it's a matter of things

how you look at it, matters.

when i am in the glass, drowning in the juice things seem different than when I am on the outside looking at the juices.

sometimes I feel like I am in the juice and its over my head.
i am usually there because I am an 'all or nothin' girl.
either in the juice or not. somehow through brutal punishment to myself.

i like to be drowning!

this clarity has come because i have an amazing relationship with William!

he is outside the glass.

that helps.

Fiddlin' Around kind of

I have returned to Skien! The weekend was a nice trip away. I really can't believe that I quick went to England and found my sister there for a few days. I have been curious now as I am back why I did not miss more of what was happening here. There was no time to miss much. The trip was quick...but I had some great times. We ate at a great family's home on Sunday after church. Later that day we went down to The Beacon and I prepared for joining an Irish Band called Murphy's Law for a few songs. Here is a sample where the fiddle guy wanted to play fiddle not mandolin so we switched. I am on the mandolin and had never played it before. No one cared because first of all they could not hear us and secondly they had been drinking since noon. I guess the music was my style but nothing else. Needless to say we left after the bagpipes and the short drum lesson I got. Good times!!



This week Maria is gone and so Helga and I are thinking about what we are doing in our team. We are of course getting excited about the future and weeks ahead. I believe it is going to be fun to step out there and do some bigger things in churches and youth groups. I feel it is very humiliating to just go and do it on our own power so....we are praying GOD HELP US!

It's only a little over a month until Will comes to Norway! There are great things in store!

English Drop-Off

On Friday of this week I gathered a small bag's worth of personal items and headed off to the airport. Christa and I plan to be together in Scunthorpe for the long winter weekend. I have really looked forward to being with her since she has visited me in Norway already 3 different occasions and I have not paid her the favor back. I have heard some stories about her roommates and the kids at the school and I think the only way I can truly understand this time for her was if I came and experienced it myself. I was looking forward to a little vacation, but I had no idea that my travel would take a turn for the bizzare. My Ryan Air flight (which means cheap ticket fee=no leaning back chairs, in-flight service, or guarentee to the destination you booked for) was bound for Stansted London airport on Thursday night. I guess you can imagine what happened? Stansted was closed because of snow on the runway!! It's so bizzare. Christa said that all the other flights were landing in Stansted and it was just mine that was redirected. The guy on the intercom said...'we are sorry to say that we will be not landing here but going to Birmingham'. It seemed okay for me in a way because I was just taking a train, but you should have seen some of those grown men!!!! It was like they just got told they would not get chocolate after dinner. I wonder sometimes at the age of maturity. I think maturity is truly in knowing and living like Jesus. I could definetly see that these people lacked peace. It was a bit troubling to see...but confirmed in me that I could handle it with the help of the Holy Sprit. It's so wonderful when I find myself in those situations to just say, 'Ok Holy Spirit, what are you going to do now?' I get my heart, eyes, and ears ready to receive the provision. Of course it came...without fear I asked a girl if I could borrow her phone. It seems when tragedy strikes (not too tragic) then people gather a bit of community. She said OF COURSE, understanding this horrible situation. Christa was thrown off a bit, but i guess they were driving to pick me up in another town altogether. We landed and I had the most peace I had ever had. Where do I go Holy Spirit? How will I get there? While many other people were running around with thier heads cut off. I had a thought though...what if all the airports closed because of the snow. Would an airpland that needed to land just fly around until it was out of gas??? I am glad I thought of that while I wandered the airport alone--not in the air.

Getting on a train seemed to be a challenge because I had NO idea where I was going. But never fear I grabbed a map and thought OK....where can I go that is close to Christa? I felt a gentleness come over me when I talked to the train ticket lady. She helped me, I paid. I ran to the train and the one I should ride DEPARTED! I gently ran back upstairs...she would remember me of course. I talked to the other lady and descirbed my situation and WOW she was so helpful. The ladies reminded me of two desk clerks at the Waldhotel in our Christmas in Germany. They were both searching the tickets for which one would be best, the blonde one got out a huge map and began flipping through it to see where I should go...THEY REALLY WANTED TO HELP ME. It was just about closing time so I would imagine they were annoyed, tired, finished....but they were so kind like they got a fresh wind of energy to see me through. 'You should call your sister and ask her where to come.' I did not have a phone either.....did I say that? Yeah, This incredible peace remained especially because I had no communication item with me. I told her that I was unable to....she said 'Come around that wall and in here you can use our phone.' WHAT!!! So much favor from the Holy Spirit. At this point I had not used a single dollar more than i would have. We worked out the details and the cost of the departed train was put back on my credit card and the one I should now take to Nottingham was much cheaper. HALLELUIAH. So all in all I got on the train, borrowed another phone, rode for and hour or so on the slowest train ever, and then found Christa! I felt like I was dropped from the sky into a random place and THEN I saw my sister. A very strange feeling, but welcome because it was a joyful reuniting as always.

