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| Out on the town with my Han last night--it was chilly! |
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| Tash can sometimes make it difficult to have my quiet time. Her great love for my prayer journal overwhelms her some mornings. |
It is cloudy and chilly this morning in Vienna...and I am not complaining! I love fall days that are a bit overcast, a little chilly and windy. Of course, there are colder days to come, perhaps very cold and icy and snowy, but I'm not thinking about those days this morning. I'm enjoying the onset of fall, my very favorite season in Europe. It's really so lovely here. Han and I had a night out last night, and as we were in a park near the center of the city, we noticed that the leaves are starting to change. Just gorgeous. It's the one thing about Florida I didn't love--the lack of real seasons. Oh, there is some cooler air in the winter, but I went whole years without ever putting on a coat. I like coats and scarves and all that stuff. And I really like not having to sweat to death in my own home. I like that a lot!
I have no deep reason to write today--just a general sense of catching up on what's going on here. This is kind of a season of things just rolling along. Language is a huge part of our lives, of course, as we have gone back into language learning. I have to say that I feel very encouraged about how well that is going. We have a tutor who comes to our home, and we love her. She is one of the best teachers I have ever had for any subject. Sometimes, language learning feels like one tiny step forward and fifteen giant steps backward. I don't feel that way right now. I have a real sense of forward movement in our German, and I know that Marc does, too. It doesn't mean we do everything perfectly, because clearly that's not true, nor that we understand everything said to us, because that's not true, either. But more and more, even if I can't quote you the rule, I know intuitively that something is said a particular way. Marc is an intuitive language learner. He knows how it's supposed to sound. He was that way in Russian, and he's that way in German. I never, never felt that way about Russian. Except for a few phrases I said constantly, I had to think my way through every sentence separately to figure out how to say something. And though German has really strict rules about verb placement, and they differ depending on what you're saying, more and more that makes sense to me. I'm translating less into English and more just thinking in German. I can't tell you how encouraging that is. Language learning is just beastly. And learning our third language (English is our first, in case you're wondering) is more difficult than we assumed. But there is definitely forward movement. And I'm so, so grateful for that.
I wrote last that my Daddy was having some medical problems. The surgeon's visit this week was a bit of a mixed bag of good news and really not good news. That's my parents' story to tell, not mine, but suffice to say that I started looking at tickets home after I got off the phone with my parents. But oddly enough, I'm not worried. I'm concerned, of course. I want desperately for my Daddy to be fine, to be perfectly healthy. But that's not the case. At first, of course, I was pretty much a weepy mess. In fact, I told a precious friend the next day after the surgeon's visit that I simply could not pray aloud for her when we were paired at a meeting, for fear of being a weepy disaster, something I prefer not to do if at all possible. I'm grateful for those friends, aren't you? The ones you can just be 100% open and honest with. (She, by the way, went on to pray something really beautiful and gorgeous over me...I literally felt the calm and peace just sweep over my soul.) And a year after coming to Vienna, I can look around and say that I really have several of those kinds of friendships here. I have taken some time this week to be grateful for those women here who I feel completely at ease and open with. A year ago, I felt like that would not happen here. I was so homesick for my Russian friends. And I still miss them, of course, but I'm also really grateful for the friendships God has provided right here--women who are really a treasure in my life. If you are one of those women...thanks so much.
So we continue to forge ahead, taking the bad news as well as possible, and making time to be intentionally thankful and grateful for the way our God has really provided so much encouragement to us lately. Sarah Beth is happy and healthy and in love. John loves middle school and is playing soccer on the school team. Hannah loves her voice lessons, and even said to me the other day, "I'm really content with my life in Vienna. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else." (If you know Han's history here, you know that's a HUGE statement, and certainly a testimony to what the love and care and planning of some adults at her school has done for her life.) Our lives are not untouched by the yuckiness of life, the stuff that everyone has to deal with. And we're not immune to the annoyances of daily life, for sure. (Please let the campaign season be over quickly, Lord. PLEASE!!!) But there really is a peace that passes understanding, a sense of gratefulness for the thousands of blessings that just cover our lives. Of course, we're praying like crazy for Daddy and Momma, for the doctors, for wisdom, for my sisters and I to know what to do and when...but that prayer isn't frantic or panicked. My parents have served our Jesus their whole lives. He isn't going to leave or forsake them any more than He is going to leave or forsake us. Surely in the midst of a bad situation, that is really good news.
I have so much to get done today, and I have my list all prepared. Plus, it's Saturday, and that means somewhere in the course of my day, our flat will smell like Marc's chili, and that's a great thing. (Our next door neighbors are from Nepal, and I don't know what she made yesterday for lunch, but it was the best-smelling stuff ever. I almost went over and asked for a bite.) We will have guests next week, and that will be fun. So lots to look forward to--always a good thing. Wherever you are in the world, and whatever situation you find yourself in, know that the peace that passes all understanding is available to you, too. And go Gators!! Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
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