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!

Så fedt vemod - So cool melancholy

Idag kom Ida, Elisabeth og Maria på besøg på kontoret. De kommer til at danne grundstammen i vores nye team for TTC (Teens To Children). Maj hænger lidt ved og hjælper frem til påske, jeg kommer hjem og er med på outreachs, og Hanne kører derudad i Jylland, så helt alene er de nu ikke.

Lidt vemodigt var det dog at pakke alle mine TTC-ting sammen og give dem til Ida.

Men meget fedt -totalt coolt og trygt - var det at give sit hjertebarn videre til så dejlige og kompetente mennesker.

Ida kommer til at lede TTC, og som det fremgår af billedet øverst, bærer hun børnenes sag tæt på sit hjerte ;-)

Today Ida, Maria and Elisabeth came to visit us at the office. They will be the core leaders of our new team for TTC (Teens To Children). Maj will also hang in there until Easter, I will return and help on outreaches and Hanne is doing it full speed in Jutland too, so the new ones are not left all by themselfes.

But I have to admit that it was with a lot a melancholy that I packed all my TTC-things for Ida yesterday.

But it was so great - and oh so cool - to hand my most beloved ministry over to so competent people.

Ida will be leading TTC and as you can see on the picture above she keeps the children close to her heart ;-)

Flyttebil igen igen - Van for moving once again

Argggg!!!! I denne uge har vi gået rundt og troet, at vi havde skaffet en billig flyttebil og så finder vi ud af i dag - 1½ uge inden afrejse - at der er et forsikringsproblem!!! Vi har nu fundet et "billigt" udlejningsfirma, men det er stadig DYRT. Hvis vi ikke har fundet anden løsning inden på fredag, så må vi booke den.

Argggg!!! We thought we had got a hold of a really cheap van to use for my move to Switzerland but then today - 1½ week before departure - we learned that there was an insurance problem. We have now found a "cheap" renting compagny but it is still a lot of money. If we have not found another solution by Friday we must book this van.

Et godt grin - sooo funny

Har lige haft mig et rigtig godt grin. Jeg var ved at rydde op i nogle papirer (den står på sortering af hele mit liv i disse dage...) og faldt over et papir med overskriften: "Hvad jeg forventer mig af 1989/hele livet". Det var nu meget interessant læsning og godt at se, at jeg åbenbart har opnået faktisk næsten alle mine teenagedrømme. Og så stod der så pludselig: "Min helt store drøm er at komme til Schweiz og være med i en kristen dramagruppe." OK, man må le (eller græde). Måske kan jeg lokke nogle af mine fremtidige kolleger med på et eller andet, så også denne drøm kan blive opfyldt...

Have just had such a funny moment. I was sorting some papers (it seems like my whole life is sorting these days) and I found a paper saying, 'My expectations for 1989/the rest of my life'. With interest I started reading and it was good to see that I have accomplished most of my teenage dreams. But then suddenly towards the end of the paper I had written, 'My uttermost dream is to go to Switzerland and do Christian dramatising'. Well, well, well. Is any of my future colleagues reading this?? And do you have a suggestion so that I/we can accomplish this old dream of mine???

Badekar - bath tub

Kom hjem i eftermiddags og havde bare sådan lyst til et karbad, men ja, den slags er ikke rigtig tilgængeligt her på mit 1½ kvadratmeter københavnerbadeværelse. Men så gik det op for mig, at om to uger har jeg et badekar i Schweiz. Og der er tonsvis af bjergvand, som man bare kan bruge løs af uden at få dårlig samvittighed!!!!

Came home this afternoon and was longing for a bath but my 1½ square meter bathroom doesn't really provide such luxury. We settle with showers. But then it dawned on me: In two weeks time I will have a bath tub in Switzerland! Including tons upon tons of free mountain water which runs so plentiful that noone has a bad concience using it (as we always have in Denmark).

Skumring i Dyrehaven - Twilight in the forest

Gik en skumringstur her til aften i Dyrehaven sammen med en af mine venner. Og så mødte vi pludselig en stor flok hjorte (se billederne). Det var helt fantastisk. De fleste stod stille og gloede. Nogle gik også forbi os, men det mest fantastiske var, at det åbenbart var blevet sæson for de store kampe mellem hannerne. Kun 50 meter fra os så vi han tørne mod han, gevir mod gevir. Og når en kamp var vundet skulle der jo brøles, så alle de andre hjorte (ikke mindst hunnerne) var klar over, hvem der sejrherren. Der var meget aggresivitet i luften, og jeg stod i konstant frygt for, at den skulle gå ud over os (hvad ved jeg om hjortekampe?), men vi kom hjem i god behold.

Today I went for a twilight walk together with a friend in a big forest close to Copenhagen. And suddenly we met a lot of deers. (See the pictures.) It was magnificant! Most of them stood still and watched us but some also walked pass us quite casually. But the most fantastic experience was that apperently it was the season for the male deers to fight. So only 50 metres from us male was crashing into male, antlers against antlers. And when a fight was won then the male was roaring so that noone (especially not the female deers) would doubt who was the winner. There were a lot of aggresivity in the air and I was in constant fear that we would be some of the victims (what do I know about deer fights?) but we got home save and sound.

Et møjforkælet Guds barn - A rotten spoiled child of God

Jeg føler mig bare så velsignet. Gud har på så mange måder vist mig de sidste uge, hvor meget han elsker mig. Og i så mange praktiske situationer har han givet mig lige det, jeg havde brug for. Jeg føler mig møjforkælet!

I feel so blessed. In so many ways the past weeks God has shown me how much He loves me. And in so many practicals ways He has given me exactly what I needed. I feel rotten spoiled!

Opdatering på flytteforvirring - Update on the moving situation

Alt i orden med arbejdstilladelse o. lign.
Min bror Jacob og jeg kører til Schweiz 29-30/9.
Der er stadig ikke nogen afklaring med bibelskole, men måske en lysning i horisonten.
Mangler en kassevogn til at køre alle mine ting derned.
Og så har jeg ryddet mit loft igår og idag. Jeg kan undres over, hvor meget skrammel, man får samlet sammen på seks år.

Everything is settled regarding work permit and the like.
My brother Jacob and I will drive to Switzerland 29.-30. of September.
There is still no solution regarding Bible School but maybe a brigtening in the horisont.
Need a big van to drive the stuff and myself down in.
And then I have cleared my attic yesterday and today. Can't get over how much uneccesary stuff it it possible to get in 6 years.

Hygge med M & M - Good times with M & M

I lørdags havde jeg en rigtig hyggelig dag med mine små søskende Miriam (7) og Marcus (5). Vi var i svømmehal, på Mc Donalds, i Fætter BR og derhjemme. Dejligt med en masse tid sammen her få uger, førend jeg rejser.

Børn har deres helt egen logik - her er et eksempel. Sidst på eftermiddagen sad Marcus og jeg og samlede noget legetøj. Marcus sad og kiggede i posen med skruer, og jeg sagde: "Kan du lige give mig den store grå skrue og den... øh... dims..., der passer til." "Dårlig forklaring", tænkte jeg, men Marcus rakte mig den rigtige dims, og jeg måtte naturligvis spørge, hvordan det var lykkedes ham at forstå min forklaring. "Det var den eneste ting, der lignede en dims", svarede han. Og ja... det var faktisk rigtigt!

This Saturday I spend a really nice day together with my youngest siblings, Miriam (7) and Marcus (5). We went to the swimming bath, Mc Donalds, a toy store and also spend time at home. It was very nice to spend a whole day together here a few weeks before I leave Denmark.

And children have their own kind of logic. Here is an example: Late in the afternoon Marcus and I was putting a piece of toy together. He was looking in the bags with all the screws in and I said, 'Could you please hand me the big grey screw and ... ehmm... the little .... thingy emmm... that fits it?' 'What a lousy explanation', I thought but Marcus handed me the right pieces. 'How on earth did you find the right piece for that screw?', I asked. 'It was the only piece that looked like a thingy', he replied. And actually.... he was right.

