We were given two huge bowls of sour cherries today by Werner, the widower in our church. Donia spent over two hours pitting, and then switched to making five pies while I finished the rest. We also were able to make a German cherry streusel cake, freeze enough for five more pies and make a batch of freezer jam. Last year someone sent us several packages to help us make freezer jam. I have enjoyed using them for raspberries and now cherries.
The last mascots were "framed" with their team colors today.
Lorraine was letting Danielle get acquainted with the newly acquired tiger.
Our table seems so empty these days. We have set too many places on several occasions. :)
Danielle, Dustin and Donovan were enjoying a quiet time listening to a tape.
Danika loves to take Danielle for a ride around the yard in the wheelbarrow.
Derek filled up our sandbox today. Our new neighbor had some left over after building his home and had kindly offered it to us.
Thursday the CDC had a big event: The Patriotic Parade around campus. These four cuties are Dalene's class.
The kiddies waved flags and balloons.
Danae with one of her cute little charges.
The parade heads towards the administration building.
After grilling together on July 4th, some of the family went downtown to hear the concert and then watch the fireworks.
Kirk, Alex and 3 of their kiddies
On July 4th Dalene joined some of the other family members for an outing to the mountains. It definitely was a hike, but it was beautiful and fun.
Here she is with her cousins Jason, Andrew, Joann, and James.
We have had very strong winds for the last 10 days or so! Amazing. And we have had daily rain showers, and sometimes storms, as well.
In the evening the kids finished up the tiger mascot for camp. They take turns painting, since they can't all work there at once. Pictured here are Derek, Lorraine, Maria and Lavonne.
Bradley came in and helped me finish covering the tiger completely,.........
so that he would keep his stripes when I spray painted the team color around him.
Susan invited Danika to play with Helene during the boys' work time at Kay's farm Thursday afternoon. They had a grand time together.
Kay and Susan renovated a part of the old barn to live in. They have three rooms on the main floor and will continue to work on the upstairs after harvest.
Thursday was the second time this summer that Kay used the combine to harvest.
Derek and Devon worked on cleaning out a section of the old barn, which they tore down earlier this year. Next Wednesday Kay's daddy, the mayor of the town, and a vet, will be celebrating his 70th birthday, so they are working to get everything in good shape for the approximate 200 guests expected to drop by during the day.
This morning Amber flew to the States from Berlin. She should be home in time to enjoy supper and some fireworks.
Danika and Doreen were our farewell committee this morning. We are so glad that this was a real German farewell. The Germans say "Auf Wiedersehen", which means "Until we see each other again". Lord willing, Amber will return in time for the second camp the middle of August, after which school will resume. This hope made our farewell so much easier.
Our 4th of July celebration consisted of another set of cherry pies and decorations, including a big flag. :)
Tuesday evening we took Amber and the four children she worked with the most out for supper at the restaurant here in our village. It was a fun experience for all of us.
Dustin, Doreen, Donovan, Danika,and their dearly loved Miss Amber
Words (and gifts) can't really express how thankful we are for all that Amber has been to our family in the past year. We are deeply grateful!
A group shot, taken by our friendly waiter.
Here is the group that enjoyed the painting time together on Monday evening. They had started on the last of the mascots, the tiger. From left to right we have Derek, Maria, Lavonne, Devon, Donia and Lorraine.
Today we celebrated Kevin's 43rd birthday together. The Lord has blessed him, and we thank Him for the privilege to work together here in the church and in the camp ministry.
Today we enjoyed having Martin and Gertraude over with their three little girls and baby boy. They have been friends with Kay and Susan for years, having also lived in their town for awhile. In the mean time they live almost an hour south of us, so we don't see them often. It was sweet of them to drive up for church this morning, and then join us for dinner and part of the afternoon.
Here the building we are in from the outside. Our facilities are on the bottom left hand side of the entrance. The first two windows have posters with Bible verses on them.
Donia, Danielle, Benjamin, our medical student, Danika and Maria.
Amber and Tante (Aunt) Höppi, as we call her.
We don't have a parking lot, so we park wherever we can on our street, or one of the side streets near-by. The available spaces fluctuate depending on the calendar of events for the hotel and music school in our building. Natascha and Sebastian arrived on bikes today. Two others are also come on their bicycles pretty regularly.
Today we (various people) took pictures in order to be able to update our church web page. The first two shots are of the older Sunday School class which Carol was teaching. She took the picture.
The bottom two pictures show our people fellowshipping after the service. Many times we do not leave for nearly an hour after the service is over. The men are Kay and Martin and their boys. The ladies are Rebecca, Angela and Tina and Maria, a young lady from the States, who is here to help with the camp ministry. Here it means helping with the preparations and then at camp it will mean working in the kitchen. (In the background Kevin and Werner)
Donovan, Danielle, and Danika were ready to leave for church especially early this morning.
The older Sunday School sang a special this morning, and quoted three verses in between. Aunt Rebecca has been working with them for the last weeks!
Miss Amber worked in with the younger SS class. Today was her last Sunday and she will be flying back to the States this coming July 4th. We will miss her a lot, but are thankful that she should be able to come back before the second camp.
