Greetings from Mr. Gutters and Willy Welder

I supposedly slept in today, except for the fact that I woke up around 8. I guess that's ok for a Saturday. Mom served a wonderful breakfast, then it was off to the hairdressers... not me, but my folks both needed a haircut. Here's me waiting, enjoying a ginger ale:

Yesterday I met up with former high school friends, Kim and Jacob Mills, now working at Pamoja Ministries in Tengeru, a good 30 minute drive from here. It was great to see them again and talk like it was just yesterday we said goodbye. In fact, it is almost 19 years to the day that I saw them last. Strange, how time flies and changes you and yet, somehow, you're still the same.

Yesterday morning I also joined the Bible school students in morning devotions, and was asked to share just briefly with them. My father, as usual, introduced me as his African baby, born in Makiyungu (unsure of the spelling, but it both sounds and looks right). Afterwards, I was hugged by fellow tribes(wo)men from the Wanyatulu tribe, whose land I was born in:

Our drive out to the hairdressers today took us through kahawa country - the coffee estates that I feel I grew up living in as a child here in Arusha. The road we drove down was in such terrible shape, having been smooth and fine and black with good asphalt in my childhood years. Now, it's just a dirty, bumpy, terrible road full of pot holes, but there's a lingering grandeur reminiscent of colonial days.  

Oh, I almost forgot... Mr.Gutters and Willy Welder - I have no idea who they are. I got the names from reading shop signs. I think Willy Welder pretty neatly gives away why you would go to him, but I am slightly unsure what Mr. Gutters has to offer.... I am also unsure what to expect at Flamingo Exclusive Hall, but feel somewhat secure going into the Galatians Barbershop.

Penguin Resort - find your happines

I have finally arrived – not to my childhood home, but to my childhood town. The house my parents live in now, is not the house where grew up, but this house is nicer, bigger and better. I love it here, and it feels like home.

My flight yesterday went quite well, with little turbulence, no delays and decent airplane food. From Amsterdam, the plane was packed with American tourists going to Arusha, where they would spend the night before setting out on exciting safari’s into Tanzanian wildlife. I hope 8-or-9 year old Chase and his family will have a great trip, and that Chase will behave… I noticed his  ADHD tendencies and overheard his extended family discussing who pulled the shortest straw in reference to who would sit beside him. I must admit I felt sorry for him when I heard their completely unhidden and very negative talk about him. I will also commend him for behaving very well the entire flight (and throw in that I heard his parents agree that he had done well… but why didn’t they tell him that?)

I came through immigration quickly, collected my luggage (which must have passed me at least twice before I recognized it – I was tired and had a headache), and went out to find Hefely, who took me home to my waiting parents. Hefely is an excellent driver, speeding away into the darkness, managing the car around trucks with no rear-end lights, people on the side of the road and numerous motorcycles with headlights that literally blinded me. I know the Tanzanian countryside, but still, the darkness of the night surprised me and the amount of visible stars fascinated me. The smell of Tanzania was just as I had expected – warm, sweaty and mildly spicy.

As we drove into Arusha, I enjoyed reading the signs along the way, as electricity became the main source of light again. I always enjoy reading signs in whatever country I visit, and I especially enjoy the creativity with which the Tanzanians name hotels, bars, shops and buses. I will attempt to post some as I find them, but I remember in particular the Hallelujah Express bus, thinking to myself that it would be appropriate to burst into Hallelujah’s if one actually survived a trip in that bus.

But yesterday I passed Snow Crest Hotel (mind you, we are quite close to the equator here…), the View Point Hotel (if one fancies the view of dirty houses, small random shops, insane traffic and dirt sidewalks), but what really made me smile was the Penguin Resort – find your happiness  sign. My youngest daughter has a fondness for penguins (thank you, Happy Feet), and as we all know, penguins are the keepers of happiness, and of course, they are to be found in huge numbers here in Arusha, Tanzania, East Africa.

Preperations

I really ought to be doing something else than blogging, but right now, it's as if my insides are winding up - much like a mechanical clock winds up. I know that suddenly, I'll be so tightly wound up that the only thing I can do, is be effective.

I should be packing. I'm leaving, on a jet plane... (sorry, that song has stuck with me since I was 13)... actally, I am leaving on a jet plane this coming Wednesday. I am going home. Home to mom and dad. Home to Tanzania. All by myself.

