Tag: faith

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The Mysteries of Life

LS

Life is quite mysterious in many different ways. It is even more mysterious when we parachute into the middle of the story. This means that we have skipped the introduciton and the opening chapters. However, we are priviledged to be a part of writing the middle and altering the potential endings.

Like with many other things related to adoption, many of these things are universally true of children – just with a few additional wrinkles and somewhat on steroids. One of the mysteries of life which all parents can relate to is why do children get a boost of super hyperjuice when they are tired? And when and why does that change to an exhausted drain of all levels of energy as an adult? It seems that the end of each day has us struggle to just finish out whereas our kids are suddenly bouncing off the walls. In fact it can feel very much like the sugar high rush that parents fear from this time of year. However, the difference is that sugar is usually not the culprit. Instead, it is the product of children who are in a state of being wound up too tightly. For them, living in a heightened state of stress, fear, anxiety, and fight or flight syndrome means that the end of the day can often look like energetic crash. Interestingly enough mom and dad are (hopefully) temporary experiencing a similar thing…but rather than an energy fuel ours looks more like a rapid energy dump. In fact, if anyone could bottle what kids experience, they could make a serious dime replacing energy drinks with a rush far superior.

Another of the mysteries of life is the constantly changing interests. It is almost as if our kids become hyper fixated on a few particular things when then suddenly seem to drop out of favor randomly. The first month it was going to the park every day and now it is playing in our yard and almost never going to the park. Certain fruits and vegetables are in high demand and then suddenly they start piling up from lack of interest. It is understandable that in a world of constantly changing factors, adoptive kids will latch onto the familiar with an almost death like grip. With time, these things will lose their appeal and be replaced or as trust and time pass by, simply be held more loosely.

Now all of this likely sound familiar if you have had experience with kids. But what might not be so familiar is seeing this amongst children who range in age from 9-almost 15. Normally these things are present in children about half that age range in strong doses. This shows how adoptive children are often emotionally and socially years behind their biological age. Age simply is a number which cannot be held onto too tightly with adoption. It means we need to carefully temper our expectations. This also means that we are constantly on the look out to try to gain clues as to where are children are, what might be triggering them, and how to help them make up for lost ground.

Thankfully the Lord continues to uphold us and give us the strength we need. We are also so thankful to see signs of kids getting more comfortable and established. Little indications that their shields are dropping just a bit. The loss that is the cause of all adoptive stories takes serious time to heal. Children learn to cover up pains and hide emotions. Well meaning people think and speak about how wonderful their life is now and how grateful they must be…and they are. But this can add to the layers of cover up and feeling that releasing negative emotions is not allowed. This can cause a stuffing and ignoring the hurt, pain, and significant loss that brings a child to the point of adoption. Time and patiently building trust are some of the greatest tools in this journey. And the mysteries remain of what lies behind the massive question mark that exists before we entered the scene. Thankfully there are no question marks for the Lord and He knows every detail. And we trust He is working to bring about healing, bonding, attachment, and redemption.

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One Day at a Time

LS

It has been a bit longer than we intended since our last post. That isn’t because nothing has happened, but rather so much has been happening that carving out time is not always easy. Our days seem to fill up faster than anticipated and we feel like the things we accomplish always dwarf the things we need to get done.

We are living in the tyranny of the urgent and trying to include rest and relaxation amongst the things we desperately need to accomplish. One day at a time seems to be all we can keep in our scope. Thankfully, the Lord continues to sustain us through each day, but we also look forward to the time in which we will be able to have a longer view in mind. There are still so many unknowns and things left up in the air – residence permits, school situations, citizenship processes, etc. It adds an extra layer of uncertainty that makes planning difficult.