Drømte mig en drøm - I had a dream

I nat drømte jeg en mærkelig drøm... Jeg gik på et opfriskningskursus i standarddans (schweizere er ret vilde med standarddans), men pludselig blev kurset forvandlet til min børneklub, og pludselig kom en af de høje herrer fra EB Europa ind i billedet. (Jeg ved ikke, om han kom pga standarddansen eller børneklubben.) Jeg fortalte ham om mine frustrationer med at finde en online bibelskole, og han sagde: "Jamen, jeg kan da hjælpe dig! Se her! Check denne web-adresse ud!" Og så viste han mig en webadresse.

Herefter vågnede jeg. Først tænkte jeg ikke mere på det, men så tænkte jeg: "Hvad nu hvis...". Jeg tændte computeren og tastede webadressen ind.... Og kom frem til en hjemmeside, der solgte løbesko. Og hvad er så meningen med det? (Udover at jeg faktisk burde købe et par nye løbesko...)

Last night I had the funniest dream. First I was at a refreshers course in ballroom dancing. (Apparently the swizz people looove ballroom dancing so I want to take that up again, by the way.) Then the course turned into my Good News Club and then one of the big leaders in CEF Europe came into the dream. (I don't know if he came for the ballroom dancing or the Good News Club.) Well, I took the opportunity to tell him about my difficulties of finding a good online Bible course and he said, 'Well, no problem. I can help you. Look this internet address up!'

Then I woke up and first thought nothing of it, but then I started thinking, 'What if???' So I turned on the computer and looked up the address... And it turned out to be a page that sells running shoes... So... What the meaning??? (Except, I actually need new running shoes...)

Fredfyldt forvirring - Peaceful confusion

Der er en del forvirrende ting i mit liv lige nu:

- Jeg skulle på bibelskole september-december men det blev aflyst, så nu må jeg tage mine bibelstudier online.
- Jeg har først arbejdstilladelse i Schweiz fra januar men har udlejet min lejlighed fra oktober.
- Jeg kan ikke finde et bibelstudie online, som giver mig det, jeg har brug for.
- Jeg har ansøgt om at komme på et kort lederkursus i Ungarn i starten af oktober, men har ikke fået svar.

Alt i alt: Temmelig meget kaos!
Vil sætte pris på jeres forbøn for, at Guds løsning må træde i værk.

There seems to be a lot of confusing things in my life at the moment:

- I should have been to Bible School in September but it was cancelled so now I have to do my Bible studies online instead.
- I only have work permit in Switzerland from January but I have rented out my apartment from October.
- I can't find an online Bible course that fits my needs.
- I have applied to a short leadership course in Hungary in October but have not got a reply.

Altogether: A lot of chaos!
I would really appriciate your prayers for God's solutions to take place!

Så fik vi Lea tilbage! - Finally we got Lea back!

I morges brød jeg mit ferie-løfte: Ikke at sætte vækkeuret i alle mine tre ugers ferie. Men som sagt: I morges MÅTTE jeg bare bryde det, for min gode veninde Lea skulle lande i lufthavnen efter et år i Sudan som læge. Hvor er det godt at have hende tilbage i god behold! Hun lignede sig selv, men mon ikke der alligevel er noget, der er forandret efter et år i et borgerkrigshærget land?

Jeg glæder mig til at tale mere med dig, Lea og byder gerne på en brunch, så snart du er "landet" rigtigt.

This morning I broke my holiday resolution: Not to set my alarm clock for my entire 3 weeks holiday. But today I had to set it because my wonderful friend Lea was returning from Sudan and we wanted to meet her in the airport. She has spend a year there working as a doctor. How good it is to have her back in one piece. She looked like her good old self but I guess that some things have changed after being in a country that are in the middle of a civil war.

I look forward to spend more time with you again, Lea, and would love to invite you out for a brunch whenever you are ready!

Det er den slags matematik, vi ka' li! - That's the math we like!

Igår mødte jeg et gammelt børneklub-barn, der nu er blevet teenager. Hun fortalte, at hun havde fortalt sin lille kusine om at tro, og at kusinen med det samme havde taget imod Jesus.

Der er nogen, der har sagt, at når man fortæller børn om Jesus, så starter man en gange-tabel, fordi de fortæller det videre og videre.

Og selv om jeg engang var en passioneret matematiklærer, så vil jeg nu sige, at det er denne slags matematik, jeg især elsker!

Yesterday I met an old Good News Club child. She is now in her teens. She told me that she had told her little cousin about her faith and the cousin had received Christ immidiately.

Someone once said that when you reach children you start a multiplication proces because they continue to tell others about Christ.

And even if I once was a very passionated math-teacher I must say that THIS is the kind of mathematic, I looove!

Buholo går til filmen - Buholo makes it to the movies

Jeg har mange tossede veninder, men Buholo slår dem alle!

Og i forgårs lykkedes det hende at få mig overtalt til at medvirke i en kortfilm, som hun igår skulle lave for at deltage i en film-konkurrence i København. På en eller anden måde endte jeg med hovedrollen og kom i mange mærkelige situationer igår - kan dog desværre ikke røbe noget, da konkurrencen stadig kører.

Håber, at du vinder, Buholo. Men jeg har altså ikke tid til at tage med dig til Holywood - jeg skal snart til Schweiz!

I have many crazy friends but Buholo beats them all!

Thursday she persuated me to act in a short movie that she was making Friday for a competition that is taking place at the moment in Copenhagen. Somehow I ended up as the main character and suddenly saw myself in many strange situations yesterday - but I can't reveal anything since the competition is still running.

I hope you win, Buholo. But I can't join you in Holywood - I am soon moving to Switzerland!

En rørende aften - A touching evening

Bare lige et lille minde fra sommerlejren, som stadig sidder i mig.

Den sidste aften skulle vi som alle aftener have aftenandagt med lovsang for de store børn. Det var Ida, der skulle lede aftenen, men få minutter inden start, kommer hun i fuld fart over til mig og siger, at jeg må overtage aftenen, da der er en lille pige, der har låst sig inde på toilettet og græder. Jeg går ind og finder lovsangsgruppen, som venter på besked om, hvad de skal spille. Det overlader jeg trygt til dem at finde ud af, og aftenen går igang.

Og nu kommer det smukke: Som aftenen går, bliver det de unge ledere mellem 14-18 år, der styrer aftenen. To finder sange, en holder andagt, en anden styrer lovsangen som om han ikke havde bestilt andet det sidste år, et par stykker rådgiver børn, nogle synes, at det er tid til et eftermøde. Og det hele foregår i en gudgiven ro. Og jeg læner mig trygt tilbage og ser det hele ske. Her står alle disse dejlige teenagere og tjener Gud. Jeg har kendt dem alle, siden de var børn. Jeg har tjent Gud sammen med dem på Teens To Children, og nu står de her og styrer det hele.
I bagklogskabens lys tænker jeg, at det havde været mere logisk, at jeg havde hjulpet pigen på toilettet og Ida havde ledt mødet som planlagt. Men jeg tror, at Gud havde denne oplevelse i baghånden til mig. Det var en dejlig måde at sige farvel til min sidste børnelejr, inden jeg snart rejser til Schweiz.

Just a wee memory from camp last week that I can't forget.

It was the last evening and time for the last devotional meeting for the older children. Ida was supposed to lead the whole thing but a few minutes before, she hurried up to me and told me to take over the meeting since she had to help a little girl that had locked herself into one of the toilets.
I went into the hall only to realize that the worship team were waiting for Ida to tell them which songs to sing. I handed over that responsibility to them!

