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| Our neighbors! The cows...not the kids, those are ours! |
It's been almost a month since we left and all I can say is, WOW!
What a journey this has been. I'm amazed by how much life you can fit into such a short time. The travel, the family, the joy, the melt downs. All of it.
This is life. That's what Adam and I keep telling each other.
It started when we left Pennsylvania in what was supposed to be a blizzard. For us, the roads were mostly dry and we hardly saw a flurry. After we made it to my aunt's in Long Island, the storm stormed on. By the time we woke up the next morning it had all melted and we flew out, without issue. At JFK, our airline let us on with several severely overweight bags at no extra cost. The flight was amazing, and we now have a new favorite airline. To say that God is good just doesn't do His epic-ness justice!
We landed in Germany the morning of December 16th, along with my nephew who flew with us, and my sister and brother-in-law who flew in from South Dakota. My parents had been waiting for this for a VERY long time and had every minute jam packed with activity. (For those who don't know, my father is stationed in Germany with the military. That's why we started off there.) We were able to celebrate my father's birthday with him, as well as have a really nice family Christmas.
The entire family left Germany on the morning of December 27th, to accompany us to Switzerland. Overall I think it took us about 8 1/2 hours to get to YWAM, Davos. We were praying SO hard as we approached the Swiss border. If the guards feel like it, they can make crossing the border very exhausting. As we pulled up, the guard just kind of looked at us like, "what are you doing, why are you stopping," and he just waved us through!
Oh, how the stress and the anxiety, and all of the anticipation that we had been carrying for the last . . . forever, completely melted away.
Something happens when you cross the border from Austria into Switzerland. Suddenly, the Alps rise up around you to welcome you into their embrace and the sunlight pours in between the peaks for the most spectacular show of Alpen-glow. You stop and take notice of how proud God is of what He's created and how much He likes to show it off.
We had done the drive from Germany into Switzerland two summers before when we helped my Dad settle into his new post. After we arrived back in the States, Adam and I realized the Lord had given that drive to us as a gift.
(You see, even though we are in an sweet location for missionaries, it's still an excruciating thing to leave everything you love, your family, friends, national identity...everything you've ever known as home. Discouragement was a hard thing to fight, especially when navigating stuff like buying life insurance because we'll be going to some sketchy places on outreach and the possible consequences of that.)
Time after time, when discouragement would hit I would put on my victory song and practice crossing the border into Switzerland and how that would feel. I would practice doing that stunning drive in my mind the way Coach Jimmy Valvano would have his team practice cutting down the net.
Let me tell you, victory is sweet and nothing pleases the Father's heart more than seeing His children's dreams come true.
After we crossed the Swiss border we put on our victory song, breathed the crisp mountain air and celebrated with God.
For those out there who have been dreaming dreams, DON'T STOP! The only thing separating those dreams from reality is tenacity, keep going. Never let failure be an option.
After we arrived, my cousin who is doing a study abroad program, joined us. While my family enjoyed local outtings like skiing and miles-long downhill sledding courses, Adam and I, along with the other staff got the building ready to receive the students. I say that in love and I do have to say thank you to my family who did spend tons of time watching the kids and helping us to have a smooth transition.
On Saturday, January 4th, the students arrived from Canada, Germany, the French speaking part of Switzerland and South Africa. The students first week was jam packed with community living guidelines and staff teachings. Adam taught about personal devotions, and I taught about worship and intercession. We were also responsible for organizing and running Commitment Night, that's where we charge the students to take this time seriously and go deeper with God.
Through out the course of the school Adam will be running City Impact, it's essentially relationship building and evangelism in Davos, and I will be heading up the worship and intercession times. In between these times we will be sitting in on lectures, helping with the daily running of the school and planning a 14 week outreach to Eastern Europe. In mid-March we'll be leading the outreach to Ukraine, Romania and Bosnia. We're super excited about outreach!
Any minute now, the first guest speaker is due arrive. The students are about to have their world rocked! It's such a privilege to be a part of this life transforming process.