Over the last few days we were blessed to spend very brief time with grandparents. It was a blessing and great encouragement to see them. We enjoyed catching up and having conversations that didn’t feel strained or broken due to language barriers and which were not simply revolving around needs or the interests of children. It was encouraging to hear insights from an outside perspective. One of the challenges with anything difficult is that you can get so focused on the immediate that you lose sight of the longer term. The forest can disappear because of all the trees. It can be quite complex to notice the improvements and changes because they seem to be tiny steps…but over time tiny steps add up in a big way. We were also thankful to have great support, love, and care. We often forget that we need this too. It is a bit like the responses to emergencies – all attentions, efforts, and emotions are focused around what is most pressing. This means those giving urgent care can lose sight of their own needs and the drain that caregiving is having on them. So it is a blessing when someone else comes along focusing on their needs and helping them to stay in optimal shape.

Each day looks slightly different for us, but we have gotten some patterns established. Early morning exercise for the boys, off the school for Elijah, breakfast for everyone else, and then school work – girls with mom, boys with dad. There is a lot of catching up which is going well, but also requires more attention and energy to be able to execute. Study skills have to be taught and learned. Lessons include how to stay focused, concentrate, not lose your cool or allow frustration to dominate (and no, this doesn’t only just apply to students). Mom tries to multitask school with upkeep, while dad tries to juggle ministry and school work. So far, sermons haven’t had Portuguese terms or mathematical functions appear, but it is difficult to feel like we are running two different brains simultaneously. Afternoons provide opportunities for play, cleaning, work, grocery shopping, making up schoolwork not accomplished, dental visits (we have felt like we have been living in the orthodontist’s office…), and never-ending laundry. All too soon dinner preparation takes place, showers have to be had, food is consumed, clean up occurs, family devotions, and then bedtime…after that mom and dad finally have a few minutes to breathe and try to ignore all the many things that still have to get done, but there is no remaining energy to do. Then it is collapse in bed and repeat…

The Lord continues to be gracious to us and show His graciousness through His people. We are so thankful for all of our children and how God is molding us together as a family. It isn’t easy, but then again, diamonds are formed under intense and so we are trusting all of this will produce a valuable precious unit too. Thank you for your continued prayers for us!

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A Little Excitement

LS

Advent season is just around the corner, literally. It is a special time of year with a lot of hustle and bustle. We are caught up in the chaos of the season mixed into the chaos of our lives. On the one hand there is much marvelous about this – there are new traditions and opportunities to establish. Our kids were excited to get a Christmas tree today and were amazed that it was a real tree. They have had artificial trees in the past, but never a real one.

We were also able to enjoy a Thanksgiving lunch with some very kind friends who live close by. They took a risk inviting our hoard over and even graciously made most of the food. It was wonderful to spend some time fellowshipping with them and talking to them. The kids enjoyed the food and playing soccer afterwards. We were also extremely thankful to see how well behaved they were and how much they used good manners. Our kids were never intentionally mannerless, but growing up in their circumstances, they never had manners taught to them. We can vividly remember some dinner scenes both at restaurants in Curitiba and at home. It was encouraging to see how much they have improved in a short period of time.

Yet, as with every kid, a bit of excitement is both wonderous and stressful. Changes can be fun, but also feel threatening. This week has been a low sleep week, which impacts emotions, tensions, and reactions. Dad having some several meetings taking him out of the house this week has had a subtle ripple effect on the kids. The recent elders’ meeting had Luke arriving home just after bedtime. The boys both mentioned they had a hard time sleeping. One of them mentioned shedding a few tears because of concerns that dad would only be returning in the morning (even though we had clearly indicated when dad was leaving and returning). These are small reminders that trust takes a long time to develop, especially when experience has taught kids that parents are untrustworthy.

The lunch today had a lot more clinginess from multiple kids beforehand, afterwards, and some during. These are more little pointers that as much as kids enjoyed the food, company, and play, there is still underlying uncertainty. New people can thrust kids into a state of uncertainty and subconscious worry. And while we are incredibly thankful for all the ways the Lord continues to bring advancements, we are also still trying to keep our heads above the water in many ways. We aren’t often cognizant of this, but the chaos our kids are working through, the chaos of the time of year we are in, and the chaos of our lives definitely impacts us and leaves us more frazzled. It is sometimes harder for us to spot this because our energies are so occupied with all these other things. Thankfully the Lord provides us with the strength and energy to make it through each day and we are even more thankful for amazing friends who graciously care for us.

