Summer Intern posts Article on XZ Berlin Experience

There's a nice article at www.chog.org written by one of the summer interns of 2010 that spent time with the XZ Berlin team here.  The Varners and Philips make up the U.S. part of this German and American community.  The article is here.

We Had a Party for Aaron and Nicole

Photo: the Newlyweds get harassed.  Below: Aaron and Nicole are "Baby Warner" with Nicole doing the feet and hands and Aaron as the face.

Photo: Marco and Renee think it's pretty funny to watch Uncle Aaron be publicly humiliated.

Photo: I am not amused by the immaturity.

That's right, we had a party for Aaron and Nicole this weekend.  A lot of people from around Berlin came to celebrate their marriage.  Kelley and Rhonda Philips did a great job of hosting a wonderful evening.  There were people from France, Chile, Japan, Germany, USA, Czech Republic, and other places.  It was quite the international gathering.

It was pretty neat to meet a Japanese-American jazz musician (currently playing with Christopher Cross) whose father lives in Costa Rica (just like mine).  His wife from Tokyo spent time teaching in Costa Rica and loved it.

Nicole is settling in real well and we're happy to have her on the team.  She is super sharp.

Well, I must go---we have guests that just arrived to stay with us.

The Varner's Arrive in Berlin

Photo (L to R):  Aaron, Nicole, Ruth (Aaron's next door neighbor), and German XZ community member

On Thursday, we headed off to the airport with Kelley Philips to pick up Aaron and Nicole Varner.  Aaron and Nicole make up the youngest part of our Three-Worlds team.  Both are in their 20's and its exciting to see them involved in cross-cultural ministry.  Aaron has been living in Berlin for just under a year, and he and Nicole just got married this past July.  They were kind enough to let us stay in their flat while they were on their honeymoon.

Both of them are highly intuitive, very smart young people with great business and organizational skills.  We're really excited to have them here.  They will be a part of the XZ Berlin minstry which is based here in Berlin.  This community reaches out to the people of Berlin in love and service.  In addition to that, we will be using them regionally, dispatching them to places like France, England and Egypt to meet the young people and help to create ways to re-vitalize ministries in Europe and the Middle East.  We're sending them to London in a few weeks to lend support to the church there.

This is an example of the way we are changing the use of our missionaries.  Instead of them being tied to one country or one ministry as the sole gatekeepers, we are instead using our  missionaries to work in some kind of local supportive ministry, but to also have a regional presence where they can help to tackle the CHOG's most pressing issues:  the lack of youth involved in church and ministry, the lack of emerging leaders under 40, and a lack of inner-connectivity.  Without these 3 challenges being addressed, there's not much point in doing anything else.  Consequently, we are using all of our missionaries to strengthen these things not only in the area where they serve, but in our whole region of Europe and the Middle East.

We want the actual needs on the ground (and in the region) to drive how our missionaries are used, as opposed to just slipping them into a default model whether that is helpful or not.  We're excited to have such sharp team members who can not only speak into the needs of the younger generations, but they are from that generation themselves.

Welcome Aaron and Nicole!

Photo:  Arriving at Tegel International Airport.

Photo:  XZ community members decorated their home in anticipation of their arrival.

Sorry for the Delays...

For those of you that receive our regular newsletter, you may be wondering what happened to us.  Well, the Chinatimes Newsletter has been officially retired and will be replaced by the Three Worlds Journal. The first edition of the Three Worlds Journal has been completed for over 2 months, however, we have been waiting for our main computer to arrive from the USA and are still facing a few technical glitches.  We are hoping to have those solved within days and the new newsletter should finally go out.

We like the look of the new newsletter and the vast majority of you will be receiving it via email--which is faster, cheaper, and better for the environment.

Slowly but surely, we are starting to get into gear.  We have a big fall planned so we hope to be up and running this week in our correspondence and everything else.   Thanks for being patient.  We'll get there.

First Day of School--Butterflies

Remember the first day of school?  Until I was a sophomore in high school, I always got real nervous on the first day of school.  The new people, the uncertainty about what it will be like, the fear of not making friends.

Today is Marco's first day at his new school in Germany and I've been more nervous than him.  Actually, he has been a bit uneasy, but he is hiding it well.  Over a year ago we applied to a school called John F. Kennedy which would give Marco  (as a US citizen) free tuition.  Of course this would be most convenient in our situation.  We have been hoping and praying that he would get into JFK.

Alas, it did not happen, so now Marco will be attending a private international school called Berlin Brandenberg International School (BBIS).

Yesterday was the new student (and parent) orientation day, so we took off as a family to begin this new academic journey.

BBIS is a school in a beautiful setting.  It has the largest campus in all of Europe---much of it is forest.  It has a brand new, state of the art gymnasium, and has only been open since 1990. It's located in a gorgeous suburb about 15 minutes from our house.  There are 900 students from K-12 coming from 50 countries.

