Trip with Allison and Grady

Grady, Allison, me and Clint, originally uploaded by Clint & April.

Also at the end of September we took a Saturday to go with Grady and Allison Maass to Weimar. In particular we wanted to see Buchenwald Concentration Camp. Clint and I had never been to one and it was something we should see while we were in Germany. It definitely was sobering and emotional to see but I think it is something that I needed to experience. Here is a picture of us all in front of a bell tower near the camp site. This was built as a memorial to the camp.

Clint and Snickers

Clint and Snickers, originally uploaded by Clint & April.

Larry just celebrated a birthday at the end of September and we had coffee and cake to celebrate. Here is a picture of Clint and Snickers at the party. In the background you can see Larry and Pam playing ping pong. :) You can also see that it wasn't too long ago when it was warm weather. Alas, the winds have changed. :(

Tea time

Tea time, originally uploaded by Clint & April.

Ever since Clint and I took our trip to Scotland we have had a new appreciation for "tea time". We also like to enjoy our tea time by getting our Polish pottery out. After we got married we were able to buy a matching set of dishes in Poland. We have really enjoyed getting them out and enjoying meals, coffee and tea with our friends.

Actually, here in Germany "coffee time" is a big thing and I have also come to enjoy that as well. Before I moved here I didn't even like coffee but I must say that German coffee is superior to American coffee. But whether you like coffee or not the fellowship is the best thing about "coffee time". You sit around with friends and discuss the things about your week or what is on your heart and mind. This is a tradition that I hope to hold on to for a very long time!

Catching up...

Back in September our friend Sophia (standing next to me) won 4 free tickets to Babelsberg Filmpark. It is kind of a like a German version of Universal Studies. They show how they have filmed certain movies and television shows that were filmed in Germany and some that were special to East Germany during GDR times. It was pretty interesting and we had a lot of fun with Sophia and her friend Nadine. You can see more pictures of us at the park if you click on the "My links" button to the right and click on my Flickr photo link. I try to keep the photos I take updated on there as much as possible so you can check back from time to time and see what is going on even when I have been really bad about updating on here! :)

The First Snow

This morning we woke up in Chemnitz to the first snow of the season! I don't think I am really ready for that season, but I guess I will have to deal with it. As you can tell, it wasn't a lot of snow but it has stuck around on the roofs until at least noon which is pretty impressive since the sun is shining. Well I hope you are all having a wonderful day! Hopefully soon I will do another update on the last month or two's activities. There has been a lot going on here.

Support the Work in Chemnitz

If you want to help us continue working in Chemnitz, then you can send money to our supporting congregation. We are still trying to raise funds (always) and this would help us to continue to live here and do what we feel God has called us to do. You can be just as involved in spreading God's love in Germany no matter where you live. Please pray diligently about how you can be a part of this ministry. Right now our plan is to be working full time for the Church in Chemnitz until August 2009. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. If you would like to know more about our ministry, please contact us and we can tell you about it. You can send a check made out to Soldier Creek Church of Christ. Please indicate on the check or envelope our names. For example, you can write Everhart Missions on the check in the memo. Also, please indicate whether it is a one time donation or a monthly commitment. Please send money to:

Soldier Creek Church of Christ
Attention- Missions (Everhart)
417 Monroe Avenue NW
Piedmont, OK 73078

Telephone: 405-373-3550
Email- info@soldiercreekchurchofchrist.com

A living snapshot of love and evangelism

Please read this article about Clyde and Gwen Antwine. They are the reason I am in Germany and have seen the importance of mission work in the world. I love you Clyde and Gwen!

Claire is 1!

Claire is 1!, originally uploaded by Clint & April.

My niece Claire turned 1 yesterday! Happy Birthday Claire! I can't believe she has already experienced one year. My other niece, Ashlyn is now 19 months old and that is also amazing to me. It makes me happy to see pictures of them as they grow and go through new phases in their lives, but it also makes me really sad that I am not there to share those moments with them. I am so proud to be their aunt but so torn to be so far away. I talked to my niece Ashlyn on the phone a couple of weeks ago and I heard her say "hi". It was so plain and clear and I almost cried. Aren't babies so wonderful!? Sigh... just pray for me because I think my heart is breaking.

