As of Saturday, April 2 at around 2 pm (8 am EST), I arrived at Frankfurt Airport in Germany! It feels so good to be on solid ground, surrounded by friends, enjoying God's creation.
In the first picture in the slideshow above, I am pictured with Markus and Liz Brandt at DAS KANADA HAUS, eating a delicious meal and having a great time catching up. I may look energetic, but the girl in that picture is absolutely exhausted! Later that evening I would climb in bed and sleep for about 17 hours (no joke). My air travel experience was a bit more problematic than I had expected, but God was faithful through it all.
After a delayed flight out of Ottawa, I missed my connecting flight in Montreal that would take me directly to Frankfurt. The airline automatically rescheduled me on a flight to Paris, with a second connection to Frankfurt to follow. I'd say that things were going pretty smoothly until I landed in Paris; I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the line, and I ended up getting royally lost! Considering that I was feeling under the weather after the sleeper flight over the Atlantic, running like a madwoman through the crowded airport to catch the very last boarding call definitely jarred me awake. In all the hubbub of the moment, I didn't have a chance to text Mom and let her know I was okay. I think she was going to call Interpol and send out a search party!!! All in all, I did not leave the City of Light and Love with any romantic memories.
The Frankfurt Airport was unusually busy on Saturday. Actually, that's an understatement... it was a zoo! I had about an hour long wait to get my checked baggage (lots of time to text Mom!! :) ), but the airport staff were so courteous, providing free snack bars and bottles of water to the fatigued crowds gathered around the conveyor belts. I can still feel that overwhelming sense of physical relief that came over me when I finally went through that final set of double doors and walked into the waiting arms of Markus and Liz. It was all worth it!
Leaving the airport, we climbed into the van and set out on a 1.5-hour drive back to DKH. Now that my adrenaline was pumping, we chatted away as I contentedly munched on mixed nuts and pretzels - the big, delicious German pretzels! - in the back seat. When we got back to the guesthouse, I was so delighted to see my name spelled out in those little white letters, welcoming me to my home away from home for the next three months. The third picture in the above slideshow shows the view from my bedroom walkout; so much natural light!
The last couple days have been focused on orientation and scheduling, along with catching up on some much-needed rest. This week we'll be traveling into the city of Fulda, where I will be familiarizing myself with the local transit system and designing a walking tour for our OMEGA team coming in a few weeks. We'll also be doing some spring cleaning at the guesthouse, as well as some prayer walking and ministry in neighbouring villages. Learning to drive a van in Germany will be a new adventure, but I'm up for the challenge :).
Today I leave you with a song that's been bouncing around my head for the last few hours. Thank you again for your prayers and financial support; they have been such a blessing to me! Talk soon!
Yours in the Great Commission,
Emily