Kino im Klassenraum

One Saturday night, Dan and I got the idea to turn our classroom into a theater (Kino). Ikea lounge chairs were set up on top of tables in rows and the beamer shone in front of us creating our very own theater screen. We watched Der Sohn von Rambo (Son of Rambo). A stupidly funny movie . It was a good choice for us GTL (German as a third language) students. You didn’t necessarily need to understand every word. We topped the night off with a variety of Süβigkeiten, snacks and drinks. More Kino nights are sure to come.

Survivor: Bergen

So here is one of those highlights I was talking about. A youth Survivor night, German version. Dan worked alongside the Teen and Youth groups to plan this big event. He made quite the impressive PowerPoint presentation to help run the night and explain the games. The girls worked away painting posters and decorating the church to give it the perfect stranded island feel. This was all new to them as they had no idea what "Survivor" was but they had a blast working together to put this night on. Dan and I were very proud of them and think that this was the biggest accomplishment during his practicum as it gave the group a glimpse of what they can do themselves. Without a pastor there to lead them, they were feeling a little lost and didn't really have a vision. After this Survivor evening, they were feeling encouraged and were asking about the next Survivor night. They would love to have us back for the next one but reality is, they are going to have to do it on there own. The good news is that we know they can do it. We are looking forward to the day we get an email from one of the youth telling us all about it.

Dan's 6 Week Practicum in Bergen

From January 10th to February 22 Dan and I were living in Bergen, Germany for Dan's practicum. We were working at the same church that we had been going to every second weekend to work with the teens and youth. This was nice as we had already had some contacts and relationships were starting to grow. The only downside to going to Bergen was that the church no longer had a pastor so Dan didn't get to see what he would have done all day. The plus side was that Dan was able to give some of the ministry leaders a break by taking over the teen and youth groups completely as well as having the whole parsonage to ourselves. It was so nice to live on our own even if it meant doing our own grocery shopping, making our own meals and cleaning a big house. We really enjoyed it. The parsonage had 4 bedrooms, a big kitchen, huge living room and 2 bathrooms (which meant there was always a toilet when you needed one. No having to wait an hour or run down 3 flights of stairs to use the class washroom.)

Also there being no pastor on staff meant that Dan and I had most mornings and afternoons free to spend time alone, go running, read, bake, organize our pictures and update our blog. Dan spent most mornings getting ahead on his reading schedule for school, preparing talks for teen and youth groups, devotions for senior group and prayer group.

In the evenings, we attended various home group bible studies, church meetings, prayer meetings, leaded teen and youth groups and hosted game nights at "our place". It was so nice to really get to know the teen and youth while we were there and we are looking forward to continuing to go back about twice a month until we head back to Canada.

We were blessed to meet some many wonderful people over delicious home-cooked meals. We were invited several times to the Lubek's where we always ate traditional German food and talked about the progress of the Grace Point Church of God building in Edmonton. We even went on a double date with them to see Russian Opera singers. It was pretty amazing. Every Friday afternoon we were at the Maxin's for lunch, games, listening to old records or watching The Gaither's on VHS. It was good times! While visiting the Pechmann's, we saw a photo album that Oma Schultz had made them after one of their visit to Edmonton. It was so nice to see familiar faces. I was surprised to see a picture on Dan and Betty in their when Dan was only about 4 years old. What a cutie!

There were a few more highlights of the 6 week practicum. Details on those to come.