The Day I Visited Hamlin :)

This morning when I woke up I wasn't feeling well at all. But I figured it was just from lack of sleep and being hungry. So I ate breakfast with the family (raw smoked salmon...mmm) and took a shower. When I got out of the shower, I was feeling worse, but I didn't want to cancel plans to go to Hamlin (or Hameln as they spell it here), so I started doing my hair and makeup. The window in the bathroom was open and while I was putting on my makeup, the wind blew it open even more and knocked off a glass jar onto the floor. I tried to catch it before it fell, but it ended up shattering and cutting two of my fingers. Good times. So I had to put bandaids on to wear all day.
My nausea just got worse on the drive, and by the time we got to Hamlin, I felt like I was going to throw up. Alwina noticed I was quiet on the drive, so she asked if I was feeling sick. I said yes, so we went and bought a bottle of water and some motion sickness gum. Yes, gum. It helped a little. So we walked around the shops and I got very tired.
Then we drove home and I fell asleep in the car. When we got home, I crashed on the couch/bed in my room for 2 hours. When I woke up, Wilhelm was outside playing futbol (soccer) with Lionel and Elias. So precious! Then we had dinner, sang some songs, and did family devotions. Psalm 22 tonight. Good stuff :)
Tonight, I prayed that God would heal my body, because I don't like feeling this sick. Tomorrow I will be meeting a lot of German people who don't speak English. I'm nervous. Blech! I just want to have fun and be healthy!!! Pray for me, please.

First Day in Schieder-Schwalenberg....

(Yes, that is a mouthful to say. In the right accent also, don't forget. Hopefully I'll be sounding like a German native by the time I leave this place.)

Ho-kay, so...
This morning, I woke up. Good start, right? I felt so much better than I had yesterday. I took a shower (ahhhhhh!) and then started unpacking what clothes I could actually fit in my suitcase (which looked very meager when hung up and folded into the dresser). As I was unpacking, Alwina asked if I could take a break and eat some breakfast. Well, those of you who know me know what a silly question that is to ask. "Sure!" I said.
So we (and by we I mean myself, Alwina, and Levin) went to the table and said our prayer before we sat down, because they pray standing up here. Breakfast consisted of bread (or broht as they pronounce it), cheese (kesa), meat (vorte, I think?), jelly, tomatoes, and cucumbers (guacoms). She said they eat bread at every meal. I'm so down with that :)
Then, after breakfast, we went to the store so I could get some things. Here's some pictures from on the way:

The playground in their neighborhood.

Levin on his bike. Being a pro :)

Kindergarten. The same in any language (well, the same in English and German, anyway...)

The beautiful path we were walking on.

The street sign. SchiederSee is a part of Schieder-Schwalenberg.

The palace in their neighborhood. From the back.

Alwina and Levin posing :)

Levin wanted me to take a photo of him on the steps :)

The castle from the front.

Okay, so after we got back to the house, I finished unpacking and the other two boys (Lionel and Elias) arrived home shortly afterwards.

What their house looks like from the front.

Due to the amount of time it takes to upload pictures onto my blog, I might just refer you to my Facebook. Like, a lot. haha

After the boys got home, I toured the house with my camera and took many pictures of the inside.

The staircase. Which is one of my favorite staircases EVER.

My bathroom while I'm here. LOVE IT!

My shower. Yes, it will be a pain to clean. haha

The living room Where the kids LOVE to play games on the table. Which hurts my back because I'm an old woman.

The dining room table. Where the magic happens.

The kitchen. Lovely.

After the tour of the house (more in-depth pictures on Facebook), we played UNO! Then we ate lunch. Then we went down to the sea to play in the park. I posted a video of a ride down at the park that looked super fun. Lionel and Elias rode it for the first time, and Levin pouted because he wanted to ride it, but he's not old enough :(

The three boys. From left to right: Elias (9), Lionel (7), and Levin (3).

Levin and Lionel on an awesome contraption that's a mix between a see-saw and a merry-go-round.

Levin on the slide.

Levin cheesing out.

Elias lookin' legit.

Lionel BEING A SWEETIE! Yes, he picked those for me!

By the time we got home from the park, it was almost 5 o'clock. I taught Elias and Lionel how to play "Go Fish!" with the playing cards I brought. Then I taught them how to play "War." They, of course, love both games. I think we'll step it up later, and I'll teach them "Egyptian Rat Slap," though I might call it something else to make it more appealing. Maybe "War on Steroids"? What do you guys think? haha
After we played cards, dinner was ready. We had WAFFLES! I love this family so much already. =D Instead of putting butter and syrup on their waffles, they put either chocolate spread or this spread of sweet, thickened milk on. I like the chocolate spread the best.
When dinner was over, we did family devotions, which Wilhelm said we will do every night while I'm here. Baller!!! So he read my favorite Psalm tonight (Psalm 62) and I read it in English afterward. Then we all prayed and the boys went to bed. Wilhelm started to show me pictures of a mission trip he took, and my eyes grew heavy (and my heart was calling me to Skype anyway).
So now I'm getting ready for bed. And posting on here. Hamlin tomorrow! As in, Pied Piper home! I'm super stoked! More later =D

Riding the Nautical Jet :)

From inside a German household...

