Mini Ainslie family vaca...

We were so blessed to see Paul’s younger brother Alex who flew to Germany last week for a visit during his Spring Break.  It was kind of a last minute trip, but it was cool how the Lord worked out all the details and provided an unexpected financial gift from a friend which enabled us to rent a car and secure reservations at some hostels along the way. 

We were able to spend some quality time with Alex AND see some of Europe that is right out our back door.   We had an awesome week of conversations, laughs, travel and of course blazing trails in Europa (aka getting lost...lol)!   Alex flew into Amsterdam (a two hour drive from our house) on Monday and we spent the day in the city.  We visited the Anne Frank Haus and saw the annex where she and her family spent about 4 years in hiding during World War II and the Nazi rule in Germany.

Anne Franks House

        

One of the many canals in Amsterdam

Paul and Alex

Tuesday we traveled south down the beautiful Rhine river in Germany...we saw lots of castles and cute little towns. Everything around the Rhine is very old and charming. We spent the night in a hostel that used to be a castle in the city of Bacharach.  Hostels in Europe are the way to go.  They meet your basic needs and are generally inexpensive.

View from the Marksburg

View of the city of Cochem

Paul and Alex in the Marksburg Castle

On the ferry

Our Hostel on the Rhine

 

Little village we went by on the ferry

Wednesday we drove down the "Romance Road" to the Neuschwanstien Castle. Neuschwanstien Castle is the most epic, fairy-tale castle one could imagine!  It was built by King Ludwig of Bavaria. He was a frustrated romantic who loved all things theatrical.  His closest friends were opera writers and composers. He was obsessed with swans, which was an old crest of that area of Bavaria. Walt Disney modeled the Disney castle after the Neuschwanstien. It was truly a fabulous place tucked up in the Alps. Not gonna lie...totally have a new liking for swans.

Thursday we roamed about the city of Salzburg, Austria, another gorgeous place on the planet.  The city is remotely small but it has lots of history. The Sound of Music was filmed on location in and around Salzburg.  It was cool walking through some of the scenes. Surrounded by the Alps, the city boasts breathtaking views, a cathedral, catacombs, fortified castle….not to mention it is the home of Mozart. 

We spent two nights at the Schloss in Spittal, Austria.  It was bought by Calvary Chapel some years ago and is now a Bible College and Conference center.  The Schloss is actually a castle on the side of a mountain looking out on the Alps.  Again, pretty awesome setting. We really enjoyed meeting the students and staff and the accommodations were very nice and affordable.

Milstat

The Schloss

Hobbit door

Friday, we drove just a little further south to another breathtaking city…Venice, Italy.  This city is amazing in every detail!  The staff at the Bible College gave us some really helpful tips and we had an awesome day.  The weather was warm and breezy and we could smell Italian food on every street….perfect for Paul and Alex.  Walking around and just taking in the sights is easy in Venice.  We took a water taxi down the Grand Canal, wandered through little alleys and over little bridges….it was delightful.  We also, seriously, ate THE best calzone we’ve ever tasted in our lives in Venice…..so good that words cannot describe it!

Saturday we headed north and back to Münster by way of Münich. We arrived just in time to see the Glockenspiel ring at noon. A Glockenspiel is a large music box of sorts. While bells rings out a melody the little people and horses dance and twirl. It is really neat! 

                                                                       

Arriving back home in Münsterland late Saturday night we just felt so blessed to have been able to take such a sweet trip.  The Lord just provided everything we needed in such an unexpected way.  After such a great week, we were excited to get back to our church family in Munster and introduce Alex to everyone.   The Sunday service was wonderful and everyone was so happy to welcome Alex. We spent the afternoon showing Alex the downtown area of Munster and then went to Chris and Nada’s for supper later in the day. Monday morning we dropped Alex off at the Amsterdam airport for his flight home to Washington State.  Although we were sad to have to say goodbye, we were so happy to have been blessed with such an amazing week together.  We praise the Lord for His abundant blessings in all things!

Shalom

Va Task Force and Visas

Hey Everyone,

Sorry for the lack of updates the past two weeks...we were out of town all last week since Paul's brother Alex was here in Germany for a visit. I will write more about our visit with him in the next post. 

We want to thank you so much for your continued prayers.  The Lord has been so faithful!  As you know, Japan suffered a devastating earthquake March 11, 2011.  I had sent out a wide-spread prayer request for my dad and the Virginia Task Force 1 team from Fairfax County.  Thank you to all of you who communicated your concern and told us you were praying.  I am thankful to report that the team arrived home safe and sound last weekend after a week in Japan.  Although, they were unable to locate any survivors, they did learn a lot about tsunami-type disasters which may help in the future if they are deployed again to a similar disaster.  My dad was pretty sad that they were not able to save lives, but felt that the teams from the U.S. had encouraged the Japanese in their hour of deepest grief by offering their support and making such an effort to come alongside them.  I will post some pictures from my dad once he gets them.  We will be keeping Japan in our prayers for a really long time. 

