Three years ago today, I woke up in Germany for the first time. My arrival was made possible by hundreds of people listening to me share about my desire to teach TCKs, praying for me, and donating to me financially. Within that group, I had a grade schooler pray for me that I’d grow closer to Jesus through whatever trials I’d face, a middle schooler ask his parents if he could join my support team with their help, and my Granny who has been my biggest fan since my first breath. It’s a diverse crew, and I love it.
Since my accident a few months after moving to Germany, hundreds (if not thousands) more people have joined my prayer and support team following my journey on this blog. I’m so humbled and so very grateful. This week gave me new opportunities to celebrate the tangible ways the body of Christ has come around me to support me in my recovery and ongoing ministry here at BFA. Christians use that weird metaphor pretty lightly when we reference teamwork, but it really is a beautiful description of how we support each other and look for ways to help people in need.
In fact, before Tina had my new Nikes in the mail, a former BFA staffer now on the East Coast messaged me and offered to buy me a pair of shoes. She generously said she’d bring them with her when visiting Kandern this summer and found two other women who have been faithfully praying for me who wanted to contribute as well. So now after over two years with a single pair of shoes, I’m overwhelmed with the variety of three pairs of shoes! One of my therapists suggested that it would be a good idea to have a regular pair of shoes to give my ankles freedom when on safe flat surfaces but that high tops could be helpful as an in-between on more uneven surfaces (read: European cobblestone). Tina sent the amazing Flyease shoes, and Julia brought me the super snazzy high tops pictured above. I’m still mostly in the braces, but I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for the ability to phase out of them with these high quality shoes gifted to me.
I’m also really blessed to have so many people willing to keep practicing walking with me. Kristi and I went on another walk with Luci today – I swear, that kid is so adorable. No new records in distance, but it was again high quality walking. I spent some time with Cindy yesterday working on the quality of my gait as she held my left hand and I used it only for balance but not weight. We looped around the firehouse once and up and down the length of my building a couple times not wanting to venture too far from my chair since she couldn’t push it while holding me.
She let go of my arm for a few steps and I struggled a bit, but Cindy emphasized the importance of the fact that I could do it. It wasn’t great, and it wasn’t far, but the fact I can do it at all means there’s function to improve. I’m praising God for that restored function, and I’d love for you to pray along with me for stamina as I work on strengthening the super weak muscles.
I’m so grateful for the body of Christ continuing to come around me with supports like walking with me, praying for me, and financially donating to my service here. If any of you would like to donate to my ministry, you can follow this link to my personal giving page through TeachBeyond: https://give.teachbeyond.org/support/lauras-journey/
