life is a peach!

this week has been filled with adventure and it is only Monday evening. I love to be here in Iowa...reuniting with friends of college days and good old Orange City townfolk. Sunday night I gave a 45 minute presentation on Norway and my experience in missions. God filled me with a wonderful peace that just melted my heart all the way through the program. Afterwards I was able to talk to some who came and even met a NW Iowa woman who has been in Figi and Samoa in YWAM in her 20's. I didn't know they existed here. Cool! After after after that I walked with Tracy and her tall, dark, and deep husband to Dianne's house for round one of Sunday evening desserts--homemade popcorn. We walked to my house (just around the block) for Sunday Sundaes on the patio. What a life it is to enjoy ice cream with friends and misquitoes!

Tracy and I are finally back together after 9 long months apart!



Domestic Endeavor for the day: Canning Peaches
It's me and I am looking more 26 1/2 every day!

The travel turtles made a really good outline for my presentation on Norway and missions. I used some pictures I had taken of them around Europe and the States---and shared about fellowship with God and fellowship with each other. One man thought the turtles would be as big as your hand....because I took really close up pictures so the proportion looked off. When I took them off to show him he gasped....'what?? they are so small'


This is CaPo from Hong Kong. She was really curious about these turtles at the service. She had us come for dinner tonight and find out more. Now these little guys (made in China) have been held by a native to thier birth place. Does that mean I can count it on my travel turtle atlas log?
TOmorrow is art day with Matt Kunnari and more weeds at Pumpkinland with Poncho. I love my life....it is a peach!

God loves me

amen.

The Backyard Bible Xploration Song 'This is Why I Worship You' sung by Lillian & Josiah Hydeen


Andrea, don't give me a 'look' when you get this song stuck in your head for another week!
Also, enjoy the video link I have placed on the side. You can see any videos I have uploaded to YouTube at any click!

1/2 birthday joyfulness

NORWEGIAN LIPS!

Today is my 26th 1/2 birthday. I have decided to celebrate by sleeping in until 8 am. what has this last 1/2 year brought? SO MUCH that I have to think about it more.

I then spent a large chunk of the morning/afternoon talking with Cindy Strickland. I learn so much from her and it is so special to get to know Will's mom even before I have met her face to face. she is walking me through Biblical Foundations of Freedom....getting free from disappointment, fears, shame, and other crap that holds me down. It's really a special relationship that I have never had with another mentor before...it being so specific in its task--yet we find ourselves chatting too---a bit of 'get to know you' at the same time. It's awesome.

I am grateful that the Lord has me here in Orange City as well. I love being home although it is so different that being in Norway. I am living in a community of summer life, babysitting kids,

nieces and nephew, and lots of food. My mom is awesome cause she buys us all the vegetables we could ever want and know how to eat in a short time. We get to see Steve and Andrea and their whole family quite a lot and that is so fun! I love those guys and don't realize how much I missed out on....but get to spend all the time I can now.

I AM LUCKY!

Last night we did back rubs and ate left over birthday cake
(pre 1/2 birthday cake...post Brielle's 1st birthday cake)

These are good times...relaxed and enjoyable.

Christa will leave for Honduras very soon so we called last week 'Sister Week'. We picked weeds at the Pumpkinland, figured out the time clock mystery (that seems to be not so mysterious to anyone else...or no one really cares but us), played games, and finished by biking 17 miles in Sioux Falls then watching My Sister's Keeper at the Sheldon theater.

Yeah for Sister Week!!

Here is a photo of my handsome Denver man....just to keep things fresh!
See you in a couple weeks!!! YES!

So....now I will study a bit in the Word.....and get more free from fears and disappointments that torment me and really don't have the right to...ha. It sounds like a nice afternoon activity.
Later I'll eat stroganoff and then help paint a garage for some of my friends in town, maybe ride my bike, and pick weeds.........

but first.


freedom in Jesus' name through Jesus' blood.

nerdy weed pickers

i am a nerd. and my sister is too--let me tell you why.

