Jernigan | Tales From The Black Forest

Posts Tagged ‘Jernigan’

December 25th, 2010

A Long Awaited Post and Merry Christmas!

Written by Israel Filed under: BFA, Christmas, Culture, Life, Prayer, Travel, Work & School

Well right now we are staying warm inside on a very snowy white Christmas! Dani is trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube (starting from the solved position) and I built a two-seater car. We are really glad to have some time to ourselves and to have a short break.

My dad and Raina just left from being here for about 10 days. We went to France, Switzerland, and of course Germany. They wanted to see all of Europe, but that wasn’t going to happen. We both miss having family here for the holiday seasons. Christmas is amazing here, but it isn’t the the same without family.

Dani solving the Rubix Cube, from the end.

Israel making a two-seater car.

The Past Months

So I’m going to try and recap our last two or so months here in Kandern, Germany. We’ve had some really great experiences and some not so good ones, from working in the dorms during Thanksgiving, to having the car break down on our way back to Germany.

Herbstmesse

This is the fall festival/fair that happens at various places around the area. Pretty much everything is closed except food and rides. The school takes a day trip to Basel for all the students to be able to take part in the festivities. It was pretty crazy seeing all the rides. It was like a little carnival. But the big hit at Herbstmesse every year are the bumper cars. I guess those are always popular no matter where you are. You can see the pictures here → Herbstmesse Gallery.

Thanksgiving in Germany

So, of course, there is no Thanksgiving celebration in Germany. (I wonder why?) But the school and the individual dorms celebrate the event during the month of November. At the dorm we substitute at, Blauen, we helped prepare the food and get ready for the meal. It was a great evening with the girls at the dorm, and with the other couples who help, at the dorm, as well. You can see the pictures here → Blauen Thanskgiving Gallery.

Storch Dorm

So Dani and I also go visit a few of the other dorms. One of those is Storchenblick, or Storch for short. I had to get our car worked on after the first freeze. The driver’s side door decided to not unlock anymore, and we also hadn’t put our snow tires on the car. So, one of the girls at Storch, who speaks German, helped me translate at the local auto-shop, Auto Brehm. We got our car back a few days ago, with new locks/keys and tires. Yeah! I also took a mid-semester group picture for them. You can see the pictures here → Storch Group Gallery.

Christmas Banquet

The school has a few banquets during the fall semester, and one of the biggest is the Christmas Banquet. This years theme was a Masquerade Ball, and the Student Council decide to just do desserts instead of a full meal. It was alot of fun, and there were some great skits that happened. The school grants wishes every year that the students submit, and one of those was for all the Korean guys to go up and sing on stage. Needless to say it was hilarious, and not all the guys knew what they were getting into. You can see the pictures here → Christmas Banquet Gallery.

Last But Not Least, The Visit

So my dad and my youngest sister, Raina, came to visit us for about 10 days. They wanted to see everything in Europe. We are not that adventurous, or capable. So we ended up visiting just a few places. We went to a castle, Haut-Kœnigsbourg, and a cute little village called Riquewihr in France. They walked around Lörrach (without us). And had a few days to walk around in Kandern Germany. We then went to Adelboden, Switzerland and skied the Alps. And then on the next to last day took a train and visited a few towns on the way to the Christmas Market in Freiburg, Germany.

So, Coming Back From Switzerland

We were driving along, minding our own business, when all of a sudden the engine light comes on, and the car starts overheating! Seconds wizzed by, and moments later…Okay, ignore the melodrama. We did end up getting stranded in Heimburg-Bern, Switzerland for about 5 hours more than we had planned. The radiator had overheated. It was too late in the evening to find help, and we had no cell-phones. So after looking for possible solutions Dani and Raina found a wireless signal without a password, which is illegal in Germany. (I’m not sure about Switzerland.) And we used the wireless internet, the laptops we had, and cell phones to find help.

We were eventually able to Facebook, make Google calls and email our way into finding someone to pick us up and call for help for the car. We found our way to a McDonalds, had some food, and our ride picked us up and took us back home. It was a crazy unexpected twist that taught me that I will have to look into getting a cell phone plan here if I’m’ going to be doing some more driving. We all went home exhausted and overwhelmed since this was two days before they went back home.

