Discipleship

Looking back over the last 5 months I have noticed how God has been creatively putting young women in my life that are at a place of wanting discipleship. I don’t typically seek out younger women to disciple so each one coming into my life has been completely orchestrated by God. Seeing them go deeper with God has been such a blessing and with several now going to the foursquare

Café Jabes

Overseeing Café Jabes has been very challenging for me and discouraging at times but I’m so excited because we finally are getting a strong crew of people that have a heart to serve and want to be a part of what God is doing there so thank you so much for your prayers. We also have several groups coming on the weekends with the sole purpose to minister to people hanging out at the Cafe this includes; YWAM, the Mission House of Kristiansand, Salvation Army, and Foursquare. Together we have seen so much fruit in peoples’ lives. Being a consistent familiar face at Café Jabes has been a big deal in building trust with so many people. Most everyone knows now that I’m a missionary through Foursquare so coming up to me and asking questions about God and faith is quite expected. What is really cool is when people, who would never step foot into church, ask what church I go to and end up give it a go and feeling very at home there.

Carpenter for Jesus

Doing practical work for the body of the church here in Kristiansand has been such a blessing for me. A family in the church just got a new fixer upper house so I have been helping with the remodel which has been so much fun now several others have asked if I can help with construction projects at their homes. This is so good because at WorldBase we want to help strengthen the body of Christ spiritually as well as be a practical blessing to them. This fall I have also been working on fixing up the WorldBase apartment, doing some painting, putting in flooring and getting the yard spruced up so we can get it rented out.

Setting out the welcome mat!

torsdag 4. oktober 2007
We are pleased to welcome into our house new roommates Sarah and Christine. Sarah is from Norway and has been a part of the church plant team Kristiansand Foursquare has sent to Denmark. She is back for one month and living at the WorldBase to take care of practical matters. Christine is also from Norway and has been accepted into Kristiansand’s beauty school. She will be studying for one year. We wish them both success while they are here!

Though not a part of the WorldBase program, they are a welcome addition to our house, and interns Tylene and Gretchen are happy to have some more people around.

If you are interested in being a part of our ministry at WorldBase read up on the website and find out all about what we do and who we are. If you like what you see, send us an e-mail at worldbase@foursquare.no, and let’s start chatting and see if we can’t get you over to Norway for a bit of missions adventure! Norway is a harvest field waiting for some ready workers!

written by Gretchen Pikop

What God is doing in England

The youth camp was challenging in so many ways for me personally as I don’t work with youth that often but to see what God did in their lives was worth every minute. Every day we started off with quiet time followed by breakfast, what we ate I’m still not sure, then team devotion just before going to the team activities. Lunchtime was nice for regrouping with everyone else and catching my breath in the warm sun. The evenings were the highlight for most with worship in the big tent followed by a special speaker each night. The night meetings had a big impact on the kids as God was challenging them and moving in their hearts. Many came up for prayer and 8 were saved. Two of the 8 were just walking by and wanted to check out the music and ended up being moved by the spirit and committed there lives to Jesus Christ… how cool is that!
The night Gretchen spoke, God moved through her in such a way that got to the hearts of those kids, and we got to pray and prophesy over them. All 5 girls from Estonia received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at the same time.

Please be praying…..
-What God did in the youth would stay strong.
-Passion to serve in the church would grow in the body.
-To have more Norwegians volunteering at Café Jabes…. We really need people to help as Mike and I have been there most the time. We want to see the Norwegians take on the vision of what God is and will do there.

Foursquare Europe youth camp VIDEO

Back from England

Gretchen and I just came back from the Northwest Foursquare Europe youth camp in Southampton, England. Sixty-six people from Ireland, Great Britain, Estonia, and Norway came together for the camp with the theme, “No Plan B” based on the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20, where Jesus commands His disciples to go into all the world and baptize them in the the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and to teach them everything He has commanded.

Aside from worship and teaching times, the campers enjoyed a variety of activities from rock climbing to canoeing to learning how to build rafts that could actually float on the water! The results of the camp were amazing -- six were saved / re-dedicated their lives to the Lord, fourteen were baptized in the Holy spirit, and eleven responded to the call to missions. I thoroughly enjoyed being a discipleship group leader for the campers, and Gretchen had the opportunity to be a discipleship group leader in addition to speaking at one of the main sessions and playing piano one evening with the worship team.

Thank you for all your prayers!

