We just got home from a wonderful trip to Switzerland. Ben returned to Switzerland with us on October 1st after being in Montana for most of the month of September. We were joining a team that consists of the Project Coordinator (who lives in Lausanne, Switzerland), 5 Programmers (Darrel, a guy from Billings, MT, a guy from Coeur d’Alene, ID, and two guys from Brazil) and 3 Admin People (a British gal who now lives in Florida, a gal from Brazil and a gal from Columbia). What a blessing it was to have everyone arrive and be healthy! Many of the families joined as well so there was a total of 28 of us when everyone came. It had been three years since the last time the team had been together. They have written the software that manages the student records and course data for the University of the Nations (YWAM’s training school). They all volunteer and give their time to the project. The first week was spent getting the 4 new members introduced to the software and working through the upgrades that had been requested by the deans and registrars. The second week was focused on planning for the mobile app that they will begin building at the next development sprint. They work very intensely for the two weeks and get lots accomplished in a short time. It is a great group of people who really have a heart to serve.
While we were there we also got to have some fun including an outing with that development team to Interlaken and the Niederhorn. We also did some train trips. Ben and I went for a day trip to Lucerne and Bern with one of the gals and her three kids. Then after the sprint was over when the guys were free to join us we went for a day trip to St. Gallen (had sausages/brats that the area is famous for, visited the Abbey Library, Vaulted Cellar and Cathedral) and Basel (saw the old wall, the red street, the gate of the city and cathedral). We also walked through many cobblestone streets and along the river.
It was wonderful to have time with Ben on his home turf. He has done a great job of figuring out how to navigate the transportation system over there. He was a great tour guide on our train trips as well as showing us around Lausanne. It was fun to meet the people he works with and see the projects he is working on as well as just get to hang out in the evenings.
On October 18th Ben dropped us off at the airport in Geneva, Switzerland at 4:45 in the morning and John and Brianna picked us up at the airport in Kalispell, Montana at 6:00 in the evening. Because of the 8 hours we gained on the way home it was almost 22 hours of travel. Bed felt really good that night! Our bodies are still adjusting to switching time zones. It is amazing how much you can accomplish when you wake up at 3:30 am!
What’s next? We came back to Montana to pick up the motorhome and are heading south. We are headed to Boise for a week so we can be there for a wedding reception for my cousin’s daughter and then will head down to the Phoenix area for a couple of weeks. The middle of November we will be heading back to Switzerland and plan to be there until late January. Darrel will be working his regular job from over there as well as doing more work on the University record system and planning the next sprint which will likely be in Phoenix, AZ in February. They also have some projects for me to help with as well. We look forward to getting to spend the holidays with Ben this year.
We are encouraged by wonderful visits with friends and family that we have had. We look forward to what God has for us in the coming weeks and months. We are thankful for the ability to travel and serve again. We are loving getting to enjoy God’s beautiful creation…amazing sunsets and golden colored leaves.