Week 14: Church in Switzerland

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On Saturday the 17th, Erin and I headed off to Switzerland and Germany for a mini vacation before flying back on the 22nd. We flew into Zurich and met up with the Bachmanns, a WELS family that live right outside of Zurich. Sigmund, the father, picked us up from the airport and drove us into town where we adventured around for a little bit. Here are some of the things we saw:

   

After venturing around for awhile, we took a train out to where the Bachmann’s live and Sigmund picked us up from the train station. From there we drove to their house, which is out in the country of Switzerland, on farmland. We met Sarah, whom I had been in contact before the trip, and the youngest brother, Tommy. On their farm, they have a few animals – a pony, a horse, bunnies, a dog, and probably more animals that I am forgetting to list… We had a DELICIOUS Swiss supper with different kinds of meats, cheeses (yes, even Swiss cheese), veggies, breads, and spices. We felt completely content after a meal like that. We had a nice visit with them and then headed off to bed after a long day of traveling!

The next day was Sunday and you know what that meant… CHURCH! Erin and I had never been more excited for church; sure, we had been to mass a few times and do daily devotions on our own or watch MLC chapel online, but there was something about ‘church’ that we were missing while in Ireland.

One of the things that Erin and I wanted to do while in Europe was get in touch with the WELS chaplain and attend one of the services held over here. Throughout the month, services are held in England, Germany, and Switzerland. It just so happened to work out that that weekend that we wanted to travel to Switzerland and Germany was the weekend that Pastor Bruss, the pastor filling the vacancy in Europe at the time, was going to be in Switzerland. So we contacted the Bachmann’s about coming to church and went from there!

Church was held inside the Bachmann’s house. They usually have a few families come from around the area, but the day we were there, it was just the Bachmann family. Sigmund and Sarah have 5 kids, 4 of which were at the service: Maria, Floran, Stefan, and Tommy. They have church every Sunday in their living/family room and when Pastor comes, they have communion. Here are some pictures of their house:

Sarah and Pastor chatting it up before the service. Sarah was preparing a fellowship meal for everyone after the service in the kitchen. 

The dining room. Their house was so festive in the Christmas spirit!

The living/family room where the church service was held. (Real candles on the Christmas tree that they light on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Epiphany.)

The church in Switzerland is small in size, but every member of that Bachmann family plays a huge role in the church. They all help get the service prepared, make the pastor feel welcome, cook the fellowship dinner, make sure the offering basket is out and the advent wreath candles lit. When we were singing in that living room, I felt like I was in a church of a hundred people singing Christmas hymns at the top of their lungs; heartful singing.

One thing Sarah pointed out to us while we were there was that every WELS church struggles with a different problem. The problem in Switzerland is that they don’t even have a church to go to; they have the service in their own home. Other churches may have problems deciding what time to hold services or what type of music should be played in the church. But in the grand scheme of things, does that really matter? We fuss over the little things, making them a big deal, stressing ourselves over it, forgetting our main motives for even going to church. When on the opposite side of the world, people are dealing with the struggle of not even having a church to worship in; nonetheless, they get excited every 3rd Sunday of the month because that’s when they actually get a pastor to come lead the service and give Communion.

When I look at the big picture, I realize how lucky I am to have a huge family of believers stretched across the globe. I am lucky to have a church to attend every Sunday, with someone guaranteed to lead the services every Sunday. I am lucky to have visited the church in Switzerland to realize the different struggles we face, but how those struggles are nothing compared to the life we will live eternally someday. I am lucky to have met and stayed with the Bachmanns and to watch and learn about what a servant-like heart really is. I am lucky to have my church mindset refreshed (still don’t like getting up early for church though…). I am lucky that there is so much to be thankful for!

The Bachmann family with Pastor Bruss –
(From left to right: Pastor Bruss, Floran, Tommy, Sigmund, Sarah, and Maria. Not pictured: Stefan, who played piano for the service)

 

Week 13: Our Final(s) Week(s)

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After our trip during Reading Week to Paris, Venice, and Rome, it was back to UL for the last two weeks of school. Finals run from December 3rd and continue through the 16th, with Erin and I having three days of finals, one each day. Our other classes had final portfolio projects or essays as the final assignment, so it was nice that we only had three tests to worry about.

Our first final, on December 6th, was Physiology of Muscle Movement that we took as a Kinesiology class for our PE major. It was 50% of our grade and all essay; overall, it wasn’t too bad! Next, Erin had her math final on that Friday the 9th. You can ask her how that one went… (just kidding it wasn’t that bad…I hope.) On Monday the 12th, I had my physics final that was 70% of my grade; all the painful studying paid off and the test was better than I thought it was going to be! Both our physics and math tests were a full 2 hours of solid work. Our final exam was the 13th, a 25 multiple choice question exam for our Physical Activity, Health, Growth and Development class. The test was a lot trickier than anticipated, so let’s just say we were excited to finish that one!

Tests are taken very seriously over here. All coats, backpacks, and belongings are kept outside the examination room. In all of the rooms we took exams in, there were close to 340 students inside the room, sitting at individual desks, with examiners walking up and down the aisles. They checked out IDs to make sure that they were valid and that we were actually ourselves; only certain types of pens and pencils are allowed, with strict rules on calculator types. Erin and I were surprised we didn’t have to walk through a metal detector to get into the room…

But in all seriousness, we are happy our tests went well and are excited that we are done with our first semester abroad in Ireland. I can remember going to class on the first day and thinking to myself, “I don’t know how I am going to do this and pass my classes.” Nevertheless, time took its course and God has truly blessed us in bringing us this far. Although we won’t know if we passed our finals and classes until the middle of January, we are thankful for the knowledge gained through those classes!

So the next couple days we are taking in as much Ireland as we can — spending time with Irish and international friends, eating some fish and chips and comforting Irish food, traveling into Limerick and down to Cork for some last minute shopping, and enjoying the culture in whatever adventures we go on.

On Saturday the 17th, Erin and I fly out to Zurich, Switzerland, where we will meet up with the WELS church there. From Zurich, we are bussing up to Munich, Germany, where we will enjoy some Christmas markets and our final days in Europe. We fly back to America on December 22nd; the song, “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” has never been more meaningful!

Week 12: Paris

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Hello beautiful people of the world!

Erin and I are a little behind on our blogs and vlogs, so we are going to try and catch you up on our lives! As finals rolled around, we had a week of for studying. The University of Limerick calls it “Reading Week.” But instead of studying for finals, we decided to take advantage of the week off and travel around.

First stop: Paris.

Hope you enjoy the video!

Link: HERE