After a quick hello to Annabel and saying farewell to Marty and Annika, we were off to Stuttgart and Holtzgalingen via the fast Inter City Express train travelling at speeds over 200 km/hr – relaxing on leather seats, playing cards and sipping our sparkling mineral water (mit gas).
Reconnecting with Klaudija and Hans Martin and their son David was wonderful – they have a lovely apartment and made us very comfortable. We slept on a most interesting sofa bed which was really comfy – I wonder if there is any equivalent in Canada? Klaudija and I had time to sit and enjoy our tea and conversation while Hans-Martin and Ron went go cart racing and to the Mercedes Benz museum. Wee David is a darling and charmed us even though he had a fever. He signs a lot and can communicate really well for a one year old. He is bright and charming and well parented. We love being with Hans-Martin and Klaudija – just kind of slid in to their world like we did with Marty and Annika and now with Jen and Caleb.
Emirates Air was a wonderful flying experience with delicious food and comfy seats. The leg from Dubai to Perth was made even better by being only half full! Ron and I both found space to have 2 seats each – wiggle room so to speak. The best bit of course was that Jen and Caleb were waiting at the airport. Jen is looking well and very round. Her hospital bag is packed and the baby space is ready. Caleb is geared up on the best route to the hospital too!
Caleb and Jen have made a wonderful home of their apartment and we are enjoying times of just hanging out together squeezed into their very busy schedule. They are great fun to be with – we even let Caleb win a game of cards!! One prayer request is that the baby will arrive when Caleb’s parents Pete and Shirley are here – they have travel commitments before and after the due date and I would hate for them to miss out on the initial excitement. More important of course is a safe delivery!
We have had the opportunity to spend some time at the YWAM campus, including a commissioning service last night. We will go to Friday night worship tomorrow. It is a place which is full of energy with lots of school teams arriving and leaving and staying!! The presence of the Lord is evident (the CCC gospel choir song “the Presence of the Lord is here” keeps popping into my head).
Our house exchange is all we could hope for. A lovely clean home with all the amenities and terrific hosts who are staying in a cottage on the back of the property. Rosemary and Bill are very hospitable, interesting folks and we hope to get to know them better while we are here. We drove their vehicle for the first time today and Ron did well driving on the left side of the road … We entertained ourselves by using the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal a couple of times!
We are sitting out in their garden having a relaxing day. Yesterday we walked for about 4 hours taking photos and enjoying the winter flora and fauna – the weather has been dry and sunny (fine is the term used here) but a change is expected tomorrow. I love seeing the palm trees, the various birds and of course the roos on Heirisson Island…
Photos will follow soon but right now I would like to go for a walk before preparing dinner for Cherine and Sharon from YWAM. Looking forward to their company and wishing you could be here with us!
