2011 Christmas Letter

(Doug) I am writing this Christmas letter on a foggy grey day with the temperature outside hovering around freezing. No snow on the ground and the weather experts tell us we will have a green Christmas. Ugh. But a fire is burning in the fireplace, our old (plastic) Christmas tree is back up, lit beautifully in the front window for all to see and our family is relatively healthy and happy.

This has been a transition year for our family. By the grace of God and help from family and friends we have managed to make it a good one. Some time in the past Wanda & I were given a 'stress' test to measure what level of health risk we were at. Our transition years; 1996, 2001, 2007 and now 2011 would measure pretty high. I found the test at this link in Wikipedia, called the 'Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale', and by using this, we're right up there on the charts again this year; 288 which puts us at moderate risk of illness (300+ is 'at risk'). We are in good health, thank the Lord, as evidenced by the report from the insurance company who ran tests on Wanda & I to make sure we were within acceptable parameters health wise (and we were). In case you want to check yourselves on how stressful a year you had, here is that link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale

• Transitions: Here are the transition highlights and lowlights for us

  • May and June – Saying Good-bye – We're not good at this yet.

    

    We haven't figured out how to finish the work at hand, pack everything up and say good-bye to friends and partners at work without leaving loose ends. We didn't realize we should write a letter 30-60 days prior to our leaving to all MCC partners so that they would have a chance to say good-bye. It makes sense, closure. Some partners did find out and some gave us wonderful farewells. Others found out late and were disappointed they couldn't give us a farewell. To be honest, the 1/2 dozen farewells we had were just about all we could handle emotionally. For each partner it is but one meeting, but for us the emotions happen again and again with each farewell. The stress test didn't have a direct accounting for that so I added all the change factor points in.

    
    

  • June-August – Saying Hello – As we made plans to stop in Europe and travel to see friends and family, with at least 15 pieces of luggage, we kept telling ourselves that this huge effort would be worth it and someday, in the future, we would look back and be very glad we did spend those weeks in Europe. I believe that to this day.

  • In Amsterdam/ Almere we were hosted by family, Miriam and Bob Phillips. In the midst of their busy lives Bob & Mim accommodated us and our luggage (stashed in all corners) and let us crash in two rooms of their small urban Euro-home. We ate Dutch/American meals at their table and listened with fascination as they talked about their ministry and their lives as outsiders to becoming part of Euro-Dutch culture. Many highlights;

  • visiting the fastest growing church in Holland

  • riding public rail into Amsterdam

  • visiting the Rijks Museum, downtown Amsterdam, Anne Frank House

  • visiting Singelkerk on a Sunday when a Mennonite church choir from Winnipeg filled the empty space with beautiful music

  • visiting the cheese sale in Alkmaar and and the windmills in Zaandam

  • driving a car from Almere through north Holland, over the sea dijk to Friesland and back down to Almere in one day

  • watching Bob drag his potted blueberry plants into the shed as a storm approached (and then Bob telling the girls to pick those delicious blue berries and having them for breakfast!)

  • The girls discovering Stroopwafels for breakfast

  • Travelling in the train from Amsterdam to Basel overnight and back during the day.

  • In Basel we were hosted by 2 families; Andreas & Manuela Kohler Martin and by Bruno & Heidi Sagesser-Rich. Andy & Manuela made arrangements for us and the Sagesser-Rich family generously gave us the run of the 2^nd floor of their home, a large building with a business on the ground level and their home on the first and second floors. Again, so many highlights, but here are a few;

  • Seeing Andy & Manuela again after all these years and meeting their family!

  • Wonderful Swiss breakfasts at Heidi's table.

  • riding the public rails in Basel, walking the streets of the city

  • visiting churches, museums and shops in Basel

  • Sunday service for a combined Swiss Reformed and Anabaptist group at the Reformed church where the Reformed hosts, inexplicably, performed an infant baptism on that Sunday!

  • A day trip south into (formerly) Anabaptist territory (Emmental, Langnau, Trachselwald castle) and over to Lake Thun and Interlaken

  • A day trip into the Juras, where I lived and worked as an MCC trainee near Tramelan.

  • A supper with Ernst & Ruth Sprunger after all these years. A supper meal with Aschli and Mary Friesen Amstutz and their daughter Anna, making new friends along the way.

  • In Canada and U.S. We travelled to visit friends and family after we arrived back in Toronto on July 12. For two months we stayed in Tavistock above Quehls Restaurant and at the Roth grandparents.

  • For those two months we travelled to visit family (Amstutz grandparents in Kidron) and then on to Pennsylvania and Virginia as well. One highlight was to meet up with our 'Ethiopian' friends in Harrisonburg, staying with Glenda Hostetter and her daughters at their house and with Darren & Cindy Schaupp and family when they came up from South Carolina.

    

  • August-October – Getting Settled – By the time school started we, as a family, were very ready not to live out of suitcases any longer. Some highlights include;

  • School – 'We can make it happen' Those words were music to our ears. Rockway Mennonite Collegiate was the school our daughters hoped to go to and although Wanda & I hoped for the same, we didn't think it would be possible. But a visit to RMC followed by a meeting with Tom Bileski made it happen. So far so very good. This is one blessing of many we are grateful to God for.

  • Work – Wanda was offered the interim pastor job at Stirling Ave. Mennonite Church and she began in September. She has had a great experience in the church, enjoying the leadership and the congregation. We all have made friends there, it's been a great church to 'land' into from overseas. What have I been doing? Yes, a question I hear often. We made the decision that, unless 2 jobs opened up immediately, one of us would organize the transition/ move. That has fallen to me. I have been the unpacker, the organizer, the handyman and the housekeeper. I have put my resume/ MLI into a couple of places but won't hear until the new year. In the meantime I have also been an MCC storyteller (Goshen, Indiana and Albuquerque, New Mexico) and will have 2 more stints; one in January in eastern Pennsylvania and in Harrisonburg, Virginia and one in February in Wayne/ Holmes counties, Ohio.

  • House – Another priority in August was to find a house. We eventually found a fixer upper in a good location to shopping areas and highway access in Kitchener. We got sticker shock looking for housing that fit our basic needs (we have a 4 bedroom house but with a postage stamp size back yard, we are in the city but on a busy street, the price was comparatively normative in this current market but lots of work involved). We moved into 153 McGarry Drive in Forest Heights on October 4 and have been renovating ever since. Carpets on the both floors taken out, painting and trimming done. Several windows replaced, complete overhaul of ensuite bathroom. We're almost done with stage 1. Stage 2 will be renovating the kitchen.

    

  • November-December – homecoming – As we continue to open luggage and boxes from our past and place it in the present, the house is becoming a home. I travelled for almost 2 weeks in November as an MCC storyteller and on the road I began to anticipate my homecoming. It will probably take some getting used to but at this point we will be continue to be city dwellers for the forseeable future. Here are a few points of living I have observed thus far at 153 McGarry Drive;

  • If you don't have curtains, the lights shine into your bedroom windows brightly at night (so does a full moon).

  • We'll just pull up the carpets and paint. I didn't anticipate how much work goes in to all that; it all takes time to prep a room for painting, much less the time it takes to paint.

  • Walking is free! And walking unaccosted is a freedom I no longer take for granted. No one bothers me when I go out and walk for exercise. Plus it costs me nothing to walk.

