Life at Home – A Liddle Good News

“We can make our plans…”

“… but the Lord determines our steps.” (Proverbs 16:9, NLT)

I planned to write much, much earlier than now, but that does not mean that the Lord determined that I wouldn’t. No, it was mostly just my own procrastination—and other elements of my personality. Indeed, it’s been several months since I last wrote about what Katherine and I have been doing in our ministry with Wycliffe in Germany. From that time in May of last year, some significant events have occurred, and I’m going to share them in brief with you.

In late June of 2024, we made a two-week trip to Pennsylvania to do three things: attend the wedding of one of Katherine’s close college friends, move our household goods to a cheaper storage unit, and celebrate our younger son’s birthday. That was the limit to the plan we had made. (And the Lord said, “Watch this….”)

Around when I wrote in May, our son concluded that his best option for continuing his education was to be found back here in Germany. It didn’t take much research and prayer before Katherine and I agreed that he was right. Step #4 added to the plan: pack the lad up and bring him back with us—the day after his birthday. There were many, many steps following that—Germany is famous for its bureaucracy—but I am pleased to report that our son is close to finishing his ~~first~~ second semester at the University of Siegen. He is pursuing a teaching degree, with concentrations in math and English.

One of the gorgeous sunsets we experienced on Edisto Island (keep reading).

On the day of our departure to the U.S., Katherine and I received word that the tenants renting our house in Duncanville, Texas, had departed abruptly and left behind a mess and no small amount of damage to the property. <sigh> Step #5 added to the plan: figure out what to do and how to do it. The Lord guided us to the wisest solution possible, but that situation will be a financial stressor for some time yet. (Due to taxes on both sides of the ocean, selling the house is not an option at this time.)

Test day for the motor portion of my recreational boating exam. Sail portion underway, so to speak.

August saw the three of us working regularly on various tasks related to getting our son settled and registered. At the same time, Katherine was planning her six-week practicum in the Ames Library of Seattle Pacific University. From about mid-September to the end of October, she got hands-on experience with the concepts of cataloging that she’d been studying in her MLS program with Texas Woman’s University. The practicum went very well, and Katherine even got to catalog some holdings in German for a special theological collection. She also got to spend lots of time with her sister, who oh-so-graciously-and-not-at-all-reluctantly hosted her. (Katherine visited other family members as well, but Pam gets a special mention. Duh.)

Pleasant trails and wildflowers in springtime.

Meanwhile, in my work, I was preparing for some comings and goings at Wycliffe Germany. Some people retired, and some new people arrived. Included among those was a new director, who started work in October. So I needed to order and set up all the things that beep, bonk, and/or blink. At the same time, I was planning the replacement of the remote support tool that I use along with other technicians in Europe and Africa. The server we had been using had reached the end of its life, and it was time for its services to ascend to the cloud—in more ways than one.

November and December were pretty normal in terms of work and everyday life. Katherine tended the library, I tended the many systems in my herd, and the lad tended his studies. We did that until shortly before Christmas, when the three of us joined the rest of Katherine’s family and our older son on Edisto Island, South Carolina. We all had a great time celebrating the holidays together and enjoying a break from work. Oh, and lest I forget… Katherine was granted her Master of Library Sciences degree, having completed the program with flying colors. (Duh.)

Speaking of colors, here’s lavender abuzz in front of our home in Holzhausen

The year began fairly well for us. Between semesters, our younger son completed an internship at a nearby high school. Katherine made another trip to the U.S. to help her parents for a few weeks. Little by little, I’m working with the leadership team on formulating a succession plan—and may the Lord determine our steps as we do that together. Yes, my work and duties are going to change next year, and as soon as that future is more certain, I will write again. In the meantime, please pray for us to have ever-present wisdom and grace in our relationships, in our work (and studies), and in tackling the niggly bits of everyday life. Thank you for your support—in prayer and in finances—and for your patience!

Save the best image for last. Our hearts are full with Katherine’s accomplishment!

Moving experiences

According to the elephant in the room, it’s been about eleven months since I last wrote an update here. Before I’m squashed by the pachyderm—or worse!—I’m going to note what’s been going on in the life and ministry that Katherine and I have together. There might even be a few pictures of us.

In mid-January, we ended our five-month visit to the U.S. and returned to Germany. We came back to the same apartment on the Wycliffe center that we lived in shortly before leaving. This time, though, it was just the two of us, since both of our sons now live on their own in the States.

In March, we had the very great pleasure of receiving an advance copy of the Kisafwa New Testament. Katherine and I were part of each of the teams that conducted the language survey of the Safwa people in 1998 and reported that they would benefit from their own translation. Holding the fruit of the fruit of our labor in our hands brought to completion all of the effort we put into every interview we conducted and every test we administered under trying conditions. We’re grateful to our God for the chance to serve him and the Safwa people in this way!

Selections from the Kisafwa New Testament. We’re so happy for them!

In May, Katherine flew to Colorado to be with her parents (and sister!) for a little more than five weeks and help them through a challenging series of medical events. It was a good visit for them all. Contrary to every expectation and betting pool, I survived her absence admirably. I’ve never gone on so many solitary hikes in my life!

Selections from the photos I sent to Katherine while she was away and the mouse was … hiking.

Upon her return, Katherine immediately resumed her responsibilities, managing the course reserves for the language and culture classes taught during the summer. After that, it was time to ready ourselves to move into the apartment we’ll be renting until we leave Germany. Katherine was also preparing for the start of the third semester of her library sciences program at Texas Woman’s University. (She’s doing great, by the way.)

In October, we moved into our new apartment—and almost immediately had a visit from Katherine’s parents and sister! We loved being together, and it was hard to say good-bye.

