The Heymann Family Journal

This man was on 20/20. I didn't see it, but read about it! Here is his web site. and the 20/20 site.

OK, Juergen found a notary in another city. We had to get there before 1pm or we could not get it done. I met Juergen there at noon. I stepped out of my car, and locked the car...with the keys still in the car! I do believe this will be an awesome trip for Nicole! We got the documents notarized with just a half hour to spare. They plan to build 10 houses in one week. Nicole will be taking this big step of growth. I'm so proud of my girl!

Nicole's travel documents need to be posted by tomorrow or she can not go the Mexico. The big problem for us is these documents must be notarized with a signature by Juergen and I. It's not so easy to find a notary in Germany. In Heidelberg it is even harder because someone just bombed the notary office. It's closed or moved or something??? So Juergen is home scrabbling to find a notary. We were of course not home earlier in the week. Juergen was also gone last week. As for me, I think I will not be making the trip (sad). The only way I can go is as a leader. I would need to go through an extra process of training and interviews. This is only right. I'm glad they train their leadership. My problem is time and money. I would already need to pay nearly $1500 for the airline ticket and the trip. Then add to this another $500+ for the training, medical exam, police screening and the notary costs and international postage costs...and more costly to us (at least this y...

First, I had a serious talk with the boys before we traveled. Somehow, they listened. Their behavior was amazingly good (at least until we traveled home). Juergen’s dad seemed really calm. He has lost a great deal of weight over the past few months. You can see it has taken a real toll on him. There was a remarkable peace. Allowing her to die at home was his only goal. He managed to accomplish this goal. He was grateful. He also stopped himself from dwelling on any thoughts of "self pity". Every time he began to talk about Watlraud, he would remember the good things they had done. He gave thanks. He also told me a story. It was after one of the many surgeries Waltraud had undergone to remove the brain tumors. After one of the surgeries she just was not waking up. The doctors were very worried. He was over come with emotion. He went into the bathroom to wash his face. There was an uneven step in the bathroom. He tripped on this floor and hit his head hard. He could have really...

We travel North today. I bought new Lego to bribe the boys with. I'm not sure what upsets me more, going to the funeral or the need to bribe my kids? Maybe I take the whole thing too seriously, but I care allot about character (or a lack of it). I hope they will grow up, that they will begin to consider the needs of others. I hope this is just a stage we are passing through. I have to be careful not to confuse my own personal sadness with the behavior of my sons. They have actually been a little better the past two days. I should not be such a pessimist. I have to give them space to actually grow. Friends, please pray for me. I'm really very sad. The closer I come to going to Juergen's parent’s house, the sadder I become. I loved Juergens mom very much. I wish I did not have to go, I wish this day had not come.

http://amy-dietfoodblog.blogspot.com/

When I was a child I remember wearing hats to church on Easter. Somehow we could not manage the Easter baskets, new toys, and breakfast fast enough to get dressed for church. We go to Church almost every Sunday. We should be there on Easter. We didn't make it. I have no idea how my own mom managed to get us all dressed up in our nicely pressed Easter dresses, with hats? I'm not even making a fine dinner. When I think of the effort my mom must have gone to to make all those traditions possible. I just don't manage to keep up. They all got chocolate, and a new toy. Some day I hope they also understand that Jesus rose from the dead. But the Resurrection is not something they have to celebrate one time in a year. I hope it becomes real to them every day.

Good Friday is a Holiday in Germany, so is Easter and the Monday after Easter. The stores are not open on Holidays. You can imagine just how crowded the stores were today. I had to find cloths suitable for the kids to wear to Omas funeral. We have decided to take the boys. It's spring, and not so easy to find dark clothes (except sweat shirts with skulls and cross bones). The weather is supposed to be very cold. I feel achy. I think I'm getting sick. Maybe it's just the emotional stress of shopping for Oma's funeral.