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Giving Thanks

LS

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

One of the many aspects of living in another country is that country specific holidays have a very different feel to them. Thanksgiving is a great example. It is a holiday of great importance within the United States. Friends, family, food, and time off are all a few characteristic features. However, in Germany, Thanksgiving is not a reality. Work and school take place as normal. It is not as easy to find the same traditional foods and family live too far away.

For our kids this has an additional impact. Often labeled as third culture kids, children of those living overseas grow up between two worlds. They don’t fully identify with either culture because there are aspects that are missing from both. While we do try to incorporate things as best as we can, it really isn’t possible to fully replicate them.

Yet, one of the things we certainly do hope to pass on in a heart that is focused on thankfulness for the many blessings we have received. We have seen the Lord do so much in our lives. In such a short time, we have experienced personal change, family change, and many other remarkable changes – the benefit of living in the pressure cooker of sanctification for a season. We are thankful for the remarkable developments and bondings we have already witnessed take place in our family. The journey is very far from over (it is really still at the starting line), but the initial few steps have been in the right direction. This is only due to the grace and kindness of God.

We are also so thankful for the remarkable care we have received from MICC. One of the reasons we opted to return to Munich following the adoption was the community we were surrounded by. Yet, we have to say that even our greatest expectations have been exceeded. We have had people checking in on us, sending us encouraging messages, taking time to talk and listen (especially helpful when hard days seem unending), gift cards given, clothing (to where we are now out of space) donated, cars loaned, cleaning services, organizational help, flexibility with ministry, groceries given, extra eyes on kids, translation services, and so many more things. It has been unbelievable how much help has been pouring in and undoubtedly the road would have been immensely more difficult without this. We are so thankful for all the ways we have seen the hand of the Lord at work through the people of the Lord.

We are also thankful for our family. The Lord has put each person into our family in a special way – one not without serious challenges and difficulties, but one which is unique and handcrafted. We praise Him that He is a God who redeems, who rescues, who is patient, who is gracious, and who adopts His children. We pray that we can reflect Him to our adopted children.

Recently one child wrote a thank you card which included the statement – thank you for adopting me. We are thankful daily for the Lord adopting us and we are thankful that He has provided the opportunity for us to adopt others. There are still plenty of difficulties that we face and will face, but we do hope and pray that thankfulness will undergird our path. The Lord is gracious and He is good, His mercies are never ceasing and are new every morning.

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The End of an Era

LS

We have been so thankful to journey with you through our adoption process. It has been a journey that often feels like a highspeed rollercoaster and sometimes we aren’t sure if we are upside down or right side up. One of the more difficult loops we have had to endure has been our second adoption process.

In 2019, we were matched with a then 10 year old boy named Shan who lived in northern China. As we prepared to head to Scotland, we fully anticipated and even planned to be traveling to China a few months later. As 2020 rolled in and the world shut down, we were told our adoption process was on pause. Like with almost everything, we thought this would be a question of weeks…then months…and then it turned into years.

Throughout it all we continued to pray fervently for our son and for adoptions to resume as quickly as possible. We also sent several packages for birthdays, Christmas, and other occasions. As time continued to march on, we watched our son grow up via pictures every 5-6 months. We saw videos of a growing preteen who addressed us as mom and dad. As the days turned into years, our hopes continued to go up and down. Rumors were in that certain families were possibly be reevaluated for travel, other countries were sending a few families over, China asked how many of the original families were still in process. And then, quite suddenly, without any warning, at the end of August 2024 we received word that China made the decision to close all adoptions.

