Travels with Chris and Larry

2010-07-10T02:16:00.000-07:00

Hey All,

I am alive and well. Had a great safari. My computer has some problem staying connected here so I have decided not to blog and post pictures until I return home.

Tonya is blogging so for her view please go to http://twarren4.wordpress.com/

This really is a trip of a lifetime and perhaps my computer is telling me to pay attention and stop computing!

Grace and Peace,

Later . . .

Larry

Pictures from Travel and day 1 (double click on image and then select slideshow to see all images)

2010-07-05T05:59:00.000-07:00

Travel and Day 1

2010-07-05T04:52:00.001-07:00

Travel went well. Made all our connections and it was a joy to see three folks from Peace House Africa waiting for us when we arrived at Kilimanjaro airport. On the flight from Amsterdam we met the Bishop of the Upper-Michigan Synod of the ELCA. He and his family were heading to Dar Salaam. It is a small world.

Speaking of the African sky it was breathtaking when we arrived. I think I could see the Southern Cross. The milky way was incredible!

I slept well and feel remarkable rested today. Met some of the staff and students and were made to feel most welcome. The biggest welcome was from Johnson who just exploded with joy when he saw Tonya. He told me that Tonya is like a mother to him who has given him good advice. I said that perhaps I would be like a grandfather to him. Father is Baba. We had decided that I will be introduced to people as Tonya’s Baba. Grandfather is Babo. I could also be introduced as August, Asha and Emelia's Babo! We got a tour of the facility from Theo and I took some pictures. The birds here are unique to me.

It is cloudy and cool today. We are going to spend the day acclimating and planning our week. We hope to get to the Ngorongo Crater guided by one of the teachers. I also hope to connect up with a Lutheran Church in Arusha. Since I won’t be leading worship at Peace House This Sunday I hope to worship at a Lutheran Church in Arusha.

I'll try and send some pictures

Something I have been thinking about

2010-07-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

Awhile back my friend Albert sent me a link to a most interesting article written by Matthew Parris in the London Times. (I bet you could Google it and find it if you would like to read the whole article.) It begins this way:

As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God. Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa's biggest problem - the crushing passivity of the people's mindset.
Matthew Parris in the London Times

"Before Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it's Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there. Pump Aid helps rural communities to install a simple pump, letting people keep their village wells sealed and clean. I went to see this work.

It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But traveling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I've been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I've been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.

Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.”

He goes on to describe the Christians he remembers as a child growing up in Africa:

“The Christians were always different. Far from having cowed or confined its converts, their faith appeared to have liberated and relaxed them. There was a liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world - a directness in their dealings with others - that seemed to be missing in traditional African life. They stood tall.”

As a teenager and some friends traveled around Africa. He reflects:

"Whenever we entered a territory worked by missionaries, we had to acknowledge that something changed in the faces of the people we passed and spoke to: something in their eyes, the way they approached you direct, man-to-man, without looking down or away. They had not become more deferential towards strangers - in some ways less so - but more open. "

He gives his view of Africa today:

"Anxiety - fear of evil spirits, of ancestors, of nature and the wild, of a tribal hierarchy, of quite everyday things - strikes deep into the whole structure of rural African thought. Every man has his place and, call it fear or respect, a great weight grinds down the individual spirit, stunting curiosity. People won't take the initiative, won't take things into their own hands or on their own shoulders."

He then concludes:

“Christianity, post-Reformation and post-Luther, with its teaching of a direct, personal, two-way link between the individual and God, unmediated by the collective, and unsubordinate to any other human being, smashes straight through the philosphical/spiritual framework I've just described. It offers something to hold on to to those anxious to cast off a crushing tribal groupthink. That is why and how it liberates.

Those who want Africa to walk tall amid 21st-century global competition must not kid themselves that providing the material means or even the know how that accompanies what we call development will make the change. A whole belief system must first be supplanted.
And I'm afraid it has to be supplanted by another. Removing Christian evangelism from the African equation may leave the continent at the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and the machete.”

