what's been going on lately??

Just a normal week at Tauernhof..:) So..basically there are 6 kitchen/house girls and we are split into two groups and alternate between cleaning and cooking. We do 2 camps and then switch. I am on the cleaning crew for this camp which started on Wednesday. I usually get up at around 7:00, but some mornings I am on breakfast duty..so I get up at around 5:45 instead. For cleaning I am responsible for 2 floors. My duties: Vacuum all the floor space on each floor, including the guest rooms. That is approximately 11 rooms. Clean all the showers and toilets. 8 Showers and 5 toilets. Mop all the floors which are not carpeted. I do this from 9:45-12:20. Yes it is a lot of work for that time period!! After I get all this done I help serve lunch and clear lunch and clean up after lunch which brings us to 2:30 or so. I get time off from 2:30 till 5:00 or so. Then I help prepare supper and clear supper and clean up after supper which brings us to 7:30 which is lecture time. We have some singing and then the lecture. Usually Hans Peter speaks, but sometimes Eis does. Almost all of the camps are German so of course the lecture is in German. ;) We are not required to be at lecture every night, but so far I am actually doing fairly well with understanding and so I've been going. Tonight the lecture starts at 8 and goes till 10 then we are going for a night hike up into the mountains to watch the fireworks. Awesome!! After doing that..we'll hike back and have some hot chocolate and go to bed around 2:00 am. I am actually still debating going since I have to help with brunch tomorrow at around 8:00. Soo..tomorrow I turn 20. No longer a teen. :( I can't get away with childishness anymore I guess. ;) Tuesday I have the day off. I wonder what I'll do?? Yesterday I went for a hike up into the mountains along the Talbach River. Beautiful!! A little slippery and treacherous since there was a drop off on one side of a very narrow path. The views of the mountains and the waterfall was worth it though. It took me and Hilde about one and a half hours to make it all the way around. I finally got myself some hiking boots and not for too bad a price either. On sale for €69.90. Today I have more time off since it is Sunday, but I have been up since 6:45 and already cleaned 3 toilets and 2 showers and mopped and vacuumed two floors. :) This is unusual for a Sunday. Usually the camps don't go over the weekend. This is the longest camp. It has been fun getting to know all the staff a bit. The girls are a lot of fun!! Even if they order me around in German sometimes ;) One of the other kitchen girls is Canadian too. Yesterday she was wearing a t-shirt which said "hug a Canadian today". Of course I hugged her. :) On Monday evenings I am signed up to work in the Bistro (coffee shop) in the mainhouse. I will be learning how to make capuccinos with an espresso machine. Fun!! The coffee here is really good! And the cheese..and the bread..and basically just all the food. (Mom..they don't make nearly as good spaghetti as you though, or apple pie for that matter :) All you people at work...I get to run up 5 flights of stairs at least a dozen times a day..if not more. A girl here has asked me to go running with her every once in a while so I am going to be in good shape when I get back. :) Anyway..that's my life for right now. Pretty much Awesome. :)

Pictures of My Home

Here's some Pics of my beautiful Schladming.



Overlooking Schladming toward the Dachstein.



The Mallards that live by the river path



A church (Lutheran I think, whatever, they're all German) :) This is the church I went to for Christmas Eve Service. The pastor spoke a good message about Jesus coming to earth as God in human form. And a story about Corrie Ten Boom and forgiveness. No, I did not need translation. I caught that much on my own. :)



The "River". Really clear water!!



And another church. Not sure which one it is. But it looks cool.
Enjoy :)

End of Story..

Towards supper time we made our way to the Rathaus and browsed through the Christmas Market. Everyone had different stalls of decorations and jewellry and hats and scarves etc. I found myself a nice ring to remember Vienna by. :)Everything was beautifully lit up with paper lanterns and thousands of minilights. The streets had chandeliers of minilights hung. Incredible! After browsing for a while we had supper at the Rathaus Restaurant. I had Wienerschnitzel and Parsleyed Potatoes with Salad. We spent at least 3 hours in there. They had live entertainment. An amazingly talented harpist. She played some incredible classical pieces flawlessly. After this we headed for the underground train and made our way back to the car and by 1:30 am we finally got home. What a fun day!! Here's a few more random pics..



There was so much detail on all the buildings...the iron work and just the construction and statues. Almost makes a person want to get into architecture. If only the old way of building hadn't died off so much. :(



Another closer picture of the same ironwork from inside.



A bunch of buildings were built right over the street so the traffic would go right through this little roomlike structure. In this particular one there was a violinist playing along to music. The acoustics were amazing!! It just kept swelling...Hope you all have a really great Christmas!!

and more..

That is the Rathaus (City Hall) in the background. They have a lot of horses and carriages all over the city for tourists.



We were just heading from the square to the famous Gothic Church when we saw this puppeteer playing. So fun!!



This is the famous Gothic Church



This is a small portion of the stone carving that is inside the church. I had a hard time getting any good pictures inside because it was so dark.



This is a statue in a Jewish section of town. A very old section!

More Pics of Vienna

This was inside a big church.



We laughed about what it'd be like if that huge gold ball would one day fall and bounce across the courtyard floor. :)



These are two identical buildings that hold major art museums or something. I think they were built by the same man who built the palace in the first pic. The two pillars in the first pic were designed after one pillar built in Rome.



I can't remember the significance of this statue, but there were lots of statues like this around. I think they were depicting war heroes.

A Day in Wien (Vienna)

I was invited to go on a day trip to Vienna with a family of one of the girls here. Nif (Jennifer) has been to Vienna 5 times before and so she prepared a fun tour for us. What a beautiful city!!



