Happy Fathers Day!

Today it's Fathers Day in Sweden and we want to celebrate the greatest dad on this planet by telling him that;

My dad is special because he is fun and plays football with me.
Michael 9 years old

My daddy is special because he loves me more than anything in the whole wide world!
Josefina 7 years old

My dad is special because he tickles and plays with me.
Lucas 2,5 years old

My dad is special because he is my dad!
Emilia 11 months old :)

We love you daddy and we MISS YOU!!! Published: By: The Almqvists - 7:15 PM

But Uriah didn't go home...

Some times you just need to do things that you do not feel like. The circumstances might not be favorable but because of a decision made at an earlier point in life you choose to act based on principle.
It is when we are at our prime that we are most vulnerable for self destruction.


Most times when we read 2 Sam 11 we have King David in mind; it is in fact about him. But today I want to look at this story from a different angle. David was at the height of his career. God had blessed him and he had won countless battles, subduing enemy after enemy. King David reckoned that he was well over due for a vacation. (Please do not get me wrong; we need vacation) He decided to stay at home at a time when kings go to battle


A good warrior lives by his principles at all times, no matter what. This is not about right or wrong but about the kind of life that we choose to live. The day we accept Jesus in our hearts we are on our way to heaven. But there is so much more that we can choose to tap into. There is an adventurous life with the Spirit of Jesus that is available for us if we choose to live by a certain code.


Warriors of all times, have always lived their lives by a certain code and have also many times through history been misunderstood by people that live by another code or none at all. Warriors live not for themselves but for something greater.


David stayed at home when he should have been at war. Uriah, one of his soldiers was at war and was summoned by the king. Uriah returned to the palace because he was summoned but he was still on the battlefield. Now let us read verse 9:


But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.


When a warrior went to war he said goodbye to this wife and did not return to her until all the warriors returned home when the war was won or lost or when they were on leave. Uriah was not on leave. He was on official duty and in his mind he was still at war on the battlefield. This is why HE DID NOT GO HOME. He lived his life by principle, by a code, engraved in him by the King himself. 


King David was a warrior by all means but when life became good he chose to forfeit the code and this lead him to sin and loose the Kingdom. Let us not deviate from the code. As warriors in the Kingdom we need to live by this code at all times.


Some of you may ask: are we better than anyone else? The answer is no, just different. The code we live by makes us different. 


Warriors: It is time to step up, to be reminded of the code. We can not afford to compromise on who we are and our strengths, simple to fit in. We need to be the way we are. Circumstances will not always be favorable. But we still push on.


I arrived home late on Thursday last week from Tanzania. Something happened to my eyes on the way home. Might have been Pink Eye. Friday morning I was to lead prayer school at MCM Ministry School. Did I feel like it? No. But I did anyway because it was the right thing to do. Again, does this make me better than anyone else? No! But because of the code, I did. I am not saying this to boast in any way. This is just the most recent example I have to share.


But Uriah didn't go home...


C U soon Published: By: The Almqvists - 3:19 AM

It remains a mystery to me ...

As I woke up this morning I realized that today is my fifth morning in Dar-es-Salaam. Yes, I have been on the road again since Thursday last week. This is a short trip. Objective: to clear our containers through customs in Tanzania.

I arrived to DAR on Friday night and met with our customs agent on Saturday morning and he brought me up to speed. The commissioner had responded to our request for temporary import stating that we needed to pay 150% on the current taxes... Doing the math that equalled a lot of $$$$$$. So we sent him an appeal letter on Monday requesting temporary import without conditions since we are a church (our host in TZ).

What I have realized is that every nation has it's own set of rules and regulations. I know, I knew this but it still dawned on me again very clearly.

The issue for us this time I think lies in the fact that we shipped our containers from one developing nation to another. The first two times we did this, the containers were shipped from Norway. This might not have anything to do with things but as of now this is my conclusion. The paperwork from Pakistan checked out in Pakistan but not here in Tanzania. So we have had to write attachments and send with the originals.

Then we have two words that governments around the world seem to all love: RED TAPE.

(Wikipedia definition: "Red tape" is a term for excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making.)

