Trying to drink the punch

Trying to drink the punch

Right after this is when "the incident" happened.

"The punch incident"

Pouring the punch (in the glass)

The funny story behind this scene is what happened soon after we took a drink out of these glasses. The photographer (seen right) told us to kiss so she could get a picture. We kissed and pretty soon it was obvious that Clint was not going to let go very quickly. In fact, he put his glass on the table and tried to put his arms around me. Instead, he knocked the glass off the table which spilled raspberry punch on my dress! I reacted by screaming and then immediately hitting him, which by the way will probably be on the video. All that matters is that we are married now and I can't be mad about it. It is a funny memory that we will have forever. I think Clint still feels guilty about it though because every time I tell the story he gets defensive. :) He's so cute!

We're married!

The bride and groom

Yay, we're married!!!!!

Chemnitz picture

Chemnitz picture

This is a group picture of everyone at the wedding that has ever been to Chemnitz. Most of them are past campaigners and amazingly enough, I think I can say that I have been in Chemnitz with almost every single person in this group at one time or another. This just shows how much people love Chemnitz and how blessed we are in Chemnitz to always have visitors! There are even a couple of residents (or past residents) of Chemnitz in this picture. The most obvious are Clint and I... but also Pam and Kendra Sullivan, Janine Theilicke, Ed and Courtney Cantrell, Lydia Kraemer, and of course Jennifer Alexander did the HIM program in 2003. I just thought that it was so cool to see so many people there that have been to Chemnitz!

The garter

Our wedding reception

Here is a not so great quality picture of Clint and I at the reception. He is about to take off my garter, which by the way was actually my sister-in-law's. There are a few funny stories to tell of things that went wrong, but in the end they didn't matter because we were still married! I lost my garter and didn't realize it until I was already dressed and ready. Lana went home and got her garter for me. It worked out just fine.

Our Knot Website

Here is a link to our Knot website where you can read about Clint and I and about our wedding!!! Have a great day everyone!

Wedding Shower

Wedding Shower

Well, I had my first personal shower for my wedding. It was a lot of fun. I think everyone had a good time, and I know I was pretty much embarrassed the entire time which probably helped the ladies achieve their goal. But really, they didn't have to try too hard, seeing as though I'm one of the most easily embarrassed people in the world. However, I find no shame in that. Anyway, it was a great time and I am deeply appreciative of all that came, gave me presents and laughed at my shyness. We had a great time, didn't we??

Today Clint and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary! What's even better is that we will get married in 58 days!!! 

My niece, Ashlyn, has a beautiful smile! 

Clint and I on our bikes 

Very warm weekend

Well, it is officially summer here in Chemnitz, with temperatures reaching 91 degrees this weekend. Although it is a drastic jump from the 60's to 70's weather we have been experiencing the past few weeks, it is nice to finally say that it is summer. One that that is definitely misfortune is that there is not air conditioning pretty much anywhere. Most houses and apartments don't have it, including mine. Although, luckily, my apartment gets a lot of shade from the neighboring buildings so it stays pretty cool. Anyway, for those of you in Oklahoma complaining about having to leave your nice air conditioned homes to go into the heat, just imagine not having air conditioning at all. It's not so bad, you can definitely get used to it.

I love summer! 

Food for thought

Today I was reading out of the book, "Discovering God's Will For Your Life" by Sheila Walsh. In fact, we just finished the last chapter today in our English Ladies' Bible Study. It was a really great book and I enjoyed it a lot. It just got me thinking about life and the "race" that we are running.

In the first paragraph of the chapter it talks about a woman who had a redefining moment when she realized she didn't have to be the first or the best in order to win the prize of heaven. Instead, she was running along side other Christians and we are all supposed to help each other along the way. When we fall down, the rest can stop and help us up. When we stumble or are too weary, we can lean on each other. It reminds me of the song we sang in Vacation Bible School when I was a kid, "Roll the Gospel Chariot Along." Some of the words go like this... "Roll the gospel chariot along, and we won't tag along behind. If a sister's in the way, we will stop and pick her up, and we won't tag along behind. If the devil's in the way, we will run right over him and we won't tag along behind." It's kind of funny to think about, but so true. We are supposed to be helping each other when we fall by the side of the road.

I think in the modern times it is easy to get caught up in being the best, the first or the most successful. So many people try to be rich and successful and will do anything to get ahead of the rest. Isn't it wonderful to know that with God, we don't have to do it alone? We don't have to be the best, the first, the most successful or rich. We have God by our side helping us all the way as well as our brothers and sisters in Christ.

How wonderful it will be one day for all of us to reach the final goal of heaven and share the reward together for eternity with God!!!

