Will and I first met in March of 2008. I flew to America from my YWAM base in Skien, Norway to attend a School of Worship held at YWAM Denver. Will was one of the staff members at the base and we hit it off from the first conversation we had. He actually walked away thinking, 'I don't know about that girl!' It was not a romantic 'hit off' but one of openness, friendship, laughing loudly, and discovering similar interests like painting. This photo was taken at the end of the 3 month school. In which Will ended up being the band leader for MY BAND. I guess as he would explain....'Erika, I could tell that you liked me'. I thought I was being quite innocent and quiet about it since developing new relationships were discouraged while attending the short 3 month school.

I enjoyed him....as a friend and confidant. I realized that because of my broken engagement 2 years earlier I had lost a lot of trust in men. Will was the type of person that sees you for who you are....not what you do or what you can do for him. He treated me like his friend and that was exactly what the Lord had in mind. I began to realize that there might be something in this friendship that I would like to see grow.

I waited until the end of the school...the last day to be exact....to expose my inklings. I sort of put my 'line' out there and wondered if he would 'catch on'. I wrote him a letter to thank him for the great times we had had, for being my friend and leader, and wished him well. I threw my boldness in at the end. Remembering a conversation we had had about his thoughts on relationships and courtship, I threw a loaded comment into the last phrase of the letter. (I wonder if he kept that card....hmmm) I said, 'the only thing I regret about our friendship is that we are not on the same path now.' I was commited to live in Norway for another year and he was staying here in Denver. How would that work? So my comment was sort of loaded.....because his heart was to not demand a girl to follow on his path...or even be manipulated to join her path. But rather letting the Lord do His work in you and then as you look around who is walking on the same path? I wanted to be on the path...to be the one he looked left and right and found serving the Lord. I knew we had similar passions and thought and pondered how any of this would work out. He picked up what I was puttin' down. He tortured me with a long phone call that talked about everything BUT the letter. At the end he said straight out, 'you like me don't you.' I felt like a 7th grader. The answer was an awkward yes and then all the moments of how, what, who, when, where came somewhere after that. We planned on just calling and keeping in touch over the summer. He couldn't say for sure what he felt yet....time would allow him to hear from God and let the idea of me stew in his heart.

It was an exciting and good summer. I felt great about the pace because I was leaving for Norway fairly soon anyway. I think it was at that point that I discovered a tip about long distant relationships. I could talk on the phone until my face turned blue, but I would still never know what Will was about fully (or will I ever, only the Lord can know). We miss face to face, day to day contact that is normal. You can't capture the day to day events in an email or a phone call. They are things you just have to do and experience. Nothing special....just normal. I think later on we would say this concept was DESIRED, YEARNED for. We wanted to have a normal chance to date and know each other.

But from the beginning we just tried to 'get into each other's worlds'. I would suggest this activity to anyone who is far away from a friend or family member. It's interactive and has the possibility to engage the heart----which is the point!


WHAT ARE YOU SEEING?
It's simple. Will would take a picture of something he saw that day or week and send it to me. I would make that my desktop photo so I could think of him...think about what he is seeing...and get into his world a bit. It was really fun and worked. We did it for a while and then sort of stopped. I would be up for starting that again....especially when we are in different places.

His Photo #1
Will took this picture of the small pond outside of the YWAM Denver base. I can remember him going out there after lunch and talking on his phone...sometimes to his sister who was at the time living in Bosnia, or to a friend. It's a beautiful little bubbling pond.

My photo #1

I sent him a picture of my grandpa. He thought I was joking. But I was not. He was faithful to the game so he put it on his desktop. I think he was more than ready to receive the next photo.

His photo #2 He is a pianist. He has played for many years and began playing at his church with the worship team. This is a picture of the piano he was playing on. It is SO nice to have a real piano you can play on and not just a keyboard. There is much excitement over a grand piano in the room!

