Andrew & Esther - Through Our Eyes Archive
Archived Thoughts
Beijing buzz (June 5, 2008)
emotion in China (May 25, 2008)
what 1 Euro could buy you if you came to visit (May 11, 2008)
on visa-runs and escaping hotel fires (May 4, 2008)
recent observations & discoveries (April 30, 2008)
on ordering water and near tricycle collisions (April 16, 2008)
on learning Chinese and on how to catch a bad flu at the park (April 10, 2008)
highlights (April 9, 2008)
Foreign media must have Facebook access during Olympics, IOC tells China (April 2, 2008)
Home Sweet Home (March 26, 2008)
Then and Now (March 26, 2008)
stranded bags! (March 8, 2008)
on visas, weddings, how to get free food & funny hair dos (March 4, 2008)
Warm greetings! (February 12, 2008)
A Whole New World (February 5, 2008)
Newness in the New Year (January 6, 2008)
The Feast of Life (November 23, 2007)
Our Paris (November 11, 2007)
A Freezing Wilderness Retreat (October 22, 2007)
Reflections from a Recovering Bride (October 8, 2007)
Mr. and Mrs. Brumme (September 29, 2007)
One Month and Counting (August 22, 2007)
Everything French (July 19, 2007)
Open Wide Your Mouths! (July 9, 2007)
Learning from Trees (July 3, 2007)
A City of Lights - The Paris of Central Europe (June 25, 2007)
Brumme's Descend on Europe (June 8, 2007)
I Said Yes! (May 13, 2007)
Liaisons and Goodness Abound (April 22, 2007)
Gourmet Cuisine Catastrophe (March 21, 2007)
It Really Has Been Too Long This Time (March 15, 2007)
The French Postal System, V-Day, and Other Tidbits (February 21, 2007)
Celebrating in Paris, Working in Oxford & Relaxing in the Alps (January 29, 2007)
With Ma Petite Amie at Last! (January 11, 2007)
Hanging on for the Ride (December 31, 2006)
A New Life (December 18, 2006)
I've Gotta Go See About a Girl (November 23, 2006)
On France (November 10, 2006)
Liberating Love, an Awkward Transition and Christmas Candy (November 1, 2006)
The Western Bible (October 20, 2006)
The Whole Church Gathered (October 3, 2006)
On Steve Irwin (September 7, 2006)
Lewis on Happiness (August 10, 2006)
The Tragic "Unthinkable Crisis" (July 27, 2006)
Not My Life (July 6, 2006)
The Two Year Reunion (June 10, 2006)
A Fishy Story Set Right (May 26, 2006)
Response to "The Wedding Planner" by Sagers (April 30, 2006)
White Bunnies and Bloody Lambs (April 14, 2006)
Flexing Our Political Muscle (March 22, 2006)
For Your Viewing Pleasure (March 7, 2006)
Come to Our Church! (February 21, 2006)
Peanuts and Airplanes (February 15, 2006)
Confessing My Ignorance (January 30, 2006)
The Jewish Kid Jesus (January 16, 2006)
Friends...A Dime a Dozen? (January 9, 2006)
Old Test Article Here (January 2, 2006)
So Much to Say...That Others Have Already Said (December 23, 2005)
Narnia - at last! (December 8, 2005)
Lewis on our Eating Disorder (December 1, 2005)
North Korea - Revealing the Darkness (November 20, 2005)
Shining - Like You've Never Seen it Before (November 15, 2005)
Are You Emerging? (November 3, 2005)
emotion in China (May 25, 2008)
what 1 Euro could buy you if you came to visit (May 11, 2008)
on visa-runs and escaping hotel fires (May 4, 2008)
recent observations & discoveries (April 30, 2008)
on ordering water and near tricycle collisions (April 16, 2008)
on learning Chinese and on how to catch a bad flu at the park (April 10, 2008)
highlights (April 9, 2008)
Foreign media must have Facebook access during Olympics, IOC tells China (April 2, 2008)
Home Sweet Home (March 26, 2008)
Then and Now (March 26, 2008)
stranded bags! (March 8, 2008)
on visas, weddings, how to get free food & funny hair dos (March 4, 2008)
Warm greetings! (February 12, 2008)
A Whole New World (February 5, 2008)
Newness in the New Year (January 6, 2008)
The Feast of Life (November 23, 2007)
Our Paris (November 11, 2007)
A Freezing Wilderness Retreat (October 22, 2007)
Reflections from a Recovering Bride (October 8, 2007)
Mr. and Mrs. Brumme (September 29, 2007)
One Month and Counting (August 22, 2007)
Everything French (July 19, 2007)
Open Wide Your Mouths! (July 9, 2007)
Learning from Trees (July 3, 2007)
A City of Lights - The Paris of Central Europe (June 25, 2007)
Brumme's Descend on Europe (June 8, 2007)
I Said Yes! (May 13, 2007)
Liaisons and Goodness Abound (April 22, 2007)
