Journey

“So, uhm, have you ever been there before? You know how to get there, right?” The timing was impeccable. Situated in the front seat of an uncovered flatbed truck cab next to the two local guys who were driving us and our household items due north, I suppressed a smile as I internally replayed what had just been said and double checked my translation. Nope, I had heard them plain as day. They didn't know how to get there! “Yes” I replied. “We've been there once before, but it was by train. Do you guys not have a map?” At which point one of them said to the other, “Oh no! We forgot the GPS. I knew we should have brought that.”

In spite of this lack of directional certitude, we managed to navigate the first few hours along the way without incident. As we crossed provincial borders, however, and began to enter an enormously long tunnel with poor lighting and multiple potholes, I began to wonder. Coming out into daylight again, I breathed a sigh of relief and then saw precisely what you don't want to see while traveling a mountain road. Several golf cart sized boulders, along with smaller rocks and dirt, blocked the main thoroughfare. We had just missed an avalanche and now it was time to get off the beaten path and brave the ice slicked road that wound treacherously round the ever rising mountains. “Sweetie, you have the passports on your person, right?” “Yes.” O.k. If we have to ditch, don't worry about any of the stuff. As long as we have those and some cash, we should be o.k.”

Multiple detours later, and noting that our “eight hour trip” was mysteriously elongated to thirteen and a half, we arrived in one piece at our new apartment. With the kind assistance of two local friends, we unloaded the truck and deposited the contents in our flat. After our friends departed and the new landlord said his goodbyes for the night I turned to my wife and said a very profound and spiritual thing: “I'm beat. Let's get some sleep!” I did

some quick mental calculations: it was now December 29th, 2011. We had spent anywhere from a week to 5 months in 4 countries, 10 cities, and 13 different addresses this year. Places we had received mail? Well, that dropped the number down considerably: a mere 5 locations. Chances were, this sixth address would not see any post before the end of December. Suffice it to say, we've been on the move a bit this year.

As we begin 2012, -- we want to thank each of you for coming with us along the journey this past year. Your notes of encouragement and talks with dad for us have been a much needed anchor in the midst of much change. Now as we approach a new year in a new place, we are excited about the possibilities that it brings.

For one, our city has a large university that admits foreign students. This affords us a much better visa situation (instead of having to leave every three months, we can stay in country for a whole year) and also provides a much more stable language learning environment. Even with the on again off again tutoring situation in our previous city, we have managed to learn a good deal of language and feel much more comfortable conversing with local folks than we did when we arrived--. We are hoping to build on this foundation and continue using language learning to keep meeting new people and sharing the story.

We hold firm to the belief that each leg of the journey is important, that no twist, turn, or detour catches our Father by surprise, and that regardless of where we may find ourselves in the days to come, our purpose remains the same. We know where we're going and we know how to get there. For those without maps, however, there are no good destinations and no sure paths. To them, we offer the only way, truth and life. If that's not a journey worth pursuing, I don't know what is!