Lost in Zurich

On Wednesday I was asked to help drive some juniors to a college fair in Zurich, Switzerland. It was about an hour away. I was told I would have no responsibilies and I would be able to wander around downtown Zurich. This sounded wonderful, especially since my good friend CB was also going to be driving.

Only 2 vans were needed, not three, so I decided I would ride along with CB as Luke, the guidance counselor lead the way with his GPS. We found the hotel Marriott that the college fair was at and let the kids off. Then we were going to park in the parking garadge. Down we went, but the parking attendent would not let us park due to the size of our vans...so after a 16 point turn in not very much space we left the parking gardge with Luke and his GPS in the lead to find a place to park.

Soon we had to turn around again, but we were seperated from Luke. So without GPS or a map, CB and I tried hard to find a place to park. Soon we were lost in Zurich...for an hour an a half and were in a GETTO part of town then we got to the highway. I could have followed the signs home...but we didn't have the students so we needed to find the hotel again. So I started to PRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And suddenly we saw signs for downtown Zurich....and we followed them...and after a few turns...God brought us to the Marriott! Praise the LORD! I asked the parking attendent where we could park our HUGE van (which would be small in American terms) and he said around the building. So there we went and again prayed for a spot...and there one was that was easy to park in. Please notice the wonderful parall parking job CB did! Pretty Amazing.

The next day CB and another RA, Vangie, were in a school van and got side swiped by a HUGE logging truck and should have died...but lived to tell the story. If you would like to read about this story and see more pics of me then look at my friend, CB Watson's blog at www.cbwatson.blogspot.com to see more details.

Hide and Seek

On Friday night, we found the dorm rather empty. Girls were away for sports, they were at friends houses, or they were just out living the lives of teens. So the few girls that were around decided to play "Sardines," which is where you hide with the person when you find them.

The first person to hide was Becca. She listened closely to the boundaries and set off to hide while the rest of the group waited in the kitchen. Now to fully understand the "greatness" of her hiding spot, you need to know that Palmgarten dorm also houses the Janz Team (mission organization) headquarters and a German church. Between the dorm and the Janz Team offices are a set of double doors with a 6 inch space between them. This is where Becca chose to hide.

I was sitting out the first round, but after a LONG time, I too began the search. She was nowhere to be founds. Finally we had to make her clap so we could locate her in her secret hiding place. We played many rounds and had a great Friday night. Can I just say, being behinds a couch, or under a counter, or behind a door with ten teenagers is fairly entertaining and squishy!

A Black & White Affair

The Black Queen & the White Queen of the Chess Set

Friday was BFA's annual "Fall Party." The theme was "A Black & White Affair" and all of the students and staff came dressed in black & white costumes. It was fun to see the creative juices flowing. Some of the students preformed on stage in their outfits. From Palmgarten dorm we had an entire chess set that ended up winning the "Best of Show" award. It was good fun. I went as a maid.

Two Days in Luzern, Switzerland

After an eventful day at Strasbourgh, France, CB and I were ready for another country and more beautiful European scenery. So off we went in the RA car that we named Howee! We found Luzern, Switzerland without a problem...but finding our way around Luzern proved to be a problem. We were without a map and driving blindly. We happened to turn into the museum...which we wanted to see. So we went in case we never found it again!

After the delightful time learning about Swiss things we were ready for our packed lunches. So we walked to the lake the Luzern surrounds and had a lovely lunch enjoying the day, the lake, and the Alps in the background. Not too shabby! We liked the spot so much we had lunch there the next day and became friends with some ducks. CB took pity upon them and fed them some of her sandwich.

We then found a parking garage to store Howee. And off we went to explore downtown. The train station takes you right into the heart of the city. Next time, I think I might just take the train. We began the search for our hotel...yep it was in the pedestrian area where you could not drive...so we set out to find a closer parking garage. But we couldn't get out of our parking garage. We tried to pay the ticket with CB's creit card, but it didn't work, so I ran back to use mine, but I needed a pin number that I didn't have and finally I realized I had a 50 bill Swiss Frank (CHF). So I put my bill in there to pay my 4CHFs and thought I would get bills as change.....WRONG! I suddenly had 46CHF in change. Can I say my back hurt from carrying all fo the coins! But out of the parking garage we were! Finally we found a closer parking garage! But it was for another hotel...a fancy hotel! I had to use another CHF to get out of it and we never even parked! So we just took Howee back to where he was and carried our luggage a couple blocks to the hotel. It was nice and clean and very very small.