And then the beautiful thing started to happen in front of my eyes. All those young helpers at camp, age 14-18 took over! Some found songs, another had a devotion, two counselled children, one was leading the worship like he had been doing so for years and so on. And I could just lean back and watch it all! How wonderful to watch all these young people whom I have known since they were children. We have all served together at Teens To Children too and now they were ready to take over.

Looking back on the whole evening I think it would have made more sense if I had fixed the toilet problem and Ida had been leading the evening as planned but I think this was a special gift from God to me. Because it was such a wonderful ending to my last summer camp in Denmark before soon leaving to go to Switzerland.

En hyldest til Minnie - A tribute to Minnie

Mens vi var på børnelejr, fik vi besked om, at Minnie Eskelund var gået hjem til Jesus. Minnie startede Evangelisk Børnemission i Danmark for tres år siden. De sidste mange måneder var Minnie syg, og Henry passede hende trofast.

Jeg har mange dejlige minder om Minnie!
Det første går helt tilbage til en solskinsdag i 1976. Vi sidder i haven, og Minnie serverer Fanta med vanilieis i under stor glæde, mens hun underholder alle ved bordet.

Et andet stærkt minde er fra kort efter, at jeg startede på fuld tid i EB. Vi var på en konference, og Minnie skulle undervise om bøn. At se og lytte til denne bønnekæmpe var en meget stærk oplevelse, jeg nok aldrig glemmer. Der var så stor vægt og autoritet i hendes ord.

Jeg husker også en gang i børneklub, hvor jeg var igang med at fortælle vores missionshistorie om Minnies liv. Da jeg fortalte om, hvordan Minnie som barn tog imod Jesus i sit liv, stoppede en af pigerne med at lytte til mig og tog på stedet imod Jesus.

Mit sidste minde er fra ugen før Minnies død. Jeg besøgte hende på hospitalet. Der lå et skrøbeligt legeme men stadig en stærk ånd og sjæl. Minnie stillede spørgsmål, der vidnede om, at hun stadig fulgte med i mit liv. Hun fortalte om den bog, hun havde ligget og læst i samme morgen. Jeg måtte endnu engang forbløffes over, at man kan være syg med så stor værdighed!
Minnie blev 92 år.

Tak Gud, fordi du sendte Minnie til os!


While we were at camp we got the sad news that Minnie Eskelund had been taken home to be with the Lord. Minnie was the founder of CEF in Denmark 60 years ago. The past months, Minnie was really ill and her husband Henry took faithfully care of her.

I have many fond memories of Minnie.

The first one is dated back to 1976. We were sitting in her garden and she was joyfully serving us Fanta with vanilla ice cream in it (try it - it's good!) while entertaining everyone at the table.

My next memory is after I joined CEF as a full time worker. We were at a conference and Minnie was speaking about prayer. And to watch this old prayer warrior talk had an impressive impact on me. She had so much power and authority behind her words.

Another memory is from one time in my Good News Club where I was telling the mission story of Minnie's life to the children. After sharing about Minnie's conversion as a child one of the children stopped listening to me and asked Jesus into her life.

My last memory is from the week before Minnie left us to be with the Lord. I visited her at the hospital and her body was so weak and fragile yet her spirit and personality was as strong as ever. She asked me questions that showed me how she was still keeping herself updated on my life. She shared we me about the book she had been reading that morning. (We both love novels.) And once again I was surprised to see the way she was carrying her illness with so much dignity.

Minnie became 92 years old.

Thank you, God, for sending Minnie to us!

Børnelejr - Children camp

Så er jeg vel hjemme efter lejr og er nu ved at dukke op til overfladen - "virkelig vågen"- overfladen.

Vi havde som altid en fantastisk lejr.

Vejret var strålende!

Lederteamet var helt fantastisk - jeg elsker jer!

Og børnene var bemærkelsesværdige velopdragne (ihvertfald de fleste af dem...)

Og min med-lejrchef Ida var også en rigtig god oplevelse. Det er første gang, at jeg har arbejdet sammen med en, der ligner mig selv så meget. Lidt skræmmende - for så får man jo alt, om man gerne vil have det. Det kan bestemt ikke være sundt i længden. Men for en enkelt uge var det nu skønt.

Da jeg sad og kiggede på fotos bagefter, fik jeg næsten lyst til at være 16-18 år igen og være hjælpeleder (også kun næsten). Jeg tror måske næsten, at det er dem, der har det allersjovest på lejren. Se selv billederne...

Home again after a wonderful summer camp. And now I am finally really awake again and ready to update my blog...

We had a wonderful camp!

The weather was wonderful.

The staff were fantastic - I love U!

And the children were surprisingly well behaved (welll, most of them...).

And my co-camp-director Ida and I also had a wonderful fellowship. Actually, I don't think I have ever worked with anyone so like myself before. Quite nice, I must say, because then you get everything as you like them to be. Can't be healthy for your ego in the long run but for a week it was quite nice, I must admit.

Looking at the pictures afterwards I started to envy the young teen helpers. 'Cause they seem to have had the most fun. Take a look at the pictures yourself...

Hvis jeg var en Simpson... - If I was a Simpson

Hvis jeg var en Simpson, så ville jeg ifølge hjemmesiden Simpsonizeme, se sådan ud. Jeg gav dem billedet fra min blog profil, og dette blev resultatet. Og det synes jeg lige, at I skulle vide. Man kan jo aldrig vide, hvornår man får brug for en sådan information...

If I was a Simpson then I would look like this according to the webpage Simpsonizeme who analyzed the picture from my blog profile. And I just thought I would tell you that in case you need the information...

Dage i Schweiz – Days in Switzerland

Jeg sidder i toget på vej til Zürich lufthavn og tænker tilbage på to dejlige uger i Schweiz. Det har været helt fantastisk. Og hyggeligt og dejligt at være hernede for at undervise.
Og så har jeg slet ikke fået opdateret min blog i al den tid…
Først og fremmest fordi dagene er fløjet af sted. Kursisterne og sommerhjælpere var topklasse. Og totalt hyggelige og sjove, så hvem vil sidde foran computeren og gå glip af fællesskabet? Der var også masser af arbejde. En del ”små ekstraopgaver” fandt sin vej til mit skrivebord – sikkert fordi jeg snart bliver en del af staben.

I år er der ekstra mange ørne over Kilchzimmer, som vores hovedkvarter hedder. Det er helt vildt at sidde og kigge på deres smukke flyveture. En dag landede en af ørnene endda få meter fra, hvor jeg stod. Men der var også andre flyvende objekter i luften. En dag kom en redningshelikopter flyvende og en redder blev sænket ned i en slugt lige bag vores hus. Senere blev han hentet op sammen med den person, han havde reddet. Dette gentog sig et antal gange. Det blev egentlig lidt mystisk. Kunne så mange mennesker være strandet lige bag os på en helt almindelig solskinsdag? Hmm… Senere fandt vi ud af, at det hele bare var en øvelse.

Gud brugte også disse to uger til at drage mig tættere til ham og lære mig, at han er større.

På shoppetur. Ligretto blev en ret stor hitter på Kilchizimmer, og da der pludseligt var tilbud i en supermarkedkæde tog vi på tur for at hamstre til seks personer.

Shopping trip. Ligretto became the game to play so when a super market chain suddenly had them on sale we hurried out to get enough sets for six persons.

I am sitting in the train on my way to Zürich airport and I am looking back on two wonderful weeks in Switzerland. It has been fantastic and very nice to be down here to teach again.
And I haven’t updated my blog in two weeks… because the days have just been flying by. The students and volunteers were top class and really fun and wonderful to be with so I did not want to miss out on anything to sit in front of the computer… Well, there was also a lot of work this time with extra teaching and other little extra jobs that somehow found their way to me.

