Not just a "Jesus thing"

Since last time I wrote from Germany lots of things have happened. We stayed in Klingenthal with our dear brothers and sisters there one more night after our meeting in Auerbach that is now on-line translated to Deutsch. Our last day in Vogtland was beautiful and before we drove to Specky’s Rock & Bikerkeller in Grunbach we made a stop at the beautiful ”sunshine point” with a view over Klingenthal. What a beautiful area of Germany this is.

Thursday night we played with brothers, Sebastian, Amadeus, Emanuel and brother Manuel at Specky’s. It was a great time of rock and roll but of course the most important thing was to bring the gospel to the people who came out this night. It was another evening where we got to do what the Apostles did and took the Gospel out to there the people were, at a typical german bierkeller (beer bar). We had a great time and people listened to the message that was mixed in between the songs. After the gig we drove to Zwickau where we checked in at a local hotel for the next two nights.

Friday night, May 13th we hooked up with the band Just Catfish. They are a three piece east German cover band that really rocks. I had met the drummer Udo a couple of days earlier when he visited our gig in Treuen but that was basically the only contact I had had with them apart from a few e-mails earlier. There is a saying or a myth that has shown to be true and that is that when the germans does something they do it good. These guys had learned my songs and it was one of the highlights during our tour in Germany to play together and guest with this band called Just Catfish. For over two hours we played rock and roll and preached a message from the stage at a well known east German rock club, Ringkeller in Zwickau.

Of course it reminded me of my past to play a few old Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet tunes but it was fun. I do not miss the old days with alcohol and drugs at all. There is a reason for everything and today I can use my past to bring in the Gospel to places others might not be able to do. Some old southern rock classics mixed with some of our original material with a message of faith, hope and love made an excellent night. People were touched by God and we have heard testimonies from people afterwards that really got to think twice about this ”Jesus thing”. Well it is not just a ”Jesus thing” it is life and life in overflow.

From Zwickau we drove to Rostock where we took a ship to Trelleborg, Sweden. These days were a wonderful time in Germany. I do not know how to describe everything we got to witness and be part of during these 17 days. We got to do what the Apostles did and bring the Gospel outside the four walls of the church and all was rooted with the local churches. A huge blessing for me was to become an evangelist out of Anskar Church in Wetzlar that is now my home church and base in Germany.

We still had a week in Sweden and on Tuesday we filmed a couple of episodes of our TV program Life in Him. Wednesday night we ministered at an LP night in Borås. Thursday night we rehearsed with the ”Swedish boys”, Jukka Mäkikangas (drums), Per Karlsson (bass) and Zet Tonmy (keyboards). We had a great time during rehearsals and Friday we drove up to Stockholm where we checked in at our last hotel on this trip.

Saturday May 21st it was time for the ”LP Action Day” in Stockholm. The LP people where on the well known place ”plattan” downtown Stockholm evangelizing. We visited them for a while before we headed to the Filadelfia Church for the LP concert. It was a great ”grande finale” on our 27 day long tour and the biggest miracle for me this day was my meeting with my cousin Mats. I had not met him for years and I remember him mostly from my childhood. He is older than me and I remember him with a warm feeling in my heart.

When we showed up at ”plattan” during the day a man came and introduced himself to me and I just shook his hands and said my name as I usually do. It all went fast and he said something about my cousin from Dalarna (a region in Sweden) and I realized it was him, my cousin. He was dressed in an LP shirt and an LP jacket so I was kinda shocked so I asked him straight. Have you got saved? Yes, we are not only cousins, we are now also brothers he said. We had a good talk and during the concert he came up on the stage and I got to introduce my cousin the the people at the concert and he got to confess his faith before a big sky of witnesses as well as a huge crowd. We are definitely not ashamed of the Gospel in our family. I am both happy and proud of my cousin and I know I am going to meet him soon again.

Now we have been home for five days and we have been spending some time with our loved ones as well as working on the cars. On Monday we are returning to Sweden and this will be the first trip in our yellow John 316 Buick. We will start in Rydaholm at the Bike Night there, June 1st. June 3rd we are visiting Skånes Fagerhult. June 5th we are visiting Enakyrkan in Enköping and June 6th we are invited to be part of Fire Meet in Enköping. From there we continue to Karlskoga for one night at the Baptist Church, Wednesday June 8th and the weekend we spend at a big US car meeting in Vårgårda where we are going to play with the band, but most important of all, be there for the people and deliver the best news ever. We end our two week trip with an LP meeting in Tibro June 13th.

This summer is full of events outside the four walls of the church and we have been working hard on getting our tools together so we can reach people where ever we go. We are currently in an urgent need of funds to keep going on. You who know us know that we do not do what we do for the money and we hate to talk about money or even take up an offering. Still it takes money to bring the Gospel to the people and this is something we do TOGETHER. YOU can be part of this by giving a gift. Visit the donation page for more information.

We have some good news. The new record is finally taking it’s shape. Because of different reasons we decided to change producer and we are today happy and proud to announce that Jan Hyöty will be working on the rest of the album. We have already heard some of the new mixes and it sure is rocking. Now we are rolling and we are scheduling to have the record out this fall in Europe and in the US in November. It will be the best record so far and we are thankful to God how He is leading and guiding us in every step we take. He has His own ways and we just feel that we are in the middle of His will and plan right now. It is with a grateful heart we are writing to you tonight. It is not just a "Jesus thing" it is a relationship with the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ and He is giving us life in overflow. God Bless you all!

See you on the road!

We love you all!