Life update: New season

As you may have noticed, I needed to take a step back from Sister Talk these past few weeks. My life has been a swirl for the past month. A non-stop rollercoaster, a filled up schedule, late nights and early mornings, visiting family, sickness, a stadium event, graduating my gorgeous students and also leaving behind a four - year season of working for Impact School of Revival, Europe. Initially, that was not an easy decision to make to leave the school. The process began in November, when meeting with a spiritual father to process some things with. For the first time in four years, he said to me something along the lines of "I wouldn't feel that it's wrong for you and Felix to move on from here after this year". Nothing had been decided at all, the comment had sort of evaporated up out of the topics we had been discussing. It felt unusual, since the past four years had been really difficult, and though I wanted to quit multiple times, we both knew in our spirit that it was not time for quitting. All of a sudden, now in a season of thriving and loving the work I do, it was as if God was saying, "hey, there's an open door for you here, if you want". That was basically the fullness of that moment. No direction to leave or go, just a door that God made clear was no longer closed. But we both cried in that meeting, especially that moment when he said in his fatherly manner, "You'll always be my girl." Then, realizing that literally nothing had been confirmed or even discussed, we laughed at our tears and reminded one another that there's no reason to cry at this point - for all we know, Felix and I could be at Impact many more years.

But maybe we had picked something up in the spirit.

That same day, the school's principal had called Fredrik and commented "I wouldn't be surprised if this will be their last year here". It was interesting timing, and we took note of that. But it was too much to think about, and so it all remained on the back shelf.

That December / January, I was asked more often than usual what our plans would be for the next school year. It was as if everyone knew something that we didn't. And these questions continually pulled forward my own question back off of that back shelf "Well... what are we thinking?"

In February, the Holy Spirit put it on three different leaders hearts to invite Felix and I to an annual prayer conference at a YWAM base not too far from Oslo. I remember at this point that Felix and I had begun to feel a little overwhelmed by the growing sense of a coming season shift, so going away to this conference was just what we needed. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that many of the people we have grown to love in Norway, from Oslo to Bergen and places in between, were all gathered in one place. We felt so at home in this familiar atmosphere of prayer and the prophetic. Whilst in times of worship and prayer, we both felt the Lord was reminding us of who we are and of the callings he has placed on our lives outside of our work at Impact. It was a powerful weekend of making new connections and receiving many words from the Lord. We returned to Bergen more sure that something new was around the corner, but still completely unaware of what that might be.

By March, we both (me especially) felt the need to get away to think a little clearer and process the many impressions we had been sensing the Lord place on our hearts. Finally borders were opening in Europe. It was still very cold and dark in Norway and I longed for sunlight. We found cheap flights to Rome and made a sneaky getaway. This trip was so refreshing, as it was our first time leaving Norway in two years. To simply be reminded that the world is bigger than Bergen was huge. We had become so used to Norwegian culture, we actually experienced a culture shock coming into a LOUD pizzeria at 22:00 on a Wednesday night for dinner (which is a common dinner time for Italians. Norwegians tend to eat very early, even as early as 16:00!)

Felix and I have lived in Norway for our entire marriage, plus a year of engagement before that. We had 4 months together at BSSM, 2 months in between Italy, Switzerland, Prague and Germany, and four years in Bergen. So the big questions of "Who are we when Norway or Impact isn't wrapped around us?" became a huge and exciting question to unravel. Being in Italy was a blessing to our marriage, our dreaming, and was simply so refreshing.

That doesn't mean it was all rose coloured though.

For the first half of our trip, I was so triggered into fear because the last time we had come to Italy was the most terrible holiday ( Or horror-day) I had experienced. It was one of those trips were everything goes wrong. I won't go into detail on that, but the climax of pain was that someone broke into our car and stole a bag that didn't have cash in it, but had a very precious journal in there that I had been writing in for 3 years. That journal meant so much to both me and Felix, that we both cried and mourned the loss of it as though we had lost a baby. That season of my life was already quite painful as it was. That holiday was one that I really needed, but I returned home more distraught than I had been previously.

