Sne i Norge - Snow in Norway

Vil blot oplyse, at vi er blevet ramt af sne og blæst i Norge.
Her ser vi Ebby fra Kenya, som aldrig har set sne før og stadig efter 8 timer er begejstret.



Just wanted to let you know that we have been exposed to snow and a heavy wind here in Norway. On this picture you see Ebby from Kenya who has never seen snow before. And even after 8 hours she is still excited about it.

Fødselsdag - Birthday

Igår var det min fødselsdag, og det var lidt mærkeligt at fejre den i et andet land, hvor man ikke kender så mange. Men jeg fik heldigvis masser af SMS'er, mails og endda tre breve med posten.
Om aftenen var jeg ude og spise med mine to fantastiske venner Chris og Per. Her sidder de og planlægger min 55 års fødselsdag i 2027 (længere rakte deres elektroniske kalendre ikke). I er hermed alle inviteret til kl 18. Sted vil blive oplyst senere.



Yesterday it was my birthday and it was a bit strange to celebrate it in another country where I don't know very many people. But fortunately I got a lot of messages on my cell phone, mails and even three real letters.
In the evening I went out to dine with my two fantastic friends Chris and Per. Here they are sitting and planning my 55 years birthday in 2027 (that is as long as their electronic diarys could plan). So all of you are hereby invited for 6 p.m. The place will be announced at a later date.

Smukt - Beautiful

Læste Salme 61 i min engelske bibel kl cirka to i nat (man er vel natteravn) og synes lige, at jeg ville dele det med jer. Læs herunder.

I read Psalm 61 in my English Bible at about two o clock last night and just thought I would share it with you.

"From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.
I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
Selah"
Psalm 61:3,4

Fuld skrue på undervisningen - Teaching again

Så er de to første under-visnings-dage gået her i Norge. Vi har haft ca. 14 elever. Vi har undervist om en masse vigtige men tunge ting: Bibelens syn på børn, hvad er egentlig evangeliet og hvordan fortælle det til børn, hvordan rådgive børn til frelse. Men kursisterne har holdt os ud, og stemningen har været god. Og der er blevet stillet en del vigtige spørgsmål!
De næste dage fortsætter vi med ca. 5 elever, som er tilmeldt et specielt "Children's track" her på skolen. Vi fortsætter med kurset EBU (Effektiv BørneUndervisning), som jeg skal undervise med Hanne i november m.m. i Kolding, så nu er jeg varmet op!!!!

Now the first two days of teaching has passed here in Norway. We have had around 14 students. We have taught a lot of important but heavy stuff: The Biblical view on children, what is the Gospel and how do we communicate it to children, how to counsel a child for salvation. The students have put up with us and there is a good atmosphere (do you say that in English?) And a lot of important questions have been asked...
The next days we continue on with a smaller group of around 5 students who are attending the "Children's track" at this Bible School. We will teach them the TCE-course (Teaching Children Effectively) which I will also begin teaching in Jutland in November with Hanne, my colleague. So now you've got me started!

"Hva gjør man med en danske?" - "What to do with a Dane?"

Ja, denne sætning lød igår på den norske lægevagt, hvor jeg måtte tage til pga øjenbetændelse.
I Schweiz var jeg også til øjenlæge et par gange, og her måtte vi kommunikere på en blanding af engelsk og schweizertysk, så jeg orkede egentlig ikke at skulle forklare mig igen på et fremmedsprog. (For det kan norsk altså godt være, når man skal være specifik). Så jeg sagde til Gud: "Ville ønske, at jeg bare lige kunne smutte med flyveren til Danmark og gå til lægen og så komme tilbage igen."
Og Gud har jo humor og omsorg, så jeg kom minsandten ind til en dansk læge hos den norske lægevagt. Jeg tror, at vi begge hyggede os med at tale hurtigt og blive forstået 100 procent. Så jeg fik den rette medicin, Jakob (lægen) får de ca. 60.000 kroner om måneden og den norske stat fik 273 kroner.

"What to do with a Dane?" was the question when I visited a Norwegian house of doctors last night because of an eye infection. Well, I had already been to the doctor twice in Schwitzerland and had had to communicate in a mixture of English and Swiss German, so I really wasn't ready to once again have to communicate in a foreign language at the doctor's. So I said to God, 'I just wish I could quickly go to Denmark, visit the doctor and return.' And God has both humor and mercy so at the doctor's - the doctor turned out to be Danish! I think we both enjoyed speaking fast and being understood 100 %.

