It was a first for him, both playing on a worship team and visiting a church like ours. He was truly an answer to prayer and we are very grateful!

Annika here. On a five week vacation/job trip to Sweden, where the summer heat is as far away as an ice berg in Greece. But it’s still good to be with old friends, even if I miss everyone in Greece. Together with Amy I’ll try to keep you all posted about about what happens in Thessaloniki.

We had quite an exciting spring with a number of new believers and are now facing the challenge of discipling them. I’m looking forward to the fall when we’re expecting lots of good stuff from the Lord.

See you then!

Annika

Hanna has made it safely to Australia and I’m sure is taking it by storm. She is greatly missed. I stepped in as co-leader of worship, alongside Annika. And while I’m learning to sing in Greek, they smile at me because I still sing like a folky southerner, and not at all like a Greek. Our team is growing, both in skill and in relationship, which I think preceeds ministry any day. I’ve seen many obstacles overcome…and slowly, slowly I feel we’re really being knit together in depth of love.

Recently, we had a group from America, a very prophetic team who ministered to the body here and in Skopje. It was a powerful time, and the little building in Thessaloniki was packed out. I would say many people experienced the Lord in a personal way, whether through words given, or prayers prayed, or just by His presence in the room. Then, the team did some equipping in Skopje with the guys from Glasnost, and on to Lebanon they went.

There are several new people in the church, and it’s cool to watch (as the entire body works together) the church taking form, growing, and infiltrating a society. This upcoming Saturday we will join a group of Armenians to do some evangelism out in the city. Then, the following week we will show “the Passion” on a movie night as Easter approaches. This is an event to invite your friends to…so hop a plane and join us at 7pm.

We will have a team here from my stomping ground in about a month. I’m especially excited to see them. They will do a lot of street evangelism through worship, dance, and drama.

I am living with Jana, a woman from Latvia who briefly lived with Hanna. God provided an apartment and furniture for us in a relatively short period. She is a real blessing as a roommate. She is also a dancer with an awesome heart for people. Anyhoo…sorry for not writing more but got to run.

Jana & me

But maybe the greatest thing has been to get to know my Heavenly Father more, His love for me has kept me through the rough days and has been my joy, even when circumstances seemed difficult! All I want is to know Him deeper. I believe He wants me to continue my travel adventure with Him. Again He’s giving me a chance to get more in depth with His word- in Australia! On January the 24th I’m off to Sydney study at Hillsong Leadership College, the worship stream. It’s nor cheap and finances has been a concern for me. Also parts of my family in Sweden is going through a hard season in life right now and it has been weighing me down.

So in the last couple of weeks I started loosing courage, thinking maybe I heard wrong. But the Lord then reminded me; “I told you we are going to the other side!”. Since Australia literally is on the other side of the world and just having studying the story in Matthew chapter 14, when Jesus told the disciples to ahead of him to the other side of the lake, I started to act on the words I believed I had. And this past week things really started to come together. I found a ticket for a reasonable price and got my visa 30 s after applying on-line, although Hillsong college and the travel agency had warned me an said it might take 2-3 months to get the visa! Also I got permission to let out my apartment (3rd year), this after my landlord clearly said no when I first asked.

I’m excited to see what the Lord has for me next.

From now on Annika and Amy are going to run this blogg. I look forward to being able to read about what the Lors is gonna do in Thessaloniki in the future!

Thank you those of you who has supported me in prayer and by giving me you love offerings! You are a part of all that God has done and is going to do in Greece!

And thank you for the wonderful surprise goodbye party! I will NOT forget the body surfing or the beautiful theater play you wrote Peggy! You guys are my friends 4-ever! I love you!

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He let His face shine upon you and show you more of His grace!

Hanna Sjöberg

Saturday night I was suppose to give a Bible study about the book of Ester in a woman’s home. Her name is Jota and her sister, an air hostess, was visiting her. I had not slept enough and was exhausted. I almost canceled, but then Peggy said she felt I should go. So I asked the other guys to pray for me and the evening, and went there with Stavroula and Vasilis.

