Our First Week

Our first week in Gent is a little bit of a blur, but if I'm being honest, I'm not sure we actually did that much other than wonder around and try to acclimate a little bit. Cole had that whole first week off so we could get things done which was very nice. I'm glad I didn't have to do everything by myself!

We met with our landlady Wednesday (I think) to do a walkthrough of the loft to discuss any issues and also so she could show us how to work all the appliances. We turned the heat on that day and decided that, if we could, we wanted to move into the loft by Friday. This meant we had to get a few things to tide us over until our sea and air shipments arrived. We went to Ikea several times the first week. I have never been to Ikea before, but it is one of those stores that I love and hate at the same time. It is so huge and overwhelming, but they do have a lot of stuff to choose from. Anyways, since we didn't have our car yet, we had to make our trip to Ikea on the tram. Now normally, this would not be a problem at all. It's just a short tram ride to Ikea. However, we did not take into account that when we we would be coming home with lots of stuff from Ikea and that it would also be nearing "rush hour". After we purchased our things from Ikea, we walked back to the tram station with the boys, double stroller, and big bags full of a few dishes, pots and pans, kitchen utensils, towels, pillows, and blankets. When we got on the tram, it was completely empty. At that moment, we felt very confident that we could get home no problem. We picked some seats near a door and tried to be as inconspicuous as possible...not happening! :) As we got closer to town, the tram started to get more and more crowded. It got to the point where we realized that there was no way we were going to be able to make a quick exit. We made a valiant effort to get off at our stop, but the doors closed before we could get off. We again made an attempt to get off at the next stop, but we could not get all of our things and children past all the people standing in the way. Between that stop and the next, Cole and I decided that it was every man for himself and we just needed to get off as we could. We began making plans for what we would do if one of us got off and the other one didn't. It's funny now, but stressful at the time. So, armed with the stroller and Harrison, I prepared to push my way off at the next stop. Cole was in charge of Cameron and the bags from Ikea. At the next stop, a kind lady took compassion on us (I think she heard our game plan and didn't think it was very good), grabbed the stroller and ordered people out of the way so we could get off. So much for being inconspicuous!! At least we got off the tram and were able to head to the loft. We dropped off our bags from Ikea then went to the grocery store to get some cleaning supplies. We spent Wednesday evening and a good portion of Thursday cleaning to the point where we felt comfortable moving our things on. Our loft is quite large and the previous tenants left it in bad shape, so it took at loooonnnnngggg time to get it clean enough to move our things in. As I mentioned in a previous post, the loft was partially furnished when we arrived, so we had beds and couches to use until our things arrived.

Thursday, we picked up our temporary lease car . It was nice to have a car, although you really don't need one here that often. However, when we first arrived, it was FREEZING here! So it was nice to have the option to drive places if we wanted to. Other than picking up the car, I don't think we did much else except clean on Thursday.

Friday morning, we packed our bags at the temporary apartment, loaded the car (to full capacity), and drove over to our loft. I'm so glad that I had an excuse not to drive (seizures) because driving here is crazy!! The streets are narrow, there are pedestrians, bikers, trams, and buses everywhere, and the driving laws seem to be a little up to each individuals interpretation. Add to that, pedestrians and bikers have the right of way at almost every cross walk, so they were just walking out right in front of us without notice. Of course it startled us because we did not know that rule at first! Cole did a great job learning how to drive these crazy streets and has kept us safe so far! Now, getting into our teeny, tiny garage is a different story. Out of the first five times we tried to pull in, Cole scraped against the side of the garage 4 times.  Even with me out of the car directing! I suppose you could blame me for bad directing?? Now, we are both able to get the car in and out without scraping, but we definitely had to come up with a game plan.  We spent most of Friday cleaning, putting things away, and figuring out how to work things in the loft. Hands down, Cole's favorite part of the loft is the built-in coffee maker in the kitchen!

Saturday, during the day, we ran errands and continued to work on the loft and getting the boys on their schedules in this time zone. I haven't talked much about the boys, but they were rock stars during this week. We, of course, had some moments where we didn't know what to do with them, but for the most part, they went right along with everything and were great! Saturday night, we were invited to another American expat's house for dinner. We found out (through our mutual hairdresser in South Carolina) that there was another American expat here and we were happy to connect with her as quickly as we could. We also found out that she attended the same church that we anticipated attending! She invited us over to her apartment for dinner with her and some friends of hers from church. It was wonderful to just sit, eat, and talk with people and not have to worry about everything to do. The food and company was great and we felt very blessed to have been connected with so many wonderful people so quickly!

Sunday, we decided that we would attend the service at International Community Church Gent. We found this church even before we accepted the offer to move and had been in communication with the pastor. We even met with him during our trip to find housing. It's an English speaking church just 15 minutes or so from our loft! We were both excited and nervous to go. If I'm being honest, I was a little apprehensive about attending a new church. As I mentioned in a previous post, we have a wonderful church family in South Carolina. We love our pastor, leaders, family, and friends that are there. We grew so much while we attended there. I had a conversation with someone who, at the time, I didn't know very well, but I now consider a friend about this very topic. I didn't think any church could measure up and that we would just have to make due until we returned home. This friend gently reminded me that, even though this church probably would be different, it would be exactly what we need. I am so amazed at those words and how they were spoken to me at just the right time. She opened my heart and mind to the possibility that God would work through me and in me regardless of where we attend church. I am so thankful for her gentle reminder to just seek God where we. So anyway, when we walked in the doors of the church, we were immediately greeted with warm, welcoming smiles. It is instant community! The church is much smaller than our church in South Carolina, maybe 20-40 people on a given Sunday, but the wonderful, gospel-based preaching and sincerity with which the pastor spoke really encouraged us. What are the chances of finding an English speaking, gospel preaching church in such a spiritually dead area?! It is different from our church in South Carolina, very different, but still good! We left feeling encouraged! (I want to write a post to explain more about the church at another time.)

After we arrived back at the loft on Sunday night, we received a call from our realtor in South Carolina who told us about an offer she had received on our house! If you recall from a previous post, we had listed our house just six days prior to her calling us with an offer. Six days!!! After a bit of negotiating, we accepted an offer and were told we would close sometime in April!

That night, as Cole and I talked about the week and about selling our house, we were just amazed at how much we could see God's hand in everything that had been happening, even before we left. He has been so gracious to us and protected us all along the way. We are so thankful!  We have now closed on the house and don't have to worry about it at all anymore! Praise God!