On a personal note…..we got our visas!!! We went into the customs office yesterday morning and to our surprise we were both issued work visas! And just in time...Paul's first day of work will be on Monday, April 11th. My visa is specifically to work for CC Münster,  but if I find a job here that fits the criteria then I would be able to work as well. The Lord is so faithful!! And thank you all for your faithful prayers! It’s amazing how God answers them!  We are just so thrilled that with Paul’s earnings, more of your financial support will be able to go directly into the ministry!! 

Shalom

Please be praying...

As many of you know my Dad (Joe Kaleda) is a Captain of the Fire Department in Fairfax County Virginia and is also one of the leaders of USAID VA Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue. He and his team were deployed and are now in Japan in response to the earthquake and tsunami that happened there. They were joined by the LA Task Force and also a British Search and Rescue Team. They are an elite team of trained men and women and have been on many missions before, such as New Zealand, Haiti, Turkey etc. Currently they are in the devastated coastal town of Ofunato searching for survivors. This mission has new challenges and safety issues such as aftershocks, threats of another Tsunami and Nuclear radiation leaks, etc. Please be praying that the Lord would lead the team to live people that need rescue (believe it or not it is sometimes hard to find people buried deep inside of rubble) and also for the team's safety and their families. Please pray especially for my Dad as he is the Operations Chief that God would give him wisdom in leading the team, managing the rescues and all the logistics that go along with that. Thank you for all your prayers!

Here is a video CNN showed of the team:

Here is an older video of an interview with my Dad in Haiti on Good Morning America better explaining what exactly they do and how they do it:

shalom

Womens breakfast...

Saturday was our first ever women's breakfast fellowship! We had four German ladies and three English speaking ladies in attendance. It was a really sweet time of food and fellowship. Each lady brought a delicious dish to share. Nada shared from Matthew 22:37-40, verses the Lord had put on her heart to encourage us to love and serve each other. Not just in words but in deeds. It was super encouraging! We are hopeful to make this breakfast fellowship a once a month gathering for the ladies of Münster! Thanks for the prayers!




Shalom

Update on the visa situation

Yesterday we went into the visa office and overall it went well. They can't issue the work visa there, so it was sent off for "inspection" I guess you could say to another office. It's kind of a complicated situation, because they want Paul to be making 650 euro more than our current rent because we are married and without children. I don't really understand the logic behind it but this is the way it is. They also told us yesterday that maybe they would allow Paul to have a work visa and me to be on the missionary visa. Like I said it's very complicated, but the good news is that the company that Paul is working for has a very good relationship with the customs office. Also, they gave us another 3 month extension!

So that's the situation. Please be praying for us. Pray that whoever reviews the file would just allow the work visa to be processed through. We really feel that this job would be a huge blessing, not only financially but in connecting and building relationships with people there. We are trusting the Lord to work everything out according to His will. We know that He is in control and that He will take care of us either way. If we are not issued the work visa then we would both happily receive the missionary visa. So either way we can legally stay here, which is the goal! Thank you for your prayers...we really appreciate it!




Shalom

Late Valentines....

We received this adorable Valentine from a little Miss Meagan O'Brien. Thank you so much! We put it up in our kitchen!

And these are my new glasses...super nerdy I know! But I love them! 

Shalom

Our week...

This week I baked this....banana bread. I also made a chicken pot pie and homemade lemon curd. Kinda went on a baking kick...it was fun and everything turned out yummy!

 

We took a bike ride with these two cuties...

 Levi started standing on his own...even though its not show in this picture. :(

We spent a few days in Siegen...the place we fell in love! 

We hung out with Bruce and Teresa Muller...they are so awesome and we really enjoyed catching up with them.

Worshiped at the Bible College...

Hung out with this semester's students. They are preeetty cool! 

John and Eli 

We hung out with Izzy and Vanessa...spent the night at their place and enjoyed some amazing food! Thanks guys! 

Cool pic...

Played a Swedish yard game... 

More pics of the yard game... 

and one more...just so you get the idea!

We also witnessed the beginning of Jeremiah's dreads!  

And today we had church...thats our week. We had an awesome time catching up with friends and making some new ones! 

Also...we wanted thank all those who have been supporting us financially. We received our month's full amount and then some! SO AWESOME! We are so blessed by your cheerful giving...and so is Jesus! Thank you all so much! 

Shalom

He got it!

Paul after he got back from his interview last week.

Hey everyone...we have a praise report! Paul got the job! We feel so blessed and excited! He is going in early next week to get the visa stuff worked out. He will be issued a work visa and I will be issued a residence visa. He will go to the training in April and then begin working full time. Its so crazy. So the Lord!!! We are so thankful for all your prayers. For all you who support us financially, we will let you know the changes when we know.

With all that said, please be praying that we will be able to get all the visa stuff worked out before March 12th (the day our current visa expires)


Thanks!

Shalom