Not a little boy any longer…

Yeah, today is the big day…19th of november and it is my 25th birthday…hurra (for those who like me). I must admit that this time it has been some mixed feelings turning 25…In one hand it must realize that I am now leaving the area where I was young and had plenty of time to “waste”, not so many responsibilities and I could act foolish with the excuse that I am still young and naiv, but now…being 25, I realize that I am steping in to another fase of life…or?? Anyhow, I am very satisfied and know that the best is definitely yet to come!! I know if I had been 50 years hold I would dream of the day I was 25, so…give a shout, I am 25!!

I am so thankful to God for all He has done to me and everything He has given to me! I am thankful that he has lead me here to Estonia and that I’ve had the priviledge to serve Him here! Jesus, you are amazing! I love you!!:)

Tonight a bunch of people will celebrate with me in my apartment, so that will be really cool! Tomorrow I am actually going to Finland to a city called, Järvenpää, about 100 km north of Helsinki. I will attend some meetings with Guy Peh so I am really looking forward to that!!

Brothers and sisters, I don’t consider that I have taken hold of it yet. But here is the one thing I do. I forget what is behind me. I push hard toward what is ahead of me. ¹⁴ I move on toward the goal to win the prize. God has appointed me to win it. The heavenly prize is Christ Jesus himself

(Phil 3:13-14)

 

Visit from Norway!

Now I can wait for the team from Zoe church in Norway to come! They will arrive tomorrow afternoon they will show up! It will be really cool to see them all again:D It will be a good weekend and tomorrow they will visit us on the youthmeeting and Tom Jensen will preach! Saturday Tom Jensen will have a seminar, while some of the team will visit the Christian school, a children home and in the evening we will vist a shelter where the homeless people are stying. Sunday the team will divide in to three group and visit three different churches! It is always good to have some norwegians over here and I believe we will have a really blessed time together!

Adios amigos!

A small persecution…but still alive.

I have just arrived at home after a trip to Jõgeva where Calle was preaching today! It was really good and inspiring!! I got stirred up and more hungry for the things of God!

Friday we had U Turn and it became very good, especially for being the first time. Pastor Eino was the guest this time and the youths had the chance to ask whatever question they wanted. It was an interesting night and Eino who is really a wise man, gave many good answers. I believe it was a good help for all of us. Most of the visitor where Christians, which is good in one sense, but I have a desire to reach more of the “streetyouths” in the time to come. Next time we will have a stand in the citycenter before the event starts, where we can invite youths in the city to come to ”U Turn”.  Next “U Turn”-event will be the 4th of December, where the theme is “From drugs to Freedom” and Villy Võrk is invited! He was a slave to drugs and went in and out of prison, but one day God got hold of him and everything changed!

Friday evening after we had finished “U Turn”, Calle and I went to witness to some guys in the citycenter. Some of them where quite drunk, but also very open to hear what we had to say! In the end right before we were about to go, one of the guys (that was most probably drunk) threw a hard snowball (it felt like ice) stright into my right ear! It was so painful that I couldn’t stand on my feet…terrible. I have still pain actually, but praise God, it could have been worse. We are called to suffer for the Gospels sake, aren’t we??

I see how much the devil is ruining the lives of young people! I can’t stand and watch any longer. It’s time to do something! My heart is crying out to God, “Give me the keys to this city, to the lives of the youths in Tartu!!!” I know God is a God who answers prayers…

Kick-off with “U Turn” tonight!

“Shoot the pastors”

I just came in the door after have been outside walking….it is getting cold outside and I “fear” it will be a cold and long winter. I remember the first winter I spent her in Estonia. Then it was minus 30 degrees and it was almost impossible to stay outside more than 10-15 minutes…Today I will help pastor Eino on his house. He is now building a new house and will get the roof ready before the winter comes for real.

It has been a wonderful weekend! This week we had a guest from Word of Life, Uppsala. His name is Ingvar Bergstrøm and during the week he had a teaching-series about the ministry gifts, with the emphasize on the 5-fold ministry gits; Apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. It was really inspiring, filled with wisdom and revelation from God!

Thursday I went to a city called Mustvee to preach at a youthmeeting in a Baptist church. A good friend of mine is the youthleader there so it was great to be there! Praise God for the young generation that is turning to the Lord with ALL of their heart!!

Friday we had a more social time with the youths (in Tartu),where we went out bowling together and then watched a movie after that. Good to just have some fun time and relax. It turned out to be a very nice evening!

