Each and every day I am just so amazed by how incredible our God is! We learned this week about the Character and Nature of God, and in that we learned so much insightful information and if I was to write all of it here, the post would be more than 10 pages! So I will just share with you the things that stood out to me most:)

The first chapters of Genesis and how God is uncreated and he is the creator. I marvel at how he spoke and things came into existence. The fact that he was and is and has never changed and never will. The whole concept of God to me is unfathomable, something I cannot grasp. Our God is the first and greatest scientist, he made light! There is a million questions running through my mind of how is this or that possible? But I think it's good to have unanswered questions, in fact there has to be a little mystery, or else there would be no faith. I have faith that God is everything he says he is even if I can't wrap my mind around all the little details. God is God, the creator of the whole universe! 

He is such a selfless God as well. He had the Holy Spirit and Jesus, he was not lonely, God doesn't get bored. So when he spoke the world into existence he did it purely for us. We serve such a generous God. The fact that he created human beings, knowing that he would have to send his one and only son to save us, is so humbling. He did all of this for us, to give us life on earth and as well as eternal life with him in heaven. 

One thing I found really cool about this week's teaching is that God wants us to aim to be holy, and he has high standards for who he wants us to be, "Jesus my Son, be like Him", But he knows were just kids in a sense, He's not looking for perfect, but He doesn't lower His standards, however He leads us through a process of growth to be more and more like him.  He forgives us for our sins and shows us grace. You should be dependent on Him, He should be your focus. For you will never really understand how God views you until you learn to view others through his eyes and with his heart, in the way you talk to others, view others, talk about others when they're not there. He brings revelation because he knows you want to be more like him. It's not about whether or not you hit the target, it is what you are aiming at. 

I have already learned so so much about who God is, and about who I am in Him. Guys, we serve a Holy God, He is everything, everywhere, He is our shepherd, shelter, our provider, He is life and He is Love. Everyday I am just overwhelmed by who God is. We tend to try and to shrink him down and fit him inside a box, but that is just impossible. You can't contain a God as big as ours. He spoke the universe into existence! Can you even fully grasp what that means? I can't even. He is the architect behind each and every type of plant, every animal, every star. He is the one who made the milky way, He created light! It is just mind blowing to me! This fire just swells up inside of me, a fire for this God, this Trinity, that is so incredibly huge, he knows everything and is everywhere and is able to have a personal relationship with anyone who chooses. Isn't that incredible. He has the ability to know 7 billion people, to listen and answer there prayers, to guide them through life, to give them hope and encouragement, to forgive there sins and show them grace. I just get so in awe, as I am writing this, and I hope you can feel it to. Our God is Perfect, He is so many things, and He is so huge, He is Whole.

As I look back on the first week of DTS, my heart is just so grateful! I have two wonderful Norwegian roommates, Johanne & Emely. I feel so blessed to have these girls along for the journey we are about to embark on!

It is so crazy to think I have already been in Norway for 5 week & on my own for 3 of them! I am still standing strong, loving every second that I spend in this beautiful country! But of course I miss my family and friends!

This past week the DTS went on a wilderness trip about 3 hours away from our base, Grimerud. We had so much fun in fellowship as well as enjoying God's incredible creation! We went on a 5 hour hike up to the top of a mountain (compared to Colorado it is a hill, only 2,100 feet but it was still a beautiful view at the top!) and we also had a campfire! The forest has wild blueberry bushes everywhere and by then end of the trip our mouths were blue from all the berry juice! :)

I can see God's hand in all of this already, I have already seen how he is starting to work in me and in my heart. He has laid some ideas on my heart pertaining to the future, which is crazy because it is only one week into the school, but I will continue to pray and see where he leads me!

A little off topic but here are some of my favorites parts of Norway/Dts/Grimerud so far!

1. The PEOPLE! So many incredible stories and such lovely people, I am so lucky to be surrounded with so many who are on fire for Christ!

2. My view from my window! I love to look out over the wheat fields and over Mjosa Lake, it's the little things that make it even that much more special!

3. Brown Cheese! For you americans who don't know what I am talking about, you can get it at safeway for about $6.99 and it is called Gjetost! (It comes in a little square cube with red packaging) My favorite way to eat it is on bread with some yummy homemade jam! soooo delish!

4. Rice Porridge! For all my oatmeal fans out there, this will blow your mind! You eat it with butter, a little sugar, and cinnamon! And surprisingly we eat it for dinner! Fridays are my favorite because it is rice porridge day!:)

5. The sense of community! My favorite part of the day are either the fellowship meetings or meal time because everyone gathers together and you never know who you'll sit by that day! It is a great way for shy folks to get out of there comfort zone:)

6. Everything is so cozy, wherever you go there are candles lit which makes it feel so much more homey and comfortable!

7. Bible reading! Each Monday night we all gather together in the cafe and read the bible out loud for an hour! It is so wonderful to get to dive into the word each day, but especially when we read it together.

