Her story

Manaar*, a 21-year-old Somali woman, first heard about Jesus from a classmate. Wanting to know more, she read the Bible, comparing it with the Qur’an. “In the Qur’an there is no love. In the Bible there is the love of Christ,” she concluded.

When Manaar became a believer, word quickly spread among her family and fundamentalist Islamic neighbourhood. Even an aunt living in the States got involved. “You’re a shame to the family. You must come back to Islam,” she wrote her niece.

Despite the pressure, Manaar didn’t budge. “Have you even read the Bible?” she challenged her family members. “Do you even know what you’re talking about? Have you read the Qur’an?” In fact, they had not read either book, so Manaar sent them electronic copies of both to study for themselves before chastising her.

Her mother, however, would not give up pressuring Manaar to return to Islam. She arranged for three men to speak to her daughter: a 25-year old Somali Muslim, a former Hindu-turned-Muslim, and a Swedish theologian who had also converted to Islam.

Manaar agreed to speak with the men on one condition—that her mother come with her to church. The mother accompanied her daughter to a service, but she was not impressed with the African congregation. Likewise, Manaar was not swayed by the arguments the three men proffered. “You don’t know the Qur’an and you don’t know the Bible. What are you talking about?” she argued.

Later, she overhead one of the men in the kitchen telling her mother, “This will be a hard nut to crack.”

Following the failed attempt with the three men, Manaar’s mother also asked the local Imam to speak to her daughter. Again, Manaar agreed with a condition: that the Imam join her at church.

“I think that’s exciting,” Bertil exclaimed. “She’s 21 years old and a really bold witness. God is doing great things.”

His story

Ali*, a 21-year-old Somali man, met Jesus while trying to persuade other young people to follow Islam. When he was younger, Ali’s family—all practicing Muslims—immigrated to Scandinavia. In the small town where they settled, Ali discovered there were no Qur’anic classes, so he started a group, beginning with a few children and reaching up to 30 individuals.

“He was quite well known, and he was eager,” Bertil recounted. “He wanted to get people really to understand who God is.” Ali attended a local school and learnt the language, “but he tried to get his friends to understand Islam, to become Muslims,” Bertil said.

One day, Ali decided to visit the church down the street from his house. “This would be a good place to go and speak because they already believe in God,” he reasoned. So he went to the church and began having long discussions with people he met. Because he was extremely social, Bertil noted, he also made many friends. Ali attended youth meetings with his new friends, and, one night, found himself with raised hands during worship. Although he pulled his hands down as soon as he realised his posture, Ali continued listening to the speakers and started to believe in Jesus.

Soon, some of the Christian youth invited Ali to join them at a retreat over Easter weekend. Ali agreed and “started to grow more and more in his faith and belief,” Bertil described.

When people at the camp asked Ali if he would like to accept the Lord, he said, “Yes.” Ali returned from the camp as a believer, but for a while, he kept his faith hidden from his family. Nonetheless, rumors spread through the community that something had happened to him.

After meeting with a different group of young believers, including another Somali, Ali felt challenged to witness to his family. The next morning, he asked his father if they could talk. “You know, I’ve actually become a Christian,” he said.

“I suspected that,” his father responded. “Why?” Ali asked.

“Because I have to really work hard to get you out of bed every morning for school. But Sunday mornings, you’re up early, you wash, you get ready, you dress nicely, and then you disappear and don’t come back until evening.”

Although Ali’s father did not immediately challenge his son’s new faith, when his mother found out, Ali had to leave home. At first, he lived with a Christian family. Then, when that family needed to leave, Ali’s parents invited him home again, as long as he did not speak about religion.

Now, Ali has enrolled in a Bible school where he also studies leadership. In addition to the three languages he already spoke, Ali has begun learning Dari and Farsi to reach out to other immigrants. “He is mightily used by God, especially among immigrants,” Bertil said. “God is taking [him] and using him in his context.”

*Name changed

Nicole James is a world traveller and writer for OM International. She’s passionate about partnering with believers to communicate the ways God is working across the globe.

A Cross-cultural mission

Growing up in the Swedish Evangelical Free Church, Hanna developed a passion to both hear from God personally and be involved in cross cultural mission.

In 2011 she started a new ministry with OM Sweden, reaching out to people who are involved in the New Age movement. Before that, she had trained with a Christian network based in Scotland who seek to help believers grow in their maturity and develop prophetic gifts.

Now, she leads a team of five workers who go to New Age health and spirituality fairs, where they encounter people with multiple types of alternative beliefs and practices. This can include involvement with the occult at various levels.

The team has been training since 2012 and for the first two years focused on study and prayer together, as well as going out to meet with people and share God’s love. They take a big tent to New Age fairs in Sweden and elsewhere, offering the opportunity for the festival goers to encounter their Creator God. This includes praying with and listening to God for those who are willing and allowing Him to speak to their individual situations and needs. The team also go to local pubs regularly for pre-booked appointments with individuals seeking to experience more of the reality of Christ.

Light and love

Hanna explains that many of those they meet have opened doors to spiritual darkness and need the light of Jesus.

“They also need to meet Christians who are confident and have deep enough roots in Christ not to be fearful of the supernatural,” she says. “They may have received wounds from a church that has been judging more than loving and sometimes we feel the need to ask forgiveness on behalf of other Christians. We ask God what He wants to do for the person at this point in their lives. We ask for some words for them- something from a God who loves them.”

A by-pass to the heart

Many Swedes have been inoculated, Hanna explains, against Christianity, through receiving a version of it that has no life and is all about rules and ‘who is in and who is out’, and is not built on a foundation of love. The people whom she meets at festivals often have a deep longing for spiritual depth and reality--for God--but have rejected Christianity.