Saturday I went to Polva and preached at a youthmeeting as well! Polva has a special place in my heart since I spent a lot of time there helping out in the youthwork! It is great to see what is taking place there. Now they have rented a place in a village outside of Polva and non-Christian youths are attending the meetings. Most of the youths that were there that evening were not Christians. I love that!!! So I was preaching about the call and purpose for their lives. I was really stirred up by seeing what God is doing there! Revival to Polva!! In Jesus Name!

Friday this week we will have the kick-off with “U Turn”. The theme this time is, “Shoot the pastors-ask whatever question you want”. We are going to invite Pastor Eino and  pastor Silver from the pentecostle church in Tartu. Then we will have them in the “studio” and make an interview with them and after that the youths that are visiting have the chance to ask whatever questions they have on their heart. They will have the chance to write question on a paperslip and then put it in a basket. We will pick out questions from the basket and then let the pastors give their answers. So let us pray that it will be an evening where God will speak and reveal himself through it all!!

Youthmeeting in Mustvee!

Just came back after I´ve preaching in youthmeeting in a city called Mustvee. It was great to be there! Revival in Estonia!

Tomorrow we are going to have a relaxed and social time with the youths. First we all go bowling and then we go home to one of the youthleaders and maybe watch a movie as well…go to spend time with the youths and and have some fun time together!

U Turn!!!

Hey! I am not so good at writing here, but I try once a week to be here…It has been a wonderful weekend and not long ago I came back from church after the Sunday service. Pastor Eino was as always preaching the word of God in a powerful way! What a pastor I have and it is such a privilege to serve under him. Today I need to study some theology because tomorrow I have an midterm exam. I am taking an internet course at Livets Ord University!

Yesterday we had a good time with all the youthleaders. We went out to eat at a chinese restaurant. It was like a celebration for our effort at the Jesus Conference. So it was good to hang out and after that we went home to one of the youthleaders (Jenny) and watched a movie! We are now 10 leader all together and I am so proud of them! If you want to see some pictures from the Jesus Conference, take a look here: http://picasaweb.google.com/helloevv/JC?authkey=Gv1sRgCMux—BluLyWQ#

Friday youthmeeting was also very good also! Many youths this time and the spirit of God was moving strongly! I was preaching about Jesus-the Miracle Maker and brought up the truths about reality of divine healing and our mission to bring the healingpower the the world! I believe we are living in revival times here in Tartu where the power of God shall be demonstrated to the people! Jesus didn´t only come to preach and teach, but also to HEAL! He came to demonstrate the will of the Father to show them the Kingdom of God! We are called to continue the ministry of Jesus! We should never forget that…Many youths came forward for prayer and Jesus was really moving in the midst of us!

We have some news to tell!!! Last year we started JESUS STATION! I felt in the beginning of this year that God wanted us to make some changes. We have been seeking God and have decided to change the name into “U Turn”! Some of the reasons for changing it is because we experienced that the reaction from the youths in the street were not always so positive. They got very sceptical when the heard the name JESUS station….But we sense the guidance of God to change the name, but continue with a clear profile and a radical spirit! The word “U Turn” had several meanings, but means surrender, to turn 180 degrees and move in the other direction! Our goal is to connect with the youths in the city and present the Gospel and the Kingdom of God in such a way that they can understand it and receive it! We have felt in our heart to meet the needs of the youths. How is the situation of the youths today in 2009?? Many are struggeling with drugs, abuse, suicidal thoughts, eating disorder, some have went through abortion and the list can continue. We want to deal with those areas and bring them up in the light. Therefore, for each “U Turn” the theme for the evening will be about one of those areas. Let´s say the theme is, “Drugs”…Then we will invite some people that have experience from that field and make an interview with them. We will make it like a TV-program where I will interview the the different guests in the studio. Through listening to the different guests the youths will see and experience the plan of God for their lives! I believe God is leading us further and that this is a step in the right direction! Must the Kingdom of God be revealed in a clear and powerful way for the youths of Tartu!!!! The “U Turn” will start the 6th of November! Keep it up in prayer together with us:D

The power of Gods Word

I have just had the pastorlesson in the Christian school. It is always great to be with them and share from my heart to them. I had two sessions, first with the younger pupils and then the other section for the older ones(up to 14 years old). Today I was sharing about the Bible and the power of the word of God! If there is anything that the devil wants to steal from our lives, it is the word of God! He does whatever he can to distract us and to fill our lives with anything but the Word of God!  But I believe as a young Christian you can face all the challenges and tempations of today and live a life with a consuming thirst and hunger for Gods word! It is all connected, because without the Word of God is it impossible to stay pure and strong in the time we are living in.

