Fast Forward Through July

I looked at the date and realized that July is almost over. And I realized that I have spent the past 3 days feeling like I am on vacation. It has been a good reminder why I love living in Danmark. It has been a crazy month, so I really needed these few days of vacation.

The month started out with a week of camp. It was church camp, most similar to a family camp. I was really stressed heading into camp, over all the cafe stuff that I knew was going on while I was gone and as soon as I got back. I was feeling overwhelmed and feeling like I was just hanging on to make it. Camp was fun and the speaker was really good. The focus was on Encountering God in Everything. And during one of the evening services, I finally felt God speaking again. And God said wait, it will come, not exactly the answer I wanted, but an answer. And so during the services I felt encouraged that God knows what our cafe team is dealing with and we will find another place. The other side of camp was sports and hanging out. I got to play volleyball, not sure how long it has been since the last time I played, but a lot of my training came back to me. I also got to learn how to play handball! Finally! I have been watching this sport and hearing about this sport since I moved here and finally I was taught how to play. Of course I spent the whole game trying to figure out what was going on, but still I played! Camp was good, but very tiring. As camp came to a close I had to leave early to make it home before the next adventure arrived.

3 hours after I arrived home from camp (those hours were spent cleaning the church and making lunch) a work team from West Virgina arrived. They came to work on the shop, but since we didn't have a shop they did work around the church and the white house. Also, that night my parents arrived to work with the team and see what I was up to. It was a great 10 days. We did different projects such as painting and yard work. And the most exciting one for me was that we finished the bonus room in the white house!!!! It was great to have the team around. They were an encouragement to the cafe team and a big help to the church.

It was nice to have my parents here. It was an interesting set up because they stayed with me in the house and they got to see how things go in the house. As always when I have them in the country I am serving in, it's just weird. It is weird to combine both worlds. But, a joy to try and share my life with them. We got to do a lot of touring and there were a lot of places I have not seen that I got to see with them. It was also nice to be spoiled. But, Tuesday I had to drop them off at the airport and go home to an empty house and try to figure out what to do next.

When I got home, I crashed. Too many weeks of craziness and not enough sleep. I spent the next 3 days enjoying the sun and enjoying being here. I went to the beach and actually swam in the water! It finally got warm enough to do that. We also took a really long bike ride where we enjoyed seeing the beach and harbors. I also took a trip to Tivoli and then enjoyed being shown different types of architecture around Copenhagen. And all this got me to a point where I fell back in love with Denmark and I feel refreshed and ready to go back to work.

Today we had a cafe meeting where we discussed our next steps. We are still looking for a place. We will try to go a visit shops this week. Hopefully we will find a place soon. We had to readjust our start date goals. That was disappointing. We also discussed my contract ending and when I will return for another year. So, we are picking up the pieces and moving forward, which is all we can do.

trying to move forward

Things are not so great right now. Life has been really stressful. We lost the shop we signed the contract for in May. The owner backed out of the deal and so this shop is no more. It is back to the beginning for us. We have been looking at realtor listings again and have viewed a few places that would not really work for us. So, we are still looking around. The whole team is feeling very down about this.

I had visitors! A coupe of volunteers from Poland came to give some coffee training. It was great to be with them again. We spent the days touring different coffee shops around Copenhagen and the evenings learning about coffee. It was nice to have friends visit. And we went to a roastery here and we were served coffee by the first World Champion Barista. That was an exciting experience! I forgot how much fun it was to visit shop after shop. It was a good time.

I have a crazy few weeks coming up. In a week I leave for summer camp. I think it will be a lot of fun. And the day I get back from camp the work team from West Virgina arrives. Also that night my parents arrive. I am getting really excited for that. It will be a good time. The work team will be doing different projects around the church and the house since we do not have property. But, I think it will turn out ok.

I am still studying my Danish for my immigration test. I am feeling very positive about the language part. I am getting nervous about the culture part.

Hopefully we find a new shop soon. This trial has really been weighing on our spirits.

Our shop has been featured in a mission magazine.
Check it out-
Article on the Shop

shop owners aka craziness begins

It is official, we now own a coffee shop in Copenhagen!! This one-

It is really close to the center of the city, on Nanensgade. I am so excited that it is all official now! But... this means the craziness shall begin! Life is getting busier and busier for me. When I stop and think about all that needs to be done and all that will be happening soon I feel overwhelmed. I am EXCITED about the shop!!! And all of the preparations ahead. We have some volunteers from Poland coming at the end of June to help us with some coffee training. Then in mid-July we have a small work team coming to help us get things prepared. And then we open around August first!! Yea! :)

past the halfway point...

Time is flying by and I realized I have now been here for 7 months! That is crazy! In a lot of ways I feel like I have just got here, like I am just getting started.

I have started my "official" Danish lessons. In July I will have to take a simple immigration test. I will have to be able to answer cultural/government questions as well as language questions. All of them will be done in Danish. I am feeling more confident about the language questions then the others. Classes this week went well, I am behind because they started me in the middle of a book, but I think I will catch up.

Things in the white house are going well. We are getting ready for summer vacation and planning or final activities before summer break. We have had some ups and downs with attendance, but that's the way it goes with youth. You can read about the ministry in this article- white house ministry

And with the future coffee shop church in Denmark we have BIG news!!!!! WE HAVE A LOCATION!!!! Everything is approved and the contract is waiting for our John Hancock, and then we will own a coffee shop in the center of Copenhagen. The shop we have bought has been in operation for a little while. The owners are selling EVERYTHING along with the shop. Basically we are just taking it over from them. In July we will close the shop for a couple weeks to do some simple remolding and touch-ups to make it our own. We will officially open the first of August. There is a lot we need to do before then. We still need a lot of help with fundraising, the good news is that we will not have a huge project, just a big one. We also, need to be trained and prepared for when we do open. There is not only a lot of building paperwork, but personal as well, such as a taking a hygiene course. Yeah, I have to take a hygiene course in Danish to be approved to work in a kitchen. That will be an interesting experience. We have a menu that needs to be planned. Also, we are having a very small work team for a week in July. They come at the perfect time to help us get the work started in the shop. So, A LOT is going on and soon I will busily be working daily in a coffee shop again. I kind of miss that.

Things are no longer slowly moving, but flying forward and I am excited to see where God is taking us!

Article about the Sweden Shop

http://engagemagazine.com/content/tentmakers-plan-new-ministry-sweden

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