March 2014 – Peacocks On The Loose

Quick Blog Note/Update – Delayed Return

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Dale

Some of you might’ve been looking forward to a post on our last two days in Germany (ok, well, at least 7 of you).

Short story is this: Dale started feeling ill Friday night, and stayed that way for part of Saturday. We did plan on writing about our last two days upon our return. However, it seems that’s a bit more delayed than we had hoped.

We’re currently on the Tarmac at Logan International in Boston–for those of you who knew, that wasn’t our intended destination. Our plane was diverted for repairs to a backup safety system, and we’re being held on the plane until such time that the repairs are completed, or other decisions are made. Our connecting flight leaves Dulles International in 74 minutes. In other words, our plans have changed.

We’re not arriving home at our intended time, and may be delayed until tomorrow, depending on airline decisions. We will post on the end of the week when we can.

If you’d like to pray on our behalf (and that of about 200 other passengers. Including one very understandably frustrated lady who’s terminal destination IS Boston but can’t get off the plane), please pray for the following:

good attitudes from the weary, intercontinental passengers
wise, safe decisions made by smart airline employees, especially the repair/maintenance crew who are looking for the damaged parts
thanksgiving for a beloved neighbor and a pretty-awesome-sister/aunt who are tag-teaming care for the boys until we get back
thanksgiving that smart pilots recognized the malfunction of a backup safety system before any real problems arose
patience for Phoenix, who has been an amazing international-traveling ninja for the last week, but who is still a nine-year-old stuck on a plane for 11 hours and counting
patience from the boys, who are eagerly awaiting our return, and were expecting our return tonight

Much love to all in the meantime.

(From my iPhone, on the Tarmac in Boston…)

UPDATE: We’ve landed in DC, but no idea yet regarding next steps.

UPDATE 2: We’ve completed everything there is to complete at IAD…and we didn’t leave DC. United was cool, all things considered. We have a comp’ed hotel room, some relatively paltry meal vouchers (I don’t know what $7/person buys at either a hotel restaurant or an airport, but whatever…), and a flight to Houston, booked for midday tomorrow. We’re sorting out additional emergency childcare (tomorrow after noon) for the rest of the ostentation, and we’re about to eat real food for the first time in over 24 hours. We’ve appreciated all the prayers. Much love!

UPDATE 3: We’re on a plane to Houston! Yea!

Kandern – Day 4

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Dale

We made our way through many small towns in the Alsace region of France. I think this one was Kembs. If you look closely, you can see our car in the bottom-right of the image.

We made our way through many small towns in the Alsace region of France. This one was Village-Neuf. If you look closely, you can see our car in the bottom-right of the image.

We spent the better part of the day in the Alsace region of France yesterday. Living in France is one of the options available to us, as some of the closest communities there are about 25-30 minutes from the Kandern area. As such, we thought it would be good if we spent some time there, so that we’d have an idea of what it might be like to live there.

We drove south from Kandern to Basel, passed over the French border into Saint Louis, and then went up along some of the various north-south highways, back toward Mulhouse. We kinda meandered through the area, stopping and exploring along the way, and making photos of interesting things along the way.

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Gallery – France/Alsace

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Dale

Here are some additional photos from our exploration of France yesterday. We were in the Arrondissement of Mulhouse, in the Region of Alsace of France.

: The cathedral was on the main street of Village-Neuf. We were blessed to be there right on the hour, so we were able to hear the bells chime. Phoenix recorded them on her camera.

: This is another view of the Village-Neuf main street.

: This is a castle-like edifice just outside of Hombourg, France.

: We came across this field, prepared for planting, and we thought the dirt mounds looked cool. They’re big, about 18 inches square, about 5 feet apart.

: Phoenix joined me in my photo endeavours, and made her own photos in the fields as we went. She looks so grown up in this one.

: It’s not an amazing shot, but I thought I’d share this image of the French-German border. On the left is France, on the right is Germany. Between them, the Rhine.

: We traveled many tree-lined, two-lane roads like this one as we explored the Alsace region of France yesterday. We also observed that it would be quite unlikely in the US that any trees would be allowed to remain this close to the roadside.

Gallery – Hyper U

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Dale

Here are some photos from the Hyper U in Sierentz, France, yesterday. It was a fun experience to explore the store and consider how we might do life here.

: Apparently, at the Hyper U, you can buy eggs, bread, cheese, and, if you need them, lawn mowers. Even the riding kind.

: I thought my dad would get a kick out of this–the French lawn mowers powered by American engines.

: I had to share this one–it’s a push mower unlike any I’ve ever seen…a three-wheeler.

: This is the only salsa we’ve seen here–Old El Paso brand. It kinda reminds me of the Pace Picante Sauce commercials from the 90s–This stuff’s made in New York City! (Well, actually, I think it’s made in Spain, but it certainly isn’t from Texas.)

: This is what passes for “Mexican” food here–Old El Paso. I guess it’ll do in a pinch. I guess.

: One of the things we wanted to verify at the stores was the availability of tea–the Hyper U had all the tea we could want.

: We were super-excited to see that our preferred brand of curry pastes is readily available here.

: We were equally pleased to find that we can get sesame oil as well.