So we are employed at a farm just outside of Orange City called PUMPKINLAND! (Anne Randi...that was for you!) At this farm we are asked to pick the weeds that have grown up between the precious pumpkin plants. Christa has worked here last year quite a lot so she is sort of a self proclaimed site manager. It is just her and me so she is keeping me in line. She makes me do the weeds around the plants because she is irritated by the juice that emits from the pumpkin leaves. She is the weed nazi and the math wizz!

Ever since we started working there on Monday we have been on a search to solve a little algebra problem. We are both well out of our high school algebra days but we had a problem and we had to try to figure out the answer. So as we picked weeds we brainstormed, used her phone as a calculator, and dreamed up solutions to our curiosity.

Here is the senario that we spent many hours pondering.

So everyday when we come into the barn we CLOCK IN on the punch clock on the wall. We notice that the time clock sometimes says numbers that are not 'really' the time and that caught our attention. Us being equally and most intensely curious we wondered how that could be and perhaps it had something to do with our paycheck?? Maybe the punch clock is run on a 100 minute hour which would mean we would get paid a little over half of what we thought! OH NO! I have never heard of a 100 min hour....but it could be. No it can't be that....it has to be an hour otherwise the whole system would be screwed up just after midnight everyday....you see the punch clock turned 9:00 exactly when the wrist watch did. So we figured there must be a pattern to the strangeness. For example, we clock in at 8:06am and the punch card says 8.10. So how could it be off already?

Ok....so this is what we came up with. The punch clock runs on a digital 100 cycle. It also has a clock on it which tells the correct time on a digital 60 cycle (like normal). So how can 100 and 60 work together? How can I manage to punch in at 8:98 and someone is able to understand that??
Christa and I talked it through and presented ideas for dividing this and that....and finding the difference here and there. Tonight was our crowning moment when we tried making a line graph to measure the ticks (of the punch clock) compared to the minutes in an hour. To tell you the truth, we had the answer to our questions a long time before we understood it. Christa somehow got an answer of .36 or what we thought could be 36 sec=1 tic. That was a fluke.....but it was also our solution. The punch clock ticks every 36 seconds so that it can make it to the 100 mark at the same time as the minutes get to the 60 mark. WOW....as I tell this I just feel smart for working on this nerdy math problem and getting so much joy out of it!!

As I look at it now......in hind sight....we could have taken the ratio 100:60 and then found the highest common number. That would be 20. Take 100 / 20 and you get 5. Take 60 / 20 and you get 3. The ratio of ticks per minute is 5:3!!
We did not just find this answer....oh no...we did the line graph. I made the x axis and the y-axis and I put dots on the graph going up every .36 seconds from zero. We saw a pattern come forth when at 5 ticks.....it was 3 minutes. Christa freaked out and said....WAIT! There is something here.......and then we had it. That was it.....we got the pattern and now the mystery is solved.

The punch clock ticks every 36 seconds that way it can get to 100 by the time the clock gets to 60. We made a chart of numbers and dots...we think it will help us. (no....it's purely nerdy)

So if you want to do some math yourself just take the ratio equation 5:3=ticks:min.
you have to cross multiply. it is hard to express this on the computer but put 5ticks on top of 3minutes like a fraction and set that equalling the ticks your punch card said over the time in minutes. x is the number you are trying to find. you multiply across and opposite then divide.

EXAMPLE PROBLEMS:
1. Christa punches the card at 8.98 what time did she clock in?
You would take 5/3=(98 ticks)/x
WHAT IS X?
so since '5' and '98' are the same units you do not multiply or divide them together. you are trying to find x....which is minutes. you multiply 98 by 3 (across the equal sign and down (opposite)) and then you divide by 5.
X=58.5min
Christa punched in at 8.98 but the time was 8:58(.5sec)am

2. Erika is on her bike going home after work...she forgot to punch out for the day so she looks at her watch and sees it is 9:34pm. What number will she put on the card the next day...in order to be correct?
5ticks/3min= x ticks/34min what is x?
x=
(if you can figure it out....please post a comment)


THIS NEXT PROBLEM IS AN ACTUAL SENARIO:
3. Erika is going to participate in a missions debriefing program in Colorado Springs at the end of August. This program will be good for her to respond and move forward after spending 3 years in Norway. The program cost $745 dollars. $150 of the total has been taken care of by anonymous givers but that leaves $595 to raise. She gets paid $9 an hour to pick weeds and do math in the fields. If she rides her bike it is 3 miles out to Pumpkinland from her house.
1.How many hours does she have to work per day to spread it out before Aug 7?
2.How much money does she earn per tick?
3.How many miles does she rack up from riding her bike to work and back?


thank you for enjoying yet another educational blog by yours truly.
my cold sore is healing up incredibly.....and so is my heart!

goodnight!

rika

cold sore devotional

God is good! I wanted to start this blog with that statement because sometimes what I write here in this space is not entirely clear and complete for how I am doing. I am great. I have struggled to get used to the life here in the USA---I needed some boosting that is for sure. but now...i am great and I can see clearer. when you ask, you will receive.

i am here in Orange City now after a weekend vacation in Wisconsin and the weekend before spent with my brother and his family near Omaha on the campground site 21 and 22. I will begin my biking adventure tomorrow. I will bike 3 miles...pick weeds at a pumpkin farm for 4 hours...then bike 3 miles home all before lunch. My sister Christa is getting ready to leave for Honduras to teach 2nd grade. Who would have known that the house I grew up in would be a mission send out base too. ha. so yeah, things are good on this end. they are a lot better since I have been spending time with Jesus.......duh!

Have you ever wondered what was missing in your life----why you are easily bothered, why things are overwhelming, why you have sadness, why you never seem to be able to communicate what you mean, and why you feel restlessly stuck inside of a body that doesn't portray who you really are inside? I have been there. I have recently discovered (or really just understood and I made a choice to be transformed) that everything starts to plummet when I live on my own strength. I lose respect, I have fear, I am trapped inside my emotions, and I have no hope.
If I don't live from the Source of life--met in the quietness and relationship with Jesus EVERYDAY I will eventually slowly fall apart. I need Him so much and I am thankful and willing to serve Him and be transformed into His likeness. get quiet...in your heart today.

:)

At this point i have decided to educate you on the life cycle of a cold sore.
(the photos included are not to gross you out---but to help. this is MY face you are seeing...not some creepy health book model. this is just a warning)

#1 LATENT
The cold sore is hiding in the nerve in the back of the jaw. the virus may "sleep" for weeks or years without incident. Your body's defense "soldiers" keep them in check. When there is stress your defenses may drop. Then the cold sore virus can escape and reproduce - beginning the active cold sore stages.
#2 PRODROME
The cold sore virus travels down your nerve fibers to the surface. This movement causes your cold sore target area to itch or tingle.
#3 INFLAMMATION
Your cold sore virus has now arrived at the surface and begins it's reproductive cycle by entering the cells at the end of the nerve. This causes a lot of swelling and redness.


It began when we were camping over 4th of July in Omaha...I felt the tingle and wondered if I would be getting 12 small zits in one place....that was a clue I guess.

#4 PRE-SORE
A full blown cold sore is not one big blister but a grouping of small blisters called vesicles--tiny, hard pimples or red bumps that are painfully sensitive to the touch.


I got one big red one first then some days later I recognized those vesicles near the corner...it was outbreak number 2! but notice how these cold sores NEVER touched my lips.

#5 OPEN SORE
The most painful and contagious time is when all the vesicles break open and merge to create one big open, weeping sore. The weeping fluid is teaming with newly born cold sore viruses. Touching this fluid, you could easily spread the cold sore virus to another part of your own body or to someone else.

#6 CRUSTING
It will develop a yellowish crust or scab as it begins to finally start the healing process.

eww! can you see in this photo that I had started yet another outbreak just under the nose and a dot in the nose corner? I finally went to Walgreens and got some topical medicine which was a relief! I am taking daily doses of L-Lysine for strengthening cologen in the skin.