  • Water/utilities are not free but they are easy and clean. I can brush and rinse with water from the faucet. But I still cringe to hear my daughters take long showers (anything over 3 minutes is long). I just heard from the couple who replaced us that they are without water again and have to call in the water tanker for the MCC compound. I may never take water for granted again. I have stopped worrying about whether the power will go off in the middle of a TV program or internet download. Great story; one school day at Rockway, the power goes out for a couple of minutes. Kids start screaming but my daughters say, what's the big deal? Teachers admire our daughters' calmness.

  • Internet/phone is expensive but fast and reliable. OK, Ethiopia has the most expensive internet/ telecommunications in Africa but I sure miss my Nokia phone and calling anywhere in country for a relatively cheap price. Only the caller pays, not the receiver. A big rip off in North America to have both pay.

  Finally, Milestones:

  • March 2 – Our 15^th wedding anniversary. Now we do celebrate our anniversary every year with a special meal or event. But our personal tradition is that every 5 years Wanda & I do something extraordinary and each time it's been more extraordinary than the previous time. At our 5^th it was a weekend at a B&B in Baden, Ontario (with 3 very young daughters taken care of by the grandparents Roth, thanks!). At our 10^th it was 10 days of visiting spring training baseball in Florida in March (again, our girls hosted by grandparents Amstutz, thanks!). Our 15^th was a trip for 2 to South Africa, Pretoria and Capetown. We rented a car in the Cape and travelled down to the tip of Africa and up into wine country. An amazing land with a heart wrenching history and a hopeful future (special thanks to our dear friends, the Hostetter family, who hosted our daughters for 10 days!!! And to our friends in Pretoria, Jason & Mary Trego for their warm hospitality).

  • March 4 – my 50^th birthday. We celebrated that in the Cape as well as in Addis. The only thing that made it special was to be with my wife and friends.

  • April 8 – Amani and Abigail's 13^th birthdays. Our daughters have become teenagers. We have had golden years with our daughters up until now and I hope that continues. But we are bracing for growing pains. At any rate it is great so far!

  Night has fallen on this shortest night of the year in the northern hemisphere (Dec. 22). The fire still burns. The family is home.

  I wonder what the next year has in store for us. In the meantime we are grateful for the basic necessities of life; health and access to health care, shelter, food, utilities that are clean and constant, transportation and income. We remember that many don't have these basic necessities/ luxuries (a vehicle is that, no?). We are are grateful to live in a western democracy. Yes, I know there are problems here with politics and politicians, but compared to other places, we are fortunate.

  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

  In Christian peace and love,

  Doug, Wanda, Amani, Abigail and Sophia

  153 McGarry Drive

  Kitchener, ON N2N 1A8

  Canada

  
  

On the Road Again

Here's a familiar feeling from the last 4 years; marking time in an airport, waiting for the gate to open. When we arrived in Toronto in July I was happy to be finished with the airport routine. The security is irritating (take off your shoes, your hat, your coat, empty your pockets, raise your arms as you walk through . . .), the seating is cramped (oh no, what to do if my seat mate spills over onto me?), dragging our luggage through security and paying for carts to move it . . . yep, glad to be done with all of that.

Yet here I was, anticipating more travelling. My on-the-road-again feeling competed with my good-to-be-back-home-again feeling. There was much work to be done at our house, I wasn't happy to let that all for Wanda and the girls. But the thought of meeting old friends and connecting with new ones was exciting.

So I was off to Akron, PA to meet with MCC folks on the itineration, then to Goshen, IN to do storytelling and finally to Albuquerque, NM to wrap up my flying tour.

Was this my first time? Nope. In August 590 News in Kitchener did a radio interview with me. Wanda and I were on a CTV news spot at the MCC Thrift Shop in New Hamburg. In September I visited Conrad Grebel University College to participate in a panel discussion on food and peace issues. In October Wanda & I led a chapel at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate. I also did some storytelling in a number of churches on the Sundays in October (Stirling Ave., First Mennonite, WKUMC in Kitchener and East Zorra in Tavistock).

So I've been feeling more and more comfortable in each setting. In Goshen I spoke at the MCC Alumni gathering/ potluck, offered a mission moment at Waterford MC and did storytelling in a young adult SS class. I was up front at Faith MC in the evening storytelling again. Monday I was at MCC Great Lakes offices over lunch for a short presentation, then on to Goshen College to speak in Jan Bender Shetler's 'History of Global Poverty' class. Tuesday I visited MMN's offices, then to AMBS to present during the lunch colloquium on Mission and Peace with Walter Sawatsky and Ted Koontz, then wrapping up at Bethany HS in Dan Shenk's Church History class.

In Albuquerque I'll be speaking together with my sister Anita in a Saturday evening session, a storytelling duo! And Sunday I'll offer a sermon at AMC. Then on Monday I get to go back home!

But that won't be it for me, I have agreed to at least one more itineration; going down to PA and VA in January to be in another round of churches, schools, institutions and groups.

It is my hope that God is using this time to nudge people here and there to think of ways to do service or at least continue to support the work of those serving in MCC 'in the name of Christ'.

Getting You Up to Date

So many of our good friends and family have asked us to keep them updated and I haven't forgotten. But it seems like; 1) time has flown by since we landed in July and 2) I haven't had a moment of rest to ponder and report all that has happened. But I need to be honest and admit that I am no longer a great diarist/ journaller/ blogger in terms of regularity. Haven't been for 20 years (yikes).

So what has happened since our big trek through the summer? Well, we settled down in Kitchener, Ontario. Wanda had a job waiting as an interim pastor at Stirling Ave. Mennonite Church and the beginning of September she began. She is 'back in the saddle again' and likes it. It was hard to know how she, or I, would feel after having been gone doing a different job for 4 years. But really, an MCC Country Rep position has alot of similarities with a pastoring position, especially in the land of Ethiopia where we worked closely with the Meserete Kristos Church. There are highs and lows in pastoring and that certainly is true as well with the CR positions.

Our daughters were anxious all summer about where they would go to school in the fall. We had mentioned Rockway Mennonite Collegiate to them as a possibility, but I don't know why. It is a private school with fees, it's not free education. Were we setting them up for a fall (from high expectations?). We approached Rockway and a date was set to come visit the school with our girls.

As we walked through the school with Tom Bileski, our guide and director of admissions, as he explained all the opportunities in Rockway for a well-rounded education, I began to feel tugs on my sleeve intermitently from each of my daughters, Dad I really like this place, I want to go here to school. Wanda got the tugs too. I didn't know what to say other than, no promises, we're going to look into it. Finally it was time to send the girls outside and go into the office and talk to Tom. The long and the short of that conversation was this; 1) your daughters are the kind of students we want to have at Rockway and 2) we'll make it work to have them come here. They were willing to take into account our 4 years of MCC service and work with us. We are truly grateful. And of course our girls were beyond excited, it made all the tension, worry and wait worth while. God is good.

So what about me? I often have gotten the question, in one form or another, have you found a job yet? The short answer is no, but a qualified 'no'. We did not have a house, vehicles and our worldly belongings were spread out from Ontario to Ohio. It made sense to both of us that one of us would work for money and the other would work for the family. We found a house at the end of August, put a bid in on it, a bid that was providentially accepted (even though the other party bid a bit more). But we couldn't move in until October 4. What to do with Wanda working and our girls going to school in Kitchener and us living in Tavistock above Quehl's Restaurant? Once again the kindness of friends and God's care intervened. Our friends Peter & Cath Woolner invited us to live with them in their Kitchener home until our house closing. We gratefully accepted and for a month we lived together in peace and harmony. Still, having one's own home and space is the desire of all families as well as not to impose on others.

