New Blog Site

I have expanded and moved my blog site to: http://alan.waldecker.net

More Picts

I wanted to show you a few more pictures of this church I preached at last Sunday. It's building dates from 1100-1600 in it's various sections. Sadly our digital camera doesn't work very well any more. It looks like my phone took better pictures last time!

Preaching in an Anglican Church

Today I preached in two Anglican churches in Cumbria (also known as the Lake District - about an hour north of us). It was my first time at an actual service of the Church of England. The two rural churches were about 5 miles apart. The picture here (taken on my cell phone, since I didn't have my camera with me) is of one of them, built....in 1180! There's actually a plaque on the wall with the list of pastors from 1180 to the present. It was fun - and a bit intimidating - standing up in a high pulpit that was built in the 1500's! I'll be back there in two weeks, and I'll try to remember to bring along my camera.

The second church was what is known as an Anglo-Catholic church - which means it's far more traditional, and retains a lot of Catholic influence. It was interesting, especially the "Holy Communion", which felt very Catholic. People "received the host" like you would in a Catholic church, and of course the poor Vicar had to drink all the remaining wine and eat all the remaining bread. But he seemed quite happy about it (for an 83 year old man)!

Surprise Anniversary

Melissa surprised us with a 25th wedding anniversary bash. It was hosted at the pub where she works, and she prepared the entire buffet meal (for 30+ people). It was a great time to celebrate with friends. Drew & Lissa prepared an embarrassing slide presentation of our life (old pictures can come back to haunt you!). And of course, there was LOTS of food. All in all, it was quite a fun evening!

Scottish Castle

While we were up in Scotland, we took a walk and ran across this magnificent castle. It was built in the early 1200's. I never get over the awesome history of places like this one.

Scotland

We spent about 10 days "farm-sitting" for a family up in Scotland. The kids especially enjoyed bottle feeding the lambs. And the peace and quiet was soothing. I even took the kids home for 3 days so Janie could soak it up alone. She had a smile on her face when we returned!

However, The Mini DID Die!

After spending a week up to my elbows in grease - a head gasket job - another blown head - a new replacement head - and another blown head - it became apparent that the engine block on the mini was cracked and beyond repair. So, she's off today to get a new engine put in her. Well, not exactly NEW, as they don't make these any more, but "another" engine. It was a lot of grease, a lot of time, a lot of frustration...but at least I learned a lot! Here comes the tow truck...got to go.

Summer Holidays

The summer holiday season officially kicked off here in the UK this weekend. I know it's a bit late for summer to start - but this is Europe, not America. The next 6 weeks finds a frenzy of family vacations - everyone seems to cram them in at the same time.

We have a holiday time away planned for August. We will be housitting for a family in Scotland - on a farm! I'll let you know how that goes.

And this week I plan to start some major work on Lissa's mini while she's in the US. I plan to change the head gasket. Anyone want to come and help? Anybody out there with a torque wrench? Help.....

Janie Passed (her driving test - she's not dead!)

Janie passed her driving exam this past Friday. Hooray! That makes us Waldecker's 3 for 3 on our first try. She can now drive legally. It took us just over a year, but we managed to get this huge hurdle behind us. Praise The Lord!!