Matt and Jessica's Swedish Adventure

The Blind will see...

2010-02-02T10:45:00.003+01:00

Yesterday Matt and I found out some sad news about Matt's grandpa. He was just diagnosed with temporal arthritis & has lost his vision in 1 eye. He's on strong medication to prevent it from affecting the other eye. They will be doing a biopsy on Thursday. This all came on very fast. Within 2 days, his vision was gone in his one eye. Matt and I prayed last night that the Lord would heal him! I began to think of how often this prayer of "making the blind see" has been prayed. Jesus healed the blind. He has done it before, and He is able to do it again! I have faith that our Lord will heal Matt's grandpa so he may see his new miraculous great-grandson or great-granddaughter. We talked to his grandpa last night. He was in good spirits, he mentioned to us about his desire to be able to see our baby. I was brought to tears thinking about how badly I also want this! Matt's grandpa is a man of few words, but he made it known to us how much he appreciated our prayers. Again, the Lord is calling us to a time of prayer. Physically we can do nothing from here, so we will pray. We trust, and know from experience that the Lord has no bounds. He heals, He restores, and I pray that He gets ALL of the glory!

Psalm 146:8
8 ...the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.

Last night and into this morning as I lay in bed, I began to think of physical blindness and Spiritual blindness. There are some verses in 2 Corinthians that came to mind.. 4:4 "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." This kept repeating in my head over and over. Unbelievers are blinded. They cannot see the light! Then I read the whole passage.. where at the end, i realized what I have heard time and time again... the way God reveals the light is they see the light in us. Matthew 5:14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden."

I re-read these verses over and over... 2 Corinthians 1-6

"Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."

Matt and I really want the Lord's light to shine through us. That is our prayer! We also, want God to heal those who are spiritually blind, through His Holy Spirit.

So today, i will pray, and I am asking for you to pray also.. for Matt's grandpa first. For the physical healing of his sight. That his sight will be restored, and that he in fact will be able to see his great-grandchild! Second, for the spiritual healing of those whom we are here for. The unbelievers who are blind to the gospel. May their eyes truly be opened to the truth, and may they see the Lord's light shining in and through us.

Thank you again for all of your love and support! I can't tell you enough how much your words have encouraged our hearts, and helped us to keep going. Knowing we have your support and love makes things so much easier for us. May God bless you for your faithfulness!

Praying for the blind to see,
Love always,
Jess

pray...

2010-01-27T12:01:00.003+01:00

In the past few months there have been few days where i have felt like I had enough energy to get through the day. I have had to learn a lesson though as I have mainly been able to just rest, and on occasion get out for a few hours. As I have been resting, gaining strength, and asking God what He would have me do while I am here, I have been reminded of the first time we came to Sweden. I was very ill, and couldn't do very much for the first week I was here. Matt was out meeting people, doing things, experiencing Sweden, and I was at home, alone feeling sad, discouraged and lonely. Although the situation, and circumstances have changed since then, I have felt similarities in the ways I feel now, to the ways I felt then. I realized today, and in the past few days, that perhaps God is trying to remind me of what I learned when we first arrived. Even though I may not be able to be doing things physically here, like leading Bible studies, coaching figure skating, or meeting with friends. I have an enormous job at hand while I am at home, alone. I have the responsibility and priviledge of praying for Matt, praying for the hearts of the people he comes in contact with. I am his cheerleader when he is on the ice, and off. When I watch Matt play hockey, I am constantly finding myself praying for him. Praying for safety for him, thanking God for Matt's health, thanking God for Sweden... and I realized that when I am at home.. i am a cheerleader here also. God gently reminded me of these verses...

Ephesians 6:18-19And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.

Matthew 7:7-8Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Romans 8:26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

I know Matt is praying that doors will be opened for him, I am praying for this also, but what i didn't really come to understand was the importance of my role, of your role, of all of our roles in this time. When we can't physically be used, when I can't physically help Matt, we have this amazing, and enormous task of praying, interceding and asking God for doors to be opened. We are called to pray in the Spirit, to ask God to move through His Spirit, to ask God to give Matt the words to speak, through His Spirit. Right now, Matt is physically doing the Lord's work, and as I wait for God to restore my strength... i will pray without ceasing. (1 Thes. 5:17)

Thank you so much for how you have been praying for us. Thank you for your faithfulness. I want God to move in mighty ways here. Matt and I are willing to be used, in whatever way. I hope that soon, i will physically be able to be used.. until then... here i am, praying.

We love you all so much. Thank you for your comments, love and support. Matt has a hockey game tonight, and I am excited it is at home so i can go! We miss you and love you all.

Specific prayer requests:

For our little baby who is growing lots!
Matt, as he is having his first Bible study with a guy who he has never had one with before.
Matt's health. That he can remain healthy for the rest of the season.
The people who help us to be here, that God may bless them richly.
For opportunities to share. Doors to be opened, hearts to be opened.. and that the Spirit will help us "fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel"

God bless,
Jess

Encouraged...

2010-01-19T20:16:00.003+01:00

Tonight Matt and I were visited by a man whom we had never met before, but who knew about us through one of the churches here. He told us that he had been praying in his car one day and asked God what he should pray for, and he felt like he should come and pray with us. He came with one of our good friends. He started by telling us that he had a word for us, he read the following verses:

Proverbs 3:5-8

" Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones."

They are such familiar words and verses.. one we have all heard before. However, this time it pierced me heart. I have felt a little overwhelmed with being sick, and not being able to do that much. I have been worried about the future with our baby, with where we will go and what we will do. These words came as such a comfort to me. I was so touched by these words tonight. I haven't been trusting God with everything. I have been scared about the health of our baby, as I am sure every mom is. I realized again, as God keeps reminding me.. that I need to "trust" Him with everything! I know He will take care of us, I know He will show us where we should be and what we should do this summer, and into the fall. I need to acknowledge that I don't have all of the answers, my wisdom is nothing. God has the answers and I need to turn to Him in these times.

I also felt so amazed at this man's obedience. He said he felt like God wanted him to pray for us, so he was obedient and shared this word with us. His obedience blessed me in awesome ways. I can't thank God enough for speaking to me through him. Please pray for Matt and I. Pray that we can rely on God, and trust Him enough to know that " he will make our paths straight." It is hard to not worry about the future, and to not be concerned about the present. Please pray that we can focus on our time here, and make the most out of it. That God will use us in whatever capacity He chooses, and that we can both be healthy through it.

Thank you all so much for all of your comments. Matt and I are blessed by them. We miss you all, and thank you for your prayers and love. Matt had a game last week, where he played better than I have ever seen him. I am not just saying this. He really looks amazing on the ice. When i watch him, I am almost brought to tears. He is using this amazing gift that God gave him, in such an awesome way. God is so good to present this opportunity to us. We feel so blessed! He got three goals in the last game. They were all beautiful. He really takes advantage of the larger ice. He has another home game tomorrow. I love being able to watch him play.

I will try to write and let you know how the game went. We miss you all so much. Thank you again for your prayers!

Love,
Jess and Matt

Update from Matt

2010-01-12T16:00:00.002+01:00

Hello everyone.

Jess has been telling me that its my turn to update our blog so i will do my best...
Things have been so great so far this time around. As you all know Jess and I are going to be parents soon. Today we went to the doctor and got a ultrasound and we got to see the baby move around, it was so amazing and made it more real for me to see the miracle. Jess has been so great, I'm so lucky to have her in my life and I know she will be a great mom. She has her good days and her bad days but we are still able to do what we need to on a daily bases. If it wasn't for Jess no one would know whats going on here in Sweden she is so great at keeping everyone up to date here.

