An apologetic catch up

Well, not sure why I feel so inspired to keep the blog journey going but here I go.

 South Sudan
           After leaving Mozambique back in December of 2011. (Forever ago) We continued on to South Sudan.  This country was such a healing, peaceful place for us. Our team of Iris students that we were leading was the dream team. We fell in love with each of them. Truly could not have had a better group of people. Spencer and I learned a lot about they way we lead and this team was perfect for us. Our model is "here are your tools, here is what is expected, now go and do and we will be here to encourage and answer questions." These students came to Africa to learn how to be missionaries so we didn't hold there hand through each step, we let them run, and they did fantastic!
         The magic moment for me was upon entering the Iris base the first day in Yea, South Sudan. Several young girls come up to me and in the little english they knew asked me "What is your name?" I answer, "Melody" Instantly they begin singing "Melody, melody, melody, oh melody in my heart. Melody, melody, melody, I got a melody in my heart." I was won over. The whole 2 weeks we were there every time they saw me they would begin to sing.
         The Iris base in South Sudan was such a wonderful example of missions done right. There are about 150 children on base with several Sudanese mommas. There is such an atmosphere of peace, love, and joy in this little community. Every night the kids on their own would worship. In the dark, in the dirt, they would sing out praises to God every night without an adult leading. Once the girls saw me doing my laundry in the field. They came to help and then helped me hang it to dry. Later in the day I went to go take it from the line and it was gone. I came to Spencer to tell him I can't find our clothes and there sitting beside him was a pile of stacked, folded, IRONED laundry. I have never met a more gentile people.
          We were in South Sudan for the countries first Christmas! It was such an honor to be there to serve these beautiful people. Christmas morning we partook in slaughtering the Christmas goat, and then continued to help in the kitchen the whole day.
        There are many more stories of course but it was a year and a half ago.

  Knoxville, TN
      We arrived in Knoxville just before the new year. (2012) We took time to spend with family and close friends and began looking for jobs right away. We stayed with Spencer's parents out in Loudon, TN (45 mins outside of Knoxville) until we had means to get a place of our own.
      Within 2 weeks I found a job at a little cafe in Knoxville and the next day we signed on an apartment. Spencer picked up a job with the Children's camp he used to work for and ended up getting a job with the Knoxville airport as well.
     For the first time in our married life we had a place that was ours. It wasn't anything special. But we were thankful. As months passed, we began to dream a little bigger. We thought in order to get all the things we wanted in a home we would have to buy so we made a list and knew it would be a long time before we were there. However... God surprises us.
       We were approached by a couple we had gone to dinner with once, about moving into the guest house behind their new house. It needed to be renovated a bit before moving in, but even that was an aspect of what we were looking for in a home. We wanted to help renovate to make it our own. Nic and Emily were completely generous with letting us have a say in how to make this little green house into our house.
     Spencer added the electric, insulation, and walls to our little bedroom. He added a kitchen and hung a Crystal chandelier in the center of the house. The house is all windows, tall ceilings, and wood floors. We have a big yard with a big garden, we have a wood burning stove in the living room, and Nic and Emily offered to let Spencer use their basement as a shop.
    Life was looking good and we were happy. We spent our one year anniversary in Seattle, WA. We stayed in a nice hotel and got a couples massage. We ate crab leg dinners and drank champagne. We live a blessed life.
    Not too long after our one year anniversary I got a new job as a nanny, and Spencer had a schedule change at the airport. He began to work evenings. He would go into work at 6pm and wouldn't get home till sometimes 4am. I would then wake up at 6:30am and be at work till 5pm. Spencer worked every weekend. Missed every social event. Missed every Tuesday night worship. Relationships were strained.
    The company at the airport Spencer was working for went out of business in September of 2012. I knew this was an opportunity for him to begin doing what he was made to do, build furniture. It was so obvious to me that this was the Lord giving him the chance to pursue a career that breaks the curse of Adam. When we make money and provide for our family by doing something that we love, we break the curse that says we painfully toil the ground to provide. Back in September, Spencer was not as confident this was the right rout for him. Because of lack of friendship and encouragement he suffered a painful depression season.
    By October he was pulling out of it and started working on his first project for a friends wedding. During the process however there was an accident. Spencer sliced his hand open with a chainsaw milling up some wood for this first project. An ER visit and two months of healing later He was back. He took a remodel job for the first couple months of the new year (2013). So still he was not doing what he was made to do. By March he began another first project, a kitchen island for a friend. On his second day working on it, he completely cut off part of his pointer figure. Another ER visit and another two months of recovery went by. This time he went straight back to work on the kitchen island.
   In May Spencer completed his first work of art. The kitchen island for the Fray house. It is spectacular. He is now fully underway in his business entitled "Commune Woodworks."
 
