The Last Day (again)

Well, I'm here - back in hot, flat, brown, cactus-y Phoenix. :) I love it. I do miss the coolness of Germany, the rolling hills, the forests, the green-ness....but I'm glad to be home. And I'm BUSY already!! Dinner with friends tonight, orientation tomorrow, job interview and open house saturday, hopefully pre-church starbucks with a friend sunday, and school starts monday! WOO.

It's amazing how much things don't change...and how they do. Even though I was gone a whole lot less time this time, I feel like I was gone longer, now that I'm back. Don't know why. It's a lot weirder to drive my car, now that I'm so used to driving a stick - my foot won't accept the fact that there's no clutch! And Opie, the little starving kitty who was nothing but fur and bones when I left is now FAT. And heavy!!! Fiyero still loves me, though. :)

So, my last days in Germany went well. It was sad to say all my goodbyes at VBS. Lots of hugs, a couple tears. One of my little pre-schoolers cried that she had to leave me. :) Went home to pack (ugh) and managed to get both my bags under 50 lbs. (Don't ask about my backpack, though...it may have outweighed them!!) I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch that day - I had a BLT with the first of the ripe tomatoes from Mac's garden. It was delicious, and I'm really glad I got them because here, tomato season is already over.

After packing was finished, Brad and Debbie and I enjoyed a delicious dinner and watched a movie together. I really am going to miss them. They're so different from any other people I've ever met. They challenge you - you can't be around them and not think. They've helped me to grow in so many ways, and they are just so wonderful! I love them. Wednesday morning we left at 6:15 for Frankfurt, said goodbye, and I was on my way home. The long flight was fine - I was next to a guy from Spangdahlem, and beind a friend of Mac's from 1-35 stationed in Baumholder (I didn't learn that until we were in the 1st line for customs). Then I had a 6 hour layover in Detroit (boooooring), and my last 4 hour flight, which was miserable, cramped, loud, and FREEZING. But hey, it got me home! Dad and Elisabeth and Aunt Lauri and Uncle Terry were there to welcome me, and an hour later I finally had my luggage and headed home. Woke up at lovely 6:30 am this morning, and am all unpacked! Happy to be home, indeed - but part of my heart is still in Germany.

The Present is for Exploding Sodas and Eating

That's what Sara put on the inside of my goodbye-card. It seems like it should be one of those oddly profound kind of statements. :) We had another Super Sunday today, and after lunch it was also prayer time for VBS (which starts tomorrow!) and a goodbye for me.

I cried, I admit. I have grown to love all these people so much. This ministry is all about relationships, which is why I believe it is so wonderful - but also why it is so hard. Everything in Army life is transient; you meet new people all the time and it seems as soon as you manage to build that close relationship, someone leaves - whether because of a deployment, PCSing, ERDing, or, like me, just going home. I really am excited to go home and to start school and start working. But I am going to miss this place so, so very much. All my friends here are so wonderful.

Lisa made me a BEAUTIFUL cake. Sherry gave me a journal, and people signed it and wrote in it. I got a picture from our trip to the Maginot Line that everyone signed. (the people who signed it are not the people in the picture! haha) Sara and Erika made me the sweetest cards :) and gave me mentos! (They know me well.) Kristen even got me my faaaavoritest potatoe chips from the commissary. Everyone prayed for me, wished me well, hugged me goodbye.

I wondered when I came over here if this was the right thing to do with my summer. Throughout the months I've wondered if I've done any good, if I've had any impact on those around me, if I've really done something to further the kingdom of Christ on earth. Today I realized the answer - yes. I have built relationships with people, and in some way touched their hearts, and they have touched mine. I have grown this summer, both personally and in my walk with and understanding of God, and what it is to follow Him. I have learned more than I am able to articulate - and some things I have learned I may not even know yet. But I have grown, and changed, and loved.

As Sara put in my card,
"Goodbyes are not forever,
Goodbyes are not the end.
They only say I miss you
until we meet again."







okay....so, I just now got what she meant by the statement..."the present" didn't mean the present, as in the right now, but as in the mentos....it makes a lot more sense now. I was thinking more symbolically, you know? Like, eat, drink, and be merry - only more fun and laughter with exploding sodas and eating....oh well. I feel awfully silly now.

Apple Pie and VBS

What says summer like those two things? Maybe not necessarily together, but that works too. Anyways, I feel accomplished - yesterday, I baked my very first apple pie! And it was GOOD, too! Under Debbie's expert tutelage, I peeled and chopped apples, rolled out crust, stuffed a pie, and fluted the edges. :) Top it off a few hours later with vanilla ice cream, and yum!!

VBS training and set up has started, too, since Baumholder's VBS (vacation Bible school, for those that have never experienced the fun of this acronym) is next week. For the two days I'm still here, I've volunteered to work with - guess - the pre-schoolers. Among regular duties, I'm doing Chadder's Theater, which is showing them the movie, doing a little science experiment (oh yeah, our theme is Power Lab so we're all a bunch of wacky professors), and reiterating the day's main theme and verse. However, Sherri (the director) asked me on Monday night if I'd be willing to lead the singing and teach the songs, too, since the lady scheduled to do that is still in the States. So, I've spent this last week learning the songs and the motions, and always having one of the 10 stuck in my head on constant repeat. :) I had to teach the main song to all the adult volunteers today, which was weird - in front of kids, no problem! But you have to do these things all different when your audience is older than 10.

