Letter 08-2006. Autumn and Christmas.
23rd December 2006
Dear friends,
Several months have passed since last letter, and Christmas is very soon here. I am used to long Christmas letters from home, where the whole family's calendar the last year has been referred, so this is my small try to tell about the last months of my life.
The two first weeks of August I was in the US. I visited friends I had got in Jerusalem, and I had a great trip! Some of my prejudices against Americans were destroyed already when I got these great people as friends, and more were gone after visiting them. When my plans are more confirmed, I will tell you more, but I can already let you know that I have applied for a year exchange (autumn 2007 - spring 2008) to the US through my studies at the Norwegian School of Theology (MF).
This autumn I have spent a lot of time reading Greek. I have perhaps been even more grateful for the limited opening hours at MF this autumn than last spring. I do not need to bring my sleeping bag to the library. When I have not read Greek, I have read the New Testament, or I have actually read much Greek also then, as that is what we mainly learn this language for. But the secondary literature is luckily in English. Otherwise it would have been hard. I have read many books about the theology in the Gospel of John, and I have especially enjoyed finding how irony is used as a tool. I have also written a paper where I mostly wrote about whether a period was supposed to be before or after a certain phrase, quite an interesting paper, I think.
I have done something else than studying also this autumn. When I was asked about attending the General Assembly of the Norwegian Association of Clergy (PF) in September as a delegate from the students at MF, I thought it would be interesting and accepted. Time showed that one student was to be elected to represent PF in the Unio students (Unio is an umbrella where PF is together with the associations of teachers, nurses, police and some others), and as the other students there were either soon at the end of their education or had enough to do, they managed to convince me that I wanted this. Later I also became the students' representative in the representative council of PF. I learn a lot from it. I was quite new in this association world. A "passive" membership in PF for some years had not done so much. I am still not the one shouting the loudest about salary, but I see how important it is for the church that the pastors have good conditions for their work, and I am eager about how PF as an association for the profession takes care of the colleague fellowship among the pastors. If I myself will become a pastor, is still unsure. But now I have a channel where I can work for more guidance for us unsure students regarding the vocation to this ministry.
I have also had time for some YWCA-YMCA events this autumn. Some periods there have been events every weekend. I find it meaningfull to assist with trainings for teenagers where they can grow and learn, or Children's Festival or Ten Sign Festival where I can shower inputs from Bangladesh. It has been great to see how the giving of the Nobel peace prize to Mohammad Yunus and Grameen Bank has put focus on Bangladesh and micro credit this autumn. We do not often hear such happy stories and examples to follow from this country.
I have twice earlier celebrated Christmas in Bangladesh and once in Palestine. This year I am in the North Sea. I am a Christmas delegate for the Norwegian Church Abroad offshore, at "Gullfaks B", and I will bring some Christmas message and Christmas mood to those working here at the platform during Christmas. So far I have mostly helped with the Christmas mood, by decorating the living quarter with "nisser" (a more Norwegian type of the Santa Claus), Christmas trees, table cloths and flowers, and prepared kgs of chocolates to the different departments. Tomorrow the message will be shown more attention with the Gospel and a reflection.
I wish you all a peaceful Christmas!
Best wishes from Hanne.
Dear friends,
Several months have passed since last letter, and Christmas is very soon here. I am used to long Christmas letters from home, where the whole family's calendar the last year has been referred, so this is my small try to tell about the last months of my life.
The two first weeks of August I was in the US. I visited friends I had got in Jerusalem, and I had a great trip! Some of my prejudices against Americans were destroyed already when I got these great people as friends, and more were gone after visiting them. When my plans are more confirmed, I will tell you more, but I can already let you know that I have applied for a year exchange (autumn 2007 - spring 2008) to the US through my studies at the Norwegian School of Theology (MF).
This autumn I have spent a lot of time reading Greek. I have perhaps been even more grateful for the limited opening hours at MF this autumn than last spring. I do not need to bring my sleeping bag to the library. When I have not read Greek, I have read the New Testament, or I have actually read much Greek also then, as that is what we mainly learn this language for. But the secondary literature is luckily in English. Otherwise it would have been hard. I have read many books about the theology in the Gospel of John, and I have especially enjoyed finding how irony is used as a tool. I have also written a paper where I mostly wrote about whether a period was supposed to be before or after a certain phrase, quite an interesting paper, I think.
I have done something else than studying also this autumn. When I was asked about attending the General Assembly of the Norwegian Association of Clergy (PF) in September as a delegate from the students at MF, I thought it would be interesting and accepted. Time showed that one student was to be elected to represent PF in the Unio students (Unio is an umbrella where PF is together with the associations of teachers, nurses, police and some others), and as the other students there were either soon at the end of their education or had enough to do, they managed to convince me that I wanted this. Later I also became the students' representative in the representative council of PF. I learn a lot from it. I was quite new in this association world. A "passive" membership in PF for some years had not done so much. I am still not the one shouting the loudest about salary, but I see how important it is for the church that the pastors have good conditions for their work, and I am eager about how PF as an association for the profession takes care of the colleague fellowship among the pastors. If I myself will become a pastor, is still unsure. But now I have a channel where I can work for more guidance for us unsure students regarding the vocation to this ministry.
I have also had time for some YWCA-YMCA events this autumn. Some periods there have been events every weekend. I find it meaningfull to assist with trainings for teenagers where they can grow and learn, or Children's Festival or Ten Sign Festival where I can shower inputs from Bangladesh. It has been great to see how the giving of the Nobel peace prize to Mohammad Yunus and Grameen Bank has put focus on Bangladesh and micro credit this autumn. We do not often hear such happy stories and examples to follow from this country.
I have twice earlier celebrated Christmas in Bangladesh and once in Palestine. This year I am in the North Sea. I am a Christmas delegate for the Norwegian Church Abroad offshore, at "Gullfaks B", and I will bring some Christmas message and Christmas mood to those working here at the platform during Christmas. So far I have mostly helped with the Christmas mood, by decorating the living quarter with "nisser" (a more Norwegian type of the Santa Claus), Christmas trees, table cloths and flowers, and prepared kgs of chocolates to the different departments. Tomorrow the message will be shown more attention with the Gospel and a reflection.
I wish you all a peaceful Christmas!
Best wishes from Hanne.
posted by Hanne at 3:29 PM
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