Blessed Be Your Name

Psalm 33

Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.

Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.

The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the people of the world revere him.

For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

Frohe Weihnachten

The Christmas season is now upon us. I remember last summer in Nürnberg thinking how cool it would be to be here for Christmas and see the 'Weihnachtsmarkt.' Well, lo and behold I am here and it has been great. They seem to make such a big deal out of Christmas and rightfully so. It does not seem as commerialized as our North American Christmas and at least they still call it their equivalent of Christmas instead of changing it to "Happy Holidays" & "Seasons Greetings" to appease our secular culture and remove any mention of Christ.

Another thing I found amazing was how many Nativity scenes are around the city...in every shape & size.

There definitely seems to be a quiet, gentle Spirit here.

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." -Matthew 1:23 (KJV)

What about Flower's Cove?

So I picked up the newspaper this morning and what should be on page 4 but an article about Newfoundland. The heading? "Neufundland: Kein Platz für blumige Worte" Roughly translated as "No place for flowery words" Hence the nickname "the Rock"


Although it didn't seem to strike anyone else as particularly perculiar, I found it amazing that the regional newspaper of the Ruhr region would choose to do a piece on little ol' Newfoundland considering the hundreds of other spots they could have picked. I like to think it was God giving me a little reminder of my lovely island first thing in the morning. After all Timon's first words when he saw the pictures were "schön!" Smart kid.

Tidbits

Well I'm 3 months into this rather unexpected detour...I am content with the first quarter. My German is still far behind what I would like but I am making progress albeit slowly.

I have only been to one other country besides Deutschland so I'm hoping to visit more in the months ahead.

Although there are many similiarities between here and North America, there are also lots of differences. People's attitudes, lifestyles, just to name a couple. But I have found the people as welcoming and kind as my last visit here. And I guess that is the main thing.

I have made my little flat more "my own" since moving in. It does feel like coming home more often than not. Having the internet and being able to hold video conferences with my family makes it seem like we're only a couple of hours away.

The church services here are quite different. I would use the words reserved & structured. (Even more so than traditional Newfoundland churches.) I would have to say I really haven't felt God's spirit in the services but rather in the fellowship and after-service worship I spend with the Cadets.

Speaking of which, I quiz the Cadets mercilessly on college life and Die Heilsarmee. Just to get a feel for how our two systems compare.

Das ist richtig!

Essen - Germany

I gotta say Essen is great city; much nicer than I expected :-)

First snowfall...in Newfoundland

Well the first snowfall is always a time for dancing & celebrating! Not really I am quite content knowing that I won't be shoveling snow this winter. Having your car buried in snow and doorway snowed in isn't as "cool" as it seems.


So in honour of all those shoveling snow, I'd just like to point out that it is 12 C and sunny here in Essen today!

FYI...I still love Newfoundland, I'm sure everyone here is sick & tired of me saying how wonderful it is :-)

'54, '74, '90, 2006

Germans love their football...
I wish they had won last year :-(