After watching Narnia.

I watched the first Narnia-movie today, or, the new one, that is actually the first one if you count the BBC-thing as a TV-series, but that is the fourth one if you count them as movies... And, to top it all off, it is book number 2 in the series, but the first Narnia book C. S. Lewis (Clive Staple...) wrote. So that makes it the FIRST Narnia-movie.

OK, now that we have that out in the open, I must say that I really enjoyed it. From the small little details, to the things added to the story, to the talking animals, the battle, and the way they got the message through, I really loved it, actually. I know love might be a bit strong, but it wasn't far from it.

We watched it the three of us that are home, as my brother is celebrating Christmas in Virginia, introducing them to all sorts of Norwegian Christmas traditions.

I was just so excited after the movie, so I had to write it in my blog.

So there you go. I recommend it to everyone, and as C.S. Lewis said: It is a book (or movie, now) he wrote to display how God would save another fallen world that was far away from him, and that's why we see it allegorical, because it is so symbolic towards the way he saved our fallen world was saved by his death and resurrection. And I am so glad he did it. Are you?

-paul andreas

Making faces

The night before

It's the night before Christmas Eve! Wow.

Time has gone by quickly, I know it's one of the commonest clichés, but still...

Right now, I don't remember how long it has been since I updated this thing, but I know it is way time for me to do it. And what a timely time to do it.

The last days has been relaxing, shopping (gifts and food), watching some TV (not much, just enough to see some of the game show finals) and sleeping. Yeah, and eating, of course. Real bread, for instance, and homemade strawberry jam, cakes and lefse! Yummy!

Ok, so now I kinda spilled it all: I'm on vacation. On Christmas vacation. At home. And here we have a lot of homemade stuff that we don't have at the base. Not to say anything bad about the base, but things at home are a bit more comfortable, quiet, homemade and white.

Speaking of white: When I came home on Sunday, we had snow. Then, on Friday, that is today, we still had snow! God has given me snow for Christmas. He knows how I love the quietness and beauty it creates. (The day before outreach on my dts, it snowed as well.) So the last days, some of the time has been spent outside taking pictures, and some inside, watching the snowflakes slowly finding their spot on the ground. It's a beautiful and peaceful journey.

I want to wish you all a peaceful Christmas, with joy and laughter, peace and quiet, singing and praying. Love. Those around you. God. Yourself. But God, you should love with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength! He shall be number one.

-paul andreas


Daniel, du er morsom. Lo akkurat.

Nils-Andreas, gratulerer med dagen.

Dere andre, ha det bra dere også!

On the road again, kinda.

Tomorrow we have our next Reboot-show, this week we're going to different places on the eastern and southern parts of Norway.

Pray for unity and health. And not least: That people will get saved and people will meet God, either for the first time, or again. Changing peoples' lives.

God is god. He is good!

-paul andreas

It´s snowing. Life is good. God became man.

Today the first snow fell! On the first day in December! It was the first package in God´s advent calendar to us on the base.

This really has been a fun week:
On Monday, we made peppercookies shaped as hearts for all the people on base. We decorated them and today, we hung them up in the prison, inviting everyone to our annual Christmas party celebration on the last day before Christmas break. It´s gonna be on Thursday 15th, just so you know. It was so good to see all the happy faces of The Invited.


Then, on Tuesday, we went to see Petra´s last concert in Norway, and I met with my best friend there, and you know what? For the opening band, it was Darrel Mansfield wth band. (for all of you interrested in 70´s Christian music, and know who he is, it was an impressive opening on the show. That man is SO fast on his harmonica!)
Then Petra came, and did alot of the old songs I grew up listening to, and John Schlitt, the singer, pointed and smiled at me alot of times as I was singing along. It was fun. If you´re a fan, ask me, and I can give more details about the show.

Moving on: Yesterday we went ice skating as a social night with the staff on the base. It was such a nice time, teaching others how to improve their skills, improving my own, and getting blisters on one of my two feet. And we had clementines, peppercookies and gløgg. Such a Christmassy feeling.

And this day has been filled with snow, Chrismas music, peppercookies (they just keep coming...) and last but not least: Christmas marzipan (julemarsipan) together with Shoemaker Street (Skomakergata).

