Over and out

Så er vores IOT kursus veloverstået. Det var virkelig en stor opmuntring at sidde og overvære de sidste praktiske test. Alle kursister klarede det virkelig fint og de underviste så overbevisende, at jeg sad og fik lyst til at gå ud og føre deres ideer ud i livet.

Nu sidder jeg så hjemme i min lille lejlighed og slapper totalt af, ser fjernsyn, drikker te og pakker lidt ud. Dæjligt.

Now our IOT course has finished. It was really a great encouragement to sit and watch the final practicals. All students did a really good job and they taught so convincing that I just wanted to go out and bring their ideas into reality.

Now I am at home in my little apartment and relaxing completely by watching TV, drinking tea and unpacking a little from time to time. Niiice!

Gensyn med Kilchzimmer - Visiting Kilchzimmer

Det er søndag og tid til at tænke tilbage på en dejlig uge på Kilchzimmer, EB’s europæiske hovedkvarter. Vi er i gang med et IOT 2 kursus (Instructor of Teachers, level 2 course). Det er et videreuddannelseskursus for EB’s medarbejdere, og jeg er her for at lede kurset og for at undervise. Næsten alle os lærere underviser dette kursus for første gang eller har fået helt nye fag at undervise, så der har været nok at se til. I år har vi kun fem kursister, så de får lov til at være prøvekaniner på diverse indfald. Og vi fortsætter endnu en uge! Hver eftermiddag er vi en flok, der bevæger os ud i den schweiziske snejungle for at få noget motion og frisk luft. Om aftenen hygger vi os med spil. Men selvom det lyder meget hyggeligt, så er det også benhårdt arbejde med mange timers forberedelse og undervisning for både lærere og kursister hver dag.

For mig har det været en stor glæde at være tilbage i Schweiz. Her på Kilchzimmer er der sket mange ting, siden jeg forlod stedet, og jeg må sige, at dette besøg har været det bedste nogensinde for mig. Huset emmer af glæde, omsorg og godt humør. Mine ex-kolleger mødes i fritiden og hygger sig sammen. Det føles som om, at Kilchzimmer er på vej derhen, hvor jeg altid drømte om og troede på, at det kunne komme.



(Silvia is teaching, photos taken by Brigitte Kreuzwirth)

It is Sunday and time to think back on a wonderful week at Kilchzimmer, CEF’s European headquarters. At the moment we are having an IOT 2 course (Instructor of Teachers, Level 2 course) here. It is a training course for the workers in CEF and I am here to lead the course and to teach. Almost all of us teachers teach this course for the first time or have completely new subjects to teach, so there has been enough to look at. This year we have only five students, and they have become the guinea-pigs at various incidents. And we will continue another week! Each afternoon, some of us goes out to explore the Swiss jungle of snow and to get some exercise and fresh air. In the evening we play games and enjoy ourselves. But although it sounds very nice, it's also hard work with long hours of preparation and teaching for both teachers and students every day.

For me it has been a great pleasure to be back in Switzerland. Here at Kilchzimmer many nice things seem to have happened since I left and I must say that this visit has been the best ever for me. The house exudes joy, caring and jokes. Some of my ex-colleagues meet after work to have fun together. It feels as though Kilchzimmer is on the way to where I always dreamed and believed that it could be.

Kulisse og navn - Set piece and a name

Jeg tænker meget på Danmarks børn i disse dage, mens jeg og andre arbejder på at få vores nye TV-projekt op at køre. Jeg tænker på alle de børn, der virkelig har brug for at høre om en Gud, som holder af dem og holder øje med dem (på den gode måde) midt i al livets kaos. Sikke en fantastisk Gud, der elsker alle og ønsker, at vi skal blive stærke og kunne klare alle livets udfordringer.

Mit håb med disse udsendelser er, at børn vil lære mere om, hvor fantastisk Gud er, men samtidig ønsker jeg ikke at stikke dem blår i øjnene og lade som om, at alt er nemt og godt, bare man tror på Gud. Livet bliver måske ikke så meget nemmere ved at tro på Gud, men man har altid én med sig, der har tid til at lytte og til at fylde en med fred, når man har brug for det.

I denne uge har vi holdt et par rigtig spændende planlægningsmøder. Det er virkelig fedt at se det hele finde en rigtig god ramme. Vi har f.eks. diskuteret kulisse og navn til programmet. Vi fik nogle rigtig gode ideer til en billig men sjov kulisse. Navnet har vi endnu ikke helt fundet endnu, men vi arbejder på sagen.

De næste uger arbejdes der på kulisse og i slutningen af februar skal de kære dukkeførere trænes yderligere, og så starter optagelserne midt i marts. Jubi! Glæder mig til at fortælle mere om det hele her på bloggen hen ad vejen…

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the Danish children while working on getting our new TV project up and running. I think of all the children who really need to hear about a God who loves them and is watching them (in a good way) amidst life's chaos. What a great God who loves everyone and wants us to be strong and able to cope with all the challenges of life.

My hope with these programs is that children will learn more about how amazing God is, but I do not want to pull the wool over our eyes and pretend that everything is easy and wonderful as long as you believe in God. Life may not be so much easier to cope with for those of us who believe in God, but we always have one with us who has the time to listen and to give us peace, when we need it.

This week we had a couple of really exciting planning meetings. It's really cool to see it all falling into place. We have discussed the set piece and name of the program. We got some really good ideas for an inexpensive but fun set piece. The name we have not quite found yet, but we are working on it.

The next weeks there will be work done on the set piece and at the end of February, the puppeteers will be trained further and then we start the recording in mid-March. Greeeat! I am looking forward to tell you more about it all here on the blog along the way ...

Opdatering på TV - Update on TV

Bloggen har næsten været død, men lad mig prøve at vække den til live igen… Jeg har været ret splattet den sidste måneds tid og derfor ikke haft overskud til at skrive. Det skyldtes, at der skete så meget i forhold til tv-produktionen. Hvor glade vi end var for at lave tv, så opdagede vi, at der var en kæmpe misforståelse i forhold til den tv-station, vi arbejdede med. I stedet for, at det var Evangelisk Børnemission, som stod for programmet, så ønskede tv-stationen at være meget mere med til at bestemme, hvad der skulle ske i udsendelserne, og det blev så tidskrævende, at det ikke var realistisk at producere en ny udsendelse hver uge. Derfor måtte vi kort før nytår stoppe samarbejdet. Det var meget trist og har givet os søvnløse nætter, for vi ønskede virkelig at lave børne-tv og tænkte på alle de børn i Danmark, som har brug for at høre om Gud.