This is the first thing that we saw in the city. It's a palace of some sort.

Goodbye New Friends...:(

Well...today a bunch of staff left for Christmas holidays. One of them isn't coming back. :( Kinda sad to get to know someone and then have to say goodbye so soon. Aah well..such is life. Christmas holidays have officially started. I'm one of the only people staying here for Christmas, but the others that are staying have been very kind and gracious in trying to include me in their activities. Christmas Dinner on the 25th and possibly traveling to Vienna for a day. Should be fun. :) I spent most of the morning just lounging around. Reading and listening to music. Had lunch and helped clean the kitchen and then helped one of the girls pack up. By the way Heinrich and Irene...All the girls speak German and one speaks Dutch as she is from Holland. They all speak English as well, but they often talk amongst themselves in German. I don't mind though. It helps to hear it all the time and I often ask questions and can usually figure out what they are talking about. Kinda fun. ;) Anyway..after the girls left for Christmas Vacation I moved all of my stuff into my new room. I was living in the Chalet until Monika moved home (she's the girl who is not coming back). I will now be sharing a room with a girl named Christy from the US. I unpacked all my stuff and was able to put it all away. I don't have any good footwear for hiking yet. :( I guess I'll need to go shoe shopping. yeah, yeah, I know more shoes. It's hard when you work at a place like the Credit Union that only needs dress shoes. I thought that I would have too much stuff, but it seems reasonable now that I unpacked it all. Anyway..time for supper.

My Night in Salzburg

I have finally made some time to upload some pictures for your enjoyment. This is from my night in Salzburg at Hotel Adlerhof. It was actually a very nice room.






So...I went for a walk in little Schladming this afternoon. Beautiful little town!! It has a river running through it and mountains on all sides. You can take hiking trails right from town. The water running in the river is so clear and a blue/green color. What an awesome God we have!! Some of the work I've been doing?...We have been preparing for guests. Cleaning all the Chalet rooms and other rooms and dining rooms and the kitchen even down to scrubbing with a toothbrush between tiles. Good hard physical work. Some of the food I've been eating?...for breakfast-croissants filled with chocolate, dark bread with jelly or nutella or peanutbutter(not kraft), meat and swiss cheese, coffee (very good!!), cereal, yogurt and whatever else we can find. :) Lunch - Usually a larger meal, today it was pigs in blankets (really amazing pastry), salad, potato wedges, plum kuchen with whipped cream. Supper - So far it has always been a 'help yourself' meal. Basically scrounge or leftovers. I've become fond of toasted bread with swiss cheese and ham and a cup of tea.
What have I been doing in my off hours?...Reading my bible, emailing friends, updating my blog, going for walks, last night I watched a movie with the kitchen girls (Life of C.S. Lewis in Deutsch). I have been going to bed early. :) Anyway..that's all for now. I will eventually post some scenic pics.

Still No Pictures

Sorry.
I need an adapter for my laptop before I attempt to upload any pics. I will try to get some this weekend yet. Till then you´ll just have to imagine :) I am finally over the jet lag. Yippee. I woke up tired as usual this morning, not wide awake. I know I´m over jet lag when that happens. It´s how I feel every morning. :) Life is good here. We finished making beds for guests today and then cleaned the kitchen. Wow...what a job. We scrubbed everything down. The floor was fun. We sprayed water all over it and then stepped on towels and scooted around to dry it up. Great fun. The girls I work with are great, but some of them will be leaving soon. :( Anywhoos..gotta run for supper. adios.

First Day of Slave Labor!!

Just Kidding!! I am loving doing some physical labor!! I am really enjoying the change and I already am starting to feel at home!! The people here are very friendly. For now I am staying in a really nice room in the chalet. I will be moving to the house next week after Christmas break where I will be sharing a room with an all american girl. ;) I think that my body is almost over the jet lag. I am still having a hard time eating properly at the proper times. I went to bed at 7:30 last night and didn´t get up till 7:00 this morning. I am typing on a german keyboard and am having a hard time of it. So confusing. :) Well..I can honestly say that I love flying. So fun!! I like the smaller planes better though. My favorite part of the whole trip was the train! It was an hour and a half trip with gorgeous sites!! Where I am staying is just as beautiful. Look out the window and see mountains on all sides. Aaah..this is the life!! My first night in Europe I spent in a hotel room, since I didn`t make any of my connections and all the trains to Schladming were already gone. The hotel room was really nice, but also expensive for one night..one person. Oh well..I took some pictures of the room, but you`ll have to wait and see later. I´m too lazy to drag my laptop up to the eagle`s nest. (the lounge/computer room) You guys can pray for me that I will get another good night´s rest tonight and that my stomach will be back to normal soon. The food here is really great!! After eating airplane food though, just about anything would be good. I ate a meal on the long flight over and it made me sick that night. I´m just really glad I wasn´t sick on the plane or bus etc. Hope you are all doing well. I´ll post some more maybe tomorrow.

I'm Here!

Just barely..
let's just say that missed flight connections are no fun!! Stupid Air Canada! sorry, just a little frustrated. I am still severly jet lagged. I ended up staying in a hotel in Salzburg last night, nice, but I couldn't sleep when it was only 5:30 in the evening.
gotta get going now..I don't have my own computer set up yet.
catch ya all later

Opera Anyone??

