Today I saw Jesus

On Thursday I had an experience where I helped a young guy that was almost passed out when I saw him, and went with him to the emergency room at the hospital. It was a powerful experience in many ways. When I met with the rest of the Mission Year teams after he was safely on his way, we contemplated on Lent and our images of Jesus. This is what I wrote:

Today I saw Jesus.

I saw him in a boy that was completely wasted

A boy that barely could walk, that vomited,

that cried and cursed in despair.

I saw him, and I stayed with him.

It didn’t make me feel like a saint,

it didn’t make me proud of myself.

I stayed with him not because of bad conscience.

I stayed with him because it was right.

I helped him because he is my brother.

I stayed with him because he was, and is, Jesus.

Today I saw you, Jesus.

And I was never afraid.

Because I knew you were there,

and that you would protect us.

Today I met Jesus,

and I will never be the same again.

Peace,

Fredrik

An airport experience (a story about patience, generosity and friendship)

 A couple of weeks ago I was heading home for Norway and my best friends wedding. Yeah, my two best friends were getting married, and I went on a weekend trip to do my duty as the best man, to play in the wedding party band, and to celebrate love. That’s a story on it’s own, but the story I want to share is what happened on my way to Norway from Atlanta. My trip was scheduled in the middle of the first of two “snowcapolypses” in Atlanta, now known as “the days Atlanta stood still because of two inches of snow”. As a Norwegian used to a lot worse weather and a local government that have more experience with handling it, I found the whole thing quite fascinating. But when I came to the airport, and had to wait in check-in-lines and security lines for hours and hours and saw that 80 % of all flights from ATL were cancelled because of lack of personnel, I saw some of the impact the weather had.  (Not to mention all the people that was stuck on the interstates, at schools or at work, and all the people experiencing homelessness that had an even worse week than usual). But in all this tragic and frustrating context, I experienced love and joy. I got delayed by a day, but I’m so glad that I got to experience that extra day (and night) at the airport.