Merhba

Merhba means welcome in Maltese. This wonderful country has already made Jessica and I feel welcome to its rocky shores, and now I welcome you to join us on our adventures as we post our stories and observations for your reading pleasure. We’ve been here nearly two weeks already and we’re finally hooked up to the internet and ready to start bloggin’.

So much has happened already that I almost don’t know where to begin. Jessica and I continue to find something strange and new each day and we say to each other “ooh, we have to remember to put that on the blog” or, “that’s definitely a blog topic.” I suppose we should have been keeping a list, but there’s no rush. You’ll just have to stay tuned as the picture of Malta becomes clearer.

For now, I guess we should just give y’all an update on our travels: We spent a day in London along the way, which was a blast. We got to see more of the city than we had hoped because the Underground was surprisingly easy to use. Getting all our luggage from London to Malta took some unexpected expenses, but we arrived in one piece and Pastor Joe and his wife Christine were there to meet us.

We drove to our flat (that’s British for apartment) and started getting settled in immediately. For the last two weeks we’ve been working out all kinds of details like phone lines, groceries, bank accounts, etc. It’s taking so long because 1) we’ve had to use the buses to get places, and even though the bus system is pretty good we’re quite a ways out of town and that means there’s only enough time for one or two errands in a day, 2) we’re taking it easy, enjoying our sea view and hanging out with the folks at church, and 3) these things just take patience in any foreign country.

Someone from the church just loaned us their car this last weekend so the challenge of driving on the left and navigating the mangled routes has been a tough one. And although we haven’t made it anywhere without getting lost first, we were still able to get a million more things done today than any day since.

The sun is always shining. The sea is bright blue. The people are very helpful. And the pastizzi (ricotta pastries) are delicious. In short, things are going really well. It’s amazing how God has blessed us on our travels and we’re excited to begin to discover the work He has planned for us.

We love you, and miss you all! E-mail us anytime. Stay tuned for more news and other anecdotes from Malta…