After eleven months of a long distance relationship it is mind blowing (literally! My brain feels like its blowing up under water or something!) to have a bit more of a 'normal' relationship. Of course normal is different for everyone, but i think the normal of the past week and a half is my favorite! Skype works ok, but it is really odd to live our own lives all week and then for a few hours each week be able to see eachother and communicate. And then theres those weeks where we are too busy to have more than three hours on Skype...blech. It is almost surreal to be done that for the next three months!
Sitting in the city center (can you believe it? Rotterdam really tries to preserve a lot of nature areas). I was working at Maurits' s warehouse for a few days and we relaxed together after work in the sunshine before dinner.
Im thankful for the time we had apart, as we really got to know eachother in this time. We didnt know eachother too well before I left Holland the first time, and after 11 months of Skype and occasional travels back and forth we figured that this was real enough to uproot our lives to some degree to make it work! Crazy, but so exciting. This past week especially, even more than before which was already a lot, Maurits has proven actually quite a few times that he is someone that i can respect incredibly, and I honor him more than i can say. If you want details you will just have to email me :)
There is of course little things that need to be ironed out, as with all new situations in relationships I think! Which is also beneficial in getting to know eachother better. And Maurits is simply amazing in his willingness to serve in these somewhat heavier things, Im learning a lot from him!
Pieter found a car derby on the weekend! Fries with mayo, a beer, and some great company made for a great afternoon of all of us getting slowly roasted til we were pretty sunburnt.
One of the fastest cars. They look pretty fun.
We also went to Maurits friends wedding last weekend. It was good to get to know some of his friends. They are a little different than my Canadian friends, but incredibly welcoming, dont really care about much more than looking out for eachother and having fun. I think some of them still havent cut their wild hairs, which makes them a pretty fun bunch of folks.
And then Sunday was great again, being part of a congregation I have come to really love.
And Maurits family has really become mine as well. One of the bros put his arm around my shoulders at some point and told me that i am part of the family. They are so much like the folks back in Smithers especially. A bit redneck, no shame, kind, always having fun.
I am sleeping at the house of a young couple that live fifteen minutes away by bike from Maurits. We really want to stay pure before marriage as thats something which we believe God would honor, so this is a little safer in that way. (We get asked why we do it all the time, this is almost a recording...)
So all is really well altogether, it is so good to be back! I think Im floating in the clouds sometimes, it almost seems to good to be true. But God has been blessing us so richly, and actually also others through us as well. Its so amazing to see his fingers doing their prodding and guiding, sometimes painful, other times tender and secure. And at the points where we can see his fingers clearly, we both have to stand amazed at how he makes things fall into their place, so that who he is can be made known and also other people see how great he is!
