We went to church this morning, God Bless her, Kristen translated the WHOLE sermon for Mike and I. Very good teaching on relationship, better than I expected given what Ive been hearing about the state of Norweigian Christianity on the whole. Then we went up to Kristen's folk's for BBQ and relaxing in the summer like weather. Yes, never fear, I am as truly pale as ever I have been.


Charlie put up a couple of ropes in the trees and started practicing for his future job as tightrope walker. He is truly amazing. I can't even do this kind of stuff on the ground.


All in all, a fully satisfying day. Tomorrow I face the mail system...Bring it on Norway, Im ready for you...

Happy Birthday!

It was Mike's birthday today. We had a big party of friends over with tons of food and all kinds of crazy elephant games. I laughed so hard I cried and spilled tea all over myself. I have met so many wonderful, kind people here, I feel totally blessed. Its quite late, so Happy Birthday Mike. Have fun doing all the dishes tomorrow morning.

Flekkeroy

Mike gave a talk to the YWAM people out on this island called Flekkeroy. It was amazingly beautiful and the people were very kind. After the talk they all prayed for us and it was a little intense. People praying in tounges and crying and one woman recieved oil in her hands...but I talked with a couple of girls around my age afterwards and they were very kind and I look forward to seeing them at the cafe. I went and walked around a little bit by myself after and it was so nice to be out in the world and not have to worry about not speaking Norweigian as there was no-one around to notice. But all in all, a very cute little place. You have to drive through this scary underwater tunnel to get there though...not my cup of tea.

an experiment

Vennesla

We woke up late today and drove out to Kristen's folks for lunch and a hike around the sticks. Apparently the area that they are in was considered hickville until recently...kind of funny, because it was amazingly beautiful and reminded me a lot of Colorado, apart from the signs in Norweigian...Maybe that was their secret...have everyone consider the area full of hicks so that they could keep it to themselves...that's what Colorado did wrong, it got too cool and now its full of Texans and Californians and millions of houses...

To get back and forth accross the river we took one of those old suspension bridges that is *very* swingy. Fun, but in that way that makes you wonder when the last time they replaced the rather old looking boards was and just how cold *is* that water?

Drew, this is one of those barns I was talking about...they just drive the hay in and out rather than using a hoist...a little bit easier when you are building into the side of a hill...but still, kind of neat.

Kultur natta

There is this thing in Kristiansand where once a year all the artists come out and everyone does their thing, whether its dance or music or painting or juggling. We biked up this hill (my legs are still sore) and attempted to learn how to juggle.
The girl there is Tylene who is from Washington state and is helping Mike set up the Cafe. The man that looks like he might actually be able to juggle was our very patient teacher. All in all, not very successful, but quite fun. Then we rode around town, watched verious musical acts, ate some really good food and went to the art museum. Today we went to a circus school and the kids tried out juggling and walking on stilts and plate spinning and a bunch of other stuff...

Just woke up, but I have to share this little bit from last night. We were looking out the livingroom window at the church and Mike tells me that the star next to the moon, the first one you see, is Charlie's special star and when they first moved to Norway it made him feel less alone to know that it was there. The family went on a trip to Oslo and charlie saw the star there and said that now he knew that the star liked him because it followed them all the way to Oslo.

ok, ok...

Im not actually sleeping on a mattress on the floor in some back room...here's a picture of my real room, very nice and the hammock ensures plenty of visits from my little friend Bella...

We went for a walk and then dropped lunch off at the cafe Mike is working at/re-doing...very cool place...totally different than I pictured. Ill post some pictures when I get the chance. Im still adjusting a bit, and its very strange to be in a place where people dont speak your language. Im picking up the tiniest bit and some of the words are close enough that I can get the gist of what is being said, but it gives me more compassion for the immigrants in our neighborhood. Kristen has been awesome about translating conversations, but I hope to at least pick up enough to be able to speak a bit and understand a bit more. I leave you with the view from the boys room. Its a bit woobley because it just finished raining.

At long last...Norway!!!

So, after several trials and tribulations and a 400 meter dash through the Manchester airport carrying approximately 30 kilos (60? lbs), I finally got here. Mike, Kristen, Bella and Charlie met me at the airport with a resounding cheer. We came back to the Troxel's awesome apartment...Here's a view of their kitchen...

And they fixed up a great little room for me...I get to go through this little secret tunnel, and I think the glass fibers will be really good for my locks...

And then we went for a little walk down the street to the gorgeous church in the square. I have the feeling that this steeple will save me from being hopelessly lost more than once.

So, thats all for now...Im going to eat something and then force myself to stay up a bit longer. Its 8 pm and looks like its about 6. By the time I leave in June, the sun wont set until 1 a.m.ish.