Have a Good Horse

So I have yet another blunder in my language skills to share with you. It happened about 2 weeks ago when I was leaving the mid-week Bible Study that Jana (one of the teens) hosts at her house. I was talking with Kelsey (another one of the teens) and she said that she was about to ride across town to meet up with some friends. As I was leaving and saying goodbye, I told Kelsey "Hab ein gut Pferde"...which I thought to mean "Have a good ride/trip" but it turns out I wished that she might "have a good horse". The german words "pferde" (horse) and "fahrt" (ride/trip) sound pretty similiar. So, as you can tell, it wasn't too difficult for me to mix up the words.

Another story, which I that was cute and appropriate since Valentine's Day is coming up soon. This Sunday I was teaching Children's Bible Hour, and during the middle of my lesson I was asked a very poignant question. One of the kids, Marvin, asked me "Do you have a boyfriend?" To which I replied "Yes, I do." (My boyfriend, Bryant, is a student at OC and will intern at Littleton Church of Christ this upcoming summer...he's quite a great guy, if you don't already know him!) But anyways, Marvin was sad about my reponse and said "Oh darn!" Poor little guy was upset. He's about 6 years old, 3ft. 6in. or so tall, and will talk my ear if when given the chance. I called his mom today and told her about his crush on me, and we both shared a laugh. Moni, Marvin's mom, made a good point, though. Marvin can at least enjoy me being around...until August.

Well, as far as updates go:

My roommates, Inga and Lena F. have communicated with one another in the forms of writing letters to one another. Next week the four of us roommates are all going to sit down and talk about new rules. This means talking about what happened between Inga and Lena F., and decided what is okay, what is not okay and what things need to be changed. So please continue to pray for peace, humbleness and forgiveness. I appreciate your prayers greatly!

Lena D. and I went to the xTribe church service on Sunday night. xTribe is the congregation that Maren and Karsten, our neighbors who live about us, organize and run. Both Lenas attended the service last week, and this week Lena D. wanted to go, but since Lena F. was out out town, she asked me to go. I ask that you pray for Lena D. I think she is at a stage in her life where she is open and willing to hear about God. She's been asking me lots of questions about God, my job here in Hildesheim and why I seem so happy and joyful all the time. I am using every opportunity possible to talk to her about God, and I can tell that the wheels are turning inside her head. So please continue to pray for me and pray that Lena's mind and heart might be open to hearing the Good News.

Well, I am about to finish making a long over-due Devo Song Book for the youth group. Tomorrow I get to make tons of photocopies of my "hard copy". It should be fun!

And finally, I begin working at Scharnhorst Gymnasium on Thursday of this week! I will meet with the head of the English Department tomorrow and get my entire weekly schedule. Please continue to pray for me as I being this new endeavor. Thanks so much!

Take Chances, Make Mistakes and Get Messy!

Here is a blunder in my German skills that I hope will make you laugh:

My roommate Lena Feuerstein is going to be out of town for about a week, and she asked if I could fed and take care of her rabbit, Botri. I replied by saying "Yes, I will eat Botri!" As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I knew something I said wasn't right. We both laughed, and Lena said that she might not go on her trip after all...

Learning a new language is always filled with blunders and mistakes that are waiting to be made. But sometimes you just have to do what Miss Frizzle says: "Take chances, make mistakes and get messy!" So now that I've made my mistake in saying I was going to eat Botri the rabbit, I have learned the proper way to say "Yes, I will feed your rabbit" in German.

Welcome to February!

With January already past, I can't believe it's February. I only have a few months left. But I won't talk about that now because it makes me sad to think about leaving Hildesheim.

I wanted to share some exciting news: I start working at Scharnhorst Gymnasium (a high school, not a gym) this week! I go in early Monday morning to sign the contract and figure out what hours I will be working. I'm thankful for this opportunity to meet more people and hopefully increase interest in English and make some headway for the Littleton group that will be coming this summer. Thank you so much for your prayers concerning this! They have been answered.

