Great opportunities and adventures!

Time is flying by ...............

On Thursday of last week, Lisbeth (one of the translators) took me out horse back riding.  Yes, you read that correctly.  It has been over 40 years since I have been on a horse.  It was a great 1.5 hr with her in the countryside and forest of northern Denmark.  The horse was gentle - praise God.  We did go fast a couple of times and I held on for dear life.  It was a precious time shared with Lisbeth and her husband.  I paid the price for my fun with some pretty significant soreness on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  It made for good sermon/teaching lessons.  We all had a good laugh.



On Friday, the whole family, Pr Kjeld, Kirsten, Jacob + family, and Michael + family and I went to the northern most point of Denmark to a town called Grenen just past Skagen.  There in Grenen, you will see a place where the two seas meet, Skagerrak and Kattegat. We also went to a place where a church built in the 1300's that eventually got buried with sand.  It was a day of fun with the family and the weather was great with sunshine.  You don't take the sunshine for granted here.  Many days it rains and we even had a brief time of snow....and yes the wind is cold here!




The Bible School continues to go well as we study about prayer and as we spend time in His Presence.  We have been talking about the different types of prayer as well as a vision that a good friend, Jennifer, shared with me several years ago about the Harness of the Lord.  It was a wonderful time of sharing in the Word and praying together.  The students continue to be so open and teachable, it is such a blessing to be here with them.

The service on Sunday was great!  We had a worship leader, Pia, who did a wonderful job with her voice and guitar.  I loved hearing them worship the Lord in Danish.  The series in Joshua continues to be a blessing.  The Lord was there in a powerful way.  Jon ministered to the congregation in prayer for about an hour after the message.  It was awesome!

Last night, Jon and Michael hosted a small group here at the house.  Michael taught for the first time
in English and he did a great job.  It was great to participate with the group.  It was a good teaching and fellowship.  I so appreciated Michael being sensitive to me as well as step out in a new level of growth with his English.

As I look ahead for the last couple of weeks here in Denmark, I am excited to see what the Lord has in store.  I will be finishing up the teaching at the Bible School this Saturday on prayer and with the Joshua series on Sunday. Then next week, May 3rd,  I will be speaking at a Women's meeting at the church.  God has blessed me tremendously during this time.  God is good...all the time.

Thank you for praying and please continue.  I will write again soon!

God is moving!

This last week was once again a wonderful week.  The weekend was packed full with teaching at the Bible School for 5 sessions (6 hrs) as well as services on Sunday.  I am loving getting to know these precious people and seeing their hearts for the Lord.

In the Bible School, we finished up the section dealing with Holy Spirit with a final session teaching and then we had an exam.  It was decided that we would do the exam in groups - this was a good experience and everyone seemed to enjoy the process.  It was great to see the students sharing with each other and doing well on the exam.  We started the section on prayer with a teaching on one of my favorites, Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20.  We especially looked at it as it relates to how he responded to the challenges he faced.  Then during the second session on prayer we talked about the prayer of agreement.  The students were wonderfully receptive.  During the final session of the day, I felt like the Lord spoke in my heart that it was not enough to just talk about prayer but we needed to pray.  So we took the final hour and did just that.....we prayed....and those who had a need, turned to their neighbor and prayed in agreement for that need.  It was a good time and His Presence was strong in our class!

I can speak for myself that these teachings on Holy Spirit and prayer has been good for me! The Word of God has a lot to say, we just need to make time to read and study it!




On Sunday we continued our study in Joshua.  I was so blessed by hearing testimonies of how God has moved in our midst with healing, deliverance and giving wisdom to individuals.  It was wonderful.  After the message in the Word, we had some tender ministry time.  I cannot really share specifics but let me just say that Holy Spirit was moving in a powerful way.  I am so grateful and humbled!


This week has started off very well.  My focus is on Bible School and preaching on Sunday.  I have one additional teaching time but that is not until May 3.  This has been good for me to slow down a little and rest my voice.  I have also been enjoying the time on Skype with my friend Nayara in Brazil.  She is doing so well and is working so hard with learning English.  She is also helping me with my Portuguese and of course I am here with Jon which is great!  This week I have a couple of special outings that I will tell you about next week!

Pastor Kjeld and Kirsten

Let me let you know a little more about Pastor Kjeld and his wife Kirsten.  They have been in ministry for more than 30 years.  They have served as Pastors as well as evangelist and teachers throughout Denmark.  Their passion is to see an outpouring of God in Denmark.  They both are strong believers in the Word of God and share it boldly.  I have been touched by their tender and teachable hearts.  Their lives shine with the love of Jesus.  I am blessed to be here and am honored by their trust.

Michael

I also want you to meet the translators who have helped me for many hours!  Michael, Jonábia's husband as not only helped me during the Bible School translating but he has also helped translate portions for the students handouts.  Joan and Lisbeth have been awesome by my side translating in services, small groups and in Bible School.  I so appreciate their willingness to share their gift of language to make it possible for me to be there.  They are awesome!

Joan and Lisbeth

Thank you for your prayers, I can feel them.  God has been so faithful in everything!  I am in awe of His working!  May God pour out His blessings on your faithfulness in prayer and financial support. Please know that God is moving and lives are being changed - including mine!

Until next time!

Second week was tremendous!