I just want to say thank you to everyone who is supporting us to be here. We can feel your prayers please don't stop. God is so great. He is opening so many doors for us to walk though. I have been meeting with one of my teammates for the last two years here, we have been doing Bible studies on a weekly bases and it's amazing to see God work in his life and to see him grow in the Lord. His name is Matias he is 19 years old so please pray for him. I have been praying that God would open more doors for me, I've found when you pray that prayer watch out because that's whats He does. I have been getting really close to another guy on my team and I asked him if he would be interested in starting a bible study like i have been doing with Matias and he said he would love to. We will start at the end of this week. God answers prayers! Please pray for him. I really feel the Holy Spirit working on him, his name is Alex and hes 22 years old.

God has been showing me so much since we got here in Sweden. There are a couple of verses that keep ringing in my head and I would like to share them with everyone because they speak to all of us who believe.

In Romans 10:8-15
8But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." 12For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

God has been showing me that He will work though us, we just have to be willing to be used. God does all the work. He opens the doors and the hearts of the people we just have to be the planters. God's light will shine though us.

Matthew 5:14-16:14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

I just want to say thank you all for all your support and prayers. Thanks for reading our blog and being with us during our Swedish adventure. Jess and I love you all so much please keep praying for us, please pray that we can be bold and speak truth into the lives of the people we meet here.

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy- to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore. (Jude 1:24)

~Matt

A little under the weather...

2010-01-10T20:32:00.002+01:00

The past few days have been really hard on me. I am not feeling the best. I wish i could feel better. I am now 15 weeks, and wishing that i wasn't so woozy. It has been hard to sleep also. Not so much fun! So please pray for me, that God will give me peace and rest.

Matt has had two away games this week. The first game was against the second place team in their division. They won 5-2 and Matt had 2 goals. It is so nice to see him enjoying himself and having fun. He had another game tonight, but they lost 2-1. Their team is now in 2nd place. I feel like he is just really in a good place. He feels good, looks great on the ice, and he is just totally motivated to start more Bible Studies with more guys. It is so great to see. I am glad one of us has energy to do things haha.

He promised me he would write so i will make him do that soon, but I know for him it is hard for him to talk about himself when it comes to hockey.. so i can say it cuz i am so proud of him! He is doing amazing. Right now he is 3rd for points on his teams and trails the other guys by many games. He said that some people were asking for the website to see his stats and stuff so here it is:
http://www2.idrottonline.se/templates/Page.aspx?id=389620

Good luck reading it haha. It is all in Swedish, but you can see his points easily! He has another away game on Wednesday, and then i hope a few home ones!!!!! It would be nice to go watch him, as I have only seen 2 games since i have been here.

We have another Dr's appointment on Tuesday where we can hopefully hear the baby's heart beat! We are really excited. God has just blessed us beyond words. When I am sick.. i just try to remember how blessed we are, and how i prayed so hard for this baby. So I will thank God for the sickness.. because it is all for the greatest gift ever!

We miss you all, we really do. Please continue to keep us, the team, and the church here in your prayers. Hopefully you will hear from matty next! Fingers crossed.

So much love,
Jess

Christmas Time Review...

2010-01-05T19:42:00.002+01:00

First of all, thank you to all of you for your comments about our amazing news! We are both really excited, and this Christmas felt so different for us in a lot of ways, but knowing we have a miracle comming made it so much fun! I realized I never wrote about our Christmas or how blessed the day was for us. In Sweden, they celebrate Christmas on the 24th. We were so blessed on that day. Some of our good friends invited us to their house where we ate amazing Swedish food, ( Debbie I thought of you a lot that day) we played games, we laughed, sang Christmas songs, read about the arrival of Christ to this earth, and I was just in this blissful state the whole day. When we decided to come to Sweden over the holidays, I was a little hesitant... I knew we would miss our families... that it would be hard to be away, experiencing a new kind of Christmas tradtition. However, i really can't express how the day felt to me. I did miss our families, I thought about them alot during the day, but God just placed peace in both mine and Matt's hearts. I had so many moments where I could just feel the Spirits presence. It was a day where three families who have their own traditions came together to celebrate. It was an awesome day. I was blessed by our friends' kindness. I can't say enough about the people here in Sweden. Everyday we are blessed by them. If you have looked at the pictures of our house.. then you can see all the work they did to make a place for us to call home. They have gone above and beyond to help us, and there isn't a day that goes by that we don't thank God for them!!!! Thank you to all of you!

This last week my parents were here! It was amazing! Just having them here was enough for me. We could have just stayed at home and ate bread and cheese all day and i would have been satisfied. It was extra special because 35 years ago almost exactly my parents had been in Sweden travelling around with my dad's hockey team. They spent their first Christmas together in Sweden, and they have really special memories of this place. It was really awesome to have them here! It was a bit of a harder trip for my dad, as the first night he hurt himself. It was really icy outside and he fell really hard, and hurt his hip. This slowed him down while he was here, as he wanted to go out and practice with Matt and his team. I was really sad for him that he was hurt.. but Matt and I both felt like our time with my mom and dad was such a blessed time. We had a lot of time to rest, and relax together, to play games, and just really enjoy each other. We spent new years eve at our friends house and had such an awesome time.. it was such so much fun. We ate well, talked and laughed for hours, and then were able to watch an amazing firework show but on in our friends backyard. It was just so much fun!!! We did so much more with our parents while they were here, boat trips, many meals with friends, shopping, playing games, and just like I said.. enjoying each others company. We miss them already.. and they haven't even been gone one day!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers, please keep them comming! We are planning to start studying our Swedish this week, we also have some paper work for our Visas back home that we have to start... many many things to start this week. We miss you all so much and love you all! Thanks so much for reading and commenting on our blog. It means a lot to both matt and me. I will keep you posted on hockey things also. Matt has his first game back this week. He is excited to get back at it.

So much love and hoping you all had a great holiday season!

Jess and Matt

Miracles....

2009-12-28T18:58:00.003+01:00

I have never really let anyone know of my deep desires and prayers. I have spent hours upon hours crying out to God asking Him to help me to be ok with things in my life that i can not control. One of those things for me, is having children. Matt and I have been told in the past about the obstacles we would have to go through in order to have a child. When Matt had cancer, he was told that there would be a large chance that he wouldn't be able to have kids. We were both thinking that maybe we would have to go through a long process of trying to concieve. However.. God has worked an amazing miracle.. and today i can say that God is so faithful in answering prayer.. and Matt and I are three months pregnant. I am crying as I write this because even writing it.. it doesn't seem real! I can't stop praising God and thanking Him for this amazing miracle that is being "knit together" as we speak. I feel so in awe of His amazing hand in our lives. He really does know my deepest desire!

I found out that I was pregnant while I was at home with my family watching my sister's children. My brother in law was in the hospital and was very ill. I thought that I was feeling tired from watching the kids, and an emotional week prior.. sending Matt off to Sweden alone. I had this feeling that maybe i should take a test to see if I was pregnant, but I really didn't think anything of it. When i took the test... while i was waiting that dreadful few minutes.. I prayed so hard for God to answer my prayers. I also prayed that if it wasnt' positive that He would help me to cope with the news. When i went back to read the test.. I was sure it said that i wasn't pregnant. I cried. I began to pray that God would give me strength and then I shook it off.. and decided i wouldn't mope around but would continue on with my day. About an hour later.. i started to think about the test.. and what it read. After thinking about it.. i realized i had read the test wrong!! I took 3 more tests simply to confirm, that I was in fact pregnant!

