God's jigsaw puzzle

To any international readers, bear with me. But I found this Norwegian poem in the street magazine of Oslo and I really wanted to share it:

Vårherres puslespill

Når verden legger puslespill

med jevne, fine brikker

får alle mektige sin plass

som avtalt, vær du sikker.

Reklamepent står bildet der

som Adams drøm om seier. 

Men brikken min ble skubbet bort,

det gikk nok som det pleier.

Jeg passet ikke riktig inn

i denne verdens ramme.

Ja, mange av oss går omkring 

og føler seg til skamme.

Men engang kommer Herren selv

og Han forandrer rammen

og legger brikkene på nytt

og se! De passer sammen. 

Det bildet som da stiger frem

med stråleglans fra himmelen

består av alle verdens små

som ingen så i vrimmelen.

Vårherres eget puslespill

av verdens glemte brikker

har også plass til deg, min venn.

Han ser deg, vær du sikker. 

Per Gundersen

European invasion at Hald

The European Voluntary Service is the organization which has blessed us with Maybrit and Zsofia, and so we're big fans of them. So when they gave Hald the opportunity to host an On Arrival Training for a bunch of their volunteers, there was no way we would pass it up.

(Picture by Ulas Korhan)

That is how Hald ended up being invaded by a batallion of Europeans last week. 24 young volunteers from Sweden, Germany, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Austria, Bosnia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey brought Hald back to life for a short while, as they were learning the basics of cross cultural understanding.

(Picture by Ulas Korhan)

Nights were spent doing all kinds of fun activities: tran-drinking competitions during the Norwegian evening; laughing and breaking of chairs during fun and games; Norwegian we-were-so-nice-and-heroic-during-the-war propaganda (Max Manus) at movie night and teaching of new steps and rhythms by Hald student and buddy Julio at salsa night.

(Picture by Inga Koch)

The whole thing was topped off by a trip to a local light house from Friday to Saturday. There was no electricity, no water and apparently shortage of firewood, so it ended up being a cold experience. Nevertheless, it was one of the most beautiful sites I've seen in Norway, and well worth the trip. The students also had a great time, despite the cold.

(Picture by Inga Koch)

All in all, a week of lots of entertainment, good conversations, funny Germans ("Nai tak, jai er ike so nazi i dak"),  and new perspectives. I would like to thank all the EVS guys for your enthusiasm and good mood during the week; hope to see you again. :)

Hald is a really big place...

It's been two days since the last Hald student left us and Zsofia, Maybrit and I are doing our best to cope with our new, noiseless lifestyle. After several scavanger hunts to the multiple basements and attics of Hald our kitchen and rooms are coming together and our "apartment" is starting to feel a bit like home.

(Our newfound favourite beverage: Ginger drink)

The last few days have been spent baking (both my lovely roommates have bakers in their families), drinking thai ginger drink (which we found in a corner in one of the cupboards of the student kitchen, amidst fish sauce, soy, green curry paste, tea masala and other exotic leftovers which will be put to good use - thank you international students!), reading "The Irresistible Revolution" and longing back to Kenya and the simple life.

(Haven't read this book yet? Go read it, and be impacted)

But what is a lot more exciting right now is that 46 Norwegian Hald students have just arrived in what will be their homes for the next six to seven months! Today they have woken up in a new bed, to a new climate and new sounds, realizing that they are about to begin what is probably their greatest adventure so far. I want to wish every single one of them a blessed stay. Absorb as much as you can: language, knowledge, wisdom, stories. I'll be praying for you. :)

Party at the nursing home!

One thing I have come to love about this year's Hald students, is that they are extremely creative and enthusiastic. Green and yellow hats have been generously distributed to this crowd, no doubt. I usually say that if one of them were to suggest they all throw themselves from a cliff, the responses would be something like this:
- Hey, yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun!!
- We should do it every week!!
- I have a really cool "running off cliffs-song we could use!"
- Let's not run, let dance off this cliff! That would be even better!

My kind of people, no doubt.

(Photo by Kristine R. Møskeland)

The last idea this crazy bunch of people came up with, was named a "party at the nursing home". The student board introduced the concept and not to our surprise, people were soon running up and down; looking for hideous skirts, old glasses and someone to draw wrinkles on their otherwise excited faces.

(Photos by Kristine R. Møskeland)

The party was a hit. People played their parts with excellence and the place ended up looking more like a zoo than a nursing home. After an hour or so of handing out medicine, taking people to the bathroom, carrying dead people out of the room and so on, we enjoyed activities such as a quiz, bingo and old folks' gymnastics. The whole thing ended, like most of the Hald initiatives, with a session of dancing. And when I went to bed, tired and sweaty, I thanked God once again to get to spend a year together with this lunatic bunch of people.