Gourmet Cuisine Catastrophe (March 21, 2007)
It Really Has Been Too Long This Time (March 15, 2007)
The French Postal System, V-Day, and Other Tidbits (February 21, 2007)
Celebrating in Paris, Working in Oxford & Relaxing in the Alps (January 29, 2007)
With Ma Petite Amie at Last! (January 11, 2007)
Hanging on for the Ride (December 31, 2006)
A New Life (December 18, 2006)
I've Gotta Go See About a Girl (November 23, 2006)
On France (November 10, 2006)
Liberating Love, an Awkward Transition and Christmas Candy (November 1, 2006)
The Western Bible (October 20, 2006)
The Whole Church Gathered (October 3, 2006)
On Steve Irwin (September 7, 2006)
Lewis on Happiness (August 10, 2006)
The Tragic "Unthinkable Crisis" (July 27, 2006)
Not My Life (July 6, 2006)
The Two Year Reunion (June 10, 2006)
A Fishy Story Set Right (May 26, 2006)
Response to "The Wedding Planner" by Sagers (April 30, 2006)
White Bunnies and Bloody Lambs (April 14, 2006)
Flexing Our Political Muscle (March 22, 2006)
For Your Viewing Pleasure (March 7, 2006)
Come to Our Church! (February 21, 2006)
Peanuts and Airplanes (February 15, 2006)
Confessing My Ignorance (January 30, 2006)
The Jewish Kid Jesus (January 16, 2006)
Friends...A Dime a Dozen? (January 9, 2006)
Old Test Article Here (January 2, 2006)
So Much to Say...That Others Have Already Said (December 23, 2005)
Narnia - at last! (December 8, 2005)
Lewis on our Eating Disorder (December 1, 2005)
North Korea - Revealing the Darkness (November 20, 2005)
Shining - Like You've Never Seen it Before (November 15, 2005)
Are You Emerging? (November 3, 2005)
A Life of Profound Significance (October 26, 2005)
The Earth at Your Fingertips (October 18, 2005)
A Surprise Appointment (October 15, 2005)
Wars and Rumors of Wars (October 3, 2005)
Laughing in the Rain (September 20, 2005)
Random Tid-Bits and Happenings (September 15, 2005)
Life and Death and Terrorists (August 30, 2005)
Girls and Boys and God (August 25, 2005)
Feasting and Worship (August 17, 2005)
Blogger's Block (August 6, 2005)
The Harvest in China (August 2, 2005)
Counting the Cost (July 24, 2005)
Absolutely Outstanding Bit of Writing (July 18, 2005)
Burning Alive (July 14, 2005)
Jesus and the Glory Golf Balls (July 10, 2005)
Those Things We Hold On To (July 7, 2005)
Grape Juice, Poured Out for the Forgiveness of Sin (June 30, 2005)
He Will Ruin Your Life (June 28, 2005)
A Bit of Perspective (June 25, 2005)
The Wedding Planner (June 22, 2005)
A Lesson in Patience Amidst Absurdity (June 16, 2005)
Fans of Hitler (June 15, 2005)
Crash and Stories (June 12, 2005)
Pastors and Leaders - Different Views (June 10, 2005)
Senior Pastors (June 5, 2005)
Ask and You Shall Receive (June 2, 2005)
What If (May 27, 2005)
The "Bible Study" (May 24, 2005)
The Future of Pixar (May 19, 2005)
The Mess We Christians Have Made (May 14, 2005)
Narnia Coming to the Big Screen (May 10, 2005)
Europe - Through the Lens of My Camera (May 7, 2005)
Same Sex Families (May 6, 2005)
Photos of Mercy (May 3, 2005)
Across an Ocean... (April 21, 2005)
The Picture, The Pope, and The Past Few Days (April 12, 2005)
In the Car with My (air) Guitar (April 6, 2005)
The Pope (April 4, 2005)
Resurrection Day (March 27, 2005)
Killing People (March 23, 2005)
Weekend of Surprises (March 22, 2005)
The Fray - Listen to this (March 12, 2005)
Akiane....This is Amazing (March 11, 2005)
Jesus Christ (March 8, 2005)
Worthy Thoughts on The Passion (March 7, 2005)
Dream Days at Church (March 3, 2005)
Peace Amidst Ambiguity (March 1, 2005)
A Verse I Hadn't Noticed Before (February 25, 2005)
McLaren and Hotel Rwanda...another perspective (February 19, 2005)
Brother Andrew is on to something (February 16, 2005)
My Valentine (February 14, 2005)
Homecoming...strange (February 13, 2005)
Hotel Rwanda (February 10, 2005)
The Update (February 6, 2005)
Malibu...Thailand...Palm Desert (January 1, 2005)
Get Ready Thailand...I'm Coming! (September 25, 2004)
God Speaks? Really? (May 29, 2004)
Life Beyond Graduation (May 1, 2004)
God's Faithfulness in Morocco (October 8, 2002)
Our Thoughts
November 23, 2006
I've Gotta Go See About a Girl
Note: This posting is a bit long, but it's significant. If you have any interest in my life, make time to read it. If not, well, enjoy the pictures!

