As I am writing this, a group of Norwegians are hosting the presence of God in worship on the floor above me.

I didn’t understand a word of it.

But it’s beautiful all the same.

Although I don’t know a word of Norwegian, I recognized and shared what they were feeling.

A weight that seems to settle on you in comfort.

The peace that calms your mind,

One love that fills the room.

---

This was just a group of people who hungered for a touch of God in their day.

---

You can’t help but be drawn to it. I, for one, crossed the campus base when I heard it, catching small traces of voices and instruments in harmony that pulled me to where they were.

This isn’t the first time I’ve stumbled upon this. Only the day before, I joined a small group of DTS students on the lawn in impromptu worship. Before I knew it, most of the 80 students had joined in, with others trickling in from across the whole base. The worship lasted for almost three hours before ending.

This wasn’t planned.

This wasn’t scripted.

This was just a group of people who hungered for a touch of God in their day.

It didn’t matter that they came from different cultures, had different understandings of the world, led very different lives, or even had spent the past few days accumulating over a dozen hours in worship. They all carried the same desire to give thanks to God for the life that they received from him.

I’ve been in situations where I’ve met people from many different places in the world. When I studied abroad in Germany, I met many from cultures I had never encountered. In that setting, the cultures became a blur, and they melded into the environment we were currently in, with all of us wanting to adapt to the new setting of life we were in. Here it’s different.

The culture is as diverse, but instead of trying to blend in, they stand out in celebration.

This is a whole different feel to community that I’ve never known before. To me, this must be a glimpse of what it must be like in the future when all cultures and people unify together with Christ.

Jesus has a way of unifying people in his presence that I am amazed by.

Just in the past few days alone, I’ve gotten to know SO many people.

From SO many countries,

with SO many names that are hard for me to pronounce.

(A couple of names even have letters in them that are conveniently forgotten when spoken outloud.)

It’s been one of the greatest joys of my week to be able to meet them, learn how the Lord saved them, and witness the strengths that the lord has gifted them with.

I’ve shared moments with them in which we all cried together from tender moments with the Lord.

(This is just a guess, but I think it won’t be the last time)

I’ve learned with them as we’ve been on a crazy fast-track of lessons in the past 4 days. With so many sweet revelations and moments of heartbreaking repenting, while we’ve reviewed the foundations of the Gospel.

And I’ve shared life with them, as I learn to live in a room with 7 people and a (home)-base that contains over a hundred people in love with Christ.

In summary, this has been a crazy few days, and I’m even more excited for the next 163 days to come.