When Karina married, she looked at her quiet family life. The man was a teacher, and she was glad that he wasn't going to work on the weekends. But life took a very different direction. Today, she runs Waldemar's inspiration with her husband, Jarle Waldemar. He is one of Norway's most famous evangelists for children and young people, and is not much at home on weekends. Together they touch upon thousands of young hearts.
Karina Waldemar – 38 years – live in Oslo – married to Jarle Waldemar – three children of 14, 12 and 9 years – educated teacher – jobs in Waldemar's inspiration
Text: Heidi Gellein
Photo: Atle Havnerås
I am fortunate enough to have a chat with Karina while they are at one of the summer's many festivals in southern Norway. Every summer, Karina, Jarle and the three kids caravan and travel around the Norway to share the gospel with children and youth at different meetings and festivals. I understand quickly that Karina has gone an exciting road and that she has a big heart.
When God calls
– When God calls us further, we must go. It'il be good, because he gives us everything. He cares about all things.
These words say a lot about Karina and the life she lives. As when she after seven years in Hamar and one year in the new house knew that "here I will stay, this is home for me", and Jarle said he thought they were moving to Sandnes. What do you do then?
-It felt like a test. At first I thought we could rent the house and come back, but Jarle had to go, and we should do it properly. It was as if God was testing if I was willing to let go of all this material, at my dream House, and go for something I didn't realise the outcome of. We decided to do that, to take this great step in faith. When the decision was made, it felt good. It was wonderful to know that I could renounce the material.
They were three years in Sandnes before God again called them further. Three years they wouldn't have been besides. Now they live in an even finer house.
– We are only blessed, smiles Karina.
Changed the mindset changed a lot
When Jarle began small travel, Karina also learned that God is going with, even when the calling was not the way she intended.
– I would like to have him at home. I was a lot alone with three young children. Eventually I understood that I could not change him. The change had to happen in me. I started to think differently, take a new perspective. I focused on appreciating what we had, appreciating that I had to be a lot at home with the children. The fact that I changed the mindset, changed a lot. I annoyed myself less that Jarle was so much away, and appreciated the time we had together. I put the emphasis on sharing the good with Jarle, not just complaining, and to make it cozy when he was at home.
Eventually, this change in Karina began to influence Jarle as well. He began to appreciate the family, and suddenly he wanted to travel less.
Family, work and Jesus
Karina and his family do not live a typical A4 life, but her weekdays do not differ so much from others. It's about getting the kids up and in school. Then there's a job. Her office is just a staircase down, since they have a home office in the basement. Here she spends the day on administration, writing books or scripts, sending out packages to children's club or editing movies. When the children come home, there is dinner, homework and time for chat that applies. A little housework will be, for she likes to have it neat. During the week she also prioritises training and time with girlfriends. On weekends Jarle travels a lot, but Karina is not pretty much the same. She's at home with the kids. It is an important value for her to shield them, let them have the most regular and stable everyday.
Jesus is important to Karina in everyday life.
"I grew up in a Christian family," she says.
"Mama had a strong everyday faith that has influenced me much more than the Church faith. When there was something in school, we prayed together, and we received many prayer. Today, this is important to me, the little experiences and the goods of prayer in everyday life. To see that God even cares for the little ones. I don't need the big experiences.
It is important for Karina to keep in touch with Jesus.
– I go and pray inside me. I thank and lift up what I think about. I am unfortunately too bad to read in the Bible, would gladly spent more time on it. When I do, it's so good. But when there is something special, I use the Bible more.
This is probably recognizable to many of us. The same is praying and praying without getting a response. But Karina does not give up, and she has experienced to have the concrete prayer was through the word of God.
"When we were moving to Sandnes, we prayed a lot about the skin. We had one concrete house that we thought about and prayed over. Then I browsed the Bible, and the words that brighled me were "go and buy." It's pretty concrete. When we were selling after three years, it turned out that we had made a wise choice. We got sold it in an otherwise bad period on the market. Had we bought the variety of house we also thought of, we might not have been sold. So God cares about everything.
To mean a difference
The service of the Waldemar couple has grown great. The girl from Gjøvik, who, according to her self has always been a little shy, is with and teaches Jesus to children and youth throughout the country. Now they are also betting on reaching couples through a book and seminars. The family is important to Karina. Not only her own, but the family as an institution. It has been a busy road, where Jesus only becomes more important and more important.
– We are and have always been very dependent upon God in what we do. At the beginning when we built up the service, we experienced not having the salary to pay those we had hired. Then it was just to pray, and it came money into the account the night before. We have been experiencing a lot that strengthens our faith.
Karina lives an exciting and rewarding life. It is also at times a tiring life, in which she renounces a part. But she thinks she's lucky, and she's going to support Jarle for as long as he's in the service.
"It's amazing to be allowed to make a difference. "If others can get something good out of what we do, it's worth it," said Karina. Although it is far from the quiet family life she dreamed of when she married her teacher from western Norway.
Did you know that Waldemar's inspiration
– has sold over 175.000 products
– is streamed over 1,000,000 times
– had over 1400 collections
– has produced over 35 products and released over 100 releases
- 8 CDS
- 13 DVD's
- 18 Books
- 43 Children's Club releases
- 25 Children's leader products (such as singback, note booklets etc.)
(Taken from www.jarlewaldemar.no)
Karina is strongly complicit in this, as the author of books and screenplays, editing movies and managing the Children's club. She also holds seminars for marriage in connection with their latest book, "How to become a good marriage even better."
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