I regret that I haven’t written anything in my blog for quite a long time. Well, after nearly two months silence, I finally have the time to post something. A lot has happened, so I’m just going try to hit the highlights.
PTS
The main reason why I have so tardy to blogging is that I was out of town for most of November at the Practical Theological Seminar (PTS). Essentially, PTS is the SELK replacement for field work. Twice per year, all the vicars in the synod come together for 3 weeks of practical experience and lectures on practical topics. The topic for this session was Seelsorge, which roughly translates to “spiritual care.” For the first two weeks, we stayed in the tiny town of Bleckmar and worked in a hospital in Celle. For the last week, we stayed in Stuttgart and had various lectures and reports on the subject.
My initial experience was one of being overwhelmed. I had become fairly confident in my German abilities from many positive experiences in Dresden. However, I had not yet experienced the labyrinth that is academic German. The other vicars and our leaders were speaking such complicated German that I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I became very discouraged, and after 3 or 4 days of this, I was strongly considering going home.
Eventually, I started to get it. At the hospital, I was placed in the children’s clinic because they spoke more on my level. What I learned in spiritual care was very different than my fellow vicars. The children didn’t ask deep theological questions, but they did need someone to help them through an experience that could be very scary or lonely. I enjoyed my time visiting them. I am proud to say that one of the kids told me that I was “much nicer than the nurses.”
I had some good experiences getting to know the other vicars. There were three German vicars (fewer than most years), and all of them were quite personable. Also, one other American was in attendance, Jacob, a student from Fort Wayne. Last of all, we were joined for a portion of the three weeks by two vicars from South Africa. They had come on a journey to learn more about their roots, since their synod (Lutheran Church of South Africa) was founded by German missionaries. They spoke hardly any German, and so Jacob and I spent a lot of time translating for them. We mostly worked hard, but there was some time for fun, such as a couple side trips, a walking tour of Stuttgart, and a play that we saw.
During the last weekend of PTS, we had a couple free days, so I met up with Krista in Tübingen, where our friends Jonathan and Rachel live. We enjoyed catching up with them and seeing their town. Then, it was back to PTS for the last stretch. I was doing pretty well until the last couple of days, when we had all-day lectures. Finally, I was able to go home. I never expected that I would have so much homesickness for Dresden!
Grandma and Grandpa Senske Visit
I returned from PTS in the midst of a visit from Krista’s grandparents. They had already toured Bamberg and Nürnburg, where I met up with them. Our next stop was Rothenberg, which is an incredibly picturesque, little German town. We saw the Christmas market and the medieval city walls and lots of cute, windy streets. Then, we returned to Dresden, where I stayed for most of the remainder of their visit, as I had lots of work waiting for me. We enjoyed showing Grandma and Grandpa where we live and what there is to do in Dresden. I joined them for one side trip – to Prague. Prague is still a beautiful city, in spite of our problems with getting lost and getting ripped off. It was wonderful to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Senske, and they brought lots of cheer from the U.S.A. to us. For the rest of the details of their time with us, read Krista’s blog, which ought to be updated in a couple days.
Preaching, Preaching, Preaching
Of all the things that I thought I would accomplish in my life, I never expected that “writing two full-length German sermons in a week” would be among them. Altogether, I will have preached three sermons in the month of December. Pastor Rehr has really pushed me hard, but I think that it has worked out well. As I preached this morning, a very rare thing took place – the German laughed out loud in church! Thankfully, they were laughing with me. Also, I am excited about my sermon for the Sunday after Christmas, which received a special compliment from Pastor Rehr.
Speaking of pushing me, Pastor Rehr has decided that we need to work even harder on my German. He is pleased with my progress and my willingness to try, but he also wants me to go ever further. To this end, he wants for me to speak only German at home with Krista. This has been a big step, and we haven’t always been able to keep it up. For the most part, however, Krista and I have been able to communicate in our second language. This is only possible because Krista has picked up German very quickly through her language school, and she has now caught up with me. For my own language education, Pastor Rehr and I have been reading the Large Catechism together each morning and discussing theology. Also, I hope that I can take some sort of part-time course in the new year.
English Teaching
My work in Dresden is going to expand greatly in 2008. On 8 January, I will begin to teach a couple of English language courses, in order to serve the needs of the people in our congregation and also as a form of outreach. The majority of people in Dresden are unchurched, and so we are hoping that free English courses will draw some in and give them a positive contact with our congregation.
Along similar lines, we are talking about the idea of English worship services. There are a couple of English-speaking companies in the Dresden area, and we might be able to celebrate the divine service in English once-a-month, in order to reach out to this group. In the weeks and months to come, I will write much more about these efforts!
Christmas in Germany
For the first time in my life, I will celebrate Christmas in a foreign land. Thankfully, a couple families have taken us in, so that we will have friends to celebrate with. We will spend Christmas Eve with the Salzmanns, First Christmas Day with the Rehrs, and the Sunday after Christmas with the Mittrachs. Speaking of First Christmas Day, the Germans also have worship on Second Christmas Day (26 Dec.). Normally in the SELK, this is the day for pastors from neighboring congregations to trade pulpits for the day, and so Pastor Rehr is swapping with the Pastor in Weigersdorf. We have enjoyed our Advent celebrations in Germany, and we have visited many wonderful Christmas markets. We have acquired a beautiful collection of German Christmas decorations—a pyramid that is also a Nativity scene and a music box, an Advent wreath, a gaggle of Christmas stars, etc. I’m sure Krista will have more to say about the joys of Christmas in Germany!
Gesegneten 4. Advent!
Frohe Weichnachten!