It's Good Friday, the day we remember the death of Christ on a cross. Because he died for me I try to live for him. Today I am thinking about the funeral of Juergen's mom. I am worried my sons cannot behave themselves. They are too hyperactive, they are self absorbed, they have a very hard time staying quiet and respectful. I'm worried about bringing them 5 hours in a car, and expecting them to be good when they get there. They will want Juergens attention. Juergen should be available to take care of his dad. The situation seems hopeless. They have a fallen nature. How could they act in a way contrary to their own nature? We have been spending a great deal of energy lately teaching our sons to acknowledge their mistakes, and say they are sorry. Saying "I'm sorry" is somehow hardest for the boys. My girls don't seem to have this problem. Why is this I wonder? But so much of mankind has this problem. We know we have a problem with sin. Somehow we just cannot...

I have only begun to cry about Juergen's mom. Juergen is home so I finally feel at liberty to relax & not be the brave on call parent. It occurred to me I've been slowly losing Waltraud for years. I've felt this loss for years. She could not handle the noise and stress of our boys, so Juergen would visit and I would babysit. I've missed her so much. She was battling her sickness. I could not get angry about this. I did feel the loss. Thomas did not know her. He had hardly seen her in the past 4 years. She was sick. It was a deep loss to me. Only if you had known her could you know how brave, wise and gracious she was. She was Juergens mom, but she was my friend. We would spend hours talking about deep things in her kitchen. I would pick her brain. She always had wisdom. I had learned so much, but there was so much more I could have learned. She raised two boys. She raised 2 foster children. She was a leader in the church. She was a friend to broken people. She could...

Thomas made us this very special Easter card. On the back of the card he wrote that he was sorry his Oma had died but that it would be alright. Juergen came home from the North of Germany tonight. We return on Monday night for Tuesdays funeral. The kids were all hyper to see their Papa. They all got into trouble. That's when Thomas pulled out the card. I always knew that kid was smart! It made me cry. Now they are all finally playing well (it's after 10 pm of course). Every little things going to be alright.

I hope you don't mind if I post a few thoughts about Juergen's Mom. I am home with the 5 kids. It's Easter vacation. The weather is really bad. Juergen is 5 hours North helping his dad. I can not cry in front of the kids. At least not in front of Sarah or Thomas. It makes them feel afraid. I need to be able to think about Waltraud. I loved her so much. One of things I loved most about her was how much she loved Jessica my autistic daughter. Waltraud had 17 grandchildren. She managed to love each one. Her compassion towards Jessica was very dear. I remember our first Christmas in Germany. Jessica was 5 years old. We were at Oma & Opa's house with all the other family. We were opening Christmas gifts and all the kids played. All the kids played except Jessica. Jess was stressed by all the people & all the noise. Waltraud was so distressed. She gave me this look . "Give me something to do...anything to help". And so I said, "Jessica likes to take bat...

My mother in law, Waltraud was an amazing woman. She was born in World War 2 in Germany. Her dad was a soldier. First he was in France, and then they sent him to Russia. I don't really know if he believed in the "cause" of the Germans. I'm sure most of the men in those days had no choice. They had to serve in the Army. Waltraud only recalls seeing him two times. She was raised in the house of her grandmother. It was her, her brother, and her mother. They were very poor. The only toy she had was a rubber ball. When she was in kindergarten, England began bombing Hanover (only 40 miles away). She saw the planes, she heard the bombs, and she could smell the smell of burning sulfur as Hanover burned. After the war she remembered that the Americans came. They were very kind. They also gave her the first chocolate she ever had. She loved sweet things. She never saw her father again. He died in a camp in Russia. Her mom received no pension from the governmen...

