Beginning to head home

I've got to admit that I'm glad to be heading home tomorrow. I fly to Frankfurt and then London tomorrow where I will spend the night. After that I will hop on the plane to Minneapolis for a 7 hour layover before I end up in Colorado Springs at 10:30 Friday night. I will be tired and glad to be home!

This trip was quite successful. It was wonderful to meet and talk with our partners in Estonia and Germany. Both teams will have a fantastic time of ministry, experiencing the culture, and seeing the sights.

Walking around Tallinn was awesome. I explored the medieval town, city walls, churches, museums, etc. I even was able to get some Christmas, birthday, and various other gift shopping done. I even found some cool Soviet items for Dad that I know he will love! Well, I must be off. Have a great day!

Tallinn, Estonia. . . .

For those of you that sat in Mr. Dahm's history classes with me you would find this a little strange. After all the years of learning about the Soviet Union to sit in a former Soviet republic that is now free, it is wild. I know that they've been free for 15 years, but it is a wild thought. I will be walking around the city tomorrow and will let you know what I see.

So, Tallinn was founded in the 9th century and I will be seeing some of the sights, so it should be cool to see them. I will let you know everything later. Also, driving on the Autobahn was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it was raining, so I was only able to drive about 100 mph, but it was an experience. Well, the Internet Cafe is about to close. I'll talk to you all later! Have a great day!!

Training with a German Football Club

Today was great! I planned our upcoming trip with Markus Bender and it looks awesome! The team will definitely enjoy themselves as they minister and see Germany.

Tonight, I was able to practice with a German football (soccer) club! It was so much fun, although quite tiring since I'm a little out of shape. You'll be happy to know that I held my own which was nice. For those of you that don't know, Germany is one of the best soccer nations in the world, so it's nice to not be embarassed when you play with them. Well, I must be off to bed before I head to Frankfurt to catch my plane to Estonia! Talk to you later!

Trivia Question 2 and the Answer for 1

Well, since Laura (who loves England more than the English do :-) ) answered the question correctly on the first try I'll have to give another one. Yes the bell rings at 9:05 pm (five minutes late because it's on Oxford time not GMT) for the 101 original students of Christ Church college to be in before the bell quit ringing.

So, my question is: Pretzels were first made in Stuttgart. Why were they made??? Good luck and the answer will be posted soon!

Waldorff, Germany

I have been in Germany for a few days and it is beautiful. I am in the Black Forest region of the country. Yesterday after worshipping in a German church, I went with some friends to visit a castle, the oldest church in the region (1000 yrs) and a ruined cathedral. It all was quite beautiful. I wish you all were here to enjoy it with me! The Autobahn was fun and I drive on it again tomorrow to Frankfurt where I will board my plane to Estonia. Have a great day!

Off to Germany

Here I am in London's Heathrow airport bored out of my mind so I'm actually paying $1.90 for 10 minutes of Internet usage. But the conference went and ended well! I've got a lot to process in the next several days when I have free time. Yeah, like that's happening.

I am flying to Frankfurt, Germany where I will rent a car and drive to Stuttgart. Yeah, you heard that right, I'm renting a car and will be driving on the famous Autobahn--should be exciting!! I will be there for a few days before I head to Estonia. In both of the countries I will be planning the mission trips for the summer. So, I can't complain. Well, enough about me, hope you all have a great day! Talk to you later!

Still In Oxford

So I am still in Oxford and enjoying the conference. There are representatives from over 10 countries and it is a blessing talking with them and making contacts. My ministry, Uncharted Waters, has developed a "Sports Evangecube" (go to http://www.evangecube.org to see the original) and I am letting people know about this tool for evangelism. It should be really cool as it was designed to use with sports concepts!

Today, during my free time, I will be walking around the town of Oxford. I want to go to some churches, colleges, and maybe "The Oxford Story." But we'll see. . . The weather is typical England. Cold and rainy, but what do you expect. Well, I'm off to see the sights. Talk to you all later!!

A little update

So, I decided to get a lot of rest last night after my long trip from the US so I feel a lot better today. The conference has been great so far. Last night's keynote address was given by David Oakley, the International Director for Ambassador's in Sport, based in Bolton, England. His address was titled "Why Evangelism" in the sport concept. He gave three points:

1. Our Responsibility Rom. 1:8-15
2. Their Rescue Rom. 1:16-17
3. God's Revelation Rom. 1:18-20

He focused on the fact that evangelism is vital and needed for church growth and should be a natural part of our belief. A little known fact: 1,000 teens are leaving the church in Europe every week! Talk about an unchurched people group.

Anyway, today I visited the home of C.S. Lewis and his church. It was interesting. They have restored his home to how it was when he lived. In fact, they painted the common room ceiling yellow to reflect the 30 years of pipe and cigarette smoking that occurred there. At his church, we had a lovely 80 year old English man give the tour. He got so tickled as he told stories about Lewis. He thought it was hilarious that Lewis would receive Communion and then leave before it was consecrated! He just sat there and giggled as he spoke.

Well, my time is up on the computer! Talk to you all later!

Trivia Question

See if you can answer this: Why does the bell (Tom's Bell) at Christ Church college in Oxford ring 101 times at 9:05 pm every night?

If you answer this correctly, I'm sure there's a great prize for you. . . at least a pat on the back. I will post the correct answer early next week. Good luck!

I'm in Oxford!

Well, what do you know? I'm on the road again. Don't ask me what time it is because my body couldn't tell you. Yesterday I flew from Colorado Springs to Minneapolis and then to London. Thankfully, I was able to sleep on the plane for 3 or 4 hours. Then I got on the bus to Oxford and got here by noon. I went to check in at the conference and then decided to walk to my Bed and Breakfast (www.allseasonsguesthouse.com). Yeah, that was a mistake. I had my backpack and a large athletic duffel bag and it was only 2 1/2 miles---UP HILL!!!!!!!!!!!! What can I say? It was an experience, but now I have some free time this afternoon, so I am walking around and seeing the sights! Well, you all have a great day! I'll talk to you later!