We have completed our 5 month adventure.

When we flew to Faro in January we had absolutely no idea of what lay ahead, we had left our plans pretty flexible so at that point we didn't even know where our destination would be.

The destination truly had to therefore be the journey. Day by day setting our compass to aim for controlling the controllables (largely our own selves!) and for all the many uncontrollables we had to get better and better at trusting. We got lots of practice at becoming better at finding peace in the challenges, aiming to stay focused on our personal values.

Crikey it has certainly been epic. So many memorable encounters, incredible landscapes, many kms of pedalling, much packing, much unpacking, map reading ( Robs job!) , relaxing, learning, laughing, listening to audio books and podcasts ( Sae)

I struggled at the start of the adventure with a sense of not knowing if what we're doing was purposeful enough , a week or two maybe of bike packing yes but 5 months oh heck I just wasn't totally sure.

Now I'm writing this with tears in my eyes of such joyful gratitude of what these months have been for us individually and us as a relatively newly married couple. A huge lesson again in trusting God with all these details rather than having to work it all out and then so much more is possible. This trip has absolutely magnified this lesson for me.

The beauty of the time for me has being able to be outside most of the time, the fantastic physical challenge of the routes and the incredible inspiring people we have met. The opportunity to connect with parts of me that get perhaps a bit buried by busyness at home, a chance to dream a bit and enjoy much reading and learning from time in the bible and other books.

In a way one of the richest aspects to it all has been the time we have spent together as a couple. It has been absolutely amazing to share in all these experiences together. Lots of fun and laughter which is brilliant because we have essentially been together 24/7 this whole time! No hiding anything! It has helped us understand each other better and together start to create a vision for our ongoing life together.

I often think how grateful I am to Father God for the gift of having a hubby like Rob. We met and married later than most of our peers in their relationships , I am so glad to have waited. When we were dating I used to tell Rob I loved his consistency. We would laugh as it perhaps wasn't the most wonderful compliment for a guy to receive. Yet I still would give this one to him, so thankful for his consistent character that is always aiming to grow spiritually and how consistently he loves in words and actions. I learn loads from him in this. In addition his handsome looks ( beard and no beard!) , sense of fun, immense wisdom and inner strength make him just great to be around. I am one very fortunate lass!

We have always subscribed to the theory of marriage being the best tool for personal transformation. In marriage you see more clearly ( if your brave enough and don't just blame your other half!) your own flaws , foilables and weaknesses. We were together 24/7 this past 5 months so rich opportunities to see more of ourselves without perhaps the same distractions we have at home. Ugh. Hahaha. With our faith as a framework, love as a bedrock we've been able to recognise more and more when our own selves are getting " tight" ( angry, insecure, prideful, selfish, fearful, envious) . I still feel like a novice at handling all this in the context of being married. It really helps to see any conflict as an opportunity to grow in ourselves and our relationship. It also massively keeps pointing me back to the heartfelt need for a relationship with Jesus, it has been so wonderful and humbling to keep going to that relationship when these " weaknesses, sins, etc: have been revealed. O the utter peace and joy to be connected again to God through grace and to be able to quickly let go of these burdens. It truly is the most wonderful thing. ( see refuge blog for more on this!)