...I just got a phone call from Juergen. I could hear it in his voice. His wonderful mom just died. It has not hit me yet. Please do not call. Please just pray for comfort. Pray for Juergen's dad Richard. They were married 50 years this summer. Thank you. The photo's are from her 70Th birthday last summer.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/03/16/wr.1.health.cnn http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/03/16/wr.1.health.cnn http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/03/16/wr.1.health.cnn

- Jim Elliot

I took the kids to see "Horton hears a Who". We saw it in German, and I imagine it was better in English. Still, I loved it! I especially love two ideas that are strong in this film. A person is a person no matter how small (a very pro life statement), and Just because you can not see it with your eyes or hear it does not mean it's not there ( a very pro God statement). I'm not really sure what Dr Seuss meant by his story. This is just my take on it. I also loved the beauty of the opening animation. The water falling from the leaf. It is really amazing how far they have come with computer animation. I think the film makes a slam on home school. I don't think people who home school should be mean or self righteous like the kangaroo in the film. I personally would home school at least Philip if I was allowed to do it. This is Germany, and of course I would never be allowed to do such a thing!!! I do think Christians that home school should be careful how they presen...

Today was very special. Nicole got to sing a song she wrote about Jesus in the chapel service. She goes to a private Catholic high school so they have chapel from time to time. I think it went very well. I had a hard time keeping the camera still because I was crying with pride. The light was low so the video is not the best quality. It's also going to take some time to load. Nicole has always been painfully shy. I guess the reason I was so proud of her was that she sang this song, that is a testimony in front of her whole school. All I can say is Wow!! Wow God, look how far she has come.

This is a post on getting your house in order in case you die. It's a really good list of stuff like wills and emergency savings. The kind of stuff we should all do, but most of us don't do.

Click on the photo to see our next car.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2008/03/11/dnt.wa.barista.kidney.donation.komo

Juergen just got another patent. I don't even know how many of these things he has gotten. I'm proud of him! He probably would not want me to post this, but if I can not brag on my man, who can? I love you Juergen, and I want to say Congratulations!

I love the quote by Gandhi "be the change you desire to see in the world". Tomorrow I get to go speak to about 50 University students from PEPERDIN UNIVERSITY. They are in Heidelberg on an exchange program. I have been honored to speak to them 3 times. I basically want to communicate the idea of going to where the poor are, seeing the need and then trying to see how they can help change things for the good. Everyone has gifts and resources that could help improve the state of this world. Most of us use everything we have on ourselves. I believe you'll never really be satisfied until you enter into the role of making a difference. For the sake of the world, the poor, and for our own feeling of value we need to go...and then we need to give. Pray for me. I hope I can help shape their minds, and challenge them to make a difference.

Nicole and I hope to help build a house for a family in Mexico this August. I found the floor plan for this simple home. We are going to be working with Baja Christian ministries and Global Expeditions. The folks at Baja Christian Ministries build houses nearly every weekend. This is good news. I have two hands, but I don't really know how to build anything! I'm going and I'm ready to help. We could use your help. We want to pay the $5000 it takes to buy the building materials for a house. This is not something we must do. That is, they will accept our help even if we don't pay for the materials. I just want to teach my daughter how to trust God for big things. How to step out and try to be used by God. I'm trying to help build her character. I'm trying to help her see that she can personally change the world in a positive way. When we hand the keys to the family that receives our house, I want Nicole to know she really went the 2ND mile to change this families...

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There is a strong wind blowing outside. I guess it hit Northern Germany last night. I was worried because Juergen was heading North to see his parents. His mom continues to grow weak. She sometimes sleeps for two days in a row, not eating or drinking. Juergen said he is not sure she can even see him anymore. The last time he was there she clearly recognized him, now not at all. The boys are at a birthday party today. Jessica continues to sleep and recover from her big trauma. Sarah is pretty happy to be with me. She plays, does art, and watches Dora. Nicole visited a friend. It's pretty quite here apart from that loud wind. I feel as if I'm waiting for the change I know is about to unfold. What sort of change? I could hardly say...it's just a feeling. It's like the change of seasons. Nothing remains the same. I can feel the change...it's like the wind...it is coming.