It was kind of a crazy time for me. I was leaving for Sweden in one week, and I was without my husband, and i had no idea what I should do. God really went ahead of me and worked it all out. I was able to get an ultrasound and find out that i was 8 weeks, and everything looked good! I decided to wait to tell Matt until I got to Sweden. I had this amazing plan about how I would tell him! I had it all worked out, however when i got here.. and after I saw him, things didn't go according to plan.... Once we arrived at home, I was overwhelmed with emotions from seeing our new house, and feeling so blessed. The first minute that matt and I were alone.. I just blurted out ... " I am pregnant". Not so romantic! haha He turned white right away and didn't know what to say.

Since then, we have laughed, cried, and been so excited about what is to come. It is such a scary, emotional, blessed thing!! We both feel that God performed a miracle, and we are so excited about what is to come. I feel like God's timing was perfect. We have an amazing house, that i feel totally comfortable in, we have awesome friends surrounding us, and we are doing the Lord's work. God is good! Today we went to the midwife we will be seeing here, and she told us how much of a miracle it is that Matt and I are pregnant... knowing Matt's history. I feel like God wants to use our baby already for His glory. I want Him to have ALL of the glory. He performed such an amazing work in our life, and we are forever grateful to Him.

Matt and I feel so happy, grateful, safe, and blessed. Please pray for us during this time, and pray for our little baby. Someone very special to me, wrote me an e-mail and reminded me about Pslam 139. I have read it over and over again the past few weeks. I get stuck on verses 13-16

"13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be."

Amazing. God is knitting our baby together right now, and He already knows all about him/her. What an awesome comfort. We love you all so much, and we were so excited to be able to share this news with you! Please pray for us during this time. Pray that God will grow us into the kind of parents He wants us to be. Pray that our baby is safe, and for God's hand in our lives. Pray for opportunities to share, and pray that God indeed gets all the glory, honor and praise.

So much love!!!!!!

Jess, Matt, and our little miracle!

Our Swedish home...

2009-12-23T18:56:00.002+01:00

Hello Friends and Family!!!! Here is a short video of our home. We love it so much and feel so blessed to be able to stay here. It is such an amazing blessing and we can't stop thanking God for it! There aren't any photos of our bedroom.. as it is not in the best shape, but i will take some and post them soon. Thank you for all of your prayers. We miss you all.. and love you all. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Luke 2:13-14

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Swedish Pancakes....

2009-12-22T18:41:00.006+01:00

Hello there friends and family!

What an amazing time of year! Lights twinkling, the buzzing busy people, the smell of a new swedish Christmas tree! I love it. I have to admit I was a bit nervous to be away at Christmas time. I wondered if it would feel the same, if I would feel at home, and comfortable. Although i do miss our family and friends... i have to say that God has already made this Christmas so special for Matt and I. We have a lot of first this holiday season. Last week we got our first Christmas tree. It is small, and not so pretty looking, but Matt has been SOO excited about it since we got it. We had the option to get a Danish tree.. which i have to admit was beautiful and full and the man told us that the needles wouldn't shed. It would have been nice to get that one, however Matt insisted we get the "Swedish" tree, as we are in SWeden! It is perfect! I love it. In Sweden then don't put up their tress until right before Christmas. So we are going to decorate it and put it up tomorrow. I will post some pictures of our house and of our trees hopefully tomorrow.

Last night we had an amazing time, as we went to a Christmas market/fair called "Liseberg."It was amazing. Full of lights, games, Christmas smells, and it truly made me feel like it was Christmas time. There was even an outdoor skating show where the Swedish national champion skated. It was so much fun. We were so blessed to get to go with our good friends Peter and Louice and Lucas their little boy. He had the most fun playing games, and riding some rides. I had this strange moment when we were walking through the park.. i just had this realization that we were in Sweden.. and it is Christmas time.. and how cool that is. It is amazing. God is sooooo good, and I can't stop praising Him for His amazing hand in our life.

Tonight I made Swedish pancakes tonight for the first time ever. I was so nervous.. but it was so fun and they were DELICIOUS!!!!! It felt so great to make them! We have such an amazing home to spend our christimas in, and we really do have amazing friends who are like family to us. I feel blessed beyond words. Lets not forget the reason for the season. Jesus came to this earth to seek and to save. What an awesome time to remember when he arrived. We love you all. Matt promised me he would write.. so we will see if he finds time. His hockey is going really well, they are on a break now, but still have practice. He is third for points on his team and has only played 9 games. I am so proud of him for working so hard. It is awesome to see.

Love you all and miss you all.. here are some pics from the fair..

Hello to our faithful readers!!!!

2009-12-13T09:40:00.002+01:00

I was thinking today that I didn't really have much to write about, but I know it has been awhile since i last wrote.. so i will try. Things have been great here.. i love our house, i love our friends and God is really just so good! The past few days Matt and I have not been feeling the best. Matt came down with a cold and i have been trying to get used to the time. It has been pretty crazy, but it also has been nice to just get to spend time with my husband. The past few years have been such a crazy rollar-coaster of a ride for us, and the past few days I have just been able to be thankful for togetherness with my husband. It is just a blessing, even if we both do feel gross and sick ;)

Matt has had a game since i last wrote. He played very well and had a great time. He told me he missed a penalty shot, and he was so mad he made up for it with 2 goals and one assist. Their team won 4-0. Today he has a home game, and I am hoping i feel well enough to go. I love watching him play and i get so sad when I can't go. This last week there was a newspaper article written about Matt. From what we were told, it was an awesome story about Matt's journey with cancer, his history with hockey, and his reason for being here.. to tell people about God. What an awesome platform to have. I pray that everyone who reads the article will be blessed by our God's grace and provision.

Please pray for us this week, as we will be getting a better idea of what we will be doing this term in Sweden. We just simply want to be used, in whatever way we can be. Thank you for your support, love and prayers. I will be updating again soon after Matt's game tonight. Perhaps tomorrow, or tuesday. We miss you all and love you. Thanks so much for your comments also, Matt and I are truly blessed by them.

Blessings,
Jess and Matt

Finally here...

2009-12-08T18:36:00.003+01:00

What an amazing feeling to finally be here with Matt and feel totally at peace! I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it was to walk into our new house and see all that our friends had done for us. I was brought to tears as soon as I walked in the door. The house is filled with love and has an amazing feeling in it. Everything is more than I could have ever imagined. I just kept hearing the verse in Ephesians 3:20,21

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen"

He really has exceeded any expectations that I had. Matt and I both feel humbled by this whole experience. Our friends worked day and night to make a place for us where we could feel at home. It is amazing. I wake up praising God, and thanking Him countless times for the friends we have here, for the home we have here, and for the ministry He has provided for us here. We are truly blessed! As soon as i get over the jetleg i promise to post some pictures. The only times i seem to be fully awake right now are when the sun is down, and the pictures wouldn't do our house justice.

Since I have been here.. Matt has played one game. It was so awesome to get to go watch him, and i know i am a proud wife.. but I truly have never seen him play this well in all of my time watching him. He is playing with such passion, control, and confidence. His last game he had 3 assists. He is playing with one of his best friends on the team, Mattias. Mattias and Matt have developed such a special bond. They began to have discipleship times together last year, and they will continue this year also. I would love to go into more detail about Matt's ministry opportunities, but i feel like it would be best if he got to share it. I will force him to sit down and write haha.

