Prayer Support

Hey everyone reading this...which I'm pretty sure is only a few, Hanne and I are asking for prayer partners for our upcoming journey.  God has placed it on our hearts to plant churches in Europe and we are hoping that we can get a group of people to commit to praying for us on a regular basis as we move into fairly unknown territory.  If you would like join us in this endeavor and support us through prayer, let us know...roberts2580@gmail.com.  We'll send you regular updates and prayer requests.   Thanks and Blessings.

Two Weeks...

So we've got a little under two weeks left in the U.S. until we take off for Norway.  This last weekend was busy and exciting.
Friday, the family went out to a Brazilian steak house where we could eat all the meat we wanted.  Good stuff...but I was the only one who would eat the chicken hearts.

On Saturday, we celebrated my grandfather, Sherm's, 90th birthday.  He's 90 but still working 30 hours a week and is going strong.

It was also one of the rare occasions where the entire family was together.

                               The Cousins.

That night, we went and saw my good friend, Andrew's, band The Revelators.  Good stuff.  They performed a song the bassist wrote for his girlfriend and then he proposed.

Sunday, we celebrated Valentine's day and went to a brunch at the Aquarium.

 

 To say the least it was a good weekend with good people.

Today Bud wanted to go for a walk...

...it's been more than a month since last time we walked... poor Bud:)  Today he surprised me and decided that a walk must happen, and right this very moment, too.  There was no question of Hanne eating lunch first.

We took a long, nice walk up towards the mountains.  Man, there's a lot of interesting things to smell walking up by the arroyo!

We're sooo photogenic!

Bud got me a lot of fresh air today.  Now I'm shot and Bud can't even walk up the stairs.

Also, today Ryan and I went and bought luggage for our trip (woohoo!), and we had an awesome New Mexican breakfast at the Range.  And we embarked on the fascinating task of organizing, recording and boxing up all of our books...  Ahh, the joys of moving...

So long!

Three Weeks and Counting...

Only three weeks left before we depart for Norway.  Yesterday was my (Ryan's) 31st birthday and I had a great weekend.  On Friday, dinner with the family was fun and, being so close to leaving, we want to take advantage of all the time we can with them.  These past few months in Albuquerque have gone so fast but they've been good.

The last couple of days we had the honor of sharing some of the vision that God has laid on our hearts, with the Vineyard Church of North Albuquerque and the East Mountain Vineyard Church.  It was a lot of fun talking about our future plans in Norway in regards to ministry.  We felt very affirmed in our calling and were encouraged by both congregations.  Thanks a lot guys...we are excited about what God is doing in your church plants!

Snow Day

It's snowing in Albuquerque, the schools are closed and even a coldblooded Norwegian is satisfied with the current amount of weather.

Ryan's at his grandma's, making donuts (!).  I'm working (still) on my 2000 piece puzzle, and in the in-betweens reading C.S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength.

I'm hoping for enough snow so that Ryan can make his first ever snow cave tomorrow... Hoping real hard!

Have a good evening all,

Hanne

Portlandia and Beyond...

Hanne and I just returned from a trip to Portland, OR where we attended an assessment with Christian Associates International.  We met a lot of great people there and it was very encouraging and exciting to be around people who have the same ideas about what it means to be the church that we do.  We are excited to begin working with Christian Associates and planting a church at some point in the foreseeable future.

As far as what Hanne and I are thinking in regards to the church, and not to get too in depth with this, but we believe that the church is a moving, dynamic group of believers called to go out into the world to embody the teachings of Jesus, follow his example, and love others the way Jesus did, and to do these things in every sphere of our lives.  The church was never meant to be confined to a building the way it is today.   In Matthew 18:20 Jesus said, "for where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them."  This is the church...when believers gather in the name of Jesus, wherever that may be.  So, Hanne and I are excited to embark on a journey of exploring what it means to be the church in various contexts and cultures and to experiment with different expressions of church.

And for Portland...probably one of the coolest cities I've ever been to.  The people of the city were friendly and had a real sense of community.  They seemed to actually care about their city.  They were environmentally conscientious and supported local business.  Their public transit system is awesome and it was a lot of fun being there.  Not to mention, there is a donut shop there called Voodoo Donuts.

 Yes, that is a donut with bacon on it, and it is good...
 
Fruitloop Donut...

                                                                                                Grape Donut...
I also got to see a couple of awesome friends whom I haven't seen in a long time.

This is Rusty who used to live in Albuquerque, but moved to Portland and got married!

And this is Mike, whom I haven't seen in almost ten years.  After we all went and played pool, Mike and I talked for hours, catching up and just talking about life.  He drove down from Seattle to hang out with us.

And here's the whole crew at the bar where we played pool.  Good times in an awesome city.

We're now back in Albuquerque, gearing up to leave the country in a few weeks...and I turn 31 this week...crazy!  I'm excited to spend more time with my family (my grandfather turns 90 this month) and this little guy.