Look Both Ways

The end of the year is always a good time to look back on what has happened and look forward to what is to come. This year, we celebrate the little moments of joy, the small wins, amidst hard moments of frustration and longing.

Dancing it out at the Young Life Leader Weekend

Our move abroad has looked different than we expected, between staff and leader transitions, covid, an aggravating visa process, and a very private and hard to access school culture, we found ourselves more at a restart of ministry than a growing phase. And that takes time to build, no way around it (if you’ve ever started anything new, then you know what it feels like!). YET, we are still in awe of the ways God has worked when we look at the big picture--and the fun we've had along the way!

Fun at the Christmas markets with YL friends!

Last week, we felt prompted to consider what starting a “committee” (aka a team of caring adults) would look like. We had not previously felt ready for that step as we didn’t know any one to ask! But as we thought about it, we came up with fifteen names. Fifteen! I was awestruck. It is no small thing to be able to make a list of people who might care enough about teenagers to give up a little time and energy, who might trust and like us enough to partner in our work. We praise God for them, and for the reminder that even while getting on campus has been impossible, ministry is still happening. Our roots here are growing. Several of those names even came to our house for Thanksgiving!

Last spring, we graduated five seniors, leaving us with an empty slate at the start of the 22-23 school year. But, God knew what we needed and sparked a relationship with the US Military Base in Garmisch (which sends kids to Munich International School). It’s wild that our only “warm” parent-leads live over an hour away; nevertheless we happily make that trek if that's what it takes to build relationships. Now, we are starting regular meetings with a small group of high school students in our home. We are hopeful this crew can form a foundation from which to grow our Young Life family. We can’t wait to see what is to come!

We have also enjoyed serving and supporting our Young Life region (which includes all of German speaking Europe). We planned and ran all the activities at camp, working with three languages (German, English, and Ukrainian) and getting through it 8-weeks pregnant! Chase got to do his first German Program skit at a leader weekend (he was a game show host named Dietrich Richtig) and Meg took on the role of regional prayer coordinator and has collaborated with the other European regions in prayer and spiritual formation. We’re also planning to help our friends in East Germany run an “English Day Camp” Young-Life-style with hopes of jumpstarting their ministry (we’ll be the token English speakers). It’s been fun to see what we can offer not only students, but the larger Young Life community. It all matters.

In life, we’ve joined a small group with couples from around the world (China, Malaysia, Italy, Germany, and more) and have hosted several large international gatherings in our home. We love hosting and are so grateful to have space to host large groups! We’ve also made friends with Germans–culminating in a living room full for the Seahawks game in Munich! That was awesome! They were overwhelmed by the amount of snacks we made… We’re also getting the healthcare system down, being pregnant will force that! I’ve had so many appointments! We’ve traveled around and enjoyed hosting friends and family from the States. Slowly, this place is starting to feel like an expansion of home.

It’s the end of the year in the non-profit world, and we, like many others, are hoping to close a gap that has formed in our finances (due to inflation, donor changes, and the expected baby costs!). If you’d like to support our goal of financial health and sustainable ministry, you can give here! (giving.younglife.org/harmon)

Hope you all can take a moment to "look both ways" in this busy season, we join in celebrating the joys and mourning the losses with you as we turn to another year.

Merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachten!