Holsbybrunn

Today was a long day of driving from Lund back to Stockholm, with a restful and special stop at Holsbybrunn in the afternoon.  We left Lund in the late morning and drove north to Holsbybrunn, which is a Torchbearers Bible School ( http://www.torchbearers.org ), set in a beautiful wooded location in rural Sweden ( http://www.holsby.org ).  The school has full-time students from Fall through Spring (this year’s class has just left) and then, in the Summer, Holsbybrunn hosts camps for: students; confirmation groups from Swedish churches; and families.  They also host a large family-friendly Midsommar Afton (Midsummer Evening) celebration, June 24 this year.

We met with some of the leadership from Holsbybrunn: John Poysti (Director), Luke Thomas (Principal of the Bible School), Jonathan Miller (Director of Camps/Retreats) and some of the staff: Ingelis, Claudia, and Elke, for a time of fellowship and prayer.  First we shared Fika with the group, and then they gave us a brief tour of the “adventure” part of the camp (with climbing walls, an elevated rope course, a giant swing, and other activities).  Then we sat in an outdoor picnic area for a time of sharing and prayer.  Specific prayer requests for Holsbybrunn include:  a construction project to create an indoor gym and worship space is on hold due to slow financial support; the Bible School would like 15-20 more students to apply for the Fall Semester; more Swedish students to study at the school (most students are non-Swedish internationals, Americans or Europeans, typically); more groups to sign-up for summer programs; direction for the leadership team to help set the priorities at the school; preparation for their summer staff, which will take place shortly.

After leaving Holsbybrunn, we continued on our travels back to Stockholm, arriving late in the evening.  We will be in the Stockholm area for the rest of our time in Sweden.  Tomorrow, the Mega-Bus goes back to its garage…

Christine and John Poysti and Karen and Andrew

Jonathan Miller, John Poysti, and Andrew

Christine Poysti, Kristi, Caroline, and Karen 

Luke Thomas

Claudia, Ingelis, and Elke

Lund

Today our team was in the historic city of Lund for the entire day.   We began the morning finding a parking spot for the Mega-Van, which was a difficult task in a city with many walking areas, old and narrow cobblestone streets, and parking garages with 2.0 meter height limits.  After a brief tour of Lund, we parked and met two sets of people outside the Lund Domkyrkan (the Lund Cathedral, which is a state church building that has been standing in Lund since the 11^th century).  We met Bryan and Lindsey, who are part of the leadership staff for Agape Sverige.  We also were joined by Daniel and Joel, who are children of an old friend of Paul and Karin, from their early days in Sweden.   Daniel (22) and Joel (20) were with us for part of the day in Lund.  They are college students from the U.S. with dual citizenship (U.S. and Sweden) who are playing baseball for an elite team in Sweden this summer; then, in August, they will be playing for the Swedish national team in the European Championships in Amsterdam.

After getting all the groups together, we walked to a local church, where the Agape Sverige staff hold bible studies for students at Lund University.  We were given an overview of the effort that is ongoing with Agape.  There are significant outcomes to be thankful for in their work in Lund: they have seen more students (8) become believers this year than any previous year; they have a strong student and staff leadership; the student believers are starting to disciple other students who are newer believers; they are expanding their outreach to the University in Malmö, which is a larger neighboring city.  Specific prayer requests for this group include: approval of applications for visas to stay in Sweden; support raising for a group going on a summer project to Iceland; growth in believers at the University in Malmö; reaching more students through evangelism outreach on the campus in Lund. 

Our group did a prayer walk across part of the campus in the afternoon.  We prayed for the students and faculty within the specific buildings that we would pass by on our walk.   We also had some good personal prayer time with three other members of the Agape staff (Emily, Rachel, and Thomas).  We separated into small groups and had this prayer time within the walls of the medieval cathedral, which was a very moving experience.


Paul with Lindsey and Bryan (Agape Sverige staff)


Daniel and Joel and Andrew

The Lund Cathedral (Lund Domkyrkan) (and Darcy…)

Thomas (Agape staff) and Andrew

Interior of Domkyrkan