On a journey...

My alarm went off at 4 am. I snoozed it because my body was screaming to me that it most certainly wasn’t time to get up, and I really was meant to continue sleeping. That feeling. However, after wrestling with the urge to keep sleeping for just a few more minutes, I got up and got ready. I was traveling back to Amsterdam that morning, and the on to Kansas City the next day. Well, that was the plan anyway. At the airport things started to not go quite as smoothly. Problems with check-in machines led me (and most of my fellow passengers) to stand for what felt like forever in a queue that seemed to be mostly at a standstill. My flight was due to leave at 6 am. At 5.45 am it was finally my turn. I gave my passport to the man at the counter, and that is when my day took a very unexpected turn. “I’m afraid this passport isn’t valid”, he said. Not valid? How could it be? I was sure it didn’t expire for another two years. How could it not be valid? He showed me a tear in the pla...

Trying to settle into a new country and culture is complicated. It’s very different from visiting, where all things new are (mostly) an exciting adventure. Living and settling is an invitation to not just be an observer of the culture and ways from the outside, but to embrace it and become part of what others observe when they are visiting. But it’s complicated. And it takes time to navigate. How do you embrace a culture that functions so differently from your own, while not loosing yourself? How you navigate not letting the struggles overshadow all the treasure each culture carries within them? How do you remain thankful, when everything within you is feeling overwhelmed by yet another wave of culture shock, leaving you feeling a bit like you were literally washed up on the sand by a giant wave? This month marked 6 months of living in Amsterdam. I guess we all hit moments of reflection in our journeys. I don’t know if I hit one of those moments, or if I am reflecting a...

The coffee was ready, cookies nicely laid out on a plate, the preparation was done, and Shannon and I were ready. Ready to welcome one of the ladies we’d met in the windows to a Bible study she’d asked for. But this time was like the last time, she didn’t show up. We waited for an hour, knowing that she probably was a no-show after half an hours waiting, but still wanting to be available and hoping that she was just running late. Well, she never did come. So we tidied everything away, and although we had so hoped she’d come, at least we got to have a nice chat while we were waiting. And the response of my heart to the reality of yet another missed appointment was not so much that she didn’t come, but hoping she was alright and that she wouldn’t feel ashamed to have missed our appointment. As I was reflecting this evening I was reminded of the unpredictability of pioneering, and I guess of working with broken people. You never quite know how things will work out. And yet I don...

I always end up sitting down to try to encapsulate a plethora of experiences in one little blog post. I guess it’s the consequence of not writing as I go along (which I really should get better at). A trip to the beach. The past weeks we’ve had some beautiful hot spells with warm weather, blazing sunshine- in fact, the perfect weather to go to the beach. Last week we rearranged our schedule on popped to Zandfoort, one of the “local” beaches only oh, maybe 30 minutes on the train from Amsterdam. Now remember I am used to Norwegian beaches (beautiful sandy beaches with just a few people here and there, if any) and Brazilian beaches (beautiful wide sandy beaches usually with a vast amount of people). In my Norwegianness I kind of figured a Dutch beach would be more similar to the Norwegian version, and I must admit that as we were cramped into the train with hundreds of other people who had also thought of the good idea of going to the beach, I was a tad worried, wondering w...

The snow covered alps in the horizon, and although it's a bit nippy, it's a beautiful day here in the Swiss countryside. Yesterday was the wedding and it was varied and fun and I think the couple getting married managed to include all the different things they wanted in the day. It is a strange feeling though to understand nothing of what is said and be totally dependent on translation. Swiss-German is definitely a unique sing-songy language. Thankfully the weather turned  out nice and all in all it was a nice day. I just finished breakfast and soon I'll be headed back to Amsterdam. Making the most of filling my lungs with clean mountain air before heading back to being 3 meters below sea level and surrounded by multitudes. My mind has started to race again and I am trying to remain just a little longer in chill mode. Wanting to figure out  how can live relaxed on the midst of busyness, which seems a to be something you have to fight for and the moments of entering it ar...