So, for the first two days, I'm the first "professor" they see, so I get to kind of MC everything. Welcome, songs, skits (with my wacky scientist friend "Professor Wilma"), and the first mention of the day's theme and verse and story, and prayer. Cool! I'm really kind of excited for this, even though there's a lot of talking to do (I hope I can remember everything I'm supposed to say!) It's gonna be fun!

In Memory

The 2nd Brigade Combat Team based out of Baumholder, Germany, lost it's third soldier in this deployment this week. Sgt. James A. McHale of the 40th Engineers died on July 30th, and his memorial was today.

The ceremony is very formal, and very moving. Both the German and American National Anthems are sung. Up at the front of the Chapel is the fallen soldier's battle cross - a pair of combat boots, a rifle, helmet, and the soldier's dog tags, along with his picture and medals. Army lore indicates the helmet and identification tags signify the fallen soldier; the inverted rifle with bayonet signals a time for prayer and a break in the action to pay tribute to the dead; the combat boots represent the final march of the last battle.

Former comrades and commanders give tribute to the soldier, remembering his life, honoring his sacrifice. After a silent tribute, the 1st Sgt gives the final roll call, probably the most wrenching and awful moment in the memorial. He begins calling out names in the unit, and the men answer, until he gets to the fallen soldier, when there is silence. He calls the name again; still no answer. He calls the name a third time - but the soldier will never be able to answer roll call again. The rifle volleys fire, and taps is played. Afterward, everyone files out in pairs past the battle cross to pay their respects, soldiers saluting their fallen comrade.

Please keep our troops in your prayers. Whether or not you support the war, our men and women are over there fighting and dying for us. They give so much so that we can live the way we do - some, like Sgt. McHale, give their all. Remember their sacrifices. Honor them.

And please, God, keep them safe.

Long Weekend

Thursday
Thursday, Brad and Debbie and I loaded up the car and set off for Bamberg, to visit another Hospitality House while the carpets dried after their shampooing. Our first stop was Heidelberg, for some sightseeing. We hiked up to the castle (and it is a very steep hike!) and toured the ruins and not-so-ruins. After walking back down, we stopped and thoroughly enjoyed the elusive Starbucks - one of the few places here that will give you free ice-water! It was a very warm, sticky day, hotter than it normally gets here in Germany. After finishing our deliciously cold drinks, we got in the car and headed towards Wurzburg, where we stopped for dinner. We also walked around the gardens of the Residence there, which were quite lovely. After dinner, we drove to Bamberg and stayed up late talking to Matt and Tina Huisjen, the House directors there.

Friday
Friday-day Brad and Debbie and I went in to Bamberg to see the city. Bamberg is in Bayern (Bavaria) so the culture is a little bit different - I really enjoy the cities here. Friday night was Bible study at the Bamberg Hospitality House - it was so nice to be in a Bible study with so many people again! Bamberg is a larger base than Baumholder and has more than one brigade, so even though some of their soldiers have recently deployed, others have just returned or are even between deployments. The House was full, and we enjoyed good food, worshipping through music, a good lesson/discussion (lead by our own Brad), and lots of fun time in fellowship.

Saturday
Saturday was spent just enjoying time with the Huisjens. They have four children, ranging from 4 to 10 yrs old - Madeline, Jesse, Toby, and Bridget. We had a LOT of fun with them (and with the dog, Sandy). We took a drive out to a nearby lake to go swimming and playing with the inflateable rafts. Dinner that night was delicious - steaks and ribs and corn on the cob! Mmmm, it doesn't get much better than that!

Sunday
Sunday we said goodbye and headed back to Baumholder, with a stop on the way in Sinsheim at the Auto-technik Museum. We were checking it out for it's feasability (and desireability) as a Saturday trip for the House. It was fascinating - two huge buildings full of old classic cars and trains and planes, and a whole heap more outside. We climbed up to the cockpit of the Concord (or, since it was Russian, the sign called it the "Concordski"), and through an rickety old Bulgarian plane, and one like Indiana Jones flew on, and then slid down a kind of monster slide from the roof in a plane to the ground floor of the building below. We also checked out the IMAX 3D theatre there, and while it was pretty cool, I got rather motion sick. After leaving Sinsheim (the weather changed abruptly from bright and sunny when we went into the Concord to dark and stormy by the time we got back out), it was really very nice to come "home" and to sleep in my "own" bed.

Thinking about that made me realize - I only have a week left here!! AHHH. Then I really do get to go Home and sleep in my Own bed. Yay! I know I'm going to miss it terribly and wish I could come back (especially when I realize that Phoenix is a really brown and hot huge city and I start missing cool, green German countryside), but I'm very excited to start school again. Speaking of, please pray for me, that major decisions that have to be made SOON about school can be made - and according to God's will, even if not my own!