I am here! Finally!

And boy do I have a story to tell. So after my last post, I got on my plane which would take me to Munich. The flight was 8 1/2 hours long. And I sat next to a Romanian smoker guy the whole way. Perfect. Also, when they turned off all the overhead lights so people could actually get some sleep, there was a woman who kept her overhead light on the whole way so she could read a book. And she happened to be sitting in front of me. With her seat reclining backwards so I couldn't sleep on the table in the back of the seat. Why me?!?! So I get off the plane and go immediately to my next gate, because my plane is supposed to take off an hour later. And, of course, I fall asleep. When I wake up, there is NOONE AT THE GATE anymore.

That's right, I missed my flight.

I went to Lufthansa's help desk. And they booked me on the next available flight out to Hanover. For a small fee of 150 euros. Which is equivalent to about $215 USD. Wow. I almost just decided to walk the rest of the way. But I paid it, because that's what I had to do. And it was my fault for falling asleep in the first place. So my first day in Germany, not even having BEEN in Germany for 2 hours, and I spent half of the money in my checking account. Boo.

Well, the rest of the day went really well. Found Wilhelm at the airport super easily. Came home with him and felt really nauseous. But hopefully that's passed. I will post more about the family soon. Time for bed! Goodnight all!

At the Chicago O'Hare...

(This post was actually written July 20 at 3 pm)

I am sitting in the airport in Chicago. I paid over $11 for lunch. It is hot. There are so many people sitting in my flight gate area that I’m having to sit in another gate area for the time being. Ridiculous. But God is good J I met someone coming off the plane who is flying to Denver for a Christian Retreat Week. He called it a “spiritual retreat,” and I was thinking, He must think I’m a total heathen. So we talked about his wife, his plans for the future, my plans for the present…just chatting, you know. But I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I? I must first tell you how my airport drop-off went…

First of all, I woke up at 6 am in order to be at the church by 7 to say bye to people. Silly me, to think that people would actually get up that early to see me off ;) So I went into the gym and beckoned to Ashley and Heather who were doing P90x and they came out and gave me hugs J

Then it was off to the airport! I rode with my Mom, Amy, and Abby, and we had a mini photo-shoot in the car:

Isn’t she precious?! So then we got to the airport. And the moment of truth arrived. The shuttle was ready to depart. I gave final hugs (and almost cried a few times!), took final pictures, and boarded the shuttle.

Security check-point was a drag. Per usual. Waiting by myself to board the plane was LAME. Flying by myself was kinda nice, though, because I didn’t have to talk to anyone and I got to sleep the WHOLE time! Here was my view from the plane before take-off:

And here’s how excited I was to be alive and going to Germany!!!

And then I landed. And met the bible man, Amos (isn’t that an awesome name?! And he said he has 2 brothers name Eli and Isaac. Too cool!). And overpaid for lunch. And here I sit. Debating on whether or not to pay for the internet so I can post this blog. I think not. I’ll just post it when I get to Germany. Maybe.

So my current worries/prayer requests:

-     Safe flight to Munich, then Hanover, then that Wilhelm will be able to find me at the airport to pick me up

-     That the bag I checked in will not get lost in translation

-     That I will be just what this family needs

-     That I will have integrity in all my dealings

-     That I will be able to find an adapter/converter that I will be able to use (and afford!)

-     That I will NOT GET SICK!!! J

Now I think I’ll do some Bible reading.

Later, awesome people who are actually reading my blog!

Girls' Night Before Germany

So tonight we took some pictures while we were hanging out. And these are the best (and least embarrassing) of the bunch. Also, Hannah and Marris made a wonderful new video on my new camera. But then I accidentally deleted it =/ Sad about that. Well, here are the pictures!!!!



What we would look like with mustaches. Word =)





We didn't really know what this effect was... Marris was trying to get a closer look, but Hannah and I were just plain confused.





Whose foot is it? You be the judge. (Hint: It's not mine!)





We were tired of taking funny pictures for the moment. So we decided to take a legitimate one. I messed it up...



DUCK! We did some animal impressions...

LAUGHING picture! This kind is my favorite :))))



You wish you could be us. Shoot.



My Friends Being AWESOME!

So here's the video I promised yesterday. Watch and love it :)