Yes, I'm still alive!! To be very honest, I'm not sure why my body still insists on waking me up at 5:30 in the morning, but I'm glad to be back in Canada. Kicking jet lag is never easy. I was so thankful to have a smooth flight from Frankfurt and a relatively uneventful layover at the Montreal airport, before safely arriving in Ottawa.
My favourite part of the Macdonald-Cartier International Airport are the escalators that carry you down to the baggage claim area. Looking out over the crowds of people - harried travellers, overjoyed relations and everyone in between - I always play that little game of "Spot the Parents"! Needless to say, I first try to pick out one set of smiling faces in particular :). Then we move on to the pseudo-bumper-car experience that is the baggage carousel. I repeatedly need to reassure my mom that that one pesky bag that keeps passing by doesn't, in fact, belong to me. I've spent many a day unpacking and repacking my maple leaf-emblazoned suitcases, one with a rather humorous bag tag that reads "I'm pretty sure this isn't your bag...". Canadian sarcasm at its finest.
Oddly enough, it's the little things that make the biggest impression on you as a traveller. Things as simple as going back to my English muffin with peanut butter for breakfast, pulling up to a Tim Hortons drive-thru window (often after a long wait), or flipping through favourite new titles in a bookstore without having to do any mental translation. These are the things that make me feel at home in my beautiful Ottawa Valley.
The final few weeks of my time in Germany went by so quickly, but I made sure to pack as many adventures into that time as humanly possible. DAS KANADA HAUS was blessed to host two ladies' groups from the cities of Lohr and Würzburg, as they gathered together for times of physical and spiritual refreshing. Some of the most precious moments of my trip were spent around the campfire, lifting up the name of Jesus in song and spoken word. It was definitely a stretching experience to be asked to lead a couple songs in German, but I'm thankful that we serve a multilingual Lord!
Here are some snapshots and video footage from the Würzburg ladies' retreat:
The week before I returned to Canada, I took a few days to backpack around the cities of Würzburg and Erfurt. I wasn't sure how things would go on this solo expedition, but I had an absolute blast! I had perfect weather for my hike up to the Marienberg Fortress, which overlooks Würzburg's vineyard-rimmed city scape. I'm surprised that my face wasn't more red in the picture below, but I guess there's nothing more relaxing than spending time in a pristine mountain garden.
After a 2.5-hour train ride to Erfurt, capital of the East German province of Thuringia, I took a few hours to trace the steps of Martin Luther. Erfurt is the home of the 700-year-old Augustinerkloster (Protestant Monestary of St. Augustine), where Luther resided as a friar from 1505 to 1511 A.D. A few blocks away you can find a statue erected in Luther's honour, which bears the words of Psalm 118:17: "Ich werde nicht sterben sondern leben und des herrn werk verkuendigen." "I shall not die, but live: and shall declare the works of the Lord."
Coming back to Canada, it's so clear how God has orchestrated events in order to teach me some valuable lessons. To use a couple brilliant German words, my life in the last 5 years or so has been characterized by a combination of angst and wanderlust. In North American Gen-Z parlance, I guess you could say that I had a bad case of perpetual FOMO ("Fear Of Missing Out"). God would open up a shiny new door of opportunity, and I would jump into action headfirst. These decisions have taken me all over Ontario, and even to Europe - TWICE!! Now don't get me wrong: I don't regret any of these experiences in the least. Were they hard? Some of them, absolutely! But God turned them around and used them for my good and for His glory.
The thing that I regret most isn't the experiences themselves, but one of the motives that I carried with me throughout these transitions. I thought that if I found the "right" job, the "right" community to live in, or the "right" group of friends and colleagues, things would just click for me, launching me into my destiny. I struggled to set myself up for longevity in my work and relationships, and when burnout inevitably came I would quickly begin to search for a way out. Where's the next big thing? My inner restlessness wouldn't allow me to rest in and appreciate the place where I was planted. I was searching for a place to belong somewhere "out there", but in the end I was searching for something that I already had!
Coincidentally, my return to Canada was concurrent with the start of Family Camp at OVPC (Ottawa Valley Pentecostal Camp). Driving onto the grounds for what seems like the millionth time, my heart still swells when I read the sign that greets every visitor: "Welcome Home".
This place doesn't feel like home solely because of the people we get to reconnect with each year, or because COVID has kept us apart for so long. This place feels like home because I've met God here. This is the place where I first encountered the tangible presence of God, and was filled with the Spirit. This is the place where I came to heal, surrounded by people who reminded me that God's power was still at work. Even last night, this is the place where we gathered to pray for our nation, our schools, our churches and our families. For me, home is wherever God is glorified.
I sincerely doubt that Germany 2022 will be my last mission trip. Honestly, it's hard to know what the next few years will bring! Many dreams and desires are still alive in my heart: to meet my life partner and start a family; to grow in ministry; to walk in increasing health and wholeness. All I know right now is that I don't have to worry about finding a home. Truth is, it's almost like I never left!
Yours in the Great Commission,
Emily