This is mostly a collection of what I don’t want to forget. Perhaps it was so surreal and so nice, I want to cherish and re-cherish all the details.
This is how tired we were when we left.
We landed first into Paris, where we planned to spend a couple hours in the train station before we left on the 5am train.
Well, the train station closes, which no one we had chatted with seemed to know! Whoops. We couldn’t find a restaurant open or a coffee shop, or really much of anything within walking distance with two large suitcases. So instead, we found a bus stop. This provided a seat and a glass wall to block the wind, making the 50 degree weather a little more bearable to us. We opened up our suitcases to change Stephen’s Chacos for Converse; and we pulled out every warm layer we brought. Every single one, which really wasn’t that much. We wore it all, then huddled down between our suitcases (also wind blockers), and waited out the three hours until our train arrived!
Once we arrived, soon-to-be-friends were waiting for us at the station and drove us out the house. It’s hard to even begin to explain how gracious and kind this family is.
Perhaps I should start with the official side of things: they’ve created an organization, Restored & Renewed Ministry. One of the couples is two counselors, one of which we’ve been Skyping with for over a year. Their daughter and son-in-law moved their family to France to manage a chateau that their family collectively bought to use for ministry. The goal: to provide a place for overseas workers to stay and refresh.
They have done this above and beyond what we could have imagined. It might help that we just really love them all, and it was so much fun getting to know them. They are also just incredibly hospitable, and so great in their roles. I love seeing how life and ministry can look different across different opportunities, but have so many things in common; and ultimately how God places us all so differently.
Back to where we landed: we went out their chateau for about week on our way to the States. That first week, we slept a whole lot. And really, I think I might focus more on the chateau when we returned there after America. But we are still so thankful for that first week to breathe easier!
Our first stop Stateside was Chicago, and I don’t want to forget the unique opportunity to see two of my brother-in-laws run a marathon! We had so much fun cheering them on.
Stephen and I also went back through Chicago on our way out of the States (y’know, since that’s how round-trip tickets work!) and took a couple days to celebrate our 9th anniversary. Since we love Chicago, it was pretty great. And since it was below freezing, we were really, really cold.
We knew there was a large Burmese community in Chicago and found a restaurant across town. Since the “L” didn’t run too close, we used the bicycle rental system and biked there.
It was not our best idea in the below-freezing weather, and then the shop was closed. We were pretty disappointed, and were walking the block deciding where to warm up when we found a Burmese grocery! We popped inside and found it as warm as our home, boasting at least 80 degrees. We also got to meet the restaurant owner and chat with a few people in the shop. We both pretty much just loved the whole experience. It’s funny the things that feel like home; even some that aren’t home at all.
I think surreal, but nice simply fits this whole trip perfectly.
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