A BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY AFTERNOON

I received an email from my lovely German girlfriend Marianne on Friday to find out if we could catch up Sunday afternoon.

Marianne and Wolfram came for afternoon tea and then stayed for soup. Wolfram wanted to discuss the poem "Tyger, Tyger" by William Blake with Roger. We had the most delightful afternoon and covered lots of topics. We do enjoy their friendship. Marianne was one of the first German ladies I met when we arrived here. She lives in a small mountain village about 1/2 drive from Schopfheim.

We had another wonderful opportunity to offer friendship and a listening ear.

God is so good.

Live experience - right place, right time

Following on from "Just Walk Across the Room" I thought I'd tell you this little story.

Yesterday Roger and I had the absolute privilege of going to Luzern with a group of friends from Centrepoint Basel to have a tour of the KKL Cultural Centre. There were 16 of us altogether. Most of us took the train down there.

At this bad economic time for us Aussies living abroad, we wondered whether we should go ahead with this tour, but we had committed ourselves over a month ago and would have had to pay anyway.

I knew everyone on the trip apart from 2 people. One Aussie lady visiting her daughter who has just had a baby and another English lady who has been living in Basel for 20 years.

To save money Roger and I had brought our own lunch with us and we were going to sit in the sun on Lake Luzern and enjoy the surrounds whilst most of the others sat in a stuffy restaurant! We walked with 3 other ladies of which one was the English lady I had never met. Of course the question "why are you here" was asked so I shared with her about 'building' an Christian Community in Basel. Well........my goodness........! Can I say at this point that sometimes we wonder if we are making inroads here, wasting our time, going to slow, etc, etc, etc. Then an experience like this happens and we go ' W O W ' ! ! ! This lady just poured her heart out to me and at the end wondered herself why she had done it! Her husband of 28 years just walked out on her 3 months ago and she was totally devastated! But things are happening in her life, she is finding herself again, making good decisions and knows people are coming into her life for a reasons.

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

It's that easy - or that hard, whichever way we want to look at it.

We are both sick so are probably just a little bit down at the moment. Would value your prayers for us both for a quick and full recovery (it's been too long). Coughs are bad.

"JUST WALK ACROSS THE ROOM"

"Just Walk Across the Room" by Bill Hybels

Simple steps pointing people to faith

Bill Hybels the well known American pastor has written this book that answers this question; What if redirecting a person’s forever really is as simple as walking across a room? This book opens with a story of Bill finding himself opposite a person at a luncheon who started up a conversation and agreed to talk later at another break in the conference they were attending. This person Bill discovered was of another faith and could have been easily avoided but Bill took the opportunity to talk with him. You need to read the book to find what happened!

There are many good stories in this book that show that you just need to be noticing people around you and use the natural circumstances to start a conversation. It can be as easy as two men saying hello to each other when they see each other taking out the garbage bins.
Many people are just longing for someone to take an interest in them. Bill shows us who these people are: for example; two fathers standing together watching their kids play football, saying hello to a waiter in a café or helping an old lady enter a shopping centre.

But this book has more than good stories, it also has practical and easy tools that any of us can use to make our conversations with people more effective. Hybels also tells us how to make our own story concise and effective.

This is also a plea to make evangelism a way of normal living rather than a program to take to people. What it means to care about others and as Hybels says to live in 3-D relating to others and asking the Holy Spirit to be with you in your conversations. Friendships are essential and the basis of taking the gospel to people.

The book has easy to read short chapters which end with a page of study questions. I heartily commend this book for everyone and especially for home groups.

Roger

Leadership Advance Conference

From Sunday 31 August till Wednesday Gaynor and I met with 8 other Church leaders from Switzerland for an annual Leadership conference meeting in a small town on the edge of Lake Constance. For some time we looked at things that are going well, for example, great to see much more emphasis on Children & Youth ministry and seeing the development of new small groups with an outward focus. A real challenge however is the unwillingness of some folk to stand up as leaders. It is often regarded as not Swiss to lead.

We were priveleged to hear Eduard Friesen of Bonn Bible School

http://www.bsb-online.de/ bring 3 major addresses, one of which was on WORTH. One of the tasks of leaders is to show people their worth in Christ. We are valued as children of God and our worth comes from what Christ has done for us. Our worth is not based on nationality, morality, profession or place of residence but on all that we have from the generosity of God.

We spent time each day in prayer triads praying on three issues for each other. We examined where we are now at as a group of Churches. We also dreamed about what we would like to see in the next five years and ten years from now. It was great to get away as leaders together, it was a very full time and we snuck in one afternoon for a ferry ride on Lake Constance.

We are always blessed to have Derek Webster lead the music. He does an awesome job and really sets the atmosphere for the time together.

