You will wither

I recently arrived back in Berlin after a 6 week furlough to find that my avocado plants (which I started from pits) have taken on the form of a great spiritual application.  


Half of the leaves on the biggest and oldest tree were shriveled and brown when I returned to Berlin.  I assumed maybe they hadn't been watered enough while I was away.  But after giving it some thought for a few days, I realized it's the sun!  Only half the tree is facing the window and that half is doing great . . . broad, shiny, perfectly green leaves.  You can see it in the other plants in the window sill.  They get a lot more sunshine but all the leaves grow to face the window.  There are virtually no leaves on the side of the plants facing away from the window.  

One website I read advised: "Growing your tree indoors year around is going to be very difficult because indoors they only get sun on one side. They really need to be outdoors in full sun unless you have a greenhouse so it can get full sun on all 4 sides."  

Psalm 1 refers to a tree's leaves never withering because it is planted by streams of water (verse 3), with access to plenty of water and FULL SUNSHINE!  

As Christians, we are the same.  Partial exposure to the sun is not enough.  We need adequate, daily, full exposure to the encouragement of the Word of God through study, meditation, preaching/teaching, exhortation from fellow believers, etc.  

Funny when you find teaching illustrations in houseplants . . . 

Without enough sun, you will wither.  

Dedicated to Helena Hengelbrok

My 18-year-old neighbor, Helena Hengelbrok, complained yesterday that I haven't posted in a while. The fact that she enjoys reading my blog is reason enough to keep posting. This post is dedicated to her:

I met Helena about 5 years ago. Her family moved in down the street and my teammate, Lynette Good, met them at the grocery store. Somehow they heard each other speaking English, which is rare this side of the Berlin Wall. Lynette came running into my apartment later that day screaming, "We have friends!!!!!" True friends don't grow on trees and it was almost immediately apparent that the Hengelbroks would become true friends.

I hoped that Helena (then 13 or 14) would start attending my youth group, which she did! Turns out, she loves to learn and enjoyed studying the Bible. She liked to guess where my lessons were headed while I was still spitting out my opening "hook", and she was usually right. She asked questions I didn't know the answers to and I soon realized that she was going to give me a run for my money! I studied harder knowing Helena would be in the audience.

I'm not all that smart, but I was smart enough to invest time into a friendship with a very unique young lady. I tell her all the time that she's more than my neighbor. More than a kid in my youth group. More than a frequent status hacker. I bake with her, plan youth group events with her, watch movies with her, host sleepovers for her and her friends, talk theology (and relationships) with her, drink green tea with her, walk her home at the end of a late night . . . She's become my friend.

And now she's graduated and leaving Berlin, first for Peru and then for Princeton! (That rhymed!) I'll miss her, but I'm so thankful for the years of getting to know her, being stretched by her and having the privilege of leaving any amount of positive influence on her life.

Helena, there's no doubt you will go on to shape the world in some great way. But as you do, never forget:

Intellect, gifts, abilities, dreams and desires are gifts (as is faith).

There are no accidents. Your family moving to Max-Sabersky-Allee is proof of Intelligent Design.

The search doesn't end until you have perfect peace.

Everything natural can be proven, but a lot of things are SUPERnatural.

You always have a friend in me!

Bucket List

Visit Ireland

Go deep sea fishing

Learn to clean and filet fish

Get a book published (I'm currently writing 3 and I hope to finish one this year . . .)

Visit the tiny country of Liechtenstein

Study in Oxford (happening this August)

Milk a cow

Have a winter wedding

Stay with an Amish family for a while

Visit Prince Edward Island, Canada

Visit Maine

Live in Alaska

Tour the Holy Lands (during the winter)

Have a huge vegetable garden

Adopt a child

Walk a mile a day (and live up to my name)

Always have a job that doesn't seem like work

More to come . . .

What's on your bucket list?

E. Coli!!!!!

Yes, I know I haven't posted in forever, but this was too entertaining not to share it with the few readers that I have . . .

So, as you've probably heard, Germany is in the headlines for having and mysteriously spreading a potentially fatal strain of the E. Coli virus. We've been warned to avoid all lettuce, tomatoes and especially cucumbers! This is very sad for me because I CRAVE salads all summer long. Tomatoes are my absolute favorite vegetable. But, because I'm afraid to have an "it can't happen to me" attitude right now, I am

obediently complying with the warnings.

Of course, I didn't even hear about the virus until a few people had died from it and was eating local tomatoes from a farm stand near my house every single day (in salads with lettuce and cucumbers). Once I heard about it though, I gave up my beloved vegetables cold turkey. :-(

On Sundays, my co-workers and I usually go out to McDonald's after church. This Sunday, I ordered a "Hamburger Royal TS" and asked for no lettuce or tomato (not realizing quickly enough that the TS stands for tomato and lettuce). The guy looked at me puzzled.

"Hasn't anyone else asked you to hold the lettuce and tomato?" I asked him.

"Nope, you're the first," he replied.

He probably meant that particular burger, since any person with a working brain would've simply ordered a cheese burger, which is what I was ultimately served.

Feeling dumb and a little paranoid, I went out to brunch today with a friend at a really nice, kind of posh, French cafe. Usually, they serve little salads with every entrée, but today no salads were served. That made me feel better. It's not just me taking this seriously.

This morning on CNN, it was reported that the source seems to be German-grown bean sprouts. I was skeptical. Who eats bean sprouts??? Surely they are not popular enough to make thousands sick! I was right. Later today, the tests came back negative. It's not bean sprouts.

I bought bell peppers and onions this evening to make chicken fajitas. They are on the supposed "safe list", but so were bean sprouts a few days ago. Fingers crossed. Maybe soon the government will be encouraging us to eat junk food and avoid anything fresh . . . :-)

122

"122 what" you may ask? The answer is days of houseguests in 2010. That's right. I have had 122 days of houseguests in the last 233 days, or since March 12th - meaning more than 50% of the time there have been people staying with me. My final houseguest departs with me on November 1st, when I return to the States for another 2 month furlough. (The picture is of me and my final houseguest for 2010 - my cousin, Mandi!)

I used to wish that someday I could run a bed and breakfast in Lancaster County, PA. I don't wish that anymore. It's fun and I love visitors, but I'm fine with it not being my full-time job. ;-) The life of a missionary includes running a guest house. Somebody asked me the other day if anyone is visiting when I return to Berlin in January. I don't know the answer to that, but I can pretty much bank on the fact that there will be visitors of some kind. There always are.

Oh, and did you know that the Walker women (there are 6 of us now including my sisters-in-law and nieces) have a tradition which includes visiting Lancaster County, PA every single winter between Christmas and my birthday simply to shop? This year will be no different. I'm already excited. Maybe we'll stay in a B&B this time so I can be the guest. ;-)

Cafe Confusion

Something funny happened the other day and I thought I'd blog about it. It struck me as VERY funny, I just hope I can communicate it that way!

Four friends and I decided to go to our favorite french cafe for lunch after our Wednesday morning ladies' Bible study. (It's like Panera Bread, but the real deal!!!) Two of my friends have toddlers, so we went to the cafe looking for seating for a total of 7 people: 5 adults and 2 children.

The not-so-large cafe was almost full, but upon entering, we saw two open tables next to each other, positioned in a corner against a wall (see picture). There were two chairs, but also a bench seat which could easily seat 3. Not enough seats for everyone, but our friend Whitney and her daughter Brooke weren't there yet, so at least we could all sit down with the hopes of another table opening up shortly. We asked the waitress to clean off the tables for us, which she kindly did.

Seated at the table next to us was an old lady. As we went to sit down, she said something to us in German. No one was really listening when she started to talk, so we didn't catch everything she was saying to us. My friend, Peggy, caught the most though and understood that she was asking us to seat 3-year-old Zach on the bench seat against the wall. In the moment, the request didn't make sense (especially to 4 American women), but we kind of shrugged and sat Zach in the corner. Once we were all seated, I began to say something to our group to which the old lady immediately started waving her arm around and telling me I was speaking to loudly. Shocked (and yet not . . . I am often loud), I lowered my voice, but in that moment, it clicked to me why she had told us (not asked us) to seat Zach in the corner. It was the seat furthest from her! She didn't want him near her!! - most likely because he would make noise or be a disturbance in some way. Now I was miffed. I can handle a rebuke about my volume, but I cannot tolerate people who are mean or harsh with children.

A few moments later, three tables opened up in a different section. Wanting to get away from Miss Crotchety Pants, we decided to move. We would be out of her way and there were enough seats for when our other friends arrived. I asked the waitress if it would be okay if we moved to get some more space. I also asked if she would please clear the new tables off. She quickly complied and we all moved locations.

As we were in the awkward process of moving though, a couple came into the cafe and snatched up one of the three tables! Now we were faced with a conundrum. Do we move or do we stay? We decided to move because it would still get us away from our cranky neighbor. After much bustling about, we were all soon seated at the two tables. This time, Zach had to be on his mommy's lap. We decided to simply pull up one extra chair to one of our tables for Whitney and Brooke when they arrived. Brooke could sit on her mommy's lap as well. They arrived within a minute or two and we all placed drink orders with our patient waitress.

The seven of us were finally all together, but it was cramped. We knew the kids weren't going to be happy for long and the moms weren't going to be comfortable eating. As we sat pondering better solutions and waiting for our drinks, the old lady left the cafe! This now opened up PLENTY of seats in our original corner of the cafe!! Peggy gave the word: "Let's go!" So we moved again. I think we all felt some uncomfortability with this decision though. All total in this tiny cafe, there are probably ten tables and every single patron is now staring at the high-maintenance Americans. We did it though. We transitioned again. After all, our church is made up of very transient people. ;-)

Excitedly, we grab the lady's table and slide it over until it's adjacent to the other two, and all sit down. Suddenly someone notices that though the lady is gone, her coat and scarf are still setting on the bench seat! She's coming back!! Horrified, we all look at each other and start laughing. What do we do?! She's going to be so ticked off! So, we all squish together as tightly as possible and move her table back to where it was. We do not all fit well into this space. In fact, it's less comfortable now than it was at our previous location. About ready to give up and go to McDonald's (where we probably should've gone in the first place with two toddlers), a couple enters the cafe, approaches the old lady's table and asks us if it's free. We shake our heads. "No, the lady sitting there is coming back." After about 15 minutes in the bathroom, the lady finally returns to her table, collects her things and leaves, giving us a look of disdain on her way out.

We ended up truly enjoying our lunch and our time together. So, was it worth it?? I'd say yes. And it's a funny memory. Do I want to repeat it in the near future. Nope, not really. ;-) The little french cafe is great for 2 or 3 ladies. McDonald's is better if kids are in the equation. Why do Americans choose to eat so often at McDonald's?? This is why. McDonald's is forgiving.

Things I'm Excited About

I just returned from a glorious week in the Swiss Alps!!! If you were to ask me about this in person, I would spew forth excitement. I can't even describe how breathtakingly beautiful it was and how much it meant to me, but I would try! It was beyond anything I've ever dreamed of. The perfect fantasy vacation and definitely my future honeymoon spot (no, there's no guy yet).

Some people love the ocean. I do not. I should say I love it in that God created it, but the mountains are my passion. It's love at first sight. I breathe deeply of the mountain air. I worship. I experience awe and wonder. To me, the Alps specifically are the closest I'll get this side of heaven to true majesty. I can't say enough about my first-ever view of the Swiss Alps. Here is a picture to give you a taste. (The rest are on Facebook.) Yes, I took this. This was my view out of my bedroom window!!!

The rest of this post is going to include a list of things I'm excited about. Excitement has been difficult for me this year. My passion and zeal for life have slipped at times. I admit it. The reasons are personal, but I think that the week in Switzerland restored my excitement. I'm thankful for that. Here are some things I'm excited about:

1. So far in 2010: 10 teenagers, 4 adults and several children have come to Christ through the ministries of CrossWay Church in Berlin!!!! (I could write pages about all that God is doing in Berlin, but I'll save that for the prayer letters.)

2. Summer is ending and fall is just around the corner!!!

3. My cousin, Mandy Bartling, is arriving on September 1st to stay with me for 2 months!!

4. We are kicking off our fall youth program on September 3rd and 4th.

5. My sending church, Heritage Baptist Church, is sending a team to Berlin Sept. 13-20. The team includes: Bill & Joanna Arp, Jeanne Arp, Meredith Jackson, Josh Workman, and the Patella family.

6. The Heritage team is bringing me gifts from my family! :-)

7. We are launching "See You at the Pole" in Berlin, for the first time ever (that I am aware of), on September 22!

8. Ken & Jinner Rudolph will be with us again at the end of September. (They're bringing with them my new winter Keens shoes!)

9. I am furloughing a month earlier this year which means I leave for the States on November 1st (returning January 10th).

10. I will be in the States for Thanksgiving for the first year since I moved to Berlin in 2004.

And this is just the "Top 10" list! There are many other things I could mention. It feels good to be excited. What are you excited about right now?