Farvel - Goodbuy

Så er de to uger på Kilchzimmer allerede gået. Endnu engang var det dejligt at være der.
Her på billedet ser du de tolv elever, som jeg underviste i den engelske klasse. Man kunne virkelig mærke, hvor overgivede de var til at tjene Gud blandt børnene. Tænk, hvad sådan tolv kan udrette i hver deres lande! Wow! De fleste af disse elever ved, at de skal arbejde for Evangelisk Børnemission efter kursets afslutning. Det er egentlig lidt atypisk. Vi plejer også at have en del, som kommer fra andre organisationer eller lignende.
Nu er jeg så taget videre til Norge. På mandag starter en norsk kollega, Yvonne og jeg med at undervise på en DTS under Ungdom med Opgave.



The two weeks at Kilchzimmer has already passed. Once again it was wonderful to be there. On this picture you see the twelve students whom I was teaching in the English class. It was easy to sense how dedicated they were to serve God amongst the children. Consider how much twelve persons can accomplish in each of their countries! Wow! Most of these students know that they will go home and work with CEF. Normally we also have a good portion of students who come from other organisations etc.
Now I am in Norway. Monday I begin teaching at a Bible school together with a colleague, Yvonne.

Far m.m. - Dad etc.

Jeps, så fik min far en ballonudvidelse og kommer nok hjem i morgen. Han har det godt. Tak for forbøn.

Synes lige, at jeg ville sætte et billede på denne post, så her ser I mig forleden aften. Skulle ud og spise fiiiint og havde cowboybukser på for første gang i to måneder (siden operation). Det var et stort øjeblik.

Yep, then my dad had his stint put in and will probably be home tomorrow. He is doing well. Thanks for your prayers.

Just thought I would add a picture to this post, så here you see me the other night when I was out for a niiiice meal and wore jeans for the first time in two months (since the operation). What a big moment!

Far igen - Daddy again

Det ser ud til, at min far skal have ballonudvidelse torsdag.

It seems like my dad is having the stint put in Thursday.

Farmand - Daddy

I fredags skulle min far ind til en undersøgelse, da han har haft problemer omkring hjertet. Og så beholdt de ham minsandten på hospitalet!
Han skal have en ballonudvidelse sandsynligvis i løbet af den kommende uge, men hans åre var så tilstoppet, at de var bange for at sende ham hjem. Vi er meget taknemmelige over, at han ikke har fået en blodprop i løbet af det sidste stykke tid, hvor han har været meget alene på kontoret og i bilen.
Hvis du har en bøn til overs, må du meget gerne bede for ham!
Han er ved godt mod og nyder at kunne slappe af og drikke kaffe dagen lang og tale med de andre patienter.

This Friday my dad went to the hospital for some tests because he has had some problems with his heart. And then they kept him!
Some time probably during the next week he will have a stint put in but his artery was so blocked that they did not want him to be at home until the treatment.
We are so grateful that nothing has happend to him during the past months when he has been alone a lot in the office and the car.
If you have a spare prayer I would appreciate it...
He is in good spirits enjoying being able to relax, drink a lot of coffee and chat with the other patients.

Kilchzimmer

Så er jeg ankommet til Schweiz og glæder mig til at starte undervisningen på mandag. Der er kun 12 elever i den engelske klasse denne gang (og 17 i den tyske), så det bliver jo sådan lidt hyggeligt. De kommer fra Makedonien, Albanien, Nordirland, Canada, Malaysia, Bulgarien, Bosnien, Færøerne og Letland. Spændende! Bed gerne for disse elever, at de må få optimalt udbytte af deres ophold her. Og bed gerne for mig, at jeg må kunne give dem noget godt i min undervisning.
Billedet er taget af min veninde Hilde sidste år, da hun var hernede på Kilchzimmer.

Have arrived in Schwitzerland today and am looking forward to start teaching on monday. There are 12 students in the English class this time (and 17 in the German). They are from Macedonia, Albania, N.Ireland, Canada, Malaysia, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Faroe Islands and Latvia. Exciting! Please pray that these students will benefit a lot from their stay here. And also please pray for me that I will be able to give them something good through my teaching.
The picture was taken by my friend Hilde last year when she was at Kilchzimmer.

Er du voksen? - Are you a grown up?

