A New Africa!

Just arrived to Dar-es-Salaam again after just under a week in Mbeya, in Sothern Tanzania. What an amazing week I have had. Yet another week lined up and orchestrated by the Spirit of God. Walking with God in the midst of His plan is just flat out amazing. There is no strife in the Kingdom. Hard work yes, but no stress. When God is building the house then we are merely His co-workers and we can rest in His peace even in the midst of the storms of life.

Before I share about what God has done this past week I feel I need to take some time to honor my dear friend Fiore Londino from Pittsburgh, PA. Fiore runs his own business offering leadership training to the top echelon of mid to large size companies. He is on Pastor Jeff Leake's board for Allison Park Church and his job takes him around the country. He is indeed a frequent traveler. We have had so much fun this past week. Working side by side for the Kingdom we have made a great team. The week before I arrived to TZ, Fiore brought Patty Edwards, wife of late Pastor Bruce Edwards, and her three daughters Leah, Ashley and Samantha to dedicate two water wells that were drilled in honor of Pastor Bruce. Fiore did it so well. The ladies had the trip of their lives. Then this week, the excellence that Fiore works with is refreshing. He is diligent and takes great  pride in his work. The team that comes with us to Mbeya will have a great trip because of the hard work of Fiore.

Thank you Allison Park Church and Pastor Jeff Leake for sending Fiore as your front man to Tanzania to work side by side with us in SOS. We are honored by his presence.

The people that God placed in our path this week is yet again amazing. We have for the last couple of years said in SOS that there is a new Africa on the rise and once again that is what we met. I was picked at the airport by our co-worker Mathias Msangi and the TAG Bishop of Mbeya, Donald Mwanjoka. What an amazing man he is. Great humble man of God.

Site for Mbeya Signs & Wonders Festival June 2014!

His assistant Bishop, Addison Mwajunga is of the same spirit. He is currently in the midst of a building project. As they were praying for land to become available the local government gave them the neighboring plot for free and as they continued to pray God said to him: Do not ask anyone for money! And he has not. The church has paid for the foundation on their own - over $125,000.

These men are praying their way up. They are believing that God takes care of His own. So refreshing to see in place after place in Africa.

On Thursday Bishop Mwanjoka had gathered the main Pentecostal bishops in the city for us. As I shared our vision for Mbeya, at one point I stopped to ask them what they were sensing the Spirit saying to them. They took turns and one by one they confirmed how God indeed works two ends. They have been praying and they see us coming as a big answer to prayer.

It is God's time for Africa!

C u soon!

Published: By: The Almqvists - 3:08 PM

Tanzania Again

I am back in Africa and Tanzania. I landed Friday night after an interesting trip. There were delays on every leg and i walked off one plane and on the next plane without waiting. In the Burgh, I was walked on a different plane that was "full".

Not sure if the United employee was an actual person or an angel. He over rode the entire system and all the other workers to get me on that plane. God works in mysterious ways...

In Newark I walked off one plane and on to the next - they were more than half way through boarding when I found my gate. Same thing happened in Zurich.

After all those very, very close connections I was very surprised to find my bag on the carousel in Dar...

On Saturday I met up with Fiore and the Edward ladies - Patty, Leah, Ashley and Samantha. They had been to Tanzania for a week to dedicate a well in honor of husband, dad and Pastor Bruce "indeed" Edwards. It was great to spend some time with them, helping them to barter in the markets of Dar.

Had a burger with Fiore at South African Spur's and then off to bed early.

Today my alarm went off at 330am. Off to the airport at 4 for my 615 flight to Mbeya. Was supposed to be a day not much planned. At the airport in Mbeya I am met by Mathias, our SOS worker in Tanzania and Bishop Donald Mwajiko. In the car he says that I am preaching at his church this morning. No way I was not.

Dropped off at my hotel, a quick breakfast and then prepared a message and off to church. Great church, great service. About 15 precious adults and equal amount of kids responded to the altar call for salvation.

There is no bad time to preach. Paul wrote to Timothy that we need to be prepared to preach the word in season and out of season (2 Tim 4:2). Some times it may not seem favorable but God's time is now!