Since we finally moved in on October 4 it has been a whirlwind of activity. I have managed to round up all our storage stuff from Ohio and several places in Ontario. We were blessed to have my parents and my brother Lon for a short week helping us paint, pull up carpets and get all the bedrooms in live-in condition. We have also finished the family room, contracted with a home renovator to redo our ensuite bathroom in our Master bedroom. Stage 2 is waiting for me to finish painting and pulling up carpets downstairs in the living and dining rooms as well as move in some furniture we bought before calling it a wrap up on the 1^st phase of our home make over.

And back to the question, what about me? I have been following job opportunities in Kitchener that relate to pastor or conference openings. I can still feel my blood flowing when I am in church. I still enjoy relating to people in the church. I still enjoy sitting down and preparing a service and sermon. I still look forward to connecting with peers and colleagues in the ministry. I could try to get back in the classroom and teach. I could wait and see if a position opens up in MCC Ontario. I truly don't know what I will be doing a year from now but I can envision myself in ministry (as well as the other aforementioned jobs).

But what I still feel called to do is to work in the church, whether it be ministry, teaching or in MCC. If the doors open, as they have in the past, then I will take it as a sign that the Lord still has a need for me to work in this part of His Vineyard, in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

Housing Update

The fact that we have been homeless from the time we landed has been wearing on us. Even as we were enjoying our summer of travels to see friends and family across Europe and North America in the back of our minds we knew that we needed to work on housing. For better or worse we began looking in earnest in August and our target area has been Kitchener, Ontario.

After our daughters were given the green light to attend Rockway (after a wonderful afternoon visit with admissions person Tom Bileski and principal Betsy Petker) it became clear that Kitchener would be the focus of our attention over the next 6 years. Wanda has a job in the city and I hope to find work here as well. So now it was time to look for houses.

Those who have house hunted before know that it is hard work, physically and emotionally. We went through up to a dozen houses physically and hundreds online before Wanda found one in the classifieds in the local newspaper. It was a house in the Forest Heights area of town on McGarry Drive. We arranged through our realtor to go see it. The previous day had been a fiasco with the girls who were so disappointed with the houses we saw (us too) so Wanda and I went without them. When we arrived at 153 McGarry the thing that set this house apart on the outside was the well kept perennial garden and the arched frame to the door. A good beginning. Then the look inside.

Opening the front door I immediately noticed the staircase right in front. There were rooms on the left and right and a short hallway to the back of the house. Every room (except the kitchen) was carpeted, including the basement rooms. There were mirrors every where. And everything in the house was dated 30 to 40 years back. The house was built in 1971 so no surprise there but it was surprising that nothing had been updated.

However we were struck by the solid character of the house. Old but in good working order seemed to be the phrase we said over and over again. The carpets would need to go but there was solid hardwood under the carpets. The windows would need to be replaced but they still functioned. So did the sliding doors for the closet. I liked the idea of an ensuite bathroom and we knew that our daughters would like the idea of each having a bedroom. The basement was was listed as 'finished', a generous description but there was some liveable space. The bathrooms and kitchen most needed updating but it was all doable, hopefully by amateur home remodelers (like ourselves).

The backyard was also maintained as a garden space, again I was happy to see flowers, plants and trees in the small space. The garage acts as a storage shed which isn't so bad but unfortunately our vehicles will have to brave the cold Ontario winters (as will we).

There were some important upgrades to the house; a new furnace, new chimney, new roof; all good solid upgrades. Some leaks and cracks were fixed but we may have to get back to that.

We took the girls back the next day and as they toured the house they would circle back to say, I really like this house, I really want to live here. Abby has her own way of coping with things she really wishes for; she becomes grumpy and angry. I'm learning this. When I asked why she was so grumpy she said it was because she wanted the house so badly that she would be crushed if we didn't get it and so she was mad that she was caring so much for it! A new way to express desire.

We then told our realtor, Evelyn, that we would like to submit an offer to the seller. So we all went over to the realty office to draw up the papers. It was there we found out, from the realtor listing the property, that another party was planning on coming in that day for a second look. The owner (likely being counselled by her realtor) did not want to accept our offer until the next day. So we waited until Saturday.

We drove first to our realtor's office Saturday morning where several changes were made to the offer. We had initially planned to offer $12,000 less than the listing price because of the history of the neighbourhood (a number of homes had ended up being sold for less than the asking price) as well as the money we would have to put in the house after purchase. But with the other buyer we upped our bid by $10,000. Now we were close to the asking price. We also heard that the seller wanted until the end of September to stay in the house so we said ok. Finally our realtor advised us to drop as many conditions as we could so we dropped all of them but financing. Then we went to the other realtor's office.

To our surprise the seller was in the adjacent room. I got a glimpse of her but we didn't greet each other. We stayed with our realtor, Evelyn, in the room next door making small talk. Ian, the seller's realtor, wasn't there yet. Finally he arrived and invited Evelyn into the other room to meet the seller, then on the spur of the moment, he invited us in too. We were introduced to each other. Evelyn introduced us as returning missionaries with 3 daughters who loved the seller's home, especially the 3 bedrooms that they would each have! We all smiled at the impetuousness of youth. Then we began to review our offer.

After the review, Ian and the seller went upstairs to review the other offer while we waited again. By now we were pretty sure our offer was not going to make it in this hot housing market. Surely the other party would offer more. And when Ian came down again with the answer we found out that indeed the other party did offer $3000 more than us, just above the listing price. But what was significant was that the seller was willing to entertain a counteroffer from us. Perhaps $2000 more and a push back of the closing date to October 4? Also the appliances stay? Surprised and gratified, we quickly reviewed our position and agreed to the counteroffer. Shortly thereafter the seller accepted.

There was much rejoicing in the room with Wanda and Evelyn and myself. Wanda called her sister and our girls found out, more loud rejoicing. Now we need to get that funding squared away, a lawyer to transact our business for us and an insurance company that will insure our house. But for the moment we rejoiced.

The post-game analysis was fun because we won our home. One thing we have learned in bidding on houses is that if one can convey one's story to the selling party, it may help in the sale. Three times we believe it has done exactly that; our first house at 809 Market in Scottdale, our 2^nd house at 1 Woodcroft in St. Catharines and now at 153 McGarry. In each case our situation was conveyed either by letter or verbally by the realtor. I think that people would rather hear about a family coming in and loving the house to live in over some person wanting to simply 'flip' the house after major renovations. We wouldn't be able to prove that this method worked but anecdotally we heard evidence in all three cases that strongly suggested this was the case.

And so now we wait (im)patiently for October 4, making do until then with preparations and details.

Sights and Sounds of Summer

We are in Kitchener again after having been on the road for almost 2 months. Already, in the midst of our joy of seeing family and friends, we are ready to have a place we can call our home. But before we get to that allow me to give you a thumbnail sketch of what we have seen and heard this summer;

• weather – As the onset of the rainy season approached in Addis, I began to feel that same depressing feeling as in rainy seasons before, cool, clammy and muddy. No one finds it fun. Any weather in Europe and NA would be an improvement over this, I thought. We landed in Amsterdam to cool and rainy weather, sure felt familiar. But overnight the weather turned sunny and cool and since then we have experienced wonderful weather. What about the hot, humid weather you encountered that one day in Friesland or the weeks of oppressive heat in Canada and the U.S.? Yep, you are right, the heat was oppressive but I was just grateful to be here to enjoy it.