I could go on and on about how much I love this place, but I will spare you the lengthy post.

I will however mention some prayer requests!

I still need to raise around $500 for the outreach phase of DTS, Please pray that God would provide in ways I never thought possible.

Even though I love my roomies already, there can be conflict with anyone your living with and spending pretty much 24/7 with. So just prayers that we would have very little conflict and that we could create life lasting friendships, and that we would include every one, three is always a hard number, especially with girls! So prayers that we would still like each other at the end of the 7 months ;)

And just prayer for DTS, for the teachings, that the Holy Spirit would reveal himself to us, and that we would really open up our hearts to what he wants us to hear, And that we would all grow closer to the feet of Jesus.

Hopefully, I will be inspired soon to right a more insightful post but until then blessings to you all!

Tusen Takk! (Thousand Thanks)

Eliana

On my flight home from London I read the verse of the day on my Bible app, Sometimes they don't seem applicable to my life at the moment but others seem like God wrote it out just for me. Today was one of those days.

Hebrews 10:35,36

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, 

you will receive what he has promised."

I tend to struggle in the area of confidence whether it be in a sport setting, or just internally. The majority of people do. Especially in the mission field you can let your mind wander to what is "practical", what will set you up for a successful future, what if this or that goes wrong. You can drive yourself mad. I think this verse was really a reminder to stay confident in my choice to do mission work, and that this is God's will for me right now. And even though some people may think it isn't practical, God may think that a bachelor's degree is not practical for me.  He is the one who see's the big picture where we just catch a glimpse.  It's like a movie, where we only see the trailer but God see's the whole film, and he knows how the story unfolds, he knows every twist.  He has us in the palm of his hand, & if we just stop and listen to what the still small voice is saying, he will lead us in the right direction.  And if it is the Creator of the universe who is directing your steps, you should be overflowing with Confidence, Faith that he will lead you on the right path. If you turn your ears and open your heart toward the Lord, nothing can stop God's purpose and plan for your life. And that my friends, should put your mind at ease.

You also should have confidence in yourself. Be confident in who you are in Christ, He makes no mistakes, ever.  He made you in His image, and the fact that he thought of you and planned out your life is incredible.  "You are fearfully and wonderfully made" and don't you ever forget that. And for my ladies out there, one of my favorite verses, Proverbs 31:30  "Charm is deceitful and Beauty is Fleeting, BUT a Woman who fears the Lord is to be praised"  And as cliche as it is, it truly is what's on the inside that makes you beautiful. I have met plenty of people, guys and girls, who to me are beautiful not because of what they look like but because they have the joy of the Lord in their hearts, they are compassionate, hospitable, humorous, caring, not because they have great hair or a pretty face. Anyone can get that with a little makeup and a curling iron. It is so much more genuine if your beauty comes from within. So be confident in that. Rock who God made you to be, he made you beautiful, it's time to start believing it. And so I leave you with one of my favorite quotes that ties in to who God made you to be...

"I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of;

 for to have been thought about, born in God's thought, and then made by God,

 is the dearest, grandest, and most precious thing in all thinking"

What a lovely day I had yesterday with my fellow British friends! They took me to this cozy little tea house where we enjoyed delicious scones with the decadent cream and homemade preserves. We did have quite a laugh when I asked what kind of tea we wanted to order, they all looked at me and said "Tea, Tea?" However, they graciously let me order my own pot of passion fruit and orange!:)

We then met up with the parents and took about an hours drive (which was not bad at all because we proceeded to beat about 10 levels of candy crush) to Grandma Morah's house, but first made a pit stop to the beautiful Brighton pier ;) Brighton is sort of like the Boulder of England except with Gypsy's instead of student's from Naropa University. I really loved seeing that old architecture and of course the carnival like feel of the Pier. We then Went to Grandma's house who was so amazed that I was standing in her doorway, she never dreamed she'd see the day! "Refer to the Previous Post for the back story"

Anyways it was a lovely afternoon & evening, It was on the ride home as I was trying to doze off that I had a brilliant thought...

To me it is so incredible that you can go anywhere in the world and meet people whose personalities match yours, where if you had lived in the same town you would probably have been friends. I think that is so fantastic. This is my favorite thing about traveling, more than the culture, the food, architecture, that is all wonderful, but the people is what really makes it. I wish that everyone would have a chance to come to that realization, that you may have great friends in your home town, but you could move anywhere in the world and find people who are just as great if not better, you can create your own social network all over 6 different continents. This has happened to me on multiple occasions, random happenings in Belize, a group of teenagers thrown together in a third world country for two weeks, the list goes on! I know it really is a simple concept, but I am just so in love with the thought that there are so many people out there who in another life would probably have been my best friend.

