Thanks....Giving

For us here in Deutschland, tomorrow is just another day. In the states, tomorrow will be a big day for families and friends to get together and take time from their busy lives to relax a little and spend some great time talking, laughing and eating together. Karen and I spent last Wednesday celebrating Thanksgiving day with some friends here in Chemnitz. We had turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and green bean cassaroll. It was truly a time for us to be thankful. One of the things that I was most thankful for was having people who understood what this tradition is all about to share this meal and time together. Karen and I have learned so much about German culture, German ways of thinking, and about living a different lifestyle than we were use to in the states. But there are some things that will always be important, like celebrating thanksgiving day. It is really not about the food... okay the food is incredible... it is about have a time together with people you love and sharing. Sharing food yes, but more than that it is sharing our lives with each other. We are a long way away from our families at this holiday time, but I am so thankful for the celebration that we were able to enjoy last week. I want to be more thankful everyday for all the blessings that God POURS out on us. He gives us so much, sometimes I don't really appreciate all He gives me. God is great and He loves us so much and just like a good father he provides for His children. Thank you. I hope you enjoyed your thanksgiving day... I hope you are thankful everyday.

Taking a trip to Leipzig

Today Karen and I took a day trip to Leipzig. As we look to the very near future of moving there and planting a church, we feel it is important to spend time getting to know the city and people. I say very near future because in our lives, as I am quite sure is true in your lives also, time flies by faster than we are ever ready for. Today we spent time walking through the city and trying to get a better feel for the layout of the city. The people are very friendly and quite helpful when you go into one of the little shops. Leipzig has over 750,000 people, man is that a lot of people or what? It is a growing city, with many new buildings being built and a lot of renovation on older buildings. It takes us about an hour to get to Leipzig by train, but we feel so blessed to have such good public transportation. I am going to put in a couple of pictures of the city and then make this post and get to bed... it is quite late here. I just want to say thank you for reading this blog and for keeping us, this work, and the lost of this country in your prayers. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Okay, the pictures are first... I am still trying to figure this whole blog thing out... thanks for the patience.
Mark