Almost there

My sweetheart is coming in 3 days, and my excitement is getting higher and higher each day.
We haven't seen each other since November last year, that's over six months! I am so thankful that we don't have to wait anymore, and best of all we don't have to be apart.
Shane will be here on wednesday morning on the 30th, and the DTS is arranging an engagement party for us that same night!

We have a pretty hectic schedule for the next few months, but atleast we get to be together.
That helps a lot.
So Shane is coming with me to Norway for about three weeks visiting my family and friends, and then I'm traveling back with him to Perth in the beginning of July. We'll be doing wedding preps and such for about 5 weeks before we go back to Thailand again to join the DTS workshops for 10 days. After that we're planning on visiting my relatives, but are not sure yet if that will be possible. My mom and sis will already be there, and we would love to travel with them back up to Chiang Rai. By the time we're there it will only be two weeks untill we get married:-)

Life is busy, but i love my life as it is. We just had Dan Baumann teach here for the week. That was really good, and i had a lot of burdens lifted off of my shoulders. GO GOD! :-)

Update

Ummm... I was thinking of something clever/fun to write, but I can't think of anything. I'm completely out of ideas. So I figured I would just give you guys an update on whats been happening lately in my life.

When it's comes to school, everything is going great. The students seem to be more into the program, and I think it's been going easier for all of us. Something sad tho, is that two of our Indian students have to leave back to their country next week cuz of their visa situation. It sucks. It may be a possibility that one of them is able to come back if she gets a new visa. So I would appreciate your prayers in this.

My weddingplans are slowly coming together. There's lots of stuff to consider and think about, but we're getting there :-) I found a really nice wedding dress in Chiang Mai which I might be using. It's SO beautiful!

Friday night is International Night, that means that we'll make a meal or do something that represents our own country. I will make RISENGRYNSGRØT and RISKREM! Mmmmmmm!

Songkran and second outreach is coming up soon... Songkran is the celebration of the Thai New Year, and throwing loads of water on each other is a part of that :-) I can't wait to get cooled down, it's seriously HOT here right now.

My good friend, Katie, from Alaska just arrived a week ago! She will be helping the school with the accounts.

And last but not least, SHANE is coming (finally!) next month to Chiang Rai! We haven't seen each other since November last year!!! Crazy, I know. So I'm just counting down the days now ;-)

MY DAD AND ADRIANA JUST GOT MARRIED!!

Isn't she beautiful?

They are SO cute together!

May God bless your marriage.

On the 23rd of March 2007 my dad married Adriana. I'm so happy for them! My dad really deserves an amazing woman like Adri. I'm sad tho, that I couldn't be there for their wedding... But my heart still overflows with joy for my dad and his wife!
Adriana, I really look forward to get to know you more. You seem like an awesome woman of God! I'm really glad that you guys are gonna spend the rest of your life together :-) Me and Shane will see you in June. Jippie!

To Dad,
You are my hero
You have shown me so much of God's character
Wise words and advice you've given me,
and you've loved me
I know I can always come to you
and talk to you about everything
Thank you for being a part of my life,
for always encouraging me

I thank God for giving me such a godly and wise father like you
Thank you for teaching me how to follow Him,
and to love Him with all my heart
Thank you for printing His words into my heart
You have been such a good dad
and you still are
May God give you many wonderful years with Adriana!
I love you so much!

Your Daughter

"Tikken"

Well guys... I've just been taken. When i was a kid we used to play this game alot; someone "has it", and then has to pass it on to another person, by saying "tikken" and touching that person, and so this person then has to pass it to another one. (obviously you can't try and touch anyone when you play it thru blogger... Not that we usually play this thru blogger) Does it make sense at all??
I don't really know how to explain it in a better way...
Anyway, this game (on blog) works like this; if someone has - let's just call it ticked - you, that means that you have to write 6 weird/funny things about yourself. You also need to write the rules for this game down. Then you have to "tick" 6 new players, and list their names. When you've done this, you need to go to their blog, and leave a comment, saying that they've just been "ticked", and that they have to read your blog for more info.

Slik fungerer tikken på blogg:

Hver spiller starter med å skrive seks rare ting om seg selv. Bloggere som blir "tatt" må skrive seks ting om seg selv i sin egen blogg, i tillegg til å angi reglene for spillet. Til slutt velger spilleren seks nye bloggere som "har den", og lister navnene deres. Etter det er gjort, skriver han eller hun en kommentar på bloggene til hver av dem, for å la dem vite at de har blitt "tatt", og at de må lese bloggen til den som tok dem for mer informasjon.