In September I participated in the Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering in Malaysia. Just a few weeks prior, I was surprised when Lausanne’s Chairman asked me to share my “Lausanne story” at the gathering, telling how I got connected with Lausanne and why I am so passionate about it.

I was to speak on the second evening of the gathering. With participants from 112 nations, the gathering was very diverse linguistically. As a result, every plenary session was simultaneously translated into 5 languages. Every speaker had to meet with the translators in advance to give them an idea of your subject matter or any quotes/verses etc. you might read so they could prepare. (I learned it’s quite an intense process to translate simultaneously, especially with only one translator per language!)

Andrew and the translatorsSo, though I was to speak for only a few minutes, I met with the translators (pictured) a few hours prior to the evening session. They seemed like some amazing people – and one in particular caught my attention. She (yes, she) was the French translator, and just exuded this energy about life and passion for the Lord. Needless to say, I noticed her.

After the close of that evening’s session, I made my way back to the translation booths and chatted for a few minutes with this intriguing girl from France named Esther. I saw her a few times briefly throughout the week, usually in passing. But she was certainly on my mind. On the last day of the conference, I made my way into her schedule and we got together for an hour over coffee.

It was a great time, and I was more intrigued than before. But the conference was over and we boarded planes headed for opposite sides of the globe. Amidst my 30 hours of travel time in planes, airports and cars – I grew increasingly discouraged and frustrated. I was heading back to my home in the middle of a retirement community where the average age hovered around 50 years old – not quite the ideal setting for a single, twenty-something guy. Hope was kindled in Malaysia as my gaze turned to this fascinating woman…and hope was dashed on the rocks of discouragement when the cold reality of geography set in. Esther lives in France. Why in the world would God allow me to meet a girl and get excited about her? We live nine time zones apart! And who knows if she is even noticed me. Absurd and hopeless.

Exhausted, I made it back home. I checked my email just before heading to bed, and to my surprise…found an email from Esther. Her schedule on the last day combined with a rough trip back to France had left her sleepless for 40 hours, but she had sent me an email before heading to bed. I noticed. Although my bed was calling, I replied to her email before crashing.

We exchanged emails the next day. The second day we “chatted” over instant messenger. On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead (but that’s another story), and we talked on the “phone” over an amazing program called Skype (free phone calls over the internet!). On the fourth day we progressed to a video chat over Skype. And since then? Well, that was two months ago, and we’ve literally interacted daily, typically for a couple of hours, save for a few exceptions.

