From the sixth to the ninth of October, people from all over Europe gathered in Frankfurt for 24/7 Prayer's Eurogathering, and I was privileged to be there. It was a truly wonderful time of worship, prayer, sharing vision and inspiration, and meeting family.
I arrived in the hall at the beginning of the first meeting, and it was full of people on their knees, silently listening to God. As I quickly joined in, I felt God say that He had brought me here to show me that there is hope for Europe, and that the people in this hall would become family to me.
By the end of the gathering, I'd heard many stories of different communities across Europe who are praying, reaching out, and living to see their cities, nations, continent and world transformed. Truly, I could see that there is still hope for Europe, and that these people, ordinary yet set-apart people, are truly family to me. After meeting many amazing people, and knowing that there were many more I didn't get a chance to talk with, I know that these are people I want to walk with and learn from.
The gathering was called 'Aufstehen' ('stand up' in German), and I was both inspired and challenged by the call to stand up. Hearing from people in places like Greece and Spain, where there is a great deal of pressure right now, was pretty inspiring. I was also very inspired by hearing about various 'Boiler Room communities' across Europe, and also attending a seminar on building communities. There is so much to learn, and I guess most of it really has to be learned in practice. It really challenged my thinking about the developing community here in Jakomäki, and I'm looking forward to how things will develop.
I also had the privilege of being part of the worship team in the main sessions, made up several different nations, most of whom had never played together. The 3 worship leaders were from Macedonia, Spain and Greece, and getting to be part of it all was so much fun. Some of the leaders of 24/7 Prayer in Europe also shared during the main sessions, and it was really inspiring and challenging stuff. I was particularly challenged by Brian Heasley, who's lived and worked and prayed in Ibiza for several years.
Amongst it all, there was time to just chat and get to know people, which was really great. Meeting people who are so real and 'down-to-earth' and yet so passionately following Jesus was wonderful.
Ultimately, I left Frankfurt longing to see change - in myself, in Jakomäki, in Finland, in Europe and across the world. And I pray that this longing will again draw me into prayer and action, into careful listening and wholehearted obedience. We need to stand up.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Svendborg, Denmark
In the evening of Thursday 29th September, I was flying back from Copenhagen to Helsinki, looking back on the previous 4 days. I'd traveled to Svendborg that Monday to do some teaching at a YWAM DTS, and it was one of my first real experiences of that sort of teaching. In the weeks beforehand I'd taken some time to prepare for the teaching on the subject of worship. It's a subject very close to my heart, and I was aware that more than sharing merely concepts or ideas, I wanted to share my heart.
So, after a brief time of getting to know each other and a bit of an introduction on the first evening, the next morning it dawned on me just how much of a challenge this was. That day I had roughly 6 hours in which to share with the 5 students, and I was pretty daunted. Then I felt God speak to me from Jeremiah 1:5-9 that He would put the words in my mouth, and I simply had to share what He gave me to share.
So, on my journey home, several things were pretty clear in my mind.
Firstly, I loved getting to share my heart with the students, and being able to interact with them around God's Word and various concepts. Getting to share about something I'm passionate about and see it inspire and challenge them was really great.
Secondly, just meeting members of this wonderful family of God was great. I feel like I also learned a lot from just being around the staff and students there, and it was inspiring to see what God is doing in people in our generation.
Finally, I am overwhelmed at the privilege of it all - to share my heart and talk about worship and ultimately God, to speak into people's lives, to be able to bless and encourage and inspire people. I'm really looking forward to the opportunities God has for me in the future.
So, after a brief time of getting to know each other and a bit of an introduction on the first evening, the next morning it dawned on me just how much of a challenge this was. That day I had roughly 6 hours in which to share with the 5 students, and I was pretty daunted. Then I felt God speak to me from Jeremiah 1:5-9 that He would put the words in my mouth, and I simply had to share what He gave me to share.
So, on my journey home, several things were pretty clear in my mind.
Firstly, I loved getting to share my heart with the students, and being able to interact with them around God's Word and various concepts. Getting to share about something I'm passionate about and see it inspire and challenge them was really great.