C u soon again!

Published: By: The Almqvists - 2:01 AM

Give a Gift That Keeps On Giving

This Christmas, why not try something different. Give a gift that keeps on giving. By logging on to our donations page, you can sponsor follow up material for new believers at one of our festivals next summer or you can enable a pastor to come and attend one of our Pastor's Conferences.

Log in to giving.missionsos.org and designate your donation to one of the Give a Gift options. And once your donations has gone through, a nice certificate will be sent to you via email. You can then print it and give it as a Christmas gift.

Thank you for supporting our festivals around the world Published: By: Unknown - 3:41 PM

Miracles in Moshi - Blind Eyes and Weather

Yesterday we received our first weather miracle - the sun was shining all day. Not a drop of rain all day. God is so GOOD. We had a full day cleaning of all the mud from the gear.

Morning view from our hotel in Moshi!

Even before the festival began, people started to come to the ground. They sat around reading from our follow up booklets. Jesus is transforming lives in this city.

Reading our follow up material

As the crowd began to gather joy and expectancy filled the place. The people of Moshi are such happy people, full of JOY. During worship, demons began to manifest and throughout the night 12 people were delivered from evil powers and set free in the name of Jesus. Last night we had a major breakthrough.

Hours before the festival they begin to gather...

The POWER of God was thick on the field. Eyes that could not see began to function as they were created to. Crippled began to walk. This week Jesus is coming to town and walking the streets. We are writing history in Moshi. The pastors and bishops of the city are happy beyond words.

Jesus opens blind eyes!

Jesus opens blind eyes!

Tune back for more updates. You can also check Johannes Amritzer's blog or our Instagram feeds. Search for SOS Mission… Thanks for praying. Published: By: Unknown - 2:42 AM

Interesting first couple of days

My practical crew is now almost complete. The set up is moving ahead and we are making good progress. However this is Africa. Yesterday Sunday we were scheduled to move our containers to the field and at first it needed to happen fast. 8 hours later we were finally done. The crane broke down. One of the hydraulic hose fittings cracked and hydraulic fluid flushed out and pressure was lost. First stop - go get the tools needed. Second stop - get a new pipe and have it fitted. And all this was done in a Sunday afternoon.

God is still the God of miracles!

This morning we started early and the stage is coming together. After a full day, when darkness hit so did also a short rain. Felt so good after a day in the hot African sun.

I have an amazing team to work with. A great blend of people. Even here God performed many miracles this. Those stories will come in a later post. Tomorrow we continue setting up for the festival. The King is coming to town!

Check back for more updates!

Peter

Published: By: The Almqvists - 8:45 PM

Feet on the Ground

I am back in Africa and Tanzania. This time to the city of Moshi. It always feels good to arrive days before an event is about to take place. You can feel the anticipation in the air. Posters everywhere, large billboards advertising the event. Pastors that are eagerly waiting, anticipating, expecting great things from God.

Today we walked to the festival ground and I discussed the set up  with one of my rig masters, Kurt. Red African dirt - the ground is covered with it. Dry and dusty. Soon the field will be transformed in to a place of miracles. Jesus is about to show up and meet people where they are. He will come in light and power. 

SALVATIONS - HEALINGS - DELIVERANCES - TRANSFORMATION POWER

One thing is certain: Moshi will never be the same again!

Pray with us for a transformed city and souls added to the Kingdom in the thousands.

Tomorrow Sunday, our team will be preaching in 5 different churches, challenging them one final time to bring people to the event.

Peter

Published: By: The Almqvists - 3:58 PM

Videos from our summer festivals

Sorry for the delay in posting these. My blog has been at the bottom of my list of things to get done. I have decided to change that and try and get better at posting on this blog...

TANGA VICTORY REPORT from Mission SOS on Vimeo.

Mwanza victory report. from Mission SOS on Vimeo.

Published: By: Unknown - 7:04 PM

Back in Africa

On Saturday Martina dropped me and Michael off at the airport. We were heading back to Tanzania. This summer will be different for at least a couple of reasons...

