Christmas Newsletter

Finally, our family newsletter outline the higlights from September to December.

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Rosson-Newsletter.html?soid=1101898662382&aid=JO-w-awpGZI

Summer Newsletter Now Available

Well, the long-awaited (uh, overdue) family newspaper is now online.

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Rosson-Family-Newsletter.html?soid=1101898662382&aid=aBmpQ9YMtso

August News

We are currently in the United States for vacation and business. I hope to share more later.

In the meantime, we have posted our quarterly newsletter and it can seen at http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs072/1101898662382/archive/1102675738242.html

Lee Singers in Germany

There has been quite a bit going on and little time for blogging. Today, I hope to post a few news items that relate to our work in Europe.

First, the Lee Singers (Lee University, Cleveland, TN, USA) are currently on tour in Germany. Tom helped them finalize their schedule when they had a last minute cancellation. Additionally, we help our district church in the housing arrangements of their visit to our area.

But the highlight for us was to see my cousin Rachel (okay, 1st cousin once removed). It has been a couple of years since we had seen her and the family. So this was a very special evening. She and two other Singers stayed at our home for the one evening. Dr. Brad Moffit has kept a blog of the tour which you can read here.

Our Winter Newsletter Available

This past weekend we mailed out the electronic version of our quarterly newsletter to our friends and sponsors. Didn't you get one? Then you haven't signed up for the newsletter. (See box below to the right.)

In the meantime, one can download the newsletter at
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs072/1101898662382/archive/1102413762277.html

Protection on the Autobahn

We began the new year by thanking God that we're still alive. On New Year's Eve we drove to Claudia's sister's home in Neustadt an der Weinstraße. At about 6 pm, we were really cruising down the Autobahn since there was very little traffic on the road.

Now, when I say cruising down the Autobahn, I mean I was driving German style. There are many sections of the German Autobahn that still has no speed limit. So I was driving conservatively at 85-90 mph. Fortunately, I saw blinking lights ahead of me early enough that could easily slow down without any stress.

As it turns out, that section of the highway had received some drizzle that in 30 F (-1 C) temps and turned into black ice. Within a stretch of 70 meters (about 200 feet), there were three accidents. Although a few cars only had some dents, others were totaled. While we were in the middle lane trying to merge into one lane (to the right), the car right to our left was rear-ended by another car that had lost control and spun out on the ice. Our car and our family could have easily been in the last accident.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles - Getting Home for Thanksgiving in Germany

Remember the old comedy with Steve Martin and John Candy, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. That's a little bit of what my last trip to Moscow and back was like.

The Trip to Moscow
It began with a beep on my mobile phone during church. Since we were attending a district conference, it was pretty easy for me to step out and listen to my voice mail in which an agent from the airlines indicated that my flight from Stuttgart to Holland was canceled and the trip to Moscow was also questionable due to an oncoming snow storm. Fortunately, I was able to take an earlier flight via Paris to Moscow; but I had to leave church immediately in order to catch the train to the airport. (And at least the train ride was without incident).

Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport is one of Europe's largest airports, but has no train shuttle between the terminals (or halls). Imagine going from Atlanta's (Hartfield's) atrium to terminal E without the automated train. Ironically, in order to go from Terminal D to Terminal E, I had to walk over the local train station (for trains going into the city). However, the police had cordoned off the connecting corredors. The only way around the blockade was to go out on the street and walk around it.

Once on the plane, we waited at the gate for 1.5 hours until they asked us to deboard. Apparently one passenger was not allowed on the plane and they had to find his/her luggage. It was 4:30 am before I arrived at the school in Moscow.

The Trip Back to Germany
My flight was at 9:15. Even though we left the school at 6:15 am, it took us 2.5 hours to get to the airport. Long story made short, a new driver thought he knew how to beat the traffic -- we didn't. Missed my original flight to Paris (and the connection to Stuttgart) and had to buy a replacement ticket. After all, I had to get home for Thanksgiving. The rest of the trip, however, went without incident.

Thanksgiving at ETS-Kniebis
Our family was invited to celebrate Thanksgiving with the faculty and staff of the European Theological Seminary in Kniebis (bei Freudenstadt), Germany. It was a great meal and time together with some American colleagues. However, by the time a picture was taken, our kids were outside playing in the snow (which was about 18 inches deep at the school, located on top of a mountain in the Black Forrest).

Claudia's Visit with the Department of Homeland Security

We've been quite busy the last couple of days. When we traveled to the States in July, the officials at the border suggested that Claudia should apply for a Travel Document to ensure her green card status. Furthermore, we learned that this is a different document than the form for missionaries (or their spouses) who do not want their time abroad to be counted against them for naturalization purposes.) It seems that the Department of Homeland Security have revamped several laws regarding immigration during the past couple of years. (Which isn't too surprising when one remembers the immigration issues with the 911 perpetrators.)

