Erntedankfest - Harvest festival

So, autumn is well and truly here. The leaves are falling, the weather is cool and the sun is rising later than my alarm clock.  This Sunday is 'Erntedankfest' (harvest festival) here in Germany.  Today in church we thought about the many thinks that God gives to us (food, materials, abilities, chances to serve) and thanked him for these!  As part of this many people brought things grown in their gardens to share with each other in the church.  A couple at my homegroup brought me a 5L box of freshly pressed apple juice pressed by their family here in the Saarland - it tastes really good!  After hte service cake was also bountiful in it's abundance (gotta love the Omas).  For lunch I cooked Spätlzle (a German noodle dish) for the first time - my Chinese friend Dilu said it was 'lecker', so I guess it worked out!  My flatmate's chilli plants are also now ripening, however after my last tongue searing taste I've decided to go for milder spices!  I also found out today that we have grapes growing in our garden.  The landlord knocked on our door saying we're welcome help ourselves.  Photos of all these things are included beneath.

I'm feeling a little more at home with the day to functioning of the hospital now, however realise there is still a lot for me to learn.  I also need to improve my written German to get my patient discharge letters up to scratch.  From the 1st November I'll be working on the 'Notaufnahme' (Accident and Emergency), so the learning process will continue!  

Over the past week I've been reading the letter to the Ephesians from the Bible.  Whilst there are many material things we can be thankful for, our real thanks to God should be for his rescue plan for the world.  Through Jesus we can be made right with God and brought into a fantastic relationship with him. Fantastic news!  Beneath are two parts of particular encouragement read this week:

Ephesians 1:3-6

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 3:14-19

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

As usual, all comments, thoughts and questions are welcome!