   This is our life. 2011 was a year of intense learning, great hardship, full of new experiences, and fast learning. 2012 was a year to heal and process 2011. Year 2013 is a year to get out and live again! This year God is calling us to step back out in leadership, and being bold for him. Our lives are a sacrifice for Him. God has called Spencer and I to be servants and there is no greater calling than to be what Jesus was on the earth. Jesus was the ultimate servant and we are continually learning how to live by his example.

Com'on in boys the Water's fine

Give me bush bush any day. We left on Thursday leading the optional outreach out of Pemba then down a dirt “road” for another hour till we came to our village in dire need of encouragement. Iris had visited this Muslim village only 3 months ago and were able to start a church. The time in-between allowed for some angry locals to pull the new pastor and his wife out of the house and beat them severely but they were able to greet us with thankful smiles alongside the chief of the area. Our tents hardly fit into the back yard of our host who’s family continually gave us mangos, coconut, and sugarcane.

As the Jesus film was playing on the first night Heidi showed up and just began loving the people. Some were healed from various hurts and pains, we prayed for several children who suffered from night terrors, and many received Jesus for the first time. The next morning, as part of our group helped with a children’s discipleship, we took some to the river who wanted to be baptized. The water was muddy and one of the locals said something about a crocodile but we paid no mind. People started entering and Heidi asked me to help baptize.

“One question”, I asked, “I haven’t been baptized, would that be a problem?”

I technically been baptized as a child before I ever loved Jesus and He said “repent and THEN be baptized” so getting it out of order isn’t a legal baptism, otherwise what are you baptized into? I threw Melody the stuff in my pockets and waded in. Heidi smiled big and said,

“In the name your Father who loves you, in the name of Jesus your bridegroom, and in the name of Holy Spirit who fills you” she pushed me under and I came up feeling fresh and happy. I couldn’t think of a better way to be baptized. Now I can help. Many more went under, including a blind man who received enough of his sight back that he said he could walk home by himself!

As we were celebrating in the river my wedding ring slipped off my hand. Everyone stopped moving but you couldn’t see anything. I dove down groping blind at the mucky bottom, nothing. Dove down a second time, still nothing. As I came up I said in desperation “Jesus I need my ring back!” and dove a third time grabbing my ring in the first handful of mud! Dying in the river of God takes away all sin, hopelessness, and lack; and this one even took the heaviness that made its way over our marriage from the rough season of travel. New starts are always welcome! Jesus is soo good!

November

Only 3 weeks till this mission training school graduates to then go where they are called to shine the light of Jesus’s face to every nation. I knew our time here in Mozambique would fly by and yet I’m still surprised. November greeted us this year with joy and revelation. On November 3^rd Spencer and I led a team of students along with a group of Mozambiquan Bible School students out into the African bush. Two hours away from the busy Pemba is a quiet remote village almost untouched by western invasion. Doing our best to learn cultural dress, language and customs the Bible school and Mission school students arrived to bring the hope of Jesus to this small village. We spent three days sharing the gospel message, providing medical help, praying for the sick and mentally tormented, making new friends, learning from the locals, playing and feeding the children. One evening a momma came to me with her sick baby asking for me to pray for the aching stomach. We prayed, the momma breast fed some more and then she handed me the tiny naked baby gilrl. I propped her up and burped her and rubbed her tummy and realized all that was wrong with this beautiful little girl was just a little gas. I realized then that it is really true that a lot of sickness and discomfort in these remote villages is simply because of a lack of knowledge about their bodies. Mommas run out of milk for their babies ‘cause they don’t realize that they need to drink water. Babies cry from stomach aches ‘cause of not being burped. These trips to the African bush are so important for so many reasons.

