#threemomsgotoeurope

I owe my trip to Europe to a stranger on the internet.

Last December, I found myself running late to a blind date at the neighborhood coffee shop.

Well, no, running late puts it too mildly. I almost blew right past my chance at a life altering friendship by forgetting plans altogether. I wasn’t thinking straight. We were in the midst of a chaotic season of illness. My youngest was home sick while Ted teleworked, and I left to drop my oldest at school, not bothering to look at the calendar. I returned from the errand, hopped in the shower, and only when I glanced at my phone—still charging on the nightstand—did I realized with panic that I had stood up a stranger:

“Bethany, flying out of the house right now. Be there in a few! Alisa”

And then, timestamped several minutes later:

“Did I miss you? I am here”

All I could do was panic and send off a frantic string of texts:

“Oh shoot!!!!! I’m so sorry!!!! My daughter was sick today and I completely spaced!”

“Are you still there or have you left?”

“I apologize 😢“

“I can be there in about 10 minutes if you’re still around”

Who knows where we’d be today if she’d given up waiting.

Thankfully, Alisa met my flurry of embarrassed texts with a relaxed reply about ordering coffee and having plenty of time. I shook my head and finished pulling my pants on and got in the car.

When I finally, sheepishly walked through the coffee shop door and spotted the short lady with the brown bob haircut, her quick smile put me at ease, and somehow we slid into a heartfelt conversation that started then and hasn’t really stopped since.

The thing about the blind date? It was set up by a stranger. We owe our friendship to a fellow* who roasts coffee and loves his neighbors and knew Alisa and I lived a few blocks apart and would probably love each other, too.

(*James and I connected via email and FB thanks to Parish Collective. Would you believe we’ve still never met in person? All I can say is thanks, sir, for the faithfulness in looking for opportunities to connect people.)

#threemomsgotoeurope

It’s a long story, and I don’t have enough time to share it all today, but I can tell you that Alisa and another neighbor and amazing mama, Jeanette, and I began spending more time together as the year went on, and one night over red wine and big dreams, Alisa said, “I want you girls to think about coming to SHINE with me.” And so the scheme was born.

“I want you girls to think about coming to SHINE with me.”

We made plans to spend 12 days traveling through NYC, Iceland, Ireland, Amsterdam, and Germany, paying visits to Alisa’s friends and colleagues working on anti-trafficking initiatives, and attending the SHINE Network anti-trafficking conference in the rural village of Bad Blankenburg, Germany.

On the 26th of September, just a few weeks into the school year and barely into autumn, we left our collective eight kids and three husbands and set off eastward…

PDX: Farewell

New York City

A few pounds of dead weight left in the airport lockers for less than a day. Times Square, Good Morning America, Rockefeller Center, 5th Avenue, Central Park, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Milk Bar, The High Line, Chelsea Market, the 9/11 Memorial, and Brooklyn Bridge.

9.3 miles walked. 

Iceland

Another red-eye, another day, another soak in otherworldly waters.

Arctic char and Hallgrímskirkja and Macedonian/Bulgarian/Greek jazz at HARPA (and a three hour sleep at an eleventh hour Airbnb when our Northern Lights tour was canceled).

Only 5.5 miles walked.

Ireland/Northern Ireland

Wine club reunites! 

Green, green hills and hedgerows and Kerrygold cows and hydrangeas still in bloom. Botanic gardens and beef hand pies and fish and chips. And checking in on anti-trafficking workers dedicated to giving their all to provide safety and hospitality to those seeking a new life. 

3.3 miles + 2.2 miles = a few days with hosts who had a car.
6.7 miles = exploring Belfast and the beginnings of the next city…

Amsterdam 

Yes, of course, the bicycles and canals and stroopwafels and fries and pancakes (and chocolate bars and oversized meringues), and also the Van Goghs and the Rijksmuseum (and the secondhand stores and Fair Trade fashion, but especially the women working with the women working. The women loving the women receiving less than love. The places. The issues. The roots of stories in books I’ve read that literally changed my life. The houseplants that belonged to Corrie ten Boom, still growing now in the house of her friends.

10.1 miles walked.

Berlin

On the 28th Anniversary of Reunification Day: Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Wall, Memorial to Murdered Jews, propagandist art, Checkpoint Charlie, Tränenpalast (“Palace of Tears”), back and forth three times through Berlin Nordbahnhof during transportation shut-downs for celebrations and protests. Circus Hostel happy hour, pretzels and beer, delightful German food and long stories about our families back at home, and stories with strangers to process the upsidedowness of the world.

7.2 miles walked.

Rural Germany/Bad Blankenburg

Driving the Autobahn through forests, past villages, down south to the Thuringian heart of Germany. Listening, learning, encouraging at the anti-trafficking conference. Reports from near and far. Creeping in late at night after moms’ nights out, climbing three-level bunks while twenty-somethings slept fast. Reminders that the stories are strung across the planet and across populations, tied together by a Love strong enough to overcome darkness. Echoes of Portland in stories from new sisters in Switzerland. The Pipeline. Light. Lives changed. Freedom for captives and freedom to serve.

Alisa headed up the SHINE leadership team, Jeanette presented from her role in women and family services at Shepherd’s Door in Portland, and I listened and reflected on the experiences I’ve had with organizations and projects like My Father’s House, Stepping Stones, Rahab’s Sisters, Hand & Cloth, and Sari Bari.

1.7 + 3.6 + 4.1 miles walked; mostly around the village, on the way for coffee and kuchen.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

A final hurrah, one last night abroad in the dreamy German town of Rothenburg. Our geranium window box room (at the delightful Romantik Hotel* Markustrum), and wine on the Reichsküchenmeister patio as the sun set behind St. Jakobskirche, and the joys of a fluffy duvet at mattress level to balance memories of red-eye seats and sleepless layovers and third-story bunks. Life is the sweeter for recognizing good, good gifts.

2.4 miles of window shopping in Bavaria, just in time for the holidays…

PDX: Home, Sweet Home

Three moms, returning to our Portland homes and families and neighbors, hearts hopeful for the world.

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I’m still in awe of the surprising ways friendship bloomed for me in 2018.

The impacts of strangers in my life reminds me that my own tiny presence may make a difference in someone else’s, even and especially when I can’t see how the story will turn out…

The world hinges on the little connections.

(My world hinges on a supportive family that made this adventure possible. Thank you, Ted and Lucie and Marion!)

This post is just a peek into the adventures and connections. My hope is to return with stories from along the way…  In the meantime, you can peek through the #threemomsgotoeurope IG posts and stories, and if you’re especially curious, leave me a note below and I’ll do my best to fill you in.

How about you? Would you meet a friend of a stranger for coffee? Would you leave home to travel to Europe together?

Would you believe it all worked out?

Would you wonder what comes next?