Right now it is around 9AM and it is Tuesday morning. I am sitting at the airport in Helsinki, Finland waiting for my next flight that will take be to Istanbul, Turkey. From there I am continuing the trip to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and after a nine hour layover there I am heading towards Lusaka, Zambia to hook up with Pastor Tommy Lilja and the rest of the PTL Ministries team down there. While sitting here I am really thinking about where I am going. I remember around 6AM this morning when I left home I said to my wife: - Bye, bye, I am going to Africa now.
"Going to Africa"… to me it sounds strange and foreign but this is most likely because I never ever been there before. When I think about Africa the first thing I think about are animals such as lions, zebras, elephants… that I know that the kangaroos are in Australia :) People I have been talking with tells me that it is going to be totally different than I think. First I thought we were going to stay in a cottage made of mud or a tent but today I know more, we are staying at a hotel and they DO have wireless internet, Praise the Lord!
My next thought is: "How in the world did I get into this?" Well, I can blame everything on Brother Jukka Mäkikangas at Betelskeppet in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was in 2010 when I was there. I shoot you straight. I was going to the toilet and I was going to sit there for a while and I was looking for something to read. I found a book in Jukkas office and it looked interesting since it had flames and fire on the cover. I took the book and it was a book "The death of the ego and the breakthrough of The Holy Spirit" by Pastor Tommy Lilja. I started to read it from the beginning and I could not stop. I do not remember how long I was sitting at that toilet but I remember Jukka banging on the door letting me know that we have to leave for the meeting we were there for. I did not want to put the book away since every word was ministering to me and I just felt so blessed to read this book. I told Jukka about this and he gave me the book. I continued to read the book and when I returned from Sweden I wanted to find out who this "Tommy Lilja" is or was. First I thought it was someone who lived the same time as Frank Mangs or Smith Wigglesworth but I found out that this "Tommy Lilja" is alive and that he is running a distance bible school out of southern Sweden. That was what I had been looking for so I started his bible school.
It was in the fall of 2010 when I met Pastor Tommy Lilja in person for the first time and we immediately connected in the Spirit. Next summer Pastor Tommy came to Finland to minister at Frank Mangs Center in Närpes and it was a breakthrough. The word of God says that "these signs shall follow those who believe" and there were wonders, signs and miracles following this man of God. We continued working together and as Tommy was my teacher he also became like a mentor and spiritual father for me. Since then we have done some tours of Finland together and the last one took place last week and we called it "Walk in the power of Jesus.
We started at the Pentecostal Church in Seinäjoki last wednesday night and the church was packed, the meeting was recorded for radio and broadcasted live over the internet. Around ten people responded to the altar call and gave their lives to Jesus. I thought this was so awesome but I could never believe that three times more people would receive Christ into their hearts at Vapaakirkko in Jyväskylä the following night. Over forty people saved on two nights in Finland. That is something I am not used to and even if I tried hard I could not keep my tears away when the people walked up to the altar to reconcile with God through Jesus Christ. From Jyväskylä we drove to Turku and the Pentecostal church there, all hotels in town where booked up and we realized it when we got there that King Carl-Gustav of Sweden stayed at the same hotel as we did. The meeting in Turku was powerful as well and as the other nights Tommy ministered and prayed for people for a long time after he was done preaching. Same things happened at the Betel Church in Karjaa Saturday night and Sunday morning we ended the tour at the Pentecostal Church in Ekenäs. I had my son Sebastian with me on this tour and we had such a great time. Right here right now where I am sitting at the airport I am still overwhelmed with what took place last week.
Back to my thought how I got into this. Now I am sitting here on my own with a cup of cold coffee and a bottle of water on my way to Africa. It still sounds crazy in my mind and it feels like it felt before the first time I traveled to USA. I have always been a friend of USA and you can call me a Patriot if you like as I am for that country as a nation under God and in my heart I would not mind live in Florida being a redneck driving a pick up truck. Still Africa sounds even further away and more crazy. I am just thankful to God for the doors and possibilities HE is opening. IF someone had told me 10 years ago that I was going to be part of a worldwide ministry doing big crusades in Africa and Asia I would have thought who ever said that was in a desperate need of a mental hospital. Again I think, what am I doing here? Yes, I am going to Africa and I am excited about it.
After Africa it is time for another trip to southern Spain. My prayer is that I would be able to bring my wife and daughter again as after Spain I will be gone for five weeks when it is time for the fall conference in Sölvesborg, Sweden followed with four weeks of preaching and reaching in USA. I need to be with my family and sometimes it is just so good to be able to bring them with me on the road as I love what I am doing and I love see GOD touch peoples lives. Thats what its all about! Walk in love!
Love you all!
In Christ!
Pontus
Frank Mangs Center are standing behind me as an organization and together we have decided that it is not wise to stand outside the open doors just because there are not enough money to walk through those doors.
Frank Mangs Center have opened up a new account for this ministry and we are now looking for people who would like to partner with us monthly. At least I would ask you all to pray for our work and for the harvest of 2012. You can read more about being a partner in finnish or swedish by clicking HERE.
