What are we accomplishing?

Over the past week or so, it has been for me a time of assessment. I wonder about the work here and whether we have been able to make a difference. I feel that some good has come of our serving here, though there are still times of deep disappointment. It is hard to see our dear people struggle so much and see some going the wrong way, yet, we know that the Lord is watching over us all and has deep patience with each of us. I hope He continues to have patience with me in my weaknesses. When it is all done, we can really only admit that the Lord's hand has been at work and we are merely tools and cannot really give ourselves credit for the good or take blame for the problems, we hope.

I noticed recently that the German word for "creation" and "creator" have an interesting other meaning. The word for creation also can be used to mean "scooping" or the creator, a scooper. I can visualize the process of shaping or scooping the materials there to form a world and it better shows the hand of the Lord making it happen. To me, it makes it more personal, an act of careful, loving, scooping to make the beautiful world that we have to live on. We really cannot understand what it took to create the world and all that is part of it, but to know that God's loving hands made it happen gives me a different view of it all. We in our feeble attempts to accomplish our work, can then be compared to the great scooping that the Lord does and still does, by using His hands to mould us into something better, scooped out of the dust of the earth.

In this post, I will show some pictures as usual, but we usually also pick out some beauties of the earth that we see here.

Here is a view over the Salem Valley from the town (and castle) of Heiligenberg (literally: Saints mountain)

Yes, I was really there.

These are part of the castle.

Driving from Heiligenberg towards Deggenhausertal.

A view of Deggenhausertal.

In another area, we sometimes pass this transmission tower near Waldburg. I always think about the "Return of the Jedi" scenes on the moon of Endor when I see it.

And there was a zeppelin there as well.

This is the Waldburg (Forest fortress)

Then, this evening, Sister B was helping one of our members with family history. It happens to be in a McDonalds, using the wireless available there.