Let the Fall Semester Begin!
Well, after a few setbacks, we are finally heading into the semester full speed ahead...or at least as much speed as is possible when you are continuing to plow through uncharted territory filled with the ups and downs that inevitably come! We are reminded again how much this has to be God's thing because no amount of any success can depend on our efforts alone. So even as we have faced frustrations and disappointments already this early in the semester, we have also seen God move in ways that encourage us and "keep us keepin' on" as they say. Wow, the challenges of starting something new in a different culture are more complex than I ever could have imagined. But with your prayers joined with ours, we are believing that God is going to do great things this year and have already begun to see things happening that we have been waiting for these 2 years to see! These are a few of the highlights...
A beautiful afternoon hike and Norwegian pancakes with our friend Elisabeth- God has truly blessed us with the amazing spirit of joy and encouragement she has.
One of a few gatherings we have had recently that really stir our hearts as we see people enjoying being together and making new friendships in an environment composed of Norwegians, internationals, those who share our faith in Christ, and those coming from other backgrounds. To us, it is an example of true community where all are welcome and the love of Christ is evident. Where there is openness and a welcoming atmosphere, conversations happen naturally and authentically.
And who could forget Waffles?? We had 4 days in 2 weeks of giving out free waffles at both campuses to promote our second Open Mic Night as well as our group Quest. We had some great contacts there and had some freshmen students taking over for us and connecting with their peers and classmates- So Great!
Our second Open Mic night proved a success with even more variety of music, poetry, and story-telling. We had some return performers from last time and saw new faces arrive and students we know bring their friends. We are already thinking of another for sometime in November.
We had a short visit from Anita Koeshall (she and her husband started the first SFC student ministry in Europe in Germany in the 80's and now oversee all the SFC Europe groups). We had a great time having her stay with us and spending many hours talking of life, ministry, and generally solving the world's problems. ;) We greatly treasure her friendship and wisdom. Thanks for being such and encouragement to us Anita!*******************************************************************
PRAYERS NEEDED....Our next bigger project is to have a weekend retreat for students. Unfortunately we are having a difficult time finding a time that works for people in October, as well as a place to host us if we switch weekends, so please pray for us! We are looking at possibly the weekend of Oct. 17th now. We feel God has given us some exciting things to share and to engage people with, so we really want this to work out. We appreciate your prayers for this as well as other opposition we've been feeling in terms of planning and student involvement. We need God's help and leading as well as His strength and encouragement to keep pressing on even in the face of disappointments and discouragement. So much effort goes into each thing we do so we don't want to get weary in the sometimes lack of visible "success". Pray that we would truly have joy in the many things that are happening, for there truly is a different feel this semester and we believe we are going to see some major breakthroughs! Be blessed...
