Spring Fever!

Is it really Spring? Germany has been known for snowy Easters in the past. We hope that wont be the case this year. There is certainly the typical evidence of Spring, the SUNSHINE!!, the longer day light each day, the buds on the trees making white or pink blooms, bright yellow flowers, singing birds and so on. Also just as typical, there is evidence of Spring Fever such as people driving crazier than usual, the extreme amount of motorcycles on the road speeding, driving the middle line & driving between cars (very scary how they drive over here), the bicyclists have multiplied as well, not to mention the tractors and horses blocking the narrow German roads between towns. Hey, it's Spring time, gotta get out and enjoy it however you can while it lasts, right? Some take it fast & dangerous on the speed bikes while others choose slow & easy routes... did somebody say Sweet Tea? Humm?

We've got another clue that it's Spring for us, yesterday was Gerhard's mom's 65th birthday. (no joke) She treated the family to Chinese for lunch as well as coffee & cake in the afternoon. With this milestone for her, brings retirement. Today is Gerhard's first day running the business 100%. Congratulations Gerhard! Naturally, this means more work to his already busy schedule, but he can handle it!

Let's see, what other signs of Spring do we have? One, is that the neighbors are driving me crazy with all their loud wood sawing. The old houses around here are heated with wood, so they are replenishing their stock for the coming Winter. It will continue on till the temps drop again below zero. Couldn't someone invent a silent saw? This ear-piercing shrill sound should be illegal!
Another sign is that Saturday was Spring Cleaning at church. We were there over 8 hours cleaning with 30 others. It was a fun time, though Gerhard suffered with sore muscles. He's just not used to cleaning, but he was a good sport.

This Friday we have a morning service at church with the Lord's Supper. Gerhard and I are in charge of the Lord's Supper - not sure if I mentioned that in a previous blog or not. The previous way it was held, was not working for the church, so we volunteered to introduce the "American style". Before, the congregation had to come up front to choose either grape juice in a shot-glass type cup or pass a silver goblet of wine from person to person. Sure, the alcohol kills the germs along with the silver mineral from the goblet, but what happens to the back wash, or the little chunks of breakfast... too much of a distraction from the meaning of the Lord's Supper. Not to mention the people who fall down tripping over others to get back to their seats. Since November, we've been using the trays and cups from the US and for the most part it works well. There are still those who think if we aren't drinking wine out of the same silver goblet, then it's just not Biblical. It's not as if the wine of the Bible is the same as the wine we have today and it's very possible that the goblet was not even silver anyway. We can also debate the reference from Jesus that it is His blood. That is what He said, but He also said He would not partake in drinking the fruit of the vine again until a certain time in Heaven. Wine is made from grapes, grape juice is made from grapes. Grapes come from vines. Yes, we could go on and on, bring on the discussion of fermentation during Biblical times, we've heard it all. The current procedure of passing the trays through the rows is much calmer and safer, while grape juice avoids having a temptation for those who struggle with alcohol. Enough said, but still not enough to convince those who refuse to accept this new change. Change is difficult for many.

Last week, was my turn to lead our small group discussion. Our Hauskreis (small group) meets every Thursday evening at a different persons house & last week was here. The previous weeks topic was Angels, so a natural follow up topic was Demons. Sounds scary huh? Even more scary, is that our discussions are always in German! Even though it's an International group, only Gerhard is fluent in English - yeah well, besides me. Punctuality is not a specialty of this group, so naturally we got started late. All in all, it was a fun evening and I look forward to my next turn to lead the discussion.

Guess I better go fold up the laundry. Gerhard will be home soon - hopefully, it's already 6:45pm. Wouldn't know it by looking outside.

**HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Julie & Wally (April 1st)**