Wedding planning

Wedding planning is so hard... especially when you are super busy. But, it just takes some self-discipline and a helpful fiance! :) Last night I was determined to just sit at home and finally decide on the music. I have been deliberating over it for at least 2 months and every time I tried to narrow it down, I ended up adding more songs to the list. Finally, I just sat Clint down and said, "Ok, if you don't like something just tell me and it is out." That helped a lot, seeing as though I pretty much liked all the songs on the list and was having a hard time narrowing it down. We had much success and the songs are now picked out. Now I just have to put them in the order I want them! We also picked out what kind of cake we wanted. My mom sent me some pictures from the lady who is doing the cake and we picked out the ones we liked the most. That is such a relief to be done with that. Now, on to the rest of the list!! It is only about a month and a half until we go to the States and then after that, time is going to fly by until our wedding! I can't believe it!

Clint and me on my birthday 

Information Meeting

Today we had our information meeting about the LST program. We had an amazing group of 45 people show up! Most of the people read an ad in the newspaper and some heard by word of mouth. I believe it was the biggest group they have ever had come to one of the information meetings. I met a lot of people and many of them signed up for appointments already. The LST team begins teaching tomorrow! Pray that they will have really good lessons and that the people will be interested in continuing the program.

My birthday present from Courtney 

I'm back

Hi there, I know you haven't heard from me in a while and you may have wondered where I have been. Well, I have no good excuses. I am really going to try harder to write more on this. Today we had an LST Team arrive from Oklahoma. There are 2 girls and 2 guys. We are excited to have them and hope that we will have a great turnout for the program. Tomorrow we are having an information meeting that we have been advertising for. There, the team will be able to make appointments with anyone who is interested to study English using the Bible through this program. Please pray that it goes well. We think we will have a large turnout due to a lot of calls from interested people. Well, I am going to keep this short, but I hope to keep you updated more.

My Niece

Ashlyn Denese Freeman

This is my niece! Isn't she beautiful? I already love her so much and I haven't even seen in person! I can't wait to see her this summer. It won't be long until I will get to hold her though! I can't believe it, but Clint and I are getting married in 116 days! We are flying to the States in 87 days! Wow, time sure is running out to get things taken care of. I know it will all come together though. I am so excited to get to see my niece though. :) Yay! Ok, well I don't have much time right now but I wanted to show you my cute niece!

People of Oklahoma Unite!

The OC group at ABSS

Ok, I'm a nerd for the title. I will admit that. This is a picture of all of us that have some connection with Oklahoma Christian and we all attended ABSS. From left to right/ back row: Ed Cantrell, Glenn Pemberton, Katie Kelly. Front row: Allison Hreczuch, Jim Dvorak, me, Clint Everhart. Even thought Katie didn't actually attend OC she is part of the HIM Program through OC. We had a good time at the seminar.

We returned home on Friday afternoon. On Saturday I went wedding dress shopping! It was a lot of fun. Pam, Courtney and Karen went with me. I found some really pretty dresses but I only got to go to two stores because they all closed by 1:00 PM. That's one weird thing about Germany. Their stores close at weird hours. You always have to check on times before going somewhere. I'm still trying to decide what I want to do about the dress. There were two that I liked a lot. There is still one dress that I saw online and I pretty much fell in love with it. The problem is if I have easy access to it, which so far is looking like there won't be. I know it will work out somehow and I will find a dress that I will absolutely love. I just realized also that as of Sunday, it will be 5 months till our wedding. Wow, I think it is going to go by so quickly and I just hope that I can get everything done before then. Well, I hope you all have a great weekend. Tomorrow I am going to a ladies retreat in Bacharach. I will be back on Saturday.

Sledding

Sledding

A couple of Saturdays ago several of us went sledding at Augustusburg. We had a really great time. Unfortunately, that was the day that I started to get pretty sick. I was feeling fine that afternoon, but by the evening I was feeling really bad. I tried to get some rest on Sunday because on Monday I was going to a seminar called ABSS or Advanced Bible Study Series in Gemuenden. So on Monday I left with Clint, Robert (one of the members from Chemnitz) and Allison from Dresden to the seminar. I steadily felt worse and worse as the day went on and Tuesday I felt possibly worse. But I tried hard to still participate in everything. In the afternoon I was able to get some sleep and that helped a lot so by Wednesday I was feeling a lot better. Jim Dvorak and Glenn Pemberton were there speaking and it was really great to see them. Also, another HIM worker, Katy, was there from France. I had a good time getting caught up with everyone. I also got to meet a lot of other people there. I had a good time despite the fact that I was sick half the time. Ed came on Thursday and was able to take us home on Friday.

On Sunday evening I got a call from my brother and sister-in-law, Jonathan and Lana. They had really great news to share with me. They are going to have a baby! They are due in October so when I go home this summer Lana should be big. I am so excited and blessed to become an aunt twice this year! In case you don't remember, my sister and brother-in-law, Doug and Amy are having a baby this month! She is due on March 30th! Please pray for them.

We Set The Date!

