The Been Briefing

more pictures

much of the first few days spent in germany were spent eating, visiting family, receiving family, and eating more food. it was full of German goodness, and i was so overwhelmed... waking up at 4am and crashing at 9. i felt bad, but i couldn't do much about it. still, it was wonderful to observe and take a small part in the way the holey family celebrates christmas.

christmas eve. sorry for the blur. bad lighting for the camera. good lighting for christmas love and giving.

david on the guitar and jakob on the drums, jamming it out christmas eve. over the week i had a lot of opportunities to get to know them a little better. it was good to be part of their family and see their love for one another. carsten and petra are good parents, i think.

in the kitchen with mirjam and her mom. i feel like i spent the most time here. LOL. i even knew where the sugar bowl was kept in the cubbard for serving coffee in the morning. ahaha!

christmas day we went first to carsten's parent's home for coffee and cakes in the afternoon. then we went to petra's parent's home for dinner. the picture above is of our amazing dinner. the food was phenomenal and her parents had me rolling. especially her father. apparently i am one of the first foreigners he has entertained, so he felt the need to speak german more slowly and annunciate his words more carefully. i nearly died laughing.. and david said that in all his 18 years of knowing his grandfather, he'd never seen him in such rare form. i am honored!

carsten and petra took me for a walk through the town. it was nice to get out after eating so much food and staying indoors for most of the days. plus, i got to get these pictures for those of you who really do want to get a glimpse of the town. for those of you who remember, dresden was flooded in the summer of 2002, as was everywhere in europe along the elbe river. as we were walking, carsten pointed out places that had been utterly wiped out, or levels of first floor buildings that were completely submerged in the water. it was pretty hard to imagine. i could see how much of an impact the disaster had on them.

i just had to take a picture of the building. it's just so not like korea AT ALL.

the town square. what i could not get over was how clean and empty the streets were. i know that it was christmastime, so most people were home with their families; nevertheless, i could not help but compare it with the ridiculous busyness that constantly exists here in korea. there is no place i am alone except in my apartment. and it was cleaner. and the air smelled nicer. LOL. amazing how we acclimate ourselves in order to survive.

martin luther spent some time in this home. it belonged to his father or his son, i don't remember which. in any case, this very house is up for sale. if you have $30,o00 to spare, you can own it. any takers?

the town square. heading down that street to the right of the picture leads to the holey's home.

the holey's home. they share it with four other apartment-holders - the senior pastor and his wife, a family, and a man in their church.

mirjam's birthday.

my little room - the guest bedroom at the top of the peach house.

the spoils of time spent in german. ahhhh schokolade, wie ich dich liebe...

the dresdener frauenkirche, restored last christmas after years of renovation.

i pray you all had a merry christmas and a happy new year!
may the Lord Jesus be with you ever so closely as you enter the year 2007.
be in touch.