On a journey...

A few days ago I was rushing to get to the prayer room at 5:45 am (it’s funny how things just go s l o w e r in the morning). Anyway, a young lad wearing a fluorescent yellow reflex-vest walking a tiny little dog passes me. I imagine he was a dog-walker rather then dog-owner. And I started wondering what life as a dog-walker is like. I mean, who am I to say that his life is pretty straightforward and easy, it might very well not be, but I made me think how much less confusing my life would be if that was what I did: walked dogs in the early hours of the morning… These past weeks I’ve had the distinct feeling of having to keep up with my life as there’s been so much happening and so many shifts and changes, it’s quite overwhelming if I stop to think about it, which I don’t. Think? Who has time to think? Sat here drinking my PG tips tea with milk and eating cereal I don’t even know the name of (some friends left town and left me their left-over food) I think I probably should go to bed a...

It’s funny how something really so simple can turn into such a big thing which makes you stressed. This week felt like such a long week. House-hunting added into that did not make me peaceful and serene. However, it should have been fine. Logically there is nothing to worry about. There are plenty of people renting out rooms, and even more importantly I have a God who is totally committed to me and to me having somewhere to live. Still, logic and feelings aren’t always on the same page. I let my friends know I needed a place to live, sent out emails to a bunch of people on a housing list, and went to look at a few places. Not quite knowing if the girls I live with now wanted to find a place together or not kind of made it a wee bit harder to look, because I wasn’t sure if I was wanting 1,2 or 3 rooms. But we’ve worked that out in the end, and the result is that I do have a house I’m potentially moving in to at the end of the month. I wish I could move sooner, but it seems a bit of a wa...

Sunday 12 July 2009 Beautiful skies and a beautiful life. Sat here in my living room in Norway looking out at the sky. There are thick grey clouds with a pink colour in the background shining through. It’s beautiful and I’ve never noticed something like that before. Been meaning to write my blog for, well almost a month now. And now I am. No excuses…life is too short to walk around feeling burdened by the things I haven’t got round to do, especially as I am doing them. Whether or not I finish this post today is another issue…probably not since it’s already late and I’ve got an early start tomorrow. That said, yes, I am in Norway. Got a couple of weeks holiday at home, which is lovely. Although the warm sunny weather seems to have taken a break since arriving. I wonder where it went? My youngest brother, Magnus, got married on the 4th of July, and so I obviously had to come home for that. Funny, I live in the USA, yet come home to Norway on the 4th of July. It was a great wedding with l...

This week has been a time of wrestling with the reality of injustice, yet knowing that God is a just God! My heart has been stirred up and I’ve found myself not agreeing with God, yet knowing that He knows perfectly. That He is sovereign. And that He is completely loving and good. Yet not understanding why injustice can prevail. The other day I was ministering to someone, and as I prayed and encouraged them, I could see their clothes were torn and dirty and I knew that although they were going after God, they were living in poverty. My heart broke. I knew that I wasn’t able to give them anything materially or financially to meet the need I so clearly could see. Afterwards I cried out to God and was asking Him how in a society of such abundance, such desperate need can remain. I asked Him of what He says in Matthew 25 about feeding the hungry and clothing the naked…what about those verses? As I wrestled I with it, He spoke so clearly and was asking me how this was different from when I’...

Saturday 16 May. Lots of kids and girls in desperate situations. Saturday was kids club day. Arriving at the house “Shine” rents in Oitão Preto (it actually used to be the house of one of the boys in our discipleship group, which was a bit surreal because I remember sitting in that very house talking to his grandmother and aunt). We put out chairs in the different rooms and then the many volunteers who faithfully come on Saturdays trickled in. After a time of prayer the children were already coming and a time of joint worship was the first item on the agenda. After the worship the children were divided into groups according to age and went to their designated rooms. I just hung around and kind of got an overall picture. Juliana and I ended up having a long chat with one of the teenagers who was sent out from her group for not behaving the way she should. It was good to chat to her and bring some perspective to things. People kept coming and going and it was good to be there. At lunchti...

Thursday 14 May 2009 City life. As I strolled along Monsenhor Tabosa on my way to meet Juliana at Dragão do Mar, I saw a man sleeping on the other side of the road. It was one of the parts where there are no shops, just this concrete building, and this man had put down his cardboard and was sleeping on top of it. He appeared to be at peace, but I am sure that although sleeping, his senses were alert. Alert to those who would want to mess with him, the police, other street people…there is no such thing as restful sleep when you’re on the streets. I kept walking with my mind and heart full of memories. I don’t know this particular man, but I know so many others who have made the streets their home, and I was remembering some of their stories and conversations we’d had. It made me wonder if they also were asleep somewhere in the city on a piece of cardboard. Walking home again later on in the evening I passed a street corner where a prostitute was getting ready for a working night. With h...

Today we went to Lar Davis, a beautiful Christian orphanage here, where some of the kids we know live. It was so touching to see C. and I.M., sisters who come from very difficult circumstances, so well. They are beautiful and the oldest one, C., said her dream is to be a singer and a missionary in the community she comes from. Thinking back to the state she was in 3 years ago when she was taken to the orphanage, it is impossible to say that God does not do miracles. He does! I also saw L. who just turned 12. He was one of the boys in my little discipleship group from Oitão Preto, I led when I was here. One of the 10 who taught me lots of patience (smiles). He is thriving at the orphanage and continues to read his Bible, pray and memorise Bible-verses. It is good for him to be in a more structured environment as his mum, who is a single-mum, wasn’t able to control him anymore and it was dangerous for him. Still, it leaves me longing to see a solution that doesn’t involve moving the chil...