Funf…

Sunday started at the breakfast table with Alex & Linda, along with a double espresso & a croissant with plum jam. It was an especially nice way to segue into the next part of my trip - & was a great end to my time on the Laurenziberg.

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On 2 November, TPLF, our sister church, & the FEGW (Foursquare Germany) appointed a new pastor – Eddy Dueck. I’ve known him for the last 3 years, having met him through the FEGW conference that I attend each November. This morning, Eddy drove about 40 miles out of his way to pick me up & take me to church this morning. We had a great talk on the way into town, esp. nice over a groß cup of McDonald’s coffee.

Got to church about 9, & got to spend the a.m. talking with old friends & renewing acquaintances – sat with Sam & Mirjam Clayton, & held my god-daughter (their daughter Rebekah) until she realized that the kids crawling around on the floor were having more fun than she was. There was no translation – so after worship, I got to practice my German comprehension – the cool part was that I actually got a couple of the jokes, & probably understood about 50% of what was said. Yay me.

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My friends Sandra & Martin (who Joni & I traveled to Strassburg with this time, last year,) invited me over for lunch & to spend the afternoon with them – turns out they have a new member of the family that they wanted to introduce me to… a brand new Swiss coffee machine. Got to have a cup or 5, & then we ate, talked, laughed, & caught up on what’s been happening in the last year. Had a few things to talk about…☺

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My ride to the FEGW conference was Wilfried, the assistant to the pastor at TPLF - & we drove the 1 hour trip to Oberwesel. Had a little bit of trouble finding the youth hostel – in our quest, Wilfried joked that it probably was the castle on the hill. Turns out it wasn’t, but it WAS right next to it.

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The FEGW conference has two speakers – one from Holland, the national leader, Piet Brinksma. He’s teaching some practical sessions on Holy Spirit-led evaluation – both personal & church. The other guy is German, Michael Winkler, & he’s talking about developing a healthy church. I’m interested & intrigued.

There’s about 100 people at the conference, many that I know from previous years - got to see Roland Lorenz, the pastor of the church where our houseguest, Julia goes in Ottesweier – then after worship & the meeting, I got to hang out with Aris, Alex, Johannes & Anja Livelli in the bistro over the best Hefeweizen in Germany. Lots of laughs & a late night which wrapped up with a good phone call to theBean.