Wow. I really like Christmas. But remember the one who is, as Stryper so poetically put it, The Reason for the Season: Jesus Christ, who humbeled himself and made himself the likeness of a man, coming into this world to make right our relationship to God. That is what ChristMas is about. God becoming man, for us to be together with Him.

your norwegian friend/writer/photographer/poet/etc.: paul andreas

Salvation, spring up from the ground

As many of you by now may be wondering how the week of touring went, I'll tell you:
We saw people saved!

We're singing a song called Salvation on the tour (by Charlie Hall). And it has one line in it that goes: "let all the prodigals run home", and that's exactly what we saw. We saw many coming back to Jesus, people who once had been Christians but had fallen away. They now took a new stand for Jesus, recommitting their lives to him. It was GREAT! Not just hat, we also saw a number of people getting saved for the first time!

We had a lot of fun on the tour, laughing much, and worshipping in the mornings, eating and sleeping at churches and having our shows in the night. Our days were like this: driving to a new place, putting up the stage, sound and lights, and then hopefully have a run-through of the program, or at least have a sound check. Then people arrived, the girl danced, we sang and our leader had a presentation of the Gospel and their need to be saved, and then we prayed with the ones who responded.

In one boarding school, one night, we invited people to receive prayer, and I got to pray with three people. They were already saved, but they were touched by the message, and wanted prayer. So then I got to pray with them, and I had forgot how much I like doing that. I got to pray into their lives, and ask Jesus to touch them. It really made my week being able to pray with people.

And now I'm really looking forward to Christmas, and to this week. On Tuesday, we're going to Petra's last show in Norway, on their farewell tour. I am really looking forward to it. (You can say what you want, but I grew up listening to them).
Then on Wednesday we are going ice skating with all the staff on base, and on Thursday it's the first of December, and then I'm gonna eat marzipan and drink julebrus (Christmas soda from Hamar). Woohoo! And the week after that, we're going on tour again, around to places in eastern and southern parts of Norway. It's going to be great.

That's it for now. Check out my photo gallery with pictures from the Reboot tour. It's at http://pauliephoto.blogspot.com
Have a blessed time preparing for Christmas and enjoying this time.

Peace.
-paul andreas

Pictures from Reboot

The girls dancing Found&Lost

More pictures in my Photo Album

typing again.

Right now, I'm running back and forth between to computers. On one, I am doing the final touches on the Reboot 2005/2006 DVD. Ok, not that kind of DVD. It's the kind that has music on it, and some pictures that move to the music, and then it fits together. It fits so well together that it's gonna be the playback/multimedia/video-thing for the whole tour. And I get the privilege to make it.

Well, on the other computer, I am writing in this blog of mine. The one that you are reading to get to know my deepest thoughts, sometimes getting disappointed and sometimes greatly encouraged. I'm glad to be at your service...

So what's up in my life, you ask.

To start with the latest:
I was at a meeting yesterday with a team from the Philippines. It was a pastor and the national leader of YWAM in the Philippines. It was really encouraging to listen to them, and it was a worship team from our base that led worship.
Then, they asked all under the age of 30 to come forward, so that the ones older than 30 could pray for us. Two generations coming back together.
Then they went around praying for people afterwards, and they came to me. They prayed straight into my life. It was awesome!

Please pray for the upcoming tour week. This week, we're going to the west coast of Norway with the tour, to the area in and around Bergen. Pray that we wil function well together as a team, and that people will get saved! It's purpose with this tour, to see people saved. And Jesus has done it. The Holy Spirit will convict them. We are people who have the privilege of going together with God in His plans.
Please pray! We need it.

Updates will follow.

-paul andreas

PS! Really nice talking to you again, Lori!

And, the DVD is coming out good, if you were wondering.

More than pictures

I told you about me going to Frankfurt on the book fair. I'm back, and hva been back for some time now. Actually, I was there for only four days, so you do the math.

It was good quality time with my dad, as well as busy days meeting with most of the large Christian publishers in the US, looking at a lot of books, and being tired after the day's end. But even though it was tiring, it was really good and alot of fun. We got to see the books coming out this year, and now we know all the inside secrets of the American publishing houses. But I can't tell them to you ;) Or I could, but then I would have to...

We ate out, and went shopping, and were invited to a release party of a book. I've never been to that kind of thing before. It was the release party of the book "Jesus" by Walter Wangerin. He's a good speaker by the way.