Here is our situation: The Commissioner of Customs is out of town and delegates our issue to a deputy. The deputy then is unavailable all day Tuesday due to pre scheduled meetings, including a board meeting. And since the Commissioner already delegated to one deputy, the others, who were available, can not handle the issue without a new delegation from the Commissioner. So we are at the moment, since yesterday, waiting to hear back from the deputy.

How do governments actually function with all this RED TAPE. It remains a mystery to me...

As I am writing this long over due post, our agent is meeting with the deputy commissioner and hopefully my cell will vibrate next to me any minute with some good news.

I am scheduled to fly home this evening and talking to my agent yesterday afternoon he said that I should be able to but we will make the decision today after he has spoken to the deputy and we know more about the process.

Be back sooner next time ;)

/ Peter Published: By: The Almqvists - 3:57 AM

Reflecting While Waiting ...

As I sit here at my hotel waiting for my ride to come, I can't help but think back on the last couple of days.
I have been so blessed to be able to spend time Bishop Glorious Shoo and Dr Huruma Nkone. God has truly brought these Men of God to us for a time as this. As we have talked about the event we are planning for June 2012, time and time again I have realized that these men are both men of great influence in the nation of Tanzania. They seem to know everyone.
Reflecting on things that God is doing is a great habit. So often we over look this and speed through life. Reflection keeps us thankful, grateful and humble. Without God we are nothing.
Sunday I preached two services at Victory Christian Center on obeying the calling and walking in step with the Spirit. He makes us look better than we are if we allow Him to lead, to be in control.
BTW, they know how to have church here in Africa. We arrived at the church just after 7am for the first service. At 3pm we left for a late lunch after three consecutive services without breaks. The same worship team ministered from around 630am until 330pm.
Powerful services. At the end of each I made an altar call for salvation and 4 precious souls entered the Kingdom. Bishop Shoo preached in the third services on the prophetic..
I returned to the hotel around 6pm exhausted but happy.


C U soon


/ Peter Published: By: The Almqvists - 2:46 PM

Third morning in Dar-es-Salaam

So I left the US on Tuesday pm and arrived to Tanzania very late on Wednesday, around midnight due to some delays on the way. Could not go to sleep (jet lag), battled my suitcase lock for almost an hour, showered and forced myself to sleep.
Dr Nkone, my host and senior pastor for Victory Christian Center in Dar-es-Salaam (DAR) has taken so good care of my since I stepped outside the arrival terminal at the airport. He and his wife picked me up and brought me to my hotel. We spent a good part of Thursday looking at possible venues for the June festival.
- We have the grand National Stadium, seating 60,000 on the bleachers

National Stadium

- We have the Uhuru Stadium, right next to it. At present under reconstruction. Will seat 30,000 on the bleachers

Uhuru Stadium

- We have Jangwani Grounds - a field that so far only Reinhard Bonnke and CfaN has been able to fill, some 10-15 years ago

Jangwani Grounds Down Town Dar-es-Salaam

Each one of these arenas have both advantages and disadvantages. We now need to determine which route we take. Trying to tune in to the heavenly frequencies to make the right choice.


I have also had time to look at the venue for the Campus Nights in November - a youth event that both evangelist Johannes Amritzer and the SOS Festival Band will take part in. VCC is hosting this event and they are expecting upwards of 15,000 young adults to attend. We will be setting up our equipment at the Leader's Club in DAR. Great venue for a youth event. Seems to be sort of a relic from the time of British rule; there is a Cricket pitch!


Today is another busy day with a grand tour of the city, scouting out accommodations, conference venues, places for street evangelism and more. In the afternoon I will be reuniting with Bishop Shoo from Moshi. He is the man that invited us to Same for our first festival in Tanzania. He is also the one that has opened the door for us to come to DAR and connected us with Dr Nkone and his team. I am looking forward to meeting this man of God so much. Will be a great evening with lot's of work and fellowship.


Pray with me for the right decisions to be made for the June event!

C U soon!
/ Peter Published: By: The Almqvists - 1:52 AM

The Power of Prayer

In January 2010, Pastor Ron Crum from King's River Worship Center in St. Albans, WV was at the MCM Ministry School teaching. One of the mornings, I was leading prayer at our Prayer School and afterwards he approached me and asked if I could come down and lead corporate prayer at his church. I agreed at once. We have since then tried to work out our schedules and now happened to be the opportune time.