Kobbeå, Bornholm

This summer will be the weirdest summer ever for our family. Natasja is off at youth camp already, Teresa will be going to Sweden with her grandparents on Saturday, and Hasse and Johanna will go to Jutland for a few days, then they will join Teresa & co. in Sweden after that. I will be in Tanzania. I don't think we've ever been so split up before during a holiday.
Luckily, we've planned a week together on wonderful Bornholm (isle of my father and husband) right before going back to work and school.

I am really looking forward to going off to TZ. It'll be the first time since I moved away in 1993, that I will be returning alone. It feels good, but also strange. I know that I will only be able to relax when I walk through the door of my parents home.

We went to TZ in 2008 as a family, mainly for a vacation. This year, I'll be joining my folks in a crusade i Ilagala, by Lake Tanganyika.

When possible, I will post pictures and write more about my trip.

Just to set the mood - 2 of my favorite pictures from our 2008 trip:

Morogoro, large crater, now filled with wildlife 

View from our rented cottage on Zanzibar

June in photos

This is my attempt to show you what the last month has gone by with.

It seems to me that a lot of really big things have happened...
Our oldest daughter, Natasja, finished 9th grade and graduated. Next school year she will be off at a boarding school, preparing to travel to Australia, plus some other countries I don't know about yet.

 Teresa ... well, what can I say? She is a beautiful 12 year old, blooming into a full scale teenage girl.
I am so glad she will be home next year, so I only have to miss 1 child...

 Johanna is still loaded with energy, and is apparently a very intelligent child - so we've been told. Left to wait for too long, there's no telling what she'll be up to!

We all love her to bits.




This is a picture of my sister and my husband - all dressed up for her wedding June 23rd. It was a gorgeous day and a wonderful wedding.

And here we are: my hubs, myself, my sis and her hubs. Great shot, don't you think?

After 42 kilometers

It's been almost a week now, and my legs are almost back to normal. I still have one blister that just doesn't want to go away, but hopefully soon, it'll be gone and I'll have a wider selection of shoes to choose from (currently, I can only wear a specific pair of sandals).

Sunday May 20th I ran my first marathon. May 20th is also my wedding anniversary, this year celebrating 17 years with the same, wonderful man - Hasse:

He challenged me last November to run the Copenhagen Marathon with him, and though I doubted my abilities, I began training for it. When the day came, I was both wildly excited and terrified, but joining in with 12000 other excited runners does something to you. I found myself anticipating the run with great joy and enthusiasm, and as we started out, I was touched by the cheers from hundreds of spectators.

We ran 42 km (26 miles) through the streets of beautiful Copenhagen, enjoying the bands that played for us, the beautiful architecture, the sun and the people cheering us on. I flew. I was on fire. My entire system was working beyond comparison - my breathing was good, my legs strong and I felt a surge of energy flowing through my veins. Kilometer after kilometer passed, and as we reached the half way mark, I was so optimistic that I was smiling.

25 km down the road I was still optimistic and had lots of energy. When we hit 30 k, I began to feel a heaviness in my legs, and a dull sort of pain started pulling in my left thigh. People around us began walking, quitting, lying down and several puked. I was determined not to walk, to only slow down long enough to drink. The sun was hot and there was little shadow, but Hasse had planned well and coached me not only by setting the pace, but also guiding my intake of fluids. His plan worked. We had a really good pace and neither of us dehydrated like hundreds of others around us.

When we began running the last 5 k, I was working hard to keep up the optimism in my head, continually telling myself I was almost there, that quitting would be too bitter now, and that I still had the energy I needed. Strangely enough, I never once had the feeling that I ought to quit. I was exceptionally tired, yes, but so determined to actually complete that quitting simply wasn't an option. Neither was walking.

As we hit 40 k, the asphalt was sticky from all the sugar people had been drinking and spilling. We dodged numerous walking runners and saw 3 or 4 people who had collapsed and were waiting for ambulances. The weather had surprised us all, being the hottest day of the year yet, and the ambulances were not prepared for the amount of dehydrating patients. We were later told that they ran out of IV fluids and had to bring in extra from surrounding hospitals.

