The Amazing Lund Miracle

About a year ago, Mandy Lund reached out to me on Facebook Messenger, telling me she found the perfect house for us and asked when we were coming to Germany.  Unfortunately our timing was off and we weren’t slated to move for another year and Germany wasn’t a for sure deal.  Fast forward a year, and I reach out to Mandy and tell her we are moving to Germany for sure and we will be there in July.  She tells me that about the time that we are coming, they will be moving out of their house and back to the states.   She didn’t know if they would be gone yet when we arrived and we might miss each other by just a few days.

I was sad that I would be missing them.  I was hoping that the timing would work so we could see them.  Mandy was a dear friend while we lived in San Antonio and we parted on shaky ground, so I was desperately hopping to be able to see her, give her a hug and apologize for being a dummy head.  

Heavenly Father definitely has a plan, and when we arrived, the Lunds were not only still in their house, but they didn’t have a time frame that they would be out yet.  The amazing Lunds brought us food the night we arrived in TLF from the airport.  It was filled with everything we could possibly need.  

Little A was so excited to see them because in San Antonio she and Pyper had been absolutely amazing friends.  We looked back at our Shutterfly books together and I pointed out the Lunds and reminded all the kids who the Lunds were.  When they saw them, even though we were all tired, we were all excited to see them.

The Amazing Lund Miracle was a plan that God laid out way back in San Antonio.  We were good friend then, and luckily didn’t loose touch.  I needed to right a wrong, and they still had not received orders to move.  We were house hunting trying to find a good home to fit our family.  Mandy asked their landlord if they would accept our dog and was told he would.  We went to the Lund’s house and had dinner and hung out at the lake behind their house. We had an amazing afternoon.  Kevin and I fell in love with the house, but since they did not have orders to move, we didn’t want to commit to a house that we didn’t know when we could move in.  

Kevin and I went house hunting all over the Kaiserslautern area in Germany.  We went to so many houses.  German houses are so strange!  I tell you what, you haven’t seen a quirky house until you walk into the houses here. Most houses are built straight up with only a few rooms per floor and have the craziest and creepiest and unsafe stairways.  The stairs usually are like floating spiral staircases.  The houses here are also very old and musky.  One house we went to was like a scary house from a Stephen King movie, with a locked basement door and old furnace heater and all.  

None of the houses we went into felt right, but every time we walked into the Lund’s house, we always felt like we were home.  We ended up spending more and more time with the Lund’s.  We went to the Lake together, had dinner together, and let the kids play outside for hours together.  As Kevin was getting checked into the base and started working, I was able to take the kids out of our little TLF apartment and spent almost every day in a huge house with an even bigger backyard with amazing friends.  The kids jumped on the trampoline, swung on the swing set, climbed trees, played in the treehouse, and zipped down the zipline in the backyard.

The kids had so much fun playing in the fresh beautiful German air with the Lunds.  They spend many hours in the sand box creating villages, roads, castles and creations.  After playing in the sandbox, we would start a fire in the fire pit and we would all roast marshmallows.

But the fun didn't end there! On days when it was just too hot outside, all the kids painted and had craft time together and watched movies on the wall with the projector.

The fun continued with water gun fights and water fun in the back yard.  They also had an endless supply of ice cream and Italian ice because it was just so hot on some days.   It was one of our best and most active summers.

Right behind the Lund’s house is this gorgeous and amazing forest.  We took walks in the forest and let the kids run free in nature.  The views were simply breathtaking and it was so nice to be breathing fresh air. Right before the trailhead is a large statue of Jesus being crucified.  It was so cute when Moster saw the statue, he run up to it and pointed and loudly explained, "I found Jesus".  I would definitely agree, we have found and see his miracles in our life each and every day here with the Lunds.

We also went geocaching a few times with the kids. They had a blast finding the hidden treasures.  Mandy and Eric showed us all around the woods.

Blackberried are everywhere in Germany right now.  The kids loved finding the wild blackberry bushes and eating them right off the thorny bushes.  Pyper and the boys helped show my kids where they were and how to pick them.  

Eric and Kevin also had some time to hang out.  Eric took Kevin on a bike ride through the woods to the nearby castle.  They enjoyed a morning ride up to the ruins.  

The Lunds were so amazing to let us crash at their house every day.  Mandy and I would talk all day and just genuinely enjoy each other’s company.  Mandy said the miracle was both ways, because her kids were having a very hard time with this move, and by having my kids over to play, they would play and forget about their fears of moving.  The kids uplifted one another and made each other smile.  

Mandy took this time to introduce me to Germany.  She took me to the local grocery store and helped me find the good foods to buy. She watched our kids while we went to IKEA.  Eric was amazing and helped Kevin figure out the financing part of Euros, he showed Kevin where the post office was and helped him with work.  

Mandy and Eric also took us around to their favorite places in Landstuhl.  They introduced us to Dolmities, the local gelato shop in town.

The gelato was super delicious and the kids absolutely loved it. They showed us where to park and how to get to the main stores in Landstuhl.

Right behind the Lund's house is a beautiful Lake called Baronloch. We spent so many days there just letting the kids swim, run around, cool off, splash, and catch salamanders.

The kids looked forward to the lake every time we went.  There was an ice cream truck that always parked in the Parking lot and the kids loved the 1 Euro cones.

The miracle continues, as Kevin and I just fall in love with the house.  We feel this is where we should be while living here in Germany. We decide that we need to wait for the house.  We tell the Lunds and the owners that we would like to take the house when the Lunds move.  From the moment we decided we wanted the house, the hand of the Lord could be seen so clearly.  We fasted on Sunday that they would get their orders, and the next day, Eric received the needed paperwork.  We had to be out of our TLF in 3 weeks, and it was almost to the day that the Lunds had their household good picked up.  They were able to clean the house, and we were able to have our household goods delivered the very next day.  We were even able to get our closets, microwave, washer, dryer and fridge delivered the next day too.  Not to mention we got the internet connected the day we moved in, which in Germany it usually takes forever to get your internet connected.  We were so blessed and miracles continued to happen.  

After we moved in, the Lunds were catching a flight 3 days later, so they became our basement dwellers, as we all called them and laughed about.  They stayed in the basement while we moved our stuff in and tried to unpack. 

Mandy and Eric told us during dinner one night that from the moment they found out they were moving and we were arriving, they felt such a strong impression that they needed to hold the house for us.  Mandy told me that a few people wanted to move in, but she told them it was already taken.  She also shared with me that she felt so strongly that the timing with their late paperwork happened so everything could work out the way it did.  I am so grateful for this miracle.

The Lunds were a miracle because they helped us settle into Germany.  They helped us make this transition seamlessly smooth.  They were a miracle because our kids had instant playmates and they made and rekindled life long friends.  They were a miracle because Heavenly Father made sure our paths crossed again so Mandy and I could solidify our friendship and I could make things right.  We love the Lunds and are forever grateful for their friendship, time, example and faith.