Both Jamie and I attended international schools as kids.  For those of you that are not familiar with international schools, they are pretty interesting places.  They are usually filled with the kids of diplomats, business people, missionaries, and others who move around from country to country.  The quality of education is almost always very high and the service is usually excellent.

In Hong Kong, Marco attended an international school, but the student body was about 95% local Hong Kong Chinese.  Here at BBIS, the student body is truly global and diverse.  The list of names in Marco's class is very exotic.

We went to the orientation yesterday (oh, I was nervous) and we were really impressed.  They did a great job not only telling us about the school but actually talking about adjustment issues for international kids, as well as different learning styles.  This was all very re-affirming for us coming from the more inflexible Asian context.

And then, the best part was when we went to meet Marco's new teacher.  She's from Toronto and spent 4 years teaching IN HONG KONG!!!  We were thrilled about this!  And she was thrilled to have a student from HK.  It's such a unique experience and it has such an impact---the Asian educational system--that we assumed that his teacher wouldn't get it.  To find out that his teacher not only gets it, but actually lived in Hong Kong was truly a huge blessing.  I think all 3 of us were so relieved. Jamie said she got chills, I got teary.

Then Marco made his first friend, a very cute boy from London who just arrived in Berlin this week.  We let them play on the playground for a while and they really hit it off.

We all came home very relieved and happy. Even though this adds a significant amount to our budget, we did all we could do and we'll just trust that this is the right place for now.

The cuties.

Spying on Marco and his new friend.  Marco is in the red shirt and his new friend from London is holding the basketball.

Ready for his first day of 2nd grade.  They grow up so fast!  I'm going to cry now.

I love the blue track.  Blue is the school color.

Gateway Berlin Radio Episode 2 Now Available

Okay, problem fixed.  You can now check out Episode 2 of Gateway Berlin Radio. In this episode, host Patrick Nachtigall brings us a blast from the past.

Also:  Remembering Emmy Lou , checking out strange but true headline news from around the world in the “Around the Horn” segment.  In the In-Depth segment: we look at the city of Singapore with our guest co-host and summer intern Jael Tang. Finally, a World-Cup Roundup with Greg Dorr.

Listen Here.

Busy as a Bee

Our days are spent running around setting up shop.  Going to the electric company one day, continuing our futile attempt to get cell phones another day, setting up furniture, looking at cars, sorting through school papers, trying to get our shipment through customs, registering as residents of Germany and walking like crazy.  It goes on and on like this for now.  Each day we know the city a little bit better and my feet get more and more sore.  But nearly everyday it has been sunny and about 75 degrees for the past 6 weeks.  Perfect right?

NO!!!  You all know I hate the sun.  I like clouds, grey, and gloom.  I am assured that this will be the average day in Berlin once September arrives.  Good.

But there's another reason that I am looking forward to a killer German winter:  Bees.  They are everywhere in this city.  Is it because Berlin is such a green place--full of parks and these obnoxious things called flowers? Is that why?

I don't know, but a week ago Monday, we were walking by the lake with Rod Stafford when I was VIOLENTLY ASSAULTED by a BEE!   The bee relentlessly attacked me and stung me near my elbow.

We've seen so many bees (kind of new to Marco who has been living in a nature free one for 10 years), that I have been sharing with Marco the story of the only time I was stung by a bee.  It was in 7th grade when I had no confidence and was an ALL-TIME LOSER DORK.  I was getting on the bus and a bee buzzed my neck.  I LOATHE insects so I swatted at him and he stung me in the neck.

I was so stunned.  I had never been stung before and it really hurt when I was 11 years old.  So, I put my sky blue jacket (you never forget these things) on my neck and wanted to cry. I got on the school bus and some kid said:  "Hey look, he got stung by a bee."  And everyone laughed and the bus driver said, "Are you okay" which only embarassed me further.

It was the longest bus ride of my life.  I remember getting off the bus and running home to my mom.  She could tell I was traumatized and humiliated and poured on the love.  I can still remember how good it felt to have my mom there for me when I came home.  Yeah, I know..what a wimpy loser.  There's a reason I had no friends in 7th grade.

Well, I've been telling Marco this story to prepare him for the day in Germany when he gets his first bee sting (seriously, there's so many flying around it's only a matter of time).  Well, sure enough...the bees don't go for Marco, but they VIOLENTLY, ATTACKED ME IN A VICIOUS MANNER LEAVING ME SCARRED AND WOUNDED AGAIN!

The sting hurt for 2 days, but it didn't stop itching until a week later.  Nature is overrated.

But seriously, I can't believe the amount of bees (and insects) here. I thought it would be more like Oregon where you just don't see the bugs that often.  But here, they are everywhere. Yesterday I was having lunch with some guy in the absolute center of Berlin---the heart of the concrete jungle---and we were being harassed by bees.

