Philippians 4:4
I met my parents in Brixen, Italy where the Alta Via 2 begins, a hiking trail through the Dolomite Mountains. The first leg of our adventure together was hiking through this awesome landscape. It was my favorite part of our month together, being both incredibly beautiful and intensely exhilarating. It challenged our physical strength with hard climbs and Via Ferrata and our mental stamina with its sheer drops and narrow trails. This was some of the most spectacular hiking I have ever done, and I would recommend it to any hiking enthusiast. We then started a "gelato tasting" tour and headed through Trento, Italy and down to Venice. You cannot eat too much gelato while in Italy! In Venice, Christian was able to join us for a few days, giving my parents the opportunity to get to know him a better. Venice's was filled with narrow alleys and little bridges over the canals that were fun to explore and get a bit lost in. St. Mark's Basilica was an impressive building with ornate golden mosaics that cover the walls and ceilings. We completed our trip to Venice with an iconic gondola ride and learned a bit about the history of the city which is slowly sinking into the sea (at about 4 mm per year) After saying good-bye to Christian, my parents and I continued on to Croatia and spent time exploring old Venetian port cities along the coast and islands. The Adriatic Sea is a pristine blue-green body of water. Fun Fact: The water is extremely clear due to it being a sort of oceanic desert with lower levels of microorganisms which allows the sunlight to penetrate deeper than in other parts of the ocean. There are also dolphins in the area and we had the opportunity to watch them play while we were out on a boat tour. We were also able to talk to different locals in the cities we stayed in and learn more about their culture and recent history. After two weeks of soaking in the sun, we left Croatia for a few final days together on the south end of Lake Como visiting some historic villas. We then said our farewells in Milan where my parents caught their plane back to the States and I hopped on a train. (Keep an eye on Facebook for photos of the trip from my dad.)
Those four weeks of travel were such a gift from my parents. It gave me a time to destress and recharge my batteries. I am so thankful for your prayers over this time. I had the strength I needed for the hiking, and, overall, I managed to make it through eating out as carefully as I could and only experiencing a few stomach aches and side effects along the way. A little before our trip ended, I realized that I was ready to come back home to Germany, and it was good to feel this way. God's good gifts over the summer have really helped to refresh my outlook for my ministry here. I am excited about the new school year. I am looking forward to pouring back into my students and finding ways to serve and the other staff around me. I can rejoice over the beautiful memories that I was able to make with my parents this summer. Over the summer, God has been working on giving me a new and deeper desire to love people around me in better and deeper ways. At the same time, I know this will also include many lessons on giving up selfish desires and actions.
What's Happening...
I'm currently helping a new staff member get settled. Ivy will be a new ELL Teacher
I'm helping a few mornings a week in the front office so the receptionist can go on vacation with her family
August 17th: all staff return and start preparing for the new school year
August 30th: First Day of School
Please Pray...
Praise God with me for his good gifts over the summer
Praise God that there are 3 new staff members to work in resource
For continued and complete healing and strength
For growth in loving those around me, especially when it gets hard
For the new staff as they adjust and go through their orientation
For safety for all returning staff and students
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