Part 1 Driving in a circle

Thinking about this as a whole year seems overwhelming to both of us and can make us panic, so a wise friend said think of it as many little trips. With this idea, we have just completed part 1. We drove just over 2000 miles through parts of Germany, France and Holland. We went through cities which have existed for well over 1000 years and some which have been destroyed and rebuilt several times. We saw remnants of wars and memorials to those who fought for their rights and the rights of others. All in a matter of 11 days. And honestly some of it is a blur like the lines we passed on the roads. But what stands out in our minds are the people we met. We stayed in Airbnb’s (which I fully recommend) which allowed us to meet some locals. Regular people: a counselor, a farmer, a single mom, a retired couple, a family in a new home…all just living life in their own ways.

There are also the characters we met along the way. The shop keeper who recommended a restaurant to us and then came back to check on us a few hours later just to see if we really did heed his excellent advise. The close to 100 year old woman in the French countryside who wanted to help us find our way but spoke no English, was hard of hearing and didn’t know Guillamo (our next host…we had lost our GPS signal) I wish I videotaped this interaction. There was the Dutch couple we met at lunch and sat with for over an hour talking or the British couple we sat next to at dinner and Jim ended up trying her dessert at the end and the Irish Greek gentleman who has stood beside his cancer stricken wife for a year and multiple operations and had just learned she was 100% cancer free. The news was so fresh he was suspended between joy and disbelief, but all the time praising God for this miracle and the opportunity to live life each to their fullest.

These are the parts that will stay with us. We share stories of home and all of you.

So now we sit patiently at the airport and wait for our flight to take us to part two…the Camino. We are nervous and excited to begin. We anticipate many more souls along the way. One step and day at a time. Peace to all of you on your journeys.