Reflections on Week Eight: The Art of Reseach

This may be my favorite week of teaching yet! At least it's really close between this and The Problem of Suffering...

Our speaker this week was Ann Smith from New Zealand. She's been with YWAM since the beginning, and was one of the people who started the SOIWSWs with Paul Hawkins. I must admit one of the reasons I love her so much is because I think she's a lot like me... or I'm a lot like her... or we're a lot alike... whatever. Her teaching covered the importance of research, its benefits, how to reseach, and what types of things to look for when researching. We all have our own perspectives, worldviews, and biases, but research helps us to see beyond these things. To be effective researchers, we must examine as many sources as possible--not just the ones we agree with or the ones that are easily accessible.

I was going to continue with a summary of the teaching, but I realize that is probably not what you are reading this blog to find out. If you wanted to know all the details of the teaching, you'd probably be in this school with me :-). What is more interesting to write about (and probably read about, too) is how this week impacted me personally. I know God is calling me to be a researcher. He has so much He wants to reveal to me as I study the histories and cultures of peoples and nations. I believe many of the keys to peace and reconciliation are found in a study of the past. The wounds a nation has sustained and perpetrated in the past have a profound impact on its present actions and reactions. These are the things I want to understand.

God is also calling me to be an intercessor. Not just in prayer, but also as a lifestyle. The reseach I do will not only inform my prayers, but will inform my intercession as a peacemaker. Peacemaking is intercession! I'm finding it difficult to put into words the connections that have been made in my mind this last week. But I feel like a lot of things have come together for me--for my future, my calling, my identity, for why God has called me to do this school, for the next two years in the Peace Corps. There has been a definite fusing; I'm always looking for connections and themes, so this synthesis is very exciting to me. Now all I have to do is figure out how to articulate it a little better :-).

17th of May!

Ok, so this post is a little late (that seems to be a trend lately...). But I won't let my tardiness prevent me from sharing about one of the biggest holidays in Norway! This past Tuesday (May 17th), Norwegians celebrated 100 years as an independent nation. What a privelege it was to be here for this huge event! The 17th of May is the equivalent of the 4th of July in the States, although I have to say that for all the patriotism of Americans, the Norwegians have us beat in celebrating their independence. This is day rivals Christmas for many Norwegians as the most exciting day of the year.

This year, our day began with a flag raising, and singing of the Norwegian national song. Everyone dresses up--this is a "best clothes" day. Most Norwegian women wear their National Suits, which are beautiful, and only come out for special occasions such as this. It made me wish Americans had a national suit! We had a very nice breakfast in our dining hall, which I helped to decorate the night before. Then we all went down to the round-about for the celebration on the island. Pretty much everyone gathered for speeches, children's choirs, and a parade! We marched in the parade under the banner for the University of the Nations and had a blast! After a traditional lunch of sour cream porridge (actually very good!) and various "salty meats," we headed into Kristiansand to watch their parade, which was much larger (and, of course, we were not in it). That was fun except that our sunny day on the island turned into rain and hail in Kristiansand!

Later in the evening we had a BBQ back at the YWAM base, and then around 10:30, we headed back into town for the fireworks show, with TONS of other people :-). The day finally ended at about midnight, when we rolled into bed. It was great to take part in all the traditional festivities, and I'm so glad I was able to be here to experience the celebration! Enjoy the pictures!

Many of the girls (and some little boys!) dressed in their traditional National suits. It makes me wish Americans had National suits! 

Breakfast! Yum! This is just one of the three traditional meals we ate... 

Right to left: Gunna, Jessica, and Peko enjoying breakfast (Tom Andre, another IBC student from Norway, is the other guy in the background). 

Part of the table I helped decorate! 

Gunna & I withour stylish Norwegian napkins at breakfast. 

Gunstein, Gunna, Me & Colleen at the celebration Tuesday morning. 

Gunna & Line carrying the banner in the parade in Flekkeroy. I had a turn carrying the banner as well! At first only the guys were taking turns, but then Gunna & I decided we were tough enough to handle the responsibility as well. :-) 

Randi (IBC Student, Norway) and Elisabeth in their National suits. 

