script

So I am writing a script for my final project, which I won´t be filming till this spring but we are starting to work on it. It isn´t going too well. I really don´t want cheesy and I think I am so concerned with this that I am throwing out ideas before they are fully developed.
The assignment is to make a 4 to 6 minute video that tells a story (introduction, climax, and some falling action). Not exactly my style, I like stop motion, event videos, and short films that don´t tie up the ends. My first script was actually pretty good but we have no professional actors and I just don´t really want to risk my whole project on some random person´s performance. Also, I needed a dad and old man which is hard because most people around here have accents. I think maybe I will make a Norwegian cast and go with a foreign film if an idea fits, that would be kinda fun! So while pondering what, what, what I should do, to avoid starring at a blank screen I started searching vimeo for some inspiration. It really didn´t help... BUT I FOUND A SWEET VID!!!

Bottle from Kirsten Lepore on Vimeo.

Thanks Giving

Thanksgiving wasn't what I am used to but that doesn't mean it was void of friends who might as well be family, food, lots of fun, or even football.

We had a normal day till about 4. We all dressed up and acted out the Thanksgiving story (preschool version). I was in charge of entertainment with Aubrey and Gareth...

We colored pictures of Indians and answered Turkey trivia, then ate the meal (unfortunately we had ham instead of turkey...), then we made "Macy's parade" floats out of cardboard and anything we could find.

And had some FABULOUS desserts and actually caught a football game live around 9 PM. :)

pictures:

1 one big crazy happy family (half of them experiencing their first Thanksgiving)

2 Ken Robin eating Caroline the Turkey (she stuffed her stomach and her legs so she had "drumsticks"! so hilarious)

3 Andre and Hanna the Piligrim couple

4 Lyndsay she was supposed to look like a piligrim but I thought she looked like a perfect little wife

Lyndsay has been a really specail blessing in my life this week, on Thursday we stole brownies before dessert time, we went for a run and after laughed durning abs for 45 mins, she is soooo joyful.

blessing blessng blessings.

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in the meadow we could build.

Currently I am very much in the Christmas spirit!

On Saturday night I went to a living room concert at the staff house, it was so cosy. I listened to some fabulous singer/songwriters, ate gingerbread cookies and mandrines, and was snuggled in with my friends. :) (of course there were candles too making the cosy factor rise)

On Sunday, Alida and I wrote a song about Katie's love for winter.

And Sunday night, a friend we made at church, Linn, had us over for making gingerbread cookies and Christmas cards.

So if the Christmas music isn't playing it is running through my head.

mucho loves.

how are your holiday spirits?

Giving Happy Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!
I'm thankful for:

a God who loves me and likes me,

my family,

my old friends and new my new ones,

that mail can travel around the world,

airplanes, art, apples, austria

bikes, bumpers, Bible, blog readers

chocolate

dark chocolate

every kind of chocolate

father, fun, fun father

grownups, groovy, grownups who say groovy

happy campers, home, holiness, ham,"I love you"s, jumpers, June, kites, kilts, lamps, mother, music , night time, New Years, "Oh my stars! (and stripes)", packages, quilts, running, rivers, sunflowers, stars, singing, travel, training, truth, unicorns hanging on my wall, voices, vulnerability, wishes, x, YWAM, zillions more.

Today we are celebrating this evening, the Americans are preparing, entertaining, and informing our European friends of this beloved holiday.
This photo was taken by Katie, my mom sent us our little turkey and Katie LOVES it. :)

OUTREACH!

Today I found out that we are going to Austria and Hungary possibly Czech Republic for my outreach. We are going to be doing a bunch of different things possibly including helping with preparation to start a YWAM base in Vienna, homeless ministry, street evangelism and art, and working with modern day slavery. We will be there for 2 months in the spring. The other groups are going to France, South Central Asia, and East Mexico.
THIS IS MY TEAM! A really good one. :)
more details later!

If you would like to support me in my endeavors you can send a check made out to me and put YWAM in the memo. I have paid my self and gotten scholarships for 62% of everything now I just need a little more. Thanks.

Mail it to:

Janet Arneson

P.O. Box 2938

Soldotna, AK 99669

Quote

I have an obsession with quotes. I think it is something about the short snips of wisdom that can be found. Or maybe it is just the format the cute quote marks are like a speech bubble and then there is a dash with a name making that person instantly important, or even better the lack of a name.
I don't know. I'm weird.
But I thought I would post this one, because I never know when I will find it again! I could be married, and that would just be a foolish move! so here it is...
"The mother-in-law frequently forgets that was was a daughter-in-law." -- Author Unknown

Beware of many more random quotes to come. I was actually going to give you a quote on forgiveness cause that is what we learned today but I wasn't able to find it. :)

fun things to fill your noggin with.

In NORWAY:

"I like you." - it doesn't have anything to do with a crush, it just means what it says and it is the most common complement from a Norwegian friend.

They don't know what a pilgrim looks like.

It is common to where high socks on the outside of your pants, therefore tucking your pant legs into your socks.