Heldigvis havde Gud stadig en plan, så nogle dage senere blev jeg kontaktet af KKR/TV, som også var gået i gang med at planlægge at lave børne-tv igen. KKR/TV har 25 års erfaring med tv og har gennem årene lavet masser af børne-tv. Vi har haft et par møder med dem og har nu indgået et samarbejde. Jeg glæder mig så meget til fortsat at lave børne-tv. Også her vil der blive udsendelser over det meste af landet og via internettet. Ideen er fortsat, at ud over alle de børn, der kommer til at se udsendelserne i deres hjem, så kan vi også tilbyde børnekirker og børneklubber at bruge udsendelserne (eller dele af dem), hvis de ikke har overskud til selv at forberede andagter m.m. Dette gøres jo meget nemt, når udsendelserne ligger på internettet.

I lørdags mødtes jeg med mine kære dukkeførere, som alle var friske på at fortsætte, så det er bare helt fantastisk skønt. Så nu ruller vi videre!!!! Jubiiii! I denne uge har jeg møde med nogle nøgle-personer fra KKR, og det glæder jeg mig bare så meget til. Vores mål er at udsende hver uge fra første maj.

My blog has almost been dead, but let me try to bring it back to life ... I have been quite squashy the past month and therefore did not have the energy to write. This was due to problems in relation to our television production. However excited that we were about producing TV programs for children, we also started to realise that there was a huge misunderstanding in relation to the television station, we worked with. Instead of CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship), being responsible for the program, the TV station really wanted to have much more influence on the program, and it was so time consuming that it was not realistic to produce a new show each week. Therefore we had to terminate the partnership shortly before New Year. It was very sad and has given us sleepless nights, because we really wanted to do children's television and thought of all the children in Denmark who need to hear about God.

Fortunately, God still had a plan, so a few days later I was contacted by another TV station called KKR/TV, which also wanted to make children's television again. KKR/TV has 25 years experience in television and has made lots of children's television over the years. We've had a few meetings with them and have now entered into a partnership. I look so much forward to continuing making children's television and it will be broadcasted across most of the country and via the Internet. The idea remains that beyond all the children who come to watch the program in their homes, we can also offer children's clubs and Sunday schools to use the programs (or parts of them) if they have no possibilities to prepare teaching or devotions themselves. This is unfortunately very often the case in Denmark these days.

On Saturday I met with my wonderful puppeteers, which were all ready to continue the production so that makes me very happy too! This week I am meeting with some key persons from KKR/TV and I am so excited about it all. Our goal is to broadcast each week from May.

De sidste par uger har været tilbragt i Schweiz. ”I Schweiz – jamen er du ikke lige rejst derfra?” Jo, genau! Men jeg er stadig ekstern underviser på vores europæiske kursuscenter, så derfor gik turen tilbage til ”The holy Hill” for at undervise efterårsholdet om børneklubber og forskellige undervisningsmetoder, som kan bruges i børnearbejdet. Dagen inden, jeg tog af sted blev jeg endelig færdig med at indrette min lejlighed i København, så det var med lidt vemodigt hjerte, at jeg sagde farvel til lejligheden og tog tilbage til Schweiz. Heldigvis var det fantastisk at stå bag katederet igen (nogle gang sad jeg dog på det i stedet), især fordi efterårsholdet er helt fantastisk! Sikke nogle skønne kursister! De var supermotiverede! Sååå… det var vel lidt med vemodigt hjerte igen, at jeg sagde farvel til dem og mine kære eks-kolleger og rejste hjem til min perfekte lejlighed igen, der så stod totalt klar til at byde mig velkommen hjem igen!

The last few weeks have been spent in Switzerland. “Switzerland - gee did you not you just leave Switzerland?” Yes, genau! But I'm still teaching a few times a year at our European Children’s Ministry Leadership Course, so back to "The Holy Hill" it was to teach about Good News Club and different teaching methods that can be used in children's work. The day before I went, I was finally finished decorating my apartment in Copenhagen, so it was with a little sad heart that I said goodbye to the apartment and went back to Switzerland. Luckily it was fantastic to stand behind the teacher’s desk again (sometime I sat on it instead), mainly because the autumn class is so absolutely fantastic! What wonderful students! They are super motivated! Sooo... it was with a little sad heart again, I said goodbye to them and to my dear ex-colleagues and went home to my perfect apartment again, which was so totally ready to bid me welcome home again!

Home, sweet home

Så er jeg landet i København og det er vist ved at være tid til at opdatere bloggen…

De sidste dage i Schweiz var meget hektiske og også fyldt med gode stunder tilbragt med venner og kolleger. Der var middag med Martha og Sam, hygge i børneklubben, middag med Kristina, hygge med Jen og børnene og meget mere. Også nogle gåture i bjergene blev der tid til.

Alt i alt en ganske perfekt afslutning. Og så kørte vi hjem. Det gik virkelig over stok og sten, så pludselig indså vi, at vi faktisk kunne nå hele turen på én dag i stedet for at overnatte på et motorvejshotel. Så pludselig befandt jeg mig meget overrasket i København (se video). Dette var også lidt af en overraskelse for min familie, der havde planlagt at byde mig velkommen med et lille surpriseparty. Det holdt de så i stedet søndag eftermiddag, og det var i sandhed meget overraskende, da alle de kære pludselig dukkede op én efter én. Det er faktisk første gang, at jeg er blevet overrasket over et surpriseparty. Jeg plejer altid at have lugtet lunten.

Anyways, det har været helt fantastisk at lande i København. Hyggeligt at se venner og bekendte igen. Skønt at være i kirke igen. Dejligt at falde mere og mere til i min lille fantastiske lejlighed på Østerbro.

Et par venner (Jacob og Karsten) er også dukket op med boremaskiner og des lignende, så nu er jeg snart helt på plads. Og så har vejret jo faktisk også artet sig fra sin allerbedste side, siden min hjemkomst, så hvad mere kan man ønske sig?




So now I have landed in Wonderful Copenhagen and I guess it is about time to update my blog...

