pfennig bazaar

ich bin hin und weg.. heute war ich auf eine art hallenflohmarkt der drei tage lang geht jedes jahr hier in karlsruhe.. ich hatte drei sachen auf meine "such" liste: winter handshuhe fuers radfahren, schwarzer knie-lange wool pea coat, und elektrische kaffee muehle. die handshuhe hab ich ned gefinden. aber die anderen beide ja :-) ausgegeben hab ich 6,50e!!! sooo guenstig. und der mantel ist der hammer. photo stell ich demnaechst rein. GENAU was ich suchte. gott ist cool.

sonst ist hier auch grad alles richtig cool... war gestern und heute war ich wieder in der heilser am arbeiten (sogar VORmittags schon!) ich helfe diese woche christin nen ordung rein zu bringen im buero- komplet mit "neuen" moebel und ne kreative raum aufteilung... sowas macht mir spass und ich behaupte auch gut drin zu sein. den moebel suchte ich nach augen mass aus, da ich den massband vergessen hatte... passte genau wie gewollt. und sonst auch herscht ja richtige ordnung. ob es einen nebenverdienst quelle werden koennte?

neue mitbewohner

toru moved out, and daniel moved in. it looks like a good match for our flat.. he's 26, a photographer, and likes coffee.... a LOT. he even brought me a coffee sack from malawi, since i mentioned i was looking for some cool ones. :-)

our second new flatmate is the miele dishwasher i found on the internet (after months of searching and being disappointed bc they were all WAY out of my price range) for 35e!!!!! yep, thats right. its only 7 years old, from the top brand, in great shape, and has all the features you want (like a pull out shelf for silverware instead of basket, and a super-saver program for water and electricity). andreas was getting agrevated at my constant search and as a joke asked sunday on his way out"what? not going to refresh your search page first?" and so i did.. and there it was! best part? we picked it up ON FOOT because it was on our street!

street work high

boa- heut abend war krass gut!

so wie jeden mittwoch war ich mit gospel tribe und der heilsarmee auf dem werder platz.. es war ein bissl waermer als die letzten wochen und daher gleich viel mehr los. wir hatten wieder kaffee und broetchen dabei und haben vorher cool gebetet- vor allem, dass wir wieder den uwe und seine freundin treffen, den wir letzte woche einen bibel schenken duerften.

die waren tatsaechlich wieder da- obwohl sie anscheinend gar ned in karlsruhe leben! ich konnte ihm ein cooler zeugnis geben ueber gottes liebe und den wert von jeder mensch (als antwort auf der frage "wie kammst du nach deutschland?" hehe) und eveln, seine freundin, hat zum ersten mal geredet.. sonst hing sie im hintergrund nur, sehr mistrauisch.

und romeo haben wir kennengelernt.. er war schon ein paar mal da, lehnte aber meistens den kaffee und gespraeche ab. dieses mal kamm er rueber weil christin guitarre spielte und sang. sein fahrrad hat er stehen lassen, und als wir gehen wollte meinte ich wir sollten ihm bescheid sagen. daher ging ich zum baecker rueber wo er war... er war so dankbar, dass wir dass taten, dass er um gebet fuer sich und sein kinder bat. (und mindestens 20mal "danke" sagte) er hat sich auch echt geoefnet

es gab viele weitere gespraeche heut.. normal ist es cool wenn ein tiefer gehendes gespraech gefuehrt werden kann... aber heut schien jeder eins zu haben.. ich hatte gleich 3! voll den gesegneten tag!

looking ahead.. 2010

ok.. goal setting for the coming year. i do this as a way to help me stay accountable, and also to let others know what direction i am heading in in ministry and personal life.

ministry:
~to do street work 2 times a week
~to get more involved with gospel tribe
~to find ways of working with the salvation army, if possible
~to find a church where i can begin preaching
~to make a new film for a festival that carries a subtle christian message
~to further develope the "offene wohnzimmer" ministry concept that i have been working on in 2009 and take steps to start making it a real ministry, not just a concept in development.


personal:
~to start a masters of theology program through distance learning (barring finances: to continue to take the online classes and complete at least 6)
~to memorize large passages from the Bble
~to find a new mentor
~to do more athletics for health (swimming, biking..)
~to get married! (is that a goal?)

