Door to Door

 

     Recently, I have been using some of my time to go from door to door here in Norway.  I started before Christmas and continued in the beginning of the New Year.

     It has been a rather special experience to canvass in my own home area.  I chose two big villages, Hov and Fall, on the east side of Randsfjorden, the lake by which I live.  This is where I went to school from the seventh to the ninth grade, and as I went from home to home I saw many familiar faces.  It was a privilege to meet many of my teachers from the time I had gone to school.  Several of them remembered me.  One teacher told me she had been thinking a lot about my sister and me, and she really wanted to find a time when I could come back and we could talk more.  I had many opportunities to tell about how God had led in my life, since I left school.

     I also met my English teacher who was the consular at the school.  When my ninth grade came to an end, she was a bit bothered about my strange decision to do mission work instead of continue my education and had put forth effort to encourage me to use my good grades and get some kind of “normal” education, but without success.  I had another life calling.  Now, after more than 15 years, we could sit together again, and she could see that my life had been rich in so many ways, even though I had refused to follow “normal procedures.”  Her husband was also a teacher at the school, and he bought my cooking book as a Christmas gift for her.  She herself bought my music CD “From Eden to Eden.”  Of course our conversation was also spiritually related.

     Almost all the teachers I met bought something and many others were also buying.  It was almost surprising how easy it was to sell my books.  Almost all who bought something also received a pamphlet about the eight laws of health entitled.  The Way to Health (a pamphlet my dad wrote).  This pamphlet also clearly speaks about the spiritual aspect of health.

     One evening I came to a cabin in the forest.  A young man opened the door and invited me to come in.  Oh, yes, he was also willing to buy the cookbook, but he was also curious: ”What kind of philosophy is behind your engagement?” he asked.  I told him I was a Christian, and now it was his turn to challenge me: “I have talked to Christians who claim that the devil was an angel in heaven, but that he fell,” he said, “but no one has been able to show me where this is found in the Bible.”  It was not the hardest question he could have asked, and soon the Bibles were on the table.  He also had a Bible, even though he was an unbeliever.  Yes, he was actually collecting old Bibles.  We had an interesting conversation and had the opportunity to share several Bible verses with him.  He really respected that I could prove my beliefs with the Bible.  Praise God who lets the Holy Spirit remind us of the Word when we need it!

     The young man told me that his girlfriend recently had become a Christian, and now she had a burning desire for him to experience the same.  But he wasn’t so sure about it.  He was still clinging to his unbelief.  “But,” I said, “God has heard your girlfriends prayers for you, and it is not by accident that I came to you tonight.  God will call you.  He will not easily give up!”  With such thoughts I left him, and I also left a book behind, hoping he would have a look at it.  It is interesting to see how God is leading us to people that others are praying for.  Prayer is power!

     Some days ago I went to Telemark to canvass there for a couple of days.  Kjersti Holtedahl is working as a Bible worker for a church in Notodden, and together with three of the children from the church we went from door to door.  The first day was truly amazing!  We did not go for many hours, but so much happened in such a short time.  Notodden church is planning to do a cooking school in the spring, and some people accepted an invitation for the up coming event.  Quite a few people signed up to receive our health course “The Way to Total Health” through the mail and people were also buying E.G.W. books.

     After a while the children started to get cold.  I could also feel my feet were getting cold.  “Let us pray that God will open the way so we can get inside a house for a while,” I said.  One of the girls sent up a prayer to our good Father, and it did not take long before we came to a nice house at the end of the street.  This day I switched from introducing with health and went straight into presenting The Great Controversy.  As we rang the bell I stood ready with the book in my hand, but it was like the Holy Spirit impressed me to start with health.  The young lady was very friendly and invited us in.  In the warm kitchen we could share thoughts about health and faith.  The children could warm up, and the lady bought The Ministry of Healing and signed up for the health course.  She also wanted information about the upcoming cooking school.  We told her she was an answer to prayer and that one of the girls had prayed that we would come into a house to warm up.  The lady seemed touched by the visit.  I understood that she had a spiritual interest, but she told me that she usually did not talk about it.  We soon thanked her and left, but found out we had forgotten our pen.  I ran back, and the lady opened again.  This time we only had a short conversation, but it turned in the spiritual direction.  “I can see that you are on fire for what you are working with,” she said, and in her face I could read that God had been touching her that day.  I look forward to keeping in touch with her through the health course, and God willing, I also hope she will find the way to the cooking school. 

     Our day was coming to an end and we reached some houses where old people lived.  Outside on the road we saw an old man who had been for a walk.  I went up to him and told him about our mission and that we wanted to show him a very special book.  He walked with us to his doorway, and took a look at The Great Controversy.  “I have this book,” he said.  “I have read it.”  We found out that he not only read it one time through, but had also read some of it more than once.  He disappeared into his house and came out with a book in his hands and indeed it was The Great Controversy.  He agreed that all that the book said was in harmony with the Bible, and he willingly purchased The Desire Of Ages.  I could see that he was a precious soul, and I decided to ask him if he would like to have personal Bible studies.  I knew that this was a part of the work Kjersti wanted to do as a Bible-worker.  The man was at once willing!  We got his name and phone number, and as I write these lines Kjersti and the elder of the church have paid him their first visit, and the elder has agreed to meet with him for a second time.

 

Stine Gro Struksnaes

 

 

Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel.