MONDAYS:
9:45: we gather as a project for praise and worship time, followed by our prayer meeting
11:30: we pair up and head to the nation lunches (refer to earlier post if you don't know what I'm talking about). We usually spend an hour and a half to two hours initiating with Swedes at lunch and talking to them about life in Sweden and spiritual things.
2:00: staff mtg at a cafe downtown. This is where we do our planning and talk through what we're teaching at training times/discipleship/men's and women's times that week, do some planning, brainstorm how to move forward in evangelism and community-building, etc.
4:30: each day at this time we meet back at the apartments to debrief about what happened with ministry that day. Always encouraging to hear stories of the Gospel being shared, people's interest being piqued, etc.
*our monday nights are free to get dinner in groups, meet back up with Swedes if we have appointments, hang out as a team, get caught up on rest, etc for the rest of the night.
TUESDAYS:
9-11: we have our training time called "equip." We as staff are taking turns leading these times and addressing apologetic questions, such as why does God allow suffering? and why is christianity the only way to God? today Josh led our time on the latter question and did a great job!
11:30: nation lunches everyday
2-4: tuesdays through fridays at this time we either (1) meet with the students on project for discipleship or (2) do ministry with Swedes (doing Soularium surveys, meeting backup with Swedes we've met at nations to dialogue more, etc.)
4:30: debrief as usual
*every other tuesday, the ministry here (called Agape, cause "Campus Crusade" would be a bad idea in Europe) have their weekly meetings. So tonight some of the group is going to that. Some Tuesdays we have small group dinners with the project, where we randomly group people so they can meet each other. Last week I was grouped with 3 students I didn't know well so it was fun to get to know them in a smaller setting.
WEDNESDAYS:
10-11:30: praise and worship and extended time with the Lord
11:30: nation lunches
2-4: same as other days
4:30: debrief
dinner: on your own
7-9: men's and women's times. Tomorrow Josh is coming to the women's time and the two of us are doing a talk on relationships!
THURSDAYS:
9-11: Bible studies (I'm leading 8 of the project girls, Josh has a group of 4 guys)
11:30: you guessed it, nation lunches!
2-4: same as other days
4:30: debrief
evenings: free for people to get dinner with Swedish friends. Josh and I have this as our date night!
FRIDAYS:
morning: free to spend time with the Lord, do laundry, planning, etc
11:30: nation lunch
2-4: same as other days
4:30: debrief
dinner: together with the whole project! last week we took over a pizza place with all 27 of us!
SATURDAYS:
most of the day is free but at some point in the day we have a social, which our community team plans. Last week we cooked Mexican food for the project and watched soccer. Ok, I didn't watch soccer, but some people did :) This Saturday we are taking the train to Stockholm for the day!!
SUNDAYS:
10-10:45: walk to church. yep, 45 minutes of walking...
11-12ish: church. I say "ish" because last Sunday it went until 1:00. woa.
lunch and afternoon are free. I usually take the obligatory Sunday nap, which I also take in America.
5-6:30: ministry team meetings. there are 3 teams, community, evangelism and prayer. Each of the staff coach a team and are responsible for brainstorming, planning and carrying out things in each area. I coach the community team and Josh the EV team.
Whew, that was alot. And probably pretty monotonous to read through, but we wanted to give you a glimpse into what our typical days here look like. Although the schedule may not seem tiring, I'm definitely starting to feel it today! Although it has been a privilege to get to know Swedish students, it has been a lot of initiating which can be draining for so many hours each day.
We are still really enjoying our time here, though, and it has been amazing how many conversations we have gotten into with students here. I was talking to a girl Friday who did not believe in God. We asked her why and she shared that she couldn't believe without 100% proof. But then she added that often, she is jealous of those who do believe in God. She said "their lives are so rich and many times I wish I could experience that." What a glimpse into these students' hearts! Pray for this friend and many others- that we will have more opportunities to talk with them and that God would reveal that He IS true, has revealed Himself to us in many ways and is worth believing in!
Erin
p.s. sorry no pics, we'll post some the next time
p.p.s. i said "etc." at least 40 times in the post i think...oops
yeah..no more "etc." please. Ha ha just kidding! :) Loved the play by play! (and that will be good to have in your looks back on this time via blog! (shout out to your hubs by using the word via!)
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