Well, Clint and I set the date for our wedding! We are getting married on August 6, 2005! We are so excited! Now we can really start making plans and getting things in order. There is so much to be done, but thankfully I have a great Mom who is helping me! Thanks Mom! Well, I don't have much time today but wanted to let everyone know. It seems it's the easiest way to let everyone know! I hope everyone is doing well. It snowed again today but not for long. Oh, on Tuesday Clint and I are going to Dresden and taking our engagement pictures. Amy Nickerson is going to do them for us! It should be a fun day! Well, everyone have a great day!

Pretty flowers

Flowers from Clint and Amanda and Andre

On Saturday our friends Amanda and Andre came over for lunch and brought the daisies for Karen and I. They are so pretty and I was excited to have flowers in my house. Then yesterday Clint decided to bring me yellow roses! They are beautiful so I wanted to take a picture of them!

Clint and his hockey stick

Clint playing in the snow with his hockey stick

Here is a view from in front of my apartment. you can see the Sullivan's house in the background. Clint also loves to play with his hockey stick in the snow. After he breaks the icicles off my apartment with his hockey stick, he plays with the ice and tries to shoot it over the fence or in the snow somewhere. He has had lots of fun with the snow.

The attack of the giant icicles!

Icicle that Clint found outside my apartment

I thought I would post some pictures to give you an idea of how much snow we have here. It basically snowed for over a week straight. Although there were days that it only snowed lightly and didn't really accumulate that much, there were a couple of days that it snowed heavily most of the day and it has been cold enough for it to stick around. In fact, it's still on the ground. I think it started snowing on the 22nd of January and it's still around! I guess to some people it's not that big of a deal, but growing up in Oklahoma, I guess I have never seen snow last that long! :)

Clint absolutely loves icicles and so he has a good time knocking them off of my apartment. He happened to find this huge one right above my front door. Good thing he found it before it found me! But it is really safe at my apartment. Larry has been working on putting a little roof over my front door for this exact reason and he finished it last weekend.

Winter is here!

Snickers in the snow

It has been snowing like crazy here. It is really pretty. Unfortunately it is too powdery for snowballs or snowmen. It is kind of fun though. This picture is of Snickers, the Sullivan's dog. She is so funny. She loves playing in the snow. She's pretty cute too. Well, I really don't have a whole lot to say but just thought I would post this picture and let you know what was going on.

It's Friday

Well, I'm running out of clever titles to use, so sorry if they sound boring. Actually, I don't think I ever really had ANY clever titles, so I guess you're not missing anything. Well, it's the end of the week and it's been a good week. I guess it was a pretty normal week. Although, you would be proud of me, Mom, because I cleaned my apartment thoroughly and it is pretty much spotless right now. My room could still use some work, but at least you can see the floor now. I have some piles going on in some corners, but it's a lot better than what it was. It seems like basically since Thanksgiving I've been running around like crazy and I think that's why my room got so bad. Now things are slowing down and getting back to normal so my room can go back to order now.

Quote of the day: I don't know if I will keep this up, but I found some funny quotes online and maybe I will share some every once in a while. Today's quote is:

Whenever you read a good book, it's like the author is right there, in the room, talking to you, which is why I don't like to read good books. -- Jack Handey Deep Thoughts

Ok, that was pretty silly, but funny. I'm not really sure what to write about today. Sometimes it's kind of hard to really write about what I'm thinking or feeling on this thing.

Oh!!!! I'm so silly, I forgot to mention that Karen Neel is here!!! She arrived yesterday around 4:30! For those of you who don't know her, she lived here in Chemnitz for 6 years and she went back to the States for about 3 1/2 or so. She missed it so much that she wanted to come back! She will be teaching English once she is all settled and everything is figured out for her. She is staying with me right now and so it's fun to have a roommate again! If you still don't know her, her mom is Wanda Neel who works in the Business Building at OC. She most recently lived in Edmond and attended Memorial Road Church of Christ. Anyway, I met her on my first campaign to Germany in 2001, which was the same year she moved back to the States. She is a great gal and I know we are going to have fun together! Please pray that she can get all the details worked out for her plans to stay here! I'm not sure what all she still needs to work on, but I'm sure she could use the prayers!

Ok, well that was about all the news I have for now and so I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

Lady In Waiting

Hi friends! Does anyone even read this?? I was just wondering. Ha ha, I have no idea. It snowed a little bit earlier, but not for long and now the sun is out and shining bright and has melted anything that even tried to stick. Larry said this is like the month of April. There is a saying that I have heard several times because of my name: "April, April der weisst nicht was er will." (I hope that is right) It means: April, April (s)he doesn't know what (s)he wants. (Technically it is in masculine form because the months are masculine. Don't ask me why.) This is in reference to the weather.

I'm reading a book called "Lady In Waiting: Developing Your Love Relationships" by Debby Jones and Jackie Kendall. I recommend it to any women who are single, dating, engaged, or even married. The main point of it is to develop your relationship with God first before your relationship with a man, boyfriend or spouse. Here are some favorite quotes from the book that I have read so far:

"Lady in Waiting is not about finding the right man, but being the right woman."

"A woman becomes a woman when she becomes what God wants her to be."