• Travel – living out of a suitcase for almost 2 months is hard and on our final long journey from Akron, PA to St. Catharines the other week the girls sorta melted down. We knew we need to stop being in motion and land somewhere, which we have finally done (at least the travel part). Travelling with lots of luggage is a royal pain but we survived both legs of the travel (see earlier blogs). Driving our 'new' minivan was fun, good thing that it has lots of room. We had to pick up 4 suitcases on this last swing through the states and even after doing some major shopping (twice!) at 2 large malls with great prices we still don't look like the Beverly Hillbillies!

• Room & Board – I won't tell you how much, or little, we spent in Europe or even as we spent 3 weeks travelling in NA but it couldn't have happened without, as the Beatles once said, a little help from our friends (and family). The generosity of folks in Europe meant that we not only could visit Holland and Switzerland but not break the bank (of our volunteer funds). Bob would fix up a large mug of coffee with frothed milk, almost breakfast unto itself. Miriam gave up her counselling room for the days we were there so the girls could sleep in it. They gave us their car to travel to places like Friesland and gave us invaluable advice on where to go and what to see. Our girls fell in love with 'stroopwafflen' and we all enjoyed the cheese. In Switzerland Heidi and Bruno opened their home to us, a large house where our girls could hang out in one room and us in another. They and our friends Andy and Manuela took us around Basel as well as day trips into the Emmental and the Lake district to Interlaken. What great days we had! We were hosted by Aschi and Mary Friesen Amstutz, Ernst and Ruth Sprunger and Daniel and Teresa Gerber. The food and fellowship were great, we will long remember.

• Wide, Open Spaces – It's hard to describe to folks who haven't lived in a compound all their lives, or even 4 years, what it feels like to be in the wide open spaces of North America. Sure there a fences between properties but nothing like the walls in Addis Ababa. Additionally our girls never ventured out alone in Addis nor did they want to go far into public anyhow. They stood out and were an instant attraction, much to their dislike. So to hop on a bike and ride up and down the streets of Kidron or Tavistock was such a freeing experience for them. I also loved the fact that houses, even in cities, were not closed away behind high walls. And of course the beautiful fields of grain were wonderful to behold, especially at night with a thousand points of light from the lightning bugs in the fields. The sound of the cicada on hot summer days, the chirping of crickets on warm summer evenings. The moon waxing and waning, the summer sun; relentless by day but a glorious ball at sunrise and sunset. Walking fields and pastures, on streets and along roadsides. No one ogling us when we walked, probably the most freeing.

• Home – No, I wasn't clicking my heels like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, but there were times in the past month, after we landed, when I would say to myself, there's no place like home. To channel an old Paul Simon song, everything eastern North America, from Ohio to Pennsylvania to Ontario seemed like it was in Kodachrome, those nice bright colors, those greens of summers, makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah! A feeling of release, of freedom, of coming home, of seeing family and friends again. In some ways it feels like starting over; house, jobs, school for our daughters, new city. At the beginning it felt very freeing (now, not so much). But I still marvel at how it feels, at times, like living in a parallel universe between Africa and North America.

'Setting Up Shop' in North America

After 4 years out of circulation in North America we landed. Maybe not immigrants but certainly needing to establish ourselves again, almost like starting over. Where to start?

First of all we needed wheels. Without a vehicle life is very difficult in North America. But you don't want to buy the first vehicle you see, do you? Fortunately our good friends, Dianne and Fanosie, lent us their minivan until we could find something. This is a profoundly moving offer. You don't find folks who lend without expectations in return. Our friends did and we are grateful. We were able to visit Ohio and my family when my sister and her husband were in town and drive back to Ontario.

And we did find a minivan when we expected not to buy. We went shopping in Stratford one afternoon with Wanda's father. Strickland Motors runs 3 large car lots; new Toyotas, high quality used and heavily used. We looked at several used vehicles and nothing felt right. They suggested we look at a Toyota Sienna in the lower end lot so we drove over as a last resort for the day. The Sienna looked well used, a no go. We were ready to leave when the salesman got a call from our first salesman in the other lot, they just got a 2004 Nissan Quest SE minivan in, very clean. They had just unloaded it off the truck and were washing it, could they drive it over and show us? We were hot and tired but agreed to wait a couple of minutes.

When it came we looked at each other. It was indeed clean, inside and out. The engine was relatively clean and certainly sounded good (to a non-mechanic's untrained ear). It was loaded with everything we would never afford on a new vehicle; power everything including side door and hatch back, sun roofs, built in GPS, multi-disc CD system, heated seating, DVD player (this would be the clincher with our daughters). It had a funky dashboard; a circular console in the center but not weird enough to dismiss it. It had 146,000 kms and they set the price at $9,950. They would clean it up for us, would we want it?

After deliberation (rather short compared to other times we bought vehicles), we said yes. Wanda's father, Wanda and I all thought that it looked very good, in fact it almost sounded too good to be true. We needed a quality used minivan and this seemed like it was landing right in our laps. Yes, let's do it.

We ended up paying over $10,000 after taxes but it was in our 10-12,000 range. We scrambled to buy auto insurance but by Saturday morning we had both the insurance and the Nissan Quest. It was fully cleaned up inside and out. It looked new and even smelled somewhat new (leather seating will do that).

We did also buy a pay-as-you-go Nokia phone and signed up with Rogers. It is an 'unlocked' phone, not connected to any long term contract. I still have to get used to paying when I receive a call. A big rip off but what can one do? Us consumers have to rise up in protest, if they can get away with it the phone giants of the world will.

We also bought a computer; a cherry red Dell. We thought we wouldn't buy a Dell again after some problems with it in Ethiopia. But when we brought home a Toshiba Satellite and it started acting up from the get go, I immediately retreated to the only Dell that Future Shop sold. It's true that I would normally buy online but I decided to buy local so I could get it serviced locally. Like the phone this is a stop gap measure for the summer and short term until we get settled. It will work for now.

We also re-established our residency with the Province of Ontario by renewing our OHIP cards. This was a huge thing we did the first day we were in country. Having health insurance the moment we land and not having to worry about our medical future is a huge load off our minds. We both agreed that unless we had jobs to go to in Ohio we wouldn't land there. It made all the sense in the world to land in Ontario jobs or no jobs. Too bad more Americans push for this in the U.S. If the U.S. had had somehow passed national health care back when the Canadians did I guarantee that Americans would never allow any politician to touch this just like the vast majority of Americans won't let the politicians touch Medicare and Medicaid . . . or maybe they will. Over the next year we shall see.

We still have two big things on the 'to-do' list; finding a house to rent or buy and getting our daughters into a good school. Of course a job for me would also be helpful. So friends and family, hold these in your thoughts and prayers for us over the next month.

Jobs

So many of our friends and family have asked us about what we are doing next and we want to update them. Obviously what work we will be doing has been a prime topic of conversation in our family. Our daughters have asked us often until we told them, when we know you will know.

Wanda interviewed for an interim pastor position at Stirling Ave. Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ontario way back in June just before we left Addis Ababa. It was a Skype interview that was interrupted several times when the line dropped. However Wanda and the search committee seemed to hit it off very well in their short conversation. Then life got very busy again as we focused on final packing and leaving Addis.

We were in Europe when we received an email inviting Wanda to be the interim pastor for Stirling Ave. She was delighted and quickly responded yes. Since then both we and folks on the search committee have had busy summers. But Wanda expects to follow up as soon as we return to Kitchener (mid-August).

