This past month I (Phillip) had an amazing opportunity to visit Germany in preparation for our move this fall. First, I had the chance to spend quality time with our team in Pinneberg. I stayed with different members of our ministry team throughout the week. It was so good to share stories, learn about each others’ lives and giftedness, and laugh a lot! I was taken aback by how much the Holy Spirit is working in the lives of each of our teammates and how privileged I am to build God’s Kingdom in Germany alongside each of them!
Since we are hoping to move in September, I also decided to look at houses and schools. I found an unexpected surprise! One of the schools in Pinneberg has a German-language equivalent to the ESL program in the United States. There is a special classroom at this public school for children who are native English speakers. The school-year begins in English and ends in German to ease the transition for kids just beginning to learn the language. We believe this model for learning will suit Gabrielle well!
As for looking at houses/apartments, I was not so successful. There was an option that looked good on paper but didn’t work out for what we really need. So this will be a prayer request that we ask you to continuing praying about. As we get closer to moving, we plan to asking our teammates to visit some more homes and apartments to help us find something suitable.
I enjoyed a few hours of sightseeing and relaxation, too! A friend and I took a boat ride on the Elbe river. He introduced me to some VERY traditional Hamburg cuisine called Labskaus. Here is a description of this tasty dish from Germanfood.org: A classic Labskaus is made with cured beef, cooked in a little water, which is then mixed with red beets, gherkins, onions and herrings or bacon. The mixture is then put through a mincing machine and steamed in pork fat and cooked further with the liquid from the meat or the gherkins.The dish is then completed by adding mashed potatoes to the mixture. It is served with Rollmops (pickled herring), fried egg or gherkins.