Colleen, Lina & Line trying to get shelter from the hail while watching the parade in Kristiansand. 

The fireworks show in Kristiansand. 

Belated Reflections on Week Seven: The Character of God

Last week we had teaching from an old-time YWAMer, Paul Hawkins. He is actually one of the people who started the first SOIWSW back in 1990! His teaching on The Character of God was different than I expected: instead of a systematic overview of God's characteristics (loving, merciful, just, etc.), he emphasized the importance of knowing God and walking in an understanding of His character and His ways. In other words, I say that God is faithful, but do I live like I believe that? Do I trust Him completely to provide for me and to fulfill His promises? I was inspired by Paul's many stories of living by faith in God's provision. One of his quotes everyone has been repeating is this: "Money is not the issue! God won't always pay for your good ideas, but He always pays for His good ideas. The only issue is the will of God!" This was a good reminder for me, because I think recently I have fallen into a habit of making decisions based on whether or not I can afford something, rather than first asking God what He wants me to do. If God wants me to do something, of course He is going to provide everything I need to do it! God has never failed me in the past, so there is no logical reason to believe He will do so in the future.

Another thing Paul talked about a lot was God's infinite imagination. I don't think I'd ever thought about it quite like this before. But God's imagination is infinite! Think about snowflakes and fingerprints, for example. No two have been the same in all of history; that's pretty amazing! So God can come up with solutions to my problems I never could have fathomed, and He never has to do something the same way twice. When my mind can't possibly imagine a reasonable way for God to come through on one of His promises, I can know that He is infitely more imaginative than I am. That's what we mean when we sing: "God can make a way where there seems to be no way."

Above all, Paul's teaching and stories inspired me to draw closer to God and get to know Him better. It was obvious that Paul knows God and walks with Him closely each day, and I want to have that kind of relationship with God as well. I know my relationship with God won't look the same as Paul Hawkins', but his life shows me there are greater depths of intimacy, and that's what I want!

Trip to Preikestolen!

This weekend, about 30 students and staff from both the SOI and the IBC took a trip to a famous Norwegian landmark: Preikestolen. In English, Preikestolen means "Pulpit Rock," and it is a sheer cliff that drops more than 500 meters down to the narrow fjord below. We left Friday afternoon and drove about 4 hours northwest to a Bedehus (prayer house/meeting hall) where we slept. Even that was an adventure, as we lost one of our students during the ferry ride and didn't find him again until several hours later. But by 10pm that evening, all was well. I wish I had taken pictures of the area around the Bedehus (I kept thinking, "I can do it later."). Right across the street was farmland surrounded by beautiful mountains. There were sheep and horses grazing, and we even got one of the horses to come eat grass from our hands. It was perfectly idyllic!

On Saturday morning we headed out to begin the hike up to Preikestolen. Someone once said that Norway is like Yosemite times ten, and I think I'd have to disagree. Yosemite times fifty would be more accurate. I was awestruck by the beauty as we drove to the trailhead. It took about an hour and a half to hike up to the top, where there was a gorgeous view (see pictures below). After spending a few hours enjoying the scenery and daring to dangle our feet off the edge of the cliff, we hiked back down and enjoyed ice-cream at the bottom! That night we had a BBQ on a nearby beach (I still miss American hamburgers...) before heading back to the Bedehus for a rousing game of THUNDER! It's impossible to explain the game in just a few sentences, but suffice it to say it involves animal noises, dramatic body movements, and some of the funniest facial expressions you've ever seen. For those of you who have played "Big Booty," it is very similar. I'm proud to say that I was leading the game by the end, probably based in large part on my Big Booty skills. So I guess I've got you to thank, Jesse :-). Anyway, I don't think I've laughed that hard in a very long time.