From my reading I think Matthew is correct.

I have also been thinking about our culture. If Africa is at the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and the machete, what malign fusion are we at the mercy of?

Perhaps it will become more obvious to me under African skies. I’ll let you know what I find.

Larry and Tonya's Journey to Africa

2010-06-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

Larry and Tonya’s Journey to Africa 2010

I experienced a bit of what many people think about when someone travels to Africa. The picture was not taken in Africa as I have not left yet. It was taken in Cabela’s my favorite camping store, where I went to buy some 100% deet mosquito repellent for the trip. I don’t know if I will see an elephant, but I will likely be the target of mosquitoes which carry malaria. Tomorrow I will begin taking medication that will make my blood poison to the whatever it is that causes malaria.

We are just days away from beginning our journey from Chicago to Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro Airport to Peace House Africa. I will take about 26 hours. I finished the 300 crosses by attaching cords last week. Tonya had her golf outing which what great fun and raised $ 1,200. I am ready to try speaking a bit of Kiswahili. We are ready to go.

We learned last week that the kids will return to school a week later than planned. One of the things I have learned is that in Africa the calendar and clock are not as regular as they are in our culture.

Initially I was disappointed that I will have less time with the kids, but Tonya assured me that we will be put to good use working with the staff and that will be valuable also. We may try to arrange a side trip to the Ngorongo Crater a World Heritage Site, which is 3,100 square miles of pristine African wilderness. It is also near the Olduvai Gorge the fossil site commonly referred to as “The Cradle of Mankind.”

I am most looking forward to experiencing the kids and school that have such a deep place in her heart. Tonya has made it clear that they are Africa, and unfortunately many who travel to Africa see beautiful animals and scenery, but miss the real beauty in the people. It will be a trip of a lifetime for me. I am grateful Tonya has invited me.

I invite you to follow along through this or Tonya’s blog. Thank you for your prayers and support. Asante!

September 11th Vienna

2009-09-12T00:58:00.000-07:00

Vienna

Our last stop before flying home.

Vienna is a beautiful city with many open plazas and coffee houses everywhere.

Our walking tour guide, Wolfgang was most interesting. He said that he is very lucky to be alive in the only 60 year long period of peace in Austria. He said we should not think that Nazis were just German. They were Austrian and Bavarian and members of many countries. He said Europeans are very tired of war. Rebuilding is still going on in most countries.

Vienna is a very safe city - the safest of any city in the world currently. This is credited to a welfare system that keeps people from the bottom levels where gangs form and also because guns are strictly regulated. You even have to have a permit to carry a knife more than three inches long.

I especially enjoyed the coffee - strong but very tasty.

The highlight of our stay here was hearing a concert by the Vienna Boy's Choir. They were wonderful. They did an opening set of lighter music. The encore was the Chattanooga Choo-choo. It was great.

The second part of the concert was a mass by Michael Hayden. It was magnificent. Listening to it I understood an earlier statement that during the medieval and baroque periods they tried to make the churches look like heaven. Since I am an auditory person the visual didn't do much for me. Hayden's mass did and I could only imagine what that experience would have been like to hear it in one of the cathedrals we visited.

We had our last meal as a group together last night. People are already departing. We are staying an additional day to rest up for the flight home. We will rise to begin our journey home at 4 am tomorrow and should be home about 9:45 pm Knoxville time.

Today Chris wants to visit a music museum and art gallery, and walk to the Danube river. Looks like only a 12 mile day! (We are resting up remember!)

It has been a great trip leaving me much to think about. We have about 1200 slides to sort through so you may want to think twice about asking to see them!

This will be our last entry for this trip.

We have had perfect weather, a wonderful tour guide and group, incredible food, and have often been in the right place at the right time.

One of the highlights for me was giving directions to a Russian traveler in German. Yikes!

Gut Gott!

