A Day in the Life of an American in Denmark

So, it's really interesting that every time I talk to people, they seem to know nothing about what I'm doing here in Denmark. I was just thinking about that, and thought, I must be a really bad communicator. SO... I thought why not give a little blog update on what exactly my life in Denmark looks like.

I live in an apartment with Kelly, my American roommate who is getting married the week before me in Ohio, to Martin's best friend, Johan. 2 Americans surviving together in Denmark can be a good encouraging thing, but we can also seem to encourage each other's "vent fests" when we are tired of the strange culture and language barriers. We have a lot of fun together figuring out this place.

Everyday I get up and ride my bike to school. Here's a few picture of the town I live in.

It's so fun because every day I leave my apartment, I can't get anywhere without seeing someone I know. It's really a "Mayberry" small town feeling. It really gives the sense of community that I've always loved (even though I've never experienced it at home)

I am a student at the International Bible College studying in the school of Missions. This is why I went to China in the Fall and on March 22 I'll be going to Togo, Africa. My days are filled with lots of classes, worship and spending time with some of the coolest people from countries all over Europe. I'm also taking Danish classes once a week, which is so not good enough. I'm trying to figure out a way to learn more in Danish.

On the weekends I spend time with my lovely fiance, relaxing, traveling a bit, hanging out with his family and planning our wedding and future together. We are the new TeenRadical leaders at the church. This new role started in January. We absolutely love it. We have big dreams for this group and are in the process of building and organizing a TeenClub that will be open to teenagers after school and some weekend events. We are so blessed with people in our life that are really investing in us.

Martin helps out as much as possible with the Mission School, especially as we prepare for our trip to Africa. Our dream is to work with Missions and teenagers, so it's amazing the experiences that we have gotten this year. God has really blessed us beyond what we could imagine.

We're getting married at Blue Lake Ranch on July 17, 2009! ONLY 5 months away now! Tak, Jesus! So wedding planning is really getting under way now. It's about to get a lot more busy. The next day after I get back from Africa, we're going to Sweden to Martin's brother's ski cabin, and when we're done with that it's going to be major wedding crunch time.

So, that's pretty much my every-day life in Kolding. Like I said, I'm always so surprised when I hear that people don't really know what I'm doing...so there is a really short version. God is good...he's teaching us a lot this year and I'm so thankful to be here.

Praise Jesus for lots of New Things!!

So, we've finally gotten the answer that we have been waiting for as long as Martin and I have known each other. He finally got his confirmation for graduating early!! The letter came in the mail yesterday. This means that he will be done with school on Sept. 18, 2009 instead of May 2010! This is so good for us because it opens up so many more opportunities for us to serve God together next year. He is so faithful and continually proving that he hears our prayers and is faithful when we call on Him.

This doesn't mean that we have a plan yet for after the wedding, but it does mean that now we know what kind of freedom we have as we are seeking God for his plan for us next year. We know that Martin won't have to be in school, and that in itself is simply wonderful news!

On another note, for those of you who don't know, we accepted the job as youth pastors of the Teen Radical teenage group at the church in January. When we came back from Texas we were a bit nervous about what that would be like, but once again, God has proven faithful. I believe that you grow so much more when you are challenged in new areas because you learn that you have to be dependent apon the Lord because you know you can't do it in your own strength. It has been such an amazing time so far. I always knew Martin could do it, but I was a bit insecure (and am still working on it) because of my Danish, but God has given me so much grace. I am understanding more and more everyday and can pretty much follow a conversation in Danish now. I respond mostly in English, but it's always fun when I know how to respond in Danish. He's also given me more connections one on one with the kids this term. Martin is doing a FANTASTIC job leading and has great visions for this group! We believe in God's vision for these teenagers and love to see them grow. I have developed such a heart for the teens in this area. The area of Kolding that I live in is filled with them. We have a Youth Mission School, Boarding School and Jr. High all in one area. Every time I leave my house I see some of the kids. It's kind of a "Mayberry" feeling, and I love it. They are in such need of Jesus, and we're so excited to get to disciple them.

Praise God for this new opportunity!

TEENRADICAL!

here are some of the kids on one of our event nights

AFRICA!

We have been preparing for our trip to Africa a lot in the last couple of weeks. We been blessed with a HUGE container that someone is going to ship for us to Togo and so our task is to fill it up with everything and anything that will be useful for the villages where we be spending time. We had an article on the front page of the news paper last week and had a huge collecting day on Saturday.

http://pdf.budstikken.com/seneste_udgaver/kolding.pdf

People from all over the area came and donated things. God blessed us so much. We got everything from beds, motorbikes, bikes, tables, chairs, sewing machines, computers, to clothes, shoes and toys. It was simply amazing. These things will be able to bless so many people in Togo, which is one of the poorest countries in Africa. We were overwhelmed by the response. Please pray for us as we continue to prepare for this trip. We will be leaving on March 22 and returning in the middle of April.

The night before, Martin and I spent with the teenagers making cakes to give away to the people who came and donated.

A Danish/America-Africa Couple. :)We got 60 top of the line mosquito nets donated...one of my favorites! Praise Jesus! :)
Some from the teamThis was only the beginning. :)
So, I think that is all the news for now. Please keep Martin and I in your prayers as we now are seeking God for what will come of us next year. :) We know that whatever it is, will be great because we just want to be in the will of God.

Vi elsker dig meget! (We love you a lot!)