Redirecting
ASHAGRE & RALLY MEXICO
It's so fun to finally have Ashagre here in Sweden!!
One of the greatest heroes ever, Pastor of Harar Church of Joy! Finally we get to show you the land of snow and seatbelts! :D
We had an amazing day yesterday, just soaking in that he is here... Now our 2 weeks rally has begun, to show him everything there is, do everything that can be done, and make it a time he will never forget (he will be exhausted and sleep the whole way back to Harar.. ;))
Speaking about rally.. There is something going on in Mexico these days.. I've heard some rumors that a certain Solberg is doing good on some gravel roads on the other side of the Atlantic..
Saw the SS1 on an iPhone app, but I can't find it to post, so I'll just share a pre-race link. but if you ask me I can't really tell the difference, he's driving like the lightning hit him, test or no test :D
Petter Solberg, Mexico 2011
CARS
This is probably how it would look like if we had brought our Harar-Peugeot to Sweden...
COLD, THANKFUL AND VERY ENCOURAGED
I'm cold. It's snowing so much I can't see the house across the street. But I'm good.. Soon I'll be safely inside. Separated from the weather by the safety of a house. Not everyone is that fortunate. I'm hungry. I forgot to have breakfast and didn't bring lunch. But I'm good.. I open the fridge when I come home and help myself! Not everyone is that fortunate.
Every once in awhile it hits me, that there is a solution to all my problems... It's not just that I have some things that others don't have, and then again others have some things that I don't. With God, there is nothing that needs to stand unsolved. How amazing isn't that?? Sometimes it takes time, sometimes I learn something on the way, sometimes someone else is learning something on the way. But there is always a solution. God always has a plan, a purpose, a way and a solution. To everything! And the more I ponder the greatnes and the goodnes of God, the more eager I get to share Him with others :)
One of my friends told me today that I was "more worth than a bathtub ful of ice-cream"... To Majas frustration I have never been a big fan of ice-cream really, but that is - I think - the nicest thing anyone have ever said to me.. hahahHA!! I can't get the picture out of my head!
Sometimes I get so tiered of "Thank you, you are the best!" because we use it far too much.. Not that I don't mean it when I say it, but sometimes it is so refreshing with some new and heartfelt expressions :) I will aim at inventing some new expressions this week :D
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
January 16th 2011
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Better late than never..? :)
Due to some technical breakdowns there has not been much activity on my blog for the past months..
Things are happening though!
I finished my truckdrivers licence in December and started SOS School of Leadership now in January. We're planning for the festivals of 2011 in Pakistan and building SOS Church Stockholm!
2011 is gonna be a good year :D
School, school, school
October 18th 2010
Schools going good... Sometimes it feels a little slow, but it's actually moving forward. I can read Kurdish now (which has nothing to do with my truck drivers lisence at all, but somehow it feels like a school related update anyway) and last week I wrote my theory test and passed with a score of 51/55. Also I recieved my ADR certificate, which allows me to transport dangerous goods in large quantity, so if you ever need a container or three of fireworks, you know who to call ;)
My latest Kurdish work....................... & my ADR lisence...
Classwork...
Because the rest of my class is writing their tests this week, I spent most of last week in another class, studying for the functional description that will come with the practical driving test later. But I really missed my class!! My new class was actually making KKK jokes and offering me protection from my old classmates! Of course I told them... Well I might have exaggerated when I told them I would vote for 'Svartskalledemokraterna' at the next election, but they got my point anyway ;) And at lunch, when getting together with my afghan, kurdish and somali friends again, it felt like I was home again :D
One of my afghan, muslim friends told me... 'I don't understand why everyone is trying to teach us to be afraid of God... If I understand right, God is supposed to be the good one, and the devil we should be afraid of... I mean, in my eyes, God is supposed to love me more than my own mother!'
SMASH-LÄGE!
This week Thursday I have my first driving lesson... :D
It's officially autumn in Sweden... It's cold but good :)
DANGEROUS GOODS & KURDISH
October 6th 2010
This week is ADR-week at school. ADR is short for "European Agreement conserning the carriage of Dangerous goods by Road". I'm glad they made it shorter...
We learn about explosives and gas bottles, how to pack a container with acid batteries and how to behave and not behave after an accident including tank trucks. Fun! At leas the first 10-15 minutes of every lesson... Because that is when we go through something new. After that, there are questions and answers, the same questions and the same answers again from at least 3 people... And then starts the questions that arose in the confusion around the questions that were asked, and I am officially lost long time ago. In the beginning this frustrated me. But then I saw that the Kurdish guy beside me was making notes in a mixture of swedish and english and kurdish... and it really amused me... so I brought it up - and woops - suddenly he had started giving me kurdish lessons :D
So from now on I am no longer bored and I have learned the Arabic alphabet and some Kurdish words and phrases! Me like :)
Another thing keeping me far from bored these days is the web codes... I'm trying to learn some coding and can barely keep the terms html, php and ftp from each other, which makes a mess whenever I don't.. But so far I have not sabotaged anything severe. Not yet :S
Now I will go work on just that ;) And who knows - maybe I will be a programmer at the end of the day :p
An Exciting Autumn
September 17th 2010
God is very good... and I am very excited!
The summer is over, vacation is history and I can best describe my feelings about the future with the words 'expectation' and 'excitement'.
We had an awesome kick-off with the 1 year anniversary of SOS Church! I got to stand on stage together with The Reinhard Bonnke...
That was so coool :) He is one of the absolute greatest role models any missionary can have!
But we can't only have fun in life, we have to enjoy too :p
At the moment I am 4 weeks into my truck-drivers-license-course! We're still looking forward to the day when we actually get to turn the keys in the ignition and roll that truck through the school gates, but I'm still happy reading about engines, cooling systems, airpreasure breakes and calculating loading limits... I love driving, and this will give me a reason to do it more than ever ;)
I didn't get to drive it yet, but at least I got to wash it... :p
As much as I have always enjoyed driving and playing around with cars, I have always had an interest for media... And what can be more perfect for a media-interested-missionary, than to work with media when at the home base? So, for the time being, while stationed in Stockholm to recharge and reload, I will be handling the marketing and publishing department of SOS! I've only started, but my head is already running over with ideas and I use every free moment in and out of school to communicate with my new co-workers and plan future events and projects. I love it!
And as if that wasn't enought excitement, I came home one day to find 6 kittens under my bed!
Now I will go and have a late birthday celebration with my mom :)
SUMMER IN NORWAY
SUMMER IN NORWAY
I've had some really nice weeks in Norway this summer :)
The cabin in the mountains is my favorite vacation spot!
Elin is my very best friend!
Mario is my idea of max relaxation!
Driving is... mmmmwwwwaaaaahhhh :D
Unlimited amounts of water...
Creation is amazing...
Up, up and away...
"Grillen Crille"
Norwegian "matpakke"
And now... Back in Stockholm and ready for new adventures :)
LIFE JUST GETS BETTER AND BETTER!
July 13th 2010
LIFE JUST GETS BETTER AND BETTER!
I can not stop thinking about how good God is... When I wake up, smiling at the ceiling, knowing that God has plans for yet another day... When I sit in the car driving, knowing that the Holy Spirit is with me, leading me, protecting me, sharing His secrets with me... When faced with a pool party in someones backyard, realizing that there is no trace of the anxiety that once paralyzed me... Because God has set me free! And what God has done lasts. When spending the evening with a bunch of crazy, barbequing friends, pondering that once I used to hate occations like this... Now I love it. And I love that it reminds me of who God is and what He has done in my life. I love that He has set me free and made the impossible possible. I love that He never changes, that He is always good and always have good plans! I love that nothing is impossible for Him and that He is always willing! I love that normal people can get in touch with Him every day and that there is no limit to His love!
God has done so many miracles! I am one. All the good He has done in my life has by far overweighed the bad that used to be! I am free, I am happy and with God I can do everything!
Now I'm listening to Ethiopian music and waiting for people to start arriving for yet another barbeque... Bring it on :D
Some are more ambitious than others...
SO PROUD, SO HAPPY
July 11-and-a-half 2010
SO PROUD, SO HAPPY
I've been celebrating with my family today. Sundays are truly celebration days! Getting together with the people I love the most, in the precence of the Creator Himself, the greatest God there could ever be... am I privileged or what?! Praising God together... eating together... watching football together... I'm home! And I love it!!
Johannes... Thank you for being my pastor! Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for taking me in and making me a part of the family. Thank you for being an example for me and thank you for being so full of Jesus! Thank you for being my hero and my friend! I love you from the bottom of my heart!! You make me love Jesus more and more, and you make me want to aim higher and reach further...
MY pastor
SMALL SCALE CULTURE SHOCK
July 9th (I think...) 2010
SMALL SCALE CULTURE SHOCK
My two first weeks in Sweden have been wonderful! I think it's been about two weeks? I feel a little confused... I'm not used to watching the time like people do here... I'm not used to keeping track of dates and months... I'm not used to litterbins and busses on a schedule, people not having time to talk when they are at work and driving in traffic jams...
In some ways I do miss Ethiopia. A LOT! And in other ways I just purely enjoy being in Sweden. My new phone, doing basically everything but brushing my teeth for me, is one reason... I feel like civilization have leapt while I've been gone!
But most of all I am completely stunned and overwhelmed by my family and friends in SOS Stockholm. Being surronded by people who constantly lift you, bless you, speak well about others, love the ones around them with the love of Christ and just live the gospel everywhere all the time... mmmmm!
Johannes... Maria... Andreas... Emma... Daniel... Stephanie... Walter and Linda... Ida, Maja, Christopher, Calle... the list would never end if I kept going! You're all amazing! You're all making my heart warm, my soul happy and my spirit very eager :D
Being believed in, counted on and unconditionally loved builds a strong desire to perform and to perform with excellence.
In Luke 7, Jesus says that the one who has been forgiven a lot loves a lot, and the one who has been forgiven little, loves little. That might be the best way to describe how I feel right now. I have not deserved anything of what God has given me! But it's all so amazing... I shouldn't be here! But by the grace of God I am. And by the grace of God I will keep running, I will keep fighting the good fight, I will finish my race and I will put every effort available into doing it with excellence!! For God! For my Saviour! For the Miracle Maker! For Him that takes what was nothing and makes it into something! and for all my heroes and role models that goes before me and leads the way!
I love you sooo much!
SOS CHURCH STHLM
June 28th 2010
SOS CHURCH STHLM
SOS Church - I love it!! The freedom, the openness, the joy, the passion, the honesty, and the complete absence of religiosity... I LOVE IT!! Walter and Daniel - Thank you for making me feel like I am home now! All crazy friends that just make me laugh until my stomach hurts too much - I love you all with my life!!
Coming back to Sweden and SOS Church really makes me feel like I have come home. And this time 'coming home' is a good thing. It's a good experience, and I am starting to understand the value of having a home to come back to. A safe place. A family. Friends that recieve you with open arms. Leaders that love you and cheer for you. And none of it lays in the words that are said or the things that are done itself... it's all in the heart attitude.
Like my friend Ashagre said one day "You can give without loving, but you can not love without giving" And when given something, you feel if it is given with or without love. Love is the secret ingredient that makes the difference between being shot down or cheered up by something someone says. Same words, different charge. Very different.
I'm ready to get back out there and fight again... I already miss the missionfield, Ethiopia, all our friends and disciples there... But right now I will suck in all the blessings I can get while here, so that I have a hump like a camel, full of good, that will last me long when I do get back out there :)
Love Jesus & Love Life!
LONG LIVE THE MISSIONARY!
June 12th 2010
LONG LIVE THE MISSIONARY!
The missionary is a fighter. The missionary is a pioneer. The missionary is faithful. The missionary is pure hearted, never complaining, never compromising, sticks to the truth no matter what. The missionary is giving. The missionary is strong. A true missionary's heart can never be corrupted.
A true missionary takes nothing for himself, and gives everything to others. A true missionary knows where his strength comes from, and stays connected to that source. A true missionary takes nothing for granted and is thankful and rejoicing in all situations, cheering other people up along the way! A true missionary is flexible. A true missionary looks at what other people describe as challenges and problems, as adventures and potential miracles...
A true missionary always sees the best in people, always sees hope, always believes in God. A true missionary is soft hearted and untouchable at the same time. A true missionary is not limited by time and space, a true missionary is a missionary everywhere at all times. A true missionary does not boast of himself, he proves his excellence, his faith and his love by his actions!
I have just described Erik Moi, possibly the greatest missionary ever.
Always willing to help - with everything!
Ready to do anything for the Gospel!
Always happy!
Always ready for adventure...
Always ready for fun!
Never a boring moment!
There's always a group of people around Erik... Even on our day off. And he loves it!
Erik and Maja at the school for deaf
Among the people, for the people...
People of all ages loves him!
In a minibus, on a day off... I'm listening to my i-pod and watching nature pass by... Behind me, Erik is squeezed in together with three other guys on a double seat. Between two songs I can hear that they are asking him about the trinity and I admire his patience in answering them nicely instead of just cutting them off. To myself I think: “These discussions never lead to anything... they are just wasting his time and energy... L eave my friend alone, it's his day off!” But at the next song change Erik was testifying about a healing, and a couple of minutes later he was at the salvation invitation! How he got there I will never know, but he ALWAYS gets there!
Walking in the city with Erik is always frustrating... at least if you want to get somewhere on time. Because we always loose him! He always gets stuck with someone, talking, sharing the gospel, testifying, praying for someone... That's why the people love him! He's always there with them, and they are more important to him than anything else in this world. After all it is them, the people, that a real missionary is living for.
At a street corner I am held up by a man. He knows Erik. That's not the first time. This guy is muslim. A man in his late 40s maybe. He is wearing his muslim hat and walking with his muslim stick. Smiling from ear to ear when he mention Eriks name. “He's the best! He's my very very very best friend! Erik is my son! My brother! My father! Where is Erik?? I miss him!!” He had seen him only hours earlier but couldn't wait to meet him again. “He always tells us amazing stories about God! Not my god... Your God.” He knows... Erik is not shy, he is not trying to compromise the Gospel to make people listen to him. No, he is clear and straight forward, leaving no doubt about who he believes in and who does the miracles when he prays. And the people love him, even the muslims love him!
Erik! I am so proud to have served on the mission field by your side for 6 months! I am so proud to serve God together with you, and I hope to get to serve with you on many mission fields in the future! I am so proud of you Erik!!
You are a true missionary!
June 12th 2010
LONG LIVE THE MISSIONARY!
The missionary is a fighter. The missionary is a pioneer. The missionary is faithful. The missionary is pure hearted, never compromising, sticks to the truth no matter what. The missionary is giving. The missionary is strong. A true missionary's heart can never be corrupted.
A true missionary takes nothing for himself, and gives everything to others. A true missionary knows where his strength comes from, and stays connected to that source. A true missionary takes nothing for granted and is thankful and rejoicing in all situations, cheering other people up along the way! A true missionary is flexible. A true missionary looks at what other people describe as challenges and problems, as adventures and potential miracles...
A true missionary always sees the best in people, always sees hope, always believes in God. A true missionary is soft hearted and untouchable at the same time. A true missionary is not bound by time and space, a true missionary is a missionary everywhere at all times. A true missionary does not boast of himself, he proves his excellence, his faith and his love by his actions!
I have just described Erik Moi, possibly the greatest missionary ever.
In a minibus, on a day off... I'm listening to my i-pod and watching nature pass... Behind me, Erik is squeezed in together with three other guys on a double seat. Between two songs I can hear that they are asking him about the trinity and I admire his patience in answering them nicely instead of just cutting them off. To myself I think: “These discussions never lead to anything... they are just wasting his time and energy... Leave my friend alone, it's his day off!” But at the next song change Erik was testifying about a healing, and a couple of minutes later he was at the salvation invitation! How he got there I will never know, but he ALWAYS gets there!
Walking in the city with Erik is always frustrating... at least if you want to get somewhere on time. Because we always loose him! He always gets stuck with someone, talking, sharing the gospel, testifying, praying for someone... That's why the people love him! He's always there with them, and they are more important to him than anything else in this world. After all it is them, the people, that a real missionary is living for.
At a street corner I am held up by a man. He knows Erik. That's not the first time. This guy is muslim. A man in his late 40s maybe. He is wearing his muslim hat and walking with his muslim stick. Smiling from ear to ear when he mention Eriks name. “He's the best! He's my very very very best friend! Erik is my son! My brother! My father! Where is Erik?? I miss him!!” He had seen him only hours earlier but couldn't wait to meet him again. “He always tells us amazing stories about God! Not my god... Your God.” He knows... Erik is not shy, he is not trying to compromise the Gospel to make people listen to him. No, he is clear and straight forward, leaving no doubt about who he believes in and who does the miracles when he prays. And the people love him, even the muslims love him!
I am so proud to have served on the mission field by your side for 6 months! I am so proud to serve God together with you, and I hope to get to serve with you on many mission fields in the future! I am so proud of you Erik!! You are a true missionary!
AMAZING JOURNEY – part 4
Tuesday, May 18th 2010
AMAZING JOURNEY – part 4
Just being around great heroes like Peter Almqvist is a privilege that makes one humble... I felt like a young student that got to follow and observe one of my greatest role models and heroes in the kingdom of God! The first few days there was meetings and planning and practical things that had to be settled, and I got to tag along everywhere and take mental notes.
Peter Almqvist,
Mission SOS International coordinator
& Festival General
On Friday we left for Same, which is the town where the festival is held. I never get sick of traveling by African roads!! Passing the Pare mountains, Masai people and local villages... The two hour bus drive was amazing :)
Pare Mountains
In Same we started preparations for accommodating and feeding the around 75 people that will come from America, Sweden and Ethiopia and work here through the festival. In the evening we greeted the students from the School of Leadership in Stockholm, arriving with a bus from Dar es Salaam. Finally I get to see my classmates again :D
SOS School of Leadership 09/10
One day I got the superb task of making a map of Same! That is maybe the most fun job I have ever done :D We had a minibus to our disposition and together with Anna Karin, I drove up and down every road and not so road for a whole day, drawing them all on paper. Then, for the next couple of days, Calle and I used every spare minute to try and get the pencil drawings into a drawing program on Peters computer. And the result actually impressed me, having in mind that neither of us have ever made a map before :)
Our first hand drawn map of Same
We also got to visit some of the places where Mission SOS have been drilling for water. I think it was really cool to see how one of the finished wells were working with the windmill on top of it. And another one we got to see still in the middle of being drilled, with the driller truck on top of it.
Welldrilling/outreach...
Leaving the leadership school students and Peter in Same was not the happiest day of my life I must admit. Knowing that the following days, just more and more of my best friends and greatest heroes would arrive, and a week forward in time the Festival would be starting... But anyway, God told me once that you can not plan your life according to what you miss – you plan it according to His will and what He want you to do. So, reminded of that I sat back and enjoyed the bus ride back to Moshi and the airport.
At the airport I realized that my flight was not on the screen and tried to ask someone. T hey referred me to the Ethiopian Airlines office, in which there was no one. The door was open so I went in and sat there awhile, but no one came... So I started asking around and one guy at the check in said that he had not seen any people working for ET in a weeks time. Well... “Is there another flight tomorrow?” I asked. He just shook his head and said he had no idea when they would come back. I waited until an hour before the flight was supposed to leave, and still there was no one there. So I asked again... I ended up talking for awhile with the guy checking in passengers for Precision Air and when he understood that I live in Ethiopia he just looked at me... “Ahhh... But then you are used to this!” Then he checked me in to one of their own flights to Nairobi and told me to try and find someone working for Ethiopian Airlines there... I love the flexibility of Africa! In Nairobi everything went smoothly and I arrived in Addis only a couple of hours behind schedule :)
In the minibus from Addis to Harar the day after, I sat looking out the window, enjoying the ride – again – wondering why I so thoroughly enjoy what so many others dread... the journey. I still don't really know why, but I am convinced that if you can enjoy the journey as something good itself, then your life will be a lot more fun. Transportation is a big part of life, and if you hate it, you will be bored, frustrated and constantly longing to be somewhere else than where you are. If you can sit back and enjoy the drive, the flight, the subway... and make the best of every opportunity, then life will be fun :D
Life is an adventure... Enjoy the journey!