(Photo by Kristine R. Møskeland)

Cultural blunders of a Hald-returnee

By now it's safe to say that I have landed pretty well after returning from Kenya. Sometimes I think I have even landed a bit too well, and so I try always to be on my toes about keeping my internationalism. But in any case, I am now at the point where I can look back at my reversed culture shock and laugh, and I would like you to laugh with me:

Cultural blunder #1: Stopping in the security control in Amsterdam to have a chat with the security guard about the very interesting new high-tech security system, only to have a folder shoved into my hands and politely be asked to keep moving because I am blocking traffic.

Cultural blunder #2: Saying very loudly that "those wazungu over there smell like cheese!!", only to discover that they were Swedish and understood very well what I was saying.

Cultural blunder #3: Standing up when my friend's mother came into the room, shaking her hand and giving her a hug, even though I don't really know her very well.

Cultural blunder #4: Saying very confidently together with my Norwegian friends: "I am so happy that I'm a Christian, it makes life so much easier!!".

Cultural blunder #5: Wandering around Bergen for 3 hours trying to get hold of a bus card, frustrated to tears because it's expensive, people move to fast and noone is willing to take the time to help me out.

Cultural blunder #6: Smiling intensely at people in the street, only to have them walk in a big circle around me. 

Cultural blunder #7: Shouting at a beggar in the streets of Bergen that he should put on a coat because it's raining and he'll get sick.  

And some from my beautiful team mates:

Cultural blunder #8: Audhild and Ragnhild walking around Amsterdam holding hands and not understanding why people looked at them funny untill they remembered that in Europe there is this thing called open display of homosexuality.

Cultural blunder #9: Miriam standing in line at Starbucks, her eyebrows almost touching the roof. Now how is it possible that the clerk didn't know that raised eyebrows means "yes" in Kenya?

And now, reflection time:

Because who am I to call these blunders? Who says these are things that should be laughed at, forgotten and shrugged off? Of course, from time to time I have been frustrated, and I have frustrated others. But at the same time I think some of my "blunders" are very much needed in this cold corner of the world. And so this goes out to my fellow former Hald students:

If people are still laughing at you, looking at you weirdly or getting frustrated with you, don't be discouraged! Only dead fish follow the current, remember?

(This is the first thing that appears when you google "crazy")

I hope people will never stop looking at me as weird, stupid or crazy; because crazy people change the world! 

Song recommendation of the day: Lifehouse - Fool

Praise and Prayer

It is a proud Hald tradition to arrange Praise and Prayer nights every Monday evening. The content varies from time to time, but the main idea is to create an atmosphere where the students can meet with God, and worship Him together.

Last Monday was our first P&P for the year. Mesh, who is in charge of arranging them this year came up with a brilliant idea. In stead of doing a traditional Norwegian worship meeting she wanted us to find our own Hald style, to fit into the Hald culture.

So we were placed on different tables, with as many nationalities represented on each table as possible. Then we talked: How do I worship God at home? What is church like? How and where am I used to meeting God? At the end of it we all prayed together, thanking God for the blessing it is to be united from all over the world, coming together in order to worship Him.

Through the fog there is hope in the distance

From cathedrals to third world missions

Love will fall to the earth like a crashing wave

Tonight's the night

For the sinners and the saints

Two worlds collide

In a beautiful display

It's all love tonight

As we step across the line

We can sail across the sea

To a city with one King

A city on our knees.

(Toby Mac - City on our knees)

Back to the bubble

After a long summer of working at the Kiwi Supermarket, hosting wonderful Kenyans, spending time with great friends and having a whole apartment usually more or less to myself, I am back at Hald! All though summer has been pretty all right, I am very excited to be back in my favourite international bubble. It's been a few days and I am definitely settling in an feeling just as comfortable as I did last year.

I have met lots of last years' students, who drop by whenever they're in the area. I like that, so any former Hald student who is reading this: please plan to be in the area sometime during this fall, yeah? Good stuff! Also it's great to be back together with the teachers and of course the lovely ladies; Mesh and Elisabeth!

(Elisabeth in the middle)

              (Mesh)                  

There are also two very new assets to our brilliant team of ettårings. They're fun, they're continental and they're definitely Hald material: they are Zsofia from Hungary and Maybrit from Germany!

 

(Zsofia)

      (Maybrit)         

Us five chicks have really hitted off, and it has been great to spend a few days together with them, all of us getting to know each other and working out the team dynamics before the students arrive.

But more than anything I am thankful to be regaining the "Hald mentality". After a summer consisting mostly of working, going to the cinema, drinking coffee and watching TV, I have noticed how I adjust to Norwegian conditions very quickly, and I don't like it. And so I could not be happier to be back to morning devotions, political debates going on untill midnight and a million cultural codes.

All together, life is good and God is great!