The last days in Switzerland were very hectic and also filled with good times spent with friends and colleagues. There was dinner with Martha and Sam, nice farewell in the Good News Club, dinner with Christina, fun with Jen and the kids and much more. I even had time for some nice walks in the mountains. All in all, quite a perfect ending.

And then we drove home. It really went much faster than we had anticipated, so suddenly we realized that we could actually make the entire trip in one day instead of staying overnight somewhere in Germany. So all of a sudden I found myself in Copenhagen (see video). This was also somewhat of a surprise to my family who had planned to bid me welcome with a small surprise party. Instead they held it Sunday afternoon and it was indeed very surprising, as they appeared one by one. It is actually the first time that I have been surprised at a surprise party. I normally always have a hunch about these things.

Anyways, it has been absolutely fantastic to settle back in Copenhagen. Nice to meet friends again. Wonderful being in church again. Nice to feel more and more at home in my little fantastic apartment on the outskirts of inner city.

A couple of friends (Jacob and Karsten) have also emerged with power drills and stuff, so now I am almost fully in place. And then of course the weather actually has behaved itself very well since my return, so what more could I possible ask for?

Let the road trip begin

There is so much to write about from the last week. It was time to say goodbye to a lot of dear people and to pack my life down and finish my work. Also it was time to meet new people in the middle of it all.

When I get the photos I will write more so for now I am just going to say that the plan is to hit the road before 10 Saturday morning and hopefully arrive in Copenhagen Sunday afternoon. My brother arrived yesterday with the van and he was not in a good state – with throat pain and fever. Today it got worse and worse until he almost hit 40 degrees temperature and I left him in his room to recover while trying to find a doctor who could look at him this late on a Friday afternoon. It really stressed me somehow – what if we could not leave… I have signed out from Switzerland from Tuesday and can only sign in in Denmark after I have arrived. I have finished my health insurance here. The van was only booked until Sunday, people are coming Sunday to help etc. I know it might not sound like the end of the world but for a moment it was a little too much for me. I asked God to help me cope and I put it all in his hands. Two hours later, I suddenly saw my brother running around. He said, “My temperature is down and I need Snickers” (note the plural). So after feeding him Snickers, he told me that even the pain had almost gone and he felt much better. After cancelling the doctor we went out with Kristina and her wonderful children, Magdalena and Stefan and had a fantastic night and now it is time to go to bed so I can be all rested for the road trip tomorrow. Praise God!
If you have a spare prayer please pray for safety on the roads.

Farvel'er og goddag'er - goodbyes and hellos

Tiden flyver med hastige vingeslag og det er snart tid til forlade Schweiz. Det første farvel var til Lille Loui - min bil, som har tjent mig godt - gennem sne, bjerge, og fire lande (Schweiz, Tyskland, Østrig og Italien). Det var faktisk lidt sørgeligt at sige farvel til den. Nu står den til salg i en butik med nye nummerplader påført. Snøft.

Kort efter blev det dog tid til et herligt goddag, idet jeg forleden under min ferie i København tog med kusine Kathrine på cykeljagt og endte op med en rigtig solid citycykel, som passer perfekt til både Københavns og mit temperament. Jeg ser frem til mange ture gennem min smukke by. - Ja, faktisk bestemte en af mine venner sig for at tage mig ud på en indvielsestur, hvor vi skulle udforske nogle af de mere de skumle hjørner byen. Til læsernes forhåbentlige glæde kan jeg oplyse, at jeg vendte hjem i hel tilstand dog med en temmelig øm bagparti efter ikke at have kørt på cykel i to år.



Time flies by and it is soon time to leave Switzerland. The first goodbye was with Little Loui - my car, which has served me well - through snow, mountains, and four countries (Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Italy). It was actually a little sad to say goodbye to her. Now she is for sale in a shop with a new number plate attached, sniff.

But shortly after that it was time for a wonderful hello. The other day during my vacation in Copenhagen I went bike hunting with cousin Kathrine and ended up with a really solid city bike, which fits both the personality of Copenhagen and myself perfectly. I look forward to many trips through my beautiful city. - And actually, one of my friends decided to take me on a long sightseeing tour to celebrate the new bike and explore all the the more unusual corners of the city. I returned home in one piece but with a very sore backside after not having been biking for two years.

Lige midt i missionmarken -Right in the middle of the mission field

Hvor vildt! Nu behøver man ikke at tage langt væk for virkelig at være på "missionsmarken" (hvis vi altså ikke allerede vidste dette). I følge John Blake fra The Billy Graham Association så er Europa den mindst evangeliserede kontinent i verden. Så er det bare med at få smøget ærmerne yderligere op!

How amazing! Now we don't need to go far away to really be on the missionfield (if we somehow had that misconception). According to John Blake from the Billy Graham Association then Europe is now the least evangelised continent of the world. So I guess it is time to roll up the sleeves a bit more!

Lederkursus - Leadership Course

Jeg skulle have opdateret min blog for længst, men livet løber lige lovligt hurtigt for tiden.
Men her et par minutter i frokost, kan jeg da lige fortælle om et fantastisk kursus jeg havde i forrige uge på min bibelskole i Tyskland. Det handlede om lederskab og vores underviser var Dr. George Murray som har verdensomspændende lederskabserfaring. Han havde bedt os om at læse seks bøger, inden kurset begyndte, og selv om vi også brugte tid på disse bøger, så fokuserede han mere på bare at dele liv og lederskabserfaringer med os. Wow – tænk at få sådan en oplevelse. Det var meget inspirerende og et af de kurser, man ikke bare glemmer men skynder sig at omsætte i praksis. Derudover var kurset også fyldt med totalt spændende kursister, som arbejder i lande nær og fjern og har meget forskellige erfaringer med lederskab og hvad der kræves af dem i forskellige kulturer. Helt klart virkelig horisont-udvidende. Jeg tror, at dette kursus ville have været nærmest ubetaleligt hvis det var blevet afholdt i den almindelige forretningsverden.

Nå, men hvad lærte jeg så? Tusind ting, men jeg tror, at det mest vigtige var: ”Karakter kommer før arbejdet.” Det lyder måske logisk, men jeg tror, at vi meget ofte fokuserer så meget på, at arbejdet skal gøres, at vi ikke følger op på en kollega, som har opført sig dårligt. Men i virkeligheden er det bedste vi kan gøre jo i kærlighed at konfrontere og forvente forbedret opførsel. Dette er selvfølgelig nemmere sagt end gjort men især når man sidder i lederstolen har man jo en mægtig anledning til at vælge at insistere på god opførsel uanset omkostningerne. Som kristen organisation ser jeg ikke virkelig noget alternativt. Hvordan kan vi betjene verdenen omkring os, hvis vi ikke først og fremmest kan udvise god opførsel overfor vores kolleger??!!

