They are here!

Don and Bunny have arrived. We have already had a great time with them. I wish they could be with us more.

The flight from the States was delayed about 40 min. Or more because of a lack of tail wind. Although that meant we missed the train we intended to take we were able to get one in a timely fashion and the train stopped in Manchester Piccadilly and then in Stockport before winding its way through the beautifully unique Peaks. After piling high the booty brought by grandma for the girls in an overstuffed black cab we arrived at 13 Holland Place, our home in sheffield for the last three years.

Mum and Dad are actually staying in an old large anglican church building converted to a rather nice apartment building for Old Age Pensioners. You can have a look here http://www.sheffieldfhs.org.uk/serv_con/StBarnabus_Highfield.htm
Our friend Ruth lives in the building and the building has a guest apartment which is very very reasonable to stay in. It is only two streets away and we can see the tower of the building out our kitchen window.

Nine of us went last night to a professional basketball game
all the Bodes (six of mine and my two folks) as well as Alasdair. I got the tickets free from work.

We took a bus to city centre and a tram to Sheffield Hallam Arena, then we took a very packed tram back to the city centre and Lyssa, grandma, and the girls took the taxi. While Dad, Al and I walked home from the centre and Daniel took the tram to West Street and walked from there.


I have the day off work, Lyssa and the girls have school and work today. Daniel has a busy day.

Broadband blues with Blueyonder

I would have posted more here but my broadband has been acting up!!! So for two days I have had to wrangle to get online and to call and convice Telewest that everything on my side hasn't chnaged and is fine and that thngs on their end have been cuasing me problems. They don't like to admit problems.

I'm sort of well or at least on the mend but still sore nose and stuffy.

Poorly

I had to leave work early on Friday because my cold had really hit me hard! I've alternated between sleeping and sitting up feeling terrible for the past 32 hours. I am drinking so much I have to get up and make room for more.

Meredith is gone. And we feel the lose.

Sarah Troyer came and left now, she was a joy to have around.

Daniel seems to be doing ok these days, please pray he get a job. He has an interview with a bank on Tuesday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WENDY

Sneezing and blowing my nose!

My mum called and said Grandpa Ed Grandma Jean's husband, my mother's mother) was very very sick with a cancer now in his lung and had to fly to Michigan to see a doctor there. My mum is going down to Louisiana to get Grandma Jean. Please pray for my grandpa Ed and Grandma Jean.\Please pray for my mum, Bunny and her friend Joanne Porter as they travel.

Thoughts from last trip to Belgium

We have left Sheffield feeling pretty good about how God is blessing and leading us these days. I suppose I should say all along life, but addmittedly I'm blind sometimes to the way God is blessing, growing and providing for us. I'm ashamed when I see things more clearly how I languish in shelfish pursuits when I'm not satisfied with what I think at the time God is doing for me.
Lyssa said, "I can leave with peace." What she was talking about was that things at home with the kids were better this past few days. Everyone was pitching in to work and nobody was having a fit. Daniel is much better.
The team meeting was very significant for our future. The Abbey team wants Michigan leaders, and Belgian ones to meet up over the next year to decide where we would become involved. This will effect where we live, work and such.
We also finished work well on Wednesday. So all in all we can enjoy this trip to Limburg looking for what God is about to do.

Lyssa and I both know a brokeness is what we have to show these past five years have prepared us for what lies ahead.


Our cottage is hard to find.

Isaiah 45:22 is a verse I want to remember. It is an invitation to me to turn to God. Verse 25 ends chapter 45 by saying that in the Lord Israel will be found righteous. It is amazing to think the hard hearted disobedient idol worshiping Israelites are found righteous. So we end the next chapter (46) with an assurance that God will accomplish what he planned. Further his plan is to bring his righteousness near and to save his stubborn people.

Matthew's party was very good. Then Marcel and Magda, Willy and
Marlene came to the cottage. Willy is picking us up for lunch this morning.

Sunday morning, we are getting up after having visited with so many people yesterday. Willy, Marlene, and all the kids, then at our place Bart and Gretje followed by Frank, Else, Naomi, and Tom. And lastly until morning Bianca and Linde. We asked each person what church our family should move to be part of.

Sport Quest Genk asked us to come and speak to the youth of Genk ages 12 to 14 this summer. We talked of many short trips to visit churches before summer.

Count down Belgium

Count down Belgium

• -daily language learning
• -schedule sunday visits before august
• -request leaders summit
• -contacts with belgians about housing, work, schooling
• -ask children to accompany on visits
• -ask church people to accompany on visits
• -regularly have flemish video nights, ?weekly?
• -request weekly prayer for belgium
• -sportquest planning for summer
• -find language school options.
• -check if Lyssa needs to become a British citizen. (done and yes she does)
  
• -schedule english citizenship test for Lyssa and I.

Is the move in site? I don't know but we are starting to plan as if in about 15 months we would make the move! We shall see. One step at a time.

How to have your holiday and keep your Euros too!

First off, I'd be remiss if I didn't say Eurostar is the way to travel!! I have been to Belgium over the past 6 years by plane, car, coach, ferry and train (aka erector) and by far from Sheffield to any where in Belgium it is a simple three hops. Train from Sheffield to London (St. Pancras) change via Tube (or walk or bus) to Waterloo Station, train (erector) to Brussels, and last hop is the train (or friends, or bus) to your final destination in Belgium.

erector is fast (120 Miles and hour), comfortable (plenty of leg room), clean, and you only have to show up around 30 min. Early which isn't too bad compared to Ferry or Plane. The toilets aren't too bad, and the food is reasonable. You can get up and walk around and the dining car even has some seats.
The Channel crossing only takes about 20 min.


Ok so now we are there and here is the real key. We stayed in a very reasonable cottage outside a rural village back off the road and hidden in the trees so well that the local doctor who does make house calls and others who have lived there all their lives could not find it without special instructions! So we were dropped off at a place with no shops close by. We had a quick trip to pick up reall the bare minimum of food, and then enjoy peace and quiet while a steady flow of friends dropped in through out the four days but we never had to get out and buy anything!

So all in all we went home with euros in our pockets unspent. We had a great time with the people we love. And were very encouraged to hear and see what is happening in all the lives, homes, families, and churches in the place that feels like home.

It was great to have the Belgians offer advice on our move to Belgium.