We began the paperwork for the travel document during our stay in the States. However, the USCIS indicated that Claudia would have to submit her biometrics while in the United States. However, the appointment that was given to us was after we returned to the States. After delaying the appointment once, we were informed that Claudia had to submit her biometrics at the Atlanta application support center.

Thanks to years of collecting Delta miles, Claudia and I were able to fly to the States for less than $17. But it was a bit frustrating that the American Embassy / Consulates in Germany were not authorized to take her picture and fingerprints.

After 30 minutes of the 8:00 AM appointment, the rest of the weekend we spent in Cleveland, TN. After taking care a couple of business matters for the schools in Moscow and Bulgaria, we pretty much sequestered ourselves to my parents retirment home in Cleveland

August Newsletter is Online

Our latest newsletter is now online and can be downloaded by clicking on the following link. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open and print the newsletter.

http://www.cog-europe.de/rosson/August_2008.pdf

Stopover in Houston

En route to Tennessee from San Antonio, we spent a couple of days in Houston. Rob and Jeanne were our neighbors in Charlottesville. In fact, Jeanne was the church administrative secretary at Covenant Church we I (Tom) was on staff in Virginia.

Many times, Claudia and Jeanne swapped kids and babysitting responsibilities in the past. And they spent a couple of days with us in Germany last year, too. But this was our first time to be with their kids since we moved to Germany in 2003.

Rob and Jeanne have a big heart for missions. And when they relocated to Houston, they wanted to find a church that shared their burden for missions. They started going to Grace Church of Humble which shortly began a missions program. Before long, Jeanne became the secretary for the missions pastor, Mike Acosta. And although he was out that weekend for a missions trip to Mexico, he made the time to meet us on the evening of his return (and the night before our departure). And one other highlight was an afternoon at Kemah on the Galveston Bay.

School's Out, Ranger Camp, and a Funeral

The past week has been a very busy one for our family. Finally on Wednesday (yes, July 23), the kids had their last day of school. Before school let out, though, there were plenty of good-bye parties and school festivals which was complicated by the fact that our three kids are in three different schools. Grades?

As soon as school was over, the twins left for a week long Royal Ranger camp. In fact, I'll pick them up next week in Bavaria on the day before we fly to the States.

Speaking of flying to the States, we are schedule to fly with Lufthansa airlines. Unfortunately for us, several of the unions have voted to go on strike next week. On Monday, the airports in in Frankfurt and Hamburg wil be affected. (And we fly from Stuttgart to Dusseldorf to O'Hare).

And today we said good-bye one one of Claudia's aunts - Frieda Schäfer. Although she had been ill recently, her death this past Tuesday came as a surprise. In fact, she was to be transferred out of the hospital to a nursing home - her bags already packed. She and Uncle Jakob had just celebrated their 50th anniversary. The death affect Claudia's family in two ways: Frieda was the sister from Claudia's mother (Lisl) who married the brother of Claudia's dad (Robert Schäfer). On the positive side, Frieda was a committed Christian who was very active in her church - and we have the confidence of seeing her again in heaven. It was also a good chance to see many relatives whom we had not seen in a while, too.

Celebrating July 4th with Kung Fu Panda

Living in Germany, it is not always easy for us to celebrate American Independence Day. After all, it is not a holiday in Germany or any other place in the world. Fortunately, Independence Day fell on a Friday so that our kids could stay up late (i.e., not a school night).

Through the American Armed Forces Radio, I learned that there would be a fireworks display on Patch Barracks which is located on the western edge of Stuttgart. But the fireworks weren't schedule to start until 10:30 pm. (We live so far north that it takes that long to get dark in the summer.) So here was the plan...

The kids and I picked Claudia up from work. We then drove to Stuttgart-Vaihingen where there is an English based cinema that was showing Kung Fu Panda, a fun animated kids film. After the show, we drove the Patch Barracks and found the best spot we could outside of the military base. (Only Dept. of Defense card holders were allowed on base. And we have very few contacts to American community in Stuttgart.) It took us a while to find the right spot. But we did see a good fireworks show that ended just after 11:00 pm.

April newsletter is now online

Just in time to divert you away from doing your income taxes (if you live in the United States), our latest newsletter is now online for downloading.

