Ebert is in town. (town=Eintrøa)

This one goes out to my love ingebeth (have you seen my toothbrush?)
Matt

Second week...

Hi all!
So the first week is finished; starting on another one with a wonderful teacher, Ellis Potter.
Last week was an introduction to World View with a crash course on terms, concepts and the purpose of World View teaching!
My head was full but my interest was peaked:)
Here are some thoughts...
So what is a worldview, Matthew?
Well, how's this sound? "a worldview is a set of presuppositions which we hold (consciously or unconsciously) by faith, about the basic makeup of the universe." Now these presuppositions are ideas we assume before we step out into any action, but we don't necessarily know that we think it. And we do act on them.
What sort of assumptions? Well, like "I'm a human being, not a plum:)," and I'm assuming that I know that for a fact.
Hmm... I hope my assumptions are right...
So why study worldview, Matthew?
Because I have a brain, a mind; I'm gonna try using it to know God and all around me better, and to His glory. And to question what I believe; it helps get to the core of my belief, refines it.
And why not find out what God is thinking about the world in the meantime? That sounds nice:) And because my thoughts have consequences; they're powerful, they can create, destroy, and they need to create and destroy the correct things...
And you know what? Other people's thoughts have consequences too. Some guy (hypothetically speaking), one hundred years ago, came up with a "good" idea, told others about it, they started living according to that thought, and soon a whole culture was thinking like that. And now I do too... Come to find out, it wasn't true! What do I do now?:) We should've been a bit more discerning perhaps?
I suppose I could use a bit of renewing in the mind.

So what's the situation today? Why do I do things I do? Is it because I'm a Christian and have it pretty much down, when it comes to this thinking stuff? Or is it because my culture has taught me this way? Is it bad? Maybe it doesn't matter?
Hmm... but let's find out, eh?
I also got the chance to travel to Notodden to spend Easter with Ingebeth and her family; really enjoyed that:)
Cross-country skiing for Easter anyone? yes please! Alrighty then, have a good one. Matthew

School of Biblical Christan Worldview

Hi folks!

Thank you guys so much for you prayers and support while I was in VA, making it possible for me to come back here and participate in the SBCW. I had valuable times with some of you and appreciate the good send-off.

Been a while since an update here.
Seems I only get inspired to write on this blog when in Norway:)
So I'm back again for 3 months to take the SBCW at Eintrøa. We've had our official opening dinner tonight but we're still missing 5 of 9 students:)
Some are traveling from Africa and have had trouble with visas, plane tickets etc. But we hope they're all here by Tuesday. The number of students will be small so the interaction with the teachers will be maximum! This is the way to get good teaching!:)
The teaching starts Monday with an introduction to world view and philosophy!
The syllabus looks very exciting! I'll give the run-down as soon as I have a copy...

Next weekend I'll be headed down to Ingebeth's home to spend Easter with her and her family.
Easter is no small holiday for the traditional Norwegians, so I look forward to good food, a bit of skiing and a lot of valuable time with Ingebeth!

Hope y'all are well!
I'll get some pics for you as soon as I have a way to transfer my pics to my laptop...that I just fixed! Thank you God!
Meanwhile, here's a nice picture of Norway:)

God bless,
Matthew

The Home Stretch

Thank you for your prayers!
The team training was an enjoyment and I believe a success! I wasn't the most exciting training we've had, but emotions are immaterial! Ok, not all the time, but we want something concrete don't we:)
Alv Magnus, the man who received the vision, recommitted to the project! and will set a new weight on it with the YWAM base leaders. The teams gained a fresh breath of vision: "what are we doing here?.... yes! that is why we joined, and its a good thing!!"

Terje Konradsen, the man in the white shirt there and leader of YWAM Norway's personell department, met with the team leaders to discuss "How do I lead a team? ... practically. How do I relate to my leaders?" and many other essential questions. They were greatly encouraged!
And there was good times as well!
Listening to old YWAMers telling stories about the radical 70s and about real life with God today!
The teams are returning to there towns better prepared than before, with a more realistic energized outlook on team life and work!

