Schweizertysk og en vandballon - Swiss German and a water balloon

Igår var en vigtig dag.
En milepæl i denne overgangsfase fra at være dansk dansker til at være dansk i Schweiz.

Igår var nemlig første gang, at schweizerne blev ved med at tale schweizertysk til mig og ikke lynhurtigt slog over i højtysk (eller skrifttysk, som schweizerne kalder det). Om det var første gang, at jeg ikke så totalt forvirret ud, når de tiltalte mig på schweizertysk eller hvad der virkelig skete, ved jeg ikke. Men det skete TO gange med få timers mellemrum.

Den første samtale foregik på posthuset, hvor der skulle forklares en masse om at overføre franc til Euro til en tysk konto i Schweiz og det rigtige girokort, der skulle udfyldes på den rigtige måde. Og jeg forstod mindsandten, hvad der foregik.

Næste gang var i svømmehallen, hvor en lille ukendt pige ville have min hjælp til at lave en vandballon, hun kunne kaste efter sine venner. Måske burde min pædagogiske uddannelse på dette tidspunkt have sat ind og forhindret mig i at hjælpe i et så åbenlyst brud på reglerne i en svømmehal, men jeg kunne virkelig ikke lade være med at hjælpe. Tænk, jeg kunne tale med et schweizisk barn! Der Badmeister var sikkert ikke lige så begejstret som mig for situationen (men han opdagede mig heldigvis ikke...). Så jeg kunne efterfølgende svømme rundt i ren eufori og nyde, at jeg havde haft en hel dag uden kommunikationsudfordringer.

Yesterday was an important day!
It was a true milestone in my transition from being a Dane in Denmark to being a Dane in Switzerland.

Because yesterday was the day when the Swiss people continued talking to me in Swiss German and didn't quickly switch to High German (or written German as they call it localy).
I don't know if I simply looked less confused than usual or what happened. But it happened! TWICE within a few hours.

The first episode was at the post office where we had an incident with francs that were to be converted into Euros and send to a German bank account in Switzerland and the appropriate form to fill out. And I amazingly understood what was going on.

The next incident was in the swimming bath where a little unknown girl needed help to fill a water balloon so she could throw it at her friends. Maybe my educational training should have kicked in here and prevented me from helping with such an obvious break on the swimming bath rules but I couldn't help myself. I could actually communicate with a Swiss child! I am not sure Der Badmeister shared my view on this situation (but he didn't catch me with the water balloon). So afterwards I could do my 30 minutes swimming exercise in an euphoric state - I had had a whole day with no communication challenges.

Tak for forbøn -Thanks for your prayers

Tusind tak for forbøn. Det går allerede meget bedre med min hals. I nat sov jeg hele natten uden at vågne med hosteanfald. Det er vidunderligt!

Thanks a lot for your prayers. My throat is already doing much better. Tonight I slept the whole night through without coughing. How wonderful!

host host - cough cough

Hmmmm. Har lige ligget med en slem forkølelse og nu hoster jeg. Øv! Jeg ved, at det ikke er jordens undergang, men lige siden jeg kom til Schweiz har jeg haft problemer med min hals on and off. Så hvis du har en bøn til overs, vil du så ikke bede om, at min hals må blive stærkere og kan vænne sig til den tørre luft her? På forhånd tak.

Hmmmmm. Have been ill with a cold and now I am coughing. I know it is not the end of the world but ever since I came here 3 months ago I have had problems with my throat on and off. So if you have a spare prayer - would you pray that my throat will get better and adjust well to the dry clima here? Thanks!

Instruere instruktører - Instructor of Instructors

I EB har vi et kursus, der hedder EBU - Effektiv BørneUndervisning. For at få lov at undervise dette kursus, skal man have en speciel instruktøruddannelse. Jeg har været glad for de gange, jeg har været i Schweiz for at få instruktøruddannelse i EBU 1 og 2. Men ikke nok med det: Nu skal jeg minsandten selv til at UNDERVISE de nye instruktører i januar. Så her sidder jeg med noter til op over begge ører. Normalt har jeg altid undervist folk, der skulle undervise børn, men nu skal jeg altså pludselig til at undervise folk, der skal undervise voksne. Det er da lidt af et kvantespirng, synes jeg. Så jeg vil sætte stor pris på din forbøn for, at Gud må velsigne mine forberedelser og give mig mange gode idéer. Tak.

In CEF we have some courses called TCE - Teaching Children Effectively. To be an approved instructor of those courses you have to get special two-weeks courses called IOT - Instructors of Teachers. I have been really happy about the two times when I have been in Switzerland earlier to take those courses. But the story doesn't end here: Now I have to TEACH these new instructors in January. So here I am sitting with notes all around me. Normally I have taught people who were going to teach children but now for the first time I am going to teach people who will teach adults. It is a big challenge. So I would appriciate your prayers a lot. Please pray that God will bless the preparations and give me lots of good ideas. Thanks!

Op ad bakken - Up the hill

Bjerget, vi bor på, hedder Bölchen. Vi bor i 915 meters højde, men når vi skal ned til civilisationen, så hedder det i daglig tale: "Jeg smutter lige ned ad bakken" og hjem igen: "Jeg kører lige op ad bakken." Idag var det imidlertid knapt så nemt at "køre op ad bakken". Jeg havde været ude og handle med to kolleger og på vej op kunne vi godt se, at snesituationen var lidt mistænkelig. Midt i det hele ringer en af mine brødre, og mens han forsøger at forklare mig alt muligt, må jeg konstant afbryde ham: "Øh, undskyld, men vi sidder vist fast." "Ja, det gør vi." "Nu stiger vi ud af bilen", "De siger, at der er alt for tåget til, at vi kan ringe hjem" (???), "Vi må vist hellere gå hjem", "Ja, nu er vi så på vej hjem (pust, støn)", "Nå men vi ses om 1½ uge, hej hej". Og så tog jeg et fint billede af Suzanne og Ruth men de vil mindsandten ikke på min blog i vinterkostume.

The mountain, we live on is called Bölchen. We live 915 meter above sea level but when we are going down to visit civilization, it's called, 'I'm going down the hill' or coming up, 'I'm going up the hill.' Well, today it wasn't as easy as it sounds to get 'up the hill'. I had been out on a trip with two colleagues and on our way home we realized that the snow situation was not an easy one. In the middle of this, my brother phones me. And while he is seriously explaining me something, I have to interupt him constantly, 'Hmm, sorry, I think we are stuck', 'Yes, we are, we can't drive up the hill', 'we're getting out', 'they are saying the phone reception is so bad we can't call to get someone to pick us up' (???), 'Well, now we're walking home (groan)', 'Well, see you in 1½ week, then, bye bye'. And then I took a really nice picture of Suzanne and Ruth but they don't want to be on my blog in their winther outfits.

Hvordan har jeg det egentlig i disse dage? - How am I actually doing these days?

Hvordan har jeg det egentlig i disse dage?
At flytte fra et land til et andet er et meget stort skridt i ens liv. Og at gøre det helt alene stiller ekstra udfordringer til en. I løbet af den sidste måned har jeg ofte haft lyst til at skrive blogpost om følelser og tanker, jeg havde i forbindelse med den proces, jeg går igennem, men jeg har indset, at en blog er for åbent et forum for den slags tanker – især når man oversætter sine blogposter til engelsk. For dybest set handler en del kulturchok jo om andre mennesker, og jeg har bestemt ikke lyst til at hænge andre ud på internettet.