"Happy indeed are those people, married or single, who have discovered that happiness is not found in marriage but in a right relationship with God."

"No one, not even the man you will marry one day, can make you happy--only Jesus can."

"God knows that you will never be complete until you really understand that you are complete in Jesus."

"When two 'incomplete' singles get married, their union will not make them complete. Their marriage will be simply two 'incomplete' people trying to find completeness in one another."

"If the Lord wants to give you a man, He does not need your clever 'chance rendezvous.' This is not advocating that you avoid men completely and expect the Lord to 'UPS' His choice to your front door."

"Even though Ruth was young in her faith in the God of Israel, she chose to trust with her heart for the future her eyes could not yet see."

"Datelessness is a common type of debris that irritates the 'eyes of faith,' but the eye wash treatment--quality time with Jesus and reading His Word--is always effective."

"If Jesus wants you married, He will orchestrate the encounter."

"Are the sands of singleness causing you bitterness right now, or are you allowing these trials to change you into a pearl? The Lord wants you to be a Lady of Virtue--a costly, beautiful pearl for all to admire."

"As you set your attention on developing godly character, Christ will change you into the beautiful princess He created you to be."

"Are you becoming a virtuous woman that a man may need as a helpmate? Are you using these days to develop godliness in order that, if asked, you will be ready? Whether you marry or not, every woman should seek the virtues of Christlikeness."

"God's Spirit, however, produces true inner beauty, as you confess your sin, avoid displeasing God's Spirit, obey even the slightest of His promptings, and give the Holy Spirit full control of your life. Pearls of godly character take time to develop, but how blessed is the woman adorned by them."

"When you love someone, you give them your heart, the center of you being. God asks for no less. He desires a totally devoted heart."

"Do you know God in a way that causes Him to be an intimate, personal part of your being as you may desire a husband to one day be?"

"Sin is far more repulsive to God than even onion breath is to a sweetheart."

"You are the one who determines the depth of your relationship with God."

Well, those are just some really good points that I have read so far. Maybe I can put more in as I read it. I hope they can be encouraging to you no matter what your "situation" is.

Trying to Keep Up

Lately I have begun to think about wedding plans... ahhhhh! It's so exciting and yet so overwhelming at the same time. I know that after all is said and done though, the details won't matter and the most important fact will be that Clint and I will be married! Wow, it's still amazing to think of all the things you have to do though. I'm very blessed to have a lot of good friends and family that are helping me with everything.

I've been feeling a little under the weather this week. I mostly have cold symptoms: nose and sinus congestion, sneezing, watery eyes... etc. but thankfully I was able to pick up some Claratin at the military base over Christmas so hopefully it will help me.

Just from talking to a few friends lately I realized that I had never really made an official announcement that my sister is pregnant! I know I told some friends, but it's so hard to remember who I have talked to and who I haven't when I don't get a chance to talk to all of them on a regular basis. Anyway, she is about 6 months along I believe. She is due on March 30th. They are pretty sure it is a girl and are planning on naming her Ashlyn Denese Freeman. I'm so excited to be an aunt! Anyway, hopefully that covers all my bases.

I hope you are all having a great week and if anyone has any advice on planning a wedding, let me know! I can use all the help I can get!

Our Trip to Cologne

Our trip to Cologne

Hello to everyone! I just thought I would put a short post about the trip to Cologne. Maybe some of you didn't know that I went there, I don't know. Well, on the 2nd of January after church, Clint, Ed and Courtney and I drove to Moerfelden to stay the night at Courtney's parents' house again. It's about 4 hours away but it took us a long time to get there because we were stuck in traffic jams almost the whole way there. We finally made it there and got to partake in some wonderful Mexican food that we discovered while visiting for Christmas. There is a great restaurant called Mexico Lindo and it is owned by some people from San Antonio. It is the "real thing". Here in Germany, you can't really get real Mexican. People try, but it's not the same. Anyway, the next day we got up and drove the rest of the way to Cologne, which is about 2 1/2 hours away. Well we got there and the week was really good. Jim Baird was there teaching about Apologetics. It was very interesting. I have to be honest that I didn't understand everything, especially when it came to the scientific and philosophical things, but it was very good for me. I know that I gained a lot from it. It was also a lot of fun to get to hang out with Dr. Baird while we were there. We got to look around Cologne a little bit and enjoy the other people's company. There were a lot of people that I met as well from all over the world. There were some people from Albania and Belgium as well as other places in Germany and I believe Russia as well. It was a great time of fellowship with outer Christians and I learned a lot.

Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I hope everyone's holidays are going well. I have really been intending to write in my blog more, and so I had a lot of different things in mind to post. I would like to reflect on this past year. I think it is good to see all that has happened to us over the past year and we can focus more on how God has blessed us and helped us grow through our lives. I want to take this month by month as well as I can and talk about all that God has done for me this year.