Our last morning in the bush was also my 23^rd birthday and being put in a circle of village people, Bible school students and mission school internationals singing Portuguese and English “happy birthday” was awkward and awesome. After that we headed back to our home in Pemba and were greeted with running water! (Every weekend previous we have been without running water on base so it was kinda a big deal) Cards, gifts, cakes, letters and lots of love came in at every angle and made November 5^th a great birthday.

Four days later one very special and loved man woke up for his 24^th birthday to find out that the 12 girls in our house planned a big breakfast birthday party for their new “dad.”  We feasted on french toast, pancakes, coffee, juice, and toast and invited other close friends to join in the front porch party. The cards, gifts, cakes, letters and lots of love came in at every angle and made now November 9^th a great birthday.

One particular gift made both November 5^th, November 9^th and November 14^th (our 6 month wedding anniversary) extremely special. A group of probably 20 or more students pulled their money together to bless Spencer and I with a weekend at a hotel and nice dinner. We stood in awe for over a minute not really even knowing how to receive such a big gift. 

November has shown us that we are extremely loved and in realizing this it has made us even more grateful for all that we have received in the past and in the present. 

Life at Iris

     So I’ve finally gotten a chance to sit down and let the world know we actually made it. Yep We’ve been in Mozambique with Iris Ministries for the past month and a half and every day is an adventure. Melody and I are house parents for 10 other girls! All who are awesome and want more of God. If the sun doesn’t get you up at 4:30 the 6 o’clock breakfast gong, or big old truck rim, will make sure your up to get your two bread rolls. Before class starts at 8 you have time to do your laundry by hand if your lucky enough to wake up to running water, otherwise that time is spent taking buckets down to the well to fetch water. The missionaries on base join with speakers from all over to pour into those who are destined to be world changers. After a rice n bean lunch the afternoon is filled with language learning, market runs, and getting to know locals. And evenings will contain another session or family group. Friday is practical mission day where we do the jobs of missionaries ranging from village evangelism and prison ministry to roofing to weighing rice and beans. I lead the roofing team and Melody the gardening team. We also are in charge of all the keys on base, planning special events and parties, and maintenance is a full time job in itself for me. But in all the chaos we are still learning and growing with each other, finding the time for us and for God, seeking the strength to press in we have none, and more - getting deeper into His heart, as has always been our one aim.

Road Trip Insanity!!!!

        It took all day driving to the border and the officers were friendly as they checked our tiny rental and put a single stamp on our passports. Day was long gone by now and we quickly found our campsite. My eyes were fixed on the ground as we set up camp and when they glanced upward I stammered in amazement as the Milky Way sparkled with a clarity you only see in text books. The new Namibian morning revealed the canyon wall across the river from our site as we sipped our coffee. The expanse of Namibia wasn’t meant for little cars like Sparky with small gas tanks, creating a worry as towns grew 2, 3, 4 hrs apart the further we rolled north.

        Reaching Mariental earlier than expected we grabbed a wrap at the gas station/Wimpy Burger and watched the spectacle as a car burst into flames 50ft from the pump. The 10ft fireball drew a crowd a bit too close to be safe. Luckily, after half an hour or more, the fire truck arrived to save the pile of ashes…oh Africa.

        For many hours life catch up was our topic with Adam and his new fiancée Jeanine who moved out here for Peace Core. Adam had our whole week planned which started at 2 am tomorrow. So much for sleep. Making it to Sossuvlei for sunrise would’ve been amazing if it were possible, but the early morning made climbing the mountainous sand dunes fun. After that the grueling hours on terrible gravel roads made 2 nights in Swakopmund a joy. Our next camp was under Spitzkoppe’s stone mtns where Mel and I tried climbing to the top and ended up in a real sketchy spot, so we played it safe after that.

        We were stopped, passing through the checkpoint into northern Namibia. They were asking for some document for our car and we didn’t know what they were talking about. I the middle of questioning Adam realized we were in trouble. The stamp we got on our passports was leaving South Africa but we never got the stamp for arrival in Namibia or the road permit. This meant not only did we not legally exist in any country but we were not allowed to be there with a car. After confusing them thoroughly and Adam and Jeanine dropping the Peace Core card we wiggled out of it, but still had to get out of the country.