So...Christmas music huh? It's getting old already. Actually just these cd's that are playing at the cred are getting annoying especially the opera cd. Those high notes just really make your shoulders tense. And the bell choir...wow it can drive you dingaling. Pun intended. Last day on till..Yesss! So far it seems to be slow, but then it's only 2 minutes after opening. I'm going out for lunch today with my girls. (Barbara Ann and Fran) No, I did not make them up to keep me from getting lonely. We are the top of the totem pole, so to speak here at work. The most experienced etc. We generally have a lot of fun when we work together. Then there's Trish, who I worked with yesterday. We call each other fruit and nut. :) So..we're a little crazy. It keeps life interesting. This week I have a whole lot of stuff to get done. I should make a list yet, I keep on forgetting things. I'm really looking forward to the weekend. Saturday, Heather and I are going to hang out..get my Christmas shopping done, get a makeover(actually just a haircut)maybe even play some mario. :)
Mom really wants me to help do some decorating yet, not that I'm a pro or anything, but Tim and Dad won't help. Anyway...hope you all have a good one!!

Entertainment Tonight...ET phone home...

Yes...very random title..just about as random as the comedian at our Christmas Banquet tonight! I wouldn't even be able to tell you what she said that was so funny. Mostly vague Menno jokes and lots of puns/running on into the next story. Oh well..we had our laughs..and the food was great. Actually the thing I found most amusing tonight was watching an unnamed person dump coffee all over themselves and the table. :) It was fun for a Christmas Banquet. Hey Justin..I know how you feel about the choir being off when the Piano came in. I watched the highschool jazz band today, and the one girl soloist was off for almost the whole song. Terrible!! I also couldn't help stifling laughter when the soundman gave us two major bouts of feedback. ouch! Oh...Winkler. Speaking of entertainment..come to the Cred. No..the MSR's are not learning how to juggle. We just got an LCD tv put up that will constantly be showing the news with HCU rates running across the screen. I think today it mostly just had political news on, but anyway. 3 more days of work! I was so tired today. I was almost falling asleep at my desk. I only have a few more gifts to buy for Christmas and then I am done. 2 more work parties to go to and 1 family gathering. :) hope you all are having a great Christmas season so far!! God Bless!!

Winding Down

Well...I'm really tired today. I know, weekends are supposed to be time to rest before another week of work, but no such luck for me. :) I ended up getting up at 6:30 yesterday morning in order to get ready for the quiz meet. We met at the church for 7:45 and left for Altona shortly after 8:00. We had to go and pick up Stephen from Plum Coulee, so we ended up taking that route to Altona instead. Now...neither Roger and Mary or I had any idea where the quiz meet was taking place, since I didn't get any of the emails...and they didn't bother to pay attention to the details, since they thought that I would know exactly what was going on. (Me always being so "in charge" and "organized" :) )
So...I called the Duecks from the church in the morning before they left for Briercrest to get directions. I asked Eric which church the quiz meet was at and I was SURE he said Altona Bergthaler Church. Then he gave me directions. "Turn onto rd 11 from the highway, going north for about 2 miles and you'll see it. Now you have to remember that we were coming into Altona from the Plum Coulee side and so...after giving Rog the directions...I figured he knew where we were going..so I followed him. (Me not being too keen on directions and all.) We went past Altona and Mary and I noticed something..we passed rd 9 and then eventually we passed rd 5..we were going the wrong way. We called Rog and I turned around and went back to rd 11. Unfortunately..we were on the wrong side of town. The directions Eric gave me, were given assuming we were coming in on the 201 highway. I only thought of this when we were in the middle of nowhere. The whole time we were driving, it was windy and blowing snow and at times I could hardly see anything. Finally we decided to go back to town and ask directions. ( Mary and I would have done this long ago, but...Men!! don't like to ask directions. Just joking around guys...) So we asked for directions to the Bergthaler Church, which we found, in town. Definitely..nobody there on a Saturday..definitely not a quiz meet happening there. This is when..I told Rog that we should try rd 11 on the 201. Of course, by this time we were all rather frustrated and also running very late!! We finally got out to rd 11. The sign said "Church Rd" and Bergfeld Church 2 miles. We knew we had the right one. ;) The road was really really bad!! Huge drifts of snow that I had to gun through. (Kinda Fun :) Eventually we got there and although we were late..it was still a great day! Lot's of quizzing and lots of talking. My voice was just about gone by the end of the day from asking so many questions. Our A team has a lot of work to do to get up to speed, but our C team actually conquerred. Good Job Guys!! I am really sad to leave quizzing this year. It has been fun having more kids! If anyone knows of someone willing to take my place while I'm gone, let Rog and Mary know. So that was my adventure. Good Times...gotta go eat some lunch now.

First Christmas Party!

I got through my first Christmas party. We had a potluck for our Bible Study group. Wow was that food good!! I ate two platefuls and three different desserts. It was a good thing I had lunch at 11:00 yesterday otherwise I wouldn't have been able to eat as much. We played some Catch Phrase afterward as a group. What a fun game!! I was a little slow on the uptake though. Must have been all the food or I was tired or a combination of the two. ;) Well..it finally feels like winter! Lots of snow out in the parking lot here! I wish I could take a few hours and go play ;)
It is going to be a busy day today!! It's month end and we are handing out calendars. yay for calendars! 7 more days of work. I'm looking forward to my night off tonight. Time to work on home stuff. :0
Anyway..I have some work to key...catch ya later

Time is Flying

Wow..only 3 more weeks till I'm gone. Scary..I have so much to do (and worry about) :) just kidding. I'm a little nervous about traveling on my own, and all that, but it'll work. I still need to do a whole bunch of stuff!! My last two weeks here will be nuts!! I have 3 work Christmas parties and one for Bible Study and I have to Christmas shop for family and friends yet!! crazy! Not enough time and so much to do. Only 10 more days of work. I am really looking forward to the break from work, but I know that there are definitely new challenges ahead. I've been thinking all day about making a list of things to do, but I feel so scattered! If you guys could pray for me, that I'll settle down and be able to get things done, and also to hand all worries over to God. Mom and Dad are still unsure of whether I'm going or not. At least that's what Dad has been saying ;) I'm going to miss them too, but this will be an awesome experience! Anyway...I'd better get to bed so I can get up at a decent hour and get things done tomorrow. g'night

Good Morning!

