Brrr...it's cold

Adam here: The cold weather is upon us. It has been getting increasingly colder the last few days. It went from being in the mid 80's to the mid 60's overnight. Of course over here everything is in Celsius so it is even colder, like 1os or 12's or something crazy like that. I don't really know. I'm still adjusting. Laura keeps telling me, "it isn't crazy, it is just different." She is so loving in her correction of me. Anyway, this morning when we were leaving for school we found our car had turned into an ice cube over night. There was ice frozen all over it. Thinking fast, I ran inside to get our bucket of dryer water to dump over it to thaw the ice. There are no hoses. It rains too much to have to water anything. We don't have an ice scrapper yet. And here, all the water from the clothes dryer is collected into a bucket. Since we don't waste anything here, I used that water to clear the windows. Don't worry, I already gave myself a pat on the back for my quick intellect. Now if only I could think of a way to prepare for tomorrow morning.

In other news: You might notice that Laura posted a new picture of us standing in front of a very old looking bridge. That was take in Luzern, Switzerland. Mr. Post, the Jr. High history teacher is also a pastor of an international church in Luzern. (He is also the father of one of my sophomores.) His wife invited us to attend church with them on Sunday so we went along. It was about an hour drive out there. The church service was very nice. We wished it was a little closer, we thing we would have liked getting involved there. After the service the Post family walked us around Luzern and showed us all of the sites. That bridge in the background is still mostly original and is something like 500 years old. That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Laura's Email

It's a crazy world we live in. We can perform surgeries remotely with robotic arms, we can transmit information literally all over the globe, we can pay for things with a piece of plastic, but can we recover emails from a deleted email account? Not a chance. Not if you ask nicely; not if you beg; not even if you get irritated and yell at the computer screen.
So, the good news: I get a new email address.
The bad news: I don't have any of the wonderful emails I have received over the years... or that you have sent to me in the last week.
So, my request... if you have sent me an email in the last week and have not heard back from me, forward it to my new email.
You can reach me now at lauradeclercq@ymail.com.
Please email me. My new inbox is looking a little stark.

German Blunders

We decided yesterday that we needed to laugh a little here at "It's CQ", so laugh with us at our blunders.
1. Forgetting to buy toilet paper on Saturday and realizing we used the absolute last square early Sunday morning. Might not seem so bad, except EVERYTHING is closed here on Sunday. We had to walk to a neighbor's house and humbly beg for a roll of tp to get us through til Monday, when the stores open their doors.
2. Turning onto a bike path while trying to get off the road in a hail storm that nearly killed us because we were going someplace new and people were practically throwing themselves off the road. We drove a few hundred meters, missed the kids on their bikes and turned a nice 3-point turn, back up the bike path and back onto the street.
3. Getting lost at the border. Into Switzerland, wrong turn back into Germany, quick u-turn back into Switzerland. And wouldn't you know it, not a single passport stamp.
More to come, I'm sure.
If you ever feel you could use some humbling, just move to a new country and watch your pride fall down around your knees in a new way everyday!

First Day of School

Today is the official start of classes at BFA. Adam experienced a bit of a culture shock when all of his students were seated and working quietly 5 minutes before (not after, before) the bell rang.
Our students strike me as some of the coolest people around. They come from countries all over the world, from Albania to Zambia, literally.
Adam and I are excited to see our mission field arrive in the form of our students and the families and stories they represent.
Drop us a line if you get a chance. We would love to hear from you!

Prayer and Praises

As Adam posted earlier, we are here, safe and sound. We are in the process of setting up our lives in our apartment and classrooms. We are discovering that "setting up" is more a way of life for the first month than a list of things to do. Things just take longer, or so it seems, here. We are patiently awaiting for our home phone and Internet services to be turned on. I confess that this Internet-aholic is having trouble waiting patiently. Indeed, I check to see if the green indicator light will turn from blinking to solid approximately 100 times a day.
In the meantime we are using the Internet at the school to conduct all of our online affairs. This means that we are unable to upload pictures, update most information on the blog, and otherwise do anything but email and post on the blog. Please forgive our sluggishness in doing so many things.
Some ANSWERED PRAYERS and PRAISES:
-we have purchased, insured and registered a vehicle
-Adam figured out the web of cords surrounding our TV and we have been able to watch some of the Olympics in English (Just ask Adam how excited he was to see Michael Phelps win 8 gold medals!)
PRAYER REQUESTS:
-our Internet and phone will be connected soon
-we will both recover from colds before school starts on Monday
-we will be diligent in preparing our lessons
-wisdom as we prayerfully consider ways outside of the classroom to get involved
-the staff members that are still raising support and trying to get to BFA
-we will be able to remember the German we have learned and be brave in using it

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We would love to hear from you!

Yes, we are still alive!

Adam here: Hello to everyone who is still checking our blog. We appologize for the long, long delay we have had in updating this thing. The thing is, we don't have internet access at our apartment yet. We don't have phone or TV either, which is killing me since I know I am missing so much swimming in the Olympics. We were fortunate enough to see Michael Phelps get one gold medal, but it broke my heart to read about the 4*100 relay that made headlines. I haven't been able to see it yet! I tried to see it on Youtube but when I searched it hadn't been posted.
Anyway, The last week and a half, Laura and I have been at BFA for new staff orientation and training. The first week was language and culture training. We learned just enough German to sound really stupid. We are better off right now shrugging our shoulders and asking "English?" But when Laura and I walk home we practice saying the German alphabet and numbers to each other. We can also tie our shoes in German!
Actually, Laura and I won't have to walk anymore if we don't want to. We finally got our car today. The German system is that once you have the car you must insure it then you must register it. To register it, you have to take pretty much everything but the kitchen sink into Lorrach (even though you don't have to take the actual car). So today, we were able to go in with someone who speaks German and he helped us.
Two days ago, it rained here for nearly 24 straight hours. And, it is supposed to rain somemore tomorrow.
But all that rain sure makes this place really green. I am anxious to post pictures, but we only have access to the internet through the school computers and I never have the camera and cord with me to upload images.
Next week we have all staff training and then on Sunday the students start showing up! Pray that both Laura and I will have time to get at least our first week or so of lessons set.
That is all for now. Hopefully we will get a regular internet connection soon so that we can post frequently and show you some pictures of Kandern!

We're Here

We arrived safely last night.
As soon as we get our internet hooked up we will post with pictures and stories!
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.