A Firm Foundation

I was born into a Christian family with a strong long-standing Christian background.  My dad's parents had been in Christian ministry as long as he could remember, and though my mom's parents were not saved, they supported her decision to follow Christ at the age of 14.  Both my parents had a passion for ministry and a desire to lead the world to the kingdom.  They moved to Austria a month before my second birthday.  While my parents worked in theological education in East Germany, I attended Kindergarten and began developing Austrian personality traits.  Today I am still a person who is very reserved until I am comfortable in my surroundings, and I still eat using my fork with my left hand while holding my knife in my right.  I grew up playing with my younger siblings, exploring everything that the woods behind our house had to offer.  

In 1991, the Cold War ended and the Iron Curtain came down.  It was at this time that my dad felt it was time to move our family to Romania, where he would continue teaching in a Bible school.  My biggest concern was whether or not I could take my toys with me.  Once again I learned to adapt to a new culture and language as I completed another year of Kindergarten, this time in Romanian.  Our home was above a small farm where our landlords raised chickens, pigs, and a variety of vegetables.  My love for animals started early on when I made friends with a goose – it's much easier to make friends with a goose than it is with children with whom you can barely speak.  One day I went to find the goose and discovered it missing.  My dad told me it had flown south for the winter.   My heart was shattered when the landlady brought up fresh goose meat later that evening.  And it only takes hearing the sounds of a pig slaughtered once to put you off of pork forever.  One time while walking down the street, my four year old brother saw a man working on a car with a blowtorch and immediately yelled, “Mommy, they're killing the car!”  Up until then, he had only seen a blowtorch being used to singe the hairs from pig's skin.  While this may seem like an unusual childhood, it was perfectly normal to us.  

This same year my mom began experiencing severe numbness in her left leg.  After many hospital visits and trips back to Western Europe, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, an autoimmune disorder which interrupts the communication between the brain and the spinal cord.  Though the trips to the hospital were numerous, even stretching across my fifth birthday, I never remember being afraid that my mom was dying.  I don't think I fully understood what was going on.  In fact, the memory that stands out to me the strongest from all the hospital trips, was taking a walk through the garden at the hospital and my younger brother falling into a fishpond.  Looking back, it never struck me as odd that I'd never seen my mom run or jump.  After a year in Romania, we moved to Colorado for a year on home assignment.  I attended first grade while my parents attended to ministry things and my mom's health.  It was during this year that I remember accepting Christ as my savior.  I don’t remember anything associated with the evening.  No warm feelings or a sense that my life was now different.  It was as if it was just the logical next step in life.  After the year we returned to Austria for a four year term.  It was during this time that my mom, with three young children at home, prayed that she would be able to support her children while we were growing up.  God blessed her prayer, and her MS went into remission for 13 years.  There were still occasional doctor's visits and my mom would often rest, but we never felt like she wasn't there for us 100%.  

I attended Austrian elementary school from first through fourth grade.  It was during this time that I learned German and learned to excel academically.  The educational system there uses shame as a motivator, and I never wanted a poor grade read out to the entire class.  Academics were also something that I could control on my own.  I couldn't control my mom's health or how often we moved, but I could control how well I did in class.  

We were incredibly blessed during this time to have my dad's sister and her family living in Paris.  We spent every Christmas with them, alternating between Vienna and Paris.  The need for family runs deep in me and it was wonderful having family with whom to spend the holidays.  When many people look at my life during this time, stability is not what they see.  But when I look back, I see nothing but stability.  Through all of our transitions, God blessed me with a stable, loving, and supportive family.  He gave me a safe and nurturing environment in which to grow and discover who I am.