So now the question falls to me in some form, what will you do? I can say that I have actively pursued pastoral or church positions in both Ohio and Ontario, even a teaching position in a western state. I was invited to an interview at a church in Ontario and currently I am 'in the running'. I am hopeful although I will not despair if I am not invited to serve as pastor. Wanda and I have always talked about God opening doors in our professional lives. Some doors may close but others may open and I am optimistic about my opportunities. I feel good about my education and experience.

My daughters also need jobs; jobs as students. But where? We continue to hope that we can get them in Rockway Collegiate, a Mennonite 7-12 school in Kitchener. That will also have to be pursued in mid-August.

In this way our lives are unsettled but in other ways we feel fulfilled as we visit friends and family. The time will come when the doors will open.

We found out that one of our MCC Ethiopia guards, Sultan, died this past week. He didn't die of natural causes, age or disease. No, he died because he sustained injuries from a vehicle accident. He wasn't in a vehicle. A blue and white taxi, ubiquitous throughout the city of Addis Ababa, lost his brakes going downhill to the ALERT circle on the Ring Road near the MCC compound and plowed into a group of pedestrians.

This is the reality of Ethiopia. Vehicles aren't maintained on a regular basis and we heard of many accidents in our 4 years of vehicles losing their brakes. Earlier this year a city bus full of people was going on a downhill road when the driver discovered he didn't have any brakes. He ended up plowing into a crowd of people waiting at a bus stop, killing many and injuring many more. The majority of drivers are also not qualified to be on the road. Some statistics cite up to 70% of the Ethiopian drivers on the road drive without any license, or with a false license or have obtained a license through bribes or other means. The government is trying, there are traffic police everywhere and they make routine stops daily.

It is hard to believe that Sultan is not going to be in the MCC compound any more. I still see his face in my mind of the last time we saw each other. We were leaving for good on June 25 and he said good-bye to each of us in the family. I am glad we had a chance to say good-bye.

Sultan, like our other regular guards, was always willing to lend a hand in the compound. He would be up on the roof sweeping off the tree detritus that had fallen and was blocking the eavestroughs. All the MCC vehicles were kept clean by Sultan and the other guards. When we would come back from shopping for groceries he was always there ready to lend a hand.

Our family is devastated. Our daughters recounted, with tears in their eyes, how he was such a pleasant person to be around. All the guards would walk our girls down to the SIM compound to catch a taxi to school in the mornings and then meet them to walk them back in the afternoons. None of the guards knew English but Sultan tried more than most to talk with them.

Sultan leaves a wife and two children. That is probably the most painful of all. The safety nets in Ethiopia are few and thin. Life will be unstable and hard for Tigist and the children. If she marries again then that may change. Marriage is one safety net. MCC will also help as another safety net. We do that for thousands of people in our many programs and we certainly will do it for those who have worked loyally for MCC over the years.

Tuesday is for Flying

The night prior to a long trip is torture for me. I know I need to sleep yet rarely can. Instead I usually sleep very lightly, if at all. So many details to manage. I had weighed the 10 pieces of luggage over and over again but still wasn't sure. I would weigh them one more time before lining them up in the morning. In the meantime I have the same feeling I get when I am on a roller coaster ride and the cars are going up the first hill; you know what is coming. It's too late to change anything, even if you could. You just have to go into a 'let's-get-this-over-with' mode.

The mobile alarm clock rang at 5 a.m. and I started moving and getting the girls moving. Our family is getting good at traveling and soon everyone is up (yes, there was the requisite complaining the night before but we are all in the 'go' mode now). Breakfast is eaten and everyone dresses and brushes their teeth. I check the bags one last time and line them up at the door. All is a 'go', now we wait for the man and the van at 6 a.m.

But 6 a.m. comes and goes and no van. Bob calls to check on the van; there is no record of any reservation, no one is coming. In the moment my anxiety level ratchets up a couple of notches. There are questions in my mind and things I would like to say to that company (such as, how they just missed out on a good tip since we couldn't tip them last time because none of us had extra cash and were planning to make up for that). But that is not the priority now. How to get to the airport with 15 pieces of luggage, 5 travelers and 2 small cars?

Wanda and the girls will walk to the train station, I pack the luggage in the 2 cars. Miriam takes me to the train station and buys us the tickets with her train pass card and they take all the luggage in the 2 cars and head to Schiphol. Only when Miriam tries to buy the tickets the machine won't let her. Time is a factor, the train is coming in 5 minutes and the walkers aren't here yet. Quickly we pool money together and with our coins purchase 2 tickets, for Wanda and I. Wanda and the girls come up to the station, we go up the steps to the platform and the train comes. As they say in baseball for a close call, a 'bang-bang play'.

As Bob and Mim race to the airport with our luggage we are now in a race by train. With 2 tickets among 5 of us, we wait and hope that the conductor will not come around checking tickets. In our 2 ½ weeks in Europe riding the rails, the only time the conductor ever checked our tickets was for the long distance train from Amsterdam to Basel and back, all local trains and trams one never saw a conductor. But that doesn't mean they won't check. It happens. But will it happen on our time? I try to think about what I would say by way of excuses. Of course our reason is legit, the ticket machine wouldn't take my cousin's pass card. We are on the way to Schiphol to leave. See, we have 2 tickets we purchased with cash! Please don't take our children away! When the doors finally swing open at the Schiphol stop we exit quietly with the other passengers but the feelings of release and relief wash over me. Wanda later says that she would make a bad law breaker, her anxiety level that a conductor would come was so high that she could hardly stand it. Me too.

Our momentary high dissipates as we are now back in anxiety mode trying to get to the right part of the airport and to find Bob & Miriam with all our luggage. Where could they be now? As we take an escalator then an elevator I try to find the right desk for us to get in line. As we step out of the elevator coming in the front doors with our luggage is Bob. What timing! Thank you Lord! So as Wanda races with a couple of girls to get in the line for desk 26, I go out to help bring in the carts. We found each other in this huge airport on the first try. We overcame the van man's sabotage.

We say warm, happy and sad good-byes to Bob and Miriam, thanks for everything you did for us. Now we need to check-in. For a moment there is a small hiccup when the woman at the desk says, do you know that you will be charged for all the extra baggage? We had heard that the airlines would be starting to allow only 1 bag per person, but didn't know when. But on our tickets it clearly states 2 bags per person and I am quick to point this out (trying not to do this too forcefully). Our tickets originated in Ethiopia, we have the right . . . The woman makes a phone call and somewhere, someone says ok. Sigh of relief, we're back to normal mode. Except that our woven basket barrel is too big for the luggage conveyor belt, it needs to go to the oversized luggage area (where is that?). Ok, fine, I'll get it there, and I do. Oh, one other thing the lady tells me, because you are landing in the U.S., you will need to get your luggage and re-check it to Toronto. (You are kidding, right?) Those are the rules, which makes sense from a security stand point but makes us really wish we would have booked a flight direct to Toronto. This will be a long day (longer than necessary).

Security to board an American plane bound for the U.S.A. is an experience in and of itself these days. Full body scans and your own personal interview with a security official. Children have to get into the body scanner too. A young Asian girl, maybe 5, doesn't want to go in so her mother says, I'll go in first. She steps into the round capsule, lifts her arms above her head and remains motionless for a second until they give her the all clear sign. Then she gets out on the other side and motions for her daughter to come next. The daughter is convinced and steps into what looks like a time machine, places her feet on the painted footsteps on the floor and lifts her small arms high and waits, then bounds out to her mother. Our girls have become veteran travelers so there is no worry on our part, they do it and get through it. We all do.