I'm now in my final two weeks here at Grimerud and in YWAM; documenting my experience thus far, and working on building a structure for the project that will serve the teams and the vision God has given us.
Please pray that I will have clear thoughts during this period. I want to be faithful with what God has given me, and give further what I need to let go. I need to get lots of sleep:) and make the best use of my time... that's a prayer point:)
Ingebeth and I are doing well. She spent a week here at Grimerud where we were able to spend a lot of time together; a very important part of a relationship I hear:) Please continue to pray for God's will to be done in our lives. Where will we be in 6 months? In the same country I hope! We want to be submitted to our Lord, and we trust in His faithfulness to guide us.


God bless you guys,
Matthew

Team Training

Hey there folks.
Here's a pic of me working in the kitchen during my 2 weeks of practical work here at the base. Had a good time making food and working together with some great Mission Builders.



I'm in the middle of the Team Training right now. All 7 teams and some co-workers in the project are here for a time of training and equipping so they are more compitent when the go back to their cities.
I've been working on the program for a few months, and it's finally under way!
We in the Project Team are
-listening to the teams,
-helping direct them toward a strategy in their city for how to reach the youth, and
-planning how we can come to them with our resources so they can do their job better!
It's exciting to see all of them again, but a bit strange, because it's the last team gathering I will be a part of and the last time I'll see most of them. I start to feel things when I think about it:)

But there is much to be done yet!
Please pray that the teams could grasp the vision and be better equipped to carry it out when they leave this training; and that they would be more confident in who they are in Christ, that they would see Him as the source and reason for all of this!

The next 4 weeks I'll be working with the man that's going to lead the project for the next while, Torstein, to write down and give over all my work to him. We'll also develop a structure for the project that will provide a foundation for YWAM Norway to operate differently when it comes to sending out teams! Really exciting stuff; what's really on my heart to finish before I leave here! Please pray for wisdom, insight, and focus during this next month.

God bless you guys,
Matthew

The Midnight Sun

Hey guys! Hope you're all enjoying your summers if you're in the Northern Hemisphere.
Last week Ingebeth, Per and I drove up (20 hours of driving) to visit a friend that lives a few degrees north of the Arctic Circle in Lofoten.

It was my last week of vacation and we had a lovely time. It never gets dark! weird, hard to sleep. Didn't get to see the midnight sun though, too cloudy. And I didn't get to go fishing either (they like to fish up there, it's an island ya know) 'cause I forgot my pole. So I saved a few things that I can do the next time I go up there:) Man! Norway is beautiful!!!
These days I'm busy chopping wood and doing minor construction projects here at the Grimerud base. All staff here have to do two weeks of non-ministry work each year, and I'm on my first; good to work with my hands again though!
Couple of prayer request here:
Still not finished planning the team training for August - Please pray that the right teachers would be able to come. Ingebeth and my plans for this fall and next year - that we could get to know each other better, preferably in the same town:) and that we would know the will of God!!
Thanks so much ya'll.
Love you guys and miss you.
God bless!
Matthew

questions? comments? Comment to this blog or email me - m_hochstetler@yahoo.com -

I'm not Norwegian........

Hey there folks. Been a while!
Summer has finally come to Norway! And I'm wearing wool and dancing on stage... hmm...
Right now I'm joining a week of teaching in a one month seminar on YWAM youth leadership called "Slingshot". YWAMers from 28 different countries are here and Darlene Cunningham (co-founder of YWAM) was the main teacher for this week. It's been a privilede to listen to her tell stories of how the mission was founded and developed. Many exciting leadership principles were pointed out that will be practical for future leadership!
The picture you see here is of me in a Norwegian national costume just before I danced a traditional Norwegian solo dance, called Halling, for the opening night of Slingshot. Don't assume I'm good or ask me do it later, it was strictly for a one-time entertainment purpose:)
I'm going on 3 weeks of vacation now (I love Norway!!) but will need to prepare for the fall Team Training before I leave. I am leading the team training this fall and am gathering teachers now to equip the teams before they go back to their cities for another year.
Please pray for me and the time that's coming up for these teams. We're making lots of structural changes to the project so the teams come into a more stable working situation, and we need wisdom to not over-sturcture but create solid guidelines.
God bless you guys!
Matthew

P.S. - I have to appologize because I haven't updated this blog the way I said I would. If I'm not going to update it I shouldn't say I will, right?