We had only been back from our home assignment for one month when it was time to hit the road again. We took a 4-day vacation in London, and then traveled by train two hours north to Manchester, where Nazarene Theological College is located. Andrew is studying with them on several research projects, in order to demonstrate his ability to work in the British academic system. When he completes his second research project this October, it is our hope that he will then be accepted into NTC's PhD program next year.
So we went to NTC for two weeks so that Andrew could utilize resources in their library, as well as meet with academic advisors for direction on his research project. He says it was an incredibly productive and focused time and helped him hone his direction quite a lot. He also really enjoyed being in an academic environment once again, with all the opportunities to discuss his passions and interests with people who share them.
While he was hard at work on his paper, I took my Engage and Eurasia Region work with me, so I continued my jobs from the NTC campus.
We really enjoyed the opportunity to "live" in yet another culture for a short while. We really like the neighborhood and area around the college, as well as the people we met who live and work there.
We returned home to Büsingen on August 25, and the next day we hit the ground with German classes, which we are taking for two hours per week for six weeks. Our first week went really well and we feel good about our instructor and the one-on-one teaching style. We have only one other young man in our group, from Portugal, and I (Gina) got the chance to talk to him for a while after the first class. He has an evangelical background but hasn't been to church since he moved to Switzerland. He shared about the struggle it has been to make friends and build a life here as an immigrant from an economically crushed country. He is studying German with hope that it will give him more relational opportunities with the Swiss. He has a graphic design background from Portugal, but here the only job he could get was washing windows. I hope we will be able to get to know him more in the coming days.
We would appreciate any prayers for Andrew as he completes this research project, and also for our ability to learn and absorb German so that we can become more fluent. This will increase our sense of being "at home" here and like we belong, as well as to improve our relationships with German-speaking people.
So we went to NTC for two weeks so that Andrew could utilize resources in their library, as well as meet with academic advisors for direction on his research project. He says it was an incredibly productive and focused time and helped him hone his direction quite a lot. He also really enjoyed being in an academic environment once again, with all the opportunities to discuss his passions and interests with people who share them.
While he was hard at work on his paper, I took my Engage and Eurasia Region work with me, so I continued my jobs from the NTC campus.
We really enjoyed the opportunity to "live" in yet another culture for a short while. We really like the neighborhood and area around the college, as well as the people we met who live and work there.
We returned home to Büsingen on August 25, and the next day we hit the ground with German classes, which we are taking for two hours per week for six weeks. Our first week went really well and we feel good about our instructor and the one-on-one teaching style. We have only one other young man in our group, from Portugal, and I (Gina) got the chance to talk to him for a while after the first class. He has an evangelical background but hasn't been to church since he moved to Switzerland. He shared about the struggle it has been to make friends and build a life here as an immigrant from an economically crushed country. He is studying German with hope that it will give him more relational opportunities with the Swiss. He has a graphic design background from Portugal, but here the only job he could get was washing windows. I hope we will be able to get to know him more in the coming days.
We would appreciate any prayers for Andrew as he completes this research project, and also for our ability to learn and absorb German so that we can become more fluent. This will increase our sense of being "at home" here and like we belong, as well as to improve our relationships with German-speaking people.
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