2004

January started out great as Clint and I were able to make a trip to Germany and visit everyone here. We were able to go to the annual Chili cookoff at the church. It was really great and the fact that we were able to start the year out here in the place we would later be living and working for God was great. This month I also began my student teaching and was very scared and nervous about the whole thing. There was a lot of work to do and it kept me very busy, but overall God walked me through it and I had more confidence because I had Him in my life. During the school year, I studied German privately with Clyde Antwine. This was frustrating at times and very difficult to grasp all the concepts, but I am so thankful that God put Clyde and Gwen in my life to help guide me and give me help with my decisions to go to Germany. God is great! At the end of the month I was able to take part in one of my best friend's Senior Projects. April Stephens put on her Senior Project for her music degree and it was so great to be able to sing with her and two of my other best friends, Amy Bartee and Sarah Davis. God has blessed my life with wonderful Christian friends! In January was when the HIMers were officially introduced to the Memorial Road Church. This was so exciting to announce it to the whole church and to have so many people saying encouraging things about the program.

February started getting busier as I began to teach more and more. There were some stressful times, but God got me through them all. On the 14th, since it was Valentine's Day, my sweet boyfriend took me on a wonderful date to a great restaurant in OKC. It was the fanciest place I had ever been! I've said this many times before, and will say it many more times: I have the most amazing man in my life! Clint makes me feel special every day! Also in February, Clint and I were able to attend several meetings of a Marriage Matters seminar at Memorial Road. It was really great to go to and we are so thankful for the church's efforts to help people who are married get through the difficult parts and to make their marriages stronger. It gave us a lot of good things to think about for our future together. At the end of the month I had my Recital Hearing which was a very nerve-wracking thing. Basically I had to sing all of the pieces I wanted to sing for my final Recital, which I had to perform in order to graduate. Several of the music faculty attended and they critiqued me on how well I sang. If they don't think I am up to the standards, I would have to do it again when I practice more. Thankfully, although it was a stressful thing, God was with me and gave me strength and the ability to get through this and I was able to pass it!

March was full of many different activities and emotions as I was getting closer to graduating. I started out the month by helping a friend with wedding music. I recorded a song with Jason Engelke to give to my friend Kristi for her wedding. I love doing this kind of thing and have helped a couple of other friends with their wedding music as well. I love music and so anything I can do to help in that area is great! I feel this is a talent that God has given me so I want to share it with others and help others in any way that I can. The first week of March was also the last week at my first student teaching site, which meant I was teaching all day long in all of the classes. It was pretty busy, but God had really helped me be able to handle all the situations that came my way. I was also able to attend the musical that the kids were performing at the high school I taught at and it made me feel proud that I had been teaching them! It was a good feeling and made me remember why I wanted to be a teacher. I also experienced a very scary thing in March. The night Clint and I went to see Spring Sing at OC Clint drove me back to his house, where my car was. So I drove home by myself. It was about 11:00 at night but I had parked out in the dark and walked to my apartment by myself a million times so I didn't think anything about it. However, this particular evening I stepped out of my car and headed towards my apartment. Before I even reached the back side of my car I saw two guys out of the corner of my eye approaching me. Hoping they were only heading towards their own apartments I tried to ignore the nervous feeling I had in my stomach and tried to walk quickly away. The next thing I knew one of them yelled, "get her purse!" I looked over quickly just in time for the guy to grab on to my purse. At this point all I saw was a man with a white mask on his face. We immediately went into a struggle as I held on for dear life to my purse. I really am not sure why I did that, but it was out of instinct, I guess. I immediately also began screaming "no, no, no!!!" I am pretty sure everyone in that entire apartment complex could hear me. I think he got scared because I was screaming and just pushed me down and ran. He never got my purse and thankfully didn't do much damage to me besides some bruises on my hip where I fell down and some sore muscles from the struggle. I was so frightened, I just ran to my apartment and banged on the door, as I was crying. My roommate April let me in quickly and called 911. The police came quickly and I told them everything that happened. I don't believe they were ever able to find the man, especially since I didn't have a very good description of him. This was probably the scariest thing that ever happened to me. I am so blessed though that God was watching over me and made me have the instinct to scream and I know it was He who protected me from being harmed. On to better memories, I was able to attend a Mother/Daughter banquet with my mom and it was such a good time with her! I am blessed by God to have a wonderful family who are Christians. I had a very good friend of mine visit from Texas. Monica Witcher and her fiance at the time (now husband), Link Blevins, came and we were able to spend the day together. Neither one of us had ever met our boyfriends so it was great that Clint and I and Monica and Link could all get together. We also went to lunch with some other friends and it was a good time. Once again, God has blessed me with really great Christian friends. In March I also started at my second student teaching site, which was an Elementary School. I loved it a lot and had a really good experience there! God blessed me with a really great teacher that I got to work with named Marilyn Long! We have even been keeping in touch and it is great to have a friend out of that experience! The last weekend of March was my Senior Recital and I felt really good about my performance. I prayed so much that God would give me peace and joy as I tried to do the best I could with the talents He gave me and He answered my prayers! It was such a fun time which I was able to share with my family and friends!