Pictures from Denmark

Roger (left) with some of the young guys looking cool !

Gaynor and Annick (who was the cook in the 2nd week)

Our table for the Oscar Evening

You can see more pictures on http://gaynorsworld.blogspot.com

Our wanderings !

We had a wonderful, though a little exhausting, time away on camp with our German Young People from the FeG Loerrach, 26 July - 10 August. (I've actually asked Rog to remind me that this is the last time I want to go away with the youth!!). The drive to Denmark was a rather long one, especially as there was a lot of traffic on the motorways. It took us 15 hours. We did learn something from our friends though. Trucks are not allowed to travel on the motorways in Germany on the weekends! Pretty good rule actually. I'd like to see them try and enforce something like that in Australia!!

The camp was very well organized and there were always heaps of things for the young people to be involved in - a fitness centre, gym, lounge, volleyball, trampoline and a variety of other games to be played. We had a mini olympics, casino night, bingo, Scandinavian Night and the last evening we had The Oscar's, which was heaps of fun.

Little Lilly

We did go to visit gorgeous little Lilly last Thursday. Sorry I have not let you know how we got on till now. It was a very moving experience for us both, but particularly for Roger. When we got to the hospital we had to be let in through a special door and then we scrubbed up, etc and one at a time went with mother Janet to be introduced to Lilly Isobel who nows weighs 1200grams (possibly more by now). She is just the tiniest little girl but oh so cute. We were able to touch her and talk to her and observe this very special miracle.

We continue to pray for Lilly as well as Mum Janet and Dad Alain.

Men's Movie Night - Centrepoint Basel

Roger will be showing the last 2 DVD's in the Australian Drama Series "East West 101" at the Men's Movie Night tomorrow. The series was shown on Australian TV by SBS in December last year. This series has been a huge success and has certainly stimulated discussion by the guys. Roger is hoping to run a discussion evening next Thursday night and show short clips of the last 4 DVD's. About 7 - 8 guys have turned up for these evenings.

If only I knew how to post pictures properly, but alas I'm not that skilled!! So sorry, no picture!

This and That !

Roger and I had a wonderful lunch with our Youth Pastor Dave and his wife Simea last week. Their cute 2 year old daughter Lia entertained us as well. I took along a frozen strawberry mould made from market fresh strawberries which came and went all to quickly. We were talking with Dave and Simea about the upcoming Youth Camp at the end of this month which is for 2 weeks and we will be going by bus to Denmark (a 13 hour drive - should be interesting to say the least!). There will be around 60-65 on the camp, including leaders. We will need 2 Bus Drivers for the trip. Basically we are to be support leaders and lend a helping hand each day with whatever needs to be done. We are also looking for fun games to play in the evenings when the young people are a tad tired but need something to do! The camp will be held in a Boarding School so the facilities are very good. Also MAYBE we will even get a swim in the ocean which excites me very much. I do miss my swimming in the ocean.

Last Wednesday night we had dinner here with our Ghanan friend Johnny and then had a little study together. Johnny invited us to have lunch with him on Sunday. It's always good to catch up with him. He's very quiet and doesn't say a lot, but we enjoy being with him. He wrote off his car about a month ago when he went to sleep at the wheel. Fortunately he and his 2 passengers were not injured, only the car was a write off. This was a big shock for him.

Thursday afternoon we will visit little Lily Isobel who was born at 28 weeks 2 months ago and has been in intensive care ever since. Her mother wants us to visit her, touch her and talk to her. This is such a privilege for us to be able to do this, but we know it will be emotional as well. She will probably have another 4 weeks in hospital before she is allowed home.

LIFE'S JOURNEY

Swimmers in the Rhine. The water moves rather swiftly so you don't really need to swim! They carry their clothes in waterproof bags on the water!

At last it is summer here in this part of the world and we are thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine and cloudless skies. It will end all too quickly I am sure, but for the moment we are making the most of it.

The Europa Cup finished last night with a win to Spain and a very unhappy Germany. We were on the midnight train coming back from Basel and it was absolutely packed with unhappy fans, but it was still rather noisy! Now Basel can get back to normal, whatever that is. Quiet little Basel certainly did come alive with the various fanzones and big screen viewing. We certainly did enjoy all the excitement and were able to enjoy the atmosphere as we sat in a friends home overlooking the Rhine and watching all the activity below. It was great.

Busy time last week. We did manage to have Monday off by not going hiking and we needed to just be home, so that was great. Tuesday Roger had an all day conference near Zurich which Derek Webster had organized. There were 11 leaders who met together for a most worthwhile day. Derek is organzing a 3 day away Conference called PREKO at the end of August which we are hoping to go to. I've made him promise me it will be in English!

