Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Leadership conference
Today, about 150 people -- roughly the equivalent of our village's entire population -- are descending on EuNC for the annual leadership conference held every January. These leaders from throughout Europe gather for worship, fellowship and numerous workshops crammed into about two days.
Andrew is busy driving back and forth between campus and the train station to pick up arrivals; others at the regional office are doing the same. Perhaps we should have vacuumed our car...
Anyway, we're excited because this year the main speaker is Leonard Sweet, a professor who has written more than 40 books addressing the church and postmodern culture. He recognized years ago how the Church would be affected by the dawning of postmodernism, before I even knew what postmodernism was, and has written about ways we can effectively engage with people who think in postmodern ways. I'm not too familiar with his work beyond what I just wrote, that's why I am anxious to attend his 8 sessions to learn his perspective.
It's a sort of baptism by fire, to arrive back in Busingen just days before this busy week. I flew back to Germany from Colorado last Wednesday, and had just the few days and weekend to recover from jet lag. I don't think I've actually recovered yet, so I'm compensating with stronger pots of coffee.
My time at the Cleveland Clinic the first week of January was productive, in that I had more tests than I thought possible during my three days there. I learned several days ago that every test was negative. It's hard to decide how to feel about that. On one hand, I'm grateful I don't have any of the things they tested for. On the other hand, I am no closer to understanding why I haven't felt well since September, or how to prevent or manage it. I continue to give this to God and hold onto hope that I won't feel this way forever. In the meantime, I just try to get enough rest, pace myself and eat as well as I can, squeezing in a workout whenever I feel good enough. I'm grateful for the many, many people who have been praying for me during the past few months. I trust and believe God has been at work, despite the outcome from the clinic. I am also grateful that I've returned to Europe feeling better, if not 100%.
Andrew will begin teaching his new class this week. And it's been good to be reunited with the students, who hit the ground running right after New Year's. We enjoyed this weekend's marathon of watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy (the extended editions) with the students. Next Monday we'll join them for the EuNC annual "Snow Day" in which the students and faculty drive into the snowy mountains to go tubing for the day.
It's been densely foggy the past few days. One local informs me that it has been known to last for up to a month without a break. I love fog, but I hope it doesn't last that long this time. (You can see more of my fog pictures at ginapottenger.shutterfly.com.)
Andrew is busy driving back and forth between campus and the train station to pick up arrivals; others at the regional office are doing the same. Perhaps we should have vacuumed our car...
Anyway, we're excited because this year the main speaker is Leonard Sweet, a professor who has written more than 40 books addressing the church and postmodern culture. He recognized years ago how the Church would be affected by the dawning of postmodernism, before I even knew what postmodernism was, and has written about ways we can effectively engage with people who think in postmodern ways. I'm not too familiar with his work beyond what I just wrote, that's why I am anxious to attend his 8 sessions to learn his perspective.
It's a sort of baptism by fire, to arrive back in Busingen just days before this busy week. I flew back to Germany from Colorado last Wednesday, and had just the few days and weekend to recover from jet lag. I don't think I've actually recovered yet, so I'm compensating with stronger pots of coffee.
My time at the Cleveland Clinic the first week of January was productive, in that I had more tests than I thought possible during my three days there. I learned several days ago that every test was negative. It's hard to decide how to feel about that. On one hand, I'm grateful I don't have any of the things they tested for. On the other hand, I am no closer to understanding why I haven't felt well since September, or how to prevent or manage it. I continue to give this to God and hold onto hope that I won't feel this way forever. In the meantime, I just try to get enough rest, pace myself and eat as well as I can, squeezing in a workout whenever I feel good enough. I'm grateful for the many, many people who have been praying for me during the past few months. I trust and believe God has been at work, despite the outcome from the clinic. I am also grateful that I've returned to Europe feeling better, if not 100%.
Andrew will begin teaching his new class this week. And it's been good to be reunited with the students, who hit the ground running right after New Year's. We enjoyed this weekend's marathon of watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy (the extended editions) with the students. Next Monday we'll join them for the EuNC annual "Snow Day" in which the students and faculty drive into the snowy mountains to go tubing for the day.
It's been densely foggy the past few days. One local informs me that it has been known to last for up to a month without a break. I love fog, but I hope it doesn't last that long this time. (You can see more of my fog pictures at ginapottenger.shutterfly.com.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)