It's still dark outside. I shouldn't be up yet. :) Actually I slept fairly well last night and am looking forward to being a floater at work today. Floating means walking around and making sure everyone else is doing ok. I don't have to be on cash. So Montreal bombed yesterday. Learn how to catch a ball guys!! This is me...who's afraid of flying objects... talking. Oh well..It was a pretty boring game, and I was watching it with a bunch of loud people. :) No offense to them of course. It was fun..Good food..great to see old friends. I recently discovered that while waking up with music playing can greatly improve your mood in the morning, it also can badly affect your mood throughout the day. At least if it's the beatles you're listening to. Their music doesn't consist of much, and while it might be catchy at first it get's old really fast on the thousandth time through your head. :) I'm going to listen to some better music while I walk to work today. Anywhoos..gotta go get ready..I've actually gotta look good today. :(

It Feels Like Winter..

It's windy outside and gray. So far it has been a very interesting day! I got up at 9:30 after trying to figure out where my crazy dream came from. :) I think I got it figured. Anyway..Came upstairs and had every intention of making myself bacon and eggs for breakfast before going downstairs to start organizing and doing laundry. I ended up sitting in front of the TV and watching city line and then the Remembrance Day ceremonies. While Mom and I were watching, Dad answered the phone and you'll never guess who was on the other end!...Uncle Guy! He was sitting in the Walmart parking lot and wanted Mom and Dad to come and escort him to our place. :) He has never come out to visit us and I haven't seen him since I was like 12 or so. :) Wow! I never knew how much someone could miss the sound of a french accent. ;) What a crazy man! Mom had it written on the calendar to call him tomorrow and all of a sudden, out of the blue he shows up. Well..I still have laundry to do and stuff to sort out. Hope you all have a great day! By the way...I still haven't had that breakfast. :)

Mornings..

So...I've been getting up a lot earlier lately. 6:50 in the morning. You might ask why? Well...It feels better to get up and do my bible reading take a shower, have my starbucks coffee, and then WALK to work. :) It's about a 15-20 minute walk from my parents place and I get to listen to my favorite music on the way. ;) Great stuff. Before moving home, I didn't have coffee made for me in the morning. I didn't have leftovers to take for lunch. I didn't have a double bed that didn't sink in the middle. I didn't have time on my way to work to listen to music. I'm looking at all the positives, because I miss my apartment. :( Can't wait to have my own place again. I'm still staring at a stack of things to unpack and organize. Not right now of course. :)It was nice to have Ashleigh home this week. We even played some dutch blitz for old times sake and Heather beat the tar out of us. (what a stupid saying):s Anyway...it's supposed to be warm next week. The snow is all going to melt. not sure if I really like that yet. well. I have some stuff waiting to key...ttfn

I'm Done!!!

Moving home that is. :) Wow! what a job! I accumulated more stuff this past year than anyone should be allowed to have. I figure i'll live in a tent when I get back from Austria. I am NOT moving that stuff again!! Sorry Bruce and Heather. Whatever is in the basement is now your problem ;) Of course I'm just kidding, but from the feel of my back today...
So...lots of snow fell yesterday! I think I cleaned off my car about 10 times. At least I had all my big furniture moved on Saturday! I feel like going outside and having a snowball fight. It looks so nice and snowy out! I love winter! I walked to work today and it was perfect out. I can't wait to go sledding! I'm supposed to take Bruce and Heather sledding in January, but I guess they might have to come out to Austria for that. :) I would have a perfect hill right down the street!! Sorry guys..I can't pay for the flights though. I wonder how long it would take them to paddle across if they started now. Justin..can they use your canoe?? :)Anyways...enough silliness. Hope you all have a wonderful wintery day!!

It's the End of the World as We Know it....

And I feel annoyed...
I keep on getting these radio songs stuck in my head. "If I had a million dollars," "Is Everybody Going Crazy?" etc.
I haven't had a chance to listen to any decent music lately, so I keep on getting these other songs stuck in my head. The upstairs bathroom had country music going in it yesterday and even though I don't know the name of the song, it keeps running through my head. :( help!!! Anywhoos...I'm going to be packing up a bunch of stuff today and getting rid of all my big furniture. Luckily the new renter wants to take care of my couch and chair and table and chairs for me so I have a few less things to move. I packed up a bunch of books yesterday. Wow!!! I have too many! I'd better get going on finishing up work. ttfn

Hungry...

I didn't remember how hungry I usually am by 1:00. I did eat some breakfast, but obviously not enough to keep my stomach busy. Oh well...I'm going out for lunch with one of the girls today. Chicken Chef. I wonder what I should have? my usual? or maybe the taco salad? I guess we'll see. :) It's been pretty quiet here today, at least on the commercial side. I'm enjoying the feeling of being caught up for once. Last night we had quizzing and I think things are coming together pretty well. Tonight is Bible Classes on the book of Judges. I guess we'll see what Les has for us!

