Hello blog readers!
I am back--in fact I have always been here, but just not writing, instead living life and waiting as well. One could say there hasn't been much to report or that we have been too busy to write..and both would be true :)
And yet, here I am both reporting and finding time to write, so here goes!
(brief note about the pictures: they are entirely unrelated to the content of this post, but it looked lonely without pictures, so I've added some from the past several months)
To start with a fairly common topic, I shall comment on the weather--cloudy/sunny but with a chance of rain...ALWAYS. Being on the coast Kiel is prone to..mood swings? The nice thing about that is--although it may currently be drizzling, and you can even see the wall of heavy rain advancing upon you--you can also be fairly sure that it will be done in 10-15 minutes--at least the wall of rain part..the drizzling may continue for a bit longer, but soon enough you will be smiling up at the sun as it shines down on you to dry you out. Ah, Kiel :)
Recently we had some hard-to-bear-HOT days..but luckily they are few and far between. We just tried to move as little as possible and block the sun. Luckily, on the hottest day, after we had fallen asleep because of the heat, the wind did eventually begin to blow at about 5pm and so I opened all the windows to let the welcome breeze enter in. However, most of the time the temperature is a nice...I'd say in the 70s, 80s (F).
On to the topic of visas..some of you have been getting occasional updates..but for the rest of you, don't worry there hasn't been much to report. We were waiting for F's work visa, so that we could get our visas to stay in the country...and we waited and waited...and the nice lady at the Foreign Office called to see how things were going..then we called to see..and all they could tell us was 'The application was received...the lady at the Foreign Office called...and I don't know what has been decided'....not what you'd call particularly helpful.
Finally we reached someone who could tell us something..but unfortunately that something was "application denied". Aw snap! Okay..so now what do we do? Do we have F start school with me--next week? Student visas are a bit easier to get than work visas..but then there's the problem of income..My Waldorf seminar is very willing to give loans, so that's encouraging, but still..tricky decisions, lots of back and forth---and we still aren't at the end of the waiting.
HOWEVER, we are heading in a definite direction again, which is a relief :) F's future employees are helping us create another application for a work visa--and being more vocal about them wanting to hire him specifically (not just any German looking for a job, but specifically my Canadian husband) and they are being a little bit more specific about why they want him--because he actually has specific skills they need (and it also helps that F's uncle is the one who set up this position with the company's boss anyway..so we had the family connections that got us over here in the first place..).
That generality was part of the problem for the first denial--the application was too general and the Work Agency (these are, btw, all rough translations of German bureaucratic titles..so who knows what someone would really call them :) ) anyway, the Work Agency just said, 'well, for this sort of position we have enough unemployed Germans who could fill it, so no, we won't give this Canadian a visa for it...'
And even though all of these visa hassles have been cause for several headaches, we are really glad to be here and we feel really strongly that this was the right decision. F has been called to be the Ward Mission Leader--so he coordinates the work of the full-time missionaries in the congregation, but also helps get the members excited about sharing their joy of the gospel, among other things.
He has also taught Sunday School several times, translated during church meetings into English or Spanish, depending on who needs it, is currently stepping in and leading one of the weekly Young Men's activity for the 12-18 year old boys and is generally quite busy and happy :)--although of course we do need to balance all this activity with the essential Rest-and-Relaxation. So far the balance is pretty good.
On Sundays I teach in the Kindergarten (18mo.s to 3 year-olds). The messages are ideally short, sweet and to-the-point :) We also play horses, cars, cash register, blocks, etc.--and have snacks, sing songs like 'I am a Child of God', 'Teach Me to Walk in the Light', etc. Overall, we have a grand time :)--and I spend almost all of the just under 2 hours on the ground with the kids--no standing or sitting on chairs for me :)
I also have Girl's Night with some women from the congregation, we go to Family Home Evening and Institute with the young adults, give the missionaries German lessons, etc., etc., etc. The list really could go on--so now you see, we have had both nothing huge to report on--but then somehow we have also been too busy to let you all know how things are on this side of the pond :) So, hope that satisfies your curiosity a bit, and if not, send me an e-mail and I'll try and answer it during one of the two times we have internet during the week :D
p.s. Thanks for your well-wishes and prayers on our behalf as well. The Lord is good and he is hearing your prayers to watch over us :)
I am back--in fact I have always been here, but just not writing, instead living life and waiting as well. One could say there hasn't been much to report or that we have been too busy to write..and both would be true :)
And yet, here I am both reporting and finding time to write, so here goes!
