An INCREDIBLE weekend!

This last weekend I was up in Asker (4 hours north of Kristiansand -- not too far from Oslo), and we had a youth weekend for all the youth groups in Norway. We had 65 total in attendance (15 kids and 3 adults from our church-- the largest attendance we've had from our church at any one of these youth gatherings.) It was an INCREDIBLE weekend.

We traveled up on Friday night. Some went in our 10 seat van. Others went in a car. And five of us (this includes me) took a 5 hour bus ride. After a series of failures to get a third car, we decided that we had to take the bus which was more comfortable than sitting in the 10 seat van with luggage on our feet! :) After we arrived, we had a session with worship and a message about good relationships between boys and girls. Then we ate "pizza boller" (pizza rolls) and hung out for the rest of the night. We set a series of rules for the kids from Kristiansand, which we called "The Big Four" (yes, taken from SC4Y camps...) and talked with our kids that night after the session about our rules. (Be where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there, no illegal stuff, respect others things, and no flirting!) And much to everyone's surprise, each of the kids followed the rules to a T -- we didn't have to talk with any of them about the rules. I was so impressed!

On Saturday, we had breakfast at 9a.m. followed with a short session of worship and prayer for the day. I was able to speak prophetically into one of our students' lives, and it touched her so much that she began to cry. Then it was time for the kids to break out into different workshops, such as worship, why it is so important to read the Bible, hearing God's voice, and our identity in Christ. In the afternoon we had what was called "naturisti" which is a very popular Norwegian activity. The kids were split up into teams made up of different kids from the different groups. The leaders of the Asker youth set up a series of questions / activities for the teams to fulfill in different parts of the forest in Asker. This took about 2 hours and afteward we had hot dogs roasted on the fire along with marshmallows! :) Afterward we went back to the church and had some free time. I was able to talk with a couple of the girls about parents and drinking and our Godly attitude towards these things. Then three other girls and I played a rough game of catch in the girls' room. Mind you, there were sleeping bags and mattresses on a linoleum tile floor, so it was slippery! We divided ourselves into two teams and tried to take the ball from each other. We often found ourselves falling onto the floor or being tackled by a member from the other team. It was such great fun!

After dinner that evening, we had another session. The Asker Foursquare youth band played, and the kids were wild with excitement. In the middle of the worship, about 10 guys cleared out the chairs from the middle of the room and jumped and danced. It was soooo exciting for me -- something I had never seen since the days of when I was in camp. I have never seen Norwegians so excited in worship before! Febe, our national youth leader spoke about holiness and making room for God in our lives. After her message, there was a time for the kids to respond and receive prayer from the leaders. I prayed for about five girls. One received physical healing. One received a prophetic word and emotional healing. One re-dedicated her life to the Lord. One wanted direction regarding an unsaved boy that she liked at school. The last wanted prayer for her spiritual life to be even deeper with the Lord. Other leaders that prayed for students saw some that were baptized in the Holy Spirit, some were saved, others were healed, and others confessed deep sins and made steps toward repentance.

God worked SO MUCH this weekend -- something I have not seen before in Norway. Thank you for all your prayers! He is truly turning this nation to Jesus!