So my conclusion is that I want to travel all over the world and meet tons and tons of fascinating people, and that If you get a chance, don't worry about being alone, go out into the world, and explore! I guarantee you will meet people who will change your life, your perspective, and create life lasting friendships.

Here is the crazy story about how I ended up in the UK, staying with a family I had never met before.

30 some years ago my dad decided to go to London for Christmas all by himself. He was reading the writings of Coates, Darby, and Macintosh.  It was Christmas Eve and he was listening to some salvation army carolers on the steps of Trafalgar Square.  Along came a moony, someone from a cult, who was trying to pin a rose on my dad. My dad of course said "No I don't want that" and turned to a stately English man and said "It's one of those moony's" the man turned to him and eventually asked if he was a believer. My dad of course said yes and asked if he had read any of those books, and coincidentally, the man had read every one of them! They got to talking and the man and his wife invited my dad over for Christmas dinner.

My dad went back to his hotel and then realized that he wouldn't be able to go to Christmas dinner because all of the trains would be closed. So when Mr and Mrs Bacon called him up to give him directions, my dad broke the news. The couple then decided they would drive 30 minutes in London traffic to pick my dad up from  his hotel.  He then had met their son Jim Bacon who was near my dad's age and they became friends.  My dad then went back to the UK to visit them two more times and brought my mom on their honeymoon as well!

So over the years we have exchanged emails, Christmas cards, etc, staying in touch on an infrequent basis.

So Jim married Rowena and they had four kids, Luke, Naomi, William, and David. And So I am staying with them and their family!

They are such a great family, with a wonderful sense of humor and incredibly hospitable! Although none of us had never met before we seem to get a long extremely well from my point of view, (they could thing I am a crazy weird american, but you'll have to ask them!) (;

It has been so fun getting to know them and I feel so blessed that I got to stay with the Bacon family. Really truly wonderful people. And i'm not just saying that because they may be reading my blog :) You guys are super great, and I am loved my time in Sevenoakes!

GAHH! To all my readers and supporters, I am so sorry it has taken me this long to get something up! It has been a crazy past two weeks filled with wonderful people and adventures!

I am so in love with Norway, everything is so cozy, or as the Norwegians say "Koselig". Grimerud Gard, where I am staying is the most beautiful, serene, peaceful place I think I have ever been. The staff at the base are all so kind and welcoming and I have made quite a few acquaintances/friends already! Since there are so many things I could tell you about, I will just name a few of the highlights!

1. Laken and Henning's Wedding!!!! It was literally the most beautiful thing I have ever been to, filled with an abundance of love for God as well as each other! Another Highlight, so numero two I suppose was... 2. THE CAKE TABLE! They had 30+ different cakes Henning's family had made! What a display! I am so happy to say I tried everyone of them! #noregrets 

3.  Thanks to Laken, I discovered my new favorite "kafé" called Larsen. Think if Anthropology and Urban Outfitters had a baby that was a coffee shop, it would be this place! It is so whimsy and I could waste all of my life's savings in there, buying decorations for a home I don't have! I love sitting in the cozy chairs by the window, people watching, while I sip my cappuccino! (I also 'splurged' on a new comforter, my favorite color blue with a vintage design, perfect for spicing up my dorm and at half the cost of its mother, anthropology!)

4. ROAD TRIP!!! My parents and I took a classic road trip, Norwegian style! Camping along the ever so picturesque, whimsical Geiranger Fjord! We also were invited to have dinner with Henning's Aunt and Uncle up in Alesund, and that was just so much fun! We had a delicious salmon dinner and had great conversation! We were there till almost 11:00pm! We then journeyed down to Bergen which had an incredible fish market right on the bay! Overall it was a wonderful adventure and I was glad to share it with my parents:)

We then came back and stayed with Ingrid and Ingmund, Henning's parents, and had many wonderful meals and conversations there as well! And then it was time for goodbyes! My parents left early Sunday morning, it was hard to see them go but I know this is where I am supposed to be, and I am just so blessed and grateful that they got to come with me for holiday!

I am now all settled into my dorm, and have met some really incredible people! I was a little scared at first because I was so intimidated by all of the people, (I even skipped dinner the first night on my own because I was so shy) But now that I have been helping people out and making friends it has been a real answer to prayer! Yesterday, I went swimming with some new friends down to the biggest lake in Norway, Mjøsa, which Is only a 5 minute drive away from the base! It was very very frigid, and I felt like I couldn't breathe for a while but what an experience to say I have swam in Norway's largest lake!

I will have some down time tomorrow and then I am off to London for a week to meet up with some old friend's of my parents and to explore the wonderful city! I will also be posting some pictures soon from these past few weeks! 

I hope everyone is well back in the states and I will try to update more often!:) 

God bless you all!