Saturday

Tom and all the students had a big test due at noon on Friday so he was very relieved to have that done and ready to relax this weekend. While I went out for a run, he walked over to a little shopping area near us for a haircut but they weren’t open yet so opted for coffee and a newspaper at House of Java next door. I actually got sucked into BEACHES on tv when I got back. I forgot how hokey that movie was but like I said, felt compelled to watch the whole thing while Tom went for his post haircut run.

After a relaxing morning we headed to Montgomery for yet another Saturday along the water. Everything in this city seems to revolve around this area….makes me wonder what they did before it was developed! It was the Montgomery Wine Festival with live music, food & drink samples and plenty of fun people. When we checked in we got a bag with an etched wine glass and a small loaf of Italian bread. You may or may not know that Tom is a connoisseur of Italian bread and proclaimed THIS bread very good.

We ran into several of Tom’s classmates throughout the day so got plenty of visiting and comparing test horror stories in as we encountered each one. We also met a really nice couple (Mike & Kathy) from Lake Martin who recognized Tom from the Sprint Triathlon. (Yes, we've been here 2 months and apparently Tom is already a local sports celebrity!) Mike was in an older category than Tom but they had plenty of training tales to swap as well as the sharing of upcoming race info. Kathy is a principal of an elementary school and both were very nice. As things were wrapping up I asked the girls at the check in table where they had gotten the Italian bread. They said the hotel across the street had provided it but they had two big bags left over so invited us to take what we wanted. I loaded up 5 loaves in my purse!

We also decided to take the Harriott II riverboat for a ride later in the afternoon. It was a gorgeous day (sunny and 85 degrees) with a faint breeze. We had seats out on the deck of the second level and were on the bow so we were right up front.
There was a live band at the back of the boat and a couple of refreshment stands. There was seating along the outside decks as well as inside where they had tables and the football game on the big screen. There was a group of about 8 senior LDS missionaries who got on after we were already seated and I think they went inside. Those badges give them away every time!

It was a beautiful 90 minute ride up the Alabama River and I’m sure it would be gorgeous after the leaves start to change. We turned around at one point and as we headed back the sun had just started going down so I was glad I had a sweater. We chatted with a really cute couple sitting next to us (Dell and Richard). He was from Birmingham and she from Montgomery. She had been in loans up until last year so we plenty of real estate stories to swap. When we got off the boat and headed to our car the two bags of bread were still sitting on the table on the dock, and since we had eaten another loaf on the river trip, we helped ourselves to a couple more!

Came home and relaxed with a bowl of popcorn and the BYU football game but as it didn’t start here until 9:15 PM, I lasted about 45 minutes and was out!

Oktoberfest

Friday night the German IO (International Officers) students had an Oktoberfest celebration at the Officer’s Club. Our friends from Colombia, Mauricio and Olga invited us to join them. The banquet hall was lined with posters of Germany and past Oktoberfest gatherings, there was a band, games (log chopping races & the traditional hold the full stein out with a straight arm for as long as you can) and tons of food!

A buffet including Sausage, Schweins hax’n (rotisserie pork hocks), Schweinbraten (roast pork w/sauerkraut), Jager Schnitzel (pork schnitzel with a creamy mushroom sauce though I'm pretty sure this was chicken), Blaukraut (braised red cabbage), Bratkartoffel (German fries), Knoedel (giant dumpling), Spatelse (German wine), Beer, German Breads and Apple Strudel in Vanilla Sauce.

Frankly, this is not my favorite type of food, but it was fun to sample it all. The sausages with mustard were good, as was the Apple Strudel, but really the highlight of the evening was just chatting and meeting some new people.

Around the table were Vincent (from Virginia), Mauricio (for family reading this, he reminds me a lot of Serge!) Brawni (Vincent’s wife from Thailand) Olga, me and Tom, then Nrdec (pronounced "nu-retz") & Alma from Albania. I will admit I had to look up Albania on a map. I’m hoping that getting to know all these international students will make me less geographically challenged!

You know you're living in Alabama when the front page of the local paper is featuring the Crappie Masters Youth Fishing Rodeo.

Bible Study

I have been incredibly blessed throughout my life to be surrounded by amazing women. I'll talk about all of them at some point but today I want to mention my Sunday School gals from home and my new Bible Study group here.

We have had the greatest women's class at Alpine for the past couple of years. People have come and gone but it has been a wonderfully safe place for us to share, pray, cry and laugh ourselves silly. Sheri and Amy have been in tune with God and have chosen just the right material that we seemed to need at that precise time. They will all be meeting tonight for the annual Fall Fling with great speakers, yummy food, praise music and fellowship. Though I clearly can't be there, I will be in spirit. I miss those girls like crazy!

