Today was a day of settling in.

Yesterday had been a rush—conference sessions, the drive to the bank, a sprint through the store, and finally landing in the apartment. At times it felt like our whole world had been set to fast‑forward while we were doing our best to keep up. Today, however, moved at a different pace.

Since Chris and I will be here for a little while—she for a few more days, me for about ten—it was time to make the place a bit more comfortable and livable. You might wonder what that means when we’re committed to not adding any real furniture until after renovations are complete. Well, for starters, we needed a few extra items we couldn’t get yesterday: hand tools (Pastor Tim will be pleased to know they’re yellow and black), a clothesline and drying racks, silverware, and a handful of other basics. We took two nice walks to local stores to gather what we needed, then set to work in the flat.

Chris washed clothes in the bathtub—maybe the way your grandmother once did—while I stretched clotheslines across the balcony. After that, I started removing some of the base cabinets in the kitchen to open the space up a bit. Not wanting to waste anything, we repurposed those cabinets into a makeshift dresser in the bedroom, allowing us to get our open suitcases off the floor. Now, with everything in its place, the flat feels both more usable and somehow emptier at the same time. Go figure.

After all the commotion, we headed out for an afternoon walk that ended with picking up supplies for dinner. There’s definitely an excitement in preparing this new place, but it is still far from the comforts of home.

Tomorrow we head to church with our brothers and sisters at CB Český Těšín. After that, I expect to spend time working through my to‑do list—and perhaps taking a long‑overdue nap.

Thank you for joining along with us. We appreciate all your prayers.

Ciao for now, Pastor Doug