April was great because it was the month that I graduated! It was also pretty full with getting everything finished up for school though so it still had it's stressful moments. We were able to have our Germany Retreat in April which is always a great time. The campaign group that goes every summer gets together to organize everything for the trip and do some rehearsal for the singing that we do. It is always a great time to bond and to get to know each other well so that we can work together the way God wants us to. I really enjoy the way we always talk about conversion stories and what God has done in our lives. It is a great weekend. The end of April was busy with teaching and getting all the assignments in before graduation. Thanks to God, He got me through it all and on April 30th I graduated! It was such a great feeling and I know that God helped me through it all!

May was busy with preparations to move to Germany. At the very beginning of the month I started to move out of my apartment and move everything back to my parent's house. This month was also packed of getting together with all my friends and all of Clint's friends before we left. It was great to get to spend some time with them before we left and also a little sad since we knew it would be a while before we could see them again. Also in May, I went to Ohio with Clint and was able to meet his family for the first time. I had met his mom once, but the rest of his family I had never met. It was a great trip and I was also able to meet some of his good friends there. Because of all the things that Clint had to do to get ready to move, I helped him a lot at his house getting things ready. Thankfully God was able to bless Him in finding someone to buy his house quickly and everything was taken care of! I would also like to add all the blessings that I received throughout the year from different churches and friends who helped support me for the HIM Program. It was amazing how it all came together so well. I know God had everything to do with that. The week before I left for Germany, my Papa had a heart attack. It was very scary and we rushed to Texas to be with him. He was in the hospital for a few days, but he was able to go home and recuperate. I know God was watching over him. Later that week, my parents and I were already planning on going to Texas to visit all my relatives to see them before I left and so I did and I am so grateful for the wonderful family that God blessed me with.

June was the beginning of my new adventures in Germany! On the 1st of June I was able to pull off a surprise birthday party for Clint in which I invited some of his good friends to come over to my parents' house for a barbecue. It was a good time and he was surprised! On the 2nd the shippers went over to Clint's house and packed up everything that he wanted to be shipped to Germany. His house was really empty after that! On the 3rd the entire campaign group flew from OKC and made it to Germany on the 4th. On the 5th, I unfortunately missed one of my best friend's weddings. Monica had asked me if I could be a bridesmaid, but because of all the Germany plans, I wasn't able to. I am still very honored that she asked me! Also in June, Clint and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary. To read about the German Campaign you can click on the link.

July was when the camaigners left Germany and I was able to settle into my apartment in Chemnitz. I know that God has led me to this point in my life and that this is where He wants me to be right now. I started doing my first LST lessons and Bible studies in July and it was a great start. I have made so many new friends and it has been a great experience. I also started meeting with the Cantrells and Clint regularly every morning to study God's word and pray. It was such a great time of fellowship. I'm so thankful to have Ed and Courtney as friends and mentors. Clint and I were also given a surprise "welcome to Germany" party. It was so fun and wonderful to have so many people who care about us there.

August was a continuation of getting settled in Chemnitz. During this month we really started to try to get the word out to former LST readers that we wanted to continue reading with them and so we started making calls and writing e-mails. We also tried to get more involved and have more activities with the 20-something and so we did more activities such as going to get ice cream and going out to eat after the mid-week Bible study. It was great to get more involved with people and to get to know them better. I tried to do some work on the church garden and get things looking nice there. In August, Clint's grandmother got very ill and passed away. He was able to fly to see her as quickly as he heard how badly she was doing and was able to see her before she passed away. This was definitely a prayer answered and I know he was so glad to be able to see her one last time. It was also good for him to be there with his family helping out in any way that he could. The Sullivans had also arrived back from the States and I was able to spend some more time with them. I was able to participate for the first time in the traditional Saturday morning pancakes. I go over there pretty much every Saturday morning and they make pancakes. It's a great time to get to talk and enjoy each other's company. God has also blessed me with more wonderful people with which to work in the church. Clint and I were also able to enroll in our first German class that began in September.

September is when my schedule went crazy! I started really trying to get everything taken care of for my visa. I also started to get more and more LST readers. The second week of September my German class started which was 8:30-11:45 am Monday through Friday. In the afternoons I always had readers. This is when I started to get a little stressed out and overwhelmed. I was able to participate in a women's retreat in Austria that lasted for an entire week in an incredibly beautiful place in the Alps! It was such a spiritual encouragement to meet Christian women from around Germany and Austria and it was a learning experience in association with German as well as spiritually.

October continued to be just as busy. I guess by now you can see a trend in my personal schedules. I tend to make myself really busy. I guess that is the way I have always been. I think I would be bored if I didn't have enough to do though. :) The Vienna studies group came to do some mission work with us. It was a great and encouraging weekend to see them. My parents were able to visit and we had a wonderful time getting to go see the sites in Chemnitz and Dresden. They were really glad to be able to see where I lived. I also had a two week Fall Break and didn't have to go to German class. German class was frustrating at times and at others I really enjoyed it and felt like I was learning a lot. I got to see Clyde Antwine who came to Dresden for a day! All the HIMers got to get together to talk to him. We had a good time.