Jeg har især oplevet det svært at være alene her. De fleste andre af mine kolleger har en ægtefælle eller ven af samme nationalitet, og jeg håber, at de ved, hvor stor en velsignelse det må være. Der er så ofte, hvor jeg har haft brug for at vende dagens oplevelser med en ligesindet, når jeg kom hjem fra arbejde. Men jeg har været mutters alene. Hvor har jeg dog savnet mine venner og familie.

Til sidst begyndte det hele at stige mig til hovedet, og jeg indså, at jeg måtte klynge mig til Gud. Så vækkeuret blev sat en halv time tidligere. Hvor havde jeg dog ondt af mig selv de første morgener. Men der gik ikke længe, førend jeg så frugterne af mit udvidede fællesskab med Gud. Jeg kan nok ikke helt forklare, hvad der skete, men Gud hev fat i nogle ting i min personlighed, vendte dem lidt på hovedet, kastede nyt lys over dem og badede dem i hans kærlighed. Lyder det lidt ukonkret? Igen er bloggen et lidt for åbent sted til at fortælle, hvad der egentlig skete i mig. Men jeg føler, at Gud har givet mig fred i, at lige nu er livet meget anderledes end det var tiltænkt til at være og det er OK. Jeg kan se, at de ting, jeg lærer lige nu forvandler mig fra indersiden og giver mig ting, jeg altid har ønsket mig, ting som kan skabe en stor forskel for mig i min fremtid.

Så selv om jeg hellere sad og drak te med Anna, spillede spil med Karsten, var til netværksgruppe eller sammen med nogle af jer andre, så er det faktisk OK! For Gud er her.

Moving from one country to another is a very big step in someones life. And to do it all by yourself even adds some extra challenges. During the past month I have often wanted to write on my blog to tell you about the feelings and thoughts I have had but I came to the conclusion that a blog is a too open space to share those kinds of thoughts. Because culture shock is basically about other people doing things you don’t understand they are doing and I certainly don’t want to sound like I am pointing my finger at anybody in particularly on the internet.

I have especially found it hard to be alone here. Most of my colleagues have a spouse or a friend of the same nationality as their own and I really hope that they realize what a blessing that can be! So often I have had the need to come home from work and have someone to share the days culture shocks with someone. How I have missed my Danish friends and family!

Finally it all seemed to overwhelm me and I realized that all I could do was to cling to God. So the alarm clock was set half an hour earlier. How I pitied myself the first mornings when the alarm went off. But it didn’t take long before I started to see the fruits of my expanded fellowship with God. I can’t really explain what happened but God started pinpointing some personal things, twisted them a bit, shed new light on them and showered them in his love. Does that sound very unclear? Again the blog is a too open media to share those things in more detail. But the bottom line is that I feel God has given me peace about the fact that right now life is very different for me than it should be. And that is OK. I can see, that the things I am learning now will change me from the inside and give me things I have always wanted and that could change my future a lot.

So even if I would rather sit right now and drink tea with Anna, play board games with Karsten, or being in my old church house group then it is actually OK. Because God is here!

Hvad laver jeg egentlig i disse dage? - What am I actually doing these days?

Hvad laver jeg egentlig i disse dage? Det var der en veninde, der spurgte om for nylig, så jeg tror, at jeg vil benytte anledningen til at fortælle lidt herfra.

Jeg har brugt en del tid på at blive lært op i mit nye job. Det har været vildt spændende. Jeg elsker virkelig det her job. Vi har haft nogle officielle oplæringsseancer her i vores afdeling, men jeg tror nu, at den primære oplæring sker udenfor disse afsatte tidspunkter, når der pludselig opstår en situation, hvor man bare kan træde til og lade som om man ved en helt masse om en helt masse. Når jeg ser på oversigten over mit tidsforbrug i november, har jeg brugt 17 timer på officiel oplæring og 76 timer på at hjælpe til med stort og småt i vores afdeling. Jeg har evalueret mundtlige eksamensopgaver, taget med kursister på praktikbesøg, ledt gudstjeneste, haft en smule sjælesorg og tusind andre ting (sådan cirka). Vi har også haft nogle rigtig vigtige møder i vores undervisningsafdeling, hvor vi har mødtes med nogle af lederne af EB i Europa for at tage små og store beslutninger for fremtiden.

Udover dette har jeg også arbejdet en del med at få den danske manual til vores EBU-kursus færdig (EBU = Effektiv Børneundervisning). Nille har arbejdet en del med korrekturlæsning ud fra et danskfagligt synspunkt, og jeg har nu været igennem manualen ud fra et undervisningsmæssigt synspunkt. Så håber jeg bare, at Hanne på et tidspunkt får gang i nogle EBU 2–kurser :-)

What do I really do these days? That’s the question one of my friends asked me recently. And I think I will take the opportunity to explain a bit more about what I am actually doing right now.

I have spent some time being trained for my new job. It has been really interesting. I love this job! We have had some official training sessions marked in our agendas but it seems like most of the training has been done outside those sessions. Often a situation has suddenly occurred out of nowhere and I have had a grand opportunity to step into a situation and pretend I know all about what I am doing... When I look a my time overview for November I have spend 17 hours in official training sessions and 76 hours helping out in various other tasks in our department. I have had lots of student evaluation (me evaluating students on their work), going with students to children meetings (practical time), leading a service, lending a listening ear to someone and thousand other things (approximately).
We have also had some really important meetings between the Education Department and some of the leaders of CEF in Europe to discuss different issues of the work.

Beside this I have also had a good chunk of time to work on a Danish manual for our TCE 2 course. (TCE = Teaching Children Effectively). Nille in Denmark had done a great job proofreading the text from a literary point of view and now I have been looking at the text from a teacher’s point of view. I only have four more chapters to go so that Hanne can get some TCE 2 courses going in Denmark ;-)

En ny og meget mere seriøs fase af mit liv - A new and much more serious phase of my life

Ja, nu er det så sket. Jeg er hermed indtrådt i de voksnes rækker. Mit liv har taget en seriøs drejning og nu er det altså alvor. Ikke mere spøg og skæmt. Et monument har rejst sig på mit kontor. Et monument, som symboliserer effektivitet, langtidsengagement og nul kreativitet. Jeg har fået mit første arkivskab. Sådan et rigtig alvorligt et med skuffer, der kan trækkes ud, hængemapper, der kan tages op og meget seriøse filer, der kan læses, gemmes og endda låses forsvarligt inde.

Indtil videre ligger der ganske vist kun en halvspist chokoladejulemand i mit nye arkivskab, men det er ikke det, det drejer sig om! Det drejer sig om, at i løbet af de næste måneder vil dette kabinet blive fyldt med alle mulige og umulige filer fra de sidste tyve års historie her i vores europæiske undervisningsafdeling. Jeg er nu blevet indviet i alle de hemmelige systemer. Heldigvis skal mine to nye kolleger med samme job i centraleuropa og østeuropa have deres del af det gamle arkiv, så måske bliver der stadig plads til bare en lille smule spøg og skæmt? Måske kan jeg fortsat arkivere mine chokoladejulemænd under C? Eller min cola under S (for sodavand). Hvem ved...

