Seventh-day Adventist's message

"So what's different in Adventism?"  She narrowed her eyes as she asked the question.  I was having breakfast with the Norwegian guests. We spoke about the upcoming election, America and various other issues that Norwegians like to discuss with Americans.  Then suddenly one lady popped up with the question.  

"I've heard about the Sabbath, but what else do you believe that is different than Lutheranism?"  I began sharing a few different things that we believe, praying all the time that I say the right things, pointing out the truth, yet not bulldozing her over with doctrine.  Presently she stated "I think that the Old Testament is a bunch of junk" (she actually used some more pointed words, that I am not going to repeat).  "The God of the Old Testament was vengeful, unforgiving, and killed everyone."  

Wow, she brought in a whole new aspect, but I jumped at the chance to explain my God to her.  

I have read through the Bible several times, and it seems that the more I read through it, the more I see that the God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New.  I shared with her Bible verse after Bible verse in the Old Testament showing that God is a loving God. I explained that God had blessed the Israelites over and over again, but they would not heed God.  They would prefer to go down their own course and disregard God's love for them.  By straying away from Him, they would often fall into the hands of their enemies, but as soon as they cried to God, and turned away from sin, He would save them.  I related the story of Hosea and Gomer, and how Hosea bought Gomer back to him, even though she had wronged him terribly.  This is exactly the way that God loves His people.  He was willing to die Himself that we could understand how much He loved us.  

This is the real message of Seventh-day Adventists.  God loves us tremendously, so much in fact that His Son was willing to die for us, that we might believe in Him and be saved.  Praise the Lord for His goodness towards us, and that He shows us a true picture of Him in both Testaments, as a loving, forgiving God.

"Fredheim bonding weekend"

Last weekend I went on a "Fredheim bonding weekend."  Most of the staff at Fredheim went about two hours north of here to a cabin, owned by one of the nurses here. We had a great time getting to know each other better and goofing around. These are a few pictures of our weekend.

Our cabin

Berit and Bjørnar, our hosts

Some of the men with natural forrest mustaches 

All of the girls of Fredheim

Farf

My Fathers father (or Farf, for short), has been such a blessing to me.

Over the past ninety years he has gathered much experience and wisdom.  I love to hear him as he speaks about his childhood in Denmark, the years of hardship during World War II, the emigration to America, or his mission experiences in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  There are so many miracle stories of how God led them.  His stories are always intriguing, and make me want to sit listening to him for hours!

Friday nights with Farf and Farmor have always been a joy to me.  Farf would sit at the piano and play the Danish hymns flawlessly by memory. The rest of us would sing along, wanting to sing our best for the Lord.  His music always makes me think of what it will be like in heaven.

Farf is so loving towards his wife, children and grandchildren.  I love watching my Farf gently tease my grandmother, and her blush, like they are in the young stages of romance.  He always refers to her as "my sweetheart".  You can tell that they are still very in love after 60 years of being married.  

I could write so much about Farfar, but the one thing that immediately comes to my mind that underlies everything that Farf does, is his love toward God. He always has something to say about what God did for him that week, or what he studied in the Bible.  You can tell that Farf has chosen Who he will follow, and as a result, he has become more like Jesus every day.  

Thank you Farf, for being such an awesome role model for us, and showing us how to be more like Jesus.

Hilsen fra Norge!

Hilsen fra Norge! (Greetings from Norway) Recently I came to Norway to work as a student missionary at Fredheim Health Center.  I have been working mostly in the doctor's office, and helping out in the kitchen, but I must say that my favorite part is being with the guests. 

 

The guests come for a 10 day period and learn how to live a healthy life: eating right, exercising, and getting out into the fresh Norwegian air.  Most of them are in their late 60's and 70's, but we get all ages (including two 90 year olds last guest period, and a few people in their 40's and 50's). They all enjoy listening to health lectures and worships, and teaching Norwegian to me. :) 

I've been having a great time here, and I will try to keep my blog updated more often with pictures of the doings and sayings around here.