Some of you know that James participated in the Tuscaloosa Sister Cities program to Schorndorf, Germany this summer. He spent ten days with a host family, and also took a side trip to Paris. Part of that deal is that the German's come to Tuscaloosa in October. Each American family has the option of hosting the German student that served as host to (James) in the summer. I must admit that when I encouraged J to apply for this trip, I wasn't considering this. Hosting someone in our home is way out of my comfort zone. I figured that we would not have to reciprocate. There would be somewhere else for Lukas to stay. Ummm...not exactly. James asked me if Lukas could/would stay with us. He really wanted to do this. I did not. I must be honest and say this is something I agreed to only for the love of my child. I did not want to let him down. So, for two weeks in October we had a visitor. A 15 year old German student from Schorndorf (actually Wylie). If you are wondering, the connection is through Mercedes.
It wasn't bad at all, really. The American host students planned most of the social events. James attended more parties in those two weeks than he has all year. There were even plans for dinner most evenings, although J opted out. He and Lukas stayed at home and we sat down to the family dinner. This is where we really got to know Lukas. Again, I am reminded how thankful I am that we have made a habit of supper together. It is where we talk and get to know each other.
Another Urban family thing we kept in place was Sunday morning church. This is just part of what we do. Our family has been attnding church together since the kids were born. We attend Riverwood Presbyterian, PCA. Lowell and I have been members for 24 years. This is our family. This is where we go to set our minds and hearts on that which is most important in our lives...our Lord Jesus Christ.
We took Lukas to church with us twice. On the first Sunday, I had no idea what he would think or do. Lowell and I didn't have any leading as to whether we should discuss the service first or just let Lukas observe and participate. So we didn't say anything. As I sat there the first Sunday morning, many thoughts were flying through my head. "I wonder if he knows the Lord's prayer?" "I wonder if he knows to stand and sing?" "I wonder if he knows what a sermon is, and since we have all male leadership, does he even know that we have not had a sermon yet?" And most of all, "Will he take communion?"
These thoughts caused me to reflect on my own experiences with the church. I suppose you would say I grew up in the Lutheran church. That is where I had my first communion, attended Bible school, sang Father Abraham and about Noah building an "Arkie". What was the name of that song, anyway? Rise and Shine?? I digress. Then there was a lapse in my church years until my mom became sick with cancer and began attending the Methodist church. Here I attended membership classes, memorized creeds and prayers, and joined the Methodist church. Just a few months later, my mother passed away. Another break in church until a wonderful friend of ours and mother of my best friend at the time invited me to the Presbyterian church. There I have stayed, although Lowell and I changed to the PCA when we moved to Tuscaloosa.
The thing is, though, I did have a background in the church. I was familiar with the order of the service, the hymns, and the Bible stories. As I thought about Lukas, I wondered...what if he has never been to church. Many German's stay away from the church. Most are Catholic or Lutheran. They have beautiful cathedrals yet they stay empty. Growing up in the Bible belt, I can't imagine what that might be like. I found myself thinking, why don't I ask everyone I know if they have even been to church. Not if they know the Gospel, just if they attend church. Surely if something is such an important part of my life I should be sharing it with everyone. My church family is awesome. Come and meet them sometime. If you do that you will surely come to know the goodness and mercy of Christ.
As it turns out, Lukas attends a Protestant church in Germany. They even went when James was staying with them but J did not attend because he knows not a word of German. Well, I think he knows about six now :-). I don't know the depth of Lukas' faith, but I am glad he has a foundation. I am glad he attended church with us and youth group with J in spite of the language barrier. I am proud of James for choosing to hang out with his family on several nights when they could have gone elsewhere. I think Lukas had a good time, and I enjoyed having him. No surprise, really. I am used to teens. They are much the same no matter what nationality. I also found that there were many more German phrases tucked away in my brain than I had remembered.
*So if you want to know why I ripped off Scarlet Simms' blog title, I found myself wondering what Lukas thought of our family. For two weeks he found himself "speaking Urban". We are who we are, I suppose. By the end of the two weeks, the house had returned to its usual messy state, we had to eat left overs on the run in order to make it to Friday night football games, and we were a bit tired and whiny. But all in all it was nice, and I am glad I agreed to do something out of my comfort zone for James. I hope Lukas will come back some time, and bring die ganze familie.
High school football season has drawn to an end. Fall is in the air and today Lowell and I went hiking to enjoy the crisp air. Here are a few pics of our afternoon hike at Lake Nichol. Behold the Glory of God.
