Finally there...

So we made it to Germany alright. These last few days have gone by in a flash. Our travel went quite well. We caught all our flights and had no delays and even all our bags made it there. The kids got to sleep a little bit on the plane but we all ended up being pretty exhausted and tired by the end of our second flight. Jetlag hit us hard but the second night went a lot better than the first.
We are keeping very busy, getting paperwork done, spending time with family and adjusting to life in Germany. It is very weird being here and not just for a visit. We are super excited to start this new season of our life and are looking forward to these next few weeks. I will try to keep you posted on what is going on, but might be a little sporatic due to busyness and tiredness.

Almost there...

Our time in Nebraska is coming to a close and I figured I should give you all an update on our “USA bucket list”

Mexican food -We went to LaMESA and Finley kept flirting with the girls on the table next to us….that child.

Grilling s’mores -Our neighbors and some other people from the college had a bonfire and John and Elea got to go, even though it was really pushing her bedtime.

Going to a water park -We stayed one night at Big Wolf Lodge in Kansas City and the kids loved the water park. We pretty much spent all day there since we literally could not leave because our car was at the shop getting a new alternator.

Eating ice cream cake -We just had ice cream cake today to celebrate all of John’s family members who had birthdays in July.

Catching a firefly -Mommy caught some in a jar and we watched them glow in the dark bathroom ( the sun goes down after our kids’ bedtime)

Getting our nails done -We bought some non-toxic kid nail polish and we decided we will paint our nails together with Elea’s cousins when we are in Germany.

Malt Shake -We were planning on getting some in Clay Center at the little Diner where I had my very first malt Shake, but their ice cream machine was broken.

Fair -We were planning on going to the Fair during Papillion Days, but that same weekend was the tornado. The kids and I went for a little while but I had no cash with me so we didn’t get to ride any rides and it was super hot and then our car died on us, so it was a rather un-fun trip.

Time just flew by and of course there are a million things we’d still like to do. I just hope my kids will have some fun memories from our time here.

Everything is getting kind of hectic and we are very on edge.

It’s getting really real as we are trying to be organized about packing our life in 3 boxes, 3 suitcases and one duffel bag. We still have a lot of things we will probably end up storing at John’s dad’s place or donating.

It’s quite the struggle…there are things you want to take but it is impractical. Then there are things you need to take but you can’t pack yet because you need them until the very last day. Then there are things we’ve packed that we would like to take and will probably end up having to unpack to make room for very important things in the end…and so on…it’s really like having this Tetris game in the back of your head going on 24/7 and in the middle of the night you remember things you need to take and try to figure out where to pack them…..”Box #1 is at it’s weight max, but box #2 still has lots of room….the duffel bag is full room wise but still has a lot of weight capacity left, maybe if we move some clothes from there over to the black suitcase, then that book can be in the duffel bag and….so on and so on…you get the gist.

Wrapping up our lives here is sad and complicated and really bitter sweet. I already know there are so many things and so many people I will miss. It will be weird coming back here to “visit”. Right now it is hard to picture because for the last 9 years we would go to Germany to “visit”. I am really antsy to leave but also would love to stay here longer. It’s so fun catching up with old friends and then it’s sad because we knew our time here was very limited.

We know God has a plan and He is good, so His plans are good. We trust in Him and His timing and His provision. We feel so blessed to be able to follow His call and we are humbled by our brothers and sisters in Christ coming alongside us and supporting us in our ministry. Looking forward to writing our fist blog entry from Germany soon. Then this blog title will finally make sense. 

Coming full circle

13 years ago I started my American adventure. I was 17 years old, or young, and had never been to the U.S. I remember standing in the immigration line at Chicago O’Hare and seeing a water fountain by the restrooms. I thought it was the coolest thing! (there are no water fountains in Germany) I was so so nervous meeting my host family and I think there were thousands of times where I thought up the perfect thing to say in my mind but then was too nervous to say it out loud (introvert problems). They probably thought I was the strangest person ever, and they still laugh about my quirks. But they took me in and fed me stakes and potatoes and butternut squash which was so delicious, I still remember it to this day.

