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!