1. I wear warm clothes when it's hot, and less clothes when it's cold.
2. I can't sleep good, if i know i didn't brush my teeth or washed my feet.
3. I was born and raised in Norway, but i'm not Norwegian (except for my citizenship) i'm half Finnish, a quarter Thai and a quarter Chinese, i talk with an american accent, and i'm getting married to an Aussie.
4. I sometimes talk to myself in English (when no ones around), even when my first language is Norwegian.
5. I always eat something that I know I don't like, just cuz I think I might like it this time (it usually ends with me spitting it out again).
6. I like vegemite (for some weird reason, I didn't spit it out the last time I tried it) :P

I "tick" Shane, Irene, Grayce, Therese, Ryan and Elise Kristin!

YAMAHA X-1

Well everyone... Kim just got herself a license and a MOTORBIKE! Are the roads here in Thailand ever gonna get safer!? Just want to let you all know, that i've only driven into a car and fallen into a ditch ONCE since i got permission to drive. The first time went fine, the second time i got some bruises and scratches and i cried like a baby. BUT... and there's a big BUT; i haven't yet had any accidents on my new (secondhand) bike! Praise the Lord! He knew i needed one.
So there she is...Isn't she a real beauty? Wow, is this what it's like when it comes to guys and cars?
Anyways, this is me and Shane's bike that God blessed us with, so that we can use it now and for the nextcoming DTS. It's really good to have a bike around here, cuz it's so much easier to get around.

God is good. Pray that he'll keep me safe while i'm driving, cuz the traffic here can be crazy. Or maybe it's just me?
....
Nope, i'm pretty sure it's the traffic.

Love you all

Being a Mother...

DTS is already into its 3rd week, and i'm having an awesome time! The students are amazing, and i really enjoy being around them. We have a total of 37 students, and they're all from 11 different countries! I love the wonderful mix that we have here, and just to see how well everyone goes with each other.
We're getting close to our first mini-outreach. I'm gonna be leading a team with Ek, and we'll be helping out a guy named Luka with his ministry. He works with the Aka people (one of the tribal people here in north). It will mostly be practical work, but we'll also have opportunities to evangelize to the people we meet.
So far we've been taught about "Hearing the Voice of God" and "The Nature and Character of God". Other than that i'm leading smallgroups with Josh (we have the best smallgroup ever:) This is a place where we can share openly with one another and pray for each other, and just to have lots of fun.
My other jobs are to be dorminspector and schoolnurse. This means making sure the room's are clean (if they are, the students get a coupon which they can use to get a free coffee/snack) and also to take care of the sick ones.

As staff i'm learning heaps... I just want to share one thing that really moved my heart. Picture a mother who has just given birth to a child. She holds the child close to her heart and looks at it with pride in her eyes. Her whole being is just glowing because of this baby. And what has this child ever done to her? Nothing. (Caused alot of pain during the labouring, that's for sure). But this child hasn't done anything for her. It's just there, laying in her arms. And she is the happiest mother in the world...
That's how God looks at us. We haven't done anything to deserve his love, but still he loves us and looks at us as his most precious possession.

My God encouraged me during my quiet time with these verses the other day: "Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would never forget you! See, I have written your name on my hand".
Isa 49:15-16

In His love we are secure.
I encourage you to read the poem "I AM" (that i wrote on my last blog) again, if you haven't yet read it.

Love, Kim

"I AM"

Oh gently lay your head
Upon My chest
And I will comfort you like a Mother while you rest.
The tide can change so fast
But I will stay
The same through Past, the same in Future
Same Today.

Oh weary, tired and worn
Let out your sighs
And drop that heavy load you hold
Cuz Mine is light.
I know you through and through
There's no need to hide.
I want to show you love that is deep and high and wide.

For I am constant.
I am near.
I am peace that shatters all you secret fears.
I am holy.
I am wise.
I'm the only One, who knows your heart's desires.

Oh gently lay your head upon My chest
And I will comfort you like a Mother
While you rest.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007!

Wow, this turned out to be blue... Oh well, just imagine that it's red

Alittle delayed MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all! As you can see my blog is turned into normal again. I (actually Shane:) will be putting a link to the page he made for me when he popped the big question.


So I guess many of you have already heard the good news...

Me and Shane got officially engaged the 6th of December 2006!

I'm so blessed and lucky and the happiest girl in the whole world to have gotten the privilege to spend the rest of my life with the one man that I love with all of my heart!
Wow, that was a long sentence!

Thank you so much for this, Shane! Not only are you my fiance, but you are also my bestfriend. You have always blessed and encouraged me in so many ways. I love you.