Just click on this link for the pdf version. http://www.cog-europe.de/rosson/april2008.pdf

Claudia can see right through you

After a 14-year break, Claudia has returned to work as a dental hygienist. Although she works only one day a week (Fridays), she still had to get re-certificied in x-ray technology and techniques. Most of the material was "old hat", but she also had to learn about digital imaging, too. In late March, Claudia attended a two-day seminar and passed the exams. So...she can literally look through anyone. (Personally, I find her job depressing ... so down in the mouth.)

Birthdays and Back Problems

During the past two weeks, we have celebrated three birthdays. Brianna turned 9 last week; this week the twins (Colin and Kevin) turned twelve - and kicked off the countdown to becoming a teenager. Claudia has done a great job of organizing birthday parties and get togethers. And it has kept me busy, too....for a small price.

While watching the twins play on their new Wii, my back went out on me. I have a history of a slipping disc, but it's been several years since it has been this bad. The timing was pretty ironic, too. I was just being treated for a heel spur (with new arch supports, etc.). I guess my body posture was overcompensating for the heel spur....well, you can figure out the rest.

As a result, I've been out of commission - and the blog reflects that.

Christmas Eve in Germany

Christmas traditions differ from country to country. And things are a bit different here in Germany than back in the States.

• In contrast to the States, all stores close in the early afternoon (2 pm). There's no mid-night shopping at Walmart for Santa's gifts.
• Church service at 5 pm. Many Germans regard the Christmas Eve service as the most special in the year. Even though they never attend church throughout the year, they will probably still attend on Christmas Eve. (Easter services, on the other hand, are poorly attended).
  
• Families gather for dinner and the opening of gifts. The Weihnachstman (Santa Claus) arrives during the evening of the 24th, giving the kids plenty of time to play with their gifts before going to bed.
  

Our family had our Christmas dinner before church. As I mentioned in our previous post, our church rented the community auditorium for tonight's service. I'm guessing that we had about 200 in attendance.

Then we came home, read the Christmas narrative, and Brianna handed out the gifts. This year was special because both Claudia's parents and my parents were with us for Christmas. (Yep, my parents made the trip to Germany for the holidays.)

Newsletter Now Available

The long awaited, not-to-be-forgotten Rosson family newsletter is now available for downloading. In order to view the newsletter, you will need the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader. To save to your computer, right mouse click on the following link. Feel free to print and distribute this among your friends and in your church.

http://www.cog-europe.de/rosson/dec2007.pdf

Short Update from the Rossons in Rudersberg

Sorry that I haven't written much in the last 10 days. We've been very busy of late. The school in Moscow is going smoothly, but we're still in the crunch of getting the paperwork finished for the licensing process. I've been very busy negotiating with some local churches who are interested in using our facilities for their weekly worship services. And we're also looking for ways to expand space and offerings to our Eurasian church family.

In Germany, today our village holds its annual Christmas market. It's an event where the entire community comes together and shops, eats, and talks. As is our tradition, our church is represented by our Royal Rangers troupe. Colin, Kevin and Brianna are all active in the activities. Claudia, in the meantime gets to prepare the snacks for tomorrow's kids' program (at the church).

Colin the Champion

This past weekend, Colin participated in his very first skateboard competition. Both of the twins were looking forward to the event. But Kevin injured his right knee (complete with fluid build-up, xrays, and knee brace) about a week before the competition.

Colin entered into the beginners' catagory, but there were 15 years also in his group. (The twins are 11.) Round after round, Colin kept advancing towards the finals. Finally he won the first place trophy and a new deck as a prize. Way to go, Colin!

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Today is a special day in history. 490 years ago, October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg. This led to a Diet of Worms in 1521. No....this wasn't cruel and unusual punishment for vandalism. But a church court that debated his "heretical" statements. Fortunately, Luther was kidnapped and imprisoned by one of his friends, Freddy "the Wise Guy" (okay, it was Elector Frederick the Wise). And before you get too angry, this "kidnapping" actually saved Luther's life from the wrath of Emperor Charles V and, ultimately, from the Pope.

While in exile, Luther was brought to Wartburg near Eisenach. He remained here for 11 months - and it was here that he began to translate the New Testament into the German language -- much to the disagreement of the Catholic hierarchy, for the Bible had always restricted to "trained" priests who could read Latin.

So...what did the Rossons do on Reformationstag? We visited the Wartburg castle and saw the room from which Luther changed the nature of Christianity and brought the Scriptures much closer to everyday people. Wartburg is only an hour away from where we were attending a conference.

Wartburg is a fortress on top of a mountain overlooking Eisenach. It is easy to picture what Luther meant when he penned the words to the hymn: "A mighty fortress is our God; a bulwark never failing." For him, the fortress in Wartburg was a sanctuary where he deeply encountered God through the Word.