Secondly, just meeting members of this wonderful family of God was great. I feel like I also learned a lot from just being around the staff and students there, and it was inspiring to see what God is doing in people in our generation.
Finally, I am overwhelmed at the privilege of it all - to share my heart and talk about worship and ultimately God, to speak into people's lives, to be able to bless and encourage and inspire people. I'm really looking forward to the opportunities God has for me in the future.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Imitating Daddy
God's been talking to me a lot about childlikeness recently, and it has amazed me how it affects so many areas of life. I've recently read a book called "Dangerous Wonder" by Michael Yaconelli, and in the book he addresses many different ways in which we must "become like little children". This book has provoked me to really look into how I can learn to live like this, and I'd really recommend it.
Anyway, today this verse really jumped out at me - "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children." (Eph 5:1) It made me think about how little children naturally imitate their parents, and so much of their learning is done by imitation. Now obviously this takes humility - too easily I think I know how to do everything and that my way is best. So I must become like a little child, humbly observe what my Father does, and simply imitate.
After reading the verse, I pictured in my mind a man digging a hole in the garden, while his small son is crouching down next to him with a small spade digging a little hole too. The man includes his son in digging, and although it's clear to anyone else that the boy isn't moving much soil, that isn't what's really important.
I think this is a pretty similar to how we are to live with our Heavenly Father. Sure the hole we dig may not seem very impressive, but our Father is so proud of our attempts. And as we continue to imitate Him, we will learn to better imitate Him. Jesus, our example, said, "The Son can't independently do a thing, only what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does. The Father loves the Son and includes him in everything he is doing." (John 5:19, MSG)
I read this on my friend Ella's blog today from the Message version of Matt. 11:28-30 (see http://pellavasmith.blogspot.com/ for more)
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
Anyway, today this verse really jumped out at me - "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children." (Eph 5:1) It made me think about how little children naturally imitate their parents, and so much of their learning is done by imitation. Now obviously this takes humility - too easily I think I know how to do everything and that my way is best. So I must become like a little child, humbly observe what my Father does, and simply imitate.
After reading the verse, I pictured in my mind a man digging a hole in the garden, while his small son is crouching down next to him with a small spade digging a little hole too. The man includes his son in digging, and although it's clear to anyone else that the boy isn't moving much soil, that isn't what's really important.
I think this is a pretty similar to how we are to live with our Heavenly Father. Sure the hole we dig may not seem very impressive, but our Father is so proud of our attempts. And as we continue to imitate Him, we will learn to better imitate Him. Jesus, our example, said, "The Son can't independently do a thing, only what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does. The Father loves the Son and includes him in everything he is doing." (John 5:19, MSG)
I read this on my friend Ella's blog today from the Message version of Matt. 11:28-30 (see http://pellavasmith.blogspot.com/ for more)
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
Thursday, August 11, 2011
BURN Tour 2011
Looking back at the 9 days of the tour, I'm pretty amazed at what happened. Before getting on to any of the ministry we did, the team itself, which grew to about 22 people during the trip, was such a living representation of God's family. There was such care, love, forgiveness and unity among the group which had a wide range of ages, personalities and giftings, and God seemed to have placed each person in the right role for them. I believe that this atmosphere of joy, love, freedom and family that we carried as a group had an impact on the places we visited.
The meetings that we held in each place were marked by these things as well. There were people who led worship and did teaching, but beyond that in each meeting different members of the team would step forward with what they sensed God wanted to do. There was such an ebb and flow about team - people could freely move from playing music to prayer ministry to releasing prophetic words.
Personally, the chance to travel around Finland, worshiping God and interceding for the nation, with a family of people with the same heart was simply amazing. This stuff is a big part of what I was made to do. Of course there were challenges involved, and it was also a learning experience. I feel like I'm gonna be involved with these sorts of tours more in the future, so this was an invaluable experience, being surrounded by people who I could learn so much from.
