Minnesota

This is the house God has blessed us with. This was just before a great rain storm hit. By us I mean three girls I know from Rivendell along with myself. We've talked of living together in the cities for over a year, and as Grace has said, that dream has now come true.

The house has four bedrooms, lots of living space, and a two car garage. There's a nice little yard as well, with a fire pit to boot. And the neighborhood is fantastic. It's beautiful to walk around the community garden or through the small park over to the food co-op for anything needed in a pinch. 94 and 280 are close by, which makes it great for getting around the cities.

We've already had our first ris grøt Saturday, and many more will be held in the future!

I'm on my third week of work at both my nanny job and Dunn Brothers on Grand. The timing and scheduling for both has worked out wonderfully. I still can't believe that I was able to make both jobs work so well with each other. God has truly given me that gift, on top of living in a great house with some of my best friends. And I love both jobs. Such good people, and doing such fun things.

I've gone swing dancing, bouldering, I went to an old time jam, and I've gotten to hear my favorite local band, twice. I'm so thankful for all the opportunities I've been given.

Now the question is, what am I going to do with all these blessings? I have been given so much, and now I need to give to others. I pray that this house will be a place that God uses to glorify Himself, that we show hospitality and the love of God to those who spend time here, and that we truly display the love of God to all those we encounter.

Come buy some beans from me at Dunn Bros! Or schedule tea time with me/us at Manvel.

One week exactly

I spent one week at The L'Abri Fellowship. I arrived between 2 and 3 on Monday, and I left between 2 and 3 on the following Monday.  

I walked away from L'Abri with renewed inspiration and hope for the future. There was such an atmosphere of hospitality toward every person who walked through that front door. You're given a thorough tour on your first day so that it's easy to figure out the routine right away. On your first full day you're thrown into that routine by being assigned to work in the kitchen or gardening or laundry help. For basically anything that you enjoy at L'Abri, you know who to thank. You can tell Eve how great the lunch was, or Thomas thanks for delivering new clean sheets, or tell Josue how nice the lawn looks today. When new people arrive after you, you see all the workers and helpers make sure they know where they need to go and that they've been fed. 

Edith Schaeffer had hospitality as one of her priorities. A book of hers that is on my read soon list is The Hidden Art of Home Making. She explains that this art is to be developed, and is an important part of your Christian witness. 

These are the things that inspire me to make where ever I live a home that displays attributes of God through love and hospitality. 

Andrew Fellows, the former director of L'Abri England, spoke twice during my week there. He spoke on the state of Europe currently, which is quite a topic considering he spoke the day after the referendum...

His talk was prepared long before the results were known, but it was a very relevant topic regardless. 

His first talk left me a bit worried about what's going to come next to this world, but the second left me hoping in the good things to come which God has promised us. All is not lost, though it seems like it at times. 

I highly recommend you listen to his talk, which can be found here: http://ipc-liss.com/sermons?podcast=701

I also highly recommend L'Abri to anyone feeling in need of hope or inspiration, or anyone who has questions they've been grappling with. Take time to get out of the busy cycles of life and focus on finding the answers God has blessed us with. He does give answers, sometimes they just take longer to find. 

Life at L'abri

I am writing from a Tea Room at the Gilbert White house in Selborne, England. It's just a quick bus ride from the L'abri Manor House, which is near Greatham. There is no wifi at the manor, so it's been nice to be disconnected from the world.

Many things happen during a typical day at L'abri. Everyone is assigned a job each day, which they do for either the whole morning or the whole afternoon. The time when one isn't working is spent in study. There is a wonderful library at the manor available to everyone. Each student also meets with a tutor while they are visiting, to ask questions or get book recommendations for example.

There are two tea breaks each day, at 11 and 16.30, which gives great opportunity for conversation, and welcome breaks from work and study. I believe I'm drinking at least 3 cups of tea each day, in addition to my regular cup of jo every morning.

I especially like lunch time each day. Everyone is divided into three groups, and three different staff members lead a discussion during the lunch meal. Any student can bring up a topic if they wish, and everyone is able to input during the discussion. It's a great time to learn about other people, and to bring up something you've been reading about and would like another opinion on.

