A new job with a different kind of coffee break

This week I started my new job at a primary school. Those who read my newsletters know by now that I left Youth With a Mission before the summer, and was preparing to enter something new this fall. The job came to me a lot quicker than I thought it would, and I am incredibly grateful to not have to go job hunting for months from now!

My days so far have consisted of reading children's books, running around in the school yard, board games, and pretend tea/coffee parties. The last one has come towards the end of the day, when I desperately want a real, big cup of caffeine, and all I get is play dough mugs with beads...

Leaving YWAM probably hasn't sunk in yet. I attended parts of GOfest (the annual YWAM Norway festival) this past weekend, and it felt very strange to have people welcome me - I am supposed be the one welcoming people! With Mike still in the office I trust I will get a lot of updates on YWAM Skien's whereabouts, but with 8 years of investment in that place it is strange to not have any say in what goes on, or even be part of it at all.

So here's to a fall of new things! Good luck to you if you start school (again), have moved in with your spouse or started a new job. Change is good, right?

Adopting holidays: Thanksgiving

Thanks to YWAM, this is the fourth year I have had an American roommate (and there will be MANY more to come). One of the great things of living in multicultural communities is learning new customs and culture traits. Celebrating Thanksgiving must be one of my favorite American adoptions.

This year, for the first time, my roommate and I have decided to make a complete Thanksgiving feast at our house. I have never celebrated in the States, not even in a home, but at a couple of different YWAM bases I have learned to love the food. The next couple of days will be spent preparing all the dishes, and I might be back with recipes a little later. It is only fitting that the American is in charge, so I am prepared to learn.

PS. Free Thanksgiving printables by Nest of Posies.

Field trip

   

 

 

I have had some lovely fall days at Grimerud. Ålesund next! 

Walk through the Bible

Creation.
Fall.
Flood.
Nations.
4000 years ago.
.....

Today I walked through the Old Testament and got an overview of the important people, places and events of these books. It seems like a lot, and I am impressed by the seminar. But I am much more impressed by God. To see his faithfulness, grace, promises and character throughout the whole history of the Isrealites and all of it leading up to God´s perfect plan of sending Jesus was amazing. There is so much drama and conflict, and unbelievable love stories too. It was almost like watching a very long movie, and in the end, we all said "ahhhh", as we realized how the pieces all fit together. This was a good day, and now I think I am ready to read the whole Bible with the DTS this year.

Southern views

I have received requests of updates from my US travel, and feel like I have no choice but to comply. Above you can see the beautiful Savannah river, seen from the South Carolina border, where I had my first scary encounter with snakes! Cracker Barrel has the classic southern rocking chairs up front and full breakfasts with biscuits and gravy, grits, pancakes and everything else you could desire in the morning.

After a week and a half in Augusta, Mike and I drove up to Greenville, South Carolina where he went to college. It is a really pretty town, and we got to meet many of his friends. I also made friends with a real rabbit.

From Greenville we continued on to Charlotte/Monroe, North Carolina. We went there to see my DTS leaders. The last time I saw them was at their goodbye party in LA 7 years ago, so it was great to talk about old adventures, catch up and meet their family. And being in peach country, a giant peach seems like just the right thing to adorn the side of the road.

Right now I am in Denver, Colorado with good friends so stay tuned for  more pictures and updates.

PS. All pictures here from my instagram.

A year of crayons and water-colors

YWAM Norway publishes the mission magazine "Mot Målet" five times a year. I am one of the contributers, and in this issue you can read my article "Eit år med fargestiftar tell", about Jan Willem, a Dutch illustrator who kept a drawing diary for a year.

There are many other great articles too, and good photos if you can´t read Norwegian. This is the first issue available online, and you can also get a free subscription to your mailbox by signing up here. 

A seemingly impossible project

I will spend the next week in Liepaja, Latvia on a mission trip with 500 people from many nations. We hope to visit at least 2000 households and give food and clothes to the poor.