I had an amazing time that year and made some lifelong friends, but I could have never imagined the way God used that year to set the course for the rest of my life.

In Nebraska I met John, and the rest is history.

So this last weekend, when we visited my host family on their farm in rural Nebraska, it felt like coming full circle. I said goodbye to my life in the States. Goodbye to endless skies and fireflies, and I cried. Sad tears, and happy tears, about this amazing God of ours who would in His grace and infinite wisdom let me experience such a wonderful time in this strange land; happy to have done it all and sad to see it come to a close. That view from the kitchen window, seeing the cardinals, will always be home in my heart.

These last 9 years I’ve spent in the US, plus the year I was an exchange student have grown me so much and in so many ways. Had I stayed in Germany, had I stayed in my comfort zone, I am sure I would be a completely different person.

God grows us and prepares us sometimes in ways we don’t even notice.

I’ve had so many opportunities to grow and learn, in so many different areas of my life, and only looking back, and seeing God’s plan in it all, will it make sense.

John and I were talking about how living and working in Salt Lake City the last few years had, unbeknownst to us, prepared us for our ministry in Germany.

At Southeast Christian Church, John had the opportunity to serve in multiple areas of church life. Student and Children’s Ministry, Worship Ministry and preaching. How awesome is it that he got to try his hand at all these things and learn on the job. He now has a way better understanding of all the different ministries as if he’d just been responsible for one area. But God knows, and God prepares us for the work He has chosen for us.

I got to work with Students and Kids and preschool kids and even with juvenile delinquents.

I got to be part of a worship and student ministry and plan events and go on camps.

I had to overcome my fear of public speaking and find my own voice. I most definitely still have a long ways to go, but God is never done working on our hearts.

Not only are we excited to be learning from the Church in Germany but we are also looking forward to share our skills, experience, and heart with them. We’re hoping to learn from each other, to become all things to all people so that by all possible means we might save one.

And when we will be working on putting together a team for a church plant, all that experience will help John, lead others in their various roles.

We had a lot going on these last few weeks. We took a short trip to Kansas City and our car died on the side of the road. Yes it was stressful and yes it was annoying and yes we we’re quite upset, but no one got hurt and we still made a fun trip out of it.

John was invited to be the camp missionary for Camp of the Good Shepherd last week. He got to hang out with some high schoolers and share our new mission. It was a fun time and we hope God will do great things with this next generation.  

This last weekend we enjoyed the good life, farm life! Finley was absolutely thrilled. Things with wheels everywhere!! One time we lost him and found him again trying to climb up into a semi-truck. (He didn’t even make it up the first step) It was a wonderful time and it flew by too fast. 

We are admittedly a bit stressed, as things are coming to a close here (only 2 weeks till departure) but also excited and thankful to have so many friends here in the US praying for us and supporting our ministry. Thank you all for being a part of this. 

P.S. John started his own blog where he will share some thoughts about our ministry, life and such. Please hop over and read...      www.Fadedself.blogspot.com

Into the storm

Last Friday we got to experience something very common for the Midwest that was definitely not on our “U.S.-bucket-list”. A tornado. Or more precisely two tornadoes were confirmed in the Omaha/Bellevue area. The College where we are staying at only sustained minor damage, but a lot of power lines and trees were down in the area. Biggest loss for us was the neighbor’s trampoline that is still nowhere to be found.  

We were out of power for two days and during that time our car battery also decided to die on us. So needless to say we had a very interesting weekend. But God is good, and God is the same. In our highs, in our lows, He loves us the same. Our circumstances do not reflect the love God has for us. He showed how much He loves us on the cross and whatever the world throws at us, He is there with us. And when disaster strikes, we have the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We were so blessed that nothing serious happened to our place, so John spent most of the weekend helping with clean up efforts. 

Fun side note…John and I had left our sleeping kids at home and the baby monitors with our next door neighbors and spent the evening at a friend’s house. We only saw a power flicker as we were playing games in the basement and as we walked outside 2 hours later, everything was over. All the while our poor neighbor was faced with 135mph winds and a power outage.

