Anticipation of what can be!

February has kicked off with a full schedule. Praising the Lord for seeing how He is at work not just here in Stockholm, but the entire country! We are excited for what we have learned these past years in engaging hard to reach people groups, living cross-culturally in a new city, and for a shift we sense in the atmosphere. Building off the momentum built last fall with the number of teams and workers sent, there is much anticipation of what God has in store for us this year. May His Kingdom come and His will be done!

Recently, I was invited to share at a seminar entitled “Spreading God’s Kingdom in vulnerable neighborhoods.” The time went fast telling stories and describing practical activities families can engage so that their neighbors can experience the love and hope we have in Christ.
A group of ladies who labor among refugees in Cologne, Germany came for a mini-retreat last weekend. It was a great gift to have the opportunity to host them and see how they are being renewed as they sat in truths from God’s words.
Last night I landed in Luleå (the first city I lived in when I moved to Sweden 10 years ago…yikes!) The days are full of catching up with people, seeing how they are being used by God as well as preparing for a discipleship training day this Saturday. I appreciate your prayers as we continue to see others empowered and equipped to live out fully a lifestyle of discipleship. I will also get to meet some key contacts for the research project. I am looking forward to hearing their stories and learning from their experience.

An update on my mother…. Thank you for the continued support and encouragement I have received from so many of you. My mother continues to gain strength each week and will look to return to work in a couple of weeks. Please continue to pray for stability in her blood pressure, use of her left arm healing after a surgery, as well as for her to get full nights sleep. Thank you!!!

Financial update. I continue to be humbled and blown away at the generosity of so many making this ministry possible. To date, there has been $12,475 in one time gifts and and $350 increase in monthly giving! We are very close to reaching the final goal. Praying for the final $4525 in one time giving and another few monthly partners averaging 100 a month to cover all expenses for this year. If you have yet to join a financial team for a missionary, here is your chance! Just click here to get started today!

Happy New Year!

Looking forward to a new year with new opportunities and further growth! One of my favorite verses to remind the Lord of is from Proverbs 16.9 which says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” It is a great opportunity to brainstorm and think through all the ways to move forward in this kingdom work and at the same time stay in position before our King to see how He will truly lead in every step!

Here are some highlights of the plans in the works for this year:

  • Local Ministry. Further steps are under way partnering with other local believers and ministries to create a deeper impact in the local neighborhood. Our community group is looking forward to taking steps to develop into a new healthy church plant. A new investigative bible study is being launched to learn language while learning to walk with Jesus. Exploratory steps have started to find a way to get into local juvenile detention centers to reach gang members. More workers locally means more opportunities to be engaged meeting new people.
  • Sweden. This work continues to support local churches & networks in areas of bible studies and discipleship training. Thankful for a few trips planned to the north (where we started) to continue to bring support and encouragement to the groups that have started there.
  • European Network. Thankful to continue to grow as a coach/supervisor to other workers on the field. Thankful for the opportunities to come alongside works that have already started to strengthen living on mission and expanding while also getting the opportunity to see where God is helping us start something new. We have five locations in Europe that have invited us to come and help their local vision while bringing discipleship training to help them engage with new people.
  • Refugee Ministry. Everything that we do is with the purpose of seeing the hard-to-reach people groups have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel. Thankful for the opportunity to continue studies which is opening the door to interview refugees, learn from their experiences so that best practices in cross-cultural discipleship and leadership development can be learned and practiced.

This work is made possible by the generosity of others. Thank you for continuing to partner with me in prayer support, notes of encouragement, and financial partners. I pray that the Lord will continue to bless you and encourage you with what you are part of! Last month, there was an amazing response to the need totaling in a little over $6000 in one-time gifts and 2 new monthly supporters. There is still a need to cover the expenses of this year. If you would like to be part of the answer, click here. If you would like to talk more about this work and what the need is, please reply to this message with some dates and times that work for you!

Update on my mother. Thank you for the support and encouragement surrounding the news of my mother having a stroke in November. She continues to get stronger every week. We are incredibly thankful for the amount of function she has and she will be able to live life without restrictions as she continues to heal. Two big prayer requests. Her blood pressure is still scary high. The likelihood of having another stroke is still a great concern. Please pray for a solution and a breakthrough. We talk with doctors all the time! Secondly, the urban school district she works for does not participate in disability and therefore she will have to go without pay until the doctor clears to go back to work (which is dependent on her blood pressure). Praying for some miracles of financial provision for this month to help alleviate some stress. She has already started the paperwork to retire this June and desires to finish well. Thank you for the prayers and support!

I am state-side for two more weeks getting to help my mother. Would love to catch up with you if you have time while I’m in the eastern time zone. Just let me know what your availability is. Excited to see how the Lord will unfold our new year!

Merry Christmas friends

A few updates. Both Thanksgiving dinners were amazing. Thankful for the meaningful conversations had with friends and co-workers. Thankful in how everyone seemed to linger. Thankful in how the Friday Community Group helped me host others for a nice evening of worship. Throughout the two events, each person was encouraged to write something they were thankful for and place it on our tree. Loved how it turned out! Join me in praying for follow conversations for more of their story to be heard, more truth to be shared, and opportunities to continue to deepen friendship.
There are so many wonderful aspects about this time of year. The sounds, the decorations, the smells, the tastes, all the senses are engaged with delight! This December I will be enjoying the full season of Christmas in New Jersey. After a shoulder surgery mid-November, my mother suffered a stroke. Although there is much to give thanks for her in her ability to function, there is still a steep healing journey for her to walk through. I will get to work from here so that I can help take care of the daily needs. Please pray for my mom, Patricia, as she heals, for the physical therapy both for her left shoulder recovery and the right side of her body which was affected by the stroke.

One of the advantages of being in NJ, is that I am in the east coast time zone! If you’d like to set up a video chat, or if you have a home group I could hang out with, let me know! Would love to get to catch up with you.

Thank you for the prayers and support concerning the financial needs of this ministry. Since the last mail, there has already been a few one-time donations and a new monthly partner, totaling $2400! Giving thanks for the continued provision to make this work possible! Please keep praying! If you would like consider giving, I’d love to chat more about what God is doing. If you’d like to start now, click HERE!

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name ‘Immanuel’ which means, God with us.  Matthew 23.1

May you have your families have a wonderful Christmas season experiencing renewed hope,stronger faith, and an overflow of joy.