The picture is from outreach in 2011, when we gathered to worship with local Christians in a church in Smiltene, singing the same hymn in all our native tongues. It was a very special moment.

I (and my numerous team mates) would appreciate prayers for good team work, practical issues and for God to use us to share his love, truth and hope.

Gratitude

A beautiful summer day in England. 

Yesterday I sent out my newsletter, and here is an excerpt:

November is a month where I usually get reminded of thankfulness. Now, I´ve actually been thinking a lot about thankfulness for a couple of months. As Christians we are called to "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God´s will for us in Christ Jesus." 1.Thess. 5:18. This is certainly not easy, but there is a real challenge to see our lives as gifts from God, and give him the proper thanks, not just for the obviously good things, but in ALL circumstances.

Some things I am thankful for:

- Translating Bible teaching for the DTS.
- 35 great students this fall.
- The Bible - God´s true word to you and me!

- A new roof on my building.
- Parents who help me build things.
- Thinking about becoming an aunt soon!

What are three things you are thankful for today?

Read the rest of the newsletter here.

PS. If you like this, you can subscribe here and get these letters directly in your inbox!

Hidden treasures

This is some what we talked about in class today. I am translating Mary Jean Powers on the topic "The Word of God" and I enjoy it very much.

God has words for us every day, in every situation, we (I) just need to learn to listen!!

PS. A new picture and scripture every day, from God´s finger prints.

New van for YWAM Skien??

Our DTS needs a new van, do you want to help us get it?

Chocolate banana bread

Win this print or YOUR favorite from Jan Skacelik at Fjeldborgs blog!

Being a part of a YWAM community gives me the benefit of receiving food donations from time to time. With a pile of sad looking bananas sitting in the kitchen, I decided it was time for banana bread. Not just regular banana bread this time, but with the addition of chocolate.

I found this recipe at allrecipes.com. It seemed tested and tried, so I gave it a shot too. Like many others, I cut the sugar in half and the bananas I had were really large, so I thought two would be enough. It turned out great, so great that there is hardly any left now...

Chocolate banana bread

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, soft
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 bananas
1 tsp vanilla
1,5 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

- Set oven to 175 C.
- Cream butter, sugar and eggs.
- Stir in mashed bananas and vanilla.
- Sift in flour, baking soda and cocoa; mix well.
- Blend in sour cream and chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for at least 60 minutes.Mine took maybe 1 hour and 15 minutes, but that depends on you oven. 

Speaking from the heart

I am listening to peoples stories this week, and these words are so true. I am getting to know people, hearing about their passions and frustrations, and also see how easy it is to encourage when you listen with your heart.

Unfortunately, I couldnt find the source for this picture. I got it on pinterest.

Source: dreamyourselfalong.tumblr.com via Ragnhild on Pinterest

Life as a reporter

Kristin deler frå sine første dagar i Newcastle. Eg hadde mest lyst å bli igjen å luke saman med teamet, men hadde lagt igjen støvlane heime... 

Reporter: Ragnhild Ferstad

Fotograf: Jo Yngve Svensen

Video in Norwegian

News from Newcastle

First video blog from Newcastle. Im helping out behind the camera. It is the first time we have a media team on an outreach like this, so we never know what our day will be like. Yesterday I went to the beach with a team from Fræna and their host church, City Church Newcastle. We follow Tom, one of the participants, on his adventures in Newcastle, and there will be more later on this week.

Ragnhild Englandsfarar

Today is the day when 300 Norwegians go to England for the Olympic outreach. And as the title suggests, I am one of them. For the next 10 days I will be a part of a media team, covering the events YWAM is a part of in Newcastle and the surrounding area. The video above introduces the theme of the outreach: Zoom.

A viking ship is already on its way, they set out from Brest, France yesterday and will arrive for a gigantic celebration downtown Newcastle Sunday July 29. Here is Terje Konradsens first entry in the viking ship travel diary!

If you want to follow the adventures of 300 young people sharing faith and serving the communities in Newcastle, you can follow us on twitter, blog, facebook and maybe in a newspaper near you!

Twitter: @ungdomioppdrag @ywamnorway @ragnhildferstad
Facebook: Ungdom i Oppdrag Norway
Blog: ywamnorway.wordpress.com

Oh, and I recently (finally) joined instagram too... my username is rferstad

A beginners introduction to the life and art of Edvard Munch

"Solen" by Edvard Munch

I think I could write some sort of literary piece on Edvard Munch. In 2006 I took a university class on mr. Munch, and considering the amount of literature I read and the papers I wrote, I think I could compile at least a short article of sorts on this man´s life. If you are interested in art, you might be disappointed by this misleading title, the rest of you are probably fine with not spending your evening reading about this remarkable man, as this paragraph is all I will write on this subject.

Currently I am sitting outside the dining hall at Restenäs, one of the YWAM centers in Sweden. I am here  to attend a writer´s seminar by Janice Rogers. She is the sister of Loren Cunningham, the founder of YWAM (perhaps you remember when I met him, in this very place about 1,5 years ago?), and has co-written several of his books.

Part of our homework tonight was to think of our Writers Platform: what are topics we could write about? It can be something that interests you, you could be educated for it, or perhaps you are terrible at this subject and would be the best one to explain it to others who struggle as well. Well, I could write about Edvard Munch. What about you?

Ethiopia Project

This is what I am a part of - providing schooling for children in Ethiopia! Five years ago I went there with a team myself. (See my 2007 archives for the stories) We visited the first school we built, met the children there and worked on the grounds.

Now, our DTS teams just returned from outreach, and brought me greetings from one of the pastors we worked with then. It makes me happy to think about the wonderful people we met there, and it is so inspiring to see the result of what we do and the effect it can have on communities.

Video made by Tim and some of my co-workers in Skien.

Win a trip to Burma!

Burmese youth

This summer, YWAM Norway will arrange a true GOfest, where we send out hundreds of young (and older) people to the olympic outreach in England. You are very welcome to join me and the others in Stavern July 16-20, and even in Newcastle from July 20-30.

If you sign up for GOfest before May 15th you can win a trip for two to Burma (Myanmar). The prize includes travel and the stay there. Burma is an exciting country where changes happen in all areas. You will be able to see the work YWAM is doing in Yangon: orphanage, family ministry, mercy ministry among HIV sick, English center, church planting and much more. You will also hear about the work YWAM does in areas where foreigners can not go; the school project "Families Together" in the Chin mountains. The Skaran family has been in Yangon 8 years and will be your hosts in the city.

You can extend your stay if you would like, visit exotic destinations like Inle Lake in the Shan province, a village on a lake, or relax on the beautiful beaches in the Bengal Bay, without being surrounded by crowds of tourists. Sounds great, huh?

Sign up for GOfest here.

Conditions: One of the travelers have to be over the age of 18. The trip has to be completed before the summer of 2013.

A revolution of love

I have been writing about our summer project of sending lots of Norwegians to the olympics in England, including some going with a viking ship. This documentary shows YWAMs first olympic outreach in Munich 1972. A 1000 young people shared Jesus during the games, and their testimonies are great! Some of our methods and style of music might have changed, but the message is still the same. If you are going to join us this summer or are just curious, watch this as an inspiration. Whats not to love about 70s style footage anyways?

Oh, and if you want to join, read more and sign up here: gofest.no

More vintage YWAM videos here.

The vikings are coming, take 5

 This summer, I am going to England for the Olympic outreach with YWAM. In this video, filmed onboard the viking ship Gaia, you will see a real viking that will go as well. 

You might notice that I am making this without a script, but five takes were all I could manage, so bear with me. 

Oh, you want to join me to England? 

Read more here: www.gofest.no