Friday, 10 August 2012

All that was missing was Heidi!


Well here I sit in Gimmelwald, Switzerland coming to grips with the reality that our European adventure is near the end.  After several weeks, many memories, lots of laughs and new experiences we spent our last full day with no travel hiking through the Swiss Alps - and oh the memories.  As we came down the mountains, amongst the green fields, clanging cow bells, herds of sheep and cattle it seemed that the only thing missing was Heidi.


Hard to expain the absolute beauty we have seen here in Switzerland the last few days.  This morning I sat outside our hotel, staring up at the grandeur of the mountains reading Psalm 121 being reminded of the truth that as we look to the mountains we remember that our help comes from God alone.  So tomorrow after hopefully swimming in a lake in the Alps, we'll drive to Frankfurt and board our plane on Sunday headed back for Winnipeg after nearly 4 weeks.




Thursday, 9 August 2012

Reflecting on Philippians from the land of Cappucinos, Gelato, Pasta and Vineyards!


Well after an enjoyable walk through the old city of Salzburg, we found ourselves driving into Italy, the country we as a family were longing to see - and it did not disappoint.  We all had that sense that if felt a bit surreal as we found ourselves in Florence gazing at what must be the most incredible Cathedral I will ever find myself near!  And we almost had the joy of meeting friends from Winnipeg here, but we missed each other at the Dome.


Then the next day we found ourselves walking the romantic streets of Venice, strolling along the canals eating Gelato and sipping Lattes! 


What a thrill for us as a family to walk these streets that we are used to seeing in movies, but now walked along and just soaked in the beauty.  From there it was off to the Cinque Terre to enjoy the village of Corniglia, swim in the Mediterranean, and enjoy the views as we enjoyed the Italian Pasta.




One of the treats for us was also to enjoy the hospitality of a local Italian family in rural Italy, not far from Venice.  My family is still raving about the pasta they served us!

But in all of the beauty of these places, it has been a treat to hear my children still talk about and long for Ukraine, the place this journey all began serving God together with Shelter Plus, Morris and Nassau Street Church.  I have been thinking much of Philippians the last day as our children check their facebook accounts and message their new friends from Ukraine realizing the truth of the words that Paul writes in this book.  True fellowship and community does not simply come from hanging out together, but from laboring and struggling together for the sake of the gospel!  What a wonderful truth.





Saturday, 4 August 2012

The two sides on reflecting upon Germany!



Sitting in Salzburg, Austria tonight reflecting on the past few days and the beauty of Germany.  What a contrast as we spent the first couple of days driving through the beautiful countryside (still marvelling at the reality that you can drive 165 down the Autobahn and have cars fly by you like you're standing still), gazing at the little villages, church steeples, the Bavarian Alps, and fairyland castles.  And then stopping to enjoy walking the cobblestone streets of old mideval cities, gazing at the beautiful flowers that adorn this land while staying in hotels that are over 600 years old.

Simply put it truly has been a dream to be travelling as a family together through the country of Germany taking in the sights and beauty and wonder of this country.

Then this afternoon we made the drive north of Munich to the village of Dachau to visit what remains of the Dachau concentration camp - a very sobering reminder of the other side of this country - a sobering reminder of sin in this world and the atrocities that occur as a result.  Not sure I can fully explain what it was like to walk through Dachau while trying to take in what actually happened in this place.  As we walked through the old barracks, what remains of the gas chambers and creamatorium, and the road that prisoners would have walked coming into this camp, we did not speak much as a family but rather tried to come to grips with what had actually occured on the very streets we were walking down.  Such a painful part in the history of this world. 



Not sure how one takes in what we experienced here this afternoon, other than to weep over our sinfulness and thank God that He sent His Son to save us in our enmity towards Him!




And now, we get set to walk around historic Salzburg tomorrow, and then drive to Italy!

Wednesday, 1 August 2012

What was meant for evil, God meant for good!


Well here I am waking up in beautiful Kiev, Ukraine this morning.  Spent the day yesterday walking around this beautiful city that is about 1500 years old - something that boggles the mind coming from a place like Canada.  Of course our tour had to include a stop by the Olympic Stadium, the sight of Euro 2012.

Feels so difficult this morning to put into words the experience of the last two weeks and our time spent with Shelter Plus and their summer camp ministry.  I could not help but think of Genesis and the story of Joseph during my time at camp.  When Joseph meets his brothers after all those years he says to them, this was all a part of God's plan.  What you meant for my harm was really God's plan to save many lives.  We found ourselves these past two weeks in a camp that was originally established by the former Soviet Union for the purpose of teaching and indoctrinating young people in the way of communism.
But what had been meant as a means and form of teaching young people that there is no God, was now used to give the teenagers (many of whom were from the city of Kryvyh Rih) a picture of hope of the God who loves them.  So it was an incredible time for us as a family these past two weeks to teach English, teach activities like football, street hockey, archery and Canadian cooking and have fun playing soccer with our new Ukrainian friends, all for the purpose of partnering with Shelter Plus in presenting the gospel to this country.  I don't know that we realized before we left how rich a time it would actually be. 

Rich with the friendships that were made, rich with seeing our children adapt to ministering in a camp that did not have many of the comforts we take for granted, rich with the renewed sense of the power of the gospel - that can actually bring different lands and cultures together for one common goal of sharing the love of Christ, and rich with seeing some of the teeangers who come from very hard backgrounds discovering a hope and purpose for their lives through Jesus Christ.

So as we leave this afternoon for Frankfurt to carry on our European adventure we do so with the richness of fond memories of two weeks in this wonderful country!  Yes and even in Kryvih Rih, Ukraine they know the jerseys to don!