Tag: germany

There’s always room for improvement

It’s good that my latest projects specific to the Europe Area office have reached the point where I don’t have to put so much intense time into them. I was recently approached by Wycliffe Germany about a major undertaking on their part.

The center is about to host meetings of the international boards of Wycliffe and its partner organization, SIL. With members coming from many different countries, the boards like to vary the places where they gather, to share the burden of long-distance travel. It’s also important that no one be denied entry because of visa restrictions. Such locations aren’t always easy to find, so this event represents a great opportunity for Wycliffe Germany.

As you might imagine, Internet access has become critical to people who usually work at long distances from one another. Everything they write and share is stored digitally somewhere on this big globe of ours. When they do meet together, the time spent face-to-face is precious. It shouldn’t be wasted by spotty networks and slow connections. I’m sure that you’ve felt the temptation to lose patience while waiting for a web page to load. That feeling gets real awkward when you’re making a live presentation.

Wycliffe Germany celebrated its golden anniversary last year. And while the center’s network isn’t 50 years old, it’s not new enough to be ready for today’s speeds and loads. As with many small campuses and businesses, the equipment “grew” and “creeped” over time. Now we need to prune the growth and graft in branches that will produce good fruit from a root that is still pretty decent.

Diagram of the proposed network devices and layout.
The eagerly anticipated “after” diagram.

I worked some long hours this week to create a plan for upgrading the network. The center manager and I went through each building to root out every device and cable so that we know where we can put new network switches and wireless access points.

I made diagrams of what the network looks like now and what it could look like after the upgrade. The options are now in the hands of the decision makers. Hopefully, while we’re on vacation this next week, one of the options will be approved. There’ll be just enough time to order the devices, install them, and test the new system before the meetings begin at the end of April. Yee-haw!

Sometimes it feels wrong to enjoy work this much, but I’m getting the opportunity to work with devices that do interesting, even amazing, things. I have the chance to transform a complicated, unsatisfactory situation — one where technology is actually burdening my brothers and sisters in Christ. We’re going to put tech in its place. We’ll put it into the background, keep it there, and free our guests to interact with one another and serve the Lord unhindered by the wacky world of computers.

So praise God with me for the progress made so far, and pray for a successful upgrade!

As for our vacation, I’m sure you’ll hear from us again soon …

From homeschooling to … something quite different

It has taken me more time than I’d hoped to finish writing about the boys’ schooling. Back at The Citadel, the proper response to a query for the cause would be, “Sir, no excuse, sir!”

Missionary kids are a different breed. Far be it from me, being merely the parent of a pair, to attempt a full description of these creatures. One thing I have observed, though, is that MKs sometimes have an unusual assortment of educational experiences. Our boys will be no exception.

Until September of last year, Katherine taught the boys at home, taking advantage of the educational freedom that the states of Texas and Missouri offered. In Texas, these two also had periodic “classes” with other homeschoolers that enriched their learning and provided them with a fantastic social network. And, for the record, some of Katherine’s highest qualities shine when she is lovingly and sacrificially teaching our boys.

The first day of school …

In Germany, however, we need to send our children to a school. After reviewing the options for school and for my work, we decided to put them into the primary school in Niederdresselndorf, the village adjacent to the one where the Wycliffe office is. The Grundschule Dresselndorf is a mere 500 meters from where we live – a short walk. The school has a strong English program for both teachers and students, which we felt would reduce the possibilities for miscommunication and confusion.

It took long enough for us to get here that we had to make another significant decision. Normally, Jonathan would have begun the fifth grade this school year. In fifth grade, German schoolchildren move from primary school to one of several different types of secondary school. That decision is made during the fourth grade with the consultation of each student’s teachers. The principal here felt that, while J was certainly bright enough to handle the academic content, his German was not yet good enough to enable him to understand all of the instruction or to interact well with his teachers and the other students. So we chose for him to begin here in the fourth grade and to have time to acquire the language. C, on the other hand, started the year with his age-mates in the third grade.

Jonathan sings with the school choir in the village festival.

Overall, our boys have done very well in adjusting to the new school. The language ability came quickly, as it usually does in young children. We just have to be careful, sometimes, when they introduce words and phrases that they learned on the playground! (Their teachers have been very kind in their corrections.) Homework was something else they had to get used to – back when they were homeschooled, everything was homework!

