"Like a dream" (Thanksgiving--Part II)

Much has transpired since I last blogged.

Nathan has been walking! Well...sort of: he's hopping. The fixator and cast on his left leg are still in place, so that leg does not bend at the knee and is not to touch the ground. But he has, with the help of a "walker," been able to hop to the end of the hall in the hospital before he is exhausted. He will be discharged from the hospital early Tuesday morning and be transferred by ambulance to a rehab center in Klosterneuburg (180 miles from Salzburg).

Last night was Nathan's first time to leave the hospital campus. We got permission to take him to a very special memorial dinner. Jim Ferneding, an alumnus who had studied in the Salzburg program years ago included in his will a generous gift to the Salzburg program. Jim wished, many years ago, that his Christmas in Salzburg, far from family and home, had been more special. So Jim's brother Mike decided to provide this year's Salzburg program students a very elegant Christmas dinner. Mike treated all the students and staff (and Hannah and me) to an exquisite five-course dinner. Hannah and I never dreamed we'd see Europe, much less enjoy a gourmet dinner at one of The World's Leading Hotels. To say that it was a memorable occasion for Nathan, and for Hannah and me, would be an understatement.

But even that extraordinary experience has been overshadowed by the ways in which the Lord has provided for us in the last few days. My home church in Portland generously made it possible for our other two kids (Nathan's older brother Andrew and younger sister Stacey) to fly from Portland and from Manila, respectively, to join Hannah and me and Nathan in Austria for Christmas. Only after we had purchased their tickets, and lined up housing for them in Salzburg, however, did we discover that Nathan would be moved from Salzburg to Klosteneuburg for rehab. The University of Portland has very graciously provided us housing in their Salzburg dorm, but Hannah and I wondered how in the world we could afford housing in Klosterneuburg for the two of us, much less the kids. We immediately began talking to the Lord about our need. (Not that He didn't already know all about it, but He is the one who commands us to ask for daily bread! He wants us to tell Him about what we need!)

It hadn't been more than a few days when, to our utter astonishment, we received an email from a Klosteneuburg-area missionary whom we had never heard of, much less met. She wrote: "We have heard about your situation from a lot of people. Our co-workers in Klosterneuburg are out of the country; you are welcome to stay in their 4-bedroom house from December 11 to January 11." We were dumbfounded! Almost as soon as we hear that Nathan will be an in-patient in Klosteneuburg, we receive an email offering us Klosteneuburg housing that will accomodate our whole family!

But how would we get around Klosteneuburg, we wondered? Imagine our amazement when Gerhard, the University of Portland's Salzburg program landlord, offered "out of the blue" to loan us his family's station wagon...as long as we need it! Not only that...he made a point of loaning us a GPS as well to help us find our way around Klosterneuburg!

I can't find a better description for our experience of the last few days than that in Psalm 126:1-3. I've adapted it from the New Living Translation:

"What the Lord has been doing for us is like a dream!
We can't help but laugh--and sing--for joy!
And family and friends the world over can't help but say,
'What amazing things the Lord has done for them!'
Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!
What joy!"