One week ago today, Alisha and I, along with our 15-month-old son Asher, were walking from our school in Barcelona's Gothic Quarters to check out a nearby neighborhood's festival.
Our route: Las Ramblas.
Twenty minutes after we had turned off the infamously touristy road, a rental van was intentionally driven down the pedestrian area, killing over a dozen people and injuring several others. We were 750 meters (~1/2 mile) away.
I remember the first time I went down a huge waterslide. The kind that seems to drop at a 90-degree angle for a half dozen stories. The scary part wasn't the drop itself -- it was the moment while you're sitting at the top waiting for the OK to go and then, suddenly you decide to let go.
Tomorrow morning we leave for Barcelona and, when people ask us how we're feeling, that's the best way I can describe it. We're on the brink of a new, adventures chapter in our lives and, while we're incredibly excited, we'd be remiss to say our hearts aren't in our throats right now. Our bags are packed and tomorrow morning we get on the airplane and "let go."
As we prepare to leave for a week of training with Mennonite Mission Network (MMN), we wanted to post about how things have been shaping up these past few months. We intentionally paused after our last blog post. In regards to our movement towards Spain, our need for financial partners is one of the biggest obstacles we've had to tackle during this season in the United States.
That said, we've certainly done more than sit on our hands since then...
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When Alisha and I first began talking about serving abroad several years ago, we never would have thought we'd end up serving in Europe. After all, mission workers are supposed to go to the poor, third-world countries of this world, right?
It’s been an exciting few weeks in the life of the Garber Gang. Since we’ve been back in Arizona, things have been moving along at a fairly quick pace. With life in the fast lane, it’s sometimes difficult to take a pause, a deep breath, and reflect on the blessings you’ve recently encountered.
Our destination: Barcelona. Our layover: Phoenix.
Our journey to Barcelona has officially begun!
How do you walk away from four years of relationships? For us, it is by taking one step at a time.