I should have updated my blog a long time ago, but life flows really fast at the moment.
But here a few minutes in lunch time, I thought I would drop a few lines and tell you about a great course I had last week at Bible school in Germany. It was about leadership and our teacher was Dr. George Murray who has global leadership experience. He had asked us to read six books before the course began, and though we also spent time on these books, he had decided to focus more on just sharing life and leadership experiences with us. Wow – what an opportunity for us. It was very inspiring and one of the courses that will not be forgotten easily but must be put into practise ASAP. And on top of that, the other course participants were working in many different locations around the world and had lots of very different experiences of leadership and what is required of them in different cultures. All in all - extremely interesting. I think this course would have cost a fortune if it had been taught in the business world.

Well, what did I learn then? A thousand things, but I think that the most important was: "Character comes before work." It may sound logical, but I think we often focus so much on the work to be done that we do not follow up on a colleague who has behaved badly. But in reality the best we can do is in love to confront and expect better behaviour. This is obviously easier said than done but especially when you are in charge of something you have the possibility to choose to insist on good behaviour no matter what the consequenses are. As a Christian organization, I do not really see any alternative. How can we serve the world around us if we do not first and foremost demonstrate good behaviour to our colleagues?!

Sommerkursus - Summer Course

Som tiden dog går! Lidt for hurtigt for tiden, men det er nok meget godt. Vi har haft travlt med at gøre alt klar til vores sommerkursus, som løber over tre måneder. 14 kursister er kommet og en mere er måske på vej. Derudover har en flok børn også indtaget Kilchzimmer og vores hjerter, så det er jo skønt. Kursisterne er nu igang med deres anden uge på skolen, og de har virkelig hurtigt fundet en god rutine og der er masser af hygge og glæde omkring dem. Jeg har virkelig nydt at undervise dem. Og så er Danmark jo også godt repræsenteret denne sommer, da min kollega Hanne's mand Simon (fra Wales) er hernede for at tage de første seks uger af kurset. Og så har han ovenikøbet slæbt Hanne med et par af ugerne, så vi tøser har virkelig fået fniset og sludret en masse. Simon sidder i midten af billedet.

Time is running so fast at the moment. We have been busy preparing for the Summer Course which lasts for the next three months. 14 students have arrived and with them a bunch of children too. One more student might be coming soon. The students are now in their second week of studies and have quickly settled into a rutine. Lots of joy and fellowship are taking place at Kilchzimmer and I have really enjoyed teaching them so far. This summer even Denmark is represented in the class (more or less) as my Danish colleague Hanne's husband Simon (from Wales) are taking the first half of the course. And he has even brough Hanne along for the first weeks so I have had plenty of opportunity to giggle and chat with her. NICE. Simon is in the middle of the picture.

Pas på de vilde børn - Beware of the wild children

Jeg så dette skilt i København i går på en udstilling over mærkelige skilte fundet rundt omkring i verden.

Spørgsmålet er jo så om det betyder, at man skal passe på sig selv, fordi børnene er vilde eller om man skal passe på og beskytte de vilde børn?

Der var rimelig mange vilde børn i Ringsted. Da vi kom hjem derfra, fortalte min far hans familie om dagene. Der havde nemlig været noget hærværk og tyveri. Min lillesøster Miriam på otte år udbrød: ”De fortjener jo slet ikke, at du kommer derned og fortæller dem om Gud, når de opfører sig sådan overfor dig!” Marcus på syv blev forarget på sin storesøster og sagde: ”Er du da rigtig klog??!! Det er jo netop dem, der har brug for at høre om Gud!”

Ja, selv vilde børn har vel brug for nogen, der vil passe på dem og fortælle dem verdens vigtigte budskab.

I saw this road sign in Copenhagen yesterday at an exhibition of strange road signs found around the world.

The question is then whether it means that you must beware of the wild children to protect yourself from harm or whether we should care for and protect the wild children?

There were a fair number of wild children at the children's meetings in Ringsted. When we came home, my dad told his family about the days down there. There had been some vandalism and theft of our things. My little sister Miriam (8) exclaimed, "They don’t deserve that you go down there and tell them about God when they behave like that towards you!" Marcus (7) was outraged at his big sister’s statement and said, "Are you nuts?! It is precisely those children who need the children’s meetings so they can hear about God!"

Yes, even wild children need somebody who will look after them and tell them the world's most important message.

Ringsted

Var lige en sviptur i Danmark i weekenden for at hilse på min nye niece Josefine. Og så tænkte jeg, at når jeg nu alligevel var hjemme kunne jeg lige benytte anledningen til at hjælpe min farmand i Ringsted, hvor han holdt børnemøder hele weekenden. Det var skønt at møde de herlige børn dernede igen og hjælpe lidt med i nogle timer. Godt at blive mindet om, hvad det hele handler om! Udover at undervise lidt, blev der også tid til at lave hårdippedutter til tøserne. Ja, sådan en dag var lige, hvad jeg trængte til!



This weekend I was in Denmark to meet my new niece Josefine. And while being in Denmark I decided to join my dad at a tent campaign and help out a bit with the children's meetings. It was sooo nice to meet the children again and help out for a few hours. It was a good reminder for me what it is all about. Beside teaching a bit I also had time to make special hair things in the girls’ hair. Yeah, this day was exactly what I have needed in a long time

Salzburg

I disse dage er jeg og min kollega Kristina paa ferie i Östrig hos gode venner og kolleger, Silvia og Brigitte. Det er helt fantastisk at faa slappet lidt af, nyde dette smukke land og i det hele taget bare väre sammen med disse fantastiske mennesker og blive forkälet. Igaar tog vi til den smukke Salzburg og nöd en skön dag i Mozarts födeby. Tak Silvia og Brigitte for al jeres omsorg.

(Paa billedet herunder ser i Kristina, Eva (kollega til B og S), Silvia, mig og Brigitte.)



