Life's twists and turns...

Yeah, so I have been incredibly busy the last month really. My best friend Kendra came to visit me one month ago for two weeks... I came back to the office fo 3 days, then Easter came, which is four legal holidays in Norway. Then I was back at the office for another week and it was off to Estonia for six days where we had a Bible Study Intensive led by Daniel Brown from the Coastlands church in Santa Cruz, CA. There were 20 leaders from Northwest Europe and Russia combined, and we had a fabulous time studying the Bible together and really getting to know each other. Also, the Sunday after our Bible Study intensive I was able to visit one of our churches in Estonia located in Pärnu (we were in the capital city of Tallinn... Pärnu is 2 hours south of Tallinn) and spend some time with its pastors, Sven and Karin Veedla along with Kenneth (as Sven says, he's the crazy Norwegian guy from Stavanger that came to Estonia and has been working with their youth group for three years now... so cool :) )
Sven and Kenneth gave me a tour of the city and the beach because Pärnu is the summer playground of Estonia, and they kept telling me about the outreaches they have done in the city, the portions of the city they are claming as theirs for Jesus, and all the different places they have big dreams for... The youth I met in the church are really on fire for Jesus... The whole trip really inspired me to give everything I have this coming year to the youth group. I had started to really get bogged down in the daily stresses of life and had somewhat of a lackluster approach in the past few months when it came to youth ministry. Sven and Kenneth's passion rubbed off on me, and now I am more excited than ever to see growth and changes in each one of our kids here in Norway. So much so that not more than 4 days after I came back to Norway, we had another "storsamling" (big meeting) of all the Foursquare youth in Norway, and God really did a lot in and through me while there.

For the storsamling, we focused on our relationship with God and our relationship with our parents. After the message on our relationship with our parents, I was able to pray for three of the girls and talk with one about their relationships with their parents. We prayed for healing and for them to get closer to God and to see their situations with new eyes. It was really incredible because even after the message was over, well into the night, kids kept coming up to all the leaders and asking for prayer. God really moved and really healed and really helped each and every person who received prayer to be touched. The energy of the kids and the intermingling of the different youth groups was so strong, that I felt like I was at good old Camp Cedar Crest again. Everything was fresh and new and exciting for me again. And I have really built a great relationship with all the youth, so much so, that they can tease me, and I can tease them back, and I can tell they love to see me and I have gained their trust. And God showed me that I have done a good job with the kids while I've been here in Norway, and there are many who are responding to God's call in their lives, and I have been a part of encouraging that call within their lives. In my life, I will always be called to do two things, no matter where I go -- youth and worship.

All of this gives me so much peace... peace that whatever happens and wherever I go in 2008, I can know that I have done a good job and fulfilled all God has for me here, so that I can move on to whatever is next. Who really knows where I will be, but I am open to what God has. In the midst of uncertainty, I feel His peace in my heart. I feel such an unspeakable joy that hasn't been in my life since I really don't know when. I look forward to my future with great anticipation knowing that to follow Jesus may mean I am on the move constantly and that I will need to leave behind the things I have established in Norway to follow Him. But that is the greatest joy and adventure of all -- to see that I have done what God has set me out to do, and now, I can move on with his peace and His joy. God will provide.

I greatly covet everyone's prayers right now for clarity as I step into the next season of life. I need God's direction and to hear His voice like never before!

Until next time,

Gretchen

And it's off to Estonia!

I have been bored... INCREDIBLY bored today. We've had 4 days off for Easter, which are 4 legal holidays, and since I was JUST on vacation, more vacation is driving me to boredom. Literally... Yesterday, it snowed, and today, it is raining. So there's not much to do outside. And, of course, I have things to do, but I just don't want to do anything but everything. That's what boredom is: Not wanting to do everything but everything all at the same time. Gretchen's definition for the day!

So I am going to Estonia with John Henry and Tylene on Wednesday through Monday! Very exciting! We will be there for a leaders' seminar led by Foursquare pastor Daniel Brown. The seminar will be about how to study the Bible. Should be really, really good and very interesting. I have never been to Estonia before, so I am looking forward to it!

Well, I am going to make some dinner and try to get my lazy self into doing something productive with my day. I should write an e-mail newsletter, and I should pack for Estonia... but I am bored, so I don't want to do that stuff! ha ha

God påske!

Happy Easter!

Silence...

Has been long, but it has come due to vacation for the past weeks and getting back to routines and answering e-mails has caused there not to be an update here in quite a while. All that aside I had a wonderful vacation! Kendra and I had a great time together... She got to see Kristiansand. We got a killer deal on a trip to Denmark - 4 people, 4 bikes, round-trip ferry ride, and 2 nights at a water park hotel where our room was a small apartment and our ocean view amazing -- all for $50 a person! So we took a 14 mile bike trip one day and had an absolutely fabulous time together! Then we went to Oslo where we originally planned on sightseeing and visiting a good friend of mine and her family, but God changed our plans and used my friend's father (who didn't know us!) to prophesy healing and direction into our lives which kept us up to all hours of the night and caused us to miss one of the only trains back into downtown Oslo. But all that said, God totally blessed our time together more than we thought he would... We knew that He would do something awesome in our time together, but we didn't realize how huge it truly would be!

And to top it all off we got to share the Gospel with some people, AND I spoke in Danish for the first time while we were in Denmark. Since Danish and Norwegian are very similar to each other Danes and Norwegians understand each other. At the same time, the Danish people sound like they have a potato "stuck" in their throat when they speak, and it is extremely difficult to understand them sometimes! I got the potato stuck in my throat and the pronounciation of the Danish "As" and "Æs" down as much as I could, and I explained to the waiter at one of the restaraunts how we wanted to order our food and how we wanted to split the bill since he didn't understand English nor Norwegian, as he was an immigrant. I was really in complete shock at how easily the Danish flowed and wondered how this strange language was coming out of my mouth. Then I was amazed at how much easier Danish is to speak! ha ha Good times... It was a proud and fun moment for me.

Well, I am off to finish working, since I have been on my lunch break typing this up to everyone. Easter vacation starts tomorrow and lasts until Monday. The sky is blue, the weather perfect, and I am content. Have a Happy Easter, and be blessed!

A Good Day with a Funeral

It's such a paradox to think that a day with a funeral could be a good day, but I am here to say that it is such an untrue paradox!

The day began with some very good news -- Kendra got her passport! I felt that yesterday I should pray and fast that she would receive it. When I prayed about how long I should fast, I felt that I should break it at 3 p.m. When I prayed for Kendra, I was praying very boldly, and all of a sudden the words came out "God let her receive it in her hands by three p.m. today!" So at 11 p.m. I sent her a text message asking how it was going. She mentioned that the passport was sent from N. Carolina on Friday, so she should receive it either Monday or Tuesday. At that moment, I was disappointed that she hadn't received the passport because of the faith that I had that she would have it at 3 p.m. But then God gave me peace and said, "Don't worry. She'll receive it within the hour of 3 p.m." And I woke up this morning, she had received it and received it at 3:40 p.m.!!!! Isn't that miraculous and so like God to do that?!?! Wow!

So the funeral... There was a lady in the church that died last week -- 81 years old and a VERY STRONG believer in Jesus. She was a prayer warrior, a servant, and such a compassionate woman. It was like she was everyone's Danish grandma (she was originally from Denmark but moved to Norway). When I got the call at the office from one of her sons last week that she died, I was so sorry that she died but at the same time I was soooo joyful because she is now with Jesus. I have never been so incredibly joyful about the passing on of someone before, but because she was such a saint of Jesus, it was nothing but joy I felt the day she died. Of course, I cried at the funeral here and there, but it was one of the most peaceful and special and joyful funerals I have ever been to.

Then I met with one of my closest friends here and accountability partner Maja for a cup of coffee. We meet weekly to pray for each other, confess sins, etc. While, we were in the coffee shop, a dear friend of mine, Mari comes in with her brother Åsmund. The four of us had a FABULOUS time talking about God and what He is doing in our lives... SO MUCH FUN! I didn't want to leave from our time together. So much fun! But then after the coffee shop closed, we went outside and talked for another half-an-hour until we got cold. So then Maja and I went to the church office and confessed and prayed for each other... we prayed such powerful and prophetic prayers over each other. Then while I was on the way home on the bus, one of the girls from youth group came on the bus, and we talked about what God is doing in our lives. God answered a big prayer she had on Sunday, and I told her about my really incredible, awesome and God-filled day!

I don't think I could ever get tired of all the wonderful things God is doing in my life. He is SO FAITHFUL. He is SO GOOD! A relationship with Him is so meaningful and life giving and when we cling to Him, there is always hope. There is always breakthrough. There are always miracles. He is the one we cling to in the difficult situations that brings us through as more than conquerors. God is SO GOOD!

With that I sign-off to get ready for Kendra's coming... Look out world, God is going to do some spectacular things the next 2 weeks!

I love comments!

Hey for all of you blog readers out there, you can leave comments! I love them... it also helps me to know how many are reading these updates I so painstakingly try to do weekly! Give a girl some love :)

Anyway, it has been crazy busy here the last 10 days... we've had a construction team from the States working at the church and staying at the WorldBase... so that has taken quite a bit of energy and time. But they were a great blessing to everyone, and they traveled home today, giving me a moment to update. You should check out www.worldbase.no and see pictures and Blog updates. (By the way, I have been updating the WorldBase website a lot lately... you should check it out!)

This Wednesday, one of my best and closest friends from the States, Kendra will be coming to visit me for two weeks! Can you say, "EXCITED"?!?!? She still hasn't received her passport even though she ordered it eight weeks ago! Pray that she would get her passport TODAY!

I have fallen in love with Norway again... in the stress of the last two years, I was just here working, and the call is what kept me here. But now, I am in love again, like I have just gotten here. I had my three year anniversary on the 6th of March and what a glorious time to have an anniversary when you are falling in love all over again with the call and with the ministry and with the country. God is good!

Snow's the Story

Well, to make a long story short... a whole five days of snow equals over 6 feet of snow and endless shoveling. The road conditions were terrible, there was no where to park downtown or here at the house, houses lost power, the freeway was shut down, stores began to run out of fresh goods. Now that the snow has stopped, it doesn't mean that there is any lack of shoveling! We have been shoveling away the snow a little bit every day, not to mention the many feet of snow that have just fallen off the roof into the most inconvenient places! Think about walking over a five foot hill of snow to get into your house! That's what we had to do yesterday when the snow fell off the roof in the driveway! The romance of this California girl snow-shoveling is long gone. And in these days of rain and meltage, the snow turns into heavy slush which is still more difficult to shovel and incredibly inconvenient to walk in... Yup, for all its trouble, it is still beautiful to see, but don't be fooled for a second that it is easy work to clean up after such a huge storm... We'll be shoveling for another 2-3 weeks at least, IF it doesn't snow again. ha ha Well, have a good night!

Still snowing...

Well, it is still snowing here! The winds are high, the temperatures are frigid (15-18 F), and the snow is falling. We've had close to 3 feet in 2 days. That's a lot!

I am still sick with the flu that has turned into a cold... I guess it's better than having the flu, but I hate the sneezing and congestion and eye watering. Gets old. Being outside right now makes me cough and the cough hurts my lungs, so no snow shoveling for me for a while.

Talk to you all soon. Keep praying for wellness and the safety of everyone in the snow!

Still...

Still sick with the flue for the second day in a row. I woke up this morning at 4:18, and I couldn't sleep. I was feverish and had pain all over my body. So I took some Tylenol, tried to watch some I Dream of Jeannie in my room, but I moved downstairs to lay down on the couch and watch some old movies. I was really out of it and ended up fallling asleep. I had to go to the office for a couple of hours to send in some forms for the youth summer camp, but then I came home right away and ate and slept and watched more movies and had a fever here and there with the painful cough. Oh how I hate the flu!!!

Well, it's snowing again outside... nice! Keep me in your prayers!

Again?!?!

Well, my record for not being sick is four months. I woke up this morning with a deep seated chest cough and aching all over my body. Yes, I think it is the dreaded flu. Right now I'm feeling OK enough to blog, but earlier this morning I was just out of it. It's not that I'm flat on my back sick, but bad enough to just be home and watch movies and TV.

Anyway, we had another good Friday. Adam spoke about dating to the kids. We had fifteen kids. This next Friday, we are going to start a "kiosk" -- a place where we can sell food for the last hour we are together (from 9-10 p.m.), and I will be leading the kiosk. I am excited about it -- we bought pizza baguettes, hot dogs, Oreos (difficult to find for a good price here, but we found them!), candy, and soda.

Yesterday, I spoke to the 6th-10th graders about prayer for the second week in a row. Last week, I spoke to them about boldness in prayer (using the parable from Luke 11 about the friend at midnight), and this week I spoke to them about persistence in prayer (using the parable from Luke 18 about the unjust judge. It seemed to go well... I got a nice comment from one of my friends in the church yesterday. I told her that I taught the kids yesterday, and she said, "You know what? I was talking with some of the girls, and they said it was so much fun whenever you taught, that you really take part in the games, and are just a lot of fun!" I thought that was so nice to hear because sometimes I doubt if I am making an impact, but it looks as though I am!

Well, I'm off to rest now... prayers for continued health are much appreciated!

Wow!

Last night we had 23 kids at youth group! 23! That's a new record. I never like to base success soley on numbers, but it is definitely a sign of success... the kids are inviting their friends who are inviting friends. So exciting!

Please pray for three of our youth -- they need to be saved. One is VERY close to being saved. Pray that the Holy Spirit would move on their hearts to be saved and would protect them as they make the decision to follow Jesus.

Blessings on you all and good night!

And so things get easier...

Things do get easier over time when love is lost, but at the same time it is still difficult because I thought I would be over this all a lot sooner. But I just need to allow myself to process every thought and emotion and bring it before the feet of Jesus, so that He can bring me to great victory through it all. It is like He is taking the broken pieces of my life and placing them into a beautiful mosaic -- which can't be seen unless I am able to stand back and look and look at each and every painful situation in my life through His eyes. Objectivity doesn't come quickly. It takes time. And I need to allow myself to feel the pain and at the proper moment to move on.

Well, on to other things... I have put up pictures of the Lighthouse Pizza party. You have to go to http://gepik.photosite.com and click on "Lighthouse Pizzakveld." (Sorry the active hyperlink isn't working.) Enjoy!

And so it is with love and all things surrounding it...

Unrequited love is painful when experienced. I've found it is doubly hard when everyone expects the best to happen, and it doesn't.

I am puzzled. I am hurt. I am wounded. I am human even though I am in minstry. Having God with me in this doesn't make the pain any easier, but He gives reason to hope and breathe and even love again.

For now... I sit and cry and come to Jesus... it's all I can do.

Lighthouse pizza party!

Well, I haven't been so good at updating lately -- life has been really busy, and at the end of a busy day at the office, the last thing I want to do when I get home is be on the computer. But anyway we just had a Lighthouse pizza party! Lighthouse is the group of youth from 6th-10th grade that meet every Sunday and serves as a bridge between the children's ministry and youth ministry and between the youth ministry and the church through serving. David and I are leading Lighthouse right now. We saw that there was a need to get the older youth used to the younger youth, so we decided to have purely a social evening with homemade pizza and tons of games and competitions and film making. Our goal was acheived -- the interaction was superb between the age groups and every one had a really fun time. I am really tired though because I have had kids at the house since 4 p.m. today to start preparing for the party, the party started at 6p.m., and everyone left at 9 p.m. But anyway, yes, we had a REALLY good time together, and I am glad we had such a wonderful evening. Pictures to come!

Blessings and good night... Also another fun piece of news, one of the boys that has begun attending church and youth group over the past month has come back to Jesus! He was invited by one of the kids that was saved in the summer, and now he has turned back to Jesus. So exciting! Good night!

A long while

Hey all! It's been a few days since I last updated, and to be honest the last thing on my mind is to update the blog, BUT shame on me, I need to keep you all updated.

Last week, we had our first OFFICIAL snow of the season. And yesterday, we had our first OFFICIAL day of snow where it didn't all go away in a matter of hours. And it is pretty cold out here right now -- about 25 degrees outside, and we are getting ready for a VERY cold week, with the temps not going over 25 degrees. So, here are some pictures of the first official snow that stuck!

