WHY STAND SIT DOWN?

                                                WHY WOULD I SIT DOWN?

Why stand still when I can be constantly moving, every second, never staying in one place for longer than a week? This is how I’ve felt for the past 2 months and honestly… I LOVE IT. The summer started with returning from Norway (it was really hard to leave) but I was soon joined by two of my very good friends from good old Scandinavia. Since it was there first trip to the states it was only right to set off on an epic all-American road trip. So we set off on a monster of a drive. We were blessed with no real road-blocks (metaphorically speaking not literally because there was a lot of road work). We made it to Colorado for 4th of July weekend where we saw and awesome outdoor concert, rode up the sides of mountains and hung out with my amazing cousin Jim and his dog. Then we crammed back into the civic and headed to Fort Worth Texas where met up with some of the most amazing people. An old friend from my DTS, family and new friends that feel like family. One of the best road trips I’ve had in a very long time.

So just a week after getting back to Fayetteville, The Nord friends were heading back home and me and the family were off to Mexico. Coming to Mexico always feels like going to my second home. I know every twist and turn of the drive down to Ensenada and they feel great. We were joined by great friends and a church team from LA who pitched in to help us build a wonderful grey and green house for an amazing family. I’ve built a lot of houses and you rarely see a family that is so involved in the construction of the house as this one was. The mom, the dad, the kids, and family friends came over to help up paint and nail. It was amazing to watch how much this family appreciated what we were doing. Now building a house is always a humbling thing and lots of hard work as well. We build these houses to help but we also build them in remembrance of Olivia. Its never easy. But we all love doing it, and its wonderful to see the results when its done.

So Mom, Naomi and Hannah have left Mexico leaving just Dad and me. This week has been intense, having a huge team from England here for Mission Adventures. I’m hoping to make to some of contacts for the Project I have going for the 2012 Olympics and hopefully l will have some bites and they will want to know more. Please pray for boldness and soft hearts. It’s going to be good.

Hope

                                                   The trees, the bees and home


l have traveled the world and l can honestly say that my favorite place in the summer is Fayetteville Arkansas.Everything is green and blooming and the sun is shining....HARD. But as good as home feels, leaving Norway was one of the hardest things l have ever had to do. Getting on the train at 4 in the morning and hugging 2 of my best friends goodbye was something that l never want to do again. But there is always a silver lining.

Being back home is weird but really relaxing. Its so wonderful to be close to my family, church family, my family of friends and even some of my family from Norway has stopped by. Two good friends, Hannah and Johanna, from Norway are now visiting the good ole U S of A and l am having a jolly good time showing them the sites. We head out on June 30th for Colorado and after that its time for the southern tour. We are going to hit up Austin, Dallas and Houston for a grand time. I cant even explain how nice it is to have them here.

This summer is all about figuring stuff out. My time in Norway was life changing to say the least but where do l take that? While l was up there working in the studio l really felt like God was giving me a growing passion for music and music production. Its a field that l want to work in forever. So I’ve been looking into schools and programs for Audio production. The best option seems to be Studio 501, a 6 month program for studio production at the YWAM base in Montana. Its perfect and l really feel like its where God wants me to make my next steps. But as everything is, this is much for easy to say than really do. Im still working on paying off some bills in Norway before l do anything else but I know I know I know that I plan on working hard and trusting God will provide a way.

Thanks so much for everyones warm welcome back to fayetteville. Hope everyone is enjoying these very very warm days that we are having. Grab some friends and go out to the river.

GRADUATION SITUATION

Its graduation season. The time where you stare at the clock but in your head you are imaging a scene from a bad movie where the bell rings and suddenly your text book and notes fly off your desk into the air and burst into flames. It was this week that the DTS students got the chance to invite there families to the base and share all of there amazing experience. But it was OK because nothing caught on fire.