Another quite interesting aspect of our trip was that the Bedehus where we stayed didn't have any smoke alarms, so we had to have "fire guards" take shifts staying awake throughout the night. Something about that just struck me as incredibly funny. At first when they told us, I thought it was a big joke, because it just sounds so ridiculous, don't you think? But no, it wasn't a joke, so I took the third watch on Saturday night, from 3-5am. I was on guard with Peter, one of our school leaders (also our speaker last week), so despite the fact that 3am is definitely not my finest hour, we had a good time talking together.

Sunday we packed up and drove back home, but took the "scenic route" this time (as if there is anything other than the scenic route in Norway). Again, it was absolutely breathtaking. We stopped at a couple landmarks along the way, one of which is "Two Houses Under a Rock." That's not its real name, but that's all I heard people calling it. Basically, someone built these two small houses under a very large cliff nearly 200 years ago, and they are still there in relatively good condition because the cliff has protected them from sun, rain and wind. It was pretty funny to see these tiny little houses under this huge rock cliff in the middle of nowhere in Norway. All in all, it was a very fun weekend, and I'm glad I was able to see some other parts of this beautiful nation. I know I'm a little behind on my posting, but I hope to write some reflections on last week's teaching in the next day or two. It's been a bit busy with us being out of town and all, but I will catch up! :-) Until then...

Lunch break on the hike. That's Gunna, Elisabeth, Torgunn, and Cecilia far back on the right. Cecilia is Signe Elisa's daughter, who joined us this weekend. 

Our first glimpse of the fjord, about an hour into the hike. 

Preikestolen! This hardly does its height justice, since you can't see all the way down to the fjord, but that's Elisabeth up at the top! 

The view of the fjord to the left of Priekestolen. 

The view to the right of Preikestolen. 

Gunna & I sitting on the edge of the cliff overlooking the fjord.

My feet hanging over the edge :-) 

Elisabeth: "Look! There are little trees growing out of these rocks!" 

Me & my one-on-one staff, Magni--braids are a great solution to greasy hair! 

On our way back to the base on Sunday, we stopped at a famous Norwegian landmark: two houses built under a rock cliff. The houses are amazingly well-preserved because they are protected from sun, wind and rain under the cliff. 

Climbing the rock behind the houses. Left to right: Torstein (IBC Student, Norway), Jofrid, Gunna, Elisabeth, Jorgen, and Cathrine (IBC Student, Norway).

Reflections on Week Six: The Problem of Suffering

It's hard to believe the school is half over already! Week six was an excellent week of teaching by Peter Tinggaard, one of our school leaders. He is an incredibly intelligent and honorable man, whom I highly respect and trust. His treatment of the difficult problem of suffering was the best I've ever heard. A concept that impacted me from the beginning was this: Our answer to the problem of suffering is not just incidental to our faith; it is foundational to the way we view God. If God is in control of all things, how can He be good? And if He controls all things and is still good, how can we possibly understand a God whose goodness involves all the suffering in the world? Yet we believe God is good, all-powerful and knowable.

It's hard to summarize a week's worth of teaching on such a complex subject in just a few paragraphs, so I'll copy from my journal some of the concepts I identified as those that impacted me particularly:

• God gave humans authority to rule the earth (in Genesis) and intended that we rule with Him, and allow Him to rule through us; though we chose not to rule with Him, He does not take this authority from us, but continues to allow us to rule.
• God is not controlling every event on earth and is NOT behind suffering--this view communicates a distorted view of God and our authority; suffering is caused by sin (though an individual's suffering is not necessarily caused by personal sin), and has nothing to do with God, even though He can miraculously use it for good.
• There is an enemy (Satan) who has been given authority on earth by humans. God did not give Satan authority, but He gave humans authority, who, in turn, give it to Satan by believing his lies. Satan's goal is to lie, steal and destroy, and he causes much suffering on the earth.
• God cannot remove suffering; He can't give us free will without allowing the consequences of our actions.
  
