To Mexico

From Tuesday till Saturday I will be joining MJ to a teaching trip to Mexico. She will teach in a rehabilitation center for women with addiction problems in Juarez. It is a great program with really good results and I am looking forward to see how they work and live. For I have seen some programs like this working in Estonia as well, but they have been in a very beginning of stage of their life, so I am curious how do they do it over there.
It will also be quite an experience for me culturally and I'm excited to see how it all turns out.

Keep us in your prayers though, as Juarez is little bit dangerous place to go to right now with lot's of drug wars going on. Pray that we would be protected from physical and spiritual evil, and that we would have wisdom to make right choices in staying safe.

I'll keep you posted on how it went when I get back as I am not sure how much if any access to the Internet I am able to have during those days.

Peace!

Ice blocking! Ice blocking?

Yes, on Saturday some of us went ice blocking. Yea, I know, I did not know what it means either. Well, basically it's like sledding, but just without snow nor a sledge :P (go figure).

Here is our 10 steps to a fun Saturday evening:
1) Gather together a group of enthusiasts, tell them to bring a towel
2) Pick a nice day and find a store that sells ice blocks ($2 per block)
3) While you wait everyone to arrive, get a cup of Starbucks coffee, and enjoy the scenery4) Buy each person a block of ice
5) Find a nice slope
6) Unwrap the ice from plastic and cover the block with a towel
7) Sit (or lay) on the block and enjoy the ride!
8) If you manage to stay on the block all the way to the end, get up and climb back to the top or try again until you make your way down.
9) Repeat points 6-8 until your ice block melts or your rear just cannot take it anymore.
10) Go to a friends place, enjoy lot's of candy and pizza, you have earned it after such a long exercise outside in the fresh air :)

Elevation and dehydration

Did you know that the elevation in Longmont is about 1500 m (4979 ft)? People have been asking me if it does affect me, and to be honest, I don't realize it at all. Up until last week, I got totally "out of order" by some severe headaches. And I think the cause is dehydration because of the elevation. Now I have to remember to drink more water. The catch is that i don't feel more thirsty, so that's why I wite this post actually - to help myself remember.

Other than that, it is much easier to jog here for instance. I remember the times of jogging with Erika in Norway, it was 20 minutes of pain grumbling. Here I just put on some music, enjoy the view and half an hour passes with no problem. I suspect it's the beautiful view to the mountains I see on my jogging route that just distracts me from focusing on myself :P

Go out, do something fun! I'm leaving to paint MJ's house now!

We talks!

Elevatio

Kentucky

Ok, Malin, here it is - an update.

Actually I apologize for not writing any sooner. Life has been bit hectic here and I don't have my own laptop yet (I'm praying for one though), which makes me really evaluate my priority list of things I need to get done over the Internet.

Anyhow, the trip to Linefork Kentucky some centuries ago (that's how it feels now) went really well. And I say that even though almost nothing was according to our expectations.
We were ready to meet a poor orphanage that runs on a shoestring budget, lots of material poverty and get connected with the local community.

A coal mine in Linefork

In reality the budget of the orphanage might still be tight, but the woman who is running it works on a principle of excellence and the Lord has honored that by providing with what they need. So the compounds look very nice. And we did not even have to stay in the bunkhouse, although half of us did but the nights were very warm. Thank you for your prayers for that, the weather was really favorable for us.


We ended up doing a lot of practical work though and we did actually build a bridge. And it was totally miraculous how we got all the materials and equipment for it and that we actually got it done.

We also did some tiling, made a walkway, put up a flag pole, played with the children, did some gardening and helped out other ways. And I believe that all the clothes, food, toys and books we brought will be a blessing to the local community.

On 4 days MJ was asked to teach at a local Christian school and I joined her on 2 of them This definitely was the strongest experience for me during the trip. We saw so much spiritual poverty in that school. It made me really see how big responsibility our educational system has. The effect on the lives of our youth is tremendous, and what you get (or in this case don't get) from school marks the rest of your life. This experience definitely gave me something to think about when it comes schools to Estonia. I have a vision about using my education as a psychologist to impact the area of education in Estonia, but it's bit too early to talk about that now.