‘Tis the Season

So overall we’ve had a good first semester. It’s been much more difficult then we expected. And there have been plenty of unexpected challenges along the way. We’ve learned alot about the trials of marriage, living in another culture/language, and developing a new life in a new world. We love it here. But are learning that it’s not always easy: like getting stuck in Switzerland.

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Drive safe, and always wear your seat belts. We love you all, and are very thankful for the gifts and prayers that have been sent our way.

- Israel and Dani

Tags: Castle, Christmas, Family, France, Germany, Herbstmesse, Jernigan, Kandern, Life, Missionaries, Missionary Kids, Photos, Seasons, Storch, Switzerland, Thanksgiving, work

May 2nd, 2010

The HashBrown Wedding

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Written by Dani Filed under: Family, Life, Travel

Hannah Jernigan married Ashley Brown on April 3rd, 2010 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. It was a Hash-Brown Wedding. Get it? Get it?! Just in case you don’t, Hannah + Ash Brown = Hash Brown.

We spent several lovely days hanging out with the family in Oklahoma. There were quite a few Aussie’s there. Apparently in Australia, you spell it Auzzie, but in America you spell it Aussie. Anyway, we got to hang out with Ash, his parents, his best childhood friend Johnny and his wife Kareta, and Ash’s other groomsman Byron and his girlfriend Karina. In case you missed it, that was Kareta and Karina. Not at all confusing. Anyway, it was lovely getting to know these folks.

Here are a few interesting things we learned.

Aussies/Auzzies put beets on their hamburgers. They also butter the buns. Not sure if that was the inside or outside of the bun.
Even though we technically speak the same language, we have trouble communicating. Johnny in particular is rather difficult to understand. Apparently, Johnny’s Australian accent is rather like our Southern accent. So between our southern accents and his, I had to ask Johnny to repeat himself quite a bit. A few word translations from Auzzie to American. I must admit that some of these I looked up online, because I couldn’t remember them all…..er.
- nappy – diaper
- sheila – mom/woman
- cuppa – cup of coffee
- biscuit – cookies
- arvo – afternoon
- bonnet – hood of the car
- boot – trunk of the car
- chook – chicken
- lolly – candy
- lolly water – soda
- jumper – sweater
- have a yarn – talk to someone
- Good Onya – good for you, yeah, etc
- Oz – Australia
- reckon – think
- ring – phone
- snag – sausage
A mud-map is a map that you draw on random pieces of paper, in the dirt, etc. Israel just told me this. Apparently I missed the mud-map. Israel is very excited about the mud-maps.
Everything is much more expensive in Australia. For example, apparently it costs at least $30 for one person to eat out at a restaurant. However, you also get paid a lot more, like $20 a hour, to start.
Things are much bigger and sweeter in the US than they are in Australia. That’s why we’re all fat. We went to P.F. Changs one night, and the dessert tray was displayed. The Aussies kept saying, “But you don’t really get all of that dessert do you?” Yes, you really get the whole Great Wall of Chocolate. For only $5. It’s only 1,883 calories. Come to America. Become obese with us.

Okay, enough of the America/Australia comparisons.

While we were in Muskogee we shot guns (a very Oklahoma thing to do), sat in the hot tub for far too long, had a hen and stag night (bachelor and bachelorette party), went to Tulsa far too many times, stayed up way too late, and drank too much coffee. We also took the Aussies to all of the great spots in Muskogee. Like Walmart. And the mall. Very exciting. One day, while we were in Tulsa, we even went to the Center of the Universe. Really. It’s on Google.

Unlike my wedding weekend, which was absolutely crazy because my sister and I decided to get married on the same weekend, two days apart, in two different cities, Hannah’s wedding weekend was wonderfully relaxed and enjoyable. We were able to take our time, enjoy each other’s company and really savor everything. I loved it.

The ceremony was beautiful and heartfelt. The reception was fun and flew by. And before we knew it, the newlyweds were off to their honeymoon in Colorado, where Ash saw snow for the first time!

Hannah and Ash headed back to Australia about a week after the wedding. We have no idea when we’ll see them again, hopefully soon. Maybe they’ll take a trip to Europe, or we can make it down under.

Congratulations Hash! We’re glad your 15 month engagement is finally over! We love you and were honored to be a part of your day.

