simply homemaker

Yes, you caught me.

I’m on the train going from Switzerland to Austria, fuming because I had my first traveling incident after a month and a half of living here.

Yes, I’ve left my painting at church before. I’ve left my purse at a restaurant, which contained my credit cards and home key. But I’ve always been able to find things I left (truly by God’s grace) so there hadn’t been a real travel incident.

However, last night, we were coming back home very late from our trip to Interlaken (which was absolutely incredible), it was midnight, I was packing because I hated last-minute packing, and I finally sat down on my bed at well past midnight to book train tickets for today.

My silly self booked tickets for October 17 instead of October 16.

And I was very proud of myself because I booked the affordable economy tickets, which do not allow for refunds or changes.

So here I am, sitting on a train heading to Salzburg, having just wasted 120 euros on train tickets we are not going to use.

And to be honest, I’ve not been so mad for a while. I’m tired and sleep deprived. I have to figure out which ones our trains are and the ticket office, both on the Switzerland and Austria sides, refused to help because it was honestly just my fault booking train tickets at 1 in the morning.

But just as I was taking deep breaths in the bathroom after walking out of the train station, the Lord reminded me that He has abundant grace. “I have grace for you,” He said.

Not just because I do everything right all the time or am the best person or trip planner. He has even more grace when I am tired and cranky and not even thinking straight.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control; against such things there is no law. For those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:22

To be honest, I’m not really proud of myself today. I could have shown more grace to the guy who was working at the train station ticket office. I could have shown more grace to my fellow traveler. I could have shown more grace to myself.

Today is a reminder that the only way that could ever happen is if one has God’s grace imprinted in their heart, so that everything they say and do flows from this place. Otherwise, it’s a lost cause.

I just officially approached half of my time here in Switzerland. It is simply hard to believe, and I am certain the rest of the time will fly by even faster. In the past 6 weeks, I have seen more beautiful places than I can even count and have made many amazing friends. Can you believe that this time last year I wasn’t even sure if I should be going? Thank God for my friends who encouraged (and forced) me to apply, as well as the coffee chat with the exchange student from the University of St. Gallen who told me that living in St. Gallen can be cheaper than DC (in hindsight, true for rent compared to student housing, but the constant traveling has made it a pretty steep difference). Because of the support of such a large group of people, including friends and family, covered with God’s grace, I was able to make this big trip work and fit into my life. Thank you.

This past weekend, my friend Michaela invited Blair and I to her family home in the Black Forest of Germany. The family was extremely hospitable and gracious to us and showed us around their home with such enthusiasm and pride. We also enjoyed the traditional German food and baked a massive apple pie with their homegrown apples because Blair’s wish for the fall was to bake a pie. I remember telling Michaela’s dad when he asked whether I miss home in Vietnam, that yes, I do, but I truly have a family of believers everywhere I go. And for the weekend when I was in Black Forest, they were treating me like family.

I’ve also had a little community of girls during my time here, especially with the young adult group. Two weeks ago, we gathered on Thursday night to watch The Chosen and had dessert, and last week, we had a little candle painting night! Savannah and I went to shop for candles and paint together and we had a great time at IKEA. I’m excited to see what the next 6 weeks are going to hold and make memories with these friends before I have to leave them.

This week also held the place for a sweet event: I found out that I will officially be working for World Vision in the Spring of 2025. It is an absolute dream job, as I will be working remotely for the Strategy team and help them measure their program impact. My team members are in France, London, and Mexico. It’s mind-blowing to realize how the Lord intentionally opens and closes doors with my best interest in mind. I was a little bummed that I couldn’t be a travel teaching assistant in the spring, but I would not have been able to work my dream job if I had gotten it, and would have had to come to campus from Fairfax at least once a week if not more. And if you know me, you know I thrive in staying home as much as going on an adventure. I love home.

In about a month, I am also hosting for the 4^th time a Friendsgiving dinner for the ISP cohort here. It will take place the night before our graduation, and I’m getting the spreadsheet ready before things get too crazy with classes. Gotta love your spreadsheets, you know. I have learned that the best surprises actually happen when you have already had a plan in place, and you can just wreck it.

I’m writing this the day after and even with a few hiccups (Blair spilling hot water on herself, our train got delayed, etc.) the day has gotten much better. Today, one of my bucket list items was checked off: we went on The Sound of Music tour! It was so fun to sing along to all of the songs and visit in person all the locations that the movie was filmed at, including the chapel where the Captain von Trapp and Maria got married in the movie, and the gazebo where things were filmed. The highlight of Salzburg is definitely Mirabell Palace Garden, a large and beautifully curated garden where Maria and the children sang the Do Re Mi song. We had apple strudel with vanilla sauce and icecream (sauce for me, ice-cream for Blair) and even made a friend from Canada who is in Europe for Bible school. It was super fun! I know I will go back here one day.

We are now on the way to Hallstatt, a charming city by the lake! We’ll spend a night here relaxing before going to the big and marvelous city of Vienna, where I might potentially meet up with some friends (update: met up with Priyanka from my program in Hallstatt!) and enjoy a couple days exploring before taking the long train back to St. Gallen and resume the semester.

Today, I was listening to the song Edelweiss from The Sound of Music as we glided past the beautiful lake district of Austria. As I looked up the flower on the internet, it told me that this type of flower thrives in cold and harsh conditions, while it also blooms in the summer. It is a sign of resilience, it says. And I spent the past 6 months blogging and reflecting on my life, I realized that I want to be an edelweiss, small and white, strong with deep roots even in the hardest storms.

Even with all the travel hiccups and uncertainty of the future, I am called to not be anxious about a single thing.

It is my prayer today, for you and for me, that we fix our eyes on the real prize, our beloved Jesus, so that we can give thanks in all circumstances.

Love,
Tram