(brief note about the pictures: they are entirely unrelated to the content of this post, but it looked lonely without pictures, so I've added some from the past several months)
To start with a fairly common topic, I shall comment on the weather--cloudy/sunny but with a chance of rain...ALWAYS. Being on the coast Kiel is prone to..mood swings? The nice thing about that is--although it may currently be drizzling, and you can even see the wall of heavy rain advancing upon you--you can also be fairly sure that it will be done in 10-15 minutes--at least the wall of rain part..the drizzling may continue for a bit longer, but soon enough you will be smiling up at the sun as it shines down on you to dry you out. Ah, Kiel :)Recently we had some hard-to-bear-HOT days..but luckily they are few and far between. We just tried to move as little as possible and block the sun. Luckily, on the hottest day, after we had fallen asleep because of the heat, the wind did eventually begin to blow at about 5pm and so I opened all the windows to let the welcome breeze enter in. However, most of the time the temperature is a nice...I'd say in the 70s, 80s (F).
On to the topic of visas..some of you have been getting occasional updates..but for the rest of you, don't worry there hasn't been much to report. We were waiting for F's work visa, so that we could get our visas to stay in the country...and we waited and waited...and the nice lady at the Foreign Office called to see how things were going..then we called to see..and all they could tell us was 'The application was received...the lady at the Foreign Office called...and I don't know what has been decided'....not what you'd call particularly helpful.
Finally we reached someone who could tell us something..but unfortunately that something was "application denied". Aw snap! Okay..so now what do we do? Do we have F start school with me--next week? Student visas are a bit easier to get than work visas..but then there's the problem of income..My Waldorf seminar is very willing to give loans, so that's encouraging, but still..tricky decisions, lots of back and forth---and we still aren't at the end of the waiting.
HOWEVER, we are heading in a definite direction again, which is a relief :) F's future employees are helping us create another application for a work visa--and being more vocal about them wanting to hire him specifically (not just any German looking for a job, but specifically my Canadian husband) and they are being a little bit more specific about why they want him--because he actually has specific skills they need (and it also helps that F's uncle is the one who set up this position with the company's boss anyway..so we had the family connections that got us over here in the first place..).That generality was part of the problem for the first denial--the application was too general and the Work Agency (these are, btw, all rough translations of German bureaucratic titles..so who knows what someone would really call them :) ) anyway, the Work Agency just said, 'well, for this sort of position we have enough unemployed Germans who could fill it, so no, we won't give this Canadian a visa for it...'
And even though all of these visa hassles have been cause for several headaches, we are really glad to be here and we feel really strongly that this was the right decision. F has been called to be the Ward Mission Leader--so he coordinates the work of the full-time missionaries in the congregation, but also helps get the members excited about sharing their joy of the gospel, among other things.He has also taught Sunday School several times, translated during church meetings into English or Spanish, depending on who needs it, is currently stepping in and leading one of the weekly Young Men's activity for the 12-18 year old boys and is generally quite busy and happy :)--although of course we do need to balance all this activity with the essential Rest-and-Relaxation. So far the balance is pretty good.
On Sundays I teach in the Kindergarten (18mo.s to 3 year-olds). The messages are ideally short, sweet and to-the-point :) We also play horses, cars, cash register, blocks, etc.--and have snacks, sing songs like 'I am a Child of God', 'Teach Me to Walk in the Light', etc. Overall, we have a grand time :)--and I spend almost all of the just under 2 hours on the ground with the kids--no standing or sitting on chairs for me :)I also have Girl's Night with some women from the congregation, we go to Family Home Evening and Institute with the young adults, give the missionaries German lessons, etc., etc., etc. The list really could go on--so now you see, we have had both nothing huge to report on--but then somehow we have also been too busy to let you all know how things are on this side of the pond :) So, hope that satisfies your curiosity a bit, and if not, send me an e-mail and I'll try and answer it during one of the two times we have internet during the week :D
p.s. Thanks for your well-wishes and prayers on our behalf as well. The Lord is good and he is hearing your prayers to watch over us :)
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