Now it has happened. I am now officially grown up. My life has taken a serious turn and will never be the same again. No more goofing around. A monument has found it's way to my office. A monument to symbolize efficiency and longterm commitment. I have got my first filing cabinet. A real one with drawers to be drawn, hanging files to be lifted out and serious documents to be read, stored and even locked up if I wish.

So far I have only filed a half eaten chocolate Father Christmas but that's not what it is all about. It is all about the fact that within the next few months that cabinet will be filled with all kinds of files from the last twenty years in the our European Education Department. I have now been initiated in the secret art of our filing system. Fortunately my new colleagues who will work with the same things as me in Central Europe and Eastern Europe will get their share of the files. So maybe there will still be a bit space left to file chocolate under C and cola under F (for fizzy soft drinks). Who knows...

Hanni

Her ser I det smil, der har mødt mig mange gange om dagen den sidste måned, når jeg er kommet forbi vores vaskeri på vej til og fra mit kontor. Hanni og hendes mand Gottfrid har været frivillige medhjælpere den sidste måned, og de har været en stor velsignelse for os.

Hanni er 76 år gammel og tog i 1964 ud som missionær til Eritrea, hvor hun lærte Gottfrid at kende. Det blev til 20 år som misisonærer i forskellige lande. Sikke et tjenersind, at de kommer her og hjælper os med alle mulige praktiske opgaver!

Hanni har været ansvarlig for vores vaskeri, og jeg tror ikke, at jeg nogensinde har mødt et menneske, der har været så enthusiastisk overfor vasketøj. Dette har været måneden, hvor forsvundne sokker er kommet tilbage til deres ejermænd, og vi alle har fået et kærlig hentydning, hvis vi ikke hurtigt nok fik fjernet vores vasketøj fra tørresnorene. Jeg tror ikke, at der nogensinde er nogen, der har bekymret sig så meget for mit vasketøj udover mig selv.

Men det er jo bare vasketøj? Eller er det? Det får mig til at tænke på et bibelvers fra Kolosenserne 3,23: "Hvad I end gør, gør det af hjertet — for Herren og ikke for mennesker."
Jeg kan ihvertfald sige, at hvad end Hanni og Gottfrid er blevet sat til at gøre denne måned, så har de gjort det for Herren, og vi andre er blevet velsignede.

On the picture you see the smile that has met me several times a day the past month as I have been walking by our laundry on the way to and from my office. Hanni and her husband Gottfrid have been volunteers this past month and have been a great blessing to all of us.

Hannis is 76 years old and in 1964 she went out as a missionary to Eritrea and got to know Gottfrid. Together they served as missionaries for 20 years in different countries. What serving hearts they have to come here and help us out too!

Hanni has been in charge of the house laundry the past month and I think it is rare to see so much enthusiasm towards laundry as she has shown. This has been the month where missing socks have been returned to their owners and we've all got a kind reminder if our laundry was left too long on the clothesline. I don't think anyone has ever shown so much concern for MY laundry beside myself.

But is it not just laundry? Or is it more than laundry? It makes me think about a verse from Bible: 'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men' (Col 3:23)I think we all aggree that whatever Hanni and Gottfrid have been doing this month they have done it with all their hearts for the Lord. And the rest of us have been blessed too! Thanks!

Lørdag aften i Basel - Saturday night in Basel

Den sidste halvanden måneds tid har jeg løbet med Valerie, en kollega, for at forberede os til Basels årlige juleløb. Og vi klarede det! Vi fik også lokket Valeries mand, Gerhard med. Jeg mærkede næsten slet ikke, at jeg løb, så optaget var jeg af at være midt i en storby igen, at kigge på julelysene, butiksvinduerne og ikke mindst indånde den velkendte duft af forurening. I år var målet at gennemføre. Næste år er det at forbedre tiden...

The last 1½ month I have been running 2-3 times a week with Valerie, one of my colleagues. We were preparing for the yearly Christmas run in Basel. And we made it! We even got Valerie's husband Gerhard to run with us. I hardly noticed that I was running because I was too occupied with being in the middle of a city again. So all I noticed while running was all the Christmas decorations, the shops and the familar fragrance of polution. This year's goal was to finish. Next year our goal is to improve our finishing time...

Praktik 2 - Practicals 2

Tak for forbøn. Vi havde en dejlig weekend i Basel med børnemøder. På billedet ser I Manjola fra Albanien, der øver den Den Ordløse Bog med Sarah. Det var også opmuntrende at høre, at de andre teams også havde mange gode oplevelser. En lille pige tog imod Jesus og sagde: "Nu smutter jeg hjem for at fortælle, hvad der er sket med mig." En af de voksne spurgte, om hun skulle gå med hjem og forklare det, men pigen svarede: "Det kan jeg godt klare selv." Sådan!

Thanks for your prayers. We had a lovely weekend in Basel with children's meetings. On the picture is Manjola from Albania who is helping Sarah to practise The Wordless Book. It was also encouraging to hear that all the other teams also had many good experiences. One little girl asked Jesus into her life and said, 'Now, I'll go home and share with my family what has happened. One of the leaders asked if she should go with her but the girl answered, 'No, I can manage.'

Praktik - Practicals

I denne uge har vores tyske kursister været ude og afprøve det, de har lært, ved forskellige børnekampagner. Og her i weekenden går det så løs for vores engelske klasse. Jeg tager med en gruppe kursister til Basel lørdag og søndag og jeg er sikker på, at de vil sætte pris på jeres forbøn for, at mange børn må lære mere om Gud denne weekend.

This week our German students have been out practising what they have learned. They went to three 5-days-clubs. And so this weekend it is time for our English class to practise as well. I'll go with a group of students to Basel Saturday and Sunday and I'm sure they'll appriciate your prayers so that many children can hear about God this weekend!

Thanksgiving

Igår fejrede vi den amerikanske thanksgiving. Vi har flere amerikanere her, og eftersom denne højtid betyder ligeså meget for dem som julen gør, så må vi jo hellere tage dem lidt alvorligt. Og det gør slet heller ikke noget, når man får så dejlig mad serveret! Jeg spekulerer bare på, om jeg også kan få indført Sct. Hans og fastelavn her?

Yesterdy we celebrated thanksgiving here at Kilchzimmer. We have several Americans here so it has become at tradition to celebrate this holiday together with them since thanksgiving means as much to them as Christmas. And that's OK with me when they serve so nice food for the rest of us. I am only wondering which Danish national holidays I should introduce to them... hehe.

Nationaler Tanztag

Ja men altså knapt har man sagt farvel til C & C, førend man bliver kastet ud i et nyt eventyr og denne gang endda et, som fik mig til at glemme kulturchok og hjemve i syv timer. Her i lørdags var det nemlig Nationaler Tanztag - Den Nationale Dansedag. Og på en eller anden måde fik Liz, vores eneste schweiziske kollega, lokket mig med... Og jeg fik lokket Valene med (se billedet - datter af et par kolleger). Og så blev der ellers grinet og svedt løs over Cha cha cha, jive, salsa, rock'n roll og meget mere! Og oven i hatten fik jeg lært en masse nye schweiziske ord. Jeg bliver vist nødt til at genoptage standarddans, som jeg gik til forrige vinter. Det er bare for sjovt!

