Landing Well

Hi all! We have been on the ground in Europe for almost 3 weeks now. I’m not convinced that we’re done fighting jet lag just yet. The last three weeks have been an exciting and terrifying roller coaster ride, but we are ready for the adventure. 

Week 1 offered the rest that we needed and we got to spend time getting to know our team. They cared for us well with homecooked meals and holding our hands in the grocery store. Week 2 came with some welcomed excitement and anticipated stress. Our teammate had set up apartment tours, then we had to make a decision. While it was not the easiest process to get the documents squared away, we were moved into our apartment and nesting by our eighth day in country. This week, we are doing a bit more exploring around our city and trying to re-learn everyday tasks like grocery shopping and public transportation. 

While not every step has been easy, God has been so kind to us through it all. We prayed- along with many of you- that our girls would make friends quickly. I’m happy to report that the language barrier is not a barrier at all for our kids and they still make friends everywhere we go. Also, the second night we were in our apartment, we met our next door neighbors who also have a young daughter. We have already had opportunities to play and get to know them, and they have been so kind to offer us practical help and language tips. We are praising God for this quick and warm friendship! 

Next week we will be traveling for the Easter holiday and meeting the rest of our team. We are looking forward to seeing the beautiful coast and seeing more of our country. The biggest goal we hope to accomplish this month is to find a language tutor and babysitter. We have been able to make some connections already because many of the people here speak basic English, but we already desire to be able to connect with them on a deeper level, and that can only be done as we learn the language. 

So far, our favorite things about our new country are: 
-It’s beautiful! We have a beautiful view of the mountains from our terrace. 
-It offers almost everything we need for our basic needs and convenience while also maintaining old world charm. 
-The people have been kind and welcoming to us! (For the most part…thank God). 
A few of the biggest challenges that we will have to overcome are:
-Language learning
-Loneliness (Louella would love to be in a child care center. She thrives around people and wants to get out of the house more. Please pray that we can make and maintain friendships for the whole family.)

Prayer Needs
April 1-8: Travel for Easter
April 9-15: Finding a babysitter
April 16-22: Finding/ starting language learning 
April 23-30: Building relationships with our neighbors and church family