i like pictures.  people see my camera and ask if i’m into photography.  i guess so, but probably not with the same intensity that most photographers possess.  i like pretty things and i like to remember them.  i like people and i want to remember moments with them.  that is why i like pictures.  they help capture all of my favorite times and favorite people.  my family knew my love for pictures so i have the most wonderful camera ever to help me bring my German world to you.

some of this may be a bit too informative for some of you, but bear with me.  i’m just reminded of a simple question a younger sister asked a few weeks ago.  and that is, what do i do all day?  what is life like for me here at bodenseehof?  i’m just glad you’re not here today where i slept all morning inbetween throwing up, spent my afternoon laying on a blanket in our orchard, and am now down here where i’m supposed to be typing what i’m going to share tomorrow morning in our devotions but am doing this instead.  this is not normal.  here’s a bit of what is normal:

once a week we have “change over”.  after one group leaves we spend a few hours and we clean the entire building for the next group.  this was taken right after that.

every week a group of Konfi’s come for a few days.  on our last night with them (usually saturday night) “The Nehemiah Project” puts on a concert of sorts for the group.  we set up a stage and figure out a set list and have fun lights and hope that the kids will be into it. 

this is called our “ghetto mic” because it’s been taped together.  yeah, we’re just that classy around here.

sorry ’bout the red eye.  it’s those killer pupils, ya know?

every night that there are Konfi’s here we work in the Honeycomb where the milkshake demand is overwhelming.  our poor little machine that looks like it’s from the 70’s is completely overworked but somehow still does a decent job.  we are in the midst of a building project where they are making a completely new Honeycomb.  my team has another job: we must come up with a new name for this new Honeycomb.  i’m very excited because what kind of name is the “Honeycomb”?  but anyways.  i’m not great at this naming thing.  any ideas?

evelyn works the counter.

and while they work hard i do whatever.  this night meant taking pictures with girls from “English Camp”.

i guess the girl on the right didn’t get the “wear a pink t-shirt” memo.

there are “Biergartens” everywhere in Germany.  we have our own here in the small village of Fischbach and we walk down to the harbor whenever we’re extremely bored and i buy myself a coke from a glass bottle.  it’s rather fun because whenever i drink coke from a glass bottle i feel like i’m in the 50’s.  but when you do things like this enough and you’re around the same twenty people everyday everyone starts to notice each other’s quirks.  like, the way i talk with my hands.  and the fact that i like to talk and i can talk a lot at times.  after an evening spent down there i realized someone had decided to capture this using my camera.  isn’t that just wrong? 

before i came here those who had been to Germany before told me that it was one of the most beautiful places they’ve ever been.  now that i’m here by the Bodensee Germans are telling me that i’m in the most beautiful area of Germany.  so i pretty much got the best of the best.  summer is a wonderful time to be here.  after change over this past monday i took a two hour walk with my camera.

the apple orchards are growing

what is this?  wheat?  well, whatever it is, it’s also growing and i had much fun taking pictures of it.

 

German country roads are the cutest.

well, corn stalks aren’t so very unique, but the green, white, and blue look nice together, don’t they?

a horses field.

convict music… ghetto, ghetto, ghetto…

with the alps in the background.

amazingly beautiful.

like i’ve already said, last night we climbed a tower to see the lake and the sunset.  it was quite nice.  i had to try twice to get a video clip of our evening.  first and second.  sorry about all the noise.  the wind was very strong on top of this very tall tower that i got dizzy climbing up.

the lake and towns below us.

day is done, gone the sun, but we need not fear…

country goodness.

and of course we took pictures of us!

yes, i like these people.  but don’t worry, you’re still the bestest in my book.  you wanna know what i always think of when i see the moon?  i think:

i love you to the moon and back.