It was also such a privilege to see more of what God is doing in Finland, and I really feel there is so much more to come. Throughout the tour we saw that God is releasing joy, freedom and healing to Finland, restoring men to their place and uniting men and women, and restoring families and the Church as His family. We were able to glimpse something of this, and we look forward with expectancy to what is to come.
For other people's stories from the tour, check out http://burntourfinland.blogspot.com/
The meetings that we held in each place were marked by these things as well. There were people who led worship and did teaching, but beyond that in each meeting different members of the team would step forward with what they sensed God wanted to do. There was such an ebb and flow about team - people could freely move from playing music to prayer ministry to releasing prophetic words.
Personally, the chance to travel around Finland, worshiping God and interceding for the nation, with a family of people with the same heart was simply amazing. This stuff is a big part of what I was made to do. Of course there were challenges involved, and it was also a learning experience. I feel like I'm gonna be involved with these sorts of tours more in the future, so this was an invaluable experience, being surrounded by people who I could learn so much from.
It was also such a privilege to see more of what God is doing in Finland, and I really feel there is so much more to come. Throughout the tour we saw that God is releasing joy, freedom and healing to Finland, restoring men to their place and uniting men and women, and restoring families and the Church as His family. We were able to glimpse something of this, and we look forward with expectancy to what is to come.
For other people's stories from the tour, check out http://burntourfinland.blogspot.com/
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Tour starts tomorrow...
Tomorrow, on 24/7, a group of 18 of us will begin an 8-day tour of five places in Finland, with another team member meeting us in Tampere, our first stop. It seems crazy that it's starting tomorrow - it's been on my list of things coming up for nearly a year now. I'm really excited about the tour - we have an amazing group of people, and the tour is focused on prophetic worship and intercession, which i'm pretty passionate about. It's such a privilege to be part of this tour and to be part of what God is doing here.
Your prayers for the tour would be more than welcome, as we will be leading a number of gatherings and the logistics of moving 19 people around Finland, feeding them and giving them a place to stay are not simple!
We have a blog for the tour - http://burntourfinland.blogspot.com/ and it'll probably have a mixture of Finnish and English posts.
Your prayers for the tour would be more than welcome, as we will be leading a number of gatherings and the logistics of moving 19 people around Finland, feeding them and giving them a place to stay are not simple!
We have a blog for the tour - http://burntourfinland.blogspot.com/ and it'll probably have a mixture of Finnish and English posts.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The epic roadtrip
It's now a few weeks since we returned from our Eastern European journey. The trip was truly amazing - so many sights, sounds, experiences and encounters. I thought I'd just share a few thoughts and stories from the trip.
On the very first day of the trip in Tartu, Estonia, we spent a couple of hours worshiping and praying with some local Christians. At some point we began praying for the city and the nation, and then it suddenly hit me that we'd have to opportunity to do that in every place we would visit. I felt so privileged. And throughout the trip we worshiped and prayed in so many places, including while in the van on the road.
One of my favourite stories was from Kaunas, Lithuania. We were singing and worshiping together in a park, and a lady and her son (called Tomas) came and listened. The lady asked if they could stay and listen, as Tomas (who was blind) loved music. So we continued worshiping, and ended up praying for Tomas and his mum. Then we asked if Tomas would like to play my guitar. So I formed the chord shapes, and Tomas strummed the guitar, and he was so happy. After a while, Tomas began to sing as he played the guitar. It was a truly beautiful moment.
We met so many amazing people on the trip. Despite not sharing a common language with many of them, we were really able to connect with them. This included a group of older people in Hungary at the place we stayed, and kids at a pre-school run for Roma children in Skopje, Macedonia. And at the Balkans Connect gathering in Ohrid, we met loads of people with such similar hearts to ours. It was awesome to stand with them in praying for their nations and for the Balkans region.
Perhaps the best part for me was the community traveling together. It was so great to travel with such an amazing group of people. We spent lots of time praying together (whether for each other or the places we visited) and worshiping together (including ukulele worship in Toivo - our van). And of course we ate together, spent hours and hours in the van together, and went through the odd stressful moment getting lost. It was an intense time, but really good, learning to love each other even when we see each other's weaknesses.
