October Newsletter

Hey all! Kiev, Ukraine Oct. 10, 2006

With the craziness of last month, I decided to combine September and October newsletters. An overview – We returned from outreach on Sept. 1st and the DTS ended on the 7th. We had some days of rest then started planning the next DTS, which started on the 27th of September. Whew!

So now we have 12 new students from five nations – Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, America, and Belarus. So far it is a really great group. More English speakers this time, so I’m not quite so lost. Torben is leading this school, which is a lot of added responsibility, but he is enjoying it quite a lot. I am technically part time staff, but as Torben puts it, I’m being sucked in. Torben and the DTS program director, Vicki, have a lot of ideas to make the DTS program a lot better than it has been and it’s very exciting to be a part of it. I had my first opportunity to teach last week on the topic of Intercessory Prayer. I was nervous, but I loved it. It is a subject I am passionate about and it felt very natural. So maybe I’ll get more opportunities to teach in the future. Scary, but exciting!!


Some of our main focuses on this DTS are culture – appreciating each others’ cultures and opening our eyes to the world around us - and application – integrating the learning the students receive into real life.

As far as culture, this school has huge opportunities to learn a lot from the vastly different cultures represented. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan may be similar to each other, but they are insanely different from American culture. One girl from Kyrgyzstan, Nargiza, got up in front of the class and talked about what it is like to live in a Muslim country. Her entire family is still Muslim, aside from one sister. In fact, her father was killed while involved with a fundamentalist Muslim group. Nargiza has a lot to share about her culture and the way she was raised.
I had a conversation with Damon, one of the Americans, and he was expressing the view I have heard from many Americans (myself included during my DTS) – there’s nothing special or unique about the American culture. Because that was a view I held for a while and I now recognize it as unhealthy and just plain wrong, I was eager to talk to him about it. The American culture has a lot to offer. Yes, we’re loud and often bossy, but there is strength and an enthusiasm to our culture that I love. Most of the missions work going on in the world today wouldn’t be happening if not for Americans because we have an optimism and an I can do it attitude. The longer I live outside of America and am married to a non-American, the more I see the weaknesses and strengths of my own culture and can appreciate it more. Appreciating my own culture while being humble about it – it’s not at all perfect – have really allowed me to learn to appreciate other cultures too. Having known Torben for 3 years now, I really love the Danish culture. It’s different and sometimes really strange to me, but I enjoy it a lot. And he has come to appreciate the American culture, too. Both of us are really looking forward to going to America and Denmark around Christmastime.

When it comes to application in a DTS, a lot of it is up to the students. Those who are serious about discipleship will take the time and effort necessary to process, pray, ask questions. But we as staff are doing what we can to challenge them, taking time each day to ask them questions – We’re talking about forgiveness today, is there anyone that you are holding a grudge against, someone who has hurt you in the past, and how is that unforgiveness hindering intimate relationship with God? Of course, that sort of question is not limited to challenging the students. I have so much to learn. This is my fourth DTS to be involved with, but I still feel like I know so little.

One of the not so fun lessons I have been learning lately is to lean on God when my body isn’t functioning right. Two weeks ago, I did something (not sure exactly what) that irritated the sciatic nerve in my lower back and it hasn’t gotten over being irritated with me yet. It’s pinched and causing a lot of pain in my lower back and down my right leg, making it very uncomfortable to sit down or stand still for long. My dad says it will probably be 6 weeks before it calms down. Not fun. So I’m spending a lot of time laying down or walking. It’s hard to run a DTS when you can’t sit down at all. But as people here are pointing out, maybe God wants me to slow down for a while and focus on Him.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. We both really appreciate it. We will be coming to the States on December 17th and leaving for Denmark on January 15th. As I said before, we’re both really looking forward to it and would love to see as many of you as we can. I hope you all are having a wonderful fall! God bless you!

Jeannette & Torben
Prayer Points
* Praise God for the beginning of a new DTS and our 12 students
* Pray for strength and wisdom for Torben as he leads this DTS
* Pray for us as we continue to study Russian
* Please pray for my pinched nerve to calm down soon.