We received fantastic news about Gabi this week. This is the email I received from a woman who knows the family:
"There is good news from Gabi. I have talked to her mother-in-law this morning. She is awake now and it seems there is no brain damage. She can talk, sometimes she has blackouts but they are growing less. It was much worse in the beginning. She cannot get up yet but her back is not hurt and she is having physiotherapy.
"She is learning to eat again after nearly seven weeks in coma.
"In August she will be moved to a rehab center. Her family hopes that she can go to (the center in the next village)."
Thank you to everyone who has joined us in prayer. I plan to drop off more cake and a note letting the family know that many of you have interceded for Gabi this summer and are sharing in their relief at this news.
Please do continue to pray that she doesn't have any setbacks, that her recovery is complete and rapid.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Dinner in German
I (Gina) was surprised and happy when last week I received an e-mail from Cornelia, a woman in the English classes, inviting me to dinner with her family this coming week. It looks like the date's set for this Thursday.
During that last class before the summer break, I had asked her if we could exchange addresses and maybe meet this summer.
Shortly after that, Andrew and I were swept up in pre-graduation, graduation and post-graduation busyness, then Andrew and I took a week vacation. So I didn't have time to follow-up with her.
I'm excited that she initiated the contact. It seems like people around here can be rather private, even though they're curious and interested in newcomers. I try not to be too pushy in getting to know people.
While I'm excited about this opportunity to visit with a new friend in her home, I'm also nervous. Cornelia's still working on her English, and while she's good, her exposure to English is still pretty limited. And my German is even more limited. I'm nervous about being able to communicate and keep up my end of the conversation for a whole evening. This week I'm going to review my lesson materials from our German class in January and February and hope a lot of it will come rushing back. Maybe between her English and my German, we can meet somewhere in the middle and have a great time, getting to know each other better.
Pray for me!! :-)
During that last class before the summer break, I had asked her if we could exchange addresses and maybe meet this summer.
Shortly after that, Andrew and I were swept up in pre-graduation, graduation and post-graduation busyness, then Andrew and I took a week vacation. So I didn't have time to follow-up with her.
I'm excited that she initiated the contact. It seems like people around here can be rather private, even though they're curious and interested in newcomers. I try not to be too pushy in getting to know people.
While I'm excited about this opportunity to visit with a new friend in her home, I'm also nervous. Cornelia's still working on her English, and while she's good, her exposure to English is still pretty limited. And my German is even more limited. I'm nervous about being able to communicate and keep up my end of the conversation for a whole evening. This week I'm going to review my lesson materials from our German class in January and February and hope a lot of it will come rushing back. Maybe between her English and my German, we can meet somewhere in the middle and have a great time, getting to know each other better.
Pray for me!! :-)
Good news on Gabi
For those of you who have been following our reports on Gabi, a woman I met through the church's English classes for the community, I finally have some good news.
At the beginning of the summer, Gabi was working on the roof of a building on her farm when the tiles broke and she fell a great height. She suffered broken bones throughout her whole body and a head injury. It was very serious, and so the doctors at the hospital put her into an induced coma while they surgically repaired all the bone breaks. A few weeks ago they thought she was ready to be awakened, but as they brought her out of the coma, the pressure in her brain rapidly increased and so they stopped.
This past week, they tried again, and fortunately everything was OK. She was able to open her eyes and respond to commands. They will now continue to assess the head injury. The family is hoping that she did not suffer any permanent brain damage, since she is responsive and does not seem to have any paralysis.
Thank you to everyone who has been praying with us for Gabi and her family. Please continue to cover her in prayer.
It has been a difficult summer for the family, running their farm without Gabi. But many people in this village have been pitching in, helping to milk cows or do other work as needed. The pastor of the local Protestant church has also visited and prayed with the family. Jacob, a former Nazarene missionary who worked for a while at EuNC, has spent time with the family and they invited him to visit Gabi and pray over her at the hospital. So there has been a lot of support to the family during this very stressful and frightening time. It's been a blessing to see not only the Nazarene family, but the Body of Christ here in Busingen do what it does best -- be the hands of feet of Jesus and walk through a time of suffering with someone.
Please continue to pray for Gabi's full recovery and for the sustaining comfort and peace for the whole family while they wait for her to come home.
At the beginning of the summer, Gabi was working on the roof of a building on her farm when the tiles broke and she fell a great height. She suffered broken bones throughout her whole body and a head injury. It was very serious, and so the doctors at the hospital put her into an induced coma while they surgically repaired all the bone breaks. A few weeks ago they thought she was ready to be awakened, but as they brought her out of the coma, the pressure in her brain rapidly increased and so they stopped.
This past week, they tried again, and fortunately everything was OK. She was able to open her eyes and respond to commands. They will now continue to assess the head injury. The family is hoping that she did not suffer any permanent brain damage, since she is responsive and does not seem to have any paralysis.
Thank you to everyone who has been praying with us for Gabi and her family. Please continue to cover her in prayer.
It has been a difficult summer for the family, running their farm without Gabi. But many people in this village have been pitching in, helping to milk cows or do other work as needed. The pastor of the local Protestant church has also visited and prayed with the family. Jacob, a former Nazarene missionary who worked for a while at EuNC, has spent time with the family and they invited him to visit Gabi and pray over her at the hospital. So there has been a lot of support to the family during this very stressful and frightening time. It's been a blessing to see not only the Nazarene family, but the Body of Christ here in Busingen do what it does best -- be the hands of feet of Jesus and walk through a time of suffering with someone.