One of the coolest things about Luzern is the covered bridges. They are beautiful and have stories with pictures written on the inside of them. I have no idea what they were about since I can't read German!

We also wanted to see the Lion of Luzern. Ernest Hemingway called it the saddest piece of rock he had ever seen. It is amazing, but it was less so since it was being worked. But it is impressing and thought provoking.

Fianlly before we left Luzern, we drove around the area and found this quaint spot. The locals were swimming in the water. I couldn't resist putting my feet in the beautiful lake. What a rest to see God's amazing creation.

A Day in Strasbourgh, Franch

Last weekend was my first weekend off! My friend Carrie Beth (CB) also had the weekend off! Not yet overly tired we were ready to explore Europe...so we set our sights on Strasbourgh, France. It is a beautiful city that is right on the boarder of France and Germany. A river runs through the town and CB and I hopped a tour boat and got all of the historical information. I saw old, old buildings and the boat even went into a locke where water was either added or taken away to make the water level even with the water in the rest of the area.

There is a beautiful Cathedral. It was amazing to see this amazing artwork in the stained glass and even on the pulpit. It clearly points to Jesus Christ being the Savoir. The building was filled with history, but it made my heart sad to see so many lost people who need to hear about how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. There are many, many different booths to be used for confession when all people need to do is confess to Christ not to a priest.

After a quick lunch at a cafe on the street the weather changed and we needed to find a warm dry place to go as it rained outside. So we found the Strasbourgh Museum. There I was most interested in the shinny armor the knights and their horses wore. I even had the opportunity to try a helmet on. I am not sure how they were able to sword fight in those things! Too funny!

My Palmgarten Girls

Living in dorm with 26 teenage girls is bound to be full of adventrue and excitement. I have enjoyed getting to know each of the girls and they have truely been a blessing to me. One of my favorite things we do every Sunday eveing is have "Dorm Fellowship." It is a time to connect with each other. Sometimes we just hang out or play games. Other times we share what God is teaching us through the week and pray for eachother. But not matter what we always end with Sundays! Ice Cream Sundays on Sunday! What could be better? Not much!

Yesterday in "Dorm Fellowship" we sang some praise songs and then we splint into classes. Palmgarten only has sophmores, juniors, and seniors. I had the seniors and it was such a blessing to hear how this past week, spiritual emphis week, had an impact on them. One girl shared that she is learning how she needs to turn to God before she turns to her friends. Another spoke about her heart for her friend who is going through a tramatic experience. It is so awesome to see their desire to live for Christ and make a positive impact on those around them.

I have to say one of my favorite parts of my "job" is greeting the girls after school. Here Elva, the dorm Mom and I are greeting some of the girls. It is amazing the wonderful things you can learn about the life of a teen while they eat a snack or sit on a swing!

Move to Germany

It has been a while since I have written and for that I am sorry! But a lot has happened in the last month and a half. I have spent quality time in Ohio with my wonderful family which has included one of my nephew's first birthday and an all family camping trip. Then just days later I flew across the big, wide ocean into Basel, Switzerland. In this beautiful city on the Rhein River Switzerland, France, and Germany all come together. Here I am standing in downtown Basel. Note the very narrow buildings that are all connected in the background. People bought what they could afford. On this excursion to Basel, I ventured into a very old church and found John 3:16 written in German.

When I arrived at Black Forest Academy I had to go through 3 weeks of orientation to learn how to be a useful RA. One of the most important skills I learned was how to drive a stick shift van through the narrow streets of Europe and learn my way around the Kandern area of Germany. I was lucky enough to be with an amazing group of fellow RAs. Below is a group of us on Hoke Blauen (a hillside) where you can see France, Switzerland, and Germany. From this point we hiked down the hillside. I am in the middle center in the red shirt.

Then all of the RAs had a banquet to celebrate the beginning of a new year at Black Forest Academy. Here I am with CB (Carrie Beth) who was my roommate these first weeks. Even though we are not in the same dorm, we are excited to take some fun trip together.
Finally, I was assigned to my dorm. I am in Haus Palmgarten with is located in the beautiful village of Kandern, Germany. Palmgarten is a girls dorm. We have 26 amazing girls in 10-12th grades. Kandern is exactly what you would picture when you think of a small German town. The school is also located in in the village. I am so excited to experience this new year!