In retrospect, I am really grateful that we missed the whole thing because I would have FREAKED OUT. Our kids slept through the whole thing and in the morning we went on a fun scavenger hunt through the corn field to find sand toys and other treasures.

But into the storm does not only describe this last weekend. We are kind of bracing ourselves for the coming weeks. We have 5 more weeks left here.  That is only 5 short weeks to get to the level of support that we need so John does not have to come back to do more support raising after we’ve gotten settled in Germany. 5 more weeks to schedule things and meet with people. 5 more weeks to get all the paperwork done, register for language school, find a Kindergarten for Elea, sign papers and have all our documents translated and so on and so on. 5 more weeks to make memories and enjoy the American way of life and food and "strobe-light-like fireflies"…yah it’s like an 80’s disco outside our house once the sun is down.  We are so grateful for you all and the friendships we got to make these last years. We are so incredibly blessed and humbled to get to go and share God’s love with others. Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers, it is very much appreciated. 

Tug of war and I love yous

This is such a weird transition time we are finding ourselves in right now.

Some days I feel like I just want to grab the kids, hop on an airplane and go.  Other days I want to settle in and stay here as long as possible. Soak it all in. The way the air smells after the rain. The familiar bird songs in the morning. The huge cloud formations and breathtaking sunsets and the amazing thunderstorms of the Midwest.

I remember the very first time I saw the milky way in the night sky and the first time I saw a firefly.

The sound of the cicadas and the warm humid air. So many memories, and so many things I wish for my kids to experience before we are moving to a different continent. 

So we are working on our "US-bucket list".

√  Mexican Food

√ Grilling S’mores

Going to a waterpark

Eating Ice cream cake

Malt Shake

Fair

Getting our nails done ( Elea, not Finley)

Catching a firefly

All the while we are also really excited to be heading to Germany.

Everyday seems like we are playing tug of war in our minds. Things that keep us here and things that pull us there. Sometimes even things that push us there and things that hold us back.

The anticipation is killing me with the dread of leaving. (if you know what I mean)

We are truly in limbo right now and it’s hard. We want to spend time with friends and family but sometimes it seems difficult because we have not been around for so long and we will be gone again soon.

I know how it is. I’ve spent plenty of time in my life being torn between two worlds. Whenever I am in the States, I miss my family in Germany and whenever I am in Germany on vacation, I miss the US and my life there.

This will be a huge step and I have to change my way of thinking. This won’t be vacation. This will be hard and tedious immigration all over again.

I am not looking forward to all the bureaucratic hullabaloo. I am not looking forward to feeling like I don’t belong, trying to find my identity again. I want to fit in, but then I also don’t. I don’t want people to look at me and automatically assume I am German. Because I am, but then I’m also not. I wish to think that over these last 9 years I have acquired some American trades or characteristics. I’ve loved living in America and I sure hope that it has become part of my personality to some extent.

I don’t want to lose that part of me.

This is a difficult transition for me. I know I should speak more German with John, so he can learn, but it is so ridiculously hard. I speak German with the kids all day long, but with John it’s different. English has always been our language. He was my teacher, my confidante, my tutor.  So much of who I am and how I talk and express myself is wrapped up in the English language. Man I love English. Some things you just cannot say or express that well in German. And the more I learned English, the more it pulled me in. Speaking English to me has always been that way. I just want more. Reading Jane Austen or listening to RelientK. I just love it.

So breaking from that with John, severing that very special tie we had with language over the years is very difficult. I know it has to be done though. I want to support him as much as possible in learning quickly, doing the very same thing for me that he did for me years ago and still is doing.

But I will always say” I love you”. I don’t think that will ever change languages.

Some days feel slow and some days feel fast. Our calendar is like this entity, looming over us and the to-do-list is long and for every day that passes I feel like we should have done more or worked harder.

Some days I say “ it is what it is and it’s all in God’s hands” and other days I frantically try to do it on my own. We are still struggling to find a work/fun balance and I guess no matter what you do and how you divvy up your time, you will always have regrets in the end.