Please continue to pray for Gabi's full recovery and for the sustaining comfort and peace for the whole family while they wait for her to come home.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Exchange rates
One of the things that makes it difficult for American missionaries and volunteer missionaries who work in Europe is the changing value of the dollar. Namely, its decline.
When we first arrived in Europe in January 2010, the value of the euro was falling against the dollar. For us, that was a good thing. It meant that after four or five months, we had gained euro 10 to 15 cents for every dollar we spent. Our money was going farther than it did at the beginning.
That didn't last long. By the beginning of this year the dollar had fallen painfully, not only against the euro but against the Swiss franc. Because we live on the border of Germany and Switzerland, we operate in both currencies.
A year ago, $1 gave you 0.79 euros, while the dollar and Swiss franc were close to one for one.
Today, the exchange rate is like this:
$1 will give you just 0.69 euros.
$1 will give you just 0.83 Swiss franc.
Think of it in terms of purchasing power:
A plate of food at a restaurant in Switzerland is already 22 Swiss francs to begin with. So that meal would cost you $26 in dollars. As you can guess, we rarely eat out in Switzerland, except for the odd sandwich or McDonald's value menu junior burger.
Germany is a little better because their prices are much lower to begin with. Let's say an average plate of food at a restaurant in our part of Germany is 7.20 euros. That costs $10.30. For us, eating out, then, is a special treat, but it's possible.
The exchange rate is more painful the higher your purchase.
For instance, a trip to the nearest discount grocery store (it's called Aldi, which has some stores in the United States, as well) runs the two of us a minimum of about 50 euros for a week's worth of food. But in U.S. dollars (which is what our funding originates in) that jumps up to $71.
The exchange rate is hurting a lot of churches and missionaries in Europe. Some raised a certain amount of support based on an older exchange rate and have found their funds dwindle with the value of the dollar. The choices are to raise more, cut living expenses even further or go home early. We are grateful that we have been able to adjust.
Pray for the many religious workers and denominations in Europe whose support may come, at least in part, from generous people in the United States. Ask God to provide for all the needs in His way and perfect timing.
When we first arrived in Europe in January 2010, the value of the euro was falling against the dollar. For us, that was a good thing. It meant that after four or five months, we had gained euro 10 to 15 cents for every dollar we spent. Our money was going farther than it did at the beginning.
That didn't last long. By the beginning of this year the dollar had fallen painfully, not only against the euro but against the Swiss franc. Because we live on the border of Germany and Switzerland, we operate in both currencies.
A year ago, $1 gave you 0.79 euros, while the dollar and Swiss franc were close to one for one.
Today, the exchange rate is like this:
$1 will give you just 0.69 euros.
$1 will give you just 0.83 Swiss franc.
Think of it in terms of purchasing power:
A plate of food at a restaurant in Switzerland is already 22 Swiss francs to begin with. So that meal would cost you $26 in dollars. As you can guess, we rarely eat out in Switzerland, except for the odd sandwich or McDonald's value menu junior burger.
Germany is a little better because their prices are much lower to begin with. Let's say an average plate of food at a restaurant in our part of Germany is 7.20 euros. That costs $10.30. For us, eating out, then, is a special treat, but it's possible.
The exchange rate is more painful the higher your purchase.
For instance, a trip to the nearest discount grocery store (it's called Aldi, which has some stores in the United States, as well) runs the two of us a minimum of about 50 euros for a week's worth of food. But in U.S. dollars (which is what our funding originates in) that jumps up to $71.
The exchange rate is hurting a lot of churches and missionaries in Europe. Some raised a certain amount of support based on an older exchange rate and have found their funds dwindle with the value of the dollar. The choices are to raise more, cut living expenses even further or go home early. We are grateful that we have been able to adjust.
Pray for the many religious workers and denominations in Europe whose support may come, at least in part, from generous people in the United States. Ask God to provide for all the needs in His way and perfect timing.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Projects
- We are working on a "Best of Engage" book that I am editing, using some of our best stories of the past couple of years. It's relatively easy -- just sorting through the website and picking out dramatic narrative pieces that represent each of our six world regions. The idea came from our editor in Africa, Amy Crofford. That will be due in less than two weeks.
- I am making more work for myself by deciding to gather and format additional information pages for the regional website. I was inspired by some pages that were very informative and interesting on a couple of the other region websites. I'll spend the summer gleaning information about our church in different countries from several research books, and formatting it for the web.
- I sought the help of two professors of journalism to develop an intro to journalism course for training Nazarene writers in the world regions. We have a lot of people close to the action in countries around the world who can and do write up amazing stories for publication. We can offer them some training in improved news gathering, interviewing, research and writing that will help them develop even more compelling narratives and news stories. My hope is to have the course ready to go in late fall or, at the latest, January.
- I am continuing to work with writers on a 9-month article series to launch at the end of summer on the foundational principles of missions in our church, as well as how we apply those practically in a postmodern and 21st century context. I am looking forward to seeing that take a very real shape.
So, I'm keeping quite busy. :-)
Keep up with all the news: www.eurasiaregion.org/index.php/news and www.engagemagazine.com.
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