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 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
"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
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