Snapshots from 2013...

Another year over - but what a lot happened! Here are a few highlights...

Summer! After months of grey skies we enjoyed welcoming lots of Aussie visitors to Lausanne.

We were thankful the lake was still fairly warm for this student's baptism!

We've loved being part of IFES InterAction and getting to know people working with students across Europe. What an amazing bunch of people they are!

Us? Run a seminar on conflict resolution? What are you saying??  :-P

Andrew spoke at a summer camp for international students - looks like it was a tough job!
Meanwhile, Claire enjoyed a week of quiet in the apartment! :-)

GBEU staff conference: in the mountains, with the cow bells serenading us!

Time for some holidays! How about a walk with friends in the Lauterbrunnen valley?

The Livingstones loved finding these piles of stones! :-) 

Ok - back to work. Do you like our logo?

Visiting an international bible study group in Geneva.

Andrew preaching at a local international church (in English).

Claire sharing the iConnect vision at the same international church.

Getting ready for the students to arrive - at the University Welcome Day at the GBEU table.

You'll need to go to our previous post to see the photos from some of our iCafés!! 

But here's one from a trip to the Escalade Festival in Geneva. 

We're all enjoying spit-roasted wild boar - yum!
And yes, some of you might have spotted our sons in this photo! But that's for another post....

A walk at Lac Sauvabellin made us laugh when we saw the ducks walking ON the lake!

Snow is still a novelty for one of us... :-) 

Life is full of moments. Some are easier to live in than others. But too often we find ourselves trying to race to the ones that haven't happened yet. Practicing thankfulness helps us take the time to appreciate what each moment might offer: a person to know, sounds that surprise, cold or warmth to experience, sights that lift spirits, lessons to learn....   What are you thankful for today?

Pictures tell the story....

It's said that a picture paints a thousand words.....so we'll let some pictures tell the story of the past few months at our monthly iCafé....

Our wonderful iCafé team Autumn semester 2013!
Ruth Noël (USA, InterVarsity Intern), Laurianne (Swiss), Claire, Andrew, Samuel (Swiss)

We've had students from every continent join us at our monthly iCafé - lots of fun, lots of laughs, lots of fun - and plenty of good conversations. Some students have built firm friendships that will last beyond their time in Lausanne. What a privilege to be involved in this ministry! 

Introducing.....iConnect!

iConnect is the new name for the GBEU international student ministry - helping students connect with one another, Swiss culture, and the big questions of life.

Since beginning work in February we've been trying to do two things: 
1. Communicate the vision of iConnect with local students, churches, and other key people.
2. Organise events for international students, working with some local volunteers. 

Here are some highlights:

• A snow camp with international students. Four had never skied before, but were excited to learn.  Amer, a student from Lebanon, said, “I enjoyed meeting new people, playing cool board games, and doing crazy sports like skiing and sledging. I got to learn some peculiarities about Australia, Scotland, Mexico, etc, and I also shared some peculiarities of the Arabic language I also enjoyed the spiritual session, where we talked about things we're grateful for."

Happy campers at Les Diablerets

• iCafé nights - opportunities for people from all backgrounds and cultures to meet one another in a relaxed, English-speaking environment. The last evening was based on Indian culture - with Indian snacks and a fantastic presentation from Peru, a post-doc physics student from Southern India. 

Students from all over the world study in Lausanne

It was exciting to have both Swiss and International students meeting one another. For various reasons, often the two groups don't spend much time together. 

Many people speak a variety of languages. On one night, together we spoke more than 12 languages! English is the common language amongst us all. 

Over a simple meal of soup and bread we enjoy discussions about our various countries and cultures: what we have in common, and what we find quite different. People love to talk about home!

The room can fit around 30 people.
Pray we grow large enough we need to find another venue!

• Speaking at GBEU events and local churches. iConnect is a student ministry, part of the work of the local student group - GBEU, which is a member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES ....don't you love acronymns!) 

An IFES value  is: Students reaching Students. So we've been visiting the French-speaking student groups to speak about iConnect ministry, inviting them to get involved in some way. Involvement from local churches would provide stability over the long term - so we've been getting to know local pastors and other key people, to explore possible partnerships in the future.

GBEU Training Day

Sometimes we can speak in English only, but sometimes we have a translator.

GBEU Annual Day - Lindsay Brown was keynote speaker.
We ran a seminar with Susanne Koch, from IFES Interaction.

We're looking forward to the next few months.....stay tuned for more adventures!.....the Livos :-)

Winter sights

It's been our first winter living in the snow. ....that's if frosty mornings in Canberra don't count! :-P

We quickly realised our Melbourne coats wouldn't be sufficient here, and that a variety of boots are needed if you want to: a) keep your feet warm, b) keep your feet dry, and c) not fall over on the icy footpaths!

The snow makes everything look absolutely beautiful, but is not quite so romantic when it becomes grey slush.  Here are a few photos we've taken over the past month or so:

 Taken in Fribourg, Switzerland.

 The view from our balcony - at the closest zoom our camera could get! It looks a very long way off to us. You can see the cathedral to the left of the picture. The mountains are rarely visible at the moment, due to all the cloud cover. 

 Bikes in Geneva! Fancy a ride?? 

 Andrew at the GBEU shack with a recent graduate. Enjoying a well-earned fondue lunch after doing some maintenance work to get rid of bed bugs!

 Couldn't resist taking this - a photo in our local paper. :)

 Fribourg, where we went for a meeting with Esther, who oversees the International Student Ministry in German-speaking Switzerland. 

 The Reformation Wall in Geneva - the Reformers are looking a little chilly!

 Turning around from the wall....this is the park, part of the grounds of Geneva University. It looked very different when we were here in summer. :-)

 Waiting for a train at Renens station - our local. 

 A view from our kitchen window. Brrrrrr!

 Above the old city in Lausanne is a large park. This is the view that greeted us after our climb through the snow. 

 There are no children playing in the playground.....? 

A street view in Lausanne old city.