I am however, so happy that we have bible studies for spouses here. I found a great group that meets Tuesday mornings from 9-11 AM at a home on base. Kate has graciously let us take over her kitchen, living and dining room on those mornings for fresh baked goodies, coffee and fellowship. I love that these types of groups always provide an immediate bond as we study and share together. Though we all come from different places and different backgrounds, we all share something very precious in common, therefore making us sisters immediately.

We are doing a Beth Moore study. If you aren't familiar with her she's a fabulous, high energy teacher who is crazy about the Lord and isn't afraid to show it. I love the way she teaches! Her lessons include an hour dvd that we watch as a group and then we discuss the week's homework from our workbooks that we take home. This one is called Stepping Up, A Journey Through the Psalms of Ascent and is a study of Psalms 120-134. I've done a bunch of Beth's classes before including Breaking Free, When Godly People Do Ungodly Things, Jesus the One and Only, Believing God and Daniel. Each came at a time when I really needed THAT particular word to get me through whatever was going on in my life. Funny how God works that way.

You know you're living in Alabama when you have the opportunity to sign up for a "storm spotter" class.

Auditioning Churches

One of the first things I noticed when we came to Alabama back in February to look for an apartment was the incredible number of churches. Now, I know we’re smack dab in the middle of the Bible belt but I sort of had an idea that they would all be Southern Baptist. Instead, I’ve found churches of many, many different denominations….one every few blocks, so I thought what better opportunity to check out the options the South has to offer. Not going to get into a lot of theology; just my impressions of the services, the congregations and the messages.

The first week we went to Centerpoint, a church which meets right by our home in a Marriott resort ballroom.

Generally this means it’s a fairly new church plant saving up for their own building, but I was immediately drawn to it because all their marketing reminded me of our home church: Alpine, which is a non-denominational congregation. Indeed, they had the billboards, the road signs directing us to the venue, the greeters, the welcoming table, the coffee bar, the praise music with a band, and a biblical message emphasizing application in our daily lives. There were different things about it as they did pass an offering plate and had candle stations set up for individual prayer. They offer three services on Sunday and the one we attended was completely full.

The second week we attended one of the chapels on base as it was the “welcoming” service for the newcomers and it was a combined service of the protestant offerings. It was packed in a fairly small chapel so it was a tad uncomfortable. It was kind of a mish-mash service with semi-contemporary music but some traditional as well, the youth doing some mime thing which was a tad beyond my comfort level theatre degree or not, but a great message about loss and trusting God, and the fact that becoming a Christian doesn’t mean we’ll never have trouble or sorrow again. The pastor had lost a child to a fluky illness so had plenty of experience to draw on. I’d actually like to go back here to a regular service sometime. They had a bbq out on the church lawn after the service.

Next was Journey which again was very much like Alpine. They meet in a little strip mall-type area though they already have a sign right down the street in a beautiful field which says it’s their future home. This reminded me very much of when Alpine met in Clearfield before we moved into our new building. Video incorporated into the service with the band and contemporary music, lots of people dressed in football jerseys. Now, people in AL wear football jerseys a lot so I wasn’t sure if it was just because that’s how they dress or if it was a theme. When the pastor came out in one, I kind of caught on. Preached about “getting in the game” and how it was time to stop “standing on the sidelines”. Either you’re a Christian or you’re not, but you can’t be one on Sunday then live the rest of the week where people couldn’t really tell one way or another. They gave me a cool red water bottle as a first time visitor!

Finally, there’s an area in downtown Prattville covering a two block radius that is nothing but churches. The First Baptist Church is huge with several different buildings. They offer tons of Sunday School classes broken down into all different age groups. They had a special door for visitors where they met us, gave us materials then walked us in and found us special seating. I guess I supposed it would be a little more inter-racial but ALL of these churches I’ve mentioned were primarily Caucasian which I found interesting. In fact this service and congregation really reminded of our old Presbyterian church. Fairly older, conservative, etc. However, they have a huge kid’s Sunday school so it must have just been my first impression or maybe it was just that service. In fact, a girl in my book group laughingly referred to it as the “kiddie valet” church. After having dropped your child off at Sunday School, you received a card to hang on your rear view mirror. After Sunday School you pull up, they read your card into their walkie talkie, then someone brings your child out and buckles them into their car seat. Hee hee! What could be easier?

You know you're living in Alabama when the local NPR station carries banjo pickin' gospel music on Saturday nights.