And I had hardly said goodbuy to C & C before I was thrown into a totally different kind of adventure. And this time it was even something that made me forget all about culture shocks and homesickness for seven hours. Because this past Saturday was the Nationaler Tanztag - National Day of Dance in Switzerland. And somehow Liz, our only pure Swiss colleague, got me to sign us up for that. And somehow I got Valene (see picture - she is the daughter of two other colleagues) interested too. And so we laughed and sweated to cha cha cha, Jive, Salsa and other styles. And on top of that I actually learned a lot of Swiss words that day. I guess I need to take up ballroom dancing again because it is simply just THE BEST!

Claire and Claudia

I sidste uge havde vi besøg fra Rumænien. Hvor var det hyggeligt at se Claire (nordirer) og Claudia (rumæner) igen. Jeg har mødt dem før, men begyndte for alvor at lære dem at kende i Tyskland i maj, da jeg var på lederkursus. Og det var hyggeligt!

Og nu var det så blevet tid til uddybe venskabet lidt. Claudia er en lille ilter og morsom rumæner med krudt i enden. Claire er den mere rolige type, som altid har rette svar på rette tid. Oven i hatten fik jeg også hygget mig med Claires mor og hendes mand.

Ugen gik alt for hurtigt, men vi ses snart igen. (snart = februar). Hvem ved, måske er det den slags mennesker, der tæller med i regnestykket om de 500 søskende? (Se sidste blogspot.)

Last week we had a visit from Romania. And how good it was to see Claire (Irish) and Claudia (Romanian) again. I have met them before but really started to get to know them in Germany in May at our Leadership Conference.

And now it was time to deepend the friendship a bit more. Claudia is a tiny sparkling Romanian and Claire is the kind of person who always has the right answer at the right moment. What an ability! And on top of that I also got to meet Claire's mum and her husband.

The week passed by all too quickly but we'll meet soon again (soon = February).

Who knows - maybe these kind of people are counting in on the 500 siblings? (See previous blogspot.)

5 eller 500 søskende? - 5 or 500 siblings?

Forleden dag fik jeg brev fra mine mindste søskende Miriam (7) og Marcus (6).

Miriam skriver: "Kære Dorthe, jeg savner dig." Marcus skriver: "...Jeg glæder mig til du kommer hjem til jul."

Jeg blev rigtig glad for brevene og også ked af det. At få to sådanne breve midt i min hjemves-rus slog hovedet på sømmet. Og jeg spurgte mig selv om, hvordan man overhovedet kan finde på at forlade sådanne to små dejlige kære søskende.

Men lige i det øjeblik blev jeg mindet om et vers fra Bibelen:

Jesus sagde: »Sandelig siger jeg jer: Der er ingen, der har forladt hjem eller brødre eller søstre eller mor eller far eller børn eller marker på grund af mig og på grund af evangeliet, som ikke får det hundreddobbelt igen nu i denne verden... Markusevangeliet 10,29-30

Og så... ja, nå ja. Så var det jo OK igen det hele. Jeg vil jo gøre alt for Jesus!

Men så kom jeg til at tænke på, at jeg har forladt 5 søskende. Hvis jeg skal have dem hundredegange tilbage, så.... Ja, altså 500 søskende virker en smule overvældende. 100 Martin'er!! Det er måske lige i overkanten? Jeg ved det ikke? Egentlig er fem søskende et ret passende antal. Jeg har derfor spekuleret lidt på, om man måske kan bytte nogle af de 500 for andre velsignelser?

A few days ago I received some letters from my youngest siblings, Miriam (7) and Marcus (6). Miriam is writting, 'Dear Dorthe, I miss you'. Marcus is writting, 'I am looking forward to you are coming home at Christmas'.

I got real happy about those letters but also sad. To receive two such letters in the middle of my homesickness intoxication really hit me hard. And I had to ask myself how in the world I could even think of leaving two such lovely little siblings behind.

But right at that moment I was reminded of a verse from the Bible: "I tell you the truth,"Jesus replied, "no-one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age..." Mark 10:29,30

And then well... then right, then everything was alright again. I wanna do it all for Jesus.

But then I started thinking about the fact that I have left behind 5 siblings. If God will give me a hundred times more siblings.... then that is actually 500 siblings. Maybe just a tiny bit over the edge? Or?? Actually I think five siblings is quite a reasonable amount of siblings. Therefore I have been wondering if I could trade some of the other 500 into other kinds of blessings?

Jeg glæder mig i denne tid - View from my window

Jeg glæder mig i denne tid

Nu falder julesneen hvid

Så ved jeg julen kommer

The view from my windows this morning
(Above is a Danish poem about snow that is not translatable)

Hjemve - Homesick

Hvad er hjemve?
Længslen efter hjemmet? Hvad er mit hjem? Det er vel der, hvor jeg kan føle mig hjemme, slappe af, lægge benene op på bordet (i overført og bogstavelig forstand). Det er der, hvor jeg er omgivet af mennesker, som jeg kender godt, og som kender mig. Hvor jeg kan være mig med hele mig. Hvor jeg kan grine igennem.

Det varer nok noget tid, inden et nyt land og et nyt miljø bliver et hjem. Jeg føler mig næsten konstant træt. Hver gang jeg er sammen med mennesker, føler jeg, at jeg må være på stikkerne, fordi de er så anderledes end mig og de mennesker, jeg normalt ville omgive mig med. Jeg føler ofte at kollegaer sender signaler, som jeg ikke ved, hvordan jeg skal tyde eller handle på.

Hele tiden er der nye ting at forholde sig til, og selv om mange af dem blot er praktiske forhold, så kræver de alle sammen en hel del mere energi, end man er vant til at investere i den slags småting. Bare jeg skal ud og handle, så bruger jeg meget mere tid, end jeg er vant til, fordi jeg ikke kan finde de produkter, jeg har brug for. Og som regel er jeg taget i byen med nogle andre og kan ikke nå at finde det hele, inden vi skal mødes igen. Så jeg kommer altid hjem uden alt, hvad jeg har brug for.

Nu håber jeg ikke, at folk begynder at komme med en masse gode råd, for jeg tror egentlig ikke, at der er så mange gode råd på dette stadie andet end at være tålmodig og forkæle sig selv, være sammen med Gud og sætte grænser. Men selv om jeg forsøger at gøre det, så er jeg stadig konstant træt og leder efter det sted, hvor jeg i overført forstand kan smide benene op på bordet og slå en skraldlatter af.

What is homesickness? The longing for home? Where is my home? I guess it is where I can relax, put my feet up on the coffee table (literally and figurative). It is where I am surrounded by people that I know oh so well, and that know me the same way. Where I can be me with all of me. Where I can laugh a good laugh from the bottom of my heart.

It will probably take some time before a new country and a new environment become a home. Every time I am with people I feel alert because they are so different from me and from the people I normally relate to. I often feel that people are sending signales that I don't not how to interpretate or relate to. All the time there are new things that I must relate to and even if a lot of them are practical issues they still drain me from energy because I have to spend so much more time deal with these things than I usually would. For example when I go shopping. It takes me so much more time than usually because I can't find what I am looking for. And normally I have gone together with other some other people so I never finish my shopping list before we have to meet again and I get home still lacking things I need.

