Rheinfels Castle

So, today we took 6 soldiers with us on a trip to Rheinfels Castle. At only 1/3 of its original size, the castle ruins are still enormous. We walked around for probably 3 hours and I still don't think we saw the whole thing. Probably the coolest part was when we walked down into the mines. I do believe it may have been one of the bravest things I've ever done. While not exactly claustrophobic, I do not do well underground or in the dark. I have always refused to even go in the lava tubes at home. We toured some gemstone mines in Idar-Oberstein this week, and that was fine for me - it was open and well lit with a clear trail. These were very different. You climb down some steep, dark stairs into a pitch black tunnel about 3-4 feet high and maybe 3 feet wide. You can't go in without flashlights, because it is so completely and utterly black. I felt myself about to freak out, and Mac told me to turn back NOW before I lost it 600 feet in, cause you can't really turn around. But I went on! I had Andy's hand in a vice grip and clung to the light from Mac's flashlight. You have to follow the white lines painted on the ceiling, but there was more than one point where we stopped and had to consult the map so as to avoid getting lost in all the little side tunnels. It was completely terrifying, but definitely the coolest experience of the day.

Birthdays and Busy Times

This week seems really long - maybe just because so much has happened. Duncan and Suzanne got here on Wednesday to take over from Brad and Debbie, who left early this morning to go back to the States for three weeks. Debbie had a birthday, and so did Duncan, so we've had cakes and candles and cards. And lots of small children!!



Mac had surgery this week and is spending his recovery leave on the couch in the basement, working his way through a laaarge stack of movies, with me as his nurse.


The kids - Graeme, Blaire, and Paige - are keeping me busy and entertained. They are SO much fun, and it's so nice to be living with little kids again! Friday night Bible study I had Gabe and Josh, too, and was very glad that the weather allowed us to play on the swings and slides out in the backyard, because they were crazy. Fortunately, that wore them out, so when it started raining we went in and watched a movie and they all but fell asleep on the couch.


Today we took a hike up to the castle, and I had us take only one wrong turn. The hike seemed a lot longer than normal, for some reason, and when we finally got up to the top we all sank down around the rim and ate our pincic lunch on top of the castle. When we got back, almost everyone fell asleep - the chairs and couches upstairs and down were full of napping people. Since we woke up and ate dinner, we've been playing cards and dice and legos and army men. I have to say it's kind of fascinating to watch soldiers playing with army men...

I'm Still Alive

Which is more impressive when I tell you that I drove Brad and Debbie's 9-passenger VW van back from post today! YIKES. I'm new at driving a stick anyways, and this thing is larger than just about anything I've driven before. (It might about equal dad's old truck.) But German roads are also a lot smaller than anything at home! I did fine until we got into Idar, and then I managed to stall about 7 times in a row trying to start. :( It was embarassing - and that's never happened to me before!! Sigh.

I must say, I feel much worse for Debbie, who drove with me today, than I did for my dad, who taught me. ;)

The Weekend

I love Germany in the summer - the weather is perfect! We've had a lovely mix of beautiful sunshine and a few hard thunderstorms at night. :) On Saturday we went and played in downtown Idar-Oberstein. We walked up to the Felsenkirche (Church in the Cliff), which was cool because I'd never been inside before. We also did some shopping and ate Doener - yummy German/Turkish food. After that we came home and hung out before dinner, and then we played Quelf, which is quite the interesting game.
Sunday was Chapel, and I think I shall refrain on comment about this particular service. We came home and grilled up our lunch and ate out on the balcony. After lunch we played Nertz, watched movies, played ping-pong, and generally hung out until it was time for dinner. A nice, lazy kind of day with friends - and I even beat Brad at ping-pong! (True, he was playing left-handed, and being distraced by Mac the whole time. But still! Neither Mac or Jonathon managed to beat him!) After dinner we cleaned up and then settled onto the couches downstairs and watched Braveheart before it was finally time to take the guys back to post. Always sad to see them go - even though I'll see them again tonight.

Day 1 1/2

Well, I'm here!

After a loooong flight (20 hrs travel time!), I landed in Frankfurt, collected my luggage, and walked through the doors to see Brad's smiling face waiting to take me to the Festaburg. I was oddly wide awake, despite only getting about 45 minutes' sleep on the plane. We ate dinner, then I unpacked and ended my evening (10 pm is still light out, therefore still evening) with a large cup of chammomile tea on the balcony, enjoying the fresh air, birds, green trees, and general glory of God's creation.

This morning I woke up at 6 am (whatever happened to jet-lag??) and did more unpacking, but then fell asleep again and didn't wake until 1 pm (ah, there it is). Then it was a normal Friday - help cook for Bible study dinner, work on projects for Brad, and then people come over. Only this was different, for me - there were 3 soldiers over, instead of 30. My first taste of post-deployment life. It was still a lot of fun, and it gives a chance to hear every individual more during discussions. But I do kind of miss the large, rather chaotic groups. Two of the guys were new to me, I only knew Jonathon from before. After Bible study, we played a ping-pong tournament before Brad took one guy back to base. So far there's no plan for tomorrow except waffles at 10. :)

I am so happy to be back here - and so blessed to be wanted here! One of my tasks is going to be teaching Brad German, every morning from like 9-10. Should be fun! They say teaching really helps you learn something even better. I am excited to see what God has in store for my summer here! Keep me in your prayers, please. :)

Going Back!

Well, after an almost-2-month hiatus, I'm back - and with exciting news! Yesterday I received my acceptance as an intern with Cadence International, heading back over to Germany next wednesday to work for Brad and Debbie for the summer. This all got set in motion about 2 weeks ago, and God has had His hands in everything, from getting my application in on time, to references coming in, to finding a cheap flight. I fly over next week and will spend all summer helping out at the Festaburg before coming back home in August just in time to be bodily - if not mentally - present at orientation at Southwestern.

I'm thrilled!!! Just in case you haven't picked up on that. I'm working on sending out prayer/support letters, and hopefully by the end of the summer will be able to raise the $5300. I'll be keeping this blog going while I'm gone, but I'll also have an e-newsletter to send out. If you'd like to sign up, just send me an e-mail at laurakcardy@aol.com.

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