Spring is HERE and let me tell you that we do not miss winter at all!!!! The sun is shinning, the birds are singing, and the flowers are blooming! Spring in England is soooooo wonderful, especially after the long, dark winters. We do not like England in the winters at all. There was hardly any snow fall, but it was sure cold and DARK!!! I know what they mean now when they say that people often get depressed when living in England during winter. In the winter, the sun didn't rise until about 9am and then it started setting at 3pm. I was ready for bed by 5pm and was tempted to sleep in till about 11am every day. It was tough on Carsten because he would go days, even weeks without even seeing the sun. He would leave for work before the sun came up and he would return home after the sun went down. We were both dragging and felt sleepy all the time. I began to think something was wrong with us, then I realized everyone else around us was feeling the same way. haha! So we can now REJOICE!!! And welcome the newness of SPRING!!! So far...I love spring!! I love seeing the baby lambs, pigs, and cows that have been born. It is so refreshing! Welcome SPRING!!!
March was not an exciting month for us. For the first time since we have been here, we did not travel at all that month! It was kind of nice to have some time too be home though.
Carsten started the program to get his Masters of Arts in Theology. He just finished the first 8 week session and it proved to be more of a challenge than we thought. He took two classes this session and it was too much! After work and on the weekends, Carsten was attached to either a book or his computer, doing homework. He never had a break from work or school. I was so proud of him for being so diligent in his studies. He pulled many all-nighters and had long days of work. I felt so bad for him and I was trying to work extra hard to make things calm around the house so he could just focus on his homework. I had to get creative in finding things to do so that I didn't distract him. He did a great job persevering through that huge work load. Now Carsten has a month off of school till the next session begins. We need this break!!!
So as I said before....there was not much excitement around here in March. To give you a picture of what March looked like for us....here are two pictures to show you...
Carsten attached to a book...
Chary trying to not distract Carsten...
That is pretty much our March in a nutshell!
I would like to share with you all some news that surprised us in March. We were informed that Carsten will be deploying for 1 year starting this late fall. Ouch, talk about a shocker! We were completely not expecting this and it was one of my greatest fears in coming to England. The Lord knows what is best for us, so we are going to face these fears one day at a time while relying completely on our Lord, Jesus Christ to see us through! I will be staying here in England all by myself while Carsten is deployed. There are so many things to think about and so many fears in facing the unknown. The Lord is reminding us daily to take every thought captive so that our thoughts are glorifying to him. He is reminding us that we cannot worry about tomorrow because today has enough worries of its own. We are embracing these commands from the Lord in this situation. Its going to be difficult. Its going to be hard. Of course, we will not like being away from each other during our second year of marriage. BUT...the Lord is omniscient and he knows what is best for us. He provides for the birds of the air. We would be foolish to think that he would not provide for us, his precious children! So we are trusting in HIM!!!
If you would like to pray for us:
1. Please pray for Carsten as he continues his Masters program.
2. Please pray for the next 6ish months as we try to soak up every minute with each other before Carsten leaves.
3. Please pray for the Lord to protect Carsten while he is deployed for a year.
4. Please pray for Chary as she lives alone in England and has to take care of the house by herself.
5. Please pray for the Lord to provide for Carsten and Chary as they are apart from one another and will miss each other; to strengthen our Marriage through the distance!
6. Please pray for Chary as she decides what to do while Carsten is deployed; get a job, start Masters program, or what?
Thank you all for the support and prayers! We recently got a magic jack so that you all can call us from the states. It is a Nebraska phone number, so it is just like calling Nebraska. It has a voicemail so if we are not available you can leave a message and we will call you back. Remember, we are 8 hours ahead of California and 6 hours ahead of eastern Nebraska so please don't call us when it is 2am our time. hahah! The phone number is (402) 404-5834. Feel free to call. We would love to hear from our loved ones!
Love you all and God Bless you!!!
Ps..let me know if anyone would like to come visit me while Carsten is gone. Please do!
