On the ground in Croatia

Wednesday Evening:

We napped off and on during the overnight flight but with no real sleep. We were flying the German airline Lufthansa and they served a German breakfast of eggs, veal and spinach. Bill, Sally and Brian opted for the fruit cup but I like German food. This is my third time to fly Lufthansa to Europe and each time I have been impressed by their service.

We arrived safely in Frankfurt, Germany this morning about 9:00 a.m. or (2:00 a.m. in Amarillo). We had a three hour layover so we spent some time walking around the airport amazed at how little U.S. dollars will buy compared to the Euro. A cup of Hagan Das ice cream was 7 Eruos or about 11 dollars.

Just after noon we got on the flight to Zagreb. The best part of this leg was when the sky cleared over the Alps. It was a spectacular view of massive snow-capped peaks.

Thankfully we and our bags arrived in Zagreb on the same plane. We breezed through customs and Todd found us shortly. He and Lynn's home is only about 30 minutes from Zagreb just outside the village of Krapina.

The Dick's children, Seth, Abigail and Hannah were very happy to see us because we carried two large suitcases filled with toys, candy and clothes from the states in addition to all the other items given by our church family. Todd and Lynn were overwhelmed and deeply grateful as we presented them with the love offering from the church.

Lynn prepared us an elegant dinner and some strong coffee. After that and a quick shower, we piled in their two cars and drove an hour and half through the foothills of the Alps to another villiage where Todd pastors a church. Thankfully, I didn't have to preach tonight but gave a greeting from our church to our brothers and sisters here in Croatia.

My new friend and translator Mario translated Todd's message for me. I'm glad he did or I could have never stayed awake. This has nothing to do with Todd's preaching but the fact that I've not really slept in about 30 hours.

Todd asked Bill and I to sing one song at the end of the service. As tired as we were, we did it. The people seemed to enjoy it and wanted to know if we would sell them CD's. Ha! We give them away!

We drove the hour and a half home in darkness and I finally was able to hook my laptop into Todd's home network. So after writing this, I'm off to bed for some much needed sleep.

Soli Deo Gloria!