This year there has been extremely many eagles over Kilchzimmer as our headquarter is called. I really enjoy sitting and watching them flying around. One day an eagle even landed very close to where I was standing.

God also used these two weeks to draw me closer to Him and show me that He is bigger.

60 års fødselsdag - 60 years birthday

Her i weekenden fejrede vi min fars 60 års fødselsdag. Min far gør jo ikke et særlig stort nummer ud af sig selv, så han havde mindsandten aflyst den reception, han selv havde planlagt. Det kunne vi børn ikke bære, så derfor afholdt vi en reception fredag eftermiddag, og det var en rigtig hyggelig eftermiddag, hvor ca. 70-80 mennesker dukkede op. Gamle EB-venner mødte hinanden igen for første gang i mange år, og der blev lagt mange Silvan-gavekort på gavebordet. Senere på aftenen holdt vi en privat fest, og lørdag var det svoger Filips tur til at fylde 30, så man må sige, at der blev festet igennem den weekend. Søndag tog jeg til Schweiz, hvor jeg nu underviser i to uger, og har nu efterhånden fået sovet ud...

Last weekend we celebrated my dad's 60 years birthday. My dad is a quite humble man so he had cancelled the reception he had planned for himself. Well, his children could not bear that, so we planned a new one for him last friday and I think it was a really nice afternoon where 70-80 people showed up. Old CEF-friends met each other for the first time in many years and lots of gift certificates for tools found their way to the table for gifts. Later that night we had a private celebration for my dad and the next day my brother in law, Filip turned 30 years old, so I must say the weekend seemed like one long celebration. Sunday I flew to Switzerland where I am teaching for two weeks and must admit that I have been sleeping quite much the past days...

Sommer TTC - Summer TTC

I sidste uge havde vi Teens To Children. Først to dages træning og derefter tre dages outreach. Og endnu engang var det helt fantastisk at være ude "på græs". Det blæste en halv pelikan og regnede også lidt, men ikke en eneste protest kom over teenagernes læber. De kløede bare på og hyggede sig med børnene og delte Guds ord med dem. De var fantastiske! Og det var børnene også. Hvor var det dog vildt at se, hvordan børnene simpelthen slugte Guds ord og kunne gengive alt, hvad vi havde lært dem. Og at der også dukkede kirkefremmede teenagere og voksne op til møderne - ja det er jo kun et ekstra plus. Det virker som om, at alle vegne, vi kommer, er folk klar til at høre Guds ord.

Christine og jeg lærer børnene et bibelvers udenad.

Christine and I are teaching the children a memory verse.

Når vejret var alt for ubarmhjertigt søgte vores team ly i et nærtliggende bålhus og holdt børnemøderne der.

When the weather was too nasty our team had the children meetings in a nearby hut.

Om aftenen blev det tid til lidt hygge. Men hånden på hjertet så spiller jeg ikke for hyggens skyld men for at vinde!

In the evenings it was time for som relaxing activities. But honestly, I don't play games to relax but to win!

Last week we had Teens To Children camp. First we had two days of training and then three days of outreach with children meetings in different places. And once again it was amazing to be 'out in the field'. It was windy and rainy but not once did I hear any of the teenagers complain. They just kept on playing games with the children and sharing God's word. They were amazing! And so were the children. It keeps on amazing me how eager the children are to hear the Word of God and are able to repeat everything we teach them. We also had unchurched teenagers and adults showing up at our meetings too. My conclusion is that it seems like everywhere we go at the moment the people are ready to hear the Word of God.

Forudbestemt til børneklubber? - Predestined for Good News Clubs?

Forleden kiggede jeg på gamle fotos og fandt dette... Jeg har egentlig aldrig rigtig lagt mærke til billedet før, men nu kan jeg godt huske, at mine forældre syntes, at det var vanvittig morsomt.

Jeg er tre år gammel, og mine forældre er lige startet i Evangelisk Børnemission. Og her holder jeg altså min første børneklub helt alene. Se, hvor fint alle dukkerne lytter efter uden at lave ballade. Og læg mærke til, hvordan jeg pænt har stillet mig på siden af tavlen, så alle dukkerne virkelig kan få noget ud af de visuelle virkemidler, som jeg åbenbart bruger i store mængder.

Jo, jeg må trække på smilebåndet og spørge mig selv, om dette billede taler mest om arv, miljø, eller slet og ret om et godt gammeldags kald til mission. Jeg vil lade svaret svæve i vinden men bare sige, at jeg stadig er totalt hooked på børneklubber! Guds ord og hyggeligt fællesskab i en god blanding. Der er endnu ingen, der har kunnet overbevise mig om, at der findes en bedre måde at føre missionsbefalingen ud i virkelighed!

Some days ago I was looking at old pictures and came across this one. I really never took much notice of it before, but I do remember that my parents found it really amusing.

I am 3 years old and my parents have just joined Child Evangelism Fellowship full time. And here I am having my very own and very first Good News Club. Look, how well all my dolls are behaving. And how I have placed myself to the side of the board in order to give the dolls a good view of the multitudes of visual aids I have used.

I must laugh and wonder whether this is a sign of heredity or environment or plain simple a good old fashion calling for mission that we see on this picture. I don't have the answer but I must say that I am still totally hooked on Good News Clubs! The Word of God combined with a loving fellowship is a good mixture! So far no one has showed me a more effective way of living Matthew 28,18-20 than regular meetings for children!

Evangelisk Gråspurvemission - Sparrow Rescueing Fellowship

Har lige haft den mest frygtindgydende oplevelse længe på jobbet. Jeg er helt alene på kontoret i dag, og pludselig hørte jeg lyde. Jeg gik rundt og undersøgte kontoret, men ingen svarede på mine "hallo?'er". Nå, men lydene fortsatte, og endelig opdagede jeg, at der havde sat sig et dyr fast i vores udsugning. Hmmm.... Jeg ringede til min far, der fik mig overbevist om, at det hverken var en rotte eller en mus, der sad fast men nok snarere en fugl. Skulle jeg redde den eller lade den sidde? Nu er jeg ikke ligefrem den helt store dyreelsker, så jeg havde mest lyst til at glemme alt om det dumme dyr og fortsætte med mit arbejde. med andre ord: Jeg var fyldt af frygt! Men så kom jeg i tanke om, at Bibelen jo taler om, at Gud lægger mærke til selv en spurv, der falder til jorden. Nu var denne jo ganske vist ikke faldet til jorden men ned i en udsugning, men alligevel.... min samvittighed vandt over min frygt, og så måtte jeg igang med redningsprojektet. Jeg skal skåne jer for lange beskrivelser af både min og fuglens hjertebanken. Jeg skal nøjes med at fortælle, at det faktisk viste sig at være en spurv - en gråspurv. Men en dum en af slagsen. Det tog ret meget tid at få den hjulpet ud af kopirummet og ud i solen. Jeg tvivler på, at der har været en gråspurv, der har fået mere forbøn end denne, men langt om længe lykkedes det, så nu må jeg vist hellere se at komme tilbage til mit normale arbejde, og lægge min lille bi-tjeneste på hylden.

Have had the most frightening experience today at the office. I am all alone today and suddenly I heard noices. I went arround the office but noone seemed to want to respond to my hellos. Then suddenly I realized that an animal had fallen into our extractor fan. I called my dad and he convinced me that it was neither a rat nor a mouse but probably a bird. I considerer if I should leave it there or try to do something and honestly I was most inclined to leave the stupid animal. My ministry is nevertheless children - not birds. Actually I was frightened beyond words. But then I was reminded how the Scripture tells us that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without our Heavenly Father knowing it. And even if this little bird had not fallen to the ground but into the extractor fan I suppose the same principle was still valid. So I decided to do something about it. I will spare you for the long descriptions of my beating heart and the bird's. But when it came out of the extractor fan it turned out to be a sparrow... But a stupid one of the sort. It took quit a while to help it out of our office. I guess a sparrow has never received so much intercession as this little fellow. But finally it realized where the sun was and left. So now I am all alone again. However, extremely relieved - and busy to catch up on my normal ministry helping children - not sparrows!

