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Brian and Rachel August 17, 2004
Our BackgroundsBefore…While Rachel was eating wild honey, drinking kong, and watching far-off field fires to the sound of distant drums in the African sub-Sahara…
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Rachel at a young age contemplating kong.
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Brian was learning to dip his French baguette in a bowl of hot chocolate, taking piano lessons, biking in forests surrounding hidden chateaux, and gaining an appreciation for old stone buildings.
The contemplation of old French buildings.
Yet from a cosmic perspective, paths were already taking parallel courses. Rachel attended a boarding school in Kenya, Brian in Germany. Both had brief interludes on the North American College scene, Rachel in California; Brian in Saskatchewan (Yes – that IS in North America!).
The joys of fresh fruit shopping in Kenya. |
The age Brian started dipping.
The Great Saskatchewan Frontier. |
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And then…(as seen from Rachel’s point of view)
According to Brian, we met 6 years ago on a tour of the City of David and then I ‘disappeared’ for a few years. Truth of the matter is that he stayed busy with his MA studies while I trialed and erred my way though jobs and studies around Israel taking every chance to travel that presented itself. It wasn’t till about two years ago when Brian was into his PhD and I was back home in Jerusalem jobless that our spheres of influence started overlapping again. Not to say that there was an immediate realization of tragic years of missed opportunity. Brian was still primarily caught up with War Scroll studies and I was intent on plotting a way back to Africa. In fact, this past February found me seriously considering a job offer in Sudan. It kind of took me by surprise that my only hesitation in going was Brian. Since then we’ve enjoyed the fast track of discovering our similarities and differences; the result being a convincingly overriding compatibility. We’ve both grown up ‘overseas’ from our parents home cultures (He’s a Canadian raised in France and I’m a Californian from Sudan/Kenya). Boarding schools are in both our backgrounds (his in Germany, mine in Kenya). A mutual interest in Biblical studies keeps us connected to Israel. And I would even say we enjoy living here (although when it comes to getting visas, “enjoy” is a word that comes back to bite). Favorite pastimes include being outdoors (specifically the desert), analyzing life, traveling, and each other. Of course there are the differences that keep life interesting. He loves cold weather and I like it hot. My food combinations confuse his French taste buds. The thought of a lazy weekend doing ‘nothing’ invigorates me and frustrates him. His contentment to deem a flower pink baffles my sensitivity to differentiate between cotton-candy, rose and magenta. But for a more complete list of comparisons you’ll have to come and check us out for yourselves. We would love all of you to be able to celebrate with us here in Israel on August 17th – if only time was abundant and travel was free. We also hope to plan a preceding week-long tour of some of our favorite biblical sites. The sooner we know how many of you might be interested in this, the sooner we can let you know the cost involved. So this goes out to you as a tribute to God’s timing, an expectation of amazement, and a hope that as many of you as possible can share in this joy.
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Next,
Brian spent four years in church ministry (both in Canada and
in France) before feeling the need for graduate study to look
into the historical context of the Bible. And Rachel, a year after
graduating, needed to reconnect with the world beyond America’s
borders. These two forces brought about an almost simultaneous
opening of the ongoing Israel chapter of their lives. 