The team they played on Friday tapes some of their games, and posts the goals and important plays on youtube. Matt is number 10 and his friend Mattias is number 16 on the red team. This way you can see what I see when I watch him play here.

Thank you so much for your love, support and prayers. We really cherish them. We are so lucky to have so many people who pray for us and support us in this amazing adventure God has provided. We miss you and love you all.

Jess and Matt

Answer to prayer...

2009-10-31T17:38:00.002+01:00

Well, we finally have some plans in place. (By the way... I wish i was better at writing on here. I have more time when i am in Sweden. ) So, right now i am in Canada, and Matt will be joining me next week. We will be here for a few days and then back to Colorado. Our plan right now is to leave by the 17th. The hockey team has been waiting for matt, so we are trying to get there as soon as possible. Also, my visa has come in for Sweden!!! Such an answer to prayer. God is working things out in His timing.

This week has been hard for me.. being home and remembering that I will be gone for Christmas, but i feel as though the timing for us to be in Sweden is what God wants of us. We have amazing friends in Sweden who are like family and I feel so blessed to have them there waiting for us to arrive. I know they will take good care of us over Christmas.

Please pray for us as we prepare for our trip. We still have many things to do, we have lots to remember, and we have very little time to do this all. God has truly blessed us this summer, and we feel more than excited for what He has ahead. We want Him to move in mighty ways and we want more than anything to portray the love that He has for us ... to others.

Thank you to all of you who still read our blogs. I promise to be better. I will start this week.... and it will onlt get better from here.

SO MUCH LOVE from us!

Jess and Matt

Prayer for Sweden... Visas... and so much more!

2009-09-03T19:43:00.002+02:00

hello to our friends and family and blog followers,

This summer has turned out to be quite the experience for Matt and I. We were apart for most of the summer. Matt was in Colorado, and I was in Canada with my family. We thought it would only be for one month. One month turned into two, and two turned into three. We were apart from April to August. I was so upset at first about the length of time that we would be apart, but God really had this amazing plan. I had the best summer with my family. It was such a blessing to be able to be here. I know how hard it will be to be away from my family for a long period of time this year, so this was such a blessing to me. Matt also had a lot of work at home which is another huge blessing. Praise God for His provision!

Now, we are awaiting our visas for Sweden. The plan now is to get a work visa for a year so we can be in Sweden from October until April or May. I have been waiting to finalize things but i am praying that this week it will all be finalized and we will be ready to book our ticket to SWeden. Please pray for us as these next steps fall into place. While we are in Sweden we are planning to apply for Matt's perminant residency in Canada. We are hoping by the time we get back from Sweden that all the paper work will be done and he will have it. God has also provided in amazing ways sending us an angel to help us through this time.

I feel like through this summer i have been filled with so much doubt and uncertainty.. the other day as i was walking along a back road in Saskatchewan I was overwhelmed with an urge to pray aloud. As i was walking along this dirt road that never seemed to end.. i realized that God was trying to speak to me in this time. This dirt road was like the road that Matt and I are on. We both know there is an end to it, but we get tired and hot, and feel like it is the same dirt road we have been on a million times. AS i continued to walk, i cried out loud to God to show me what it was He wanted for our lives... As I stopped and looked out into a feild filled with crops.. as far as the eye could see.. i was brought back to the verse in Matthew 9:37

"Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few."

The harvest in Sweden is plentiful.. and He has called us to be His workers. Matt and I are so excited for this next term in Sweden. It is longer so we will have more opportunity to get our roots in. Please pray for us as we begin the process to get going. We trust that His plan is for us to be there. All he asked of us to do is GO.. .and that is what we are hoping to do.

Thank you for all of your prayers for us this summer. I will be updated this process as we find out new information.

lots of love,

Jess and Matt

Back to reality...

2009-03-31T17:00:00.003+02:00

So, Matt and I are back in the U.S.A. It has been a bit hard getting used to the time change for us. It feels a little strange to be back. It is so great to see family and our dog Ricky, but I miss our friends in Sweden, the food, the sea, and so much more. I am excited to start working so we can get back there as soon as possible.

Tomorrow is Matt's birthday! I am trying to plan something special for him. I really want him to know how important and loved he is. I will let you know what we end up doing> He doesn't like his birthday very much, but I will try to change that for him.

It is hard to not get stressed about the next step in our life. So many decisions and unknowns.. but I am really feeling God's hand in all of it. He is calming my heart and helping me know He is in control. Please continue to pray for us in this time in our lives. It is exciting, scary, crazy and so much more.

I am really excited for this weekend. One of my best friends from High school is comming to Colorado to visit. I can't wait to see her and to catch up. We havn't seen each other since our wedding.

I MISS SWEDEN SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!

Lots of Love,
Jess

Hejdå Sverige!

2009-03-24T23:47:00.002+01:00

SO MUCH SADNESS!!!!! Today was a very hard day! We had to say a lot of goodbyes. . . well more like a lot of "see you laters". No matter what it was.. it was so hard to know that tomorrow we wont be here. It is hard to know that we wont walk by the sea, or see our dear friends whenever we would like to. It is so hard to say goodbye even if it is just for a few months. It feels good however that my heart is here. It feels good to know that I am feeling more and more like Sweden is home. Honestly.. the people are what make it home for us here. we are so blessed. I know I say it alot but we have made some amazing friends here. We have felt so loved, accepted and taken care of. I will be forever thankful!

I just want to say thank you... to our friends here. You have made our time the best! We have really loved getting to know you all and we can't wait for the next time! Please pray for us! We will miss you, we love you all!!!! To our Swedish family.... words cannot express the way I feel... you have given us more than we could have ever imagined.. you have made Sweden home for us! Matt and I really feel like you are family! We will miss you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now i am bawling... so i had better wrap this all up. Please pray for our flight, for the border, for our visas... and just that God will keep our hearts calm. I am brought back to Jeremiah 29:11.... " For I know the plans I have for you, declares the lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." God is in control.... and His plans are much better than ours.

I love you all... thank you for all of your prayers! You are the best!!!

Good-bye Sweden... i will miss you! Until next time .....Hejdå

I don't want to leave....

2009-03-21T11:56:00.002+01:00

It is really hard to write lately. I feel like all i have to say is that i will miss it so much here, and that i am not too excited to leave. The past week has been so much fun, helping our friends renovate their living room, going to birthday parties, hanging out with our friends... and it just feels like the time has come so fast. We have four days left here. FOUR!!! I can't believe that the time has almost come to get back on a plane and go back home. It is so hard! It is hard because we love the people who we have come to know here. It is hard because we feel like this is where we belong, and on top of it all the weather has been amazing for the past 4 days!!! I have loved walking around and just taking everything in. The sound of the water, the cute white houses, everything that I will miss so dearly when we are gone. I can't beleive how amazing it is that I get to wake up each day, look out the window and see the sea! It is such an amazing blessing!!!

Last time I wrote I told you that Matt was going to be speaking in church.. that was last Sunday. It was awesome! God really used him... even though i have heard Matt's story a thousand times.. each time it feels like the first and I am overwhelmed with how far God has taken my miracle husband. I am so proud of how far he has come.

The next few days will be busy ones. We will be saying our goodbyes, packing, cleaning, and getting things organised to leave. I am so nervous to leave. I am feeling like this next chapter of our life is so uncertain. I feel the need to control and want to see how it all turns out.. but this week God brought me to a verse that has been in my thoughts constantly....

2 Corinthians 5:7 ~" For we live by faith, not by sight."

I am really trying to trust God with our life. I know He is in control, and I am trying to let His peace guard my heart and mind.... but it is a daily battle for me.

