Rodelling..??

Many of you are asking, "What on earth is that?". Only the most amazing winter activity in the whole world!! So..the next mountain over has a rodelbahn that is 7 kms long. Basically it's tobogganing on a little wooden sled with a canvas seat that you steer by dragging your feet. It is so much fun!! Last night we went with the Norwegians that are here for this week. It was lots of fun to be able to go in the dark. They have lights all the way down the rodelbahn and there is even a tunnel that we have to go through. It takes 20 minutes to get down to the bottom and there are a lot of twists and turns and bumps on the way. I went during the day last week with Steve and Christy who were here from California, but last night was great. I took my own sled this time. It actually costs quite a bit to be able to go, but I'm going to get a ski pass so that I can go for cheaper during the day. It's really funny to think that rodelling would be completely illegal in Canada or the States. We go down at such a high speed and with so many people etc. Crazy, but awesome! I had french fries last night. They were almost exactly the same as McD's french fries. My system decided that it doesn't like fast food as much anymore. :) Oh well..probably good anyway. Well...It's really warm out again today. It was +15 yesterday and it must be close to that again today. I sat outside for a couple of hours yesterday and I think I got a bit of a tan. I think I'm going to go and read outside again. Hope you are all doing well. Send us some snow ok?

To Germany and Back...

So..I had the opportunity to go for a drive yesterday. Steve and Christy from California needed a ride back to Munich airport. To begin with, just Mark (from Australia) was going to drive them back, but I decided to go along last minute. :) I'm glad I did. The drive was beautiful! It took 2 and 1/2 hours to get there and we took a longer way back to see a more scenic route. It was weird to be in a vehicle again. I've only been in a moving vehicle 5 times since Christmas. Some of the scenery and lakes and stuff reminded me of being in Ontario. Except that the mountains here are huge. :) Today I got up at 6 to prepare breakfast for the new group. It's the Norwegians again. A bunch of kids between 18-20 or so. They are already excellent skiiers and so all the ski instructors basically have this week off. It was great though. Niffy helped me in the house and Mark helped in the Kitchen and everything was done really fast. If it's like that all week...Wow! I could handle that. So much better!! I was done cleaning almost an hour early and the Norwegians always take a bag lunch so we were done lunch clean up really early as well. Well..that's all for now. Oh..by the way, I didn't actually see anything of Munich other than the airport. We weren't sure of having enough time, what with all the traffic. ttfn

Crazy Americans!!

Well..we have a bunch of people here from the southern states this week. I almost forgot how obnoxious Americans and Canadians can sometimes be. It's not that they are trying to be, but compared to the German and Austrian culture they come across as quite rude sometimes. :) Oh well..I guess I'm just getting used to reserved people. It has been fun though to talk to some people who speak my language fluently. I am feeling a lot better than when I had the flu, but I have now managed to get another cold. Last night I didn't sleep as well as I would have liked, but today I'm just taking it easy since it's my day off. I'm really looking forward to lunch here today. We are having chicken legs and mashed potatoes. Yum!! Tomorrow I am on devotion again, so I'll share with you what I'm going to share with them. This is word for word..I didn't take the time to change it for on here. Sorry. :)

I just want to share a few thoughts that God has been laying on my heart lately.
You are all here on vacation, trying to be refreshed and encouraged before you go back to work. You probably have some expectations about this week. You probably want to be encouraged spiritually as well as refreshed physically. I came here with basically those expectations as well. I wanted a break from my job, and my lifestyle at home. I’m a pastor’s daughter in a small town in rural Manitoba. It is a Christian community and almost everyone has heard the gospel for most of their lives. I worked in a Credit Union for 1 year and 8 months. They gave me a leave of absence to come here and I plan to go back to the same job. Over the past few years I fell into complacency. I lost my passion for God’s work. Being here has helped me to rebuild a structure of good habits. Prayer and devotion in the mornings, bible studies in the evenings, having to prepare devotions to share with guests, being encouraged to partake in physical activity. Having a far more physical job than the one I left back home. One of the things that has really encouraged me to have a good attitude is the prayer times in the morning with the kitchen and house staff. Making a decision to have a good attitude about the work during the day and praying for each other and the other staff as well has really made an impression on me. Since the first few weeks here, feeling closer to God than I have in several years, I’ve been struggling a bit with the thought of going home. It is going to be really hard to keep up the good habits that have been structured here for me. The program and people here are not going to be with me back home. How can I not fall into the same complacency? How can I be motivated to change my lifestyle at home? It’s going to take a huge concentrated effort on my part. Conscious decisions to spend meaningful time with God each day, and to have the attitude of doing everything to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31 says..So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
To have an attitude of being excited for all the opportunities God provides me with each day to build others up and show the love of Christ to others. To seek out relationships that will encourage me and allow me to encourage others.
Hebrews 10:24-25 says..And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage each other and all the more as we see the Day approaching.
I’ve been doing a lot of reading in Paul’s epistles lately. One verse that has always stood out to me is 1 Corinthians 11:1 Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.
Paul was joyful in the midst of persecution and let God use him in all circumstances. I’ve never thought of my life back home as hard, but that was the problem..the fact that there was no challenge should have been a challenge in itself. All of us have challenges and mine at home is to make a conscious effort to glorify God in all my actions and thoughts, to be excited to live each day for Christ.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says…Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, be we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly. I do not fight like a man beating the air. No I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
A song that has really touched my heart is called "Mistaken for Jesus" by Warren Barfield.
The Chorus reads: Til everyone I talk to hears His voice, and everyone I touch feels the warmth of His hand, Til everyone I meet sees Jesus in me, this is all I want to be. I want to be mistaken for Jesus.
I worked at a summer camp 3 years ago for the whole summer. It was a lot like being here. My time was structured, we had bible studies and chapels to go to and we had to prepare devotionals for the kids. I remember going home at the end of summer and feeling very discouraged for a while, because after camp I went back to "life as usual". It is very easy to feel discouraged after a time like this, because we go through an emotional high, a spiritual high, and even a physical high while we’re here and it can be difficult to prepare ourselves to go back to our lives and be happy with our lives at home. For me it will be important to set goals for myself when I get home, to make sure that I keep my life on track, to make sure that I am spending time on my relationships with God and people. It will be difficult, but I’m convinced that it is worth it.
In Philippians 4:11-13 Paul says..I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. Whether well fed or hungry, in plenty or in want. The secret is…I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Paul went through many trials and God gave him the grace and strength to persevere. God is still the same today. He wants people like Paul. God didn’t put Paul’s story in the Bible to make us think it’s impossible to be that great. God wanted us to be encouraged to follow in his example. Paul was just a man and apart from Christ he wasn’t anything special. We have the same God to give us the strength and opportunities to do great things. It isn’t easy. We can’t just sit around and wait for life to happen to us. We have to be an active part of life, making a conscious decision to live for Christ. Sometimes it won’t be fun physically or emotionally, but it is eternally rewarding. John 10:10 says..I came that they may have life and have it to the full.
And 1 Timothy 6:17-19 says..Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

