Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Brooke Fraser - Albertine video

This song has been in my head for a while now. She's an inspiration.

UGANDA 2008!!
I'm happy to announce that I get to return to Uganda once again! I'm beyond excited thinking of meeting w/ friends that we made last summer as well as all the new experiences ahead of us. This time I'm going w/ a company of Norwegians & other Americans! there are 7 of us total! We're going for a little over 3 weeks -
JUNE 13-JULY 7!

This past weekend we had a chance to get away and pray, plan and talk about our trip. Here are some memories from last summer & our projected program for this year. It's going to be an AMAZING time!



We'll mainly be partnering with the local church of Uganda in Soroti, Uganda, where we have great contacts.
We'll be trying to visit several churches to be encouraged from them, worship w/ them, as well as being able to share our hearts!
This picture is from the small church of Nakatunya. Though small, it's filled w/ POWERFUL men, women & children of God! I left encouraged each time from visiting here. Continue to pray for a new meeting place for this church, as they're meeting in a small school room & have outgrown it months ago!


"LET THE WORD OF THE LORD RUN SWIFTLY!!"
~2Thessalonians 3:1~
We have a heart to see people's lives changed by meeting Jesus. We want the truth of God to be made known in this place & we want to invest in something that will be long lasting. God has put it on our team's heart to raise money for new speakers for the local ministry team, mainly used for showing The Jesus Film. They're in great need of new speakers to help them with their outreaches. They've used the speakers they have now for years and they're basically shot, which is hindering the Gospel from being heard in local villages. We've been praying & planning different events to raise money, so that when we come we're able to invest into their ministry. This is so GREAT!!! because it will go far beyond us simply being there for 3 weeks!! Please pray with us: that all the funding needed will come in so we're able to purchase new speakers & do our mission as well as bless their's!

If you have it on your heart to support this mission, you can email me: kelly.norge@gmail.com


Our main ministry will be traveling to smaller villages and sharing about Jesus. We'll be showing The Jesus Film in their local language, Ateso. We'll have the first day w/ the believers in that area to encourage and teach them & prepare for the film show that night. The next day we'll be meeting with those who have accepted Christ as well as connecting them to the local church. I'm really excited for this opportunity to share the gospel with people, especially in their own language!! PLEASE pray that God will move in the hearts of the hundreds that are drawn to view this & that they'd make the most important decision in their lives: to follow JESUS!!


Schools will be on our list of places to visit. We're planning on trying to go to secondary schools around the areas of where we're showing the film. This will be a fun time to interact w/ students and get to know them, even if it's just for a short period of time.
Pray for the students to be open for the gospel as we'll be freely sharing in the schools too.








One of the best experiences of my life was being with the girls of the Amuria Girls Hostel. They're filled with so much hope, joy, love & excitement for life in spite of what's happened to them. We thankfully get the opportunity to return and I pray that some of those girls we met last summer will still be there and that we'll be able to continue the friendships that we've begun. They LOVE to sing, laugh and have fun, can't wait to join them!!




I love children & I know God loves them even more!! We're going to be able to share a few days at a local AIDS orphanage started by YWAM about 10 yrs ago. When we were at this orphanage last year, I was overwhelmed with God's love for them & I couldn't help but hold them, kiss them & pray over their fragile little bodies. As AIDS continues to take the very breath out of lives, I choose to have hope that places like this are that of refuge, peace, & love in Christ in the middle of the STORM! May God bless this place, the workers & the children. Jesus' desire is to be near the children, he says,
"Let the little children come to Me..."Mt. 19:14



Elisabeth & I were blessed to stay with Michael & Deborah last summer. They're 2 of the most amazing people of God I've ever met! They blessed me beyond words! They're family is beautiful and their friends were so welcoming as well. I'm anticipating the time we get to be with all of them. For one of the weekends, we will be splitting up our group and staying w/ several families who are close to Michael & Deborah. We'll get the real Ugandan experience then!








Uganda wouldn't be Uganda for me w/o a wedding!!! A friend of Elisabeth, and now mine too, is getting married while we're there and has invited us to the village wedding!! Sam Agama(the coolest name by the way) will be getting married on June 21st!!









This was taken while at a village wedding last year. They love guest participation, especially from the girl's end. So...all 4 of us girls from the team will actually be in the wedding & even
MATCHING the bride!! Hehe It'll be a fun day!






So...theres just a rough overview of what we'll be doing! Please continue to pray for Uganda, for our work there & for the finances for the speakers!!

Bless u.
Kelly



Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Refreshed- would be the word that i think of after the past few weeks.

Over Easter break, our team was able to go to a monastery on an island called Tautra. We had 5 days of solitude; you & God, your Bible & a journal. I found myself sleeping a lot, which is a good thing, but i guess i was physically exhausted & didn't really even realize it. tho hard at times, i'd HIGHLY recommend it to you if you've never just taken time to get away and rest in God.

how often do we separate ourselves from the every day life/rituals/etc...and take the time to contemplate, ponder God, and just rest in Him??

how often do the noises around you define who you are? vs. God's voice echoing w/in you, telling you the truth of who you are?

i found myself wanting to 'do this silence thing right'. but how? it was hard to simply sit & just be. relax & be enjoyed by God. this was a hard, but good revelation for me. how i long to be doing the 'good part' in God(which isn't a bad thing), but so often i allow myself to get carried away w/ the DOING. and then i begin to define myself by WHAT i do & not by WHO i REALLY am. i need to realize that WHO i am matters to Him more than anything, not solely what i do. He takes delight in me & i should do the same in Him.

I heard Him say to me, "Kelly, just enjoy me." so...i sat & allowed myself to look out the window for long periods of time just being w/God. looking at the fjord around me and i found myself in a new place of worship. how i delighted in God by simply, sitting, seeing, & pondering! my heart was full of praises! SO BEAUTIFUL! SO WONDERFUL!

It was timely that we decided to go the week right before Easter because i also began going through a wonderful prayer book meant for retreats called "Hearts on Fire". i took the scriptures leading to Jesus' death and resurrection and allowed them to change me. I let the prayers from this book usher me into a new relationship with Jesus. some of the lines of these Jesuit's prayers awoken places in my heart that i felt were dead. it was so great! i couldn't stop writing.

May you receive the GRACE of God...
This past weekend a group of us went to a cabin in the mountains for our Spring Get-Away Weekend. With extended times of worship, teaching on Grace & Identity in Christ & hanging out, I thought it went incredibly well. Our perspectives of God, ourselves & others were challenged, making it a time of newness and revelation.






so...to sum it ALL up, refreshment is the word!