I don't know if I will write again before we leave. I will try, but i feel like when i write i get really sad and it gets hard to have my feelings come out. maybe i will try to make matt write. haha. We will miss Sweden.. our amazing adventure.. and we are praying for God to bring us back here to this awesome place... this blessed place... this place that we are starting to call home.

We love you all!!!

2009-03-13T15:30:00.003+01:00

It is amazing to me how it can be SO sunny and beautiful one day and a blizzard the next! I had the most amazing day on Wednesday... the sun was shining and i took a long walk outside and took pictures of almost everything in sight. I realized as I was walking... that i don't take enough time in my day to simply thank God for all He has created. He is simply amazing! Walking has always been a way of slowing down my thoughts. It was such a beautiful day!!! The next day, Thursday... we woke up to a completely different kind of day..... it was snowing like crazy, windy and cold. I also realized that those are not my favorite days... by far haha.

Now with only two weeks left, I am really feeling the reality that is quicky comming. We will be leaving. It has been so amazing to hear everyone ask us to come back. It feels amazing to feel like they support what God has brought us here to do. Matt and I have been talking alot about the next step ... we know that if we were to come back (which is a good possibility) that we would want to stay for a longer term. We have found that in 3 months... it is hard to get things started. If we had more time, we both feel like God could open some amazing doors. AS much as I would love to start thinking about next year... i am stuck thinking about the next month. As of April 16th, my American Visa runs out. Matt and I are planning on heading to Canada so we both can work. Matt has to aquire a visa from the border and have a bunch of paper work filled out. We wont find out until we are at the border if Matt can in fact work in Canada. It is so easy to feel anxious about it all.. to feel uneasy about everything... But I know who is ultimately in control... and HE knows our hearts desires, and HE knows what is best for us. So i trust... or at least try to.

Please pray for our final two weeks. Matt speaks in church on Sunday, and although he acts like he has it all under control, and is calm... i know he is nervous for it. He is showing a video that the news did on him about how he had cancer, survived and his journey back to hockey. OUr very special friends helped Matt translate the text to Swedish. THANKS LINDA AND LOUICE!!!!! I sometimes get lost in thinking about how amazing Matt's story is. God took Matt on the most incredible journey.. through hardships, fears, tragedy, sickness.. and so much more. But then I look at him now... playing hockey.. living a dream... and am overwhelmed at God's amazing faithfulness and love. Matt gets to play hockey, and serve our God... and that is the most amazing thing!!!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers. Please pray for Matt for this SUnday, for Matt's visa and for our trip home. I get so nervous about getting sick ....

Lots of love and blessings,
Jess and Matt

Getting sad....

2009-03-09T20:20:00.003+01:00

It feels so strange to have the days go by so fast. I feel like we were just unpacking and soon we will be packing to head home. Each day it gets harder for me to accept that we will once again leave. I feel so weary of these times. Packing, unpacking, not knowing where we will be next. The hardest thing for me about leaving this time.. will be leaving our friends. I want you to understand how much God has blessed us when He blessed us with amazing friends. The past 3 nights we have spent our time at our friends Peter and Louice's house. It really feels so comfortable to spend time with them. Even now.. thinking about not being able to walk to their house whenever i want makes me want to burst into tears. She has become such an important part of my life. Her and Peter have been amazing friends to us and they are truly like family to us. Their son is turning two in 10 days and he has just brightened our life also. He loves Matt and loves to play hockey with him.

I feel so lost with the feelings I have. I don't understand why we have to come, and leave... i crave consistancy. I am a planner.. i like to know what i am doing it and for how long. God is truly showing me that His timing is the ONLY timing. I am really trying to accept how things are.. and I am trying to just be thankful for the time that we have had here.. but still i dread leaving. The next two weeks.. i am going to try to soak up my time here. Take lots of pictures, videos, and hang out with friends. Please pray for us as our time comes to an end. It is hard for Matt and I to leave. We really hope that God's plans are for us to come back again next year.

We will miss our friends so much!!!!! They are the best!!!! We owe them many meals!

Lots of Love,

Jess and Matt

Hej allihopa!!

2009-03-04T14:10:00.002+01:00

Hello everyone!

Wow... i am stunned at how fast the time has gone by. Today we have exactly three weeks left here. It causes me to feel many different emotions. I feel so sad to leave again.. Sweden starts to feel like home for Matt and I. God has blessed us with amazing friends, who are life family to us. It feels so strange to have to say good-bye to them soon, and not know what God's timing will be for us to come back.

Matt and i both feel as if God wants us to come back for at least another term. We feel like He has more planned for us here and we want to be obedient to what He has called us to. I have to admit it is hard for me to not have something more stable and perminant.. like a home or a steady income.. but God is slowly teaching me that He is in control. He planned this all, and as long as I am yeilding to Him and my husband that things will work out for us.. just as He had planned.

Please continue to pray for us in our last weeks here. We really want God to move in mighty ways. He already has been.. Matt was able to share the gospel message with one of his good friends from hockey last week! Praise GOD! And Matt also talked with the guy he has been discipling about the importance of asking Christ to come into his life. Matt said that from his response.. he believes that his friend is a Christian! This is so encouraging to us! The best part for Matt is how is friend always calls him and asks him where he should read next. He has already gone through John, James and now first John. Matt said that he can see the Holy Spirit transforming his life through God's word.

Hebrews 4:12,13

"12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

God is doing such amazing things, and we are so thankful to be able to be used in it all. In the next few weeks we have many things to do. We still will be attending swedish classes, Matt is still coaching, and i still have figurskating and volleyball. However, on Sunday the 15th, Matt will be speaking in Church.. giving his testimony and sharing about what God has done while we have been here. Please pray for him as he prepares for this. I am sure he is nervous.. even if he doesn't say it to me! haha.

Thank you so much for your prayers, support and love through our whole journey. Please pray for us as we head back. It is really hard to leave our friends.

Blessings,
Jess and Matt

Prayer...

2009-02-27T22:37:00.003+01:00

My heart truly aches in this moment. Today we found out that someone that we had been getting to know, a girl who is my age, lost her baby girl. She already has a little boy, and was 5 weeks away from her due date. She went into labor yesterday. The delivery was said to have been fine, but then there were some complications. She passed away in Jesus' arms this afternoon. My heart aches for my friend.. for someone I was comming to know. What an incredible loss for her. Please pray for her. Please pray for her family! Today when i was praying I asked God why things like this happen.. why it had to happen to her.. He brought me back to a verse He has been taking me to the past few weeks...

Ephesians 1:11

"11In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will"

God knew that this would happen.. He knew He would save this little girl from all the sin of the world and take her right away back into His mighty, holy, and protecting arms. She is with Him now. It is so hard to process it for all who are left here. Her mom, her dad, her big brother... I know that there are no words that i can say.. but we can pray and trust that "HE WILL WORK EVERYTHING OUT IN CONFORMITY WITH THE PURPOSE OF HIS WILL".

~Jess

Sorry...

2009-02-23T11:54:00.002+01:00

Hello everyone! I hope that you are all doing well! Things have been crazy the past few weeks. Many people have been sick, and we have been trying hard to prevent that for us. In the past couple of weeks Matt's team made it to playoffs. They played the best of 3 games. They lost their first game, which took them 5 and a half hours away on Saturday to their second game. Matt went into the game feeling a bit sad. If they were to loose it would be their last game of the season. They ended up loosing 5-1. Matt was player of the game and said he thought that he played well. He came home a little sad. He was saying that you never know what could happen and that it could be his last game here. At first he was really sad, and perhaps still is, but the team will still have practices and the team he coaches still has some games left.