Friday we had Uturn again with 17 kids! It hasn't fallen below 15 for the past three months. Febe, our national youth leader came to teach on the importance of living good, loving, and encouraging relationships with each other. Then on Saturday and Sunday, we also had the national youth leaders' meetings for Uturn Norway. There were six adult leaders and six student leaders (youth from the youth groups). The meetings were in Kristiansand. Febe spoke to us about our relationship with God and challenged us to spend time with the Lord. John Henry spoke to us about the qualities each leader needs to develop. Febe also challenged us to love others more than we ever have before in the year 2007. She gave us the assignment to spend 45 min. with the Lord and write a Psalm to God about our current state of life. Then we shared what we wrote. It was a heavy atmosphere but reassuring knowing that everyone is going through something or has gone through something, but God is there with them through it all. Saturday night, we went out to dinner at Mother India, (with what other kind of food than Indian!) and I had a very good time talking with Idar and Julia, two student leaders -- maybe I had a little too much fun! I felt completely comfortable with everyone and in my Norwegian speking skills. Wow! It's amazing how much fun I had esp. now that I know those on the youth leadership team better now and have a very good handle on the language.

Other than that, my week is pretty quiet and not much is happening. I will be meeting tomorrow night with a friend of mine from church that just joined the worship team. We're going to sit at the piano, and I am going to go through a bunch of worship songs with her. Will update when I have another minute. Until then, God bless!

Lazy days...

Today has been somewhat of a lazy day... Tylene and I had the opportunity to go to Oslo this weekend with John Henry and Lisbeth, who were going up to attend a wedding there. So we took the opportunity to go with them and spend all day Saturday sightseeing. We had a really good time, first of all because it was the two of us, second of all, because it wasn't hot out, and third of all, because there were barely any people at the museums. We came back last night from church about 8:00 and were both really tired. I got up late today because I couldn't get up any earlier! I had to go back to sleep!

The fellesmøte went well last week. I thought there would be more of an evangelistic thrust to the meetings, but what I saw the Lord do in the meetings that I went to was phenomenal. I was only able to attend the first two meetings. The first evening the speaker spoke about how we need to be honest with each other when we are going through difficulties, so that we can support each other and be victorious. The second evening, he spoke about how we need to let God take care of our pain, so that we can let go of bitterness, forgive, and move on. I heard that on the third evening, he spoke about how we need to encourage each other and work in the gifts God has given us that we could be a healthy church body. All in all, what he spoke about is “right on” with many Christians I know in the city – how they need to let go of their pain, be healed, and start doing what God has made them to do. And if we have a healthy church, we will have a healthy focus on evangelism! Thank you for your prayers. I could sense that the Holy Spirit was very strong in the meetings I attended.

Next week, I will be on a live webcast to my home church, Pathway Christian Fellowship! I will be there for both services for a few minutes... It should be a ton of fun to see you all! Talk to you soon... Gretchen

Well, things keep right on rolling here, and God is good! My very red eyes, which were a cause for concern the last few weeks were no more than just irritated. We had 16 youth last night and spoke about being "A Living Fellowship" -- about the importance of being there for each other and serving each other and looking out for each other. We spoke about how proud we were of the kids -- about their service in the church and how they look out for each other. It really put a good feeling in their hearts, and when it came time to clean up afterwards, the kids were quick to jump in there and help! What a great atmosphere. One of our newer girls to the youth group brought three of her friends last night! THREE of her friends... soooo exciting!

Then next week, we will be having “fellesmøter” for the entire city. (Fellesmøte means “together meetings). This is an annual event when all the churches in the city come together at the big state church and worship and pray together for the city. For the entire week there will be meetings every evening, and I am truly looking forward to these meetings – to praying for the salvation of the city together, worshiping together, and meeting new people in the city.

God is so good, and He is moving! I will keep you all updated!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"One minute to minute to midnight... one minute to go... one minute to say goodbye before we say 'hello'!"

Well, goodbye 2006 and hello 2007! Last night Tylene and I went to the Temmeruds to celebrate the evening. We ate and ate and ate AGAIN (good thing I am taking up ballet again!) and waited until midnight where everyone in the neighborhood set off the largest "home" fireworks I have ever seen in my life. It was literally a war zone of booms and pops and bursting light in the sky. There were a group of us extremely frightened onlookers that would huddle under the eave of John Henry and Lisbeth's house everytime someone would light anything from a sparkler to a battery of fireworks. It was quite pretty, but very dangerous all at the same time. All I had to say is that I was glad I wasn't downtown where drinking and fireworks cause even more dangerous situations.

I am looking forward to this coming year... I am ready to move on from last year -- from all its stress and challenges and ready to move on in discipline and following the Holy Spirit at His every move.

It will be a good... wait, no a GREAT year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!