        Driving through Etosha NP was an incredible display of African wildlife, most of which we caught in our video. The last day we reached the Angola border and descended long, steep stairs (which also meant we had to go back up them, who said that would be fun?) At the bottom was an old abandoned hydro plant by a waterfall now inhabited by monkeys. Making it to Jeanine’s village, we sat by a fire under the stars instantly rekindling my desire to be in Mozambique.

        Leaving Adam and Jeanine we headed for Botswana. At the very end of Namibia we found the Bezi River Bar tucked away in a farm on the Zambezi River at the border of Namibia, Zambia, and Botswana. That’s a good place for dinner. At the Botswana border keeping a cool composure was difficult. The officer looked back and forth through our pages of stamps with a puzzled look on her face then said “You entered Namibia illegally…and you leave legally” then shrugged her shoulders and stamped our passports, and after ACCIDENTALLY bribing another officer for not having a car permit we got out home free. We only took 3 days to get through Botswana and driving through more game reserves made it exciting.

        In Pretoria now. We had a week of incredible blessing and rest. Our good friend Esther and her family has been taking care of us. We’ve been blessed with so much food and even a guitar! Melody reminded me I prayed for one back in Costa Rica. God has done so much for us through other people. The future doesn’t look any more clear, but after fighting in our hearts to keep going we will finally leave for Mozambique tomorrow morning. And I am believing for impossible things.

Refreshment, Provision, & Hospitality

South Africa

A sweet friendship refreshes the soul. (Prov. 27:9)

It had been four days of travel. With one night on a ferry, one night on an airport floor, and one night in an airplane seat, we were ready to have a few nights in a bed. As we passed through South African customs early Tuesday morning Nathan and Brittany jumped out behind a corner. Nathan picked me up with a big brother kinda hug and swung me around while Brittany squealed with excitement. As we drove to the place we were staying Brittany could not keep from saying “just wait ‘till you see this place! You will love it!” And she was right. Spencer and I along with four other married couples were staying in a guest house right on Nordhook beach. As we walked into the dining room we were greeted by Brock and Crystalin, a cup of coffee and a simple breakfast. Jake and Daina as well as Will and Andrea completed the group that evening and laughter stretched to early am as the family reunion was too exciting for sleep.

        To be around happy, loving, giving friends who treat you as if you are their long lost brother and sister was the best medicine for two weary travelers. Staying up too late each night, led to sipping coffee for long hours in the morning. Tears were frequent. At times due to deep conversation and other times a result of breathtaking laughter. To live in community each day and worship God together each evening was the refreshment of our souls. Each couple individually gave listening ears to our pain, comforting words that brought us out of our pain, and financial gifts to pat us on the back and say “keep going, you can’t give up now.”  A week in Cape Town and then a few days in Port Elizabeth left us in tears as we embraced with goodbyes. 

He will supply all our needs according to his riches in glory.(Phil. 4:19)

        As we left Italy spending the last of our money on a place to sleep for three nights we were scared what to do next. God provides in many ways and we are still learning to not put him in a box. We have heard stories of random people walking up to God chasers on the street and handing them a wad of cash, stories of exciting miracles and amazing testimonies. Yet God works in whatever way he sees best for you. For us it was during a conversation with my amazing in-laws. They found out of our financial predicament and supplied our needs. Our amazing miraculous testimony on provision is the God given family we are blessed with.

        We had a month before our plane flies to Mozambique. Researching our options we decided to rent a car. After being completely taken care of by a wonderful couple in Port Elizabeth we pulled our tiny ice teal Chevrolet out of the driveway and the next time we stopped the car, was terrifying… 216 meters, 709 feet of free fall. Spencer and I decided to jump off the world’s highest bungi jump. As we walked to the middle of South Africa’s longest bridge each step made my legs shake a little more. Each heart beat walked my heart upwards toward my throat. As the energetic workers listed the order of jumpers I was relived to be last. I watched my brave husband face a fear of heights and fall gracefully off the side of the bridge with a loud deep yell. I stood in the same spot not long after he came back to solid ground and as I my body pushed into only air,  my arms did not want to glide like a bird, instead they curled up around my chest and my knees inched close as well. I became a ball thrown off a tall bridge. The fear didn’t subside after the gentle bounce and stretch of the bungi. The fear penetrated ever square inch of my body ‘till I reached the bridge once again. We received our certificates proudly and got back in the car. 

