Friday, December 29, 2017

The year is sliding away and it's hard to believe how quickly the last couple of months have gone!  We've made a couple of brief trips to Germany for conferences, celebrated Thanksgiving with 16 other Americans and Christmas with friends from Northern Ireland, the US, Germany and Syria.  We held a Christmas potluck/music night with over 50 in attendance from many countries.  It was a blessed time to share together the HOPE that Christmas brings to those who believe!

We've learned many things the last two months - mostly about bureaucracy and how it does and does not work.  We had our apartment up for sale and had a good offer.  At that point the buyer usually puts down earnest money and signs a preliminary agreement.  We found out (at that point) that no one currently has power of attorney to sign that document.  While working to correct that (much longer story) the people backed out.  We now have potential of another buyer so are hoping all the legalities will be cleared up soon.  I could add a couple more situations here, but suffice it to say that I have an even better understanding of the struggles of expats coming to America!


Our adventures in parking (for which this blog is named) have
continued.  After doing some work at church, we came out to
find that our car (the blue one in back) was blocked by a
white car that had parked in front while we were inside.
Thankfully, the person arrived shortly and, with apologies,
quickly moved!


One thing we continue to experience is God's faithfulness.  He
shows up when we are thankful and when we are discouraged.  He continues to remind us that His plans are often different than ours - and better, even though we might get impatient to see them work out.  And that God really does show His strength in our weakness.

We pray that this Christmas season has reminded you anew of the amazing GIFT that God has given us by sending His Son to earth to live among us and provide a way for us to be His children.  And we hope this New Year brings you exciting adventures in God's goodness and grace!

A few pictures from our Christmas celebrations: