Douglass Update – May 2022

439 verses! When our AWANA club introduced a Verse-a-thon to raise money for Ukrainian AWANA clubs and their families being impacted by the war, we set a goal of 210 verses (70 per child in our family). And the girls blew that away! And thanks to God’s moving some of YOU to support the effort, they were able to raise over $500.

God’s been answering our prayers, too, for Zoe’s swimming of the Messina Strait in June to raise support and awareness for Compassion International – again, thanks to many of YOU, she’s more than halfway to her $500 goal. Where’s Messina? And why is she doing this? Find out HERE.

Back in our house, we have often prayed that God would protect us from Covid, and as He does sometimes, He gave us something better. Rather than a weekend of swim team meetings in Germany, away from our girls, He gave us a week of good solid rest and family time when Rich/Slick tested positive just before we left. Thankfully he experienced only minor symptoms and the rest of us had none while we slept in, played music and games…and recorded lots of verses (see above!).

Swimming seems to be our theme this month, and as we lead the local youth swim team, we need more than ever your partnership in this venture. We desire to represent Jesus well, but how that flows out in daily interactions – that’s where we need your support before the throne! Would you ask, too, that God would do His part to stir swimmers’, parents’ and coaches’ hearts toward Himself?

Stepping back to view the bigger picture, you may have noticed that we tend to move around a bit. Would you join us in asking for clarity in just what it is we’re supposed to be doing and where?

Thank you for being part of this team and let us know how we might stand beside you in prayer as well.

Morning flight up over the Alps.

YMCA of the Rockies, Columbine Point outdoor chapel

 

Douglass Update – Apr 2022

About 20 Ukrainians who’d escaped to Romania have chosen now to come to Italy and live temporarily in our church, hosted by the church members. Pray with us that their paperwork would come through quickly and we’d be able to connect them with jobs and more permanent homes, as well as to the Gospel and to Jesus. On a humorous note, the worship team taught a song in Ukrainian, written phonetically – in Italian. Imagine trying to pronounce new words by reading familiar letters that signify unfamiliar sounds – and doing it in time to music! It can only improve from here!

Thank you for sharing this meandering journey with us. Let us know how we can accompany you on your journey by coming together with you before the throne of the One who unites us into His family.

Also, if you are so inclined, the girls are raising money for the Ukraine via a vers-a-thon through AWANA in mid-April – asking for sponsors who will give either a set amount or an amount based on how many verses they will recite. They expect to recite upwards of 200 verses between them… If you are interested in supporting their effort, THANK YOU! and please email Donna, reply to this, or “comment” – all just come to us as emails. More info: https://www.awana.org/2022/03/03/our-response-to-the-ukraine-crisis/

Keystone Resort’s Outback (Breckenridge is visible behind us)

 

Douglass Update – March 2022

Many thanks to His help in response to your prayers, we have a functioning home. That is, there are no more big boxes in the kitchen to walk into nor piles on the floor awaiting transport to a final storage place. At least not most of the time! But Donna would still appreciate continued clarity as the move-in process remains far from complete in the low-traffic areas. But that is caused by…

An abundance of good things (and all good things come from above!)! Our church, Serenissima Ministries, welcomed us as members and has drawn us into a small group where Rich has begun discipling some of the folks. There is such tremendous need among the military community here; we need wisdom to discern where best to invest.

And we’ve been reminded again of the talents God’s built into us as Zoe achieved a yellow belt just days after beginning Karate. She and Matti both came home heavily laden with medals from the European Forces Swim Championships in the Netherlands. While we praise God for the credibility that results from this, we covet your prayers for us as we step into the leadership of the local swim team this month, both on the board and among the coaches. It is a great ministry opportunity, but easy to get swept into the performance and perfectionist modes that we are prone to.

Thank you for joining us in prayer as we wade through this time. Let us know how we can share the rescue buoy with you!

Skiing up the local ski resort on my birthday morning.

Matti ready to go!

Gwen’s dive. You can imagine how this turned out!

 

Douglass Update – Feb 2022

Six months, three birthdays and one holiday season after arriving just north of Venice, Italy, we are finally moving into a “permanent” home this week. While saying good-bye to the town, tiny streets and trail network we’ve grown to love about our temporary housing, we’re looking forward to reuniting with our beds, books, toys and trampoline. We’d much appreciate your prayers for grace with each other, for physical strength and safety, and for healthy emotional progress – not to mention clarity to sort through house set-up – as we walk this road of “getting settled” yet one more time in the coming months!

Even as we waited for housing, the girls dove right into the local swim team. Zoe and Matti have qualified for the European US Forces Swim Championships at the end of February in every event they are eligible for. Even Gwen will get to swim there. While we encourage them to develop this God-given talent, we also seek to balance that with work in His Kingdom. Suggestions – and prayers to this end – are welcome!

Thank you for walking this journey with us and please let us know how we can join you on yours.

The lower of the two Fusine Lakes tucked into the corner of Italy just a short hike from the Austrian and Slovenian borders.

 

Douglass Summary – 2021

In January in Lander, WY, Zoe zipped around the cross country ski trails on the middle school team while the rest of us had far more fun selling gallons of hot cocoa and ramen to shivering spectators.

In February, as we memorized verses in the NIV and ESV Bible versions, Gwen paused her school studies to ask if the version we were reading from was the SUV…

In March, as Zoe’s swim times approached and her foot size surpassed those of Mommy, Matti made hard tack with a Revolutionary War recipe, complete with “idolized salt.”

In April, Gwen finished a squiggle drawing (drawing that begins with a random “squiggle” or shape printed on blank paper) into a man swinging from a “trapezoid,” aka, a trapeze… And Matti stated with utmost commitment, “I’m going to practice swooning daintily tomorrow!”

In May, as we hiked Matti commented, “There’s not a sign of civilization out here except for us and the path. Which means I’m hungry!” Back home, Rich and Donna finished leading a 9-month discipleship program called Radical Mentorship.

In June, while flying somewhere Zoe asked, “How long is our hangover going to be?” (I’m sorry, what were you drinking on the plane??) And Gwen informed me that if I sang her a lullaby, her feet would fall asleep. In stark contrast, she and the rest of the Douglass girls raced the Lander Upsidedown Triathlon, created by Mommy, directed by Daddy, sponsored by Hammer Nutrition and hosted by the entire church.

In July, Zoe watched transfixed as the rodeo cowboys rode and fell, over and over. “Why do they do such dangerous things?” she asked, baffled. Why, indeed!

In August in Aviano, Italy’s temporary lodging, we averaged Zoe’s burnt birthday cake and her gooey one for the perfect 12th birthday celebration, complete with two trips on scooters to the commissary in pouring rain – one to buy the cake mix and one to replace it.

In September as Rich settled in to teaching F16 pilots again and Donna returned to Wyoming to ship household goods, Gwen slept in Donna’s shirt “just to be nearer to Mommy,” and said in her sleep, “I love you, Mommy.”

In October, Matti complained that her watch was out of tune while Zoe qualified for the European Forces Swim Championship in Brussels (Matti qualified in November).

In November, Gwen revealed why so many golfers like Florida: Florida is bordered by the Golf of Mexico!

In December, still searching for more permanent housing (please join us in praying for this!!), we reunited with our ski gear and drove up the mountains to meet the snow.

All that to say, we’ve moved again. As have Donna’s sister Ginni and Mom Kohout, all in the same week in August! See our address below. And book your visit to northern Italy anytime!

Favorite jokes of the year, wheedled down from hours of joke books while traveling:

Zoe: What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef!

Matti: Why don’t seagulls fly over the bay? Because then they’d be bay-gulls! (bagels…ha ha!)

Gwen: What’s the difference between 4 and 25? 25’s bigger… (yup, the 6-year-old came up with that all by herself!)

Happy New Year to you and yours.

Please let us know how we may be welcoming the New Year beside you in prayer, and if you want our latest contact information.

 

Douglass Update – Nov 2021

Things seen while driving down just any old road: a field blanketed by several hundred sheep and lambs, a few goats, three donkeys, one horse and one cow, all corralled by a dog and led by a man. We stopped for pictures. The next morning, the same conglomeration appeared on another field a mile away. Several days later, traffic slowed our progress through one of the normally high-speed traffic circles. We thought it was rush hour, but no, it was rubbernecking – the same herd, now five miles away on yet another field. God’s natural mowing and fertilizing crew?

Having wrapped up three soccer season and begun horseback riding to supplement swimming, we continue to appreciate our little mountain retreat. We’ll miss waking to rooster, dog and cow sounds! But we’d also repeat our request that God would provide more permanent housing and a solid (non-rental) car alongside some clarity on purpose.

We’ve met some wonderful families and are encouraged to see God working in them as they meet together throughout the weeks. Please let us know how we can come alongside you in prayer as well, wherever you may be.

In stark contrast to the brilliant rainbow behind it, this Roman stadium in Syracusa, Sicily seemed specifically designed for brutal combat, including wall dividing the floor from the seats and sort of sewer drain surrounding the floor. Worn diagonally down through the stone stands were ruts from a road that once drove across these ruins. What tales could they tell, if these stones could speak…

 

Douglass Update – Oct 2021

Twenty-five-ish years ago, a couple finished their first year on the mission field in Singapore and moved to Fontannafreda, Italy. Now there is a thriving little church of Italians and Americans who bear witness to their faithfulness, as do their adult children. How God uses the faithful to touch so many lives – including ours!

Perhaps stories like this stand out to me because of their stark contrast to our own trail, where we’d ask you to join us in beseeching God for sufficient housing and cars. It seems it will truly take His hand at work as both are in short supply and high demand in the wake of Covid. Yet His abundance has spoiled us so many times… We do thank Him daily for a loaner car and a wonderful little two bedroom apartment on the mountainside as we wait and search.

As summer fades into autumn, we’d continue to ask also for clarity on purpose here and for what we can be praying for you. Just so you know, you can comment on any of our posts and it’s like replying to an email – it comes only to us.

Our neighbors just down the hill.

Fresh cheese and milk from the machines. Our milk is in the bottle in the center of the picture. Not pictured are the cows just to the right, hooked up to their milking machines.

 

Douglass Update – Sep 2021

Burnt birthday cake is not ideal. So Zoe and I scootered from our billeting (hotel) room to the commissary (grocery store) a second time to replace the one I’d mistakenly broiled during our first venture. Raindrops from the approaching thunderstorm had grown and the space between them had shrunk. Back “home” with damp shoulders, we dined on Japanese Ramen (Zoe’s favorite dinner) and cooked our second German chocolate cake as rain gave way to hail.

Iced, decorated with 12 trick candles (it took all three girls to extinguish them!) and sung over, we cut Cake #2 only to find its bottom still raw! One can never predict the nuances of each overseas move, not even after eleven of them in as many years. Daddy enjoyed the first cake. Us girls slurped down the second. Averaged together, they were perfect!

Earlier that day we’d returned to Aviano, Italy from the Dolomites, from admiring the beauty of God’s creation, vast, deep and scenic beyond words. Clearly He is able. Just as He also smoothed all the travel from Wyoming through NJ, NY and Amsterdam and on to Italy. Please join us in asking that He would quickly bring healing and clarity where necessary, and praising Him, too, for the immensity of His creativity, character and power. Let us know, too, how we might stand beside you before the throne.

First day of school under the protection of big sister Zoe in 7th grade. Matti began 5th and Gwen 2nd.

Just out of the picture to the right is the 3 Peaks, or Tre Cime or Drei Zinnen. Huge benefit to the Dolomites and the bulk of the Alps – barely as high elevation as we were in Wyoming, which makes for plenty of air for hiking! As you look at the picture, imagine the cow bells’ constant, peaceful clanging…

 

Douglass Update – Aug 2021

Not that we wanted to move again, but after the decision was made, God confirmed the decision by selling the house to the neighbors without it ever having to go on the market or be shown – what a blessing!

If all good things come from above then the new car was a gift as well. While much smaller than the truck that it takes the place of, it will be much more practical on the narrow Italian roads an hour northwest of Venice, which will be our new conduits of transport. In a roundabout way, God also provided new Yakima roof rack bars that fit the wider car and a bigger cargo carrier than we expected: the seller advertised and thought he sold an 18 cubic foot Skybox but when we packed it, we discovered it was not an 18 but rather the biggest one Yakima makes, a 21 – and we used all of it. He is good.

So we appreciate your prayers for safe travels from Wyoming through Chicago and NJ then on to Venice, as well as repaired relationships where they are needed after the rigors of the past year, past years and many moves. Please let us know how we might pray with you as well.

Zoe sailing solo – too calm a day for much speed, but she’s obviously comfortable on a boat!

 

Douglass Update – April 2021

The railroad tracks* continue, sometimes spread wide apart. Thank you for your prayers: on one side, the Holy Spirit has lead several families to move toward church attendance and others toward membership. We praise God for them even as we’d ask you to join us in praying that the truth of God’s Word and this situation would be manifest for those on the other railroad track who are struggling right now.

Back on the happy track, many folks in the church are stepping up to study and learn. “I haven’t studied this hard since college” has been heard from some who prep weekly for their sermon-based community groups. Also overheard: “My spouse and I are having such great discussions about this stuff!” And eight folks have stepped up to get weekend training on relational wisdom and conflict resolution to further equip our church and community.

At home, Zoe found her niche in the middle school swim team, bettering her times almost weekly while the rest of the Douglass girls supported the diving team by running the snack bar for home meets. Set it up and watch Matti go – she is a natural! Playing with water in a different form, we got to sneak in a few days at Park City to round out the downhill ski season.

As winter gives way to spring, the church’s Sinks & Swim Virtual Triathlon (Donna’s the director) happens this month. We’d love to have your prayer-cover – and participation! It’s a virtual event anyone can do in their hometown. If not you, maybe a couple friends?

We so appreciate your traveling these tracks with us. Please let us know how we might pray and praise with you as well!

*It’s been said that life is like railroad tracks: there are always great things going on alongside “opportunities for spiritual formation.”

The Popo Agie River (pronounced, popPOEjah) as it comes down from the Sinks through Lander, where we live.