I feel like now, when there is more time for us to do things.. that we can do the things that God is calling us to do. We can start our Bible study, we can work in the school more, we can have people to our house.. and the list goes on. We just want God to do mighty things in and through us in this last month that we have here. IT IS CRAZY.. but we only have one month left in this part of our time here. We leave here March 25th. Please pray for God to really ignite a fire in us, and pray for us to be light.

We will be in the local jr. high school this week as they have a dodge ball tournament! We taught the kids last year to play dodgeball.. and they fell in love with the game. It will be a lot of fun to be able to go and help out! Our Swedish classes have been put on hold as our teacher was sick, but we are looking forward to going back to them this week! The weather is starting to look really nice here, after we had a huge snowfall this weekend. The sun is out and I can feel spring comming! This place is just so amazing, and i really wish all of you could see it. I can't help but wake up each day, look outside and thank God for what He created. It is amazing to look at the sea, and get lost in thoughts and prayers.

We miss you all.. please continue to pray for us. I promise to keep this up better in the next weeks we have here. We love you!

God bless,
Jess and Matt

2009-02-10T10:42:00.002+01:00

Hello once again.... today i woke up to a light snow that frosted the hills around us. For some reason It made me really excited! I had missed the snow. As I sit here and drink my Swedish coffee that for most would be way too strong, I can't help but feel so blessed

Since I last wrote a few things have changed with us. The biggest thing is that the Jr coach was fired, and in turn Matt was asked to replace him. This is a huge responsibility. The kids are 16-21. Some of them play on Matt's team occasionaly also. It is amazing though because we had just been praying for God to show us where we could help.. and the next day the offer for Matt to coach came up. Matt is really excited, nervous and anxious to start. It is a big responsibility. He was awake all night one night since he was asked, because he was thinking about hockey drills and what he would do. I know that Matt will be an amazing coach. He has so much knowledge and an amazing way with people. He is a bit nervous though to please everyone, so if you could remember him in your prayers that would amazing.

This week we are hoping to start our young marrieds Bible Study. I believe it will be on Thursday. Now that Matt is coaching and playing his schedule will be much busier than mine. I am ok with it though because I know he has a servants heart and wants to help.. and it will just be for the remaining time that we are here. It seems insane to me that our time is almost half over.

Please continue to pray for us in these last weeks of being here... we both really want to be used. We want God to move in awesome ways. Also, Matt has been sick the past few days. It seems like he has been sleeping since yesterday morning. It is good for him though. I think maybe he needed a break. He plays a game on Wedenesday at home. So hopefully he will be back to normal by then. He played on Sunday, but wasn't feeling so well. His team won 4-0.

We love and miss you all. Thanks for all of your prayers!!!

Jess and Matt

2009-02-05T19:38:00.003+01:00

To our faithful blog viewers!

Matt and I are always blessed when we hear that people are looking at our blog, and also when we recieve comments on it. It is such an awesome thing to be able to share what the Lord is doing here in Sweden. Thank you so much for your prayers and your support. We truly appreciate your interest in things here.

Today I have been thinking a lot about what it is God wants us to do while we are here. We have built relationships with people. We have tried to help in whatever way we can... but i wondered if there was something more that we could do. Lately I feel an urgency to spread to gospel. I feel like our time here is so short on earth and that I should be telling more people about Jesus. I have been struggling with this urgency, and so today the Lord revealed some truth to me about what i should do with this urgency. I believe that I should be telling people about Jesus for sure, but I believe that first I need to be showing the people here something that seems so simple....... love. I need to show them a love that only Jesus can give through us. The Bible says in Romans 13:8,9

Love, for the Day is Near

8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

I feel an urgency now to show love to everyone I come in contact with. Matt and i aren't just missionaries when we are in the hockey arena, or when we invite people to our home. We are missionaries in our school where we learn Swedish, at the grocery store, when we are out for walks. We are missionaries everywhere we go, and Jesus tells us to "love one another." All I know is that i am incapable of showing that love on my own. Matt and I are asking God to teach us how to love others. God has been teaching me that through loving people, that He will provide the opportunity to tell them about who He is. Our prayer is that all of our conversations will be filled with love and seasoned with salt...Colossians 4:5,6

5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Please continue to pray for us as we keep serving our God. It is amazing to both of us how lucky we are to be doing what we are doing. I find myself in awe of God several times in the day. Today when we were in Swedish class i was almost brought to tears... i thought of how amazing it is for Matt and i to be in Sweden.... learning a new language.. serving our God.. TOGETHER. It amazes me. I am so thankful to our Lord for letting Matt play a sport that he truly loves. I am overwhelmed at the fact that Matt can serve our God while he plays. It is amazing.

We love you all and miss you all.

Jess and Matt

Ah Yes.. and HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!! I love you so much. Thank you for so much for teaching me what it means to be a true follower of Christ. I hope that your days is blessed!!!!

Open Doors...

2009-01-30T20:00:00.004+01:00

Hello everyone!

God is just so good! I can't say that enough. he just has blown us away by how amazing He is. This week was amazing. Matt and I have really been trying to seek God out and ask what it is that we should be doing while we are here. We have talked with some of the people here and asked where there is a need for us. We have found out that there is a need for some Bible studies with young married couples. Although we don't feel qualified to teach a Bible study like that, we feel that the Lord is asking us to follow through with this. We are really excited. Please pray for this time! we are really excited for this to start! We really need a time also where we can fellowship with young couples our age. WE feel like this is a huge blessing for us. This Bible study along with the one that Matt will be doing are simply amazing opportunities! We are really excited for these to begin. we believe that they will this next week.

We had our first Swedish lesson this week. It went really well. It was just me and Matt, but we learned a lot and we were both surprised at how much we remembered. It felt good to be able to understand most of what our teacher was asking. I am looking forward to our next class. This week we have also been blessed with being able to get together with many of our friends. God truly knew that matt and I needed some good Christian couple friends, and we feel the Lord has blessed us more than we could have asked for. It is amazing that we can find friends like the ones that we have here... all the way across the ocean. I even baked with my good friend Louice this week.. we made a kind of Swedish cinnamon bun. THEY WERE SO GOOD! ( I say were, because we have eaten most of them... haha) Even though it seems so small.. it was a big thing for me to be able to learn how to do something that is very "Swedish". I felt at home doing it.

Matt has played two games since I last wrote. The most recent one he was awarded "player of the game." He was really excited! They won the game 6-2. The game before they lost 6-4 but Matt had an amazing game with 2 goals and one assist. The team is now in 3rd place and will move onto playoffs. They can't move down a division, and have a good chance of moving up to Division 1.It is so exciting! It is great to see Matt interacting with the guys on his team. It seems a lot different this year than the last. I always see him talking with the guys, and laughing.. even during a serious game. It is awesome! He plays away again on Sunday. The team only has 4 more regular season games before the playoffs begin.

We are both having to make some big life decisions even while we are here. It has been a bit stressful this week.. but we really feel the Lord's calling to return to Sweden. Please pray for the Lord's leading. It is not only decisions about returning here next year... but about plans when we will go home in March. My visa is up in April, and we have to decide what would be best for us when we return. Please also pray for God to reveal what it is we should do. We are seeking out all of our options and asking Him to make it all clear to us. Matt and I cling to a verse that the Lord gave us when we first started dating... it is Philippians 4:4-7

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We trust that His peace will come with the answers to our questions. We are praying lots and seeking out His will for our lives. We feel so blessed to be able to be here... and to be doing what we are doing, serving our God. Thank you so much for all of your love and prayers.