At the moment Kristina (a colleague) and I are enjoying a week of holiday in Austria together with some colleagues and friends from Austria, Brigitte and Silvia. It is sooo wonderful to relax a bit, enjoy the beautiful scenery, getting spoiled and just to be together with these fantastic people. Yesterday we went to Salzburg and enjoyed a day in the birthtown of Mozart. Thank you Silvia and Brigitte for all your care for us!

(On the picture above you see Kristina, Eva (a colleague of B and S), Silvia, me and Brigitte.)

Bøger på dit natbord – Books on your bedside table

Nogle gange bringer dameblade eller aviser artikler, hvor de stiller kendte mennesker spørgsmålet: ”Hvilke bøger ligger for øjeblikket på dit natbord?”
I morges da jeg lå og vågnede, slog tanken mig: ”Øv, hvorfor er det kun de kendte, der får lov at svare på det spørgsmål??” Men så kom jeg i tanke om min blog. Her har jeg fuldstændig kontrol over indholdet, og den mulighed kan man jo totalt bruge og misbruge som man vil, så her kommer den altså: Hvilke bøger ligger på mit natbord for øjeblikket?

Bibelen – en god gammel favorit skrevet af min yndlingsforfatter og bedste ven. Kan helt klart anbefales både i livets gode og dårlige stunder! Bare et par vers – og din dag kan ændre sig totalt. Mit eksemplar faldt fra hinanden forleden og er nu tapet sammen med sort elektrikertape (tænkte at jeg kunne score et par point på hellighedsbarometeret ved at nævne det…)

An introduction to the New Testament – Sådan er det at være stræber. Dette er en af bøgerne på mit Masterstudie for tiden og er på en eller anden måde endt på mit natbord, så jeg hurtigt kan række ud efter den, når trangen til at vide mere om Paulus slår mig.

Superfood – Namen, her er altså en bog, du må anskaffe dig, hvis du gerne vil lære at leve sundt på en lækker og let måde – og helt i overensstemmelse med den nyeste forskning. Skrevet af svensk læge og meget letlæst.

Løb dig slank – Fik bogen forærende og gik med begejstring i gang med at læse den. Desværre fandt jeg ud af, at jeg åbenbart løber helt forkert (intensitet, længde osv.) og har ikke været ude at løbe siden… Er nemlig ikke nået til kapitlet om, hvordan jeg skal løbe rigtigt endnu.

A girl’s best friend – Elsker ironiske tøsebøger og her endda en kristen en af slagsen. Er glad for at jeg ikke er den eneste ironiske kristne, der findes (udover dig, Kathrine!) Helt sikkert en god modvægt til alle de andre bøger på natbordet (eksklusiv Bibelen, som også kan ironisere en smule her og der).

Og under bøgerne – ligger to blade: Alt for Damerne, en kær veninde i en hård tid og så Danmarksposten, som holder os udenlandskdanskere opdateret med, hvad I går og tænker og laver i Danmark, så vi ikke er helt ved siden af, når vi kommer hjem (hvilket i mit tilfælde er om 113 dage).

Sometimes women's magazines or newspapers bring articles where famous people are asked the question, "What books are currently on your bedside table?"
This morning when I was waking up, I thought to myself: "Why is it only the famous who are allowed to answer this question in public?" But then I remembered my blog. Here I have complete control over the content and the possibility to do what I like for better or worse, so here it is: What books are on my bedside table at the moment?

The Bible - a good old favorite written by my favorite author and best friend. I can highly recommend this book for all of life’s crazy moments! Just a few verses - and the direction of your day can be turned upside down. The other week my copy fell apart but is now taped together again with black tape. (Just thought I could score a few holy points by mentioning it…)

An introduction to the New Testament - This is one of the books that I presently read for my Master studies and in one way or another ended up on my bedside table, so that I can quickly reach out for it when the urge to know more about Paul strikes me.

Superfood – A Danish/Swedish book but it is a really a good one about how to live healthy in a delicious and easy way - and entirely consistent with the latest research.

Run and get slim – Also Danish. It was a present and I enthusiastically started to read it. Unfortunately I discovered that I seem to have a completely wrong running style (intensity, length, etc.) and have not been out running since ... have not reached the chapter on how I will run properly yet.

A girl's best friend – I just love chick-lit books with irony and here is even a Christian one. Am glad to discover that I am not the only Christian who seem to notice the irony in everything. Definitely a good counterbalance to all the other books on the bedside table (excluding the Bible, which can also have a slightly ironic tone here and there).

And underneath the books – I have two magazines: My favourite Danish women’s magazine, which has become a dear friend in a tough time and then a magazine for Danes abroad to keep us updated with the latest trends and thoughts in Denmark so that we will not be totally out of place when we return (in my case, still 113 days to go).

En tid som denne – For such a time as this

I de sidste par måneder har jeg mærket Guds kærlighed på en dybere måde end nogensinde før. I forhold til min situation i Schweiz følte jeg mig virkelig presset ind i et hjørne. Jeg anede simpelthen ikke, hvad jeg skulle gøre. Men gang på gang viste Gud mig, at jeg var allervigtigst for ham. Ikke hvad jeg gjorde eller ikke gjorde. Bare hvem jeg er i hans øjne. Første gang, var da jeg som beskrevet i en tidligere blogpost, sagde til ham, at jeg ikke havde tid til at deale med min smerte, fordi jeg skulle lede et vigtigt kursus, og Gud prompte svarede, at jeg også var vigtig. (Og der blev faktisk tid til både kursus og mig…)

Men også senere, da jeg begyndte at forstå, at det ikke er alle ofre, Gud ønsker af os. Han ønsker rent faktisk, at vi skal leve i overensstemmelse med vores personlighed. Der er altid undtagelser for denne regel, som beskrevet i sidste blogpost, men jeg har bare virkelig mærket hans omsorg for MIG – som den, han har skabt mig til at være - i hele dette forløb.

Efter, at beslutning var taget, har jeg endnu engang oplevet hans omsorg for mig. De sidste par år, har folk nemlig gang på gang citeret et vers fra Esthers bog, når de omtalte mit job her på Kilchzimmer. Genfortalt siger det: ”Hvem ved, måske var det med henblik på en tid som denne, at du fik dette job” (Ester 4,14). Mange gange har folk brugt dette vers til at sige til mig: ”Du er lige præcis rette person på rette post på rette tid.” Og det har jeg også selv følt. Og nu skal jeg så væk herfra – hvad blev der lige af at være rette person på rette sted på rette tid? Lige præcis dette vers fra Esters bog har naget mig en smule efter, at beslutningen var taget. Men flere gange i de sidste dage, er der kommet nogle forbi mig og har sagt: ”Selv om du kun har været her i kort tid, så har du været her på rette tid og sted.” Og så har de citeret lige præcis dette vers fra Esters bog.