Oh! I almost forgot to tell you about the stair fiasco. Hannah and Ash got married in a lodge that’s right down the road from the Jernigan’s home. Everything happened in this lodge—the ceremony, food prep, reception, etc. So, before the wedding, I was running a few things back and forth to the groomsmen. I had just pinned Ash’s shirt and was heading back downstairs when I learned there was a back stairway. Since the main stairway was where the ceremony was happening, I went down the kitchen stairs instead. The six inch wide kitchen stairs that had gaping spaces. In my heels. While holding two hands worth of stuff. While wearing a dress. I’m sure you can imagine what happened. My heel slipped through the back of the stairs. I fell down quite a few steps and couldn’t stop myself since my hands were full. I dropped everything I was holding—wallet, iphone, water bottle, camera. I’m pretty sure the entire kitchen staff saw more of me than they ever intended to. As I was falling I thought, I’m going to break my ankle and have to go to the hospital, and I’ll ruin Hannah’s wedding.

Fortunately I didn’t break my ankle. But it did hurt quite a bit. And my pride was severely damaged. After I managed to hobble from the kitchen, I found Israel and told him that I fell down the stairs, to which he appropriately replied, “Noooo!” Then I cried. Because my ankle hurt, and my butt hurt, and everyone saw, and I didn’t plan to fall down the stairs! The next day I had a lovely dollar sized bruise on my butt that proceeded to go through several lovely shades of purple, black, blue and yellow. How exciting.

: Hannah and Her Flowers{|}

: Courtney, as She's Never Been Before{|}

: Cricket, the Tiny Tiny Dog.{|}

: Mommas{|}

: Ezra{|}

: Grandma Sheila{|}

: Galen{|}

: Annette, Ash's Mom{|}

: The Hair Stylist{|}

: Dani{|}

: Israel being the Emcee{|}

Tags: Hannah, Jernigan, Wedding

April 30th, 2010

29 Days Since

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Written by Dani Filed under: Family, Life, Spiritual Journey, Support, Travel

Well, it’s been another month since our last blog post. The five sentence post previous to this one doesn’t count, obviously. Usually, not posting for a month means that nothing exciting has happened, which is kind of the case here. Not much has happened on the support side of things.

Because I know you’re all dying to know, I’ll give you a brief overview of what’s been going on for us in April. Ready?

April 1st happened.

We knew it would eventually—the looming, self-imposed deadline. When April rolled around, we found ourselves not at 100% or even 80% of our monthly support, but at 53%. Well, it’s better than 25%. Moving on.

Hannah got married. Israel’s lovely sister Hannah married her beloved Australian beau on April 3rd. A wonderful time was had by all. Also, 20 minutes before the wedding, I fell down half a flight of stairs. More on that in a later post.

The Bride

We moved. From November through March, we were living with the wonderful Luke and Ashley. Here’s a bit of info about these two. First, they are pregnant with their first child. In case you didn’t know, that’s a big deal. They found out they were pregnant a few weeks before we moved in, but still graciously opened up their home to us. Second, they bought and moved into their first home while we were living with them. Also a big deal. Third, they have two relatively new dogs. For some, this may not be a life-changing occurrence, but when one of your dogs is a separation-anxiety prone Weimaraner who like to use knives as chew toys, break dishes and eat 100 pieces of chocolate at a time, it can be rather stressful. So, in order for let Luke and Ashley to properly settle into their new home and prepare for their upcoming baby, we moved in with some other friends.

We are currently living with Josh and Margo in a town about 30 minutes south of Fayetteville. They live on a small farm, which is why you may have heard us mention snakes and missing kid goats. That’s all I’m going to tell you about the farm until we post more later.

Am I annoying anyone with my blatant withholding of information? I don’t want to ruin our upcoming posts!

When we moved in with Josh and Margo, they went to Hawaii for two weeks. After four months of living with another couple and seven months of traveling and sleeping on air mattresses in other people’s living rooms, we got to be alone. Oh glorious solitude. I do need my alone time and when I don’t get it, I tend to seclude myself in my room, which feels a little anti-social when all the other people in our house are chatting in the living room. Anyway, our two weeks of alone time also coincided with two weeks of disappointment and discouragement about not being in Germany yet.

Last week, we traveled to Texas again to visit some of my family that was in town. We spent about a week hanging out with the fam, playing games, eating too much and hold Addy, my cousin’s miracle baby. More on this in another post.

Addy and Her Momma

There you go. That’s what’s happened since April 1st.

Our monthly support hasn’t really budged at all, partly due to our lack of effort. It’s been hard to get back up and press on with our support raising. I had a rather profound and encouraging thought earlier today about support raising and God’s plan and such, but I can’t remember it now…. I’ll let you know if I do.

