HI HO HI HO...Off to Austria I Go

$655 in baggage fees, a very nice ticket agent who let my luggage be a few pounds over on a couple bags, 3 flights all with window and I AM HERE!

The plane was delayed leaving the states 2 hours. No biggie. The plane ride was equipped with my own tv with movies on demand. SWEET! After the woman next to me left to be with her husband, I settled in. Once I realized that we had been flying for a little bit, I opened my window shade and I saw the most beautiful colors in the sky. I felt the Father loving me as I took in the beauty of the sky with the clouds. Every color of the rainbow was represented. WHAT A GIFT TO BEHOLD!

I was caught off guard a few times. As I walked out of the bathroom stall in the Frankfurt Airport, I almost ran into someone and it was only after I said “I am sorry sir” that I realized that there was a man in the ladies’ bathroom. Welcome to Europe! It was only after I realized he was cleaning it that I was semi ok with it.

After that experience I needed tea. I went to the café and ordered black tea and they gave me coffee. UGH! I took one sip and realized this what not what I wanted nor was it what I needed. When I told them of the mistake they were quick to fix it and I was grateful!

I arrived in Vienna to hear my name over the load speaker. This was a great relief because I had not idea where I was going and if they knew that I had missed my connecting flight with the delay. My name sounds pretty cool when a native German speaker says it. The only problem is that before and after it was German. Finally they announced where I was to go in English. PRAISE THE LORD!

I was greeted by 2 beautiful women and Tony (male RD). Their eyes were very wide to see the amount of luggage I was traveling with; 6 is a lot of bags but hey…I AM MOVING TO EUROPE! We had a little over an hour drive to my new home and what a beautiful ride it was. I know that I will be making this ride many times to pick up and drop off students and faculty.

We arrived at the Kartause and I was overwhelmed with the great accommodations I have been provided. My apartment is big with a comfy couch, 2 great chairs, a breakfast nook, open kitchen with tons of counter space and a very comfy bed, actually 2 beds currently. I could not stop smiling as I took it where I would be living for my time in Austria. I started to unpack immediately.

Our first major stop was the chapel, to my Jesus. I sat before Our Lord and revisited the journey that we have been on since January to bring me to Austria. The Lord encouraged me to apply with the allure that I have another adventure in me. The idea that it will be an adventure of the heart came from a friend in the states and has been confirmed both in the States and here. The Lord consoled me in the States with, “What eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” He was right! He has prepared a place of astounding beauty with many intriguing layers to discover.

When the position was presented to me in March, the Lord spoke to me saying, “Arise my love, my fair one, and come away” (Song of Songs 2:10). If that was not beautiful enough, He followed it up with deeper beckoning and a more intimate promise through, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” (Hosea 2:14). The Lord has not stopped speaking to me through the beauty surrounding me since I got here.