Bethany's 2012 newsletter
MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Dear family and friends,
It's Christmas Day and as I was out walking Kenoby this morning I'm reminded that the world stops for a while during this holiday, I only saw a couple dog walkers outside and very few cars! I'm sure most people have the day off and are having family time today. I look forward to spending a few days at my parents with my brother Nate and sister Christy. For me, it's also time to stop and look back at the past year and count the many blessings I have received. It has been a challenging year between the new job and several health issues but I feel blessed in many ways. Please allow me to share a few memories and pictures with you.
As I mentioned in my last letter, I have been working in a crèche in Nyon since November 2011. This is a big crèche with over 350 kids signed up and divided in 6 groups; we also have 2 kindergarten classes. I started working in the older group, with 3 ½ to 4 ½ year olds and at the end of August, I changed groups to now work with 2 ½ to 3 ½ year olds. I like to say I have 47 kids now, fortunately not all at once, and we are 10 adults taking care of them. It's going well and I'm enjoying my job. As of November this year, I was asked to co-lead my team while a colleague is on maternity leave and it has been challenging but I'm learning a lot.
I have been accepted at the ESEDE School in Lausanne and will be starting a part-time training as "childhood educator" in August. This means I will be working 3 days a week and studying 2 days a week. The program is 3 years long and my work has agreed to pay for my training by continuing to pay me full-time which is great!
One of the down sides of my new job is that I'm sick very often. In the past year, I've had some kind of sickness every month and even several times a month. June was particularly bad for me as I had sinusitis followed by 2 throat infections back to back. Antibiotics have been used often and this seems to "screw up" my system, I ended up having gastritis last month, due to all the medication I've been taking. I'm constantly working with sick kids and in a germ-filled environment but my immune system is building up and I'm hoping I won't be as sick in 2013. I have had a number of throat infections over the years, but it has gotten worse this year so I will be having surgery to remove my tonsils on 18 January.
I have had the opportunity to travel a little this year. In February, I joined my brothers and a friend in Nendaz, for a weekend away in the mountains. This happened to be one of the coldest weekends as a Siberian wave hit Europe for 2 weeks, so we stayed in the chalet and enjoyed eating cheese and playing Xbox or card games. Then in May, I went to the French Jura mountains to join my church retreat and the speaker, an old friend, offered us to join their church retreat near Brussels. Can't explain it, even now, but I had a strong feeling I should go, so I booked a last minute flight and joined them the following weekend. It was a great retreat with good messages and discussions and I even had time to sightsee in Brussels for a couple hours.
At the end of June I had the chance to get back on the pilgrim way with Dad. This time we walked on the Via Francigena in Italy. This is a pilgrimage from Canterbury to Rome that goes through Switzerland. We went over the Great St-Bernard Pass, 2470m and down to Aosta and its valley all the way to Ivrea. It was great to put the pack on again and be a pilgrim for about 10 days. The Via Francigena isn't as popular as the Camino and not really "structured", we had challenges trying to figure out the path to follow at times and where the hostel was but nonetheless, Dad and I had a great time! It was also my first time to Italy (I know sounds terrible since I live so close) but I consider myself lucky. Not many people can say that the first time they went to Italy and Spain, they crossed over on foot! We also had physical challenges as my knee has been hurting, especially going downhill. Turns out it could be the meniscus which is worn out after walking over 1600km last year. And Dad unfortunately sprained his ankle pretty badly after 10 days walking so we had to shorten our pilgrimage this time.
On 16 September, my parents celebrated their 40th Anniversary and we had the chance to go up to the Aletsch glacier, for the first time. This is the biggest glacier in the Alps and we were blessed to have a gorgeous day up there. It was a great family outing, even Christy was here visiting at the time. Unfortunately Luke was away on a business trip so he was the only one missing.
At the end of October, I joined Dad and his catechism class for a 3 day hike of the Way of St-James here in Switzerland. We walked about 50km from Romont to Lausanne. A great opportunity for us to share our stories about the Camino and show these teenagers what the pilgrim life is like.
My brother Luke and I are still sharing an apartment in Nyon. He has started his last year of evening studies in Geneva and should get his Bachelor's in Computer Engineering next fall. He is still working 90% for Edwards Life Sciences. You might remember he loved his visit to South Africa last year, well turns out he loves it even more since he met Erin, his girlfriend. They have been dating long-distance for about a year and he has gone back there many times this year. We got to meet her when she came to visit over the summer, she's great and good fun! Luke is spending Christmas there and enjoying a 2 weeks break in the warm "winter" down there.
I still enjoy singing and leading worship at Westlake Church in Nyon. I have decided to start learning guitar this year and have been blessed with a great teacher and friend from church. She gives me guitar lessons and I speak to her in French! I was part of a small group this fall but many people are leaving so will need to find a new group to plug into next year.
My dog, Kenoby (almost 11) is doing well, despite his "old age". He is struggling more and more with climbing the stairs, into the car or even on the couch. He's also a little more clingy that before. We still enjoy our walks together even though they are getting shorter and he loves to go visit his friend Jack, my parents' dog.
As I look back, I can see that God has really blessed me in many ways this year and I continue to trust in Him, because He will provide! I am so thankful for His provision, guidance and faithfulness towards me this year. I hope this letter finds you well and I wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas as we celebrate the Birth of His Son, Jesus Christ. May the Lord bless each and every one of you richly throughout 2013!
With much love, Bethany
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