugged & said, “The cook must be in love,” which evidently is an acceptable explanation as to why it was ok for me to be served the Great Salt Lake with potatoes… & pay for it.

The family Kern came home just in time for me to depart for the train station. What a special family. Saying “goodbye” is tough – it makes me sad, but thankful to have such wonderful people in my life. Pia (Julia’s mom) told me next time I come to their region, I will have to stay with Julia & her husband, who is not currently in the picture :). Yes, that would be nice. I’m praying for him right NOW. And if I need to export an American who wants to live in Germany & marry a beautiful, smart, & confident woman, I will do it. :)

The train trip from Baden-Baden to Frankfurt was fast & uneventful. Jumped on the U-Bahn & made it to the grocery story meeting place where Alex picked me up so I wouldn’t have to walk in the rain. We made it home just in time for a phenomenal dinner Linda made for us – it was several different types of sweet potatoes baked with peaches, chilis, shallots, & radishes, along with some red-wine vinegar & balsamic, acoompanied by carmelized bacon-wrapped dates. Dessert was a coconut milk-vanilla pudding with rose-water & Johannes berries, a tart berry that added a great kick to the dessert. Fan-TASTIC. Alex & Linda usually eat paleo-style, & Linda is ultra-creative when it comes to making great-tasting & very healthy foods. Alex & Linda remind me a lot of Colby & Claire in so many ways, (interests, gifts, personality, etc…) & I dream of eating a dinner prepared by Claire & Linda one day. It shall happen, I declare.

I was pretty wiped out from staying up so late the previous night celebrating the German victory that I headed to bed fairly early for a night of fitful sleep.

 

DAY 8?

Woke up this morning just in time to wish theBean a good night’s sleep. Sigh. Coffee & good talks, along with another great meal – omelette, proschutto, salad, a corn muffin & banana-crumble. Goodness.

It’s about 11:27 a.m. & I will be heading out in just a few minutes. My appointments today include Levent & Ines this afternoon, then Steve Greenhill this evening. I am looking forward to meeting Levent & Ines’ 2 kids for the first time, & celebrating their anniversary with them. And I haven’t seen Steve since he got married. I’ve got a feeling today is going to be great.

Talk to you soon – many blessings to you, & thank you for praying.

Deutschland, #1

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On a whirlwind trip.

My flights to San Francisco & then to Frankfurt were on time… early even. For the 11 hour flight to Frankfurt, I ended up next to a burly Russian bear of a man. He claimed the center seat’s armrests & didn’t give them up for the entire flight.

Either I haven’t flown United in a long time or my memory of palatable airplane food is revisionist history – both dinner & ‘breakfast’ this morning went largely uneaten, in large part to a) my inability to discern WHAT it was I was eating & b) the gnarly gnarly odors coming from the food trays. I ate yesterday, thanks. I’m good.

Claimed my bags (yes!) & navigated out to the U-Bahn – I had confirmed with Alex that I’d be going to the Hauptwache (main station) & waiting until I heard from him, so I followed the plan & grabbed an authentic German delicacy, “Coke Light” from the McDonald’s. And I waited, read, people watched. And then I got Alex’s call. Jump on a U1, U2 or U3 (UBahn trains) & get off at Hueglestrasse. And then wait for instructions. Man. It seemed like I was James Bond for a second.

After getting off on Hueglestrasse, I waited at the Rewe (local supermarket) for the Uber taxi driver to pick me up. Uber is a phenomena we experienced in San Francisco over spring break – & I’m really glad its made its way to Germany. Uber are run by private citizens with 2010 or newer cars – & they serve as an on-demand taxi service. I was picked up by my driver & delivered to Alex & Linda’s home in about 20 minutes.

Words can’t describe the joy I feel at reconnecting with Alex & Linda – a very special couple who we hit it off with in 2007– &, on top of that, the joy of being able to be in their home again. Alex was at the dentist when I arrived, so I had a glass of water & took some time with Linda to catch up on the happenings of life for the last 3 years. Linda is a teacher – & she is a bundle of energy, very passionate about education… but even more so, she is passionate about Jesus. With her job in the German school system, she gets paid to share the gospel – to give students an understanding of what Christianity is – & I can’t think of a better messenger than her. If you are a Hillsider, let me describe Linda for you, using people in our church family as examples of a little of what she’s like. Imagine crossing Katy D & Danae L – & you get a little insight as to the kind of person Linda is. Alex arrived home & our talks were precious – pointed, raw, real, & full of wonder. I love these 2.

Tomorrow I’m off to Baden-Baden to see our dear Julia, our adopted daughter who lives near the Germany/France border… Julia lived with us for about 6 months, then came back & visited for about 2 more months. Can’t wait to see that girl & her family too. Also, we’ll be connecting with the regional pastors for a youth group/youth leaders event. Saturday, we’re heading to a town on the Swiss border called “Engstingen.” It’s a one-day gathering of pastors from all over the southwestern/south central region of Germany. Then Sunday, I will be joining a gathering of 5 churches for their monthly ‘celebration’ service.

I’m having fun already :)

Rosarito, Day 1

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Met at the church today at 5:30 a.m. & had the van packed by 5:50… on the road by 6. Quickest pack job ever. 9 of us prayed & piled into the van for the long trip that would eventually end with us in Rosarito, Mexico for day 1 of our mission.

I was the driver today… didn’t initially plan to drive the whole way myself, but it worked out… & I don’t feel like a zombie. The only difficult part was when everyone in the van went to sleep, leaving me cruising down the I5 attempting to will any drowsiness away. Didn’t turn on the radio until we hit LA traffic.

Made it to our destination, Carl’s Jr in San Diego where we met up with Don & Sandy Godwin, the pastors of Hope Chapel Rosarito, & their daughter Emily (who lived with theBean & I for several months last year.) They will be serving as our hosts for the next week. Don & Sandy guided us the remaining 3 miles to the border, & led us across. Our van was stopped by a border agent – he asked a question or 2, looked in the van, & sent us on our way. Rosarito here we come.

20 minutes later, we were reminded WHY we have been told over & over that we need to be flexible – the place we were supposed to be staying for the next week turned out to be double booked, & we, like Joseph & Mary at the time of Jesus’ birth, found there was no room at the Inn. Stables, anyone?

A few phone calls were made & we found that we would be able to stay at the same children’s home we did last year – this could be a win-win situation, as we are already familiar with the home & many of the children… our only wild-card is we don’t know how the ‘cooking our own food while the children’s home staff are in the kitchen prepping their kids food” thingy will go. Here’s to a couple of necessities: Flexibility & Humility.

Emily prepped us for some of the outreach work we’re doing tomorrow, & gave us all a lesson in cultural norms & appropriateness. We wrapped up our day with a short debrief & a quesadilla snack. The weariness of the day’s travel is setting in. Please pray for us over these next days – our team is safe & doing well.