I am not quite sure what to title this post. I met with a woman from my church today named Christina. She is an amazing woman of God and is a missionary over here in Basel. She just recently left Zurich to come here. She has Swiss cousins that live in Zurich so she has learned a lot about the culture. I am always trying to get as much info as I can out of people about the Swiss. They are just so mysterious. The more I find out about them the more I am so glad I am not Swiss.
They teach Sex education starting at 6 years old here. They are encouraged to pleasure themselves and explore their bodies during rest time. They are told about sex and that it is natural for them to do it. Most people lose their virginity here at 13 and that is normal. Sickening to me. I asked well geeze why are there not more babies running around and she said because they all get abortions. In Switzerland abortion is seen as okay. Then she proceeded to say that there are Suicide clinics here where you go and talk to 2 doctors and if they clear it then you can kill yourself. I was and still am in shock. It all makes me feel very distant from Switzerland. This is something I will need to pray about. I can't seem to see the Swiss in a good light when I am learning all this terrible information about them. These people need the Lord.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Proud to be from the Midwest
I never thought that I would actually be so happy to tell people I am from the Midwest. I get this smile on my face when I say it. Isn't that silly? I am often told stories about how people go to Indiana and can't believe how nice people are. Yepp! That is where I am from. :) Where people wave when they don't know the person. Neighbors who jump to help another in need. It all makes me so proud. That would never ever happen in Europe. Everyone is out for themselves. It is quite sad but I have learned to live with it because I know one day I will be back in Indiana.
Then there is the religious aspect. Wow, have I been sheltered in good ole Indiana. I have always been surrounded by people who believe that Jesus died for our sins. (Different from just believing in A god) I had no idea that so many people don't believe in our God. Oh, how said it makes me. I know this is a harsh statement but for most people they live such an empty life. I live everyday knowing that Heaven is where I will be for eternity. I don't know if I could live a happy life without knowing this. Thank God I have my church out here because boy would I feel lonely. Every single person I meet here has zero relationship with God. It leaves me to feel very lonely. Since God is such a big part of my life, it is hard not to be able to talk about it much with them. Often times I get weird looks when I talk about my pastor and my church here. This is the first time in my life where I feel extremely vulnerable. At home I have so many people that would agree with me and challenge me to be a better Christian. I feel so lucky that I grew up in a loving, Christian family, in the Mid West. Amen, praise the LORD!!!!
Then there is the religious aspect. Wow, have I been sheltered in good ole Indiana. I have always been surrounded by people who believe that Jesus died for our sins. (Different from just believing in A god) I had no idea that so many people don't believe in our God. Oh, how said it makes me. I know this is a harsh statement but for most people they live such an empty life. I live everyday knowing that Heaven is where I will be for eternity. I don't know if I could live a happy life without knowing this. Thank God I have my church out here because boy would I feel lonely. Every single person I meet here has zero relationship with God. It leaves me to feel very lonely. Since God is such a big part of my life, it is hard not to be able to talk about it much with them. Often times I get weird looks when I talk about my pastor and my church here. This is the first time in my life where I feel extremely vulnerable. At home I have so many people that would agree with me and challenge me to be a better Christian. I feel so lucky that I grew up in a loving, Christian family, in the Mid West. Amen, praise the LORD!!!!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Learning from Andy
It has been 5 years yet I feel like I have been with Andy for my entire life. I think this is because I have been with him my whole adult life. I have grown so much as a person with him. I get so frustrated when people say they got a divorce because they were too young and they both changed too much. This is an excuse if you ask me. I had so many people think I was too young to get married. Really? When does God intend for us to get married? Why have so many relationships worked when the man and wife get married so young. They grow together, not apart. They allow God to help them learn from each other. Yes I have grown up so much over the past 5 years, but this has only made me closer to Andy. God has always said 2 is better then 1. I learn from Andy each and every day. I used to want Andy to be just like me, oh boy is that scary to think about. Why doesn't he get so excited when I tell him a story? Or why does he not want to do this or that? God created men and women different for a reason. Together they are supposed to fit perfectly. Instead of wanting him or us to be different I have started to love the differences. It makes our marriage so much more thrilling. Each week I try and find out something I didn't used to know about him. It can be a struggle sometimes but I try to watch him and see the different things he does all the time. Just found out that Andy has no routine whatsoever. He sometimes gets breakfast at the train station, sometimes doesn't. Rarely goes to the same place. Sometimes has 3 coffees a day other times none. I mean I could predict he was like this because he is not an organized person but to hear it is hilarious! I am such a routine girl. I want my same Starbucks everyday. I like to workout at the same time everyday. I like to read and watch T.V. at certain times in the day. Ahh how different we are :) I learned how inpatient Andy is. I mean yes sometimes I get angry because he will stop me from doing something so he can do it. I hate that. But I had no idea just how inpatient he was until we started putting together the IKEA stuff. Andy is used to being good at all of his jobs. So when something doesn't fit within 10 seconds of putting together the furniture then he is upset. I am a teacher so of course you can fill in the blank. I am very patient. Everything I learn about Andy allows for me to understand him more and be more compassionate for certain things.
