God’s grace and precious peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the only writing paper I have left. It’s not fancy, but that isn’t what you’re focused on.

Br. Th. Plum came on Maundy Thursday and was here for eight days. His son came along but went home earlier because of school. They stayed at a hotel here. Br. Plum was a lovable old man. We had a small festive gathering on Good Friday. We were in Moss the day after Easter, where we had some exceptionally good meetings. We were here until the last day of Easter. We then accompanied Plum to Kristiania, where Agnes Thelle, Sr. Gregersen, Thorborg, Mrs. Barratt, Mrs. E. Andersen and her husband, Severin Larsen from Fredrikshald, Kristoffersen, Kristian Olsen (Holmsbo), and others congregated at the Augustin Hotel on K. J. Street. Erik Andersen and Kristian Olsen were here for 3 days before we went to Kristiania. Br. Plum had many irons in the fire, and getting someone to visit all of his churches was one issue that he was especially fervent about.

We had conversations when we were together, but his mind was all over the place, so we didn’t get as much out of our time together as I had hoped. I think he needs to die to everything in order to get real clarity, because he doesn’t have complete rest in God. He was very generous; he gave away 72 kroner worth of Bibles in Kristiania and gave away huge sums of money. Br. Kristoffersen will travel to Copenhagen and start working there as soon as he finishes technical school in July. He will be making 100 kroner per month.

Personally, I did the best I could for Br. Plum, but I’m quite sure that I was, and remain, an enigma to him. I have never before been so keenly aware of the fact that I am profoundly unsuited to socialize with people. God wants to have me before Him alone, in quietness. I generally don’t mingle with people, as I am entirely unsuited to rub shoulders with them. For me to seek to please people would be unfaithfulness to God. For this reason, I understand very well that there is a gulf between Br. Plum and myself, and I think he feels the same way. To smooth over this gulf would be unfaithfulness. I didn’t ask Plum for anything, but he asked me to come to Copenhagen right away for six months. I told him that wasn’t possible as I am about to go to sea. On the other hand, I may apply for three months’ leave in the fall in order to go down there and work at the paper, in exchange for room and board.

My task is to stand before God and to do His work. It’s by no means certain that all those we meet or those who come from far away to hear the wisdom of Solomon can or will receive the testimony that God has given us to proclaim. Situations like these are certainly not easy, but God, who is mighty to deliver us from every difficulty, also allowed me to be in rest in this situation.

Apparently Sr. Agnes Thelle also expected that these things would now come into order, but God always deals with things differently than what we would have imagined. That’s why I was also able to take these expectations in stride.

Entering the sanctuary requires death. People expect to enter in without dying, and that’s why they are disappointed time and time again. A person has to just keep at it until he learns. Many people talk to Jesus these days, but nevertheless, they don’t become like Him right then and there. If we want to become like Him, we must take up our cross and follow Him. To be sure, hearts can burn when the Scriptures are opened, but they soon revert to their usual feelings.

We had a wonderful time at the hotel in Kristiania. Agnes Thelle wept when she spoke about leaving so many dear friends. They waved until we had disappeared from sight. We traveled on the steamer Dronning Maud to Horten, and Br. Plum continued on to Copenhagen. He gathered quite a few friends who would not have otherwise had the opportunity to come together. Erik Andersen had been thinking for a whole year that you would be a good candidate to travel around to the churches. Br. Plum also shared the same opinion. Apart from that, we didn’t speak about individuals, but only about the necessity of there being fathers in Christ (shepherds and teachers), which are so lacking. Right at the end of our stay, Br. Plum was just about to send you a telegram, but I dissuaded him from doing so as it was too late—it was right before we left.

God guides our ways according to His counsel. He understands best what we need. I will soon be heading out to sea again. There are many things that must be pruned away from us. We are not as perfected as we would like to believe, but God deals with us a little at a time. We have to be obedient to the Spirit in every area in our life, because only then do we have power. God’s kingdom is neither in words, nor in the doctrine of liberation, nor in the baptism of the Spirit, but in power. It is power that does a work. There is no use boasting about all our blessings if we don’t continue to be consecrated to the Lord.

We must also keep ourselves pure from this dead world, even if that is a person’s own family according to the flesh. We have now become the family of Christ and the offspring of Abraham, having been baptized by one Spirit into one body, and it is this body which is the seed of Abraham. We are flesh of His flesh. Our bodies are the members of Christ. All those who are not baptized in this Spirit do not belong to the body, nor are they children of Abraham, even if they are Jews by birth.

I’ll end here for now, with hearty greetings to all of you with Lev. 20:26.

Your brother,