Cuckoo!

"There's a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall and the bells in the steeple too, and up in the nursery an absurd little bird is popping out to say . . .

(see previous post for explanation, click on picture to enlarge)

Click this link to see a video clip of the cuckoo clock. It's worth it! http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2026936033

Visit from Mom & Dad

Today was my dad's 53rd birthday. Tuesday night, we rented a BMW :-) complete with a navigation system and yesterday drove to the very old city of Quedlinburg, which is supposedly the birthplace of Germany. The scenery on the way was breathtaking. Check out the yellow fields! We drove through the city of Magdeburg first where I found my dream man! We also saw a VERY unique house built by my favorite architect (an Austrian man named Hundertwasser). We stayed in Quedlinburg Wednesday night, and then drove 5 miles south today to a town that boasts the largest cuckoo clock in the world! It made the Guinness Book of Records! Enjoy these pictures. (They're in chronological order from bottom to top.)

The World is Smaller . . .

The world is fast-changing, and so is missions for that matter! It took Hudson Taylor 5 1/2 months to get to China by boat. Amy Carmichael was in India for 56 years without ever going back to the States. Elisabeth Elliot received letters from Jim ("snail mail" of course) via a banana truck and sometimes the mail fell off the truck or was stolen. She writes, "One of my recurring dreams was of going into a dimestore. That became to me almost a dream of paradise - to be able to wander freely among the displays of vegetable parers and shining pots, dishcloths, notebooks, Scotch tape, nail files, the little ordinary things that made the difference between a civilized life and the life around us" (These Strange Ashes). Elisabeth Elliot was a missionary in the early 1950's. The World has changed!

This week, because I'm a cool sister ;-), I ordered my brother and some friends a large, pepperoni pizza from Domino's with my Vonage phone and had it delivered to them. I dialed 7 digits (586-4040) exactly like I would've from Clarks Summit, gave them my parents' address, paid with a debit card and chatted with the guy on the phone about the approaching winter storm, as if I were there. He had no idea I was ordering the pizza from Germany! (I don't think he would've believed me, so I didn't bother telling him.)

Today, I got an e-mail from Hewlett Packard offering free shipping, so I ordered a bunch of print cartridges and, for no charge, had them shipped to my parents, next-day delivery, so that they can bring them over when they leave Sunday to come visit me. Unbelievable. That's 50% faster than having them shipped to Germany. Somehow I can't imagine Elisabeth Elliot squatting on the ground in her hut, balancing a laptop on her legs, ordering a crate of office supplies from OfficeMax.com - but I bet she would've loved it! I wonder what life is going to be like for missionaries 50 years from now!

A lot of excitement . . .

It's 4:00pm Germany time and I'm sitting here on my incredibly comfy couch in the basement trying to write a prayer letter, but I am as uninspired as is possible to be. It's not that the ministry isn't going well. Easter Sunday was very exciting. Our attendance has been a source of disappointment lately, but Easter was a shot in the arm for all of us. We probably had 70-80 people attend the service and the dinner that followed. It's not the number of people that was exciting because actually many of our regulars were out of town. It was the amount of visitors and how well people interacted with each other that was so encouraging. They stayed around forever after lunch and just talked. It was great. There's a little guy in my pre-teen youth group named Lukas. He came to Christ over 2 years ago and is a personal favorite of mine. He's super-excited about God and youth group and therefore such an encouragement! His family came Sunday. I have been praying for his parents' salvation for a long time and they were so supportive and open Sunday. His mom is German and claims Christianity and his dad is American and leans toward Buddhism. Go figure. Anyway, pray for this family if you think about it. His mom told me Sunday, "I have this feeling that Lukas is going to end up a missionary." Yeah, well I have that feeling too, only I think they're going to be surprised at who his first converts are! :-)

I have about 12 days before the flood of guests. My parents arrive on the 23rd for a week. I just found out last night that my brother, Travis, is coming on May 1st for a week (to plan a missions trip here with his youth group in July). I have about one week to catch my breath and then Brittany Good comes back on the 14th for the whole summer. Ben Vaught and Adam Reinking (BBC Alumni) arrive on the 15th for 2 weeks and my buddy Phil Graf (soon to be a Purdue graduate) gets here on the 23rd. That's just April and May. On June 10th, a Moody student arrives for a 6-week internship. On the 15th, Marty Dittmar and his family arrive for a month of ministry with us, bringing along another Purdue graduate and friend of mine. July 2nd, I fly back to the States to be in my cousin, Keri's, wedding in Chicago; and return to Berlin with my mom on July 10th, just in time for Travis' youth group and another church group to arrive on the 13th to help us with our "English-speaking Day Camp". Two BBC students are coming the first 3 weeks of August to help lead worship while our worship leader is on furlough. Then in September, Ken & Jinner Rudolph return for another European excursion. And finally, a group from Heritage, my sending church, come in October to lead our annual church retreat.

See . . . I should be incredibly inspired by this flurry of excitement, but the prayer letter just isn't happening . . .

My Grandma Walker has surgery today to remove a mass that was found on her lung last fall. The surgery's at 1:00pm Eastern Time. I'd appreciate your prayers, as would my parents since they are hoping to fly to Berlin 12 days from now if all goes well.

"Spring"

This week, my neighbors and teammates, the Goods, bought their kids a big trampoline and put it in MY yard. Unless our neighbors complain, it will be a permanent fixture in my courtyard. Trisha and I tried it out last night. I wasn't sure what I thought about a trampoline taking up my whole yard . . . until I tried it. :-) (This is a pic of the kids on Team Berlin having a really good time together.)

Another beautiful day!

Wow. Today was gorgeous! Not as warm as Monday, but so nice!!! The cherry blossoms are in bloom in my apartment complex. The beauty of Germany this time of year takes my breath away. Enjoy the pictures.

God's Gifts

I'd have to say that the gifts that I appreciate most from God (besides the greatest - salvation) are family, friends, health and really nice weather. The problem is that I'm finding my happiness, or my emotional highs, too often attached to these things . . . an issue of immaturity that I'm working hard on lately. That being said, I've really enjoyed the last 4 days. My "best friend" growing up is here this week. Other than my cousin, Keri, Trisha is probably my closest female friend. We've been great friends since my family moved to PA in 1989. We met and connected instantly. Her visit to Berlin has been a blast, and on top of it, the weather (for the most part) has been beautiful. (Monday got up to 70 and yesterday was freezing - winter coat temps!) I'm including a picture of a pedestrian-only shopping street that Trisha and I spent hours on Monday. We sat at an ice cream cafe for over an hour soaking up the sun in short-sleeves (unlike the Germans who were still bundled in coats, hats, gloves & scarves ?????). The next day was in the 40s, evidenced by our coats (which weren't warm enough!). We posed next to a giant Easter egg made of flowers in Berlin's biggest train station and then took a rickshaw ride through town. We felt really bad for the rickshaw driver since Trisha and I are both close to 6' tall and not light-weights! Every time the guy stopped peddling to explain something of interest, we were afraid he wouldn't have the strength in his legs to get the thing going again! However he was stronger than we gave him credit for. :-) Good times.