I was homeless and you gave me a room. (Matt 25:35)

Some amazing people we met in Port Elizabeth lined us up with a place to stay in Knysna about half way between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. We had heard it was a pretty cute town but we could not have even begun to understand just how blessed we would be. We met a man named Paul about our same age and he took us home to his family that had a hot dinner waiting. After dinner Paul whisked us to a church meeting. At the end of the meeting the speaker pointed us out and encouraged us to continue on our path. We had never met this man before but he spoke exactly our hearts as if we had known him for years.

The next morning Paul made the best latte` I have had our entire trip and took us to a mountain that overlooked a manicured golf course and the town.  We were again blessed with a complimentary breakfast thanks to our host and he then took us to other beautiful view points of the town and ocean. Knysna will remain in my mind one of the most beautiful places on the planet. We said our goodbyes and continued the road to Cape Town.

Jan and Allen Kilpatrick had a room ready for us as we pulled into their driveway. A week with the Kilpatrick family was like a cold glass of water on a hot day. With two girls and two boys we enjoyed being a part of a family again. It was a relaxing balance of getting stuff done, being a Cape Town tourist, and catching up on rest. The week flew by and goodbyes were once again hard to say. Only “see you again soon” could come from our lips. The journey turned a new page and it was just Spencer and I once again on the road. And so starts our Africa road trip. 

Catch Up

It’s been a while since our last blog entry, at least it seems that way to us. So much has happened in the last weeks, so much learned that we’ve hardly had time to rest and convey all that’s happened without sounding in despair. I usually refrain from prefacing what I say but I do want our intentions to be clear. This post will be long but broken up into shorter sections for people like me who cant sit and read a blog for more than 5 min. Some stories and lessons told here will sound rough. These are not a cry for help or money, we have only given our word to be honest and open with anyone who cares to peer into our life.

7/19/11 The Mourne Mountains – We got to Northern Ireland with Anna and her wonderful family who took us in and the next day headed to the Mourne Mtns. It was like a dream come true for me. The park had almost no trees and so with the help of her father’s topo map we went a couple miles up the trail and then made our own way. First up a waterfall called the Black Stairs toward Slieve Donnard, the tallest of the Mourn Mts, and rounded the left side of it chasing a small heard of sheep. We plunged into a thick cloud and soon became damp as if rained on. Visibility shortened to maybe 100ft made traversing the mt difficult and scrambling across the patches of loose boulders uneasy work. Intersecting the Mourne wall at the Bog of Donnard we made our way down. After first attempting to cross the bog we decided it was not possible and used the wall as our path. The Mourne wall, who know how old, was made of large stones about 2 – 3 ft wide, not all of which were firmly planted, and at pints reaching close to 20 ft above ground. We were forced to stare at our next step keeping a close eye on loose stones and at that height the wall path moved by you at a faster pace than the ground below on either side creating the illusion that the ground all around you was moving like the ocean. The disorientation made the possibility of falling greater, which was frightening not for fear of the impact but more for fear of being sucked into the bog. We eventually came to a place we could cross and found our way out of the cloud. The map showed a “Hares Castle” where we intended to stay the night, but as much as we searched found no castle. We later learned a “castle” sometimes refers to a cliff-type geological formation, of course. So finding a flat spot in a small gorge we camped on the unavoidable soggy ground. By this point drying and warming were greatly desired so a fire was easily started from dead grasses and brush pulled from the mossy ground, but the high wind cause the fire to become erratic and burnt a couple small holes in our tent. So we went without. The next day we found another part of the wall and followed alongside it seeing as the walls had the most trail-like path being somewhat dry. Summiting the top of Slieve Binneard to a spectacular view excited and strengthened our souls. Not using our best decision making skills, we made our own way straight down to the lake. The mountain side was surely made for only goats hooves and like everywhere the ground oozed with water at every step, falling was often. At the bottom we were pleased to find a paved path we intended to take to the end of the second lake where the map showed a “shelter stone”. But seeing the second lake started atop an intimidating damn and doubting Shelter Stone was any sort of shelter we just camped on the beach. Deciding to make the third day our last in soggy feet we just hiked out and hitched a ride close to town where Anna picked us up and took us home to some hearty Irish potatoes, showers and a bed.

