January to June 2009 in pics

HELLO!

As you've seen I haven't been very active on my blog for a loooong time. But I thought it'd be nice to sum up 2009 so far in photos I've taken.

In the schoolyear 2008-2009 I was working in the salvation army in Bergen, in a hostel/care centre for drug addicts and alcoholics. I had a great year there and although I saw a lot of bad things and saw so many great people do terrible things against themselves, it was a really good time there. I still try to get to work from time to time so I can earn some money while being a student.

Since august I've been studying christianity/theology/religion in a 1-year course at a school called NLA in Bergen. (NLA = Norwegian teacher's academy) My exam is coming up soon (1 month) so there's a fair bit of reading and work to be done, but I'll manage. I've got mixed emotions about the course, but all in all I really enjoy it. Sometimes it's fun and interesting, other times it's frustrating and challenging. I'm in a class with almost 40 people, and they're just awesome! I really enjoy hanging out with them and I've managed to become good friends with some of them already.

I've also moved into a new flat with 3 mates of mine, which is fantastic. We've got a nice big flat close to the Haukeland hospital, which is the second biggest hospital in Norway (?). We enjoy living together and try to do stuff like eat together(which sounds quite simple but a lot of people who live together don't actually eat with each other!!) watch films and hang out.

I still go to Pionerkirken, the pioneer church, which has been my church since october last year. I've really settled down there and love the people who go there. It's been really important to my faith, and I think it's vital for someone's faith that he or she can go to a church where they feel they're welcome and accepted for who and how they are. God's church is and should be a versatile one.
We've started a church group about showing kindness to others, f.ex. drug addicts or others who people have on their heart. My priority has been to try to do something for the drug addicts in Bergen, which I haven't always been able to pull through this semester. It's a rough business and can't always be bothered to do something about it, because it really gets me down sometimes. There are so many people who are in desperate need of help in this city, when it comes to addiction to drugs and alcohol. And I think too much about all the things that NEED to be done, all the people that NEED care and love, that sometimes it feel like a huge overwhelming task.
But I need to know that God is in control, and that I'm not in charge, he is. Also I must remember mother Theresa's words about this:

"It is not how much you do, but how much love you put into doing it."

That can be a hard one to remember, but I just have to trust God and know that I don't have to do massive things to make people feel loved, but instead know that small things done with great love often have more of an impact.

Oh well. Luckily God's still the boss. And luckily his grace is always enough for me. I'm good enough for him, no matter how much silly stuff I do.

Here goes pics from jan 2009 and onwards! =)

JANUARY 2009:

New year's day at my grandparents in Måløy.

My grandad.

My nan.

Bjørn Arve's birthday, all the lads gathered at his place! =)

The Kjellings! Øyvind and Marion used to live in Førde but now live in Finnmark in the north of Norway.

Sigmund&Mikael, their sons (they have a 3rd one now). I'm lucky enough to be Sigmund's godfather! Lovely boys!

One of the most famous sights in Bergen, Bryggen.

FEBRUARY:

One of the highest mountains around Bergen, Ulriken.

Me, Asbjørn and Martin went up there a sunny february day!

The view from Ulriken towards Brgen city.

My mom and brother came to visit me in february! =) Another sunny february day in Bergen. (Now snow though)

Having fun at Festningen.

Another view of Bergen, this is taken from Fløyen, the closest "mountain walk" you'll have to the city.

Me and a visitor from UK went up there late february, namely the great Edwin! (stayed in Norway for a few days)

Johanneskirken, St.John's church in Bergen.


MARCH:

I had a weekend away to visit friends in Oslo in march.

I stayed with my mate from Førde, the soon-to-be solicitor Helge!

Vigelandsparken and all it's beautiful sculptures is well worth a visit.

Sinnataggen!

Visiting my mate Steinar in Ås, a place 30 mins outside Oslo.

Playing monopoly at Bjørnar's place in Oslo. Unfortunately for me and Bjørnar...

....Helge destroyed us. (And is clearly quite happy for that!)

In the end of march I was a leader at a christian camp for people who were getting confirmed.
A really good weekend! =)

Finally seeing hope and sunlight after a long and dark winter, me and my mates decided to have a BBQ in the park! ..in march... (Alex, Bjørn Arve and Martin in the pic)

Cold and dark.. but fun nonetheless! =) (from left: Simon, Alex, Chris, Monika, Alice, Bjørn Arve, Martin and Lars sitting down)


APRIL:

The view from my window a very early april morning..

Another trip to Fløyen.. Chris enjoying the view.

At the top with Chris, Bjørn Arve and Asbjørn.

Beautiful Nordnes.. Where I lived until July.

Easter! I spent the week at home with my family. My brother and my mum.

Me and my brother are rethar happy after the devastating 3-1 Chelsea win at Anfield!!!

Hanging out with my mates, Chris, Kenny, Vegard and Daniel.

The view from Hafstadfjellet in Førde.

Martin seems to be tired??

Me and my mum visiting my nan. Still easter!

The sun came out the same week! Hanging out with Bjørn Arve, Helge and Chris.

The view from our house in Førde on a sunny day in April

MAY:

So many views!! Rooftop of where I used to live, my birthday.

Me and my parents. They came for a visit on my b-day in may! =)

Having fun with the great civil workers in Bergen!

My grandad's 90th birthday in may. The family got together in Måløy. This is my cousin Sindre going mad!

The Saltkjel original family + offsprings! My grandad in the middle.

My uncle is jumping on Kannesteinen outside Måløy! ( rock shaped by the ocean for thousands of years!)

The Norwegian national day on the 17th of may.

Spending the day with my present flatmate Martin!

The parade in Bergen was huge.

Bergen city is crowded!

That's why it's nice to chill out with people from church afterwards...

My brother came to Bergen in end of may. (This is him rapping to Kanye West)

W went to see Brann beat Molde 2-0.

Mathis at the game.



JUNE:

This was the closest I could get to The Eagles playing in Bergen!! (I did go to see Coldplay play in august though!!)

Bergen in the sunset

June in Bergen can be beautiful (Note: CAN be)

Well that's it for now, I'll try to post pics from the remaining months as well. I've had a really nice year in Bergen and enjoy life here. I've got many things to be thankful for, a great flat with AWESOME flatmates, school, a job, and a lot of good friends around me.

See you soon! ;)

Marius

Love your enemy!

Hey everyone, it's been a while, but my year in the salvation army is drawing to an end. Today is the 20th of july, and I've found out today that I'm going to study christianity next year! I'm going to study like a 1-year-theology course at a school in Bergen called NLA (=Norwegian teacher academy, and no I don't know if I'll become a teacher!).

I'm looking forward to it, although I'm having a hard time focusing on the future as well as working full time at sally army. I want to have a good attitude at work the last few weeks and not be lazy. It's so easy losing focus on what you do know when you're planning your future, and maybe I haven't focused too much on my future studies because I've feared I wouldn't be "there" with heart&soul at work. Oh well.

It's been a great year, and I feel I've grown and developed in many ways. I've come to know a lot of great people, found a new church, new friends and enjoyed living in Bergen.

I've been living on my own in a room not too far away from the centre of Bergen (shared bathroom and kitchen with others), to be precise in Skottegaten. It's been allright living here, it's a nice area, walking distance from work and everything else, but lonely at times. I have been living with 3 others, but we haven't had that much contact. In 2 weeks I'm moving in with 3 mates of mine, in Haukeland(just below the hospital), which I'm looking forward to. These guys are good friends of mine and I think we'll get on well together.

Work has been interesting, challenging, hard but also fun. It's really weird how you can get used to something that used to shock you before. Coming from a town with 10.000 inhabitants I hadn't faced many situations with drugs and addiction before, but now I see it nearly every day. It's horrible to see people struggle so much with drug addiction, and it's also hard to keep my hope of people being saved. I read Jackie Pullinger before I started here, and was really inspired by her ministry in Hong Kong where people accepted Jesus into their heart, and by prayer and persistance their abstinences and cravings for drugs disappeared.
I'd love to see stuff like that happen here as well, but since we take care of "the worst of the worst" we don't get too many happy endings or happy stories about people who make it out of that life. That can be hard to accept.

I have to admit I haven't always dared to ask if I can pray for people or talked about Jesus to them. I still fear what people think of me and my faith. That annoys me. Please Lord help me spread your word!
But somehow I hope I've witnessed about God's love to the people there, in the way I've acted and been to them. I recieved a word from God last autumn about me being a caring human and a servant at work, and I think I've managed to be that. The main target has alway been to love people, no matter if they're high on dope or not.

ATM I'm reading a book about mother Teresa's life and work amongst the poor in Calcutta, and she says it so well. She prayed a daily prayer that went like this:

Jesus - my patient

Dearest Lord, let me see you today and every day
in your sick ones, and while I nurse them, let me
serve you. Although you hide behind the little
attractive disguise as the annoying, the challenging, the
unreasonable people, let me still recognize you and say:
"Jesus, my patient, how wonderful it is to serve you!"

That's our challenge as followers of Jesus today - loving and caring for those who DON'T deserve it! Do you dislike someone, find someone annoying, think someone don't deserve to be loved?

Those are the people who need to be loved the most. So go for it! Love your friends! Love your neighbour! Love your enemy!

I'll come back with some pictures later on. Have a wonderful summer everyone, and God bless everything you're about to do this year.

SHALOM.

FA cup winners 2009...Chelsea!

For once the men in blue played a cup final in yellow and it seemed to work out well..!

I haven't bothered to update for a while but I'll try to write something VERY soon...
(But I can't really promise anything, cause that means I might be lying!)

Well anyway, enjoy the fact the Chelsea won the FA cup final and that Man.Utd lost the champions league final!!!

See you!

Pictures october-december

Hey everyone, I've tried to upload pictures a few times earlier but it hasn't worked, so I'll try again now. I just saw I haven't added new pictures since october, so I'll try and upload my pics from octobet-december. I don't have too many, but still, enjoy!

Back home in Førde for the weekend. Skiing with my mom&dad!

Mom&dad.

November - Snow in Bergen...

..and snow in Førde!

December - Salvation army christmas concert in Grieghallen in Bergen. This is the band from my workplace performing "Walk the line"!

Jesusbussen = The Jesus bus - A bus which is to find in Førde on a saturday night, Where all the drunk young people in Førde go to have waffles and a chat about Jesus!

The crew that came in december.. This is the inside, were we sit and chat to people. Great bunch!

My room in Bergen is a bit more "decorated" now. Just look at that Bond poster! Fantastic!

The other side of the room. Not very big but I like it!

Christmas - Matt B visiting us! This is early christmas eve, me, my mum, brother and Matt are going on Hafstadfjellet. (Hafstad mountain)

The Christmas meal.

Me and my brother doing the classic "posing-in-front-of-xmas-tree"!

Parents happy with xmas presents.

Presents!

Me and Matt with our presents. He got a new knife, and I got an old mug! (Xmas present from the year before)

Taking Matt on sightseeing..

WOOHOO! We made it up here before the picture was taken!

Huldefossen - a beautiful waterfall about 30 mins from where I live.

And finishing with one of the last pics I took in 2008 - new year's eve! Many of my best mates here so couldn't find anyone better to enter 2009 with!!


I'll come back with some more pictures!

God bless you all!

Marius