Sarah and Keane

We are so glad to be writing this update from Germany!! Keane and I arrived on Friday, August 8, and we feel like we’ve been in a whirlwind ever since. We are praising God for allowing us to pass the 90% support-raising threshold that allowed us to purchase plane tickets in time for new staff orientation and language lessons. While we still have a little ways to go (we are currently at 93%), we know God is in control and will provide for all our needs!

We are feeling settled into our new home, which is the top floor in a house that is divided into three apartments. All of our ceilings are slanted; I don’t know how many times Keane hit his head during our first week here! We are becoming more practiced in the German ways of doing things: buying bread from a local bakery, walking to the grocery store several times a week because the fridge is too small to hold much, turning the water off in the shower while you soap up to save money on utilities, to name a few things. We officially registered at our town hall, meaning that we purchased an approved trash can, which was delivered to us the following week. In Germany, there is a process for everything, so registering at the town hall allowed us to open a German bank account, which then allowed us to pre-register for auto insurance, which we had to do before obtaining our car.

For those of you who have been praying with us about our car situation, we are so glad to share that it has all worked out beautifully! God brought an old family friend back into our lives who speaks German and knows a wonderful mechanic a few towns over. This mechanic not only completed the required repairs on the new car, but he also registered our car, got license plates for our car, and obtained the necessary state approval (sort of like getting emissions testing, but much more expensive) for us to be able to use the car! We are so grateful for this mechanic and for our dear friend, Joe!

We do not yet have internet at our apartment, so please forgive us for our lack of communication on the blog/Facebook/emails these past few weeks. We are really looking forward to sharing more about the German culture, our new home, and our new jobs with you. We miss our community back in the States SO much. God has already given us some good friendships here. It’s been a while since I have experienced all the “hellos” and “goodbyes” associated with moving overseas…it doesn’t get any easier as an adult. 🙂 But we are SO buoyed up by your prayers and can really see God’s hand of provision in our lives.

Sending much love from Germany,

Sarah

What a joyous day it is for us. We can finally say, “We have our tickets booked!” And if that wasn’t big enough news, we are flying out IN TWO DAYS! We are so grateful to God for allowing us to fly to Germany in time for orientation next Monday. We have a whole lot to do and only 48 hours in which to do it. We’re in shock a little bit (the best kind of shock), but we’ll have a day of travel in which to hopefully soak in the fact that this is really happening.

Thank you, Lord! All glory to you!

Today is moving day for us as we officially finish things up at our apartment, put the final items into storage (some friends’ basement), and turn in our keys. It is bittersweet to say goodbye to our very first home together. And there’s a long way to go in cleaning this apartment…we feel like we’re back in college!

We wanted to share an exciting update with everyone as far as raising support for Germany. We have crossed a huge threshold and are now at 81% of monthly pledges! Keane and I admit that we were SHOCKED when we received our financial update this past weekend. God is so abundant, and when he calls people to give, he really calls them!

We want to give you all another breakdown of what it would take to become fully funded. If we received the following monthly pledges, we would be fully funded.

2 people support us at $25 a month (down from 15 people!)
6 people support us at $50 a month (down from 25 people!)
5 people support us at $100 a month (down from 15 people!)
0 people to support us at $150 a month (down from 2!)
0 people to support us at $200 a month (down from 1!)

To give, please visit http://www.give.teachbeyond.org/ and click “USA Giving” or “Canadian Giving.”

We are so grateful that the Lord has called so many to support us already. It is a weighty, wonderful thing to be entrusted by so many to minister to MKs and TCKs at Black Forest Academy. YOU are part of that ministry, and it is so good to see the Church coming together to spread and support the Gospel around the world.

As I sit in our living room, looking around at the suitcases and belongings that litter the floor, I am at a loss for words to describe what life has looked like for us over the past few weeks. This is partly due to the online German lessons I have been taking. The part of my brain that deals with foreign languages has been awakening from an eight-year slumber…and it hurts. Like, physical discomfort is happening in my head as I try to figure out conjugations and memorize articles based on gender; my melting brain seems unable to force my mouth to form the necessary shape to pronounce the words Buch and Brot. (These are simple words, people. Heaven help me when I need to learn a word with more than two syllables.)

Two Years’ Worth of Belongings…

But in between packing, writing emails, grappling with German, and meeting with ministry partners, Keane and I have been unbelievably touched by lunches and dinners with dear people who, somewhere along the line, have become more like family than friends. My heart could burst. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by our church, our friends, our coworkers, all of whom shower us with love and encouragement. I am so excited for Germany. I am so sad to say goodbye. This has been a regular occurrence in my MK life, but the first time I have experienced it as a full-fledged adult. I praise God that, as full as my heart feels right now for all the people in my life, he’ll give me more room for the students and coworkers and friends we will meet in Germany.

These past few weeks have been good and not-easy. We seek to trust the Lord more for his provision in the two weeks we have left before we need to leave for Germany. As soon as we trust him, we are attacked in ways that try and rob us of joy and peace. At times, it has been difficult to continue preparing for Germany (selling our furniture, ending our lease, etc.) when we don’t yet have the financial support to actually go. But we know what God wants us to do, and so we are getting ready. And when he wants us to go, we will go. When I described our situation to a good friend recently, he replied, “But that seems like a picture of the readiness we should all have in our hearts.” And he is right. I might be packing suitcases for a trip yet unseen, but how many times has my heart been unready for what God has called me to do? I am grateful that God gives grace upon grace, even as he is getting our hearts ready to trust him more.

You don’t have to know the details before getting ready to go. What is God asking you to get ready for?