On a journey...

It’s a good season. Transition is uncertain, but God is steadfast and He is with me. I just got back this week from an amazing conference with ICAP (International Christian Alliance on Prostitution) at the Green Lake Conference Centre in Wisconsin. It was beautiful. Being on a search for beauty I found so much beauty there. The surroundings were beautiful, but I think the beauty that met me most deeply was the beauty of God’s heart, and the beauty of those who have chosen to connect to His heart. As I listened to speakers who have lived lives of loving God and people so well, I found myself typing and writing down the wisdom they shared. Some were good reminders, and others were words that expressed loving people in a way I’d never contemplated before, and these words ministered to my heart. So I wanted to reflect on a few of those many nuggets and invite you to read along if you like. Loving people. “Jesus never met a prostitute.” I was kind of shocked by the statemen...

Seeking a place of being “careless”. Not because I don’t care, but because God takes my cares upon Himself. I have cast my cares upon Him because I know that He cares for me. And I trust in that care. Processing the last season. Thankful I never broke down. It was close, but I encountered sufficiency in His grace. God was enough and He gave me enough to make it through. It was sufficient. Sufficient meaning enough to fully meet the need. And what He gave me was sufficient. It was enough to sustain me. Thinking about it, it doesn’t look like wisdom. Exhausted, worn out, worried about so many things. Not the best starting point to plunge into another intense battle, leading the way. Arriving to lead the Shine Seminar my soul was so weary. Compassion is a gift, but it’s hard work. It requires risking and often living through rejection by the very ones you are trying so hard to show acceptance. It drains and involves the famous “give a hand and have the whole arm taken”. The...

Beauty. Two branches in full bloom. Different, yet the same. Flowers. Fragrance. Sweetness in the midst of darkness. One a clock in the night in Fortaleza, Brazil. Walking along the streets in their “Red Light District”. Arrested by the beautiful fragrance in a place with so much stench. A dark street carrying a treasure. Ten in the evening in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Visiting women on display in windows. Distracted by beauty and fragrance of a simple flower. Stopping to take it in. Places so incredibly different, yet so much alike. And in the midst of the fragrance I am reminded that the women are also treasures waiting to be found. Yet they were never lost by God who always sees them. Reminded to seek after beauty and not gaze on darkness. Transition. I’m in the midst of it and I wonder how to define it. I guess part is remembering. Remembering what has been. Processing. Thanking Him for what has passed. Remembering so that it can be released and I can st...

So many impressions and so much love in my heart as I sit here writing. My final evening in Amsterdam for this season. A strange and unreal sensation, but nevertheless the reality: tomorrow evening I fly home to Norway and finish the chapter of Amsterdam. It’s been an adventure and this past week has been such a good ending. Today I cycled across the city to have lunch with some dear friends. Friends I’ve met through ministry, one going out with me, the other on the receiving end. It was such a joy to enter into the home of one and meet as friends. Friends who have walked part of each other’s journeys. Friendship I hope lasts. On Friday we I went to my last outreach in the smaller Red Light District. It was good yet also hard. Hard to explain that “no, I am not coming back” to the questions of “yes, you go to Norway, but really, when will you be back.” Feeling so loved and yet having to accept the fact that I won’t be around next time... or the time after that. Finding so mu...

As I got on the plane from Fortaleza I felt such a sense of closure. It was like I had done exactly what I had come to do, and I was leaving at the exactly right time. My heart was full of peace, and even as I spent my layover in Lisbon (pretty much like a zombie; jetlagged, drinking tea, coffee, eating pastel de nata, and walking around to stay awake) the peace remained (and is still there). Boarding the plane to Amsterdam I had my action plan ready- sleep for the next 2-3 hours. However, as they scanned my boarding pass it beeped and they gave me a new one with the comment “you’ve been upgraded.” Such an awesome surprise, and of course I wasn’t going to sleep through nice food and good service. My cup of tea was even served in a ceramic cup with the tea bag on the side. I could get used to business class. Arriving in Amsterdam I was greeted by a good friend and rain. The city continues stunningly beautiful and it’s almost like this is the perfect time to wrap up. It’s been ...

My heart is full. Full of thankfulness for these months I got to spend here in this beautiful country. Needless to say these last days have been more intentional. Not so much in the trying to get a billion things done, but intentional in desiring to absorb and appreciate the moments more. Last night was the last time on the streets with the Iris team. It was such a precious time! They had made homemade chocolates and little verses had been written out for the women. As we divided into groups and headed out it was so beautiful to see the joy on the faces of the women as they got the little gift. It’s amazing how such a small thing can make such a difference. One girl said “this was just what I needed”. It was such a special evening of getting to know a little of what hides behind the confident exterior of these women (and men) who night after night stand on the street corners offering themselves to the cars that come by. It is always a privilege when they choose to open up and ta...

Another two days and I’ll be on a plane yet again. My time here in Fortaleza is very quickly ending and the familiar unsettledness is kicking in, joined by half-packed suitcases and lists of things to et done slowly being ticked off. It’s been good to be here. And I feel ready to go. Ready to walk through my final days in Amsterdam and say my goodbyes. And yet even though I’ve known this would be a month of many good byes, I don’t think I’ll ever come to like it or get used to it. This is a week of savouring all the things I love about this country and city. Even the craziness of driving in the city has its charm (although I do admit there was a bit too much adrenaline involved as I drove around yesterday having many drivers yell at me along the way, not because I’m a bad driver, I’m not just as aggressive as they are). I went to Mercado Central a huge indoor crafts market in the city. I was ready for some serious souvenir shopping, only to find out it was due to close early ...