Det er ikke så tit, at jeg får det spørgsmål længere...
Men idag fik jeg det fra en lille pige. Jeg kan nu egentlig godt forstå hendes undren, for jeg var inviteret til 6 års pigefødselsdag som eneste voksne ud over forældrene.
Nu tror du måske, at der er noget helt særligt over mig, siden jeg kan få sådan en vigtig invitation, men jeg må bryde sammen og tilstå, at det eneste særlige ved mig i denne sammenhæng er, at jeg kan lave et par forskellige ballondyr. Jeg tror, at pigerne morede sig, og det gjorde jeg egentlig også.

Well, it is not that often, that I get this question any more.
But today I got it from a little girl. I do understand her wondering, though, since I was the only adult (except the parents) invited for a birthday party for 6 years old girls. Now you might wonder what's so special about me to get such an invitation but I have to admit that the only thing that gave me this invitation is my limited skills in making balloon animals. I think the girls had fun and so did I.

Afsked - Goodbye

Idag måtte jeg tage en sørgelig afsked med Albert og Alberte.

De har tjent EB trofast i ca. tyve år. Men de vil fortsætte deres tjeneste i Guatamala.
I en del år lå de mest bare hengemt på EB's loft (bortset fra når Clara og jeg slæbte Albert med til familiegudstjenester, hvor han aldrig kunne opføre sig ordentligt. Good times!)

MEN så startede TTC (Teens To Children) i 2001, og til et af de første børnemøder dukkede både Albert, Alberte og alle deres venner fra fritidshjemmet op (inklusssssiv Søren Slange, der har et problem med ssssine sssss'er), og så var vi solgt! Og har brugt hånddukker til næsten alle efterfølgende børnemøder i TTC.

Så det var vemodigt at sige farvel til Albert og Alberte. Men tyve år er mange år i dukkeår - især når man rejser rundt med TTC. Så efter en del operationer med nål, tråd, lim og elastikker, må vi nu give os og sende disse venner på en velfortjent pension. Men heldigvis er man aldrig for udslidt til at tjene i Guds rige, og jeg er derfor glad for, at en kirke i Guatamala fortsat kan bruge dem. Håber, at se dem igen en dag.
Men nu skal det hele jo ikke drukne i vemod: Samtidig med mit farvel til A & A, så bød jeg også velkommen til Åge og Solveig. Håber, at vi også vil få mange gode oplevelser sammen blandt Danmarks børn! (Og så har jeg ladet mig fortælle, at Solveig og Åge er knapt så åbenmundede. Sammenlign selv billederne!)

Today I had to make a sad goodbye to some dear friends of mine: Albert and Alberte. (See first picture.)

They have served CEF of DK faithfully for about 20 years but now they will continue their ministry in Guatamala. Their first years were mostly spend in our attic (except when Clara and I brougth Albert along to family services where he never knew how to behave right. Good times!) But then TTC (Teens To Children) began in 2001. And in one of our first childrens meetings Albert and Alberte came along with tons of their friends (including Søren the Snake who hassss a problem with hisssss ssss'es...) And we were captured and have had puppets with us for almost all the following outreaches with TTC.

So it was a sad goodbye today! But they need to retire. I have perfomed several operations on them but now is the time. But it's good to know that there is still a place for these two friends. They will go to Guatamala and serve in a church there. Hope to see them there some day.

But not everything has to drown in tears today. It was also a time to welcome two new friends, Solveig and Åge into our fellowship (see second picture). Hope to serve a lot of children together with these new co-workers. (And apperently they are better at shutting up than Albert and Alberte - compare the pictures.)

Første dag på kontoret - Back in business

I dag var så første dag tilbage på kontoret.
Efter konferencen sidste weekend var jeg nemlig nødt til at tage den med ro et par dage, men det havde både jeg og min læge også regnet med.
På lørdag rejser jeg to uger til Schweiz for at undervise på EB's ledertræningsskole, og derfra rejser jeg videre til Norge for at undervise på en discipeltræningsskole under UMO (Ungdom med Opgave) for børnemedarbejdere.
Så.. Ja. Der var nok at se til i dag på kontoret.

Today was first day back at the office. After the conference last week I needed some days rest but that was expected by both my doctor and myself.
This Saturday I travel to Switzerland to teach at our European Leadership Training Institute for two weeks. After that I go to Norway for two weeks to teach some children's workers at one of YWAM's Dicipelship Training Schools.
So... yeahh. lots to do at the office today.