(I had pictures in here, but evidently it's messing up my blog...so I took them out. I'll post some later :)
My first week at Euroclass was amazing! I just love it here!
The students arrived Sunday night and we had a welcome for them. They came in with all their parents and we helped them set up their dorms and their beds. Then, we had a little information service and dinner. Then, we took them to the beach and did lots of "getting to know you" activities.
The group of students this year are so great! I have really enjoyed getting to know each of them! There are 26 students and I like them all in their own special way :)
I started teaching communications this week and it went really well. I'm so impressed with their English. They are 15-17 years old, and I can't imagine knowing another language as well as they do at that age. But I guess it's necessary when you are a country that is so small it can fit inside of Texas 9 times! :) The way it works is that we will each teach a subject for 6 to 8 weeks and then move on to another. So right now, I am teaching communications so they can practice before their first outreach. Neil is teaching Creative Arts/Dance and Drama, and Julie and Thomas are teaching Alpha which is a basic Bible course.
AND...for the fun part. Guess who is taking over for Martin until he finishes school....me! So that means I am also teaching Sports and I take them on their morning run at 7:00am. It's 4.5 km through the forest. HAHA...I just laughed when I found out that would be my task. So, I guess I'm being stretched more ways than I thought living in Denmark. I have actually enjoyed it though. It's great when you are forced to do something...and do it with a smile because you are an example to the kids. God may be changing my heart for physical activity :)
So, it was a great week. Martin and I will be on duty at the school on Wednesdays which means we have to be there from the time they wake up until they go to bed. Normally, we will both be there so that one of us could leave and take a break for a while if we need, but, once again...until Martin is done with school I will be there all day. It was a long day last Wednesday, but I cannot think of a better job!
I have had so many good talks with the students they have really been opening up already. So, we are really excited for the year ahead! I think God has great things in store for the Espensens!
Please continue to pray for our apartment to get done. It's such a huge job to do in the spare time. Living downstairs in the office is really starting to be annoying and we cannot wait until this job is done and we can live a normal life. It is also a big stress on Martin, if you can imagine. We spent 7 hours in IKEA on Saturday. It was like a little vacation. :) We ordered a kitchen for us and for the TeenRadical club and also the bathrooms. It was a lot of fun!
My talented husband building the bathroom floor.
Our pastor, Jakob, helping spackle.
We LOVE y'all and send our love from Denmark.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
First Week at Euroclass
The students arrived Sunday night and we had a welcome for them. They came in with all their parents and we helped them set up their dorms and their beds. Then, we had a little information service and dinner. Then, we took them to the beach and did lots of "getting to know you" activities.
The group of students this year are so great! I have really enjoyed getting to know each of them! There are 26 students and I like them all in their own special way :)
I started teaching communications this week and it went really well. I'm so impressed with their English. They are 15-17 years old, and I can't imagine knowing another language as well as they do at that age. But I guess it's necessary when you are a country that is so small it can fit inside of Texas 9 times! :) The way it works is that we will each teach a subject for 6 to 8 weeks and then move on to another. So right now, I am teaching communications so they can practice before their first outreach. Neil is teaching Creative Arts/Dance and Drama, and Julie and Thomas are teaching Alpha which is a basic Bible course.
AND...for the fun part. Guess who is taking over for Martin until he finishes school....me! So that means I am also teaching Sports and I take them on their morning run at 7:00am. It's 4.5 km through the forest. HAHA...I just laughed when I found out that would be my task. So, I guess I'm being stretched more ways than I thought living in Denmark. I have actually enjoyed it though. It's great when you are forced to do something...and do it with a smile because you are an example to the kids. God may be changing my heart for physical activity :)
So, it was a great week. Martin and I will be on duty at the school on Wednesdays which means we have to be there from the time they wake up until they go to bed. Normally, we will both be there so that one of us could leave and take a break for a while if we need, but, once again...until Martin is done with school I will be there all day. It was a long day last Wednesday, but I cannot think of a better job!
I have had so many good talks with the students they have really been opening up already. So, we are really excited for the year ahead! I think God has great things in store for the Espensens!
Please continue to pray for our apartment to get done. It's such a huge job to do in the spare time. Living downstairs in the office is really starting to be annoying and we cannot wait until this job is done and we can live a normal life. It is also a big stress on Martin, if you can imagine. We spent 7 hours in IKEA on Saturday. It was like a little vacation. :) We ordered a kitchen for us and for the TeenRadical club and also the bathrooms. It was a lot of fun!
My talented husband building the bathroom floor. 
Our pastor, Jakob, helping spackle.
We LOVE y'all and send our love from Denmark.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Married, Building, Euroclass
Our Wedding in the Rocky Mountains
WOW, so much has happened since I last wrote in March! :) Oops! Martin and I had an AMAZING wedding the Rocky Mountains with our friends and family! We absolutely could not have asked for anything more in that week! God just blessed our socks off.
The week started with family, Danes and Americans arriving on Wednesday and checking into our Bed and Breakfast, Blue Lake Ranch. We had a picnic dinner set up in the meadow and it was simply perfect. All of my Danish and American friends and family became such good friends and we loved that! It was so important for both of us that we have "our worlds" cone together so they could better understand us. It was great weather and the food was perfect.
