Easter Camp

Hi Everyone! I'm back in the office after kids camp. And I'm really beginning to recover. If I can be honest the kids camp, for me was kind of stressful. In fact it was more stressful than most camps. But the truth is, I can honestly say that while I may have been at my weakest God's work was amazing to watch.

It seems like most kids at the camp were touched by God over the week in one way or another. I remember one of the boys sitting quietly on the last night of camp after the chapel service had ended. When I walked over to him he asked whether or not I could pray for him: that he would be able to practice what he learned in camp, and that he would be braver and more open about sharing Jesus in his school.

I actually had a chance to be an English Teacher at this camp. Which was a first for me - normally I'm counseling, or doing something else along those lines. So it was an exciting opportunity to be able to work in a different part of the ministry we do. It was also an experience that stretched me. Having never really taught English before, it was definitely a learning experience to try and teach English as a second language (translation... I was pretty darn green as an English teacher, and realize how much more there is to learn about it).

It was also a great chance for me to work with a mostly German staff at camp. Normally over the summer we try to fill the staff primarily with people from North America. But I can honestly say that it was a great chance for me to get a different perspective on camp & work with people I would, under normal circumstances, never have the chance to.

"We're lighten this guy up!"

So here goes my second totally random post for the day - I did end up buying the MLB radio package so I could listen to Indians games in my spare time... or while I'm doing things that don't require a ton of thought. I signed on to listen to the season opener against the rangers... And something was wrong with the radio feed from Cleveland... so I listened to the Texas station. And who comes on the radio at the bottom of the 2nd? George W. So he's chatting with the announcers, and whatnot (he sounds much more relaxed than a couple of months ago btw.) when Texas starts a rally... as they scored the 4th run of the inning he said (and I quote) "We're lighten this guy up... I can say that in radio right?" "This guy" just happened to be our ace Cliff Lee... Ouch... thanks Mr. President.

Joan Osborne?

So I'm sitting at my desk - about 10 yards away from the coffee machine/microwave with the door open, when all of a sudden I hear someone whisteling & singing the song "One of Us" by Joan Osborne... (or "What if God Was One of Us")... only one word to describe my reaction... WOW....

Pizza Night

So last night I held a little pizza night get together in my apartment. A couple of friends from the North American missionary community came over and brought their favorite toppings, and I made dough, sauce, & Italian Sausage from scratch. And the truth is, I think we got somewhere close to the American styles we were trying to make (2 Chicago style pizzas  & 2 New York style pizzas).

It was a good time, not just for the food... but its really enjoyable to hang out with peers. Its also kind of a bizarre feeling to celebrate our American culture while in Germany. It was something I noticed last 4th of July while I was here --- having to explain the holiday to a lot of the people around me. But its something, I think, will definitely have to be done again.

Happy Hump Day

Yes sports fans... Its Wednesday. And the week's "Hump Day" (Ie... once you're done you're over the hump). Before delving into my essay of the day I want to thank all of you who have been reading this, or checking in fairly regularly. I really appreciate your thoughts and prayers, and can't thank you enough. Its been kind of a rough couple of weeks at the office... for a few different reasons, none of which are either blog worthy, or even really blogable. But, as my analytics package is telling me, there are people reading, and I want to thank you. (ESP. those of you from Cedarville... wow...).

So baseball season starts next week. Its kind of funny... in the states I'm usually not that excited about it. Don't get me wrong, I love a good game of ball... but there's usually other stuff (like the Cavs dominating... although I guess that's true this year) that kind of take precedence. I just found out, though, that MLB.com has got a sweet deal on listening to baseball games over the Internet ($14.99 for a subscription to every ball game this year), and to the best of my knowledge its "On Demand" which means that I can listen to a night game the next day... And the truth is... I love having a ball game on in the background while I work on things. And I love the fact that that's one part of Americana that I don't have to loose touch with. That being said GO TRIBE! (ahh... every sports season in Cleveland starts with Faux-Optimism).

But baseball isn't the only thing on my mind. More importantly the Kids Easter Camp starts next week. Next Thursday is more and more of a deadline, and I'm getting a bit more apprehensive about teaching, especially teaching Middle School kids. I know I can do it, but am, frankly, a bit concerned about how I'll do... That's probably a good thing though, as its a very tangible reminder as to why preparing for something well is important. I'm looking forward to working with the kids though; its a reminder as to why we do what we do in in the English Camp offices. I'm also more and more greatful to the awesome teachers I had at that age, who I can use as an example. As my German teacher's throughout the years for modeling how to teach a second language (Thanks Frau Pariano & Dr. Shaver!). So if you guys would be willing to keep me in prayer as I prep. and then teach that would be greatly appreciated!

Kids Camp & Food

Preparations for the Easter "Kids Camp" are officially underway. I guess they probably have been for a little while already, but I've just gotten involved as of the end of last week. I will officially be teaching English for the camp...  which is a first for me. So I'm a little bit apprehensive about that, but overall very excited. I've heard good things about Easter camp, and am really looking forward to being able to take part in one of them.

That also means that come next Thursday I very possibly will have no Internet connection for about a week and a half.  That means that unless I pre-program a few short posts for my blog there'll be about a week and a half of dead-space, followed by a full write up/report on Easter camp.

In other news... I'm loving the availability of cheap food here. Last night after coming home from playing soccer at BFA I raided my refrigerator and had an awesome snack/dinner. German Bread, a little bit of lunch meat, french cheese & something to drink. Total price... my guess is about  $.75  ... in America the price would have been at least doubled. (The cheese I was eating would have been the real killer. 250g, which is just over half a pound here runs about $2.50 I would be shocked if a half pound in the states was under $7).

And the truth is... my eating habits have turned more... European in the past couple of weeks. I'm eating significantly less meat - which isn't a bad thing. I'm actually probably right around the FDA's recommendations (or at least what they were when I had my last health class... yeah PACL). My serving sizes are actually smaller, although I tend to eat a bit more often throughout the day. I'm drinking quite a bit of mineral water. &  Bread... wow... love the bread here, although I always have... its one of the things I always look forward to coming back to.

An old fashioned whippin'

I had a chance to go watch the BFA boys soccer team play against the local German team last night... wow. Congratulations BFA boys on your victory :-).