The language was carefully analyzed – it wasn’t clear if this referred to only future families or those in process too. And yet, these felt very much like desperate grabs…we were pretty sure the door had closed. Lifeline was amazingly helpful throughout this. They sought to care for families, provide all options, and empathize with the difficulties of 5 years of unmet expectations. In addition, they redoubled their advocacy efforts focusing on families who were matched. We became part of 300 families whose stories grabbed the attention of various news outlets, all in the hope that this would help generate interest at higher levels.

Along with many of the other families, we tried to not get our hopes up, while still desperately not wanting to give up on our son. While we were in Brazil, Lifeline launched its biggest advocacy effort yet. This involved a series of videos showing stories and making pleas. It also involved drafting and signing two letters – one to the President of the United States and one to the President of China. Lifeline’s own president spent significant time talking to anyone in Washington D.C. who would listen and made it up to some fairly high levels in seeking to plead for the families.

The recent meeting between the two presidents was seen as the best hope. China Lifeline staff and the Chinese Child Welfare Protection Agency indicated the only chance would be if intervention happened at the presidential letter. All the efforts amazingly did net the information and letters being placed into the preparation packet that was handed to the President. Prayers were that it would come up as a part of the discussion. Unfortunately, a few weeks out the indications demonstrate that this topic was never broached. Due to this, this week Lifeline made the very difficult decision to suspend their China adoption section.

Although none of the families on that call were shocked or surprised at this decision, it was the thing none of us wanted to hear either. Lifeline, without a doubt, took this as far as possible and then some. And we knew it would probably come to an end sooner or later…in fact, last year was the fairly sure nail to the coffin. But this certainly marks the end of an era – a long, very drawn out process. In some ways, the deaths that you see coming a long way off are some of the most exhausting. It is the train you cannot stop, but you try to delay it in any way possible. The deaths that come sudden and unexpected pack a stronger gut punch, but there is an aspect of the swiftness that brings a different set of pain than those which never seem to end.

We don’t know why the Lord allowed our second adoption to end this way. We hate this most for Shan, who longed for a family, was told he had a family, and is left without a family. Furthermore, we aren’t even sure if he knows why. We pray that God will bring the truth of the Gospel to him and that perhaps one day we might finally be united in eternity if not before.

It wasn’t a shock, it was to be expected, it was already a truth our hearts knew…and yet, the end of an era has come with much sorrow. In His grace, we know the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and remains sovereign and good…even when this era dies a thousand deaths.

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It’s the Little Things

LS

When it comes to the state of our lives right now, it’s the little things that count. And amazingly, the little things seem to count in both directions.

It’s the little things that can push us over the edge. Perhaps it is because we often don’t see those things coming. The big things sometimes seem more predictable in terms of bracing for impact. And it seems like the little things come in more of a rapid succession. How often do you have to tell people to turn off the lights before they will start to remember? How often can things be hidden as a “joke” before it is no longer thought to be funny? How many times can scissors seem to disappear and then other things end up decapitated? How often can the things which get under our skin keep driving us up the wall?

And in the midst of the little things it seems like there is a little lack of logic…but it does at least provide some comic relief. Or perhaps it is laugh instead of cry? Kids racing up right after dinner and then fighting over who is first to brush their teeth. Mind you, this is not because they actually care about dental hygiene. Rather it is because they don’t want to be the last person who then has to turn off all the lights. The laugh/cry part of the logic for us? If they would just recall to turn the lights off right away (the subject of which seems to be on the forefront of their minds already), it wouldn’t take hardly any more effort or time. Or the protestation from an upset child who on investigation is angry because another child is “antagonizing” them. The antagonization? The one child is declaring that they will eat all the pineapple. Now mind you, the pineapple was already dished out on everyone’s plates and everyone had an equal amount. And so we are struggling to figure out why such a bold claim even is bothersome since it obviously can’t be true.