Aftenfred på Esrum sø - Evening peace at the lake

Tak for en hyggelig aften, Jette og Filip. Det var sjovt at prøve jeres nye kano!

Thanks for a lovely evening, Jette and Filip. It was fun trying out your new canoe.

Nini'erne - The Ninis

I går græd jeg. Det sker ellers ikke så tit. Men jeg har været i Schweiz nogle dage til vigtige møder, og følte mig en del overvældet af alle de ting, der kommer til at forandre sig de næste måneder. Jeg tænkte på alle de ting, jeg må ofre for at følge Guds vej: Min dejlige lejlighed, mit pletfrie køkken, venner, kirke, familie, sprog, København, min næsten nye cykel og mange andre ting. Men det var nu ikke derfor, at jeg græd. Nej, jeg sludrede lidt med Gud om det hele og sagde: ”Der er godt nok meget, man må ofre for at følge dig!” Jeg vidste, at jeg var uretfærdig, for tænk på de store ofre, Jesus gav for vores skyld, da han forlod sit hjem for at komme til jorden.

Men pludselig skete det. Jeg så et billede. Ikke en overnaturlig vision. Nej, jeg så et foto. Det ligger som baggrundsbillede på min computer, og det forestiller Nini, som jeg skrev om på denne blog for et par dage siden. På billedet står hun sammen med en lille dreng, som ser meget alvorlig ud. Faktisk så jeg ham slet ikke smile i den tid, han var på besøg i vores børnetelt. Man spørger sig selv, hvorfor en lille dreng på fem år ser så alvorlig ud. Og jeg begyndte at græde for Ninis skyld og for den lille drengs skyld. Fordi der ikke er en børneklub i deres nærmiljø. Fordi Nini er efterladt helt alene med sin nye tro på Jesus. Fordi jeg ikke har hendes adresse. Og jeg græd for den lille dreng, der så alt for alvorlig ud. Jeg græd for alle de mange ”Nini’er”, jeg har mødt igennem mit liv. Og alle de andre, jeg ikke har mødt. Jeg så tusindvis af Nini’er for mit indre blik.

Og så blev det pludseligt så klart for mig igen, hvorfor det er så vigtigt at flytte til Schweiz. Her kan jeg være med til at træne folk, der kan træne folk, der kan række ud til børn over hele Europa. Her kan jeg gennem mit job forhåbentlig indirekte og direkte være med til, at der startes flere og flere og flere børneklubber. Og i lyset af alt dette, blev mine kommende måneders udfordringer pludseligt så små. Da jeg så alle de mange børn, som har brug for nogle, der vil gå en ekstra mil, ja, så var det ikke svært at bestemme sig for at gå den ekstra mil – for Nini!

Yesterday I cried. It actually doesn’t happen very often. But I have been in Switzerland a few days for some important meetings, and I felt a bit overwhelmed by all those things that are about to change the next few months. I thought about all the things I have to sacrifice in order to move and serve God: My wonderful apartment, my spotless kitchen, friends, church, family, language, Copenhagen, my almost new bike and a lot of other things. But that was not why I cried… No, I chatted a bit with God about the whole thing and said, ’There really are a lot of sacrifices when we follow you!’ I knew I was being unfair – because think about all the things Christ gave up in order to come to this earth.

But then it happened. I saw a picture. Not as in a supernatural vision but simply a photo. It is my background screen on the computer at the moment and it shows two children that I met last week at the tent campaign. It shows Nini, that I wrote about a few days ago. On the picture she is standing with a little boy who looks all too serious. I actually never saw him smiling while he was visiting our tent last week. And I started crying for Nini and for the little boy. I cried because there is no Good News Club in their neighbourhood. I cried because Nini is left behind alone with her newfound trust in Christ. I cried because I don’t have her address. And I cried for the little boy who looked all too serious and sad. I cried for the many ‘Ninis’, I have meet in the past years. And especially for all the ones I haven’t met. In my mind I saw thousand of ‘Ninis’.

And suddenly it became so clear to me again why it is so important to move to Switzerland. Here I can be a part of training the ones who will train the ones who will go and start Good News Clubs around Europe. It became clear how I hopefully through my job directly and indirectly can be a part of inspiring and equipping people to begin more and more and more Good News Clubs. And in the light of that, the challenges of the coming months became so small. When I saw all the children who needed someone who would walk an extra mile, it wasn’t hard to decide to walk that extra mile – for Nini.

Søndag i Schweiz - Sunday in Switzerland

Bare et par billeder fra en lille opdagelsesrejse, jeg begik i søndags i Schweiz. Den tog mig på gåben ned af bjerget, hvor Kilchzimmer ligger på, videre med bus, to toge og endelig en sporvogn i Basel, indtil jeg endte i en kirke, jeg virkelig havde lyst til at besøge.

Just some wee pictures from a little adventure I had on Sunday in Switzerland. I went on foot down the mountain from Kilchzimmer, then by bus, two trains and finally by cable car in Basel to a church I really wanted to visit.

Kirken og børnene - The church and the children

I ugen der er gået så vi en fantastisk ting og en trist ting.

Den fantastiske ting er, at evangeliet besidder en fænomenal tiltrækningskraft på små og store. Tænk at se totalt kirkefremmede børn, teenagere og voksne opsluges af Guds ord i vores telt. Vi havde vel 50-60 personer, som kom og gik i teltet. Flere af dem er egentlig alt for store til vores børneprogram, men det forhindrer dem ikke i at lytte og lytte og lytte.

Men hvad var så det triste? Jo, det triste var, at efter tre dage flyttede vi teltet to kilometre op til en lokal frikirke. Vi fortalte børnene, hvordan de skulle finde vej, og vi delte indbydelser ud. Til de fire børnemøder hos den lokale kirke dukkede én kirkefremmed familie med tre personer op.
Interessen for Guds ord var altså tydelig hos de 60, men kun tre (heraf to voksne) formåede at gå de ekstra to kilometre for at få mere af Guds ord.

I Bibelen står der, at hvis nogen beder dig om at gå en mil, så skal du gå to med ham.
Jeg har et vigtigt spørgmål til os kristne:
SKAL BØRNENE KOMME TIL KIRKEN ELLER SKAL KIRKEN KOMME TIL BØRNENE?

During the week that has just passed I experienced both a very wonderful and a very sad thing.

The wonderful thing is that the Gospel contains a phenomenal power to attract people. How wonderful it is to see 50-60 people at our children's tent meetings - many of them way too old for this kind of programme. But they are listening and listening and listening to the Word of God.

But what is the sad thing, then? The sad thing is that after some days we moved the tent two kilometres to a local evangelical church and had children meetings at their place. We explained the way to get there to the children and we handed out invitations. But only ONE family of three members (two adults and a child) showed up.

The 60 people clearly had an interest in the Gospel but most of them did not manage to walk the distance of two kilometres to get more.
The Bible tells us that if anyone asks you to walk a mile with them you should offer to walk two.
Now I have an important question for us as God's people:
SHOULD THE CHILDREN COME TO THE CHURCH OR SHOULD THE CHURCH COME TO THE CHILDREN?