OK, dét kalder jeg Guds omsorg for lige præcis mig!

In the past few months, I have experienced God's love in a deeper way than ever before. In regards to my situation in Switzerland I felt really pushed into a corner. I simply did not know what I should do. But time and time again God showed me that I was so important to him. Not what I did or did not do for him. Just because of who I am in his eyes. The first time was - as described in a previous blog post – when I told him that I did not have time to deal with my pain, because I was organising an important course, and God promptly replied that I was important too. (And as it turned out there was actually time for both the course and for me...)

But also later when I began to understand that it is not all sacrifices that God wants from us. He actually prefers that we live according to our personality. There are always exceptions to this rule, as described in the last blog post, but I just really experienced his caring for me throughout this process. How he actually wanted me to life according to the personality he has created me with.

After the decision was taken, I have once again seen his love for me. The last few years, people repeatedly cited a verse from Esther's book when they mentioned my job here at Kilchzimmer. They said, “It was for a time as this that you got this job" (Ester 4:14). They used this verse to say, "You are the exactly right person at the right position at the right time." And I had the same feeling myself. And now I am leaving - what about being the right person at the right place at the right time? This exact verse from Ester has nagged me a little after the decision was taken. But several times in the last couple of days people have come to me, cited the verse from Ester again and said, "Even if you've only been here a short time, you have been the right person at the right time and place."

That’s what I call God's care for me!

Ofre - Sacrifices

Da jeg gik på lærerseminariet, fortalte vores dansklærer os, at hun var blevet redaktør på en bog med noveller om mod. Hun ville gerne have en historie med fra Bibelen og valgte (så vidt jeg husker) historien om David og Goliat. Da forlæggeren så hendes valg, bad han hende om at ændre historien til den om Abraham, der ofrer sin søn Isak. Min dansklærer havde meget svært ved at se, hvad denne historie havde med mod at gøre men endte med at proppe historien ind i novellesamlingen alligevel. Og jeg har en gang imellem i årene, der er gået, gjort mig de samme tanker. Hvad i al videste verden har denne historie at gøre med mod? Jeg tror egentlig, at det først er for nylig, at jeg har forstået det for alvor. Men det er en speciel slags mod, denne historie handler om, som jeg vil kalde tros-mod.

Sagen var den, at Gud havde lovet Abraham, at han ville blive til et stort folk – gennem sin søn Isak. Ikke gennem sin anden søn. Så da Gud beder Abraham om at ofre sin søn, så gør Abraham det vel vidende, at Gud må have en plan. Han ved, at dette ikke bliver Isaks endeligt, og derfor tør han at handle i tro og ofre det, Gud beder ham om. Og da Gud ser Abrahams tro(s-mod), stopper han hele seancen. Nu er dette selvfølgelig ikke en historie, vi kan overføre direkte til i dag, men selveste princippet bag den kan vi bruge. JEG kan i hvert fald.

Det har været en lang proces at bestemme sig for at flytte fra Schweiz. Det har været den sværeste beslutning i mit liv. Og i lang tid gik jeg rundt og sagde til Gud: ”Du ved, at jeg vil gøre alt for dig. Jeg vil gerne ofre mig for denne sag. Jeg vil gerne blive her for dig. For du har gjort så meget for mig.” Sagen var bare den, at Gud ikke ønskede dette offer af mig. Det var ikke et særlig brugbart offer, for der var faktorer, der gjorde, at jeg ikke kunne trives her og dermed ikke gøre mit bedste for ham.

Andre gange i mit liv har det været lige modsat. Jeg har ofret ting, som i andres øjne har set helt mærkeligt ud. Jeg har hørt sætninger såsom: ”Du kan da ikke ofre dette. Du har din egen lykke at tænke på.” Men i alle de tidligere tilfælde, vidste jeg fra dybet af mit hjerte, at det var ofre, Gud ønskede af mig, og det førte altid velsignelse med sig på længere sigt at bringe disse ofre. Og når jeg tænker tilbage på disse episoder, så er det med glæde. Der var tros-mod. Denne gang handlede tros-modet om at gøre det stik modsatte af, hvad alle forventede af mig.

Jeg kender en anden kvinde, som har været i præcis samme situation, som jeg har været igennem i denne proces. På alle planer (også alle dem, man ikke kan skrive om på sin blog eller nogen andre steder.) Hun bad også til Gud, og Gud gav hende tros-mod. På trods af, at alt var så svært for hende, vidste hun, at hun skulle blive der, hvor hun var. Og Gud har velsignet hende for det. To ens historier. Samme Gud. To helt forskellige løsninger. Han er fantastisk, er han ikk?

Jeg tror, at det, jeg forsøger at sige er: Det er ikke alle ofre, Gud er interesserede i, men dem, han er interesserede i, dem må vi give! De giver altid bonus i sidste ende. De er altid mulige. Men de ofre, han ikke ønsker – lad os da for Guds skyld – og for vores egen – lade være med give ham dem.

When I studied at Teacher’s College, our literature professor told us that she had been the editor of a book of short stories about courage. She wanted to have a story from the Bible in there as well and selected (as I recall) the story of David and Goliath. When the publisher saw here choice, he asked her to change it into the story of Abraham sacrificing his son, Isac. My professor had a hard time understanding what this story had to do with courage but put the story in the book anyway. And since then I have occasionally in the years gone by, been thinking about this too. What on earth does this story have to do with courage? It was only recently that I understood. But the story is about a special kind of courage that I would call faith-courage.

The matter of the fact is that God had promised Abraham that a great people would descent from him - through his son Isac. Not through his other son. So when God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Abraham knows that God must have a plan. He knows that this is not the end of Isac, and therefore he dares to act in faith and sacrifice what God has asked him about. And when God sees Abraham faith(-courage) he stops the whole act. Now this is obviously not a story, we can transfer directly to today, but the very principle behind it, we can use. I can anyway.