I don't hope people will start giving me all kinds of advice because I actually don't think there is that much to do about it. It is a phase I must through and I guess that all I can do is to have patience, try to treat myself, spend time with God and make boundaries. But even if I try to do that I am still constantly tired and looking for the place where I can put my legs on the coffee table (figurative) and laugh from the bottom of my heart.

Ugens højdepunkter - The highlights of the week

Jeg har virkelig nydt at begynde oplæringen i mit nye job. Jeg synes, at det er interessant og spændende (py-ha ;-))

I ugen, der er gået, har jeg været en tur i Basel for at stemme til det danske folketingsvalg. Det var hyggeligt at møde et par danskere på konsulatet og finde ud af, at der er op til flere danske foreninger i Schweiz, så dem må jeg prøve af og se, om de er noget for mig.

Og så kom der pakke fra Danmark. Tak Kathrine. Jeg elsker Blomme i Madeira og danske dameblade!

Fredag kom min opholdstilladelse, og lørdag kom sneen (er heldigvis væk igen).

Hjemveen satte også ind i denne uge, men mere om det i en senere blogpost.

Snip snap snude, så er den uge ude. Tip tap tønde, så kan en ny begynde!

I have really enjoyed the training for my new job. It's really interesting and exciting.

Beside that, I have been to Basel (first picture) at the Danish Consulate to vote for the Danish election taking place next week. It was nice to speak with some Danes and to learn that there are some Danish clubs in Switserland which I intend to visit.

And then a parcel from Denmark arrived with my favourite Danish chocolate and other wonderful things. Thanks Kathrine! (Second picture)

And on Friday my immigrant papers (third picture) came and on Satuday the snow (third picture).

Also the homesickness finally arrived (I was starting to worry...) but more about that in a later blogspot.

So a week passed by and another one is right ahead.

En historisk dag og Guds stemme - A historic day and God's voice

I dag er lidt af en historisk dag for mig. Jeg starter den officielle oplæring i mit nye job. De næste to måneder har vi afsat en del eftermiddage i kalenderen, hvor informationer, arbejdsrutiner og værdier skal videregives fra en generation til en anden.

Igår talte Gud til mig til aftengudstjenesten. Jeg blev mindet om et vidnesbyrd, jeg hørte for måske ti år siden. Det var Else Pedersen fra min barndoms menighed, der delte nogle kloge ord. Jeg kan ikke huske sammenhængen, men hun sagde: "Når gamle og unge skal arbejde sammen, er det ligesom når kniv møder slibesten. Det slår gnister. Vi bliver måske chokerede over gnisterne, men det er en helt naturlig proces, der sliber os og gør os mere skarpe/brugbare." Kloge ord, Else!

Og hvad skal jeg så bruge dem til? Det vil måske vise sig. Jeg tænker på, hvor hårdt det var for mig at pakke mine Teens To Children manualer sammen og give dem til Ida i slutningen af september - selv om jeg vidste, at de var i gode hænder. Teens To Children - mit hjertebarn -var jeg med til at starte og lede i seks år. Hvor meget hårdere må det ikke være for Paul og Audrey, som har ledet vores Europæiske undervisningsafdeling i 15 år at skulle videregive deres hjertebarn til sådan en grønskolling som mig - som ovenikøbet med jævne mellemrum kommer til at gøre totalt tåbelige ting - såsom helt spontant at lægge mine fødder behageligt til rette på et bord midt i et lærermøde i sidste uge.

Tja, hvad kan jeg sige: Måske får vi alle tre brug for en god portion nåde, når vi går i gang med denne slibeproces. Men lad det bare slå gnister - hvis gnisterne kan bruges til, at endnu flere bliver sat i brand for Europas børn!

Today is somewhat of a historical day for me since I'll start my official training for my new job. We have set aside a good number of afternoons the next two months where informations, working rutines and values can be passed on from one generation to another.

Yesterday God spoke to me during the evening service. I was reminded of a testimony that I heard maybe ten years ago. It was given by Else Pedersen, a lady from my former church. I can't remember the context but she said, 'When young and old work together it is like a knife meeting a grindstone. It throw sparks. We might get shocked by the sparks but actually it's a natural proces. It sharpens and grinds us for further ministry.' Wise words, Else!

And how am I gonna use these words? Time will probably tell.
I think about how hard it was for me to sort through my Teens To Children manuals in the end of September and pass them on to Ida even if I knew they were in good hands. I co-founded and co-lead Teens To Children for six years and it was one of my most precious ministries. How much harder must it be for Paul and Audrey to pass on the Education Department to me after 15 years. And to pass it on to me - a crazy - still fairly young - person who frequently does really stupid things - such as spontaneously putting my legs comfortablely up on the table during a teacher's meeting last week.

Well, what can I say? Maybe all three of us will need a good portion of grace as we start this process of grinding. But just bring those sparks on! As long as they lead to even more people getting on fire for reaching the children of Europe!

Take away på bjerget - Take away on the mountain

I lørdags fik jeg en fantastisk frokost: Take away! Det er noget af en sjældenhed her på bjerget, da det nærmeste take away sted ligger 20 minutters kørsel herfra. Men anyways. Her sidder jeg med mit første take away måltid i Schweiz, med et dansk dameblad og kigger ud over bjergene. Kan livet være bedre? En noget anden setting at spise takeaway i end den danske. Sådan kan livet ændre sig. Jeg er nu godt tilfreds (får nemlig den varme mad serveret hver dag i vores spisesal) men savner dog med jævne mellemrum The Taco Shop på Østerbrogade.

This Saturday I had my first take away meal since coming here. The closest take away place is 20 minutes drive away so this was really something. But anyways. On the picture I am sitting with my take away and a Danish magazine and a mountain view. Can one wish for more? Quite a different setting from my usual take away meals in Denmark. Life changes but still goes on. I am actually happy (because I actually get a well cooked meal in our common dinning room everyday!) but now and then a meak longing for The Taco Shop on Østerbrogade, Copenhagen, appears.

Nyt kontor - New office

Så skete det! En stor lykkefølelse har ramt mig! Mit gule kontor er væk (Tak til Eduard og Ched) og ind på historiens arena er et helt nyt HVIDT kontor kommet. Det emmer af effektivitet. Jeg glæder mig til at arbejde her! Tak til Gerhard som tålmodigt har været med mig i IKEA og samlet alle møblerne!

It happened! A great rush of happiness it overtaking me. My yellow office is gone. For good! (Thanks to Eduard and Ched.) And a new WHITE office has occured. It beams of efficiency! I am really looking forward to to work here. Thanks to Gerhard who with much patience went with me to IKEA and also assembled the furnitures.

Opdatering - Update

Huha. Tiden flyver jo afsted og jeg har slet ikke fået opdateret min blog. Sidste uge bare strøj forbi ørerne. Jeg fik undervist en masse, og det er et rigtig dejligt hold kursister, vi har, så det var nemt og hyggeligt. I denne uge skal jeg også undervise en lille smule. Vi havde også et par praktiske prøver i det, kursisterne havde lært.