Teltkampagne - Tent campaign

Det var så vidunderligt at være på teltkampagne i Ringsted. Så snart vi ankom, begyndte børn og teenagere at komme forbi for at hilse på os. Vi har været på denne plads hver sommer i 27 år. Der var masser af gode oplevelser i løbet af ugen, men her er den største:
Om onsdagen sad vi i teltet og repeterede Den Ordløse Bog med børnene. Den Ordløse Bog består af fire sider med hver sin farve, som repræsenterer forskellige sider af evangeliet. Mens vi sad og talte, udbrød Nini (navnet er ændret): „Jeg tog imod Jesus i går." Jeg spurgte hende så, hvordan det føltes, og Hamid (navnet er ændret) svarede: „Det føles godt!" Nini fortsatte: „Det var sjovt, og nu er jeg så glad." Jeg fik talt lidt med dem om frelsesvished og gav Nini en andagtsbog. (De muslimske børn må ofte ikke tage imod kristen litteratur, så Hamid fik ikke nogen.) Både Nini og Hamid tog min ordløse bog og rendte rundt i teltet for at fortælle de andre børn evangeliet. Bogen kom tilbage med en del fedtfingre på – men hvad gør det??!! Hvor ville jeg dog ønske, at der var en børneklub i nærheden af disse børn!

It was so wonderful to be at the tent campaign this week. As soon as we arrived, children and teens started to drop by to say hello. We have been at this site every summer for 27 years. We had many good experiences during the week, but here is the biggest one for me:

On Wednesday we were sitting in the tent and repeating The Wordless Book with the children. The Wordless Book contains of four colours that each represents a different aspect of the Gospel. While we were talking, one 8 year old girl exclaimed, "I received Christ yesterday!" So I replied, "How did it feel?" Then one little Muslim boy replied, "It felt good!" And the girl added, "It was fun. I am so happy now." So I shared with them something about assurance of salvation and then gave the girl a Wonder Devotional Book. I couldn't give the boy a book since he was from a Muslim family but he did get his own Wordless Book. Then both the children picked up my Wordless Book and went around the tent sharing the Gospel with the other children. The book came back with lots of finger marks on it, but who cares??!! How I wish that there was a local Good News Club for these children! But it closed some years ago and noone has taken over.

Så starter sommeren - Now the summer begins

Så starter sommeren! Eller ihvertfald mine sommer-oplevelser i EB. I morgen tager vi nemlig på børnekampagne med telt til Ringsted. Her har vi været de sidste snart 30 år, og vi har rigtig god kontakt med de lokale børn og voksne. Det er dog altid noget af en energi-præstation fra vores side, idet de første børn dukker op ved 12-tiden om formiddagen og så fortsætter det slag i slag til måske kl. 22-23 om aftenen.
Så bed gerne for:
At mange børn må lære Gud at kende
At vi må have energi og kærlighed til hele ugen
At Gud må passe på os.

Now the summer is about to start! Or at least my summer-experiences with CEF. Tomorrow we go on a tent campaign in a town 50 km outside Copenhagen. Here we have been for the last almost 30 years and we have very good contact with the children and adults. However it is really a tough week - the first children show up aorund noon and then it all continues until almost midnight.
So please pray:
That many children will get to know God
That we will have enough energy and love for the whole week
That God will protect us

Lederdag - Meeting for camp staff

Igår havde vi lederdag for dem, der skal med på børnelejr på Sjælland.
Vi startede morgenen med et oplæg om "Gode råd for ledere fra Ordsprogenes bog". Jeg havde forsøgt at gøre det en del interaktivt, og det virkede over al forventning. Lederne - selv de helt unge - delte alt muligt og kom med masser af gode input. Ja, det endte faktisk med, at vi alle frivilligt delte vore svagheder med hinanden og bad for hinanden. Ret bibelsk, faktisk... Sikke nogle coole ledere! Kan man ønske sig mere af en lederdag??

Yesterday we had a day of training for the staff that are going to be at one of our camps this summer.
We began the day with a devotion with good advices for leaders from the Book of Proverbs (Thanks, Gerd-Walter for that devotion in Germany!) I tried to teach with a lot of interaction and it actually worked beyond my expectations! The staff - even the youngest - shared so many wonderful insights. And actually the whole thing ended up with all of us sharing our weaknesses with one another and praying about it. Quite Biblical, actually... Such cool camp staff! Can you ask for more??

Søde Hanne - Sweet Hanne

Se her! Jeg har fået en fantastisk gave fra min kollega Hanne. Ligretto!! Hanne og jeg blev lidt fanatiske Ligretto-spillere, da vi var i Tyskland for nogle uger siden på konference, og nu har hun altså bestilt Ligretto over internettet og sender en kurér til mig, så jeg kan spille med! Tusind tak! Det var da en super overraskelse! Og et dejligt minde om hyggelige aftener i Tyskland!

Look what Hanne my colleague has given me. Ligretto! Hanne and I turned out to be a bit crazy about the game Ligretto on our recent trip to Germany a few weeks ago for the CEF conference. And now she has ordered the game over the Internet and will send it to me through a courier. How wonderful. What a nice surprise. And a great memory of nice days in Germany. Thanks a lot, Hanne!

20 kilometer havudsigt - 20 kilometres of sea view

Jeg har egentlig ferie, men den slags forhindrer ikke DSB i at dagens planer må ændres.
På vej hjem fra Humlebæk, kan toget ikke komme videre end til Rungsted, og så er gode råd, når man har sin cykel med.
Så selv om de påstår, at der er busser på vej, som måske kan have os cyklister med, så har jeg nu mange års bitter erfaring med aflyste toge og indsatte busser, og jeg vælger derfor at hoppe op på cyklen og køre et par stationer. En midaldrende dame; Lotte, spørger om vi skal følges.
Det bliver to timer på cykel, for hver gang vi kommer til en ny by, hvor toget muligvis går fra, bestemmer vi os for at køre videre. Det er jo så smukt og lunt. Og havet glimter. Og Lotte snakker. Og undervejs kan man jo belønne sig med is osv.
Jeg har altid ønsket at tage en cykeltur langs strandvejen, og nu kan jeg så takke DSB for, at det blev til virkelighed. 20 kilometre med havudsigt. Så de 15 år som togpendler har endelig givet potte.

Actually I have holiday this week but our public transportation can still change the plans of ones day. On my way home from North of Sealand, suddenly the train couldn't go any further. Now I had my bike with me and... With my many years of experience with our public transportation, I decided not to wait for the busses that maybe could bring our bikes back to Copenhagen. So I decided to bike to another train station but instead I end up biking for two hours together with an older lady who asks if she can join me. Because everytime we reach another town we decide to bike to the next. But the journey is beautiful. 20 kilometres of sea view. And the weather is wonderful. One of the first mild summer evenings. And off course we must reward ourselves with ice cream etc. during the journey. I actually always wanted to make this trip on bike - so now after 15 years of regular train journeys, I finally have something to thank our public transportation for.

Min mest elskede ven - My most beloved friend

I dag kørte jeg forbi dette udsagn malet med ubehjælpsomme grafittibogstaver på en væg nær mit hjem. Og jeg blev egentlig så rørt over det. Man skal nok være københavner for at kunne se det smukke i grøn grafitti, men sagen er den, at for tiden er hele byen jo overmalet med negative budskaber fra utilfredse unge, som er vrede over, at deres hus blev væltet. Så ja... Så er det da dejligt, at der er nogen, som holder fast i, hvad det hele handler om: Ikke mursten - men venskaber.

(PS. Og så burde vi nok finde skribentens dansklærer. Det er da en frygtelig uorden at blande majuskler og minuskler.)

Today I passed by this statement painted with ugly letters on a wall close to my home. It says, 'My most beloved friend'. And it actually made me a bit soft. I guess you have to be living in Copenhagen to see the beauty of these ugly green letters but the thing is, that at the moment the whole city is covered with negative statements due to some young people who are very upset that a house they used to hang out in, was sold and destroyed. So I just think it is nice that some young people still remember what it is all about: Not bricks but friendships!

