Healings & Evangelism

Sorry for the delayed update. As we are looking at the last two weeks of outreach, things have begun to speed up and my mind has been focused away from this blog.

Last week was much the same as any other week. From our low-key Monday of relaxation, to our Tuesday university work, to our preparation day on Wednesday, and then our prayer meetings on Thursday. We continued pressing on in our mission to reach Tromso with the love of God, speaking to university students, hanging out with the Baptist church youth, and engaging the spiritual realm with prayer.

Our weekends - while busy and tiring - tend to bring about the most adventure and the most evidence of God's work. Typically on Fridays, we'll work at the university for a few hours again, but due to some scheduling changes, we had the opportunity to meet a guy from Minnesota named Paul Rappley. He studied at Bethel church in Redding, California for a few years and is now travelling the world doing healing services. The stories he had to share were mindblowing - from entire villages being saved to people being raised from the dead. He taught us about healing - the Biblical views on healing, how to pray for healing, etc. And then he had us all pray for eachother. Abi - who unknowingly had uneven legs - saw her shorter leg stretch to the size of the longer one. Knees were healed, backs and necks relieved of pain, even Erin's cracked tooth healed up to nearly 100%. It bolstered the faith of our team and showed us new ways in which the Holy Spirit loves working.

We learned that healing is meant for today just as much as it was meant for the time when Jesus and His disciples walked the earth. To drive out sickness and disease is part of our authority as sons and daughters of God. Most importantly, though, we learned that healing is not in our own ability. There is no ability within our own strength and power to heal anyone. It is God who heals, and He uses us to do so because He loves us.

Our cafe ministry at the Baptist church that night, though not as lively as last week, still brought about cool conversations with some people and neat interactions with God. At one point, a guy who accepted some hot cocoa from our outside stand decided he wanted some waffles and coffee inside. In our cafe, when he mentioned a pain in his leg and foot, our team prayed and the pain was gone! While there was no "salvation story" (he was Catholic), seeing what we learned earlier that day play out in our ministry was powerful!

On Saturday we met with Jesus Tent, but a twist was added because Paul was also joining us. He had us do a treasure hunt, with the specific focus of healing. We spent several minutes listening for God's voice and writing down on a piece of paper what we were hearing - a specific place, a piece of clothing, a healing someone might need, etc. Then splitting into teams, we spent an hour walking through the city center, looking for these signs we had received, looking to ask if anyone wanted prayer for healing. In that hour, we realized just how closed the people of Tromso can be. Many responded very friendly to us, as we've experienced in the past weeks here, but when it came to praying for healing, many didn't feel like they needed it. Even those with an obvious need for healing had no interest in the possibility.
After an hour of feeling discouraged, we hung onto the promise that our work here is paving a way, is somehow making it easier for future outreaches or missionaries or evangelists to work here in this city. It can be very difficult to continue evangelizing when we can't see the direct results of our work. But we are trusting what God is doing, and He has told us that we are making an impact.

A change of schedule came on Sunday when the Baptist and Pentecostal churches joined services. I am continually blown away by the unity of the churches in this city - that two different denominations can come together to have Christian fellowship, worshiping God together and not making a fuss over "denominational differences". The impact of that is very evident in their joined passion to change this city.

Relationships have also been amazing to see grow during our time here. Some Christian university students that we'd met doing our university ministry and Love 101 course invited us to their flat on Monday night. They served us a large traditional Norwegian dish followed up by a game and worship together. It was definitely a blessing to spend time with these students who are all passionate about God and all so friendly.

Our team has also been growing closer and having fun as we joke and laugh during our regular work, delve into deep conversations at the dinner table (thanks to Abi and Jess' "table topics"), and pray over and support eachother. From girls' and guys' night on Saturday, to enjoying the Superbowl on Sunday (more like, Monday morning) we have found much support and relaxation with eachother.

These final two weeks will be packed with more dinners, some travelling, saying goodbye to our new friendships, and wrapping up the ministries that we began when we arrived. It's a bittersweet time, as we are excited to return to Holmsted but also sorrowful that we have to leave this beautiful city and no longer be able to interact with those we've met and reach those we haven't. Pray that God will give us the endurance to finish this race well, to continue running our hardest and not lose sight of the work God still has for us in this last stretch.

