Happy Thanksgiving - Christmas is coming!

We have so much for which to be thankful. We enjoy a unique opportunity to experience cultures from all over the world and learn from each other. As we closed out Culture Month in November we had the opportunity to learn about the culture of Spain from two of our great mothers. One thing that really stands out in our school is the family atmosphere - each child is known and accountable. Our families are close to each other and bond across cultures. One of our strongest contingents are the Spanish speaking families from Spain and Columbia. One Spainish family comes directly from that country, another after living several years in Bejing, China. The other families represent Columbia, Switzerland and Camaroon. Wow! It amazes me every time I start thinking about how many corners of the world we are influencing at our little Christian school in this corner of Germany.

Well, we learned a huge amount about Spain and spanish culture. Did you know that Spain is the #1 exporter of olive oil to the rest of the world? Or that Tapas is a style of eating and not a type of food? We learned that and much more as our parents gave us a quiz about their people and what makes them special.

Of course, one cannot study contemporary Spanish culture without learning one of the most influential dance moves of the 1990's - the Macarena! Being as how most of our children at school were not even born when the Macarena became an international hit (mid-1990's) this was a completely new thing to them.

Here we all are trying our best to learn the Macarena - most of the kids just had a great time, but one young 5th grader REALLY liked it. He would do the Macarena while waiting in lines, when sitting in class (for which he had to be asked to refrain) but best of all, he tried putting different different songs to the Macarena - including some of the Christian choruses that we sing together in Chapel. He wanted to integrate the songs about God he has learned at school to this, his favorite new dance moves. That is totally cool!

After our Spanish Experience, the whole school bundled up in our winter coats and schlepped up to the Hauptstrasse to decorate a Christmas tree for the city of Weil am Rhein. Up and down the main street, businesses and local schools joined forces to beautify the Strasse. We partnered with the local paper, the Weiler Zeitung, to decorate a tree - the business supplies the tree and the students provide the decorations.

The students created water-resistant (they haven't been fully tested yet!) ornaments and decked the tree with them. We used colorful foil and wooden clothespins to create birds and Santas. The younger students make a paper chain of several meters to wrap around the tree. The ornaments (Baumschmuck) are being distributed to the upper students in preparation for decorating.

The students had to be lifted by staff to reach the very heightest branches of the tree. This is such a sweet picture of a very special student whose last day was this week. She moved to Zürich with her sister (also a student) and family - we are going to miss them greatly. Whenever a student leaves our school, we hold an all-school meeting to say goodbye. It is important for our students to recognize and work through the process of transitions, because they will all go through it in their lives. We work hard to help them handle this process well, including the good tears that come with separation.

The students are proudly posing for a picture in front of their newly decorated tree. The newspaper even printed an article for last week's edition with pictures of our kids. They are famous! (Well, it is a small town...)

After they finished decorating the tree, they gathered around to listen to fable told by a storyteller from Weil. The fable was recounted in German, which most of our students know well. They are so much more fluent then their teachers... They laughed and were politely attentive the whole time - we were very proud of them.

Here is our finished Christmas Tree in front of the Weiler Zeitung. Anyone walking down the street can view the hand made ornaments - made with love - and read that they came from the Kinder at Rhein International Academy.

It was such a full week, I haven't even begun to tell about what Delynn and I did over the weekend. We took the opportunity to travel to the Bodensee (a.k.a. Lake Constance) which is located on the border of Switzerland and Germany. We visited the village of Meersburg with it's 1300 year old castle overlooking the beautiful Bodensee. Here is a picture of the town as we crossed to lake on Saturday to whet your appetite.

I might have published something a bit earlier today except that we have been busy visiting Christmas Markets (Weihnachtsmarkt) - we got back today just in time to walk across town to our Weiler Weihnachtsmarkt before it got dark. We have been to three markets in three cities in less than three days - and we haven't yet been to Basel! Well, we will tell you more about them next week so I can put this blog to bed.

Delynn and I have very much appreciated the response for the request for prayer as we consider our next steps together. Thank you for your support in that way. We are also praying for our students - that God will increase our numbers at Rhein International Academy so that we can give more students a quality education and teach more students and families about the goodness of God. What a privilege to serve here.

Love to all - be a blessing to someone this week!