Sam

Jeg er så glad for at kunne fortælle, at Sam har sagt ja til at komme til Kilchzimmer og arbejde i vores uddannelsesafdeling. Tak til jer, der har bedt for Sam!! Sams titel bliver noget i retningen af "administrativ assistent" og det betyder, at hun kommer til at løse alle mulige praktiske opgaver, organisere, håndtere ansøgninger fra kommende kursister, svare på emails og tusind andre ting. Det er sådan en stor lettelse, at hun har sagt ja til at tage dette job. Jeg mødte Sam for første gang for nogle år siden, da hun var kursist på vores børnemedarbejderskole i Schweiz. Lige nu arbejder hun i England, men snart vil hun begynde at arbejde på at få bønne- og støttepartnere til denne nye tjeneste. Så hvis I har en ektra bøn, må I meget gerne bede for Sam.

I am so happy that Sam will be coming to work at Kilchzimmer in Schwitzerland. Sam will be the administrative assistant for the Education Department. She will be doing all kind of adminstrative stuff, handling students' applications, organizing, answering emails and a thousand other things. It is such a great relief to know that she is coming. I got to know Samantha a few ago when she went to our Leadership Training Institute. And I am sure she is the right person for this new job. At the moment Sam is working in England and soon she will start raising support for her salery. So if you have a spare prayer -please pray that God will tell enough people to stand behind Sam in prayer and financial support. (If you have a spare Euro I am sure we can work something out too ;-)

Sam, I am really looking forward to you joining our team!

3 X konferencer - 3 X conferences

Har siddet og kigget på alle mine billeder fra de sidste 15 dage i Tyskland, hvor jeg har været på tre forskellige konferencer med kollegaer fra hele Europa mm. Og nu har jeg simpelthen lyst til at sætte alle billederne på bloggen (men skal nok skåne jer). For det var nogle rigtige dejlige dage. Dejligt
at møde gamle venner
at få ny venner
at spille Ligretto næsten hver aften
at svømme med Miriam og Marcus
at sludre med Hanne
at være sammen med min familie (far, Hanna, M&M)
at få god bibelundervisning
at nogle havde skåret grøntsagerne ud for en hver dag i 15 dage
at lære mine nye kolleger lidt bedre at kende
og tusind andre ting

En af de ting, der virkelig rørte mig var at være sammen med så mange mennesker, der bringer store ofre for at Europas børn skal lære Gud at kende. Nogle er langt væk fra deres kære, andre arbejder under ekstreme forhold, nogle lever næsten af "vand og brød" og andre i visse lande sætter faktisk deres liv på spil HVER DAG for at kunne pege på Gud. Og så kan man ikke lade være med at ryste på hovedet over den meget fremherskende holdning blandt kristne i Danmark for øjeblikket om, at vi ikke skal stikke næserne alt for langt frem og fortælle, hvad vi tror på. At vi blot skal nøjes med at vise vores tro i handling. Det er fint og rigtigt at vise sin tro i handling, men det er blot PRÆevangelisation. Hvis vi aldrig fortæller om de gode nyheder om Jesus Kristus, så vil vi blot nøjes med at PRÆ-ge vores omgivelser - aldrig forandre dem.

Hanne fortæller røverhistorier til M&M

Hanne tells stories to M&M

Hanne og jeg lufter vores nye sommersko købt for meget få Euro

Hanne and I showing of in our new summer shoes

De sidste tre billeder er af kolleger fra vores Europæiske undervisningsafdeling.

The last three pictures are with colleagues from our European Education Department.

Have been sitting and looking at all my pictures from the past 15 days in Germany where I attended three conferences with colleagues from all over Europe and beyond. And I simply want to put all my pictures on the blog (but will spare you...) Because it was some wonderful days. It was wonderful to
meet old friends
get new friends
play Ligretto almost every night
swim with Miriam and Marcus
chat with Hanne
be with my family (Dad, Hanna, M&M)
recieve good Bible teaching
that someone cut the vegetables for me every day for 15 days.
to get to know my new colleagues a bit more
and a thousand other things

One of the things that really toughed me was being with so many people who makes so many sacrifices so that the children of Europe can get to know God. Some work far away from their loved ones. Others work under extreme circumstances. Some have very little to live on and others in certain countries actually put their live at stake every day in order to able to share about God. And it makes me sad when I compare this to the very common view amongst Danish Christians at present that we should not tell about God but only show him through our actions. It is very good to show our faith in action but that is only PRE-evangelization and if we only do that and never share the Good News we are in great danger of only imPREssing people - not lead them to a changing faith.

Lederkonference - Leadership Conference

"Hold da op! Er det så kompliceret at blive missionær i et andet land?" Det var nok min første tanke her på lederkonference i Tyskland, hvor vi har haft flere foredrag om, hvordan man flytter til et nyt land som missionær og tilpasser sig. Og nu har vi så undervisning om hvordan man bør omgås i et internationalt team. Først følte jeg mig nok lidt overvældet over alle de forfærdelige psykologiske faser, jeg åbenbart snart skal igennem, når jeg skal forlade Danmark og flytte til Schweiz. Det virkede som om man kunne se frem til flere års elendighed. Men nu har jeg hørt flere fortælle, at det gode ved at kende til, hvad der kommer til at ske, er, at man i stedet for kan acceptere det meget bedre. Og jeg føler mig allerede meget bedre tilpas ved det. Hvor jeg før forsøgte at fortrænge faktummet af, hvor hårdt det bliver at rykke rødderne op, så tør jeg nu kigge på det med åbne øjne. Så det er da allerede en god start. Lige nu er jeg i "Afskedsfasen", og det sjove er, at jeg åbenbart helt automatisk de sidste måneder er begyndt at gøre nogle af de ting, de anbefaler at man skal gøre for at det bliver en god afskedsfase, så det var da meget opmuntrende. Jeg er altså åbenbart helt normal :-)

'Wow, is it that complicated to leave to become a missionary in another country?' This was probably my first thought here at this leadership conference in Germany where we amongst many other things has had teaching about how to move to another country as a misisonary and how to adapt. Now we are also having teaching about how to interact in a mulitcultural team. First I felt quite overwhelmed about all the horrible psycological phases that I apparently will have to go through. It seemed to me like I was heading towards years of misery. But then I heard from some people, that it was actually a help to know what will happend to accept it much easier. And I already feel much better about the whole thing. I realice that I have tried to deny thinking about how hard it is going to be but now I dare to look at it with more open eyes. So that's a start. Right now I am in the leaving phase and actually I had already started doing some of things by myself that is really good and healthy in order to leave the country in a good way. So that was encouraging. Apparently I am quite normal :-)

En stor dag - A big day

Jubii. Hurra. Tjuhejsasa!!

I dag færdiggjorde vi arbejdet med at udgive næste andagtshæfte til børn med andagter til to måneder. Det første udkom sidste år.

Den slags koster mange timers arbejde for både oversættere, Pernille, Mette-Marie og så os andre (Nille og jeg), der giver et lille pip i slutfasen med den sidste korrektur. Tak for jeres store arbejde. Nu er bogen sendt til lay-out, så jeg glæder mig til sommerens lejrbørn kan få godt læsestof til deres stilletid.

Tirsdag rejser jeg til Tyskland, hvor jeg skal være på konference i to uger. Næste mandag skal jeg undervise. Det må I meget gerne bede for!

Super! Fantastic! Wonderful!

Today we finished the work of the second booklet of devotions for children. The first one was published last year.

It is a very time consuming proces especially for the tranlators, Pernille, Mette-Marie and then also for Nille and myself who proofreads towards the end of the process. But now the text has been send for lay-out so I am looking forward to give these devotions to the children at camp this year.

Tuesday I go to Germany for two weeks to attend some conferences. Next Monday I am going to teach and would appriciate your prayers. Thanks!