1) I will be gone 7 weeks straight. OK, don't worry. I know what you are thinking. My queen is coming as well and will be with me for 3 of the weeks. God came through and did a miracle for us as a family again when he provided for us to go to Tanzania this summer.

2) I will have Michael with me the entire time. This will be a good dad-son trip. When we return in late July, we will have many memories for life.

Two back to back festivals this summer in Tanzania. First our - the city of Mwanza. Next month - the city of Tanga.

Currently we are in Dar-es-Salaam working on getting our gear through customs. Yesterday we had to change customs broker - the first guy had done nothing at all. Maneuvering through all the RED TAPE of any country can be difficult to say the least. 

I am told that we have the correct docs, just need them to pass through the correct hands in the correct order in the speed of light. Before leaving the US, I was asked by someone if I was worried and my reply then was no. And my reply is still NO - because I know that God is in control. He has opened customs at midnight before, for our (HIS) gear to pass through. We are working for him and we have done our part.

Pastor Cullen preached at APC several weeks ago and he said that "we have a job and God has a job and lets not get them confused!" Since we have done what we can, it is time for us to let God do what only he can - the miraculous. 

Most of the time when we talk about miracles, we mean blind eyes being opened or crippled that super naturally walk. But God can do miracles with customs authorities as well. Believing for a day of MIRACLES!

Will you pray with me?

C u soon!

Published: By: Unknown - 2:28 AM

#Mission13

Back in Stockholm. Just arrived. Pumped for #Mission13. Will be amazing! Will I c u at the Maxim Theater in Stockholm this weekend?

Mission13 Promo final from Mission SOS on Vimeo.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Published: By: The Almqvists - 9:13 AM

Kingdom minded!

Tried to post this on Tuesday... It is finally going up!

I am sitting in Terminal 5 at JFK airport waiting for my last flight home. Tired and sore after a very long flight - 16 hours nonstop Jo-burg, South Africa to NYC, yet filled with a sense of great fulfillment.   The past week as been another one fully orchestrated by God himself.

Missionary Jay

I want to take some time to thank two people in specific for all the work they put in to this week to make it a true success. First of all Jay Rostorfer, AG missionary from western Ohio. Jay is an amazing man with an equally amazing heart. He and his family have been calling Madagascar home for over 8 years now.

Missionary Balela

Secondly I want to mention Balela, a TAG missionary from Arusha, Tanzania. He moved to Madagascar 2.5 years ago with his wife and kids, leaving the oldest at home to continue with their studies. A humble man with a great heart.

These two man were crucial in the planning of all the events this past week. A big, big thank you to both of you! You are both Kingdom minded and focused on the Harvest. And what a servants heart both of you have!

On Friday we met with some 40 pastors and leaders from different Pentecostal denominations to share the vision with them of a city wide festival. And we were so well received by them all. They on the spot agreed that this must be God and have agreed to work with Mission SOS for a city wide festival some time in 2014. Now it will be a matter of scheduling to find the best time for this event. Once we do decide, I will let you all know.

Pastor Adolph

Another thing I have to do here and now is to praise the pastors in Tana (short for Antananarivo). Their atitude was exceptional. They stood up and asked for a list of things that they themselves could do as part of owning the event. Then the host pastor, Pastor Adolph, invited all of us for lunch. His church, Rhema Deliverance International footed the bill. Bishop Glorious and I were blown away by the hospitality that we were shown. This pastor had understood the principle of giving. His church building is one of the nicer buildings that I saw in Tana. You have to remember that Madagascar is the 10th poorest country in the world.

Pastor Ooeli, Bishop Glorious and Pastor Mahefa (Texas, MG)

On Sunday, again credit goes to Jay and Balela, Glorious and I were asked to preach in the four largest AG churches in Tana. We were able to share the vision with several thousand believers that will now be praying for the event. In the morning I preached in a packed out church in Texas - yes I was still in Tana - one of the suburbs in the city that used to known for its criminality, drugs and prostitution. Today the place is changed because the gospel has been preached there for over 20 years. Pastor Mahefa's church is strong and on the move. He planted the church 22 years ago and says that the first 10 were really tough but then he broke through. When I made my altar call around 20 hands went up. Pure joy erupted in the house of God.

After a Malagasy lunch of pork and rice I was taken to the largest AG church in Tana and preached for Pastor Laurent. He is soft spoken and full of Holy Spirit. 3 minutes into my intro, the power went out. But we continue. My translator and I asked the people to move closer to the stage and then we preached to them. Around 15 people responded and received Jesus as savior.

God is so good!


Published: By: Unknown - 11:11 AM

God works from two ends...

In SOS we often talk about the fact that when God wants to get things done, he works from both ends. When God spoke to Moses in the burning bush he already knew what Moses' response would be so he had already nudged his brother Aaron to go meet with him. So when Moses began with his excuses God was not taken by surprise and neither did he have to think on the fly to put a new plan together.

No, he was working both ends at the same time.

As I have been travelling on my recon trips I have seen this to be true time and time again. And here is the most recent example...

Some time ago we asked out East Africa Director Bishop Glorious Shoo to recommend places for future festivals. When we received a list and began to prayerfully review it, one place in particular stood out - Antananarivo, Madagascar. In the fall of 2012 Glorious and I began to plan for a recon trip to this nation. It just happened that the best time for both of our schedules was this current week in Feb 2013.

Steep steps in "Tana"

 What we did not know then was that the Assemblies of God in Madagascar was planning for a seminar in early February. During this conference  God began to really challenge and push them to get back to evangelism in their nation. They all left the conference with a sense of urgency in this matter. At about the same time they get confirmation that a couple of representatives from Mission SOS, an evangelistic ministry, want to come and share about a possible festival in their nation. Can you imagine the joy that erupted after the conference and that our current visit came at the exact right time and became a confirmation of the challenge that God gave them just weeks prior to our arrival.

God is awesome.

Tomorrow Glorious and I will meet leaders from other denominations as well to share the vision with them. They have already been prepped by the AoG leadership and the federation of pastors in Antananarivo seem to all be onboard even before we have met with them.
It is time for Madagascar...

Northern part of Antananarivo "Tana"

Check back for more... Published: By: Unknown - 12:57 PM

On my way to Madagascar ...

Sunday I left for an exciting recon trip - Madagascar. I am now sitting in a hotel lobby in Jo-burg, South Africa. There was a forced overnight. My flight leaves in the morning. As I have mentioned to people the destination of my trip I have for the most part seen the same reaction - almost each person has thought of a cartoon with the same name produced by Dream Works and then they have all begun to sing a certain song that was featured in the first installment of this cartoon.

I find it interesting how the world around us comes to influence the way we think and process information. Each one of us has a slightly different world view and at least part of it has been influenced by the community in which we have grown up. Stay with me...

If Dream Works had not made a movie called Madagascar then many people in the western hemisphere had not had a clue that this island nation exists. This is not just any island in the world. Madagascar is the forth largest island on planet earth after Greenland, Papua (or New Guinea), and Borneo and is the second largest island nation in the world after Indonesia. The first inhabitants came all the way from Borneo, in dug out logs. They then blended with people from mainland Africa and when the European colonial powers "took over" Africa, Madagascar was claimed by the French.

Because of its isolation as an island off the east coast of Africa, the animal and plant life is both unique and diverse. There are species here that can not be found elsewhere on the planet.
Since their independence from France in 1960, there has been little peace on the island. The last event was a coup d'etat in 2009 and since then the nation has been in utter and complete disarray and instability.

About half of the population are animists and ancestral worship is an important part of every day life. They even exhume their dead to honor them and carry them in processions through town before rewrapping them for a new burial. Muslims are trying to gain presence on the island. The church has in many places become syncretistic, ie they have blended their Biblical beliefs with old traditions.

This week I will be meeting with pastors, bishops and other church leaders in the capital Antananarivo to share about Mission SOS. Praying for devine connections to take place these coming days. Our East Africa Director Glorious Shoo will be with me as we plan for the future.

Pray for us this week!

C u soon! Published: By: Unknown - 3:31 PM