Many Travels

 March was indeed a very busy month! As excited as we are to see April bring Spring, we truly did enjoy the full schedule the Lord provided us with last month.

We were blessed to be able to fly to the Northwest Territories, Canada and spend some much enjoyed time with Russell's parents - Todd & Jodi Holland. It was so neat to see their sweet little ministry growing there in Norman Wells, NWT and to witness how the Lord is opening doors for them there.

Russell even got to spend time on one of his "favorite" past times - cutting firewood! Truly though, the time we were able to spend with them on their field was precious to us.  

Being in the Arctic of Canada really did remind us of the incredible need for the Gospel in the polar regions of the world. The physical darkness of the winter months only reflects a spiritual darkness that only the light of Christ can lift. We are so thankful for Russell's parents who are willing to invest their lives in the remote places of the world to see others brought to Christ.

From Norman Wells, we flew to Inuvik, NWT to be part of a wonderful missions conference! It was such a blessing to see some friends, to meet new ones, and to see a small church on the top of the world with a huge heart for missions! They voted to take us on for support on the spot and we were humbled by their generosity and love for missionaries.

We had a few "snags" in our flights that made things interesting but beside that, our trip to Canada was a tremendous blessing and lifted our spirits!

We were also able to visit New York, Virginia, and Ohio for meetings and conferences in March. Many familiar faces greeted us at these churches and we once again found our hearts encouraged by the sweet spirit toward missions.

Deputation is such an adventure and we pray that the Lord will keep us from discouragement as we seek to fill our schedule for the remainder of this year and into the next.

Thank you for your prayers and support, dear friends!

Survey Trip

Wow! The Lord truly blessed us on our survey trip and we are so thankful for the opportunity to go!

We could not have gone had so many of you not given. We are humbled by how the Lord provided through willing hearts and we give Him thanks! As Paul says, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you," so we are grateful for everyone who has prayed and supported us as we begin deputation. 

Norway is the most beautiful place we have ever been. The mountains, fjords, lakes, hills, and skies are breath-taking. As we drove 3000+ miles throughout Norway, Sweden, and Finland, the Lord further impressed upon us the tremendous need of Bible-believing, Gospel-preaching churches and He greatly increased our burden for the souls that believe infant baptism is their way of salvation. Many will claim Christianity but very few would claim to be a "personal Christian".

We began our trip in Virginia, where we flew out of Dulles International Airport to Frankfurt, Germany, and on to Stavanger, Norway. We stayed in Stavanger for over the weekend (it took us that long to recover from jet lag) before heading north. It took us a few days to get to the Arctic regions of Norway. The country is much larger than many realize! Crossing the Arctic Circle was exciting for us!

We visited several towns and cities located in within the Arctic Circle of the Norway, praying that the Lord would open our eyes to where He would eventually have us begin a local, New Testament church. We do believe the Lord is leading us in the direction of one particular city. We are praying the Lord continues to press us toward where He would have us be and that He will open the right doors for us to get there.

We were able to travel to the northernmost place you can get by road in Norway (not including the islands). Though we didn't get to see much because of the very dense fog the Lord used the extra trip to burden us greatly for these northern towns without a Gospel witness. These are towns that few even know exist on the "top of the world" yet they are filled with souls in need of the Saviour.

  

 

We spent some time in Sami towns and used the time to learn more about the Sami culture. The Sami are a native people of Arctic Scandinavia and their culture is a very large part of Arctic Norway. We were able to visit several cultural centers, the Sami parliament, and a few museums to learn more about the people and their way of life. Norwegians and the Sami people live intermingled and in harmony though each still practice their own traditions and ways of life and are very much distinct in themselves. The Sami's traditional religion is deeply rooted in Shamanism and while many have been "converted" to Lutheran Christianity certain aspects of the "Old Ways" are still alive and practiced.  

 

We learned so very much in the month we spent in Norway. One of the largest "shocks" we received on the trip was the cost of living. While we had been told it was an expensive country, nothing confirmed that like a few trips to the grocery store. As a general rule most of the food items were double what they would be in the States. It really is a country that has everything and a people that need very little but they do still need to accept the Truth. (Oh, and don't panic, that hamburger isn't $65 USD but it is about $11 USD.)
 

We then traveled back down south to Stavanger and saw much of the Norwegian coastline. The water was so incredibly blue and clear and the mountains so massive and sharp! We went through many tunnels and across a ferry. The entire time we were just amazed that the Lord had brought us there.

 

We cannot wait to go back. If the Lord provided the way for us to be back in Norway tomorrow, we would go. As anxious as we are to get to the field God has called us to, we have much to do in preparation. We have our first official meeting this Wednesday in Beaver Falls, PA and we look forward to sharing our burden for the people of Norway while we're there.
 

 

Thank you for all your prayers and support! If you have ANY questions about Norway or our trip, please comment or email us via the "contact" button on this page. We would love to share more about our trip and our ministry!

Please pray for us as we begin the journey of deputation. We'd like to fill up our schedule with meetings so we can get closer to returning to Norway.

In His Service,
 

We Will Give Thee Thanks For Ever

We are praising the Lord for His continued goodness to us! This week in Sundance, WY, we are having a four day Bible Conference. We are excited to have Evangelist C.T. Spear, Pastor Mike Monte, and Pastor Frank Camp at Gateway Baptist Church this week. It has been a blessing to hear these different speakers and to be challenged by God's Word!

We have been busy working on getting our prayer cards printed, letterhead put together, a mailing list organized, and our first prayer letter ready. In just about six weeks we will be relocating to Ohio and there is just nine weeks until we fly out for our survey trip. There is much to do in this time, so please pray for us as we prepare for a busy month of August and as we begin deputation in the fall!

If you would like to be added to a mailing list to receive prayer letters and updates, please contact us and we will be sure to add you! Or send an e-mail to scandinavia4Christ@gmail.com and let us know you’d like to receive a prayer letter.

We are thankful for some more funds for our trip that others have so graciously given. We are praising God for His provision!

Holland's Survey Trip - YouCaring

May God richly and abundantly bless you this week!

In His service,

"So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations" - Psalm 79:13

All The Time God Is Good

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O most High. To shew forth Thy lovingkindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night." - Psalm 92:1-2

We are praising the Lord!

We were able to purchase our plane tickets for our survey trip to Norway. We look forward to this time and face it with much anticipation! We will be praying that the Lord leads and directs while we are there, gives us more of a burden for the people, and that He would give us wisdom as to where we will be starting churches once we are on the field. Please pray for us while we are there (August 21-September 15) and also that we will be able to secure the rest of the finances needed for the trip.

We will also be attending our first AMT (Missionary Training School) August 10-15th.

We will be moving to Ohio the first week of August in order to be in a better location for deputation. This is a huge step of faith for us and we are praying for the Lord's provision for housing and employment once we return from our survey trip. We are scheduling meetings for Fall 2014 and into 2015! If you or your church are looking to have a missionary in around then, please contact us!

To those who have already invested in to us, we thank you! Truly, without your love, prayers, and support we could not have gotten this far. How blessed we are to have you as a part of our lives and ministry!

1 John 1

1Jn 1:1  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
1Jn 1:2  (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
1Jn 1:3  That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1Jn 1:4  And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
1Jn 1:5  This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
1Jn 1:6  If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1Jn 1:8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.