Jungle Love

We just emmerged from our weekend jam-packed with road trips, beaches, body surfing, lava exploring, jungle trecking, sun burning... adventures! If pictures are worth a thousand words, I don't have much else to say...

Camoflauge orchid! So cool!

Mom and Dad!

Tonight Samuel and Dad went out boar hunting. They were equiped with bow and arrow, knives and a gun! The goal is to go out on the lava-strewn landscapes where the wild boars roam in the dark chomping on macidamia nuts. We'll see what they drag home in a few hours...

My hunting man!

Aloha from the Big Island

My Leis from Mom and Dad when we arrived!

Hello Mr Sunshine

This little girl came up to Samuel as soon as we sat down to eat lunch... "Hi Dad"... (her dad was also bald and scruffy! I think she got confused... but she was in love with Samuel)

Checkin out the surf

Jack fruit in the farmers market.. so huge it could have fed 30 people!

Mom's cute feet

Dad - the Resident Manager of Keauhu Punahele where we live.

We get a few perks from the guy in charge! :)

Half Full or Half Empty??

Well, we're just about packed up again! And this is the first time we're not pushing the limit with 100 pounds of luggage and 50 pound carry-ons... each! Every other time Samuel and I are traveling we have our whole lives in tow. Regardless, this is a particularly nice feeling. The bags must be half full :) But I can't help not thinking that I'm forgetting something.

I can't say what they'll look like coming home. We will probably try to squeeze some of the island paradise in there...

This afternoon we're headed to Gothenburg to stay with Rebekha and Andreas. They'll take us to the airport tomorrow morning... we'll fly to Frankfurt and San Francisco... spend the night in Cali and then on Thursday we'll make our way to the Island just in time for lunch! Maybe a picnic on the beach??

All I Need to do is Worship

Spend some minutes with Jesus today. Just ask Him to reveal Himself to you. He will. O it's such a sweet place of rest and peace. Such an intimate place. Safe place. Refreshing place. Set all your other things aside... He is the answer to it all.

And we're off!

Alright everyone. We are officially Hawaii bound! Samuel got his flight on Friday night and after one day and several hours on Skype with Continental... I got mine too! It was looking scary for a while there... my ticket just wouldn't register!

Again, the purpose of this trip is to get my immigration "permission to stay" papers in Sweden. Don't know how long I'll have to stay there but we're so happy Samuel is coming for 3 1/2 weeks! He hasn't seen my family in over one year! It will be a sad day when he's flying back to Sweden, that's for sure.

On the beach in Zanzibar, Tanzania

My packing must haves:

Bible

passport

application papers

eye drops

lip stick

ipod

waterproof mascara

swim suits

good book (next I'll be reading "Is That Really You, God?" but Loren Cunningham - the founder of YWAM)

journal

dresses

scarves

(I left all my sandals in Ethiopia... so flip flops will be my first buy in Hawaii!)

good tennis shoes (Mom warned me the lava is really intense in some places)

baseball gloves

ear plugs for Samuel - he loves to hang out in that spot where the waves crash... the last time we were at the beach he did just that and we ended up in the hospital three months later where they flushed large pieces of coral and shells and sand from his ears! Don't want a re-cap of that!

My goals on the Big Island:

get my permission to stay in Sweden

surf

snorkel

see my first volcano

shopping with mama

visit YWAM

get some delayed wedding photos on the beach (we never got really nice shots when we married so mom brought my wedding dress to Hawaii so we could get some there one day!)

find a job so we can save for the field!

hang out with Jesus

baseball with dad

The last time we played baseball on the beach - two years ago!

Art Linkletter

Oh so funny... pure and raw and simple humor!

Highlights Lately:

-Celebrated Semlor day... I don't like Semlors.. so Samuel ate mine. In fact he's eaten about 20 in the last 3 weeks

-Spent time with our great friends Samuel, Lotta, Elsa and Siri! Love them!