I wasn't able to go to the Conference because we had organized a farewell lunch for an Aussie friend we met 3 months ago and I couldn't disappoint her.

Tuesday evening we had our Nooma Night but only Bernhard turned up so we ended up spending 1.5 hours with him, which is always great. Sitting in Starbucks discussing the meaning of life!

Wednesday I was on duty at Centrepoint for 5 hours as well as helping to fold the Centrepoint magazine 'Horizon'. And then Rog had Deutsch conversation and volunteering for a couple of hours and I was at Ilona's helping with the last of the packing before they moved to Solothurn today. I hope it went well for them.

Hopefully this week will be a little quieter for us. I need some days at home. I did have today at home and Roger went hiking with the gorgeous group. He left and I went back to bed for a couple of hours after a late night! Tomorrow we will meet with our Youth Pastor Dave and his wife Simea to talk about the Youth Camp which we will be attending for 2 weeks at the end of July. It's always such a joy to catch up with them both.

COMING UP

We will be leading a hike in Schopfheim Monday morning which should last about 2.5 hours and be around 10 km's. The weather isn't the best today, so probably only the diehards will turn up! We will be having lunch at one of the local Gasthaus' (pubs). Who knows what the weather will do, but at least we will be warm from walking. It will be a bit muddy though. Early night tonight hopefully!

Late Monday night some Basler (Swiss) friends are coming out for a delicious roast dinner and Apricot Cheesecake dinner! We enjoy catching up with Christine and Gaudenz (Christine's one of my special friends) so it will be good to spend time with this delightful couple.

Tuesday I am hoping to have as a 'potter' day at home, though I have a few ideas going around in my head, so who knows!! Roger will go into Basel for his Deutsch conversation and then probably catch up with some mates. Tuesday night will be our only night home together!

Wednesday we meet with Derek Webster at 9am at Starbucks in Basel to go over the past 3 months and look to the future. We are looking forward to this meeting with Derek.

I am on Centrepoint duty from 2 - 5pm and this is usually a busy time, with young children coming into the centre for 'bookworms'.

In the evening we will have dinner with friends and say goodbye to an American couple who have been teaching at Black Forrest Academy.

Thursday Roger will go into Basel for Deutsch conversation and then has various appointments. I will train to Dornach, near Basel to spend the day with Ilona continuing to help her with packing for their move at the end of the month. This day also gives me the opportunity to speak German as Ilona does not speak much English. We have lots of laughs together.

Thursday night I have a Ladies Night in Basel at Christine's and Roger begins his Movie Nights for Men at Centrepoint. He has just realised it probably isn't the best night to pick as their is a major soccer match on in Basel Thursday night!!

Friday we go into Centrepoint again for the morning tea then I meet with Claudia.




So, we'll see if our week really does work out this way. It's always interesting to see what's around the corner!

Take care and thanks for feedback from dear friends.

NOOMA NIGHTS

We had our first Nooma Night at Starbucks in Basel on 27 May. Initially these will be held once a month, the next being 24 June at the same location. The purpose of these evenings is to gather together people with the aim of friendship and being able to practise German/English in a friendly environment.

Our friend Cheryl, who works for the Bible Society in South Australia first sent us some NOOMA DVD's by Rob Bell for Christmas 2006. Since then we have gathered quite a collection and we are hoping to use these as a tool for beginning conversations on spiritual issues.

This is what is says on the back of the NOOMA DVD

"We can get anything we want, from anywhere in the world, whenever we want it. That's how it is and that's how we want it to be. Still, our lives aren't any different than other generations before us. Our time is. We want spiritual direction, but it has to be real for us and available when we need it. We want a new format for getting Christian perspectives. NOOMA is the new format. It's short films with communicators that really speak to us. Compact, portable, and concise. Each NOOMA touches on issues that we care about, that we want to talk about, and it comes in a way that fits our world. It's a format that's there for us when we need it, as we need it, how we need it."

www.nooma.com

I did try to copy and paste the nice brochure Derek has made for these events, but it just wasn't working for me - so my apologies!

OH, THE SUMMER HAS COME

We have been enjoying changeable weather of late, currently it is humid and showery! Who knows what it will be tomorrow!

We've had a busy couple of weeks. I have been a little stressed thinking of all the things I have committed myself to. Yes, I know that's bad and I'm trying to change it. I try to factor a day at home in my week, but it hasn't been working out that way. I love to potter around the house (always have) and it's like a little bit of therapy I suppose. Obviously I worked myself up so much I got this awful neck/shoulder pain which hung around for 1 week. Roger was trying to encourage me to go to the Dr but I said "what will the Dr be able to do?"!! I am better now and will try and be a good girl, though next week isn't looking particularly good either, so I think I might have to forgo my Monday hike so that I can have a day at home! We'll see.