The last 800 meters were incredible. I am so awed. I am awed by the fantastic crowd lending us strength through their cheers. As we passed yet 100 meters, they counted down for us... "only 700 m to go!!" As I saw the blue finish line loom ahead of us, I wanted to let go of everything and sprint across it, but Hasse kept placing his hand on my shoulder, reminding me to save energy for the remaining distance.
People cheered us on. Two little boys broke out of the crowd as their daddy sped ahead of us, grabbing his hands and running the last 200 m with him.

Hasse and I clasped hands as we ran the last little bit, crossing the finish line together after 4 hours, 35 minutes and 12 seconds of continuous running. My free hand shot up in the air as I roared, feeling victorious, and suddenly the emotion overwhelmed me, and I cried as I was awarded my medal.

Here, several days later, I am still in awe. I am amazed at what a body can do, with the right training, the correct food and the right attitude. I am touched the crowd cheering on people they didn't know. I am grateful that my husband went through it with me (he run a lot, is in better shape and much faster then me - but he slowed his pace to help me through. Isn't that love?)

When I think about the last 800 m, tears still find their way into my eyes. It was huge. It was amazing, and honestly, I am so happy, so excited and also somewhat proud. I surprised myself completely. When I started this project, I didn't really believe in it. I have several times declared that I would quit and not enter the marathon. But somehow, I kept at it, I worked for it, and I went through with it.

Would I do it again? Maybe. I haven't decided yet. It's a huge feat. Would I recommend it? Absolutely! If you love running, you ought to try a marathon. But make sure your debut is in a big event with people there to cheer you on - the crowd makes a really big difference.

Go, run!

Watch this - Copenhagen Marathon 2012

Friday... at last or soon enough?

It's friday morning  - the one morning during my workweek where I don't start classes till 9:50. I love this morning. I sleep a little longer, and Johanna gets to play for a while before I drop her off at kindergarten. This is my morning. All other mornings, my husband drops her off, but fridays are mine.

The last week has dissappeared incredibly fast. I spent monday being very tired, recuperating from last weekends conference for leaders for the Nordic Vineyards. We had visitors fram Finland stay with us, and every evening, after the last service, we'd speed home and have coffee and snacks before going to bed. All very fattening indeed, but the conversations we gad were interesting, deep and of very valuable character to Hasse and I, I believe - as we spoke about our God and his power, our thoughts for the immediate future and plans we'd like to make. It was a blessed weekend, although it left us quite sleep derived!

Wednesday I was almost back on track, and very blessed to visit a cluster of small groups in the Copenhagen Vineyard, sharing my thoughts on being called to serve. My dear friend Grace came with me, supporting me the whole evening, which was very needed and much appreciated.

Yesterday went by with work and parent-teacher meetings, and here I sit now, friday mornig over breakfast, recounting the details of my week with you. Well, not all my details - perhaps just an outline.

The fact is, I don't know where time went. This week has dissappeared a little too fast, and while I enjoy the thought of weekend, I wonder why time flies so.

Nevertheless, I wish you all a good weekend. Mine will be filled with a birthday party, friends over for lunch and a lovely sunday service.

Springtime

Spring is always a wonderful thing to me. Every year, I get to a point where I just looong for the sun to break out and actually contain some warmth. I'll search my garden for the first signs of spring, and every year, I am rewarded, first with snowdrops and eranthis, closely followed by daffodils. But I get really excited when I see green buds sprouting, when the sun spreads rays of golden warmth and my garden begins once again to grow.

On the other hand, spring is a tiresome time as well, not so much because of all the garden work, but because I am allergic to birch pollen. The amount of birch pollen in Denmark has exploded several hundred percent within the last 25 years, I am told, and yes, I certainly feel it. It affects all of me - my nose gets runny to the point where the skin around it breaks, my eyes itch and I start wheezing ever so slightly. I have to run early in the morning instead of taking my beloved afternoon runs, and I have to shower every night before bedtime. I have to stay indoor for much of the day, especially around noon, where the warmth sends the pollen spiralling into the air.

So, while everyone else is out soaking in the sun, I am very careful about spending time outside. Which means I cannot tend to my garden quite like a want to.... so now, I've taken pictures of some of my favorite things out there, right from my bird houses, tomato plants to our running shoes by the front door.
This year I am trying to grow tomatoes upside down, I am waiting to see how my blueberries are doing (planted them last autumn), and I am eagerly awaiting the grapes on my vine. I am planning on planting  blackberries this coming autumn, finding them to be amongst my favorite berries of all.