November started to bring a little culture shock and homesickness. I was feeling a little down at times, but God has been with me this whole time and is getting me through this transition. There were times during this month that I felt really good about my German and I'm getting excited about how much I'm learning. We have been able to spend more time going to Dresden every now and then. We got to go to a fellowship singing at the beginning of the month and it was really good to see everyone. The guys went to Bulgaria for over a week. Ed, Larry, Clint, and Guido took two vans full of winter clothes for people who needed it in Bulgaria. They had a successful trip and very many interesting experiences. I was able to experience my first Christmas market and it was great! I took a wonderful communication seminar on Thanksgiving day and it was very informative and I think it will help me in my relationships and in the work here with the church. I was able to celebrate Thanksgiving with many Christians in Saxony. Thanks be to God for the brothers and sister that I have all over the world!

December has been a wonderful month so far and I know God will continue to look over me for the rest of the month as well as next year! I was able to sing and teach some songs at an English festival for a school and I got to know some cool people there. I got to celebrate Christmas in a little different way here this year and it was fun! On the 6th of December is called Nicolaus day and I got some little sweets from Nicolaus that day! Clint and I celebrated our 1 and 1/2 year anniversary by going to the Christmas Market together and I bought a beautiful Advent Star for my window. Ed, Clint and I went to another school and talked to the students about how we celebrate Christmas in the States. Then we were able to teach them and sing with them traditional Christmas songs. It was a lot of fun and we met some great people there as well. Clint and I were invited for dinner at my neighbor's house, Kathrin. I read LST with her and it was a great evening to get to know her family better. We had a great time there. We had a Christmas Coffee at the church and everyone got together and had coffee, cake, and we sang Christmas songs together. I had a Christmas party/Movie night with the 20-somethings group at church as well as other friends that I read with. Clint and I were invited to have coffee at Gisela's house. She is a really nice woman whom we met when we went to the school she teaches at during the summer. Clint and I were also invited to go to Seiffen, which is a Christmas town in the Erzgebirge area by my friend Jacqueline. It was a beautiful day and we had fun shopping for Christmas decorations and presents. We also celebrated with the Sullivans by having Fondue and opening presents. The best part of the day however, was when Clint decided to surprise me and propose! I am now engaged to them most wonderful man! Clint and I were also invited to celebrate Christmas with Ed and Courtney in Frankfurt at Courtney's parents house. Bill and Kay Weger were very kind to extend this invitation and we had a wonderful time with them. We also got to go to the American Military base there and got to have some good American food (Taco Bell) and shop for some American products. It was a great week to get to spend with them all. This week is going to be great as we will get to spend New Years with the church members.

Whew... well that was my year and I am very confident to say that God has directed and protected and guided me this year. I know that if I continue to have faith in Him and try to do what He wants me to He will continue to do those things for me in 2005 and for the rest of my life! I pray that God does the same for you and that you always lean on Him!

The ring 

We're Engaged!

Clint and I are engaged!

By now all or most of you have heard our news! Once again, here is the story.

On Wednesday night, December 22, we were celebrating with the Cantrells and the Sullivans and exchanging presents. After all the presents were opened, Larry said that there was one more present for Clint and I. I thought this was strange since we already got our presents from everyone. He informed us that we would have to go out to the workshop to get it. This was even more strange, since he usually just has tools and antiques and things out there. But, I cluelessly said ok and grabbed my camera, as they told me to take a picture of the gift and show it to them. We walk outside and I asked Clint if he knew what this was about. He said that he didn't and so we continued towards the workshop. (At this point I am still suspecting nothing). Well, we get outside and I am playing with the camera, so Clint takes it away from me. We don't even get to the workshop and Clint turns to me and takes my hands. At this point, I FINALLY realize something is going on. He continues to recite this poem (which made me cry because it was so cute and sweet) :)

Baby, me love you long time.

I hope you enjoy this little rhyme.

It started when I could hold my feelings no longer,

and I was so glad when you didn't take long to ponder.

Under the Bridge in Oelsnitz I said "I think I like you".

You quickly responded "I think I like you too".

Since that time my love for you grew and grew.

It didn't take long before my heart knew;

that baby you complete my life.

Will you make me the luckiest man and be my wife?

Then he gets down on his knee as he says the last line. (There was snow on the ground, by the way--ok some people would argue with this, but there really was some snow in the driveway). Of course I said yes and he slipped the ring on my finger. It was so perfect! We were able to go back into the house and share the news with everyone! It was so great to share it with them! I'm thankful that I'm also able to share this news with you in this way even when many of you are far away from us. I hope you all have a wonderful New Year!