-Strandberg family weekend with the whole crew (minus Pernilla and Kayan)

- Took Samuel's parents to the train station so they could catch their flight to Thailand (to see Pernilla and Kayan)

-Samuel preached a fiery fantastic sermon on the Blood of Jesus at Pingstkrykan on Sunday!

-Realized that I understood the entire sermon... and it was in Swedish, hurrah for me!

-Samuel (not my Samuel, Lotta's Samuel) gave me his piano keyboard to hook up to Garage Band on my Mac while I'm here in Sweden! O I've missed and longed for music and worship... it's been so long since I had the opportunity to play! Thanks Samuel!

-Found some more Second hand treasures...

Fabulous piece for our hallway... just needs new knobs!

Coat tree! I've wanted one of these for years! 50 Kronor!!

Shoe rack!

The fuzzy branches are from the market in the city square every Wednesday and Saturday!

-Skyped with mom and dad... and they showed me their gecko eggs from their home in Hawaii that they want to send to my nephews in KY. Is that illegal? One of my least favorite things is lizards and everything else in that category. Going to have to do something about that when I get to Hawaii...

-Searched and searched and searched again for tickets to Hawaii... looks like I might be leaving Monday. MONDAY! Time to pull out the swimsuits and relocate myself.... again

-Realized that I have to buy two round trip tickets for myself because the name on my passport will not match the name on the ticket I'm purchasing now. (One way tickets are double the price of a round trip.. doesn't really make sense) I do feel like an immigrant lately

-Reflected on the fact that God is my Daddy... He takes care of me. Always.

That about sums it up... plus a few walks to the ocean, fikas with friends, creative cooking and baking treats, reading, planning, preparing...

Guess I should start to pack soon....

Dad surfing in Kona on the Big Island... Hawaii here I come!

Hawaii Tsunami

Daddy and Mama evacuated to higher ground on the Big Island several hours ago... waiting for the tsunami from the earthquake in Japan to reach their home. I haven't had any phone contact with them yet, but according to CNN, there hasn't been any major damage on any of the Islands. Hallelujah.

Snowy Beaches

This all happened after just a 10 minute walk from our home... love the sea...

"So why haven't you done it yet?"

I’ve finally found an English magazine! The latest March 2011 ELLE UK was waiting for me on a shelf out here in Sweden. The only English one! I love to practice reading Swedish, but sometimes you just need to sit back and not think so hard about the words when you’re trying to read. The article I found this morning started a fire over my bowl of cereal. The title asked, “So why haven’t you done it yet?” It wasn’t a spiritual article in any way. But the lines were still preaching!

Here were some hot parts....(written by Esther Freud)...

For many of us, our lives are littered with regrets over unfulfilled ambitions. We wish we’d played in a band. Driven across America. Made a million. Sailed the world. For every person that takes action and does whatever it is they want to do, there are many more of us that keep on dreaming - while doing nothing. So what is it that stops us reaching out and seizing hold of our ambitions? Fear usually. And the little voice in our head that says we may not be any good. We may not even like it. It’s easier not to try.

And that, I realized, was the key. The ‘sticking to it’ part. Talent only accounts for a fraction of the process - discipline is what brings things to life.

It’s what people DON’T do that they regret, rarely what they did.

So what is it that sets some people free to follow their most closely held desires, while other baulk at taking the first step? Confidence, inspiration, the faith of others? ..... however hard it feels to step outside your comfort zone, there is always a wonderful satisfaction that comes from doing something you have set your heart on.

It’s not always about succeeding, winning, being the best. Often these things are worth doing just for the pure pleasure of doing them And because you promised yourself you would.

So drive across America it that’s what you really want to do. Learn Italian. Direct a short film. But whatever you choose, and however long you stick at it, remember that the biggest challenge of all is to ignore that doubting voice that tells you that you can’t - and to enjoy the adventure.