#7 HEALING
Once scabbed over, it begins healing from the inside out as new skin forms under the crust.

after a sweaty bike ride I gently wiped my face and the scab fell off...wonderful! Number 3 up by the nose just turned into a golden orb with nothing inside and number 4 was scared to start growing so it quickly died.

#8 POST SCAB
Cold sores at this stage no longer have a visible cold sore scab and your skin has totally healed. Under your new skin, healing is still taking place as the destroyed cells are regenerated. This produces a red spot that may linger. You are STILL contagious until this red spot disappears.


i know it is a bit gross to read all of that...but interesting enough i hope.
it turns out the cold sores have a connections to fear, stress, and anxiety.
i have dealt with these connections strictly and don't see cold sores being a problem in my life much more.

i am thankful to God that he takes the ugly cold sores on my face, but also the grossness sleeping deep in my heart waiting to express its ugliness. Through His process and time...I am fully restored and healed. That which was destroyed is renewed and it's better.

do you get it?
hope so.

here and there.....where?

i have been trying to come up with a reason to update my blog for a week now. i guess I came up with a couple which kept me from doing it....obviously. i guess the whole jet lag excuse could work. i think the one involving the camera battery dying and the cord was in my big suitcase that didn't get unpacked could fly too (except I never leave my bags unpacked...it's a silly and stringent habit of mine). I guess the best excuse to not update my blog after a life changing event like 'LEAVING NORWAY' would be that I am not ready to respond to it yet. That is the one I will claim.

I have been home for a week and it hasn't hit me yet. really.

I have to admit that I have not been myself lately....my new and improved self that was found again during the last month of my time in Norway has again gone on a vacation from her strength to find transition and anticipation and stress a new hobby and occupation. I never gave myself permission to do that...but a fight or flight response is due in times of change. There are times when I want to be more of a fighter. When it comes to God's word, truth, and hope....I want to fight (but it is easy to flee). Sometimes it is easier to fight for the last word in a conversation just to prove that you were RIGHT. Sometimes it is easier to find the fault in someone's arguement than to just show mercy, love, and grace and move on....bringing each other forward. I find that as I come home to the states that the defenses I had up while I was there in Norway....are not as useful here. there are definetly different spiritual strongholds in each country and since I have spent my time letting the Holy Spirit build me in Norway....I have to be torn down again (in some aspects) so that I can be prepared and built up for the things that are happening here in the USA. I would love to flee from it all. If I were to be honest......and I am. I would love to communicate my heart-------but the doors to the house look different, don't have the same key hole or lock, and the knob isn't the same.

I guess it is pretty vague what I am describing here. Sorry. But then again I am not about to explain it in depth. I think what my friend Kate said was best 'I like that you think in pictures'. Thanks Kate....I do too. It's the only way I understand myself---glad that you understand as well. There are only a few that understand my picture talk....and those few humans on this earth have been given a supernatural gift of interpretation. Congratulations!

So here I am in Orange City and I am thinking about what I should do with my time. Will asks me if there was anything I just wished I had time to do....but didn't have time to do while in Norway. YES! There is always something I want to do when I don't have time to do it. But then again........what if you actually had time? What would I do? Would I spend my time doing random fill in jobs or would I focus my time and energy on getting refreshed and rested in God? I think I know my answer because my spirit is just crying out for rest. So then that is what I shall do here in Orange City. I will rest....and take advantage of this time.

My biggest prayer since I have come back would be to be like those the Lord delivered from bondage. It talks about them in Psalms 126:

When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like streams in the Negeb!
Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.

I want to dream again

I want to laugh again

I want to sing songs of joy again.

It's not happening now....but I believe it will come soon.