I talked about how God has a plan for each one of us. How He offers us to play a part in His salvation plan for the world, just like He used Ester, an orphan and immigrant, to save a whole people. After finishing the Bible study I felt the Spirit whisper that it was time to bring her in for landing. I figured it meant that Jotas sister, the air hostess, was ready to accept Jesus as her Saviour. So I asked her if she was willing to, and she said “Yes!”

She had already understood God was searching for her heart on a recent flight to one of USA’s bigger cities (don’t remember which one). Walking with her colleges in the street there was a big neon light sign in front of them saying something like “God bless this country, In God we trust” She looked away and then back again. For a second she saw the sign had changed into big, neon letters in the night sky saying; “I Love You!”. A second later it was gone and the old message was back again. No one else had seen it. She understood it was God giving her a message of love.

So I spelled out a simple salvation prayer and she repeated. It was a beautiful moment. She cried and we all prayed for a good while for her, giving her words from her Heavenly Father of how He loved her and the wonderful future He had for her.

What I didn’t know was that Peggy, Jota and the other guys in the Alpha Group had been praying for the air hostess weeks before.

Praise God who is always chasing after us and never giving up on us!

This fall we’ve had the joy of seeing our church slowly growing.

It’s hard to believe that there was no worship team here when I arrived two years ago. And it’s such a privilege to have been a part of building up our wonderful worship team. Two super cool American girls, Amy and Katie from the Church Dwelling Place, have joined our church to serve here a couple of months. Amy (to the right in the picture above) is an awesome worship leader. Welcome!  Ernie, the guy to the left of Amy,  and his wife came with Amy and Katie and stayed for three weeks , being a great blessing and encouragement to all of us.

God is so good, bringing in more people right when I need to return to Sweden in start of December to take back or move out from my apartment. God might have some new cool plans for me in the beginning of next year; I have been accepted into the Hillsong Leadership College. I’m praying a lot about it and believing God to supply me with the finances I would need for making it through at least the first year. The aim for the College is to equip leaders for future mission. Please pray for me that the Lord will lead me into His ways for me. Also any financial support is more than welcome! From the bottom of my heart I also want to thank those of you who have supported me these two years! I love you and pray for you! You are lifesavers!

A couple of weeks ago I and after a lot of preparations and anguish I taught in the house church in Michaniona, where we meet Friday nights. We started by each one trying to answer the question “What is truth?” in discussion groups (which we normally do) and then I tried to tie it all together. That same night a young man, a first time visitor, gave his life to Jesus!

A couple of weeks earlier two friends of his, Christina and another guy came to Christ.

They are all in their early twenties. Argisis and Peggy now have two alpha groups in their home each week!

Also Vivi from our home Vineyard Church in Sweden came to visit me and Annika. A fresh Swedish wind! Together we went to Philippi to see the ruins after the ancient Greek city where the first European Church was founded by Paul some 2000 years ago.

In the right picture you see what is believed to be the prison cell where Paul and Silas were held. “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earth quake that the foundations of the prison was shaken. At once all the prison door flew open and everybody’s chains came loose—the jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”. They answered: “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved”. (Acts 16:25-31)

Be blessed!

Hanna

Since i while back I share my ten square meter apartment with a friend that needed a place to stay. It has taken the concept of “Compact Living” to a whole new level for me :-)

But it is wonderful to see how God really gives you grace in the moment. To share life for real, and carry each other in prayer or just by listening and be a friend in times when life is a turmoil for one of us. How tears and laughter can blend into a wondeful sense of that we are not alone but a part of in God’s family and household

The girl that was saved a couple of weeks ago is still with us and is becoming a sweet friend. She always have her Bible next to her and a notepad and is eager to learn more about Jesus. She recently started in the Alpha group that Argiris is going to lead in his and Peggy’s home this fall. 

Our Church is slowly awakening after summer break and we have a small but steady increase of visitors on Sunday services. This weekend Kjell Haltorp and Swedish Texas-living preacher Rune (picture) visited us.

Saturday wel went to Skopia toghether to take part in a conference there. At lunch in a restaurant in central Skopia, Kjell taught me about sharing the Gospel and to be bold in approaching and talking to people. As if to illustrate what he just taught, he minuites later led the waitor at the restaurant to Christ. The waitor prayed the salvation prayer in front of the table of guests and still holding the dirty dishes in his left hand. Kjell is just the coolest evangelist I’ve ever met!

Please pray for our church and that we will reach many more with the Gospel!

Also I’m praying about my future; I have to go back to Sweden December 1 to either take back or leave my apartement for good. I appreciate if you caould pray for me that the Lord will guide me in what to do in the nearest future.

Love and Peace

Hanna

I started up the worship school this past Saturday and it was so good to see the teenagers again. After worship school another lady in our church, Janna, teached worship dance. We are planning to dance at a Christian conference in a charismatic Ortodox Church here in two weeks. It’s exciting, because three of the teenagers in my worship school group had a profecy this spring about worship dance.

I am praying over a crazy idea of recording a Greek worship CD (there are much too few) with the songs we’ve written in out church. I’m thinking we could use it to give to new believers. But we could also to use it to dance to in other churches here to inspire  and in the streets of Thessaloniki to share the Gospel. But we would need both help to record and maybe some money. Anyone interested?

At present I am visiting a friend – Julie – at Kos. We went to Turkey yesterday over the day to shop at the market in Bodoum. It was exciting, but we both sensed heavy in our spirits. In the first shop we went to the guy became angry when I didn’t want to buy to the price he wanted. He wispered something in an evil voice and looked angrily at me. I think he cursed me. We felt uncomfortable, but Julie instantly prayed about it and we ended up having a great day. This past night I dreamed i was challenged by an evil spirit and had to go three rounds fighting him. I had a sword in my hand. He asked me who I was and I said I belonged to Jesus. Eventually I defeated him, but it was an exhausing dream and I woke up with my right hand raised, like I was still holding the sword.

Today me and Julie worshipped a good while and prayed for Turkey. I met the local pastor and his wife here in Kos yesterday. We decided I will lead worship in their Sunday service in the coffe shop they meet at.

May the Lord less you and keep you!

Had a fantasic Super Trouper ABBA party with friends last weekend. It was simply magic; we sailed there with three boats. The whole evening we sang ABBA songs with karaokee and then danced under the stars all night long!

The scenery at the summer house that my mom is renting is simply breathtaking. We ate Swedish herring (of course with the “ABBA” brand), enjoyed the beautiful and warm summer night and ended up (believers as well as not -yet-believers singing traditional praise songs and praying on the pier by the seaside in the morning. Many friends told me afterwards that the evening was magic…I believe that magic feeling might have been that we felt the sweet and loving atmosphere of the Lord present

I’m sitting at my desk, just finished my last working day at the office in Sweden. Tomorrow I’m going to a missions conference in Ramlösa Church in Helsingborg in Sweden with Tommie to sing and give my testimony. After that I will take few days off and then return to Thessaloniki September 8!

Remember the guy I talked with on my visit at the centre for former drug addicts in Göteborg, Sweden, in my previous post?  I met him at the Vineyard Nordic Curch Camp in Norway. He stepped through the door at the camp
in Norway, where i was sitting selling books. He shouted out
“Recognize me?! I gave my life to Jesus after we spoke! I feel fantastic!”. He is now back in Göteborg and going to church, Bible studies and just totally walking with the Lord!

I have also made a new friend. First time we met at a restaurant I told her something about what I do in Greece and of my love for God. A couple of days later she called and asked if we could meet. She wanted to know how
I got saved! I went to lunch with her and shared the gospel.

I’ve met her a couple of times and had the joy of sharing a little more of the love the Lord has for her each time. She’s been through some rough times and I pray that she will soon accept the Lord into her life. The only one I believe that truly can heal her! if you find it in your heart, please pray for her and her family!

 Love

H