As a youthleader, as a pastor, as a parent, we have a huge responsibility to lead the young boys and girls into Bible-reading. It is not enough to say, “You have to read the Bible”, but we need to take the role as a shepherd and lead them to the riches of the Bible! Sit down with them, read with them, teach them and let them discover the truths for themselves also! I am believing for a outpouring of a hunger for Bible reading!! A wave of hunger and thirst for Gods Kingdom over the young generation!

Flying home

Time goes by quickly and a week here in Norway has passed by! To day I am flying back to Estonia -my home! The main reason for being here in Norway this time was to attend Ruben and Helèn wedding! It was a beautiful day in every way! Praise God for the marrige:D

Today when I go back to Estonia I don’t travel alone…my best friend, Calle (Carl Fredrik Ness) is coming with me. He is MOVING TO ESTONIA!!!! I can’t believe that I am writing this..for me it is such a blessing and a prayer answer from God! We are going to work close together in Estonia and I am REALLY excited about the time to come!! To work two and two is also very biblical and you see it as divine combination throughout the Bible…for instance Moses and Aaron, Elijah and Elisha, David and Jonatan, the disciples were sent out two by two, Paul and Silas and also many examples throughout the church history!

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone. Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Eccl. 4:9-12)

What a weekend, what a conference!

Yesterday I arrived in Norway after some intensive but glories days in Estonia. The Jesus Conference turned out to be more than I could dream of! God demonstrated his faithfulness and I am so thankful to Him! He is surly a God that answers prayers! I will try to give a short update of what took place those days. We started Friday in the evening and Tom Jensen was preaching! It was great and he really gave the tone for how the conference would be. The fire of God and the life of God would be demonstrated these days! That had been our prayer for this conference, that the Fire of God would set the youths ablaze and bring them into total freedom! I was amazed of how many youths there were that evening. We counted 450 youths that evening and the church was pretty much packed…Youths from different parts of Estonia were gathered, from different background and dominations, but they would all get a touch from God that weekend.

The church looked really beautiful and youthy! After the meeting (and the following meetings) we had the cafiteria open with all kinds of good food served!

Saturday was a day with a tight program, but many great things took place that day! In the morning, Jonatan Hesel was preaching (he is youthpastor in Stefan Salmonssons church). It was a really powerful and important message!! He was teaching from 2 King 6, about being a carrier of the life of God! In the afternoon we had two workshops; one about worship with Harald Høidahl. It was such a priviledge to have him at the conference and we were really blessed by his teaching and also the concert he had later that evening. The 2nd workshop was about Estonian revival, where Pastor Eino Lilleleht was showing videoclips from what God did in Estonia in the early 90s. One of the filmclips was from a huge crusade in Tartu where 15 000 people were gathered and tousands came to the Lord and got saved and healed! It was really a time of revival, but the whole seminar was also an huge encouragement for the youths to see that revival can truly take place in Tartu and Estonia! Tartu and Estonia will be saved!! Revival WILL take place in this nation!!

Saturday evening, Stefan Salmonsson was preaching, and I tell you, it was WILD!!!!! Praise God for what He did that evening. I can not preach the sermon over again, but the Holy Spirit sat the youths in freedom that night! It was wild dancing, running, rejoicing, laughing, and deliverance from bondages such as depression, suicidal thoughts and demonic influence! Many were baptized in the Holy Spirt that night and even people got saved! For me it was a dream coming true to see this with my own eyes. What we had prayed for in preparation for Jesus Conference was answered in details! What a God we serve! I give ALL THE GLORY TO HIM!!! It was a JESUS Conference and Jesus was really moving in the midst of us throughout the conference! I believe this is the beginning of something amazing that God is doing in Estonia! Revival HAS STARTED NOW!!! Next year we will have Jesus Conference again! Until that time, Tartu and others parts of Estionia will see and experience the Power of God! 500 people was attending the conference on Saturday!! We prayed that the youthconference would be a place where the Fire of God would burn and set all the youths in fire! I believe none of them left the building the same as when the came, but that they will carry with the the fire of God and let it burn in whatever place they go to!!