In So Many Words

We're "home," loosely speaking. We've already been back in the States for more than two weeks; still, it's a bit strange to be back on this side of the Atlantic in the land of cars and obesity and giant grocery stores.

Heather and I packed up our lives in Bratislava a few weeks early when we heard about David's brain tumor and caught an earlier flight back. We arrived in Omaha, met Heather's sister Angie and her two beautiful girls at the airport the next day, and road tripped out to Rochester, MN together to spend the week with David and Amy and (most of) the rest of the family. When David and Amy returned to their home to regroup before further treatment, the rest of us parted ways.

So, for the past week, we've been living with our friends Brittany and Andrew up in Chaska, MN. It's been a wonderfully relaxing (and even somewhat productive) time--talking, reading, watching movies, cooking, wrapping up work for TWR, riding bikes for the first time in forever, and learning to play Speed Scrabble.

What's next? We're not sure. And, let me tell you, that's a very unsettling thing to hear yourself say.

There are two questions Heather and I have been getting more than any other: 1) "So, where are you from?" and 2) "What are your plans?" The first question turns out to be much harder to answer than it should be: "Uh, Philadelphia. But we've been living in Slovakia for the last six months. Actually, Heather's from Omaha and I grew up outside Philadelphia. But we met in Ohio and both ended up back in the Philadelphia area which is where we started dating and everything. So we spent the first year of our marriage in West Chester, just outside Philly. But we don't live anywhere now." Concern and surprise usually lead to the second question, to which we respond with a reassuring "We don't know. We don't really have anything lined up." Jobs? Not really. Place to live? No. Are you busy this Thursday? No idea.

So, "home" is where we are. We're vagrants. Nomads. At present, the only place we have to call our own is a Honda Civic and a storage unit on the East Coast. Which pretty much makes us homeless...save for the hospitality of others. As Ingrid Michaelson sings, "we might not have any money, but we've got our love to pay the bills."

Believe it or not, we're fairly content. Don't get me wrong, we hope to find an apartment somewhere and unpack our bags at some point. And we hope to receive some clue or direction about what cause or causes we should dedicate the next phase of our life to. But we're confident that God will provide for us. In the meantime, there's no need to worry. There really isn't.

I have all I need.

Two weeks ago, on June 7, we were shocked to learn that my brother-in-law, David Wenzel, has a brain tumor. Turns out, he's probably had it since childhood. Thanks to a freak collision with a concrete pillar, the resulting seizure, and the subsequent MRI at Stanford Hospital in CA, the 7 cm tumor was detected. Since then...well, it's a long story, and he tells it best. Quick summary: David transfered to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, where a series of tests revealed that the tumor is inoperable; it's nestled in real good with the part of David's brain that allows him to communicate. He went in for a biopsy and will have the full results early next week, but initial meetings with the oncologist and radiologist were encouraging--they believe the tumor will respond to radiation and chemotherapy.

If you want the details, check out David's blog, Jump David Jump, or follow him on Twitter (#55Zebra). His wife, Amy, has been posting updates on her blog as well. There's also a Facebook group.

If you want to help...first, pray. Pray like crazy. We're praying for complete healing, but even beyond that, that God will tell a powerful story through David and Amy's lives in these circumstances. I love and respect the two of them so much; already their faith and their attitude has been truly inspirational. And they'd be the first to tell you their strength and their peace comes from the Lord Jesus Christ. It's already so evident that our great God is at work.

Second, if you'd like to do something a little more tangible, I know they'd probably appreciate a hand with some of the medical expenses they have been and will be accumulating. One really easy, secure way to give is through PayPal's Send Money service--all you need to send money is the recipient's email address. If you don't have either of their addresses just ask.

OK, so what's with the zebra thing? David's case at Stanford was also known as "Fifty-Five Zebra". So, naturally, he adopted it as his call sign.

As a PR Strategist for TWR, one of my major responsibilities for the past few months has been overseeing production of new short films for TWR Europe's series of Epic Stories. This particular story, titled Reaching the Roma, highlights TWR's ministry among the Roma people.

Heather and I love living here in Europe. Bratislava is a great little city that feels like home--we can't wait to show it off to Heather's parents when they visit us at the end of this month. Plus, living here and working with TWR has given us many opportunities to see some of the surrounding countries as well: Austria, Bulgaria, and Germany for starters (click the links to see some of my photos).

In fact, Heather just returned from Romania a few days ago and, today, we're leaving for a short trip to Paris...followed by a weekend visit to Rome! There will be more pictures to come, I'm sure. Until then, au revoir!

I think I have pretty good taste when it comes to music. After all, I've never recommended a band I didn't like.

But like most people, I love to discover new music. I also love new ways to discover music, like the visually compelling, intuitively simple website We Are Hunted. It's an online music chart that scours blogs, social networks, forums, Twitter, and other online sources to map out the top 99 songs online...and stream them on demand. Check it out. Often.

Over the last few months, Heather's expressed a desire to return to school for her Master's in Social Work. Actually, she even applied. We'll see what happens and where the Lord leads (which, turns out, could be virtually anywhere. See hmcolletto.blogspot.com for any developments in that unfolding saga).

Anyway, all this talk about further education naturally got me thinking about grad school myself. I mean, I've kicked the idea around for years now but, to be honest, nothing specific has ever jumped out at me. Well, except for this program from American University. Totally up my alley. Sadly, the price jumps out a little, too, and not in a good way. Yikes.

So, in lieu of a patron (I'm taking applications if any of you are interested), now I'm looking at cheaper ways to continue lifelong learning. Take, for example, Academic Earth—a website offering free video instruction from top profs at institutes like Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, and Yale on topics ranging from economics to mathematics. Lectures aren't available for credit, of course, and are of little value to one's resume, but provide an interesting educational exercise nonetheless.

I'm no cyclist. Haven't really ridden a bike since sophomore year of college when someone stole mine, ditched it, and left it for campus security to pick up. Of course, I'd alerted campus security of the theft and gave them a description of the bike, so when it turned up...they, honest, competent people that there were, sold it to the RD of one of the dorms, who, two years later, put it up for sale one day as I was passing by. Yes, I bought it back. Never rode it again, though. Very sad story.

Anyway, I'm not a cyclist. Nor am I an urban commuter. But Gocycle's forthcoming lightweight electric bike sounds sweet enough to convert me to becoming one (an urban-cyclist-commuter-man, that is). Their website's a little spartan right now, consisting only of a logo (seriously), but you can read more about the bike here. I am a little concerned it'll be out of my price range but, meh, who am I kidding about becoming an urban-cyclist-commuter-man anyway?

Don't know why it sounds so appealing. Maybe it's the spring air...