But it’s the little things that that we also hold onto. The little baby steps in the right direction. The small times when a child remembers that going into a dramatic display over a disappointment won’t help them and actually leaves mom and dad more stressed. So instead, they stop mid step and reverse direction. Or the little action of seeking to be helpful or at least a little less stubborn. It is the little things we hold onto…the ones that seem few and far between.

We are still just managing to make to to the end of each day. And we are still getting asked multiple times a day if we are sad, angry, or tired (indications of emotions that have been deeply impactful in past histories). But God is still graciously sustaining us and He is using His local body in amazing ways to do so. We continue to be the beneficiary of so many who call, write, ask, show up, help, care, and loan. And the little things along with the little steps are ever so slowly taking us in the right direction.

We still have a lot of prayer requests and things we are trusting the Lord with – the schooling situation for this year is still not clear and appeals will still need to be launched. Residence permits still have to be applied for which will involve more explanations and complications. But we are thankful that the registration with the local city was finally completed. The citizenship process with the US is still underway with no news surfacing…but we trust God is working through that. Thank you for praying with us! We are thankful that though we don’t seem to know anything, we serve a God who knows everything.

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Fish Tank

LS

Life has felt a bit like a fish tank recently. Fish tanks are interesting because we like to peer in them to study the continents. Except that we aren’t so much looking in as feeling like the ones being examined. Some of this is by design and we are thankful for it. Our desire has been to be as transparent as possible in sharing our adoption. It is our hope to encourage others through the failures and successes, to help others gain insights into the highs and lows of adoption, and most importantly, to point everyone to our glorious God who adopts us and sustains us through this journey. This fish tank is one which we hope will be a blessing to you and encourage you to possibly consider adoption, care for those adopting, and develop a heart for the fatherless.

However, there is another type of fish tank we find ourselves swimming in. Although this likely happens with all ages, one of the interesting aspects of adopting older children is that communication is involved in a way it wasn’t with Elijah. All adoptive children enter into adoption carrying an enormous amount of baggage. The lives lived have significantly altered the way that they see and experience the world. This also impacts drastically the way they build or struggle to build relationships.

Repeatedly over the course of the last few weeks our kids have been studying us to carefully analyze our swimming patterns. The underlying question is how safe is the water? Are there sharks? Are these parents the same as our past experiences? It shows up in different ways from each child. Some of it is observation and hesitation. Some of it shows up in questions being asked of us. Questions like – are you sad? Are you tired? Are you angry? And not just once or twice, but in some cases multiple times a day. No matter what the answer is, there is skepticism in follow up. Statements such as you look happier in these pictures before you adopted us indicate the underlying uncertainties and fears that still exist.

Of course, the hard part of being in a fish tank is that the swimming space can feel very constricted. None of us are perfect and being in pressure cookers and under microscopic examination with constantly rising tensions, the pots do boil over. On the one hand this means that failures, even minor ones, can have a significantly larger impact. Trust has to be built and for those who have only experienced it broken have walls erected that first have to be slowly brought down brick by brick. That is before anything can even hope to be built back up. The concept of walking on eggshells can feel very real for adoptive parents, who are trying very hard not to trigger past trauma without knowing where all the mines are buried.

On the other hand, when failures do occur, and due to sinful natures they eventually will, it provides an opportunity. There is a chance to try to correct wrong reactions that are engrained into the memories of kids. They get to see how we handle our failures even as we are trying to help them learn how to approach their issues. Because it isn’t just that we are being micro-examined, it is that sometimes we are being experimented upon to see how we react. Some of this is intentional, but a good bit is unintentional learned habits and patterns. Unfortunately, we don’t always play the guinea pig as well as we ought to. And our emotional tanks seem to get drained very day…multiple times…and the reserves are somewhere in the rearview mirror…very distantly.

Yet, isn’t it a blessing that the Lord redeems situations that are failures. Thankfully He is sanctifying us and teaching us how to help our children reestablish trust…it is a long term project…very long term…but each step gets us one step closer. And your prayers are a tremendous blessing. We need them and can testify that the Lord is graciously working through them.