We’re still at 53% of our monthly amount, but we’ve seen a lot of one-time gifts come in this month, about $5,000 worth. This puts us over our required start-up money. We’re still waiting to hear back from two churches regarding monthly support. This Sunday we’re also heading back down to Texas to speak in the evening service at the First Baptist Church of Bonham. Pray that God softens the hearts of the congregation there so that they connect with us (this is not a church either of us have attended), see the importance of loving missionary kids and want to give! We’re hoping to find a few new monthly supporters here.

I think we’ve both had a hard time not giving up. We’ve gone through most of the people on our list of potential supporters and don’t feel very optimistic about proceeding. After working so hard for the last few months, it’s hard to believe that we’ll actually make it to the point where we can leave. The past couple days, I’ve found myself in the same mental state I was in a year ago, questioning whether God answers pray and is good. But, I’ve been reminded that God isn’t a formula. I can’t do A and B and expect God to answer with C. I know there’s a plan within all of this, and I can see the benefit of our months of support raising. God not answering my prayers in my timing doesn’t mean that he doesn’t love me or have good things for me. Sigh. Shouldn’t I be past these things already?

And just in case you’re wondering what in the world the blog header has to do this post, not much. Those oranges were in the juice the morning of Hannah’s wedding. I always feel pressure, from some unnamed person who shares my last name, to use an image in the header, and usually I have no idea what to put there. Hence the oranges.

Tags: 53%, Ashely, baby, Family, Germany, Hannah, Jernigan, moving, Muskogee, oklahoma, Spiritual Journey, Support, Texas, Thornton, Travel, Wedding

October 6th, 2009

Can You Feel the Love?

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Written by Dani Filed under: Family, Life, Travel

After returning from Telephone, Israel had a short three days work-week before we headed to the Jernigan home in Muskogee. We spent three days with the family in Muskogee. Hannah and Ash arrived from Australia on September 24th. Besides the few hours we saw them before heading to Telephone, we hadn’t seen them at all. And since we’d never met Ash, it was very important that we get to know him. Israel is the older brother, after all.

Friday morning, Hannah and Ash got up bright and early so I could do their engagement photos. It was very chilly and dewy around the Jernigan property, but they were brave and agreed to lay on wet hay bales and grass. I’m so glad they did, because their photos are awesome! So far, my favorite shoots have been in fields early in the morning. Actually, they’ve all been with family members too. I love the mood of Hannah and Ash’s photos. The Jernigans have five to seven horses (I don’t remember the exact number), and at one point, they all decided to get in on the photos. I was quite thrilled. Horses! In photos! Yes! But Hannah thought it would make her look really Oklahoma country. She was totally wrong. I don’t think it’s possible for Hannah to look like an Oklahoma country girl. And there’s no way anyone would think that of Ash.

Friday night we went to the high school football game to see Israel’s twin brothers, Asa and Ezra, play in the band. I paid absolutely no attention to the game. I thought we were winning for quite a while, but we weren’t. We lost. By a lot. But, during the massacre, we played with our brand new video camera and ate funnel cake. I love food. Can you tell?

Saturday we did some family photos. There are now 14 people in the Jernigan family. 14. That’s a lot of people to have look good at the same time. Surprisingly, there were actually some really good photos of the whole fam. Once we split up into smaller groups however….

That afternoon we headed to Tulsa. The girls went to Hannah’s lingerie party. The boys went to the state fair where they watched pig racing and ate chocolate covered bacon. We all met up at P.F. Changs for dinner that night with some family friends. Jernigan, party of 18? Our poor waiter.

Sunday was filled with church and family. We always go to Grandma Jernigan’s house for lunch on Sundays. We stayed for the evening service to see Hannah and Ash lead worship. The whole service was awesome. I’m so glad we stayed.

It was really hard to leave. We won’t see Hannah and Ash again until their wedding in April. We love Ash. He’s absolutely perfect for Hannah. He’s very funny, very intentional and very loving. Plus, he’s Australian, which ups his cool level by like 47%. Israel even started to pick up his accent, Oh Israel. Seeing Hannah was really great for me. She’s so encouraging and has such a sense of purpose. I was reminded of how I want to live my life—with purpose—and that I want to speak words that are uplifting and bring hope to those who hear them.

You’ve got to check out these photos. Seriously.