For His glory,
Caitlin

We Decrease, He Increases

Monday is our day of “chillin”, but this particular Monday, January, 21^st, 2013 our base leader Steve Bishop was with us. So because it was a special Monday we decided to venture over the bridge to the mainland to visit the Arctic Cathedral. However, when we got there the Cathedral was closed! It was rather unfortunate (we had looked up the wrong opening times). It wasn’t particularly a nice day weather wise because the snow was coming down, so we didn’t get much of a view from the bridge either. But all in all it was a good day despite our soaking socks and frigid fingers.

            The next day was Tuesday, and the long anticipated day of our first Love 101 course. We showed up at the University around 11AM. We prayed like we always do before we set up our stand and split up into pairs to go out and ask people to fill out questionnaires. We had some really good conversations with people and created some publicity for the course. For me (Clayton), the best part of that afternoon was when Jessica, Raph, Becky, and I held up signs asking people what they thought love was. We had lots of people walk by and answer us as they went to and fro. We also had some people actually stop to talk to us about love and write their answer on our signs. We had differing opinions on what love is. One person said it was sacrifice, another said it was definitely not sacrifice. A Frenchman said that it was a recipe that you need to find the right ingredients for. Leave it to the French to come up with some romantic metaphor. We loved talking to the people, and we could tell that even those who didn’t answer us were at least thinking about it.

            Our course started at 4PM. We weren’t sure if anyone was going to show up. Well actually we knew a young woman by the name of Ronnie was coming. We’d met her previously and earlier that day as well. Apart from her we really didn’t know if anyone was going to be there besides us. But praise the Lord we had a few people come! One girl came that Jess and I had talked to while holding up signs. There was also another two that Becky and Raph had talked to that came. Lye taught us about things we should look for in a partner, and things we should avoid. I had heard the teaching before, but it’s always good to be reminded of something that can affect your life in a deep way. The thing I took away most was what Caitlin said at the end. She said that we should first be all the things we’re looking for in our partner. I agree with her. If we want our partner to be patient with us, we should first seek to be patient people ourselves. We chatted a bit with people after the class, and then jumped on the bus heading back to the city center.

            On Wednesday, Steve spoke to us all about putting in the extra effort all the way until the time we get on the plane headed for the UK. He encouraged us that many people were praying for us, and told us many practical things that He thought would help us during our ministry here. Then we all said bye to him as he left with Nathan to catch a bus headed for the airport (we found out later that they actually got lost, but thankfully Steve still made his plane). We waited for Nathan to return before we started our team time, and prepared for that night and the rest of the week. We wrote up questions and prepared paper to play a game with the girls who were coming later on that night. We also practiced our drama for Sunday’s service.

            When the girls (Emilie, Maria, Johanne) showed up that night we played a game that we haven’t quite figured out a name for. I think we’ve decided to call it “picture telephone”. It was fun, and it always causes us to have a good laugh or two at the end when you see how messed up your original description of a scene turned out. I think the girls enjoyed it. Then we passed a bag around that had a mix of funny questions and more serious questions. Some people were asked where they’d like to go while others were asked about why they believed in God or if Adam experienced love at first sight. It was interesting to hear what others had to say, and I think we all had fun.

            It’s a bit tough to get out of bed on Thursday mornings; 6:30AM isn’t exactly my ideal time to get up. But once we get to the City Hall and start praying with the Christians here I find that it was worth it. They’re incredibly passionate about their city. They long to see it transformed by God, and we long for that too. We prayed about justice being done in the court cases against the Hell’s Angels. We also prayed for their salvation, and for them to stop committing crimes here.

            Thursday’s seem quite long to me. I think it’s because we have a prayer meeting early in the morning, we don’t do much other than team time and eating in the afternoon, and then we have another prayer meeting at night. At night we meet with Jesus Tent to pray about various things and about the following Saturday when we’ll go out on the streets to try to talk to people. It was a great time of worship and praising God for what He’s done and will do. It got us excited for what God was going to do over the next two days (and He was going to do a lot).

