Germany Day 4

There is only one word to describe today and that would be courageous! I feel fairly confident that if someone were to put me in any spot in Hamburg I would find my way home by the days end. I used directions printed off the internet to go downtown so I could find the Brahms museum. Upon my arrival in the middle of this gigantic city I found out that the directions were wrong...uh oh...There was a very nice park right near where I was so I walked over to it and laid down in the grass for the next few hours. Then I found a map and I found out that I was pretty near to the Hamburg history museum so I walked over there. Turns out this park is like 2 miles long and the museum was at the other end so I got to see A LOT of the park. Slightly exausted when I arrived I looked around briefly but couldn't stay long because it was getting kind of late. I had free admission so I am thinking of going back on Thursday. I don't think it is possible to see the entire museum in just one day, it is by far the biggest museum I have ever been to in my entire life.
When I got back I went to Hamburgs biggest shopping mall and gosh was it huge! Hamburg makes this special icecream that is kind of like gelato so I got a fruit parfait sort of thing with tons and tons of fruit in it. It was quite amazing. I am excited because tomororw I am going to get a chance to speak to and English class about UAF, foreign exchange, Alaska and that sort of thing. I am pretty excited.

Germany Day 2 and 3

On Sunday CIndy and I ended up sleeping until 3:30 pm because we were both so exausted so we went to a festival downtown and walked around there then went to a water\light show later that night. It was pretty neat. At the festival there was a German metal band singing country music playing a banjo, guitar, and upright bass. They had pretty strong accents too so it was quite hilarious. I kept laghing and people thought I was a little strange because it wasn't actually that funny but being from America where country music is suppposed to be sang with a western accent it was quite funny.

Monday was my first day out on the town alone. I got pretty good at asking people for directions because I got lost three times before I got to my first stop. I started out the morning by going to the biggest train set I have ever seen in my life.I had to make an appointment to go in and so I walked around before that. I found St. Nikolais church, the oldest, tallest, and most prominent church in Hamburg. It has gotten bombed multiple times during its history and always got rebuilt until the last time it was bombed and they only rebuilt the steeple to remember what it has gone through and remember those who died. There is a museum underneath it that was pretty neat but then I got to ride in a glass elevator to the top of the steeple. It was totally incredible and a sight to see, you could look out over all of Hamburg as far as youl could see. I walked back to the train set after a quick lunch. It was 5 rooms on two different stories of the building. So incredible, and every ten minutes they dim the lights and make it appear as if it is nighttime. They not only have trains but busses, cars, dancers, hot air balloons, pirate ships, and anything else you can imagine. They took different areas of the world and make replicas of it. Even the pyramid from Las Vegas. I sat down by the waterfront doing a Bible study and drinking a coca-cola for a few hours then it was off again. I went to the museum of work where I found out that there was a pin plant that made all the metal swasticas and pins that the military used during the war. There was also a lot of stuff about how people used to have to work and what the conditions were. I would call this day a win. I made it back home and did not have to sleep on a bench because I was lost. I had fun :)

Germany Day 1

Just on the upswing of recovering from jet lag and it's off to Germany. After 36 hours of traveling I finally made it to Hamburg. My first day in Germany was absolutely incredible! Cindy and Lara met me at the airport and we took a bus to Cindys house and I got a shower and had a chance to rest a bit then we went down to the waterfront. It just so happened that we got there on the day that the world championship diving competition was taking place. The divers would jump off of the mast of a ship into the water doing flips and spins. It was absolutely incredible, much better than watching it on TV during the olympics. We walked around town for quite a while, had some coffee and then went home to rest. We slept for about four hours and then went out again to get falaffles at a little walk-in resturant followed with a tour of downtown at night. Do I hear culture shock? Haha, needless to say, the nightlife in Hamburg is much different from Valdez and a LOT different from Indonesia considering that neither of those places even posess a nightlife. We had a great time and, well gosh dad, you were right and flaffles are incredible!

Made it home safe!

Dad and I made it home two days ago safely. We had the opportunity to do so much work while in Indonesia. Customs in Manado swiped two of our suitcases filled to the brim with medical supplies we were going to use while over there so we had to refocus. Dad mainly taught the dentist at the IFC base about dental work. Her name is Neni and she is 19 and just incredible. She knows a huge amount about dental work and is so ready to learn anything she can. She is a real joy to work with.
I mainly worked in the Ward doing medical work. I did everything from bandaging burn wounds to fixing machete wounds, and helping comfort hurting children. I also did a lot of work with the kids in the Childrens home. I played duck duck goose, tag, went swimming in rivers and the ocean aswell. Also just got to build real loving relationships with some of the older children and entertain some of the younger ones.
The only downside to the trip was that Dad and I got quite sick for most of the time. I didn't eat anything for three days and he didn't eat much. I threw up all night one night and continued variously for the rest of the trip. I also got a pretty good gash/puncture wound in my foot which bled for quite a while. The kids I was playing with at the time were quite concerned and all 15 of them accompanied me on the one mile walk back to the Clinic. It did not get infected and for that I am thankful.
The spirit of the people there is just remarkable and the kids there are so tough. I was amazed with how strong each one of the Christians that we encountred was in their faith. The way that they automatically turned to God at every turn is inspiring. Also, the suffering and danger that they face on a daily basis really puts my little inconviences of life into perspective. I was just in awe by the people we met.
I had the best time taking a long trip with my dad and doing so much for God in the process. I loved it more than anything. I leave for Germany tomorrow night which is quite exciting. I can't wait!!! Please pray for my saftey :)

Much love
Hadassah

First Leg Valdez to Seattle

This morning dad and I woke up at 3am to get to the airport in Anchorage. We flew into Anchorage last night and grabbed a few nights sleep at a hotel. We became slightly confused when the airlines we were flying with didn't have anybody at the check-in desk I mean come on, isn't everybody up at 4am? We ended up checking in a total of 4 times before we found somebody who would let us check our bags. I am also learning that we do NOT have very good luck with security. We got searched and they confinscated shampoo, conditioner, lotion, hair gel, hand cleanser, and sunscreen...we really need to perfect our method for checking through security cuz so far we do not have a great track record. We will be taking off to Seattle shortly. A full fledged cowboy took a picture of us at the Anchorage airport and my mom took one of us at the Valdez airport. Singapor here we come!

Leaving for Indonesia!!!

SOOO I'm flying out of Valdez tonight at 5. I only have another two hours in Valdez!!! It's crazy that everything is all of a sudden happening. I'm really excited. I am not sure if Lily and Isaiah really understand that I am leaving for two weeks cuz they both say that they are not going to miss me ;) They will as soon as they realize that I am gone. Please pray for God's will to be done while I am overseas. I'll update you as soon as I get internet :D

The countdown begins!!!

I calculated it out today at work :D

18 days until Indonesia

36 days until Germany

43 days until Scotland

143 days until Ireland

159 days until Italy

I am waaay excited about all of this. Each trip is going to be completely incredible. I am in the process of planning out Germany right now. Scotland is basically done for the moment. My dad has taken care of planning out Indonesia and since my parents are coming to Ireland with me they are both working that out together. I put Joel in charge of Italy since he is who I'll be traveling with while I am there. I am looking forward to this next year!!!