Posted by mountainmelody On 7/31/2008 07:03:00 AM 0 comments
Now I'm attending the Baptist World Youth Conference in Leipzig, Germany. I'm leading a family group and helping with the fringe program.

I have lots of pictures to post, but will have to wait until later when I can access them. I'll post them when I can!

Dresden

Posted by mountainmelody On 7/29/2008 11:20:00 AM 0 comments
We took the train to Dresden, Germany. It's a beautiful city! Many buildings here were destroyed in World War II, and have since been rebuilt.




We don't think everyone in Dresden dresses like this...

Terezin

Posted by mountainmelody On 7/27/2008 04:56:00 PM 1 comments
We rode standing up in a bus for an hour to get to Terezin, site of a Nazi concentration camp during World War II.10,000 people are buried in the cemetery in front of the small fortress.
Many of their bodies were removed from mass graves.
sign in the small fortress
dozens of people were crammed onto these bunks
artwork from children who stayed in the camp
names of some of the thousands of children in the camp
identification badges of a few of the victims
Many people died in this camp, but even more were transported from here to death camps such as Auschwitz. Our visit was a sobering experience.

On a different note, my internet access may be limited for the next several days. I'll post when I can.

conference

Posted by mountainmelody On 7/26/2008 12:12:00 PM 0 comments
It's difficult to describe all I learn and experience at events like this, so I won't attempt to do that here. Instead, I'll just show you a few glimpses into the week.

singing songs in different languages, including Yoruba
(sorry--I know it's not a very good picture)

watching people line up at a mic to speak to a resolution

working on our own resolution

meeting together

enjoying a reception at my school I also attended sessions about a Christian response to the Roma in Europe, Baptists in Palestine, Czech reformer Jan Hus, architecture in Baptist churches, professional women, and more. It was quite a week!

Praha

Posted by mountainmelody On 7/25/2008 12:58:00 PM 1 comments
I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to update much.
Things have been busy here--but very good!
Prague is as beautiful as always. It's cold and rainy, though--a big change from Alabama! Our guided tour of the city was canceled because of the weather. So I helped lead the group on our own tour. We didn't want to pass up the chance to go into the city!

Our hotel previously was home to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Yikes!

Everyone had fun touring the city.

I didn't make it here.

But I did make it here, when I stopped by school. Fun times!

more

Posted by mountainmelody On 7/23/2008 12:05:00 PM 1 comments
photos
blog

I'm sure you can find more out there by searching the web too.
Posted by mountainmelody On 7/23/2008 11:31:00 AM 0 comments
I'm still alive, just busy.

Everything's going well! More later--
Posted by mountainmelody On 7/21/2008 10:26:00 AM 0 comments
Members of our emerging leaders group come from all around the world. This map shows some of our locations:

Maybe you can imagine how refreshingly rich this makes our worship, our conversations—and almost everything else we do together.

More later!

made it!

Posted by mountainmelody On 7/20/2008 01:07:00 PM 0 comments
Since I left home, I’ve been through Detroit ...
Amsterdam...
(I wish I’d gotten a good picture of the “Hot Texas Whopper” Burger King was selling there, but a view out the window will have to do):

and now Prague—I dashed off the plane just in time for our opening dinner.

The dinner was wonderful—like a family reunion! These “emerging leaders” from around the world are remarkable people from whom I learn so much. I can already tell the week’s going to be full and rich!

And now, to end my adventures, I think I just may go here!

leavin' on a jet plane...

Posted by mountainmelody On 7/19/2008 04:16:00 PM 0 comments
I'm sitting in the airport, waiting to travel to Prague via Detroit and Amsterdam.

When I'm not busy in meetings, I hope to have some adventures throughout the Czech Republic and Germany, thanks to Lonely Planet and travel websites.

This will be one of my longest trips recently--16 days (17 if you count the 2 days it takes to get there, with the time change).

Wish me luck!
Posted by mountainmelody On 7/18/2008 10:58:00 PM 0 comments
I hope you like pictures of grass.
I guess you can figure out from this that I haven't left on my trip yet!
Posted by mountainmelody On 7/17/2008 07:32:00 PM 0 comments
My new computer is working well, but now I'm having trouble with my internet. I'll post more when I get a better connection, I guess.
:(

we're thankful for this in the summer...

Posted by mountainmelody On 7/16/2008 06:49:00 AM 1 comments
The American South is the most air-conditioned place in the world.

wish you were here

Posted by mountainmelody On 7/14/2008 06:10:00 AM 0 comments
...to pick delicious peaches, blueberries, and blackberries.
But since you're not, guess I'll have to eat them all myself!
Posted by mountainmelody On 7/13/2008 07:15:00 AM 0 comments
Last night I dreamed that someone hacked into my blog and changed all my entries.

But when I woke up and checked, everything looked fine.

Maybe I should change my password...

more old stuff

Posted by mountainmelody On 7/12/2008 08:42:00 AM 4 comments

Predictions I found from 1968 for "the next century":

  • Most transportation will be by air, with every family having an aircraft.
  • Weekend vacations on Mars and lunar spas may be almost ordinary.
  • With machines replacing most of the manual workers, leaving only about 10 percent of the population working, the importance of leisure time will soar.
  • Meal planning will be computerized by the week or month, with robot help in cooking, serving, housecleaning, and lawn care.
  • Color TV sets will become commonplace; new sizes ranging from billfold size to huge wall screens will be produced.
  • Picturephones (seeing the other party) will be in use.
  • It will be possible to talk to inanimate objects: phone home and turn off the oven, close the window, turn on the heat, leave a message, turn off the lights.
  • Libraries of knowledge will be stored in computers and will be available on instant call.
Posted by mountainmelody On 7/10/2008 05:45:00 PM 2 comments
Superfluous apostrophe? Misspelled word? Cheesy saying?
This church sign has it all! ;)

what I got with my economic stimulus payment (plus tax)

Posted by mountainmelody On 7/08/2008 08:39:00 PM 1 comments
I was going to just use the money toward gas, but my old laptop decided to stop working. So I guess the extra money came in handy!

weekend part 2

Posted by mountainmelody On 7/07/2008 06:14:00 AM 0 comments
hiking the trail at Rickwood Caverns
it was hard to take good pictures inside the cave
part of the cave is still "alive"
looking up while climbing one of the 365 steps in the cave
picnic lunch
stop-off at Sugar Creek Grocery
yum!

weekend part 1

Posted by mountainmelody On 7/06/2008 07:03:00 AM 1 comments
lots and lots of these

supper (sorry, no pictures)

my view of the concert at UAB (note to self: bring a chair next time)

today's pick

Posted by mountainmelody On 7/03/2008 12:04:00 PM 0 comments
Posted by mountainmelody On 7/02/2008 08:15:00 PM 1 comments
Posted by mountainmelody On 7/01/2008 08:17:00 PM 0 comments
I've gotten a little tired of taking pictures (or busy working on my dissertation?), so the ones I post may not be amazing. Still, they show the simple, beautiful scenes I get to see here all the time.

Be very jealous.

archive

followers