And yes, I said a couple of hours. Daily. Now, most of that time is spent dealing with the difficult language barrier. We talk with French/English dictionaries in hand, so it’s a lengthy process. My French is definitely better than her English – and if you know me, that means her English is TERRIBLE. Okay, wait a moment here. I’m spicing up the story and it doesn’t really need that. **I’m kidding.** Esther is American. Her family moved to France when she was 10. She’s grown up since then as an MK (missionary kid) in France. Her time in Europe has allowed her to become fluent in French and German (with amazingly flawless accents), and she’s nearly fluent in Italian and has “dabbled” in a bunch of other languages. She’s a smart cookie. While translating is among her many gifts, her time translating at the Lausanne gathering was as a volunteer. She works full time for an international marketing firm based in Geneva and lives just across the border in France.

I’ve been growing increasingly amazed with this woman of God. She’s driven yet compassionate, and exceedingly gifted. She’s also a bit of a fireball and certainly a “piece of work” in her own way (aren’t we all?), and I love it. Never a dull moment!

And so, we’ve been interacting daily. It’s amazing how God seems to align our schedules – I certainly don’t take for granted the fact that we’ve been able to interact for hours daily despite a 9 hour time difference and schedules (especially hers) that are filled to overflowing! As thankful as we are for this and for Skype, the distance has grown increasingly frustrating.

Esther started a new job shortly after the Malaysia gathering. Just two weeks after we began talking, we were surprised to find out that her company was sending her to New York for training in mid-November. We’d only been talking for two weeks, but I confessed I’d probably loose my sanity knowing she was in the same country as me if we didn’t see each other. It felt a bit odd to feel so strongly, so early on, but her company allowed her to arrive the weekend prior to her training. I had some air miles (exactly enough, hmm) and got a ticket to New York.

Perfect Day in Central ParkIn the meantime, we kept talking. Fast forward to the long-awaited New York trip, 6 weeks after we’d met in Malaysia. It was a stunning weekend, from the fall colors in Central Park to the view from atop the Empire State Building (a bit cloudy, but surreal in its own way). Above all, it was great to be together.

Finally together in person, I took the opportunity to share my thoughts over the weeks prior. Having spent a significant amount of time in prayer and reflection about our growing relationship, I had felt God bringing some clarity. Above all, I sensed a growing peace with our relationship, and I felt it was good to continue down the path we were on, trusting God daily to guide our steps. I also knew, as we both did, that the distance was hard and ultimately, a very real barrier. Our relationship could only go so far living on different continents. We needed to be geographically close to one another, to be able to interact in daily life and not have to calculate a 9 hour time difference before trying to call one another. And so, out of this growing peace, I told Esther I am prepared to finish out the year at my current job and as early as January, pay an extended visit to France and see where this crazy thing goes.

She was surprised and overwhelmed, certainly not expecting such a step. I asked her to spend some time praying and thinking about the idea, and she agreed. So the rest of the weekend went wonderfully, and after she returned back to France and spent time with the Lord processing our conversation, she came to a place of peace with the idea.

So, my time in the desert ends December 22. Esther will pay a visit to the Brumme fam for a few days around Christmas and will finish out the year with some extended family on the east coast. Then in the first or second week of January, I'll be heading over to France, likely for a few months.

I don’t know where I will live, what I will “do”, or how I'll survive. It’s quite a foolish step, to be honest (at least from the world’s eyes!). But I have an overwhelming peace about it, and feel like the Lord has said it’s good to pursue this relationship. I think everything else will come into focus as we walk out this journey. God has not revealed any particular ending to this story. He has simply given us a peace for today, and a renewed sense of peace that it is good to keep walking. The temptation is great to try and take this into our own hands, figure out all the practical details or focus on what the future might have in store. But God is continually asking us to trust Him today, and live in the provision and peace He provides today. It is thrilling to do just that.

So, I’ve gotta go see about a girl. I’ve known her for 2 months. We don’t know each other that well in reality. But what I do know is enough to take this step. I may be back after a week, maybe months, I don’t know. But I’ve gotta go see about this girl. France, here I come! And to the desert, adieu!