Opa had a chance to take grandson Sean to a ball game, continuing a family tradition of three generations. (more…)

One reason why franchises do so well is that people get accustomed to a certain style, layout or taste – or a combination – and like going back to something familiar. That's the way it was when I attended church services today as a visitor in Dallas, Texas. (more…)

Actually, in my case it was 5 years of French. I was in an accelerated learning program in St. Louis, and we had foreign language instruction starting in the 5th grade. But after working with German for about 30 years, today my French would suffice to order a simple meal, and that is about it.

But did you ever ask someone whether he speaks a foreign language? The answer will differ, depending on whether you are talking to an American or a European. (more…)

When my daughter Rachel gave birth to her first child in 2001 about six weeks prior to my 50th birthday, a friend in Germany said, "You are a young grandpa." Well, actually I am a young "Opa", the German nickname for grandfather. (more…)

Well, it isn’t exactly my home – I am originally from St. Louis, Missouri. But since my first visit to Mobile 29 years ago the place has kind of grown on me. (more…)

My fellow UCG-Germany elder Alfred Riehle knows a little bit about life in the United States. As a soldier in the German army, the Bundeswehr, he was once stationed at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. (more…)

Yesterday I flew from Frankfurt to Cincinnati to attend the annual UCG conference. Fellow elder Alfred Riehle was on the same flight. Alfred is a German citizen, and I am American, so we went separate ways when we reached U.S. immigration at the Cincinnati airport. (more…)

To paraphrase an idiomatic expression, the last two days I have been "on the rail" visiting church members. Whenever possible, my means of transportation is the train, which enables me to make good use of my time. (Whether writing for my blog while on the train is a good use of time is another matter.) Yesterday the speed display on one ICE train I took inched up to 302 kmh (189 mph). Not bad, I thought – my grandson Sean would really like this! (more…)

I had my easy Sabbath today. I spoke in the Netherlands in the morning and in Germany in the afternoon. It was "easy" because I did not have to make an overnight trip. (more…)

We send our "Gute Nachrichten" to 18 European countries. This week we added another country to the list, and it didn't even exist 15 years ago. But then again, maybe we didn't add a new country after all! (more…)