he grew up at børsa in sør-trøndelag, norway. he was the son of julius aarvik (1890–1961) and louise lie (1889–1973). after finishing folk high school in 1933 he was hired as a secretary in the norwegian lutheran mission society ("det norske lutherske indremisjonsselskap"). from 1940 to 1946 he was the mission secretary in stavanger.