Büsingen election

Next week, there is a big election in our tiny village. It is to elect a new mayor. This is a big deal to the residents, as well as to the Eurasia Regional Office and European Nazarene College. Büsingen has had the same mayor for many years, and he has been well loved by the community, as well as by our ministry teams and our local Nazarene church. The mayor has been a big advocate for our presence here.

In Germany, of which Büsingen is a part by law, anyone from anywhere in Germany can be elected a town's mayor. The candidates don't actually have to live here. And this is the first time that there are no candidates who are residents of Büsingen. The candidate who lives closest is in the neighboring village.

Büsingen is a very special place, due to its status as an "exclave" of Germany, completely surrounded like an island by Switzerland. There are many complications that exist in this village that don't exist anywhere else. The next mayor will need to navigate these and understand how things work. And rising and falling currency values, as well as the recession, have hurt many of those who live here. So people are concerned about the future.

We have come to love this village and the people who live here. Our office teams and our church have been praying for God's hand to be in this election, so that Büsingen can continue to thrive. If you think of it, join in prayer with us, too.

Upcoming conference

Gina here. This weekend I am heading to a conference in Portugal called One by One IberoAmerica. It is a conference that started out as directed at Nazarenes on the Western Mediterranean Field (Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, and the Azores). Then, they welcomed Nazarenes from all Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries. Then, they opened it up to anyone.

A variety of meetings and trainings are taking place in conjunction with the weekend conference. One of them is a three-day training for field strategy coordinators -- people who direct and/or support denominational ministry at the field level (each region is made up of "fields" and within the fields are "districts" made up of the local churches). We have about 35 fields around the world.

I have been given 45 minutes to talk with these wonderful and hardworking people about storytelling -- why we do it, how it helps to shape and unify us as a global church family, and ideas and discussion on how we can do it more effectively. I am working on a PowerPoint presentation, along with a resource CD to distribute.

Then, during the conference, I will be interviewing different people about what God is doing in their lives or their part of the world, as well as reporting on the conference itself.

I would really appreciate your prayers now through April 29. Please pray with me that God will help me use the time and opportunities effectively, that I can connect and collaborate with those who share my passion for telling more of the stories of our church, and that I can come away with new relationships on which we can build better communications in the future.

Please also pray for the conference and all those who will be attending: for safe and smooth travels, the Spirit's work of renewal, refreshing, unifying and empowering, and for more effective ministry across our church as a result of this gathering.

Remember in prayer those who have been planning the event -- for their sanity, and for strength and endurance during this very busy and stressful time.

Thanks again for being part of what God is doing in our church and in us through your prayers and support!

Learning to make a Swiss bread

If there's one thing Americans will rave about after visiting this region, it's the amazing bread and the fantastic cheese (or general dairy products). Bread and cheese are among the many things that Swiss and Germans know how to do right.

Our favorite bread here is called Zopf. It's a braided, dense white bread that is traditionally made on a Friday or Saturday and eaten on Sundays. From what I've read, it may be similar to or the same thing as Challah. It's just mouthwatering.

And since one part of being a missionary or a resident in another culture involves doing your best to learn about the culture and adapt to its ways, learning to make this bread seemed like a good way to appreciate this culture in a more up-close way. :-)

I was fortunate that my Swiss friend, Cornelia, knows how to make this and offered to show me how. One evening she walked me through the process and allowed me to practice the braiding technique in her kitchen. The next week, I tried on my own and it was a rousing success! I made it again last weekend, and I must say, Zopf makes an incredibly rich French toast, too. :-)

The ingredient list is short, and making this is actually not too difficult, although it is time consuming and makes a mess. It's worth it: the outcome is a little piece of heaven.

(Makes 2 large loaves)

Ingredients

1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of white flour

250 grams cold butter (1/2 cup

3 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1 block (42 grams or 1.5 ounces) yeast (in the refrigerated section)

0.65 liters of room temperature milk (0.7 quarts)

1 egg

1. Crumble the yeast into milk and whisk until blended

2. Pour the flour into large mixing bowl and add sugar and salt.

3. Cut in cold butter (you can use room temperature butter, too)

4. Pour in the milk and stir until a dough forms, pulling away from sides of the bowl.

5. Dump dough onto floured surface and knead 5-10 minutes, adding more white flour as kneaded so that it becomes elastic and no longer sticky.

6. Place dough in a large bowl and set in warm place to rise for 1 hour. Dough should double in size.

7. Return dough to floured surface and cut into quarters. Roll out two pieces into long cords.

8. Follow the weaving procedure on this website, www.about.ch/culture/food/zopf.html.

9. After two loaves are formed, cover on a baking sheet for another 15 miutes.

10. Beat one egg in a small bowl, and use a basting brush to brush egg onto the top surfaces of the loaves.

11. Bake in the oven at about 200 celsius (about 400 F) about 30 minutes, or until the bottom of the loaves are hard when you tap them. Enjoy!