Breathing the Breath, Matt Redman

We have nothing to give
That didn't first come from Your hands
We have nothing to offer You
Which You did not provide
Every good, perfect gift comes from
Your kind and gracious heart
And all we do is give back to You
What always has been Yours

Lord, we're breathing the breath
That You gave us to breath
To worship You, to worship You
And we're singing these songs
With the very same breath
To worship You, to worship You

Who has given to You
That it should be paid back to him?
Who has given to You
As if You needed anything?
From You, and to You, and through You
Come all things, O Lord
And all we do is give back to You
What always has been Yours

Yours

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!

Kjære Ma!
Takk for din omsorg og kjærlighet
Takk for din tålmodighet
Takk for dine kjærlige ord og oppmuntringer
Takk for alt som du har lært meg
Takk for alle de ganger du har tatt vare på meg når jeg har vært syk
Takk for alltid ha satt mat på bordet
Takk for alle de gaver som du har gitt meg
Takk for alle de gode stunder vi har hatt sammen
Takk for alle de ganger du har ryddet rommet mitt for meg
Takk mamma!
Jeg er så uendelig glad i deg og jeg setter utrolig stor pris på deg.

Ha en fantastisk og velsignet dag!

Stor klem fra din datter

A Christmas without snow?

I've always celebrated Christmas at home with my family. Let me tell you how a Christmas day would be in my family.
In the morning...
I wake up (and i can wake up whenever i want:) to the smell of my mom's cooking preparations for Christmas dinner in the evening. Oh boy, i can tell you that woman can cook!
Then my sister and i watch all the usual programs that they show on tv (we are still in our pyjamas). Cinderella is one of the movies i've come to love. It's not the kind of movie you would expect to watch tho. It's made in the Czech Republic in 1973. And it's pretty funny too, cuz it's dubbed into norwegian, and it's only one guy talking for all the characters (You can still hear them speak in the background!). It's such a sweet movie.
After that we have RISENGRYNSGRØT (some sort of a norwegian type of porridge). It is SO good. You cook the sweet rice for about an hour, and then add butter, sugar and cinnamon on top of it. Yam!
The fun part is that we put one sinlge almond in the porridge, who ever gets it gets a present:-)

In the afternoon we dress up and go to church.

Evening...
O, how i love the smell of mom's food! (I usually help her prepare the food early in the morning) The sweet smell of her famous home-made potatosalad, spare-ribs, pinnekjøtt (salted and dried rib of mutton; only eaten during christmas), christmas sausages, mashed swede (oh la la, my favourite!), vegetables cooked for a long time in the meat sauce (mm!), and then of course the gravy.

Oh my goodness! Look at that delicious piece of thing!!

Then when dinner is all done, it's time to read the story of when Christ was born. I love this part, and i never get tired of reading it.

Finally it's time to open the presents. This is also one of my favourite parts. I love to see all the faces as they open their presents.
After the presents are opened and played with, it's time for dessert...

I'm not even gonna go there, the list is too long. But one thing you should know, it's goooood...

The night is still young, but we are all so ridiculously full, that we're all nackered. So we just hang out and talk and look some more on our presents.
If we're lucky it's snowing outside.

Nothing is like a Christmas Eve when it suddenly starts to snow.

Later that night...
I cuddle into my blanket thinking: Man, i love Christmas...

My International Family

I just had the privilege to spend 2 wonderful months with my Shane and then 2 wonderful weeks with my friends, Berit and Gunnar from Norway. But all three of them has now left, and I miss them so much.




I'm so glad though, that I still have my friends here in CR. Both old friends, and new friendships that's been developed during my
time here. God has really blessed me with amazing people, and I'm thankful for each person that He has put in my life. For my friends here in Thailand, for my friends back in Norway, and for all of my friends from the rest of the world.


So I just want to say to all of you guys (wherever in the world you are) whether we know each other well, or not that well...

I AM SO BLESSED TO HAVE YOU AND I'M GRATEFUL FOR YOU!!!

Dear God

May You bless them and protect them
May You Lord smile upon them and be gracious to them
May You show them your favor and give them your peace.

Num 6:24-26

And help me Father, to be a blessing to them as they are to me, and to love them with the love that comes from you. Amen.

Love, your sister in Christ.

First day of training

It's almost like being back on DTS. Except for that there is far less students this time, oh and all the students are now staff:-) Per today there are 8 staff members, and i did my DTS with all of them except for one. Two of them were my staff.

I'm really excited to be trained by Paul and other people who's gonna come and teach. We'll be looking into what a leader is, what is required from a leader and more.
Best of all i'm excited to see how God is going to train me up into being a servant and humble leader.

