The last year of school in Norway is especially more exciting than in any other place that I have heard of before. Once you are in your last year you immediately become what they call "Russ". When you are Russ you are allowed to do anything you want because you are young and it's ok for you to do it. Fun usually comes wrapped up in doing as many challenges as you can so you can gain a knot to tie around your hat. The more knots you have, the better. The challenges can go from having to sit underneath your desk during a whole class to running naked in your school campus. However this fun tradition hasn't turned out as great as it sounds. There are a lot of dark things that happen during the festivals that happen during "Russetid". Young people often get drunk, take way too many drugs which ends up being very dangerous for them. Many of the challenges also involve having sex with as many people as you can or kissing all the boys in school. Sadly there are also a lot of girls who end up being raped during festivals.

          In the midst of all this darkness there is a light. Three organizations in Norway decided to form a group for Christian students also called "Kristen Russ" (Christian Russ) or "Kruss" who don't want to be a part of the "dark side" of this celebration. Their motto is "Together and present we will make a difference." Being Kruss is not about separating yourself from everyone but being present and being a light in the darkness so that people will see Jesus. In September my friend Thea and I went around Norway in a Kick-Off tour for Kruss. We went to 17 different cities to gather those who made a decision to make a difference in their group of friends, their schools and their city. We were able to share about all the activities we host that they could take a part of by being Kruss and also encourage them to create their own activities to become a community that shines their light before others. I also had the chance to preach in some places. The message I shared was also being shared by many other preachers in the churches we visited all over Norway. I was so encouraged to see that when God has a message to share, He doesn't just do it in one place but he makes it happen in the whole nation! It was truly amazing to see so many young people with a big desire to stand up for their faith and be an example of love and kindness to their friends.

          Our tour was so great! I learned a lot about bringing God into every situation we encountered and that was thanks to my friend Thea. She is such an amazing and inspiring friend. Her relationship with God and with others really challenged me to become more involved with what God can do when seek Him. When we drove from place to place we talked about what we have learned about God and how He has set us free. This lead us to have prayer times for every Kick-Off event we had. We experienced how God would change the atmosphere of our meetings and the response we got from the youth in every place we went to. Even though it was tiring to travel every day the whole trip was so worth it just to see that God is doing something among the young people in Norway and we get to be a part of it!


Here are some pictures from the trip!

Trondheim

Trondheim

Trondheim

Molde

Ålesund

Bodø

Tromsø

So, it's official, I'll be moving out of the YWAM base into town! This is actually quite a big decision for me. It's another chance for me to grow in faith and trust in God. I will have the opportunity to testify about who God truly is in the local community. I'm really excited to get to know the people of Hamar. God has great things for Norway and Hamar is a town God has chosen to be a great influence in an area of Norway that is considered spiritually dead.

          I have to admit that most of the time I see the lack of constant financial support as a negative thing. There are many lies that can come into mind when things don't go the way we expect them to. The lie I tend to believe is that God doesn't love me or that He doesn't want to take care of me. The feeling of abandonment comes in to destroy my motivation to do the work I do every day. But there is always that moment where I realize I am completely wrong. Last Sunday I got to share a small testimony in a church. I asked God to show me what to share, brilliantly, He reminded me about one of the biggest challenges I've had when it comes to raising support. Through this hard time I learned that God must love me very much because he is challenging me.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  

James 1:2-4

 This is what the next season of my life is all about, God showing me that He loves me because He is challenging my faith and trust in Him. Even though it's hard, I am blessed!

          I do want to ask you to consider in joining me in this new area of missions I will jump into. As of now I am in need of people who are willing to support me monthly with whatever amount of money God places in your heart. It can be 5, 20, 50, 100  dollars per month any amount helps! For now my goal is to get 900 USD/ 7,370 NOK per month.

Thanks to all of you who have prayed for me or are still praying for me! Your prayers mean so much to me! :)

Hey guys! 

          It's been almost 8 months since I moved to Norway and it's crazy for me to look back at these past few months. They have been nothing like I expected them to be. It's been wonderful to get to know Norway and the beautiful people that live in this country. Life in the base is starting to get brighter and brighter. I say this as I gaze through my window and see the sunlight shining on the gentle hills of Norway at 10:30 PM. The crops are slowly growing through the farmland around our home. The harvest is great and we the workers are getting ready for the harvest.

          A new season is starting to come. The horizon is looking great, there are amazing opportunities for his Kingdom to come in Norway. However I need your help in order to be able to enjoy these new opportunities. I humbly ask you to prayerfully consider to start supporting me financially with a monthly gift. Any kind of amount you are able to contribute counts! Even the smallest! If you want to know more about why I ask or how to contribute you can click here. You can also talk to me, I'm very open to talk about my job and living situation as a missionary through YWAM. I love my job :) On the right you can also see my budget for the next season.

          SO! The next season starts in August. I will be switching from being staff in the Discipleship Training School (DTS) into being part of the YWAM Lighhouse Hamar team.  I will be sharing an apartment with two other girls in Hamar. The vision of our team is to be a blessing to the youth in Hamar. What we do as a whole is that we work with many ministries that are meant to support youth. These are things such as the local youth café, confirmation classes, camps, and school meetings.

These are the things I will be involved in: 

Bible studies: We are looking into starting a Bible Study open for everyone in town who is interested. I want to use what I learned in my Bible School in Tijuana in order to be a blessing to the people in town. The Bible is such a key part in seeing the Lord's kingdom established on earth. It's so encouraging because we can see how the people in Hamar are so eager to get closer to God through the Bible!


Alpha Course: The Alpha Course is a series of sessions that include food and having an open environment for discussion about the hard questions about the Christian faith. This course is not specifically designed for people who are Christians but it's for people who are curious about Christianity. The meetings are meant to create a very easy going environment where people can discuss the basics of Christianity. As the creators of the Alpha Course say it's "an opportunity to explore the meaning of life".

Kristen Russ: At their last year of high school, Norwegian youth celebrate for three weeks in what is called “Russ time”. There’s parties, fun, craziness and often loads of drinking. The “Christian Russ” program helps Christians to keep their faith and share the love of God for their friends in this time. We go on a yearly tour to inspire and encourage the “russ” all over the country. In May we help hosting a festival which gathers more than 1000 russ.

Cafe Uno: Café Uno is a youth café in Hamar, which has been started by the churches in town. Everyone works as volunteers, without any pay, solely because we care about youth in Hamar. The goal of the cafe is to create a meeting place of different cultures and opinions, in which everyone can feel welcome.

          I'm really looking forward to moving into town and start helping out with these ministries. I hope that you feel encouraged by the things God is doing in this small town in Norway! There are many ways that God is moving and I really hope you are able to join me in what God is doing in Norway by giving monthly financial support. Feel free to talk to me and ask me about Norway!

Thank you for reading! :)