Dec. 2007 Trip to Dallas Day 1

We started out from Winnipeg at about 2:30 AM because the main driver couldn't sleep due to travel fever or something of that nature. We had a very good night and day of driving as the roads were clear and dry. So early in the day the border crossing was a snap as there was no line up. I 29 was not busy from Wpg. to Omaha so we moved right along and arrived in Lincoln, NE about 3 PM the same day. Then as you can see the principal driver had to get a nap.

My dear sister had to finish her Monday afternoon job. We were earlier than she had expected.

We had a very good evening and visit with P. & J. and a good sleep in their guest chamber.

You can see P. & Helmut checking out the directions and map to get out of Lincoln the next morning.

Back to Summer

Aug. 24th. - Our 39th. wedding anniversary.

These pictures were taken at Lac Lu in western ON not far from Kenora. This is the place where Helmut's sister Hanna's family cabin is. The cabin is on an island that is shared by several different cabin owners. we arrived here after dark on the 23rd. and were met by Achim & his son who had been at the cabin for several days. Two boat loads brought all of us to the cabin.

On the 24Th. Achim & family went on their way back to Chicago. We spent the day with Hanna. One of the high lights of the day was a canoe trip around the lake. Hanna used the
kayak the long yellow boat that you can see Helmut trying out near the dock. We used the canoe that Helmut is carrying in the other picture. The large stone that is visible in both pictures is where I fell into the lake while trying to keep Abby from sliding into the lake. this is where the camera got drowned.

The beautiful water lilies were picked at the far end of the lake and you see them in a bowl on a blue table cloth.

Good Bye Germany

May 30th. our last full day in Dusseldorf - a very relaxed day. Helmut wanted the car to be spic and span to be returned to the rental company the next morning. Since doing your own car washing is not allowed in Dusseldorf - has to do with water consumption and pollution - he took it to the closest gas station where there was an automatic washer. Ursula & I went along and then walked back to the apartment for our morning exercise. We also spent time getting our packing organized.

After lunch we took an excursion to the Neanderthal Museum which is quite close to where Ursula lives. Of course this place stresses evolution and discounts Biblical creation but we did get to see how the society is being strongly influenced away from God. A walk in the woods was refreshing after some time in a stuffy museum.

Late in the afternoon Renate invited us over for our last "coffee" time and to say good bye. Wifried was busy with his tutoring so we only saw him for a brief minute as we were leaving. Renate had a number of pictures to give us and also showed us pictures from family things long ago. the picture of Renate, Wilfried, Ursula and myself is in their front entryway with the kitchen door behind us.

On May 31. we departed Germany after a very fine month. Ursula had a funeral to attend and Renate had to go to Colon to babysit her grandson. So we took ourselves to the airport.

Our view from the plane window was mostly of clouds as you can see. It is about an hour from Dusseldorf to Amsterdam and then about 8 hours from Amsterdam to Minneapolis; another hour gets us home to Winnipeg. However, the time spent in the different airports adds to the time of the trip.

Ruth met us in the evening when we arrived in Winnipeg. Very glad to be home after such a sleepless day in the air.

Tid Bits

I think my fan club is asleep. The only comment on my last two postings is something I don't understand., Ha! It is in Spanish or Portugese.

I am currently without pictures because some of us fiddled around with the computer so long that we "lost" the access to the pictures. Mr. Fixit hasn't taken time to "find" it yet. We got a new camera but also have to learn how to transfer the pictures from it to the computer.

Today was largely taken up with getting the annual letter and family picture out. It is rather pleasant outside and I had a walk to the shopping center to buy stamps and mail the letters.

Visit a Missionary

One of the goals of our trip to Germany was to visit missionaries that we knew or knew of associated with the assemblies in North America.

Brother and sister H. have served the Lord faithfully for many years in various areas of Belgium. Travel from one country to another in the EU is quite easy and Gent , Belgium is only about four hours from Duesseldorf, Germany.

On Tues. May 29Th. we packed up early and headed for their place. they were expecting us by noon/dinner time. Our route took us through a corner of The Netherlands. At Venlo, Netherlands we planned to change to a different highway but some how missed our turn or took the wrong one so ended up having a tour of a residential area of the town. It was just the time of the morning when the students were going to school. There were many cyclists on the streets. We also discovered that the streets are not layed out on the grid method so continuing to make right turns does not bring you back to point of origin. Finally we found our way to the appropriate highway to take us on our journey to Belgium.