Anyhow, although we did all those things, for me and I believe for all of us, this trip was much more about discipleship than anything else. Our evenings were filled with really radical Bible studies and God worked overtime on us during the days. MJ is one of the best outreach leaders I have ever worked together with, and I learned a lot about leadership and discipleship just by watching her.

Thanks for your prayers and support for making this trip possible! Oh, and I'm off to Mexico in a week! More on that later ;)

American soccer?

Yurope according to Estonians

A funny video with some interesting viewpoints :P
The disclaimer states that this video does not reflect the views of the educated people of Estonia.
Also a great opportunity to hear some excellent "Estonian English".

Pictures from Kentucky

Click on the image to see more pictures. The story is yet to come :)

Soon off to Kentucky

Hello friends!

Tomorrow early-early me and 9 others are leaving for a trip to the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky for bit more than a week.
It turns out to be one of the most poverty stricken areas in the United States with lot's of unemployment, low level of education and so on.
We will be working alongside a staff in an orphanage there by helping out on their compounds, help the children do their homework and also have some interactions with the local community. We are also taking with us a trailer load of aid. Things like children's books, clothing, school supplies, a stove, tools, kitchen supplies, etc. All of that was donated by friends and churches around.
I am very curious about one task we have, and that's building a foot bridge.

It shall be a great trip, I just know it! And I'm doing my best to see past the facts that we'll be staying in a tin bunk house with no heating and that there are snakes there. Instead I'm bringing my long johns and plan to enjoy the view of the mountains and not step on any snakes :)

Oh, and we get to visit an Amish community on our way back.
This trip will definitely be a cross-cultural experience for me.

Pray for us and bless you!

Beautiful Colorado

Today I was out on a little trip to the foothills (a new word I learned today) of the big mountains here. The weather was perfect - warm and sunny and we desperately needed to get out of the house. MJ's grandson was with us, and I tell you, being around those two is a lot of fun!


I have never seen a black squirrel before, today I saw like 10 of them. Squirrels are everywhere in this area. The other day as I was walking pass the cemetery, I saw 8 of them in my view. And I thought we have a lot of them where I come from, huh.

That's the biggest caterpillar I have ever seen. Just look at it, it's huge!

I agree, the ice is pretty thin these days.

Food stories and other things.

After 3 days of rain and clouds, the sun finally came out and stayed for the most of the day. I took a walk to the mall...
I like how they have signs saying "No Outlet" instead of "Dead end" Sounds much nicer.

I wish I had a better camera or knew a place with better view, but the mountains in the West are just huge and beautiful, and majestic, and covered with snow since Monday. The fall is here.

Tara gave me some Swedish Fish. There are few things interesting with that product. First, that it is called food. Then, that it is fat free, but they have replaced all the fat with sugar.
I'm eating healthier candy ... not :P It's almost 74% sugar. A lot of things here are much sweeter than I'm used to. A good motivator not to buy candy at all :)

Oh, I found some cheese at MJ's fridge and it tastes just like in Estonia, I think that's amazing!

Lesson of the day

Today I had Joanna to give me a short lesson on coins. The need for it was obvious. Yesterday as I was shopping I realized something scary - I had no idea if I got correct change or not because American coins have no numbers on them. And even though the coin pouch was filling up, I only used bills. That had to stop!

Ok, quarter was a no-brainer, but what's a dime? And then there is this one that only has bunch of stuff in Latin written on it and that In God We Trust. Now I know that they are 25, 10 and 5 cents. Huh, now I just need to remember that 5 is bigger then 10 and I'll be alright.

I was biking around yesterday, and I did not get hit by any trucks, so I am glad. Actually I think it's much safer to bike here than in Norway because the roads are much wider.
And there is snow in the mountains! I wish I had a picture to post here to show that.

Ok, till next time!