When I left the States, 24 days ago, I thought that today I would be in Turkey, enjoying my first real vacation in two years and getting to connect with some relatives on my mom's side. I thought I'd be experiencing a traditional Turkish hamam and touring Ephesus. Maybe worshiping with believers in the city. The Lord, it seems, has other plans.
To make a very long story short, Jodi and I were confirmed to fly out this morning on a 5:55a flight to Izmir. Or so we thought. It turns out that we were confirmed on a flight yesterday (Thursday), and because we booked through a travel agent, we could not get our refund this morning. If we wanted to fly to Izmir, we would have to purchase another ticket, this time at the last minute. Since neither one of us could afford that, we are now back in Leuven.
We got back to the hostel around seven, and I promptly went back to bed. Jodi stayed up for a bit and saw the owners of the hostel. After telling them our story of yet another logistical snafu, they invited us to drive down with them to a little village in the south of Belgium, near the Belgium-France border. Roel, whom we have known now for five years, found a little B&B for us with a view of the river. He and Camilla, his wife, are staying in a neighboring village about 3km up the road. It may not be Turkey, but there are trails to hike, rivers to kayak, and relative peace. We are driving down tomorrow morning and spending Saturday night before coming back on Sunday.
While this was a relief that things are working out, I will confess to struggling to remember the truths that I know about God - He is a good God; He loves me; He doesn't take away just for the sake of taking; Everything can be redeemed for my good and His glory. It took every ounce of energy that I had, but I dragged myself out of bed around noon (I wasn't sleeping, I just didn't want to stand up) to find lunch and head over to the botanical gardens. The botanical gardens are my favorite spot in the whole of Leuven (even more than CrossFit Leuven, which is saying something), and today I found a new "favorite spot" in the back near their fruit & honey garden.
The Lord led me to Psalm 9:1-2, which I want to share with y'all:
I'm excited to share all that the Lord did this summer, but I don't know how much of it will make it on the blog. I probably have four or five blog entries worth of stories to tell. You'll hear a lot of it at the recap party, so if you're curious, you'll just have to come and listen. Or, we can Skype, but block out a solid two hours for me to talk your ear off.
To make a very long story short, Jodi and I were confirmed to fly out this morning on a 5:55a flight to Izmir. Or so we thought. It turns out that we were confirmed on a flight yesterday (Thursday), and because we booked through a travel agent, we could not get our refund this morning. If we wanted to fly to Izmir, we would have to purchase another ticket, this time at the last minute. Since neither one of us could afford that, we are now back in Leuven.
We got back to the hostel around seven, and I promptly went back to bed. Jodi stayed up for a bit and saw the owners of the hostel. After telling them our story of yet another logistical snafu, they invited us to drive down with them to a little village in the south of Belgium, near the Belgium-France border. Roel, whom we have known now for five years, found a little B&B for us with a view of the river. He and Camilla, his wife, are staying in a neighboring village about 3km up the road. It may not be Turkey, but there are trails to hike, rivers to kayak, and relative peace. We are driving down tomorrow morning and spending Saturday night before coming back on Sunday.
While this was a relief that things are working out, I will confess to struggling to remember the truths that I know about God - He is a good God; He loves me; He doesn't take away just for the sake of taking; Everything can be redeemed for my good and His glory. It took every ounce of energy that I had, but I dragged myself out of bed around noon (I wasn't sleeping, I just didn't want to stand up) to find lunch and head over to the botanical gardens. The botanical gardens are my favorite spot in the whole of Leuven (even more than CrossFit Leuven, which is saying something), and today I found a new "favorite spot" in the back near their fruit & honey garden.
The Lord led me to Psalm 9:1-2, which I want to share with y'all:
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.And that's what I did for two hours this afternoon: I gave thanks to the Lord with my whole heart for this year's trip; I recounted all of His wonderful deeds that He did over our three and a half weeks together as a team; I was glad and praised Him above all; and He even gave me a song to sing. I know the song was from Him, because anyone who knows me can say that I don't have a lick of musical abilities. We can call a spade a spade here, it won't hurt my feelings. It was some of the sweetest time that I have had with Him on this trip. Apparently I needed to slam into a wall before I slowed down, since speed bumps weren't doing the trick.
I'm excited to share all that the Lord did this summer, but I don't know how much of it will make it on the blog. I probably have four or five blog entries worth of stories to tell. You'll hear a lot of it at the recap party, so if you're curious, you'll just have to come and listen. Or, we can Skype, but block out a solid two hours for me to talk your ear off.
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