Since Monday night I have lead the congregation here in prayer for an hour each evening and we are already seeing the power of prayer in action. The first evening was beautiful and there was such a Spirit of Prayer in the sanctuary. Time passed as we drew near to the master and entered into the throne room. That night we ended up by praying for Pastor Ron and his wife Phyllis. On her way home, she was rear ended. The culprit drove off from the scene. But Phyllis kept on hearing the word protection ring in her inside. She stepped out of the car without any injury. Witnesses of the accident were expecting her to be severely hurt but instead angels kept her safe.

Friends, there is such a power in prayer. Our lives need to be based on prayer. At present Mission SOS is in a forty day fast. God moves when we seek him. We are praying for breakthroughs in many areas and we are seeing the results already.

If you want to be fit and have a fine trimmed body, you need to spend time at a gym and exercise those muscles in your body. Sometimes even push yourself beyond your limit. The same is true for our spirits. For us to be spiritually strong we need to exercise our spirits through prayer. You need to build up your spiritual stamina through hours in prayer.

Paul wrote to his son Titus to build himself up in his most holy faith while praying in the Holy Spirit. Tit 1:20. We need to pray a lot in the Spirit, building ourselves up so that we become strong warriors in the Kingdom of God. 

The End Time harvest is at hand and we are privileged to live in this times. We will see the greatest harvest of souls that the world has ever seen and then our King, Jesus Christ, will return and take us home. 

Will it be easy? NO. Will it be worth the fight? YES. But we need to be prepared.

Soldiers train more during peace times. When the time comes for battle they need to be ready. Are you ready for the battle? Take the challenge! Step up to the plate! It is time for warriors to arise and take the world for our King! 

If you feel inadequate and poorly equipped for the task at hand then I urge you to come to MCM Ministry School and be trained for a year for the End Time harvest.

Hope to C U in Pittsburgh in the near future!

/Peter

Published: By: The Almqvists - 4:46 PM

Building the Kingdom!

Lately I've been thinking a lot about what we do when we build the Kingdom of God, and what it means to be a part of just that. The Kingdom of God is HUGE and great and I'm so honored to be a part of it, but every Kingdom is made up of little bits and pieces, or bricks you could say. There is no great building that just "started to exist" and that is all in one piece from the start... You have to start building, digging for the foundation, laying the foundation, then laying brick after brick after brick - until the building is great and huge.

The Kingdom of God is the same way, the brick is you and me, and what we do for the Lord. When we do our very best, whatever task we have in front of us, whether it's mothering your kids, taking care of your home, helping your neighbor, preaching, working as a nurse, lawyer or an admin assistant, we are laying yet another brick to what is the Kingdom of God. So it's so important that we serve the Lord with all our heart, always trying to do our uttermost best, to be excellent AND dependant on God! Sometimes when I am doing something that I don't think of as very significant or important I try to remind myself; I'm laying another brick to the Kingdom - and all of a sudden the task that I thought was quite boring becomes more fun :)!


Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters...

Col 3:23

You are a Kingdom builder - be meticulous, excellent and serve with a heart full of gratitude, in the Holy Spirit you can!

/Martina

Published: By: The Almqvists - 2:25 PM

Great Buy!

A few weeks ago Johannes Amritzer released his fourth book; A Public Spectacle. This is a great book about the ministry of the Apostle that I greatly recommend! Here's a little appetizer on what you'll find in the book:

Paul uses the words “a public spectacle” to describe the ministry of the apostle. Today, almost 2000 years later, that description can still be applied. The apostle is often slandered, jeered at and strongly questioned. Few are bold enough, and enough aware of their callings, to follow Paul’s lead and entitle themselves Apostle.



This book is a simple Bible study about the apostolic ministry. What is an apostle? What is his purpose? The book shows what characterizes an apostle and what victories await him who dares to take his calling seriously. It is an encouragement to all the church planters out there, and all the pioneer missionaries among the unreached peoples. The book is an inspiration to apostles who feel like fools for Christ – just like Paul. In this public spectacle, you are in good company!


This book is only $10, so order your copy today! Email usoffice@missionsos.org asap!

/Martina Published: By: The Almqvists - 3:18 PM

Met a Hero Today

Today I met a true hero; her name is Sarah Graefe and she is a missionary that just came home from Harar, Ethiopia. Sarah spent the last 9 months in the city of Harar working as a SOS missionary. She has many wonderful stories to tell about her time there, and when I asked her if she had any questions about her stay there her answer came quickly; "when can I go out again?!"



