culture change

As we head to bed now almost 2am here, my biological clock is a bit confused while it is still only dinner time as our bodies know it. After staying up way longer than we felt like we could, then finally crashing for twelve hours, unfortunately we still recall the second night is usually the hardest. I only regret the futher sleep cyle it will throw me off into.

Other than that, it is so great to be here already. We've almost unpacked all the belongings we could cram into two bags of 50 pounds each; in addition to the carry on that carried over half that in weight:)

We have enjoyed much company of the pastor and his family that we will be working with. They've offered so much to us already, by way of rides, shopping, and entertainment; i.e. we enjoyed our first German soccer game at their house this evening, of which by the way they won by four.

Michael and his wife Li, he a German and her Swiss, are extremely hospitable as they continually either house young interns, or at least serve them for meals with their family. We love our little apartment attached to the church, but it is always nice to be accompanied by friends in a new place. I already know by the time we leave we will miss this little town, which looks much of what you would think a little German town may look like if you could imagine. There is a castle in the distance, and a variety of old and new buildings, most of which follow some form of European structure, and the little cars as well as mopeds speed down the streets, weaving in and out.

We have spoken to those in charge of employment through the military base, and received hard copy applications which we will turn in once we locate every peice of information on paper that has ever been recorded of us. THEN, we may just land a job if nobody at the top of the list falls into place; those being the actual family members of military officers. We do not worry though, as we have literally been here just over 24 hours, and have a few things to finish before we'd like to jump into full time work. God has a plan, and our jobs are in it!

We love listening to the German language, as our God created it, and so we believe he will enable us to conquer whatever he wills. It sounds quite far from our ability to mimick as eloquently as we hear it, but we are however feeling encouraged as we listen and pick up at least bits of understanding. It is a fun challenge, and we are excited to face it, one day at a time.

You may wonder what 'glauben sie' means? Well clearly not English, you may not be surprised to learn that is is actually German, and means "do you believe?" I actually intended it to somewhat throw out there the question "What" do you believe, but I named it before I knew exactly what I was writing, and therefore will keep it the way it is. It is basically as simple as it sounds, intending only to ask others of their beliefs, in general. The actual meaning "DO you believe" makes it a little more pointed, and I guess you could say it sounds a little more dogmatic in question if meant in regards to religious beliefs, of which we do make much of our focus. But we will leave it as simple as it sounds, as we do state the things we believe on this blog, in regard to the world around us, both here and abroad wherever that is. Nothing is new under the sun, so it won't be anything profound, but just that which God has enabled us to learn through the years he gives us on this earth. I find it makes for great conversation when we learn new things and share them with one another. So share with us too; if, what, and how you've come to believe what you do.