My German is not so gut! Ja, you betcha!

Guten Tag!


My Deustche (what the German's call their language) is very bad. The locals don’t seem to mind. The rumor is, from some Americans in the know, many German folks speak at least a little English, but they will not always use the English that they know. Cricket Grey told me that an American has to at least attempt the German language or the local folks will pretend that they can’t speak any English. I suppose this is true, Cricket is a pretty reliable lady. I have tried some attempt at German, even if it is only “Sprecken ze English?". All the local folks have been very gracious to my lame attempts. However, not everyone speaks English. The communication issue adds a little extra spice to our adventures.


We are thoroughly enjoying our stay here in Deustchland. The scenery is lovely. Rolling hills, quaint villages, narrow cobblestone streets, a church steeple peeking out on the horizon in every town, well groomed landscaping, tiny cars, red colored roofs, are all typical of the towns that we have seen. Castles can be seen occasionally spotting the silhouette of the landscape. Giant, elegant, windmills appear over the tree line and around corners. We have been sunned, rained, hailed, and snowed on. What an amazing feast for the eyes! God did not spare any beauty or creativity on this Rhine region in Germany.
Trinity Baptist Church has been our home for our stay here. One of the members, Gearhart, told us some of the history of the building were are crashing in. It started as a hotel and is believed that Adolf Hitler stayed here at one time. The first floor has a kitchen, fellowship area, sanctuary, foyer, and a couple of class rooms. We are hanging out on the second and third floors, except for meal times. Having so much room has been an amazing blessing. I think that we would have been very crowded in a hotel. God has really blessed us.


A few days after we arrived, Michael and I went to the commissary to shop for some food. The prices are like shopping at Winco back home. We have been eating here at the Gasthaus mostly, we save money in the long run, but we haven’t experienced much of the local cuisine. Except… The sausages that we picked up at the local grocery store were fantastic. The Brat factories (bakeries) are our supply of tasty carbohydrate delights! The French are not the only people who know how to make bread and pastries. This evening we feasted on Turkish kebab sandwiches. Delicious is an understatement. I think that I would not be exaggerating to say that I could eat one everyday.


For a variety of reasons, our travels have not taken us very far from Baumholder. When we first arrived, Vivian and I were completely wore out. The plane rides, although mostly smooth-going, did not allow us much more than a few hours rest. We barely functioned. We spent most of the next day getting oriented around the church, and doing some errands around post. We have been able to adapt to the local time, but some other issues have come up. Michael was heavily involved in completing the Army’s requirements for completing the Discharge until Friday. Praise God, he is completely released from his contract! We have all either been fighting colds, or having colds. Michael spent two days suffering with intestinal problems. Despite some physical trials, God have given us tremendous grace to endure.


We haven’t always had to stay at the Kirchen (church). We have visited Trier, the oldest city in Germany. We ate Lasagna at an Italian restaurant and then enjoyed some gelato. The pedestrian only section in the Haupmarket was great for picture taking and working out the wiggles. When we realized that we were only a few minutes from the border of Luxembourg we were committed to going there too! I can’t tell you the name of the towns that we visited in Luxembourg; we pretty much took a driving tour. There is a scenic highway that curves alongside the Mosel River that serves as the border between Germany and Lux. At many points, you could throw a rock from one country to the other. We even spotted a pedestrian bridge connecting the sister countries at one point! What a delight to the eyes those sights were.


Today we visited Worms (pronounced vurms), the city famous for Martin Luther’s trial known as the Diet of Worms. I can assure you, this has nothing to do with eating crawling insects. There is so much interesting history wherever we go. We visited statues of the Reformers at a site called Lutherdenkmal, gawked a two gargantuan (and polar opposite in style) churches. Most of the buildings around here seem to have something in common. They are all old. Really. In the states, if you find a building 150 years old, we think “Wow, that is so old!” here (that is, in the states), we have seen buildings that claimed to be nearly 1000 years old!


We have met some lovely folks. Many wonderful families are stationed here with the military. Some folks are here working for the DOD, but not enlisted or commissioned, just as employees. There are people here from the states as missionaries to either military personnel and families or the the native folk. On a sad note, the majority of the men in these military families will be “going down-range” in a little over two weeks. Just about the entire base, here at Baumholder, will be deployed to Iraq. I am feeling tinges of “survivor’s guilt”. I am very humbled that God would answer our prayer and send Michael home. I feel a little awkward to tell these wives that I am bringing my husband home, just as they are saying good-bye to their husband for 18 months. I know that God will provide for their needs. Just as He provided for the children and I here at home. However, when I heard one of the ladies explain that enduring a deployment was like having her heart ripped from her chest, I cried. I remember saying those words myself, not so long ago...


Sorry this post has been so long in coming. This is our first opportunity to use the internet. Hope to hear from all of you soon. Also, keep your calendars open. You are invited to a Coming Home Party TBA.

Sunshine

PS. I checked a german-english dictionary and corrected my misspellings. Sorry! Foreign languages are not my major.