But “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases

    his mercies never come to an end;
 they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.”  Lamentations 3:22-23

Thank you all for being in our lives as we embark on this journey.

Please let us know if you have any questions regarding our new ministry or if you have any bucket list suggestions. 

Dandelions...

This was an eventful weekend for us. On Saturday we had a dessert presentation hosted by some friends. It was great to see some people who we had not seen in a long time and catch up. On Sunday morning we had the opportunity to share in two different Sunday School classes at the church where John grew up (Calvary Christian)

Within those classes we talked a lot about dandelions. For years the dandelion was an image used for Calvary. We talked about how we grow and mature in our faith and when the time is right…puff...God  sends us somewhere else. How amazing to think that people all over the world are preaching the gospel to the un-reached, because they didn’t stay where they grew up. At one point they left their home church and ventured out. Like a dandelion seed is blown by the wind, so the spirit of God moves people to answer the call of the great commission. Go into all the world.

So as we presented in these classes, I couldn’t help but think about Calvary as John’s home church. This is where he grew up. This is where his relationship with Jesus started, where his faith was nurtured and matured and now they get to see him go off, into a different part of the world to help others get to know Jesus and mature in their faith.

I love dandelions and I love that imagery. Elea loves to blow dandelion seeds all the time. Sometimes I want to tell her not to do it because, we all know they grow and multiply like crazy and they are hard to get rid of, and they grow everywhere. No matter how dry or hard the ground is, you can be sure there will be a dandelion somewhere. I’ve even seen them grow right through concrete.But these are exactly the qualities we want to have as believers. We don’t just want to stay in our safe little spot. We want to go out and reach the hard to reach places. We want to spread the gospel. We want to plant churches for people to get to know Christ and mature in their faith and then send them off to do the same in a different place. How amazing would it be if years down  the road John and I could see someone…puff…be blown into a different part of this world to spread the gospel. 

Dedicated

This is John, I would like to take a moment to share a few thoughts.

Today we were able to worship with family and witness my cousin Karalynn and her husband Caleb dedicate their son Ephraim. They stood in front of Kingsway Christian Church and vowed to raise their son, as best they are able, to know and love Jesus. Both Mirjam and I are blessed that we grew up in families where we had parents who were dedicated to loving Jesus and teaching their children to love Jesus. 

Dictionary.com defines dedicated as: devoted to a task or purpose; having single-minded loyalty or integrity. Or: exclusively allocated to or intended for a particular service or purpose. So what are you dedicated to? I know that my parents were dedicated to raising me to know and love Jesus (just as Caleb and Karalynn are dedicated to raising Ephraim), but at some point I had to make a choice for myself. Would my life be dedicated to Jesus? Will my life be devoted to, have loyalty toward, and be exclusively allocated toward Jesus? 

So many people dedicate their lives to things that ultimately leave them empty. I have seen people dedicated to sports, careers, entertainment, accumulating riches, boyfriends, girlfriends, all of which have left them empty. Sports injuries happen. Careers end. Entertainment only lasts so long, riches rust and go away..... But Jesus never leaves you empty. In Jesus there is hope, healing, and life. Mark 10 28-31 says this

Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”

29“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

This weekend marks seven years from when we left Omaha, Nebraska for Salt Lake City, Utah. We were dedicated to whatever Jesus was calling us to do there. Over these past seven years we have seen people surrender their lives to Christ and be baptized, young people grow into leaders, and made many friends. I look back at "John & Mirjam Curry of seven years ago" and I think about how young we were. How naive and impressionable. But we were dedicated. We are missing all of our friends back in Salt Lake City. We are missing the mountains, our house, our neighborhood, and shopping at Winco. But we are dedicated. We are dedicated to Jesus and living a life that tells others about Jesus. We are dedicated to making disciples and planting churches. We are dedicated because we know that life in Jesus is so much better than anything else; and a life dedicated to Jesus will not leave a person empty. 

As we prepare to go to Germany with Kontaktmission we continue to be dedicated to Jesus. If you would like to partner with us either financially or through prayer please e-mail: jcurry2k5@gmail.com.