Snow, Culture and Football

Okay, I'll get the weather report out of the way first. Brrrrrrrr!!!! We have had a cold front move into northern Europe which has dropped our high temperatures about 10°C which, for example gives us a high of 1° and a low of 0°. Like I said: Brrrrrrrr! (Forcast for Tuesday: 0 to minus 5°) Yesterday, as we waited for the bus in Basel to come back to Weil am Rhein, the wind was just right to cut through my four layers of clothing (plus the handsome hand-made wool scarf Delynn knitted for me) and chill me right to the bone. We decided it was finally time to turn on our radiators a bit. I normally don't have such issues with the cold, but I think for me it has been the rapid change from the rather mild 8-10° down to freezing. We did get a little snow overnight so as I walked to catch the train to church this morning (I leave earlier when I lead the music worship), the roads were clear, the sky was cloudy with patches of beautiful blue, a light dusting of white covered the rooftops and trees. It was a glorious walk and a wonderful preparation for worship.

Meanwhile, during November at RIA, we have been celebrating the many diverse cultures of our students and staff. Each Monday, we have held an assembly (essentially a circle of children in the atrium of the school) and students from a class have shared something special about their culture. A student from Spain showed her special dress and castenets that are a part of her family's culture in Barcelona. Two of our 1st grade Swiss students shared about different things they like about their Swiss culture.

The first above is showing off her father's Fasnacht mask and piccolo that are part of his traditional Morgenstreich costume. Morgenstreich starts at 4am to usher in the Fasnacht celebration. Here is our entry from last year's Fasnacht. The first-grader below is showing off the puzzle she uses to learn about the Swiss Kantons (or states).

As mentioned last week, we went to the Basel-Zürich football match on Sunday after church. This was our first stadium football match and we were a bit surprised to find a contingent of riot police acting as blockers between the Basel fans arriving by tram on one side of the stadium and the visiting Zürich fans arriving by train on the other. The St. Jakob Stadium has a train platform bordering one side of the arena so that fans can travel directly to the game. Pretty good thinking actually...

We were seated in the "normal" section - this is about 80% of the stadium - the place where most people sit. We had a mainly Basel supporters around us and a few sporting the blue and white of Zürich, but then again, we were in Basel. Here, the families and fans could sit together in relative harmony, each cheering for their side without acrimony. You can see Delynn below in our section of the stadium sitting next to Joél - he was an exchange student from Zürich that lived in Canada with our friends and fellow teachers Cam and Jen.

There were special fan sections at opposite ends of the stadium from which the more rabid supporters could sing their FCB (Football Club Basel) and FCZ anthems and taunt each other from a safe distance. These folks really like their football - they bring huge flags and all wear the team colors in support of their side. They hang signs and chant in unison - I don't know how much of the game they actually see, what with those big flags blocking their view. It might be hard to see, but in the picture below, the fans are waving flags and holding their FCB scarves out above their heads in support of the home team.

One thing that we found rather comical and quite polite was the process by which each of the Baseler team members were intoduced. On the Jumbo-tron screen at each end of the staduim, a player would appear, the announcer would introduce the player using his first name and the stadium would erupt crying out the player's last name. It would sound like: (announcer) Michael - (crowd) JORDAN! This went on for each player on the team which of course the Baslers' well knew. At the end of his announcements, the announcer says: Danke Schön! (Thank you!) to which the 30,000 strong croud responds in unison BITTE SCHÖN! (You're Welcome!).

Basel went up 1:0 at the 15 minute mark with a penalty kick after a foul. The fan zone at the end of the stadium lit up with cheers, songs and unfortunately highway flares. Flares are banned as they are quite dangerous, but a few always manage to smuggle them in. The flags waved, the fans sang - it was a pretty cool sight.

Frankly, it was a good thing that Basel got the goal because Zürich is rated #1 in the league for offense and Basel is rated #1 for defense. It was a very fast and aggressive game with a half dozen yellow cards given equally among the teams. From my point of view, Zürich were playing a much better game and they eventually tied it up 1:1 with a rather spectacular goal and that is how it ended. For me, this was probably the best ending we could want. Each team gets a point in the league standings and there tends to be fewer issues after a tie game. Unfortunately, as we left, Joél, still wearing his blue and white striped Zürich scarf, was hasseled by a few FCB fans. Joél, believing that discretion is the better part of valor, quickly relieved himself of his scarf and put it in his bag to defuse the situation. It seems a bit sad to me that there are so many to which sports can cause such a visceral reaction - it is just a game people! There are so many more important things in life.

I hope that this week you find those important things in life. That you experience glimpses of God's glory, love, grace and mercy. Take a risk - reach out to someone and share yourself. See what good things can happen.