rewind 2009

short overview of the highlights:

january through april, bremen
there was a lot that had to be worked through due to the circumstances we were left in by matze's actions. we tryed for a long time to salvage the hope house, but when there was no way left, we came to terms with the end and began making other arrangements. there is no easy way to discribe these months.

may through july
i moved to karlsruhe and began working with steiger and looking for a room in a flat (part 1).
started setteling in, meeting people, getting to know the city.
went to a seminar, wedding, and festival.
desperatly started looking for a new apartment, because the old one was... not good...

august through october
turned 30.
went to england as my present to see josh ritter (and also met the glorious undead).
was told i could have a perfect apartment. and after finding someone for my room, told i couldn't have it because the landlord didn't like the way steiger sounded.
frantically searched and found another place. moved. all in a week.

november and december
met gospel tribe and the salvation army and started doing things with both.
sewed a lot of baby stuff for friends.
finished the Bible.
celebrated christmas at andreas' parents and new years with my steiger friends.

2009

ok, anothor year has passed.. so get ready for a series of long post dedicated to analyzing it and summing it up. this is primarily for the missions committee, since i know you guys want to know what i do ;-)

in 2009 i set the following goals. the goals will be in italics, and the response underneath:

ministry:

~to host on average one guest a month for months spent at the hope house
technically, yes, we had more guests than that even. i spent 4 months at the hope house, moving to karlsruhe on may 1. in march we made the decision to end our contract on the house due to the circumstances at that time. we still managed to host a few guest, even if they weren't homeless.
in february for the jesus freaks bremen 10 years party we had a full house.
march saw the russian girlfriend of our matze-replacement come to stay.. and stay.. and stay... trying our patience a bit, and forcing us into hospitality more than we expected.
march brought us sibe, from switzerland for a few days.
i won't count andreas, but he was there a few times, too.

~to get involved with a missions organization
yes.. in fact, with two! starting in may i began volunteering at steiger and getting to know them and the city. i taught german and englisch classes for the staff, cooked many a meal for the house, went on outreaches to the party-szene at euro- cafe, joined in for evangelistic oriental-styled tea parties, and met with a staff mentor for the rest of the year.
towards the end of the year, i met a group that is very similar, called gospel tribe. i was able to join them for street work at werder platz and the market place for a few months starting in november.
and does the salvation army count in this category? i have some new ties to them..

~to revive the street group Bible study
i guess not.. since i am not in bremen, i am obviously also not still leading the street group.
in karlsruhe i am part of a steiger bible study (and so is andreas!!)
i got a surprise in karlsruhe, when i met the sister of an old street group member. it was very encouraging to hear that she knew who i was, and had heard very good things about me!

~to preach on average once a month
no.. 3 times is all i was able to manage. my last month in bremen was too hectic. and i am too new in karlsruhe to be preaching. still working out what church is the best for me. there are a few options. steiger meets too early ;-) (but i went there mostly) and kubik is awesome, but meets too irregularly. this comming year i may be able to start preaching at the salvation army though, christine's mentioned it twice now.

~to make a new film for PBS
alas, in karlsruhe i don't have any film contacts yet! but.. i was able to get final cut studio (it should arrive any day now by mail..) so i can start editing the film i have. it won't be for pbs, probably just for church or maybe a no budget festival.


personal:

~to start a masters of theology program through distance learning
nope.. still just doing the free courses that i have gotten off the internet/ itunes. the "real" programs are all quite expensive. anyone want to spot me tuition?

~to read through the Bible chronologically
yes- and in german! finished it at thanksgiving. ben from bremen was my reading buddy.. we challenged each other to stay on course, and both made it through.

~to find a mentor
yes and no... kate from steiger international was my mentor through the end of the year. for the new year i will be looking for a new mentor.

~to do more athletics for health (swimming, biking..)
yes- i got a bike when i moved to karlsruhe and it has been my sole transportation this year. (even the time i spent on crutches.. although i got funny looks for it) i even raved the route to andreas' village a few times in the warmer weather- either through the woods or fields. swimming is still too expensive in the south, and i didnt even find a nice lake this summer.

~to get married! (is that a goal?)
closer..?