One month to go

We're 36 days from heading out. We have raised about ~75% of our needed support for our trip. Thank you all. We've also received some very encouraging words from people and we feel truly blessed by the support we've received. Thank you all for everything you've done for Dad and I and the rest of our family. Will keep you posted more in the weeks to come.

What's up

Hello all,

January is coming close to an end and that puts Germany at less than 10 weeks away. We're getting ready to purchase our plane tickets and get things ready to go. Prayer for health and safety at work and in general these next few months would be greatly appreciated. Cold and Flu bugs are running rampant around here and we've been lucky to avoid them for the most part.

We're at about 20% raised of our financial need for the trip. Thank you for all of you who have given. We're very grateful and are excited to see what God has in store for us through this trip and for you also through this experience. Thank you again. We're still working to have all our support raised by March 15.

Thank you all for you encouragement and support,

Blessings,

Tyler

Happy New Year and Where We're At

Hey Everyone,

Happy Holidays to you all and and hope they have been a great time with friends and family. We had a great time at my house, relaxing and just bumming around.

Thank you to everyone that's gotten ahold of us about our trip, asking questions, sending prayer, and for the financial support. You're love and support has been encouraging. Thanks again.

A few extra notes, I forgot to mention in the first letter that if you want to help financially that we'd like to have enough for our plane tickets by the beginning of February and then have the rest of our support in by the 15th of March. Thanks to those that are willing to support that way and to the ones who already have.

Have a Blessed New Year.

Tyler & Rick

Getting ready to head back

It's been a crazy year, and Dad and I have been feeling God's nudging to return to Kandern, Germany and The Art Factory. Hopefully I will utilize this resource better than I did last year. I will be trying to post updates leading up to our departure and of course more updates while we're gone. Look for a letter outlining our plans and goals for this trip and what God's been doing in our lives this past year. Thanks for all your support.

Reflections and Forward Looking

Friends and family,



I hope this letter finds you on a joyous Easter Day. Hopefully with loved ones and taking an opportunity to reflect on what the day means and to make time to create some great memories as well. My day started out very well, in a warm bed, in the Art Factory, waking up and taking a moment to reflect on my time here thus far. These are some of the thoughts that I had.



After my last post I had mentioned an upcoming trip to Paris with Rick, Mary Beth, my Dad, Mallory (Rick and Mary Beth’s Daughter), and Ashley (Mallory’s roommate). It was amazing. We left on Saturday the 20th and returned on Tuesday the 23rd. The Holladays, Dad, and I stayed in a bed and breakfast in Montmartre, a section in Northern Paris known for it’s art and artisans. Mallory and Ashley stayed with a friend who lives in Paris. During our time there we were able to see the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, ride the funicular, and a number of other sites in passing. The opportunity to see so many historical landmarks and works of art was overwhelming, but the greatest part was that I got to share the experience with my dad. We climbed the stairs of the Eiffel Tower together and studied the tile in the Notre Dame. Being able to share my time there with him was priceless and will be a lasting memory. Blessed to have great friends like the Holladays and Jennifer Goss who had some knowledge of the city and the museums. Safe travels there and back and a great get away hands down.



The day after we came back a close friend of mine, Toby Piering, came to visit for a few days from Lyon, France. It was great to spend time with him and he lent a hand around the factory. A great help and a great visit. Nice to have a bit of home away from home and to reminisce about growing up and to share some great time on the other side of the world from where we grew up.



We’re getting closer to completion on the bathroom we’ve been working on. I don’t remember how much I’ve mentioned about the bathroom or where it’s located in the factory, but I’ll cover all that now. The bathroom is located in one of the apartments in the factory. Art and Becky Melli are the current residents and their daughter and granddaughter are staying with them for a few months while their son-in-law is on deployment with the Army. The bathroom is at the end of the apartment and will be an additional full bathroom for the unit allowing for when visitors and guests are there they’ll have their own space. The Mellis are involved with Youth for Christ International and are an amazing couple with a heart for ministry and youth. They also have a huge gift in hospitality and are always welcoming guests to stay with them. They’ve continually expressed their gratitude to Dad and I about our work so far on the bathroom, which has been a great affirmation to our being here, but unnecessary since we’re just doing what God has called us to. We all hope that this room, albeit a bathroom, can be a blessing to the many people passing through the Art Factory and the Melli’s home. We are to the stage of plastering the walls and do some finish work, we have a little bit of tile to finish and I'm working on building some vanities out of some old beams I found. There will be two separate matching vanities that will be basically pieces of furniture with the sink mounted on one of them.



