And now... this is where we go!

How it all began...

It was a sunny day in Cape Town, late October 2007. We had just made friends with André, our guide who had lead us on a hike on Table Mountain, and with Soso, a colleague of his... when Elena said to me: "what about trying to live here for one year?" ...or two, I thought, rejoicing that Elena appeared to have the same idea...

Step by step

Knee yesterday much better, today worse again (done too much).
Today we said Goodbye to our better car (it doesn't pay to keep it during our stay, and we can't take it with us as it is left-hand drive).
Lucas came back from Croatia like a new person, like born again... he's had a phenomenous time with his friends and good leaders and got an enourmos spiritual input. He was even very friendly to his brother (we haven't seen this before) and eager to help in the household (this latter fact lasted only one day, but anyway...)

16 days left

16 days left... yesterday I presented again in the Sportklinik Stuttgart. The day before they had extracted 30 ml of blood of my knee and it felt bad again. The doctor on duty had to reassure me that everythink was OK this time... Again one day before I had been to an internist, a friend of mine, who had to exclude a thrombosis - as soon as it's about me personally, my medical knowledge as well as my intuition fails.

We visited Lisel, the friend of my (already deceased) father, possibly for the last time - possibly we will never see her again.
No problem with our younger friends or relatives - but the older they are, the straighter and more conscious the look in their eyes when you say Goodbye, moving to a place some 20.000 kms from here.

18 days left...

Closer and closer... Today they had to puncture my knee - it didn't get better - I feel relieved and I hope there will be no more problems. The children have the last weeks with their friends now. Clara went to Spain for a week and had much fun with a Spanish cousin of hers and her mates. Lucas is still in Croatia, with a youth group and his best friends. Luis just returned from a holiday with the family of his best friend, on a Netherland's island. Felix spent some days with a boys group in tents. And Daniel suffers boredom, all the time at home with us and only few days with some friend. Almost all of us had health-related problems in the last weeks: Now Daniel dread into a piece of glass and had to be sewn! The accidents seem a strange clustering of events to us, as it scarcely happens...
I have used the time of my immobility to do a huge amount of paperwork: notifications of change of address, terminations, copies for the NZ authorities, and several other things on the computer. Meanwhile Elena continued to fill the barn with things we don't need yet. The kids are looking more forward to the move now. Did I mention: our flight will be on Sunday 12th September...
Until yesterday we had the family of a cousin of mine, Sybille, for a visit. Her husband is from Australia. We had a splendid, easy-going time, gorgious days. Only our kids seemed a bit distracted...

Done!

I've just returned from my outpatient surgery for my knee. It was very OK, pleasant anesthesia, nice staff, little pain. And that despite my horrible fear of it! I feel accompanied, God is in control of things.
Happy birthday Elena! That is how this wonderful wife had to spend it, driving me to the clinic and back. Now I'll be "tied" to bed and sofas for some days.
My future employer is so nice and friendly as having prepared the car I had buyed there and waiting to pick us up at the airport. He is already looking for a suitable house for the whole lot of us. OK, this is part of the working agreement, but the way he does it is moving... In general, we feel the New Zealanders so welcoming and willing to help in any regard...it is heart-warming.

Got the visa

We’ve got the visa, even booked the flight, but our joy is mixed with sorrow: Clara has worsening back pain since a week when she had been jumping on a trampoline for hours. I have to get my right meniscus fixed tomorrow, by endoscopy. And two days ago I noticed that probabely my left one is rotten as well. Both of us and Lucas have to be well again by the time of our big journey: the 12th September. We will fly via Hong Kong, where we have to wait 14 hours, at daytime, to get our connection flight. I hope we’ll be able to make use of this time to see this huge city. Then we planned to spend one week in Auckland, in Piha Beach, in a marvellous bach (=holiday home). And, of course, hope to see some of the nice people I got to know there. Hello David, hello Dave, hello John,hello Anna, hello Ken, hello Jaime...
Yesterday was my last working day in Germany. Somehow I do not feel very relieved, ‘cause even in The Promised Land we will be ourselves with our souls and our bodies. I feel and know that God will be with us, as He already is, but the Promised Land is not the Paradise. Here a link to the holiday home where we will spend the first week: this, indeed, seems to be taken out of paradise: http://www.holidayhouses.co.nz/properties/3478.asp