The flights both across the Atlantic and from Newark, NJ to Toronto were uneventful, in and of themselves. Everyone had their own monitor to watch dozens of movies, TV shows, do games and other things to divert our attention from the 8 hour cross Atlantic flight. The food was good and the crew kept the liquids coming (a good thing for our bodies but it meant more than 1 trip to the bathroom for many).

But in between was where the craziness was. Welcome to America. We landed in Newark, NJ but with what I thought was a 4 hour layover I didn't want to admire the scenery too long (did that as we landed, saw the Hudson River, the NYC skyline and the incredible busyness of the eastern seaboard with roads and docks). After we exit the plane the first order of business; find our luggage. I found the luggage carts, what's this $5 USD rental for each cart? We just came from a dirt poor country in Africa and a wealthy country in Europe and the carts are free. Welcome to America. I am already mumbling under my breath but spend the $20 to get 4 carts. We have no choice with 15 pieces and a family of 3 small (but very willing) daughters and a wife. Thumbing our noses and doing it ourselves is not an option, they got me left to right.

Our luggage all arrives except the woven basket barrel. I head out to look for where to find it. A couple of workers standing around talking to each other, not looking like they want to be busy or on the job, mumble directions. I go down to the end of the long hall, find an empty office and two doors that say, if you open us we'll start ringing off alarms all over the place. I go back to the two guys, exasperated, but in my best friendly voice say, can you help me? Acting as if they are doing me a huge favor by stopping their conversation and coming to look, one of them comes down, goes into the far end of the empty office, where there is an industrial elevator door, opens it and voila! There is our barrel. I thank him a couple of times (thank you, your majesty, for gracing me with your presence and helping me by doing something you should have jumped to do in the first place) until he feels obligated to say, you are welcome.

Now we have all our luggage, paid out $20 for the privilege. Time to make our way through customs. As all of us passengers are streaming to the customs area we find at least 30 stations for customs officials but no officials. Where are they? Did they all take a break at the same time? Other workers are around and they also are acting like they don't want to be here. They see each other and greet warmly, almost oblivious to us. Welcome to America. Finally a few officials mosey on in and the line starts moving. The officials are professionals and we move through at a normal pace.

Now to re-check our luggage. Fortunately it is just down the hall, not far. In this area at least the guys are hard workers. The one guy says, where ya going? Toronto. Let's see your luggage tags. YYZ. Ok leave it with me, I'll unload it and send it off. Don't worry. So I do as told and try not to worry.

Now to find our gate. We need to be in another terminal. We need to take the sky train from terminal B to A. We follow the signs and get on the train/ tram. When we get off I look at the large board to find our flight and our gate number. Can't find it. Strange. Hope we're in the right terminal. We go down the escalators and find a world of restaurants and shops. Again I check a large board, again no listing. I ask people. Yes, you are in the right terminal, just go down the hall. Finally I find the gate itself and there on the large board our flight is listed. Why wasn't it listed on the other large boards? How do they expect travelers to find their gate number. Welcome to America.

Everything just less ordered, less professional at this airport. Is every American port of entry like this? I don't know but all I know is that some Americans have told their government, it doesn't matter if things are falling apart, don't make everyone pay their fair share of taxes. So then we have to pay $5 for a cart and an airport that is second rate in everything compared to European airports (and Asian, so I hear).

Our girls have been pulling their carry-ons all around as we make our way through the maze that is called an airport. They are troopers. We stop for lunch. We buy fast food, not much fruit and fresh veggies are available. Welcome to America. We have time to eat, then we make our way to the security check at the gate, go through that after partially undressing ourselves (you want my watch, my baseball cap and shoes off as well?), the redressing. We find our gate, only to find out that the Air Canada flight is delayed by an hour. So is that again, welcome to America or now is it welcome to Canada?

By now our bodies are tired, 4 p.m. feels like 10 p.m. to our bodies. Tired, hungry, half way to brain dead, we wait for our final flight. We pass the time in a mindless game of Scrabble (it is possible), the girls walk the stores and window shop, oh no they bought some candy . . . Finally the call comes and we wearily line up to get on the plane.

Maybe by some magic when we flew across the border into Canada our luck changed. The flight was good. We landed and went through customs rather quickly, we found our luggage, including our oversized barrel, all in one piece. We only had to pay $2 Cdn per cart (still I grumble, but better than 5). We have one final customs guy to pass, he asks what's inside the barrel and I say clothes and a wooden stool. What kind of wood is the wooden stool. I am stumped, what does he want? He asks again, is it raw wood or is it painted or shellacked or varnished. I actually don't know and a small sense of panic arises. But Sophia is right behind me and immediately says that it is varnished. And that was the right answer, he lets us pass. Thanks Sophia for thinking quickly when I couldn't any longer.

Family greets us as we pass through those final doors. Freedom. We're back. I am too tired to jump for joy. Just a feeling of anxiety falling away and relaxing. It's like unclenching your fists or gut after spending 18 hours in that mode. Two vehicles, a truck to take the luggage and a van to take most of the people. A Swiss Chalet stop to eat supper (thanks everyone for taking us there, very appropriate first meal in Canada). Finally to Tavistock where beds await us. The girls cannot wait for the beds, they are already asleep in the van.

A long, long day has ended well. Thank you Lord. Thanks to all our family and friends who helped us through the day.

Monday in Amsterdam

It was another beautiful day in Holland, the day dawned bright and clear. Bob was determined to get us down to the Anne Frank house in Prinsengracht street before it opened. We were determined as well. The girls remembered waiting in line the last time before giving up. And we were rewarded for our early arrival. We arrived to a short line about 8:45 with the museum opening at 9 a.m. But the line even began to move before 9 and we were paid and in by 9 a.m.! All of us were feeling really good about that, no long lines for us!

We took our time going through the house and reading all about Anne and the Franks' lives, as well as the others who lived there (not much was said about them but in passing mention where they lived and slept). I think that the girls were emotionally connected with the story, in part I believe because they could identify with a 13 year old girl. But the idea of one ethnic group gassing another ethnic group was still hard for them to wrap their minds around, as I watched them walk through the house.

After visiting the book store and buying a couple of books (of course one being a book on Anne Frank's diary) we headed out the exit to find a long line waiting to get in. The girls were so relieved that we weren't part of that line. We found Bob up the street in one of his favorite cafes, had a snack of donuts and hot chocolate and headed to the tram. The next stop was the Rijks museum (Royal museum) of Art. Bob was our tour guide and we enjoyed getting a nice overview from him about the Dutch masters. Some of the most famous Dutch paintings were on display. However the museum was closed for renovation in other parts so this was a small portion of the works they had. It also made for large crowds in limited space. Nevertheless we saw what we wanted to see. There was Rembrandt doing self-portraits as a young and old man. There was Vermeer and his painting of the milk maid. There was a Degas exhibit, there for the summer. We also stopped by that bookstore which added to the load we are bringing home.

We walked through an outdoor market of people selling everything and found a lunch at a Falafel

and French Fries shop. Bob also bought a herring sandwich and I bought one too. He had said he would introduce me to it if I wanted and I had said yes. But the herring was rather slimy and it was hard to down at first. But with the onions and the pickle and the bread it was edible. I rather liked it at the end.

Finally we took a tram ride down to the Centraal Station, a ferry ride to a free parking spot on the north side of town, then over to Joy & Henk's house for a very short visit. They are a busy family so we soon said good-bye to them.

Our final hours were washing clothes and packing suitcases one more time. Tomorrow there will be one final reckoning. Then we are off.