Derudover havde jeg fødselsdag i søndags, og det blev en rigtig hyggelig dag. Suzanne havde lavet dejlig morgenmad til Silvia og jeg, og hele dagen fik jeg kort og små pakker fra folk. Om aftenen havde jeg inviteret kursister, lærere og andet godtfolk på hygge i vores Fellowshiproom. Og så var der jo også en masse SMS'er, mails og telefonopkald hjemmefra. Så nu mangler jeg kun gaven fra min familie. Den er strandet et sted i enten det danske eller schweiziske postvæsen og udfordrer dagligt min tålmodighed. (Man kan sende folk til månen, men at få en pakke leveret til tiden er åbenbart ikke lige så nemt.) Men da den ikke var nået frem lørdag, bestemte jeg mig for at købe gaver til mig selv, da vi var ude og handle ind. Hehe!

Kursister diskuterer forskellige problemer i forhold til at holde god ro og orden i Børneklubben.
Students discussing how to solve behaviour problems in the Good News Club.

De arbejder hårdt.

They are working so hard!

Fødselsdag i Fellowship Room

Birthday in the Fellowship Room

Wow - how fast time is flying and I haven't updated my blog for a week. Shame on me! But last week just seemed to pass by with an extreem speed.

It was a joy teaching our English class. They are a wonderful bunch of people so I really enjoyed that. This week I'll teach a little more. We also had some practical tests where the students were showing us what they have learned so far.


Beside that I had my birthday on Sunday and I had a really good day. Suzanne had made a wonderful breakfast for Silvia and I. Thanks! And all day long I received cards and small gifts from people. How nice! In the evenings I had invited students, teachers and anyone else around for a cup of tea (etc.) in our Fellowship Room. And then off course there were all the SMS'ses, mails and phone calls from home. So now I am only lacking the birthday gift from home. It has somehow stranded with the post somewhere between Denmark and Switzerland. (They can send people to the moon but they can not make sure I get my gift in time!) It has been a daily challenge on my patience ;-) But anyway, when I realized the delay on Saturday I went out and bought myself some presents. Hehe.

Lørdagshygge og søndagstur - Saturday Night and Sunday walk

De sidste par dage har været lidt overvældende. Hedder det mon "kulturchok"? Og hvad er et kulturchok egentlig? Det handler vel dybest set om, at mennesker gør ting, der ryster ens vante måde at tænke og handle på. Måske ryster deres handlinger endda ens grundværdier. Og så må man tage stilling til, hvordan man vil handle som en konsekvens af det. Så for at være helt ærlig, så har der været en del tårer denne weekend og tid tilbragt alene for at forholde mig til de ting, der skete rundt omkring mig. Men Gud var heldigvis med midt i det hele. Det har også været rigtig godt for mig, at en veninde og kollega fra Østrig er på besøg i tre uger for at undervise vores tyske kursister. Hun har været god til at hjælpe mig igennem et par processer.

Men nu skal det hele jo ikke være ynk og elendighed og der har heldigvis også været rigtig hyggelige øjeblikke. Billedet ovenfor er fra lidt spillehygge lørdag aften. Billederne nedenfor er fra en dejlig vandretur op til en ruin.

This weekend was a mixture of a lot of things. I guess the first culture shocks dawned on me for real. So I took some time to be all alone and deal with it all. A lot of tears were shed but it was good to sense God in the midst of it all. I went to church on Sunday only to find myself crying even more. How embarrassing.

But it was not all tears and misery. I have also had some really good moments. The picture above is from some games Saturday night. And the pictures beneath are of a lovely Sunday walk with Silvia, Valerie and Carmen.

God start - Good beginning

Så jeg fik fældet et par tårer (eller mange) for børnene i Humlebæk og lagt dem i Guds hænder - verdens bedste sted. Og så var det tid til at undervise. Og det gav jo god mening at dele sine visioner og byrde for børneklubber i børnenes nærmiljø efter sådan en tudetur.

Jeg har hygget mig med at undervise, men nu må jeg løbe, for jeg må op til vores hyggestue og spille Ligretto med kollegaer og kursister.

So I shed some tears (or a whole bunch actually) for the children of Humlebæk and then I left them in the hands of God - the best place in the world. And then it was time to teach. And it really made sense to share my vision and joy for the Good News Club ministry after such an amount of tears.

I have enjoyed teaching these past two days, but now I gotta run to play Ligretto with colleagues and students in the Fellowship room...

Hjertesmerte - Aching heart

Om to timer vælter kursisterne ind til min undervisning, som starter med en "live" demonstration af en børneklub. Og her sidder jeg og tænker på børnene i Humlebæk. Jeg kan ikke fatte, at jeg er 1345 kilometre væk fra dem. Jeg har bare lyst til at græde. Igår fik jeg en SMS fra en af pigerne fra min klub. Der stod: "Ring lie". Og det gjorde jeg, og hun fortalte, at hun havde siddet og grædt over, at jeg var flyttet så langt væk.
Kære Gud. Please, please please. Send flere børnemedarbejdere til Humlebæk!!!

In two hours I will start teaching the English class here at Kilchzimmer about Good News Clubs. We will begin with a 'live' club so that they will get aquainted with the whole idea of Good News Clubs. But here I am and all I can think about is 'my' children from Humlebæk in Denmark. I can't believe I am 1345 kilometres away from them. I simply just want to cry! Yesterday I got a text message on my phone from one of them saying, 'please call', and so I did. And this wonderful girl told me how she had been crying over the fact that I was so far away.
Dear God, please, please, please send more children workers to Humlebæk!!!!

Klar, parat, start - Ready, steady, go!

Ugen er ved at gå på hæld. Jeg har brugt den på at komme til kræfter efter sidste uges halsbetændelse, på at få de sidste ting på plads og få indrettet mit kontor. Med tiden MÅ den gule farve udskiftes sammen med bord og stol, men indtil videre er det blevet en lille hyggelig arbejdsbase.
I morgen mandag starter jeg med at undervise, og det glæder jeg mig til. Hvis du har en bøn til overs, så må du meget gerne bede for min stemme, som stadig er hæs efter sidste uges sygdom. Og stemmen er jo en lærers vigtigste arbejdsredskab.

Udover at undervise resten af oktober i et par timer hver dag, skal jeg bruge resten af tiden på at færdiggøre noget materiale for EB i Danmark, inden jeg starter oplæring i mit nye job første november.

I øvrigt har sweitzerne lange arbejdsdage - fra 8-18 med 1½ times frokostpause.

Før - Before

Efter - After

The week is coming to an end. I have spend it recovering from last week's illness and to get everything settled and preparing my office. As time goes by I hope to get the colour changed and also a new desk and chair but for now it will do fine as my little cosy working base.

Tomorrow I start teaching and I am really looking forward to that. If you have a spare prayer, please pray for my voice as it has not yet healed completely and is hoarse. And the voice is the teacher's most important teaching tool.

Beside teaching for the rest of October for some hours per day, I will spend the rest of my working hours finishing some teaching materials for CEF of Denmark before I get more involved in the training for my new job.

By the way - the Swiss have some really long working days - from 8 to 18 every day with a lunch break of 1½ hour.