Love

Larry & Chris

September 10 Mauchausen - Death Camp

2009-09-11T04:37:00.000-07:00

We left beautiful Hallstadt and arrived in Mauchausen several hours later.

Our tour of Mauchausen, the last concentration Camp to be liberated began with a 40 minute film. The film pulled no punches and was hard to watch. All German schoolchildren must visit a concentration camp.

During the video an older man watching with us wept profusely. Was he a survivor? Did he have a loved one die in the camp? Was he a German ashamed at what had been done? We don't know. His tears moved us from detached observers into participants somehow.

The tour of the camp was very sobering. It was initially set up as a site to exterminate the "intelligentsia" from countries captured by the Nazis. The Nazis even contacted the families of those executed and cremated and for a price would return their loved one's ashes in an urn.

The camp expanded and became a work camp, initially the inmates working a quarry, and later a ball bearing factory hidden in caves near the camp. Paton's division finally liberated the camp.

In the pictures I sent are some pictures of the camp and some of the art work from various nations.

I have been reading an archeological mystery series during the trip by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear. This is a paragraph I read as we drove to the death camp. Two archeologists are talking about an excavation of a kiva where a number of children were burned to death.

"Sylvia eyeballed the bone, sketched on her pad for a time longer, then said, 'How could anyone do that? Most of these kids wee under five'

Maureen took a deep breath and paused to pull back several strands of hair that were tickling her nose. 'I've seen it before, Sylvia. The massacres in El Salvador, Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda. Even the dead from Indian Battlefields in Ameica, like Sand Creek, Bear River, and Wounded Knee. It happens when people hate each other. In Russia, Nazi soldiers herded women and children into barns and churches and burned them alive.' She paused. 'It's part of who we are as human beings. One of the many images you see in your reflection when you look into a mirror.'" (The Summoning God page 329)

I had seen a mirror.

Later in the day we toured the opulent Schonbrunn Palace, Austria's rival to Versailles. After the touring the first room I had to leave. I went out and sat in the garden. I had seen another mirror.

Love to you all,

Larry and Chris

Hallstatt Wednesday September 9

2009-09-10T11:53:00.000-07:00

Hallstatt was only about a two hour drive from Salzburg. What a beautiful place. Our hotel was right on the lake and was delightful.

Chris took a boat ride around the lake and I took a tour through a salt mine that has been mined continuously since 6000 BC. The Celts were the first miners. Archeologists are working on the first level, while salt is now being mined on level six.

Salt was a very important commodity and was called white gold.

We could have stayed in this beautiful little village for a week, but have to leave tomorrow morning.

Love to all,

Larry & Chris

Tuesday September 8 Salzburg, Austria

2009-09-08T04:48:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

It is 2 pm here and 8 am in Tennessee. Hoping you are all on your way to a good day.

Salzburg is fascinating. It was founded because of a Roman Road built about 500 BC and the Salzburg river. The name of the river and the town come from salt - there are large salt mines near by.

We spent about 5 hours in the old town which still is laid out like the Roman Village from antiquity. It has a feeling more of Italy than Germany because of all the open courtyards. It is a shoppers paradise with lots of high end products. I bought some dried fruit.

I loved all the signs on the shops. Each one must have one. You would never recognize the MC Donald's sign! I included a few in the picture portion.

We went up to the fortress which Chris had visited when she traveled to Europe when she was in college.

This afternoon I am resting up - the trip to Hitler's retreat would have taken too long. Chris is at the Sound of Music Tour which the people of Salsburg take pride in saying they no nothing about it because it was an American movie, and Edelweiss was written for the movie and is not the folk anthem of Austria.We did go through the cemetery that the family did flee through this morning.

Tonight we are going for a dinner with Mozart's music played between the four course meal. Mozart was born here and spent all but ten years of his life here. He spent the last 10 years in Vienna where we will be in a few days.

