So, yesterday was long and exhausting, but wonderful!

We left Prague with the Baker’s at 4:30am and headed out for Vienna. The drive there was pretty uneventful and we made it to the embassy having only got a little lost once we reached Vienna. Once at the embassy we gratefully got a different gal to help us then last time and she just barely glanced at our paper work (which we had had so much trouble with last time and had struggled so hard to get in perfect order this time) and said it was ok. After waiting around for a while she called us back up and gave us our beautiful visas! I was actually kind of in shock. I really had all along expected not to get them yesterday, I hoped and prayed that we would get them but I sort of expected it to fail again. So, it was a beautiful thing to see those gorgeous visas in our passport. Now we just have to get through going to the foreign police (you have to go and show them your visa and have them verify that you are who you say you are within three days of entering the country) and then we will be officially done with this visa process (at least until we have to reapply at the end of this year). I hear that going to the foreign police is a pretty crazy ordeal here and can take up to 10 hours – so, I’m not looking forward to that. But, it’ll be over after tomorrow! J Praise God!! J

After getting the visa the Baker’s and Bryan and I went to lunch and then walked around Vienna. There are so many beautiful things to see in Vienna and we really only touched on a small section of the city, but it was fun. We walked a TON and by about 3pm we were all too exhausted to stand, so we decided to head back to Prague. We took the scenic way on the drive back, which actually ended up not taking any more time then the highways even though it felt like it did. We all enjoyed seeing a little more of the Czech country side and playing games such as 20 questions, who has the ball, and would you rather. Bryan and I really enjoyed our first road trip with the Baker's and enjoyed getting to know them better - "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

After getting back to Prague we went to the Springer’s house (they had been nice enough to let us use their car to go to Vienna so we needed to return it). And we got to meet the couple who is leading the marriage retreat this weekend (did I tell you all we are going on our first marriage retreat this weekend?). Anyway, they had just gotten in and were hanging out at the Springer’s so we got to meet them and talk with them for a little while, which was really nice. I have been really looking forward to the retreat this weekend and even more so now that I have met the couple. They seem really great and I’m looking forward to what they have to teach us.

After that the Baker’s and Bryan and I went to Old Town Square for the FREE Jazz Festival that has been going on there. We were pretty late but we made it in time to see Victor Wooten play along with his brothers. We were all pretty tired and hungry (since we hadn’t had dinner) but it was definitely cool to see him play. They were all very talented. Bryan was just beaming – I could tell that he really misses playing music and going to shows – we really need to incorporate that more into his life here.

After that we all went out for pizza at this great little place around the corner from Old Town and then made it home just in time to check email before crawling into bed around midnight. Wow, what a day! J

Rejoicing in the journey - Beth Stedman