A week after stepping onto Norwegian soil, I got on the plane (yes, I know, not very ”global warming friendly”) heading north to YWAM Grimerud, the main YWAM base here in Norway, and the base I’m sent out from as a missionary. I had some wonderful days there participating in a national prayer conference. The conference was great and with nicely spaced out activities, so I finally managed to slow down the pace of life. It was lovely. I was also really amazed and blessed and overwhelmed by the kindness and love I felt from the people at the base. They have faithfully been standing with me in prayer, but I was really touched by so many of them welcoming me home and asking how I was doing. The time there made me feel so much more positive and excited about what lies ahead also. It seems like nothing is impossible for God, and I felt so safe in the trust that He has good things for me.
After a few days there I flew (I am a big climate polluter) back home. Since then my life has been quite uneventful really. I must admit it’s been really nice, although maybe a bit on the calm side. The other day I suddenly realised I don’t feel stressed. It was a strange realisation; as for so long stress has been normal. I have read several books, watched films, exercised, and contemplated life.
My first day at the gym was a huge disappointment. It made me cry. I set off full of energy and excitement to be able to do my favourite class “Body Combat”. Feeling a bit out of place in the cold climate, I though that this would be just the thing to make me feel a bit more settled. If that had only been the case. At the gym I chatted with the member advisor and signed up. Already quite overwhelmed by the Norwegian prices of things, I headed off down the stairs to the class. When I got there I was a bit puzzled as the door was closed, and it had a little red sign on it saying “class in action”. Hmmm…I looked around, but didn’t see anyone else who seemed to be waiting for the class, so I strolled back up the stairs to check what time it was. Surely enough, it was 2 minutes past starting time, so I gently, and slightly embarrassed, opened the door and snuck in. In Fortaleza the door was kept open (mainly so we didn’t suffocate from the heat) and it never started on time (there was also a 10 minute flexibility so you could join in up to ten minutes late without feeling bad). I soon got into the swing of the class, but already feeling a bit upset by the cost, this didn’t make things better. The instructor, bless his heart, I think I’ll just say that he wasn’t anywhere near as good as the ones in Fortaleza. The music was not very loud (maybe my hearing has become damaged by my years in a Brazilian gym…), the choreography wasn’t up to speed, it was cold, and the energy and drive there usually is in one of these classes was missing. A HUGE disappointment! The only thing which did bring a slight smile to my face was when the instructor said “it’s been a warm day today, and there must be at least 20 degrees in the room now, so remember to drink plenty of water”… Since then I’ve found a few classes I do enjoy, and exercising is important so I will persevere. But the era of Body Combat might be over for me, for now anyway.
I have been keeping busy with redecorating my room. Once again I realize that I belong to the club of “collectors”. However, I am now working on a new hypothesis that when you clear out of a room or a house, things multiply. What seems like it’ll fit into, oh, just a few boxes, seems to go on for ever. Kind of like yeast in dough…you put a bit of it in, and then the dough just grows to twice it’s size or more. But I managed to get everything out of the room, painted it, and am now in the process of moving it all back in again (trying to sort and throw away things in the process, although that is easier said than done). The room is looking very lovely now, nice vanilla walls (instead of white with lots of marks on them), vanilla around the windows (instead of blue), and new creamy-brown curtains bought in the sale. I am quite pleased.
I am still in a bit of a dazed state. I miss Brazil a lot, not because it’s been huge amounts of time since I was there (let’s be honest, a month isn’t really that long), but because I miss knowing that I’m going back. For me life in Fortaleza, good and bad, is normality and now I don’t know what is supposed to be normality. Still, I am slowly adapting, and while I do, I continue to write, mainly for myself.
After a few days there I flew (I am a big climate polluter) back home. Since then my life has been quite uneventful really. I must admit it’s been really nice, although maybe a bit on the calm side. The other day I suddenly realised I don’t feel stressed. It was a strange realisation; as for so long stress has been normal. I have read several books, watched films, exercised, and contemplated life.
My first day at the gym was a huge disappointment. It made me cry. I set off full of energy and excitement to be able to do my favourite class “Body Combat”. Feeling a bit out of place in the cold climate, I though that this would be just the thing to make me feel a bit more settled. If that had only been the case. At the gym I chatted with the member advisor and signed up. Already quite overwhelmed by the Norwegian prices of things, I headed off down the stairs to the class. When I got there I was a bit puzzled as the door was closed, and it had a little red sign on it saying “class in action”. Hmmm…I looked around, but didn’t see anyone else who seemed to be waiting for the class, so I strolled back up the stairs to check what time it was. Surely enough, it was 2 minutes past starting time, so I gently, and slightly embarrassed, opened the door and snuck in. In Fortaleza the door was kept open (mainly so we didn’t suffocate from the heat) and it never started on time (there was also a 10 minute flexibility so you could join in up to ten minutes late without feeling bad). I soon got into the swing of the class, but already feeling a bit upset by the cost, this didn’t make things better. The instructor, bless his heart, I think I’ll just say that he wasn’t anywhere near as good as the ones in Fortaleza. The music was not very loud (maybe my hearing has become damaged by my years in a Brazilian gym…), the choreography wasn’t up to speed, it was cold, and the energy and drive there usually is in one of these classes was missing. A HUGE disappointment! The only thing which did bring a slight smile to my face was when the instructor said “it’s been a warm day today, and there must be at least 20 degrees in the room now, so remember to drink plenty of water”… Since then I’ve found a few classes I do enjoy, and exercising is important so I will persevere. But the era of Body Combat might be over for me, for now anyway.
I have been keeping busy with redecorating my room. Once again I realize that I belong to the club of “collectors”. However, I am now working on a new hypothesis that when you clear out of a room or a house, things multiply. What seems like it’ll fit into, oh, just a few boxes, seems to go on for ever. Kind of like yeast in dough…you put a bit of it in, and then the dough just grows to twice it’s size or more. But I managed to get everything out of the room, painted it, and am now in the process of moving it all back in again (trying to sort and throw away things in the process, although that is easier said than done). The room is looking very lovely now, nice vanilla walls (instead of white with lots of marks on them), vanilla around the windows (instead of blue), and new creamy-brown curtains bought in the sale. I am quite pleased.
I am still in a bit of a dazed state. I miss Brazil a lot, not because it’s been huge amounts of time since I was there (let’s be honest, a month isn’t really that long), but because I miss knowing that I’m going back. For me life in Fortaleza, good and bad, is normality and now I don’t know what is supposed to be normality. Still, I am slowly adapting, and while I do, I continue to write, mainly for myself.