Sept. 17, 2007
Today was the first day for the Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW) here at Black Forest Academy (BFA). It went great. The jet lag from the trip over hasn’t been too influential in our experience so far and I believe that it will just get less still. I am worried about the trip home though. Today we started off the day with having Germany Pastries and Chocolate mixed with Coffee and toast. I will say that the chocolate and coffee was so much better than what I am used to in the States. After that I went to BFA and we had a two-hour rehearsal for the worship set and then started off the week. The Chapel went great with over three hundred students, both middle school and high school. After the session we went up towards the black forest and were able to look at the rolling hills and large cornfields. The weather has been at a steady 75 degrees but is supposed to get colder during the week.
Sept. 18, 2007
Today was another great day! The session this morning went awesome! The students are beginning to really get comfortable with us as a band and they are beginning to really open up to us. We also got to go in Freiburg, Germany and walk around the town and different shops and eat at local bakeries, specifically Berliners. It’s so cool to see how the towns and roads are so much different than the United States. The roads and the streets in the village are very narrow and many of the locals speak English. This makes me feel very ignorant and lazy that I do not take the time to learn another language. The ability to speak multiple languages will connect someone to so many people and gives one the chance to make relationships all over.
Sept. 19, 2007
During the session this morning people were totally changing. The message was fantastic and the band played very well. It was awesome to see kids change and one girl (that I know for sure) ask Christ into her life. We were planning on heading into Basel, Switzerland today but decided, since I’m getting sick and we are planning on going there on Saturday, that we weren’t going to go. We ended up hanging out with the students and leading worship in the evening for the middle schoolers in an event called Chrysalis (the point with a caterpillar becomes a butterfly… I don’t know why…) and there were going crazy! Middle school kids have so much energy its great! We also go to play a little soccer and basketball with some of the locals here. It was a blast but made me realize how much I am out of shape, but in my defense I am a little sick.
Sept. 20, 2007
Well today was awesome! We didn’t do a whole lot of traveling but it was a great day! We went up to a ruined castle and got to climb and walk all around it. It was awesome to see where the knights would meet and where the dungeons were. There were also ancient artifacts that were dentist tools, battle weapons, and clothing. I’ve never seen anything like it before.
Sept. 21, 2007
It was the last day for the SEW. We had a set in the morning and then a final worship time at night that was two hours long and it went great! The kids made commitments and lives were changed! We didn’t get to really travel anywhere today besides to the basketball court that is at the school and then we went out to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant that was amazing! Really good food and I found out that Germany doesn’t have too much spicy food. They are known for their sweet foods like candy or chocolate but as fare as spicy, it’s not the best place. Tomorrow we are going into Switzerland. I’m excited!
Sept. 22, 2007
Today was the best day of seeing Germany and Europe! We got to take a trip to the Swiss Alps. It was amazing! We rented scooters and cruised around Switzerland for four hours, stopping and taking pictures as well as checking out the local shops. I got to try an ice cream bar called, “Magnum” which was the best ice cream bar I’ve ever had. The scenery was epic and the scooters were so fun! We ate at a restaurant that was Swiss and Japanese combined. It was a weird combination but there were a lot of Japanese people there in Switzerland. It was amazing!
Sept. 23, 2007
We went to church early in the morning at BFC (Black Forest Church). It was at the school that we played at and was very traditional. I enjoyed the pastor and during the rest of the day we got to hang out with some of Erik Williams friends that work with placing missionaries in Europe. John and Fran lived in Africa for sixteen years, Colorado for four years, Paris for four years, and they have now been in Germany for five years. Amazing people with many stories! I also tried REAL blue cheese that was straight from France. The only true blue cheese, made in French caves. John told me the story of the “rockfart.”
Sept. 24, 2007
I really don’t like the French airlines. I wasn’t able to ride standby on a flight to Paris so I had to wait several hours. Once we arrived in Paris we had an amazing time! We mapped out what spots we wanted to hit in the little time that we had and we made good time. It was great to visit the huge, tourist city but I don’t plan on taking a trip back that would exceed a few days long. The city is so touristy that it takes away the experience. It was a great day and an amazing way to end the trip. We met up with some friends that live in Paris and had dinner with them. I’m not looking forward to getting back into school, especially after I’ve seen all this beauty and this world outside of the US. I’m so glad for this experience and I plan on taking another trip here in the near future.
1 comment:
fun to "reminisce" about our trip as I read your words. nice job dude.
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