Our apartment on the lower level of a house very close to the Wycliffe center.

So here we are in November. This month, Katherine and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. We spent a long weekend at a quiet place less than an hour from Holzhausen that overlooks Lake Bigge and Lake Lister.

Views of the Biggesee (left) and Listersee (right). And us.

What’s next? More studying and homework, more cataloging in the library. More shepherding of all the technology in use by Wycliffe Germany, more preparation for the nasty things that can happen to those systems these days. But no more moves, so far as we know.

Thank you for reading today. Thank you for standing by us and behind us during our 25 years of marriage and during the additional years we’ve been ministering with Wycliffe Bible Translators. We know that it’s not been easy lately for those of you who give, and we honor you for facing that challenge with faith and with grace. May the Lord our God fill you with peace and with encouragement, and may he bless your Thanksgiving celebrations with abundance—and the wisdom to know when you’ve had enough!

Planes, trains, and automobiles

For months, I have told people that I knew what I was going to write next. It’s true. I did know. It is also true that, for months, I put off writing what I knew I would write. Let’s put it down to this dizzying visit of ours to the U.S., shall we? Buckle up and return those trays to their upright positions, and I’ll share what we’ve been up to.

As I indicated back in July, we started our visit at the end of August by flying from Frankfurt to Atlanta. That’s not our normal routine, but we were to pick up a loaner vehicle from a generous church in the South Carolina Lowcountry—classic Southern hospitality boosted by the Holy Spirit, or perhaps the other way around. After visiting friends in the Charleston area, we headed north to Pennsylvania, dropping off our younger son outside of Camp Lejeune so that he could follow later with his brother. (Aww….)

A fitting chariot for our stay. We are supremely grateful for the comfort, which has greatly eased the stress of travel.

On Labor Day weekend, we had a small family reunion with my mother and sisters. After a few weeks of getting reoriented and helping the lad get moving toward life on his own, Katherine and I drove to Duncanville, Texas, for our first church visit (25 September) and meetings with Katherine’s global library colleagues. I also dropped in on my old IT crew.

A pause from driving lessons along the Susquehanna River.

My wife and I parted company at this point. Katherine remained in Texas for a few more days; to help our son further, I flew to Philadelphia and took trains to Lancaster. (Now the title is fully justified!) In that time, Katherine received word of a serious illness in the family, so next she drove to Colorado. I flew out in the first week of October and rejoined her. From there, we drove to St. Joseph, Missouri, for our second church visit (9 October)—and then back to Colorado.

As in this picture, taken in central Kansas, it seemed like there was always another road for us to travel.

From Colorado, we flew to Orlando, Florida, to take part in a week-long seminar at Wycliffe USA called Connections. There, we learned how to transition from crazy lives overseas to crazy lives stateside, and we met some of the people who manage some of the crazy on our behalf (read: finance and healthcare). The time impressed on me that each of us there, like the figures described in Hebrews 11:13-16, is still looking for a place to call home. In the meantime, we wander the earth, hoping for our God to put us to good use.

At Wycliffe USA. The pavement reads, “Declare His glory among the nations.”

We returned to Colorado. After a few more days there, including some with the older lad, I took the car and headed alone to Pennsylvania, leaving Katherine with her family.

After stopping for a day in Missouri, I journeyed straight to our third scheduled church visit (6 November) in Media, Pennsylvania. Then I returned to Lancaster. A few days later, Katherine flew to Harrisburg and was picked up by all three of her guys. We left our two rascals alone long enough to make our fourth church visit in Springfield, Pennsylvania (13 November).

The next week, Katherine and I drove down to Annandale, Virginia, for the fifth church visit in our schedule (20 November). Thankfully, we got a break in our travels for Thanksgiving. (Did you see what I did there?) We also got to spend time again with both of our sons. Such times make for a happy mama … and papa.

In Colorado, it was nice to *walk* for a change.

Our sixth and final church visit took us back to the D.C. area, in Fairfax, Virginia. We returned to Lancaster, but Katherine has flown to Colorado again, leaving me alone with this keyboard. (She’ll be back. I hope.)

Over all these trips, we’ve seen a lot of faces—the faces of family, friends, and a host of supporting sisters and brothers in Christ. We have also seen a lot of miles, according to the history gathered by my phone. (Yes, I let “them” keep track of me—someone probably should.) It reports that, since we began our journey to the U.S., I have travelled 10,466 miles by plane, 76 miles by train, and 8,118 miles by car. That’s an average of about 167 miles each day. For the past four years, we lived less than one mile from our offices in Germany.

Here are our faces, more or less. We took more pictures at rest than on the road. Huh.

During most of this time, Katherine has also been attending to her study program in Library and Information Science. She loves it, and she’s doing great—as if any other result was possible!—but it has added a layer of intense activity to everything else. Katherine will have a break from these studies until we get back to Germany next month. She’ll be far more settled next semester, but I know that she would appreciate prayers to the Lord our God for sharpness of mind and stamina.

I want to close with an observation. We returned to a country different from the one we left in 2018—and the churches reflected the changes. The situation reminded me of that of the Jewish exiles who returned from Persia to their homeland: they didn’t all go back, rebuilding took a long time, the results weren’t like “the glory days”, and they seemed to be surrounded by foes. Everyone was discouraged. But in a vision, the prophet Zechariah was told:

It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

and then:

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin ….
Zechariah 4:6-10, NLT

Don’t lose courage. Don’t lose hope. Let’s look to the One who can achieve far more than we can on our own. Under His faithful care and yours, Katherine and I will return on yet another plane to Germany, where we will continue our ministry with Wycliffe. We had no fixed home here, and our home there will be different from the ones before. Please pray for our journeys in this world, and we will pray for yours.