Growing up in YWAM I’ve been to A LOT of these graduations. You come to expect certain things. Lots of tears held back and lots of tears flowing. Lots of testimonies and pats on the back, thank yous and goodbyes. To be honest when you go to so many of things like this you tend to be a little numb to the overall emotional aspect of it. But l feel this is one of the biggest areas I’ve grown it. I used to be so good at saying goodbye and then just moving on and trying not to let myself feel anything. But being here has really softened my heart. When l was in that room, watching all of these student l had watch grow and change right before my eyes, I felt, well, proud. Proud and honored to be there and have played a part in their journey. These last nine months have really shaken some of them to their very core yet they came out the victors. It was a sad goodbye but a great goodbye. I know they all have made an impact on my walk and l can’t wait to see how they are going to take what they have learned and use it to influence and enhance many other lives.


In other news, ITS PRACTICAL WORK ON BASE WEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK. (We always have one of these to clean up and repair after a class graduates). This means lots of painting, scraping, nail hitting, screw screwing and sweat (hopefully not blood, but I’m not the best example of safety).


Congrats to Hannah Ray for graduating Fayetteville High School. And for anyone who has been affected by the devastation in Joplin, just know that you have a huge group of Nords praying for you. You are in our hearts and minds.

Have a good one guys
Hope

The art of busking

Checklist for a Skien, Norway Street Musician

Gather necessary things:
 

A partner: you need another person with you, cause plain and simple its way more fun to a have partner in crime.
 

A sign: my sign simply says “help us pay our bills”. It’s a good conversation starter. When people read it the start asking questions like “Where are you from?”, “Why is this in English?”, “What the heck are you doing in Norway?” and “What are bills?”.
 

An instrument: in fact, the more the better. We went out one night with a snare drum, a banjo, a guitar, harmonica, jaw harp and mandolin and l can’t even begin to tell you how much fun that was. I would like to say that when we play with all this stuff that the heavens open and a chorus of admiration rains down upon us, but this is not so. Its hard to sound good with three of us, but man, we try and its fun.

What to expect while playing:
 

Music you don’t like: In my opinion great songs are full of artist value, good lyrics, really pretty instrumental parts and an honest message. Most people want none of it. We will be out there really putting out hearts into a good song and someone will drunkenly yell “Play Bon Jovi!, No wait, play Metalica!, No wait play some other crappy song”. I find this to be a strange mentality. We do our best to learn the songs like “Living on a Prayer” and “Wonderwall” but there are only so many Shakira impressions we can do before l wanna rip my hair out. But it is nice to know that they are listening and feel comfortable enough to come and talk to us. Whatever it takes to start a conversation, right?
 

Rolling money: Its a world wide fact that drunk people are not the best basketball players. This is not limited to throwing a ball threw a hoop but also trying to toss a coin into a guitar case from across the street. I have had to play the guitar while running down the hill chasing a coin that went rouge and tried to be free of the cruel world it thinks it lives in. Good cardio at least.
 

Regulars:These guys are so much fun. I don’t want to pump up my own ego but we do have fans. People who are out every Friday and Saturday night and come up and dance and sing really loudly with us. Making these relationships is the real reason we keep coming out.
 

What difference does it make?
 

Know your city: The city that l live in , Skien, is generally know throughout norway as one of the worst. Studies have shown that Skien has some of the highest crime rates, most drug addicts and just general unemployment in all of norway. Is this supposes to scare us? what iv found while just playing outside on fridays and saturdays is yes there is alot of stuff going on around us but these are just people. People who need a smile on there face and a place to just stand and listen or talk. We have never been threatened or anything of that nature. I feel like people in the city who know us find it very peaceful to just hangout and listen to music. Which might be a nice change for them.
 

Know your friends: One thing that going out has taught me would be that when you have a crazy idea, there is always someone who will do it with you. I mean when l first thought of just playing on the street l did not want to go alone. I mean really what fun is that? But l found that there were a handful of people who were more than happy to help out in going out. Iv been lucky enough to have friends around me who are talented and just as c around strangers as I am.
 

Whats the effect: People like safe. By us just being out on the street, on their levels, we are able to create a sort of safe circle. But its not just us, its God. I would not be as bold if l did not know that he was right there strumming a tune with us. Busking is a great hobby for anyone and a great way to meet people. I cant say that ill be giving it up anytime soon.

Have a good one guys

BACK and then gone and then BACK

                            This is a Picture of me in latvia....its a cold country ok.