Playing catch up

I decided today to pull out some pictures from the last couple weeks or so (maybe a bit older but most of you won't know the difference...) The Swiss say that Basel is the second sunniest city in Switzerland. The number one spot goes to some city in the Italian part of the country. I can testify that we certainly get more days of sunshine here than when I lived in Augsburg. I remember one winter when the newspaper headline read that we had surpassed 100 days of rain - it was truly miserable. I say all that because today was another herrliche Tag (magnificent day) in the Dreiländereck. In the pictures below, you can see how blue the sky can get here - the sun doesn't stay up long, but while it is out, it just makes our hearts sing.


These two pictures are of the Basel Rathaus from the time of the Herbstmesse (Fall festival) in Basel - you know, the one with the swinging chairs of death... This was taken about 16.00 (4:00pm) and you can see how deep the shadows are already. This was when we found the fall flower display in the Rathaus's inner courtyard. We so much love just wandering around (when we have the time) exploring the nooks and crannies of our land.

I'm writing the blog on Saturday this week (I normally shoot for Sunday after church because all of the stores are closed and it is good family time). Well, tomorrow after church we have something a little different going on - we will be attending the football game between FC Basel and FC Zürich. These two teams are bitter rivals being only about an hour apart. Delynn and I haven't yet been to see a football game live, so we wanted to have the experience. The only thing is that the person who got the tickets is from Zürich and I'm not sure that we won't be in their section of the stadium. We don't have any team paraphernalia, so we should be safe. We just may need to be more circumspect when our team scores a goal...

Last month, our school celebrated pajama day. I think it is so cool that in a small school, we can do these crazy theme days: hat day, country spirit day (uh, not country-western but you know, where you are from country), T-shirt day, storybook character day, etc. Anyway, the students really love pajama day although the parents say it actually takes longer to get them ready for school on pajama day then a normal school day - go figure. You can tell by the smiles that these kids really enjoy these special days - well, most of them like having their picture taken too.







As the days get cooler, dropping into the single digits, we thought of making stew for our dinner tonight. We walked to the market this morning to get our veggies. They even had stalk celery! Twenty years ago, when I lived in Augsburg (Wow, was it really 20 years ago...) the only celery available was celery root - it is a big round, whitish root with the consistancy of parsnip but the flavor of celery. Well, we found this stalk celery for our stew and as I was prepping the veggies, we tried it and it is just wonderful - I've said it before and I will say it again, buying fresh from the farmer who grows the stuff is not to be missed. We are so blessed to be able to do that - and it is cheap. We got potatoes, carrots, onions and spinich from one lady for only €2,30 (about $3.00) - amazing. So, if you have a farmer's market, support it!

If, when you think of us, could you please lift up a prayer? Maybe right now as you finish this entry - just a quick little prayer for wisdom and patience as Delynn and I contemplate and seek God's direction for our next steps. We are confident in God's leading but we are both planners by nature, so we sometimes get a little anxious. Thank you.

Love to all our family and friends.

Always learning

Sorry - no new pictures this week. It has been a bit crazy (when is it not...) but the weather has been fairly grey, so we didn't really take any pictures this week.

Well, it is good to have the election behind us. I know that about 46% of you are less than thrilled by the outcome and about 52% are pleased. Regardless of whether it went your way or not, have you prayed for our leaders this week - both the outgoing and incoming? It doesn't have to be much but every bit counts. Thanks.

One of the great things about life is that there is always something to learn and great people from which we can learn. Take our parents. My dad and mom are celebrating 50 years of marriage today! (Don't they look great!)

What a wonderful milestone and inspiration. Not to say that mom and dad are perfect - they would be the first to admit it. But they have learned, through good times and bad, to work at their marriage. They never gave up. They show that a marriage full of love, grace, forgiveness is a source of some of the greatest blessings in life. I am so proud of them. Well done Dad and Mom!
I have also learned something rather fundemental recently; something that I thought I had mastered over forty years ago. It is tying my shoes. Okay, so not the greatest revelation in life but interesting none the less. I have always tied my shoes using the "bunny ear" method. I still remember learning to tie my shoes watching the Romper Room show. I remember running into my parents bedroom and showing them! They were so loving - we could always run to them with something we discovered and they would patiently listen. If you are unfamiliar with the "bunny ears" method, the bow is made by taking two loops and tying them like a half-knot. Anyway, I have always suffered from shoelaces that come untied easily. I just thought it was the way life is - BUT I WAS WRONG! I had a colleague here at school tell me that the standard shoe knot (you know - single ear, wrap around and through) was a tighter and better knot than the old bunny ear method. So, I tried it. I did one shoe with the bunny ear and one with the standard. I went back and forth on which method was better - the knots still came untied. Then I had an epiphany - it wasn't the bunny ear verses the standard method at all: after all of these years that the reason for my loose knots was the dreaded Granny Knot! I was not tying a square knot Me! Ex-Boy Scout, Ex-shoe repairman, Ex-Army Staff Sargent, with a university Computer Science degree! I know - it is so hard to believe. By starting my bunny ears with a left-over-right tie instead of a right-over-left, I have graduated to the life of nary a loose shoe. I feel more complete in life. If my admission, as hard as it has been, helps just one other person to live a better life, then my work is done.

