A great Sunday

When we were considering whether we would come to Oslo or not, one of the things I did was get on the internet to see if there were things I could get involved in and to see if we could find a church. I thought three months would be a long time to not have a church to go to. Sure we can listen to our church on a podcast, but you need fellowship as well.

I found two things online that made me more willing to leave the country for a few months. The first was the American Women’s Club of Oslo which has monthly meetings and other smaller groups. I am still trying to get connected as they don’t really start up until September but I think it will be good. On their webpage they had links to English speaking churches. There I found several options but really was interested in the Oslo International Community Church. I read all about it on their website and thought that the church lined up with what we were used to, especially since most churches here are more formal and liturgical. I knew it was a newer church and small but for a three month visit, I thought that was best anyway. When you go to a large church you are often not noticed as a visitor but in a small church people reach out to you. I thought it would be easier to get connected and make friends.

I emailed the pastor before we left to make sure we had the directions and times right. He emailed me right back with a lot of information and an offer to come pick us up the first week. We snatched that opportunity right up.

Sunday we called the pastor, Luckey, to arrange pick up. When he heard that our luggage was lost and we had no good phone or internet, he offered to look into it for us. He picked us up and we attended their service. It was indeed small, 16 people including children, but we really liked it. Apparently this week a lot of the regulars were out of town. After the service we had a social time with cookies and juice where we were able to meet everyone. One couple, John and Anna Gretta seem fun. We hope to get together with them soon. They live in town (the church is in a suburb) and they have a 7 week old. John is actually from Houston but has lived here for 5 years and Anna Gretta is Norwegian.

After church we went to Luckey and Christa’s house to hang out and have dinner. By the end of the evening it felt like we had known them for a long time. We had a great dinner and they had a lot of information and tips on getting adjusted. They let Sam use the internet and I used their VOIP phone to call mom. I plan to get together with Christa to shop this week and after their kids go to school next week I am going to go over and teach her how to blog. Being missionaries we think this will be a great way for her to stramline some of her email and prayer letter updates for a large distribution list. We look forward to being involved in this church while we are in town and to meeting people through this church.