The best thing about school – at least according to C – is the huge number of friends that they’ve made. We’re still getting used to them disappearing into the village after their schoolwork is done to go play. It was no surprise, though, when we heard from J that C plays nothing but soccer during the breaks. That’s a sure way to make friends here! He now plays on the local team with several of his classmates. J, who is more of an acrobat, tends to dominate the monkey bars. He goes to the trampoline classes at the recreation center with one of his friends from school.

Both boys received their first-ever report cards last week, and we were pleased with them. What a joy it is to not be burdened with concerns for their education and for their fitting in to a new environment!

C helps recite “The ABC’s of Christmas”

As I write this, Katherine is out registering Jonathan at the secondary school that he would like to attend next year. It’s the type of school called Gymnasium – just try to think of it as an academic fitness center, and you’ll do fine. The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Gymnasium is located in Neunkirchen, about a 25-minute drive from Niederdresselndorf. The public bus system makes special school runs throughout the day, and that’s how he would get to whatever school he goes to. We are impressed with the program there, so it makes us happy to send him to the school where his other classmates attending Gymnasium are going.

Well, I’ve boiled this down as much as I can. Those of you who are particularly curious should write to Katherine or give us a call on Skype. But, nosy or not, you can thank God with us for providing a good situation for the boys’ little minds!

The Gift of Wheels

For two months after we arrived in Germany, we made do with vehicles that we could borrow from friends or the Wycliffe offices. There was a waiting period for receiving our setup funds, so we couldn’t buy a car of our own immediately. That didn’t stop from researching the possibilities, and I felt ready to pounce on some good used cars when those funds came through.

One day, though, a friend and colleague at Wycliffe Germany stopped me and mentioned that he had received word of a person who was interested in giving a car to a missionary. Might this be a good option for us? I’m still not sure how one says “Duh!” in German, but I probably replied “Stimmt ja!”

After receiving the contact information for the donor, I carefully crafted a message in German that explained who we are and how very much we’d like to have the car. Would he be willing to send me more information?

Later that day, he wrote back. In English. Yes, he had a car for us. Could I call him so that we could chat about it? And, indeed, his own mother tongue is English. Will God’s wonders never cease? (No, they won’t.) I had been a little nervous about conducting potentially complicated transactions, such as this one, in German. Double Hallelujah!

This fellow and his wife came to Germany from South Africa to work with their respective companies German offices. They had lived here for several years, and now it was time to go home. As followers of Christ, they felt that at least one of their possessions here – this car – could benefit someone doing work for the Kingdom of God. And now they were very generously giving it to us!

Well, perhaps I shouldn’t write that they gave it to us. To reduce the complexity of the transaction, we agreed to conduct it as a sale. We set a date to meet in Köln (a.k.a. Cologne) at the main train station, and I set about arranging for insurance.

[singlepic id=58 w=320 h=240 float=left] So in the second week of October, I rode the train out to Cologne. But shortly before my arrival at the Hauptbahnhof, I got a call from the donor. There was a lot of construction traffic around the main station – could I get off a stop or two early? I got off the train one stop ahead almost exactly after I got off the phone. Whew! Now to wait for them to arrive …

While I was waiting, a fellow walked up to me and asked how to get to the train platform – the path wasn’t terribly obvious from the parking lot. I gave him awful directions. Not long after that, though, I got another call from the donor. He was on the platform – where was I? I’m in the parking lot, I replied … oh, you were just there? Ah, I see.

[singlepic id=59 w=320 h=240 float=right] Can either of us be blamed for not recognizing people we don’t know? Well, all’s well that ends well. I clambered into the car that was soon to be ours, and we drove off to a shopping center where there was a copy service to take care of our sales contract. His wife gave me an overview of the car – it had been her main vehicle – and we transferred the snow tires from the back of his car. Most importantly, I handed over our payment: a single 1 € coin. Hallelujah! After many signatures, we parted ways, each of us thankful for our God’s provision for our needs. They had a car they needed to give, and we needed to receive one!

What a blessing this car has been to us so far. It’s perfect for our daily use. And we know who to thank: “Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.” (James 1:17) Thank the Lord our God with us for our little Renault Mégane!

Next up: the boys’ experience of school in Germany … in German (not the next post – the experience)