Update from Bergen 2

To those we love,

We went to Europe with the many hopes, prayers and expectations, but mostly with our eyes tuned as best we could to see God work.
As most of you know we are back now. Hopefully, many of you have already gotten a chance to see and talk to us. It may or may not have been obvious with all that was going on in our heads when we saw you, but things have changed. We have changed. Sometimes the change feels ever so slight, maybe we don't even notice it ourselves. Sometimes it takes us by surprise, like the oddity of not having to go shopping for one's next meal (there exists a refrigerator which mysteriously refills itself), or maybe for some (Jen), no longer feeling the need to keep track of every dime spent. However, sometimes the changes are enormous, so big that we can't even wrap our minds around what God has done in us. Like looking out upon an ocean, we try to introspect and see the vastness of it all, but all we can focus on is the curl of one wave or the rough edge of an answered prayer whispered years ago (perhaps a prayer of finding identity, or strength, or knowledge of the Love God has for us personally). We have seen God work, and although we were not always seeing, he did the work in spite of us.
The first night I was back, I had a conversation with one of my closest friends from Wheaton. It was like two months of emotion were trying to escape in less than two seconds. Ever sentence seemed to lead to more insights and a handful of other epiphanies, and being overwhelmed with it all, I had to settle for incoherent streams of thought. It was wonderful. Probably a little unexpected for my friend, but wonderful, feeling so much passion and excitement fill my chest, and wanting nothing more than to run through the next five years of my life screaming with everything in me, "God is Good."
My friends, God is Good.
We knew that before we left. We knew that before seeing the red light district, or having a conversation with two Canadian brothers, or meeting Kellie our friend from London, or walking over the border of East and West Berlin, or tasting our first Kebab... or having our first "hard" team conversation... taking trains through the Czech Republic... seeing all our YHM friends in Salzburg... staying in a castle... meeting Marcello... leading Bible discussions... talking to Yanis for five hours, twice... climbing Floyen... jumping on trampolines... witnessing answered prayer again and again and again... falling for a Hungarian... running late for a cog-rail... dancing in our apartment... having dinner with Einar and his family... or riding bicycles though the streets of Amsterdam... or sharing the Gospel in Europe... or coming home after running a hard race.
We knew God was Good before all of that, we just know it a little better now.
And it is all for the sake of the Gospel,
the good news that Jesus conquered death, and we no longer have to live with the weight of sin. That on a cross, the son of God died so that we could again be in relationship with our creator, and all we have to do is ask to be forgiven and follow.
That is the good news, and we are each called to it, albeit it differently. For some, it might be the first step of belief,
for others it might be leaving all we know...
home, family, friends, paradigms, patterns of living of over forty years, lifestyles, addictions, and self-inflicting pain...
to follow,
but that step doesn't look all too different from the first.
Our step this past summer was going to Europe.
Thank you for supporting us through it. We know you were praying, and we know that without your aid, it would not have happened.
We are so grateful for your love, and we pray that God would bless you as you have us.

Grace and Peace to you all,
Jeff

PS Did I mention kebabs are probably an argument for the existence of God? They are that good.