I know we need bees for nature, and pollination, and stupid stuff like that--but I hope they all die.  Vicious creatures!

IYC through the eyes of Bulgarian Visitors

There's a short little article at Chog.org about two members of our Three-Worlds crew (The Simpsons) who took two of their Bulgarian friends to the International Youth Convention of the Church of God in Orlando.  Check it out! .  It was an amazing experience for the Bulgarians.

Experiencing Some Technical Difficulties...

Hundreds of thousands of you have written in to say that Episode 2 of Gateway Berlin Radio is not working when you try and play it.  Well, that happens when you have over 1 million people trying to access something on the web.  Anyway, we are on the case.  Hopefully that will be fixed.

In light of the last post about German/Chinese differences and similarities--I thought you might find it interesting to know that I am sitting at a Starbucks in Berlin right now watching a bunch of Germans of all ages doing Tai-Chi in the park.  Weird.  Globalization.

Some Differences..

PHOTO:  Marco enjoying a walk in downtown Berlin with his Father.

We are still waiting to get internet in our home...and cell phones...and quite a few other things.  We're about 5 or 6 weeks into our move to Germany and there's still a long way to go before our home is truly settled.  In fact, I don't think everything will be in place for another couple of months.  We had our first visitor the very morning after we spent our first night in our new home.  Our next visitors are scheduled to come in about 2 or 3 weeks or so---so the race is on to get things furnished and prepared for guests.

This is quite different than Hong Kong where within 3 days, you can pretty much have your home functioning and fully operational.  Even more than the United States, Hong Kong demands that things be done very quickly and efficiently.  Of course Germany is also known for its efficiency and organization--compared to the rest of Europe---but Hong Kong is in a league of its own.

There are lots of other differences and similarities between the cultures.  Both German and Chinese cultures like following the rules, like things to be well-organized, and expect a pretty high level of conformity.  Neither culture is known for its spontaneity or fun-loving demeanor.  They are usually considered pretty "Serious" people compared to Italians, or Middle Easterners or most Latin Americans.  It is the South Americans of European descent (Chileans, Uruguayans, Argentinians) that often don't have the same kind of Latin demeanor of the Brazilians, Columbians and "warmer" spanish cultures.

But there are lots of differences between Chinese culture and German culture as well (obviously), and plenty of differences between Germany and Hong Kong.

The most obvious one is the space.  Most Germans live in pretty rural areas with plenty of nature.  Berlin, which is one of the greenest and most environmentally-conscious cities in the whole world (filled with parks and gardens and land that is kept away from developers) is considered urban and non-green by most Germans.  Yet unlike HK, even the cities here have truly functional nature areas accessible to everyone.

And of course the speed of life here is so much slower.  People ride their bikes everywhere---and a trip to buy food may entail stopping off at a few quaint looking shops in the town square where you get your meats, breads, and pastries at different locations.  In HK, everything is done as fast as possible.  In fact, we are still in the habit of sprinting onto trains as if we are running "the Amazing Race."  That's HK style.

Marco is greatly enjoying all of the green space and parks.  I think he also really likes the silence of the neighborhoods.  No jack-hammers here----just the sounds of trees and birds.  I think he feels very relaxed.

The other day we were in a train station in Berlin and it was QUIETER than the inside of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.  It was full, but extremely quiet.  Silence is valued here.  In Hong Kong noise abounds because "loud is happy."  I just could not believe how incredibly quiet that train station was.

In fact, Americans can stick out like a sore thumb here.  Americans (like the Cantonese but not quite to the same degree) are a pretty loud people and are used to talking at a high volume.  Sometimes on the trains, you can hear Americans speaking way louder than everyone else and people look around and think to themselves:  "Man, those Americans are loud."

A big difference that is killing me is that Coke here is made with sugar (like it used be in the USA before they switched to corn syrup or whatever that is they use that's poisonous and totally bad for you).  I weaned myself off of Coke this Spring.  But I haven't found any drinks I really like in Germany.  So, I went back to Coke.  It's so sweet so now I'm going to have to get the coke monkey off my back again.

Well this whole diary entry was just to say that we are still waiting for our internet to get hooked up.  So we will try to continue posting as often as we can.  But it's not as easy to be online as it used to be. They told us it would take 3 days to get our internet or something---but I think here--it might mean 3 or 4 weeks or something like that.

But what I've noticed is not how dependent We have become on the internet---but how dependent EVERYTHING has become on the internet.  It's the way businesses and people and banks and everything else prefers to operate.  So even if you like life without the internet---and sometimes I do----nobody else does including the companies and service providers you have to deal with.  So life in this modern world is truly becoming dependent on access to the web to a ridiculous degree.  If the net ever went down or got attacked--a lot of us would be in trouble.  Everyone except the Masai---who, of course, would probably not be the exception because they would be made that they can't find out the latest cattle prices on their cell phone.  No joke.

Well, time to check my favorite websites while I have limited internet access :)