While most of our time has been spent on the Melli’s bathroom we have started and finished a few other projects around here as well. We renovated a room that was once the laundry/storage room into a 2 bed guest room. New insulation, electrical, lights, wood wall coverings, and some paint were all installed. We were even able to finish it just before Mallory and Ashley arrived, allowing them their own space during their visit. Since the laundry room was now a bedroom we moved the washer and dryer into the adjacent bathroom. Originally this bathroom had two stalls each with a toilet and one with a urinal as well (awesome). There were two wall mounted sinks and a cabinet for storage. Now the room has no stalls, 1 toilet, 1 urinal (awesome), the washer and dryer, a claw foot tub (found for 5 euros) and a vanity (found for 15 euros) with a marble top, and pry older than everyone here added together, which we added a surface mounted sink and faucet. A real transformation and a great bathroom for Rick and Mary Beth to use for now until their house is finished in another section of the factory.



Dad’s time here has already ended for this trip. He managed to stay for over a month, almost three weeks longer than originally anticipated, and still wasn’t completely ready to leave yet. We dropped him off at the train station last Friday morning in Basel, where he caught a flight in Frankfurt, bringing him back to Oregon. Thankfully it sounds like work is picking up a bit back home and we should have something to do for a few weeks. Thanks for the prayers in those regards, please pray that this continues. I think Dad would agree that we both got as much or more out of this trip as the Holladays did. I believe this was the best place for Dad to be after all that has happened the last few years and he felt rejuvenated and was able to do some reflection and forward looking as well.



I have another 10 days here before I head back and I’m already have mixed emotions of returning. I’m excited to be back home to see all of you and share photos and stories. To be able to get some work in and enjoy the spring and summer with friends and family, but I will also miss the home I’ve developed here, the relationship I have with the Holladays and with the other people and families in the area. The idea of returning to the Art Factory in the near future is becoming less and less of an idea to my dad and I and more of a reality and working towards how to make it happen. We feel God moving in this place and a call to use our God given skills and talents to help the Art Factory how we can. Please pray for us in seeking wisdom and direction in this area, and be it the desire of God, then also to find the means necessary to make it happen.



While these were all memories of the past few weeks and great as they were, as I reflected this morning I thought of mom and not having her here to tell these things to. I fear that heading home will be harder without her there, but know that I can’t use my time here to escape from that reality. I know that she’s with me and that she’s been experiencing these things with me through heavenly eyes, it’ll just be hard to adjust to her not being around physically. I miss her and love her and know that she was proud of where God has called me.



Thank you all for taking the time to read these messages and for the prayers and support that you’ve sent my way. I couldn’t have made all this happen on my own and still can’t. You’ve all been blessings to me in multiple ways and again I thank you for that. Please pray for the next few weeks as my time here wraps up. Prayers for:

Safety while working and in travel

Blessings to the Holladays and the Art Factory

Direction in my own life in terms of returning to the Art Factory and where God is leading me

Ease of returning to work and being back home



Blessings to you all,



Tyler



PS If you have any questions of thoughts about anything I’m doing or going to be doing, please let me know, I gladly welcome feedback, comments, and questions.

Current Thoughts and Current Happenings

Friends and Family,

It has been a few weeks since my re-arrival to Kandern, Germany and I've been kept busy most of that time. We've managed to take some time off to walk around town during a "Saturday Market(esque)" thing downtown in the Blumen Platz, been to France to see some sights, and even made it to the Ikea in Freiburg, pronounced (E-Kay-Uh). This past week has been very productive and a lot will be happening as the week finishes up.

Last weekend we got some tile on the floor in the bathroom and got some plumbing ran. We worked most of Saturday day and headed out for the evening. Mary Beth was going to a Lady's Night Dinner at a friend's house in town, so Rick, Dad and I went out for a Man's Night. We went to a great restaurant outside of town and had some schnitzel, pepper steak, and some beer (ice tea for Dad). Good time and good conversation. The next day was Sunday the 14th, My Birthday. Rick and Mary Beth had been planning a few fun things for me to do that day to celebrate. Originally we thought of going to the Swiss Alps and exploring around for part of the day, but decided it was too far away to get back in time for other activities already planned. So instead we opted to head in Basel, Switzerland to explore along the Rhine and see some sights. We actually never made it Basel and we never even left Germany. i knew of a design museum close to where we are in Germany that has a walk through museum/store that was opening, so we drove by to see when it was open to comeback, but lo-and-behold it was open then. We spent the next few hours walking through VitraHaus, the Design Museum for Vitra, they make chairs and furniture and a number of other household items, but all very stylish, functional, awesome, and of course expensive. Amazing. After we left the VitraHaus we had to rush to Tannenkirch for a horse carriage ride through the local forest. The Holladays had a friend who owns a Clydesdale and a Shire and goes out each Sunday on a ride around the area. Beautiful day and a great ride that was about 1 1/2 hours or so. From there, we headed back to the Art Factory where we had Thai food (I know not very German, but delicious) and then some friends came over for a game night. Overall, an amazing birthday and lots of new friends to spend it with. I even had a few guys from Uganda sing me Happy Birthday and play the saxophone as well.