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Sleepless in Munich

LS

Adoptions have a funny way of bringing curves and twists – some of which we can see coming and others tend to blindside. After several days of hyperactivity, it was apparent that something was not entirely correct. Yet, the difficulty can be that there are so many possible reasons that narrowing it down can be difficult. Recently mom determined that lack of sleep is at least one of the contributing factors for the girls. We already knew this was an issue for the boys, but it became even more apparent on a recent overnight trip dad took with them. As excited as they were to go, new places, new faces, and new locations means additional stress and anxiety. It also meant they didn’t want to sleep alone nor did they sleep well.

As you might know, lack of sleep combined with stress and anxiety results in emotions all over the place. In fact, if we could bottle up and sell the emotions present in the house by everyone, we would be millionaires. Along with that comes plenty of mistakes from all parties. One of the hard parts is that older children come with imprinted memories. This also means that actions, words, tones can sometimes trigger recollections of darker times. Even though this is not our intention, it can cause some set backs. However, it also gives us the opportunity to model apologies, swallow our pride, and seek to empathize…all things that we are not nearly as good at as we would like. In fact, one thing we are learning is that if you want to end each day feeling good about yourself – don’t adopt. We slide into each evening with reverberating thoughts about all we could have, should have done and said. Perhaps this is one of God’s pressure cookers of sanctification.

We were thankful to celebrate a birthday today and even more thankful that dollar store toys can generate happiness. It was also a blessing to get a call saying that we can now proceed with the city notification of residence for our kids. Next week we will hand in the final paperwork and get this step done which is needed for many other aspects. Slowly we are learning foods which will be eaten without too much push back and we are seeking to gradually establish more routines.

There are still plenty of challenges and we still feel like we are just barely managing to make it to the end of each day. Yet, we also don’t want to ignore the blessings the Lord continues to shower on us. We have kids who are really great and have wonderful attributes. We have an amazing church family who continues to help in all kinds of ways. We have so many people, just like you, praying for us…something we have never been so aware of needing so desperately. And God’s heart toward adopting us, His patience with us, and His forgiveness of us all seem a little more real when walking through adoption ourselves.

Now…if we can just manage to get everyone to get enough sleep…

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Yoyo-ing Along

LS

Our lives feel like a bit of a yoyo at the moment. We do our best to remind ourselves that there is (hopefully and prayerfully) a time when the speed of the yoyo will slow down a bit. But when scissors are taken to things other than paper, toilet paper rolls end up submerged, complaining never seems to cease, disappointment over not getting everything desired at this moment, and mom and dad already feeling overwhelmed it can seem like our bouncing up and down is happening rapidly in a single day.

We are thankful for the prayers, the notes of encouragement, the gracious offers to help, the things dropped off and given to us, a car and groceries passed along. And we praise the Lord that even when we are at our most overwhelmed, we have been blessed with fairly good kids who, though they drive us nuts at times, also show kindness and care. The Lord is always at hand even when the dark skies seem to blot out the sun.

We managed to get some routines slowly established and some basic schoolwork in place. Our children pick things up well and fairly rapidly, showing that much of their delay is due to unfortunate circumstances rather than competence issues. Time is what they need and devoted attention. However, that is a struggle to given when our attentions are divided 5 ways already, not counting our other obligations. So even though it feels like we are the proverbial boy who is throwing starfish back into the ocean with a beach full to go, we try to remind ourselves as well that though we might not be able to get to them all, we can save the one in our hands.

And at the same time, it is easy to forget how much pressure and stress we are all under. Children are facing a massive amount of new information and sensory overloads every day. We are also in a similar position although it can be much harder for us to spot because there is so much more familiar to us. And it always seems like the “to do list” not only keeps getting longer, but it also keeps getting more complex. Renewing Michelle’s residence permit has turned up requests for some things we weren’t expecting (like proof of having completed language courses and being currently enrolled), the filing for registration in our city takes much longer and is not so clear (tomorrow is our appointment), doctors visits need to get scheduled soon, dentists, and the clocks just seem to speed up. It certainly feels like we are in a pressure cooker which is probably why the yoyo ride seems even more intense and we are all a little less well behaved and a little more on edge.

