I arrived back in Bergen on Monday evening after a week of ministering with Youth With A Mission in Northern Norway (Finnmark). It was an incredible week of handing out Bibles, experiencing the Arctic climate, learning, and encouraging the strong community of Christians in this special part of Norway.
Traveling to Finnmark was not in my original Norwegian plans, but God has a way of changing my plans and I'm getting used to it! I had the week off from my work in Bergen, and my friend Ana invited me to join her YWAM team as they handed out Bibles to every home in Hammerfest. Below, you can see a map of Norway and how FAR north Hammerfest is located! The people who live there live half the year with the sun never setting (the famous Norwegian midnight sun), and the other half of the year in almost permanent darkness! While I was there, the city was just on the brink of entering the very dark part of the year. The sun was setting around 4:30 every day.
Handing out Bibles to EVERY house in Finnmark is a huge task. My team in Hammerfest was only a small part of the big initiative. Bible to All (or "Bibelen til Alle" in Norwegian) is a part of a global goal to offer a free Bible to every house in the world by the year 2029. In the past few years, the Norwegian people have shown an increasing interest in the Bible. Even in Norway, one of most secularized and non-religious countries in the world, the Bible is the #1 seller. For more information, read this Huffinton post article about Bible sales in Norway from June 2013. Bible in Norway
During the week, we went out in teams of 2 people. Since my Norwegian language skills are VERY limited, I was thankfully paired with a native Norwegian speaker each night. :) I found that most people we talked to spoke English pretty well, but I was still thankful to knock on doors with a Norwegian! This goes out to you, Henrik og Rebekka! Tusen takk!
Each night, we walked a specific route organized by the local churches. It was a very organized system, because we needed to cover a lot of ground, and not accidentally visit houses twice. We walked around and passed out Bibles for 4-5 hours each night. Some people said "no" right away, some people weren't home, but at many houses we were greeted with a huge smile or a hug! Some people even invited us in for conversation and coffee. Because "Bible to All" had been in the local news, many Hammerfest residents were eagerly awaiting a free Bible and welcomed us with open arms! What a blessing!
Thursday night in particular was extremely memorable for me. My partner, Rebekka, and I had been walking around handing out Bibles for almost 4 hours and it was an especially freezing night. Many people weren't home, so we spent most of the night stuffing mailboxes with information about local church events. It was slightly discouraging. However, at the LAST house we visited, an older woman opened the door and when we offered her a free Bible her face lit up and she hugged and kissed each of us! She then promptly invited us into her home, where she was sitting and talking with her neighbor man. Rebekka started talking with this woman and translating for me. The woman opened up immediately to us (a beautiful and rare thing for many Norwegians) and told us she was suffering from an oppressive evil spirit and anxiety. Rebekka told her about Jesus, and how He offers us freedom from oppression and peace. She asked the woman if she would like to experience Jesus' peace through prayer, and the woman immediately said yes! Her friend also wanted prayer so we prayed for him too. It was a beautiful moment for all of us! This woman and her friend were completely open to Jesus and his Word. I am so privileged that the Lord chose to use Rebekka and I in HIS work. Our simple obedience (handing out a free Bible) turned into something much deeper and more meaningful.
Overall, this past week was challenging and tiring, but SO worth every minute. God is doing great things in Norway, and I believe he has targeted Finnmark for revival that will spread through the whole country! Please pray for this part of the country.
If you want more information about Bible to All and how you can be praying, check out this link: Bible to All
Blessings to you all!
Anna
No comments:
Post a Comment