            The following day, which was Friday, we went to the University at 11AM. We set up our stand and split into pairs with questionnaires. A few conversations were had, and we prayed for a few people as a team before we went for lunch. After lunch a few of us went to hold our signs again. While Jess and I were holding our signs we saw a young man and a young woman pass us and look at our sign. After about twenty minutes we saw them again. They were approaching us rather quickly, and then before either of us knew it we were being embraced. These random strangers were hugging us, then they let go, told us that’s what love was to them, and were gone. It was a really touching moment for Jess and I. I felt really uplifted by their random act of kindness and I think Jess felt the same. It was also encouraging to see that people are thinking about what our signs say even if they don’t directly come up to us to answer.

            Later that night, about 9PM, we met at the Baptist Church for a prayer meeting before setting up for our café night. I didn’t really know what to expect for the night. I hoped to talk to a few people, and hand out a few cups of hot chocolate on the cold streets. God had bigger plans. We got everything set up outside and upstairs. When it was my turn to go outside, I went and was standing outside sipping some hot chocolate when it began. We had four intoxicated teenagers come up and I gave one of them a cup of hot cocoa. They invited us out for drinks which we declined. Then a man who must have been either mentally sick or worse came up to me and asked me if I was a pig. I wasn’t sure what he was saying so I asked him to clarify. He then asked me what he should tell his kids if this world is doomed to hell. He asked me if he should tell them to live normally. I asked him what he meant by “normally”. Then he walked away. It was an odd conversation. Then two intoxicated guys came up to us and told us that handing out hot cocoa was against the Bible. They said that we were going to sexually arouse the woman of the city. They were joking (thankfully), I didn’t understand the humor of what they said, but I was glad that they were joking. We didn’t really have any type of deep meaningful conversation with them, but they seemed to be grateful for the hot chocolate.

            I went upstairs to get more hot chocolate, when I came back down it was like the night had been turned upside down. David and Jess were in deep conversation with this one guy, and Nathan, Abi, and Caitlin were talking to an intoxicated elderly man. I didn’t join their conversation (which seemed rather interesting to say the least), but I did join David and Jess’s conversation. They soon left, but Mark joined me to talk with this man who was rather odd. I’m not sure what he believed. We asked him a few times, but he kept saying things that didn’t have any meaning to what we were saying. He spoke very good English, but we still couldn’t really get any sort of meaningful discussion going on. He was adamant about telling us he was a pacifist; even more adamant that he had told the Norwegian government that along with what he thought of them (which was a list of profanities). He told us that he knew he was ugly which saddened Mark and I and we tried to tell him that God didn’t think so and that God loved him. We tried over and over to explain that God loved him, but he didn’t care or believe us. I think he might have actually offered Mark and I a job at his “organization of firefighters”. We said that we were quite alright, and then he left.

            As soon as he was gone, Mark and I joined a conversation that had just started between Nathan and two guys from the University. They had quite a lot of questions about God. I think that they thought we were the “fire and brimstone” type of Christians that tell people they’re going to burn in hell (which we of course are not, or at least try not to be). I think they lightened up a bit when they realized that we actually weren’t outside in the cold because we wanted to tell people they were all wrong about life. We had a really good discussion with them. They were asking about questions about hell and morality. They asked us questions about God and the Bible. I think they were rather surprised to find out that I used to be an atheist and had all the same questions they did. I think they were equally surprised to find out that Mark agreed with evolution (a different type than the normally accepted version). We tried our best to answer their questions and explain things from our perspective. At the end of it they thanked us for talking to them, and we thanked them for stopping by. We all shook hands and they called us “friends” which was something I’m not used to after discussing God with atheists. It was a really pleasant conversation, and I hope we see them again.

            We met with Jesus Tent on Saturday morning to pray before we went out. We got our little tent set up in the city square. Jess and Abi prepared signs about the city that they held while the rest of us either stayed at the tent or went out prayer walking. Glen and Erin were able to pray for a woman to be healed and she was! She had a leg that was shorter than the other that grew out before their eyes. She had back pain that was gone. Her dizziness stopped, and her anxiety and fear were relieved. Praise the Lord! We also had a few good conversations with various people from the street. The people we talked to knew about our café on Friday’s. It was an encouragement that people know about what we’re doing. Erin and Raph even got their pictures taken and were asked questions that got put into an article in the Newspaper. They wrote up a paragraph about how we’re here trying to bless the city. It was good publicity. We also had others come up to the people holding the signs and talk to them about why we’re here. All in all it was a good day of conversations and prayer.