Blessings,

Jess and Matt

2009-01-24T15:16:00.003+01:00

Hello again Friends and family! Sorry it has been so long since I have written. Things have been going great! Matt and I are really enjoying our time here. Since I last wrote Matt has played two games, and has another game tomorrow. The first game he played was at home. It was awesome!!! They won 3-2. Matt got an assist and scored the game winning goal with one minute left in the game. It was such a great thing for him. He was playing on the first line, and he couldn't have looked better out there. He looked like he was having the time of his life. His last game was away, and I didn't go to it, but it wasn't as good. They lost the game with the score 5-7. It was a bit of a disappointment but hopefully they can bounce back from the loss.

This week has been a week of getting things in order and finalizing our schedule. We found out we will have Swedish classes twice a week again.. and we are really excited for it. Also, Matt has been helping with the school's ice time. He gets to go and play some hockey with a few of the students. It has been great.

God has really been opening a lot of doors for Matt on the team. Niklas (one of our great friends who is like the hockey team manager) has told Matt that he would like for Matt to be able to start a Bible study once a week in the rink. This is amazing as it is.. but Niklas also said they could provide some food, and whatever else Matt needs. Niklas also said he would be attending it. It just touches me how God has it all figured out. Matt has already been having Bible studies each week with one of the guys on the team.. and he is really responding to the Bible studies. Our church in Colorado helped us with getting some studies that relate to hockey, and it really helps to make the guys interested. Please pray for this whole thing. Matt is willing to speak, so please pray that the Holy Spirit will speak through him, and that the Lord's words would be heard!

Thank you for all of your prayers. It is hard to believe that we have already been here for over 2 weeks. Time really goes by so fast! We have such amazing friends here, and are able to keep really busy in fellowship with them, as well as the other things we are involved it. God just continues to bless us. He truly is in control... all we want to do is serve Him.. we are willing.. and we know He will use us according to His will.

We love you all and miss you all,
Please continue to pray for us...

Love,
Jess and Matt

Our lovely Swedish Appartment...

2009-01-17T12:15:00.010+01:00

Brought back to truth...

2009-01-16T23:53:00.002+01:00

This week has been quite hard. I have really been struggling getting used to the time difference. Last night was the first good sleep i have had since I have been here. I have also been feeling a little discouraged. I found out that volleyball will be cut from 4 days a week to only 1. This was hard for me. Volleyball was such a great time for me last year. I am still so excited to be a part of the team and to actually get to play on it this year. However, my heart was saddened. However figureskating has gone from 1 day a week to 2. I guess this opens up some time for me to serve in different ways.

Matt has hockey almost every day of the week, and has also had amazing opportunity to meet with some guys and have Bible study with them. I praise God for this time! How amazing that those doors have been opened. We had a meeting yesterday with the church group that supports us to be here. It was really great. They had everything written out for us as far as expectations of what we should do while we are here. Everything is great. WE are a bit nervous for our new Swedish classes that we will be taking. It is more advanced, and we both still feel shy to speak still. It is hard because we always know we can speak english. Please pray for us as we begin our new schedule next week. We are expecting to be busy.

During my quiet time today I studied Psalm 132. The Psalm speaks of David's journey to return the Ark of the covenant. The first time he tried he failed... becuase he didn't seek out the Lord and ask Him what he should do, and how he should do it. That is how i feel I have been this week. I have felt so discouraged and at times a bit caught of guard by what God has been doing. I was confused as to what He wanted us to do, even though we have only been here one week. When I read about David's struggle and how he only was able to do what the Lord had asked him to do, after he surrendered his own will and asked God how to do it... I was humbled. I realize that my agenda is not the agenda that we should have while we are here. I want the Holy Spirit to be able to move, to speak to us and to lead us as we should go. I want to seek the Lord out first, and His agenda. Ask Him what He would have us do while we are here. I believe that He will be faithful and will show us.. if we are faithful and willing to listen. Then we can rejoice and dance as David did in 2 Samuel 6:14. Once David did what he knew the Lord was asking of him, and by being obedient and seeking out His will... he could rejoice and dance. I can't wait for that day.

It is amazing to have all of the opportunities that we have while we are here. I am so happy to have an agenda to follow, with expectations for our time here. It feels nice to know what is asked of us.. i just have to remember that there is one whose opinions and expectations should come first... and we need to be in tune with Him in order to know what it is He is asking of us. I don't want to be careless and carry things sent from God on an Ox cart as David did haha.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers. We truly can feel them. We feel as if the Lord has big plans for the island of Tjorn. We trust that He will use us, as we are willing to be used in whatever way He asks. Please pray for the lives of the guys on the hockey team. That they will see light in Matt, and continue to feel as though they can ask him questions.

Matt has another home game this Sunday. I am really excited. I love the home games. It is great to watch him play. Please pray that this week as we start to get back into things, that we would feel rested and excited. Also please pray for the Lord to reveal what His plans are for us while we are here.

We love you all.. miss you all.. and can't thank you enough!
Jess and Matt

Back at it...

2009-01-12T18:50:00.002+01:00

Hello again!

We have been here for almost 4 days now, and honestly I feel as though it has been non-stop! The night we arrived we went to our close friends Peter and Louice's house. It was so amazing to see old friends and be right where we were nearly one year ago. The next evening we were so blessed to have a party thrown in our honor. Many of our friends were there, and it was such an amazing time to get to see everyone again. They have all touched our lives in such amazing ways, and it felt like we were right at home being around them all once again. They are already trying to make us speak more Swedish. I really pray that the language will come more easily to us soon.

On Sunday Matt had his first game. He was a little nervous, but though that he wouldn't play at all during the game because he had only been to one practice during the week. In the middle of the second period the coach sent Matt out. He only played 4 shifts in the game, but made a huge impact. He scored 1 goal, made a big hit ( I was so surprised) and had a penalty shot. I really want you to understand how i feel when i watch Matt play in Sweden.. it is as though God made this game just for him. He looks so at ease on the ice, and enjoys every minute. It is truly such a blessing.

The past few days have really been packed full of things for us to do. It has been harder than we expected to adjust to the time. We find ourselves not able to fall asleep at night, and then sleeping into the middle of the day. Please pray that we will start to adjust better. It is so strange to wake up in the middle of the night and be hungry. It makes sense though considering 2am here would be dinner time at home.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and thoughts. We miss you all, but feel as though God has us here at this time for His purpose. We are excited to see what will come. We have a meeting on Thursday concerning what we will do while we are here. Matt is at hockey now, and i will be going to figure skating tonight as well. It feels so great to be back to the usual things here.

Missing you all,
Jess and Matt

Part Two of Our Amazing Adventure

2009-01-08T15:55:00.002+01:00

Hello dear family and friends,

The time has seemed to just fly past us. It has been a year since our first arrival in Sweden. WE leave today at 5:15pm. I have to admit that I am a bit nervous. Not for being in Sweden, or anything about the place... about our flight over there. I am really praying that we both don't get sick. It was such a horrible ride there the last time.

Please pray for us as we arrive, see all of the framiliar faces, and begin our time of ministry. Matt is hoping to play in a game this weekend, so please also pray for health for him, and that the time change isn't hard on his body. We both can't express how excited we are and how blessed we feel to be doing the Lord's work. He has been so faithful to us, and we find ourselves humbled and in awe of who He is.