There are lectures twice a week, and last night we watched a movie as a group and had a discussion afterward. All of these discussions remind me of my time at Rivendell Sanctuary. I've very much missed the discussion and casual conversations that naturally arise when you're in a community such as this.

What Have I Done for 3 Months?

I've been in Norway 90 days now, exactly 90 days. What a relief it was when the border agent told me that I had counted correctly and that I'm allowed to come back to Norway in 90 days if I wish. 

During my time in Haugesund, I stayed with in-laws, relatives and friends, all of which are incredibly generous people and I'm so thankful for them. I babysat for a few different families, which helped me contribute a bit to my survival. (Special thanks to the Ødegaards, Vibecke Håkon and Øystein for being my family for some weeks 😊)

In addition to babysitting, volunteering at a cafe and touring/tour guiding took up the majority of my time. The cafe is where my brother and his wife attend church. It's a coffee shop/church ministry doing good things for the community, and I was glad to be a part of it and support it by donating my time. I'm grateful for the experience they allowed me to acquire as well, not to mention some nice hand brewed coffee 👌🏻

Three friends visited me during my visit, and my mom and her good friend also overlapped with my visit and are there still. It was great to be able to show these friends a place that I have come to love. Not only did they get to experience its beauty, but also the people and families and traditions that make up the Norwegian culture. I got to drive through the rugged countryside, and I got to connect American friends with a part of Norway that most visitors don't get to be a part of. That was my experience as a tour guide. 

Spending 90 days in Norway as truly been a blessing from God, and an experience of a lifetime. I realize that very few people have this kind of opportunity, or such a generous brother or dad or friends or distant relatives in a European country. I will always be grateful to these people, and for God's timing and many blessings. 

The UK is where I'll be spending the next 2 weeks (again, thank the Lord for generous friends in cool places). I will spend one week at the L'abri Fellowship in Greatham, England. This is something I've been dreaming of doing ever since I heard about it from Rick and Nancy Pearcey. I pray that God will bless my time there and teach me more about Himself while drawing me yet closer to Him. 

After L'abri, I'll be visiting some Bethel Baptist missionaries and friends of our family, the Whites, in Glasgow Scotland. Lastly, I will be in London with a Bmore friend for the last few days before I return to the good ol' USofA on July 3rd, just in time 😏

Thanks for reading this, and check back for an update about my time at L'abri! Please pray that I will be a blessing to those I encounter on this 2 week adventure in the UK. 

Quintessential Norway

         This past weekend, Karl Christina and I went on a road trip through the glorious mountains and fjords of Norway. The trip began with a drive through the Hardanger fjord, past Odda, and on to Hermon Høyfjellssenter, a ski resort where a friend of Christina's works and lives.
         Hermon is a beautiful resort, located east and a little north of Bergen.

We stayed the two nights in a small cabin, with windows looking directly onto the ski hill.

The cabin was very koselig, but our time in it was limited since there were many things on our docket during our short visit.
           We breakfasted in the dining hall Saturday morning. The sun was pouring through the windows, both directly from the sun and from its reflection of the snow. The grand windows displayed the mountains with its groomed slalom trails and its untouched peaks, waiting for a daring skier. There were many cross country trails through the woods below as well.

         After breakfast, we bundled up in our wool (though the sunshine was quite warm), got our rental skis from the lodge, and we set off for our cross country tour. Then we got to the ski lift... It was a pulley lift, T shaped, where two skiers have the pole between them and the bar under their rear. Karl and I rode it together, and were terrified the whole way up. Remember, we are using cross country skis.
         Not only would it be embarrassing if either or both of us fell off the lift, we would then have to either ski down the down hill slope and try again, or we'd have to walk up the whole way. We made it up the lift, however, and then we learned that there was a second life we must go up. Suffice it to say, we did not look around much while on the lifts, and prayers were definitely said.
         Once we were at last at the top, still in one piece, we had a chance to look around before we began our journey away from the down hill slopes. Our skis got a new coat of wax by our friends, then we were on our way.
         There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and everywhere we looked there was white, save for some rocks that were now uncovered because of the sunshine.

