At the end of the two hour service we closed with a service of communion where we all stood in a circle and passed the bread and the cup from person to person. This was a very personal and moving way to celebrate the Lord's Supper. The teenage girl next to us seeemed appreciative when Phil offered her the body and blood of Christ in English.
Young people here tend to speak English pretty well. Older folks are more likely to speak German (or only Czech). Between German, English and Czech Phil should be able to successfully navigate a haircut this week. Then again, one of the firemen has a mohawk, so who knows what the result will be.
Sunday afternoon we headed to Germany to visit Phil's aunt and uncle in the Black Forest. When we arrived in the evening Phil was in for another treat. Phil's aunt was singing in a choral concert with the Karlruhe Baroque Orchestra, and she invited Phil to attend. The concert was in a beautiful large old Baroque style church with ornate carvings on the altar and in the vestibules. Even a tone-deaf classical music luddite like Phil was awe inspired by the the music of Mozart and Hyden echoing through the vaulted sanctuary, being sung in God's house as it was intended. As he sat in the back pew of the filled sanctuary, much of his sermon for next Sunday began to write itself. Funny how that works.
God's handiwork is evident inside the sanctuary and out. Throughout our trip we have been delighted by the many wildflowers in bloom everywhere you look. The combination of the cool, wet climate and a dispensation not to immediately mow everything down results in spectacular vistas of yellows, blues, reds, purples and whites along every roadside, along the edge of every forest, and even in many backyards. (The idea of weed killers would be an afront in this eco-conscious culture).
Speaking of eco-conscious, when you fill your gas tank up with $7.50/gallon gas a few times, you begin being a little more eco-conscious yourself. I won't complain about $3.50 gas anymore.
Our English student this evening wanted us to explain when you use "would, could and should" and why there are SO MANY words in the English language that mean exactly the same thing (just pull out your thesaurus if you think he's wrong). How do you tell a non-native speaker when to use the word "count" or when to use "enumerate, tally, compute, sum, calculate, tabulate, total, or score." Of course, "count" is actually a guy who ranks right up there with a duke. Hmmm.
Our student works for a German company running an assembly operation in the Czech Republic. The company is preparing to bring a factory online in Bulgaria, and the common language is English. Of course none of them are native English speakers, so some of the translations get pretty muddled.
Mixes of languages are everywhere with so many cultures so close together. So, it is useful that many packages are written in multiple languages (kind of like in the US, where you sometimes see French or Spanish on the back of your shampoo bottle). Here there are usually at least four languages on every package. Of course, that's where the usefulness ends - in the Czech Republic you find Czech, Slovak, Romanian and Bulgarian. Gee, that's helpful!
Some Photos:
The log cabin being built by and for the Royal Rangers. The Royal Rangers are the church's children's ministry, and operates much like the scouts, but with a Christian emphasis. The rangers will be using this cabin for campouts and overnights. It sits at the edge of a small fishing pond.
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