Had our first Nooma Night at one of the Starbucks in Basel on Tuesday night and it was great. It was a rather hot night so most people were sitting outside which left the 14 of us to use the space upstairs. We watched a pixal short video "For the Birds" then went around the group (2 groups - German speaking and English speaking conversation) answering set questions. The next evening will be on June 24.

Our friend Stefan from Church was there and he took us back to Loerrach afterwards. We all decided we would like some dinner so went to a little Italian Restaurant and had a light meal. We were able to sit outside and it was delightful. It's always good to catch up with Stefan and find out what he is up to. He is a young businessman in Loerrach, Germany with many good contacts and he has a real heart for what we are doing.

Roger and I have been catching up with many people one on one. This takes a lot of time and effort but we both enjoy doing it this way. Roger met with an NZ guy on Thursday and they plan to keep in touch.

Roger has the last of his Choir Concerts this Sunday afternoon in the open air in a beautiful place in Germany. Must make sure I take the camera to share it with you. A choir member is taking us in their car as it is difficult to get to. Here is a photo of last week's open air concert at Lange Erlen in Basel.

After this concert we enjoyed a light picnic dinner with choir friends on a late balmy Sunday afternoon.

You can check out the choir website for more pictures

http://www.esc-basel.ch/

HERE WE ARE ! ! ! Sunday 18 May

Sorry for the silence! It's not as if we haven't been working! Sometimes I just get blogged out! Many wonderful things are happening here, especially concerning friendships we are making. Roger and I are thoroughly enjoying being involved in the English speaking club 'Centrepoint' in Basel and tomorrow we will be doing volunteer training so we can help on the desk every so often. Centrepoint has lost a few volunteer's of late so were crying out for people to become involved, especially during the summer months when many people go on holidays.

It is Roger's Birthday tomorrow. HAPPY 55th BIRTHDAY MY DARLING ! ! !

We will be leading a hike from Schopfheim to Rheinfelden, about 13 km's. We have called it as 'Mystery Walk' as we haven't done it before and don't really know what the difficulty of the walk will be. Should be a good turn out.

After our volunteer training we will meet with some young ladies who own a Cafe in Basel. We want to talk to them about using the Cafe for future Mosaic events.

Roger had his first of four Choir Concerts at 5pm today (Sunday) in Basel. It was a great concert and thoroughly enjoyed by all those who attended, though the attendance was disappointing. Next one is Tuesday night and then at 4pm the next 2 Sunday's, in the open air (so we are hoping for good weather).

We are both trying to catch up with lots of friends this week. My diary is full and I can't possibly squeeze another person in.

We had a Mosaic Gathering last Wednesday. Derek, David, Amy and Lauren came from Zurich. It was held at Nellie Nashorn in Loerrach. A great cultural venue on a balmy night. Derek is such a great encourager of us and what we are trying to do. He's an awesome guy, as is his family.

Finishing the week well

It's Friday and we have just come home from Centrepoint. They had a book/video sale on and whilst we were there about 70 people came through. It was truly amazing. So lots of talking, catching up, eating and laughter. One of my friends said she wanted to talk to us about exactly what we are doing here, so opportunities are happening and we are very excited.

We've both had a great week. Monday we had a good hike and just missed the rain. I had a lovely bath and then got ready to go back into Basel.

Roger met with Stefan (German) and Rick (US) to talk about The Arts. A fantastic meeting for Rog and such an encouragement. http://crescendoarts.weebly.com/

We then went into Basel to the movies with some Aussie friends. This is the first time we have been to the movies in Basel since we have been here. We saw "The other Bolelyn Girl". Glad I didn't live in those days!! We then had a quick meal in a funky Asian place called Lily's!

Tuesday we were both having to catch up on administration. Rog was rather busy all morning then caught the train into Basel for Choir practise and afterwards to meet up with Bernhard.

I had a Brainstorming afternoon at Centrepoint, which was a great time to share ideas. I have been asked to go on the internal PR team for Centrepoint!

Wednesday we were trying to get ready for the Mosaic Gathering in the evening. Roger was busy putting a booklet together.

Roger went into German conversation on Thursday then (on his bike) looked at a few venue's for our future Nooma Nights which we would like to happen soon. He was able to have lunch with Fritz sitting on the stone fence on the Rhein. They needed their coats on, but the sun was trying to shine!

Thursday evening we were both going to English conversation in Schopfheim, but I just couldn't rally so Rog went on his own and got home very late! He said it was a great time.

Tonight is my Girl's Night for English chatting and there will be 9 of us. I made the Lasagne yesterday so it should be very yummy.

Schopfheim from one of the surrounding hills. We will be up here

with our hiking group on Monday.

