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girl's night

ragnhild and i in the wilderness

my roomates: ruth silje and kristin

i'm going to london! on a whim, i decided to check plane tickets to london for our fall break. i found tickets for $30US, so my roomies and i are planning a fun-filled, starbucks-drinking, shop-til-we-drop, photo-taking time. the thought of this is keeping me sane. i already have the three days planned. there's a great two-story borders near charing cross and i'm hoping it will rain one afternoon so i have an excuse to sit and read magazines and drink an extra hot gingerbread latte.
life is filled with dts/norwegian course and nothing else, so last night our apartment decided to have a roomate night. we ate lots of chocolate, lit candles, and just had a cosy time. someone prayed over me a few weeks ago and said that my life will sometimes feel like it is constantly changing, but that's okay because i have been given the gift of contentment. i think that's true. i'm content. my ipod and trusty ol' dell computer are the only things i own and i've made a life for myself here in norway. i'm learning who i am in Christ and i don't need much else. it's a nice feeling.

i don't even know where to begin. we've started dts, i'm taking a norwegian course two nights a week, one of my best friends just had a baby (matteo), we just finished a wilderness trip. so much is happening, so quickly.
two of the girls from the outreach to botswana came back to skien to visit. it was so good to see them. we had a little team reunion and watched a video of the outreach. reminiscing really made me begin to think. i had a very difficult time on the trip and afterwards i swore i would not go on outreach this next year. the team was good, the ministry was good, everything exceeded expectations, but in my mind i was done for a while. i didn't think i could do it again. this morning i sat out on a large rock jutting out into a lake and thought... a lot. i began reading this: "when God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, 'I will surely bless you and give you many descendants. and so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised... we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. it enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus who went before us, has entered on our behalf..." Hebrews 6.13-15,19-20a
i knew God was speaking as i read this and also knew He meant a couple others to see these verses. as i began reading these verses to them, i just began crying. Abraham waited patiently. he didn't just wait... he waited patiently. there is hope because God has sworn and promised. the hope of this is an anchor for the soul. i need an anchor for my soul. everything changes so quickly and i have so little control over what really happens in my life and i need those promises from God. He redeemed my doubts during outreach, doubts that i could be used in weakness. because of Him i have hope. that overwhelms my every thought. wait patiently for Him to do His work. hope.

pictures from polska land

(l to r) partaking of a fresh donut, walking street in g'dansk's old city, world's best tiramisu, ruthie checking out the fruit, the harbor.



sitting here on the sofa, listening to the cranberries and sniffling. i feel a cold coming on. i was only able to sleep 4 hours last night, the throat is tightening, it's a bit hard to swallow, the nose is both running and stopped up at the same time.
now that i have your attention, here are pictures from poland:

kittles and tidbits

books highly recommended:
"Shopaholic Takes Manhattan" by Sophie Kinsella
"Abba's Child" by Brennan Manning
"To Own a Dragon" by Donald Miller
"The Great Divorce" by C.S. Lewis

yesterday i went to the library to look at the ever popular range of VHS movies (i walked away with "The Graduate," "Snow Falling on Cedars," and one of my favorites "Dead Poet's Society"). i then decided to mosey back to the english section and picked up three books, one of them being "Shopaholic Takes Manhattan." i read all 323 pages last night. a great, mindless read.

i'm going to a sufjan stevens concert november 12th!! i've never been to a "real" concert (cafe shows and carmen's 1989 "radically saved" tour don't count) and my prayer is that my good friend sufjan would enjoy the presence of a fellow american backstage. i'm quite excited - it will be a fun-filled night in the city (oslo) with friends and good music.

and the last little tidbit of news... i am taking a norwegian test on monday to see where i should be placed in a class. i'm quite scared. i've been here for two years (actually, only 16 months if i'm quite anal about it) and let's just say that i don't wow anyone with my communication skills. i've been taught and have taught that language should be first priority when going to a country and i have sadly pushed that in the back of my mind when i realized that most people speak english and realized how difficult it really is. it didn't help that one of the first phrases someone taught me was the equivalent to "i pooped my pants," telling me it meant "i am beautiful." i was later taught the F-bomb, thinking it was how to say "fantastic. oh well, i guess i have the next 9 months to redeem all that.

check this out: written by yours truly.

i'm at grimerud, the main base for ywam norway. we've had our national conference and now we're in the middle of dts training. i haven't heard much new info or wisdom, but today i went to a seminar about calling/mission statements. i left quite provoked. maybe it's normal to ask yourself, "am i really where God wants me? am i in His will?" but at this point in my life, those questions take my breath away. i get this sense that something new is right around the corner and it scares me. i can't remember ever feeling this unsettled. am i the only 20-something who feels this way? i came to norway sure of the calling on my life, and after 2 years of being surrounded by mostly those who are still searching i find myself questioning and wondering if i've been as pro-active as i should have been in living out my call.

in this seminar we went through the Bible and looked at Moses, Joseph, John the Baptist. do you realize that John the Baptist spent his entire life preparing for only 6 months of ministry? imagine that Joseph's family hated him, sold him into slavery, he was unjustly accused, thrown into prison, forgotten, but he passed the test and was used mightily of God. it doesn't seem that being in the center of God's will always be easy. crap. but i can honestly say that i would never trade being in God's will for an "easy" lifestyle (even if that lifestyle included daily non-fat, extra hot gingerbread lattes from starbucks). it just wouldn't be worth it in the end.