The next day we woke up and had breakfast together, then headed to the Event Center for a rehearsal. The rehearsal was great and while we were standing there, a heart appeared in the sky above our heads.
Then we all headed into Downtown Durango for lunch and shopping, and in the afternoon our White Water Rafting trip! One of Martin and my favorite memories of this week was being the last ones on the packed school bus and seeing all of our friends and family from so many places gathered together, ready to go rafting. It was so much fun...we dominated the river!
After the River Rafting we had a fantastic Rehearsal Dinner at ther Ranch. We honored our parents for all they had done for us.
The wedding day was beautiful! Everything was perfect, including the weather that we prayed about for so long! :) Our wedding was a mix of Danish and American culture and a new experience for everyone! Our friends and family blessed us with VERY creative speeches and toasts for 3 hours!! We shared some good food and then danced the rest of the night away! It was wonderful!
Back in DK
We are now back in DK and working hard on finishing the apartment so we can get moved in. Martin is finishing school during the day (5 more weeks!!!) and working on the apartment in the afternoons and weekends! It's a busy start, but we'll be so glad when these two things are done! We are blessed to be given a little apartment to live in until ours is finished.
This is the building he is remodeling. It's the oldest farmhouse in Kolding, so it has a lot of history. He is building our apartment on the backside and the front half will be a teen club for the teens at the church.
Euroclass (www.euroclass.dk) There is a link for English
We started this week at Euroclass. It was a great week...very exciting, but also very hard on my brain. Everything in Euroclass is spoken in Danish, so I had a week of teacher orientation given in Danish. :) It will definitely help my learning this year! I will be teaching in English, though, praise Jesus! :) I will be teaching communications. I will teach the kids how to preach and share testimonies in English so that when we go on outreach to other countries they will feel confident. I will also be teaching bible lessons and discipleship. I'm so excited for what the Lord has in store for this year. Martin is coming on board at Euroclass as soon as he finishes his school in September, and we will be leading a team of about 13 kids on our first 3 week outreach in October! We feel so blessed!
Please Pray
Please pray for us that all the work that is ahead of us will get done quickly. (Martin building the apartment and TeenRadical club) and that he will also finish school and exams without too much stress. Pray for my Danish to come along. It's so important now, in my second year, that I understand when people speak Danish. Pray that I will have grace to learn fast and remember and practice!
I promise I will update more often! That is it for now! We love you...from Denmark!
WOW, so much has happened since I last wrote in March! :) Oops! Martin and I had an AMAZING wedding the Rocky Mountains with our friends and family! We absolutely could not have asked for anything more in that week! God just blessed our socks off.
The week started with family, Danes and Americans arriving on Wednesday and checking into our Bed and Breakfast, Blue Lake Ranch. We had a picnic dinner set up in the meadow and it was simply perfect. All of my Danish and American friends and family became such good friends and we loved that! It was so important for both of us that we have "our worlds" cone together so they could better understand us. It was great weather and the food was perfect.
The next day we woke up and had breakfast together, then headed to the Event Center for a rehearsal. The rehearsal was great and while we were standing there, a heart appeared in the sky above our heads.
Then we all headed into Downtown Durango for lunch and shopping, and in the afternoon our White Water Rafting trip! One of Martin and my favorite memories of this week was being the last ones on the packed school bus and seeing all of our friends and family from so many places gathered together, ready to go rafting. It was so much fun...we dominated the river!
After the River Rafting we had a fantastic Rehearsal Dinner at ther Ranch. We honored our parents for all they had done for us.The wedding day was beautiful! Everything was perfect, including the weather that we prayed about for so long! :) Our wedding was a mix of Danish and American culture and a new experience for everyone! Our friends and family blessed us with VERY creative speeches and toasts for 3 hours!! We shared some good food and then danced the rest of the night away! It was wonderful!
Back in DK
We are now back in DK and working hard on finishing the apartment so we can get moved in. Martin is finishing school during the day (5 more weeks!!!) and working on the apartment in the afternoons and weekends! It's a busy start, but we'll be so glad when these two things are done! We are blessed to be given a little apartment to live in until ours is finished.
This is the building he is remodeling. It's the oldest farmhouse in Kolding, so it has a lot of history. He is building our apartment on the backside and the front half will be a teen club for the teens at the church.Euroclass (www.euroclass.dk) There is a link for English
We started this week at Euroclass. It was a great week...very exciting, but also very hard on my brain. Everything in Euroclass is spoken in Danish, so I had a week of teacher orientation given in Danish. :) It will definitely help my learning this year! I will be teaching in English, though, praise Jesus! :) I will be teaching communications. I will teach the kids how to preach and share testimonies in English so that when we go on outreach to other countries they will feel confident. I will also be teaching bible lessons and discipleship. I'm so excited for what the Lord has in store for this year. Martin is coming on board at Euroclass as soon as he finishes his school in September, and we will be leading a team of about 13 kids on our first 3 week outreach in October! We feel so blessed!
Please Pray
Please pray for us that all the work that is ahead of us will get done quickly. (Martin building the apartment and TeenRadical club) and that he will also finish school and exams without too much stress. Pray for my Danish to come along. It's so important now, in my second year, that I understand when people speak Danish. Pray that I will have grace to learn fast and remember and practice!
I promise I will update more often! That is it for now! We love you...from Denmark!
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