What a month June was! Here are a few highlights:
German school moved from Zoom to the classroom so we got to start our mornings with a four-mile ride--we loved it! Munich is a very bikeable city, less than a mile of our route was on the actual road.
We bought a car! Meet the Vater Vagon (named incongruence with our previous car “Storm”). The registration process was certainly unique, we had to scratch off a sticker from the old license plate!
We moved out of the city and into our German home in Starnberg! Still hasn’t sunk in… we celebrated by firing up our new grill! A first in our marriage! We have much to learn...
We soaked up our last weeks in the city (pre-move) with lots of walks along the Isar and enjoying empty museums!
Reacquiring everything we sold or left in the States (from plates to pillows to literally the same piano keyboard). Buying off FB Marketplace has helped us get oriented in the city!
Supporting one of our Young Life leaders at a professional American Football game (in Germany, we know...it's confusing).
Getting lost in translation isn’t always a bad thing, like when you get a giant plate of delicious tapas! You just have to roll with it.
From Chase:
What I learned: How to buy a car, how to get German insurance (Germans love their insurances!), How to get Wifi and Electricity to our apartment (they took money from us so I guess I did that right?), how to drive stick in the city (thankfully my dad gave me great lessons in the country roads of Ellensburg when I was a youth so I was mostly competent), how to speak German using the past tense (still fuzzy), and how many decisions go into designing an 8-foot kitchen.
Where I saw God: People grow when they are faced with adversity. To willingly put oneself in an uncomfortable situation is a sanctifying act! This gives us the opportunity to trust in God; to remember the Calling that was given to us to be here, and to practice forgiveness and grace toward each other because life can get really frustrating in a foreign place .
We continue to see God in our weekly zoom calls with the MIS students. In July, we will get to see them in person for the first time! We are helping out with a German YL camp for middle schoolers in August and some of our students are going to join our work crew! We are excited for that development and excited to bond further with them.
What I hope for: We have finally landed in Starnberg, our German home. I’m excited to plant down roots here. We have moved into the neighborhood, and now we get to know our neighbors and our new home. There have been some connections and relationships made through the YL community and our German course but we are still in short supply in the “friends department.'' Hopefully that will change!
From Meg:
What I learned: This month I wrestled with the desire and temptation to strive after completeness...to push through exhaustion to check something off the list. While some seasons do require more energy and “pushing through,” I am trying to embrace God’s invitation to the gift of pacing myself. Setting up a new home from scratch brings with it a million decisions and I’m prone to putting excessive pressure on even the smallest ones (like ice cube trays). But, by accepting, not fighting, the chaos and simplicity of this season (like sitting on camping chairs to write this blog), I can “learn to be an unrushed traveler, moving forward at a mindful pace, growing in wisdom everyday. Take heart. Breathe deep. Embrace the gift of pacing yourself” (Morgan Harper Nichols).
Where I saw God: Decision fatigue has been weighing on me and I’ve been getting lost in the tensions of “this or that.” I’ve been praying for clarity and guidance and yesterday I finally got some perspective. God woke me up with a song from my childhood, “Timeless” by the Christian group Selah (seriously random). I went for a walk to meditate on its lyrics and found great peace: But seasons pass and I discover/ Above all this there’s another/ Helping me to hold on to what is timeless/ So the Autumn can color me gold/ the Winter can dress me in snow/ But it’s You I see/ The Timeless part of me. Ultimately, these decisions don’t define me.
What I hope for: After a very full month, we are eager for a little more margin. We’ve changed German schools so we can continue learning part-time (2 vs 5 days a week) and are looking forward to a short road trip for Chase’s 30th birthday! I hope this month has room to breathe and let creativity and wonder flourish.
So wonderful to hear about your adventures, changes, growth, insight, and desires. Praying for friendships to grow, opportunities for exploration, wonder, and creativity. Love the reminder that God is what is most important through all of your days. 🙏 ❤