Who Says Mountains Aren’t Comfortable to Sit On?

"For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also." Psalm 95:3-4 (ESV)

Last weekend Joerg, Gerald and I piled with Grady into his company car and drove 40 km out of Dresden to find a place to hike for a couple hours. After starting off on a path that was taking us the wrong direction from our desired destination, we trompsed through the woods and eventually found the right route. Not long after we started climbing we came upon these huge rock formations jutting out from the side of the mountain, making for perfect lookout points. At the one we have stopped at for the picture, we had just finished making fresh coffee both to warm us up and give us more energy for the return journey. I was helping to balance the plastic coffee cups on the uneven rock surface when I looked up, and to my surprise noticed Gerald not only sitting on a rock in front of me but also sitting on something that was on top of the rock. Could that be a, a cushion? Believe it or not he had, in fact, packed a cushion in Joerg’s backpack and had whipped it out to enjoy the breathtaking scenery in comfort. I had to laugh a little—I mean what kind of rough and tough woodsy hiker needs a cushion to protect his bottom from sitting too long on a hard mountain surface—but I have to admit, those rocks were hard and I might have sat on it if he stood up. However for the meantime I’m still feeding myself the “I’m a rough and tough woodsy hiker and I don’t need no stinking cushion” line, and since even if I did own one I wouldn’t be too keen on hauling it all the way up to the top of a mountain it’s gonna have to do. Even without a cushion I somehow managed to survive and am even looking forward to our next hiking adventure, wherever it may lead us!

The Price of Lice is Not as Nice as Twice the Spice in Rice

Remember when you were in grade two and some kid found out they had lice and a letter got sent home to your mom telling her to go out and buy special shampoo and comb your hair with one of those super fine-tooth combs that practically yanks every hair out of your head to make sure that a)you hadn’t caught it or if you had, to b) get rid of it ASAP? Well imagine that you are not only out of the second grade but a college grad and living in the most clean/sanitary countries in the world and your head starts to itch. Maybe the climate has been a little drier lately? Maybe you should switch shampoos? I would have never guessed my hair could in fact be infested with little bugs, but alas…

And the definite worst part about getting lice in Germany is that my mom is not here to be the one to comb/yank out my hair and assure me that I will be ok. Being the completely independent and self-sufficient adult that I am, it was me who had to suck it up and comb through my own hair while trying not to freak out by thinking about what was actually living in there-! Despite trying my hardest to recall the past few weeks I still can only guess where and when I must have caught these little creepy-crawlies…it’s definitely not as easy as it was when I was eight and it was obviously in homeroom and probably from Billy.

But not to worry! I think I have conquered this challenge—it only took three bottles of 8 euro strong-smelling solution from the pharmacy. I’m back to feeling rather optimistic about my survival (not to mention my long hair’s…for awhile there I thought I might have to cut it all off)…I’ll keep you posted. I have been assured time and time again (and pass this along to any adult lice-sufferers out there) that it had nothing to do with my hygene or an unsanitary place I had been. Apparently lice are just really good at surviving and aren’t partial as to whose hair to call home next. Not to mention that they much prefer to live in clean hair! So it could really just happen to anyone…doesn’t it make your head a little itchy? :)

Onto a much less squirmish topic: two days ago I was blessed to meet with Natalia, a lady here visiting her son for the summer in Dresden. I spent some time with her learning to cook two surprisingly simple and wonderfully delicious dishes. Natalia is a Christian sister from the Ukraine, where she teaches music history, and she comes for a few weeks each summer to visit her son Dima who is working on his Ph.D. at the University here and also a member of the church. She speaks a few German words and is shy to use the English she knows, but even with our language barrier we were able to communicate effectively enough that now I know how to create a Ukrainian-style chicken/onion entrée and a rice/vegetable side dish. Next time you want to add a little kick to a rice dish just throw in a bit of fresh dill…what flavor! And what flavor is also added to our Christian lives when we are blessed to get to know a fellow believer!