New experiences
When I signed up to move to Switzerland I had no idea the hardships that were coming my way. I am pretty positive that God just wanted to give me peace at the moment. God allowed for me to be so excited to move here that I wasn't thinking about all the things it takes to actually "move." No offense but moving within the States is a piece of CAKE compared to moving to a foreign country. If you need something in the states then you go somewhere and speak in English. Switzerland is a German speaking country and is very set in all of its rules....
We have to buy bebbi saggs at the Grocery. These are 24 Francs which is about 30 U.S. dollars. You only get about 10 at a time, and they are pretty small. Trash is Tuesday and Friday and you set it out the night before on the sidewalk.
We have so much IKEA cardboard but that can only be bundled ONCE A MONTH. Holy cow this is hard. Our whole apartment is full sometimes of it.
No laundry on Sundays and no laundry on holidays. Well in Switzerland there are a lot of holidays :) Cannot make noise on Sundays. Meaning no vacuuming, and well just zero noise.
Everything is closed on Sundays. Everything. Meaning anytime we need to run an errand together it has to be Saturday. This has lead to me doing a lot on my own and just figuring stuff out.
I didn't even think about the fact that we would have to buy all of our furniture for our apartment. Not only did we buy it but we went to IKEA and had to assemble all of it. 3 huge closets, a bookshelf, out door furniture, 2 kitchen tables and a huge closet in our foyer. Let's just say this was a very stressful time in our relationship. 2 people trying to put together furniture is not something you want to try your first year of marriage. If I felt like Andy was talking to me in a mean way I would freak out. If he thought I wasn't working hard enough he would ask if I was mad. During this whole process I was so mad. I asked God why we had to put all of this together. Why couldn't we just have moved into a furnished apartment like other people I know. It would have saved us such us weeks of turmoil. God, like always, gave me the answer. He gave us this obstacle because we grew so much during it. Throughout these past 2 months we have had to work together on everything. Not one thing was easy here in Switzerland. Nothing worked as planned. Nothing. In our first year of marriage we have tackled more then most people have in their whole life. So many things I used to think were such a big deal are a joke to me now. I look back at life in the U.S. and see how simple people have it. The hardest months have come and gone. The homesick months, trying to set a routine, keep a good marriage, meeting people, finding a church, setting up house. It feels as if from now on we can sit back and admire all of the growth that has occurred.
We have to buy bebbi saggs at the Grocery. These are 24 Francs which is about 30 U.S. dollars. You only get about 10 at a time, and they are pretty small. Trash is Tuesday and Friday and you set it out the night before on the sidewalk.
We have so much IKEA cardboard but that can only be bundled ONCE A MONTH. Holy cow this is hard. Our whole apartment is full sometimes of it.
No laundry on Sundays and no laundry on holidays. Well in Switzerland there are a lot of holidays :) Cannot make noise on Sundays. Meaning no vacuuming, and well just zero noise.
Everything is closed on Sundays. Everything. Meaning anytime we need to run an errand together it has to be Saturday. This has lead to me doing a lot on my own and just figuring stuff out.
I didn't even think about the fact that we would have to buy all of our furniture for our apartment. Not only did we buy it but we went to IKEA and had to assemble all of it. 3 huge closets, a bookshelf, out door furniture, 2 kitchen tables and a huge closet in our foyer. Let's just say this was a very stressful time in our relationship. 2 people trying to put together furniture is not something you want to try your first year of marriage. If I felt like Andy was talking to me in a mean way I would freak out. If he thought I wasn't working hard enough he would ask if I was mad. During this whole process I was so mad. I asked God why we had to put all of this together. Why couldn't we just have moved into a furnished apartment like other people I know. It would have saved us such us weeks of turmoil. God, like always, gave me the answer. He gave us this obstacle because we grew so much during it. Throughout these past 2 months we have had to work together on everything. Not one thing was easy here in Switzerland. Nothing worked as planned. Nothing. In our first year of marriage we have tackled more then most people have in their whole life. So many things I used to think were such a big deal are a joke to me now. I look back at life in the U.S. and see how simple people have it. The hardest months have come and gone. The homesick months, trying to set a routine, keep a good marriage, meeting people, finding a church, setting up house. It feels as if from now on we can sit back and admire all of the growth that has occurred.
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