Eli's 1st Birthday

My nephew, Eli, just turned one this past week. He loved his cake! He got some sweet gifts and he even got a boat ride. What a lucky one-year-old! Life is good!

I had the privilege of having some amazing friends from Echo Ranch Bible Camp visit me a couple of weeks ago. Annie Rider (blond) has been a long time friend and a fellow Juneau roommate. She now lives in Chicago near her family. Caroline Cox (brunette) has been a counselor at Echo Ranch for 2 years and become a close friend. She is from Oxford, but was born on American soil, so she too is a fellow American!

Mishele & I

Here are Mishele and I at Lasson Volcano National Park. It is just an hour from her home in Northern, CA. It is beautiful, but very different from Alaska.

To California and Back Again

Well I have made a very quick trip to California to visit my wonderful friend Mishele and her family. She was the friend who MADE me fill out my BFA application...which is why I am leaving for Germany in one week from today on July 29. Enjoy the pics.

Kegan, Chance, & Bonnie in front of a sweet obstacle for Kegan's 9th Birthday Party!!

Day 4 Back in the USA

Hello everyone....well I had an intersting night....but lets start at the begining.

I sent an email out this morning since we were waiting on laundry in Calresholm, Alberta. Well we drove as fast we could. We only drove 500 miles today. I even got to drive today since we were crossing the boarder and it is my car and I rented the U-haul. So that was fun. I took over the car in Milk River, Alberta and drove until Great Falls, Montanna. You know I like Montanna between Great Falls and Helena. Beautiful in a different way than the rest of the countryside I have seen.

All is well and good, no major anything. Even at the boarder corssing into the US, they only wanted to know why I was moving from Alaska to Ohio. FAMILY-is my reason. Oh how I miss AK. Bonnie at the place where the ticks live!

Now around 5pm we are nearing Yellowstone...which we are excited about and we have made dad promise to let us go to Old Faithful and enjoy everything. Mom decided that is was time to find a hotel and we would enjoy the area and look at Yellowstone in the morning. I try to find wi-fi so I can hook up on priceline and get a cheap hotel...which I almost did for $50 but....then I lost my connection. So they went into this hotel at Chico Hot Springs. Which is nice and fancy. Mom and Dad got this one. So we enjoy the nicest hotel we have had...Dad wants to go hiking...so off we go. Then dad wants to go off the trail into the national forest....we started out seeing 2 mule deer (I got some good shots). And we just starting going up random hills and such. Good time until Mom gets frustrated and we decide to stay on the animal trails and not trek straight up the mountain (hill in AK terms). It was nice we got to see a rain storm coming in and we saw 5 more mule deer. Whoohoo. Aunt Nancy...mom and I think we should be bowhunters-if only it was always that easy to find the deer and they aren't afraid of humans...I might get a shot in!

Mom & Dad on the hike...with the ticks!

So all is well and good on the hike and we begin our desecnt. Dad notices a tick. Bad sign-note the forshadowing dark music. We come down and try to eat at the restraunt...it is a little fancy and we look way underdressed in our ERBC sweatshirts. When we finally get the menu we see that a meal is $25 not the $15 like we were hoping for. So we ordered appitizers and one meal...tasty prime rib! Yum...but we all 3 shared one steak. That was an experience. We Spallingers are just common folks and felt a bit out of place.

We thought it would be nice to take a dip in the hot tub...but not suits. However we did find a more normal restraunt...the Grill. Oh well!

Then we went back to the room and as we took off our sweatshirts we noticed....dunt, dunt, dunt....TICKS. Yes ticks everywhere. I think we found over 30 on sweatshirts, on pants, even underware, and hair...I mean everywhere. Dad is the only one who got bit. I was the least affected. Hummm...does that mean I am not sweet? If so I guess I am okay with that. So we just spent the last 2 hours looking over every inch of clothing we wore 2 or 3 times and trying to kill ticks and then we all showered. So gross! We did find that if you put VICKS on ticks they stop ticking! Whoohoo. Go Vicks. I love that stuff.

So we are finally ready for bed. Oh how I hope we are tick free

The Third Day of the Trip Down South

Wednesday June 4, 2008

Well, we have stopped for the night after just under 700 miles for the day. Right now we are in Claresholm, Alberta. It is south of Calgary and about 100 miles north of Montanna. It is 10:15 pm and we stopped for the night.

Mom & Dad and the empty & full trailers that we needed to switch!!