            We thought the excitement for the day was over after we got home from Jesus Tent, but it was most certainly not. At about 6:30 PM we got a text from David that said we were going to go on a hunt for the Northern Lights! It was the most amazing time! They drove us outside of the main part of the city closer to sea. We had this amazing view of two mountains split by the sea. It was a gorgeous view even without the Northern Lights. It was almost too much to handle when the Northern Lights came out. They were unlike anything I’ve ever seen. In fact, I had never seen anything like it in all my life. It was breath-taking. I was amazed by God’s majesty. He’s truly the most amazing painter there ever was. The lights danced in the sky, and just when you thought they had gone, they suddenly appeared behind you even brighter. We tried our best to take photos of them, I think we got a few good ones, but no camera can capture that feeling of “wow” that they impress. We are so grateful to have someone like David who is always trying his best to make our stay here as best as can be.

            We ran part of the service on Sunday with the Baptist Church. We performed our “mask” drama. The drama is all about how we can be real with God and we don’t need to put on any type of mask to please Him. We can come as we are before Him. Jess gave her testimony, and Raph and Caitlin lead worship. All of them did a superb job. The guest speaker was from the Pentecostal church. It was a nice service. We talked with a few people after, which is one of my favorite parts of Sunday. I love talking with people from the Church and learning about their lives.

            It was a great week here in the Far North. We really felt God move in the city and in the lives of the people. For me, it was the best week since we got here. I had some real hard personal struggles, but to see God work through us and among us made those problems infinitely smaller. I love that. I love feeling smaller when it makes God bigger. We must decrease, but He must increase. 

Clayton

Launching Into Ministry

This week has been an active week for us here in the north of Norway.  On Tuesday we were again at the university promoting the love 101 course that starts next week. We were joined by another YWAM group who are doing their DTS in the south of Norway. We had met them previously and therefore had arranged for them to hang out with us after the ministry time at the university. At the university we split into three groups. One group on the stand, the second doing questionnaires, and lastly people praying for the university and the others in our group who are talking with students. We would all rotate so that no one was stuck doing one thing.   We had some good responses from the questionnaires and the stand which was a positive reinforcement, that we were having an impact. Coming back and hanging out with the other team was nice because it gave us a chance to learn about their DTS, and more about them. It also was great to just be with other people outside our group.

 On Wednesday we had four of the church girls over again. We had a great time doing some creative worship with them, we played worship music and had painted. Some of the pictures that came out were really interesting and seeing the thoughts behind them was great. Two of the girls were particularly gifted with paint and this really shone on that talent. It was a peaceful but fun experience and the girls seemed to enjoy themselves.

Thursday is an early starting day with a 7am prayer meeting. We drag ourselves to the prayer meeting at the town hall which is only situated down the street from our church. The meetings are always really interesting, the Christians are so passionate and we get to learn more about the city. At the meeting we found out that the town is linked as a friendship city with Gaza.  This was brought up because they had invited a representative from Gaza to the International Film Festival that was happening this week. Although at the same time someone had invited a representative from Israel. The newspapers were putting this to be a real issue so we prayed against any conflict and that there would be peace. We then in the evening would join Jesus tent to pray with them, this was a really funny experience. One of the Jesus tent workers wanted to do a fire tunnel of prayer. One because there were enough of us that it would work but also it is a really good prayer exercise. Erin, Abi and me all started to burst into laughter while we traveled through the tunnel. Such a good night but some of us came back with the giggles.

Friday was a day that we went on a prayer walk and that was really amazing. We split into pairs and prayed were we should go and what we should declare over the city. It felt really healthy to be out and praying for the city. At 9:00 we did outreach from the Baptist church. There were some conversations and it definitely seemed to be becoming easier and easier. Jesus Tent had decided to go out on Saturday which was great because it meant that we could go with them. We set the tent up in the town square as the first of the mini blizzards started. The day was hard as the people seemed to be hard and not wanting to talk. Despite this there was definitely an importance to us being there. 

