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Published: January 6th 2006
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Many things have happened since my last entry. I went home to Texas for a week, then I spent four days in Germany for our New Years Festival and I am now back in Oslo for some final preparation. Rather than making a separate entry for each time period I will summarize them all in this entry and then keep up with it better from here on out (or at least try, it may not be possible to update it on a regular basis once I am in Eastern Europe).
Our finals days before leaving for Christmas break:
To end off our Bible memorization class we each had to come up with some creative way to share our favorite verse with the rest of the class. The ways people presented their verse ranged from songs, games, dramas, to poems. I wrote a poem.
The poem was inspired by 2 Tim1:7, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, of self-discipline.
I once was fearful, blind and sad.
I once was timid, not realizing what I had.
Then You came and opened my eyes,
Then You filled me,
revealing his lies.
You gave me Your Spirit, a life with power.
You gave me Your hope, with absolutely no reason to cower.
I have many talents, but it is Your Spirit that makes me bold.
I have many experiences, but it is by Your Spirit that the truth can be told.
I no longer see just me, but You above.
I no longer live for me, but to share Your love.
Your sacrifice is so great, You didn’t spare any cost.
Your sacrifice inspires me, to chase after and to love Your lost.
Because of Your Spirit, my emotions are no longer unstable.
Because of Your Spirit, I am sensibly minded and able.
No matter the steps I take, I am calm knowing You are with me.
No matter what I may face, I have peace knowing you will protect me.
I received a “Poet’s Notebook” from one of my teammates so perhaps I will continue to explore my new found creative abilities.
We also had a Christmas party which included paperkake (it is a cookie that tastes kind of like gingerbread), porridge and entertainment by each of the teams. We each received a
“diploma” since we were done with mission training school. It had a title to describe how we stuck out during the past four months. I was named the “Prime Suspect” because of the mistaken drug smuggling incident in Aalesund.
Christmas in Texas:
Originally I had not planned on returning to the States for Christmas but I am very glad I decided to. I had a few interesting conversations on the plane. It seems like just in telling someone what I am doing with my life right now I am able to witness to them. It was so wonderfully seeing family and friends (even though I did not get as much time as I would’ve liked to see everyone and really talk to them). It was also quite nice sleeping in my own bed! The weather was unusually warm for Christmas (even for Texas) but it was gorgeous. I thought it was going to feel a little odd returning but when I got off the plane but it didn’t really feel like I had been gone at all. It was as if time had stayed still while I was gone. The one thing that was definitely different was
that my cousin is now a married woman (I really wish I had been able to spend more time with her). I know life was going on back in Texas during the past four months but it seems like it is going a little slower than here in Norway (maybe it is just because I am cramming in so many new experiences). I wish there were a way to stay both with my family and friends yet still experience what I am doing now.
I spent one evening with my mother’s small group from her church. A couple of the women did not want to pray aloud because they did not think their prayers sounded good enough. It made me realize how far God has brought me and I am so thankful. I used to be like that as well. We have to remember that when we pray, it is not to impress the person next to us but to speak with and have fellowship with our Heavenly Father. I remember when I saw Rueben Morgan in concert, he said we ought to fear God more than we fear the person sitting next to us when we are worshipping.
We need to be the same way when it comes to prayer. We hold such a mighty weapon with prayer but many of us fail to utilize it.
That reminds me of something I read from Streams in the Desert, which said, “Our prayers are God’s opportunities.”
The same book quotes A.B. Simpson, “Do we know the power of our supernatural weapon? Do we dare to use it with the authority of a faith that commands as well as asks? God baptizes us with holy audacity and divine confidence! He is not wanting great men, but He is wanting men will with dare to prove the greatness of their God. But God! But prayer!”
Andrew Murray wrote, “Beware in your prayer, above everything, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect the unexpected things, above all that we ask or think. Each time you intercede, be quiet first and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, of how He delights to hear Christ, of your place in Christ; and expect great things.”
I had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner with my mom, stepfather, brother,
Me and Karoline
The Party our Last Night and the pastor’s family. Then I spent Christmas day with my father, his fiancé, at my grandmother’s house with my father’s side of my family.
New Years Festival in Bremen, Germany:
The day after Christmas, it was already time to hop on a plane headed back to Europe. Every year Jesus Revolution hosts a New Years Festival for the youth of Europe to encourage and equip them to share the gospel. This is done through teachings, workshops, fellowshipping with other Christians, and spending time in God’s presence. We were able to go to the teachings but not the workshops since those were for the participants. There were some awesome teaching by both Stephan and Anna Christensen (the founders of Jesus Revolution), and the founder of SOS Ministries based in Sweden. Even though it was a Christian conference there was an alter call and many youth went to the front. It is during those times when it hits me so strongly that I am in the exactly right place. It is wonderful to know those youth have found the answer and in a small way God used me to reach them (even if indirectly).
On New Years
Talith and Me
The Party our Last Night Eve we had an “Awards” show where the participants shared the Gospel through any creative means they chose. There were singers, drama, and even break dance. After that we debuted the entire “End of the Ages” concert concept. I think it went pretty well although there are things I still need to work on. It’s crazy but I actually wasn’t nervous once I got on stage (I was praying quite a bit beforehand).
Then we had praise and worship until a few minutes before midnight. At midnight, we were all outside watching a fireworks show and it was FREEZING cold! Afterward we all went inside for more praise and worship and headed to bed around 3 am.
Back in Oslo
Now back at the base we are doing full run-throughs of the concert almost everyday trying to perfect each aspect as much as we possibly can. In fact we are doing another full run though tonight at the church. We have about a week and a half before we head out for our first concert in Latvia.
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J.J.
non-member comment
Poetry
I like your poem, it's pretty sweet.