More photos go to- (tylene's pictures) under links it's in the right hand column

What is God doing at Café Jabes

My duties at Jabes have increased this summer as we have been short on staff, but God has also increased those I’m getting opportunity to disciple and build relationships with. Because I am at Jabes every weekend, it has opened a window of trust with so many people to the point I don’t need to go up to others anymore; God is just bringing them to me so they can be disciple or prayed for.

One girl came to me at the end of the night asking if I could pray with her I knew her as an acquaintance but didn’t even know she was aware I am a Christian. Before I could get a word out she began confessing her sin to me. Realizing the seriousness of the situation I began praying for wisdom and discernment as to what God would have me say. After a long conversation I prayed for this girl that had been struggling for years to get out of the bondage of alcohol. At home that night I asked God to help this desperate girl out by making her sick the next time she drinks. The following week I saw her in the city several times each time remembering to pray that prayer. The next week as I was going home from Jabes at 2am I saw her heading down to the pubs so I was sure to make eye contact with her hoping she would recall the conversation we had. The following week she came to me at Jabes asking to talk with me again. I assumed it was to confess a repeated sin, instead she was full of excitement as she told me she did go to the pub that night I saw her but after her third beer she got really sick and so it wasn’t fun anymore. And the next night by the third sip she was sick again. She didn’t understand why but was very glad. I told her the prayer I had prayed for her and then shard with her the deep love God has for her and how He wants to use her to lead others away from the same bondage she had for so long. The following week she went out again not really wanting to because she didn’t want to be temped to drink and get sick but that’s what all her friends do so she went but this time she wasn’t even temped to drink. To see the excitement on her face as she told me this was priceless. If you can imagine years of this bondage bringing her down to the state of depression and to see her now you would never know. God’s grace is amazing.

Driving in Norway

Wahooo I got my international drivers license this is a very big deal for me and everyone else as we have been short on drivers for quite some time. The only thing is my international license is only good for the first year I’m in Norway… ya that will be up in November so I’m considering getting my Norwegian drivers license however this can be very expensive which is why I have not gotten it yet, but at this point it’s looking like it will be worth it in the long run as God has been using me to take some of the driving lode off of Pastor John Hery.

Kia Norwegian Language class party

59 people from 17 different nations together in one room celebrating in worship and fellowship, what an incredible sight it was. Almost everyone had a turn getting up to sing a song in there own language and yes even I did, that’s something I never want to do again. Very different cultures but two main things in common learning Norwegian and the love of Jesus but not all who were there are followers of Jesus so how incredible it was for them to experience such unity and love in one room of such different people.

Summer is here

The summer weather has come to Norway, or at least we hope so! If you peek between the occasional rain clouds, you can find the sun! Here at WorldBase we know how long and hard a winter in Norway can be, so we have been soaking in the sun as much as possible whether it is pulling weeds, sitting on the deck with a cup of coffee, washing houses, taking a bike ride, or a taking day hike.

Otherwise, all attention at the WorldBase has been focused on preparation for the coming teams -- the first arrives on 20.june and will depart on 29. june. They will be coming from South Shore Fellowship in Washington. They will be assisting with painting the houses on the WorldBase property and also working at Cafe Jabes. The second team is from Pasadena, California, and they will be helping to run an outreach during the Quart Festival -- Norway’s annual music festival bringing bands to perform from around the world. The Festival is held each year in Kristiansand and brings thousands of visitors -- a prime time for sharing the love of Jesus.

WorldBase has new member

WorldBase welcomes new team member -- Mindy Matson!

Mindy comes from Seattle, Washington and will be with us until 29.july. We’re so happy to have her here! She works with me most of the time which is so nice to have some one to talk with while doing the practical work.

Keep us in prayer as we work -- that God would work through us to reach the community for Jesus, inspire us with joy, and bring many people to the café.

Cafe Jabes

We had a pirate ship docked in town and Mike invited the men and 2 women to come to jabes for free coffee, so 10:30pm comes and 15 or so men came in from the ship. We had so much fun with them as they danced, laughed and getting to know our staff. The next day Mike invited them to his place for food and a warm shower and there were about 20 people crammed in their little apartment above the church, but we had fun eating with them and sharing fun stories of what we do and the places they have been. They came from Czech Republic and Praha just to travel around letting the wind take them wherever. They hadn’t planned on coming to Kristiandsand but we know it was God who blew them our way.