Now we did have a slow start...no I don't mean we slept in. That is impossible for my father who woke at 5am because it is light outside. We are up early and if you remember we had change the tires. Well the tire place was suppose to open at 7am, so we were there at 6:50 am, but really they opened at 8am. So we just sat in the car. Great way to start the day! After looking at the trailer, the tire people realized they only had one tire and we needed 2. They also realized that it was not the tires, but the trailer's axel or something was bent wrong so that it wore out the tires on the inside. So just after 8am we decided that it might be better to switch trailers...so we unpack and then pack it as it began to rain. We barely got everything back in, but my dad is an amaizng packer. Whoohoo Dad!

So we drove like crazy people from Fort St. Johns, BC to Clareshom, Alberta. It is actually almost the entire distance of the atlas map...or almost the total length of Alberta-up and down not sideways! Crazy. A Beautiful Waterfall

Dad did stop for some waterfalls and some rams...but other than that all of our scenery pics had to be taken out of the moving car window! Hello....sort of blurry. Anyhow, we are alive and my mom is watching Spaceballs, my dad is showering, and I am emailing you. Which, by the way means that it is late and my parents are going to bed...so Goodnight.

Day 2 of Bonnie's Trip

Tuesday June 3, 2008

Well....I have survived another day. We have seen tons of wildlife, starting with a bobcat, at least 3 moose, 5 black bear, about 8 bison, and counntless sheep. Those moose are ticky to catch in a photo espaiclly since my father, who has appointed himself as the sole driver, refuses to slow down! But we were making some good time today!

I woke early...and I mean early....like 5am and by 7am we were on the road. Can I just say it was good to leave that getto hotel in Watson Lake...GETTO! Dad is trying hard to set some kind of speeding record with a trailer. In his mind he believes that the trailer says 45 mph because he must drive faster than 45mph....more like 70mph with a sweet, very packed trailer. Can I just say my life flashed before my eyes a few times and I thought we were going to plummet off of the edge of a mountain. I quickly decided to trust the Lord and if I die, I get to go to heaven. I told dad, if he carshes he needs to crash good so we aren't just maimed....I prefer heaven to that! I know that is really dark, but it did help to be okay with the possibility, and I was even able to sleep. Mom, on the other hand, continued to announce the speed limit (in KM) every time there was a sign and tell Dad to slow down!! I heard that A LOT!

We made it to Fort St. Johns in BC by 5pm with time changes. However the tires on the U-Haul are bald...so.....we can't go beyond Fort St. Johns because our tires will prbably blow and cause a tragic accidnet which we would prefer to avoid...so we got into the U-Haul station right at 5pm and they will pay for new tires to be put on tommarrow at 7am. We became friends with the Morman U-Haul lady and dad and I sort of witnessed to her about Christ as she gave us Morman tracks. She was excited that I am going to be a missionary...ummm...not the same kind she is thinking. So I pray for the TRUTH of the Lord to surround Kim and she would see Christ for Who he is.

So here I sit in BC waiting for the next day to begin. I miss everyone and just for the record I had a cry free day...which means I try to avoid thinking about you all who I love!

Bonnie's Trip Down South...DAY 1

Here is what I wrote on the drive from Alaska to Ohio.

Day 1 Monday June 2, 2008

Well....we made it on the ferrry. We were at the ferry termianl at 4:45am. Yep, I love that early wake up. As we went past camp I was so sad to think that all of my friends were just "over there" and here I am going away. But my parents are alway entertaining and making friends with random people on the ferry. So that was good. We saw Gary and Juanita in Haines and they gave us some tasty treats. Then off the Skagway.

Bonnie's Last View of Echo Ranch Bible Camp

The only car problem we had is the parking break getting stuck as we drove off of the ferry! Opps! But that is okay. We started driving and we saw a black bear and her 2 cubs in between the US & Canadian boarder. So that is pretty cool. The boarder crossing was easy. I drove to the Yukon sign. Then dad took the wheel...can I just say we were CRUZING!! So we have made it to Watson Lake. We had supper at 9:45pm and are in a sketchy hotel. The one Cathy Watson, my roommate, recommended was full up. So this nice new "rennovated" hotel is getto. Mom and Dad keep having a fit at how special it is....hmmmm...maybe camping would have been cleaner. Anyhow, not to much else. Nothing amazingly funny..but if anything happens...you will be the first to know.