At a rest stop on the autobahn Helmut was studying a large map on the wall tyring to see how we should go through the city of Antwerpen, Belgium when a kind man told us (in German) to watch for certain signs and use the middle lane through the tunnel. We did what we were told and got through this large city without delays.

Mr. & Mrs. H. live in a village outside of Gent so with the map and their directions we tried to find their street. necessity required that we stop at a gas station so Helmut tried to call Mr. H. on the "Handy" (cell phone) - Helmut had enough time to tell Mr. H. the kind of gas station that we were at before the phone died. The attendant told us the street that we were looking for should be around the next corner. So we went that way. I was looking at street signs and discovered we just passed the one we wanted so Helmut stopped a backed up as we got to the corner a car was pulling out and it was Mr. H. who had come to look for us - he led us to the right house.

Our visit with them was very nice and informative as well a a great time of fellowship. We went out to eat at a buffet. We had a nice chance to visit with Mrs. H. and got better acquainted with her and she told us about some of the things she is involved in. (When the man always gives the report you don't always get to hear the woman's point of view of the Lord's work).

We headed back to Duesseldorf by about 3 in the afternoon. Somehow we got hopelessly lost in Antwerpen The rush hour traffic was in full swing - what a mess. We parked near a harbor and just watched a ship being loaded for a while. Finally we took a road going out of the city in the same general direction as the autobahn and made our way slowly from one small town to the next until we could finally get back on the autobahn. It was bedtime when we arrived back at Ursula's.

Unintentional Sightseeing

Mon, May, 28 --After a nice leisurely breakfast with Ursula and some time to talk and prepare Helmut and I took a walk to Aunt Hilde & Uncle Helmut's which is only about 10 minutes away. It was raining lightly but it didn't really wet us too much. This picture of them and Helmut in front of their house was taken on a different day- this morning they didn't come outside. We visited for about and hour and U. Helmut was very quiet and cooperative so we had a good chance to visit with aunt Hilde. It was much easier than the day that she took us out to a restaurant- at that time most of her time was spent helping U. H.

We had a quick lunch with Ursula and then she prepared to go out for the afternoon with a friend. we were invited to visit a family at Schuellenbach a village in the same area as the Weidnes bible School (east of Duesseldorf). We had special written out directions that Ursula had gotten from Christianna over the phone. However, some how we missed the proper turnoff from the autobahn and got mostly lost (unplanned sight seeing) for quite a while. Finally we arrived at the Wissing's and had a wonderful time of fellowship with these lovely Christians. Mrs. W. is a friend of long standing with Doreen H. here in Winnipeg. We had met her many years ago when she visited Doreen - that was before she married Johannes. They have adopted three nice children and we enjoyed meeting all of them. The little gal (5 Yrs.) really took to me and had a great time telling me all kinds of things that I didn't understand. When I asked in German for something to be passed at the table she was so surprised that she didn't pass it. Johannes said that my request was completely understandable.

In the course of the visit with them we found out that they are well acquainted with some folks who used to live in Valley City, ND. It ends up that Myrna knows the same folks that they know.

After supper with these folks we returned to Duesseldorf which wasn't far at all when you know the route.

Back to Duesseldorf

On the Sunday we went to the church where Herrmann was preaching that day. It was the Pentecost Sunday. Dorla was preaching in one of her churches but she particularly asked us to go with Herrmann. The place where we went was in Obertein - it is Lutheran. Helmut said that what Herrmann had to say was OK but I didn't understand. I followed the scriptures that he read and that was all. The group seemed small ( not as small as our assembly) for the size of the church and more older folks than young ones. The singing was "weak" compared to what we are used to.

After a good meal with H. & D. and lots more visiting we started out for Duesseldorf.
In the early evening we arrived at Ursula's and she wasn't home. So we went to the local Greek grill and got some supper. After eating we decided to walk around a while and then to Renate's home - there we found Renate, Wilfried and Ursula. They welcomed us in and gave of ice cream with raspberries and listened to our tales about our trip.

We went home with Ursula where we will stay for the rest of our time in Germany and just make a couple of day trips.

There just aren't in significant pictures taken on this Sun. afternoon.