A Walk in the Park

Tonight was one of eight evenings during the summer that the Augsburg Botanical Gardens lights up the gardens. No, not lights up like sets on fire. Lights up like with lights...it's actually called an illumination evening if you want a direct translation. It was pretty cool. A very peaceful place. This may sound a little ridiculous, but walking around and seeing all of the different plants and stuff really leaves me in awe of the creativity of our Creator. Incredible. Tomorrow I travel with the Antz to another gig. It's quite a ways away so we will be leaving at 10:00am...so with that..I'm going to bed...

It's That Time

Yes, it's that time when I post yet another blog. I can't decide if blogs are really cool or really annoying...I'll let you know if I ever decide. I am currently waiting on my last load of laundry to finish after which I am going to bed for some much needed sleep. Today we wrapped up the laundry room except for the floors so that I can do laundry here. Big thanks to Joe and Bernd for making that happen! I worked on some stuff for the GO Ministries webpage. I would put up a link, but it isn't done yet and I learned my lesson on that one :). That period makes it look like the smiley face has a pimple, or mole, or something...sorry, I get distracted easily. Tomorrow will bring more work on the webpage, and I'm sure some construction of some kind.
On Sunday the Antz are letting me tag along with them to another gig which I am pretty excited about. I'm like a little roadie or an obsessive stalker fan or something. I prefer the bands very ameteur photographer. The Mute Math concert on Wed. night was probably the most energetic concerts I have ever seen. There was a ton of jumping and flailing and flipping over the piano and throwing drums, etc. It was crazy. Well, I think my laundry is almost done, so I'm gonna go take care of that...peace.

An Insider's Look at Augsburg

Just got back from hanging out in Augsburg with Benny and Korny. I met Korny down at the University where he has classes and got a tour of the campus. It was pretty sweet. Half of the campus was built in the '60s and the other half in '06 or so...you can definately tell the difference. Another interesting point...the cafeteria at the University here in Augsburg smells just like the cafeteria at Liberty...apparently cafeteria food trancends cultures. After that we went back to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station...aka HBF) to meet Benny for lunch. After waiting around for about 30 minutes Benny showed up...FINALLY! I'm just kiddin ya...After lunch we walked over to the Dom (aka gigantic cathedral) and looked around inside. There were tons of little shrines and I think we counted 8 confession box things. There was also a huge stone bowl of holy water in the center aisle. There were stairs on either side of the altar/stage that lead into the basement that contained the remains of a virgin martyr (not really sure what the story is on that one) and St. Ulrich, a bishop from the mid to late 900s....yes I said 900's... When we walked down the stairs there was a woman standing in front of the gate that guarded the tomb of Ulrich. She was praying to him. That was really sad to me. Knowing that she believed that he heard her and had the capacity to answer her prayers...it's heartbreaking. There is a sign next to his tomb that said he is often worshiped because of his defense of Augsburg in a time of war. We came back up the stairs and continued to look around the front of the cathedral. After about a minute or so a priest walked by...we didn't think anything of it, after all this is a cathedral...and then the mass started...oops, so we made our way to the back of the church and watched for a few minutes as they recited prayers in a droning chorus. They are so close...yet so far away. After the cathedral we walked down into the old city. Now keep in mind that when they say old city here in Europe, we're not talking 200 years old, or even 400 hundred years old...but several thousand years old. It was really cool. We then went to a cafe and hung out and talked for a few hours and that brings us up to the present where I am typing this blog. I'm really thankful to get to hang out with these guys on a semi-ragular basis. Thanks guys for letting me tag along with you!! Now I am incredibly tired and so...I will go to bed...oh, I did get to go to a Mutemath concert last night, which was AMAZING, but I'll write about that later....

The Events of the Day

Today was pretty chill. Some people came down from Frankfurt to discuss some of the details for an event that they are doing in September. I walked about 3-3.5 kilometers to a restaraunt that is closed on Mondays...so, I just walked the extra kilometer to the bus stop and went into Augsburg. Augsburg is such a stinkin cool city! I really can't describe it to you. The people are friendly (mostly), and it's nice to just sit outside a cafe and relax. Today I stumbled upon a concert being performed by a band (not a band like normal band, but a band like a brass band) from a high school. They weren't too bad, and all of the songs were American songs...anyway, after hanging around downtiown for a while I came back to the Center, took care of some stuff in the office, ate dinner, and now I'm going to bed.

München

The crew

Benny doing what he does...

One of the Bands...

