Next Stop: Denmark and Sweden

We taste to learn

"How did this second career begin for you guys?"  This is a question that we are often asked.  Our second-career life is fun - getting to see the world from the perspective of missions: experiencing new cultures, traditions, and languages.  Here is how it all started.

Before we retired several years ago, we had already developed a deep interest in missions.  We had traveled with short Work and Witness teams to Australia, Romania, Belize, Albania, and Germany.  Those trips became eye-opening experiences, and we were addicted.  As a result, we decided several years before retirement that we wanted to spend our resources to experience more deeply the world of missions.  We wanted to go and stay longer.

Our desire became reality when we connected with Mission Corps, a program with the Church of the Nazarene that sends volunteers all around the world.  This would become our open door.  We retired in 2011 and waited.  In 2012, we accepted our first assignment, which was to Ecuador.  Our second assignment in 2013 was to Switzerland/Germany.  Our third one in 2014 was split: Costa Rica and Dominican Republic.  Then last March, emails began trickling in pointing to Sweden and Denmark. Were we interested in volunteering in coffee house/cafe ministries?  After interviews and paperwork and prayers, we accepted this assignment.  Starting in late summer, we will fly into Copenhagen, Denmark and travel a short distance to where we will work and  serve in the Arrie Kulturhus Coffee House, which is located in Southern Sweden near the city of Malmo.  In the meantime, behind the scenes, we have become liable to several personal projects.

Do these really work?

      First, in an effort to begin educating ourselves for something we love, but know little about, the intentional making and serving of exceptional coffees, we recently attended a "coffee workshop" in Gilbert, Arizona.
It was educational in that we learned how much we didn't know.
We have high hopes (for the sake of our clientele) that we will get some hands-on barista training during the early stages of our assignment in Sweden.

Aprons for Denmark and Sweden

   
Secondly, we are working with an organization, Threads Mfg, an extension of Lutheran Social Services here in Phoenix that places refugees and trains them as seamstresses.  Our friend, Cindy Kjos, who owns Threads Mfg, hires those trained seamstresses, allowing them to earn a living as well as fulfill their professional goals. When our friend told us about Threads Mfg,  Jim and I hired them to make 24 custom-designed aprons for the two Nazarene coffee house/cafe ministries in Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmo, Sweden. You have probably experienced how God trusts each us to stand on a bridge that links two ministries.  Many of you have helped to fund this effort when we invited you to "support an apron" for $30.00 each.  Thank you!

As we now count down the days until we leave, we again invite you to add us to your prayer list and pray for us as we desire to serve a lot more than specialty coffees.  

The coffee house in Sweden

• Safe travels and extended good health
• Engaging Friendship Evangelism outreach
• Support to the missionaries on the field in Denmark and Sweden
• Sensitive and obedient to the spiritual needs that will exist around us
• Really….that we will make good cups of specialty coffee that will invite the community back
• Sensitive to the doors of opportunity that only God can open
• Strengthen our patience and marriage as we experience social and cultural adjustments
• Good stewards of the resources that God supplies 

Keep Looking Up...and thank you for reading our blog
J:m and L:nda

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.  Amen"  ( Ephesians 3:20-21)

Come Barista With us in Denmark and Sweden

Malmo, Sweden

We are going to barista in Denmark and Sweden.  Many of you have been following our blog since 2012 and our first Mission Corps assignment to Ecuador with the Church of the Nazarene.  We call this our "second career," and these assignments have sent us to lands that we had never been to before and given us an awesome peek at how big God is and how He is touching lives for His Kingdom. Denmark and Sweden is a new encounter for us.

 Here is the background.  Our church has begun to open coffee-shop ministries in Europe: 2 in Poland;  Sweet Surrender Cafe, 2 years ago in Copenhagen, Denmark, and a new one, Arrie Kulturhus, to open mid-August in Malmo, Sweden.  This is where we will live from August to November.  And, we are excited!  We love adventure, new cultures, people and coffee. And, we love to talk about our faith and the reason for our hope, Jesus Christ.

