I haven't been very good about keeping our plans posted. Only because they keep changing, and even we are have trouble keeping up!
December found us in a deep deep low, mostly caused by the worst case of influenza our family has ever seen. Also caused by the end of a semester of really hard work. And so much transition eating away at our routine. Then there was the weight of the news that Christian's dad was ill. A few days before Christmas we found out that the rental company had forgotten to let us know that the house we were moving to in January was no longer available. It all left for us only hard decisions to make about what was next, where to live, and how to navigate our remaining time overseas.
Coming out of that dark month, I could begin to see how God was using all of these lows to help us rewrite our plan. When our circumstances offer us security, we can begin to unknowingly put our faith in them. This has been the biggest lesson of the year: letting go of everything, even loyalty to any preconceived ideas about what we thought we would be doing next.
Here we have now arrived into the final months of our time in Europe. We expected to be living near Basel for our entire period abroad. However, with the change of circumstances (namely, losing our living place, and the fact that Christian's Master's project was one he could complete remotely) came the opportunity for our family to be a little less stationary. In the end, we made the tough call to pull Annike and Sommer out of their local schools and officially enroll them in what I am calling "World School", since we don't actually have a home from which to school.
We have now just begun the first of 8 weeks of traveling, beginning in Austria. A country that might look a little like heaven does one day. Spain, France, and more of Switzerland are also on the list. Our travel goals are not ambitious, staying in each place for 1-2 weeks at a time, having conversations with locals, making time for days at home with the kids, conserving our energy for this extended period of living out of suitcases. We will gradually be making our way north to attend a family reunion with the German relatives at the end of March. Almost all of Christian's cousins, aunts, and uncles on this side will be there. It will feel symbolic to begin and end our trip on the island of Sylt. Then home by the first of April.
Upon arrival to this corner of Europe last summer, the area between Basel and the Black Forest region of Germany, we never imagined it would be this hard to say goodbye one day. I realize that traveling around Europe is a dream, but there is also the reality that a family with small kids only has so much capacity for visiting new museums and public places. Traveling is all about sight-seeing, and sensory overload, and satisfying self-driven curiosity.
In contrast, living rooted in one place is all about relationship. Friendships dig in deep when the bond of Jesus is shared, and the understanding of what it is like to live in a foreign land.
I still can't believe how God filled up our experience here with both community and depth in such a short amount of time. Our part was to bring vulnerable and honest hearts to the table, and to say yes to crazy opportunities outside of our comfort zone. God's part was to put diverse people with inspiring stories in our path. It is without a doubt the relationships formed here that have been the richest part of our experience.
This particular group of women was brought into my life as a simple gesture of kindness from a loving God who sees me and knows me. They invited me to coffee, spoke truth and encouragement into my constantly shifting circumstances, prayed with me, and even held a special lunch just to say goodbye to me. How unexpected and surprising, and needed, it was to find fellowship like this all the way across the ocean.
On Annike's last day at her bilingual German-English school, her 3rd grade class surrounded her with love and celebration. Despite some hard days along the way, her experience was a good one. It was full of growth, lessons in building character, and memories that will last forever. That example pretty much sums it up for all of us.
The final day of the final week, as Christian was finishing his final hard-earned class of the semester, we got word that his father had passed away. He went peacefully in his sleep.
It takes months, or years maybe, to fully process the death of a parent, and I am not prepared to share any of that yet. I want to say simply that the timing of our decision to move on from this season in the Basel neighborhood lined up with Christian's father's passing in a divinely inspired way. The end of a season, and the end of an era. Two closures in parallel, both altering life as we have always known it. In our human limitations for planning ahead, God oversaw it all.
We move on, ever changed each step of the way. Only by God's grace can we continue being, what we hope is, ever changed for the better.
December found us in a deep deep low, mostly caused by the worst case of influenza our family has ever seen. Also caused by the end of a semester of really hard work. And so much transition eating away at our routine. Then there was the weight of the news that Christian's dad was ill. A few days before Christmas we found out that the rental company had forgotten to let us know that the house we were moving to in January was no longer available. It all left for us only hard decisions to make about what was next, where to live, and how to navigate our remaining time overseas.
Coming out of that dark month, I could begin to see how God was using all of these lows to help us rewrite our plan. When our circumstances offer us security, we can begin to unknowingly put our faith in them. This has been the biggest lesson of the year: letting go of everything, even loyalty to any preconceived ideas about what we thought we would be doing next.
Here we have now arrived into the final months of our time in Europe. We expected to be living near Basel for our entire period abroad. However, with the change of circumstances (namely, losing our living place, and the fact that Christian's Master's project was one he could complete remotely) came the opportunity for our family to be a little less stationary. In the end, we made the tough call to pull Annike and Sommer out of their local schools and officially enroll them in what I am calling "World School", since we don't actually have a home from which to school.
We have now just begun the first of 8 weeks of traveling, beginning in Austria. A country that might look a little like heaven does one day. Spain, France, and more of Switzerland are also on the list. Our travel goals are not ambitious, staying in each place for 1-2 weeks at a time, having conversations with locals, making time for days at home with the kids, conserving our energy for this extended period of living out of suitcases. We will gradually be making our way north to attend a family reunion with the German relatives at the end of March. Almost all of Christian's cousins, aunts, and uncles on this side will be there. It will feel symbolic to begin and end our trip on the island of Sylt. Then home by the first of April.
 |
| Some of our first days in Austria |
Upon arrival to this corner of Europe last summer, the area between Basel and the Black Forest region of Germany, we never imagined it would be this hard to say goodbye one day. I realize that traveling around Europe is a dream, but there is also the reality that a family with small kids only has so much capacity for visiting new museums and public places. Traveling is all about sight-seeing, and sensory overload, and satisfying self-driven curiosity.
In contrast, living rooted in one place is all about relationship. Friendships dig in deep when the bond of Jesus is shared, and the understanding of what it is like to live in a foreign land.
I still can't believe how God filled up our experience here with both community and depth in such a short amount of time. Our part was to bring vulnerable and honest hearts to the table, and to say yes to crazy opportunities outside of our comfort zone. God's part was to put diverse people with inspiring stories in our path. It is without a doubt the relationships formed here that have been the richest part of our experience.
This particular group of women was brought into my life as a simple gesture of kindness from a loving God who sees me and knows me. They invited me to coffee, spoke truth and encouragement into my constantly shifting circumstances, prayed with me, and even held a special lunch just to say goodbye to me. How unexpected and surprising, and needed, it was to find fellowship like this all the way across the ocean.
 |
| A 3rd grade group hug. |
It takes months, or years maybe, to fully process the death of a parent, and I am not prepared to share any of that yet. I want to say simply that the timing of our decision to move on from this season in the Basel neighborhood lined up with Christian's father's passing in a divinely inspired way. The end of a season, and the end of an era. Two closures in parallel, both altering life as we have always known it. In our human limitations for planning ahead, God oversaw it all.
We move on, ever changed each step of the way. Only by God's grace can we continue being, what we hope is, ever changed for the better.
 |
| More friends and fun that my memories want to hold onto. |