Another interesting thing that I have learned living here in Germany is about the german view of community service. At Rhein International Academy, we have hot lunches provided by the local meals-on-wheels organization. It is a secondary service they provide which works well for us. We get good, well rounded meals at a reasonable cost and the students LOVE anytime we have pasta. Our normal delivery guy is about 19-20 years old and he is performing his obligitory service in Germany. You see, every german national is required to serve two years after the equivalent of High School (there are three different types of high school, but I won't get into that). This service can either be in the military or in another form of service - working in a hospital, state-retirement facility, etc. They are paid (not sure how much) but it must be enough to live on. After two years of service, people are free to pursue university or other profession. I don't know how difficult this would be to implement in the U.S., but it seems to me that this type of service would be good for us as a nation. It might help us stop and think that there is a bigger good worth serving outside of ourselves. It is in many ways a secular version of a very Godly precept - to love and serve others. Something we don't always get right even as followers of Christ.

So, learn from your parents successes. Listen to your peers. Take what is good from others' examples. Look for God in others. Live well.

And now for something completely different...

Just so you are fairly warned, today's blog doesn't have any pictures and probably won't have any funny stories. Today will be a bit of an editorial, my thoughts on the upcoming election. So, if that kind of stuff bores you or tends to make you really angry then I would suggest that you wait for a week or so to check out the blog. By then, I'm sure that the reading will be easier.

We are experiencing this election cycle uniquely (at least for us). Being in another country puts a much different spin on U.S. politics. In some ways, it is enjoyable - we are not bombarded with the plethora of media streams trying to sway our opinions. Using our absentee ballot, we were able to vote early and have it done with weeks before the election. It is amazing (and a bit shameful) that we are able to speak with people from a dozen different countries who know our political system sometimes better than we do ourselves. They are often interested and very passionate about what happens in the U.S. presidential election. How many Americans do you think actually realize that Canada had an election last month - and could you name the Prime Minister and from what party he comes? Believe me, Germans, Swiss, Poles, French, Canadians (and French Canadians) all know what is happening in the U.S. election in detail.

Those of us who name ourselves Christian are called to pray for our leaders. Leaders in our faith communities as well as our locally and nationally elected leaders. I hope that we are all praying for this election. Praying for personal wisdom to cast our vote for the best candidate for our country; praying for a just and fair election where everyone who is entitled to cast a vote can and those who might be tryng to abuse the system cannot; praying for corporate wisdom for our elected office-holders to make the right decisions for our country. To be frank, I find it is much easier to pray for my pastor than I do for my president. I hope to change that. This morning, after our morning worship service, the vicar invited people to gather around to pray for the upcoming U.S. election. Of the dozen or so people who came together in prayer, only 2 or 3 were actually Americans and not a single person prayed for any specific candidate but rather that God would direct, protect and provide wisdom. Wow.

I have received several emails - you know the kind, forwards of forwards of forwards from goodness knows whom. They are often from well intentioned folks. But I must state that sometimes the content of the emails is a bit frightening to me - which is exactly the point of the email. But they are also troubling in the amount of untruth they carry. And it does not matter from which side of the political spectrum they arrive. Are we to be frightened into voting against someone rather than voting for someone? I don't believe that the God we follow would have us living in fear, but rather in victory - regardless of who becomes our next president.

The purpose of this blog entry is to challenge you. Will you join me in saying that you will pray for our next president regardless of who wins on Tuesday? When the Apostle Paul admonished Christians to pray (and give thanks) for their leaders, those leaders were often the hated oppressors from Rome. How hard could that be? Next to a wisdom-filled vote for the candidate of your choice, I think that a committment to pray faithfully for whoever is our next president is God honoring and worthy of our efforts as Christ-followers.

Okay, that's it. Our God is bigger than any single election. We should start acting like it is true.

Soli Deo Gloria