Friday / Saturday activities

Gaynor had a lovely Saturday afternoon with some of her German friends watching Pride & Prejudice. It was a bit of a challenge at times, but well worth it.

Friday at 5pm we met at Galerie Weibel to say goodbye to the Galerie. We then walked to Fritz's new Business in the heart of Basel - Trade.ch - for drinks and nibbles and to see his beautiful new offices. It was a great time spent together. Afterwards we went to Bernhard and Lorraine's for soup and great company.

What we've been up to ! ! !

The last few weeks have been busy for us. Sorry we have not been keeping you up to date. I usually like to write something Sunday night but last Sunday night Bernhard and Lorraine were still here. They came for one of Roger's roast dinners at 12.30pm and because we enjoy their company so much we went for a walk, had arvo tea, played Zug um Zug then decided to have soup together. Before we knew it, it was 10pm!! They're such great friends and we relax very easily with them.

Last Tuesday after Roger's Choir Practise we caught the train to Zurich. Derek Webster and team were beginning Nooma Nights at one of the local Starbucks. We wanted to go along to see how it worked and participate of course. There were 11 altogether (2 groups - 1 English and 1 German). Our train timetable doesn't necessarily work out, especially after 8pm. We didn't get home until 11.30pm so were rather tired the next day but had too much to do to relax!

Thursday I had 2 ladies come to lunch and we had a wonderful time together. They are sisters from the US. One is living in Basel for 3 years and has been here about 10 months. Her sister was visiting.

Friday was a great morning at Centrepoint. We seem to be getting heaps of new people and especially people from Aust/NZ. We are in the middle of organizing a get together for Aust/NZ for Anzac Day. We will go to an English Pub in Basel, probably for Fish and Chips!!

FIRST WEEK OF APRIL

Surely it's not April already. My goodness the year is FLYING by.

We went on a great hike today. It was 3 hours and we came home rather weary and foot sore. But good conversations and airing of the lungs and accumulated cobwebs! Also it has helped to get rid of a few cakes that were consumed over Easter!

Roger has his busy Tuesday tomorrow. Gaynor will be studying, writing, making phone calls and probably going to Loerrach.

Wednesday we hope to catch up with a family that has just moved into the area.
We need to be working on another newsletter. It has been too long.

Thursday is Gaynor's writing and German learning. Roger is into Basel.

Friday at Centrepoint and we need to do some more investigation about where English speakers hang out in Basel.

AFTER EASTER

We had a wonderful time with Ruth and Andreas and the extended family. We arrived home early Tuesday evening to a rather cold home and too many emails and phone calls!

We had a fantastic time with Derek Webster here in our home for most of Thursday. He is such a strategic thinker and we always receive so much encouragement and energy from his visits with us.

He has given us lots of read, think about, pray about and go forward with. We will meet as a Mosaic Team during April. In the mean time we have much planning to do and contacts to make.

Thanks for your continued prayers for our ministry here.

Leaving winter behind ! ! !

Gaynor has been sick this past week so had to cancel all appointments apart from her Girl's Night which was held last Friday night. 5 Ladies came and all had a happy time of English chatting together. Gaynor is still not 100% so would value your prayers.

So, Roger held the fort very capably and kept all appointments, classes, entertainment going. We had a lovely meal with Johnny, our Ghanan friend Monday night and also Bible reading and prayer together. Tuesday night Jakob, Eliane and 2 yr old Noah had dinner with us. We are always very encouraged by this young couple who go to our German Church.

Roger had a good time with the Elders at our German Church. They want to support us more in making Mosaic known. They are encouraged by what we are doing.

We are having a wet Monday. Roger did not go on the hike for this reason. We both hope to catch up on administration and reading.

We are off to Dusseldorf by train on Wednesday afternoon to visit Ruth and Andreas and their extended family. It will be good to see them again and share Easter with them. Ruth has had a tough 12 months, so we'll be doing lots of talking.

May you all have a very blessed and meaningful Easter as you reflect on God's wonderful love for us in sending his beloved Son into our world.

Week beginning 10 March

Apart from our normal routine of hiking, German learning, appointments to catch up with people, this week we will have a Life Group here at our place on Monday night. We will begin with a meal together.

Tuesday night Jakob, Eliane and Noah will be coming for dinner. Eliane was having regular Deutsch conversation with me last year and Roger has been meeting with Jakob sometimes during his lunch hour. Noah will be 2 in August.

Wednesday night we will be talking to the Pastors and Elders at our German Church.

Thursday we will both be out most of the day in Basel. In the evening we have the Centrepoint AGM which we will look forward to.

Friday night is Gaynor's Girl's Night. First for the year as February's get together had to be postponed as there were too many cancellations!