The Germany HIM-hers

The Germany HIM-hers

This picture was taken in September right after Allison arrived in Dresden. I just thought it would be fun to share. We have actually gotten to see each other frequently. It's nice having them close by. The phrase "HIM-hers" became a joke because all but one of us on the HIM program this year were girls. So we started referring to ourselves as the "HIM-hers". Clint is still included in that since he is a "him". Also, if you read it it just sounds like "HIMers" which makes it funny too. I guess I really shouldn't have tried so hard to explain it, but oh well. Hopefully you get it and think it's funny too. If not, too bad, we do!

I love Saturdays

Well, it's another Saturday and I really enjoy them these days because it seems like the week is so busy that I have no time to relax. Normally Saturday is also a nice day that I spend the morning having pancakes with the Sullivans. Today, however, was an exception because Pam had to give a test today so there were no pancakes. My favorite part about it is that I get to meet with the Sullivans and just talk with them. It seems like all of our schedules are so busy during the week that I don't really get a chance to talk to them about how their week is going and things like that. I forgot about Pam having to give her tests today and I still went over at about 8:30 and still got to have coffee with Larry. We had a good time talking.

Now at about this time I can see some people's minds turning and I know exactly what you are thinking. Anyone who knows me is asking probably two questions right now. Number one question that I'm guessing is on your mind: "You were awake at 8:30 on a Saturday morning?" Yes, I actually usually try to be up sometime between 8:00 and 8:15 on Saturdays to have pancakes with the Sullivans. I really enjoy this time. Would I really like to sleep in and wake up at noon? Yes, but I enjoy pancake time so much that I would really hate to miss it. I find that 8:00 is a lot easier to wake up at than 6:30, which is when I usually "try" to wake up during the week for German class. It usually ends up being closer to 7:00 though. Number 2 question you are asking yourself: "You drink coffee now? I though you hated it!" Yes, you are right. I used to hate the smell and taste of it. Well, I live in Germany now and coffee is a staple in most German homes. At first when everyone offered me coffe I would just ask if they had tea instead. That usually is fine and people aren't offended at all. Then Courtney introduced me to her cappucino. Well, cappucino isn't that bad and then I started drinking that when I had guests over and if people offered me coffee. I acutally like it now and I found some good flavors. Then I upgraded to trying real coffee and it took a few times and experiments with the right amount of cream and sugar and if I have the right amount I really like it. So, there you have it... I'm now a coffee drinker. Well, I don't drink it on a regular basis and I only have it when people offer it or if the main prupose of getting together with friends is for coffee, but I'm glad that I don't think it's as nasty as I once thought.

Today I am going to Dresden for the monthly church singing fellowship. It should be pretty fun and I think I will enjoy it. Clint is pretty sick right now and he is going to stay home today. Keep him in your prayers. He thinks he has an infection. He has a lot of stuff in his chest right now. If he's not better by Monday I will try to get him to go to the doctor. Oh, also something you can add to your prayer list is that I got a letter from the foreigner authorities about my visa process and they said that I have not turned all the papaerwork that I was supposed to and I know that I have. My temporary visa expires next week and they said that if I don't get my paperwork in they will deny my visa. Courtney tried to call them yesterday because I just received this letter on Thursday. She was not able to talk to anyone and e-mailed someone about it. She will also try to call on Monday. Just keep that whole situation in your prayers.

Have a great Saturday! I know I will!

Early Christmas Present

Clint and I last Christmas in a traditional Christmas town called Seiffen

Ok, so maybe it's not technically an early Christmas present, but that is how excited I am about getting internet finally! Today was the triumphant day that I was able to connect to the internet from MY computer in My apartment in MY bedroom! Yay! Now I can really keep this thing up to date and let my family and friends know that I am still alive!

First of all I want to thank God for inventing a thing called the internet. Without it, I wouldn't be able to write life-changing blogs like this one. I also want to thank Ed for helping me sign up online and also Courtney for allowing me to use her computer in the meantime. You have been a real life saver. Of course, I have to thank my sweetheart for putting up with my complaints while I was internet-less. I must also thank T-Online for the connection that made this all possible. Last, but definitely not least I would like to thank my family and friends who have written me lots of e-mails and have supported me and encouraged me this whole time.

Ok, I am being a little silly, but really I have missed writing on this and I want to do a better job of it now that I have internet. The picture above is really a year old but I thought it was appropriate since it is December and everything. The Christmas Market is open, people have their windows all decorated with lights and I just decorated my apartment today! I actually have a small Christmas tree, and thanks to Jennifer it was all decorated and all I had to do was plug the baby in. I also put some lights around my window and have a few other German decorations inside. I have to say though, I am getting a bit homesick and really thinking about the fact that I won't be home for Christmas. But I am also excited about experiencing Christmas here. So far I have really loved the Christmas Market and all the great decorations. I have been invited to Courtney's parents' for Christmas in Frankfurt and I think that Clint and I will do that. It sounds like fun.

Well, I really need to go to bed now. I will hopefully be updating regularly now. Have a great weekend.