Update from Bergen 1 team

Here's an update from one of our teams--Amy, Liz, Stephanie, and Joy:
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Hey ya'll!
It's been more than a week now since our youth hostel ministry team has taken off from Wheaton. And it has been one very long week! Our bodies have been tired and our spirits have been stretched, but God is so good! We have really grown together as a team. Our initial prayers were to be open and honest with each other about personal weaknesses, and over the course of this week we have become one body. I knew that we would become close, but it has been such a blessing to see how God has grown us SO close! A significant bonding time happened in Brussels Airport. We were on our way to Bergen, Norway, and we had decided that it would be cheaper and more convenient to sleep in the airport, rather than to find a hostel. So we had 15 quality hours together camped out on the airport's floor. I knew this summer would be economically limited, but I didn't ever realize the extent of our limited budget. Sometimes after spending the majority of our daily amount of money on a hostel, we ended up only having enough euros for bread and jam. But it's been good. We are learning more about what it means to trust God.

I have found this ministry especially unique in the way that we have met and talked with so many different people. In Barcelona, at a hostel 20 minutes outside of the city center, we met four young people from the UK, one of whom turned out to be a Christian! We had a great time getting to know them, and it was definitely a unique kind of conversation, opening the Bible to talk about the debate over evolution and creation, and often finding ourselves in agreement with another hostel traveler. Our new friend from the UK is named Kai. It would be great if you could pray for him, as he does something very much like us in his own time, speaking God's truth of Jesus Christ to people all over Europe!

This past week of traveling has been good, but very exhausting. It has been difficult to fully understand how to go about sharing Jesus with people when we sometimes only have one or two evenings with them. I've found that it is much more effective with people one on one. While we were staying in Spain, my teammate Joy and I were able to take a hike with a girl from Finland to a church called Tibidabo, which gave us a spectacular view of the city of Barcelona and the Mediterranean Sea. I was really excited about the chance to talk to Tuija on a personal basis, and I knew that we'd have a lot of time to get into some deep conversation during a long hike. When she told us that she was engaged and would be getting married in a church, we asked her about her church and eventually learned that she is also a very strong Christian! Praise God for leading us to people who have encouraged us as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Now we are in Norway. After five airports and two nights of very little sleep, we arrived to Bergen on Saturday. We are so blessed to be working here at the Intermission Hostel. On Thursday, June 12 the hostel officially opens. Until then, we will be setting up the triple decker bunk beds in 'the stable' for the guests and buying large quantities of supplies and food from a store kind of like Costco, called Big Cash. :) The four of us are teaming together with two Norwegian guys, Jørgen and Arne. They are so much fun. The majority of stores in Norway are closed on Sundays, so today after church, Arne and Jørgen cooked us rice porridge for lunch before taking us on a hike up Floyen Mountain. Bergen is gorgeous! Although it was raining a little, we had a beautiful view of the city from the top. Intermission Hostel is cozy, and it is nice to finally know that we're in the same place for 3 weeks. And... we're in good hands.
If you would like to lift us up in prayer, these can get you started!:
-Pray that God would give us boldness in speaking truth to people, truth as to why we are traveling and who is our God!
-Pray that we would continue as a team to confess to each other our weaknesses and our brokenness
-Pray that we would be present...not distracted by things at home back in the States
-Pray specifically for a couple individuals that we have met:
-Patrick, an Australian we ran into on the metro riding to the airport. We were able to share with him our belief in Jesus Christ, but we only had about an hour together. Who knows? God can work through anything.
-Troy, a guy from Canada who came up to us in the Brussels Airport and asked if he could hang out for the night. After he arrived, another guy from Ohio joined too! Troy is just finishing his travels through Europe alone. He seemed to be very thoughtful and open to new things. I wish we hadn't had the need to sleep that night - I would have loved to talk to him more!

Thank you so much for your interest in our trip this summer. We have already seen the bare dirt of Europe, and sometimes it hasn't been beautiful. But God works in brokenness, and we pray that He will heal the confusion and pain of the people in Europe, everywhere from the Red Light District of Amsterdam to the cold tile floors of Brussels Airport.
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)

Peace to you through Jesus Christ!
Love you all,
Amy
(living in community with Joy, Liz, and Stephanie)