A city or country rarely becomes dear to me without meeting the people who live there and call it home. It is the same with Sweden. As we’ve spent five weeks in country, the people we’ve met have become dear to us and we desperately want them to know Christ some day. I thought I’d tell you a couple of their stories.
"I want to believe in something...but I just can't," said Emil. Josh (a Duke student) and Reece (on staff at UNC-W) met Emil, Jonatan, and Eric at one of the nation houses during lunch. When the conversation turned to spiritual things, they learned that Emil is an atheist, "but not a belligerent atheist like Dawkins," and Jonatan and Eric are agnostics, meaning they have belief in some sort of higher power, mainly just to "cover their bases." The law students are great fun and Josh and Reece enjoyed hanging out and cutting up with them. When it was time for them to go study, they expressed a lot of interest in hanging out again.
Since then, Reece and Josh have been able to hang out with Jonatan. They were able to talk with him about his spiritual beliefs. Near the end of their conversation, Jonatan said that no one is asking these types of questions, but they need to be asked. It’s clear he is thinking about spiritual issues for one of the first times in his life.
Our first week, we walked around Uppsala University and prayed God would allow us to meet the Swede who would eventually lead the student ministry on campus. I think if there were ever a student who could be a vibrant leader for Christ on campus, it could be Sophie.
Stephanie (on staff at UNC-W) and Emma (a Vanderbilt grad) met Sophie, a self proclaimed agnostic, the first day they stepped foot on Uppsala University's campus. Through various conversations and getting to know Sophie, she has expressed that she believes something is "out there" but she doesn't think it's necessarily God. One night at dinner, Stephanie was able to share how she had experienced the reality of God in her life, which launched into a long conversation about how Jesus impacted her life. Sophie initiated asking her questions like "Why did Jesus have to die?" and "How is God's love shown in Jesus' death." It was so obvious that God had been at work in Sophie's life even though she didn't even acknowledge Him as God. It's been so exciting to watch Him work in her life this summer! Stephanie and Emma spent countless hours with her this summer, partying with her friends, eating dinner with her, hanging out at the lake, etc. All of us have met Sophie. You can’t help but be drawn to her bubbly personality. One day, Stephanie was doing a picture survey we use to get into spiritual conversations with students, and her friend stopped by. Sophie quickly asked Stephanie, “Can you do the picture survey with her, too?” I keep thinking how powerful of a witness for Christ she could be on campus if she became a Believer. She is really considering this faith in Jesus that we profess...please pray for her...that God will help her see the reality of His love for her in Jesus!!
No comments:
Post a Comment