Sunday at Singelkerk

How does that Psalm go? I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the House of the Lord. And now my feet are standing within your gates Jerusalem (Psalm 122 I believe). Now I'm not equating Singelkerk with the Temple in Jerusalem but I was kinda feeling like we were going to a very special worship space. I believe Singelkerk is the oldest church in continuous worship services, starting in 1607. Now I could be wrong (some historian can correct me) but it has a rich history.

This Sunday was even more special. A choir from 1^st Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada was in attendance and singing both in the service and later with their own program. There were a few observations I made.

The wooden sanctuary had the weight of the ages oozing out from all directions. The wooden floor even looks old, having not been refurbished. The leather coverings of the benches in the 2^nd and 3^rd floors were starting to crack and tear. The acoustics were very nice.

The organist was very good. The organ may have been controversial when it was first installed (in the 1700's) but it clearly was a good choice in this space. Wonderful sound, wonderfully played.

The congregation was small in size and old in age. The guests from Winnipeg and those of us who were guests that Sunday out numbered the members. The pastor said that the numbers were down because it was summer and that is surely true.

I was surprised there was no provision by the church for translation. It was a Sunday they knew they would have a large presence of visitors with their guest choir (they didn't know the rest of us were coming) so it would have made sense for the pastor to shorten his sermon and ask for a translator into English. Not very visitor friendly, service-wise.

The choir was good, really good. And that was with people missing their flight out of Munich and not arriving until late Saturday night. Their diction was spot on, the pitch and the life in the music was all quite sharp. I enjoyed the selections very much, mostly European classical composers (nothing wrong with that) but 3 African American spirituals that were done well at the end. The soloists were obviously trained. I couldn't get over how much talent there was in one congregation, they obviously are a magnet for good singers because of their program.

We met some of the people in the choir and even someone not in the choir but traveling with the choir. He was someone I knew from the Niagara area. People talked to us about our plans, where we came from and where we are going. It was nice to know where we are landing.

After the afternoon service we went out to eat. The girls had remembered a Subway restaurant so we made our way there and ate. After that we came back to Almere and started repacking. The Womens' World Cup was on TV, featuring USA and Brazil, what a game that was! We watched in amazement as Team USA tied the game with only seconds left in overtime, then won in a shoot out. Exciting.

Saturday in Almere, R&R

Not much happened today but I'll enter this. We hung out at our cousins' home and worked on our packing of luggage. Yes, the luggage arrived in Amsterdam having passed the Bole airport authorities but we took some coffee out, an Ethiopian black pottery dish broke and we were buying some stuff in Europe (mostly cheese). So we rearranged luggage weight until everything was under 23 kgs. per bag (but as I write on on Monday night we are rearranging a bit more with a few more purchases).

But it was also such a nice day to hang out with Bob & Miriam and talk with them about all sorts of ideas, issues and hopes. We have been blessed to have as our hosts and tour guides friends and family in Almere and Basel but it was very helpful to have folks from our cultural background help explain Dutch culture for us. They are observers and still outsiders even as they have learned the language and are living as Dutch. But being from the same family and being from the U.S. was very helpful to interpret Dutch values and mores.

Alkmaar: Cheese Market and Cheese Heads

The Cheese Market at Alkmaar, something I had read about and wanted to see. Bob & Miriam were kind enough to offer their car for the trip so we headed out on the Dutch highway system (A1 to A6 to A10 to A8 to A9). We didn't get the early start I hoped for, oh well, I continued to repeat our mantra to myself, after all we are on vacation.

We arrived at the edge of town not knowing how to get to the cheese market. With a little guess work (that says Centrum, must be the city center . . . let's follow all those cars, bet we're all going to the same place) we parked in a parking garage and walked over to the Waag plein/ weighing square. A big crowd had already gathered before us but there were metal stands for people to stand on and there was room so I got up on the stands with the family following. Men were dressed in white hauling the large round cheese into the square on sleds with ropes. The men operated in pairs, one in front, the other in back of the sled. The ropes were strapped like harnesses over their shoulders and they ran in rhythm. It was clear they had done this many times, they talked to the crowd, they shouted to each other and generally seemed to enjoy putting on a show. The large wheels of cheese were being taken from cheese makers to be weighed and then sold to buyers. Here is the wikipedia link which gives a good account; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_cheese_markets

We got down off the bleachers and went around the square to the back where the cheese museum shop was. It was busy. Eventually we headed down the street into other parts of the city, actually to find bathrooms (the trip took its toll). I have become used to paying 50 cents for access to bathrooms private and public. It was hard to do at first for a North American but when ya gotta go . . .

Alkmaar is another old city in Holland (here's another link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkmaar). A short reading of history shows that it was often at war with the Frisians. It was also a principle city during the times of the Spanish attempts to control the low countries and later during the Napoleonic Wars. The city is clean and orderly, cobble stone streets and high narrow houses facing the street front. As with all cities in Europe there is a large church/ cathedral in the center of the city. We walked the city streets with a tour map and started to learn about the city and it's history.

That is until the rain started. The rain was only spitting when it did come down (except for one down pour, but it was over lunch time when we were in a Greek restaurant) but the gusts of wind added to the coolness and soon my little family was complaining of cold. So we cut short our walking tour and headed back to the car.

By now my North American readers will be asking, so what does cheese heads have to do with Alkmaar? Just this, back in the day when the Frisians (or was it the Spaniards?) were attacking the people of Alkmaar the men would wear the wooden cheese molds (you know for the big round cheeses) on their heads during the attack for protection, which led to the rise of the nickname 'cheese heads' in Alkmaar! And now you know the rest of the story . . .

Riding the rails, a Bohemian thing to do in North America but a very bourgeoisie thing to do in Europe. Our family comes from a driving culture so taking the tram or the train is a novel experience. My anxiety level rises because in order to take trains you cannot miss the connections, if you do you'll be screwed up the rest of the day. Then my anxiety will go through the roof. So we need to make our connection at 9:23 at Tram number 10. Ok if we miss that one we can get the next one at 9:33 but that's the last chance! 9:23 to 9:28, get off and get bus 36 at 9:35 which will take us across the Rhine river to the Basel Badischer Bahnhof by 9:48 which is great because we need to be there by 10:11 so we don't miss the 10:22 departure.

Which is what happened. Our friends Andy and Manuela and their kids Eleanor and Jonathan met us to say good-bye. Sad partings and fond farewells. They were also good hosts for us. Our time in Switzerland was memorable because of the people we met as much as the places we visited and things that we did.

So what's it like to ride first class in a train in Europe? Anything special? Yes and no. There were no free meals (although the girls got free popsicles and gummi bear candy and Wanda & I each got a small piece of chocolate). But we found a compartment in each train where all six seats were sealed off from the rest and we could talk and laugh and argue freely. The seats were made of soft leather but reclined only slightly. The train ride is relatively smooth with swaying around corners and the occasional rough start and stop. The girls were enamored at first but by hour 5 the novelty was wearing off.

The landscape changed from a rural south to an urban north. Golden fields of wheat interspersed with green fields of corn dotted the countryside with towns and villages clustered around churches with steeples. The urban landscape is both wonderfully ordered and at times filled with tagged bridges and walls. Graffiti is an urban reality everywhere, not just in Europe or North America. The culture of tagging is something I cannot fathom but those 'artists' don't see it as an eyesore or vandalism, it is art in their eyes.

