Nathan, Rada, Anya & Aleksa's move to Munich...

Tag: moving

Work in Progress

A blog post from Rada:

View from our new loungeWe have been in our new flat for five weeks now! It’s a big place, full of light and warmth, set back from the main street in a quiet pedestrian area, full of playground segments, paths and trees.
It’s particularly beautiful in the evening as the neighbours decorated their bushes and trees with Christmas lights. We are really close to beautiful parks and the Isar River, less than a mile from a zoo and ten minutes away from the city centre on the Underground.

Yet, the last five weeks have been full of challenges, from broken beds to a washing machine flood, to walls that can’t be drilled, to language difficulties, to troubles with health insurance and kindergarten spaces…to mention just a few.

As humans we would always opt for an easy life, void of challenges and difficulties, but I believe that would leave us quite empty and shallow.  It comes as no surprise that life is a synergy of hard and beautiful.  If it was just beautiful, we would not appreciate it.  If it was just hard, we would give up.  If you are older than 16, you would know what growing pains are, a necessary ingredient in order for our bodies to achieve full maturity and make us ‘fully grown’ (apologies to anyone under 5ft 5in!)

img_1331So it is with the pains of everyday life, obstacles, disappointments, relationship difficulties; without them we cannot grow properly and be who we are – special, beautiful altogether with our scars, limps and bandages.  But these difficulties can also teach us about what we think about and cherish the most – ourselves! When you squeeze a tooth paste, the only thing that can come out is what is already inside.  At the moment I am learning, probably more than ever, about what my values are, where they are coming from, where my security lies, who do I trust in, etc.   Some of the things I’m finding out and realising about myself are great, others range from slightly disappointing to plain ugly!  There should be a huge ‘Work In Progress’ sign on my head and on yours probably as well!

You know that feeling when you read something that you wholeheartedly agree with, but the person who wrote it is much more eloquent and smarter than you, so you just point and say ‘that!’.  So I will leave you with one such sentence that I don’t only agree with, but am so desperately trying to make it truth in my life and wish the same for you….because life is hard but it’s also beautiful!

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.    James 1:2-4

 

Home, Sweet Temporary Home

A report from Anya on our first few days in Munich

Progress has finally been made! Victory at last! We have figured out how to use the coffee machine!!! Now as some of you may be aware, we don’t possess a coffee machine. Or this hammock that I’m sitting in. Or the flat that we are living in. That’s right, you’ve guessed it, we have made it to Munich and are staying in an Air BnB! (Basically just a furnished flat.) But at last we’ve got somewhere to live until we can find a proper, more permanent place.

We’ve had a chance to explore a bit of Munich today, tracing my school route on the underground, then going into town and buying Aleksa some long awaited Lego City toys, before stopping off in MacDonald’s for lunch. And the simple fact of it is that none of us have ever experienced the feeling of actually being full after eating MacDonald’s. And it is a wondrous, if not slightly weird feeling.

We have also explored some of the surrounding streets and parks and plan to go swimming tomorrow. We look forward to exploring more of Munich as well as its culture, cuisine and many other things too.

The Day After…

By Rada

Sadness is a peculiar thing, it catches you unawares and leaves an unmistakable trail in your day, popping up its head at the slightest encouragement, reminding you that it’s never far away.  I was happily packing up our belongings yesterday, often distracted by things I forgot we had, pictures of loved ones that are not here anymore, invoking all sorts of memories, mainly happy ones, although tainted by dull pain coming somewhere from deep within.  The news of a mass shooting in Munich provided a rude awakening from my somewhat dreamy state, and the sadness of life loss and the brokenness of our world achieved that sharp edge that causes tears and compassion.

Messages flooded in from the loved ones and friends wondering if we were already there.  We were pleased to hear that our friends in Munich were safe.  The frantic internet search for any more news followed, looking for a reason of this senseless act, as if that would make things easier.  This is the city where we are moving to in few weeks, the streets we’ll be walking with our kids, the shopping centres we’ll be shopping at,a the underground we’ll be taking.  The mind starts racing, arranging many different scenarios of how to best protect the ones you love.  But then, in the chaos that only one’s mind can create, a still small voice places a gentle reminder that He is in control, that our lives are secure with him (either here or in heaven), that our job is to love people wherever we are.  So we are going to Munich to share this love, to offer hope in this world void of hope, to comfort those who need comforting and to laugh with those laughing.  As the darkness of this world becomes darker, His light is getting brighter!

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