Today I was out shooting footage for a music video for the Reboot tour. Kristin Skaug was the movie star, and you get to see it if you ever come to one of our shows. www.uioskien.no/reboot

And, yesterday I fainted. I got out of bed, walked over to my closet, and everything went black. I found myself in a pile by the door of my room, and Hans, my room mate, was shouting my name. I was out for three seconds, and was really dizzy afterwards. So I spent the rest of the day in bed, reading and relaxing. But now I'm doing much better. A bit tired, but still. I'm doing much better today.

This was a very diverse and random post, but I just had to update all you people about what's happened in my life lately.

Canada is still cool (literally).

-paul andreas

Canada!

Canada is cool.

That's at least what they said in Frankfurt.

This picture is from the bookfair in Frankfurt, and they thought Canada is cool, so then it is.

Just a tiny update from Frankfurt, you'll get more later, but at this time of the day, we have dinner. Gotta go.

-paul andreas
(expecting loads of comments on this post...) 

For those in need of an answer.

Hi there. It's been some time since my last appearance on this screen, and by now, the rumors have started flourishing: Has he rid himself of his dreadlocks? Has he gotten plastic surgery? His face can't just turn like that just over night, can it? And people all over the globe are running around, confused, angry and in distress because of the lack of initiative from my part to give any confirming or unfirming evidence to those craving an answer.

But now it's here.

My hair is still dreaded. Not scary, just dreaded. And, no my face has not been the subject to either an accident nor a plastic visit to the hospital. It's just a piece of photographic fun.
For starters, you will need a camera and a friend to take the picture (the friend is needed for a clear shot, but you can try holding the camera yourself. Then you will see why you need friends...) Then you shake your face from side to side, letting your cheeks follow the movement of your head. Then your friend takes the picture, preferably before you start laughing or stop cheek-shaking because ofdizzinessyness it brings. Sit back, look at the picture, laugh your head off, and then take another one. (Don't take me literally on that one. Hard to do a cheek-shake without a head, you know...)

Apart from taking pictures of my cheek-shaking, although that takes up most of my time, I still work here at YWAM Skien. Right now, we're planning our new tour, booking and changing some on the program and stuff like that. There are also some graphic design to do, as well as totally redesigning our website.

And, tomorrow, my dad is taking me to Frankfurt, Germany, where we will be at the book fair there. We will be finding books to translate into Norwegian. (So, if you have any good books you've read lately, give the names to us, and we'll check them out.) That will be great fun, some quality time with my dad, as well as a completely different work duty for a few days. I'm really looking forward to it.

Later.
Until then, no more rumors, ok?

Much blessings from the Lord of lords: Jesus Christ.

-paul andreas

The Prison with our newly designed banners.

Having fun with a camera can give the most incredible results.

After a long time coming, a long post is coming

It's now been ages and a day since I wrote in this thing last time, so I thought that if this is gonna seem to you as a news update thing, I better start writing.
That's what this is. Writing again.

SO since the last time, I have been busy with the startup as a YWAM staff again, here in the city of Skien. We've been doing a lot of different things lately, the most changing is moving into a new room, and settling in with a new room mate and a new room. It's smaller, but it's been promised me a single cell after Christmas, so we have a good deal, Hans and I.

I've been using my designer skills to design lately. (Would have been fun trying to use them to climb a wall, but, that's not they're for, you know...) But, yeah, I've kinda climbed a wall with them still, as I made two huge banners that hang outside our base, they measure 5x1 meters, that's 15x3 feet. Big. They turned out better than I expected, and the picture will soon be tried posted here.

Yeah, of course. We went to Italy as a get-to-know-each-other-as-staff-trip, because we got it for SO cheap, that it would have been cheaper than traveling inside of Norway, almost. So then we went to Bergamo, an inland city an hour from Milan, with a really beautiful old part of the city. It was this old Italian city with city walls, with old churches, small really narrow streets, cozy restaurants with Italian pizza AND ice cream (yum!). It was great, and my first time to Italy. Not the last, I hope.

Now we're preparing to celebrate YWAM Skien's 10 years jubilee, and most of our time is focused on that weekend, next Friday through Sunday, as well as the DTS starting this coming Wednesday. I think it will be good.

God is good. He's done more in my life, and blessed me with a lot of friends, and I am really grateful for that.

Blessings from Him, Ephesians 1.