This week was when Dad was scheduled to head home. His ticket was for March 15th, but he had been toying with the idea of staying for a bit longer to help finish stuff around here. Thankfully he's managed to change his tickets and is now leaving on April 2nd. I think that being here has been a great opportunity for Dad and I think it's been great for me having him here too. I know he's really enjoying himself here and that the work being done here is something that speaks to both his and my own hearts. If you could be praying for us in regards to work when we get back and for finances while we are here. I know personally some of my finances have been in a bit of disarray with United not yet refunding me for changing my original ticket, taxes hitting me harder this year, not working for a few months, and not being able to claim unemployment while being here. Sorry if it sounds like I'm complaining, I've been praying for peace about my finances, God's provided for me so far in everything in getting here, I have to believe he'll provide for me and Dad through all this.

We've been working hard on the bathroom hard and are making good progress on it. We should start sheetrocking tomorrow and already have all the tile in. I'll have pictures available soon. I've been designing and planning on building a vanity for the bathroom out of some old beams that are here. We'll have some electrical work and a radiator to install this week as well. Lots of work, but we do have a chance for a break this weekend. The Holladays have some friends that live in Paris that they are taking us to visit this Saturday through Tuesday or Wednesday. They plan on taking us to the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and some other cool places around town. Some more museums and such. Really excited to be headed to Paris for a few days and take a break before wrapping up the bathroom. Once the bathroom is done, there are plenty of other projects here to work on. Just a matter of picking one.

I've talked with Rick and Dad about the possibility of coming back here to work and help out for a few months each year. I can stay legally in Germany for up to 6 months a year without a Visa. Something I've been praying about and would definitely appreciate any prayer support in that matter and on the direction that God is leading me from here.

Thanks everyone for the support, encouragement and quick comments. They're great to read and fun to hear from you all. Please be praying again for where God is leading both Dad and I in our lives, peace in our family, financial support in my own and Dad's lives, and for health and safety here and traveling.

Blessings

What's been going on

My Friends and Family,

It has been quite the week and month at that, but life is coming along very well. It's been almost a week since arriving back in Germany and it feels like a month has passed (in a good way). being back here has been very natural and inviting. The people that I met here in my brief visit before have been very encouraging and loving in regards to Mom's passing, my return to Kandern, and in bringing Dad back with me. I've felt very blessed from God and from everyone these past few months. I may have said that before, but it is very true. Although Mom has passed and everything else happening, God has provided fully for myself and my family, and I believe through Him, you and many others have been an amazing support system in many ways. Thank you again.

My time at home was wonderful for what it was for, being able to spend time with friends and family and to remember Mom. A lot of great and lasting memories were made in those few weeks I was back, but oh so great they were. For instance, getting memorial tattoos for my mom, Kristal's idea and Steph, Kristal, Chris and I each got one. I believe that each of our tattoos, which are different, are very befitting to our own character and to Mom. Check the pictures for details. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2302846&id=11518107&l=ef1caae485 Secondly, again all the time with my family and my "family". Friends in our family are closer than blood, spending time with them was great. Third, "Man Day". If you were there you know what I mean, if you weren't...next time. My best friends picked a day to unwind, relax from all that has been happening, spend time together before I left again, and for some camaraderie. In a nutshell we played much disc golf, mucked around in the mud, faced a Tsunami, and maimed an animal. Pretty good day, oh and saw an ewok. Overall my time home was great.

Now onto Germany stuff. My Dad and I left Portland Tuesday morning and arrived in Kandern, Germany Wednesday afternoon. Travel went pretty well. We shared a flight from Portland to San Francisco, then caught separate flights to Frankfurt. At Frankfurt I was going to meet up with Dad once I arrived, but my phone wasn't working. So I wandered around were I figured he should have been and lo-and-behold I found him, and if you don't know Frankfurt is a pretty good sized airport. We rechecked his bags, went through security again and caught our flight to Basel/Mulhouse. Rick Holladay was waiting for us and off to the Art Factory we went. We immediately started some work. First of all we're working on a bathroom in the apartment upstairs. Doing some framing, plumbing, electrical, floor heat, and then some tile work. Great project and Dad seems to be loving it here. We spent most of Saturday at the Hornbach (European Home Depot) and got most of our supplies and will continue work tomorrow morning. We've also installed a bath tub for Mary Beth in her bathroom and I've been getting some design ideas for some furniture out of some scrap wood they have here.

We spent some time on Saturday night with a couple in town and played Settlers of Catan with them. First time I had played with 6 people at once. Lots of fun. Today we went to church at G5 and then went to Riquewihr in France. Beautiful town with cobblestones paths and some great architecture. Cold day, but clear and managed to stop snowing for the time being. It snowed a few inches here the last couple days. I'll post some pictures of Riquewihr soon. Rick and Mary Beth have been great hosts and it has been a great time so far. Dad is thinking of extending his stay a few days to help finish the bathroom project and maybe we can get some others finished too.

Please be praying for safety while we're working, great relationships all around, restful sleep, and for the opportunity to see what God has in store in the lives of myself, Dad, Rick and Mary Beth and the Art Factory.

Feel free to ask me anything about what's going on or any other questions, it's great hearing from people.

Blessings,

Tyler

It's time to head back...

Friends and Family,

Thanks again for all the support and love that you've sent towards myself and my family these past few weeks. In originally in supporting me in going to Germany and also in the times of returning when my mom passed. Your words, prayers, calls, and encouragement have been greatly appreciated. While these past few weeks have had some difficult and tiresome times, there have also been blessings in multiple ways. Your encouragements have been one of those blessings.

While it was good to be back home, and I'm glad I was able to make it back so quickly and to be here to help before and after the memorial, it's time for me to head back to Germany. I'm scheduled to leave Portland next Tuesday, March 2nd and start my trip back to Kandern. I'm planning on staying for 6 weeks, returning on April 14th, adding up to about 2 months total like I had originally planned. The difference when I return this time as opposed to a few weeks ago is that for the first two weeks of my trip I'll be accompanied by my father. He's taking some time to come work with me in Kandern and I'm very stoked about this. During my first visit, I knew that he would love it there and to have him come this time is very exciting and I think just what he needs right now.

I'll continue to e-mail and post to my blog while I'm there and am able to skype and chat on facebook. Feel free to drop me a line and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. If you're still interested in sending support then you are more than welcome to do so anytime before I leave or even while I'm there. Anything sent to my address will be taken care of by my sister (thanks Kristal) and is always deeply appreciated.

Thank you all for your prayers, love, encouragement, and support, this trip wouldn't have been possible without you. Please continue to pray for my family and for the weeks ahead in Germany. May God do big things in Germany, Salem, and all over.

Blessings,

Tyler Krehbiel
968 Nandina Ct NE
Keizer, OR 97303

Mom's Memorial and Life Right Now

A celebration of life for mom will be held at 2:30pm Thursday Feb 18, 2010 at:

Salem Evangelical Church
455 Locust Street NE
Salem, OR 97301-8399

Marsha Mae (Wagler) Krehbiel
Feb 19, 1958- Feb 11, 2010

Thanks all for your support and encouragement over these past few days.

I managed to get home without any complications and arrived Saturday night around 6:30. This has been an amazingly tough, yet blessed week. It has been tough to know that mom is physically gone and won't be here for so many things in our future, but has been amazing to hear stories and remember the memories we did have. She will be missed and has touched more lives than I or we could ever realize. God used her in big ways that I'm not sure she always realized, and He used her until He called her home (even using her memory/legacy still). She touched lives and interacted with people whether they wanted to at times or not. She was gifted at discerning the hearts of others and giving counsel and wisdom that was tough to hear at times, but was always given out of love and in God's presence.

My family is gracious for your words and are always welcome to hear memories, hear words of encouragement, pray, laugh, and just hang out. Please don't hesitate to contact us even if you're not sure what to say, just hearing hello has been a great source of strength for us. We may not always answer the phone or an e-mail right away, but your thoughts still have great meaning. We'd rather receive a call and have to decline you, than to not receive anything at all. Please keep us in your prayers this week, especially my father. He is doing well enough, but no matter how you prepare it still sucks when it happens.