My roommates, Inga and Lena F. still have not worked things out. I think we will be having an apartment meeting to sit down and talk things out. This has gone on far too long. I ask that you please pray for peace and understanding. Please pray that Lena D. and I will handle the situation in a healthy and beneficial way. Thanks so much!

On a different note, I've included some pictures of the youth group. Hope you enjoy them!

Newspaper Article

The OC Talon Newspaper wrote an article about me in this week's issue. If you guys want to read it, here is the link to the online version of it. I will, however, make one correction to it: Rick Odell did not come to Germany, however helped send Josh, Ariel and I off. Happy reading!

http://blogs.oc.edu/ee/index.php?/talon/cat/luallin_serves_as_youth_minister_abroad/

Roommates

Guten Tag to all of you bloggers out there.

I have a prayer request that I would like to bring to your attention. For about a week now, 2 of my roommates, Inga and Lena F. have been in a fight. What was the fight about? you might ask. Well, it started over a lemon-ice tea bag. Lena F. threw the lemon ice tea bag away, and Inga came along and noticed it in the trash. Inga proceeded to tell Lena F. that she always throws her stuff away and treats her differently than Lena D. and myself.

I think the lemon ice tea bag was the chip off the iceberg for Inga. Apparently there are a lot of undealt with issues that both have supressed, until now. Well, Lena F. still hasn't talked to Inga since the fight, and is avoiding her like the plague. Inga approached Lena F. this evening and asked when they were going to talk about the fight and resolve it, to which Lena F. replied she didn't have the time to talk to her, and wasn't in the mood to speak with Inga.

So needless to say, the air here in the WG is rather tense, considering that two of the four roommates won't speak to one another. I ask that you pray for peace and understanding between Inga and Lena F. When I have tried talking to Lena F. about apologizing and making amends, she has the mindset of "Why should I apologize when it isn't my fault?" And, from previous experience, I know I would get the same response from Inga. Please pray that I might say the right words when they need to be said. Thanks, this really means a lot...it's not too much fun coming home to a tense apartment.

Kaputt

In recent WG news, our washing machine has decided to go kaputt; that is to say it no longer works. In about 2 weeks, we will be getting one from Inga's father. In the meantime, I may have to pay the local Laundromat a visit or two.

We got a new refridgerator yesterday from a store called Roller. Their customer service is definitely nothing to write home about...oh wait...it is something to write home about, because it's AWFUL. If Germany had a Better Business Bureau, I would call it. Customer Service to them means having a desk with an informant who is paid to be as non-informing and as un-helpful as possible. Communication among the Roller employees does not exist. After spending at least an hour waiting around to get the refridgerator exchanged for a new one, Don Roehrkasse and I got to haul it back to my apartment. Oh wait, I forgot to mention that Roller wanted to charge us 40 Euro to come pick up the broken refridgerator we had purchased from them in late October, and to drop off the new one. No thank you! So Don and I got a fairly decent workout to say the least when we carried the fridge downstairs from my 2nd floor apartment. Luckily when we brought back the new one, the guys from the WG on the first floor helped carry it up the stairs.

So anways, technology can be a blessing...when it works.

Prayer Requests

I have a couple of prayer requests that I would like to share with you:
-Please be praying that we will find another intern to take my place when I head home in August. We are searching and trying to find someone willing and able to come to Germany and work here in Hildesheim. If you know of anyone, please let me know!
-I have started the process of communicating with Scharnhortz Gymnasium to see if I can help their English classes. Please pray that any official papers, visas or requirements that are needed for this job will be able to completed in a timely manner and won't set back any plans. It is my prayer that I can be a positive influence on the students at this school.
-One of my fellow classmates in my language school has mentioned interest in coming to one of our worship services. Pray that she and her husband will indeed come to a service and that they will see Christ us.
-Continue to pray for me as I am on the mission field even in my apartment. Pray that I will be a shining light to my roommates Inga, Lena D. and Lena F.

Thanks for your prayers!