Juleferie day 3

I am sitting listening to the song "O For Grace" by Brady Toops and the words that stuck out to me are:

"When it's strong or when it falls through, Lord to know the answer is you."

A gentle reminder, an wonderful encouragement.

I pray your day is encouraged as well.
Blessings.

Juleferie day 1 (Christmas holiday)

I am SO blessed, I get to holiday in a Winter Wonderland. Today, I started my day with coffee and a great friend looking at the view you see in the photos. Then came a knock on the door and two cute kids (Hanne's niece and nephew) were asking us to come out and play. So out we went ready to sled down the hill by the house. I currently hold the record for the longest run, although Daniel came close to knocking me out of that position.

What a wonderful beginning to a lovely holiday time. Oh, an extra blessing of being here - I get to practice speaking Norwegian! Although the Trøndersk dialect is very difficult to understand (I cannot tell you how many dialects Norway has, but with each dialect they actually say different words, it is not just a different pronouncing of the same word. To say the least, I have to ask what the kids say often, the adults have mercy on me and speak Bokmål. Bokmål is the Oslo dialect and what they speak on tv new channels and is the dialect I am learning.)

Wherever this finds you today, I pray blessings upon you.
Jae

Last week in Hamar

The end is near...

Okay, maybe it isn't as dramatic as that, but my time in Hamar is coming rapidly to a close.  I will be sad to leave this "family" of mine, but now is the time to go back to Skien.  I look forward to seeing friends, talking to them in Norwegian and preparing for the DTS in January.  On the other hand, I do not look forward to packing.  

A friend of mine she said she enjoyed the pictures I put up, so I thought I would add some pictures and tell you more about my time while in Hamar. 

I live in a very Norwegian home, but they were kind to the American in their midst and we celebrated Thanksgiving. I cooked for 2 days, everything came out great except the pumpkin pie, to my dismay. We had a lovely time.  After dinner (middag @ 4:30pm) we went for a long wonderful walk, then came back to the house, ate pie and watched a movie. 

Norwegians celebrate Advent, it starts, I believe the first Sunday in December, but Christmas season starts December 1st, the first day you can have glog & pepperkaker (glogg is like a spiced cider drink with fruit and nut bits in it and pepperkaker are gingerbread cookies).  The four candles below are the advent candles, one is lit every Sunday while reciting a prayer.  The star above the candles is just an example of how Jenny & Ragnhild have made the house look nice and festive.  A side note: the color for Advent is purple - purple candles, cloths, etc..., but Christmas is decorated in red and I believe they change the colors Christmas eve.

We also had the town Christmas tree lighting.  It was really fun despite the cold.  At the end of the event all the people sang a Christmas song and went around the Christmas tree, so very delightful.  

I also, did something VERY Norwegian.  I went to Sweden! It was my first time to step foot in the country and I did it as a typical Norwegian would.  Yep, we went shopping.  The prices in Sweden are cheaper, especially for meat and since it is only 2 hour drive to the border, off we went.  There was an extra seat in the car and Eirik (the youth pastor) arranged for me to join.  So off I went with Eirik's mom, little brother and little sister.  It was so much fun.  We even had a little adventure - the car battery died.  The others in the car said they were very grateful that I was an outgoing American, I went around the parking lot for about 40 minutes looking for someone with jumper cables to help us back on the road.  Our angel's name was Ida.  We are back safe and sound and with bacon in the freezer!

Thanks for taking this journey with me in Hamar while I learned Norwegian.  Please pray that I continue to grow and improve in the language, especially as I go back to Skien.  Also, if you would please pray for my "family" in Hamar (Eirik, Karl Oscar, Jenny & Ragnhild), they are the youth leaders in one of the local churches and I am sure they would appreciate any extra prayer.  Thanks again.