It has been a while again :(

Sorry! I truly tried to post yesterday, but blogger wouldn't let me in!! Life is going...One more week till I move home. I have a lot of work cut out for me this week! oh well, I have a day off tomorrow to start. I was the Junior Church leader this morning. Wow! what a bunch of hooligans. 16 kids is too much! Actually I think we are thinking seriously of splitting the 2-3's from the 4-5's and having two rooms going. It's too hard to keep the younger ones involved and everyone under control and happy. Oh well. kids are cute and fun anyway. I loved playing duck duck goose this morning. I probably got more exercise than I had all week! Football is on. Lately I've been watching a lot of sports. Hockey, Baseball, Football...
I'm trying to think of what I have been thinking about lately that might be worth posting. I've been listening to some Jennifer Knapp lately. Probably about the only female artist I enjoy listening to.

All the chisels I've dulled carving idols of stone
That have crumbled like sand 'neath the waves.
I've recklessly built all my dreams in the sand just to watch,
them all wash away.
Through another day, another trial, another chance to reconcile
To one who sees past all I see.
And reaching out my weary hand I pray that you'd understand
You're the only one who's faithful to me.
All the pennies I've wasted in my wishing well
I have thrown like stones to the sea.
I have cast my lots, dropped my guard, searched aimlessly for a faith
To be faithful to me.
Through another day, another trial, another chance to reconcile
To one who sees past all I see.
And reaching out my weary hand I pray that you'd understand
You're the only one who's faithful to me.
You're the only one who's faithful to me.

I love this song. It reminds me that of all the things I fill my life with, only God really matters and fulfills. Only God is faithful. I put too much of myself into things that don't last or even matter in the long run. It was snowing when I walked to church this morning. Just softly snowing. It was beautiful! I love the changing of seasons! What a reminder of how wonderful everything God has created is, how powerful and attentive to detail God is! The Franklin Graham crusade has been going on this weekend. Hopefully the numbers have been good. The ministry needs a lot of prayer. That the messages and music would be effective in sharing the gospel and touching people's hearts. I hope you all have a good weekend/week ahead!

Back to Routine

Still not sure if that's a good thing, bad thing or either one. :) It's cold and rainy outside again and I want it to stop!! You probably have guessed already that I only talk about the weather when I'm bored or not sure what else to write about. :) I'm also really hungry right now and am waiting for lunch. By the way, sorry I haven't been as regular with posting and everything. Training people really wipes you out! I hope I'll get back into writing more often again. I have a bit of a strange schedule this week. I work every day till thursday, then I get Friday off and work again on Saturday. Should be interesting. 2 more weeks till I move home. Apparently I'll be sleeping in the basement with a ping pong table as a room divider. Oh well, at least I get a nice bed. I really need to find another suitcase though, since I won't have a dresser to put my clothes in before I leave for Austria. Only 2 more months! Still don't really feel like it's real yet! Am I truly moving to a foreign country for more than half a year??! Thanx goes out to Bruce and Heather for storing my stuff for me!!

First Day of Winter??

Brrr!! It is really cold out there today! Snow on the ground and there was ice in my parking spot this morning! Ick!! It has come too early. 7th day of training today. Now it is just basically a test of staying awake and alert while watching to make sure they do everthing right. Just another couple of weeks and then I'll be moving back to my parent's place. Scary!! I still have to figure out what I'm going to do with all my stuff. If I ask some of you to store some...you know why. That sounds dumb, but anyways...
Last night I led quizzing. I know...what's new? I led quizzing by myself. 8 crazy...good kids. :) Had fun and they all did pretty well too! Quizzing is interesting this year. Lots of younger kids. I'm going to stop writing now, because I keep getting distracted and writing 2 word sentences. After this week it will be easier to write again. ttfn

Sorry Guys

I know it has been a little while, but the last few days have been exhausting! I am training my first new employee at work and the amount of talking and explaining and concentrating I have to do is incredible. I forgot how much stuff you have to learn when you first start a job like mine. There is so much little stuff that needs to be remembered that i just take forgranted now. Right down to the way you organize and write things down. :s Last night we had quiz practice. Good times! I love quizzing! It is so encouraging and exciting to see kids excited about memorizing God's Word!! I really need to take more time to memorize again. A couple of weeks ago we had people from Trans World Radio out for a visit and to share in church. One of the things they shared was..in China some Christians would take a week off of work so they could study God's Word before they had to pass their copy of the Bible onto the next person. I need to have that mindset...This might be the last day that I get to read God's revealed Word.
Tonight we had bible study. We are learning how to memorize and meditate on scripture. There are far to many "out there" thoughts about meditation. All it is in a Christian context is thinking and finding new truths about God's word. Trying to get all the truth you can out of the Bible. We went through 2 exercises to help us gain new truths and apply them to our lives. We paraphrased a verse in our own words and we also wrote down questions about verses. These questions were to make us think harder and perhaps even search the scripture more deeply for answers. It was really encouraging and relaxing to be with our group tonight and to share and pray together. I'm feeling pretty rested right now, but I still need to go and get a good night's rest for tomorrow. ;) Tomorrow and Friday we get to wear jeans!! Our boss was in a really good mood when he decided that! Anyway...good night

Patience is a Virtue...

This is the second time I've tried to post this. Apparently God thought I needed a little work in the patience department. I am rewriting this and we'll see how much I remember from what I was trying to write last night. :)
"This too shall pass" or so I keep on telling myself when I'm at work. We have a few new people and it is taking a while to get them "broken in". As fun as these new people are, it takes a lot of patience and a lot of ability to multitask. :) And I haven't even begun training someone yet!
A different topic...We had bible classes last night and Les is now teaching our class. Lots of fun! We just finished getting through the book of Deuteronomy and there are all sorts of "nuggets" in there! I love the way this course makes me have to think! We actually have two groups meeting in the church building. Dad is teaching the other class. We will be getting together to begin with some singing and inbetween we'll get together for coffee as well. It will be great to get to know some more people. I think if everyone came from the two groups, we would have 40+ people there.I don't have to start work till 12:00 today, but I should still go eat something for lunch. Otherwise I'll be starving by the time 3:30 break comes along.

