Prophetic painting

Today we were sort of "commissioned" to do some prophetic painting at this non Christian University campus in Stavanger, Norway by a christian organization that is present on the campus. Tomorrow we're playing 3 shows at 3 different locations during the day, so that will be sweet to be able to sing and worship all over campus!
But today we got out our paints, easels, and canvases and went to work in this big hall of one of the main buildings. 4 of us just standing there.... painting...praying.... singing.... talking... thinking.... stopping to talk to passers by. It was great! I actually had an idea of what I was to paint and why as I was painting it, but wasn't sure who it was for (we paint the paintings and then pray for God to show us who to give them to and what they mean for them specifically). After an hour we had to move on and get some food, so I finished up and waited.
Several hours later Erika headed up teaching a course to about 15 very eager students about prophetic painting: the heart behind it, the usefulness of it, how to express God's heart within your own abilities, as well as simple techniques and painting structures. While she was teaching I had a sense that recipient of my painting was there in the room, so I began to scan and see who it might be. AHA! There he is....!! .... but then I waited. We began to paint again and I started a new painting and just waited for the right time to give him his painting. Finally at the end we had a chance to share about what God was speaking to us in our paintings and his painting was derived from some inspiration from Proverbs 4:23... which is one of my life verses! Recently God has been teaching me about what exactly "guarding my heart" means and how I have instead put up a wall around my heart in the past years; so I am currently working on tearing down that wall!! Anyway, he began to share and everything he said made me want to jump up and down and scream "YES, YES!" It was so amazing! He was speaking what my heart had been learning about this verse and I KNEW that this painting was for him because we were both coming from similar places.
Here is the painting that I gave him.

It is a picture of a flame that is a powerful, white hot, but needs to purpose itself to be around other similar flames (you can see the "other flame" in the top left corner) in order to guard itself from the darkness that so eagerly wants to overcome it. There was more, but I'll spare you any more details.... just know that it was a word for him that spoke right to his heart! I felt so blessed to be able to serve God in such a fun and exciting way. If you're an artist... I HIGHLY suggest you step out and try it sometime in a downtown area or maybe on your front porch.. and if you're not an artist.... go for it anyway!

Covering ground

Since the last post that I made in Alesund, Norway; I have made it much further down the west coast of Norway. Sandane, Bergen, Haugesund, and Stavanger. Go ahead... see if you can find them.

At each stop we've able to do so many different things from speak in schools, play in coffee shops, have times of prophetic painting, and lead worship at many churches! It has been an amazing adventure, and I can't believe that I'm able to get SOO much of Norway while I'm here and really experience the culture.
The culture here is very religious and steeped in tradition, which does not really leave much room for the Holy Spirit and we have felt the affects of it. At each stop we try to really pray and seek the Lord for what His heart is for the people and how we can personally minister to them where they are at. Erika has a huge heart for worship as well as ministry directly for the congregation, so many meetings lead into times of us praying over individuals and giving prophetic words for them. It has really been such a joy!! Here are some more pics of our travels.

This is Sandane, Norway! completely surrounded by mountains on 3 sides and the beautiful fjord on the fourth!

Yesterday we decided to go to Preikestolen (which means "The Pulpit" in English). Its a very famous natural wonder in Norway and the world. A beautiful view and just a shear cliff dropping FOREVER into the fjord! We were about an hour or so away from the top at this point in the journey.

This is a bit of a funny view, but it continues to go down even further!!

"Hanging" off the edge :)


A Norwegian camping lunch! Hot dogs, disposable grill, oranges, and kvikk lunsj for dessert!
Seriously.... the WHOLE country eats then when they go camping/ hiking.. especially at Easter.

at the top!


Erika and I


a beautiful view.... and Helga on the bottom right


back at the bottom!~! We conquered!


Wellspring leading worship with a church's youth band here in Randaberg. Such a great group of kids!! Later that night after the meeting we did a little concert and were able to just spend some time with the youth.

On the Way to Alesund, Norway

Yesterday we drove 777 Kilometers, went through approximately 27 tunnels, and saw over 100 waterfalls, in 11 hours of driving from Skien, Norway to the west coast of the country.... Alesund! Here are a few shots that I was able to snap off while we were driving by. It s times like these that my heart grew weary of not having a proper camera to truly capture the glory of God's creation. I know that these shots are beautiful... but I couldn't even capture some of the most breathtaking scenes! Absolutely STUNNING!

This is the view from the back porch of the house where we're staying at!

Beauty

Yesterday Erika and I were enjoying our Easter break and decided to go out for a photo shoot. Our lovely Methodist church pastor friend, Froydis, let us borrow her beautiful Nikon digital SLR!
These are some of the results of that time :) Enjoy

THE WELLSPRING TEAM

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Maria (acoustic guitarist, trumpet, and vocals)
Myself (Piano and vocals)
Helina (Djembe and other various percussion instruments)
Helga (Bass guitar, flute, and vocals)
Erika (Violin and vocals)

Starting next monday we will be on our tour of Norway; going to schools, churches, and coffee shops to teach and lead people in worship. Please pray that the Holy Spirit is heavy on us at each stop as we only desire to be doing what He has for us to do.