I’ve heard it time and time and time and time and time again... “O if I were young again, I’d do the missionary thing like you” or “I know I’m called, so one day... after I get settled down” or “I’m gonna come!” and then nothing ever happens. These kinds of phrases and promises break my heart. First of all people, WE’VE ALL BEEN CALLED! Didn’t Jesus already say “GO into ALL the world! Make disciples in ALL nations, BAPTIZE.. TEACH... I am with you ALWAYS!” (Matthew 28:18-20) So don’t sit and wait for your “calling” my friend. If you’re a believer and lover of Jesus Christ, then you’re qualified... no you’re commanded. This verse is the great commandment!

Understand, I’m not enforcing the idea that everyone move out to a third world country and live in a tent(although you’re more than welcome to join me!). I am saying that all those phrases and good ideas about what you’ll do in the Kingdom are just lame without action. Christianity is a physical thing - otherwise you just become a fat, useless spiritual person with no fruit! I’m not even being radical right now, but Jesus was when He said “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to our life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” Matthew 10:37-39

When Jesus said to His disciples, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men”... they dropped their nets. They didn’t run home to pack. They didn’t even try to sell their boats and supplies to make some spending money for the road. They followed.

And think about David... Paul... Peter... Timothy... they weren’t seasonal Christians. They didn’t just fight the good fight when they were young - are you kidding me?? They were lifers!

Here’s the fact. This God Adventurer blog is never going to change. It’s not a phase to experience in my 20‘s. When I’m 79 years old, I’ll still be preaching to the unreached with my Samuel. And if you’re in your teens, 20’s, 50’s, 70’s or beyond... what difference does that even make? Do what you’ve dreamed in your heart to do. LIVE. Take an adventure with Holy Spirit. WHY NOT???

If people in the secular fashion world are realizing this, we should too! May I paraphrase her last statement the way I read it please....

So fly across the world if that's what Holy Spirit wants you to do. Learn Arabic, Afrikaans, Chinese AND Swahili. Pray for the sick and hurting. Prepare and preach a festival. Sit in the dirt with the homeless in Africa AND in your own city. Remember that the biggest challenge of all is to ignore that doubting voice - whether your own or the devil's - that tells you that you can't. And enjoy the adventure!

Everything India

It's been flooding my world. The culture. The tastes. Smells. Fabrics. Voices. Faces. A few months ago a man from North East India told me, "It's not a country, it's a continent." And that continent has seeped into my world.

My neighbors in Ethiopia... were Indian. I spent a lot of time with them. One family was muslim, the rest hindu... but that really didn't seem to matter when we were all together. Their rich culture joined us. One of the greatest ways to learn a person or a people group is to share food with them. During my first week living in that apartment, I brought peanut butter cookies across the hall.... a lot of dishes were brought to my door the following months and let's just say, they all out-did mine. My Indian friends taught me the secrets of chapati and curry. They taught me that a Saree can be wrapped up to the size of a matchbox and that life is to be lived and the world to discover. My heart is burning to live in and discover their world so as to drop just a piece of my world there as well. Imagine the masses of unreached in India. Imagine when they're reached. What worshippers they will be.

Come there with me for just 2 minutes...

On my last night in Harar, my dear friend Allah gave these stunning treasures to me. Indian jewelry! I've been wearing it all around the house tonight, praying for the people I love. Dreaming. Imagining the bride of Christ that's preparing herself in middle of the map. You know, I think the bride is going to be multi-culturally embellished. Maybe a hand-beaded dress with lots and lots of bangles and an African headscarf. Maybe she'll have silk slippers or strappy sandals, paint on her face or beads in her hair. One thing I'm quite sure of.... she will be spotless and stunning and wildly, messily, irresponsibly in love with her groom. King Jesus.

Look at these earrings! And bracelets!!! And necklace!!!! Prettiest things I own.

“People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly… in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we’re beaten up, jailed and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness and honest love; when we’re telling the truth and when God’s showing His power; when we’re doing our best setting things right; when we’re praised and when we’re blamed; slandered and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives but refusing to die; immersed in tears yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.”

-2 Corinthians 6:4-10, Message Bible

“Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything.”

-Philippians 4:11-13, Message Bible