Craziness!

It was a very full weekend to say the least! It started Thursday night with the Cincinnati Symphony Mozart Concert. That was a memorable experience for us all. It also just happens to be where we met the people who informed us about our Sunday afternoon activity, the Germania Society Christkindlmarkt. Friday night I had an amazing treat! My aunt and uncle stopped by and took me to dinner on their way home from a funeral. It was really sad that they had to come under such circumstances, but thankfully the man who passed was a believer in Christ and will spend eternity with our Creator. As the photo shows, Saturday night we went to Balluminaria in Eden Park at Mirror Lake. It was really cool. I took tons of pictures so my nieces can see when I post them on Facebook. I got too cold but that was my own fault for not wearing enough layers. The next morning I had the joy of taking the children from church shopping for Thanksgiving fixins! The two young men below were the family group I helped.

I'm amazed that it has been four weeks since I posted! Each day I get up not knowing for sure what will happen. I go to bed realizing I have just had another opportunity to share Christ. Currently, my attitude is my focus. I want to constantly be praising God for the events I find myself participating in for this experience. I'd be lying if I said things have been what I expected thus far. I am still very homesick and I would be shocked if that goes away considering it is the time of year we are constantly bombarded with images of family. Yet there I go putting limits on God again.

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For my community outreach I am participating as much as possible with as many organizations I can find. I spend time at the local library on Mondays most weeks because they show a movie and it gives me an opportunity to socialize with the community. I have also participated in Game Day twice and was talked into taking a turn on the PS2. Another organization I absolutely adore is Open Door Ministry. They have three outreaches for the community. Individuals can get coffee and donuts that are donated by a local bakery and have a place to sit and be warm. They also have the opportunity to get an emergency supply of groceries once a month. Finally the ministry serves as the payee for many mentally ill individuals. The time there flies and it is extremely rewarding! I am there one or two mornings a week, they are only open from 9:30 to noon. The other place I volunteered for several times in the last couple of weeks is Krohn Conservatory. Their holiday show just opened to the public on Saturday which meant opportunities to help abounded. I have an appointment to talk with the volunteer coordinator tomorrow to see what else I can help with now that it is open. There are still plenty of opportunities they are just different. I got a call on Friday from Lighthouse Youth Services and I hope to get involved there within the next three weeks. Today I got a call from Open Door, a ministry across the street from the church, and I hope to speak to their volunteer coordinator tomorrow afternoon too.

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I cannot close this post without asking for prayers for Ben Walters and his family. In the last 8 days their son knocked out his front 2 baby teeth on a cedar chest. His youngest daughter is still waiting to hear if she has strep throat and their oldest daughter has just been moved from ICU to a regular room this afternoon after impaling her leg on her bicycle handlebars yesterday afternoon. Needless to say their planned trip to Cape Cod for Thanksgiving is out. Please remember them in this challenging time.

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Happy Thanksgiving to all! Jamie