Prayers also for the next month or so. I plan to return to Germany to continue helping at the Art Factory and I'm excited that my father may try and come with me. I think this would be a great opportunity for him and wouldn't necessarily be an escape from reality, but the start of a new one. His skills could be greatly used over there. Also volunteering with construction is a love and gift to him. So prayers for finances, timing, health, and wisdom, would be greatly appreciated for both of us and my sisters as well. Will keep you posted as to updates on my return and possibly dad's trip to Germany.

Thanks again to my friends and family, for your love and support. You've made this time much lighter than if you weren't in our lives. Blessings to you and your families.

Tyler

Coming Home...

Hello all,

I'm headed back home this Saturday night. My mom passed away this morning after an 18 month struggle with cancer. She's finally been healed of all her ailments and is sitting in heaven feeling wonderful and at peace. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for her and my family. We appreciate all your love and support. If you could continue to pray for us through this time, we'd be glad for it. I believe that we are planning a memorial for Thursday the 18th of February. I will update again when I know more.

My time here in Germany is over for the moment, but not for good. I've felt greatly at home here and plan on returning as soon as I am able. I've been able to meet some amazing people during my time here and know that I need to return here. I pry won't be back in time for the Candlelight Dinner Outreach, but hope that I've been able to put a dent in all the preparations that have been needed for it. I won't be able to finish my mosaic, but will get some photos of it before I leave of it's current progress. I've also been making a tree out of rebar that isn't yet finished, that I was hoping to finish, but alas coming home is much more important right now.

I leave tomorrow (the 12th) from Basel to Frankfurt and have to wait overnight in Frankfurt for my flight in the morning on Saturday. United was pretty great in helping me change my original flight home to one much sooner. I'm grateful for Rick and Mary Beth Holladay for being so wonderful and caring during this time (their the couple in charge of the Art Factory). They've taken great care of me during my stay and I look forward to seeing them again when I come back.

I will continue to post some updates and some photos are coming. I'll tell more of some of the other stuff I've worked on and some of the plans that are coming for the Art Factory and maybe some plans I have for being at the Art Factory.

Made it

Well after many hours of travel I made it to Kandern. Left Salem at 7:45am Pacific time, arrived in Kandern at 22 hours later. Dropped off my stuff in my room then got a tour of the Art Factory. Amazing place with lots of room to do some incredible stuff. Haven't had a chance to sit down since I got here. Helped get ready for dinner for 20+ artists/members of the community for a monthly dinner dialogue that takes place at the Art Factory. Met some great people from the Black Forest Academy and surprisingly a few from Oregon. Made it through dinner, but started falling asleep during the dialogue part. Thankfully they allowed me to excuse myself and head to bed. Just posting a quick post to say I made it. Was able to get some good sleep on the plane, but a bed sounds wonderful. Good night all and I'll update more later.

Contact info

Hello all,

Here a few ways to get ahold of me if you want while I'm away.

1. E-mail tyler.c.krehbiel@gmail.com

2. Skype remember there's a 9 hour time difference from Pacific Time. You're 5 PM is my midnight.
Should probably e-mail and set up a time if you want to skype

3. Here on the blog or facebook

4. Here's the address I'll be staying at. Mail is welcome.

Rebmåttleweg 4,
Kandern 79400, DE (Germany)

I think that's how it's written, don't need the (Germany part I don't think) you could put Deutschland though instead of DE

5. I will have access to a phone that can call to States for free, so pry e-mail and could arrange a time.

Almost Time

Thank you to all of my friends and family for all the love, support, and encouragement that has been passed my way for this trip. I feel blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life and thank you again for all you've done. With that said, welcome to my blog. I'm going to try to keep this updated over the next couple of months so that you can all see what is happening in my life. I know that God has some big plans for me and has already been working in amazing ways.

I leave next monday, February 1st at 10:55 AM and will then spend the next 17 hours in airports or on airplanes. It has been just over two months since I first heard of the Art Factory and now I'm headed there. God has truly prepared a way for me to Germany. I was able to meet my financial goal in a little over 5 weeks, an amazing answer to prayer.

A few prayer requests for the next few days would be:
Safe travels and good health
That I would be open to what God has in store for me over the next few months

Also:
I'll be best man this Saturday (Jan 30th) for one of my best friend's wedding (David Burnham & his Bride-To-Be Anna Stepanian) prayers for their new life together and for the final preparations to go smoothly
Prayers of health for my mom. She's being treated at St. Vincent's Hospital in Portland for a possible infection or abscess, originally thought to be a hernia. She's was diagnosed with Colon Cancer in July of 2008 and has been undergoing various treatments since. Please pray for peace, healing, knowledge for the doctor's, patience, and also just the health of my dad and sisters as well