Nye vaner - New habits

I hverdagen har vi så mange vaner, der får vores hverdag til at glide nemmere og som nok også giver os en vis portion tryghed hver dag.
Når man så flytter... så er der en masse vaner, der ikke længere dur. Men hurtigt erstattes de af andre.
Her er to af mine nye vaner:

1. At råbe: "Honey, I am home", hver gang jeg kommer ind i lejligheden. Gad vide, hvor længe Suzanne bliver ved med at grine af det?

2. At slukke lyset og lufte ud, førend jeg skal i seng. (Man er nødt til at slukke lyset for at det ikke skal vælte ind med fluer og andre væmmelige dyr.) Og så bare stå der i nattemørket og kigge på det store væld af stjerner. Og dem, der kender mig virkelig godt, vil vide, at det er en HELT ny vane. Egentlig foretrækker jeg neonreklamerne over Sortedamssøen. Men jeg kan nu godt lide de hersens stjerner - og den friske natteluft i bjergene.

In our everyday life we have so many habits that make our days flow easily and probalby also provide us with a great deal of security.
Then when you move, you realise that some of the habits don't apply anymore. But very quickly they are replaced.
Here are two of my new habits:

1. To shout, 'Honey, I'm home', every time I enter the apartment. I wonder if it will continue to amuse Suzanne or when it will start to annoy her?

2. To turn off the light and open the windows before going to bed to let in some fresh air. (You have to turn off the light to avoid flies and other anoying creatures to enter your home.) And then just stand in the total darkness and watch the multitudes of stars. And those who know me really well will know that this is a brand new kind of habit for me. Actually I normally prefer the neon lights over the grand lake of Copenhagen. But I am actually taking a liking in those stars - and the crisp mountain air late at night.

Memorable Moments

Den første uge gik hurtigt. Med halsbetændelse. Jacob, der hele tiden gjorde gode ting for mig. Masser af nye mennesker. Masser af tysk og schweizertysk. Selv nye engelske ord. Og tusind små og store ting, der skulle ordnes. Det første kulturchok. Selv et par gåture i det smukke efterår blev det tid til.

Herunder er et udpluk af mine billeder.

The first week passed by so quickly. With sore throat. Jacob who did so many nice things for me all the time . Lots of new people. Lots of German and Swiss German. Even new English words to add to my vocabulary. And a thousand things that got done. The first culture shock. Even a few walks in the beautiful autumn.

Here is a little selection of my pictures.

Lige blevet tilmeldt som borger i Schweiz på det lokale kommunekontor.

Just signed in as a cityzen of Switzerland at the local authorities.

På toppen af Bölchenflue med halsbetændelse.

On the top of Bölchenflue with a sore throat.

Tid til at øve bjergkørsel med Jacob - stadig med halsbetændelse.

(Jeg har ikke siddet bag et rat i fem år...)

Practising mountain driving with Jacob - still with the sore throat.

(I haven't been driving for five years...)

Og så skal der sys gardiner.

And then it is time to make curtains.

Og til at bede for min kære gamle symaskine, der skaber sig. (Det gør den så ikke længere!)

And to say a prayer for my dear old sewing machine who would not behave. (Now it does!!)

Lære bagvejen ned til Langenbruck gennem skov og marker.

Finding the back road down to Langenbruck through the woods and fields.

The city girl moves to Langenbruck

Mener I helt alvorligt, at dette er mine nærmeste naboer??
Honestly, is that my next door neighbours???

Og hvorfor bruger de ikke toilettet?
And why are they not using the toilet?

Og hvem slukkede for lygtepælene???
And who turned off the street lights????

Indflytning - Moving in

Da vi ankom til Kilchzimmer stod hjælpsomme hænder klar til at tømme varevognen.

Arriving at Kilchzimmer helping hands were ready to unload the van.

Selvom min sofa forårsagede nogle hovedbrud.

Although my sofa caused some logistic problems.

Vi endte med at skille den ad, og jeg føler mig meget sikker, når jeg sidder på den nu, for der var fem mænd om at samle den igen. Eller... hvad de nu lavede.

We ended up taking it apart but I feel very safe sitting on it now since five men were assembling it again. Or inspecting it.

De næste to dage havde Jacob og jeg travlt med at samle møbler, tage i IKEA, rydde op og finder pladser til alle ting.

The next two days Jacob and I were busy assembling furnitures, going to IKEA, tidying things and finding places to store everything.

Og jeg føler mig rigtig godt tilpas med resultatet. Nu har jeg et hjem igen. Tak Jacob, du er en fantastisk bror!!!!

And I am really happy with the result. Thanks Jacob! You're an excellent brother!!!!

Så Suzanne (min nye bofælle), Jacob og jeg fejrede indflytningen med god stil igår aftes.

So Suzanne (my new flatmate), Jacob and I celebrated the move yesterday.

Switzerland, here I come

Jacob og jeg havde en dejlig tur ned gennem Danmark og Tyskland uden nævneværdige problemer (bortset fra et glemt pas, men det taler vi ikke mere om...)

Da vi nærmede os den schweiziske grænse, steg spændingen. Det var søndag eftermiddag og tolden havde lukket, så vi kunne risikere at skulle vente til mandag morgen. Men da vi kørte tættere på grænsen, kom vi til at holde bag en polsk varevogn fuld af ting, så vi tænkte, at de helt sikkert ville stoppe dem og ikke os, men... det blev lige omvendt! Vi blev stoppet og måtte igang med at forklare alt. Jeg måtte vise mine lister over alt, hvad jeg medbragte til Schweiz (påkrævet) og dokumentere alt, hvad jeg har købt gennem det sidste halve år (som der så egentlig skal betales schweizisk told af...). Imens stod Jacob og bad.

Grænsevagten gik over for at tale med sin supervisor, og kom lidt efter tilbage og sagde: "Ja, egentlig må du ikke sådan komme over grænsen på en søndag, men vi har bestemt os for at lade dig køre igennem, hvis bare du husker, at næste gang, du har et flyttelæs, der skal til Schweiz, så venter du til en hverdag." Det kunne jeg nemt love... Jeg har ikke så mange flere flyttelæs, der skal til Schweiz...

My brother Jacob and I had a wonderful trip down trough Denmark and Germany without any big problems. (We don't want to mention the forgotten passport here...) As we approached the Swiss border we got a bit anxious because the custom had closed for the weekend, so if they would not let us through we would have to wait until Monday.

But as we got closer to the border we were holding behind a Polish van full of stuff so we hoped they would stop them and let us go through but the opposite happened. They stopped us and I had to explain everything - including showing my list of everything I was bringing into the country and how much I had bought within the last half year (which I then would have to pay Swiss custom for.) Meanwhile Jacob was praying.

Then the border guard went to speak to his supervisor and then came back and said, 'Well, normally we are not supposed to let you through until you can go through custom Monday but we will let you through as long as you remember to bring your things through custom on a weekday the next time you bring your stuff to Switzerland.' I will remember that!