Long Weekend

Yes!! It is the weekend and I get Monday off as well!! Quizzing went really well last night and we had a lot of fun! I really hope that the kids get as enthused about quizzing as I am! We have a bunch of new kids this year and hopefully it will go well. We might even have enough to have 3 teams this year! Wow! Big change from last year! I'm really excited about memorizing Acts. I really love the situation questions that pop up when we're quizzing on books like the gospels or Acts. Kinda fun to try and figure them out. Well, we have a special treat this weekend. David and Mindy Nelson are out to visit. David is the guy who got Dad hooked on BTCP training materials and who has been working in the Philipines with the same materials. Such a fun couple!! Anyway...I've gotta go and make some phone calls.

Back into Routine

Yesterday we started our small groups! It sounds like it will be a good year. I'm a little bit sorry that I will only be around for the first half of the book. Also...We will be starting up the quizzing again this week. Friday night is our "kickoff". I really hope that we get the kids interested. I really want to memorize Acts this year. I need to check out the materials website and see what we should order. It is going to be interesting this year. We need another couple to help lead, especially when I leave. I guess a prayer request would be that we as leaders would be good communicators and that we would find someone else to help. Anyway...gotta get back to work.

Could Someone Please Help Me Stop Yawning?!!

Yes, I am very tired today. It is dreary and cold outside and that always makes me feel tired. Yesterday we had a family member from out east just drop in. No, it wasn't Josh. :) shucks. actually it was my first cousin twice removed. Her name is Judy. We had so much fun trying to figure out exactly how we are related. :) We can't figure it out as fast as all you mennonites!! I think my great great grandfather is her grandfather and my mom's great grandfather. And my grandfather is her uncle or something like that. She is a character and we had fun looking at some pictures of her travels and just chatting. It is really nice to have a couple people from my Mom's side of the family still visit or call every once in a while. We are a lot more in touch with my Dad's side. Anyway...I have a bit of work to do now....

Please, Break My Heart

The title is one that you may or may not understand. I will explain it yet. Yesterday I found out that two very dear friends of mine lost their baby. The knowledge of them having to deal with such pain and loss had me in tears. This brought me around to thinking about something God has been impressing on my heart. Having a broken heart. Losing someone you love is always something that brings that pain. Some biblical background...
Adam and Eve - lost their son Abel
Abraham - offering up his son to God
Jacob - Losing his son Joseph and thinking he was dead
Job - Lost everything, I'm sure his Sons and Daughters were the worst part of that loss
David - Lost his first child born of Bathsheba, and his son Absalom
Mary the Mother of Jesus - Watching her son be crucified
God - gave His only Son for each and every one of us.

What pain must all of these people have felt?? What pain must God feel each time a person turns away from His gift?!! All these people who went through these things still gave glory to God through faith.

The other night I was praying and I asked God to soften my heart, to break my heart for each person I come in contact with. It is easy to feel pain and concern for those close to us who are hurting. It is easy for us to express concern and caring for those who are across the ocean. It is not easy for us to care for the people that we come in contact with either through work, or maybe even just random people you meet as you live each day. For me, it's the people that come in for a few seconds, to do business. It is easy to be completely impersonal and forget about them immediately. These people have problems and are hurting too. What does it take for us to care? I personally always try to guard my heart from pain. Knowing too many people too well, is a recipe for getting hurt. I pray that God will break down the barriers that I build up. That I would care more about the other person than about myself. That I would be willing to have my heart broken, to feel concern for each person I meet. That I would be willing to let God have the glory.

Dull...

I know, I know. When am I actually going to have a real post? Not right now. Yes I am very bored at work, but for me to actually keep a train of thought here, is impossible. Right now I have been counting the seconds till lunch time. only 1920 more to go!! I'll post more tomorrow

Oh What a Day!!

Yesterday, I was invited to go on a hike with some friends from camp. I thought "sure, a couple of hours hiking and maybe icecream after, no problem". It turned into a 10 hour marathon of fun and laughter!! We left my parents place around 1:00 in the afternoon and headed out to camp for some exercise. And oh, what a gorgeous day for hiking!! 20 degrees, the trees are starting to turn, the sun was out, Perfect!! After our hike, they decided to play some football. Since I haven't got over my fear of flying/falling objects, I opted for lazing in the sun instead. Afterward we went out for ice cream at Dairy Queen. Yum! Pecan Cluster Blizzard. Lots of laughs and then we decided to go and buy some food from Stuporstore, and make supper at someone's house. Perogies and bacon. Good stuff. lots more laughs and then we went to another person's house for some basketball and frisbee, where I again opted for the sidelines and my 4 doggy friends. Apparently every animal knows what a sucker I am. ;) We ended up gong inside and eating and laughing some more and finally got back to my parents place around 11:30. Anyway, It is another gorgeous day outside. Maybe I'll go rollerblading or something.