So..that's my devo for tomorrow. You can all pray for me that I would be able to speak clearly and not be too nervous. Thanx. :)

Another Week Nearly Gone

Well..it's been another great week. But I am so wiped out. As you know, I didn't start out the week very strong. This weekend will hopefully be a good time to relax and recover before the next week. So..I haven't been hearing very much about home lately. I'm not exactly homesick, but it would be nice if some of you would keep in touch. :) Even if you only leave a quick comment for me. It would be much appreciated. Those of you who have blogs... please update them!! I check them almost everyday. :) I usually have a few hours in the afternoon to read and write emails and stuff. It would be great to hear from some of you guys! Email me or something. It's a lot more fun to open my email to find something more than just junk. :) So..off my soapbox now. It's really beautiful outside here again. Probably around +11 and sunny! I didn't go running today, but I will be going for a walk with Hilde very shortly. About running..I finally cut my time in half for the trail that I have been running. The first time I went it took about an hour and I didn't even make it all the way. Now I can run it in half and hour and all the way there and back. It's really fun! The walking path runs along the River and it is called the Talbach. It is a Trail that begins in Schladming and circuits up to Rohrmoos-Untertal and back down to Schladming. The second half of the trail is not passable in Winter because it is so steep and icy so I just do the walking path by the river to the Village of Untertal and back. I don't really know how far it is, but it's a pretty decent walk. Walking at a normal pace it would take about an hour and twenty minutes from Tauernhof and back. Beautiful though!! Anywhoo..I'm keeping Hilde waiting. ttfn

Epidemic...

I'm sitting here staring out the window at fireworks. Apparently they're a year long thing. :) It's actually kinda annoying to hear them at night when I'm trying to sleep. This flu I've got is an epidemic in Germany. It's terrible. I actually got a fairly mild strain of it. One of the guys here was laid out for 3 days with terrible stomach cramps and vomiting etc. I, luckily, didn't have much worse than nausea, dizziness and shortness of breath and incredible weakness and sore skin and muscles and joints. I've slept a lot the past few days, but I still have had a few dizzy spells and can't breathe properly sometimes. I went to church in a town called Aich this morning. Dani and Niffy are both in the choir of the Evangelical church here in town and they go to different churches to play every once in a while. Niffy plays the viola and it's amazing to hear! It's another new camp this week. More German people, but most of them have been here several times before. I will be working in the kitchen this week, it's good. The cleaning is fairly demanding physically and I am really tired. Next camp is a camp for Christian Pilots from all over the world. Should be fun! I get to share another devotional and I'm glad it will be in English. Anyway...hope you are all doing well where you are.

Well..it's been awhile. It has been a bit hectic lately. :) This past weekend we had a staff outing. Crazy people!! We hiked up Hochwurzen. I walked and the rest of the group used touring skis. It was an hour and a half straight up the ski slope. I have never been in such pain!! There was no relief, no flat areas, just up. Anyway..we finally got to the top and had supper in a hut. Great ribs and potatoes. I ate a lot and was still hungry! I thought I was in pretty good shape already, but the Austrians proved me wrong. We all thought that the ski hill was open for night skiing that night, so everyone else would ski down and I'd take the Gondola, but it turned out that the slopes were closed. Luckily a few people had headlamps. It was decided that I would get a piggy back ride down by Andy or Heli. They are the best skiiers here and the strongest. Of course I said "NO WAY!!" how embarrassing. I could just run down and be down 10 minutes later than the rest, but Hans Peter didn't want to have to worry about me. Just before we were going to leave, one of the other staff said that they didn't feel comfortable skiing in deep snow in the dark. So it was arranged that she and I would get a skidoo ride down to the bottom. Thank Goodness!! I never would have been able to live that one down. Besides, how scary would it be to be skiing in complete darkness and blowing snow downhill on someone's back?? Bet you wouldn't do it either! So that was our staff outing. Fun, but tiring. Tuesday was the World Cup Ski Race here in Schladming so I was able to watch Bodie Miller and Ted Ligety ski the Planai. We all got free tickets to the race since we are within the fenced off area. Cool!! It was THE ski race of the year. I have no idea what happened or who won. :) There were 42,000 people in Schladming that night. I got sick yesterday and couldn't even work today. I am sitting here feeling as sick as a dog. :s The flu is going around like an epidemic here. Luckily I have only been feeling feverish and weak and all my joints are sore. I've been having a hard time walking up or down stairs today. Prayer would be appreciated. :) That's all that's new for now. ttfn