I figure if I take a nap this afternoon I won't fall asleep during the concert. The dinner begins at 7:30 pm.

Hope you are all well.

Love,

Chris and Larry

Monday September 7

2009-09-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day

We toured "Mad-King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein Castle. The Germans prefer to call him exectric rather than mad. Who knows. He loved to build fairy castles.

We all slid down a a luge course and now we are in Salzburg Austria. We eat together tonight and then go out for an orientation walk through the historic center.

Much to do here. Motzart dinner, Sound of Music Tour which Chris wants to do, and Hitler's Eagles Nest Retreat which I may do.

Weather is absolutely beautiful.

Love,

Chris and Larry

Munich Sunday August 6

2009-09-06T07:49:00.000-07:00

We had a walking tour with a local guide in the morning and then we walked and climbed all afternoon. We are resting up a bit before we go out for Chinese food tonight.

Munich is a fascinating city. It was the capital of Bavaria and the genesis of the Nazi movement. Thus the allies really targeted Munich and destroyed much of it. The Americans occupied this part of Germany after the war and the locals feel that they were liberated.

Munich chose to rebuild in the old style to preserve its culture and it is still rebuilding.

We visited the only Synagogue in Munich. It is a very dramatic structure. The wall is meant to reminded one of the wailing wall in Jerusalem. Unfortunately the museum was closed for repairs. Munich has accepted many Jewish refugees from the Soviet union and the number of Jews living in Munich has reached post war levels.

The big thing in Munich is the Beer Garden with its um-pa bands. Munichners seem to be a friendly people. It seems strange that the Nazi Movement came from them. I think the roots go back to the 30 years war which took the lives of 1/3 of German men.

Tomorrow we head for we'll tour "Mad- King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein Castle. Then we'll slide down a luge course (weather permitting), before heading into Austria. We will stay in Salzburg.

Get Well and Stay Well everyone.

Love Chris and Larry

2009-09-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

Saturday Sept 5

We left Switzerland and drove through a tiny bit of Austria and are now back in Germany in Munich. We had a wonderful meal in the Augsburger Brewery tonight. Tomorrow we will do a walking tour of Munich for about a half day and then will have a half day to do what we want on our own. Chris is talking about some Chinese food!

Munich is described as Germany's most livable city and our guide Daniela is from here so she is doing everything possible to make us fall in love with it.

We will see tomorrow. So far the mountains and rivers and forests are my favorites.

No pictures today - Perhaps tomorrow.

Love,

Larry & Chris

2009-09-04T09:08:00.000-07:00

September 4 Alps Day two!

WOW! This is what I came to see. Chris told me that if I wanted to see mountains then we must come to the Alps and was she right!

Our Hotel is in an Alpen Village named Murren. We left our bus in the valley and took two cable cars to our hotel which is at about 6,000 feet. Absolutely beautiful!

This morning we were completely fogged in – couldn't see a thing. We went to the cable car station anyway because they have live cameras at each stop so you can see what the weather is. The sites above us were clear so off we went. Two stops later we were at the Schilthorn which is about 10,000 feet. The view was incredible. I included several pictures from our time there.

After an hour and a half of beauty, and a hot chocolate in the chalet, we headed down the valley to the town of Lauterbrunnen. We set off walking from the cable car station. Our next stop was a waterfall that comes from the glaciers of the Eiger, Monarch and Jungfrau peaks. Talk about power.

Then we went into the village and had a late lunch. We then took a cable car to Gutschalp and walked back to Murren. It began raining hard so we were happy when the hour and a half walk was over. They are talking about snow for this evening – we will see.

I couldn't have imagined a more beautiful day in the mountains. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Love

Larry and Chris

2009-09-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

Thursday September 3

We drove through the Black Forest this morning as we made our way high into the Swiss Alps. At the end of our chalet-dotted drive, we took a gondola lift up to the cliff-top village of Mürren in the Berner Oberland. It had been raining, but cleared to reveal incredible mountains that we will hopefully hike in tomorrow. Our hotel is at about 6,000 feet and the little village here is incredibly beautiful. After a four course dinner we learned how to play the Alpen Horn and danced the polka!

