Skip to main content

Heavenly Man and Snow.

Yesterday we had a very special visitor in the prayer room. Brother Yun, also known as the “Heavenly Man” was here sharing his heart with us. It was amazing to hear him live and know that he is the same man who supernaturally got out of the maximum prison, who suffered incredibly for Jesus, yet still stands strong with such a passion and zeal for God and a heart for the lost. It was such a privilege to be there, and it brought such joy to my missionary heart. The whole thing was filmed and I think a link is going to be put out on the IHOP website, so if you’re interested let me know and I’ll mail you the link once it’s available.

Apart from that I am really well. Well, today I’m feeling a bit rough. Got a nasty chesty cough and achy body, but I’m not dying or anything. It is a bit pants feeling like this on my first day of “school”, but that’s life.

Outside there’s lots of snow and a 100% chance of more snow according to the weather forecast (which in my mind means that there is definitely going to be snow). It’s amazing how the weather changes so quickly here. One moment there’s snow, ice, and freezing cold, the next all has melted and the sun is out and it’s almost warm. I didn’t really believe that the temperatures really changed so quickly (it can drop 20 degrees Celsius from morning to afternoon), but trust me they do. I am being challenged with the reality of Fahrenheit here, but found that on my wee phone I go there is an application called “converter” where I put in the Fahrenheit and am told what it is in Celsius.

Language is a fun thing. I am getting used to the different words used for things here as opposed to Britain. When I arrived I had my first little language confusion as my housemate asked me if I had towels, and I said I had a towel and a flannel. Now, I didn’t know that “flannel” in the USA means pillowcase, and “washcloth” means flannel. No wonder she was a bit puzzled by me telling her I had a “pillowcase” when she was asking me about towels. Yesterday I helped put out the trash (rubbish) and I get rides (lifts) from the apartment (flat) to the prayer room, which is located near a gas station (petrol station). I do notice that I am quieter than usual especially with people I don’t know, as I am a bit self-conscious about my British accent. It’s silly, I know, but I hope that once I get going with my course and used to speaking to people it’ll get better.

So there you go. Today I start “school” or rather my course, which will take me till the end of my time here. It’ll be a change to go from absolutely no schedule at all (apart from timing my coming home to coincide with daylight) to have probably what will turn out to be quite a busy schedule. But I feel ready for it. Ready to learn more and grow closer to God as a result. I just hope I can get there through the 100% snow, which keeps falling softly from the sky.

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday children's prayer | Handing out shoes and feeding toddlers.

No day is the same here. After getting up early (which seems to be what I do here), and eating breakfast which was bread with butter (accompanied by an amazing cup of coffee given me by an American friend), I headed to the prayer room for children's prayer. This is a prayer time where the children come voluntarily to pray before school on Tuesdays and Fridays. Entering the room I was so impressed by how it was full of children eager to pray. There were probably 60 or 70 children there, and it was amazing to see one after the other choose to pray for their families and people who are sick, and other subjects on their little hearts. It was so great and an experience that I will carry with me for a long time. After prayer it was "Shoprite" time, which meant piling into a bus with other visitors and missionaries for the weekly shopping trip. I didn't quite know what to expect, but I had a few items to buy and hoped it would be a stress-free experience. As we drove along ...

It’s been one week.

A week ago we were sitting at work talking about how quickly the Corona situation was escalating. News of closed gyms and limited gatherings were there, and we were wondering what now. Only the day before we’d been open, and while taking the hygiene precautions and reminding each other to not hug or shake hands, there was a sense of support in each other, and normality was still there. Then suddenly it all changed. From being a crisis in China and Asia, then Italy, it had well and truly arrived in Norway. Friday morning we sat in our staff meeting. News of the closing of all schools and kindergartens for two weeks had come the evening before. We sat there with so many questions and few answers. The one thing we knew for sure was that this was a time to be available and present. A time to be proactive, and to make sure our people knew that we were there even if we weren’t open. That day we made many phone calls and sent messages and emails. Some were worried and needed reassurance,...

At a crossroads yet again.

This evening feelings of weariness flood my soul. Weary of not knowing. Weary of choosing to trust. Weary of waiting. Weary of walking yet not knowing what I am walking in or towards. Weary of figuring out life on my own. This past month the reality of crossroads in life has hit me yet again. I knew it was coming, but suddenly it was there and I just had to go with it. There’s not much more I can do...except waiting and trusting and choosing. Choosing to let God be the One who guides and fights and prepares the path before me. My crossroads is “do I stay or do I go”? From Kansas City and IHOP-KC. In October I’ll have been here two years, which feels like 5 years and at the same time 6 months. In December I go home for Christmas. It’ll have been a year since last time and I’ll be seeing my niece who’ll be 3 instead of 2 years old, and my little nephew who will be 1 year already, and I’ll get to meet little Julie who is only three weeks old as I write this. She’ll be 4 months when I meet...