Sarah is a true missionary, her heart, love and passion for people shines all around her, she is like a magnet that draws people to her and leads them to Jesus! She has done a tremendous job, working at the mission base and also heading up the childrens ministry in Harar Church of Joy. Sarah, we couldn't be prouder of you, you are amazing and we know that many many will thank you in eternity for showing them the way to Jesus!

Welcome home!

/Martina Published: By: The Almqvists - 10:19 PM

Jersey Shore and Heavenly Fire

In Acts chapter one we can read about a group of 120 disciples that had locked themselves behind doors. They were hiding in the upper room. Hiding from what you may ask? Or from who? They were scared to death because they had believed that Jesus was the deliverer. And after he died and rose from dead They were accused of fabricating
his resurrection and were scared of their fellow country men, the Jews.

Reading chapter two we see the disciples preaching boldly on the streets about Jesus and them seeing thousands turn from darkness to light and receive salvation.

Question is: what happened? The answer is found in the first couple of verses of chapter two.

Holy Spirit showed up. Looked like fire. Sounded like a thunderstorm. Changed everything. Why did Holy Spirit come? First of all because Jesus said he would. But also so that we could win the world.

When Holy Spirit comes over us we are dipped in Jesus' river of liquid fire and we come out burning. That fire
- eradicates fear
- makes us bold for our King.
- shakes the ground we stand on
- enables us to win the world

This weekend is Pentecost. The Jews celebrated Pentecost as a feast of the harvest. Today Pentecost needs to be all about the harvest again; not wheat and corn but souls, souls and more souls.

I am in Lakewood, NJ with Pastor Wes Lindquist and Ricky George. They are treating me like a king. Today we had lunch at Surf Taco




Last night Ricky hosted a Pentecostal Youth Rally and my friend Greg Hubbard preached. Wow! The man can preach. He only has one gear: full speed ahead. He preached out of Num 16:42-50 where Moses and Aaron stopped the plague.

In the altar ministry time we prayed for baptisms in the Holy Spirit. Many began speaking in tongues for the first time. I prayed with several (Gypsies) teenager boys and they were baptized in fire.

When we say yes to Jesus we are on our way to heaven. But there is so much more to life than that and in order for us to experience the full life of God we need to be dipped in that river of liquid fire. The world needs Christians that are burning with that heavenly fire. Those people will change the world

Tomorrow I am preaching at Calvary Lighthouse on the Fire of God and why we preach the Gospel. It is Pentecost weekend and we need the fire.

C u soon

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Published: By: The Almqvists - 2:09 PM

Walmart has the answer to everything?

Saw this commercial today - thought it was just so great!!!



/Martina Published: By: The Almqvists - 10:06 PM

A Mama's Saturday :)

Started this Saturday early, got my coffee, packed lots of snacks (I'm talking like 20 different ones :)) and then got all kids dressed and in the van. Time for horseriding lessons for Josefina at 09:00 - in Zelienople (about a 40 min drive from our house). Got there, great times, got to talk to one of the moms whose daughters are riding too. She is wonderful!

At 10:00 - back in the van. Run to Walmart to get a few things and then off to Fox Chapel for Michael's soccer game. Got lost in Fox Chapel :) not very unusual for me, and Michael made it to second half of the game. (I should say that after asking for directions the second time, and still not finding the soccer field, I was almost in tears...) Well there I met a wonderful couple whose son plays on the same team as Michael, we had a good time. Then off to a birthday party and now I'm home!

The other day I felt a little lonely since Peter's not home, but I guess I just didn't look around hard enough to really SEE all the amazing people that God placed in my life. Today I think I did, and guess what? IT WAS WONDERFUL! God has placed so many awesome people in our lives, sometimes we are just too busy with everything (and sometimes too busy with minstry...) to really see, spend time and enjoy them, but they really are there the entire time. Thank you Jesus for all the great people and things you have given me!

Just had to post this latest pic of my little princess!

/Martina Published: By: The Almqvists - 3:49 PM

First Peace Festival in Pakistan

Sitting at Lahore airport after our largest festival ever. We had a total attendance over 100,000 people in three nights and on the final night we had our greatest crowd ever - well over 50,000 people.

