Almost unbelievable, but we've been here already for more than 3 weeks!!What a wonderful, special, blessed and peaceful time this has been. Definitely the longest period in my life in which I've "done" the least. But what happened in me, was great. Some times tougher than what I wanted, but still great. My pace is slower. That's a first and it is good. Even my heartrate is slower than normal!!
A summary of our time here would be: to practice to "be", to fellowship with each other(that is our crowd of 5), to do schoolwork and office work and mail work, to have quiettime alone and together, to read, to laugh, to walk, to cook, to wash, to clean. We went down to Sion 3x to buy food and experience Sion. This city they say, is 2000 years old. To see the churches,castles and cobblestone streets,knowing it's dating back to the time of Jesus and Paul is humbling.
We went to Leukerbad to swim in the hot water while the snow is lying next to the pool and the steam is all around you. (Tinus and Dawie J decided that Leukerbad is the place where they will come for honeymoon!!) We drove through the whole of Val de Herens, the valley in which Mase,our town is also situated. The children went 2x to toboggan down the ski slopes near our house. And that is about it! The rest of the time, we were in our wonderful chalet.
We went to Leukerbad to swim in the hot water while the snow is lying next to the pool and the steam is all around you. (Tinus and Dawie J decided that Leukerbad is the place where they will come for honeymoon!!) We drove through the whole of Val de Herens, the valley in which Mase,our town is also situated. The children went 2x to toboggan down the ski slopes near our house. And that is about it! The rest of the time, we were in our wonderful chalet.
There are 3 reasons why we did not drive around a lot: 1. It snowed often, either covering the roads with snow or a day or 2 later with ice. Not our normal driving conditions! 2. The road from Sion to our house above the town of Mase, is a STEEP ,narrow, winding road. Imagine that you climb the hight from Swakop to Windhoek, not over 400 km, but over 15km! Also a challenge. 3. We chose to stay home, because we loved it so much.
A big miracle that happened, is that I actually made food! A balanced, cooked, dollar stretching meal every day AND my men said the food was good. Charlie actually said today that my food was one of the highlites of Switzerland- can you believe? He surely knows his mother's love language! I'm on cloud 9!!
We will miss Switzerland. We've come to get used to the mountains - their height and impressiveness and feeling of smallness in the midst of all of this majestic surroundings. Also the colours are familiar on our eyes now. Where ever you look, you see White with some shade of brown. It is almost as if you are looking at a photo of years gone by: white and brown, every where, non stop, but more white than brown.
I wonder when in our lives will we see this again, if ever? I am so greatful that we had this oppurtunity now. We all are and know that we are blessed.
I wonder when in our lives will we see this again, if ever? I am so greatful that we had this oppurtunity now. We all are and know that we are blessed.
Sunday, during our homechurch, we talked about time . The importance of every moment, the choices you make and the nurturing of the moments. We decided to remind each other about the following:1. God is in every moment,He will be with us always. He will take care of us and guide us. 2. We must experience every moment to the full, not get used to this peacefull pace, but always remember it as a blessing. 3. We must remember that choices need to be made every moment. The best is if you make right choices all the time. 4. We must learn from the past, plan for the future, but live to the full in the present. 5. We must continue to create memories.
(1 Sam 17:41-45, Luke 12: 22-28 , Ps 90:12 , Job 14:5 to name a few places in Scripture)
Tomorrow is our last day here. It will be a busy day, but we are prepared and ready. Dawie and Charlie will still fit in a day of school in the morning, while I'll pack. That's packing every thing we have with us(that's now for 9 months of living) ,in 5 suitcases. In the afternoon we will clean. It will be a practical experience of "Teamwork makes the dream work". Our plan is to leave Friday morning with 1st light, still trusting that God will keep the snow away until after we have left the mountain.
I don't know when the next blog will be posted, as we don't know if we will have Internet in Germany at our next "home". I'm in any case not so clever with all the connections and things we are supposed to have. Tinus is absolutely convinced that I do not have a Clue about Internet and will most probably never really understand how it works. He is correct, but why must I know if I have him!? He is reminding me that he will not be there next year -- hard reality -- that's why he must teach his brothers.
May God bless you and may you use every second of your day and every day of your life to the full and to the Glory of God. I'll do the same...
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