Happy Friday, friends. Because of everything that is happening, I would love to share a few stories and ways to pray!

Teen Challenge arrives today to participate in seeking God, growing in their spiritual journey, be further establiched and equipped in the work, and serve the neighborhood in a vareity of ways. Pray for Emily, Christoffer-Robin, Johannes, and Hampus for the next two weeks.

As Teen Challenge departs after breakfast on October 1, a team of 13 will arrive that afternoon. This next team is a group of students who have chosen to attend a Bible school during a gap year between senior high school and university. They will stay for four days and dive into the work. This will be the 6th team this year. As this will be our last push to engage the neighborhood and look for new friends, please pray that all the seeds that have been sown this year will grow.

We met, let’s call him Adam, this past June at the coffee table. He moved to Sweden 10 months ago from Afghanistan. He was able to hear stories about Jesus for the first time. He continues to meet to learn more and attends our house church. Pray for him.

The middle school girls, Ani & Olivia, continue to pop over here and there to bake, study, get tutoring in different subjects, and study the Bible. Pray for them to have courage and continue to take steps to grow and understand what it means to follow Jesus, and that something more consistent would form to engage the youth in the neighborhood.

There are a few teams I have the gift to serve on that focus on strengthening our vision and practice in seeing Kingdom Expansion in Europe. I appreicate prayer for wisdom and discernment as I engage in different conversations, to listen well, and that as a team we would understand how to move forward well so that the established works would be encouraged and strengthened, and that pioneer work would continue.

• The Advisory Team is a group of leaders that represents the Great Commission Europe Fellowship of Churches. We will have our yearly meeting starting on October 13. Our conversations center around how God is moving, how we can support what exists, and where we might start something new. Thankful for a way to serve the larger community of believers in Europe.
• As a subgroup of the advisory team, I get to participate in our expansion team. This team looks for ways to help others be equipped for being more active in their area, as well as helping start new projects that could lead to new churches. Following the advisory team meetings, a few of us will stay and provide training for the local team. Please pray that we would be an encouragement to them and for discernment as we make our final plans for the training.
• I have recently stepped into the role of chair for a board that exists for a nonprofit to exist in the Netherlands, to allow for workers there. Pray for me as I desire to grow in understanding of how to support and encourage a work from this angle.
• Our GCE Team, which focuses on church planting among the least-reached people groups in Europe, will have our annual vision retreat in November. We have the goal to peer coach one another in keeping a clear vision and pathways to engage intentionally in the work entrusted to us. Pray for us as we prepare and seek the Lord in how He wants us to work this next year.

Study Update. PLEASE PRAY for me these days as my defense is on Wednesday, September 24th, 9 a.m. Eastern time. I am super nervous and, of course, juggling lots with the arrival of the team, the local work, and preparations for the defense. Trusting my supervisor’s opinion that I am ready for this, I will look forward to graduating in person this coming December, which means getting to be in South Carolina for a bit. I will look forward to getting to see many of you.

Financial Update. A very big praise for the $1200 of one-time gifts that have come in, helping keep the account in the green this year. There is still a need of $2000 to cover expenses for the next months. If you or someone you know is able to contribute, click here. Thank you for continuing to partner in the gospel with me!

Happy Friday! Talk soon!