Sweden of Scandinavia

This was our first impression of Sweden. Driving along with a frozen lake on our right and a forest of straight fir trees on our left. As we slowly left Norway the speed limits increased and the Fjords melted into countryside plains. And we drove. A drive that was similar to the others that have occurred in the last two weeks - it us go just a little bit crazy. I guess there's only so much driving a person can do in a short amount of time before it gets all too much. However, I must say that a two-hour drive really just feels like a 5 minute jaunt down to the corner store. Weird how perspective changes according to circumstance.

While in Sweden we were able to go into Stockholm to take a look around. The day began with a fair bit of rain that we were glad to see cleared up after a zig zag trip in and out of one too many tourist shops to get warm. With the rain bloated waters of the rivers roaring under the bridges we walked around the beautiful old centre of the city.

The old centre, called Gamla Stan, brought an array of colourful buildings built flush against each other with cobblestone pathways in between and churches that boasted of elegant simplicity. The day was dreary, yet it somehow matched the mediaeval feel of this part of Stockholm and the hot chocolate I carried around in my hand.

We were able to enjoy our Sabbath and the last three music events at Ekebyholm, which is about 50 minutes drive north of Stockholm. Ekebyholm is the Adventist high school in Sweden and is located on the estate of an old Swedish castle which was bought by the Adventist school in 1932.

And this is their cafeteria. Yes, we are serious! Look at that chandelier, mirror and old painting! I'm sure this castle could be a tourist attraction. So in brief our weekend consisted of: Friday night concert, Sabbath morning church service and a closing Sabbath worship. The hospitality at Ekebyholm was amazing! They were all so lovely and the food was so yummy! We loved meeting so many nice people and worshipping Jesus with them. The closing Sabbath worship for the Norrköping SDA church was a very special way to end the round-the-world tour.

After the closing Sabbath worship, the strange feeling that it was all over hit us. After four months of constant concerts we were met with 3 weeks before the next round of events begin. We are so thankful to God for looking after us throughout the last four months!

~ Monique

Norway in a Nutshell

In a nutshell, Norway has to be one of the most stunning countries on earth! The vast beauty of the fjords, rivers, and mountains gave us a constant visual feast for our long drives to and from Bergen. There's something about the outdoors that instantly relaxes me and makes me feel alive again. I love old cities, but there's nothing like God's created nature. It always reminds me of one of my favourite texts in Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse" (NKJV). God has created such amazing beauty that even though sin has tainted it, probably more than we can understand at this point, God's invisible attributes still shine through.

To see more of stunning Norway in pictures, take a look at our Instagram feed.

We had the privilege of hanging out with some great people, who up to now have only known through twitter. It was fantastic to get to know them better and be inspired through a shared love of God, ministry and song-writing. We stayed with our new friend Stein Halvorsen for a few days and got him to do a few of his songs before our concert at Bergen Seventh-day Adventist church. He has written some incredible songs! We hope he puts out a CD soon!

We decided to add 'Ask Seek Knock' and a new song 'Doubting Thomas' to the concert set list as it wasn't going to be translated. Seeing that we haven't sung 'Ask Seek Knock' since we recorded it on the Live at Psalter Studios album, we had to do a bit of practice. I'm not sure why we haven't sung it. I guess sometimes it easy to just get into a rhythm with the songs that we automatically think to sing at a concert or church service. But it was really refreshing to pull 'Ask Seek Knock' out of the dusty closet and it definitely added to the concert's message.

Photo credit: Stein Halvorson

Sunday morning was another early morning wake up that awarded us with a stunning sunset over the beautiful view of Bergen!

On the long, yet beautiful drive to Oslo we were able to drive through the 25km tunnel again. That's right 25km! Crazy awesome!

To be honest, it had gotten to the point in this tour where the weekend was proving to be nearly too much. Not much sleep. Lots of wonderful conversation. Two concerts 7 hours drive apart. Exhaustion hit as we parked in Oslo and began to walk around trying to find something to eat. The constant prayers in our minds throughout the concert was "Lord, give me the strength as I have none" and "Lord, please don't let the exhaustion shine through, but let You be the only One that can be seen". BUT were so glad we made the quick drive back to Oslo as we met so many wonderful people there! It was such a blessing to worship together and to connect with those who came.

Also I can't forget that at the beautiful and old Betel church Eric met with this beast! Instant creativity boost!

We praise God for how He has led us throughout the last four months. We appreciate any prayers as we continue to minister through Word & song this weekend in Sweden.

~ Monique

Berlin Meets Copenhagen

We've just arrived in Norway tonight and have a few spare minutes to upload some of our favourite photos from Berlin and Denmark...

Berlin. So full of intense history that the day we had there before our concert felt like just a small taste of all it has to offer.

The Holocaust Memorial was a powerful reminder of the horrendous brutality that can and does exist in this sinful world.

The Berlin Wall. A powerful reminder of the results of governmental restriction and control.

A full house at the New Life Church in Berlin, Germany.

Our concert hosts were absolutely amazing! We truly felt at home. A welcome feeling after three months on the road! We are so thankful to those who open up their homes to us!

Our quick stay in Copenhagen included a concert at ICC and a relaxing stroll through the city where a Tasmanian Princess lives.

Can't believe how amazing this Round-the-World tour has been and to think we only have two weeks left until we're back in Australia! We've clocked up so many kilometres in cars now that we're starting to go a little bonkers ;) We will never forget how the Lord has lead and how He has blessed...

Until next time. - Eric & Monique