7/23 Breaking Point – Busses go from Belfast to Dublin every hour so when our day caused us to miss the 5 o’clock we weren’t too worried. But the 6 o’clock ran a little behind, and taking a hurried taxi to the ferry port we found they stopped boarding long before departure and were told to come back tomorrow morning. This meant paying for another taxi back to the hostel where we stayed a few nights ago. We got there to find it totally full and had to carry our burdensome bags to the other side of Dublin. I resisted speaking as one by one all the wheels on our remaining suitcase broke off. We paid for a couple beds and were informed no busses ran early enough so we called for another taxi in the morning, dragged our stuff up 2 flights of stairs and collapsed. Total exhaustion had finally set in: physically after 3 days in mountains, moving 80 lbs on and off busses and cars, up and down stairs, and across a city I was done; emotionally the stress of constant moving, deteriorating finances, and flight bookings going wrong put communication between Mel and I in a rough spot; and spiritually God’s voice was scarcely heard, His peace hard to come by, and favor not seen as one by one our contacts in places we were headed in a couple days fell through. Sitting on the floor against our bunk bed my wonderful wife pushed me to spend some time with God (knowing I should but not wanting to) so I prayed this from my journal –

What can I trust, God, when everything is like water to me, nothing firm nothing secure. Do I trust in what I see? Cause where you’re sending me is your two sided coin of life and death. I know you say you always lead to life, but sometimes its disguised in death so you can see if we’re willing to give it up to get it. So my eyes have become tricksters in truest form. I should trust in what I hear, but what do I have when your voice is absent from my ear? I surely can’t trust my feelings cause they got me here in the first place. But what do I do when what is meant to express who I am is now determining who I am. How I’d want to be rid of them! Can I trust my favor when I don’t perceive its path in front of me nor the trail it leaves behind? What about your promises, the prophetic voices from my past? If forgetfulness didn’t plague me so, then I might have something more to hold on to but even what gets past that demon comes beaten by the confusion of interpretation. Oh, but I can definitely trust in where your sending me right? But what if I can’t feel your leading to that place? Again back to my feeling! I know you are good to me and that you’re more real than the ground I’m standing on, but only if what I knew was as real as my feelings were tangible, then feelings would be put back in its place uniting with what is real, confirming and showing the reality within me. But I’ve stared so close at this pebble now it looks like a mountain! So I can only trust you, my Daddy, to take me back so I can see the size of the matter. And the fact of the matter is that I am Your son. So the reality is that sons aren’t to be concerned with pebbles anyway.

7/26 6pm, London, England- We have to leave tomorrow. A whisper tells us to go to Paris and so the decision is made to get on a night bus to Paris tomorrow in hopes to connect with a cousin I have never met.

7/28 Paris, France- Spencer and I sit at a McDonalds table splurging on a burger and fries. It is so good to eat something besides a pb & j, besides this is the one spot in Paris that offers free wifi. We finish our meal and begin to search for a way out of Paris. After over an hour of no luck a man comes and yells at us in French to leave. That goes down in the greatest feats in my life, getting kicked out of a McDonalds. We pack up and leave without finding a way to leave Paris. Defeat.

Back at our overpriced cheap hotel we sit squished on the floor of a 3’ x 3’ shower and let the hot water pound our heads. Through tears we confessed our fears, mistakes, & doubt.  In that moment I realize one of the greatest mistakes of our trip. Our fear has been masked by the illusion of faith. All along we have fooled ourselves and others by believing that our spontaneous travel is simply letting God lead each step of the journey. Yet the root of it all is that if things start to go wrong and we run out of money we can bail and go home without having plane tickets bought in countries we are not yet at. And so now we are at the point where we ask if we should just go home? Things are not going well for us, we are quickly running out of money, and yet deep within ourselves we know we must keep going. We now have our flights and visas for Mozambique, which is no simple task, and we know that God wants us there in September. However, in the moment giving up and going home sounds so sweet.

