2009

- On January 20th Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States of America and the first African-American president. Regardless of what you may think of his politics, it is historical that the only remaining Super Power is led by an African-American!

- In February our Swedish Crown Princess Victoria Bernadotte was engaged to Daniel Westling and the wedding is set for 2010! Her younger sister Madeleine will also step up to the altar together with her Jonas Bergström during 2010 after their engagement during the summer of 2009… The tabloids will have a golden year during 2010, with record sales…

Princess Madeleine and her Jonas...

- On June 25th both loved and hated Michael Jackson, aka the King of Pop, dies unexpectedly just before the kick off for his comeback tour – a tour with 750,000 tickets sold. The world mourns a musical genius and once again the tragic and typical behavior of commending and loving the deceased is proven right. It is better with a few roses and eulogy during life than to be declared a hero after burial you can think unless you have an eternity perspective. I believe in Heaven, but that my dear blog reader, you most likely already knew…

- In September the Swedish American Anna Anka (married to Paul Anka) becomes blonde of the year after the first episode of Swedish Hollywood Wives airs. Anna stabs the Swedish I-am-not-good-enough mentality by giving air to totally forbidden opinions on roles of the different sexes, all in a rough southern Swedish accent… Entertaining because Sweden makes such a big deal of it, but at the same time embarrassing because of the filthy amount of money that the rich (we probably already knew this) and the Swedish media spend on nonsense, all while the world starves and the refugee camps are over full…

- Jimmie Åkesson, leader for The Swedish Democratic Party (SD), in October writes one of the most remarkable debate articles in Aftonbladet (a Swedish Tabloid). The message in brief is that Åkesson personally sees Muslims as the greatest foreign threat to Sweden. According to current poles the SD will make snatch a place in the Parliament…

- Twitter emerges. The micro blog with max 140 characters is the greatest weapon for democracy used during the street protests this summer in Iran.
- Art student Anna Odell probably stood for the art debate of the year when she reconstructed and simulated a psychosis on a bridge in Stockholm and was arrested. Yes it did cost us tax payers a lot of money, but it also commenced the debate concerning art and also psychic health care – her voice was heard and cut right through the media…

- The Swine flu hits Sweden with a contamination phobia that can only be compared to the HIV scare of the 80’s. Very few died due to the flu and the bubble burst when the norovirus hit…

- A fatal year for both SAAB and the Swedish car industry. Only in Trollhättan 4,000 people will most likely lose their jobs.

- Tiger Woods, the golfer, and his so tragic sex and infidelity scandal etc etc...

Have you forgotten that SOS Church Stockholm was launched on August 29th with 53 members! At the end of the year we have a steady weekend attendance of around 150, with 110 in house churches and we have baptized about 20! During 2010 we are expecting explosive growth according to fresh forecasts and very trustworthy investigations…

See ya!

St. Clara Church in Stockholm

Sunday morning I visited a totally wonderful worship mass at St Clara Church in Stockholm, where Carl-Erik Sahlberg is dad to a great bunch of Jesus disciples. Situated between the central train station and Sergels square, it is an oasis for homeless people and others with very shifting and at times tragic life destinies... A Lutheran church (former State Church) or what we today simply call the Swedish Church, since the day a few years back when State and church were separated... St Clara Church is a landmark in Stockholm, a light house in the darkness and a city on the hill that cannot be hidden, just like Jesus once said... I so admire Carl-Erik's team with Nils, Inga, Viveka, and so on – heroes, spiritual vikings that all so boldly preach Jesus! The church is multi ethnical and home to both refugees, outcasts, and academics. Everyone fits in; janitors, politicians, white and blue collar and is all the same whether one is noble or peasant... Before Jesus we are all alike and the Holy Spirit really fills the ship!

Julia Willkander...

Julia Willkander, Music and Fine Arts Pastor at SOS Church, led worship and also sang both a great solo and a duet together with Piritta that accompanied her. Beautiful, wonderful but more so anointed! Nils, one of the priests, interviewed me before the service about our church plant downtown as well as my latest book Priest for Those Who Don't Go to Church; he like the title... We were met and taken care of so warmheartedly. After a very Bible centered message on the importance of faith in the Jesus of the Scriptures and a clear confession of Him as Lord an altar call for salvation was made and a few people responded by coming to the front to kneel around the altar rail. I was asked to walk out to the sacristy to dress in a white gown so that I then could help minster the elements during the following communion – we ministered to people together in the power of the Holy Spirit – thank you Jesus!