Jueanu Goodbye Party

Well, it is time for me to think about leaving Juenau as I have less than 10 days in Alaska left....so sad to me. I love Alaska and all of my wonderful friend. But I look on with great joy at what God has next for me...GERMANY. I will be an resident assistant in a dorm of high school students at Black Forest Academy. It will be great.

Check out some of the fun photos from my goodbye party at Auke Rec. Thanks Crystal Ross for planing this!

Pinic on an Iceberg!

Look, I have made it to the Glacier. I love the SUNSHINE!

On Wednesday April 4th I went snowshoeing across Mendenhall Lake to Mendenhall Glacier. I went with my friends (former Echo Ranch Staff) Mishele and Chance Rhein. The Rhein family recently moved to Northern California, but Chance needed to return for 3rd grade home school testing. After we got out to the face of the Glacier we found a nice iceberg and had a picnic. Above you can see Chance and Mishele enjoying their meal with the glacier as a back drop.

Mishele and I are having a good time snowshoeing across the lake. We also enjoyed a snowball fight with Chance. It is possible to run on snow shoes! It was a wonderful day of adventure!

Tuesday Night Youth Group

This week at youth group I was in charge of the game. So I subjected the teens to "The Tarp Game." I used my sweet Echo Ranch skills to teach some team building concepts. Look at how good they are at flipping the tarp without using their hands. So fun.

Another fun part of youth group is our small group time. Here we are discussing things like cannonicity of the Bible. I know "light stuff." But the kids are excited to learn how we know the Bible is really God's word and how the early church decided what was to be included in the Bible.

Sunshine Time!!

This month I had the opportunity to go to Cabo San Lucas in Baja Mexico. It is on the very tip of the Baja peninsula, which is below the Tropic of Cancer! It is where the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean meet. It was nice & sunny with 80 degree weather. I went with my good friend Crystal and her mom (also a friend) Debbie. We had a great time. It was wonderful to get a little vitamin D from the sunshine. Below is a picture of Crystal and I on a "glass bottom boat tour." The glass bottom was a joke. It was some plexi glass and you couldn't really see anything. We did have fun though going around "Land's End" to see the Pacific Ocean.

We enjoyed getting out of Cabo and seeing some of the local towns like Toto Santos and La Paz. We were beach combing fools looking for sweet shells and such.

The coolest thing I had the opportunity to do was go para sailing. It was so sweet to be high above the the rock formations at "Land's End." It was so fun and it felt like I was in a giant rocking chair high above the sea. So cool and relaxing.

Update of the Last 2 Months

Well it has been a while...in fact it has been a ridiculous amount of time!! Almost two complete months. So I will give a brief update on the happenings of Bonnie's life:

I was able to be in Ohio for Christmas with the family. What a fun time. Especially for my nephew Julian. He was slightly overwhelmed at everything, but he had a great time.

As a gift for my parents, specifically my Mom, we (the kids) decided that we would re-do a room. It was sort of like "While You Were Out," except we sent my Mom to work...no where fancy. We painted and decorated the stairway, the room at the top of the stairs, and a hallway. Yikes...that might have been a bit more than we bargained for. Then we found old windows from the house (it is well over 100 years old) and thought that we should hang them (which still needs to be done) and use them as picture frames. So we had my brother Caleb's friend named Caleb take some sweet shots of the family.

This is my favorite picture of the 4 of us kids: Ann, Steve, Bonnie and we are holding Caleb. What a goof ball.

My family also had some sweet bonding time in Chicago. We enjoyed time in the Museum of Science and Industry. There we saw a Christmas tree from each country. That was a lot of Christmas Trees. We also had some good BBQ at the BeBop Cafe. Tasty!

Check out this crazy crew!

When I was home I was also able to be at my Grandma Stemen's 80th birthday on January 3rd. Pretty sweet to have such a good, long life. Grandma figured she only turns 80 once so she was going to have some fried ice cream for dessert! And she even shared!

One of the last things I did when I was "Down South" was go to Michigan for the annual Echo Ranch Reunion. What a great time. There were 28 people in the farm house of Mike Zook, a former camp counselor. Good times and great memories. I am excited to see who of this crew will return to work at Echo Ranch in 2007.

Since I have been back in Juneau, I have been busy working on various things for the camp...like emailing possible counselors, sending out emails to campers, sending out prayer letters, hanging out with teens, doing a girls Bible study, and planning for the summer of 2007 at Echo Ranch Bible Camp!! Sorry it took so long for me to update you!