The tears that have been shed will not be wasted by God.

so....here's a toast to transitions and new seasons. drink up!!

last day in Norway

so...it is strange to say that today was the last day in Norway. I am not sure when I will be coming back to this nation-so it is safe to say goodbye.

our little family vacation is finally over. it has been long, good, but long enough and drawn out enough for me to just say.....AHH LET ME GO HOME! We have had a wonderful and relaxing time in Hamar with Anne Randi and the gang. The sun was shining just like a summer day should. I think it was the first and second warm day I have experienced.

but now, alas....we could play 10,000 more games of speed scrabble if we wished...but no we will go home. I have said that the feelings are mixed---and that is because of the people that I am leaving behind here. I am not mixed about leaving the place and the job for a while. I know that God is expanding my heart in a broader way...so I look forward to how that develops in the next months.

for now....just some airplanes more and I will finally see Andrea, Steve, Lillian, Josiah, and Brielle! AND TRACY!!!!!!

here are some photos of Norway's northern land:

the family up above gjerstad and the bay where we kayaked.
(sortlandsundet fjord)

the ever-so-famous jumping pictures---got to love them!


three kayaks on a misty sunday morning


don't we look like pros? it was so much fun...and meditative
I love kayaking!!

I will be on my way to the states by the time you read this.
wierd.

ha det bra,
erika

bergen...ålesund...and now the NORTH!

I tell you---this vacation with mom and dad and Christa just got a bit more crazy.

We have been enjoying the time in Bergen and in Ålesund since I last wrote a blog. It has been over a week since then. Yikes.

Bergen was great. We spent Sunday night until Thursday morning with Ragnhild and her family. They have a beautiful home and have such fun activities planned. We visited some outer islands, went to the city, ate lots of fish!!, and had a roommate date! I will miss those girls so much. I think it was the hardest goodbye.

It is wonderful to know that God has everything in His hands. We will meet again very soon! I love you Ragnhild and Helina!

Will left Tuesday for Ålesund to spend time with Erin and Caleb and to work on the Threshing Floor Music Project we started in May. They spent many many hours on the music and having a great time without me! Well well it is for the best.

Our family took the bus to Ålesund on Thursday. 10 hours! Yikes. It was worth it. The sights were great and we even rode 4 ferries over all the fjords. Gunhild was there to meet us at the bus station. She was our gracious host for the long one day and a half we were there. We probably did more in one day than anyone should. We took the train tour by Jan Honningdal around Ålesund first then I met up with these great kids...Erin, Caleb, and Irene! We had a grill out and then got to ride in a boat through the fjords in the late evening. The sun was setting and we were just cruising through the waves. It is pretty incredible I tell you.

Gunhild, Will, Christa, me, Erin, Irene, & Caleb outside of Lyspunktet in Ålesund

Now I am in the north. 3 flights later. Stokmarknes. It's an island. I might go kayaking in the fjord. you never know what we will eat either. nothing too scary.

tonight we will travel to see the midnight sun in a good spot at a nearby town. The sun makes a circle around the area...and never goes down. The 23rd of June is the longest day of the year and I think all of Norway throws a party. Huge bon fires and hot dogs will be grilled. We shall see what we do.

greetings from the Polar circle

leaving Skien---leaving Norway.

It's been a pretty sweet last couple of weeks here in Skien. I must say I have not had much time to reflect on what has been happening to me...but I do believe that the finish I SO wanted to go WELL....has gone well. I left Skien yesterday morning. I don't know when I will go back there anytime soon. It was a bit strange and sad at the same time. I tried to muscle up some emotion as I left the office building, but since I never really loved being in the office.....no tears came. But as I said goodbye one by one to the people I have been spending all my time with here...I noticed how I was feeling......sort of speechless. How can I sum up a year? How can I say to my friends all they have meant to me?

The Wellspring's last group photo. Bye girls, I love you!!
Thank you Frøydis for letting me use the Methodist Church to play piano and just be. You are a great friend and I will miss you alot!
How can I even know what they have meant for me when I am not sure yet...because of not being able to reflect. I started to cry when I hugged Hild Mari. She has been a great friend this year and I will truly miss her talks. She would let me ask her any question I ever would want to ask. I mean....really....any question!! :) Remember Lyndee and Kristin?? But as I packed up my bedroom and walked my stuff to the base before our morning train I just wondered...hmmm what has God done here in Skien? I know it has been quite a lot. I know that it has been significant that is for sure. I don't think I know yet. I am okay with that.

Mom, Dad, & Christa came on Wednesday and were as you can see very excited to get to Skien.