“We therefore have to change our language,” she insists, “and so we don’t identify ourselves as being from the Church. A ‘bypass’ road to the heart is needed. We need to ask: ‘what language would Jesus speak to them; what kind of parables? How can I remain in prayer but also be with people in this situation?’ We want to disciple them, when they are ready for it, but we are just spiritual midwives. It is God who does this by His Spirit.”

Hanna explains how this kind of evangelism can be a slow process. There are many people who are used to being their own master and so it is a big step to let go and give up their life to a God who is good. They may have become hard and independent, not trusting and not recognising their deep need. However, she gives some examples of how God has worked powerfully through their meeting and praying with people.

One woman returned to them at a festival the following year and said yes to Jesus for the first time, and another girl came back and testified to how she had received healing in her relationship with her dad. They have also witnessed immediate and obvious changes in many people, as well as encountering those who keep coming back to them, seeking truth, year after year.

Fear no evil

Hanna asks for prayer that they might walk with a brave heart, fearing no evil and proving that God is who He says He is, trusting the Lord even in very dark places. “God is much bigger than we’ve ever thought,” she says “and more powerful than the darkness. We know who has the victory”.

Plase pray for:

• Hanna and her team, for guidance and protection, for growth in numbers and in their understanding of God’s ways.
• All the seekers whom they come into contact with, that they would start to see Jesus with clear eyes. 

Welcome to Sweden

It’s a cold spring day in southern Sweden and we are standing outside the canteen of a refugee centre on the outskirts of the city. We have a box full of gospels in Farsi, Arabic and other languages and a mat covered with children’s clothes and toys. We’re waiting for the first few residents to make their way up for lunch. This is now a temporary home for asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan and many other countries.

We have come to join Lars and Sarah and others from their church, as they offer a friendly greeting to the refugees and the chance to choose some clothing or toys. Where possible, they speak with them about faith and offer them a gospel in their own language. Sarah and Lars both speak Arabic, but we struggle to communicate with a Syrian family who speak no English. However, one of the couple’s young children stands in the middle of the mat surrounded by toys, offering one to a refugee child who is very unsure if he can take something- love communicates across language and cultural barriers, at any age!

Love at first translation

Lars, from Sweden and Sarah, from the USA, met in the Middle East, where Sarah was studying Arabic. As Lars says, “it was love at first translation!” They married and continued to serve with OM in Arabic speaking countries, but after the Arab Spring, moved back to Sweden. “It was hard to leave”, says Sarah. However, on a visit to this city, they met a Middle Eastern man who was a believer and helped him to start a bible study with a small group of other immigrants seeking to know more about Jesus. The group invited Lars and Sarah to help plant a new church, which now has a congregation of between 25 and 30 people from many different nations.

A multitude from every nation

“We have seen God bringing people together from different cultures, helping them to learn to love each other,” Lars says. “We want the church to reflect this area and be a foretaste of John’s vision of heaven, where he saw ‘… a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne….’ (Rev. 7:9)”.  So, in Sweden, a country to which people are streaming from across the globe in search of safety and a fresh start, a small local church is offering them a welcome in Jesus’ name.

Sarah and Lars’s children are also learning to reach out. Some Syrian toddlers joined their playgroup and seemed to be very sad and serious. The children were naturally shy to approach the newcomers, but their mother explained that these children had seen their house bombed and had travelled thousands of miles in search of a new home. So, the next time they were at playgroup, Sarah’s little girl immediately gave a Syrian child a hug and invited her to play.

The gospel of hope

The asylum seekers spend their days with very little to do and great uncertainty about the future, while they wait for their visa decisions. Even here they are at risk from those seeking to recruit to violent extremism. But their deepest need, Lars says, “is for someone to share the gospel with them in love.” We ask for a word to sum it all up. “The gospel is the driving force for everything we do,” he says. “It’s the gospel that gives us hope”.

Please pray for Lars and Sarah and their children, and for the multi-cultural fellowship they lead. Pray also for the thousands of refugees across Sweden, that those who stay would be able to settle well into Swedish society and that the Lord would draw many to Himself.

*Names have been changed

“I have never seen this many Somalis together in one place for so long without some kind of conflict!” said one participant.

It was the eighth Somali conference, six of which have been held in Sweden. Christian Somalis from all over Europe attended, and for some it was the first time that they met other Somali believers. OM worker Bertil Engqvist, who has worked amongst Somali expatriates for a number of years, says that the number of believers continues to go up. This was the second year of the conference that the teaching was led by Somalis.

Saved by grace

The theme of the teaching was “Saved by grace” and based on the Book of Ephesians.

“Somalis are born as Muslims,” says Shino*, “and according to Islam you earn your place in heaven through good deeds, so it’s important that we teach about grace through Christ.”

Shino organised the conference with the help of his wife, Shania, and Bertil.

Another participant at the conference was Swedish OM worker Faisal*, who normally works with discipleship training among Somalis in the Horn of Africa.

During the conference four Somalis received Christ as their Saviour and eight were baptised. One participant even said, “I’ll be back next year and I want to get baptised then.”

More believers than ever before

Converting to Christianity is forbidden in Somalia. Shino and Shania are among the Somalis that regularly are in contact with their compatriots via Skype for discipleship, Bible studies and encouragement.

Among the 20 million Somalis worldwide there are approximately 1,000 known believers, and the number is growing.

“Since January I have led 42 Somalis to Christ,” says Shania. “Most make contact via the Internet. Yesterday a man called using Facebook and wanted to know how to become a Christian. We prayed together and, before we hung up, he had received Christ as his Saviour.”

Praise God for bringing Somalis to Himself. Pray that many more across Europe would come to saving faith in Christ.

* Name changed for security reasons

Joy loves life.

Her name in Chinese, Lin Chao Yu, means, "trillions of joys", which always seemed appropriate. Born in Taiwan, she had many friends, did well in school and dreamed of one day becoming a movie director.