Sunday we joined the apostolic church for their evening service which we led for them. Raphael and Catlin did worship. Clayton did a sermon on prayer and evangelism which was very powerful. It really showed how prayer is definitely linked to evangelism and how we need to show love to the people of the world. Abi and Erin shared their testimonies which showed the congregation how God had impacted their lives. At the end we opened up to do ministry time which some people came up and gave us the chance to pray for them which was great. This week had been a great week with some amazing lessons being learned about God and who he is.

Becks  

Stepping into Unfamiliar Snow

After a full week of ministry, evangelism, and prayer meetings our team is getting into the swing of our new living arrangements. Two days a week our team will be reaching out at the local university. Local Christians with a vision for the campus are hosting a course called Love 101 that will be starting on January 22nd, a class which discusses relationships from a Christian perspective. Our job on Tuesday, then, was to help promote this class by discussing it with students using questionnaires that would help determine what students are most interested in learning about if they were to take such a class. It was an interesting couple of hours navigating the campus and meeting new people, opening up conversation that sometimes led to interest in the class and other times led even into deeper discussions on faith and God.

We continued this type of work on Friday, this time setting up a stand and offering coffee and scones to students passing by. Some of our team took that time to do more questionnaires and others to do a prayer walk while some stayed back to interact with students at the stand. Many of us have had interesting conversations and we now look forward to hopefully running into both new people and people we've interacted with before to keep letting God work through us.

The pastor of the Baptist church, David, treated our team to a walk through the mountains on Thursday to a small cabin where we roasted hot dogs and enjoyed the beauty of Tromso's surroundings. The sun was going down at just the perfect time for us to see its pinks and oranges grace the blue sky just above the peaks of the frozen mountains.

On Friday, after doing the work mentioned above at the university, our team gathered at the Baptist church to set up a cafe. Every Friday we plan on doing evangelism in the city and have brainstormed many creative ways to do so. Our first was to hold a cafe for a few hours inside the church, offering coffee and waffles and a place for people to just hang out. Outside we had a table set up on the street corner with hot chocolate, offering people a free cup of cocoa and then offering them the opportunity to go into the cafe inside. The first hour was slow, and I wasn't too sure anyone would ever end up coming in. However, some people gave in to their curiosity and hung out with us in the make-shift cafe. It ended up being a fun night where we met new people - a couple university students originally from Afghanistan and Pakistan, a couple from Germany who gladly talked to our German team member Raphael, a Norwegian soldier only in town for a couple of days. We felt at peace about what we were doing, and we plan on doing the same this coming Friday night. 

Even though it ended up being a late night, we all rose early the next morning to help lead some confirmation classes an hour's drive from the city. Our team was responsible for teaching 20 14-year-olds about creation and the fall of mankind. While at first nervous about having the responsibility of teaching teenagers the Bible, we had fun leading these kids through activities like painting and games, while also communicating with them the powerful truth of God's original plan for us. We had the privilege of also teaming up with a YWAM team from Norway to teach these classes - 5 people that helped us at the university and that we get to hang out with more this week. 

Our team has especially enjoyed developing relationships with the people of Tromso. We had a lovely dinner with a wonderful family from the Baptist church on Saturday night. They blessed us with homemade dinner and dessert and intriguing conversations on Norwegian culture and the work they've been doing as Christian doctors.
On Wednesday we invited the youth of the Baptist church - consisting of 5 girls - to our flat to hang out. Jess and Abi brainstormed a very creative game and we got to know the girls a little more. This seems to be an especially important part of ministry for us because Norway seems to be so lacking in Christian youth. One of the girls expressed to us how much she loved our being here because of how few Christian friends she has in school. We all look forward to getting to know them more, and hopefully encouraging them in their faith. 