We observed the great silence, and realized the loneliness that would be possible for a person spending an extended amount of time in such a place. The trail we took was 10 kilometers, or one Norwegian mile as I have learned. We stopped now and again to enjoy the scenery (and rest), and we luncheoned at just over half way.
          Then began our descent. yes, we had to get back down the hill. Christina alone skied, again, cross country skied, all the way to the bottom of the slopes. Karl would have made it too had one of his bindings not broken very close to the bottom of the hill. About half way down the slope, I decided that walking would be preferred to snow plowing from then on. Safely at the bottom, Karl and I breathed a sigh of relief, then the three of us enjoyed a welcome swim in the indoor pool.

Such a cool swimming pool, with multiple levels and a climbing wall! The hot tub also felt wonderful after our excursion.
          After a relaxing evening and a good night sleep, we breakfasted again with a wonderful view of the mountain. After saying goodbye to our friends, we made our way back to warmer climates. We drove over the mountains and through tunnels to the Aurlandsfjord.

What a breathtaking sight. We took a windy, uphill road to the Stegastein Lookout Point:

From there it was a couple more hours to Bergen, where we met up with Christina's brother and his fiance for a lovely home cooked dinner.
        After a couple more hours drive and a ferry ride, we made it home to Haugesund, where we were greeted by this beautiful sight:

The grand weather, the snow covered mountains, the fjords, the people, and even the food, all contributed to making this a wonderful, "best of Norway" weekend for this American who's blessed to be in such a land.

i Norge

I am currently sitting in Amdahl, looking at the sea. There is sun today, and we spent some time just sitting in the sun, soaking it in. I went part way up the mountain with the kids this morning, and enjoyed the beautiful view of the fjord:

Yesterday, I went with the Ødegaards on a rainy walk to another fjord, over some lovely countryside

I look forward to seeing what Saturday and Sunday of this holy Easter week hold for me.

L'abri Fellowship

        Last Friday, the 18th, Rachel and I went on an adventure; we got to have a taste of the L'abri Fellowship! In early afternoon, we boarded a train bound for Liss, England. Liss is a quaint little town, with only one public house:

          From Liss we took a path through the wood,

and then a windy, semi-treacherous road to Greatham where L'abri is located. We came upon the ruin of an old church,

then right around the corner was L'abri!
           When we entered through the main door, there was a fire in the fireplace and people reading while sitting on nearby chairs and couches. It was just how I had picture L'abri. It reminded me of both the Summit in Colorado, and of Villa Morgen, where the Rivendell classes stay in Florence during studies. I was ecstatic to be at the place that had so influenced my former teachers, the Pearceys. I even found two of Nancy's books on one of the shelves.
           The grounds of L'abri are quite lovely. They are keeping up a proper English garden, with a fountain and a big lawn.

There is also a chapel or prayer building that is quite cozy, and I'm sure has had many wonderful meetings and times of good fellowship.

         After exploring the grounds, and after a meal at the Greatham Inn, (which was also exactly what I would imagine an English pub to be like) there were tea and snacks for all before the lecture at 20:00. Andrew Fellows, a professor at Cambridge, spoke about apologetics. 

         It was a whirlwind talk, covering lots of ground quickly, but it was very helpful in knowing what to look for in other worldviews, as well as what must be known about your own before you can convince someone else of its validity. We must know the categories of our worldview. For instance, there is a Creator, and there is the creation; the Kingdom of Heaven, and the kingdom of darkness; truth, and untruth. These are categories of antithesis that must not be confused with each other. This is vital to having a biblical worldview. That is a small part of what he talked about.

          Fellow's talk reminded me very much of the Summit and Rivendell. I am so thankful for my time at both, and grateful that I could now get a taste something that had a big impact on both of those places, probably in more ways than I realize.

         After the lecture, a kind woman who works at L'abri drove us the 2 miles back to the Liss train station, and we were on our way back into London. And that was our adventure at L'abri, where I hope to go back to again some day for a longer stay.