A Round the World Adventure

Thankfulness is something we express easily and feel far more rarely. Too often, it takes an absence for us to realize how very thankful we are for that person or thing or convenience. For example, until Rachel sprained her ankle in New Zealand, climbing over rocks in an underground cave, we didn’t realize how thankful we are for the ability to move around quickly. Until we spent 5 months away from our family, we didn’t appreciate how amazing they are and how well they care for us. Until we slept in hostels, we didn’t truly recognize how thankful we are for hot water, clean sheets, bugless beds, and quiet rooms. The list goes on and on and on…every country has made us thankful for something different…things that until the day we traveled, we didn’t know we had. Since it’s been a while since we’ve done a blog update, and it’s highly doubtful that we will actually create a post about every country, here is something we were thankful for in each country we have visited so far: 1. ENGLAND…made us thankful for sunshine and for deep and Christ-centered friendships. 2. CZECH REPUBLIC…made us thankful that we weren’t born under Communism - that we have known freedom from our earliest days, and that although we mourn the Holocaust, it didn’t touch our family. 3. GERMANY…made us thankful that all things broken can be made beautiful. Berlin has been seeped in perhaps the darkest recent history of any city we visited, but today it is vibrant and bustling and in many ways restored. 4. BELGIUM…made us thankful for beauty; in buildings and accents and chocolates and people. It reminded us that some fairy tale places actually exist. 5. SPAIN…made us thankful for fun. We met and laughed and danced with some extraordinarily open and honest young friends. It’s good to know that friendship is the same all the world over. 6. ITALY…made us thankful for food. And beaches. And history. And elegance. And more food. To be honest, the list goes on and on and on for Italy. Io amo l’Italia. 7. AUSTRIA…made us thankful for learning. We went to a conference where we learned so much about God’s Word, thanks to an excellent series by Pastor Damian Kyle. It also made us thankful for friends back home who lovingly remembered Sarah’s birthday! 8. SLOVENIA…made us thankful for California beaches (don’t judge, we weren’t there very long). The beaches there are rocky and gross, and we were thankful that we have gorgeous sandy stretches of beach back home. 9. CROATIA…made us thankful for peace. The countryside is still littered with the effects of bombings and war. Until then, it was difficult to appreciate how costly and how privileged our freedom is. 10. VATICAN CITY…made us thankful for accessibility. The Vatican is a place of secrets and power, where often even the people who make their living by the church hate it at the same time. So glad that we have access to our pastors and leaders, but even better. to Christ directly, without penances and indulgences, purgatory or rosaries. 11. GREECE…made us thankful for stability. In a country where the economy is crazy, unemployment is skyrocketed, and a city once known for beauty and peace (Athens) is now filthy and terrifying, we are thankful for a more stable home. 12. FRANCE…made us thankful for so many things! Thankful for friends who cared for us, for meals with laughter and love, for beautiful buildings and breathtaking views. They say that France is the missionary’s graveyard, but it reminded us of vibrant life! 13. IRELAND (Republic of)…made us thankful for warm weather. We have never been so bitterly, bitterly cold. We’re just glad we still have all of our fingers and toes. 14. NORTH IRELAND…made us thankful that our lives have been free of prejudice. We have never experienced the fear and hatred and death that exist in so many parts of the world because someone else is branded as different. 15. MONACO…made us thankful for need. In a country surrounded by wealth and affluence, where no one needs anything, it simply felt boring and self-assured. Need allows relationships. 16. HUNGARY…made us thankful for the Spirit of God. We believe that He leads and guides and prepares us for all things, and that was evident in many different ways in Hungary. 17. SERBIA…made us thankful for Jesus. Isn’t it amazing when you go to a place and discover that you already have family? They might be gypsies, or they live in squalid conditions, or survive in a way that is utterly different, but they are still your brothers and sisters because of Jesus. 18. TURKEY…made us thankful for equality; that we don’t have to walk around veiled and covered at home, that we can have simple conversations and friendships with men, and that we are not the minority for any of these things. 19. EGYPT…made us thankful for honesty. We didn’t experience much of it, so it made us longingly appreciative! 20. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES…made us thankful for discovery. We discovered the most incredible building we have ever seen, in the form of a mosque in Abu Dhabi, and were literally speechless with incredulity. 21. SOUTH AFRICA…made us thankful for so many things…for wildlife and the songs of the night, for stars and clouds and beaches and mountains…for people who knew us for a day and yet still invited us to share in their lives and eat their food and laugh with them, and again, for freedom. 22. QATAR…made us thankful for air conditioning. :) Turns out you really miss it when it’s not there. 23. THAILAND…made us thankful for spicy noodles, smiling people, and cleanliness. Turns out you really miss that when you don’t have it as well. 24. SINGAPORE…made us thankful that at home, we don’t need signs advising people not to spit, or stand on the toilet rim, and that we are allowed to speak loudly in public, for better or for worse. 25. INDONESIA…made us thankful for safety. Some countries feel safe, others do not. It’s less something you can explain and more of a general atmosphere. After leaving Indonesia, we were so thankful for safe countries. 26, AUSTRALIA…made us thankful for friendly, cheery, open people. And it made us thankful in a longing sort of way for the less expensive countries. 27. NEW ZEALAND…made us thankful for natural beauties, adventure, and fun friends. It also made us thankful that even when plans change because of a surprise sprained ankle, there is always an exciting adventure that comes from it. 28. ARGENTINA…well, we’ve only just arrived! But we’re thankful to be in South America, and for adventures yet to come. I thank God for the joy of living, the freedom of laughter, the delight of discovery, the depths of relationship, and the life of Jesus Christ.