The second week here was great.  I got to teach in the Bible School for the full day - which is 5 sessions and when you add in the breaks it is from 10am-4pm.  The students are fantastic and so teachable.  We continued our teaching on Holy Spirit.  I have one more session plus a test for this coming Saturday then we are on to Prayer.  This study has been so good for me.  Pastor Kjeld is always encouraging with his words.  I didn't get any new pictures from Saturday, sorry about that!


Last Sunday was a full day to say the least.  I once again had the opportunity to preach for Pastor Kjeld and the Presence of the Lord was so strong.  We are going through the life of Joshua and and crossing over the Jordan.  It was a tremendous time of worship as well as in the Word.  The church was so receptive and we ministered in prayer for over an hour after the preaching was over!  God moved in a powerful way.  I love Pastor Kjeld's heart, he wanted to receive prayer too!

That same afternoon, I had an opportunity to go and share at a home gathering.  It was a wonderful time together with these believers.  The pastor spoke fluent English and translated for me. We talked about one of my favorite passages, Phil 3:10 out of the Amp Bible!  We shared together for about 2 hours.  Needless to say, by Sunday night my voice and body were tired but it was a good tired!

Last night, Tuesday, I had the chance to travel with my translator friends to a town called Brande which is about 2.5 hours south of where we located.  It was nice to get out on the highway and see a little of the countryside.  It actually does not look that different from Oklahoma.  It was a pleasant drive.  I shared the scripture Ps 119:68,  "God is good and what He does is good"!  Once again, God's Presence was strong and ministered to all of us!  I am so humbled by all these opportunities and I am so grateful! We had a wonderful time together.  One of the Bible School students translated for me and did a great job. I also loved spending some precious moments with 2 young ladies who reminded me of my Youth Pastor days.

Nayara

I have enjoyed meeting with my Brazilian friend Nayara on Skype as I am helping her learn English.  It has been a great experience and lots of fun.  She is helping me in learning how the best way to teach someone English. We also make time for my Portuguese lessons too.  She loves the Lord and desires to serve Him wherever He leads.

Sabrina and Pri

When I get home, we will be able to adjust the schedule and include Pri and Sabrina in on the fun of learning English.  Pri and Sabrina are wonderful girls and I do miss them all!  All three of these young ladies faithfully serve the Lord in their home churches and travel home every weekend to serve. They are working hard to complete their studies and graduate this year.  Their dedicated lives are a living testimony of the love of Jesus!  When I was there with them, we had a good time together in BH.  We have had quite the challenge to get all of our schedules together with this time difference between Brazil and Denmark.

 

Michael & Jon
Nathalie & Joshua

I would like you to meet my friends who I am staying with for 6 weeks (now that is friendship). Jonábia and Michael Pedersen have been married for almost 4 years.  She is from Brazil and he is from Denmark.  God brought them together in an incredible way (that is a story for another time). Michael's father is Pastor Kjeld.  They are very active in the Bible School and Church.They have tender hearts for the Lord. They have two children, Joshua who is 2.5 and Nathalie who will turn 1 in May.  They have been wonderful.  I have quickly found out that Michael is quite the cook - so much for losing weight!  I first came to know Jon when I traveled to Brazil in 2010 to the NE part of the country.  She served as my translator.  I have also had the opportunity to assist with her Conversation English Class via Skype when she was teaching English in Brazil.  It was a blessing and I love being able to spend time with her during these weeks.  Tomorrow night, Michael's mom is coming over to help watch the children so that Jon and Michael can have a date night!  It will be fun with the kids....and Michael's mom and I will be able to be together and communicate through Google Translate! lol  She is a precious woman of God and I look forward to spending some time with her.

Michael & Jon's home in the country

Thank you for all your love an support in these days.  The days have been full and crazy at times.  But I have loved every minute.  God is doing a good work in me and through me.  I know I said this before but I am very grateful!

Until next time!

Greetings from Sulsted, Denmark!

The first week here in Denmark has been great!  I loved getting to hug my friend Jon's neck along with her whole family (picture is coming).  It has been 6 years since we have been physically together.  They have made me feel so welcome and their home is in a quiet place with fields all around.  It is very different than my apartment in Brazil.  Jon and Michael have two small children, Joshua who is almost 3 yrs old and Nathalie who is almost 1 year old.  They are full of energy and have lovely smiles.

Bible School

I started teaching in the Bible School on Saturday and all went well. The students were wonderful and receptive to my style of teaching. I have two ladies that are helping me with translation, Joan and Lisbeth.  Joan has worked with me on Saturday with the Bible School, Sunday morning service and last night at a meeting about 30 minutes from here.  These ladies are super and have made me feel so comfortable.

Pastor Kjld, who is Jon's husband Michael's father, has welcomed me with open arms, along with his mother Kirsten.  They both love the Lord and it is obvious to me they love people.  I have enjoyed both of them very much.  He has such a passion to share the love of Jesus!

I am teaching in the Bible School on Holy Spirit for this Saturday and a part of the next Saturday. The following topic will be on prayer.  This has been such a good study for me personally.  The students seemed to enjoy it last week.  On Sunday mornings, I am teaching a 5 part series on Joshua.  This study as well as been good for me.  During the other meetings, I am trusting the Lord to guide me as to what to share.  This has been a good stretching time for me.  I have been pressing in to prayer and seeking to hear His voice as to what to share and how.

Joshua

I am blessed to be here and the Lord is moving.  Thank you so much for your prayers and I would ask that you continue to pray.  Thank you for your faithful support with finances, without you this time would not be possible.  It is such a privilege to come and serve here.  You are having an impact here in Denmark.

I will write again soon, until next time........

Nathalie