OUR FRIENDS
We have made some wonderful friends on our YWAM base! We wanted to introduce you to several of them. This is so you can get a closer look at our world, and the broad culture base here at University of the Nations. Our closest friends are Tina and Hans Hansen, who are from Denmark. They have a daughter Evan’s age who had her 10th birthday about three weeks before Evan had his. She has two little toe-headed brothers, Lucas and Marcus. The boys play with the Hansen boys or Ethan and Aiden, our next door neighbors. Their parents are our co-leaders of our school. Their family hails from eastern Canada. The mother, Jerilyn, is Kris’ small group leader and is Mohawk Indian. She blew everyone away in her community as a girl when she was a contender for the Olympics in ice skating. Her husband, Mark, was a high school teacher and youth pastor and is Randy’s small group leader. They are both great friends of ours, and lend us their car whenever we need it. Their input to us is so crucial because they, too, did a DTS as a family who was older and who had served in leadership roles for years. My running/biathlon partner is Ericka, a junior high teacher from Colorado who took a year off to travel around the world, staying with various missionary friends. She has a wonderful, global perspective on culture and the body of Christ. Another good buddy is Corlize, a journalist by trade from South Africa. She has soo much insight and reminds me of my dear friend back home, Jana Thorup. She lived in Israel for two years, and also did a 6 month internship at a well-known church in Albany, OR! In our school, I’ve gotten to know a few other girls: Chelsea, a 22 year old farmer’s daughter from Nebraska just got her degree in business and is wondering how that could fit in with the family farm. Becca is a super sweet 19 year old from Colorado who loves children. We saw a maturity beyond her years in genuinely caring about us and in reaching out to our kids that caused us to quickly think of her when we needed a sitter (dates are important, especially when we are surrounded by crowds of people all the time)! Ingrid is from Minnesota, and does my WholyFit with me when she can get up in time. I also have done WholyFit with Aleeia from Kazakhstan, and have struck up acquaintances with several more people: Janelle and Brian from Alaska with their three kids. He is a former fighter pilot who flies commercial airlines. She gives great haircuts for free to lady friends on the base. Mike is a young man from Boston U who was an atheist three months before coming to the U of N. Linda is a friend who sings in the choir with me, and is on staff long-term in England (originally from America). Carol is truly English, and has just joined the choir as well. She not only knows of where I lived when I worked with YWAM in the 80’s but she knows the exact street where I lived and the shop I lived above! There’s also Margaret and her husband, Gabriel from Rwanda (I speak French with him), Jacob and Joi, friends from Korea, and a lovely potter from Israel named Anoushka. I also just love April, a beautiful Filipina from the north, not far from where I was born in Baguio. There’s a young couple from Portland (SE area) who have two small children and she is pregnant with their third. Mariya is becoming a friend, who comes from Japan and will be in Tonga with us. There’s also Linda, on our team from Sweden, who is a kindergarten teacher and whose birthday we celebrated our first few weeks here. All of these people have marvelous stories. Some have lost successful businesses in the economic down-turn, and others have postponed their careers or college to carve out this half-year of their lives to serve God and share their lives with others overseas. It is a privilege to get to know them all, and to call them friends as well as our extended “Ohana.”
We have made some wonderful friends on our YWAM base! We wanted to introduce you to several of them. This is so you can get a closer look at our world, and the broad culture base here at University of the Nations. Our closest friends are Tina and Hans Hansen, who are from Denmark. They have a daughter Evan’s age who had her 10th birthday about three weeks before Evan had his. She has two little toe-headed brothers, Lucas and Marcus. The boys play with the Hansen boys or Ethan and Aiden, our next door neighbors. Their parents are our co-leaders of our school. Their family hails from eastern Canada. The mother, Jerilyn, is Kris’ small group leader and is Mohawk Indian. She blew everyone away in her community as a girl when she was a contender for the Olympics in ice skating. Her husband, Mark, was a high school teacher and youth pastor and is Randy’s small group leader. They are both great friends of ours, and lend us their car whenever we need it. Their input to us is so crucial because they, too, did a DTS as a family who was older and who had served in leadership roles for years. My running/biathlon partner is Ericka, a junior high teacher from Colorado who took a year off to travel around the world, staying with various missionary friends. She has a wonderful, global perspective on culture and the body of Christ. Another good buddy is Corlize, a journalist by trade from South Africa. She has soo much insight and reminds me of my dear friend back home, Jana Thorup. She lived in Israel for two years, and also did a 6 month internship at a well-known church in Albany, OR! In our school, I’ve gotten to know a few other girls: Chelsea, a 22 year old farmer’s daughter from Nebraska just got her degree in business and is wondering how that could fit in with the family farm. Becca is a super sweet 19 year old from Colorado who loves children. We saw a maturity beyond her years in genuinely caring about us and in reaching out to our kids that caused us to quickly think of her when we needed a sitter (dates are important, especially when we are surrounded by crowds of people all the time)! Ingrid is from Minnesota, and does my WholyFit with me when she can get up in time. I also have done WholyFit with Aleeia from Kazakhstan, and have struck up acquaintances with several more people: Janelle and Brian from Alaska with their three kids. He is a former fighter pilot who flies commercial airlines. She gives great haircuts for free to lady friends on the base. Mike is a young man from Boston U who was an atheist three months before coming to the U of N. Linda is a friend who sings in the choir with me, and is on staff long-term in England (originally from America). Carol is truly English, and has just joined the choir as well. She not only knows of where I lived when I worked with YWAM in the 80’s but she knows the exact street where I lived and the shop I lived above! There’s also Margaret and her husband, Gabriel from Rwanda (I speak French with him), Jacob and Joi, friends from Korea, and a lovely potter from Israel named Anoushka. I also just love April, a beautiful Filipina from the north, not far from where I was born in Baguio. There’s a young couple from Portland (SE area) who have two small children and she is pregnant with their third. Mariya is becoming a friend, who comes from Japan and will be in Tonga with us. There’s also Linda, on our team from Sweden, who is a kindergarten teacher and whose birthday we celebrated our first few weeks here. All of these people have marvelous stories. Some have lost successful businesses in the economic down-turn, and others have postponed their careers or college to carve out this half-year of their lives to serve God and share their lives with others overseas. It is a privilege to get to know them all, and to call them friends as well as our extended “Ohana.”
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