I have been accumulating much to think about on this trip. I will share more later. Hope all is well with all of you. Wish you were here!

Love,

Larry & Chris

2009-09-02T04:27:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Sept 2

Yesterday was a travel day with two stops.

The first was Burg Eltt Castle, a Castle that has been occupied by one family for over three hundred years. It is actually three castles and family members wanted their own castle. It is still occupied by the family. Part of it is like a museum with the typical furnishings and artifacts. The antique roadshow people would go nuts!

Then we drove to Trier, a Roman City that is Germany's oldest city. The gate dates back to 500 years before the birth of Christ.

At one time Constantine lived in Trier and his mother Helena built a church that housed the robe of Christ. That church was eventually destroyed and the present day cathedral was built in 1000 AD. It was very gaudy. The only presence of Jesus I experienced in it was a beggar sitting outside the door.

Then we went to a Roman Praetorium that was converted to a church when Constantine converted in 300 AD and then became a Lutheran Church after the reformation.

It is very simple inside with a small cross as the center of attention. Quite a contrast to the cathedral!

Today we are in Baden-Baden which is an old Roman bath. It also houses Germany's largest Casino. I wasn't impressed.

I am going for the 3 1/2 hour bath this afternoon. The German Health Care used to pay for it for people with arthritis etc. Now they provide Glucoesamine. Perhaps after the three and a half hour treatment I will throw my Glucosamine away.

Chris is just going to have the 30 minute massage.

Tomorrow we ride through the Black Forest and get to the Alps.

Love,

Larry & Chris

2009-08-31T11:54:00.000-07:00

What a day.

We started with a tour of the largest castle in Germany with a local guide.

We then took a train to Bacharach and had a 2 1/2 tour by a Herr Jung a seventy six year old man who was wonderful. He told us his experiences during the World War II when he was a child. He came across an American plane that had been shot down and found the pilot dead. He described how he thought that there was a mother somewhere who didn't know that her son had died. He broke up as he told the story. Very moving.

Besides telling us much about Bacharach he also told us that the Americans first crossed the Rhine at St Gore, right at our hotel.

We then took a boat ride down the Rhine back to St Goar.

It was dinner time so we went out to a local restaurant that our guide recommended and had a wonderful meal. We were with a couple from New York, from Seattle and from China. We had a delightful evening eating way to much but enjoying every bite.
I posted some food pictures tonight. (Don't order a big beer unless you are really thirsty and your wrist is in good condition.)

Meals in Germany are meant to be social events - you will never be hurried by your waiter. I was the perfect end to a wunderbar day!

Here is our itinerary for tomorrow:

We'll drive along the scenic Mosel River, stopping to tour the mighty Burg Eltz Castle. In the afternoon, we'll visit. Germany's oldest city; pedestrian-friendly Trier. We'll sleep just over the hills in the old resort town of Baden-Baden (2 nights). Bus: 7 hrs walking strenuous.

Be well.

2009-08-30T12:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry about that last post. I'll get that formatting down yet. Just spent the evening with our guide Daniela Wendel. She is a native German and appears very competent. She has a bit more sense of humor than our last guide which should be fun.

The group is very interesting. We have several people from China and one from Mexico which should add much to the experience.

The picture is of Daniela leading our orientation walk.

Sunday August 30

2009-08-30T07:22:00.000-07:00

Slept well last night, I think we are over jet lag.

Went to the church by our hotel. It was interesting in that I couldn't understand a word the pastor was saying but it was meaningful non-the-less.

We did know the hymn melodies and tried to sing the German words. The singing was acapella but the acoustics of the church were excellent so it sounded beautiful. There were 24 of us at worship, all grey haired folks like us, and one youngster. I was really sorry that worship did not include "bread time" Emelia's term for communion. We would have understood that, or at least part of it.

