Guten Tag! What a busy couple of days it's been getting here! Shannon and Elijah (the baby!) dropped me off at the Dulles airport Thursday afternoon, and I was on my way! The plan ride was over night and a little less than 8 hours, so I slept off and on as much as I could--which wasn't very much! Thankfully I had a window seat because flying over Europe before dawn was amazing! I got to see several larger cities all lit up at night, including Paris!
When I arrived at the Zürich airport, I got through customs fairly quickly and met up with Ben and Chris Steinhauer just outside the baggage claim. They were very glad to see me--and I was excited to see them as well!--and they treated me to Starbucks, which is exactly what I needed! Et wast wünderbar! Haha.
Dan Steinhauer met us there and took me home with him while the boys went on to work. It was so good to talk to him on the way home! He gave me all the news on my family here in Basel, and he said it would be interesting to see if ''Grandma Moses'' (his mother-in-law) would recognize me.
Once we got home, I hugged Margrit Steinhauer and received such a warm greeting! It was like I never left. I went in to see Grandma and giver her a quick punch in the arm (a sign of sure affection!), and sure enough she DID remember me! We had such a good time catching up, even though we absolutely can't speak the same language. =)
Nap time! I think the melatonin I took when I got on the plane worked a little too well--I was exhausted the whole day! After an hour nap or so, the four of us piled into the car and headed to church. We stopped on teh way to pick up some bread for one of the ladies at church who had ordered it for a potluck after church that night, and Dan told me it cost 150 Swiss Fracs--which is over 150 US dollars! Everything is more expensive in Switzerland, and that just give you an idea!
We are lunch with some others from the church that day, which was home made chicken cordon bleu, peas, roasted herbed potatos, and salad, with cookies for dessert! Whew. I'm glad the Swiss walk a lot. =) It was so nice catching up with Holger and Nicolas and Rasanna, who had joined us for lunch. They are such an encouragement to me in their faith and dedication to living the way God requires.
After lunch, Margrit went to run errands and the others needed to get some things done before their special meeting that night, but Grandma and I had the best idea--we took a nap! =) Love it!
When we woke up, I helped Grandma take her medicine while Margrit took her own nap, and the two of us sat together reading and keeping each other company. Once Margrit got up and people started arriving, everyone helped everyone else get their food prepared and get everything ready for church that night. There were several visitors, which is a HUGE deal for a church here in Switzerland. Talking to people about God and Christianity is very difficult here because it's such a personal topic. The Swiss have everything--they don't think they need God at all.
The lesson last night was great. Ben translated for me, and I was amazed at how much I actually understood on my own! The lesson was about joy and how God is the source of all true joy in our lives. Marcus, one of the men at the church, gave the lesson, and he did such a good job! The men at this church are such a fantastic example of Godly men. I wish you could all come meet them!
After the lesson, everyone ate and talked, and I got to talk with and hug my dear Swiss family. They were as excited about me coming as I was to come visit! My friend Simona is hosting me right now at her apartment. It's been so nice to catch up in person! Facebook is great, but real conversation is SO much better! She let me sleep till 11:00 this morning (and I would have slept longer, so I'm glad she woke me!), then I showered and we ate breakfast--whew! I feel so much more alert now! We went out to run some errands and go to the grocery store, and now we're back at her place about to watch a movie. Ben, Chris, and Tobias are coming to eat supper with us here tonight, and I'm making ''nasty brownies'' for dessert--yum! (haha, they're actually amazing, not gross. ;))
More updates to come as I can write them! Iäm staying with Simona again tonight, then Iäll be at Holger and Francie Kock's Sunday and Monday night, at the Minders' Tuesday night, at Vreni and Jürg's farm on Wednesday, and then I'll be at the Steinhauers' the rest of the week--whew! I'm loving every minute and trying to learn as much as possible.
Tschüss!! (See you later!!)
Adventure Whit
No comments:
Post a Comment