It's been a long process to decide to move from Switzerland. It has been the hardest decision of my life so far. And for a long time I walked around and said to God, "You know I will do anything for you. I will sacrifice anything you ask of me. I want to be here for you. For you have done so much for me." However, the thing was that God did not want that sacrifice of me. It was not a particularly useful sacrifice because there were factors that prevented me from thriving here and therefore I could not do my best for him.

Other times in my life it has been the other way around. I have sacrificed things which in the eyes of others have looked quite strange. I have heard phrases like, "You can not sacrifice this. You have your own happiness to think about." But in all previous cases, I knew from the bottom of my heart that this was a sacrifice God wanted of me and it always gave me great blessings long term to bring these sacrifices. And when I think back on these episodes, it is with joy. There was faith-courage. This time the faith-courage was to do the opposite of what everyone expected of me.

I know another woman who has been in exactly the same situation that I have been through in this process. At all levels (including all those whom I can not write about on this blog or anywhere else.) She also talked to God about the matter, and God gave her faith and courage. Despite the fact that everything was so hard for her, she knew that she had to stay put, where she was. And God has blessed her for it. Two similar stories. One God. Two different results. - He is amazing, isn't he!

I think that what I am trying to say is: It is not all sacrifices, God is interested in, but those he is interested in those we must give! They always have a blessing for us in the end. They are always possible. But the sacrifices he does not want - let us not give those to him.

Tilbage til Danmark - Returning to Denmark

Denne blogpost kommer nok lidt som en overraskelse for de fleste, men jeg har valgt at sige mit job op i Schweiz og flytter hjem til Danmark til september for at fortsætte i Evangelisk Børnemission i Danmark. Lad mig prøve at forklare…

Igennem længere tid har jeg ikke rigtig været glad for mit job her i Schweiz. Jeg havde imidlertid meget svært ved at indrømme det overfor mig selv, da det jo var et „drømmejob“ og alting egentlig gik supergodt. Men engang imellem sneg tanken sig ind: „Alle er glade for at jeg varetager dette job, undtagen mig.“ Jeg skyndte mig altid at smide tanken væk og sagde til mig selv, at jeg jo ikke behøvede at blive for evigt men kunne tage en årrække mere, indtil jeg havde opnået de resultater, jeg drømte om. Jeg har også været meget glad for Schweiz og for de mennesker, jeg har lært at kende, og jeg synes, at det var en spændende proces at falde til i et nyt land og komme til at elske det.

I januar skete der nogle svære ting, som satte en masse tanker i gang – også tanker i forhold til, om jeg virkelig passede ind her. I starten lukkede jeg af for disse tanker. Jeg havde travlt med at forberede IOT-kursus og sagde til Gud: „Jeg har virkelig ikke tid til at bearbejde alt det her. Der ligger et meget vigtigt kursus, der skal forberedes.“ Til det svarede Gud prompte: „Du er også vigtig.“

Hen ad vejen blev det mere og mere klart for mig, at jeg var nødt til at give tid til disse tanker og til at mærke efter helt dybest inderst inde. Det blev en lang og smertefuld proces. Det var blandt andet svært for mig, fordi jeg følte mig lidt på zig-zag-kurs: „Først tager jeg til Schweiz, og så ønsker jeg at komme hjem igen. Hvad sker der lige med mig???“

Jeg har naturligvis bedt meget i denne tid og talt med flere vigtige personer i mit liv såsom min familie, min præst, mentor og venner. Jeg har også haft flere samtaler med vores europæiske leder af Evangelisk Børnemission. Langsomt begyndte Gud at vise mig, at jeg ikke passer ind på Kilchzimmer, og at det er OK. Ud fra en snak om nådegaver og tjenester, kom jeg frem til en meget vigtig konklusion i mit liv. Jeg har altid troet, at min tjeneste så sådan ud:



Men nu indser jeg, at min hovedgave og tjeneste er evangelisation og at andre talenter må underordne sig denne gave:



Dette betyder ikke, at jeg kun skal evangelisere. Som jeg ser det, betyder det, at jeg skal bruge min gave til evangelisation til at inspirere og træne andre til at evangelisere, og til det får jeg brug for både at undervise, administrere og lede. I mit nuværende job bruger jeg mest min tid på administration og en smule undervisning, og selv om det endelige mål med dette job jo også er evangelisation, så er jeg på ingen måde selv involveret, og det tror jeg er forkert for mig. For mig hænger evangelisation og discipelskab af nye ledere tæt sammen – som vi for eksempel praktiserer det i Teens To Children eller på børnelejr. Uden selv at være med, hvor det sker, dør jeg langsomt indvendigt af kedsomhed.
Nu er jeg taknemmelig over de ting, der skete i januar, for ellers ville jeg nok først være kommet frem til dette resultat om nogle år.

Jeg synes, at det er lidt pinligt, at jeg ikke har indset dette om mig selv før, men hvorom alting er, så er jeg stadig rigtig glad for, at jeg har haft to år i Schweiz. Jeg har lært meget om ledelse, om mennesker og om mig selv. Jeg har også fået mulighed for at være med til at påvirke nogle vigtige beslutninger og nogle forskellige mennesker i forhold til deres liv og tjeneste, så jeg føler slet ikke, at tiden har været spildt.

Det har været svært at orientere medarbejderne i min afdeling om, at jeg forlader dem. På trods af, at vi er meget forskellige (kultur, alder, kirkebaggrund, personlighed, omgangsformer) har vi virkelig haft et godt team med stor respekt og kærlighed til hinanden og et fælles værdigrundlag. De har heldigvis virkelig bakket mig op i min beslutning med stor kærlighed til mig.
Det bliver også helt klart en stor sorg at sige farvel til alle de kære kollegaer hernede, som jeg er kommet til at holde meget af. Heldigvis er der stadig brug for, at jeg kommer forbi Kilchzimmer et par gange om året for at undervise (om evangelisation J), så det er jeg rigtig glad for.

Men hvad så med fremtiden? Lige nu er jeg virkelig udkørt og har svært ved at tænke helt klart i forhold til fremtiden, men det kommer nok. EB's landskomite og jeg har nogle forskellige tanker, så det skriver jeg nok mere om senere.

Som sagt flytter jeg til Danmark 1. september. Jeg regner med at holde to ugers ferie i Danmark i starten af august, hvor jeg kan sætte min lejlighed i København i stand. Den har været lejet ud de sidste to år.

Tak fordi du tog dig tid til at læse denne lange blogpost. Jeg håber, at jeg også fremover vil have din opbakning til min tjeneste. Den har altid været uvurderlig for mig, og det vil den også være fremover!

This newsletter will probably come as a surprise to most; I have decided to resign from my present position at Kilchzimmer and return to Denmark in September and continue in CEF there. Let me try and explain...

For a good while now, I haven’t been completely happy working here in Kilchzimmer. However, as it was a ‘dream job’ and everything was going well, it took a while for me to admit to myself how I felt. But every so often, the thought crept into my head; „Everyone seems happy about what I am doing except me“. I always quickly chased the thought away and reasoned with myself that I didn’t have to stay forever, but just some years until I’d achieved the goals I wanted to achieve. I’ve also been happy here in Switzerland and with the people I’ve met and gotten to know. In addition I also feel it’s been exciting getting used to a new country and have come to love it here.

In January there were some difficulties that started a whole new train of thought, including thoughts as to whether I really fitted here. At first I blocked these thoughts out. I was busy preparing the IOT course and told God; „I really don’t have time to deal with all this right now. This important course needs preparing.“ God answered promptly; „You are also important.“

As time went on, I began to realise I needed to address these thoughts and my deepest feelings. It was a long and difficult process, not helped by feeling I was on a zigzag course: „First off to Switzerland and then wanting to come home again. What am I doing?“

I have of course prayed a great deal during this time and talked with several important people in my life including my family, pastor, mentor and CEF’s European leader, Roy Harrison. Slowly God has shown me the way. After a chat with a friend about spiritual gifts and ministries, I reached a very important conclusion in my life. I had always believed that my ministry looked like the picture above in the Danish text (the words mean Evangelism, teaching, administration and leadership)
But now I’ve come to see that my primary gift is evangelism and the other points must support this gift (see second picture).

This doesn’t mean I will only do the work of evangelism. As far as I can see, I am to use my gift to inspire and train others to evangelise and this is where I will need the ministries of teaching, administration and leading. At present I spend most time on administration and a little teaching, and even though the goal is evangelism, I am not myself involved in it and for me this is wrong. The discipling of new leaders and evangelism are for me closely conjoined, for example, as I have previously practised them in Teens to Children, or on a children’s camp. Not being out in the field is very hard for me and I am slowly dying inside from the lack of involvement.

I am still happy and grateful for my two years in Switzerland. I’ve learnt a lot about leadership, about people and about myself. I have also been part of different very interesting decisions and I know I have helped some people in relationship to their lives and ministry, so I don’t at all feel that the time has been wasted.

It’s been hard telling the Education team at Kilchzimmer that I’ll be leaving. In spite of the differences in culture, age, church background, personality etc, we have formed a nice team with common values built on mutual respect and love. They have shown great love towards me in the way they have backed me up in my decision. It will obviously be hard when the time comes to say goodbye to all my colleagues here who have come to mean so much to me. Thankfully, I will still visit Kilchzimmer a few times each year to teach which I’m very happy about.

And what of the future? At the moment I’m worn out and it’s a little difficult to think clearly about future plans. The Danish national Committee of CEF and I have some thoughts about which I’ll write more fully in the next newsletter.

Thank you for taking the time to read this unexpected blogpost. I have always appreciated your interest in my ministry, and your part in my ministry has been invaluable to me! I am looking forward to telling you more about my future in a few months’ time.

Italien - Italy

Jeg har altid drømt om at komme til Italien men aldrig fået gjort noget ved det. Men nu bor jeg jo lige midt i Europas hjerte, så det måtte udnyttes, og sidste fredag satte jeg mig derfor ind i min lille kære bil og sussede ned til Italien. Inden havde jeg fået serveret et par historier om, hvordan folk kører i Italien, så det var lidt med frygt og bæven, at jeg tog afsted. Men det gjaldt bare om at finde sin indre italiener frem og se det fra den lyse side: Trafikreglerne blev kun brudt, når det gav mening, således at vi alle kom frem hurtigere og i meget bedre humør.
Jeg ankom til fantastisk sommervejr helt nede ved Middelhavet men nåede kun at tage ét billede førend Italien begyndte at skære tænder og sende kaskader af regn og vind ned over os. Men men.. Italien er da fantastisk allivel - om ikke andet kan man jo altid sætte sig ind på en cafe of få noget god Tiramisu!

I have always dreamed of going to Italy but it has never come to pass. But now that I am living at the very heart of Europe, it had to be exploited; and last Friday I jumped into my dear little car and drow down to Italy. Before leaving, I heard a couple of stories about how people are driving in Italy, so it was a bit of fright that I left. But I actually enjoyed driving in Italy because I realised that the traffic rules were only broken when it made sense, so that we all could arrive quickly at our destinations.
I arrived in wonderful summer weather by the Mediterranean but only had time to take one picture before Italy began to gnash and send cascades of rain and wind down over us. But but .. Italy is fantastic allivel - and if nothing else is possible, you can always sit in a cafe and eat some good tiramisu!

dkjfdlkfjkldhgklsd - dkjfdlkfjkldhgklsd

Det har været en rigtig dejlig afslappende forlænget weekend. Jeg har helt glemt at forberede mig på min næste test på bibelskolen på onsdag (Paulus' anden missionsrejse), men håber, at det hele går alligevel.
Her er et udsnit af, hvad jeg har lavet:
Hygge med Ute (kollega fra Tyskland)
Videoaften på storskærm med alle, der bor i huset for tiden
Morgenmad på Mövenpick (Tak, R&R)
Gåtur med Kristina
og en hel del lure i ny og næ
Og så i morgen: Kirke og koncert med Trudy
Lige hvad jeg havde brug for!!! Den rette kombination af aktivitet og afslapning.

It has been a really relaxing weekend. It has been so good that I totally forgot to prepare for our next test on Wednesday at the Bible school... (Paul's second missionary journey) Hope, everything goes fine anyway...
Here is a short review of what I have been doing:
Nice chats with Ute (a colleague from Germany)
Movie night on a big screen with everyone that is living in this house at the moment
Breakfast at Mövenpick (thanks, R&R)
Walking with Kristina
And lots of naps here and there
Tomorrow will be church time and time to go for a concert with Trudy
Just exactly what I needed this weekend. The perfect combination of activities and time to take it easy.