December 11th

On the 4th of December we rented a car in Ljubljana and began some last minute travels around Europe (we found this to be MUCH more cost effective than taking trains...plus, we could dictate our own schedule). We have been working since arriving in Europe to establish some connections in France, Switzerland, and Germany. Many of our attempts to connect with people have not panned out. In spite of this, we know that God is at work, developing just the right relationships at just the right times.

Our travels from the 4th until today have taken us from Ljubljana to Geneva, Switzerland, then to Barcelona, Spain, and on to Avignon, France, where we are now. Tomorrow we will be leaving Avignon and heading back to Ljubljana where we will turn in the rental car, get on a train, and head to Vienna. From Vienna, we fly for San Francisco on the 15th of December. We are very excited to be heading home. In Switzerland, we were unable to make the connection that we were hoping to make. It was disappointing but the Lord shows us daily that His timing is always best.

We will be honest and admit that going to Barcelona was just for fun. I mean, we were so close and already had the car rented, so hey, why not go see Spain for a day? We arrived late in the evening on the 6th and left early in the morning on the 8th. The 7th was spent exploring the city, making a 2 mile hike up to the castle, and sitting and enjoying the Mediterranean Sea. It was quite a time.

From Spain, we headed back to France. We have been in Avignon since the 8th. We are leaving tomorrow, so altogether we will spend 4 nights here in Avignon. We have been to all 5 of the churches in Avignon (a city which is composed of 90,000 people, closer to 400,000 if you count surrounding areas, towns, and villages). So far, we have been unable to make connection with any of the pastors of the churches. We have sent emails to all of them and hoped and prayed that we would run into at least one at the church as we did in Lyon, France, but until now, we have had no such luck. Again, we know that God's hand is at work and that He is always at work, guiding and directing our every step.

In the meantime, we have had some amazing times of fellowship with our Lord. I know that in your busy life, it is difficult to take time to spend just you and the Father, but I urge you to seek out time to do so. It has been such a blessing for us to spend time alone with our God. He is so great. So holy. So awesome. It is wonderful to just sit in His shadow and get to know Him more. We strive to do so everyday in our personal walks with Him but there is something special about taking time away from all the cares of life to just rest in Him. He is so magnificent!

We are looking forward to being home soon. We will see you then! Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We long to share with you all that we have learned. May God draw you nearer and nearer to Him everyday as you strive to serve Him in all areas of your life.