• We still have authority! Authority to choose God, or to choose evil, and the authority to pray for God's will to be done on earth! Our prayers can change the world!
• God's way of conquering isn't always by removing suffering, but by giving us the power to conquer in and through suffering. This can be God's greatest weapon against Satan--taking something Satan intended to destroy us and using it to destroy him!
• God is not immune from suffering. Just like a father, when He sees His children suffering, He suffers as well. Even Jesus' victory was not a way around death, sin & suffering, but through and beyond them; He conquered not by divine power and authority, but by going through suffering in its fullness.
• The battle between God and Satan is not about power (there is no question that God is infinitely more powerful than Satan), but about love--bringing humankind back to God. God still wants us to rule in relationship with Him.
• The fact that God is not behind all events does not make Him weak. The fact that suffering exists does not mean God is impotent. It means the world is full of people God has created with the ability to make choices, and it means there is an enemy working with authority given to him by people. Therefore, we need to act! We have authority and we can pray and work with God to see a reduction in suffering on the earth.
  
• God is good! God is good! God is good! He does ONLY good. He is worthy of my love and worthy of my trust.

There are no easy answers to the problem of suffering, and this isn't meant to be an exhaustive explanation; it's only a summary of some of the things I've realized this week. This was a great topic for a prayer school because I believe it provides the basis for why we pray. God's will will NOT be done whether I pray or not; my prayers DO matter. Everything that happens is not God's will; that's why Jesus tells us to pray, "They will be done." And I can't emphasize enough that God is good! And He's good not just in an incomprehensible way, but in the way we understand goodness. So on that note, I will end this longer-than-usual post. Again, individual questions and comments can be communicated through the "Email Me!" link at the right...

Praying in Grimstad

Today our school took a drive to Grimstad, a city about an hour from Flekkeroy. While there, we prayed for a couple topics in two different locations. One thing I love about this school is that we're not only learning about prayer; we're also learning how to lead others in prayer. So we have many opportunities to lead prayer times for our school and for the IBC as well. Earier this week, the students were split into 2 teams (3 students in each team) and given the task of planning an hour prayer time for a specific topic in Grimstad. My team's topic was the youth of the city (exciting for me!). Now some people might be thinking, "What is there, really, to planning a prayer time? Don't you just pray?" While, of course, that is surely acceptable to God, I'm learning that prayer can be so much more creative and exciting! It doesn't have to be boring and quiet and solemn; and putting effort into planning the time contributes much to keeping it from being so.

So this morning we first drove to a gymnasium where a youth rally is going to be held next week, and the other team led us in an hour of prayer for that. Then we drove downtown to a street where all the youth hang out on the weekends (comparable to RiverPark, for you Fresnans :-)). That was where my team led. We walked down the street, praying for God's Spirit to be there, then we met together again to pray into a few specific issues for the youth in Grimstad, such as divorce, depression, and gangs/violence. We had each topic written on a heart in a basket. Someone would draw a heart and we would pray for that subject for a few minutes, and then someone would draw another heart. We ended with a time of singing, asking God to come and show His power in that place. At first, I thought an hour would be a really long time to pray, but it's amazing how quickly it passed.

All in all, it was a great day! I never knew that praying for 2 1/2 hours could be so easy and fun. And I also really enjoyed planning for today. For those of you who know me well, this won't come as a surprise! I love planning parties, meetings, vacations, schedules, lives (yeah Sarah?? :-)), and prayer times are no exception! I'd just never tried it before this school. I look forward to focusing my "planner" energy into many more prayer times in the future :-).

Gunna & Signe Elisa eating lunch on the dock in Grimstad. 

"Grimstad Godsterminal", the name of one of the buildings near where we prayed. Godsterminal is actually Norwegian for a type of hodgepodge market, but we still thought it was pretty cool :-) 

Jessica, Peter, & Gunna--the coolest. Apparently, wearing a sweatshirt on your head is the newest trend in Norway... 

Our school in Grimstad (minus a few staff members). Back Row: Eili (staff), Jofrid (school leader, Norway), Oddi (student, Norway), Jessica (staff), Peter (school leader, Denmark), Signe Elisa (student, Norway), Gunna. Front Row: Elisabet (student), Torgunn (student, Norway), Me!