The Beginning of Something New

Tuesday, August 29th, we finished last minute packing and loaded up our six suitcases, stroller, and carseat to be taken to the airport! Our fellow classmates and friends were so sweet to surround us as a group, pray for us, and cheer us on as we began our departure. Our 8 hour flight to Paris went smoothly, and even though we were not able to get the infant travel bassinet to our disappointment, Ezra still managed to sleep a total of 6 out of 12 hours of travel time. Looking back, God truly paved the way for us with good rest, perfect health, no lost or damaged luggage (which evidently is very common with connection flights from Paris), and a really speedy customs/immigration experience! We even got to see the northern lights from our airplane ride to Paris! In our previous blog post ("Final Week Stateside") you might recall us saying, "when you take the leap, you find yourself like an infant discovering the world for the first time through a different lens." That saying accurately describes the transition to a new country & culture. However, since day one we have been blessed with friends, previous classmates, and our site leaders who carefully prepared for our arrival and have welcomed us with open arms. They have been there to guide us to new places, to important commodities, and introduce us to the language & customs of this culture. Day two, work began with staff meetings for William early in the morning! We have made an extra effort to be outside every day, exploring new places, and getting plugged into the community. From the encouragement of others, we hope that staying active and engaged will help us form long lasting relationships and set our year up for success.

Our Home

Daily we thank God for this beautiful home we have the opportunity to live in during our time here. It even comes with a dishwasher, which is a precious luxury here! After our offer for another apartment fell through, we searched (with the guidance of our site leaders) for a new place for us to rent during our time here. William stumbled across this Airbnb listing that allows us to stay for our entire internship. It is located a short walk from the beautiful Mediterranean and the school we will be working at. Not only is the building itself really nice, and the area very lovely; but, it is conveniently located to everything we could possibly need within walking distance (which makes it nice for us since we will not be owning a car).

There's so much more we could describe about our time here, but definitely not enough room! We ask that you would continue to lift our family up in prayer this upcoming month especially as we are transitioning to this new country!

...till next time!