in bø now with a team. been a good week. a family gave us 2000 kroner to go out and eat so tonight it´s pizza buffet.
sufjan is coming to town on tuesday... perhaps it will be a celebration for a job well done on yet another norwegian test? we´ll wait and see.
when i get home i´ll write more about london. it was fabulous (except for the hostel which was quite ghetto)! for pics you can check out kristin and ruth silje´s blogs to the right.

the one on the left is mine. hands off, ruthie!

i couldn't help myself. i downloaded sufjan stevens new christmas music and i've listened to it every morning on my way to work. christmas is officially here (although no one else agrees). the day i need to begin wearing my winter coat and gloves constitutes a little cheering up and christmas music + sufjan does just that. if i can't control the weather, i can at least control the music.

new news

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: