Norway

Hi All,

I've been hesitating a bit to write this entry, because I've been feeling very spoiled here in Norway, and I wasn't really expecting that out of our missions trip. But, as most news is bad news, I thought I'd share a bit of good news with you and brag on the generosity and hospitality of the Norwegian people and God's incredible provision.

Mike in Bergen, Norway

Leaving England, all we knew is that we'd be sleeping on the floor of a church in Norway. We had our sleeping mats packed, and after England, we figured we'd be cold! Much to our surprise and joy, when we arrived at the church, there were mattresses and warm comforters for all of us! A local bakery has provided us with donated bread every morning. We went in a local grocery store and were shocked by the prices - a bread roll is over $1, a single yogurt is over $2. So, we were very thankful for the donated bread and planning to survive mostly on it, especially as we don't have a lot of funds to spare! Well, we have been eating a lot of bread, but families from the church have been lavishing us with groceries almost every day. We've had salmon... three times. For almost 20 people to eat for over a week, we've only had to spend about $120 of our funds in this incredibly expensive country. It's really kind of amazing. One family invited our whole team over for a salmon supper earlier this week, including homemade mussel chowder. Yum! We also received a generous offering from the church which will help us continue on our mission to Europe.

Fellowship room / Girl's room at the church

Ok, so yes, we have been very spoiled. But we've also had great opportunities to get out into the community here. Most of the younger Norwegians (under the age of ~50) speak English very well, and they are surprisingly open to discussing spiritual matters. We've talked with people all over town; handed out coffee, hot cocoa, and waffles with a local church; worked with a local woman who ministers to Bergen's large population of drug addicts, and visited a local cafe ministry. Some of our group was able to help out with a soup kitchen for homeless and drug addicts, and we've joined with our host church in intercession for the city and nation. Currently, we are participating in a missions conference that our host church has organized.

Preparing a mailing - missionary magazine

Mike's and my favorite experience was talking with a man, Frank, who was handing out a communist newspaper as we were handing out hot cocoa. He told us he had sought religious truth when he was younger and didn't find what he was looking for. He also said that he usually tells religious people that God has his phone number and can give him a call if he wants. I pray that God does give him a phone call, but in the meanwhile, I mentioned, God sent Mike and I from the U.S. to Panama to England to Norway to share the gospel with him, in person. :)

On our way to an outreach in Bergen

Norway has been great. Our current prayer requests are: Pray that God does give Frank a phone call, and pray that I start to feel better as my stomach has been really off since Monday night.

We fly to Dusseldorf, Germany on Monday morning!

Can't wait to be flying home for the holidays in just over a month!

Love,

Lauren