WE'RE HERE...

...and what a trip! I am sitting here in the Alliance Black Forest Academy for missionary kids in Kandern, Germany and I am the only one of our group here. There are many little stories that are so common when Melissa and I travel together. But the big thing this trip is how our third travel partner, Myriam, who was supposed to meet up with us in Toronto, did not make it. Her flight was delayed quite a bit out of Toronto and we were left with no choice, but to board our plane with no clue as to how we were EVER going to find Myriam. We quickly scrawled a note and left it with the ticket agent, said a quick prayer and contemplated ways to delay our plane, such as faking a siezure or a heart attack, praying for a severe storm to come up, etc. However, no such luck. we took off in record time, having no clue how this would turn out.
This is Melissa and I without our travel buddy on Air Canada to Zurich, Switzerland.


After nine hours we landed in Zurich. We checking with the Air Canada people and found out that Myriam, brave as she is, took a standby flight as we found is still on her way, but we know that she has NO idea where she is going once she lands. She knows the name of the town we are in but how to get here on public transportation speaking no German. We decided to see how hard it would be then figure out what we would do.

Well, it was challenging to say the least. We felt like we were doing the Amazing Race, yet with no hope of a million dollars at the end. We are getting very good at saying "Entschuldigen Sie! Sprechen ze English?" (excuse me, do you speak English?) We wandered aimlessly around Basel, Switzerland trying to find our tram that connected to the bus that would take us to Kandern. When we finally got on the bus, we decided there was no way Myriam would be able to figure this out on her own, so after we arrived in Kandern, found our guest house and the Academy, Melissa was off to make the 2 1/2 hour trek back to Zurich to meet up with Myriam who has no idea that we will meet her there. So am holding down the fort getting money exchanged, getting some groceries and info on how to make it to the Basel airport for our flight to Rome tomorrow morning. We would prefer to do a better job finding things, but I have a feeling that it is going to continue to be a adventure. I think we are crazy, but it is fun in a weird adrenaline pumping way. Oh, and all this on 30 hours of no sleep - and counting!

So far though, I am so pleased and excited to be here. It is very green, quaint and charming here. As I was trying to find a bank and a grocery store, I was able to walk around the adorable town of Kandern - which all towns look like this! It feels like Disney land. Apparently they are very structured people with many rules. They have to sweep their front porches everyday and keep everything tidy and well painted - a far cry from many places in states for sure! also notice that there are no people on the streets at 2 in the afternoon. That is because everything shuts down for a few hours and on Wednesdays all afternoon. People are much more relaxed here. Maybe I can learn something from them!

That is all for now! Hopefully the next time I write we will have Myriam and with her the computer so we can keep the info coming! Pray for patience, safety and sun!