Then we rented a bike and headed toward Bacharach a medieval town known for its half-timbered construction. It was about 13 kilometers away but what a beautiful ride along the Rhine. I must admit the last 45 minutes of the ride was a little painful.

You should have gotten a link to some pictures - if not follow this one

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=gplarryw&target=ALBUM&id=5375634286962126129&authkey=Gv1sRgCI-pwsfljbDt3wE&feat=email

Germans are polite, but do not seem very friendly. No eye contact and when it is made, no smile. We finally did meet a friendly German, but then found that he immigrated to Germany from Austria.

In 30 minutes we will meet our group and begin our tour. We have had great fun already.

Love,

Larry & Chris

2009-08-29T22:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday August 29^th

The flight to Dallas and then to Frankfort went well. From Dallas we flew over Chicago – go figgure. Didn't get much sleep on the flights so we were pretty tired when we arrived in Frankfort. St. Goar named for a kind and generous monk from 530 AD.

We walked around the town and walked up to the Rheinfels Castle which sits above the town. We will tour it Monday.

The Rhine River is cleaner than I imagined and is filled with barges loaded with all kinds of things. The current moves pretty fast. The hills are covered with vineyards and castles.

Our Hotel is right next to a Lutheran Church. The Lutheran Church in Germany does not call itself “Lutheran” as they take seriously Luther's stated wish that no church be named after him. It is called the Evangelish Church. I guess we Americans don't respect Luther as much. We plan to worship with them. It looks like there is no English translation so we will just experience the spirit of the worship. I hope to do “bread time” to quote Emelia. The church is the oldest Protestant Church in Rineland and dates back to 1537.

We have started to meet others from our tour and they seem to be delightful people. We will enjoy exploring this part of the world with them.

Tomorrow – weather permitting we will rent bicycles and ride along the Rhine. (It is tomorrow as I post this and it is a beautiful day!)

Wish you were here!

Love,

Larry

Home is only where you pretend your from . . .

2009-08-28T04:56:00.000-07:00

My friend Doug Floyd shared a poem on his blog that I want to think about for a while.

Travel Advisory

Remind yourself, when you wake to a strangeness
of foreign lights through blowing trees
out the window of yet another hotel,
that home is only where you pretend your from.
What’s familiar sends you packing,
watching for “some lost place called home.”
You’re from wherever you go.

Don’t admit what you’re looking for.
If you say to a baker in Bremen, to a barmaid
in Provence, “Back home we think of you here
as having deeper lives,” they’ll shrug you wrong
and won’t respond. And then you’ll know:
they’re strangers too. Broken and wrinkled
stones and skin, brush strokes and chords,
old streets and saints you’ve read about,
flute-notes in the laughter of foreign children,
the nip of the local market cheese–
there’s a life we almost knew once.
Watch. Just let it in.

The return ticket will take you only
to the town where you packed to get on the plane.
It never missed you. You’ll notice
alien goods in your kitchen, wind in a wall,
losses in the middle drawer of your desk.
Even there, the strange is the cup of communion
you drink; that dim outlandish civitas dei
you’re a citizen of never was a place.
Remember not to feel too much at home.

by Rod Jellema, A Slender Grace, 79

2009-08-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

Well, one more thing before we go. August had his first football game tonight. They scored more points in this game then they did all last year (14). As I took his picture I said, "Give me your tough look - but he couldn't stop smiling.

August will be ten years old tomorrow. When we moved down here he was helping our builder drive the bulldozer. Quite a change!

Here we go!

2009-08-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, August 28th we will fly to Frankfort Germany to begin a Rick Steve's Tour of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It is our second Rick Steve's Tour, last year we did Sweden, Denmark and Norway and loved it.

I am especially excited about seeing the Alps!

2009-08-27T06:38:00.000-07:00

My work as a parish pastor has been completed!