60 års jubilæum - 60 years anniversary

Lørdag fejrede Evangelisk Børnemission, at det er 60 år siden, Minnie Eskelund landede med Amerikaner-båden i Danmark og startede EB. Dengang hed hun ikke dog ikke Eskelund - det kom året efter. De var hurtige i de gode gamle dage.
Men Minnie ligger på hospitalet, så vi kunne ikke fejre hende, men heldigvis kom hendes mand Henry forbi. Og han har jo da været med i 59 år, siden Minnie fik ham lokket til at skrive kartotekskort i 1948. (Åbenbart et scoretrick!)
Vi savnede Minnie, men vi fik en god dag alligevel.

Henry talte om at give stafetten videre, og så var det jo heldigt, at jeg havde fået lokket et par teenagere fra Teens To Children med. Og de kunne jo fortælle om årets påske-outreach og i øvrigt underholde med dukketeater m.m.

Det var hyggeligt at hilse på gamle venner og bekendte. Og så var mine små søskende også med - i daglig tale kaldet M&M, og de var begge i krammehumør, så alt i alt en rigtig hyggelig dag.

Saturday we celebrated that this year it is 60 years since Minnie Eskelund arrived in Denmark and began the work of CEF in Denmark. However - back then her last name was not Eskelund. That came the following year. They were fast in the good old days.
But Minnie was not with us today - she is in hospital. But fortunately her husband Henry joined us and it was very much his day too since he has been a part of CEF for 59 years since Minnie asked him to help filing addresses (aparently an ancient flirting trick).
We missed Minnie a lot but we had a good day.
And Henry talked about passing on the torch. (First picture.)
And that's what we had done by inviting some of the teens from Teens To Children. They shared about our Easter outreach and performed a bit. (Second and third picture.)
It was nice to meet old friends and chat a bit. And my youngest siblings whom we sometimes call M&M were there too and they were in a hugging mood so all together it was a very nice day. (last picture.)

Et nyt perspektiv - A new perspective

Oh ve og skræk. Igår har jeg trampet på to kolleger. Jeg har i bogstaveligste forstand ladet dem bide i støvet. Jeg har tværet dem ud i timevis.

Det drejer sig om Filip og Nikolaj, som er to af de dukker, vi tit har med os ud for at holde børnemøder.
Men hvorfor? Hvordan kunne jeg behandle dem sådan? Hvorfor fandt de sig i det? Og vigtigst af alt: Hvad førte mig ud i sådan en situation?

Det hele begyndte onsdag aften, hvor jeg inspireret af meteologerne lagde vintertøjet på loftet og fandt sommertøj og sko frem.

Torsdag morgen forløb således:
7:45 Solen skinner
8:00 Jeg tager fine høje hvide sandaler på
8:30 Mine fødder begynder at gøre ondt
9:30 Min far spørger mig, om jeg halter
9:31 Jeg tager sandaler af og opdager vabler.
9:32 Jeg indser, hvor koldt vores kontorgulv er.
9:40 Jeg kigger mig omkring for at finde noget, jeg kan tage på fødderne... og opdager Filip og Nikolaj
9:41 De indvilger (tror jeg nok).

Resten af dagen går godt for mig - det går faktisk i flyvende fart, da små tøjdyr og vores glatte gulv viser sig at være en utrolig effektiv kombination. Undtagen, når jeg skal op og ned af trapper, så må tempoet sættes drastisk ned.

Min far foreslog, at vi måske kunne udvide vores repetoire på Teens To Children og både have dukker på hænder og fødder for fremtiden. Han syntes, at det måtte give et nyt perspektiv på tingene - ihvertfald for dukkerne.
Det korte af det lange er, at jeg i dag havde mine gummisko på igen.

Sådan skulle mine fødder have set ud igår...

This is how my feet were supposed to look yesterday

Men de endte altså med at se sådan ud

But this is how they ended up looking

Ohhh noooo! Yesterday I have treated two colleagues very badly. I have stepped on them and literally let them bite the dust. I have crushed them for hours.

We are talking about Filip and Nikolaj who are two of the puppets we use in our children meetings.

But how? How could I treat them like this? What incident let me to behave in such a manner? To give the full picture I will rewind the story a few days.

On Wednesday evening I got inspired by the weather forecast to store away my winther clothe in the attic and sort out my summer clothe and shoes.

Then Thursday morning went like this:
7:45 Sun is shining
8:00 I put on my nice high white sandals
8:30 My feet start to hurt
9:30 My dad asks me if I am limping
9:31 I take off my sandals and realise the blisters.
9:32 I realise how cold the floor in our office is.
9:40 I look around to find something to put on my feet... and discovers Filip og Nikolaj
9:41 They agree (I think).
The rest of the day went very well - actually it was flying by - or I was flying since the combination of stuffed animals and our new wodden floor turned out to be an extremely effective combination. My dad even suggested that we expand our puppet shows and put puppets on both hands and feet in the future. He said it might give a new perspective on things - at least for the puppets.
But I must admit that today I put on my sneakers anyway.

En dejlig afslutning på et dejligt outreach - A wonderful end to a wonderful outreach

Iførge Alex, som var en af de 11 teenagere, der var med påskens Teens To Children-outreach, så havde vi lige været igennem Helvede. Selv ville jeg måske have brugt nogle andre ord... Men sandt er det, at dagen havde været lidt hård. Vi havde holdt børnemøde for 20 børn, som mildt sagt ikke opførte sig særlig pænt. Og nu sad vi så her i sofaen i Humlebæk og skulle holde det sidste børnemøde. Og vi var trætte. Vi bad for børnemødet, men kun to (kristne) børn dukkede op. Det tegnede til at vi ville slutte TTC med et antiklimaks ovenpå nogle fantastiske dage med dejlige børnemøder og hygge med teenagerne.

Men pludselig kom en mand cyklende på en ladcykel med 4 børn på ladet. "Det var jo dem, vi mødte forleden", udbrød Eva. Og ganske rigtigt. Eva havde stukket dem en indbydelse nogle dage tidligere, og den ældste datter havde virkelig glædet sig til dukketeater og bibelhistorier. Men da tidspunktet nærmede sig, var faderen ikke så begejstret, for han stod lige og repererede hus. Men datteren sagde: "Men se, far, der er også aftensmad!" Og det gjorde udslaget, for faderen var alene hjemme den dag med hans tre børn og en legekammerat. Og så cyklede de til børnemøde, og vi gav den hele armen med sang, dukketeater, bibelhistorier og lege. Og aftensmad! Og nøj, hvor vi hyggede os. Ja, og det gjorde børnene og faderen åbenbart også, for de blev til klokken 20 om aftenen (Mødet sluttede kl 18), og faderen kiggede på vores indbydelse, og sagde: "Hm... Og så skal jeg så lige finde ud af at få forklaret min datters legekammerats forældre, hvad det her lige var. Hun skulle have været hjemme kl 17."

(Bare lidt stemnigsbilleder fra mit teams pauser på vores outreach. Bemærk de våde bukseben: Havet + teenagere = våde bukseben)

(Just some pictures from my team at our cosy breaks between the Easter clubs.)

According to Alex, who was one of the 11 teenagers who attended our Easter club outreach, we had just been going through Hell. I guess, I would have put it differently. But it was true that the day had been rather rough with 20 roudy children at our first Easter club that day. And now we were sitting waiting for the last Easter club to begin. But only two (Christian) children showed up and I feared that our outreach would end with an anti-climax after several days of wonderful children meetings and fun fellowship with the teens.

But suddenly a man came riding a bike with 4 children seated on it as well. (This is Denmark!)

His daughter had got an invitation two days earlier and really wanted to hear the Bible stories and see the puppet shows. Her father had hesitated but the daughter had convinced by showing him the invitation and stating that there would be supper as well. And that convinced the father to go since he was alone with all the children that day and had to cook.

And we all had a really good time! And the family enjoyed themselves so much that the stayed two ours after the meeting had finished just hanging out with with us all. What a fun way to end a wonderful Easter outreach!