Happy Christmas and new Year

                                   

                     

Click here to read our Christmas letter Dec 2022

God bless Ingvar (fred) Anna

Today 4 years

Our 2 legs in Ubon-Pakse (Streams of Grace Church and Child Safe) are really up-and-running. Most active, living and Creative inside the centers/Church, but mostly out there among the people in the community.

We are thankful for the eagerness in Child Safe to be with the children, listen to them and make a safety net around them ,,,, right in the community.

Today 4 years old. We are thankful for the Steams of Grace Church. The Church is growing. Life is hard for many in schools, workplaces and in homes. The Church is a place of peace. People are coming blessed by God`s Presence,  His peace and being equipped for daily life... out there.

Thank you for prayers and support for this pioneer work. 

 

God Bless. 

  

To have a CLEAR Faith

Our Pastor and main pioneer worker: Pastor Boy has the last week been sharing about CLEAR FAITH.  

It is a tendency, these days, to make faith personal and hide it somewhere. By doing that the people around us will be confused and it all will create more doubts and questions. Pastor Boy encourages us all to make FAITH Clear for us and others around us. 

A visitor from Laos last Sunday said: "We live in a Buddhist environment and ...... Pastor Boys teaching on Clear Faith was very helpful for me". 

                         

Outcome Mapping and Outcome Harvesting

We have had a good week. Mariam Smith (our daughter) from Learning Loop has been here 4 days having a Seminar on Outcome Harvesting and Outcome Mapping for 28 people from Thailand and Laos. It has been very good. 

This is a part of the Creative Innovation we have in cooperation with Children`s  Mission Sweden (Barnmissionen), Child Safe and the Streams of Grace Church. This creative cooperation brings really Creativity ..... into many useful levels. 

The case is that the Isaan people can no longer just sit and wait for the tourists to return. In order to have food on the table and money for schooling the people here needs to find new ways of earning money.

I will add some pictures from the last week's activities. Thank you all for participating in different ways in the pioneering work here Ubon-Pakse.

We are thankful for many open doors. Yesterday many people come to the Church. Please pray with us how we will have a bigger Church hall. 

Have a Creative week. Ingvar (Fred)

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Eng. Morning has broken

I was in the shower this morning, and suddenly the sun broke through the rain-heavy clouds and the tree branches outside, through the small window and 'hits' me. An old song from 1931 sort of explodes in my heart and I let the song flow over my lips, while being filled with wonder and joy.

Morning has broken

vers 3: Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning

Born of the One light, Eden saw play

Praise with elation, praise every morning

God's recreation of the new day.

The text is breathing this deep truth that everything was created by the One Light.

Genesis

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 

John

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

9 The True LIGHT, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

There is enough of clouds of worries and concerns on the skyline, to have a reason to be depressed and letting our 'harps' stay in the willow trees and let the worries quench to song.

During the recent 2-3 years we have experienced, more than ever,  the importance of not allowing the darkness to quench the song. The song or worship helps us to refocus, to lift  the eyes of our hearts above the clouds, to Jesus who is the true LIGHT and has conquered the darkness. And only through Him do we have light, even if everything is dark around us.

Mal 4:2 ''But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

Love

Anna

Preach the Good News .... not the bad news.

We are either preaching The Bad News or The Good News. It is easy to analyze the present world situation and think that I can help others only if I understand how bad Satan is. And I think I have to tell them the bad, so they will believe the good. But that doesn't work. In order to help people in need, we have quickly, very quickly, to turn our focus from the darkness to the Light. 

                                              

We missionaries can first think: If I want to work with Hindus, Muslims, and Buddists I first must understand their "darkness" and tell them, their problem. But the facts is: The bad news creates more bad. The Good News creates more good.  

So;

1. Yes, I walk with my open eyes, I can see the darkness  - but it is not my focus.

2. Yes, I listen to people and cry with them - but I can never with my understanding of the darkness, set the people free. My understanding is not the Savior of the world.

3. Yes, I quickly invite JESUS to do His light work in them.  

4, Yes, JESUS shows up and I become the witness of what God is doing.

5. Yes, I am a Good News preacher.

My Learning Experience is that people in darkness feel condemned and try to hid in the darkness. To help them, is not to give them one more explanation of their darkness. They know it already to well.

Let us up-grade the Jesus Focus and more sincere than ever, preach the Good News. Only the THE JESUS GOOD NEWS can save the world.

God bless Ingvar(Fred)  

Home to Ubon-Pakse

A lot happens on the road of life. I am now on my way home to Ubon from being at home in Bleket during the late summer and autumn. Anna got an infected amoeba abscess and was in Kungälv's Hospital for 11 days. THANKS for intercession and she plans to go from Sweden to Ubon on Oct. 27.

Thank you everyone we met and meet. You have given us a lot of inspiration. Hope and pray that you will all find joy in the pioneer work in Ubon-Pakse. The work is growing and we THANK God and people for everything that happens. 

                            

Pioneer greetings from Asien via Ingvar (Fred)

Recovering

                                 

Anna developed fever the 4th September. She tried 5 days to treat it with paracetamol. But on the 9th Sept we went to the hospital and she was admitted. They found an Amoebic Abscess … that might have been there for years. Now it is punctured and treated. Thank God and doctors.

Anna came home yesterday and ... is recovering well. 

I will go back to Ubon the 2nd Oct but Anna needs may be 2 more weeks to recover fully. 

Thank you for all prayers since the 4th Sept. We are thankfiul for brothers and sisters that are standing with us in this pioneering work in Ubon-Pakse.

We are so thankful for all Co-workers and Co-leaders we have in Ubon-Pakse. They are just wounderful doing very very well. 

God bless. Ingvar (Fred)

Comfort - called near

During our whole life we ​​need to receive comfort and to give comfort to others. Human comfort is "wishing good luck" and "it'll be alright". More like a "happy pill", an escape from the terrible reality. Some also have the harmful conflict solving method: "Smile Smile and disappear".

But, God's true comfort is not that he gives us a happy pill. To forget reality for a moment. No, it is that He comes closer and walks with us through the difficulties. His presence ... makes all the difference and we see light even in the midst of darkness.

"....God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" 2 Cor 1:4

The word comfort here is Para-klesos = calling us near. Calling us together. A free translation of 2 Corinthians 1:4 could be:

We can keep distance to each other because we fear that others will infect us or hurt us. But since the light is always is stronger than the darkness, we can boldly come closer to each other to be able to share God's genuine comfort and love. It is always stronger.

A man who used to live in a lot of drugs and alcohol experienced the difference 

and said: "I no longer wear out my shoes because now God carries me".

                                "Smile smile and .... come closer".

My experience is that in the Christian Church Fellowship I experience the genuine 

comfort of God, so I can go to people and invite them also to the presence of the 

same God ... with the same genuine comfort. Which works.

Ingvar (Fred)

Co-Workers and Co-Leaders

We like to be Hands-On, but most of all to be helping others to be Hands-On in .... training others.

People here are wonderful people. 100% willing to serve. God is calling us all to be Co-workers growing into being Co-leaders. 

We are praising God that both these types of people groups are step-by-step growing among us.

 

The great challange is that thet we the older co-workers and co-leaders ..... shows the way. We like, these days, to be spiritual parents.  

                                                 

Pioneer work is exciting. 

Ingvar (Fred)