It's official, putting pictures in an actual blog might be the most abnoxious undertaking ever attempted by man. In other news...Today was an outdoor event in Munich. It was a lot of fun. There was quite the variety in music styles...from solo singer, to Gospel band, to a girls band that sounds like four Stacie Oricos or however her name is spelled. It was a great day for an event like this. It was a bit warm at times, but overall it wasn't bad. On Wednesday I am going to a Mutemath concert with some of the guys, Benny and Korny as well as others who's pictures I don't have to put up yet...Next Sunday night is another Antz of Glory concert which I am very much looking forward to. Thats just about all I've got for now...and I think my dinner just exploded...

The Antz

Wow...I am tired! Ich bin müde für alle mein Deutcher freunde...you can correct my grammar later...I just got back from Munich with the Antz where I was witness to one of the most face rocking events of the century. I'm telling you, these are some incredibly talented individuals. I always enjoy my time hanging out with these guys and comparing the differences in systems of government, school systems, food, culture, music...you name it, we've probably compared it. Hopefully we will hang out a lot more in the near future....hint hint.

Per your requests I am going to be working on getting some pictures up of some of the key people around here so you guys know who I'm talking about. Thats all for now...it's 2:30am and I am going to sleep...

Huricane Heinrich

Today started out like your typical sunny German morning. Bernt and I were working cheerfully in the warehouse singing "Whistle While You Work" as we built the laundry room. Then, without warning, the heavens opened unleashing a torrent of wind and water. Good thing we were inside....and then the sound of the water rushing down the roof into the various drains that escort said water down the side of the house and to the earth where it can be absorbed, changed to a sound that was more like water that was rushing along the roof until it found a hole and then followed said hole through the ceiling of the warehouse and onto the shelves with all of the power tools and drill bits and various other manly construction materials (all of my english teachers are reading the previous sentence thinking about what a ridiculous run-on sentence it is...see I payed attention...:)...). Needless to say, this sudden development sent us scampering about to find buckets for the water and boxes to relocate all the equipment at the fastest rate possible. The end picture was about five buckets perched in various strategic locations along the shelves and Joe, Bernt, and I with our arms folded staring at the ceiling with a look of consternation. Having dealt swiftly and smoothly with the crisis, we went back to work with Joe smiling on his way to the kitchen and commenting on how exciting that was. It was indeed exciting.

Tomorrow I will travel with the band Antz of Glory to Munich where they are performing. I'm pretty excited about that. This weekend will be full of activity as Joe and I get ready for some visitors on Monday, as well as, run sound for another event on Sunday. So it looks to be a pretty fun weekend. Hopefully we will finish the laundry room tomorrow and get the washer and dryer hooked up. We did get running water in the kitchen yesterday which is pretty exciting. That's just one more step towards the completion of the Center. The end is in sight and everyone (especially Joe) is striving towards the finish line. I can't think of anything all that deep or profound to leave you with at the moment, so I'll just go ahead and sign off before I hurt myself...night.

COOKOUT!!!

Tonight was sweet! Joe and I had a cookout with Karl and his family. The food was INCREDIBLE and it was so much fun to hang out with everyone. At the beginning I was able to pick up on most of the conversation even though I didn't know how to respond in German most of the time, but as the night progressed my mind lapsed more and more and I wasn't able to follow everything. But it was fun nonetheless.

I grow increasingly in awe of how incredibly Great and Glorious God is. My finite mind cannot even begin to grasp the Infinitely Powerful Creator. I cannot fathom Him...all I can do is fall in worship and astonishment at His Glory. Then the fact that He saw fit to rescue me from darkness...to set me free...to loose my chains...to pardon me from all my transgressions...all that is left for me to do is to Glorify my God, my Redeemer in all that I say, in all that I do. I still fall short daily, but God in His goodness, and grace sustains me. What a God to serve!

McDonalds

As much as fast food establishments deny it, we all know that the food that we get has been thrown in a microwave at some point in its very short existence, usually right before we consume it. Today I re-heated a left over chicken sandwich from McDonalds. As I'm doing this I am thinking about the previous statement...Why is it at mcDonalds they can heat that sucker up and it's fine, but the second I do the same exact thing it becomes rocket science? I take the same steps that they do to make cold food hot. Place it in the microwave, set the timer and nuke it, but for some reason it comes out with one quarter section scorching hot, one section luke warm, one section the way you wanted it, and one section ice cold...ok, that's just my thought on that...My chicken sandwich did come out ok after some strategic placements...just in case you were wondering.

The event today went well. I am starting to get the hang of the whole sound thing. We went out to eat with the band afterwards and my brain almost melted trying to comprehend all of the German that was happening at that table. Thought at the event a woman asked me if she could borrow a pen and I understood every word...that was pretty exciting...of course "Ja" was my response...baby steps....baby steps.

