This March a few of us paired up with some members of a sister church and had the opportunity to serve the youth in Finland with some additional participants who attended from Hungary. We ran a short programme over the weekend focusing on the theme 'Spirit and the Word' and incorporated some of our testimonies throughout the sessions to share how God had been working in our lives. We had a time of ministry where we opened up an opportunity to pray with individuals who wanted to experience a personal encounter with God and be filled with the Spirit as most of the youth have followed their parents to church and had not found their faith in God.

Before setting off, this trip came with its worries and challenges on the way. Some of our doubts were: the language barrier, how/what to deliver, building a relationship/connection, and engaging the youth. But was it possible to achieve this all in a short amount of time? Personally, I felt like I didn't know my purpose or my position, and I wasn't sure how this all would turn out. Even as the sessions went by, it felt like there wasn't any progress. But one thing that kept us going was reminding each other to 'trust in God'. Despite all of these circumstances and doubts, God exceeded expectations and it ended up being fruitful. Not just in the youth but I was encouraged by the growth and boldness that I had witnessed within our team. So I am grateful to God for how he has placed each individual in the team for a purpose.

What this trip taught me was that even if there are moments when I feel out of my depth, to just be obedient and do every that we can do but surrender the rest to God and trust that he will be there in the working.

Here’s a verse that I would like to share which had encouraged me on this trip:

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

Thank you for your prayers leading up to and throughout our time in Finland 🇫🇮