Keeping at it!

We've both had a busy week, continuing with friendships, phone calls, emails, German learning, reading, studying. The week's are going by all too quickly.

I had a wonderful night last night with 5 Swiss Ladies at my friend Christine's in Basel. It was a rather late night, but I was able to stay overnight and have a lovely chat with Christine this morning before catching the train back to Schopfheim.

Roger has had a busy day going to Church and then spending the day with Johnny and all his German friends!

We have just said goodbye to Godfrey, our new friend from India. He will be in Schopfheim a couple more weeks.

TRIPPING THE LIGHT FANTASTIC

Approaching Einigen - yes, the Alps are right there! Amazing scenery.















View of the barn and the sheep with the Lake in the distance.









Roger would love to live in this area. The train line is nestled just below the barn and the lake!













One of the bedrooms in Schloessli "Le Ruedli"









The heading was just to get your attention!!

We had a very positive and interesting day. Had a great sermon by our German Pastor Michael Klippert this morning on friendship evangelism. Roger and I love that topic!

Our lovely friends Paul and Madge Vosteen (minus Madge actually as she was home with Vadne who was sick) and their other 2 children Stryker-Ann and Wils took us in their car to Einigen to meet

Roger and Ursula Langel http://www.ywam-einigen.ch/

They told us about the celtic way they are living as a community in this wonderful place. They practice many of the qualities of the Kingdom that so many folks are looking for: a holistic communal life with men, women, animals and nature, as well as a lifestyle under a healthy rhythm of prayer, with a great hospitality. With breathtaking view to the Alps from many of the windows we were reminded again of God's amazing handiwork in creating our wonderful world. Check out the website, it's inspirational.

We have had a great week. As usual it didn't quite turn out the way WE expected it to, but God certainly placed us in the path of people who needed a listening ear and a word of encouragement. We have been encouraged by people and have been very conscious of people praying for us and our work here. Thank you.

This coming week will be much the same as last week. We are continuing to concentrate on our Deutsch learning and this is paying off. We have several appointments to catch up one on one with people, which is what we both enjoy doing.

Week beginning 25 February

Monday - 8am leave home to catch 8.15am train to Basel for our hike.
We both need to catch up on homework and writing in the afternoon.

Tuesday - Roger to Deutsch conversation and Choir
Gaynor will possibly catch up with a friend, clean home, shop and make some phone calls.

Wednesday - Roger to have lunch with a friend here locally. We will do Deutsch homework and other emails, etc. We will do preparation for the evening.

In the evening we will have a Celebration time here beginning with dinner together. This will involve people we have recently met or yet to meet! We are looking forward to this time together.

Thursday - Roger to Deutsch conversation and then to meet a friend possibly in Basel
Gaynor to have her Deutsch lesson

Friday - Into Centrepoint and then possible follow up contacts. We'll see how the week unfolds!

Saturday - we hope to take our new Indian friend Godfrey and also another person we have yet to meet who will be in the area for a week, on a trip on the train within the area. But we haven't organized this yet. It's just in the talking stage.

Sunday - friends will be taking us into Switzerland to see a YWAM Celtic Community

The week that was

Well, we survived the week, and why shouldn't we!! We do enjoy beginning the week with our hike. It seems to blow away the cobweb's and gives us a good start! So, up early and on the train by 8.15am.

Roger has been very busy and much coming and going. There was a large model railway exhibition on a the Christian German School in Stetten and Roger was able to help with some of the detailed work for this. And what a great outreach this was to the community. Seeing people relaxed and wanting to talk did both our hearts good. Of course Roger spent a lot more time there than I did, but good contacts were made, not least of all with a couple who have just moved to Schopfheim and are teachers at the school. We hope to catch up soon.

The Mosaic Team meeting that Derek Webster chaired was a constructive evening and we will in time see the outcome of this.

We have made Deutsch learning a high priority this year, so any free time is spent listening, writing, reading, speaking. We are both very positive about this, but Roger is way ahead of me. I'm not too worried. All of our work is in English but it is still in our interest to persevere. One of the young people at Church laughs at our 'Dinglish', as she calls it!

So, thanks for your prayers. If you're reading this we'd love some feedback ! ! !

WEEK BEGINNING 18 FEBRUARY

Monday - hiking with the Basel hiking group then home to answer emails, etc.

Tuesday - Roger will spend the day in Basel with Deutsch conversation, Choir and then meeting with a friend in the afternoon.

- Gaynor will be meeting with a friend at 9.30am and then will be catching up on Deutsch homework, writing letters and cleaning the house!

Wednesday - We will spend the morning in Meditation and listening to what God has to say to us.

- Rog will have lunch with a friend

- Gaynor to go into Centrepoint, Basel to help with the folding of the monthly Magazine.