The road trip

Jeg sidder her med så meget taknemmlighed i hjertet. Har lige holdt afskedsfest. TÆnk at have så mange dejlige mennesker i sit liv! Tak til alle. Billeder kommer måske senere, når jeg er på min egegn computer igen.
Men nu vil jeg bare sige, at jacob og jeg kører afsted lørdag morgen 8:30. gennem Tyskeland til Schweiz. Bed gerne for en sikker tur. Knus Dorthe

SItting here with so much greatfulness in my heart. I just had my farewell party. How wonderful to have so many wonderful people in my life!!! Thanks to you all! Pictures might hit this blog at a later state. Rigth now I just want to say that Jacob and I are beginning our trip to Switzerland Saturday morning 8:30 through Germany. Please pray for a safe trip. Love, Dorthe

Verdens bedste netværksgruppe - The world's best house group

I tirsdags holdt min netværksgruppe fra kirken afskedshyggeaften for mig, og jeg var ganske overvældet. De havde lavet lagkager og pyntet op. De holdt hver og en taler for mig. De havde lavet en bibelquiz til mig (som faktisk lige er min form for underholdning). De bad for mig og stillede mange spørgsmål om min fremtid i Schweiz. Og så havde de købt den mest fantastiske gave til mig. Lige noget, jeg ønskede mig uden at have sagt det til nogen: Et års abonnement på et dansk dameblad (og andre ting).

Jeg kommer til at savne jer alle sammen i netværksgruppen! Vores fællesskab har været ustyrlig ærligt og kærligt. Vi har altid delt virkelig dybe ting med hinanden og set mange vilde bønnesvar i årenes løb. TAK! Og tak fordi I har lovet, at jeg fortsat kan dele bønneemner med jer! Det vil jeg helt sikkert benytte mig af!

Tuesday night my house group from church had made a farewell night for me and I was really overwhelmed. They had made special Danish cakes for me and decorated the house. Each and everyone of them had a little speach for me. They had made a Bible quiz for me (just my sense of entertainment, actually). They prayed for me and asked tons of questions about my future. And then they had bought the most wonderful gift: A years subscription on a nice Danish magazine for women plus some other things. This was actually a really desire I had had but had not shared with anyone.

I will really miss you all! Our fellowship has been extremely honest and caring. We have always shared really deep stuff with each other and have seen many amazing answers to prayers throughout the years. THANKS! And also thanks that you have said I can continue to send you prayer requests. I will most definately use that opportunity.

Udsendelse - Comissioning Service

Nå, men oven på den oplevelse (se sidste blogspot) var alt, hvad jeg havde lyst til resten af dagen at tale om Danmarks børn og deres behov. I stedet var det blevet tid til at tale om Europas børn, børnemedarbejdere og om mig selv! Det var min sidste gudstjeneste i København, hvor jeg skulle fortælle lidt om min fremtid i kirken og blive bedt for, førend jeg drager fra gårde.

Tak til København Vineyard og folk fra Evangelisk Børnemission. Det var en dejlig dag med en masse farvel'ler!

Well, after that experience (check out the previous blogspot) all I wanted to do for the rest of the day was to talk about the needs of the children of Denmark. But instead it was time to talk about the children of Europe, the children's workers of Europe and about me! It was time for my comissioning service in my church where they officially sent me out and prayed for me before the big road trip on Satuday!

Thanks to everyone for making this day special to me!

En buket blomster - A bouquet of flowers

Igår fik jeg et opkald fra et børneklubbarn: "Mig og mine søstre kan ikke komme til din afskedsfest for børneklubben og B'Tweens, og det er vi ret kede af." Åh ja, så var gode råd dyre. Det endte med at vi mødtes og spiste frokostpizza idag.

Og Mette, Mie og Majbrit dukkede op med en buket blomster, som de SELV havde betalt. Jeg er vist aldrig blevet så rørt over blomster før!

Mie fortalte mig, at hun har en masse billeder af os hængende derhjemme på væggen, og Mette fortalte, at hun har sat et billede af mig i sin medaljon, som hun har om halsen. Jeg var ganske overvældet (er det stadig) og havde mest af alt lyst til at blive i Danmark efter de beskeder.

Men afsted må jeg, så min bøn er, at der må være nogle andre kristne, som børnene i Humlebæk må kunne sætte i deres medaljon.

Yesterday I got a call from a Good News Club child, 'My sisters and I can't come to your farewell party for the Good News Club and Junior Youth Challenge and we are quite sad about that!'

Well, well well, we had to do something about that so today we met for pizza.

Mette, Mie and Majbrit showed up with a bouquet of flowers that they had paid for THEMSELVES. I think I have never been so toughted by flowers before.

Mie told me that she has a bunch of pictures of us on her wall and Mette told me that she has put a picture of me in her locket that she wears around the neck. I was really overwhelmed by that (still am...) and just wanted to stay in Denmark for ever.

But I have to go, so my prayer is that there will be some other Christians in the town of Humlebæk that the children can put in their locket.

Et andet besøg til Schweiz - Another visit to Switzerland

I den mere vemodige boldgade (check sidste blogspot), så har jeg også et brev fra min mors sidste besøg i Schweiz. Hun skriver i 1996:

"Når man sidder og kigger på alle de forskellige, også vores lærere som er fra Irland, så priser man Gud for, at han har kaldet unge og ældre til at rejse forskellige steder hen og tjene ham.

Og så tænker jeg på mine egne børn, at de måske en dag er til velsignelse et eller andet mystisk sted, hvor andre mennesker kan følge med i deres oplevelser! Det er jo både underligt og dejligt at tænke på. Men jeg bliver alligevel ved med at bede for, at I alle må blive brugt i Herrens tjeneste. ... Jeg håber I en dag kommer herned. Men det ved kun Gud."

On the more melancholic note (check my last blogspot), I also have a letter from my mum's last visit to Switzerland. In 1996 she is writting me:

'When I sit and look at all these different people, including our teachers from Ireland, I praise God for calling young and older people to travel to different places and serve Him. And then I think about my own children, that maybe one day they will be a blessing and travel to some strange place and other people will read about their experiences! It is both weird and wonderful to think about. But I keep on praying that you all will be used in the Lord's service. ... I hope you will come to Kilchzimmer one day. But that is something only God knows about.'

Mit første besøg i Schweiz - My first visit to Switzerland

For nylig fandt jeg nogle breve, som min mor har skrevet i Schweiz til min mormor, mens mine forældre gik på den skole i Schweiz, som jeg nu skal ned og lede. Det er da sjovt! Knapt så sjovt er det at læse diverse sandheder om sig selv i disse breve... Læs selv:

Søndag 6/7 1975: "Vil du hjælpe os med at bede for Dorthe. Vi kan ikke magte hende. Hun er mægtig sød til at sove [det er jeg faktisk stadig] ... Men hun er frygtelig ved måltiderne. Hun vil intet spise, og hun hyler og skaber sig, så vi skammer os frygteligt. Alle de andre børn spiser alt, hvad de får, og sidder stille hele tiden."

Ja, ja. Jeg vil bare sige, at jeg lover at opføre mig bedre denne gang!

Recently I found some letter that my mum wrote from Switzerland to my grandmother while my parents took the course at our Leadership Training Institute that I will now be working at. That's funny, isn't it? However, it is less funny that I have had to face some truths about myself that I didn't know about. Read for yourself:

Sunday 6. July 1975: 'Will you help us pray for Dorthe. We cannot handle her. She is really good at sleeping [I still am, actually] ... But she is terrible at the meals. She doesn't want to eat anything and she is whining and fussing so that we are so ashamed. All the other children eat everything that is served and is sitting still all the time.'

Well, well, what can I say? I promise to behave better this time!