We finally arrived at Amsterdam Centraal at 5:30, about 5 minutes late. The Centraal was hopping, it was rush hour at the station. We managed to not get run over by hordes of commuters, tourists and bicyclists. We eventually found the ticket office and purchased tickets to Almere Musicwijk. Finding the right train took some time but eventually we found it and rode the rails one more time in the day. Miriam was there to greet us at the station and we packed all our bags in the car and 3/5's of our family walked (2/5's of our family needed to use the bathroom quickly).

We were warmly welcomed once again by Bob & Miriam. The girls went out to pick the blueberries on his bushes which were used in pancakes for supper. It did feel like coming home. Everyone was tired, at least that was the story, but the parents were in bed first with the girls staying up late. Oh well, its vacation . . .

A Full Rich Last Day in Switzerland

What to do on our final day? Should we visit great museums? Go to historic places? Ride the rails (trams) all day long? Shop until we drop? Given these options which do you think took precedence with three daughters?

The morning was for the shopping spree. Apparently the girls have grown out of their clothes and we can't wait to buy in NA, some things had to be bought here. So off they went on the tram to the MParc stop and went clothes shopping. That gave me some time to catch up on the internet and other things. I went up later to bring Sophia back by tram as she insisted that she stay only as long as needed to try on clothes (she is not a born shopper like her sisters, good for her!).

We had lunch at the Sagessers, Heidi made us another typical Swiss meal consisting of Birchermuesli and bread. Then we headed out to meet up with Mary Friesen Amstutz and her daughter Anna. The girls and Anna went out for the afternoon; swimming, eating, going around. Turns out that they went swimming only for a short time, they thought the water was not warm enough. So they went on to a music museum, to McDonald's and other places, all on the public transportation. It was a great education for them, getting around town.

Wanda & I, in the meantime, had an afternoon to ourselves. After going back and getting the camera we headed out to see if we wanted to go to the Basel Kunstmuseum. But when we got there and saw the price of admission I wanted to have an idea what kind of art I was going to see. What better place to go than the book store where they sell postcards and posters of the art in the museum? Yes, they had many great artists' paintings displayed but not necessarily their well known works. So we saved ourselves the money and time, we'll go to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and walked back out.

We wandered somewhat aimlessly now, relaxed in the knowledge that we didn't have to do something or be somewhere in the moment. We needed to keep track of time to go to the Amstutz' for supper but otherwise we could roam. We wandered into what we discovered was the shopping district of Basel. Beautiful shops, outdoor cafes, little boutiques. I bought a pretzel bun that was sliced in half and filled with butter, I could have eaten several of those! Wanda & I sat down at a cafe for a drink and a snack and watched the square as people of all walks of life paraded past. We then continued on down back streets into another square, where the 'Spalentur' stood. What was its history? Don't know, have to look it up. But the dates on the tower were from the 1500's.

Thanks to our handy dandy Basel transport map we looked for and found the no. 14 tram to take all the way down to Muttenz where Aschli & Mary Amstutz live. We were to meet up with the girls there. Mary gave us good directions, we got off the tram and walked with no problem to their home. Aschli was there to greet us and we took a look around in their house and back yard. They had green space in their back yard along with an amazing variety of fruits and vegetables. Potted blueberry, raspberry and tomato plants all becoming ripe. That's what we'll do if we are in a city, plant small fruit trees and berry plants in pots.

Aschli had ordered a pizza cross town at the club where the girls swam (it belongs to Mary's business) but they don't have a car. No, rather he has 1,400 vehicles at his disposal! The Amstutz' are part of a vehicle sharing plan in Switzerland. In Muttenz are 8 cars which they can sign up for and use, sometimes on a moment's notice. All red cars and all stationed in one place. We took bicycles there, he used his special card to swipe the sticker on the car and voila! it opened. Great system. 3 Swiss Francs per hour and .40 pfennig/ km. All the insurance is paid for when you buy in. I have heard of such a system in some cities in the U.S. but not in Canada. We'll have to see if we can do that, maybe when we return in the beginning.

Once again we had a great supper of pizza and salad and ice cream for dessert. Time went by so fast that suddenly it was 9:15, once again the light in the evening sky through me off. So we had to bit adieu to our new friends Mary & Aschli and Anna. We piled into the Amstutz' (shared) vehicle and Aschli drove us back to the Sagessers. In the twilight of the early evening we said a farewell to our hosts of one week. Heidi and Bruno, Mattias, Lukas and Hannah were wonderful hosts. They tried their English out on us which was their greatest gift of all. We said good night very late (11:30 p.m. is late for us) anticipating and, in some sense, dreading the morrow . . .

Monday in the Juras

Once again we took the Fiat van with Stephan driving us, the only sad part was that Andy couldn't accompany us. But between Manuela (Jonathan) and Stephan we were well taken care of. We headed out for the Jura region to visit the area where I lived and worked for 6 months as an MCC trainee 25 years ago.

After getting off the main 4 lane highway we wound our way up twisting roads into the mountains finally stopping in a quiet place of cows and a bed and breakfast to walk up to a former Anabaptist meeting place.

Known as the 'Geisskirchlein', it was an open shallow cave, a rock formation in the form of a music shell really, where our spiritual ancestors gathered in secret, far away from prying eyes and ears. It was a long trek up hill most of the way and at times we wondered if we were on the right trail (no signage below) but as we got to the path that diverted from the main path a wooden sign quietly pointed the way. So we sat and then we sang a few songs including 'What is this place' (that would be HWB 1) which seemed to have the appropriate words:

What is this place, where we are meeting,

only a house, the earth its floor.

Walls and a roof, sheltering people,

windows for light, an open door.

Yet it becomes a body that lives when we are gathered here,

and know our God is near.

I kept humming it the rest of the day (including verses 2 and 3, although I'm not sure I had all the words down right).

We then headed for Les Reussilles, the farm of Daniel and Teresa Gerber. On the way we saw a Tete de Moine cheese shop open in Bellelay and stopped and bought one cheese. It was expensive (about $28 USD) so we'll have to take it home with care and eat it sparingly.

Our meeting with the Gerbers finally arrived. I had to admit I couldn't show Stephan and Manuela the way, I was turned around. Where was the farmhouse? We drove into Les Reussille, still couldn't get a reading. We followed the GPS in the van and went past tennis courts (well, those weren't there 25 years ago). The GPS led us up the hill and finally the farmhouse came

into view. And there was Teresa coming out to meet us. Time changes all of us yet we remain recognizable to each other. I introduced my family and we went immediately to a table outdoors to have lunch. The weather was absolutely perfect, warm and sunny, low humidity, gentle breeze, if at all. The cowbells tinkling on the nearby field, goats next to us. The vista was out of the Sound of Music. We were joined by Daniel and then later Olivier who is running the farm now with his wife. Daniel and Teresa are retired and living downstairs in the farmhouse. But as anyone who has lived on a farm with generations, one is never completely retired from farm work if you live on a farm. So Daniel was off with Olivier after lunch to go another farm to pick up farming equipment. It's the middle of hay season and they needed to bale hay while the sun shines.

After a short tour of the house and barn we bid a fond farewell to the Gerber family and headed out to one other site of Anabaptist historical significance, a 'Taufer brucke'. A bridge under which the believers met in secret for years until the time of persecution had passed. A brand new bridge was up with historical markers on site. It was good to see the Swiss acknowledge this as part of their history.

One last stop, to see the house and kaserai I worked in with the Amstutz'. They were no longer there, they had move the operation to another place. The town of Moron was quiet except for some farmers working up the road. Outside of a few changes, the town remained the same from 25 years ago. But it did bring back a lot of memories, walking around the house.

We got back into Basel at 6:30, another long day but good one. Tuesday would be a 'day of rest'.