- Mosaic special meeting with Derek Webster. Would really value your prayers for this time to be encouraging, constructive and helping us to move forward.

Thursday - Roger into Basel for Deutsch conversation. In the afternoon he will be doing voiceover for a friend.

- Gaynor to catch up with a friend and then have Deutsch conversation and continue with her writing course.

Friday - Both involved with Centrepoint morning tea. Gaynor was to have her Girl's Night but this has had to be postponed because many are not available at this time.

Our doggie friend Woffie will be coming to stay for a week whilst his parents go to Thailand!

Saturday - our darling son Tim will turn 30 and we will be missing out on the happy celebrations!

The week that was !

We managed to get through the past week, though both of us still feeling rather flat. My Dad dying has really hit us both hard and we continue to feel very separated from our family at this time.

We managed to get quite a lot done throughout the week. Our Heavenly Father is constantly with us and we ask for his strength and wisdom each day.

We have a wonderfully, incredible God. Last Thursday we received a phone call from our German Pastor giving us the details of an Christian man from India who is doing a course in Schopfheim and will be here for 8 weeks. We have met with him and he has been such an encouragement to us. We truly believe God has sent him from India especially for this purpose. We met with him again tonight and read the Bible together, talked and prayed. Why would we be amazed that our amazing God would send someone from India to minister to us at this time?

How very blessed we are to be God's children here in this place.

Week beginning 11 February

This week in Basel is Carnival (what they call Fasnacht). It is 3 days of celebrations which happen every year. It is school holidays in Basel. Many of the shops close and it seems to be one big party. Roger and I are not feeling like partying. Maybe next year!

So here is a brief description of what we think our week will look like. Roger is still unwell so will try and lie low for the next couple of days. I just hope I don't get sick. It's just not in this week's plans at all.

Monday - Gaynor on the train at 8.15am going to help a friend in need.

- friends coming in the afternoon for a small hike and then dinner together - Roger cooking!

Tuesday - we are really hoping to have this day off together!

Wednesday - administration, phone calls and hoping to catch up with an Aussie friend.

Thursday - both off to Basel for Deutsch learning but in different directions

- Gaynor continues her writing course at Centrepoint in Basel in the evening (6 week course)

Friday - Centrepoint morning tea, visiting contacts and then at the German Youth Group in the evening. We want to have more contact with these gorgeous young people.

Saturday - Roger will be helping a friend at a German Christian School.

Will let you know how it all goes. Do email us if you have any questions. We'd love to hear from you.

Roger and Gaynor

The week that was

It's good to have a timetable but as we all know, sometimes those timetables just don't work out. This past week has been just like that. I have spent many hours on the phone to my sisters in Perth, I have been looking after Anna, looking after my poor sick husband, and trying to fight off the dreaded lurgie, even as I write this blog!

Thanks for your prayers for us both. We have been very conscious of our loving family and friends this past week. It has been a tough week for us both.

A new week awaits us !

Shocked by Blessing

I read lots of books and most of them are books by authors who are
followers of Christ. A few weeks ago Shocked by Blessing came in the post.
In this book biblical characters's stories are told in a great perspective. The stories are told with a broad brush giving the reader the gist of the Bible person warts and all. It is amazing to see how ordinary people like Abraham & Isaac and Moses & Joshua are so like us. These stories are creatively interspersed with contemporary people who so like the bible characters are flawed but convey God's blessing nevertheless.

This is the kind of book I can recommend not just because one of the authors is the wife of my cousin Alan, but because the stories are so real.
It is striking to read bible stories (for adults) and the stories of authentic followers of Jesus side by side that resonate within my own life. The sort
of book you can easily loan/give to a thoghtful person whether or not they are a follower of Jesus. (ISBN 978-0-9752422-3-0)

Roger

OOPS - IT'S MONDAY AND ALREADY CHANGE OF WEEK!

Now, you really will have to read the blog

http://missionsmisunderstood.blogspot.com/

to know what we're doing this week!

We received a phone call from our lovely Swiss friend Fritz Weibel to tell us that Ilona had safely given birth to little Jakob just before midnight last night! In the course of the conversation he asked very politely if it would be possible for us to look after 10 year old Anna for them whilst they both stay at the hospital! Now you have to realise that she speaks little or no English and we speak a little German. But she was very happy to come and stay. So we have visited the hospital in Basel and have brought Anna home with us till Thursday. We will take her into the hospital each day to see her family.

So, just a few little plans to our week, that will include Anna!

THIS IS WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE !

We'd like you to take a look at this blog

http://missionsmisunderstood.blogspot.com/

We couldn't say it better ourselves. If you really want to know what we are about then take the time to read this blog. He always writes from the heart and in a meaningful and thought provoking way. He's been at it for a little longer than us, but is at least 25 years younger than us. He's working in Barcelona, Spain and sometimes finds the going tough. (Don't we all!).

It would be good to get some feedback on this, especially if you have the time.

WEEK BEGINNING 4 FEBRUARY

Here's our week in a bit of a simplified version. It doesn't include our disciplined German learning each day (!!), emails, letters that need to be written or phone calls that need to be made! I'm sure there will be many changes as the week progresses. We are also trying to arrange a catch up with Derek Webster sometime in the next 2 weeks. Hope we can keep you posted!

Monday

- 8am, hiking with the hiking group in Basel

- catching up with our Schopfheim friends Erik, Johanna and Juro (school holidays)

Tuesday

- 9.30-10.30am Roger, German conversation at Centrepoint

- 12.15-1.45pm Roger, Choir practise in Basel

- 9.30 Gaynor to spent time with Aussie friend in Riehen (has new baby)

Wednesday

- 10-12 Gaynor with Eliane

- Roger catching up with either Jamie, Jim or Bernhard (trying to fit these in!)

- Mosaic Leaders meeting (to be confirmed)

Thursday

- 9.30-10.30am Roger, German conversation at Centrepoint

- afternoon, Gaynor into Basel for German conversation with Claudia

- 7.30-9.30pm Gaynor to begin a 6 week writing course

Friday

- 10.30-12.30pm Gaynor hosting morning tea at Centrepoint in Basel

- 6pm German friends Andreas, Constanza and David coming to Dinner

Saturday

- Bernard and Lorraine coming out to spend a LONG time with us both!

AUSTRALIA DAY CELEBRATIONS

Roger and Gaynor doing the 'Brown Jug Polka'

Gaudenz and Gaynor getting around the circle!!!

Christine (from NZ) in the black top (Roger's Choir Director)

Jamie playing and singing

Roger talking with Lisa. We asked Lisa to display some of her paintings.

As you can see, a good time was had by all. Now that we've had time to get some rest and do some calculating here are the figures. We had 54 adults present and 19 children of varying ages (the youngest being 6 weeks old and an Aussie - but born in Basel!!). It was lots of fun, but also a lot of work. Will we be doing it next year?!! We'll just have to wait and see. We've certainly learned a lot!

A SPECIAL VISITOR

What an absolute THRILL it was to have Mary a'Beckett (Snowball) visit us for 3 days from 18 - 21 January. As Glenda and Tom were still with us, it was a bit like sleeping in a dormitory, but it was lots of fun and we managed in our little home.

It was good for Mary to see firsthand a little of what we are trying to do here amongst English speaking people. Mary travelled with us to a 'Seed' network afternoon led by Derek Webster, which was held in Zurich. Mary did not join in for the afternoon, but instead enjoyed a good walk on Lake Zurich and a rather hefty climb back up to the Conference Centre. She was also able to meet Derek Webster, and this for us was exciting as Mary is a member of our Support Group in Adelaide and has been with us from the beginning as we had our initial discussions with Derek.

Saturday night we celebrated Tom's 25th Birthday with a Roast Dinner and cheesecake and special bottle of wine! Mary felt privileged to be 'in the bosom of the family!!'.

Sunday morning Mary came to the German (FeG) Church that we attend in Loerrach. She has eventually made sense of FeG and what that stands for Free Evangelical Church. (Mary took a photo of the sign)! I'm sorry I didn't get a copy. Maybe I should take a photo myself!

In the afternoon Glenda and Mary accompanied us to our Mosaic get together at FeG. We were so pleased they both attended to give them an idea of what we get up to each week.

Thanks Mary for a special visit, for your love and encouragement and especially your prayers.

BEGINNING A NEW YEAR

Roger and I are looking forward to 2008 with excitement, anticipation, a little trepidation and with much enthusiasm and energy!

It was wonderful to have a holiday with Glenda and Tom and be spoilt by them! We did have a little difficulty keeping up with them at times, but nothing that a good nights sleep couldn't remedy. They flew back to Melbourne on 22 January.

So, what are we looking forward to?

• Continuing to build on our team at Mosaic Basel/Loerrach
• Beginning our gatherings in the next couple of weeks
• Running 'Nooma' nights to stimulate discussion
• Continuing to build on friendships we have already made and making new ones
• Trusting God to keep us here!
• Growing in our relationship with our Heavenly Father and allowing him to guide us as we continue to move forward and look for direction and creative ideas
• Visitors

to name a few things.

We hope to update this blog more regularly and keep you posted each week with what we hope to be up to (good accountability for us as well). Also it will help you to pray for us in our ministry here. We appreciate your prayers, emails, feedback, etc.