Contentment

I am happy.... :)

In two days it will be our 1 month anniversary for the cafe. So far we have 50 volunteers giving some time in the cafe. We have started collecting coffee and snacks for Cafe Night Light (a state church ministry dedicated to helping woman leave prostitution). We are also in the process of getting Bibles, and the Jesus film for this ministry. Next month we have scheduled our first Mother Help birthday party (we are throwing birthday parties for children in poor single mother homes). We have another of visitors to the shop each day. Most of our visitors are mother groups and parents who are impressed with our play area. And in 2 months a Work and Witness team will be here to help us build the children's room. Things are going very well for us.

I have been thinking a lot about my future and ministry and what I am doing. And I truly love working in Denmark. I enjoy the ministry, the team I work with, the church I am connected to, and the friends I have made. I think God is about to do something big here and I am excited to be here and be apart of it.

Ministry Opportunities

Sweet Surrender Copenhagen in not only trying to start a church and be a blessing to our community, we are also working as a non-profit cafe trying to support foundations in our area. One of these foundations we have chosen to support is called Night Life Cafe. This ministry is connected to a State Church in our neighborhood. They work with bringing women off of the street and out of a life of prostitution. Our cafe has committed to support them in 2 ways. First, we will do a food drive in our shop, asking people to donate coffee and cookies that will be served to the women when they come into Night Life Cafe. Also, we are trying to raise funds for Bibles for them to hand-out. Because most of the women are not from Denmark, we need Bibles written in English, or Eastern European languages. We are really excited to help with this ministry. We have learned that there are a couple brothels on the street next to us, so this is a ministry that directly affects the area we are working in. If you are interested in helping us raise money, or have Bibles you can donate, please contact me at katie_rae27@yahoo.com.

Opening and Adjusting

We are open!!!! A week and a half ago we opened Sweet Surrender Copenhagen with a party and 3 days of specials. The following week we tried to get into the swing of things, trying to figure out how much we needed to buy and produce and train volunteers. It has been some busy times. And even though right now there is not a lot of sleep, and a lot of busy work, things are good. It is exciting to be working in a shop again and talking with people. Planning our activities and groups that will be done in the shop. Also, planning to have a work and witness team this summer to build our children's room is busy work, but exciting. There are so many things ahead and so many things to do to keep going right now, it can all be overwhelming and so adjusting needs to take place.

Through all of the hours I am spending just trying to make the daily business happen in the shop, I am finding I don't have time to get my other work done. My sleeping pattern has been completely rocked and it is hard to find time to do the computer work. So, I am adjusting my schedule and figuring out where everything needs to fit. How, I can get enough sleep and still accomplish everything I need to do in a day.

In the shop things are going well. We are attracting a number of customers and everyone loves the look and feel of our place. Also, we have a number of volunteers signing up to help work some hours in the shop. It is a lot of fun to have people come in and look around and enjoy our place. Now we are moving forward and meeting people and blessing the community one coffee cup at a time!

Here are some pictures of our opening night.