Faroe Islands

So it's been awhile since I've updated you all...but life is going by so quickly. There's so much to tell and so many cool stories to relay, but I won't go into detail too much because that would take forever.

A few weeks ago on December 4th, we drove twenty minutes to the coastal town of Seyðisfjörður and got on a ferry to go to the Faroe Islands. Although, when we got on they decided to wait until the morning to take off because the waves were crazy big. So our seventeen hour boat ride turned into a twenty plus hour ride, we made it enjoyable though. We landed in Torshavn, the capitol of the Faroe Islands, at 11pm. Due to some very generous people we got to stay at a hostel for free and had the whole place to ourselves. For the whole two weeks we slept there and every morning drove a little ways to a small church who also willingly let us use their facilities for free. In order to bless the people of the church we ran church for them one of the Sundays we were there. Even though everything we did was in English, and they know very little, we luckily have a leader that is a Dane and she translated it all to Danish. The people in the Faroe Islands all speak Faroese but also Danish because they are partially under Danish rule, so it worked out. The church was so happy to host us and we had some great conversations with the people there.

The first little bit of teaching in the Faroe Islands was on spiritual warfare. Francis, our teacher, was originally from Nigeria but has been living in Germany. He was a very smart and animated guy, the first day he spoke prophetically over all of us and it was spot on and very encouraging. His teachings really stuck with me and helped me realize I have the holy spirit in me and I actually have power and authority over the enemy. We also had a really good talk just him and I about my childhood and how certain things in my past have really affected my present life. It was a kind of heavy week...lots of thinking about things.

During this trip we had the opportunity to go visit another island within the Faroe Islands, in the south, called Suduroy. Unfortunately, the evening we were going to leave the ferry was canceled because of stormy weather. So, instead we went to the city to do a little bit of Christmas shopping. The next morning we left early and arrived in the afternoon at the Faroe Islands YWAM house that is run by one lady, Sanna. She is amazing and doesn't actually run a DTS but lovingly hosts teams from around the world. We had a great time with her listeneing to her story and about the people in the Faroes and all the connections she has.

After a couple days we headed back to the island we were staying at and had another week of teaching, this time on the fatherheart of God. The teacher was such a sweet grandpa that was very soft spoken and gave us great insight into God's amazing heart and the fact that he loves us no matter what. We finished up that week on Saturday and then Sunday was a free day for us to relax. That afternoon we were invited to the church for a Christmas party and had a fun time there with the church and their families . They even had a white elephant gift exchange, but it was played a little differently than they way we play in the States.

When we returned to Iceland after the long ferry ride, we were surprised to see so much snow, and it was still snowing. It was a long slow ride home through the snowy mountains but we made it. The rest of the afternoon we each spent in our rooms tired from lots of travel. The next morning we all woke up early to go shovel snow out of the driveway so we could go to the airport to drop off one of the DTS students because he decided it was best for him to go home. At the same time we picked up Madalyn, a friend I went to high school with. She has always wanted to come to Iceland so she took time out of her Christmas break to come visit me for a few days. We had a really great time catching up and showing her around and just enjoying each others company.

She left just a few days ago and it made me start to miss home. But that afternoon, we went into the forest in the backyard and picked out a Christmas tree. And we took it down in a very unique way...one of the boys used a shotgun to shoot the base of the tree until it fell. I love the new traditions I'm learning from all the different people here. From types of cookies to decorations, every family is different.

I miss you all and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!