Norway is actually Norge and Norwegian = Norsk

The US dollar is worth a little less here.

Wedding rings are worn on the right hand.

Candles are a big deal! They are present at all dinners and evening gatherings. I have quite a few Norsk friends that can commonly be seen lighting candles before they hang out. (I am catching this!)

The little kids put on those reflector, green vests when they play after school. (well actually there moms probably put them on them)

It is cheaper to fly to the US and and buy a mac than buy one here. (I totally stole that from your blog Breee!) Electronics and instruments are super expensive here.

The traditional meals we eat here are calorie filled because Norwegians used to be malnourished. Example: last night we ate fish with noodles and boiled potatoes.

Older people here do this whisper thing when they say "ya" while inhaling

Fresh air is a big deal! They say the air is bad and open the windows wide open even if it freezes people.

All the churches worship bands are like mini Hillsong bands and sing mostly Hillsong songs.

BROWN CHEESE! they eat this brownish colored cheese with jam on bread.

Dress up

We have small group, I have told you of this before... so last Wednesday, the small groups were challenged by our speaker Marlene, to dress up together. Here are the results... Above: My Beloved Small Group of Ninjas!

The matchy matchys. (with out Monica)

The Benediktes! (missing Kelly)

Confused? Benedikte is my room mate! A fun loving, beautiful girl who just happens with think that all things pink, glittery, sparkly, or girly are the tops! I fondly refer to her as my Norwegian Barbie. So these girls, all her friends, embraced her style for the day.

And there she is!

small group dress up.

The lovely ladies competing in the Miss Universe Pageant.

They didn't really know what they were... I think Joe Dirt had some kids with Maggie Fitzgerald.

Okay, these boys win. Hairy Potter!

And the tired prego girls. :) haha! They did this because three of them are in there mid-20's and supposedly "old"

Pact!

No make-up PACT.

14 of us girls are going with no-makeup for 3 weeks, the end is our Christmas Party on December 11th. Many a girl around here is very excited for that day. I am excited for the party, but also because the very next day our Christmas break will begin, which means I will be flying to Stavanger with my friend Alida to spend the holiday with her family. It will be quite grand to experience a Norwegian Christmas and New Year, and also to be in a home again.

Ha Det Bra (goodbye)

night night.

sleep tight. don't let the bed bugs bit.

Tuck it in. from Sadie Arneson on Vimeo.

love feastttt

Entering The Story of Robin Hood

Caroline and I being gangster elephants.

Robin Hood chilling in Sherwood

Aubrey has the unique capability to be beautiful while being a warthog!

It took me a terribly long time to put these up but better now than never. This event a "love feast" is a YWAM tradition, it is the gift of a night with good food, costumes, decoration, and fun! In this case the staff put it on for the students, the theme was the 1973 cartoon Robin Hood. We each were given a character from the movie, I was an elephant. Then we were also given a attitude, mine was gangster. It was super fun. You can see in the back round that the main hall was completely turned into Sherwood Forest! The food was quite impressive and everyone made fantastic costumes.

love feast 2.

Wendi the Moose! Prettiest moose I have ever seen!

Oh the bunny family. :)

Prince John on his throne, Robin Hood, Ria the Pig and Anna Marthe the Alligator!

Some costumes required extra padding. :)

The best complement I have received is "You are so creative."

making art.

This week we have these fabulous teachers Dave and Marlene from the 2nd largest state in the U.S. of A.

They are teaching on "Art and Artists in God's Perspective", wowsa! Really good stuff.

Today, I have been working on an assignment they gave on Tuesday: to make a piece of physical art (no songs, dances, or movies), about something in our life that we need to let go, a hurt in our life that we want to be redeemed, thus the name: redemptive art.

So work, work, work... my main challenge is my materials are EXTREMELY limited to paint, newspaper, anything I can recycle. Here I am holding a newspaper/tape heart!

Here are somethings that I want to highlight from the last two days of teaching.

For the Artist:

-Regardless of how you feel about your story, it doesn't lessen your value.

- Everyone is creative, it just depends on how much or how little we tap into our creativity. That doesn't mean everyone can paint amazing portraits but it means the mind is imaginative and acts on it.

-Why is it that when you ask a class of 6 year olds if they can draw, all of them will raise their hands, but if you switch the audience to 12 years maybe 1 will raise there hand? What squashes our creativity and confidence????

- God is the epitome of creativity. He is the only one who has made something out of nothing, we just take stuff them make something out of it.

- Arts can go past the intellect into the heart.

- Do you know the original Artist well enough to reflect his story in your art?

Today we studied the story of Nehemiah, and the steps he took to follow God, then we related these steps to following him in our lives, whether it be art or whatever, stepping out in faith. and I could go on and on and on and on and on and on. But I won't.

mucho loves.

monday off.

So we got back from Mini Outreach last night, therefore we had today off!

I didn't really do much except reunite with my music, art, and dancer friends, that I was missing.

I also went to the post office, bought some stamps, and am beginning to reply to some of the letters I have gotten. 'bout time!

I am currently struggling to write my journal about mini outreach...

