Return to Sweden

I was overjoyed when I learned I would be returning to Sweden for another Challenge Team! This time I headed for Malmö, which is located in the southwest corner of the country right next to Denmark. I have fallen in love with Sweden, the people, the culture, nature and the language. It's not very often I find a country that I could say I would like to live in. In fact the last country I wanted to live in was Germany. God answered that request and taught me that I didn't like Germany as much as I thought I was going to.
But now I am in Sweden. I'm with a very different team and we are doing different ministries then the ones I participated with in Stockholm.

Street Church
On Friday nights groups of local Christians from various churches set up tables in the busiest pedestrian areas of the city. Passing out free coffee, cookies and bibles to people on the way to or from the restaurants and clubs. The amazing thing is, that people in Sweden actually stop. They accept the free coffee, free cookies, and even the free bibles with no hesitation. Some people ask "Why?" and the response is always honest. "We want to bless you and tell you about Jesus".
If we were in the states, that's when the people would scoff, walk away, start an argument, or ignore us. But we aren't in the states. We are in Sweden where the people who have had a rich history with Christan influence, have come to be tolerant, accepting, self-reliant and at the same time lost. The Swedish instead answer with, "OK, tell me about Jesus."
It's that simple. We open the bible, we share what Jesus did for us on the cross, no trying to cover up our faith or beliefs, just straight "this is who we are and this is why we believe it". Everyone is polite, thanking us for the coffee, the conversation and the free bibles.
A man accepted Christ last week. He walked by the table a couple times, and returning for a third time shared his hurt and struggles. After walking past the table 2 times, he felt compelled to return and talk to someone. He could no longer resist the Spirit. This isn't a once in while thing, every week seeds are being planted and Swedish people are being saved.

Rosengård
Rosengård, the poorest district in all of Scandinavia, it's where 92% of the residents are unemployed, and 60% of the residents were born in another country. Those aren't exactly the statistics you want to hear when you decide to move to a new part of town. But that's exactly what the members of Thomas Church knew when they chose to move into the heart of Rosengård.
Of the 22,000 people that call Rosengård home, most are immigrants from the Middle East, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia and Lebanon to name a few, making Muslims the number one people group here. Church members are their neighbors, praying for them, holding outreaches for the women and children, teaching them Swedish, and handing out free coffee. The people here are open to discuss religion daily because it's part of their culture.
While helping with Thomas Church, our team has been able to pass out "fika" (coffee and cookies... in case you haven't figured it out yet, Swedish people LOVE coffee breaks). We also cleaned a neighborhood park and played sports and games with the kids. It's all about relationships and letting your life be a witness to God's grace. It's exciting to be a part of what God is doing in Rosengård.

Prayer Request:
That God can continue to unify our team, as we have one week still together.
For the seeds that have been planted. That people will be moved by the Spirit to find meaning and purpose for life in Christ Jesus.
That, through all our words and actions, Christ will be glorified and hearts transformed.