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
Mark, Becky, Caitlin, Clayton, Erin, Nathan, Abi, Jess, and Raphael
