Outreach

This week was our first week of having to do outreach. I was paired with this guy named Patrick, and he was stoked and I was a little nervous. Usually going around knocking on doors of houses belonging to complete strangers isn’t that bad because I figure I’ll never see them again, but here it is slightly more intimidating due to the fact that I don’t speak the language. And while the majority of people in Norway speak English, it just so happened that Patrick and I were placed in an area mostly populated by retired people. Patrick speaks English and Spanish, and so far, I am only speaking English. So we went on our merry way. First house, door slammed in the face. Carrying on, we went to house after house, walking and walking. Altogether we got 6 surveys filled out, and actually got into a pretty interesting conversation with one woman - technically a Norwegian, but had been living in South Africa for 19 years or so – about religion and the typical attitude toward religious matters that we would find here in Norway. This country is very secular and people either feel very strongly against religion, or else they simply find it boring or that they don’t have time for it.
We went out again yesterday, and happened into a Muslim neighbourhood, centered around a Mosque. So we got to talk to talk to a lot of Muslims, which I thought was really cool, and we actually got the email addresses of a couple of them, and phone numbers for some as well, and at one house we asked them to give us Koran lessons, and they agreed! So hopefully by next week I’ll get to learn about the Koran on day a week. I am really looking forward to that. I’ve wanted to read it for a long time, so now I am given a perfect opportunity to learn about it from someone who actually believes in it, which I think is alot better than just reading it in my own time.
Also, I am preaching in Drammen in a few weeks. And I have to learn to speak with a translator translating simultaneously. I’m a little worried. But the sermons are pre-written, so I will be more comfortable with them because they are not my own material.
For now I’m done classes for the day – Fridays we only have 2 hours of class in the morning and then we get the rest of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off! I like that arrangement quite alot, I must declare.
Other than that, I am tired. Luckily, I now have the weekend and so far there are no epic mountain climbing excoursions planned, for which I am truly greatful. I mean as much as I enjoy climbing mountains, it can get a little tiresome.
<3