Frances Update!

And so into a new year...

November and December were busy months for me, trying to settle into a new job and preparing for both my B1 Language test and our Christmas program, alongside visits from friends and the unavoidable beginnings of the “What will the new year bring?” thoughts and questions!

I had lovely visits from Hannah and Victoria, both of whom had come on our 24-7 Prayer Team last May, and it was neat to see that the friendships which happened that week weren’t just “one off’s” but that real relationships had been begun, both between people personally as well as between people and place.  These women truly ‘fell in love’ with Neubrandenburg, polylux and the Datzeberg, and it was beautiful to realise that by hosting the Team, we weren’t just ‘ticking a box’ but rather enabling growth and impact within people’s lives!

Ellen & Hannah enjoying Bratwurst and Gluwein at the Weihnachtsmarkt

The Christmas programs, meals and times with the community all went beautifully well, and I am very pleased to report that I passed my B1 Language Test with 92%!  :)  New Year’s followed fairly quietly with people disappearing off to various family and relations, but still, for me, with the extensive firework displays which I can watch from my balcony!  I find it quite a cozy way to welcome the New Year in, sitting on my balcony with a hot drink and blankets, watching literally hours of fireworks going off throughout the entire city!  Because the Datzeberg is the highest point of land in the area we can see everyone else’s firework displays! :)

Christmas Eve's "Christmas Dinner" with Friends

Boxing Day "Christmas Dinner" with Ellen (we were still too full from the 24th to eat it on Christmas Day!)

The "Christmas Choir"

With New Year passed, we are now getting back into the routines of January, and looking into possibilities for a B2 Language Course, which would help me correct a lot of my grammatical errors and take me to the next level of fluency.  Finding one that fits is a bit tricky as they aren’t as common as the B1 courses and so far most of the times they run seem to interfere or conflict with my school work schedule, as well as being very expensive, which means we are also trying to find out if I might be eligible for financial help  with the cost, which I wasn’t for the B1.

January also means that I am now back into the school year and teaching again.  Unfortunately, I don’t seem to have “settled” as well as I had hoped and, if honest, have to admit that I am really not enjoying this role.  Don’t get me wrong, I still like kids generally, and the staff are all still friendly and try to be helpful, but I simply don’t enjoy the work.  I don’t enjoy the preparation and find the classes extremely frustrating, as the kids struggle to take me seriously, listen or obey any of my plans or lessons, which I can’t really blame them for when they don’t understand me when I speak in English (and aren’t at an age where they’re bothered about trying) and when I butcher their own language?? 

It’s a disappointing struggle at the moment, because I had hoped that it would improve with time as we all got to know each other, etc, but it hasn’t and I can’t see any way of it doing so in the near future! 

It’s also frustrating at the moment because I’m finding that what I had hoped would be a side job to fill up some free time and financially free me to focus more on my involvement with polylux and the Datzeberg has turned out to be an emotionally and mentally draining distraction (rather like having a persistent, bad toothache!), leaving me with less energy and time to be involved with the things I’d like to be involved with, here..

So, that is currently one of my ‘big’ New Year Questions.  What and how to do something about the school situation!  I am not adverse to working, and I am incredibly grateful for the paycheck that this job brings, and I’m also aware that it pays well vs other kinds of work that I might be able to find, as well as being aware that it may now not be so easy to simply “quit” as I am now in the Insurance system which means that if I’m not in this job the System will expect me to be in, or be looking for, work of some other kind...

So if you’re the praying kind, prayers for wisdom, understanding and steps forward would be appreciated!

On a brighter note, with the school year comes school holidays, and in a few weeks at the end of January I will be popping back to the UK for a Communities Gathering with 24-7 (different than the large, international gathering in the fall), and then joining my Dad for a week in Sicily, which will be LOVELY!! :)  

So there is a lot of good in life at the moment, for which I’m incredibly thankful, as well as a few things which still need working out!

Thank you all for reading this far!