Copenhagen

Copenhagen, Denmark

Occasionally, we will cross the the Oresund Bridge linking the coast of Sweden to Denmark, a 30 minute train ride, to serve coffee and work at the Sweet Surrender Cafe.

As we began to think how we could serve even before we set foot in these two countries, it occurred to us that we could take aprons.  Most baristas have pocketed aprons that smell like fresh linen in the morning and coffee at the close of day.  What's the difference, we ask?  Both are a savory invitation to slow down.  While Sweet Surrender already had 12 aprons, after 2 years they were getting a little worn.  The new coffee house, Arrie Kulturhus, has no aprons.

MWashite from DR Congo, Africa

Interesting how God is always up to something.  When we shared this apron idea with a friend, she suggested we contact ThreadMfg.com, an organization here in Phoenix that offers sewing classes from beginner through advance levels for women refugees.  This program provides women refugees an opportunity to participate in a rigorous curriculum to improve their sewing skills, learn English and shape their professional goals.  It seemed as though God had directed our path to ThreadsMfg.  This organization gives back to the Phoenix community, and they will make aprons for baristas who will give back to their community but on a different continent. It's a great feeling to be the middle-man between two organizations that reach out in service to others.   We hired them.  They are designing 12 basic barista aprons for Copenhagen's Sweet Surrender and 6 vintage aprons and 6 basic barista aprons for Arrie Kulturhus in Sweden.
Pick up date:  August 6, 2015.

We wanted our blog friends to be among the first to hear our good news and to begin this adventure with us.  Stay tuned for prayer requests, barista workshops, packing challenges, and interests related to all things Scandinavian.   For starters:  pray that we will be sensitive to God's direction.

Keep Looking Up.  And thank you for reading our blog.
J:m and L:nda

One Thing Leads to Another

Last Sunday, July 5, 2015, our English-speaking church declared a day of rest and cancelled services.  Actually, 60 members had departed on July 4th for a Work and Witness trip, so this was an opportunity for those of us left behind to participate in fellowship with another congregation.  We chose to attend Primera Iglesia Del Nazareno in the city of Phoenix.  This was not a mistake.  As is customary for Spanish believers, they greeted us in the parking lot,  gave us a tour of the church, introduced us in Sunday School class, during the announcements, and during the sermon.  We didn't understand every word, but we did know when our names were called.  Everyone turned to look, we smiled and nodded.  Learning a second language has its "silent period" of nodding and smiling.  It's a communicative strategy:  say little, make few mistakes.

But, this is not the way to learn a language.  After the sermon, we loosened up and decided they could read between the lines and forgive us for improper conjugation.  And, to our surprise, many of them confessed they wanted to learn more English and their expressed desires were improperly conjugated.  So, all at once, we were fellow-sojourners - cross-cultural, linguistic socializers seeking to understand each other.  Three hours later, we were listening and talking and getting the gist.

Then, it happened: One Thing Leads to Another.  They were going to have Vacation Bible School this week...the very week that we were free and we could volunteer.  Would we be interested in helping?
We said yes.

And, the children shall lead them.  Indeed, they did.  We were assigned to different positions the first night:  Linda worked in crafts, and Jim was perfectly matched on the basketball-court, with musical chairs, and sit-on-the-balloon activities.  Que divertido!  What fun!  The children naturally became our Spanish teachers.  We learned so much Spanish and, when asked, "How do you say _____ in English?" we happily reciprocated.

We sang in Spanish, learned Bible verses in Spanish, learned to say, "line up, follow me, and you can do it!" all in Spanish.  

 The best part was during the Bible story.  For those of you who grew up with VBS, you remember the stories of great men and women of the Bible who shaped and still shape our lives.  Tonight:  Joseph, the man whom God did not forget.  Lesson taught in Spanish, questions answered bilingually, message absorbed in both languages.

No te lo pierdas!  Don't miss out!  Our English-speaking church was cancelled, so we visited a second-laguage church.  One Thing Lead to Another and we received an unexpected portion of blessing.   Has anything been cancelled in your life?

Keep Looking Up.  And, thank you for reading our blog.
J:m and L:nda