How to Avoid Being an ‘Ugly American’

I just read this article on MSN and I can really relate to it since I live abroad and can vouch for seeing these types of personality traits in Americans who travel to Europe. I really think there are some good tips here to think about when traveling abroad.

Do you love to share your political views with the locals you meet while traveling? Do you think that people in other countries should do everything the American way? Does your voice tend to get as loud as the print on your Hawaiian shirt? If so, then you might be an “ugly American.”

The concept of the ugly American has existed ever since an increasing number of ordinary, middle-class travelers began exploring the world over a half-century ago. Now, an organization called Business for Diplomatic Action, concerned by an apparent rise in what it calls “negative stereotypes about our collective personality,” is hoping to clean up the image of Americans abroad. The group has published a set of guidelines for travelers, the World Citizens Guide, that suggests proper ways of behaving when visiting countries outside of the U.S.

Among its tips:

• Be humble. In many countries, boasting is considered very rude. … Assume resentment as a default and play down your wealth, power and status.
• Refrain from lecturing. Nobody likes a know-it-all, and nobody likes a whole nation of them.
• Be quiet. A loud voice is often perceived as a bragging voice. Casual profanity is almost always considered unacceptable.
• Dress for respect. Jeans, T-shirts and sneakers work for many of us much of the time, but there are people in other countries who believe such casualness is a sign of disrespect to them and their beliefs.
  

These might seem like obvious ways to behave when you’re traveling abroad, and you may not appreciate the guide’s somewhat patronizing tone. But it appears we could use the advice. In studies conducted in more than 100 countries by DDB Worldwide after 9/11, respondents perceived Americans as loud, arrogant and disrespectful of local cultures. And in a new survey of seven Asian countries, the results of which were published this week in a Japanese newspaper, the image of the U.S. was reported to have declined across the board in the past decade, particularly in countries with large Muslim populations.

I agree for the most part with these suggestions. I haven't really had a problem as far as wearing a T-shirt and jeans, but I think that being loud is one of the biggest problems that Americans have in foreign cultures. Germans for the most part are a quiet people and don't appreciate a lot of noise.

About Germany

A while back Clint's sister Stephanie sent us this link about the population decline in Germany in which they have cited that Chemnitz specifically as having the lowest birth rate. It is interesting to know and to understand the country and culture a little better and what they have been through. Courtney blogged about this already so I decided to make a link to her blog so that you can just read it there.

http://angeltwist.blogspot.com/2006/09/population-decline-in-germany.html#comments

Hallway

Hallway 3

Schuh Schrank

Hallway 2

Here is our lovely "Schuh Schrank" and above that is our bulletin board... it has a ton of pics of family and of course nieces! :)

Hallway

Hallway

Since the last pictures of our hallway we have a couple of new things. First of all we acquired this rug from a neighbor of an older lady from church named Traudel. We also got a new piece of furniture which we now hide our shoes in. I really like the way it looks in there!

Bed

When we have a bigger house we will get a bigger one! :)

Bedroom 2

I love these windows!

Yay For Cleaning and Organizing!

Our bedroom

I think I'm becoming an organizing addict. The past couple of months Clint has put up with my phase of going through all of our stuff and reorganizing. Well, we didn't go through ALL of our stuff, but I'm sure if felt that way to Clint. ;) He was a really big help though and really didn't complain too much. I think he was just scared of what I was wanting to do with his stuff. :) But I was very considerate of him. At least I really tried to be. Anyway, I am very proud to show you the first pictures of our bedroom. Before, it was not in any condition to be photographed. I am very happy that it is a really nice relaxing and clean room now! I think I have a new favorite quiet corner of the house in the chair next to all the windows in our bedroom. I even sat there yesterday and wrote in my journal (which is also a new thing).

Xavier Naidoo Concert

Xavier Naidoo

The day that Clint and I came back from Scotland we went to an Xavier Naidoo concert with Karen. He is a German pop star and I have become a fan of his since I have lived here, thanks to Karen! The concert was also a part of Karen's birthday present and we all had a great time there! This is about the best picture I have, unfortunately.