That we as a new church downtown were able to do something practical for the poor and homeless through our donation to the social work of St Clara Church was and is both a privilege and a blessing to us. This is what the Bible says:

He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.

Proverbs 28:27

All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

Galatians 2:10

We as SOS Church Stockholm want to take part in helping the suffering in our city and what better avenue is there than through St Clara Church?!

See Ya!

Time Off at Christmas With La Familia

We soo enjoyed Christmas day! And such a nice Christmas Eve! My Maria is the best! Maria had decorated and made everything so nice for all of us – I love my girl more than ever... We ate too much, the kids are playing all over the house with their new toys and Walter and I have been to Flemingsberg for a workout... We then enjoyed a great Christmas Day evening. My cell phone has been switched off almost the entire time and it continues to be – Hallelujah!

At the kitchen table we, (the Zunigas and Amritzers) read aloud from Living a Life of Fire by Reinhard Bonnke, his new autobiography just recently released. Slowly we read page by page, taking turns wiping tears and snot – no one remains untouched and it is impossible to not be caught by this fascinating life and we are all overtaken by passion for the Great Commission. The calling to the unreached peoples burns like a fire in both heart and bones! We have reached page 53 of the 628 wonderful pages in the book – lets hope that it never ends!

Buy the book – it is a must read for every missionary in the whole world!

We celebrated Christmas with the "Stockholm clan", a part of our now very large family. Just say and feel these wonderful immigrant names that celebrated Christmas together in Tullinge 2009 – Zuniga, Santos, Sedigis, Drevon, and Amritzer – 2 x Latino, Persian, Norwegian and then Austrian. It is not for nothing that we feel that we are to build a church focusing specifically on the first and second generation immigrants! Strangely enough the Swedes love our church as well and a devoted Swedish disciple is like a rock – thank You Jesus for Sweden and the Swedes! Christmas 2009 will be known in history as the perfect white Christmas – the Christmas of our dreams...

Tomorrow I will be at church twice. First at 11 am I will go to St Clara Church, also downtown Stockholm to hand over a check from SOS Church to their so impressive work among all the homeless people in Stockholm. I will then continue on to SOS Church at 4pm.

Please join us for continued Christmas celebrations both at St Clara Church and at Warfvinges väg 26 – Welcome!

See Ya!

Good Tired and Real Happiness

Yes, that is how I feel after a wonderful weekend at SOS Church – Christmas party with the Bible College on Friday night and then two extraordinary Christmas Shows both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Our sanctuary has been filled with people, candles, and of course beautiful songs, break dance, Bible theater, multimedia and Christmas gifts. A lot of new people but what makes both me and heaven rejoice are all the decisions for salvation together with all the honest prayers that were prayed this weekend... Jesus – Savior and Light of the world has shattered darkness and driven out anxiety from so many Stockholmer's hearts (don't dare to guess any numbers right now...)!!

The Amritzer family invited 12 people this weekend and 10 showed up – one was genuinely saved and several others heard a crystal clear Gospel for the first time in their lives! Today I led one of my newest disciple's mom in a prayer of salvation over my cell phone. His newly saved younger sister was baptized in the Holy Spirit – also over the cell phone :).

Christmas for real – Jesus saves and baptizes in the Holy Spirit and fire!

Tomorrow I am getting a new sofa that we have bought – will need it since we will be around 20 people celebrating Christmas at our house here in Tullinge! I also need to get a Christmas tree and some presents – have not had time to think about these things yet...

See ya!

Pastoral Team and Christmas Show!

We had a Christmas party for SOS Mission Bible College last night... Theme was fairy tales, I just want to present SOS Church's pastoral team;

From the left: Andreas and Emma Gustafsson, Maria and Johannes Amritzer, Linda and Walter Zuniga, Samuel and Julia Willkander and Stephanie and Daniel Elvelyck...

Tonight we have the first Christmas Show at 6 pm! Tomorrow the party continues and another Christmas Show at 4 pm! Party for three days! You can buy tickets at the entrance... Welcome!

See ya!