I had a rough week, but God still taught me things about my self and himself.

This is a really really really bad picture of the view out the main room's window. It was sunny today, making my splendid little walk to the post office with Cher and Ingrid pretty slippery.

Alida is where a pair of firework glasses... Cher got a box from her grandma and among many many many other things (it was like a Mary Poppins' bag except a box! things just kept coming out of it!) there were 10 pair of these glasses which make light in to a little rainbow of color. Okay that was a bad description but I got nothing else.

Anyways, that entertained most of us at the bases for quite some time!

good day! and it isn't over. :)

heart beat.

At the beginning of the DTS, we made a title page for our DTS. Mine was called Heart Beat. Call me cheesy! I know! But I really wanted this year to be one where my heart was so in tune with God that my heart would be beating the same rhythm. Now I am not there and don't know if I can be in this life but if I am striving after something, I will have to be getting closer.

I once heard about an old lady who prayed a simple prayer every morning. She said "Father, make me as holy as a forgiven sinner can be." That prayer, is the most beautiful prayer. That is what I want, that my actions and words would be love.

The song 'Garden' by needtobreath says "Let the words I say confess my love. Father, let my heart be after you."

Love is a little word that means so much to everyone, it is either tainted or highlighted by life. But God he IS love.

The thought of a holy romance keeps intruding my thoughts, I don't even understand what that is. At first I was critical of the phrase thinking it was another cliche' religious phrase that single people used... but now I think it sounds pretty good, being "in love" with Jesus.

hmmm. as my favorite character would say "tink tink tink".

mucho loves.

catch up. for me and for you. :)

So these are pictures of last week.

This is Raya, my first teacher, and her husband Rudi. He is a famous singer/songwriter in Norway. They were pretty fantastic.

Cher hanging out doing lighting.

I hate lighting, it is super tedious, however, if you don't have your lighting right your video will suck. Even if every other piece is right. So I am hoping that somehow lighting will become something I take delight in.

This is Roberto from Colombia, super passionate about film (when someone is passionate about what they are teaching they are much easier to listen to...)

But anyways, this week I am on Mini Outreach at a extreme sport school. It is a one year program, Norwegians are big into taking a year off. I have been pretty miserable, reaching out to a bunch of too cool snowboarders that are 19 and 20 isn't my favorite way to serve. Give some little kids or a chore and I am a happy camper. But God didn't call us to do what feels safest.

I have been sooo uncomfortable, never in my life have I met such a cold audience but something kinda cool happened. Tonight, I talked in a meeting called "Pit Stop" (goodness gracious sakes alive! that name irks me) but anyways, this was quite the challenge but I feel like as I was vulnerable they changed a little bit. I could relate to them just a little bit better and that made these past days all worth it, cause they heard me.

I still can't wait to be home on Sunday. :)

Pray for the youth of Norway, apathy is a pretty powerful thing.

misses and loves.

Kreativ Uke Nummer To

Creative Week.

This week was film filled. The first 2 days we work with and actress, Raya, who taught us about directing actors in effective ways. Instead of giving them emotions to do like be mad in this scene we are supposed to give them "as if"s for example act as if you just learned that your grandmother disinherited you. Because acting mad can be so many things, but if you give the actor something to play with there decisions in acting will be much more direct to what you want. And much much much more.

Then Roberto came, and he taught us just how much working making film is, but also how artistic it can be. Mostly we focused on getting the perfect shots and many tricks to help with that and then editing. Which ment many many hours sitting in the editing room.

This is just a silly project that I used to learn and practice editing on.

Joshua and the Adventures of the Hair Dryer from Sadie Arneson on Vimeo.

pahaha. :)

Mornings.

Painted hands are beautiful hands.

Attempting to be moose...

I thought I would tell you a little more about my weekday mornings, just to give you a little more info on my life.
So there are a few variations but this is pretty much it. and I love it.

7:00- wake up and go eat breakfast and make my lunch pack
7:15- get ready
7:30- every other week I wash the breakfast dishes...so on my off weeks I make some phone calls to Alaska where everyone is getting ready for bed.
8:00- devos
9:00-10:00... Okay, this is the part that I want to write about. It is just the most fantastic thing.
Monday & Friday- one of the students gives a short devotion and we have student/staff lead worship
Tuesday- Student/Staff lead prayer
Wednesday- Family time. This is when the staff couples come hangout and play games with us. So far we have had a choir show, ski jumped on the Wii, made sculptures...
Thursday- we have group prayer, with the same people each week

Worship and prayer times here don't just include standing and singing, often we can paint and dance too. These pictures are me, Aubrey and Katie after we painted prayers for mini outreach. Which speaking of mini outreach, I'll tell you about it. Each of the different tracks (dance, music, film, fine art) go to different surrounding towns, to schools and churches and use arts to evangelise and also do practical serving for one week. So we leave on Tuesday. :)
We don't yet know fully what we will be doing but I know we get to teach two video classes and have a worship night in a one year extreme sport school for kids who just graduated high school.

loves. misses.

:)

 

this is my family here. pretty much everybody.