: This stuff LOOKS like Huy Fong Food’s Sriracha sauce, but there’s no cool rooster, and I think it’s made somewhere in Europe, not in LA. Someone should investigate this stuff further, methinks.

: There are some things that will just take some getting used to–like buying your milk in an unrefrigerated state. That’s just so not-the-way-we-do-it.

: Phoenix and Miranda picked up some baby oranges to share with friends.

: My heart jumped for joy when we saw the cheese department. And this was only half of what was there. So many cheeses!

Kandern – Day 3

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Miranda

Phoenix plays with the Pedalgo toy in the elementary school yard.

Just a quick note and picture this morning before we head out for France. We visited the private elementary school yesterday and did some local exploring. Phoenix went to play with her new friend while we strategized and talked with someone who currently lives in France and commutes to Kandern.

Thank you all for your continued prayers! We do not have final decisions made, but we are making progress and are able to refine some of our options. Today will be a big day as we visit France for the first time. Please continue to pray for safety, clarity, and wisdom.

Kandern – Day 2

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Dale

Phoenix is taking photos for a group assignment from God’s Little Girls. She got shooting advice from Dad, and really took to it…be still my beating heart!

This is Phoenix’s first published photo ever. This is one of the ones she was shooting in the photo shown above.

Today was a busy day!

We got up bright and early to take Phoenix to her first day of school! Her first day ever in a formal school classroom was at the Tannenkirch German public school with a new friend from the Kandern area. She seemed a little nervous at first, but she had a good morning there.

While she was in school, Dale took some beautiful pictures and did some computer work while we were enjoying a “second breakfast” at Sanctuary. We commuted next door to the SIL Germany offices (literally–the back balcony of the SIL offices overlooks the front door of The Sanctuary!) and met a lot of people there. The offices are in converted apartments, so we also got a glimpse of what housing for our family might look like. I can see a 3 bedroom apartment with generously sized bedrooms working for us.

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(Our) My Hope Is You

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Dale

One of the prayer requests we mentioned as we prepared to depart was our hope to meet soon-to-be-friends as we spent time here. Your (our) prayers have been answered in spades in that regard—we’ve been blessed to have met many new friends as we’ve been here this week.

A couple days ago, a dear new-to-us-friend shared a verse with us, from the NASB, and we’d like, in turn, to share it with you. Psalm 25 is a psalm which acknowledges that God is the source of our salvation and He is the one who leads us in truth. She shared verse 12 with us, which is especially applicable for this week:

Who is the man who fears the Lord?
He will instruct him in the way he should choose.

It is our prayer, that as we explore His creation here on another continent, that He will lead us in truth, and instruct us in the way we should choose—for school, for our home, for which country will be our new home.

One of my favorite bands, Third Day, wrote a song based, in part, on Psalm 25. We’d like to share it with you here. We feel like it’s our prayer/song for the week here—our hope is Him.

Guten Morgen!

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Dale

A view of the village of Riedlingen still resting in the morning mist, from the west.

Guten morgen!

We were driving back from dropping Phoenix off at the German elementary school this morning, and came across this view. We had to stop and grab a few frames. It was quiet, cool, and still this morning, as the mist was still lying low in the tree-covered hills. This village, Riedlingen, is just a kilometer or two west of Kandern, about a 3 minute drive.

(Click on the photo for a larger view.)

We will post later today, but we though you’d enjoy having this image to see when you woke up…enjoy!

Gallery: Kandern, Day 1

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Dale

Here are some of the better photos we took today. We’ll be posting additional photos throughout the trip, provided that Dale doesn’t forget about it.

: Miranda and Phoenix along the main street in Kandern, in the early evening. Many of the streets/buildings look like this, and above many shops are apartments.

: We had pizza from a shop just off the main square of the town.

: Phoenix was getting cold, tired, and restless as we waited for lunch. Jet lag was beginning to kick in.

: Miranda and Phoenix in the produce section of Penny Markt, which is a lot like Aldi in the US (they have those here, too!).

: Miranda and Phoenix on one of the main streets in town.

Kandern – Day 1

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Dale

Miranda and Phoenix along the main street in Kandern, in the early evening. Many of the streets/buildings look like this, and above many shops are apartments.

(NOTE: This post is part of a series we’re doing about a Vision Trip we’re making to the area where we’ll be living within the next 12 months.)

We arrived safely at the gate in Zurich around 7:15 this morning. It was the quietest major airport I’ve ever been through. It was also the easiest and quickest passage through customs and immigration I’ve ever experienced, even better than coming home through the US. We received a bit of a treat when we got to the car rental counter—when he saw the amount of luggage we had (including the two 70-pound foot lockers), the gentleman behind the counter gave us a free upgrade to a larger wagon (a Hyundai i40), so that we could make sure everything fit easily.

We loaded up the car and drove away from the Zurich airport no later than 8:15 am, local time. We made it through Switzerland, into Germany, and arrived in Kandern in about 90 minutes, with only minor delays due to morning traffic in Zurich. We must’ve gone through about two dozen tunnels on our way, some more than a mile long. We saw horses, fields, and vineyards along the way, as well as one castle (in Lorrach, which we might visit later in the week).

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