New Year Update

Happy New Year! It is a bit late but how exciting to be living in 2023! Some exciting news: we will be staying in Norway for the next BCC in the spring! We're very excited to be working alongside 13 other staff to host over 30 students for this school in April. There are lots of things to plan, especially since James and I will be teaching the book of James again. But until we start practically preparing with the other staff at the beginning of March, we have been helping out with the kitchen. We are also part of a local ministry called Kairos during January and February.

Here's a quick update from each month over the winter:

NOVEMBER

We traveled to Israel on a trip with the Bible Core Course (BCC) students. It was so cool to see the locations that we read about in the Bible. I can read the Bible with a more realistic perspective that these things were real events in this real place. James, unfortunately, got sick as our trip came to a close but other than that it was an interesting experience.

We then had to travel to Denmark for an important visa appointment. To make it cheaper and I guess more of an enjoyable experience we were there for almost 3 days instead of 1. We turned in our visa applications and also had time to explore and walk through the Christmas markets.

The rest of the month was spent grading homework and preparing to graduate the students of the BCC.

We also said goodbye to the Discipleship Training School (DTS) as they headed out on outreach to many countries around the world to preach the gospel and share the love of Jesus.

It was a busy month of travel but I think, looking back, it was enjoyable.

DECEMBER

At the beginning of December, we were wonderfully surprised by some snow! Now, since we live by the ocean it didn't stay so long, but maybe almost a week. It was amazing to see even shallow parts of the sea, by the shore, were iced over. Our students had a final week of school, which focused mostly on self-study so when they leave they would be equipped to study the Bible on their own. Then was the moment of truth - graduation. They all passed and we had a sweet graduation ceremony with their families and friends. They shared stories and testimonies and even performed a skit of the book of Esther for us. It was a bittersweet night of releasing these students and saying goodbye to some.

After a week of debriefing and cleaning as staff, the base got smaller and smaller as people traveled home for Christmas break. James and I had already prepared to stay since we had already traveled home in June, and we didn't have the finances to go home for Christmas. But that was okay, we were actually looking forward to some slow weeks with less socializing and responsibilities. Most of the time we weren't completely alone, there were always some people at the base. Some other staff stayed back and their parents came to Norway to visit. And others were in and out visiting friends around the area. We kept ourselves busy with walks on the beach, baking, and watching Christmas movies. For Christmas day, we were invited over to one of our student's houses for dinner along with another staff and his parents. It was a fun night of eating, talking about our different cultures, and sharing stories.

James and I also had an exchange of gifts under a little Christmas tree we helped set up in the living room at the base. And then we cooked up a feast for brunch. Even through this humble Christmas celebration, the Lord provided. We had only set aside a small amount of money to buy each other gifts, but we also received gift cards from the base which gave us a bit more funds to bless each other! And it doesn't stop there - at this base, there is a room where people can give and take clothes and belongings - we call it the blessing boutique. What a blessing it was! We each found something we wanted and/or needed. Such a blatant reminder of God's provision - Matthew 6:26-30.

What a privilege it was to spend our second Christmas together in Norway!

After Christmas, we decided to move into an apartment that the base leaders had offered to us for the next season. They said we could move in whenever, but we didn't want the stress of moving right before Christmas. So, we took a couple of days to pack and clean our room at the base and took one of the cars into town (about a 15-minute drive) to the house that the base owns called "Glory House". They have it split up so the top level can house 6 people, sharing a bathroom and a living space, and then the bottom level is split into 2 apartments. James and I moved in downstairs to an apartment fitted with a bathroom, living room, dining room, kitchen, and bedroom. It is small but it is such an upgrade from our hotel-style room at the base. It is super cute and it is actually the first place we've lived that is technically by ourselves.

For New Year's Eve, we went upstairs at Glory House and had a little get-together celebration with the staff that were back from Christmas break. We went up to a little look-off and at midnight were surrounded by fireworks. All around, near and far, everyone was lighting off fireworks!