Just a Typical Day at Work

So...not much new going on in my life. Yesterday I firmly decided that chewing tobacco is an absolutely disgusting habit! It reeks, it bulges out your cheek, it makes it hard to talk properly and I'm sure that there are many other reasons beyond that. Besides serving that one person last night was a very slow and easy night. Today I'm on commercial. Yay!! love that! So, I got my passport in the mail a few days ago. It only took them 14 days to get it to me. Not bad! Also, Tauernhof got my application so it is now completely officially official. And...I got my leave of absence approved from work. Great!! Everything is falling into place so neatly! I'd better start working now. :)

Back to Work

So, my first day back at work after my extra long weekend and I got to work overtime. Yay!! Can you tell I'm being sarcastic? I am. No, it wasn't because I was rusty and couldn't balance. It was because it was so incredibly busy!! So much for a holiday to get rested up! I think I'm more tired now than before. I'm sitting here listening to my little bro record some harmonies for one of his songs. If I didn't know better, I would think that he just couldn't sing. :) It's funny 'cause we can't hear the music he's singing along with, so we just hear him singing something that sounds very off key. :) Anyway...I think I'm going to go home now and do some more Sudokus to make me really tired, and then I'm going to bed. g'night

The LifeLight Experience

Wow! What a great weekend!! So, apparently my parents (no pun intended) like Perkins because it's "predictable". We stopped there for lunch the other day in Winnipeg, and then on the way down to Sioux Falls, and also when we got to Sioux Falls. For those of you who know how indecisive I can be when looking at a menu, I am really tired of Chicken Quesadillas. :) When we stopped for lunch at Perkins we were seated right by a middle aged couple who were taking their very elderly mother out for lunch. So funny!! They kept on reading suggestions off the menu for her with tantalizing comments. The elderly woman was so spunky! She didn't know what she wanted, but she sure knew what she didn't want!! After a few such comments, Mom and I were trying to not obviously laugh at them. So when we got to Sioux Falls we camped at the KOA. Showers, a great playground, laundry facilities and not too many other things that would recommend them. Not my idea of real camping, but I'm not complaining too hard because it was cold and wet so it was good to have those things (minus the playground). LifeLight...Yeah, so it started out with a lot of rain (and I mean a lot!!) With close to 100,000 people walking all over the grounds and driving all over the fields where there was parking, it was soon a muddy mess! I wore flip flops on Friday and got a really great pedicure!!! Hardened mud..exfoliation..yah. :) We sat in the dining tent and watched people trying to walk up a little hill to get to the main stage and wiping out. People were walking around in mud from head to toe!! The showers and dryers were in demand at the KOA that night. The next day was much better!! It was still a little cold, but it was drying up. They had brought in wood chips and gravel and we had gone out and bought rubber boots (with hard toes for moshing!!jk). We managed to stay fairly warm and dry and the concerts were good! Sunday was definitely my favorite day for concerts though. Leeland ( a really great band with a 17 year old lead singer!! ) Sanctus Real, Kutless, and Newsboys...although not my favorite band, they always have a fun concert!! The sun also decided to come out on "Sun"day and dried everything out and kept us much warmer. So we came back safe and sound and even without a cold!!

The Gift of Love

The reason I was thinking about what I am going to share with you is because I had a song stuck in my head. I know that those songs are often not ones that we want stuck, but this time I was blessed with one of my favorites.

Arms of Love
I sing a simple song of love
To my Savior, to my Jesus
I'm grateful for the things You've done
My loving Savior, my precious Jesus
My heart is glad that you've called me your own
And there's no place I'd rather be
Than in Your arms of love
Than in Your arms of love
Holding me still, holding me near
In Your arms of love

We have been given a gift called love. There are many ways that people think about love, but I'm thinking in the simplest terms of the meaning. God gave His Son out of love for mankind. He wants us back.

1John 4:9-11 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might have life through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Since God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another.

If God had not shown His love for us in this way, what reason would we have for showing kindness to others? We as Christians should literally be taking Christ's example when he was here on earth, and loving others like he did. Without asking, "what's in it for me?". If Christ had not come, what would our world be like? I know that for me, living in a Christian community, it's hard to imagine. In this way we can understand the verse:

1John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

So simple. But is it really? God has given us an opportunity to love. By becoming a Christian, going to church, going to youth, being baptized...all those things we do...in these things we are supposed to be making a conscious decision to live as Christ did, to LOVE as Christ did and does. Are we? What a scary, exciting, challenging thought!

Please realize that in writing this I am not trying to judge you. This is just my thoughts about my life made public, to challenge and hopefully encourage you!!

Another Day, Another Dollar (or a few more)

Ya, I'm working today. :( Actually I've been sitting here watching other people work. haha. I'm on commercial teller today and it's separate from the other tellers. I only have to key business deposits and there haven't been that many businesses coming in. I get to go for lunch pretty soon. Yippee. I couldn't find much to eat at home though. I have eggos and syrup and nachos and salsa and a yogurt. weird, I know. I only have to work 3 days next week! yay! I'm on vacation on thursday and friday and then we are going to sioux falls for life light fest. good times! I know I'm not writing with good grammar or phonetics, but I'm sure you all get the general idea. As one of my coworkers said this morning "Saturdays are when you are supposed to be home watching cartoons." :) I'm lazy...

Making it a Habit

Hey,
You might find that I don't really have much to say, but I'm trying to make this a habit. :) Eventually it might stick and I'll actually update this regularly. So I started reading some of "The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer". Wow!! A lot of it doesn't really sink in, but some of it I'm able to understand. What an amazing thinker!! And to be able to put it into words! Even though the average person may not be able to understand it right off. I'm finding it fascinating anyhow, and it's pulled me in enough that I might actually be able to keep reading it without getting sidetracked. Well..I've been thinking about all the things that I may need for Austria and trying to cut out all the unneccessary. It really is going to be hard to fit everything in two bags. What about all my shoes? just kidding. I'll live without my 2 dozen pairs somehow. 'k maybe I don't have quite that many. Only 18 pairs that I can think of excluding slippers. :) At least I have the reputation of girls packing a lot as an excuse. If Justin didn't need his 50 lbs of stuff, he could bring some of my stuff to Europe as well and just forward it to me when I got there. LOL It might look kinda strange for him to be bringing my heels with him though. :) (Justin: I give you permission to get me back.) Maybe I'd better go before I dig myself into a deeper hole.