I really loved Eastern Europe, and I hope I'll be back there again soon.
On the very first day of the trip in Tartu, Estonia, we spent a couple of hours worshiping and praying with some local Christians. At some point we began praying for the city and the nation, and then it suddenly hit me that we'd have to opportunity to do that in every place we would visit. I felt so privileged. And throughout the trip we worshiped and prayed in so many places, including while in the van on the road.
One of my favourite stories was from Kaunas, Lithuania. We were singing and worshiping together in a park, and a lady and her son (called Tomas) came and listened. The lady asked if they could stay and listen, as Tomas (who was blind) loved music. So we continued worshiping, and ended up praying for Tomas and his mum. Then we asked if Tomas would like to play my guitar. So I formed the chord shapes, and Tomas strummed the guitar, and he was so happy. After a while, Tomas began to sing as he played the guitar. It was a truly beautiful moment.
We met so many amazing people on the trip. Despite not sharing a common language with many of them, we were really able to connect with them. This included a group of older people in Hungary at the place we stayed, and kids at a pre-school run for Roma children in Skopje, Macedonia. And at the Balkans Connect gathering in Ohrid, we met loads of people with such similar hearts to ours. It was awesome to stand with them in praying for their nations and for the Balkans region.
Perhaps the best part for me was the community traveling together. It was so great to travel with such an amazing group of people. We spent lots of time praying together (whether for each other or the places we visited) and worshiping together (including ukulele worship in Toivo - our van). And of course we ate together, spent hours and hours in the van together, and went through the odd stressful moment getting lost. It was an intense time, but really good, learning to love each other even when we see each other's weaknesses.
I really loved Eastern Europe, and I hope I'll be back there again soon.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Road-trip anticipation
This Sunday (5th June), the group of 7 of us will start our road trip to Macedonia. I can't quite believe it's so soon. I've never visited any of the countries we will be visiting, and I'm pretty excited about seeing lots of new places. God seems to have especially placed Europe on my heart, and I feel sure that this trip will be significant.
On our way to Macedonia we will be stopping and staying a couple of days in Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, and Hungary. Our journey back to Finland will include visiting Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovakia, Poland again (probably including visiting Auschwitz), Latvia, and finally back to Finland via the ferry from Estonia.
Between all this traveling we'll be spending a few days in Skopje, Macedonia, and then in Ohrid, where we'll be part of 24/7 Prayer Balkan gathering. There will be people from over 10 countries, and we'll be worshiping, sharing our hearts, and just spending time together.
Psalm 84 seems very relevant at the moment - "Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage." I think a major theme of this Psalm is that God's presence is our home, that we can choose to dwell in His house. His presence is where we belong.
One the things I'm most excited about is the chance to travel together as a group, to worship and pray together, and see what God has planned for us in each place we visit. I'm sure there will be challenging moments, but I know there's a lot God wants to do in each of our hearts through the experience.
We have a blog for the trip, so you can follow what's going on along the way - http://joyinthevan.blogspot.com/
Bring it on!
On our way to Macedonia we will be stopping and staying a couple of days in Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, and Hungary. Our journey back to Finland will include visiting Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovakia, Poland again (probably including visiting Auschwitz), Latvia, and finally back to Finland via the ferry from Estonia.
Between all this traveling we'll be spending a few days in Skopje, Macedonia, and then in Ohrid, where we'll be part of 24/7 Prayer Balkan gathering. There will be people from over 10 countries, and we'll be worshiping, sharing our hearts, and just spending time together.
Psalm 84 seems very relevant at the moment - "Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage." I think a major theme of this Psalm is that God's presence is our home, that we can choose to dwell in His house. His presence is where we belong.
One the things I'm most excited about is the chance to travel together as a group, to worship and pray together, and see what God has planned for us in each place we visit. I'm sure there will be challenging moments, but I know there's a lot God wants to do in each of our hearts through the experience.
We have a blog for the trip, so you can follow what's going on along the way - http://joyinthevan.blogspot.com/
Bring it on!
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