Tekoe is a tea shop at the airport in Geneva. I just landed and am having a wee cup of Earl Grey while waiting for my good friend Faith to arrive. I also got a croissant with tea extract which in my opinion is more of an interesting idea than anything  very extraordinary. It had some dark bits in it but apart from that it was pretty much a regular croissant, the good kind. Switzerland. Different language and currency. Not as many tall blond people around, and even at the airport it feels more chilled. I don't know how much I'll get to see and take in in just a weekend, but it's cool to be here.  As the plane was landing I saw mountains and it brought a moment of joy to my Norwegian heart that is usually surrounded by a vey flat Holland where finding even a hill is unusual. It is good for cycling of course, something I'm getting more skilled at in the sense of navigating around confuse tourists and I haven't hit anyone properly yet (and hope I never will). I w...

I'm sat here at Schipol airport. It's not even 6 am yet so it's needless to point out that I am a tad tired. Add to that the fact that I have tried to get into schedule focusing on the night, and that even knowing in my head that I need to get up at 4am, I find myself quite awake at 2am. I am thankful for my skinny, tall, non-fat latte from Starbucks this morning. It was worth standing in line for. So here I am. On my way to switzerland for a wedding. Life has been so busy I haven't really had time to think a lot about it except for working out the practicalities. I think it's going to be good. The sun is rising outside. It is beautiful. Writing this on my phone is a tad challenging, but the sense I have in this moment is such a reminder of the goodness of God and His peace in my life. He truly is who He says He is.

My brother’s wedding on Saturday was your typical Norwegian wedding with different contributions to honour the bride and groom and “only” 12 speeches. We started at 4 pm and ended at 2 am (which is the “normal” time for a Norwegian wedding to end).  The definite highlight of the evening was my brother’s speech to his bride. Although I do question whether or not it can be called a speech, as that implies that something has to be spoken, and there were no spoken words. Only written ones. But then I guess you could claim that the speech was “spoken” through the written word. Anyway, my brother had made power point presentation expressing everything he wanted to say and “said” it with style in 8 minutes. It’s the way to go if you don’t like speaking in front of people, yet find yourself in a situation where you don’t really have an option. We were laughing so much many tears were shed in the process, and I don’t think any of us will ever forget this speech. It truly was the ...

I’m back blogging, realizing it’s been a long time since my last post. Right now I’m sat in Norway and yesterday I actually wore shorts. We had a nice sunny day with an amazing temperature of…. 16 degrees Celsius. I must admit it was a bit chilly, but I had some nice hours sitting in the sunshine at our cottage at Hellestø, which is one of the beautiful sandy beaches here. I love the beach. And I am yet again convinced that I was created to live in warm, sunny places (which makes me wonder sometimes how I ended up in Amsterdam which is quite cold and rainy a lot of the time). I even think I got a bit of a tan, which is nice. Bring on those vitamin Ds. I’m back in Norway for a week to go to my niece’s Christening and my brother’s wedding, and in between having some chill-time at my parent’s house. It’s nice to have a break. The last month and a bit has been quite challenging. After coming back from the Ukraine I started the process of looking at leading the Lighthouse project. A...

Saturday 28 April 2012 Travelling… After a really lovely ending to Shine I hopped on a plane on Wednesday evening heading to just outside Kiev in the Ukraine. As we drove through the night the 100 km from the airport to our destination, I was trying to get a sense of what the Ukraine is like. Driving through the city there were shopping malls and fast food places identifiable by lit up signs in bright colours. In other areas there were high apartment blocks side by side towering over everything else. Then as we got outside the city, all I could glimpse in the dark were trees. About 4:30 am on Thursday morning (after several delays on the way) I arrived at the Jeremiah Hope camp where the Shine Anti-Trafficking Network Gathering was to be held. Time. It’s so lovely to have time. We do have a full schedule with speakers and networking, yet at the same time there is more time. I think I also realize how much not having internet for a little while is a real blessin...