Swedish favor! Swedish love! Swedish encouragement! I had almost stopped believing that this existed... I was about to become Norwegian, Finnish or American these last years...
The Amritzer family experienced and enjoyed a huge favor and "go" for the Evangelist and Teacher mission in Sweden during the years 1991-2002... Yes, there really was no limit - thank you Jesus for wonderful years! 2003-2008 were tough, lonely and isolated years where we almost exclusively worked abroad... Mission SOS has quaddruppled the last seven years, but oh what we've missed Sweden and all our "friends" that became so quiet... Articles, Tv shows, Swedish National Radio, Christian newspapers, cyber gossip and general slander... Missconceptions, intrigues and feathers that have grown into large, ugly turkeys! Imaginary ghosts and perhaps even real ghosts (in Mission SOS we like to call them demons, giggle...) The battle has at times been close to unbareable. Maria and I have continued to proclaim healing, unreached peoples mission, church planting and Apostolic Christianity and leadership! We have taken one to many bullets, cried and screamed... Many churches have been planted around the globe in the places where we have or have had mission bases! 120 full, or part time missionaries have been out on the field, some for just 6 months and others for up to 5 years... Around 50 festivals of different size have been conducted among unreached peoples... Books and booklets have been written and translated into soo many languages! Bible schools have been established in Sweden, India, Bulgaria, the US and soon both in Thailand and Ethiopia as well, hallelujah!
Thank you Sweden for all the letters, emails, and messages that we have received the last couple of weeks from you that have been saved, baptized in the Holy Spirit, and healed during our services... God heals me today... Tears! Generous, without prestige, and joyful cheers from all over Sweden! Thank you all alumni students, missionaries and team members for all your nice words! Thank you to all you churches in Sweden that have called us to come and preach! At present we are booked abroad and need to keep our promises, but of course we will also prioritize Sweden as well in time... Give us some leeway and contact us with good margin and then we will love to come... Continue to write, send text messages and call - we were ans are so happy!
Some time back someone said to me: "Johannes, all you do is seek confirmation"... I smiled for myself in my solitude and laughed a little. No my friend... had it been populatity I sought then I would have tried to be more church politically correct, tried not to stick out, and to have said just enough... That is just not me and never will be... I have now preached for 18 years and I love my vision, style and direction... But yes, it is soothing and healing with confirmation from people as well, now and then every 8 years or so... ;) Thank you! Ahhh, Sweden is still all good... I smile and giggle at my own childishness but am grateful that it remains... "You old, You free, You Mountian high North.. (Swedish national anthem)." Giggle again...
Love you! See Ya!