In high school she focused on drama. The future seemed bright until her parents announced the family was moving to China. At 15, Joy started to fancy a life without her family. Staying behind and pursuing the dream meant more to her than anything else.

But her pastor shared a picture he had received while praying, an inner vision of beautiful bubbles rising and floating through the air until they all popped and disappeared. The message seemed clear to Joy: “You have plans, but if they're not from God they will pop and disappear like the bubbles.”

Her long struggle ended and she accompanied her parents to China. The move meant separation from friends and drama classes, and struggling with English as she attended an international school. The adjustment was difficult. Soon her spiritual life ran dry.

Watching movies became her escape from culture shock, loneliness and even reality. She pretended to be strong, needing no one. She began reading New Age books and watching strange movies. Eventually art became her idol—the imaginary world became her life, identity and comfort. Nurturing hatred for people and reality, pride and loneliness took over on the inside, while on the outside she pretended to be a good Christian girl. This divided life resulted in horrible nightmares when she slept, disorder and confusion when she was awake. She started hating herself and felt helplessly trapped.

Off to sea

Joy always dreamed big, so when she heard about the ministry of Logos Hope she wanted to be part of it. This was a different reality, a ship full of Christian people and a great escape. Her parents were excited about the opportunity for her to experience the world, as well as learn many other things. University could wait.

Before joining the ship in 2009, Joy spent three and a half months doing missions training in Macau, China. Reading and studying the Bible proved to be another life-changing experience as God spoke to her through His Word. A time of healing began.

“I was fascinated by the different characters I read about in the Bible,” Joy explains, “and one night God made it clear I could become like them. I took a shower, and it felt like a new baptism as the cleansing water flowed over my body. I knew the Holy Spirit was working in my heart and I had to give up certain books, music and movies. It was a struggle, but God won! Over time I surrendered my life to Him in a deeper way. The time in Macau was great training. I learnt so much about missions, which I had never had an interest in before.”

After arriving on the ship in Denmark, Joy prayed, “Please take out everything inside me and make me a blank sheet that you can use.”

God answered in His own way. The first few months on the ship were difficult. She did not know what to think or say, and she felt no passion for anything. With a sense of emptiness, she kept reading her Bible and waiting on the Lord. Before ministry times she spent hours in prayer, often on her knees, in order to be ready.

Finally Joy knew something had changed. She felt different, like God had laid a foundation in her life, resulting in a new passion for Him and for prayer and ministry. While the ship was in the Netherlands, this became very evident to her.

One Sunday—her one day off during the week—she planned to see a famous art gallery recommended by a shipmate. But when a Bible verse previously memorised came to mind about keeping the Sabbath as the Lord’s Day, she knew what she had to do. Instead of the art gallery, she attended the morning service on the ship. Arriving a few minutes late, she walked in while everyone sang, Beautiful One.

“Knowing that God is the beautiful one, more beautiful than anything I used to imagine, even the most famous art gallery, I cried and cried,” Joy shared, recollecting the deep experience. 

Living the dream

Through the many changes and challenges, Joy still held on to her dream of becoming a movie director, but this time for God. Imagine her excitement during Pre-Ship Training when she met the ship’s videographer and was invited to his office.

This was the closest she had ever come to movie production, including the camera, computer and other equipment. Soon Joy visited the media office regularly, and before long she helped with small projects. Later, she changed jobs to work full time with the media and video department—another step in the direction of her dream.

Joy felt more at home on Logos Hope. She loved her ministry with the media team, connected with people and knew the Lord was using her and teaching her. As her two-year commitment neared its end, she prayed about the next step.

And even when life feels difficult or lonely, it is possible to experience the 'trillions of joy' God wants to give.

She recalled the first prayer meeting in Macau, when all the new recruits had to pick a paper presenting an area where OM works and pray for it. As Joy chose Northeast Europe, a fleeting thought passed through her mind that this was where she would go after the ship. As Joy looked to the future, the country of Sweden seemed to pop up in front of her everywhere.

She recalled that the very first “test port” for the newly refurbished ship had been a two-day visit to Gothenburg, Sweden. Looking at the OM website to see if there was a need for a video person, OM Sweden was right on top of the list. As she searched for a ministry among Muslims, Joy realised this was also possible in Sweden. Then she heard a Swedish girl pray for God to send missionaries to Sweden to help reach all the immigrants. Joy knew in her heart she was going to be one of the answers to that prayer, but the thought was too big to face.

After all, what could a Chinese girl do in Sweden? She kept praying for God to either confirm His calling or take away the thought.

In October 2010, while the ship was in Malta, a group of Swedish missionaries arrived for a visit. Among them was one Taiwanese lady, who shared how a pastor had supported her decision to stay in Sweden. To Joy, it confirmed the calling in her own heart.

“Being surrounded by all those Swedes diminished my fears,” she shared. “I wrote to OM Sweden—and here I am!”

Sweden: more than Ikea

Joy has now served with OM Sweden for almost two years. In addition to participating in meetings and recruiting for missions, she and other members of the mobilising team are responsible representing OM at various conferences. Joy enjoys contributing her creative ideas and dramatic elements for these projects. With her past experience on the ship, she is also happy to be in touch with Swedes considering joining Logos Hope, and willingly shares about life aboard a ship.

The transition from life on the ship to life in Sweden was not easy, however, and she found the first three months especially difficult. Joy struggled with seeing how many people were dissatisfied with their wealth and high standards of living.

“I thought Swedish people were spoiled," she admits, "and I wondered, 'Why, God, did you not put me in a poor country?'"

It was also a challenge to relate to a more introverted culture. As an Asian, she is used to crowds and loves being with other people, so the hardest thing for her in Sweden is being alone.

"Even sharing an apartment with only two women feels lonely to me," Joy says. "Being with all the people on the ship, rarely alone, is more what I am used to. I realise that I have a big fear of loneliness."

Joy says since this is a problem for many Europeans, she's found many people to visit in the community around the office.

"When I'm alone, I remind myself of God’s presence and the crowds of angels surrounding me," she says. "So I am not really alone! And even when life feels difficult or lonely, it is possible to experience the 'trillions of joy' God wants to give."

Recently, more than 70 Scandinavians who have served with OM Ships gathered to commemorate the ministry and their time on board. Those present represented all phases of the Ships’ history: from Ingemar, who was a First Mate in the 70s aboard Logos, to Emma who finished her time with Logos Hope just one and a half years ago.

With an attitude of thanksgiving and expectation, participants reflected on the past and gave thanks to God for what He has done. Peter Nicoll, OM Ships International CEO, spoke about the challenges the Ships’ ministry faces, both now and in the next decade.

Personal testimonies of life-changing encounters with God and with others were shared publicly and in private conversions around the banquet. They also had a chance to look through photo albums and memorabilia from their time on the ships.

“This was the best reunion of this type that we have had," said Martin Ström, field leader of OM Sweden, after the event. "I want those who have been a part of this ministry to feel how much we appreciate them and to be encouraged to continue to partner with us.”

Another, Berit Thomsen, said, “Thank you for a fantastic weekend. I am proud to have been able to be with OM for many years.”

Peter Nicoll thanked OM Sweden for hosting the event and said, “Every single person I talked too was so encouraged and blessed to be there.”

With summer in Sweden coming to an end and the cold setting in, the young people seemed even more eager to gather, often squeezing into the OM Sweden guys’ apartment for a party.

As team member David was moving out to get ready for future ministry in India, friends around the community were invited for waffles, ice cream and blueberries that the OMers had handpicked in the forest. As a highlight of the evening, they also held a furniture auction.

Dee, a Vietnamese immigrant living in the area, met some of the friends on their way to the party and tagged along.

Being in a foreign land and spending most of his time at work, Dee found it unusual to party with the young OMers. He was surprised to find six guys sharing one living space and commented, “Nowadays even two people have problems living together.” He was impressed seeing the love and peace in these young men, and he knew it had to be because of their Christian faith.

As the party went on, Dee looked around and said, “You seem to be so satisfied while possess so little. You people are so happy and content.” He went on to talk about the rising corruption in the government of his homeland and his disappointment in the society. This made the lifestyle of the followers of Jesus even more of a testimony.

Dee enjoyed the waffles, ice cream and blueberries, but more importantly, he was touched by what only God could inspire in the party. When Jesus is the centre of believers’ lives, even leisure time can transform lives and communities.

OMers Daniel and Hannah, living in an immigrant suburb of a major city in Sweden, have met with a good response to their Saturday market book table. They offer free Bibles or portions in 50 languages, and although the majority of Swedes they meet are sceptics, non-Swedes are often interested. One lady who was offered a Bible laughed and said, “You can’t possibly have one in my language!” Says the couple: “She was so surprised when we handed her a portion of the Bible in her mother tongue.” “I have been looking and looking for this!” said the woman. “Thank you!”

Then two men walked up to the table. One said to the other in Arabic, “Look at that, they have the Injil (New Testament in Arabic)!” The couple responded that they would be surprised how many Muslims are hungry to receive an Injil. The men smiled and said, “Yes, we know all about that. We were both Muslims before and God opened our eyes to the truth of His Word!”

When a father, mother and two-year-old stopped by the table, Daniel and Hannah discovered that this family from Romania lived near them and had been looking specifically for a good evangelical church in the area. Since then, the husband has been attending their Bible study.

Pray that the many who have received Scriptures at this book table will now read them. Also pray that Daniel and Hannah will have more bonding opportunities with immigrants and neighbours as they move towards starting a church.

Those who have been among the millions of visitors to board one of the OM ships will remember the fun of walking up the gangway, buying cheap but quality books and drinking a cup of coffee in the International Café.

Now, a similarly fun experience is opening in another unique place—Råslätt, Sweden!

Right in the middle of the dense, multi-cultural suburb of Jönköping, adjacent to a popular supermarket and busy bus terminal, a second-hand furniture store called Fyndet has recently been revamped!

Founded in 1998 by a neighbourhood church as a means of offering unemployed believers in the area proper employment, Fyndet not only takes care of its own workers, but it’s brought financial and environmental benefits to the local community as well. Fundraising initiatives for projects in Afghanistan and Pakistan have also been launched, extending Fyndet’s impact to the global community.

This month, Fyndet expanded their ministry—this time from within. After months of planning, continuous prayer and the hard work of many devoted volunteers from the church and local OM team, a furniture display area has been transformed into a cosy café.

“We simply re-arranged the articles that are already very beautiful in the shop, highlighting their value,” commented OM Sweden team member Katie (Australia).

Unlike the café aboard Logos Hope, this café does not float, nor does it sell ice cream, but you can decide after you finish your coffee whether you want to take away the sofa you just sat on, or not.

Moreover, Fyndet Café is staffed with a team of women who are excited to meet and care for those living in Råslätt.

Added Katie, “We hope that whoever walks into Fyndet in search of second-hand household goods will end up finding something greater: a relaxing drink, a genuine smile and a quality conversation with staff members who desire to pass on, first-hand, words of trust and deeds of love.”

If you ever pass through Råslätt, make sure to stop by for a drink—and maybe more. 

Every evening up to 100 teens representing dozens of nationalities and various religious backgrounds converge on the community centre in Råslätt, a largely-immigrant suburb of Jönköping, Sweden. The city runs “Underground” on week nights, offering sports, popular games like Play Station and other activities. Three years ago OM agreed to take responsibility for Saturday nights; with the addition of increased staff this September they are now able to open on Sunday evenings as well.

“The kids know we are volunteers,” says Peter Magnusson, who leads the OM team. “The city offered to pay us salaries, but it means a lot to the kids to know we do it free. The officials even pay their staff to hang with us, because they want them to learn how we establish boundaries. We get a lot of respect, even from the Muslim parents of kids, because they know we’re faith-based and we are focused on moral values.”  

Underground was designed for older teens, but after becoming aware of a gang of girls causing trouble in the community the team decided to open a room to 12- to 14-year-olds. These girls have now discovered they prefer to spend time at the centre; and the gang leader’s loyalty to the place is so complete that Peter entrusts her with money to buy snacks.

Rules have to be bent to allow some girls to bring their baby brother or sister, if it’s the only way they can come. But the OM team feels they are starting to carve a place in the lives of these young people. A few have even started to clean up the mess others make without being asked, and recently teens chose the colours and design for a dance/game area, then painted it themselves. One girl told Peter with tears in her eyes, “This place is so important to us. We have no other place to go.”

We get a lot of respect, even from the Muslim parents of kids, because they know we’re faith-based and we are focused on moral values.

Of course, tensions between Orthodox and Muslim youth can easily erupt, but staff maintain zero tolerance for fighting or for boys bothering girls. Occasionally they have to bar someone, but a few troublemakers have later come back to apologise. They have never been a problem since.

Peter has realised that many parents who come from other cultures, both Orthodox and Muslim, have no idea how to manage their teenagers in Sweden. He would like to provide counselling for them. He also wants to start a mechanics course for the boys that will help them earn money as they learn.

Homework help is also a felt need by these multicultural teens. Although Swedish students often employ tutors to improve their grades, the majority of kids in Råslätt can’t afford them. Peter hopes to recruit a few teachers from the international church or students from a nearby teachers’ training university.

Driver’s education opens an excellent avenue for possible ministry. In Sweden, you can reduce the expensive hours at a driving school by driving with someone privately who has been through a course. “It’s hard to find people willing to teach kids, even though the city will cover some of the costs. The girls, especially, rarely have anyone to help them. I am actually teaching seven kids myself right now. These driving lessons give us an excellent way to come close to the teens and talk about everything in a very non-threatening environment. It is the best ministry I've ever done!”

A leadership school has just been started for some of the Underground teens with most potential. “It is amazing how they take responsibilities and identify themselves with us,” observes Peter, “even though they are from a mixed religious and ethnical background. They get teased sometimes but make it very clear that they are part of our team!”

This September, local officials awarded Peter Magnusson a "passion for the community" prize for his work with Råslätt’s teens.

“The award has given me many more open doors to the media and the community. I have had a lot of interviews. In October all the counsellors for social services, schools, youth and immigration/integration will come to Underground just to hear more about what we do and to see how they can help us. They also want to ask how we view the challenges in the area as we often get a better oversight not only working here, but living here and hearing from teens, parents and grandparents. In November I have been asked to speak at a conference in Råslätt on integration with top politicians and officials, including the national minister of integration from our national government.

“My biggest challenge is to recruit one or two more people with a professional background in social work with youth. The professional approach is important as we work on this level, and I am the only one with a professional background at the moment. We have fantastic and gifted people in the team but this would help me lead future development. It’s a big prayer request!”

Five OMers and local believers are fully involved in the Underground ministry, with 10 to 15 others helping out occasionally, including Field Leader Martin Ström.

Please ask God to supply the right professionals, with the kind of tough love it takes to connect with youth who feel caught between cultures.

Håkan spent nine months in a Swedish hospital, but rehabilitation was not an option back in 1978. He remembers the two books that George Verwer sent him: How to be a Saint while Flat on Your Back by William Petersen, and Paul Billheimer’s Don’t Waste Your Sorrows.

“Before my illness I had planned to go to Bible School and then return to India. I didn’t think being a pastor in a wheelchair would work but I did go to Bible school, doing many lessons in bed. I had a fiancée, Margaretta, who was a nurse. She told me, ‘It wasn’t your legs I fell in love with,’ and we got married in my second year of study.

I have never asked God why, I’ve only thought, why not? It could happen to anyone.

“A month before finishing Bible School, we didn’t know what to do. We saw the spiritual need in a housing estate near Jönköping, Sweden, which was part of the government’s project to build a million new flats, and a board member from the school asked if I’d like to work there.”

Råslätt had a very bad reputation for its first 10 to 15 years. Of the first 2,200 flats the government built, 800 were empty because people didn’t want to move there. The majority who did were immigrants, unemployed Swedes or people with other social problems.

“Margaretta and I moved to Råslätt in 1981. I come from a small village and people still ask how we can live here, but I felt very much that you can’t serve people from afar. Although I couldn’t go back to India I could be where Indians were. And if I’d stayed in the countryside I’d never have experienced the richness of all the nationalities in Råslätt. I feel very much at home here!

“My brother and his family also came to live in this community. In 1983 it wasn’t common to start new churches, but a group of seven or eight of us met in an empty public hall to worship together. We just wanted to be Christians, not a denomination but independent. So that’s what we were for 16 years. In 1986, the OM Sweden office moved here. We thought it would be a win-win situation, a place where young people could taste other cultures before going out to other countries.”

In 1996 the international church finally joined the Swedish Alliance Mission and the denomination of Evangelical Free Churches, in order to benefit from a wider base of prayer. Eventually the fellowship began youth work and a preschool that has 85 to 90 per cent immigrant children.

Because 60 per cent of adults on the estate are unemployed and they wanted to do something practical to create a few jobs and help others, the church also opened a second-hand shop that has proven to be extremely popular.

Reflecting on the past, Håkan is able to say he harbours no trace of bitterness for what happened to him as a young man. “I have never asked God why; I’ve only thought, why not? It could happen to anyone.”  

Doctors had told the Karlssons they couldn’t have their own biological children, but in 1994 they were blessed with a son, Anton. They also adopted two girls from India.

Håkan asserts that his disability even gives him certain advantages as a pastor: “If you sit in a wheelchair you can never look down on people. You always look up! I believe God has a special love for orphans, the destitute, strangers and widows. I think to myself, how can we create a church for all—not just the young and fit, but the broken and handicapped—where everyone feels at home, accepted and welcome?

“As I look back, I can see the thread of God through my life. Everything I dreamt came true. Even though I wasn’t a missionary in India, I am among them. I’ve learnt that you can’t take anything in life for granted. I’m thankful for every day.”

Sweden’s generous immigration policies draw 100,000 newcomers to its shores every year. Even those who are illegal are given presentable accommodation, their children allowed into schools with special tutors for language help.

Like Swedish residents, immigrants also receive a supplement for each child and new mothers are supported so they can stay home with their infants for the first year. New residents receive an allowance while they attend Swedish language classes. Often the men take the classes while their wives care for the children. Yet there’s no real urgency to learn because translators are provided whenever necessary, such as for doctor visits.

The most recent tide of Somalis has stirred a lot of resentment, even from other immigrants, because they are a particularly close-knit, clan-oriented people who do not integrate well.

Observes one OMer, “There’s a lot of racism here, even in my little town. Young Swedish teenagers instigate it, but they’re only acting out what they hear their parents say. They bully Somali kids, bang on the windows of houses. Police can’t do much because they’re minors, and parents don’t stop them.”

But OM Sweden is praying that the arrival of so many nationalities will serve as a wake-up call to the Church. “Churches everywhere are struggling and declining—down on their knees,” states Field Leader Martin Ström. “If the present trend continues, the last evangelical church will close in 2050.”

If the present trend continues, the last evangelical church will close in 2050.

One of the crucial factors is the population drift from the countryside to cities. But Martin points to the fact that while workplaces, schools, hospitals and most other public places are culturally integrated, most of Sweden’s churches remain unmixed. “I’ve seen it wherever I go,” he affirms sadly. “Even churches with a vision aren’t embracing the 10 per cent immigrant population.”

Team members Jean and Anna Ström, who work with immigrant women, explain that most Swedes are normally reserved. “There are Swedes who reach out, but they are exceptions rather than the rule. And when they do, it’s so unusual that people are suspicious!”

One Swedish pastor tells about a man from Tehran he befriended and met with every week before the Iranian moved away to Stockholm. Twenty years later the same man called and told him, “You’re [still] the only Swede I know.”

Acting on the conviction that more Christians need to step out of their comfort zones and plant churches in multinational urban centres, OM moved in 1986 to the largely-immigrant enclave of Råslätt, outside the city of Jönköping in the centre of the country. Råslätt’s 5,000 residents represent 50 nationalities. A small group of believers were beginning a church here, and the pastor who urged OM to join forces with them knew it could be a win-win situation.

Pastor Håkan Karlsson had served with OM on the Eastward Bound programme in India. During his last weeks there, the 25-year-old contracted hepatitis and was left paralysed from the chest down. However, he was determined not to let that stop him. Håkan knew that Råslätt would benefit by OM’s ministry; he also knew it would be an ideal place to give new recruits a taste of other cultures before going overseas.

The experiment has proven its worth. The success of Råslätt’s international church has fuelled OM’s determination to establish at least three more long-term, urban teams in the next three to four years.

The world in miniature 

One of those teams is slated for a Stockholm suburb that’s just one square kilometre in size, packed with 15 to 16,000 residents from 100 different countries. OM has worked here in the past and Lars Mörling, a veteran OMer in Egypt, began helping the team when he and his family returned to Sweden. Lars pastored the new church they planted for 13 years before moving to an adjoining suburb in 2002.  

This pastor predicts that the influx of newcomers to Sweden will continue. “We have a number of Stockholm suburbs that are 80 per cent immigrant. When residential areas reach about 40 per cent, Swedes move out and more immigrants move in. They find it more comfortable to live near friends and relatives that speak their language.

“I wish I could say that Swedish Christians are not like the rest of the population…but unfortunately I have not found this to be the case. Mostly it’s insecurity, not knowing how to reach out to different people, but it’s also concern for their families. Classes in communities like ours are 90 per cent immigrant, and believers don’t want their child to be the only Swede in the class. So after preschool age it becomes an issue, even to devout believer families, and they are moving away.

“But immigrant Christians are reaching other immigrants, and they are better equipped. We’ve seen many come to Jesus. We started an Arabic fellowship in my last church and here in Husby we have Iranian, Afghan and Eritrean meetings each week. But on Sunday we try to have all the groups together in church. This kind of integration is really a testimony to others that Christians love each other.”

Markus Sand, who pastors the nearby Rinkeby International Church, agrees. “We don’t have far to go here to make disciples of all nations. Please pray that we can be a lifeline to people. We want to see the gospel make a bigger impact in this place!”

Two more immigrant islands

Another project targets a suburb of Gothenburg with 16,000 residents representing 140 nationalities--and no evangelical church. An experienced OM couple who previously served in Arabic-speaking countries moved there in August 2011. Daniel and Hannah have begun a Bible study in Swedish and are considering another one in Arabic, as a basis for planting a church. Another couple is planning to join them soon and they are enthusiastic about the potential.

Malmö, where OM hopes to deploy the third church-planting team, is located in the extreme south of the country, just across the water from Copenhagen. Nearly 50 per cent of this city’s 300,000 population are first- or second-generation immigrants. A great many are Muslims; in fact, the first mosque ever built in Nordic countries was established in a suburb here.  

God has challenged us to think of mission in Sweden, not just abroad.

While the mosque is jammed with worshippers every Friday, Sunday services in most of the state churches attract a pitiful few. Malmö does have some growing evangelistic fellowships, however, and as the pastor of one of them, Daniel Norburg of Immanuelskyrken, notes, the situation offers opportunities.

