Adventure

Arrived back in Dar-es-Salaam last night. This trip was planned on very short notice. The greater the fight they greater the victory. God is up to something big in Dar this year. Giants are humbling themselves for the sake of the Kingdom. Anything can happen.  Was in California this weekend with our dear friend Michael Williams. Pastor Glen Berteau hosted Johannes Amritzer, Erik Dahlström and myself. God showed up in a powerful way at Calvary Temple. Many salvations, healings and deliverances as people encountered LIFE in Jesus.  Living for Jesus everyday is an adventure. Met an interesting man this weekend. Ben has been a millionaire a couple of times. He loves Jesus like few men do. Jesus shined out from him and all he spoke about was Jesus. His stories of how heaven has intervened on his behalf have me goose bumps. I felt the anointing as he spoke. There is not a religious bone in Ben's body. I love it. He is the real deal.  Gotta go. C u soon again! Published: By: The Almqvists - 5:17 AM

Back in Tanzania!

I am back in Dar. Arrived Friday night without bags. Yesterday I got to go shopping. Found myself a new suit, some shirts and underwear. What is a bag? Easily replaced. We need to cherish the important things in life. The things that really matter for eternity.

God has given us great coordinators in Tanzania - Bishop Glorious Shoo and Dr Huruma Nkone. 

The deputy Superintendent of the Tanzania Assembly of God had asked to meet us and we met yesterday at his office. God has something special planned for this nation. I was then asked by my dear friend Pastor Huruma Nkone to preach in his first English service. 3 people gave their hearts to Jesus and then we prayed for all that needed prayer and the entire church came forward. Great time if ministry. Pastor Nkone is building a strong church and God has blessed him with greatness.

Will be here working, preparing for our June festival for ten more days. Stay tuned for more…

Published: By: The Almqvists - 2:46 PM

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