His Photo #3

This photo was taken on his phone while driving through Montana on a trip to visit his friend Jordan. It's wierd....but because of these pictures and the story they plot out....the year is not a blur as much as it could be. We have small milestones that we invite each other to step towards.

there is so much more to come. please come back again someday and find out more!!

like I said.....I will be including photos and short posts about how things are going in my relationship with Will. I know people are curious and it is helpful for me to process. Relationships are hard, but they are incredibly good! I would say that my experience with Will on this journey has been just that. HARD, BUT INCREDIBLY GOOD. What makes it good? The peace of God. If there is not peace there.....than it is so hard to work on things the Holy Spirit is showing you. That is what me and Will are recognizing recently. As we sat in P.F. Changs restaurant a couple weeks ago before I traveled back to Iowa, we realized that when we were together it was as if we had better perspectives....more eyes to see with. I didn't want to leave him...he didn't want to leave me. We realized that although you don't want someone else to see what is behind all the rocks in your heart.....YOU ACTUALLY DO! Once that process for Will and me had begun by just being in each others' company we didn't want it to come to an end. We know God is faithful and he will work on us just the same-----but in His own way while we are apart. It's very similar to what the Lord does with us too. There is a kingdom perspective that we can be a part of when we spend time in the Lord's presence. When we dwell there....abide in Him. We will see things we couldn't see before, we will recognize the ways of God's Spirit through us and to us. That is what Will and I have discovered brings us closest together. Only by God's love can we walk on this journey. And it's only by His love that we are compelled to love!

my amazing boots!

dizzy-effects!

we're home....in Skien.

barely.

The journey, as noted on the side of the blog....is done, gone, finished, final! We feel the same way about ourselves as we rode the 9th plane towards Brussels, Belgium. I looked over at Ragnhild and with dizzy eyes said 'Are you angry?' She looked at me with her puppy dog eyes...sunk into her tired face and barely squeaked out, 'nooo. why?' I turned towards the front, realizing my situation and said, 'I feel angry. I'm working so hard to get somewhere and it is no where close to Will. I am exhausting myself for this.' Oh Norway....we love you, just come quicker I guess.

Our journey has ended. But yet I feel like it only began. Now we are safe in our home and the dizzy feeling stays. I think I won't travel for a while. We need to rest. REST! If rest could be worked at...it is an oxymoron. It's our bodies that are dizzy with lack of sleep, time zone changes, and 10 airport visits. It's our souls that are dizzy from the stirring deep down. I sense a twisting of my heart, a squeezing of my strength, and even a calling out from a place called OBEDIENCE! Our souls need rest. Ragnhild and I will keep each other accountable to really take care of ourselves. We need to take important steps in slowly combing through the work that is started in us. A big question remains. WILL YOU OBEY? COME REST IN ME!!

--Erika

'So, how was the states?' That question has met me several times already today. And it is hard to respond. It was definitely a good time, but it is now turning into a hard time. I realized I was ready to go home on Saturday, and it is wonderful to be back in Nedre Elvegate with Helina. But I am slowly realizing I need to get HOME. God is calling me home to him, and it is harder to find that place and that couch where I can, yes... rest. After seeing, hearing, experiencing so many THINGS these last weeks, all that is left, all that really matters is God. And I have to make sure all those things don't stand in the way for him, as they so often do.