 “As I see it, it’s easier for us to preach the gospel here than in the Middle East! God has challenged us to think of mission in Sweden, not just abroad. That’s a mindset the Swedish church needs to have.”  

The Somali challenge

Four Swedes and a Somali believer are building an international network focusing on this hard-to-reach people group, 45,000 in Sweden alone. A virtual Somali church now exists on the internet, following up from local and international Somali conferences they have arranged. Recently 40 Somali believers gathered from neighbouring countries and several got baptised, despite the fact that believers live under constant threat of death. The team is producing evangelistic and Christian material in Somali, including worship CDs and a testimony DVD. They also give practical aid to widows and children.

Sweden is not alone in its need to address its growing immigrant population. “A lot of people dream of coming to Europe,” muses an OMer. “They believe all their problems will be solved. But when they come they realise it’s the beginning of a very hard road. The industrious ones can do well. But many are frustrated. And lonely. People jump in front of a tram in Stockholm almost every day.”

Is it possible that a country with so much to offer can also be the place where dreams die? The islands of immigrants now living in Sweden and all over Europe speak for themselves. Jesus’ followers are needed more than ever to act as bridge-builders, bringing hope to these enclaves. Will you help?

For more information, contact OM Sweden.

But the centuries when Sweden stood strong in the Christian faith are long gone. As Brad, a South African who participated in this country’s first summer outreach in 17 years, observed, “I never met so many people in one place who don’t believe there’s a God.”

Last May, OM Sweden asked staff newcomer Karen Daniels, from South Africa, to organise the 14-29 August initiative. The name “IGNITE! Sweden” was her inspiration, born of a desire to see this land on fire for God once again. After orientation and training at the base in Jönköping, 20 participants from 12 countries (including 7 from OM Lifehope’s Transit Challenge 2011 Team) divided in two; one group travelled to Malmö in the extreme south, and one headed to Stockholm in the north.

The team in Malmö engaged in a multi-church effort called “Street Church” during this city’s annual festival, distributing Bible verses and free Psalm Books containing Scriptures, practical help and contacts to local churches. They soon discovered that passers-by most open to take the literature and talk about God were not usually Swedish by birth.

The immigrant factor

Sweden’s welfare, asylum, and immigration policies—the most generous in Europe—have encouraged a tidal wave of about 100,000 new immigrants into the country every year. About 80,000 of Malmö’s 300,000 population are immigrants, and 60,000 are Muslims. The suburb of Rosengård is known locally as "the ghetto" and is home to almost 20,000 immigrants, almost half of them jobless. Thanks to an OM "Love Europe" team going house-to-house about 17 years ago, a church was actually planted in this area.

Long hours trying to witness to Malmö Festival crowds proved tough. “Many just walked past us, ignored us or even swore at us,” related Australian team member Katy.

But Michael, from the US, talked for an hour to an older Swedish man he met on the street. “Jonny told me that his wife had died, and he had been in the hospital recently after trying to commit suicide. I went over the basics of the gospel with him and he was really listening. When I asked if he wanted to accept Jesus into his life, he was ready. He prayed and confessed his sin, his problem with drinking. And as he prayed he started to smile. Afterwards he seemed like a different person.”

Meanwhile, in Stockholm…

OM’s second team was recruited to assist two churches in the Stockholm suburbs of Husby and Rinkeby, which are also known as immigrant enclaves. In Rinkeby, about 16,000 people from 100 nations live within a square kilometre. OM Sweden Field Leader Martin Ström is hoping to re-establish a permanent team here in the next few years.

Husby Pastor Lars Mörling is an ex-OMer who served 15 years, mostly in Egypt, before helping to pioneer the first evangelical church in Rinkeby. He led this ministry for 13 years, beginning an Arabic fellowship in his own home, and then moved to the nearby Husby church. Here he helped birth Iranian, Afghan and Eritrean fellowships. Many immigrants in Rinkeby and Husby have now come to Christ, and on Sundays the different language groups are encouraged to meet together for joint worship services as a testimony to their unity in the Lord. 

The 18-year-old wanted to know what it was about the team that was different, because he needed a new life.

Both pastors affirm that OM’s “IGNITE!” teams were a blessing. “We didn’t create ministries just for them, but made the team members an added resource for our existing ministries,” explained Pastor Mörling. Pastor Markus Sand in Rinkeby added that having extra people allowed them to try some new approaches. Besides working with a kids’ club, the elderly and other groups and doing literature distribution and evangelism in Rinkeby Square, the team put on a creative Pancake Night after the Ramadan fast ended one Saturday, from 21:00 to after 01:00 the next morning. This proved to be the week’s highlight, as they served up many fruitful conversations along with the free pancakes!

“Why are you people different?”

Korean-American Ja-Kyung got into conversation with a deeply troubled Italian-Swede named Rocco, who had tried to take his life six times. The 18-year-old wanted to know what it was about the team that was different, because he needed a new life.

“I told him that he could have one right then and there,” said Ja-Kyung. “We prayed with him and afterwards he told us he had a peace that he’d never had before. We connected him with the local pastor and an Italian believer in the church.”

Krista, from the US, discovered that where there was the will to communicate, there was a way: “I love art, and it occurred to me in Sweden that art is a common language.” Krista employed her skills to paint flowers and masks on scores of eager little children’s faces. On Pancake Night she made free sketches for adults, and then used four symbols along with explanations she memorised in Swedish to share the gospel with them. “Whenever the person I was talking to said they wanted to be God’s friend, I pulled in someone else to help!”   

An Australian who has only been a Christian since January talked for a long time with a Muslim who finally accepted a small “Street Bible” and said he was going to start going to church. “After we prayed he said he felt hope for the first time, and I could see it in his eyes,” said Quentin. “I think God brought me from Australia for this. It’s all I want to do with my life!”