The Days Events

Today began very relaxed. I gathered all of the bedding that was used this weekend so that we can wash them. Other thaqn that Joe and I worked in the office during the morning. We had to be at the school at 1:00pm to set up, so we left at 12:15 and planned on stopping at McDonalds for a quick lunch. As we pull into the parking lot across the street (we were pulling a trailer behind us as well bringing the total length to 14ft...a little tough to fit in a normal parking lot...) and I here a soft pop...so I stick my head out the window and hear a hissing sound. Once we stopped I got out and saw that one of the tires on the trailer had blown a hole in the side. I am sent to retrieve lunch and after several issues (i.e. the jack is too short) we finally got the tire back on at 12:59. We were at the school until a little after eight waiting for the band to finish their "dress rehersal." Wow...that's all I can say...We have to be back at eight tomorrow morning for the actual event (side note: it doesn't actually start until 10)...it should be interesting to say the least...

Last Laugh

Aparently, I wasn't ahead. Because the format of the pictures isn't really what it looked like originally...the captions are correct except the downtown intro caption and the hiking intro...those are a little mixed up, but now the format of the post makes it near impossible for me to edit...so I'm just leaving it...I think I am going to have to find a different solution for sharing photos...

Pictures...Finally!!!

Quick side note: I don't know how this works, but somehow on this keyboard when you push the shift key on the right hand side and your finger accidently slips and hits the up arrow in one simultaneous action with the already depressed shift key....it deletes everything you've written. That being said...I will now re-write my post.

I have finally gotten my camera to work so that I can get the pictures off of it and onto my blog and various other picture distribution venues (i.e. facebook). Seeing as how I have already been hear for quite some time, I have accumulated a great amount of pictures. So, I have decided to post the pictures in installments instead of in one gigantic post. "What does it matter? All of the pictures will end up posted at sometime anyway," you might say..."I don't know it just makes me feel better," is my response. So, without further adeu...the pictures.

Here is a shot from outsid the center. The landlord and his family live in the wing that is on the left and the center is located in the wing straight ahead that goes out to the right.

This is my apartment when I first arrived. It is 80 square meters.

We have now added walls, a living area, and the all-important mini-fridge.

Main control room for the studio.

Looking left into Studio 2.

And right into Studio 1.

Pictures of downtown Augsburg: Moritz Platz, Königs Platz, and Rathaus Platz.

The Rathaus is on the right...I still think RAThaus is a funny name...

Hiking through the many trails here.

Well that's all for now. I will do what I can to post more pictures in the future. Just some current news. The team left today and Joe and I bought a washer and dryer. The sink in the kitchen is installed except for water and we moved tons of stuff around in the warehouse. Tomorrow Joe and I will go set up for an event at a local school. The event isn't until Sunday, but we have to set everything up and then do sound checks and then a complete dress rehersal. That pretty much brings everything up to date. This post has taken me 2 hours to finish for various technical reasons...so I'm going to stop while I'm ahead...

The Breakdown

Just in case you are wondering, I titled this post the breakdown because we just met as a team and digested everything thats been going on this week, not because I or anyone else had an actual breakdown...moving on. I would like to ellaborate just a bit on the previous post. We met with many missionaries this week. Each one of them told us about how they had been praying for years that God would send more workers. One couple has been here for decades alone working in one of the most difficult areas on the planet. Today we met with a German church planter. When we told him that we wanted to come and work in the area he was so excited! He told us that for years he's been praying that God would provide more people to work and that now God has answered his prayer by sending us. Incredible. This week as been so humbling...to have people tell you that you are the answer to their prayers...especially a German national! Along with feeling humble, I also feel a great burden of responsiblity along with feeling great expectation. The team had such an amazing time of sharing and praying as the reality of what we are preparing for sets in. God is doing something here and I am excited to be a part of it. I look forward to meeting with all of you and explaining everything in much better detail. Thanks again for all of your prayers.

Last Meeting

We just got done with our last meeting of the week. It is so humbling and encouraging to have someone tell you that they have been praying for so long for God to send more workers to help with the ministry and then say that you are an answer to that prayer...wow. And that isn't just that meeting, but in others as well. It may not be easy, but it is definately encouraging to talk with these people and hear their vision. I think we are pretty decided on location now. Next year is going to be an intense time of preparation. Thank you all for your prayers! It has been good to hear from some of you so far this summer!

