Europe, Part 2

Friday morning dawned early, especially after the late night and deep conversations of Thursday night, but we had no choice. We had to get up, so Mom could wash the sheets, so the washing machine could be packed and loaded.

The big 40-foot container was supposed to show up at my parents' colleagues (the Klingsmiths) in Vienna at 7 am. It was an hour and a half late. Not a good start. Fortunately, they packed their end of things first, and we still had hope that the container could be in Spittal by its original 4 pm ETA. At total random (or God's prompting), Mr. Klingsmith made a comment to the driver about heading south to Spittal when they were finished. His answer, "I'm not going south. I'm staying in Vienna!" Mr. Klingsmith said, "Aren't you going to the Custers?" "Yes, right here: Custers, Villacherstrasse, Vienna." Of course, Mr. Klingsmith immediately set him straight and even drew out directions for the 5-hour drive from Vienna to Spittal, and - God be praised - he was there at 3:58 pm!

27 people from church were there, and it took us only 61 minutes on the dot to load everything. After that, there was pizza and cake for everyone. We as a family prayed in the empty apartment one last time and then headed out in our three vehicles.