On Sunday, 5 of our members went to a church on Summer Island while the other 4 stayed at the Baptist church. Since I was not part of the group that went to Summer Island, I'll let Becky explain their experience at the other church:

"So to get to the destination it was a hour and a half drive from Tromso. The island is a small island community of around about 100 people. When we turned up to the church you could see the sea on both sides - it is that small. The church was of a medium size but with one of the biggest congregations that we have seen since being in Norway, consisting of about 40 people. The pastor was on sick leave so one of the elders of the church was leading the service which lasted about an hour and a half. During the service there was worship and then they wanted all five of us to share a bit of our story. So about mid-way through we all stepped up and shared our little piece which was translated for us. The reason that we had been invited to the church was because one of the prayer leaders that we are connected to was preaching. Her name is Margritt and she shared a message about the depth of God. The fact that we can always delve deeper into Him, there is no limit. Her message was simple but one that many of us need constant reminding of.  At the end of the service they did one of their traditions which is sharing home made food and conversation. We got to enjoy good cake, coffee and to try brown cheese. The conversation was light and many of the congregation said how happy they were that we were in the city and were able to attend their church service. Some of their English was rusty but it was manageable. After filling ourselves on cake we walked a small way to the leader of the service house to have a traditional northern dish called Molje. It consists of cod fish, the liver, the eggs and potatoes. I feel that we were all surprised that we had an enjoyable experience. The fish was high quality and the liver is packed full of vitamins. We were told that the reason so many northerners eat the dish is because it gives them all the vitamins that they do not get because of the dark period which is occurring. Safe to say that our team came away feeling well fed, well hosted, and happy that we got to experience another church."

After a day of rest, our team is ready for another week of God's working. We're excited to continue working at the university as well as our ministry opportunities on Friday nights working with the Baptist church. 

For His glory,
Caitlin

The Beginning of the Adventure

A week ago I was waiting for the arrival of 2013 in an Oslo hostel with my 8 other traveling companions. We would be flying to Bodo on the first day of the New Year to catch another flight to our final destination of Tromsø. None of us knew exactly what to expect, other than a recently-flooded church and freezing temperatures, but we were all excited for the beginning of a new adventure.

Since arriving, our first week in the Arctic Circle has been relaxing. We met the pastor of the Baptist church that invited us, members of the city's prayer group, and others who will be working with us during the next two months. We have wandered the city, finding places like the grocery store, the post office, and the northernmost Burger King. Ships in the harbor can be clearly heard from our flat with the long blows of their horns. Snow and ice cover the ground with no signs of melting any time soon. The most magnificent part of Tromsø, however, is the mountains - blue peaks that surround the city, many times their tops shrouded by gray clouds. We have immediately recognized the beauty that God has created this city with, and we are waiting for the night we get to see the Northern Lights dancing above this scenic beauty.

Of course, we have come here to do more than sightseeing and tourism. We will be working at the local university at least once (if not twice) every week, talking to students and seeing how God will use us with people around our age. A small ministry called Jesus Tent - consisting of a few guys who set up a tent in the city center to pray for people - has asked us to join them on Saturdays. The Baptist pastor has ideas for evangelism outings every week, and has begun including our team in the Sunday services by having us share testimonies, lead worship, and even give sermons.

As we have met the local Christians of Tromsø, something that has struck me is their intense passion for their city. On Friday we joined about 20 people for a four-hour prayer service, from 9 PM to 1 AM. The entire night was focused on praying for God to reach the people of the city. I cannot remember the last time I prayed for my little city back in the States, but these people in Norway are intensely seeking God for a revival movement. What if Christians in my home country were that dedicated to their cities? Could you imagine the effects of every Christian praying for their home cities across the world? The expectation in my heart during that prayer night rose. These people are seeking God and expecting Him to come and sweep through Tromsø. When faith and dedication are at that level, something is bound to happen.
During the service, this small group of believers then turned the attention to our group and prayed over us. What a humbling experience for the locals of the city to accept us with such excitement and faith. Many gave words to different members of our group, sometimes confirming prophecies already spoken, and greatly encouraging us as a whole.

The weekend continued with prayer as we went out on a prayer walk from the south to the north of Tromsø, stopping at key points to invite God's presence into the city. It was a powerful time of preparation and another chance for us to see more of the beauty and culture of northern Norway. On Sunday the Baptist congregation gathered around us at the end of service to pray over us, speaking out God's protection over our team as we step into His plan for our two months here.

This week will look much busier than the last, but we are excited to see where God takes us. He is doing something in the Arctic Circle, and He hasn't brought our team here by mitsake. There's definitely a plan and something tells me it will be bigger than I'm envisioning.

For His glory,
Caitlin