Strassbourg

The Bean & I arrived in Frankfurt about an hour ahead of schedule - always fun to sit in the middle of the aisle, esp. when the persons directly in front & behind me were complaining about me to the flight attendant because, GASP! I had the air on & they could feel it. Perhaps because we're packed in the plane like sardines, or because the guy in front of me had his seat so far back he might as well have been sitting in my lap. But, we slept for at least 4 hours, so 4 hours is better than no sleep. :)

We had a brief coffee with Johannes & Anja, then went to visit our friends (& hosts for the next 3 days,) Martin & Sandra. We stayed up late talking, & then crashed hard about 11 p.m.

We slept for about 12 hours (!)


Today, we've traveled to Strassbourg, France, to have a "relaxing day" in the city center, viewing old cathedrals, & reviewing the history of this city that has been at the crux of many land disputes between Germany & France - look up Alsace on Google & you'll see what I'm talking about.

The streets we walked through had a strange blend of German architecture (like the buildings around the mayor's office in Frankfurt) & what we saw in Zurich 2 years ago - we stopped for about an hour in the Cathedral of Strassbourg - a large, very ornate cathedral, longer than 2 football fields inside, wider than 1. It had a very hollow, almost eerie atmosphere inside, & for the most part, was completely empty except for a few, very few tourists. I sat in a row of the wooden chairs near the front of the church, & thought & prayed - thanking God that He hears our prayers, that we can pray directly to Him because of Jesus, & that He lives in us through the Holy Spirit. We had some talks about God living in us vs. living in a building, & what would motivate a people to build such a cathedral...

It's cold (about 28-32 F) with intermittent rain, so we ducked into as many cafe's as possible to have an espresso or cappuccino, before we once again braved the elements to walk the streets.

We hope to eat at McDonald's tonight - a little taste of home. :)

Please pray for favor for us in our coming meetings, starting Sunday afternoon - we really feel the difference that your prayers make.

I'll be blogging again soon!
Blessings to you

Louie & Joni