Stockholm/Royal Institute of Technology/University of Stockholm

Today we met with the Agape Sverige (Cru in Sweden) staff from Uppsala and Stockholm.  Aaron and Kristen Hughes, Michael and Maryann Mettetal, and Whitney Tunnell have all been working in Uppsala ministering to students at the university there in recent years.  Now, Michael and Maryann are planning to move to Stockholm to start working with students at the Royal Institute of Technology (abbreviated KTH in Swedish) and the University of Stockholm.  Aaron and Kristen and Whitney are continuing with their work in Uppsala with university students.  We were able to spend a whole afternoon with the team, hearing about the many prayers answered from last year’s meeting in Uppsala, hearing new prayer requests, spending time praying for these things, and also just connecting with them again.   We also took time to prayer-walk through the KTH campus, in the Östermalm area of Stockholm.

Specific prayer requests from the Uppsala/Stockholm team:  prayers of praise for Kristen and Aaron, as they have found new housing in Uppsala, their visas were renewed in March, and Kristin has received a “person number”, which is kind of like a social security number in Sweden; once you have one of these numbers, then you are able to participate more fully in the Swedish system (language education, healthcare, working, …);  pray for Michael and Maryann to find housing in Stockholm, which is very challenging because of low vacancy rates, high rents, and a complex system of applying for housing in Sweden; also, pray that the transition from Uppsala to Stockholm goes smoothly (they are expecting a baby in August, so they have additional planning to do); pray for a group of young women that Kristen is discipling and meeting with regularly in Uppsala; for Whitney, pray for summer volleyball camps she is working at and sharing the Gospel with young people; also for Whitney, as she will be in the U.S. for four weeks this summer raising support for further work in Sweden; overall, pray that this team would avoid the complacency that can creep in while working and living in Sweden; the people and society are so well cared for and supplied with every physical need that it can become easy to forget the absolute need that we have for God and Jesus Christ.

Kristi, Kristen, and Aaron at lunch in the Östermalm area of Stockholm

Whitney, with Andrew and Caroline

Aaron and Karen

Paul, Karen, and Michael and Maryann

Starting our prayer walk in the area where Michael and Maryann hope to live.

Prayer walking on the KTH campus

The team with Michael (center) on the campus of the Royal Institute of Technology

Rinkeby and Bredäng

Today we travelled to two suburban regions of Stockholm to meet with leaders at two churches that are both very different and very similar.  Rinkeby International Church is located in an area of Stockholm known as Rinkeby.  The population of Rinkeby is incredibly diverse, with approximately 90% of the residents having an international background (either recent immigrants, or immigrants within the last 20 years).   A large proportion of this immigrant population is from Somalia.   Many of the native Swedes in this area have moved out.  Stephan and Ingrid Haus are leaders at the church.  Ingrid also teaches at a local school.  Markus Sand is the main pastor at the Church (see the May 29 post), but he is currently at a conference, and was unable to join us.  We had a rewarding time of fika and prayer with them.  Also joining us for the meeting was Pieter, who is currently serving the church for a short time before he goes to Calais in France, to share the Gospel with refugees at a large camp set up there.  Specific prayer requests for Rinkeby International Church include:  many Mongolian and Afghan people are becoming believers (the hope is that there would be more); that this church would be a place to train and send missionaries to other places in the world having people groups found in Rinkeby; a group from Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is currently visiting for another week (pray that their time would be fruitful in doing street evangelism and sharing their faith with people they meet); Stephan teaches Swedish language using the Bible as the textbook (pray that he would serve many more seekers of the language and the Gospel, especially people from Mongolia);  pray for the growth of the Arabic-speaking group at the church;  pray for the health and safety of the church leaders.

In the later afternoon, we visited Bredäng Church, which is the church where Tord and Martha Larsson attend.  Bredäng Church is also a place with very high immigrant attendance, although the local neighborhood is not as diverse as in Rinkeby.   There are at least 12 different languages spoken by the people who attend this church.  Worship services are translated in real time into Russian, Arabic, English, and Spanish every Sunday.  We met with Pastor Joakim Davidson, Gabriela (Youth Ministry Leader), Per-Inge, and Tord and Martha Larsson.  Specific prayers for the church include: praise for the 17 people baptized and the 18 home groups (think: small groups) formed in the last year; pray for the country of Sweden, that it would see a reversal in its secularity; pray that liberal theology would stop creeping into the evangelical churches; pray for another pastor to join Bredäng Church (Pastor Davidson needs help in his work at this church); pray for new workers to rise up within the church, including leaders for prayer groups, musicians, and staff for youth and children’s ministry;  pray for the youth camps this summer; finally, a refugee camp for unaccompanied minors is scheduled to be built across the street from the church (pray that this would be a field for missions and service).

Pieter, Ingrid and Stephan of Rinkeby International Church

Pastor Joakim Davidson and Gabriela (at Bredäng Church)