And we were very excited to leave Skien. Bye Bye!!!

Yesterday the train stopped in Ål and we got out to meet my mom's cousin Patty running towards us on the train platform. She was the most excited person I have seen yet in Norway. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that she is part Dutch and she is not from Norway originally. We stayed with Patty and her daughter Julianne up in her lovely home on the side of the mountain. We ate Norwegian meatballs and drank boxed wine and Hollingdal's beer! I mean this was a party!! ha. It was relaxing and that is what I have needed for so long. Just a relaxed night. We went to a little town gathering they were having which included showing lots of farm equipment, selling waffles, and listening to various music groups. We saw some Norwegians dance the Hollingsdanse....the regional dance of Hollingdal in which a Norwegian boy kicks a hat off a stick that is held up high in the air. All the while I froze and demanded to stay in the sunlight or I should surely turn into an icicle. Will is wondering if I have actually stayed in Norway longer than what was good for me....now I have very poor circulation and body temperature regulation. hmm.


This is Will with all of HIS luggage! Gosh....
Ok...that was a lie (he was afraid that people would think it was all of his--it's not)

So we hurried down the hill this morning to the train station where we threw all of our things onboard and rode from Ål to Bergen. It was about a 5 hour train ride over the most beautiful scenery sights in Norway. We are lucky! I like to think that the best thing about this trip is that after every place we visit the luggage slowly gets smaller and smaller. This is for a number of reasons. One, I am trying to lighten the load by getting rid of things along the way.
Here I am on the train--throwing away my nasty 'indoor/outdoor socks' (thanks to everyone who encouraged me to do so) and some other items that I just 'left' on the train. I also got rid of the shirt I was wearing later that day.

Here we are unpacking everything and sifting it through the 'Will Strickland Save it or Lose it' Test. I got rid of a 7th round of clothes and things. I know I have to get survival clothes when I come to the states again. And I still have a LOT of luggage waiting for me to pack into our stuff already in Hamar (thank you Anne Randi). Reason two, mom and dad are giving gifts to everyone they have been planning to stay with. Reason three, someone could potentially lose a bag because there are like 10 now...and what is one less, really?
So some advice to you who are really planning on traveling to Europe and through this place....pack light. There is no need to pack a new outfit for everyday. There are things that can work out much better when the load is light and you can just enjoy the surroundings.

Now we are in Bergen with Ragnhild and her family. The train ride was beautiful. Unfortunately mom dropped the video camera and it is now unusable. It is a sad situation. I think that we have enough video taking machines with us that it really might not matter. The Ferstad family is so great. Tonight we ate reindeer stew and then had homemade apple cake. I think our time here in Bergen will be wonderful. Tomorrow we will drive down to the sea and have a picnic on an island. In the evening we will say goodbye to Will as he will go to Ålesund two days before us. Tuesday we might hike up a mountain and Wednesday we will head out to the city center for a tourist visit. This will be the hard part of the trip....well at least one more. I have to say goodbye to my roommates Helina and Ragnhild. That is not fun. I love them so much and will miss them terribly! oi.

i read today in Psalms about boys growing like plants and girls being like pillars of the temple. I like that. I thought that boys would be the strong ones....but in this moment I realized that boys think they are supposed to be strong so they don't grow in thier hearts....in turn not doing what God intends. Girls are supposed to be strong and build the house (so to speak)....and not grow? well.....ok....I am still just pondering it. I don't think it was a specific role here being defined...I just think it was an invitation for a broader perspective of a role in our walk with God. Any other ideas?

Tonight we will go to the Old Town Bergen. You know that silly sun just stays up so long that we don't go to bed until like 1:00am. Just wait until the North of norway.....the sun never goes down! amazing!!!

adios!

mom and dad and Christa are coming to Skien in an hour. This week is the last week of work at YWAM Skien. It is so strange!! In two days we are going to go to Bergen...then on to Ålesund...then the NORTH....then to Hamar...then Oslo.....then IOWA.

I will never forget this time in my life.

And it is going so quickly!


more later,
erika