The next week they came to Jabes every day to hang out, use the internet, and they even helped with many of the projects we were working on. After a week they set sail for a destination unknown but that night they returned duw to bad weather and they stayed for another week. The next weekend faithful they were at Café Jabes, first ones there and last ones to leave. We invited them to help with the running of the café and they jumped on the opportunity, so side by side we worked together loving them and being Jesus to them and building trust. We all got many opportunities to share with them why it is we do what we do here in Norway and with out a doubt the love of Jesus was brought into all their lives. I don’t think it was by chance there was bad weather the day they tried to leave, and I don’t think it was by chance they wanted to hang around us every day. God wanted to show Himself to them through us and I know a hand full of seeds were planted inside of them. They came for a safe place to dock and they sailed away with the impact of Jesus’ love in their life.

Cafe Jabes

I woke up semi-early on May 5 to work at Café Jabes (Café Jabez in English) – owned and run by the Salvation Army as a place for the people of the community to get a super cup of coffee and have a safe place to chat, interact, listen to multicultural music, and experience the love of Jesus from its workers. (Today, a man said he loves to come to Jabes because the pubs are so much more crowded and not as peaceful or cozy). May 5 was the first day of the reopening, and I loved every minute because Café Jabes has been closed down for the past month or so for remodeling. During the remodeling stage many people would just stop by to pitch in anyway they could from painting, cutting wood, laying down the flooring, to cleaning. Over this last month our prayer has been that people would not see Jabes as it once was, a rundown religious place that even Christians would avoid; also back in the day when it was known for illegal gambling and drugs, but they would give it another chance.
So on May 5 the doors were open 12pm to 2am and the first time to have it open in the daytime. With so much left to do, we somehow overlooked the advertising of the reopening date, so most was by word of mouth and not to mention the big sign painted on the window that read, “free coffee and lattes all day.” This incentive was by far the best idea as people started coming in for the free drinks regardless of the old reputation Café Jabes had. A steady flow of people came in all day and by 9pm the place was packed with 93 plus people compared to 10 to 20 people in the past. One man had told me he would never go to Café Jabes because it was just not the kind of place he wants to hang out and he came back the next week too.

We closed down Jabes for 5 weeks out of faith not really knowing what would become of it or if anyone would even come and God was so faithful to bring the people. Many told me that night, “I was walking by and the music drew me in to see what was going on.” This is exactly what we had been praying for!”

Café Jabes is growing rapidly and God’s hand is in it 100% so thank you so much for all your prayers, God is answering them.

Tallinn, Estonia

April 11 to April 16

WorldBase Director and Senior Pastor, John Henry, Gretchen, and I flew to the capital city of Estonia, Tallinn, (sounds like Tylene or Talene) to help with and attend a Pastor’s Bible Study Intensive class led by Daniel Brown. There were about twenty people total from Estonia, Norway, Russia, Great Britain, and the United States. The Bible study was a benefit to everyone and not only did we have fun practicing the skills being taught but the fellowship was great with a lot of laughing and building good friendship between the members of the European region. We even managed to squeeze in a little sight seeing of the old city dating back to 1300 this was by far the most fascinating city I have ever seen that brought ancient history to life.

Århus, Denmark

March 29 to April 1

I joined a couple from Kristiansand Foursquare Church (Henriette & Kjell Bringsjord) on a scouting trip to Århus, Denmark as they are getting ready to plant a church there. Foursquare has been trying to plant a church in Denmark for many years but until now all attempts have fallen through. God’s timing is perfect. We went on many prayer walks, worked on making connections with others, and drove throughout the city to find a location to start the church; overall the scouting trip was very successful. I won’t be a part of the church plant but I was there to support them, see what it’s like to plant a church, and to know how God can use me in the future to support the church plant team like leading missionary teams there.

Snohomish WA. Team

March 2 to March 12

we had a construction team of 4 people from Hope Foursquare Church in Snohomish, WA. They worked hard on many projects here at Kristiansand Foursquare church and not only were they a huge blessing to the church but they were a wonderful blessing to me also, working with them on construction projects, talking the construction talk and having wonderful conversation of my home state WA. The projects they constructed were a wonderful blessing, and the faith they carried with them was such an encouragement that so many here needed.

What God has been doing with me

I go to a language class two days a week at a place called Kia. Kia was started by a local church to help the refugees get plugged in and learn Norwegian. At Kia they offer many multicultural social events like dinner gatherings, choir classes, (I have just joined this) prayer meetings, and above all, the love of Jesus is shared with them. I really enjoy going to class, not just for the Norwegian, but getting to know people outside of the church. This is a huge ministry opportunity.