There and Back Again (Beth's Tale)

Actually, I'm going to keep this relatively short, because I am really tired. :) It was a successful day in the city. I got my flights booked, my travel insurance bought, and all the browsing through stores I ever have wanted to do in my life, done. It really feels official that I am going now! I also feel more nervous than ever about the lack of travelling I've done, but what better way to get experience except through experiencing. :) It was a fun day with the parents, but exhausting nonetheless. Far too much "browsing and saving", not that I wanted to spend money. Oh well, at least most of the day was spent in one of my favorite places...shoe stores. Just one of my many weaknesses, but I was able to hold out and didn't buy a single pair. Every time I was tempted, I just told myself that I was saving money by not buying them. I saved a few hundred bucks today. haha. Dad was looking for some shoes, but he ended up saving money too! There's nothing out there that could possibly measure up to my Dad. :) just kidding. The styles are a little weird in Men's dress shoes right now though. A whole bunch of European styles that have long toes that make you look like one of Santa's elves!!! :) Well...things are quickly falling into place for my trip so...time to talk to the boss. :) gotta get to bed soon! my eyes are starting to close on me. Peace

I'm Going to AUSTRIA!!!

Yes, I've known about this for three weeks already, but I figured it was time to share it with everyone. I'm sure not that many people are actually checking this site for updates anymore, but I guess I might try writing on here again. I have been looking into possibly either going to school or working at a school for quite a while, but finally on a day when I was feeling "down in the dumps", I got an email from Capernwray Tauernhof in Austria saying that they would like me to come and help out for 6 months. So...I will be spending Christmas and my 20th birthday in the Alps!! :) I'm excited to see what God has to show me in another part of the world. I'm ready for a challenge and a change of scenery and to meet new people. Please pray for me that I will be completely willing and ready to be used by God.
God Bless

Keeping the Story Alive (by a thread)

So...I started a story a long time ago and have failed to keep it going. I will try to finish it now. If you haven't read the rest of the story, you may want to go back to previous posts and read it. Here goes...
...The story went something like this...History of a land called Allmansway: In the land of Allmansway there is a castle where the king ruled. The king reigned over the land for many many years. More years than one man should ever live. The substance of his life came from a small glass vial. This vial sustained the whole land, because it had been given to the king by the woman he loved. This woman became his wife and bore him two sons. The eldest son's name was David. After David was born she didn't have another child for several years and then finally she had her second son whom they called Percivald. From the first Davy and Percy did not get along. Percy was always taking his parents attention and often did so selfishly. He was always getting into mischief and then blaming Davy. Davy (although he did not like it) put up with it and tried to please his parents as best as he could. Then one day, as Percy and his mother were out riding in the orchard, she fell from her horse and hit her head on a rock. She never became conscious again and eventually died, and from that day on Percy became more and more unhappy, blaming himself for the accident. Percy hated himself and more and more he turned his hatred toward his brother Davy. Davy was now 20 years old and Percy was 14. One day as Percy was in the village tormenting the peasants he came upon an old abandoned hut and decided to explore. He found that it was an old conjurer's hut filled with potions. He found a potion labeled "jungmachen". He found another one that was labeled "sprechmacht".
Of course, being the King's son, he is skilled in different languages and could discern that these meant "youngmaking" and "speakingpower" or thereabouts. Suddenly a nasty idea sprang into his mind.... You will have to "tune in next time" for more of the story. Please leave me an idea of what you think should happen.
ttfn, Beth

Cookie Blitz

Hey, Sunday for college and career we decided to make cookies for some of the people in our church. Everybody brought some ingredients and we mixed up a double batch of hamburger cookie dough. While the guys did that, us girls decided to play some dutch blitz. I got a new set of blitz cards for my birthday that needed breaking in. It was great fun to let the guys have the kitchen while we fooled around. We ended up bringing cookies to 10 different households rather late in the evening. Tonight we have another quiz practice. yay! I always look forward to it. I find it fun even if the quizzers don't always. We are working on the first half of the 14th chapter of Romans today. I am going to try to get the verses memorized. It is always easier if I know the verses as well. This is going to be a busy week. I am working monday through saturday. Thankfully my evenings aren't all booked yet. I'm guessing that it will be a pretty quiet week here at the "Cred". I really don't have that much to say today soo...
catch ya later

It's Been a Really Long Time

Hey Guys
I knew I would be sporadic when I first started this thing, but this is absolutely horrible. I haven't posted since May. Apparently I got a full time job. :) I'll fill you in a bit on what has been happening in the last 6-7 months. I had what seemed to be a very short summer which was spent mostly at work. In August I started earnestly looking for an apartment for me and Heather to live in. I also bought my first car.In September Heather got engaged. In October I decided to move out on my own. In November I moved into my new apartment. Somewhere in that time my brother got engaged as well. In December our whole family was together for Christmas including my almost sister-in-law, Jenna. We had a wonderful Christmas together although it was different this year. In January I threw a bridal shower for Heather. SO FUN!!! I had a whole bunch of girls over for the evening and a few even stayed for night.
Heather is getting married March 25th and Josh is getting married May 6th. I am still at my job at the "Cred" and am enjoying it more than I've ever enjoyed any other job. I am loving living on my own and I don't think I could ever go back. Even though it is expensive, it's good to know that my money is going toward something worthwhile. (living, eating, etc.) :) The only reason I'm writing on here right now is because i have been so incredibly bored at work today. Too quiet. After Christmas no one has any more money to spend. Anywhoos... I'll try to post again eventually.
buh-bye for now
Beth