Spring is coming…I hope

April in Sweden is very unpredictable. It started with lots of sunshine and reaching about 50 degrees each day (10 degrees C). But for the past week it has been back to the 30s and snowing…every day! Spring where are you??? Come quickly!

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”   John 16:33 
  
Words from a Ukrainian church leader: 
“We pray and believe that God is fighting for our country, it is He who gives special strength to our military to restrain the onslaught of the enemy who is more numerous than us, stronger and has more weapons, but we are defending our land. The truth is with us! God be with us! We need your prayers, your words of support, your financial support to serve even more of those on the brink of life and death.” 

Please pray for the following requests: 
-Continue to pray for peace talks to bear genuine fruit and for a ceasefire. 
-Pray for wisdom, strength, and protection for those continually going into dangerous areas to rescue people. 
-Pray for Christians to be overcomers of their circumstances in Christ. 
-Pray for the right kind of humanitarian help to arrive at the right time to the right places. 
-Pray for revival within Ukraine and through Ukrainians across the countries where they have been scattered. 

Thank you for uniting with us in prayer for Ukraine.

GCE is accepting funds at https://www.gceweb.org/praygive/  
(Please note “Ukraine Crisis Fund” in the Comment section).
 One hundred percent of donations go directly to relief efforts. 
It was an incredible gift to get to host a team again. H2O Church from Kent, OH spent a week laboring in the harvest. Our time included islamic apologetics, training times, prayer walks, and engaging people.

One of the guys we met, let’s call him Matt, attending a swedish coffee night after meeting this team. He met with Peter and shared how he had met the team, heard the gospel and want to talk more. He expressed desire to be set free from all the demonic stuff he had been part of. Matt received prayer and agreed to meet Peter again for more discussion.
It was a gift getting to celebrate my neighbor’s birthday with her community. Women from Armenia and Syria gathered with song, dance and food to celebrate Nelly. I was able to connect with more ladies that live locally with the hope for further connection. Thankful to get to be invited into these women’s live at a deeper level. Please join me in praying for schedule’s to work out between jobs and children for a women’s bible to start to further fellowship and minister to these women at a spiritual level.
– Tuesday, April 12th: I will start a bible study with “Barbara”, a 20-year old muslim girl who lived most of her life in Sweden. She is very interested in Christianity and wants to learn more. – Supervision opportunities. I have the privilege of getting to be a supervisior for a few of the women on the field. Really they are incredible sisters and make sure we get consistent time to talk and share life. Pray for ways I can serve them well and encoruage them with what God is doing in and through them. – Internation Church start-up. The sunday service is in english and arabic. The core group is a mixtrue of christian arabic culture, background muslim cutlure, bulgarian, moroccan, and then there is me. Please pray for the core group to own the vision and for a few more to step up to help lead. Every other Tuesday night I lead an Old Testament Survey Study for this group on zoom. Please pray for us as we continue to know God through His word and encourage one another to live out His truths. – Finally please pray for my almost finished first draft for a phd proposal in missiology. I believe God has opened up a door for me to do research about integration for refugees into christian community for the desire to learn best practices.

Thank you for walking with me in this journey! Thank you for making this ministry possible! May we see the Lord move in us and through us wherever we are! Blessings to you and your families. Please feel free to reply with updates from your world as I keep you prayer.

Touching base

Ukraine Update. The response of support to Ukraine has been overwhelming these past two weeks. Our leadership is in constant communication with thirty to forty organizations collaborating together across the border of Ukraine. We have a small team arriving in Poland today to connect with locals to minister at two shelters receiving new busloads of women and children. Of course, we are all eager to learn more about how we can support and help in tangible ways. Please continue to pray; here is a guide to help you. A relief fund is set up so that 100% of the gifts will go towards the need. Feel free to reach out if you would like to talk, process, or learn more.

Travel is happening. Even in light of these events, we are still working locally while being open to what can shift to engage Ukrainian relief efforts. The first of five teams will arrive in Stockholm on March 26th. We will have a week of training and outreach to engage many people. Pray for opportunities. Pray for those struggling, especially in light of these global events, that we would be able to minister to people and bring encouragement and hope.

Summer Project – LINC. Two weeks ago, I was able to go to Cologne, Germany, to get to do ministry alongside the team there and make preparations for our summer project. This summer, we will host Euro-LINC (Laborers Impacting the Nations for Christ). It is open for the entire European network to encourage people in their faith and increase their confidence in living out discipleship values in a local community. We will serve alongside local churches in Berlin, Dortmund, Cologne, and Stockholm. Applications are due April 1st, so please pray for those still on the fence about diving in with us.

International Church Group. Inside this building, I have been invited to work with some friends that launched a new International Church group. The community is a group of people coming from brokenness, traffic situations, and Islamic backgrounds. We may have 6 to 15 people on a given Sunday. Please pray for us as we take steps for them to know Jesus, walk with Jesus and be a healthy church.
Thank you for partnering with me to make this ministry possible. Thank you for praying and encouraging me. Thank you for praying for the work. As spring approaches, we are looking forward with anticipation of a new season.

Update on how to help our community in Ukraine

In 2019, we held our Leadership Summit in Kyiv. This site marks the memorial to the heavenly hundred who lost their lives in what became known as the Revolution of Dignity. It was sobering getting to learn about Ukraine’s history of suffering and occupation as well as the people’s courage, strength, and determination to be a free people.

What the people have been facing since the full-scale war broke out at their doorsteps is challenging to fathom. What we are sure of is they need our help. The needs are significant. In the same way, Jesus miraculously fed the 5,000 with just five loaves of bread and two fishes (Matthew 14:13-21), together we can trust God to multiply and supply for the multitudes as we offer our help. Ukraine Relief Fund provides humanitarian aid to meet the fundamental needs of those facing the desolation of war. We know their names, their faces, their hearts. They are brothers and sisters who have been within our partnering organization’s fellowship of churches across all four corners of Ukraine. Some are sheltering in place or evacuating to nearby countries or taking in refugees. Please consider bringing what you can, as He uses the Body of Christ to love and show compassion to His people. 

100% of donations will be given to the relief effort.

There is no overhead fees or payment made towards a person’s salary.

To give in the United States, you can use this link: reliant.org/ukraine.relief.fund

To give in Europe, you can donate through Stichting GC Europe:
Acct: 62.80.52.049
ABN AMRO Bank Amsterdam
IBAN: NL29 ABNA 0628 0520 49

Please continue to pray:

  • Pray for strength as many have not slept, for endurance
  • Pray for the leaders as they look to aid multitudes as well as communicate with others in how to help
  • Pray for communication. Pray that any attempt to take out communication sources by the Russians would not succeed.
  • Pray for the Russians to decide not to fight and return home
  • Pray for the women and children that have fled for safety, leaving behind their fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons.
  • Pray for us in western Europe to aid in finding homes for them to be welcomed into, to be available to assist with practical items, and for wisdom in taking steps forward