This verse in Matthew will always remind me of Sweden. This country is one of the richest and safest in the world, yet what good is it if the Swedes don't know Christ? They may have such a great, comfortable life, but the majority of them don't think about God. The long-term team here (pictured above) is helping make God known in this country. It's been neat to see our students and staff realize that God is here in Sweden. Lauren, a senior at N.C. State, shared how when she was getting ready to come to Sweden she imagined we were all bringing the gospel to this country. But, as she's been here, she's realized that God has been here way before we came. He has been working in the lives of the Swedish students we've met, preparing them to hear about Christ and want to learn more. God has been moving here in this country, but there is so much more to be done!
Years ago, Barrett said the Christians here began to back off from sharing their faith, as people in America can tend to do right now. In a lot of ways, spending time in Sweden made me wonder if our country's spiritual climate will be like Europe's in the years to come. The long-term team here embraces a vision of being "bold in word and in deed" with the gospel. They want to not only show the Swedes Christ's love through sharing their lives with them and spending time with them, but also to be bold in speaking about Christ and sharing the gospel. It's so encouraging and comforting to know that the Swedish friends we met will be followed up by one of the members of the long-term team who live over here full-time. Many of our friends are curious and interested in talking with people about Christ and through that team, those relationships are able to continue to grow.
As we spent time with the team our last night in country, we prayed together for Sweden. It was such a sweet time with God and each other. At the beginning of the summer, I prayed God would grow these students and my heart for the Swedish people, and to see tears in their eyes as we asked God to move in this country showed me He'd done it. He's given this team of 20 a heart for the Swedish people to know Christ. As I come back to UNC this fall, I'm continuing to pray that students and staff would come on next year's summer project and the Sweden legacy at UNC would continue. Would you pray with me that more students and staff from UNC would consider coming to this country next year?
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