Yet through this we are reminded of how God is patient with us, how He is gracious beyond all measure. That the things He calls us to, He doesn’t just abandon us in. Rather, He walks alongside us and it is His strength that we need. Thankfully, we are able to discover alongside Paul, that His strength is perfected in our weakness. And He continues to bring others alongside us to help, to encourage, and to uphold.

His hand holds the string and He controls the tempo…so while the yoyo might seem to be giving us motion sickness, in His hands, it is actually producing a glorious harmony and combination of masterful brilliance.

And one day, we trust we will be able to look back and stand amazed and the majestic skill He displays.

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The Fellowship through Christ

LS

It was a true joy for us to be back in fellowship at our local church in Munich. There is an indescribable joy in being in the presence of fellow believers – perhaps this is one aspect of what Christ means when He tells us that the Sabbath was made for man. Gathering together for worship breathes life into weary souls. And to say we haven’t been weary souls would be to simply put a mask on reality. The return to Germany has not been easy. For all the difficulties we face in Brazil, having dedicated time and dedicated finances intended to help facilitate bonding has been an incredible blessing. Having done two adoptions now, we are very thankful for the time requirement in Brazil. Even though it adds a lot of additional finances and puts a strain on holiday time, there is really a lot to be said for focusing so much attention on family without anything else interrupting. Ironically enough, our first adoption was almost as long in country, but under very different circumstances. Luke was there alone for most of the time and it was under the stress of not knowing when we would get residence permit approval to be able to leave. It was a blessing to be together in Brazil and to have these weeks set aside just for this purpose.

That being said, it does make transitions much more difficult. We spent a lot of time together and suddenly kids are having to adjust to not having dedicated attention by parents. There was freedom to do what we wanted, to focus on engaging with our kids and building memories. Suddenly that freedom doesn’t exist as easily – there are household chores, yardwork, work responsibilities, etc. From a child’s perspective this must feel like being dropped into the deep end of the swimming pool. The level of change these children have faced over the last 2 months is quite astonishing – it is more than many people face over the span of several years. Moving countries, leaving everything behind, facing everything new, and then to do it with changing family structure and dynamics. You might imagine how hard that could be especially when you mix in time changes.

With all of this happening, we felt like we were somewhat limping into church this morning. Yet, even getting there was filled with acts of generosity and grace: a loaned car that allowed us to drive when Munich decided to do massive renovation work on public transportation, a willing translator who sacrificed his Sunday to help kids understand the sermon, a housewarming set of groceries and food, an impromptu ride home for Luke, additional clothing and gifts. Our emotional tanks were more than a little drained because trying to care for kids can often mean setting aside caring for yourself. The transition has not just been hard for little ones, but big ones too. Resuming workloads is always difficult – this is why Mondays are stereotypically dreaded. Yet, through it all, the Lord’s sustenance continues to be visible and today it was on full display through His people. We are so thankful for how He provides for us, cares for us, and lifts us up – and we are thankful He does that through you all.

What a joy it was to see so many and how that helped us walk through the fog of the transition. The number of people spending time with us, seeking to care for us, praying for us, and encouraging us has been a blessing. We are thankful.

Difficult days lie ahead and difficult days lie behind. Every transition involves setbacks and the feeling of spinning wheels. With time, traction is regained. And in the midst, it is a blessing to be surrounded by a wonderful community – both those near and those far. The many wonderful remarks to these posts have been uplifting, the emails and WhatsApp messages a blessing. The picture of the Body of Christ at work is glorious indeed. And on a day when we celebrated the birthday of our youngest, it was just what the Great Physician ordered. Thank you for helping us walk this path filled with incredible, deep, profound hardships and also overflowing with amazing, delightful, inexpressible joys.