The Weekend

This weekend has probably been one of the most incredible weekends of my entire life. It was a great time of bonding with the team as well as a time of learning. We were able to see several ministries throughout Germany and get a good picture of what the future might hold for us. Please continue to pray for us, that there would be guidance and wisdom for all of us. Today we went to the Alps and toured the Eagles Nest (Hitlers Second HQ). It was really cool to see all of the history that is there. After Jay and I sprinted down the walking path (very steep and slick with about 8 million hair-pin turns) and the rest of the time took the elevator (sissys :) ) we drove back to Augsburg. It was good to just take a day and not have to think and constantly process like we have been doing the whole weekend. Tomorrow we start back with more meetings that will continue through the rest of the week until Friday when the team leaves. I am exhausted so I am gonna wrap this up. I think I have resolved the picture issue so hopefully pictures will be coming soon!

In Frankfurt

Turns out that the hostel that we are staying at in Frankfurt has free internet so I can post at least tonight. We met Jay and Jackie at the airport here and then spent some time doing a devotion and praying in a park by the river. Tonight is just a free night and tomorrow we will meet with some missionaries from the local area. After that we drive to Cologne where we will spend the rest of our time. So far it's been a really good time of fellowship with the team and I am looking forward to what God is going to do through this trip. That's all I have for now. I'm sure that the meetings will yield much more material.

Road Trip!!!

At the start of today Bernd and I began work on the temporary kitchen. The counter tops are up and the oven and stove are in and operational as is the coffee station (which is of great importantance). I believe I told most of you about the team that is coming here to survey Germany for field opportunities in Munich, Frankfurt, and Cologne. Four of the six person team arrived today and we've finally gotten situated. I will be traveling with this team so that I can see if this is something that I possibly want to get involved with when I come back full-time. We leave bright and early tomorrow and make the 3.5 hour drive to Frankfurt where we will pickup the other two members of the team. We will be meeting with a missionary there in Frankfurt and staying the night there. The next day we will drive to Cologne and meet with several missionaries there over the next few days. We will return to the Center late Sunday night and meet with more missionaries until the team's departure on Thursday. We are also planning a little excursion to Berchtesgaden, the home of Hitler's Alpine retreat "The Eagles Nest." That should be very intersting. We are also beginning to plan several outreaches in the coming weeks. There will be a youth event called "Lighthouse" on the 23rd of June in a small town not too far from here. I will be travelling with the Antz of Glory on the 22nd to Munich for one of their gigs and I am very much looking forward to that. I have finally figured out how to get the comment thing to work on here so feel free to comment away! Still working on the whole picture situation, but hopefully that will be resolved in the very near future. My German is steadily improving...my right index finger is now fluent and is begining to teach the rest of my fingers. Seriously, I am getting better though, hopefully I will be able to do more than order food by the time I leave! Anyway, because I will be travelling for the next few days, my blogging may be more sproadic than it is already, but I will try to update everyone as best I can. I am running out of interesting ways to close up my blogging sessions...so...consider this one closed....peace.

Theoretical speed limits are wonderful things!

So I just realized today that I haven't posted anything in what seems like nearly a week! I have been pretty busy. I'll start with Saturday. Saturday was the typical day around the aptly named GO Center (because we are always on the go). Working on different construction projects, etc. Then we had to go and pick up some material for one of the projects and Joe handed me the key to the van. Keep in mind that this is a Fiat Transporter. This thing is huge. And it's a manual (I don't really have extensive experience with manuals) and it was starting to rain. The manual wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but very soon I learned how different drinving in Germany is from driving in the States. There are four major differences: 1) Traffic circles. I am convinced that these things were created as intruments of torture and confusion, as evidenced by all the angry faces of the drivers. 2) No right turn on red unless otherwise signed, apparently it's too dangerous, which I believe after seeing the way driving is done here. 3) If you are driving down any street anywhere no matter what the significance of the street you are on is, if a car is coming from a street or alley on the right, they have the right of way unless otherwise signed. This law will kill you if you are unaware of it. And if the law doesn't kill you the other driver will! 4) Everyone else drives like they are trying to kill you, so you have to drive like you are trying to kill everyone else. Apparently I am an aggressive driver (so I've been told) so this isn't as big of a deal to me, but sometimes Germans take aggressive driving to a whole new level. I finally made it to the autobahn where I discovered that people don't neccessarily always let you over. And you have to signal your exit much farther in advance because drivers traveling at 200mph+ need advanced warning so they don't obliterate you and/or themselves. Yesterday I hung out with a bunch of guys from the area. They have a band called Antz of Glory (www.antz-of-glory.com). It was cool to get to hang out with some people my age and learn about their culture and world-view. Thats all for now...I am tired and so I am going to bed.