The Summer Behind Us, the Semester Before Us & Life These Days

While we still have a few weeks left of vacation season here in Europe, I can’t help but think ahead to what September will bring. Before we deep dive back into language school, a new preschool for the girls, a packed schedule- oh and growing a baby!- I’m happy to reflect with all of you and appreciate the summer that we have had already. Let’s start at the beginning…

Hosting our first volunteer team

Jeremiah and I were thrilled to host our first volunteer team from our home church in Kentucky. We went on our first international mission trips with our church as newly married, recent college graduates. Those experiences are what opened our hearts and minds to living overseas. For that reason and others, we are huge supporters of short term mission trips.   
From a ministry point of view, it was a good opportunity for us to look at our city and realize all that we have learned, while strategically thinking through what we still need to explore. We prepared maps and prayer points so that we could pray with the team for specific people and places in our city. Through surveying, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that people were willing to talk to us, especially in the big city parks. The team also helped us prepare and distribute sack lunches to beggars and people in need. Without any major hiccups, these projects seemed to go really well, if only in the sense that we were able to meet people and learn about what sort of projects we should pursue in the future. 
From a personal perspective, having dear friends here from our home church was exciting, but for the first time I felt really homesick. It made me realize how much life we had lived together and how we had grown in friendship over the years, and that just can’t be replaced by new friendships in the course of only a year. Their visit was comforting, but also made me long for the life we had in KY. Of course, the Lord was not surprised by this, so it made our trip to the US really well timed...

USA Trip

We traveled to the USA for work, but we were blessed to see our families, enjoy Texas Roadhouse, and get some shopping done. The work portion of our trip challenged us to not live in fear but realize that we live in a broken world, and geographically, we need to be aware of certain challenges we may face in this part of the world. It was empowering to learn tools that can help us continue to carry out the mission (The Great Commission) even in more difficult circumstances.  
If seeing our church friends and family hadn’t made me homesick, driving through the rolling Appalachian hills surely would have, and did. Country roads, biscuits and gravy, and familiarity planted seeds of desire in my mind for a simple country life in the USA. God showed me though, that pursuing that desire would not only be disobedient, but I would be living a lie. It would be a life that God has not called our family to at this time, and ultimately it would not result in happiness. That realization is such a good reminder and driving force to keep us running towards the finish line here in Croatia. 

Settling back in

As soon as our taxi driver dropped us off in front of our apartment building, we smiled. We were glad to be back. What a relief. The following weeks came with rest as we were getting over sickness and exhaustion. First trimester symptoms and jet lag together completely knocked me off my feet. Once we had regained enough energy to go outside, we began settling back into this culture and appreciating things, while being honest about the hard parts. Being back in our home culture for a short time revealed to us how much stress we’ve been living with, and it’s easier to see that now. 
Having time to mark things off our to-do list has helped with that stress. We have figured out our medical situation here and can now access the healthcare we need. We have start dates for preschool and language school marked on the calendar. We have had time to spend with friends from near and far and be encouraged by them, and hopefully encourage them as well. There are still a few things to do in the coming weeks like celebrating our wedding anniversary (August 5th was our seventh anniversary!), celebrating Jeremiah’s birthday (August 11), clean out some closets and make space for Louella and Mabel’s baby BROTHER!!! who will arrive at the beginning of 2025. 

That’s a recap of the summer so far and what we have ahead of us. Currently, Jeremiah is serving at a camp where he has been for the last week and a half. We are ready to have him back at home, but we are thankful for the time he has had to mentor youth, teach them English and archery, and share the truth of Jesus with them. I have enjoyed girl time at home, and have felt incredibly blessed by the people God has put in our lives here. So many friends and dear sisters have spent time with us and played with the girls so I can rest or get housework done. The Lord has used his people to bring me comfort and an out-pouring of love while Jeremiah has been away. The Father is so good to us, and I am all the more encouraged and inspired to keep running the race of language learning, family raising, and kingdom work- because He is worth it! 

​-Anna