We read from Ephesians 6:12 today in class where it says that we don't fight against flesh and blood, but against the unseen and forcess of darkness. That was really good, and i realized that there's still alot more i need to learn (i'll never stop learning:)

I pray that as my traning has just started that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide me and teach me. As long as i have Him in my life, life is as good as it can get. It may seem scary to work as a staff, but i know that this is what God has called me to do, so i will do it, and He will enable me and give me all i need to follow His plan. God is certainly good.

GRATULERER MED DAGEN, KINJA!

Today it's my sister's 17th birthday!! She's such an amazing girl and i love her so much! She's also the only sister i have, and i am so blessed to have her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIS!!

Kjære Kinja,
Hei min lille solstråle:-)
GRATULERER SÅ MASSE MED DAGEN, SURRAN! Jeg håper du får en fantastisk fin dag, fyllt med glede og kjærlighet. Jeg skulle ønske jeg kunne være der på dagen din... Men du skal vite at her i Thailand er gleden stor over at du endelig fyller 17 år! Jeg er så glad for å ha vært en del av livet ditt i så mange år allerede. Jeg håper og ber om at året ditt som 17 skal bli et godt år, hvor mye spennende vil skje og du vil kunne se tilbake på som en god del av livet ditt.


UTROLIG SUPERDUPERMEGAGLAD I DEG, KINJUS!
STOR KLEM FRA DIN SØSTER:-)

Home, sweet home!

I've finally arrived in Chiang Rai this morning! Me and Shane had a wonderful, but long trip. We left Perth on Monday morning, and we got to spend a whole day together in Brunei, celebrating our 5 MONTHS ANNIVERSARY! :-)

We arrived at the new airport in BKK at night the same day, and from there we took a taxi to pi Tuu. We stayed at her place for a couple of days and then catched the bus to CR.

Everything is going good, and i'm staying at Grayce's house right now. I'll probably move as soon as i can to the base. They've actually made bamboo huts for the staff to live in, so that will be interesting. Hopefully it will be awesome!

Staff training starts on Monday, so things are probably going to be busy from then on. Tomorrow we're gonna go to Jason and Sarah Ann's for dinner, celebrating Grayce's and Jade's birthdays.

Ok, i should hit the bed, it's already too late. Good night
Love, Kim

It's always better when we're together...

I am finally in Perth, WA! I've already been here for 6 days, but been too busy to update... We've just been a few days out in the country visiting Shane's relatives. It was really nice to see the farmland and just miles of miles of beautiful nature. AND... i saw a kangaroo!

Anyways, i'm back in the city and i'm having a blast! I've only had positive impressions of this place and the people so far. The schedule seems to be pretty full, there's heaps to do, many places to go and many people to meet. But i'm enjoying every minute of it.

Just a little update on my trip coming here. My two days in BKK was really good. I stayed at pi Tuu's place (Shane's brother's girlfriend) and we had a great hang-out time together. Most of you have probably hear of the coup in BKK last week. I didn't really notice much while i was there and i got safely on to my next flight. Praise God! When i arrived Brunei it turned out that my plane to AUS was having "technical problems" so i had to spend the night at a hotel there.
Then finally... the plane was ready to take off and i got to see my wonderful Shane!

I thank God that he brought me safely to perth and that i get the chance to be here and get to know Shane's family and friends. God is good!

Love&Blessings, Kim

To Pi Saow

This is my amazing friend and sister P'Pae or P'Saow (means bigsister in thai) as I prefer to call her. I LOVE HER SO MUCH! And I can't wait to see her again!







































(These photos were taken at graduation, 24th of June 2006)

She was my room mate for 5 and a half months while we did our DTS together. Man, I miss those days. She really meant alot to me during my staying in Thailand and we would do alot of stuff together, like she would teach me thai, translate for me, take me out to the city on her cool motorbike, bride my hair and be silly with me... She was also very good at keeping our room clean:-) And she is a really good cook and an amazing goalkeeper! She is such an awesome lady! I'm so blessed to know her and I am so thankful that God let me meet her.

I miss you and I love you so very much!

-Kim

Ps. Thank you so much Shane for publishing those photos on your flickr!

Ps2. Have you guys noticed that I've already punished TWO blogs in less than a day?? I'm proud of myself :-)

I'm leaving on a jetplane...

Then it's finally set! My planetickets are booked!! ThankYOU honey, for all your help! And thankYOU GOD for providing and having the control over everything!

Here are some IMPORTANT DATES:

• 17/9 12:55 I'm leaving Norway
• 18/9 13:55 Arrival in BKK
• 20/9 07:50 Departure from BKK to AUS
• 20/9 18:40 Arrival in Perth, AUS
• 16/10 03:10 Me and Shane are leaving AUS
• 16/10 21:40 Arrival in BKK
• 18/10 Katie Allen's Birthday!!
• 21/10 Grayce Hollingsworth's Birthday!!
• 22/10 Staff training starts

So now you know! Love you and God bless your socks off! (in the words of Katie). Have a fabulous day!

So... whats new?

The last time i blogged i was writing about following your heart, and just about not being sure of what to do after DTS. Well, guess what, God has put a desire in my heart to staff DTS in Chiang Rai for the next couple of years, so thats exactly what i'm gonna do! I'm SO excited and i can't wait to go back and see all of my friends there again! I'm probably going to stay with my amazing friends Graycie and Eunice during my training period, which will be 2 months before school starts. Its going to be SWEET!!
I will be leaving "home sweet home" sometime in October, and be back sometime next summer. My bestfriend Berit is going to get married then, and i got the privilege of being her maid of honour! So i kinda have to be back before then hehe:) I have known her since we punished kindergarden and we have been bestfriends since ages ago! She and her fiancee is actually gonna visit me while i'm in Thailand and i'm really looking forward to it!


My time back here in Norway has been really good. I was abit worried about how it would go with my relationship with God when i got home. Would he continue to speak like He did at DTS? I didn't even have to worry. God's promises NEVER changes, and He has been so faithful to me. What an amazing promise Jesus has given us in John 15:5 "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing". I love having my quite times with Him and He has always encouraged me when i needed to be encouraged, either through His word, through friends and family, or even through giving me peace in the midst of troubles. I have learned how important it is to nurture my relationship with God, cuz i see that fruit are being produced in my life. God has helped me dealing with so many things that i couldn't deal with before, He has helped me to look at things from his view and to love people like He loves them. He gave me the boldness to pray for my moms hurting feet and my dads knee, and they both got better! For the first time in my life i got to pray out loud for my parents! God is good!!

Another thing that has happened lately is that God blessed me with an AMAZING boyfriend! God directed our paths and brought us both to Chiang Rai to do a DTS there. His name is Shane Matthew Beckingham AKA Mr. Sweet McGregor AKA Mr. Sud Yat ("kjært barn har mange navn" hehe! For all you english speakers, i'm sorry but i don't know how to translate that, you probably have the same proverb in english tho), and he's from Perth, Australia. He is really an
awesome guy, and i am incredibly blessed to have him in my life. Its funny how it all came to pass. Things didn't start to happen until at the very end of DTS, though we were on different outreach teams that didn't hinder us to get to know each other even more. Mobile phone is a funny little thing... But we both felt it was a blessing from God that he placed us in different teams. After outreach we only had a week to spend together, but that one week was really good! I got to see his family and also his friend Ryan, who all came for our grad.


Basically things are going great, and i feel like i'm on the path that God wants me to be in. I can't wait to see what He has for me during the next years to come. For all of you around the world praying for me, from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU!

Love, Kim/Kimster/Kimie/Kimberly/Kimbo (just A FEW nicknames i got during DTS haha! I LOVE IT!)

God bless you guys.

Follow Your Heart

I can't believe we've already been in Pattaya for 1 month! Only one more week and we'll be back in Chiang Rai. How did time pass by that fast? And then one more week after that i'll be back in Norway! Can't wait to see everyone again!

I'm having the most AWESOME time here and God has been teaching me quite a few things...
In the beginning of this outreach I had a hard time finding out what to do after DTS and just how to know for sure what God wanted me to do. I don't think I was worried... more like frustrated cuz I didn't know how God would give me a straight answer. I really want to follow His plan for me and I was kinda worried (ok, maybe I was worried, but just NIT NOI!(= a little bit)) that I would go outside of His plan.
But here's the thing... I(and you!) DON'T NEED TO WORRY! God knows that my hearts desire is to follow Him in everything I do. Therefore following my heart is a GOOD thing! But of course I will still seek Him in prayer. Dan Bowman says "if our hearts are for God, then its virtually impossible to miss his will for our lives"(my good dts friend Grayce encouraged me with this). Another quote from him "the only way to miss Gods plan for us is when we know what it is, but then choose to turn away from it".
I still don't know what to do after DTS, but I know for sure that God will lead me! And if I do fall outside His plan, He is faithful to draw me back in again:)

Have a blessed day!

Mango and sticky rice!!

PUNISH THIS!