Sad

We dropped Robin off at the train station tonight.  It was sad.  The girls both cried for awhile.  They cheered up a bit when I told them we can call her everyday.  We prayed for her before I put them in bed.  It was sad, but cute.

First day of school

The kids all came home and told me how awesome this new school is.  They have all made some new friends.  Ryan even said, "I like this school... all of them are like me."  Thanks for your prayers for my kids!

Robin leaves tonight...

Okay, so I'm really sad because Robin will be leaving tonight to head back to the USA to be with her family for a week.  Her dad isn't doing well, so she's going to help out.

Actually, we will put her on a train to Frankfurt tonight.  The train connections from here to Frankfurt aren't very good in the early morning.  Tomorrow morning she flies to San Antonio.

That means I'll be left here alone with the kids.  If you don't see another blog from me within the next day or so, call the police! ;)

Jon

Uncle Ben, eat your heart out!

My brother-in-law, Ben, always used to tell my son, Ryan, how he couldn't wait until Ryan was old enough to mow his lawn.  Well, yesterday Ryan mowed our lawn for the first time.  With a bit of coaching, he did a great job.  He only did the back yard, since our yard is hilly and rounded... but he did awesome!

Free entertainment...

So last night one of the neighbors (a Swiss guy) had wwaaaayyyyy too much to drink. He had his stereo turned up pretty loud and it woke up one of the other neighbors, even though it wasn't the official quiet hour yet.

So the guy that was awakened started a shouting match with the drunk guy. They ended up out in the street screaming at one another.

Since this was a few doors down the street, a bunch of the neighbors just went outside and watched the festivities. (None of them understood the drunk guy either) My kids watched from the window as the drunk guy would scream -- in Swiss German, which is hard enough to understand even when the person speaking is sober -- at the other guy, then go inside and slam his door. Then he would come out about 30 secs. later and scream some more. At one point, he threw what appeared to be oven mitts at the other guy, who picked them up and threw them back.

Ryan said, "Mom, this is better than a movie... let's get some popcorn!"

If it wasn't so pathetic, it would have been hysterical. But at precisely 10:00pm -- the official quiet hour -- they both stopped and went inside.

... only in Germany!

Speedos...

I can't believe I finally did it... it was against my better judgement.  I hope it doesn't end up hurting my ministry opportunities if word gets out.

A few days ago we went to the Kandern swimming pool.  There was a big sign out front that said, "No Shorts" in German.  I talked with the employee at the entrance about it and she said, "All German pools are going to this standard... even the ones in Loerrach.  Only [Speedo-type] swimsuits are allowed." [Loerrach is the nearest big town]  I later came to find out that this was totally wrong... but that's another story.  She said it is for hygienic reasons... see if you can figure that one out!

Anyway, we went in with our American swimming trunks... and a little over an hour later Ryan was asked by the lifeguard to stay out of the pool.  He said Ryan can't come back in until he gets the right type of swimming trunks.

Now I'm an easy-going, live-and-let-live sort of guy, but this is ridiculous.  But I want my son to be able to swim in the local pool where all of his school friends will be swimming.  So I did the only thing a loving dad would do... I went with him to buy some Speedo swimming trunks.

Now I can officially say I don't even have a shred of self-respect left.  We feel like total dorks in these things; but at least we'll look like the rest of the dorks that are swimming in the pool there!

I really took one for the team this time!

Wasn't ready for that!

Okay, so a bunch of the dads and some of the students from Ryan's new school played some father-son indoor soccer tonight. We had a lot of fun, but it showed me how incredibly out of shape I was. I was actually embarrassed. There were guys 10+ years older than me that were running circles around me... and I used to be pretty good! (Or so I thought)

Nonetheless, we had a lot of fun, and I'm starting to meet some of the other parents at the school. One guy started out as a church planter in Japan. After a few years he realized that his previous banking experience and his natural organizational gifts could be used for the Gospel.

He now handles the finances for most of the Wycliff missionary projects in Europe and western Asia. And he says it's amazing how perfectly suited he is for this job. As he puts it, "It's not glamorous, nor does it look really good in a newsletter, but it's exactly what God created me to do." How refreshing to hear someone who has found and is fulfilling God's will for their lives!

For more thoughts on this subject, check out our Perrin Ministries Blog.