JANUARY

The year started off with staff training and jumping right into our new roles as kitchen staff. We had been asked if we wanted to join the kitchen for a couple of months before the next BCC started and we said yes! We also said yes to helping to staff a local ministry called Kairos. Things went from very chill to very busy so quickly and I think we had a hard time adjusting. The days were long and the things we were learning were enough to tire us out daily. But we got into the swing of things just in time for the students to arrive for this winter/spring DTS.

A normal day with all of our duties looked like this: kitchen things in the mornings (which included meal planning, shopping, cooking on some days, cleaning up and tidying around the kitchen, answering questions, and random things here and there). We often try to make up some creative snacks and fun meals. One week we filled bao buns with chocolate pudding and served a fancy fruit drink. People enjoy our creations and are so encouraging! The kitchen serves about 60 people every day with various allergies. And we try to serve a very wide variety of foods with different nations represented, it is a lot of fun and also a lot of work. But we are learning so much and so many valuable skills.

Then after lunch, we would study for teaching James or prepare things for Kairos. (This is just our planned schedule, but it doesn't always work out so perfectly).

Monday evenings we would have the Kairos course. "Kairos" is Greek and is used in the Bible for God's appointed timing. This course is a crash course on theology and missions, the purpose or goal is for the participants to catch God's heart for missions, and how we can all be missional where we are. James and I took this course during our DTS in 2019 and now we have the privilege of teaching it to others. Although, most of it is not our teaching. The course is full of videos, reading articles from professors and missionaries like Don Richardson, and also some fun activities to teach people how to respect cultures that are unlike their own. This is the first time they're hosting Kairos as a 7-week course, usually, it is crammed into 1 week like on our DTS. But they decided in order to reach the locals it would be better to do one night a week. They do the reading at home and then come to class to discuss, review and watch a new video for a new chapter. We have 15 participants representing 4 different nations! It really is a cool course to teach all nations to go to all nations, which started in the Philipines and is now making its way around the world.

Some other duties that James and I do throughout the week, include things like helping with base laundry (me) cleaning out the leftovers in the fridge, and doing 1-1's (James). 1-1's are processing tools for the students and staff. They are assigned a mentor and during this weekly meetup, they can process their feelings talk about what they're going through, and ask questions about the teachings from the week. I am so proud of James for picking up this role. The DTS staff asked James to step into this role because they don't have so many male staff, and he is really enjoying connecting with the students!

We had a cool opportunity to visit some friends this month for a weekend at their cabin. She was one of our DTS staff actually! So we met them in Iceland and were so blessed to join them at their cabin in their home country.

FEBRUARY

I know we are just in the first weeks of February, but I'll give you an update anyway. We are doing all of the same things that we started in January, and looking toward the BCC more and more since we will start training and team building at the beginning of March. We are still learning this work/life balance and it can be hard because James and I want to serve so much, but we need to have these boundaries to keep our sanity and not overwork ourselves. So we have really tried to keep most of our work at work and relax or do other tasks or life things on the weekend. We have tried to go to church regularly but it is hard with borrowing a car. When we do go, it is so fun to try and understand the sermons without translation. Some things are easy enough to get the gist of the message, but other times we are so lost. It is a good way to learn the language though because it is all about topics we know and words we hear all the time at the YWAM base.

Overall, we are enjoying our time here at YWAM Rogaland. We enjoy the community, it is such an encouraging environment to be in. To fail and learn things in a safe place is truly a treasure. And we've had so many opportunities to try new things.

We are learning, we are growing, and most importantly, we are trusting the Lord in all we do. For the future, we don't have a clear plan or picture, but we feel that God is encouraging us to be present where we are at and with our tasks and responsibilities now. "One day at a time sweet Jesus" as my dad would say.

Please keep us in your prayers for:

• our visas that are still processing

• Anna's health

• being present where we are at

• peace for the future

Thank you all for your prayers and support! We are glad to have friends and family like you behind us.

Feel free to reach out, we would love to stay connected with each of you! Let us know how we can be praying for you too.

Blessings,

The Rowsells