house – 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!

The past year happened, right?

This update may be the first you have received by email, or perhaps the first that you have received by email in some time. It may seem to have come out of the blue. Technically, that’s not true. It came from the cloud. Ha-ha. What is true is that Katherine and I have been getting our various lists in better order, and that includes adding or correcting addresses. Please read on!

After a long journey, I often experience a strange sort of amnesia: the period immediately before it seems to recede into a fog. The worst instances of this happen after vacations—after all, who wants to forget a restful holiday? I travel forewarned now.

Katherine, the boys, and I have been back in Germany for close to two months. To make a long story short—in case you want to stop reading early, our arrival and settling in has gone pretty well. We’re thankful!

A45 Autobahn — We arrived to blue skies and a dry land.

It was comforting to all of us to be back, but there was also a discomforting feeling of not having been gone. There was a sense of the past year and all of our experiences in the U.S. fading and seeming not quite real. Thankfully, contact with family and friends put that notion to rest!

Here are some of the things for which we’re most grateful:

a decently-sized apartment on the center to live in until we move into the house we’re going to rent
that our car was ready and waiting for us, and that it had been well cared-for
that our German driver’s licenses were ready and waiting for us at the DMV
that we had the chance to visit the house we’re going to rent and assure ourselves that it would suit our needs
friends and colleagues who gave us a warm welcome home
that the process of obtaining our residence permits went smoothly and quickly
that the boys have jumped right back in to their school and their extracurricular activities

Karimu and beyond — The view from our apartment, across the main lodgings of Karimu.

So, how’s work going? For me, there’s not been a dull moment yet. Shortly after returning to work, I began planning a necessary upgrade to the phone system. When the day of the upgrade came, it didn’t go quite as planned. I adjusted. A few weeks later, a hardware component failed. I adjusted. Such is my life and work, I guess. And there are more big projects to come!

Katherine has returned to her work in the library, but that’s not all! She’s also filling in at Wycliffe Germany’s reception desk to cover for a woman on maternity leave. (So, if I mess up the phone system, she knows.) Like the boys, she’s also resumed her exercise groups in the adjacent village.

It’s great to see on a daily basis that what each of us does influences the effectiveness of Wycliffe Germany and its contribution to the work of Bible translation throughout the world. Here are the topics for which you can pray as we work through the next few months:

the drafting and submission of the IT budget during challenging times
the nationally-mandated upgrade of phone service to VoIP
the expected switch to cloud services for email and some file sharing
the long-overdue change to the library catalog system

We’re glad to have you all to read about our ministry with Wycliffe, to pray for us personally and professionally, to maintain us in this life through your support, and to encourage us through email and social media. We feel the presence of the Lord our God in all of it!

Until the next time …

Sunset in the Hickengrund — Sometimes we’re treated to beautiful sunsets!