Enjoying Time with the Zuniga Family

Again, we have people staying with us! Yes! Maria and I have always had people staying in our home. New believers that are in need of help, people that are struggling emontionally and need support, missionaries that are home for a short time, Bible College students as well as uncountable guests... We love it! We enjoy having an open home and lots of people around our kitchen table. At the moment the Zunigas are staying in our basement (a family of five) - simply wonderful! Walter, Linda and the sons have just returned from a five year term as missionaries in Bulgaria. What heroes! They have planted a church among the Pomac people (unreached with the Gospel until five years ago), established a Bible School and just begun to multiply themselves in the region... Now they will stay with us here in Tullinge for an undetermined time and as I mentioned earlier, we are enjoying ourselves like royalty! On January 3rd Walter and Linda will be ordained as the Senior Associate Pastors for SOS Church and they will be phased in to the work during 2010.

The Zuniga Family...

Life as a big family! Maria and Linda help each other with the kids and the chores around the house and Walter and I meet early in the morning for prayer and reading the Word, we exercise together, meet with disciples and build the church together...

Today SOS Mission Bible College is having their Christmas party and tomorrow night (Saturday) we will have our first Christmas show as a church at 6pm and then another one on Sunday at 4 pm! A three day celebration!

See Ya!

Reflections in a Hoodie, Training Clothes and Puma Shoes...

When you've read the title you know that the "pastor" is enjoying a day off in Stockholm... Slept in, had a late breakfast with my wife who's working the night shift (perfect) and then trained hard at my favorite gym in Flemingsberg... "Sunbathed" in the sun-bed, bought Expressen (Swedish newspaper) and rented a movie at Tullinge center... Ate fish au gratin with the family, had coffee and then read the evening paper front to back (I even read the gossip about how Tiger Wood's Elin was betrayed...) A fulltime "priest" sometimes just has a huge need to just be "normal" for a day... I always enjoy pastors-Monday day off when I get into my training clothes.

Daniel Westling and the Crown Princess Victoria...

So, these are my reflections today;

Fredrik Reinfeldt is a good Prime Minister and an excellent representative for Sweden as chairman for the European Union (I am praying for you Fredrik, go for it!)

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's much disputed Prime Minster had his noose broken and lost two teeth when he was visiously attacked yesterday after a speech in Milano. Well, it can be dangerous to step up ;). Mafia contacts, prostitutes and sex addiction will catch up with punishment old Silvio...

Due to Expressen, Daniel Westling's (Prince to-be) luxorious buildings in Brasil are put on ice because of lack of permits.I guess these facts are just as reliable as the lottery or Bingo, I do believe in you Daniel... I am praying for you and your Victoria (Crown Princess of Sweden) (1 Tim 2:1-5) and hope that you will use a lot of your money to help the poor and needy (you already do that) - just continue on the path of righteousness!

I hope we get to keep our Swedish car industry, and that everyone that know they will loose their job, or already have will have a Christmas without anxiety. Thinking of all our refugees and homeless now that it's snowing, freezing and wolf winter is beginning in Stockholm... Warm clothes, food and love to you - SOS Church really wants to be there and be a home for you!

I hope you haven't missed our Christmas Shows this weekend that benefits the homeless?! Buy tickets at our website!

See ya!

Home To My Beloved Stockholm Again!

I went on a flying visit to my home town Jönköping again for the second consequtive weekend... Precahed two services at Jönköping International Church, Friday and Saturday night that is... Many have been saved, we've sold a lot f my books and our festival cd God of Mircales is a hot item... Many youths are interested in SOS Mission Bible College - fun!

Many have been saved this weekend...

Krister and JoEllyn Leimola are such generous, warm, relaxed and folksy pastors, and I really believe that their church will grow very large! I love them from the bottom of my heart!

I'm driving back to Stockholm now with the SOS bus and my international team from SOS Church Stockholm - I'm preaching home at Kungsholmen at 4 pm! We'll welcome new members again! I love Sundays!

See ya!

Peter Almqvist Scouting North Eastern Tanzania

Mine, or our own McGyver and/or Indiana Jones sent me a text from his ongoing scouting mission in North Eastern Tanzania... For you that don't know Peter, he is our festival coordinator in SOS and lives with his family in Pittsburgh USA... Peter travels before the festival team, without him nothing works, and with him, everything works.

Peter and I after a sweaty festival meeting in Migori, Kenya 2004...

Yesterday I received this text from him, after I sent him a text that we are praying for him at the mission base here in Stockholm:

Thanks Hannes,

I'm driving to Same right now. Will meet with some pastors and leaders today and then scout together with the Holy Spirit... God's favor is resting upon everything down here. I met denomination leaders for the region yesterday and they all welcomed us with open arms to Tanzania and everyone agrees that the Same region is in great need of the gospel. Will meet the Governor for the Kilmanjaro region early tomorrow and share the vision with her... God is opening the doors! Greet the warriors in Stockholm that we will now take the Pare people for our Lord!