After some days of being triggered and having a not-so-nice time in Italy this March, I reached out to the previously mentioned spiritual father and asked him to pray for us. That same day he messaged us was the same day we received a Facebook message from a stranger. But more on that later...

After reaching out for prayer, the trip in Italy turned out to be nothing but a blessing. If you want to hear on that, you can read about our ROMANtic trip to Italy.

We returned home from Italy feeling refreshed, and inspired again. We were now quite sure that this would be our last year at Impact, but were still too afraid to accept it, because we didn't know what was on the other side of quitting our job. Thankfully, I have a great friend and working colleague who reminded me of all the miracles and financial provision Felix and I have experienced the last four years. She encouraged me not to be like the Israelites who wandered in the desert for 40 years because they forgot about the testimonies of who God is, and relied instead on their own strength, which delayed their entrance to the promised land. She reminded me that Felix and I are people of FAITH, and of the many words we have received as being an "Abraham and Sarah" in this generation.

That conversation was a sharp and convicting one, and I knew what we needed to do. Felix and I prayed once more and both felt that the Lord was unmistakingly clear. We both understood that he was asking us to quit. We sensed he was saying that he has something new for us, but we won't receive it unless we have the faith to quit and wait.

That same day, the Lord confirmed his word by sending two different people to me who"coincidentally" began to share stories from their personal lives of when God had asked them to leave on job or place, and then how they simply waited until God opened the new door for them. Hearing these testimonies reminded me that we're definitely not the only people who have been asked to take this step of faith before. God has done this with his people many times. And while the world would call it foolish to leave a job and income behind to simply wait on God's direction, God commends our obedience and life of faith. So, at this point it was either late March or early April, and in private, Felix and I officially decided we would leave Impact. We spoke with our leaders, who blessed our decision (and had been very much brought into the journey with us since November). Now this was the same day that we received that facebook message from a stranger...

"Hi Moorea, did you lose a bag in Finale Ligure (Italy) in August 2020?"

I think I dropped my phone in that moment. I was in total shock. How can it be, that after TWO YEARS of learning to let go of that special journal, it could still be out there? As the story goes, these wonderful people saw the bag on the side of the road. My guess is that the thief looked into the bag and saw that there was no money and immediately tossed it. The bag did have some valuables in there though, as well as my journal there was an iPhone and iPad also, and NOTHING WAS STOLEN. The people who had found the bag had taken it to the police station, where it was safely held for a year. After no one had claimed it, it was returned to this family, who eventually found me on facebook and got in touch with me. The timing of this spoke volumes to Felix and I. God began to confirm many things to us and reveal much more to us about what our past season had been about, and what kind of season we will be stepping into. This miracle was also paired with the fact that borders opened for our parents to come and visit us. After two and a half years of separation, I saw my parents again, and after one and a half years, we also were able to reconnect with Felix's parents and sister. Coincidentally, they all came at the same time, so we were all reunited for the first time since our wedding!

By June, we were graduating our students and our school was saying goodbye to us. I know that I haven't finished processing that, as this school became like our baby. We helped launch Impact in 2018 and have been committed to it ever since. Thankfully, I know that the students will always be somehow connected to us and I hope to continue following up their journeys with God. Many of them have become like beloved family to us. Now it is July, and the word we have for this seventh month of the year is to "strive to enter His rest". Seven is the number of fulfillment and rest, so we are enjoying that right now, though at times it takes a little bit of "striving" to enter that faith-rest and not fall into fear of being out of control or not knowing the future. At this point, we are very unaware of what our next steps will be, so until we know, we are staying put in blessed Bergen in our 40 square meter palace and using this time for consecration, rest and seeking the Lord. I look forward to being able to update you all when we know more, but for now, thank you for being part of our journey in this "waiting"season. For anyone else in a transition season, here are some takeaways for decision making: - Seek wise counsel and covering from a selected few leaders

- Process with the Lord, yourself, and trusted leaders

- Avoid making decisions or not making decisions out of fear or anxiety

- Take a break from social media, or getaway for some time if it helps to clear your mind

- Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He WILL make your path straight.

Much love and blessing from me to you! XX Moorea