The next morning we go directly to the train station to again try our luck in getting a ticket out of France. With clenched teeth we purchase tickets to Milan. The rest of the day is dedicated to being tourists. We wondered our way through the city, strolling the courts of cathedrals and museums. “Spencer?” I hear someone call across the courtyard of the Louvre. I turn and see our good friend Britta from Knoxville. The rest of the day is brightened with friendship.  She treats us to a sidewalk café dinner and we part at the Eiffel tower as the sun sets through the layer of smog.

7/29 – Milan, Italy – Paris decided not to lighten up even on our way out. We woke up early to a frantic morning of almost going to the wrong train station, leaving our tickets in the hotel, and had we made just one later metro connection we’d have missed our train out. Once on board the busy city faded, with relief, to an unmatched beauty of green mountain cliffs dropping their way to winding rivers. And as we skirted along the Swiss Alps across the wide lakes a few monstrous snowy peaks showed themselves from behind just long enough to invite me in, but I reluctantly gave them a rain check. Our layover in Geneva was long enough to find free internet and the address for a cheap hotel in Milan. This will be our place of rest for a few days to get things sorted. On arrival we took the metro as far as it goes to hop on a bus, then walk for almost an hour. Only with the help of the amazingly friendly locals we find the address but there was no hotel. Some people finally come out of the house we were wondering around to look at the address we had. Through broken English the woman points to the address and asks “Milano?” 

“Yes”

“This Brugherio”

Oh no! the directions we got had led up to the same address in a different town. So after two more hours of carrying our ridiculous packs we find the only hotel in the town for the night. The next day we found our way easily to the real hotel in Milan and rested. In our 3 days there we hardly left the hotel. We had a lot to figure out and so we really buckled down, got the rest of our time in Europe sorted and relaxed. During that time I had a short conversation with my good friend Iain where I was enlightened to something so simple but necessary to a healthy relationship. I get caught up needing to minister and pour out to others to feel alive and there is truth in that, but just like our relationship with God is a self sustaining atmosphere of life and love, we can have the same in marriage. My focus is to be ministering to Melody and giving her all of my love, above anyone else. And when she does the same, and together we give all to God and receive everything He is giving to us, our marriages become their own houses where we can live in continuous cycle of love, acceptance, comfort, and joy. In that place I shouldn’t need anything else.

8/1 – Ancona, Italy – Our bus tickets only said North Ancona so we assumed it would drop us off at a central bus stop. Instead the bus pulled over 50ft passed the toll booth on 15K outside the city. It was late, dark and we didn’t know how far it was to the city. Luckily it was all farm where there wasn’t interstate so we hoped over to a field and pitched our tent.

        The next day had no choice but to walk along the interstate and where the shoulder ended we jumped over to into a neighborhood and meandered through till we found a bus stop. The bus drove for 10 min into Ancona. Climbing a long hill we came to what we thought was a place we could camp and found it to be a community park. Seeing we had no other option we scouted out a secluded plot and stashed our bags. We found the hot spots in the city then returned before it got dark and hid out till the park closed then made camp.

        We were disturbed through the night at the thought of getting caught. We had become like orphans not knowing what we were doing and forgetting our purpose and identity. God is a King and His children don’t behave that way. He had not come through in the way we thought He would only because our thoughts were only those of ones who believe their father doesn’t care and are set out to survive. So we repented and in the morning we searched for hotels. Not a single hotel was available except for a four star on the waterfront. Knowing staying here would deplete our funds we booked it feeling God wanted us to. This is a side of God I’m still trying to grasp; God does always provide but that doesn’t mean it will be in the cheap or free zone. He loves His children and if He wants to give them a four star hotel He will. The next few days we could relax and finally enjoy ourselves. We were filled every morning with an amazing buffet and made sure to discover the delicious pastas and pizzas Italy was known for. We were overwhelmed to have a blessing of such great food since we looked forward to it for so long. And we found our joy is much determined by food J. So after exploring ancient buildings and finding a beach at the bottom of 200ft cliffs we continued on.

8/6 – leaving Europe – After Ancona we spent the night on a ferry to Greece and took a bus to Athens where it luckily dropped us off in the center right next to the Temple of Olympian so we could see the age old artifacts of Zeus’ temple before we headed to the airport. Our night in the airport was not the best, but it was only one more night on an airplane then we would be in Cape Town, South Africa and with family.