Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Some of the most amazing sunsets i've ever seen, EVER!! these are all from the deck at our house.






Monday, August 21, 2006

hei all!

sorry it's been a while since i've written last. i've been quite busy this last week. cort, brett and i officially finished our 3 week norsk class. it went well overall, yet our final test this past saturday, was pretty tricky. we had to write an essay in norsk and i thought that part was the easiest! haha

today, was literally the 1st day in a while that i was able to do whatever i wanted to do. it was great! i slept in to catch up on some sleep, journaled and read on our porch in the sun! so glorious. then i was picked up by Trond who took me to meet chuck, rebbecca, and karl-axel at the airport to pick up sally and emily. it was great to see them again! i was very excited for chuck to "re-unite" w/ sally, 'cause they haven't seen eachother for a whole month.

i'm excited to start really focusing on the campuses. to meet new people and to really seek God here in Trondheim. i'm excited for meetings w/ our team and to hear from the Lord.

the more we've been talking about the campuses, the more i long for people to know Him. to know the One and ONLY! to have a connection w/ the real and living God. the God who is above all and who truly loves us.
i long for more of a burden for this place and especially for the students and the campuses!

my prayers have been seemingly elementary, yet it's where my heart is at right now.

i want you God. i need you! what do YOU want? how are YOU feeling? help me to feel what you feel. to see w/ your eyes and not my own. help me to seek things of the spirit and not of the flesh! help me to love well. i need your grace. what do you want me to do? lead me, God. guide me Holy spirit, daily and show yourself to me. why can't i see you? feel you? hear you? help my heart let go of all i don't need. help me spend all my life on you God, on what is true, on what is real. my heart longs to long for you! OH GOD!!

i'm so thankful for His love! His NEVERending love! showing me what truly matters in this life! for leading me, protecting me, providing for me. He truly is THE ALMIGHTY! there is One who deserves all my love!

well...that's just a little picture of what's been going on in my life, head and heart!

bless you.

ha det,
kelly

Monday, August 14, 2006

here are some pics from our weekend at Selbu. the glorious view from the top of the mountain we climbed.






jeg er sa trott! (i am so tired)

this past weekend our language class traveled to Selbu, Norway. it's about an hour away by bussen.

it was beautiful! there were 8 cabins lining the side of a hill, each person got their own individual room w/ a bed, sink, desk, lamp, and closet.

we had an amazing salmon feast friday night! amazing!!! we were able to hang out and talk w/ many internationals, play kubb again(the block game), go swimming, go canoing, rest,go hiking. so many fun things to do.

on sat. we decided to go on a hike to a lake. noone had ever been there before, so we just followed the trail hoping we'd get there eventually. haha that was fun, until i stepped in a huge mud hole and my shoes got full of crap and were wet from then on out. haha

we made it to the lake after a 45 min. UP HILL treck! what a good time. it was blazing hot, but it felt so good to jump into that cold lake!

while some people decided to go back, a group of us saw a mountain in the distance and decided to be brave and pursue it's heights! ohhh man...

so, for another 2 hours, we hiked vertically up this mountain! haha the whole mountain side being covered w/ blueberry bushes like mad!

from our adventures i managed to get hurt(like usual) on a twig of somesort and was bleeding all over. haha i laugh, because i didn't even notice i was bleeding until brett said, "Kelly, look at your leg!" oops. but i figured it wouldn't have been a true excursion w/out me getting damaged somehow!!

when we FINALLY made it to the top, it was the most amazing view ever! it literally took my breath away(or maybe that was the hike up!) I sat there and was swallowed by the beauty of our Creator. and i couldn't help but ask myself, who can't believe that my God is real, look at this!!!! it was a most glorious experience.

on the way down, we met w/ our good old friend mr. rain! that was rough, but i liked it better than going up! haha

i pretty much felt like i never wanted to walk ever again after that, bc if you recall, i'd had a pretty painful time w/ shin splints a few weeks ago. so...wisdom, would've been to not hike all the way up the mountain, but i didn't want that to stop me, so i did it anyway. well...smart or not, i'm still able to get around w/ minimal pain, so that's a good thing! PTL! w/ just a few scratches on my leg and arm to monument our accomplishments!

well...back to my 1st comment, jeg er trott! i'm tired due to the fun, yet exhausting weekend along w/ having to wake up quite early again for a final week of norsk!

it's a weird feeling thinking that you've studying a language for 3 weeks and you can't really really speak it. but that's okay, i'm considering myself as a kindergartener/1st grader, that helps me to put things in reality. like brett said today though,"I can't wait until we're fluent!" haha that'll be so nice, but that's gonna be for a long while!

anywho, i've blabbed enough. hope all is well w/ everyone.

ha det bra!

kel

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

a few more for the eyes.
the old viking ships being made. passing the time by playing kubb(a block game), and where is kelly? i wanted to become one w/ the hills of gronn(green)!





10:55pm

can't type much 'cause i'm exhausted, but i thought i'd just write a little bit tonight.

well...still chugging along like usual w/ the norskkurs. it's been going well, yet once again time consuming, mind boggling, and some good fun.

this week cort, brett and i rediscovered a new way to the bus stop. it's amazing! we've realized that it's much closer, so it saves us some time at 7:30am.

tonight we made a big spagehtti dinner for our friends anne, ole(ooooolah), and annette. that was much fun. we definitely made more than enough. we also splurged and had some is(ice cream)!!! then the day kept getting better!

our cell phones came in. the church hooked us up w/ a sweet deal. we got free phones. sony ericson's the newest video conferencing ones. all i know is that i don't need all that stuff. but they're pretty sweet. we get to call anyone on staff of the church for free! and then call whoever else for only a little cost. thank you jesus! i can now save cortney from having to wake me up every morning at 6:15 'cause we only have 1 alarm clock for all 3 of us! i can now use my most nifty new phone.

another awesome thing! i was able to hang out w/ my friend elisabeth who is from norway. i'd met her a year and 1/2 ago when a team of us came from UMD. we've been emailing since. so it was most wonderful to see her and talk.

well...like usual, i only think i have a bit to say and i ramble on and on. so...i must go to bed now. must sleep and dream of norwegian verbs!

sove god!(sleep good)

ha det,
kel

Sunday, August 06, 2006

dirt road in the norge country, Rebecca, Cort, and I swimming at midnight in the mountains, Cort and I wearing traditional Viking hats, A german foreign exchange student(Christine and I) sailing in an actual Viking sailboat!





and the pics just keep coming! a pic from the fjord we live near,view of downtown,nidaros domen(old church), and true vikings from MN!



some more fun pics for your enjoyment. trip to ikea, our living room/deck and the beautiful view we get each night!





Saturday, August 05, 2006

here are some pics of my buds before i left for the norge.





Thursday, August 03, 2006

6:40pm

well...it's almost been a week of norskkurs(norwegian class)and i'm pretty much fluent. haha yeah right. Nei,jeg snakker litt norsk(i speak little norwegian).

dude, this language is hard! i think we're doing well, but i wish i could carry more than a 2 sentence conversation w/ someone. there are a lot of germans in our class(for foreign exchange programs) and they've been able to pick up norsk very easily. we've met several and I'm partners w/ a girl named Anne who just laughs at our accents or lack there of, and our inability to pick up the lang. it's been fun getting to know her and she has really been helping me out. yet..i am constantly reminding myself that we've only been studying this for a week. we have been in class from 9-2 every day. and at night we have about 2 hours of homework to complete. it's tiring yet i'm really enjoying our class and i'm excited to see how much i retain after 3 weeks!

it's really fun to be on the campus w/ students too. we've been meeting quite a few internationals and will meet more on our weekend trips for lang. class. this sat. we're going hiking in the mountains.

other than being consumed w/ norwegian nouns, numbers, and verbs, we seem to be doing well. the weather here has been god(good) and we've been able to go swimming in some lakes.

we've been so welcomed by our friends living below us. it's great to have norwegian friends who don't get impatient speaking to you, when you're speaking like a 2 year old. ole and annetta are amazing! they're mr. and mrs. fix-it too! they've been working hard on our house and are repainting right now.


i'm looking forward to praying w/ more students in the church and to see where God leads us in pioneering campus ministry. for now we're in the building stage w/ prayer, prayer, prayer and relationships. God has provided all of our needs and more! we met a girl who was moving, so she decided to give us some of her old stuff! He shines His face upon us in the most random ways!

well...i best be on my way. it's time for me to eat some dinner. brod og ost!!! (bread and cheese)

hadet
kelly