Anna, who is from Trinidad and Tobago and normally part of OM’s Lifehope team in the UK, also felt God speaking to her: “In Sweden you give and give and at the end of the day you feel drained. I see the need for missionaries here who will stick it out when they face rejection. Sweden needs a lot of prayer. The more time I spend in Europe, the more I think this is where God wants me to serve Him.”

“Evangelism is almost a dead art in Sweden,” sadly commented Eva, a Swedish mission secretary born in Finland. When she heard about “IGNITE!” she contacted OM. “I didn’t know it was a young peoples’ team until I came! But then I realised that evangelism wasn’t about age or sex. Every morning during the outreach I woke up thinking, This is awesome! Thanks, Lord, for sending these people to my country!"

IGNITE Sweden 2012 is already in the works. Why not consider taking the challenge of lighting the fire of God’s Spirit in Sweden? Contact shortterm.se@om.org.

While travelling to a church meeting on the first night, the team got separated. Not knowing the way to the church, the lost group decided to pray as they walked. “While we were praying,” said Jaco, a member of the team, “we met a 17-year-old Swedish girl from a Kurdish background. Although a Muslim, she told us that she had attended church a few times, and that her mother had two Bibles.”

Then Sara, another team member, asked the girl if she needed prayer for anything. To the amazement of the team, she said yes. “She asked us to pray for her family, who was going through a very difficult time,” said Jaco. “When we finished praying, she told us that her heart felt flooded. We encouraged her to read the Book of Luke and pray to Jesus. Although we were lost, and our friends were worried about us, we knew that God had arranged this divine appointment.”

Praise God for turning a frustrating situation into one of hope, and for using the team to touch lives. Pray that God would continue to touch heart of the Swedish girl they met. For more information about the Transit Challenge Team, visit: www.transitteam3.blogspot.com.

The first few days in Sweden were frustrating for OM Europe’s third Transit Challenge Team, as they had to rely on a handful of translators to help them communicate. 

As an artist, team member Krista knew she had to get creative: “God spoke to me—simply, yet powerfully. Draw a picture. Everyone in the world understands a picture. Art is a common language no matter where you are from. I took that message and ran with it.”

A four-point story

While visiting a church near London, UK, earlier in the trip, Krista had met a man with four pins on his hat. These four pins showed a heart, meaning that God loves us; an “X”, meaning that we all have sinned; a cross, meaning that Jesus died for us and a question mark, asking if you want a relationship with God.   

Krista remembered this short but powerful message and asked a translator to teach her those four phrases in Swedish. Although she would not be able to have a full conversation or answer the people’s questions, she could at least tell the most important story in the world. She drew these four symbols boldly on her arm like a tattoo in hopes that people would notice and initiate conversation.

“When I shared this idea with the team, Carrie, Anna and Sara also drew the symbols on their arms,” said Krista. On a bus ride, another team member asked Krista what was on her arm. She began explaining it in English, but he asked if she could say it in Swedish. Krista’s poor Swedish caught the attention and amusement of the other passengers in the bus, and many listened carefully to what she was trying to say.  

“We started using that little role-play in many other places and opportunities,” said Krista.

Flowing with God's joy

Because Ramadan would finish on their last Friday night in Sweden, the team decided to organise a pancake night in the town square. They reasoned that free pancakes, coffee, tea and live music would be a great way to gather a crowd. 

“Usually, Anna and I are the designated face painters in community outreach events,” said Krista. “But as the pancake night was from 21:00 to midnight, I had to find another way to initiate conversation.”

Finding a few pieces of paper, a marker and two highlighters in her backpack, Krista began drawing what she saw around her.

“The team was glowing with the joy of God,” said Krista, “and it was like we were in a bubble of peace, safety and happiness. My first picture was of Sara serving the best pancakes I have ever eaten, while Du was playing guitar—everything was perfect. I used the highlighters to express the joy and Holy Spirit flowing out of them.”

As Krista continued to draw, onlookers asked why she was outlining the figures with glowing light. She answered that it was the love and happiness they had from Jesus. When people asked if they could buy the pictures, she told them they could have them for free, if only they first listened to a short story. 

Krista drew the four symbols—heart, “X”, cross and question mark—next to her signature on each picture and team member Carrie began sharing the story. Crowds of Muslims gathered around.

Great expectations

“[Carrie] did a great job being bold and sharing the word and using her genuine and friendly spirit as a living example of Christ,” remembered Krista. “Each team member played a major role in speaking to people and serving the community that night. We will take our new knowledge and use it at our next stop.

“God's work is always greater than our expectations,” she continued. “We won't let anything slow us down! God always has an answer, and He has everything under control!”

To learn more about the next Transit Challenge Team and using your God-given gifts to touch lives in seven European countries in seven months, visit the website at www.om.org/en/job/s2156.

It started as an idea in summer 2010: to have a van not only for transportation but as a tool for meeting and connecting with people to recruit and share God’s love. The idea became a prayer, and soon after OM Sweden started a fundraising appeal.

In only a year, God had provided the necessary funds. By this time the plan had evolved to include a trailer along with the van. Martin, field leader of OM Sweden, found an advertisement for a small trailer, but his attention was drawn to another bigger trailer in the background of the photo. He called the owner and kindly showed interest in "that other" trailer, asking whether the owner was willing to sell it.

One day later, Martin discovered an advertisement for a van and decided to buy it immediately. In addition, OM Sweden received an offer to have the van and trailer branded free-of-charge. David, an OMer and graphic designer, immediately started designing decals to make the brand eye-catching and appealing. Before this was completed, equipment was donated that would be fitted in the trailer to give visitors a good view of the work of OM worldwide.

Not only did God answer the OM team’s prayers, but He also extended it beyond what they dared to imagine. Pray that many young people would be inspired to go and serve God’s kingdom and that many will hear the good news through this new ministry tool.