I help with overseeing many projects at church. Some include ripping out old carpet in the kids class room and putting in new carpet, building stage seating for the kids’ class rooms, painting the new fire sprinkler system water pipes throughout the whole building, and organizing many storage rooms.

Managing worldbase house is something I really enjoy doing. I get to do all the upkeep inside and out and taking care of any guests or teams that come to stay with us.
I help members of the church with small projects like a few weeks ago the family below us had their apartment flooded so we installed a new floor and by the grace of God nothing else was damaged. I also help with the set up for Sunday service – getting the coffee room ready, ushering, setting up chares etc. and help with the cleaning of the office every week.

I am currently helping with the new web page for worldbase and you can check this out at
www.worldbase.no
Movie night once a month at WorldBase is something that Gretchen and I have started as a way to bring people together for fellowship and our vision is to get people from outside of the church into an environment where they can see the love of Jesus.

I’m getting more involved with a ministry down town called Café Jabes. This is a very big coffee shop that was started by the Salvation Army with the purpose of bringing foreigners and Norwegians together where they could experience the love of Jesus. At Café Jabes you can enjoy coffee, food, many games, live music, and fun fellowship. One of my favorite things is it is open from 8PM to 2AM. This is my kind of ministry, as most of you know, I’m a big fan for staying up really late; but really this is very good because it gives people the alternative of going to taverns and night clubs and a safe place to hang out. Right now Café Jabes is only open Friday nights and Saturday nights but Mike (the new manager who is from the states) has a vision for it to be open every day. This will take some time as Café Jabes is still in the process of growing.

ANSWERED PRAYERS

God is still doing miracles today.
You were praying for a man in the church who had a seizure and several heart attacks. This man had to go in for emergency heart surgery because his heart was in such bad shape. The day he went in the doctors couldn’t believe what they saw. They said he had the heart of a 20 year old, but how could this be just a few days ago his heart was in critical condition? Even though this man has experienced great memory loss from the seizure, he has hope and trust in the Lord that He will never leave him nor forsake him “I got my miracle” he said. Isn’t it amazing how one miracle can make all our other problems seem bearable because it reminds us God is still looking out for us. Thank you for praying.

Youth group
The youth are hungry to be more like Jesus. It’s just so wonderful to see the fire growing inside of them.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Café Jabes
-Please pray for more people to get involved Christian and non-Christian so it can be open more days of the week.

WorldBase
-We would like to see more missionary teams coming into Norway, as there is a great need for people on fire for Jesus.

-That the movie night at WorldBase would grow into a big ministry tool.

Personal
-That God would continue to give me boldness to step out and minister his love to His people.

My Christmas

I had a wonderful Christmas holiday in Norway getting to share it with several different families and with this it gave me the opportunity to really dive into the Norwegian traditions. Christmas was a very relaxing time with friends playing lots of games and eating a lot of food. The main Christmas meal is served on Christmas Eve and the whole family dresses up for this. The main dish is a huge delicacy called pinnekjott. This is lamb ribs that are dried, preserved with salted, then steamed for many hours. With this is boiled potatoes, a side of something that looked like mash potatoes but taste like broccoli and then always a rich tasting dessert. Opening Christmas presents took place in the evening. This is traditionally always done on Christmas Eve, and afterwards we read the Christmas story followed by a discussion on why we celebrate Christmas. On Christmas day Gretchen and I were with another family eating more food and playing games. We also got out to enjoy the crisp air. For breakfast, toppings on your bread is one of the more popular meals, and for Christmas they have special toppings. I wanted in on this so I dove right in and tried the special topping as several people looked at me a little surprised that I wanted to try it. It was pretty good until some one told me what I was eating then very quickly the good taste in my mouth went from yum to yuck and my mind would no longer allow me to enjoy raw fish. I can’t say I’m glad I tried it.

Christmas was wonderful giving gifts to our neighbors, spending time in fellowship, singing Christmas songs, baking cookies, reading the Christmas story, and not worrying about going any where for a week as most everything was closed down anyway. Christmas didn’t seam to really end until New Years Day but I tell ya it was one Christmas I will never forget and to put the icing on top, God gave me a wonderful gift of getting to talk with my whole family over the internet and web cam so I got to be with them on Christmas morning.