Some 9,000 people responded to the salvation call this night alone. God is so good. A total of 17,000 people responded during the three night long festival.

After so much frustration before the opening night we knew that God had something big in store for the city of Sialkot. We were able to begin rigging at 530 am on Friday morning and the event was to begin at 6pm. My team together with a large group of local volunteers made it happen. We finalized everything on Saturday and God kissed the event in a beautiful way.

So many powerful miracles took place and all the thousands of salvations make me cry of gratitude to our Lord. There is nothing like the precious blood of Jesus that so saves, lifts, heals and sets free.

Jesus is King. Jesus is my King.

Thanks for praying and sorry for not sending any updates. For one I have been busy and two the situation has been sensitive.

C u soon

9,000 people shouting out a salvation prayer


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Published: By: The Almqvists - 2:43 AM

Festival Week

Again it is festival week. A lot of stuff needs to fall in place and the fight is now on for real. The team has begun to arrive. This time we are a small team and we will all be putting in long hours for the Kingdom.

Personally I know we are right where we should be when the fight intensifies the days before an event. The devil knows and does what ha can to interfere but our God u mighty and He always comes through.

I'll try and send an update daily this coming week. Thanks for all your prayers.

C U soon again


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Sialkot, Pakistan

Published: By: The Almqvists - 2:50 AM

Thank You God for Laundry, Cleaning and Cooking!

My life right now consists of a whole lot of cooking, cleaning, feeding, changing diapers, doing laundry, working from my home etc etc. Tasks that most people would consider to be stuff that we do just because we have to and not neccesarily because we want to...  I could look at everything from that point of view (and believe me, sometimes I do!!!) and feel overwhelmed, swamped and bored, but I could also do what a good friend told me years ago when I was whining about some dull task; see the positive in everything! So, I'm trying to do just that and thank God that I get to do all these things;

Thank you God that I get to go grocery shopping - means that I have money to shop with!

Thank you God that I get to do laundry - means that I have a family!

Thank you God that I get to clean my house - means I actually have a home!

Thank you God that I can work from home - means I have a job!

Thank you God for diapers that need to be changed, little handprints on windows and feedings that need to be done - means you have given me the opportunity to stay home with my two little ones!

And seriously - who would not be thankful to see this little happy face everyday???

/Martina

Published: By: The Almqvists - 3:17 PM

He Will Never Leave!

Today as I was driving from one errend to another this song started playing on the radio and I found myself bawling in the car... You know, sometimes life can be a little hard and challenging, but as I sat there singing this song, I was reminded what the Lord has said. He never promised that everything would be easy or served on a silver platter, some circumstances are hard. BUT He DID promise that whatever life throws at us, and whatever pain we go through, He will always be there to carry us through, and He will never leave!



I mean, my daughter Josefina has diabetes, a disease that she will have all her life if not a miracle occurs. But even though we have to monitor her blood sugar levels all the time, wake up in the middle of the night to see that she's all right doesn't mean that I have stopped believing in miracles! And even though relatives pass away in illnessess doesn't mean that God has stopped performing the impossible. My God is a miracle worker! He heals, delivers, raises up and restores what is broken! I will never back down from beleiving! I will never stop praying for my daughter's miracle - it's coming! My God is the Creator God and He can do anything! And He will never leave you or forsake you!

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Phil 4:4

/Martina Published: By: The Almqvists - 8:33 PM

The Difference is ...

This morning Daniel and I woke up at 430am to try and watch the Super Bowl. Yes we are both vivid Steelers fans and wanted to see the game. Not sure if either the local TV or the streaming sites online would come through, we decided to give it a chance. Nothing on TV and with hardly anybody else awake in the city Internet was working great. The site came through.

I must say, even though we lost, that this was one great football game. Sheer excitement till the end... What if Ben's second to last through had not been incomplete... I bet the what if's list can be made however long you want it to be today... None of it will change the fact that we lost. But remember, it is not the end of the world. However big football is, they were expecting over 116 million viewers in the US alone, life is greater than a win or a loss. 

