Euro Road Trip

I think the mark of a good vacation is that you're ready to go, have a great time while you're away, and are happy to come home at the end. This was one of those. We invited our good friend (more like family) and ministry colleague, Becky, to travel with us. Not long after she came to Belarus two years ago, I was sitting by her at the ballet in Minsk when during intermission I said, "I think I might be pregnant", and the next day saw the two pink lines. She's moving back to the States this summer, so it was extra special to take this trip with her.

We've now been home six days from our Central European tour, and I finally have the Shutterfly albums up--one each of Prague and Vienna with 111 pictures apiece (just turned out that way), and a top 25 album of the whole trip for those who aren't grandparents or Europe fanatics. And here is one of my favorite videos ever of Yanka, who appears to be telling us the history of St. Stephens in Vienna. Another group of Americans stopped to listen and take pictures of him shortly after.

Besides the conversations ranging from deeply spiritual to hilarious on our three driving days, we listened to several pretty incredible sermons by Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. He's not only a challenging yet grace-full preacher, but very, very funny.

Ian amazed us with how good a little traveller he was. I never expected to be able to sightsee like we used to pre-baby, but he seemed to truly enjoy our full days of walking around the cities. He endured long car seat stretches like a champ (with Mama's entertainment and snacks, of course). He actually slept "like a baby" at night. (For those of you who have heard about our major sleep issues, you can imagine what a gift this was. The issues started up again upon return, so we're trying to figure out what the difference may be.) He charmed the waitress at the restaurant where we tried wienerschnitzel (which is just an Iowa pork chop, by the way) by saying "Danke". He still doesn't say "thank you" or "spasibo", but repeats "dande" all day long.

I think I'll let the "top 25" album with comments be the official recap for our trip. I'm thankful we had the chance to see "real Europe" while living on this side of the Atlantic. I say "real Europe" because Belarusians claim their country is the center of Europe. Geographically, depending on where you put the eastern border, maybe... It was beautiful and restful, and we're ready to start a new semester of ministry in this not-so-European but beloved place.