Continue to trust

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42,16

This verse has been with us for some time. Very often we feel like “the blind". Even if some things in our everyday lives are known and clear (such as the boys' schooling, Marlen's work at Compassion, etc.), many other things are in the dark. And so we often don't even see what the next step is - like the blind on unknown paths. The only thing we can try to do is to hold on tightly to God's hand and trust HIM to guide us well. And that is what God also does, he leads us and what he does is good, even if God's ways are not always in harmony with our wishes and our feelings. And yet we can say that we always had what we needed. The old farmhouse where we have been living for the last 3 months has been an incredible blessing for us - so much space/rooms to play and spread out (especially in this foggy area where the boys had limited motivation to play outside during the winter).

Over New Year we went to PraiseCamp as a whole family for 6 days. As a family, we were able to stay overnight in the facilities of a free church and found a dog sitter for our Mily - a miracle for us. Even though we could only really participate in a few parts of the PraiseCamp program and the days were really intense (lots of people, lots of noise, etc.), it was an encouraging time. We were able to have many good conversations and simply experiencing the “groove” of 7,000 young people who are looking for Jesus and want to follow him is incredibly inspiring. Our boys had a great time 😊!

Now we are due to move again soon. We have to be away from where we are at the moment by the end of February (the seasonal workers are coming back). This means that we have to pack up our belongings again and move to a new place. We don't know where that will be at the moment. We do have a few emergency solutions - we certainly won't end up on the street - but a long-term solution, or at least a medium-term one, is not yet on the horizon. And yes, this situation is not always easy. We actually believe that it would be good for our boys to find a place to live again, to build up friendships and maintain a certain stability. We keep praying that God will preserve the hearts of our boys and give us the wisdom to guide them properly. They miss the farm and the surroundings of the estate, forest, streams and mountains. And we “grown-ups” also wished for a place where we could “invest” ourselves again, where we could not just set ourselves up provisionally and where we could plant a garden again. Thank you for praying with us that we will have the patience to continue waiting on God and that we will make the right decisions and not do things that are not in God's way out of “ closure panic”.

A little side note: is it so difficult to find something suitable?

We are often asked whether it is so difficult to find a place to stay. We'd like to briefly explain why it's not quite so easy for us.

Of course Christoph could look for part-time work in construction in addition to Marlen's job and we could rent a cheap block apartment somewhere.

Here is an explanation of why we believe that this is not our way: We have the desire/vision in our hearts to find a place where we can combine “being on the move with people” and farming (more as a side business) again. We dream of a place of community where we can also share our passion for sustainable agriculture. We actually believe that this dream is not just an idea of ours, but really a matter that God has placed on our hearts.

There is also the fact that we simply cannot imagine our boys feeling at home in a block apartment in the center of a village.

We have also looked around for medium-term interim solutions, for living space in the countryside and enough space (e.g. an old farmhouse in a decentralized location but still in an area where we wouldn't have to live as hermits). We have not yet found such a place. Very often these “old farmhouses” have been renovated, very chic indeed, but mostly in such a way that they neither fit our budget nor our lifestyle.