Catch Up Time

We've had visitors the last few weeks which has be super-fun for all of us! It also means that my computer time took a nose dive which is fine from time to time (= To catch you all up, here is an excerpt from an email I just sent out. Sorry for the repeat to those of you who might have gotten this email as well!

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We are closer to getting a visa than before – nothing is in our passport yet so we are not celebrating, but we are hopeful!

Tom has gone from the “Hurry up and Wait” syndrome with the visa paperwork to being crazy-busy ALL the time! This is a welcome change of pace for him. If you remember that he was pursuing four visa options, one of them was basically being a sales representative for some construction products. We determined that it would not easily provide a visa and had backed away from it, but then the Lord has dropped a couple of sales jobs in his lap that could potentially provide some decent income for us! This is much needed as we have laid out quite a bit of cash for the visa during this season, and because we have been under budget for some time and have not had the time or mental capacity to address the issue. As with everything, until we see the money in the bank, we are making no assumptions. It has been a great change of pace for Tom and he has had a steep learning curve. We will see if this will turn out to be an occasional source of income in the future.

We have had two sets of visitors so I was rather busy and not on the computer much. It was LOVELY to see friends and you can see pictures here and here for our camping trip. So great!

Layla is still struggling with being rather clingy and scared which is unusual for her. We continue to pray and think and hope that we are doing all that we can to address the issue. Some days she is fine, other days she does not even want to be in a room in the house by herself. Do pray for her heart and for wisdom for us, please.

Last time we mentioned the need to get away for some extended time. Through one of you all we are able to arrange to house-sit for an American family who teaches at Black Forest Academy! We are excited to be in their place for the summer. We have to be in Germany anyway for a set of meetings for Tom and we are happy to only have to buy one set of tickets. We also able to offer our home to another family evacuated from another country and who need a place to sit and wait out the political situation. They are happy to have a place set up and ready to go and they also have a small little baby so it will be a great set up for them. Thanks for your prayers about this. We will have wireless at the place in Germany so Tom will still be able to do the majority of his responsibilities, but he really needs a change of scenery.

Please pray that our visas will be finalized before we leave town at the end of June. This would help us to be more relaxed this summer.

On a lighter note, Ryan turned one last week! It is amazing to reflect on the year we have had….God has certainly been near and it also feels like we have been near to insanity (= It does seem like He is changing the season we are in and we are so so grateful for that.

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Now off to my nap....