Wow...

Last night was my small group Bible study and it was interesting b/c I had debated back and forth all day about going. I was wiped out by the end of the day and after dinner all I wanted to do was crawl on the couch w/a book and relax. Well, I ended up going and God obviously wanted me there b/c I nearly missed the train! We studied a really neat passage last night in Psalms. You know, just when I think I've read the entire Bible (and I haven't...I've skimmed, not read!) God always surprises me with a new verse. I might've heard this verse before but never really took much notice to the words..until last night. And so, I want to share it with you guys and hope that you all get the same encouragement from it that I received when I read it.

Psalm 25:1-21

Lord, I worship you.
My God, I trust in you.
Don't let me be put to shame.
Don't let my enemies win the battle over me.
Those who put their hope in you
will never be put to shame.
But those who can't be trusted
will be put to shame. They have
no excuse.

Lord, show me your ways.
Teach me how to follow you.
Guide me in your truth. Teach me.
You are God my Savior.
I put my hope in you all day long.
Lord, remember your great mercy
and love.
You have shown them to your
people for a long time.
Don't remember the sins I committed
when I was young.
Don't remember how often I
refused to obey you.
Remember me because you love me.
Lord, you are good.

The Lord is honest and good.
He teaches sinners to walk in his ways.
He shows those who aren't proud
how to do what is right.
He teaches them his ways.
All of the Lord's ways are loving
and faithful
for those who obey what his covenant commands.
Lord, be true to your name.
Forgive my sin, even though it is great.
Who is the man who has respect for the Lord?
God will teach him teh way he has chosen for him.
Things will always go well for him.
His children will be given the land.
The Lord shares his plans with
those who have respect for him.
He makes his covenant known to them.
My eyes always look to the Lord.
He alone can set my feet free
from the trap.

Turn to me and show me your favor.
I am lonely and hurting.
The troubles of my heart have increased.
Set me free from my great pain.
Look at how I'm hurting! See how
much I suffer!
Take away all of my sins.
Look at how many enemies I have!
See how terrible their hatred is for me!
Guard my life. Save me.
Don't let me be put to shame.
I go to you for safety.
May my honest and good life keep me safe.
I have put my hope in you.


Now go and have a great weekend and if you are having a bad day, look back on this AMAZING verse!!! Love, Alli

Signs You've Been Out of the States for a while...

1. You get excited about big grocery stores
2. Washing out your trash before you throw it away is the norm
3. You drown out other people's conversations going on around you because
you know you won't be able to understand them
4. Guessing at how to cook something instead of looking at the foreign language instructions is the norm
5. You understand the difference between the Toilet Room and the Bathroom
6. Dialing 6 numbers before the actual phone number starts making sense
7. You have a choice of four different trash cans, each one containing a different kind of trash (i.e. plastics, paper, food) and you know exactly which one is which
8. Walking three miles to the grocery store and back and carrying an obscene amount of groceries becomes part of every day life.
9. Bagging your own groceries is something you're used to by now and when you get back to the States the bag boy looks at you like you're crazy when you start doing his job.
10. Leaving a tip at a restaurant now seems strange to you
11. You hear English on the radio or television and it excites you
12. You know that it's never good if someone whistles at a football game.
13. Carrying two (or three) forms of currency in your wallet isn't so odd
14. Walking into another country is something you do everyday
15. You dream about walking into Target and having the world's longest shopping spree as soon as you get home
16. Yufka, Kebap, Falafel: you know the difference and know who makes the best!

Longest field trip ever!

It has a been the longest day of my life. So why am I still awake at 11:15pm? Good question. I wish I knew myself! I should be tucked underneath the covers and sound asleep but I was in blogging mode and decided to sign on quickly before diving into bed.

Like I said it's been a long day today. We went on a Field Trip today to a natural reservation park in France and then back to Truz. We were gone from 8-4 and since it was 80 degrees today and we were out in the sun for all of it, both teachers and students alike were ready to crash when we got back to school! Because we live so close to so many cool things we really enjoy taking advantage of them and showing the kids just what is all around the place they call home. Their project today was to find living things in a pond and then a stream. We had a great time but after lunch we were ALL wishing we were back at school taking a nap! It was a good day over all and the staff that went had a great time goofing off and being silly. Here's a few fun pics to look at. I'm now off to bed! Gute Nacht!


Me wading (and posing of course!) in the stream

Me, Rachel, & Emily

RIA staff and a few parents: Working hard or hardly working? ;)

RIA gets a new playground!

Our hard work and money raising finally paid off. Today our school was able to FINALLY play on our brand new playground! As of now we only have two pieces but sooner or later we should be adding more. The kids were ecstatic about having their very own playground in the school's backyard. I was ecstatic because for recess we've had to go to two other parks that aren't too far from school, but because of walking time, etc we've had to cut recess short so we could get back in time for other classes. It was so much fun to watch the kids play today and enjoy themselves! Of course I took lots of pictures and have added them below.

Staff Retreat in Kandern

This weekend the RIA staff took a retreat up to the mountains of Kandern, Germany. We stayed at a hostel that was on a horse ranch in the middle of the Black Forest. It was so much fun to get together w/everyone. We had a campfire the first night, rode horses on Saturday, and just had a great time being together. Catharine led us in some pretty great devotions and this morning Anne led us in a Spiritual Gifts test. Result for me: Exhortation tied w/Mercy & Prophecy! Those of you not familiar w/Spiritual Gifts I encourage you to go and google a test online and take it. They are pretty cool! We also had a sketch night last night led by yours truly. We acted out different scenarios around school and Germany which was HILARIOUS! Here are some pictures taken from the weekend. Enjoy!

Back at Truz!

Today the 1st-8th grade went back to our favorite gardening spot, Truz, just across the street from school. We dug up the weeds from the onions we planted last October, fed the goats on the farm, and took a walk to the Grenze. It was a lovely morning! Here are a few pictures via slideshow that I took today. Enjoy!

The truth about being prejudiced....

In 2nd/3rd grade we are doing a unit on Martin Luther King, Jr. Today in class we talked about people who are prejudiced and how they treat others. I explained the definition of what the word meant and then asked "Have any of you ever experienced prejudism?" (I totally spelled that wrong...oops!). From there, this is where the conversation went DISCLAIMER:Men, please do not be offended! haha!

Odile: I have

Me: Really? What happened?

Odile: Well, every night I have to unload the dishwasher and set the table for dinner.

Me (trying to contain laughter): Odile, that isn't prejudism, that is doing a chore and chores are something we have to live with for the rest of our life.

Odile: I know but my dad doesn't ever do anything!

Me: Yes, well most men don't do anything.

Virginia Tech Tragedy

I am speechless about this awful tragedy at VA Tech. It is all over the headlines in Europe and made the front page in our little newspaper here in Weil. I hope you are all praying for the families of those lost in this disaster. That is all. I'm completely overwhelmed and speechless at this horrible act of humanity...

Happy (LATE) Easter Picture

Here is a pic of me & the roomies Easter Sunday morning that I totally meant to post last week! We had a great Easter even though each of us missed being w/our families

A day at the Grenze

Anne & I are studying HARD for our upcoming German Driving Theory test. Today it was so beautiful outside that we couldn't bear to stay indoors and study all day. So we packed up some snacks, a blanket, and our study gear and biked down to the Grenze which is the land in between Germany & Switzerland. It is SO pretty there and we had a great study time (even though we didn't so hot on the practice tests). We took a nap in the sunshine and got some sun during our study break. Anyways, here are a few pics of our day and the beautiful Grenze. Oh yeah...the highlight of the day was when I went down to the edge of the water to slip my foot in and feel how cold the water was. I definitely slipped and fell bottom first into the water!!!! Ahh..just call me "Grace"!

Fun quotes from chapel today

I love our chapel's at RIA. Our kids get so into them as do the parents and staff. Today we talked about why we celebrated Easter and Kelly, who led chapel today, asked the kids "Does anyone know what Jesus did?" Well, Sam, one of the 1st graders piped up and said "Yes. He rose from the grave and got on a donkey and then road out w/all the people waving palm branches" So Kelly told him he was partly right but that he had gotten the story mixed up. Then, Kelly asked "Does anyone know how Jesus died?" (or something along the lines of that) and one of my 3rd graders, Marvin,who is most definitely learning English as a 2nd language, said "He got crossed!" The other teachers and I were doing our best not to laugh out loud but it was sooo cute!!

Anyways, just thought you'd all enjoy those little quips.

I am going to take some pictures of how gorgeous things are over here hopefully tomorrow! I have found this wonderful place across the street from the school called the Grenze which basically translated means "Piece of land divided by a border" or something like that. You can walk right into Switzerland and you come upon this beautiful stream/creek running through two sides of land. People frequent there for biking, jogging, reading along the banks, and walking their dogs. It is a great place to go and relax after a long day. I've also taken to riding my bike around there lately which is great.

I know I've been slack on the posts so please forgive me! 10 weeks left before school is out and I am busy, busy, busy!

Love you all!

Black Forest Fun

Yesterday Anne & I met up w/some friends of hers from the States who were touring Germany. We went to the quaint town of Titisee and went paddle boating after a WONDERFUL German lunch! We then drove to another town not far from Titisee and found the longest bobsled run in the world. It was more of a one person rollercoaster and SOOO much fun! Afterwards we drove around for hours trying to find the infamous Rheinfalls in Shaffhausen, Switzerland. We finally got there around 8pm! All of these places were in the middle of the Black Forest and SOOOO much fun! Enjoy the slideshow :)

Easter Weekend

Yes I'm still here. It's Spring Break this week and today is our Good Friday service at church. After church our friend Delice is coming back to Weil w/us and we're going to go to Laguna and play! Tomorrow we're going to Titisee, Germany where the infamous cuckoo clocks are made and also picking up a friend of Anne's who is in town. Sunday a few of us are getting together for Easter dinner after church and we have Monday off again. A whirlwind weekend but definitely having a great time! Just wanted to update to let everyone know I'm still alive and well :)