I went to Christa's classroom and it was like I was Hannah Montana or something. They all crowded around me and asked a million questions. Christa had prepped them for my visit and I guess she did a very good job with making me sound FANTASTIC! I hardly spoke a word in the class and it was bringing this spinning energy just by me being there. Some boys were arguing who would come and ask me a question...Christa said it was funny to see her kids like that. We sang a song together for them and we got the biggest and loudest cheer ever. I thought about doing Hey Away Away....but there might have been a heartattack in the room from the excitement. I felt like if I gave effort to speak, smile, or even something surprising...it would put them over the edge with glee. So for a half an hour I was a movie star signing autographs in a 4th grade class in the ghetto school of Crosby Primary. Hey, there is nothing wrong with that!


The time of teaching is finishing for Christa and her other cohorts here. Many of the people in this 'mixed' community are leaving soon. They are a part of a teaching program which gets them substitute teaching jobs for 6 months. I think the most interesting part about it is how dominant thier lives can be to Christa. I mean Christa is a hard core believer and in this group, there is not much of that happening. I can feel it when I am here too...the presence of lies. I mean dont get me wrong of course these people are nice, but when I can see and hear the lies coming streaming out of thier mouths and in thier actions I am doubly convinced of the enemies joy. My heart breaks for those who are not necessarily 'bad' people but who are so far from understanding the heart of the heavely Father. I can feel the dominance of lies and darkness as it is more appropriate to talk about drinking and shallow things before letting a depth and truth come forward. It is interesting. Just merely experiencing that group made me an intercessor. I could enjoy them normally, but my heart broke for them too. But I wonder how someone can actually seem very happy...very content in lies---and making bad choices constantly? Is it temporary? Is God's grace even bigger than I imagined?



It is good to be with my sister again. It seems like we just have to get together in order to talk. I have been so occupied in the last weeks. But it is always easy to be with her-and she is always ready to share her life with me. She has decided to come back to Norway when mom and dad are coming in order to visit me and help me move home. What a blessing. In the next days here in England will be filled with shopping a bit in York, perhaps playing piano and singing in church tomorrow and eating at a lady's house. THEN....I was asked by a man who ate with us at the restaurant to come and be a part of his Irish Acoustic Band on Sunday night. He will find a fiddle for me and I can join!!!!!!! I don't know Irish fiddle but I have a feeling if I can join them that I will learn FIRST HAND! I am really thrilled. Monday...I will travel again back to Norway.

So many exciting and challenging things that the Holy Spirit is always in charge of. I am glad He is doing it and not me. I can experience His love and love others with its depth and that my friends is the best thing I could live my life for. Amen.

homecoming

My Skien team and I had a breakthrough involving forgiveness and tears which always paves a way to see where God is taking us. I am so glad. We changed our department name from being the WORSHIP TEAM to being the CREATIVE TEAM. Nothing against worship...but we felt sort of limited in our own perspectives and especially in the perspective of the mission calling. We can surely be creative everywhere and worship while doing it.

Homecoming

Erika & Anne Randi (DTS Roommates in 2006)

Last weekend we invited about 30 guests to come and reunite with us from years past. My good friend Anne Randi was amongst them. She had just had a surgery to put a metal rod in her back because of scoliosis. She looked very good....and seemed taller too. I cant imagine having that surgery either. yikes. There was also a volleyball tournement amongst us here at the reunion. I was on a vibrant team called 'Pretty Awesome'. We played well and got second place. I sprained my ankle in the first game. That is a pretty awesome thing to do. I was forced to relax, to sit back and not join in the worship band---and it was pretty awesome. Someone was praying for my ankle because the next day it was healed! Go God! The reunion was the beginning of new anticipations for me and my team. We will plan a tour to the west coast of Norway and my contact people in whom I am in charge of contacting were here in Skien. I got to talk face to face about us coming and it just started a burst of energy to spin in me. It's going to be wonderful to be with my team on the road and to be with WILLIAM!

A Christa Sista Celebration

We wore orange on Feb 5 for Christa's Birthday. I will fly to England on Thursday to see her for the weekend. I am so excited!

Wellspring on tour!




The new band in town. The group formerly known as 'The Turtles' gets a new name. We are now Wellspring. The concert was fun and went well. We are more encouraged as a team. Amen.


The trumpet was found! This boy lost his trumpet in Skien at our base two months ago. We didn't know whose it was of course and Maria started to play it. It was great to have the new instrument with us. THEN....we come to Seljord and the owner of the trumpet is there. He has been praying that it would come back to him. His aunt bought it for 20,000 Kr. God really showed His character to him personally when we OUT OF NO WHERE brought it back to him. It was nice to be the messenger. But now we are out of a trumpet. So....pray that we can have one now too.