Sitting here in our hotel room looking out at the grey skies, hearing the rain batter the roof and seeing the water flow over each and every crevices makes me ponder and realize that I live such a rich life. Out in the corridor, we noticed how a room two rooms down had sprung a leak. At least we are in the dry. But more so we are in the dry when it comes to eternity. We know where we are heading and can settle down with peace in our hearts.

Somewhere towards the middle of the game I was again reminded of my whereabouts; we are in a Muslim nation. The call to prayer from the closest mosque was heard through our closed windows. We are here in nation, among millions of people that are not in the dry when it comes to their eternity. They all live their lives by the phrase "Insh Allah", IF GOD WILLS (OR WANTS) in plain English. No matter how good of a life they live, even if they were to follow every word of their holy book and the words of their prophet, they still have no guarantee of eternity. Maybe god will have a bad morning on the day of judgment and send us all to hell.

What a tragic life that must be. So lost with out hope. 

But when we receive Jesus Christ as out SAVIOR, he fills us with Holy Spirit as a guarantee of what is to come. We can KNOW where we are heading and have surety of eternity. That alone is to good to keep to oneself. That one sentence is enough to drive us to the ends of the world. Add to it the love of a Savior and the grace of a Father and there should be nothing that can hold us back. Then if you take in to account the entire gospel message - WOW, we should be constantly on the move, pushing forward making sure that more people choose to know where they are heading.

Or am I mistaken...?! Sometimes I wonder what has happened to us as HIS people today. Common, what are we laking? HE gave us everything.

So if he is our most prized possession, then why are we not doing all we can to show the world? I am no well educated man and perhaps that is why I do not understand the issues that seem to hold us back. They all seem so trivial. The first century Christians saw it as an honor if they where paraded and then throw to the beasts at the Colosseum in Rome. For them life was Christ and dying pure gain. What have we lost that their lives were filled with?

The passion had been lost. There simply is very little passion left. We need to re-ignite the passion. Make sure that you are crazy in love with Jesus and the flames of passion will seem like there are out of control, an uncontrollable forest fire. Burn, burn, burn. Burn for our King! The world needs passion! The world needs you!

The question is: WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT?

The answer is simple: The POWER of God. He lives within us and it is not to late to let the world see HIM. When we begin to live out the power of God, that makes us different. We can talk, talk and talk some more. I have met with some "wise" men on this trip and all they want to do is talk, talk, talk. We can play the act as well.

However, against these men we will loose and loose bad. The only thing that will make it through to the end and at the same time bring lasting change is if we live the power of God. Let it show that we are different. We are of another Kingdom! We are authorized to use the power that has been delegated to us. We are ambassadors for this New Kingdom and we must begin to let it show in our lives. An ambassador speaks bold on behalf of his nation. We must to!

Join us on the battle field for the largest harvest that the earth has ever seen. Every ETHNOS will hear before we hear that trumpet sound. The task seems large, but not impossible and last time I checked, our King likes when the odds are stacked up to the point of luring defeat. FOR GOD NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.

The world will hear and the world will receive. There is no other way to be sure of eternity

C U!

Published: By: The Almqvists - 2:34 AM

Faislabad and a wise man

Today we travelled to Faislabad to begin recon in this city, the third city of Pakistan. Even as we began entering the outskirts of the city we noticed a different pulse and order - we knew we were now in a mega city. Faislabad has a population of between 4 and 5 million people - that is half of Sweden in one city. WOW. So far there has not been even a hint of the pulse slowing... we will see later in the night. Our room faces the street, and a busy one I might add.

Our recon started out bad. Our guides began to take us to a place supposedly just outside town. After 30 minutes I simply said turn around and head back in to the city. God sent us to the city this time. We stopped at a park on the way in and that is where they finally understood what we looking for. 20 mins later we were standing on a field that can hold 50,000 people and lies in the middle of a crowded residential and industrial area. Not smack down town but there seems to be no field large enough down town. This could be the place.

On the way to the hotel we drove by two stadiums but judging from the drive by, the gates can not handle a big truck or crane to deliver the gear. This might be an issue...

Now we are relaxing at the hotel and preparing for a big pastors conference in the morning. I will have  the first session and then Daniel will take the second. We are expecting 250 pastors and leaders and together Daniel and I will challenge them and get them on their feet for the upcoming festival in their city. Jesus is coming to town to perform miracles and we need to be ready...

Backing up 24 hours, Daniel and I had an interesting meeting at our hotel. One of the religious leaders from the city came to us and we talked for an hour. Very interesting to hear his views and after our hour, he said that we are welcome to his city and he will do all he can to help us secure the festival and make it a success.. I will share some other time more of what we learned from this wise and seemingly humble man...

Appreciate your prayers...

Will be back soon with more from the field.

Published: By: The Almqvists - 10:00 AM

Joshua Project - Mobile Phone Application

Check out this great tool for finding information on unreached people groups:

Go to this page for more information: Joshua Project - Mobile Phone Application Published: By: The Almqvists - 5:19 PM

On the road again

My second morning in Pakistan. Even though I left my home early Monday morning. I had to fly through Stockholm on my way here and what an interesting day it turned out to be. First my dad met me at the airport and we got to spend some time together. Great.

Then after dropping him of at the central station for a meeting I made my way to SOS Church on Kungsholmen. Once there I heard that Andreas G was meeting with the School of Leadership class and they were talking about Pakistan. So I sort of hijacked the class. Very fun indeed. They were all chocked by my entrance. I was able to answer many questions and I believe that this year will be a year of great harvest for Mission SOS and the Kingdom of God.

Later I spent the night at the Zuniga's home in Tumba before heading to the airport for my flight to Pakistan. I checked in to my hotel at 530 am on Thursday morning and was so disoriented time wise. I had a great day of rest.

Yesterday was very productive. I worked in my room all day and then we had a 2.5 hour planning meeting in the evening. The people working with us on the ground here are amazing. They left the meeting with a two page list of questions that I need answers to and they all left with a big smile.

Soon they will be back at my hotel and we will continue to work out all the loose ends and set up two great events here in Pakistan.

Tomorrow my friend and brother Daniel Elvelyck arrives to be at my side. Together we will work out the ground details and meet pastors and encourage them for the event.

God is up to something great in this nation.

I will post pictures in the coming posts.

C u soon!

Published: By: The Almqvists - 1:01 AM

Cartledge, Amritzer and Leake!

Today I framed three of my favorite quotes and put them in my kitchen so I can see them when I am doing dishes :). Ok, I know... You're dying to find out what they are;

God is a good God that does all things well...

- David and Marie Cartledge -

There are no closed places or impossible cases, only lack of love…

- Johannes Amritzer -

When I don’t know what to do, I chose to trust You…

- Jeff Leake -

Good eh?

/Martina

Published: By: The Almqvists - 5:54 PM

Rescue the "Hudsons" of this World...

Watched this video clip tonight and was moved in my heart... God's focus, attention and love is all about reaching and rescuing those that no one cares for, sees or is focusing. The little ones, the ones without voice, the unreached.

Let 2011 be a year where you and I step outside the box, when we go the extra mile, give that extra gift, and pray that extra hour. Let this year be different, do something that you've never done before; why don't you start by going with us to Pakistan this spring or fall? Together we can reach and rescue some of the "Hudsons" of Pakistan and bring the Gospel message to these wonderful people that Jesus loves, bled, died and rose again for...

For more information, visit our website!



/Martina Published: By: The Almqvists - 7:02 PM

New Starts and Good Friends!

A new year is always exciting! New starts are fresh, makes you curious and awakes the adventurer in you. I am very excited about this year! I am so looking forward to all the Holy Spirit has in store for us, all He has on His agenda and is planning to do. I am praying to have open ears so I can listen to Him speak, understand His Word better and become a better disciple...

Praying and whispering with Jesus at the beginning of a new year is very special - I love those times - between the diaper changes, laundry that needs to be folded and dinners to be cooked - when I take time to stop, listen, pray and read His Word. Those moments are what matters most and what really makes the difference!

We have some great friends visiting for a few days; Ylva and Tommy Hamrén with their kids Felicia, Emilie, Isak and Joel. The Hamrén family means so much to us and we love spending time with them. They are great heroes in the Kingdom of God; their home in Stockholm is always open to everyone in need, they are pillars in both our church in Stockholm and SOS and we are truly honored to have them in our home! Yesterday we enjoyed Pittsburgh; Mt Washington, rode the incline, Station Square and South Side - the absolute best of the city!

Ylva and Tommy at Mt Washington!

/Martina

Published: By: The Almqvists - 5:07 PM