Last day in Bergen - thank goodness! Nothing against the city (it's great, as far as cities go), but I'm more than ready to head back to Skjolden. I'm a country boy at heart... cities are okay, but give me some tall mountains and deep fjords any day of the week. The last team member (whose arrival I inadvertently overlooked), Beth, arrived today - she's been on this trip for the past two years and is joining us for at least part of the trip this year.

We had some good "man-time" yesterday before dinner - all of the guys got together for a chat down by the pier, just talking about how we can be growing closer together as a group of men, serve each other and the team, and both draw from the wisdom and experience of more mature brothers while simultaneously striving to be an example for each other in our lives. When the guys got back to Olav's apartment later that evening, we had some really good discussion about some different stuff - God, relationships, girls, etc. It was good to have a chance to open up with each other, share from my life and my struggles, and hear each other's thoughts and experiences. Man time is always good time.

We went to church this morning, which was pretty cool... despite the fact that it was long, in a different language, and did i mention that it was long (2+ hours!)? But the worship was good, what I was able to understand of the message was good (thanks to some translation by Olav and another Norwegian friend), and overall it was an enjoyable experience. I noticed some similarities between this church and my own back in Maine, in both the style of service and some of the liturgy, which might be in part because of the deep Scandinavian roots that the Covenant church has... or, I could be stretching to make a connection when there's no deep reason behind any superficial similarities at all.

Had a good talk with Darrell and Annette on our way down from Floyen this afternoon (took the tram up and hiked down). It was good to hear from them how they thought I'd fit in and be utilized this summer. While I still struggle occasionally with little "power urges" like I mentioned a couple days ago, God's been good at helping me let those feelings just wash over me like a wave, and then quickly dissipate as I let them pass me by. I still wonder sometimes why I'm here... not as in "what am I doing here, this sucks," but more like "how did I get here, and where exactly am I going? How have my past choices influenced the course of my life to put me where I am today?" I can see where I've been, I know where I am, but where on earth am I going? Olav put that idea into a good word-picture yesterday - we were talking about how God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and he said that looking at our lives with God's perspective makes everything make sense, just like looking at the view from the top of a mountain lets you see the entire landscape laid out in front of you. You can see how everything fits into place, why you traveled where you did and where God has been trying to get you to. That really struck a chord with me; it's a good perspective to have. I just look forward to that "mountain-top" experience, when everything will finally fit into place and make sense.