Yep, it's been way too long- sorry to all of you who have regularly checked on the blog, only to find that I have been lax in keeping up with it. But, now I have been shamed by my husband into finally catching y'all up with what has been happening to the Barkers in Germany.
I last left you in March, when Cait and Jeremy were visiting us. Jake came and visited in April also- mainly to see Stephen before he left for Iraq. Stephen is now in Iraq at Camp Speicher, north of Takrit. Here are some interesting photos of him there. He is currently the Public Affairs Officer for the 18th Engineer Brigade there, but that job will soon be changing to Headquarters Company Commander for the 18th ENG BGD at Camp Speicher. He will be there until Fall of 09, so please keep him and Meghan in your prayers. Megh stayed in Heidelberg but is keeping busy with German classes and finishing up her Masters in Library Science.
In April, Ben and I moved to another small village near post called Velburg. It is a quaint and pretty village, and we have a very nice duplex there. It is up on a hill, so the view is wonderful. Our neighbors are mostly German and are very friendly. Kitty is adjusting well and not fighting too much with the 3 cats which already live on this street.
Ben now has a job on post too! After 6 months of leisure, which he enjoyed, he is now working full time as the Executive Assistant to the Deputy Commander of Operations for the Joint Multinational Readiness Center. Hohenfels is a training center for American and international troops, so the JMRC is in charge of all that. Ben is learning lots of new skills, so it is a bit overwhelming just now. Please pray for him too.
My job is going well. I finally feel like I have more of a handle on what to do. I've made lots of changes at the library, of which our patrons have approved (so they say). Just had to do my budget for next year, which was new for me. Interesting....
Cait and Jeremy are coming up on their first year anniversary! Can you believe it? Cait graduates from Montreat College in December, and then they will be more free to do some new things with their lives. We'll see what happens. Drew has a new job with the Triad Theater in Greensboro. He quit his teaching job, and they were sure sorry to see him go. He is looking forward to his new position - Artistic Associate, dealing with Dramaturgy and educational outreach, among other duties. Jake is still in Asheville, working as a bartender at a restaurant. He is planning on starting at UNC-A either this summer or in the fall. Yea, Jake!
This is a beautiful place in the spring and summer! Flowers and flower boxes are everywhere, as the hausfraus compete for the most lovely garten on the block! We even have some window boxes with geraniums, and I haven't killed them yet! There are fests most weekends, so lots to do and see. The EuroKup is going on right now, and since Germany is now in the finals with Spain (they play tomorrow for the cup), everyone here is quite excited. Lots of German flags waving from balconies and car windows. They are sure soccer-crazy here!
This is a photo of the front of our house- you can see the tower (Turm) down the street, which was part of the original wall surrounding the village and was built in the 1400s. We live in the part of the duplex on the right.
Next weekend, for the 4th of July, Ben and I are flying to Budapest. Our pastor in Montana and his wife, David and Susan Ballantyne, are now living there as missionaries, so our hope is to connect with them too. Can't wait!
We have a great castle ruin up behind us- I think we will walk up there right now on this beautiful Saturday am in Germany. Hey, you know, you too can experience all of this. We have lots of room for visitors, so come on over!
God bless you all!
