Lachen und Weinen....

(Translation: Laughing and Crying...)

Last night I slept terribly. I cried a lot because my stomach hurt so bad. I prayed a lot, asking God to heal me and take the pain away so I could enjoy my time here and essentially so I could give Wilhelm and Alwina their money's worth. I finally got to sleep around 3:30 am after getting out my MP3 player and listening to some Christian worship music. Which helped a little with my homesickness as well. When my alarm went off at 7:30 am, I felt awful. I know there is a reason God has not healed me yet, but it's just so frustrating and scary dealing with this in a foreign country. I got up and did my devotions and purposed in my heart to not let how I was feeling keep me from going to church. At breakfast, I had two bites of an apple and 3 bites of toast. I literally could not stomach any more, and I felt like I was going to throw up. I told Alwina I felt this way, and I said I was scared to go to church feeling like this. She said it was okay, I could stay home, and that any time I was feeling bad, I shouldn't hesitate to tell her. I hugged her and started crying again. Seriously, this family must think I spend all my time crying and being sick. lol

After the family left for church, I called my Mom. Even though it was 3:30 am in the States, I knew she would answer. And she did. It was so good to hear her voice. She said the way I am feeling is probably my body's way of dealing with jet lag and being in another country. I hope she's right and that it goes away soon. When I got off the phone with her (and cried a little bit more), I feel asleep for about 3 hours. I woke up after the family had eaten lunch, so Alwina made me black tea (without caffeine) and white rice to settle my stomach. I played War with Lionel and Elias, then I taught them how to step it up to Egyptian Rat Slap. We'll see how they handle it the more they get used to it. After that, I was feeling a little better, so we played a game of Mexican Train with some dominoes they have. Here in Germany, they have Sunday night church again at 4 pm, so when Wilhelm and the boys left for church, I got back in bed and laid down for about 2 hours.

By the time I got up, it was time for Wilhelm's family to start arriving for his birthday celebration. He has 3 brothers (all married) and 1 sister (also married). They all came and brought their families. His parents were also here. Altogether, there were 13 adults (including me) and 16 kids in this house. Talk about overwhelming! They were all really nice, though. One of the girls, Evelina, speaks English very well. She stuck by me pretty much the entire time and translated things people would say in German to English so I could understand it. Wilhelm's two younger brothers, Waldemar and David, also spoke English pretty well. They talked to me too. So really, it wasn't that uncomfortable. I didn't eat very much, because my stomach is still very queasy, but I was able to eat a slice of cucumber, some pineapple, a few bites of steak (Wilhelm grilled out), and some cake (there's always room for cake, no matter how bad one is feeling!).

The conversation was very good. David asked me what I thought of whenever the word "Germany" was mentioned. I said bratwurst, sauerkraut, and the Autobahn. Then I asked what he thought of when hearing the word "American." Immediately, he said "fast food," and everyone started laughing. hahaha Nice to know what people think of us ;) He also said Americans are very laid back and relaxed and Germans are more disciplined and hardworking. For the most part, that seems to be true. lol

After dinner, we sang some hymns - "It is Well" and "How Great Thou Art" and one more I didn't recognize. They have a lot more verses to these hymns than we do! Also, it's hard to remember the correct English words when you're the only one singing in English! Another thing I noticed was that all the men and women had their wedding rings on their right hand. I told them that in America, we wear our wedding rings on our left hand. Waldemar said, "They do everything backwards in America." haha Later that night, David and Waldemar had disappeared upstairs, and Wilhelm said they were having a "Kicker Tournament." (In American English, that means they were playing foosball.) So Evelina and I went upstairs to watch, and then we got drawn into the fray. They were very impressed at my foosball skills ;) Of course.

Eventually, everyone had to leave. They all invited me to come visit them. So I'm the much-sought-after American girl. :) haha Anyway, time for bed. OH! And family devotions tonight were in Psalm 121. Great Psalm, and very applicable for how I'm feeling right now.

Keep the prayers coming!!!!