9/21

Today began with the first meeting of our Koinanea groups. Koinanea means “fellowship” or “family”, so they’re supposed to be like family groups that pray for one another and encourage each other in the more personal matters as well as just growing together as a smaller group.

I’ve been told that the first few meetings are a little quiet, maybe a little awkward and I’m seeing that a bit, but I know it will get better.

During free time there was a 2 versus 2 volleyball tournament, and Steph and I were gonna try it but ended up starting up a game of soccer instead.

We ended the day with another K-group meeting, this time about 20 minutes away at one of our leaders’ houses. We shared some important points in our lives and she had made cake and set out some snacks.

Once again I am struck by the hospitality of the people here. I haven’t been in a house to which I haven’t been invited back “anytime I miss home”. All the houses are quaint and traditional, very pretty with wooden floors and concrete walls, lace curtains, and shutters on all the windows. You can hear the church bells ring every night and on Sundays.

A couple random things:

Apple juice is very popular here because of all the apple trees, but they drink it sparkling for the most part, or plain with sparkling water. You can get a huge (like a liter maybe?) bottle of sparkling apple juice for 75 cents!

While this is a notoriously Christian country, most of the Lutheran church is very liberal and many pastors don’t even believe the message of Christ. They consider their church more of a social organization.  The Catholic Church is also corrupt and largely financially based. Regardless, everywhere you go there are little altar-like things with a picture or statue of Jesus on the cross and a place for flowers and other gifts.

I have seen at least four women with “enormous forearms” open their shutters and shake out their laundry leaning out of the window for no apparent reason. To me, this image is so ridiculously cliché and Disney-like (I think of maybe the town from Beauty and the Beast?) that I can’t help but laugh when I see it..

For various reasons, I have swallowed three pieces of gum during the course of this trip. I am oddly uncomfortable with this fact and for some reason, subconsciously expect some sort of dire consequences in terms of my health and well-being.


Hosea 2:14-16
New International Version (NIV)
14 “Therefore I am now going to allure her;
    I will lead her into the wilderness
    and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
    and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she will respond as in the days of her youth,
    as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
16 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “you will call me ‘my husband’;
    you will no longer call me ‘my master.’