Long awaited and much anticipated

Hej Hej! Tack så mycket (thank you very much) for your support and prayers while I was in Sweden this summer. This summer I traveled with a team of 25 students and 10 Campus Crusade for Christ staff from the mid-south region to this lovely but lost country. I had the opportunity to meet numerous Swedish college students and build friendships with them. Through these friendships, I was able to share the truth about Jesus Christ, my testimony, and answer questions about the Christian faith.

The majority of students that I talked with had either never heard the gospel or never thought about it as being a reality that God desires a relationship with them. Christianity is thought of as tradition and is something that Swedes do not view as relevant or important to them. It is not what they are taught in school or how they grow up; therefore, Swedes typically see Christianity as something that may be good for other people but not for themselves. Also, Swedes are not lacking any physical needs. With one of the most stable economies in the world, the majority of Swedes live comfortable and “normal” lives and do not think they need anything else. Therefore, they do not realize they have a spiritual void and are not searching to fill it.

I had the opportunity to discuss these cultural norms and personal thoughts with the Swedes I met at Uppsala University. I became close friends with several girls. I spent the most time with Johanna. From the beginning, Johanna was extremely attracted to my team and the way we loved and interacted with one another. She told me that we were different than anyone she had ever met. Every group event that my team organized, Johanna was there. Johanna and I went through the gospel together and discussed Jesus and His life and the purpose of His death and resurrection. Johanna understands that nothing on this earth will completely satisfy her, but she does not believe that Jesus is the only way to know God personally. She believes that everyone has his or her own way of getting to God. Even though Johanna is not yet ready to place her faith in Christ, I was able to see her take steps closer to understanding who God is and her desperate need for Him.

Katie, one of my team members, and I met two girls named Tamara and Cecilia before a party at Uppsala University. Tamara and Cecilia had a great interest in being our friends and invited us out with them on several occasions. Our time with them was short because they left for vacation, but we were able to meet with Tamara for fika (an afternoon snack) and share the gospel with her. She is unsure what she believes, and she told us that she did not know enough about all of the religions to make a decision about which one she thought was true. We encouraged her to research them and the life of Jesus. Our conversation with her sparked thoughts about God that she did not have before.

This summer, I was able to see God’s hand so evidently in situations He placed me in. On one occasion, He had a girl named Marie accidentally bump into me while in line at Uppsala University. She said something to me in Swedish, and I told her that I was sorry that I did not speak Swedish. We started talking about why I was in Sweden, and she initiated a spiritual conversation. It was obvious that God placed me right beside her in line because I could see how she was spiritually broken and had a desperate desire for God. Amber, Campus Crusade for Christ staff, and I were able to meet up twice for breakfast with Marie. Marie had never heard a clear explanation of the gospel and had many questions that we were able to answer. Marie understood that she had never made a decision to trust Christ as her Savior and that she had to do so to know God personally. Marie said that she desires to have a personal relationship with God, but at the same time, she is not sure if she is ready to make that decision. While reflecting on the conversations we had with Marie, Amber informed me that this was the most encouraging conversation she had ever had in Sweden. Amber spent two years in Sweden meeting college students on a Short Term International mission with Campus Crusade for Christ. And I, only in Sweden for five weeks, was allowed to be a part of God’s plan for Marie. God chose to qualify me to help comfort Marie and show her how she can experience Him.

While in Sweden, God used my team to initiate over 274 conversations with Swedes. Over 225 spiritual conversations took place. Over 143 times the gospel was shared with different people, and some of the Swedes we met heard the gospel multiple times this summer. And over 47 people were brought to a point of decision, where they knew exactly how to begin a relationship with the Lord if they wanted to. God is definitely working in Sweden, and that work has not ended now that my team has left Sweden. There is a team arriving in September who will spend a year serving the Lord in Sweden. This Short Term INTernational (STINT) team has the contact information of the Swedes my team met this summer.

One of the members of this team I know personally. I had the opportunity to meet Maleah Pusz last fall at a retreat. At that time, she realized that God had called her to spend a year in a country that she had never been to. Maleah will be able to meet the Swedes that I met and continue conversations with my Swedish friends. She will have the opportunity to encourage and challenge thoughts and perceptions about God and His desire for a relationship with Marie, Johanna, Tamara, Cecilia, and many others. God also has big plans for her that expands beyond the Swedes my team met. But first, she must get there. Maleah needs support both prayerfully and financially. Her financial deadline is August 1, and if she does not meet it then she will not be able to go.

I encourage you to pray for her as well as prayerfully consider supporting her financially. I know how much your prayers and finances have been a blessing to me as a part of my team. God is definitely using your prayers and finances in Sweden to further His Kingdom. Please visit her web site http://swedenforachange.blogspot.com/ to learn more about what she is doing and what her needs are. I have given her your contact information, and she may be contacting you in the next few weeks. If you would like to go ahead and support her financially, you can go to this web site to begin giving https://give.ccci.org/give?Action=ViewNewGift&Desig=0606254Her staff account number is 0606254.

Tack så mycket for all of your efforts to further God’s Kingdom and investing in eternity!

Unfortunately, I don't have much time to make a real post but I do have some prayer request. Please pray that we would be able to continue to meet students as school is ending and most students are going home. These are students that I have met that you can pray for
Daniel
Johanna
Carolina
Karolina
Pia
Tamara
Cecilia
Victoria
Anna
Johannes

Please pray that God would open up their hearts to the gospel and come to accept the truth. Thank you so much for your prayers!!!

My first week in Northern Europe

This experience has started off extremely well. I have a team of 26 students and 10 Campus Crusade for Christ staff. The students are from the University of Tennessee, UNC Wilmington, Duke, Lenior Rhyne College, and UNC. I am a part of a fun group that loves the Lord and is on fire for sharing His truth in Sweden.

We had a long and draining plane ride to Sweden, but it was definitely a learning experience. On the flight to Frankfurt, Germany, I was not sitting beside anyone I knew. On an eight hour flight, I sat in the middle of two people who are Russian. I went into the flight extremely discouraged because I like to talk to people and wanted to talk with students from my project. The girl sitting to the left of me just spent a year in California as an International student. Her name is Natalie. We talked for a while about her experience in the United States and what Russia is like. She was actually wanting to sit with someone in her group of eighty students. So both of us wanted to be sitting beside someone else, initally. During the flight, I felt a great need to go through Solarium, an image survey that we use to get into spiritual conversations, with her. I asked her if she would like to go through a survey, and she happily agreed. As we went through Solarium, I could gage that she probably didn't know the Lord. We talked about some spiritual things, and she told me that she believed it is possible to know God personally and that on a scale from one to ten that her desire to know God perosnally was about a 6 or 7. I then asked her if I could share with her how I believe it is possible to know God personally, and she agreed with excitement. We went through the gospel, and she told me that no one had ever talked with her about this before. She was more interested in the gospel than anyone I have ever shared it with. She thanked me for sharing it with her and told me she had a lot of things to think about. We talked about God and His purpose and plan for our lives for a while. She did not believe she was ready to make the decision to place her faith in Christ, but it is evident that God is working in her heart. Please pray for Natalie's heart and that God would show her how much she needs him. The lady on the other side of me,Nina, was also Russian, and she was a Christian. Nina has spent 12 years in the US and was persecuted as a Christain in Russia. She was extremely nervous to return for this first visit. Please pray that she will have a good experience and that God would use her while she is there.

Our first few days in Sweden have consisted of getting to know the city of Uppsala and training. We have met up with a team that has already spent a year here. They have shared with us things that we can expect and ways to be more effective as we engage with students. Today was my first day meeting students. My partner and I ate lunch with 3 girls named Emma, Anne Louise, and . We were able to talk with them about Sweden and what we were doing here. We learned about their school and got a glimpse of what they might believe spiritually, which is that they probably haven't thought about God much. They have a Christian friend that wants to come to America. We are going to hopefully meet up with them again. Please pray for their hearts and that God would prepare them for what we have to share with them. Please also pray for all of the students we are going to meet this summer, and that God would provide good conversation and fill us with the Holy Spirit.

The area of campus that my group is going to be at most of the summer is the Education department which is a great commonality being an Elementary education major myself. Please Pray that God would use me as His hands and feet this summer and that He would bring a revival to a country that is Spiritually desolate. Thank you for your prayers. They are definitely needed. This summer is going to be extremely challenging, but God has big plans for it.

I will try to update as often as I can, but I don't get a lot of free time. Thank you for your interest in what is happening and your prayers!

It's Only the Beginning

This summer I am going to be in Uppsala, Sweden for six weeks on a summer mission project with Campus Crusade for Christ. I fly to Sweden on May 14th and will return on June 21st. While I am in Sweden, my team of 26 college students and 10 Campus Crusade for Christ staff will engage in relational evangelism. We will build relationships with the students that go to Uppsala University, and through these friendships, we will share with the Swedes the truth about Jesus Christ.

Sweden is one of the most secular nations in the world. Living in a place where the economy is extremely stable most Swedes are content with their lives and do not see a need to be forgiven. About 5% of the population are members of the church and only 1% profess Christianity. Sweden is truly a spiritually desolate place.

God has allowed me to see this reality first hand this previous semester. God placed three international students from Sweden (Johanna, Sandra, and Zeljka) on the same floor in my residence hall. These girls were at Winthrop for only one semester, which was the semester before I am traveling to Sweden. God allowed me to build friendships with these girls and gain their trust. I was able to serve them with my car by taking them places out of walking distance. They told me about their country and some of the things I will experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching God's plan for me unfold through them.

A friend of mine and I were able to share the Gospel with Johanna and Sandra. God allotted the perfect amount of time to communicate the most important aspect of our lives to Johanna and Sandra. Their responses were somewhat different. Johanna is extremely interested in searching for answers about who God is and how she can have a relationship with Him. She is having a difficult time accepting the truth that Jesus died and rose from the dead. Please pray that God would work in Johanna's heart and allow her to understand and believe these truths.

Sandra's response was quite different. She believes that there is a heaven and a state of nothingness. She believes in karma and feels that it is more important for her family to go to heaven than for her to. She does not believe that Jesus existed and stands firmly on the way she grew up. Please pray that God would open up her heart to see the truth of Jesus Christ and our desperate need for God's grace.

Through building these friendships with Johanna, Sandra, and Zeljka, God has grown my heart for Sweden and the Swedes. I love this country and my heart breaks for it, yet I have not even stepped foot in it yet. Please pray that God would continually break my heart for the Swedes and that they would see God's reflection through me.

This semester, God also placed a lady named Ann-Britt in my life. Ann-Britt is half Swedish and lives very close to Rock Hill. She is a Christian and was able to meet Johanna, Sandra, and me. She could speak Swedish with Johanna and Sandra, which was a great commonality she had with them. Ann-Britt's mother lives in the same town in Sweden that Johanna and Zeljka are from. Ann-Britt went to visit her mother in Sweden and got Johanna's parents contact information so that she could contact them while she was there! The way God plans out things so detailed continues to keep me in a state of awe. He has definitely been working in my life this semester and preparing me for the things I will experience this summer.

This summer is going to be filled with challenges, growth, and new experiences. My goal is to update this blog once a week. I want to share with you what God is doing in my life and how He is working in Sweden. I also want to share with you how you can be praying for me this summer. I want to thank you for praying for me. Prayer is the most important part of the process because without God we are nothing and have nothing.

Here are some initial prayer requests:

Pray that God would provide an opportunity for Johanna to visit me in Sweden
Pray that I would rely completely on God and not on my own strength
Pray that God would give me strength, courage, and wisdom this summer
Pray that I would love the Swedes like God loves them
Pray that God will challenge me and make me grow

Thanks for your prayers! Be looking for updates!