If you've been following our posts on our Facebook group, "Pottengers in Germany," you know that we arrived safely on the morning of Feb. 2nd, and have had a great first week.
First of all, thank you to all of those who have continued to encourage and support us in a variety of ways. Moving was a difficult, stressful experience, but we are so grateful that we had friends to help us transport furniture and boxes, as well as providing a basement to store our things. Our families are taking care of sending us anything we were not able to take on the plane, looking after Sophie (our cat), and handling various other responsibilities that we cannot deal with as well from here. Also, we enjoyed seeing a significant number of you at Panera in Colorado Springs shortly before we left. Finally, quite a number of you have believed in what God is doing in this part of the world through the ministry of the Eurasia Region and European Nazarene College (EuNC). We are so grateful for your generous and sacrificial giving that goes to fund God's work here!
We wanted to briefly update you on our first week in Busingen.
1. Gina got to work immediately, continuing to write for "Engage" magazine (see the link on the lower right corner of this page). She has also been working hard on press releases and the newsletter, "Where Worlds Meet," which is an important publication for the entire Eurasia region. She has done very well so far keeping up with a difficult schedule and juggling different responsibilities.
2. I started in the library this past Monday afternoon. The current temporary librarian, Debra Schrock, has been working for a number of weeks in order to get the library back into order. The former librarian, Jillian Kerr, left a couple of years ago after serving EuNC for 14 years and there has not been a regular on-site librarian since then. Debra has done an amazing job of restoring EuNC's library, and is doing great at showing me the ropes. I did not realize until we arrived that I would be running the library single-handedly, which not only includes circulation duties (which I handled at the NTS library) but also ordering, processing, and accounting - duties which I have not done before. Debra and her husband, Alan (who handles educational technology for EuNC), have put a system in place which allows future library workers (including myself) to more easily learn what needs to be done and how to do it. I am extremely grateful for all their work! Alan and Debra will leave at the end of next week for the States, and I will assume full responsibility for the library at that point. You can see how urgent the need has been in this area of EuNC's ministry! I am grateful for my previous library experience which allows me greater ease in learning how to do the job well.
3. I have heard a great deal about how welcoming and hospitable EuNC is, but I had the chance to experience it firsthand these last couple weeks. We have been well taken care of by all the staff, and have truly enjoyed meeting other faculty and administration. The staff of the Eurasia regional office has also been very welcoming and helped us to feel right at home in our first few days here. We were invited to dinner a number of times, taken out shopping, and offered the use of a car to drive.
4. The students at EuNC are a very special group of young people. They take their Christian commitment very seriously, and each of them looks forward to service through the Church of the Nazarene. They have been particularly welcoming to Gina and I, as we have gotten to know them through daily coffee breaks at 10 a.m. and regular lunches in the dining hall. We have participated in a couple of student-led activities such as a Lent discussion group and a costume party. Yesterday, I was invited to join several of them for soccer. Despite getting winded rather quickly and the soreness I feel all over today, I had a great time with them and appreciated their desire to involve me in their activities. Please continue to keep these students in your prayers, that God will continue to make His direction for their lives known to them and for their continued efforts in classes. In just short of two weeks, each student already has a very special place in my heart.
Also, continue to pray for Gina and I as we get settled into our jobs. Pray for Gina's ability to effectively juggle multiple responsibilities and for my preparations to teach the Intro to New Testament course. That course will run March 25 - April 21, with a one-week break between April 1-7 for Easter.
Thank you once more for all your belief in God's work through the Church of the Nazarene in Europe!
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