Your Field General,

Peter

The Pare people...

May 19th-23rd we'll do a Signs & Wonders Festival in Tanzania. Click for more info. Shouldn't you go with us on a missions adventure to Africa this spring!?

See ya!

Proud of Coworkers and the Churches

Today I've introduced and taught the subject Faith. I am teaching both classes at SOS Mission Bible College in Stockholm. Enjoying this. Prayer school was so awesome this morning - we prayed for Stockholm... I had time to meet a newly saved friend for lunch and then invited another aquiantance who is a seeker to our Christmas Show December 19-20. Unfortunately she was working that weekend so she couldn't come... I have a couple of extra tickets and will continue to invite people to the Christmas experience that weekend. Christmas is one of our biggest Jesus-holidays and a perfect time to introduce seekers to our faith and the church...

In the meantime I'm having feedback conversations and future-coaching with my pastors here at home (5 couples all together). I am so proud over the excellence, dedication and passion - what coworkers! The SOS churches all over the world are growing powerfully and here at home we are happily continuing on building the dream house - SOS Church Stockholm!

See ya!

Teaching and Coaching Pastors...

I am teaching daytime at home in Stockholm this week, going through all my paper work in the afternoon and coaching / meeting with my pastors in the evenings... Life is wonderful... We will ordain Walter and Linda Zuniga as Vice Leadpastors couple after new years (Jan 3rd). We'll also start our youth ministry after new years and will soon present our youth pastors couple (we are praying a lot for this right now...) We have bought 10 more translation head sets and will soon start translating our services to Spanish! We are charging for this spring's festivals and mission trips to Nepal and Tanzania... Exciting spring, future and expansive church planting times in SOS Church!

On saturday we are having an Arabic feast and all Nations café at the church! I'm preaching at home on Sunday and believe in joy and explosions!

See ya!

A Lot of Jesus, Deer Hunt and Card Games

Yea, just as the title says, this is how I have to sum up the weekend in my home town... The services at Jönköping International Church were wonderful and precious people were both saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit, and yesterday (Saturday) it was total sea battle when the Holy Sprit fell over everyone hungry for more :).

Things haven't changed at little Röshult, my dad's place, where I am staying this weekend... This morning two deer were shot already before breakfast at 9:30, we opened and skinned them and had breakfast in a warm kitchen at 10:30. Sandwiches and coffee always taste the best when you have a little coagulated blood on your cuticles ;). I played the guitarr after breakfast and my dad sang old Austrian folk songs, I tried to sing the upper part and after three songs we just burst out into raw warm hearted laughter... My dad is great, I love him more and more for every year that pass by...

I'm soon heading into town again to preach Jesus. My head's a little woozy since dad wants to play cards every night and last night we played until almost 2 am... For me, life is about Jesus, a lot of Jesus, but a little deer hunt and card games is never wrong either...

See ya!

A Weekend in My Home Town...

I'm preaching in my home town this weekend... Jönköping - so many childhood and teenage memories pop into my head... I'm preaching at Jönköping International Church where Krister and JoEllyn Leimola are pastors, I like them a lot... I'll have the Hamrén family teenage daughters, Felicia and Emelie 13 and 12 years old with me... Nina Anderson and yet someone else from SOS will go as well... Fun to go with a team from SOS Church. I'll stay at my dad's house - looking forward to that a lot :).


I wonder what the Holy Spirit will do?!

See ya!

Hockey With SOS Staff

Maria and I are taking the SOS Church staff, 20 people that is, to a hockey game tonight. The pastoral team, other leaders in the church and others that we want especially want to encourage. Exciting game: Modo meets Djurgården... Our House Church Pastor, Emma Gustafsson who is a devoted Modo fan will probably be the only one cheering for Modo right in the middle of all the Djurgården fans, where we have our seats. I guess we "fans of Djurgården" will have to be her bodyguards so she won't fall prey for any drunk Djurgårds hooligans ;)..

I've heard rumors that Modo will top their team with several NHL pros tonight... As a Stockholms pastor I of course have to take responsibility and cheer for Djurgården, even though my team in the premier league naturally is HV 71...

Tonight I'm having a great evening with my team with hot dogs and coffee on thermos...

See ya!

Congratulations Honey!

To my girl - huge congrats on your 34th birthday! You are the most precious in my life and I love you more than anything on this earth!!!

Yours forever, Hannes