If not sleeping was a sport (which I’m pretty sure it is somewhere) then l am on track to win a gold medal. After a very long flight and then a very, very long train ride, l arrived back in the land of the Nords. It was a really nice and relaxed homecoming. What l did not enjoy trying to stay awake ‘til the night to try and get my sleep pattern back on track but a girls gotta do what a girl has gotta do.

While the homecoming was nice and relaxed, warm it wasn’t. Turned out that the power cord that goes to my trailer house was caked with about 5 inches of solid ice and somewhere in that mess was a rip in the cord, giving me a chilled ice box of a home. So now l find myself living inside, which I’m sure my mother is happy about, and I gotta say I’m enjoying the comforts of having a sink right outside the door...ohhh the little things.

It was not a long stay in Norway though but a rather busy one as we prepared to head off to Latvia. We started by loading a semi-truck with tons and tons and tons of clothes and food and even a random piano that someone donated. Upon arriving in Latvia we joined over 250 other people from 12 different nations. We were all sharing the floor of a gym hall for sleeping and prepping the donations.



I cannot even start to tell you of the amazing time l had. All together we packed up and handed out over 1000 food bags and served about 2000 people with clothes, all in a matter of 4 days. It was extremely busy and tiring to the bone. It was one of those trips that mussels that you didn’t even know you had sore.

I came out of it thinking that this is what l want to do with the rest of my life. It is rare that you find yourself working on something and then you get to see the results of that work so fast. Honestly it was one of the best experiences of my life. Since I don’t have room for much more in this post, et me share a few keywords that all lead to stories I wish I could tell; 103 year old woman, Pasta Queen, Orange Work Shorts Cape and Latvians drink ALOT of coffee.

I wish l had the time to sit down with each one of you and convince you to come with me next year to Latvia, cause it will change your life. We are back in Norway now in full swing again trying to get this darn DTS ready for outreach. They head out soon. Maybe by then the ice will melt and I can get the power back to my trailer.

Snow and Stuff and Snow

Right now I am sitting in Fayetteville Arkansas, in a coffee shop, while looking at the snow outside thinking “man this place feels a lot like Norway”. I think almost everyone in the world loves to be home but there is a difference between being at home and being stuck at home. Right now I am a little stuck, at least I am stuck ‘til my application for a new passport goes through. 


I had a wonderful Christmas with my family (minus the major travel delays) and a great New Years dancing around with my good friends. While I am in America l am trying to make the best of it (I mean I am pretty sure the second l landed l was in the drive thru of the glorious taco bell MMMmMmmM can’t get enough of that stuff.) Last week Dad and I drove down to Texas and time with more of my amazing family. It’s been so wonderful to be around my church family and my friends as well, but I can’t wait to get back to Norway.


 God has been providing everything l need while I am back in the states, but there are still some challenges. I am trying to visit everyone l can while l have my time here, but lets keep praying hard that the darn passport gets here a bit quicker. I hope everyone has a good Christmas and god bless.

AN AMERICAN HOLIDAY IN NORWAY

l think back on the Thanksgivings spent at home and how l used to think "man that took allot of work" and "GGAAA I’ve been in the kitchen for so long". 

Well that was nothing compared to cooking a meal for 60 people in a country that does not cater to the original Thanksgiving type meals or the holiday in general. Let’s just say 7 turkeys, 3 massive pies, 2 catering trays of stuffing, 2 huge green bean casseroles and 2 days of prepping, cooking and cleaning later it was finished. For some people attending the meal it was the 1st time they had ever had thanksgiving food and or been around the holiday. In spite of all the work (or maybe because of it) it was fun to watch the Norwegians oggle the green beans with slight suspicion but go on to try it, eyes lighting up with a  look that said “YUMMMMMM!!!!!”. 

l cant say that l didn’t miss my family on this day but cooking in the kitchen with the other handful of Americans living here and bringing out steaming pots and pans of food was a new experience and really fun. Thanks to everyone who sent stuff to make it happen. We could not have done it without you.

But after the the meal there was no weekend of football and naps. We were quickly invaded a team of 22 Danish kids, ages 12-15, who came to Skien and took the place over as part of a Mission Adventures program. They don’t celebrate Thanksgiving either. 

Hope thanksgiving was great for all of you. 

hope