--Ragnhild

Jesus I just gotta empty my pockets

Ragnhild and I are excited to be able to spend a week in Redding, CA at Bethel Church. This church has been growing and expanding under the power of the Holy Spirit. What an opportunity to see God moving, to mess us up for sure, and to reconnect with people we love. It has been just this.....Ragnhild and I are messed up now! Thank you Jesus.
We are eating as best as we can here. Traveling is always hard on the stomach. Ragnhild, Will & I cooked dinner together before the conference started on Wednesday. We were a great kitchen team and it tasted very fit for life! Sweet potato, asparagus, mushrooms, tomato, spinach.....goodness!
On the first conference meeting we met four high schoolers from Alaska. They came for this Open Heavens encounter with God too. They were fun....we sat by them the rest of the week...laughed....and were blessed by thier youthfulness. In the photo: Drew, the girl with the closed eyes, Drew's sister, Olivia, Will, me, and Ragnhild--still receiving peace and love from God.Our hosts in California were Micheala & Irene (Ragnhild's best friend from Ålesund). It is awesome to hear the inside scoop from the school they are attending: Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. There are things we have questions about...and it is humbling to know that they had them too and yet God is using the time in the school to transform them. Fun girls...real girls...awesome!
Ragnhild & I at the last session of the Open Heavens Conference. We have had to really wonder what God is doing. The time has been good....although uncomfortable. It is probably the fact that we are encouraged to pray that the Holy Spirit will 'mess' us up. We committed to praying that over each other daily. All I can say is....God is faithful. I think we both hit a wall. The whole trip has been very overwhelming for us. We are tired in our hearts and in our minds. This trip has shaken our worlds....and collided them (see my blog). Honestly, we did not have FUN all the time. There were times that we could not even worship because our hearts were being seriously worked on. God was so present and our weak feeble hearts were set a blaze. We need another month to figure things out. oi. Flights....to Denver, Omaha, Chicago, Brussles, Oslo. See you in Norway-----all messed up.

--Erika

warm california

we made it through Phase 2......Iowa and now I sit in the Sacramento airport. We are sorry the updates have come so spread out. Phase 3 offers totally different perspectives than the last two places on our journey. California represents a place of reconnection. Ragnhild just left with Irene, her childhood best friend....and tomorrow I will meet Will! We have not had so much time to think about what God will do with us here in Redding, but I am confident that he is faithful to do what He has promised. Perhaps we will have some time to think about it. I want to update some events of the Phase 2....Iowa very soon. So check back. before you know it....I am back in Norway. Oh this is all very exciting. I hope you are doing well. Are you?

Home

Erika's home. We are in Orange City, Iowa. They have an orange water tower, windmills everywhere, and I like to write lists of my observations.

Maybe you can just see some for yourself:


Erika finally meets Tracy!



We found some norwegians in South Dakota: Anette from Porsgrunn and her boyfriend Sondre



We watched a band practice in the cold early morning. Very fun :)

Fit for life in Orange City. With a new midwest style hairdo...

The Koinonia girls digging in!

We're good, the food is good, people are good, and most of all: God is SO good. He is using us in great ways, which we are very thankful for. We will tell more of that later.

-Ragnhild

phase 2

Overwhelmed

Back in the states... This is Ragnhild, or April, if that works better for you. It is now four days into our journey, and I have taken in a whole month's worth of impressions. It is so beautiful here! Someone told me I would be so bored coming here to the midwest, but that has not been true at all. Driving through Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma we've seen pretty fields, rolling hills, intense sunsets and too many dead things by the road (including a snake Lyndee ran over)




Today we stopped by the little house on the prairie, and it was very exciting. I loved reading books about the first settlers, how they struggled through tough winters, worked the land and saw the first sewing machine come to town. Now all that is closer to my heart after visiting Laura Ingalls Wilder's home.

Yesterday was spent in Kansas city eating pancakes, served by Ginger, our friendly waitress. Everyone is very friendly here, asking how I am, how they can help me and if things are good enough, if I'd like more of anything. People are not that friendly where I come from... I should add that I'm talking about people who get paid to be friendly, I guess that explains a lot.


We also visited the prayerhouse in KC, for some inspiration in my prayer ministry. And I got to meet Jessica, my roommate from DTS. It has been more than 2 years since we last met, and it was very good to catch up and find out where we are in our lives. Hopefully I'll see her again on Monday, somewhere off I-29.
Overwhelmed... by all the choices. What shall I eat? How much should I eat? What color do I pick for my nails? What lane is best to drive in? Where should I look at all times? (because everything is new to me) When should I go to bed? (We are 7 hours earlier than Norway) What do I wear in this warm weather?
I survive. I manage very fine actually. The conclusion is that I use my senses a lot: smelling, looking, touching, tasting, hearing - all of them, therefore the sense (hah..) of being overwhelmed.

And I have no idea how much the coins are worth, so that certainly gives away my identity as tourist, but that's okay.

Tomorrow is church, Lyndee's church, where we will share, so please pray for us wayfaring strangers.

- Ragnhild