Xavier Naidoo Concert 

The Tower Bridge

The Tower Bridge

No, it's not the London Bridge. Did you know that one of the first London Bridges is somewhere in Arizona? Thanks to my Dad and Clint I was informed that a man bought the London Bridge and took it over to Arizona.

*Later note: You can check it out on Wikipedia.

The Tower of London

The Tower of London

I really would have liked to have gone inside, but then we saw how much it cost: 15 pounds per person which is basically $60. I don't think so. As much as I would have liked to see the Crown Jewels, one glance wasn't worth $60. Maybe some other time when we aren't missionaries. :) By the way, it really should be called the London Fortress, which is what it basically is.

Big Ben

Look Kids: Big Ben, Parliament

Everytime I think of Big Ben I think of the National Lampoon's European Vacation movie. How about anyone else? Those roundabouts truly are tricky.

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is basically an indoor cemetary. It is seriously amazing how many people are buried in there! Of course all the kings and queens are there and then there is Charles Darwin. Can anyone explain to me why Charles Darwin is buried in Westminster Abbey?? I mean, isn't that blasphemy or something? We were discussing that same topic when a tour group came close by to his grave and I think I heard the tour guide state that the place where he was buried is in a pretty bad spot and basically people walk over him every day constantly, so I guess they got the last word, huh?

Saturday in London

Buckingham Palace

On Saturday Clint and I took a train from our hotel near the Standsted Airport to London and spent the whole day checking out the city. I really enjoyed it and we were able to see pretty much everything that we were wanting to see.

"It's not the wrong side, it's just the opposite side"

Clint Driving a British Car

One of the things we have learned as missionaries and having to adjust to another culture and appreciating the differences is never saying that something is wrong with that culture. For example: driving in the UK is not like it is in the States. It isn't wrong, it's just different. This definitely helps you appreciate it much more and enjoy the time you spend in that culture. One of the challenges of course was the fact that Clint had to drive on the left side of the road and sit in the right side of the car. It took a lot of getting used to for him, but I think he enjoyed it overall. He really did get a hang of those roundabouts pretty quickly!

On Friday we took the 6-7 hour drive back to London. I think it ended up taking us close to 10 hours or something like that because of a lot of traffic that we ran into, since it was a holiday weekend.

Last Night in Dundee

The times that we weren't sightseeing, we were hanging out with these guys. Also, Kevin moved out of his apartment and into a new one while we were there so we gave him a hand with that as well. We had such a great time with these too and we were truly blessed to have had this opportunity! We love you guys!

Thursday in Scotland

Edinburgh Castle

On Thursday Kevin spent the day with us in Edinburgh. It was a crazy day as there was a festival going on in the city and there were so many people there! But we had a great time with Kevin anyway!

Stirling Castle Museum

Our last stop of the day was in Stirling. We saw a view of the Wallace Monument from the castle and then went into Stirling Castle.

Drummond Castle Gardens

Stop number 2 was at the Drummond Castle Gardens. It was so beautiful!

Wednesday in Scotland

Dunkeld Cathedral

On Wednesday Liz took us on a round tour of the nearby area to Dundee. Our first stop was in Dunkeld where we saw a cathedral and ate some really great Scottish food at a great pub there.

Aerial view of St. Andrews Cathedral and Cemetary 

Tuesday in Scotland

St. Andrews Castle

On Tuesday Clint and I took the day to look around St. Andrews. The castle was really cool and then we went to the cathedral which was really cool. I will post an aerial view of the cathedral and cemetary.

Our Trip to Scotland

Dunnottar Castle

We had an amazing time in Scotland! It was absolutely beautiful and we had a great time hanging out with Liz Cail and Kevin Peters.

We flew into London on Saturday the 19th and were there by about 7:30 p.m. Since we had a 6-7 hour drive ahead of us to Dundee, Scotland we drove about an hour and spent the night in Peterborough. On Sunday morning we got up and drove the rest of the way and were in Dundee and enjoying time with our friends by dinner time.

On Monday, Liz took us to Dunnottar Castle. As you can see in the picture it was breathtaking! It sits right on the coast of the North Sea.