-paul andreas

Hello!

The soon ending summer vacation - but it's all good.

Tomorrow I will get to see most of the Skien staff again after a long summer.
I'm really looking forward to it, and hope you are too. ;)

Been a while since I've been on here posting, but that doesn't mean I haven't done anything.

Since I last wrote, I've celebrated David's birthday together with him at the U2 concert in Oslo July27th. We even got to be inside that fence right in front of the stage. 37 000 behind us, 3 000 around us, together with us inside that closed area. It was a big experience. Especially my visual senses were satisfied together with my audial (can you say that? My listening senses. You know, Sound). They had a huge stage, with some extremely cool lighting effects. Just hiring 12 people to run your in-back-drop-spot-lights shows that you, as a band, value the visual as well as the "audial".

Yeah, and after that, I went to Ålesund for a week, meeting up with my best friend, Jan-Erik, who was driving the sightseeing train in Ålesund for four weeks in July. And, I got to see where Birgitte lives when not in Skien, as well as doing some fishing, both by fishing rods and by nets. Cleaning the net, though, was a long lasting experience...

That is mainly what my days have contained these last few weeks, together with other things spread out in between, that are making an interesting and beautiful photograph.

God has done some deep stuff in me, so my feelings are so much better now, and I praise Him alone for that!

Let Him be God, and don't try stepping up believing you can take his place. Not even in your own life can you do that. Your "own" life doesn't belong to you! He paid for it.
It's His.

until next time: Draw closer to Jesus!

-paul andreas

Mae | The Everglow

Mae | What Is Mae
Sitting here listening to The Everglow by Mae.
Was introduced to it by David, my brother, and it's SO good.

They have the most perfect melodies and harmonies, creating something new of the now soon olding rock. They're one of those rock bands who succeed including piano in their rock, making some really cool collaborations between the strings and the keys.

Uplifting and good lyrics. Not the typical cliche, but more the artistic outcome of a life lived.

Ok, just check it out, ok?
I've made it really simple for you guys.

Will write some more pretty soon.

-paul andreas

Just one quick photosession resulted in...

Oh, so you wanted to see what I look like?
You forgot, didn't you?

Ok, then I just have to help your memory remember.

Job finished. Mission Accomplished. Result: I'm tired

Sitting her tired after this nights last newspaper run (or that would be newspaper drive).
But this was my last night of doing this, and now I can return to the normal life of not worrying about getting to bed early in order to function the next day.

As to the dreads-commenting: I still feel the need for some more comments urging me to post pictures, as my personal secret goal isn't reached yet. But: You can do it!.

Think that would be it for now. Please send me emails or comments. Love to hear from all of you!

-paul andreas the pølle

A call to commenting

A head Close-Up

Due to the amount of comments wishing pictures of my dreaded head, I post a small one here.
If you want bigger ones, you better start posting comments. Thanks to the two Canadians, Janelle and Esther, you get to see this one at least. But start posting

Sunrises

I promised you sunrise pictures, and here they are. Displaying the great creativity God has, creating this for us.

This morning I thought: How can anyone doubt God's existence when they see this? My view on God has expanded when I have watched the sunrises these last days.

Enjoy his art.
But enjoy Him more!

-paul andreas



Golden Sunrise



Golden Sunrise a little bit later



Clouded Sunrise



Misty Sunrise

A dreadfull summer

A dreadfull summer

I’ve got dreads. Dreadlocks that is.

For those of you who have gone around thinking to yourselves the last months: “I wonder if he’s gonna get a haircut?” this is the reason for why my hair has been so out of control lately…

I owe it all to Ruth Silje, who, after about 10 hours of backcombing, making knots and pulling my hair, finally could look at her masterpiece: A head full of dreads.

If you want to see some pictures, you would have to write it in my comments section, and when I feel I have gotten enough comments, I’ll post a picture. Until then: You can admire this beautiful biographical-inspired artwork made entirely by me:

(we were at a manga drawing seminar at Skjærgårds (“The Seaside Festival”, Norway’s biggest Christian music festival)).

Besides now having to fight off all the girls attracted to my hair, I have now started my two weeks of waking up before sunrise. The newspapers have to get out. I’m getting them out. This gives me a different kind of jetlag, and splits my night into two parts, the first 2-3 hours before 3:00 AM, and the 4-5 or so hours after I get back at 6:00 AM.

I wondered if I should start taking pictures of the sunrise for all you to see what it looks like, as I am guessing not many of you are waking up early enough. But maybe you are getting to bed late enough…

Ok, this was it.

…I thought. I just have to mention as well, that I have seen quite a few bands lately, at the Seaside (Skjærgårds) Music and Mission Festival:

Larry Norman

Delirious

Supertones

Extol

Grits

Darrell Mansfield

The Lionheart Brothers (a norwegian band, check them out at http://www.thelionheartbros.com/),

Iona (the best concert since Blindside in May),

Jerusalem (old swedish rock band),

Dream Pilots (some of Norway's best musicians who also are Christians http://www.dreampilots.net/),

Pitbull Harmony (http://www.purevolume.com/pitbullharmony)

Waking up twice makes you philosophical

It does. Seriously.

When having lunch after the first of the now so infamous early mourning wakings, me and my working buddy got really philosophical, asking the most important questions in the world like:
Do blind people dream? If they do, Do they dream in color? And: What is color? If it's reflection of light, does the red rose in the pitch black room have any color?

Yesterday lunch was also interesting, but that had more to do with funny names. Is the name Bjørgulv gender specific? If so, what gender is it? Or is it a name that can be used for both genders? (Ok, maybe not a very rewarding debate for all you English - not Norwegian-speaking people...)

Well, now I'm sitting here after the last of the three training mornings, rather tired, but, hey, I got to see the sun rise three days in a row. It's been a long time since that has happened...

On the 23rd, we also celebrated the Norwegian celebration night: Sankthansaften. It's supposedly the night when the sun is up for the longest period of time during the course of a year, and that is reason to celebrate. (although it actually was some days earlier...) On the 23rd we had sun for 19 hours and 16 minutes, from 03:41 to 22:57. And still I woke up before sunrise. Isn't that incredible? I have to write it, in order to show this to my grandchildren. Not that I have grandchildren, I don't even have children, but it's an expression you use, you know?

Ok, now the tired humor has started to pop its head up, so I bedder (you took that one bedder as in a mix between bed and better) go to bed or something to reverse this oh tired state of mind.

Thank you for all your encouraging words. I really appreciate it.

In Him.

-paul andreas

Just between a sunburn and a mosquito bite

Just thought it was a nice heading, so I thought I'd use it.

Now I'm at home, not in my YWAMbase home, but where I grew up-home.

Relaxing in the sun, doing nothing and then all of a sudden, doing everything at once, just laying there, and then BAM! a job offer for the summer, and then BAM! BAM! I got two offers. Wow. I didn't think I got to work this summer, because I hadn't applied anywhere... But God provides. And I'm glad He does.

The first one is the one I've been doing this week, washing all the floors in a school, as well as polishing them afterwards. A big job, but we are seeing progress.

And. I'm gonna distribute newspapers for two weeks this summer, and training starts tomorrow "morning" they call it, I call it "deep sleep, please don't wake me up"-time. At 3:30 (AM! -in the morning. (Maybe that's where they got the "morning part from.)) Usually it's from 5AM to 7AM (05-07 in the morning for all you metric people). I didn't know people woke up that early. I knew they went to bed that late, but not waking up... But tomorrow it's my turn. I think I will manage it though, all complaining put aside.

I will update you on how it was. If I am able to. : 0 (yawning for those unsure of the : and the 0)

And, read the post before this one, the article. It's well.

-paul andreas

A really good article. You should read it.

I got this really good article from Relevant, and wanted you guys to read it as well. If I'm not allowed to posty it here, please tell me and I'll take it off...

And, no, this is not one of those commercials diguised as a "oh-I-really-like-this-now-become-a-member"-posts. Idon't like thoose kind of posting. This is genuinely from me. OK.

He had some things in here that are really important for us in our oh-so-cosy-christianity to hear. So go on reading.



4:17 by Stephen Simpson

This is where God lives. And sometimes I hate that.

It's 4:17 a.m., the morning after we brought home our first baby. By "first," I don't mean we plan on having more someday; I mean that there are three more at the hospital that belong to us. My wife had quadruplets three weeks ago, and since the babies were premature, they come home one at a time, when each can handle eating and breathing on his or her own. Emma Grace made it out first, since she goes through a bottle of formula like a frat boy chugging beer.

Having a newborn baby home has been a tremendous blessing ... and a total nightmare. On the one hand, having four healthy babies has been a miracle. Since quad pregnancies are high risk for mom and the babies, anxiety filled the 33 weeks running up to the birth. When they were all born healthy and beautiful except for some typical preemie woes, we rejoiced along with a host of family and friends.

But I'm not rejoicing right now. My wife woke me up at 3 a.m. because the baby needed to eat and our dog was freaking out because some diminutive creature making earsplitting sounds had invaded her territory. I grumbled, rubbed my eyes and went to do what I must. I chilled out our dog, told my wife to go to bed and finished feeding the baby. Since she needs to take some medicine at 5 a.m., I figure I'll stay up instead of sleeping just long enough to get started on a really good dream. Something involving the Caribbean, room service and lots of sleep.

See, I'm not good at this stuff. Don't get me wrong—the love I feel for my children has motivated me to do things, like changing a diaper that looks like a Hershey bar exploded, that I previously thought unbearable. But I hate it when anything messes with my schedule. Make me do something that interferes with my daily workout, and I get pissed. Mess with my sleep, and you'd better bring a weapon. But I can't be like that anymore. I have four little helpless people and an insecure dog depending on me. If this is hard with just one, I’m dead once all four get home. I'd buy stock in Red Bull if I were you.

But this is exactly where I need to be. I accepted Christ at age 7, but I have a feeling that this is where I become a Christian. I have to do something hard just for love rather than glory, money, pleasure or even some spiritual epiphany. For maybe the first time in my life, there's no kickback. Of course, loving my children and watching them grow in wonder and discover awe are huge rewards, but it's gradual. I can’t stand doing something painful and difficult with no immediate gratification. Even when I exercise, I get the immediate removal of guilt for the pizza I ate the day before. When I take care of my kids, I do it just because.

And that's what's going to make me a Christian.

I've been working for The Man in some form for a long time. I was president of my youth group by age 14, an InterVarsity leader in college, a youth pastor by 22, and now I'm a Christian psychologist who writes and speaks in public about Christian things. But if I'm honest, I mainly do that stuff for me. I usually check myself and give God the glory by the end, but I begin most things because something is in it for me. I like the adrenaline rush of tackling tough issues in the name of Christ. It makes me feel cool and smart. I feel neither of those things right now. I feel overwhelmed, jittery from too much caffeine, and my ears are ringing from the last time Emma was screaming.

Yup, this is where I become a Christian, because I can’t pretend I’m doing this for someone else while I lap up all the glory on the sly. I have to do this only for love. I always imagined that God had some Great Thing for me to do before I croaked. I was pretty sure it was writing a best seller or keynote speaking that changes lives. I was wrong. If I can survive being the father of quadruplets, that will be my Great Thing. Not quite as sleek and sexy as having a book crawling up the best-sellers list. Not nearly as hip as speaking at conferences where people tell me how witty and wise I am.

Thank God, because all that other stuff would only make me more full of crap. Even if I accomplish a Great Thing for God, changing a diaper in the middle of the night will do more to make me a real Christian. Jesus sacrificed Himself for the glory of God and the love of humanity. He didn’t do it to make money, to look cool or to feel smart. Learning to sacrifice for my children will go a lot further toward making me like Him than becoming a pithy, popular sage who dispenses edgy Christian wisdom.

Oops, 5 a.m. Gotta give Emma her medicine. I get to do something that isn't about me right now. There's something freeing about that. I don’t have to stress about getting my book published or my next speaking gig. I get to forget about my career for a while. I get to forget about me for a while. I’ll hold Emma Grace in my arms, look into her beautiful eyes and feel a deep, potent love that I’ve never felt before.

This is where God lives. And sometimes I love that.



Dr. Stephen Simpson is a psychologist and the Clinical Director of Fuller Psychological and Family Services at Fuller Theological Seminary. He lives in Southern California with his wife, Shelley, and the quadruplets. Simpson is now addicted to caffeine and bouncy seats.

About A Blind Date

OK, OK...

After numerous requests, I feel obliged to tell the story in full:

One of our outreach teams came up with the brilliant idea to set everyone on the whole base up on blind dates. This is how it all happened:
On last Monday almost everyone on the base received a card saying something like this:

"This might sound weird, but I really need to talk to you.
Can we meet at so and so at this cafe?
Please don't tell anyone about this."

It was a bit of tension in the air that day, everyone walking around wondering who this date was.
My date was at 20:15 at Mami's in Skien, a cafe close to the prison. I really was unsure about how it was gonna be and who it was that had sent the note. I thought I had it figured out, as I recognized the hand writing. But still, I was unsure about how to take it... What if it's some girl that likes me, and I donæt feel the same towards her. What then?

20:15 came, and I started moving towards Mami's. On my way I met Ruth Silje and Kristin, they wanted to borrow my newly bought bike (50 kr at a police auction... a Merida, pretty cheap I would say.) and I found the bike. Ruth Silje was acting weird, and laughing a lot. And when Tone Marie walked past us, she started laughing even more... Hmmm.

I walked towards Mami's, but when I reached the door, it was closed. Weird. Bad planning from my date's side. Mami's closed at 18:00 but our date was 20:15.

Then I saw Tone Marie. She had also received a note. With the same content. To meet this someone at Mami's at 20:15. We laughed about it and walked back to the base, to join Jordan's 21st birthday party.

My first Blind Date was over, and one of the best practical jokes played on us on the base was now accomplished.

The most genious fact about this thing is that everyone except Kjersti got a note, so that all the blame would be put on her... Just as a payback for all the practical jokes she's been behing in the past.

Peace out.

-paul andreas

Back from the tour - people get saved!

Back from the tour, actually two days ago, but I didn't gidd to write in the blog until now. But here I am, and we've seen some great results, 32 people responded to the Gospel during our show!

(Just a fast explanation to those of you not Skien-resident-English-speakers, "to gidd" is a englishyized word, from the Norwegian word "Ã¥ gidde" which means something like Ii could have done it, but I don't really want to, so therefore I don't do it."that'ss "to gidd". Just for future reference.)

We were in three churches, all of them were "traditional" two prayerhouses (bedehus) and aLutherann state church. And they received us very warmly, and really took care of us.
On Saturday, we had two shows in 4 hours, including rigging down and up the equipment. We really got to test our ability to put it up fast, and we did. I actually think that we performed one of our best shows that Saturday night. The singers rocked more, and the dancers we're doing new changes to the dances, some things even different from two hours before...

I really had a good time, and we were enjoying the beautiful west coast as I was expecting, and we were even blessed with nice weather when we were there. The summer is coming, folks.

And yesterday I was on a short blind date. More about that later. Gotta go. The DTS is graduating tomorrow. Making entertainment. Yeah!

-paul andreas

Soon going on tour

We're soon going on a tour again. We're taking our "Reboot"-program to the beautiful south west coast of Norway, and we have three shows this weekend, so it's a short tour, but nevertheless, we want to see much fruit on this tour.

It's evangelistic, with dancing, preaching and singing (that's where I come in. Singing solo and backups...) We've seen quite a lot youth saved during our previous tours this year, and it's great being a part of taking in the harvest.
Please pray for us, that we'll function well as a team, for safety both for equipment, cars and people, and also that God will use us the way He wants in reaching people for Him. We'll leave on Friday, and be back on Sunday.


The DTS is back. It feels so right having them back, but I start feeling that I don't want them to leave again, but they're graduating next Wednesday, so after that, they'll leave...
But first we'll have a lot of fun, hanging out and seeing them graduate. Today and yesterday we played soccer, or football as we Europeans like to call it...
They are really good people, and I will miss them, but as I so often have experienced before, I will meet them again. Maybe in the most surprising of places...


Till I write again: Stay close to the Lord Jesus Christ!

-paul andreas


And, please comment or send me an email. Please!

The Return of the DTS

They're coming back. Today.

Been gone for 2 months. Back. Today.

It's that weird feeling again, the one you have after you've been away for some time, for example 2 months, and then you get back and you feel like you haven't been away at all. It's just as if the time between you left and now is squeezed into a five minute span of time, and you're standing here with the feeling: "I was here just ten minutes ago, it feels..."

But the thing is, I wasn't on outreach this time. I was back here in Norway, looking forward to the teams getting back, and still I have that feeling of coming back and seeing that everything is as it was.

But I'm really looking forward to see all my DTS Skien friends again. It is going to be good times, and lots of hugs today, I feel it coming.



So, what has happened the last days, then, you ask.
Whatever happened to the frequent updates you promised us? Why haven't you written before?
I'm sorry. It was the typical way it all happens: Once you want to sit down to write, something else comes up, and it's delayed. But here it is.

The 17th of May was different. Usually, I'm home on that day, but this year I was here in Skien. We were planning on eating alot of ice cream, but I ended up eating 1. But I ate 4 hot dogs. And watched the Russ' (the high school graduates) parade. It was one of the worst parades ever.
The Russ' Parade is a lot of graduates that have been having these long party weeks, about a 3 weeks party, combined with being at school, and this ends on the 17th of May, with this parade. It's supposed to be a parade giving us alot of laughs, but it's getting less and less fun. Yeah...
They are usually bad, but there's often a few funny things said or done by the Russ, but this year there was close to nothing funny at all. Hooray!

But now the summer is coming, so I have to go meet it.
Have a good day so long, and please comment my blog if you want to, AND, if you've got one yourself, tell me, and I'll try to post a link from my blog.

-paul andreas

Not a slave anymore

Wow, this was fun, just completed my last post like some few minutes ago, but I just had to share some revelation I got earlier today:

John the Baptist says about Jesus:
"I'm not even worthy to carry his sandals" - which the Living Translation very nicely puts it:
"But someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am--so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave."
WOW! John the Baptist said that. And he was a man who had left everything to be able to prepare the way for Jesus. And he didn't consider himself worthy to even be called Jesus' slave!

And then, Jesus calls his disciples friends. Not longer servants, but friends! How big is that??!
And then we're also called children of God. The Most High God, the Almighty one, the One that created the universe and the bumblebees, the One who is the only One worthy to receive praise, He calls us His Children!

Let us understand that, Lord! Let us see who we are in You! That we were adopted into your family, not being even worthy of being called the lowest possible of your servants, we have now been given the gift of being called the children of You, rightfully, because we believed and accepted you, Jesus! THANK YOU!


-paul andreas


Bible verses: Matthew 3:11 and John 1:12 and John 15:15

The dots of light

The dots of light. Taking a picture of myself. Fun? Yeah! Really hilarious...
Well, kinda, sorta for you to know what I still look like, in case you forgot along your long and traveled road, called life. Remember to follow Him. In His footsteps. Don't walk off alone. Don't try taking any shortcuts. Follow Him.

-paul andreas

I would probably consider this as my first post...

Now I'm trying to get started again at this blog-thing. It's not that easy to tell people to visit this page when it's never been updated, and even I haven't wanted to check it out.

But from now on that will be different! I will tell you what's happening, and you'll have to promise commenting, or at least reading whatever my hands have been typing.

For those of you who don't know, (I know I'm writing for a pretty diverse audience, so I have to get on the same page with everybody for starters...)
OK, starting this sentence again, as the last one was ruined by that parenthesis:
For those of you who don't know, I am now working with YWAM in Skien here in Norway. I am a staff, but not a dts-staff. I'm working with some different stuff, as webdesign, making brochures and videos, singing in a tour, staffing Mission Adventures, and a whole lot of other things.
Our base is an old prison, a real old prison, not a metaphorical prison. And I live in a cell. The doors are like 10 cm thick, that's about 4 inches. The walls are made of brick, and we have bars infront of our windows. But it's really cool there, you don't feel you're in a prison, you feel more like you're in a cool old building. I'll try to get some pictures posted up here.

These last days, we've been joining a campaign that YWAM Norway has been running, called Eternal Impact. For those of you who know Impact World Tour, this is somewhat an alteration of that, with a Norwegian team (a theatre play and a rock band) one night, and M3 (or GX Jam if you like) the other night. My task has been helping out with whatever was needed, this time it was being a cable boy for Jamilu and Phil. It's been fun.
And God did use the show to get the young people of Bø and Kragerø to respond to him, out of 600 in Bø, about 70 responded to the call to salvation, and in Kragerø, I think about 50 out of the 400 that was there responded! That is great! Just join us in praying for all those who received salvation, that they will grow in their faith, and that they will not fall away, but that they will become strong and mature followers of Jesus.

I think that's it for now.
Tomorrow we'll celebrate the 17th of May, the day of the signing of the Norwegian Constitution 191 years ago, in 1814. Lots of ice cream, barbeque and hot dogs. And being with friends.

Love Him!


-paul andreas