Hollyhocks, castles and laughter

We have been in Germany. It all began when we decided to help others and become foster parents. I, especially, wanted to make a difference in kids lives and felt we had a lot left in the tank to offer. We went through the training and were approved. Our house didn’t make it so well. The windows were 2 inches too short and a few other things. We decided that was too big of a list to try to finagle and we closed the door on that idea… We were at the fair and Jim was talking to someone about corn stoves and I looked across the aisle and there was a foreign exchange group. I walked over and asked if they ever had kids who wanted to ride horse. She told me she could give me 4 names right now. We talked about it later and after thinking about it thought it was worth a try. After all they would be going home when they were done with their year. The person we chose was almost totally based on a photo… a photo of her and her grandfather. The way she looked, if someone loved their grandpa that much they must be wonderful. We were not mistaken. This week I had the honor of meeting Ompa; Gerhart.

That kid that came to us from Germany as a 15 year old kid is now quite the young lady. Baihley has been over here and went on holidays with her, she came back last year for 6 weeks to spend more time with us. Truly a denial by social services turned into a blessing we had no idea was waiting.

We have been in Germany. We have sat at the table, walked through former concentration camps, climbed steeples, laughed until our sides hurt and ate together. When Jesus ate with people it must have been just as much fun for him. Eating together opens the heart. Jesus did that a lot. Walking through their lives tells us so much about ourselves. We are people; created by a wonderful creator who loves to put things together that make people smile. There is no other reason for a giraffe or hippopotamus but to make us giggle.

This week we were thankfully blessed. Their daughter lives with us for 9 months and has become part of our family. Then she returned, as part of our family. Now we, are a part of their life. Oma and Ompa, the castles, picking hollyhocks to take back to Minnesota, talking, laughing; especially laughing and yesterday wandering through a church that was bomber during world war 2, makes several hearts become one heart. We had no clue what we would experience. We found out beer gardens are not what they are in the states, that bratwurst have no buns, that German chocolate cake isn’t German, that most of what we think about is the same regardless of language or culture. Children, parents, friends, sickness and God are a part of people’s lives regardless of the degrees on the longitude and latitude spectrum. We walked more steps than we have ever in a weeks time period, we ate more, sat at a table in the backyard and talked more than we normally ever do. Over here they sit and talk. No television on, no cell phones in people’s noses, although they have them, we drank , laughed and learned what Germany history means to them now. My grandmothers family came from Germany. It’s in my blood but now it’s in my heart.

Jesus spent time with people That’s how he loved people. We have seen that this week. We have felt that this week. We are coming home exhausted but renewed. And we have new family from a place far away. They told us that’s how they felt when they came to America three years ago to get Johanna. We showed them our fun spots, ate picnics in the park, bonfires and laughed…. they saw our world and now we have seen theirs. Maybe there is no deep spiritual meaning. Maybe there is no deep change in someone life when we spend time with them but Jesus simply showed us that eating supper, sharing hollyhock seeds , walking through old castles and laughing is investing in people. Those investments are so much better than any other kind…