Thank you for all of your support through giving and prayer. We love you all dearly! I can't wait to get back into the swing of things in Sweden and begin writting to you what God has been doing. Please pray for open hearts, and that God would move in amazing ways!

Thanks again for all of your prayers, we truly can feel them!

Lots of Love....

Jess and Matt

Goodbye lovely Sweden...

2008-04-05T23:33:00.003+02:00

I really am being honest with you when I say that I feel as if my heart will be left behind here in Sweden when we leave. This experience has been more than words could ever express. I find it hard to even write this. I really don't want to leave. Even with the thought of comming back.. leaving here is going to break my heart. I just feel like God has been blessing us in amazing ways here. I feel more like me than I ever have, and I have made friends that are impossible to ever forget. Matt and I have just had a hard time the past few days.. wraping our head around the reality of leaving. We both have found our place here and love it with all of our hearts. I know for him it must be so hard to leave. For him, leaving also means going back to work. I know that after this experience.. that would be hard.

Tonight we were so blessed to have a going away party thrown in our honor. It was amazing to get a chance to be with alot of our friends who have become like family to us. A couple of the hockey guys showed up as well to say goodbye. My heart is overflowing with gratitude. I am so thankful to be able to know all of the people that we have met here. I really can't imagine not waking up here. The party tonight really made me aware of how much I want to come back. I really can't imagine not ever seeing those people again. They are too close to my heart. I know Matt feels the same way.

Tomorrow is our last day in Sweden. Even writing that sentence brings me back to the reality of it all. Tomorrow.... we will spend our last day packing, taking a walk, and spending some time with friends. Please pray for us in this time. It is really hard for us to leave. Also please keep our flight in your prayers. Matt and I both are not too fond of flying, and after my experience in comming here... i am very nervous and anxious to fly. It is crazy to think that this time...l this season in our life is over. Now we ask for you to pray for our next steps. Please pray for us as God continues to guide them. We do want to so what He wants. I know that He gave us such an amazing love for Sweden and for the people here. We are excited to start the next process in getting back here. We love you all and thank you for comming along for the ride with us. It is so sad that it has come to an end.. but we feel as if it is also just the beginning.

Lots of love from Sweden.......

Jess and Matt

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!!!!

2008-04-01T11:38:00.002+02:00

Hello friends and family!
Today Matt turns 27. SO OLD! haha. Matt and I both have such mixed emotions about leaving. On one hand we feel so excited to see our friends and family, and share with them some of the adventures GOd has taken us on. On the other hand... we both have fallen in love with everything here. God has really shown us so much about where our passion lies. It is amazing how when we surrendered our time, money, and posessions... how God totally took control. He really wanted to strip us of everything, and He has taken amazing care of us. He has showed us things about ourselves individually, and as a couple. God took us and just used us, and that is exactly what we prayed for when we arrived.

I have been involved in the figure skating show here. It was yesterday and is again today. It is so cute. I just love watching the little girls skate around so proud looking for their parents. I was nearing in tears yesterday thinking of how blessed I am by those little girls. They love me without words. It is amazing.. God has just showed me how to show His love to them.. when no words are even spoken. I will miss them a lot.

Matt has been enjoying some time off from practice.. now he has some time to just relax before we head back to Colorado and he begins to work at full speed. Tomorrow we will have our last meeting with the Church group. Also, our friend Nikolus will be there to help us figure out things for next year with the hockey team and the school. Please remember him in your prayers. I really just want him to see the love that we as Christians have for each other. I want him to feel accepted and loved. Matt and I really feel that God has amazing plans for him. We are praying for him. He has played such a huge role in everything we have done while we have been here. He has made it so nice for me. I love Volleyball and he is the one who first invited me to go help coach. Him and Matt have been able to form a great friendship as well.

Please pray for us as we begin to pack our things and head off. It is pretty emotional for us. Even with the thought of returning.. it is still hard to leave this place that we have fallen in love with. It is hard to believe that we arrived here nearly 3 months ago. Time passed so fast! I know the rest of this week will just fly. My mom knows that i will wait until the last minute to pack all of my things. I think i got that "gift or procrastination" from her. haha.

Thanks again from the bottom of our hearts. This time that we have spent here has been life changing for Matt and I. We both can't wait to share our stories with you in person. Thank you so much for wanting to keep up with what we are doing, and for being so invested in our time here. We love you all so very much.

LOVE,
Jess and Matt

Stockholm...

2008-03-26T10:45:00.002+01:00

Matt and I have been away for the past few days on a trip with our friends to Stockholm. It was a 6 hour drive. We went with 2 other couples and Jon (the other HMI missionary). I suppose I will go from most recent events backwards.
On our way home from Stockholm the weather seemed to be getting worse the closer we were to home. We were driving 2 cars. On the way to Stockholm we drove with girls in one car, boys in the other. However my friend Helena wasn't up to driving in the snow on the way home so her husband drove in the car with us. I had switched from driving in the car with the girls to driving with the boys. Helena and Louice are the sweetest girls and wouldn't sit in the front seat because they thought I should sit in the front. I knew they were being too nice, so i changed cars and thought one of them might change into the front, but they never did. We were about 10 km outside of Goteborg when the snow got really heavy. Helena's car was ahead of us by maybe 1/2 a km... but we couldn't see them. All of the sudden Peter (Louice's husband) recieved a phone call saying they were in an accident. Within seconds of that, we pulled up to the accident. Helena's car was totally smashed. They were hit from behind, the whole back part of the car was crushed. They were driving a VW bug, and anyone who has been in one, knows that there is hardly any trunk space, and the back seat is very squished. It is a miracle that nobody was extremely hurt. The lady in the other car was hurt pretty bad as well. Helena, Louice and the other lady were taken to the hospital in an ambulence. Louice asked that I go along with her, so i drove to the hospital with her in the ambulence. Sirens ringing and all. On the way to the hospital, the paramedic told Louice that they had to of had guardian angels around them, becuase the crash could have seriously injured them all. I believe this is true. If you saw their car, and where they were sitting, you would be amazing. They didn't even have any cuts, and the back windows were crushed, and fell on them both.
Louice was able to leave the hospital soon after we arrived, but Helena was complaining of back pain, so they took some x-rays to make sure nothing was seriously wrong. Later on last night we found out it was all good, and she was going home. To make matters worse... yesterday was Helena's husband Simon's birthday. Please keep all of them in your prayers! Louice can't remember anything from the crash, and I know that Simon was really worried about Helena. I will see them all today to make sure they are all ok, but please pray for quick healing. I am sure they are all sore today.
It was just such a strange ending to an amazing weekend. I know God was watching over us though, I am so thankful to Him that nobody was seriously hurt. Words really can't express how thankful I am for those friends. The past 3 days were so much fun. It was so great to get to know our friends better, and to be able to have some time to be tourists in Sweden. Stockholm is beautiful! We got to see the castle where the King lives, go shopping, walk around the beautiful cobble stone roads. It was just the most amazing time. Riding on the subway was an experience in itself. It was so great to have some tour guides with us also. I will post a few pictures on here of our time.
It feels so odd to be in the last days of our time here. We will be heading home in less than 2 weeks. It is the weirdest feeling. We have both come to love it here. To be honest, the people here are what make it so amazing here. We have made some awesome life long friendships, that I will take with me everywhere. The next couple of weeks will be pretty busy. Spending time with people, meetings, and packing. We have a lot going on, but we are so glad to be busy in the last days we are here. Please pray for us as we leave. It isn't an easy thing to leave behind our friends, but we have faith that we will be back here again. Thank you again to everyone who supports us. We love hearing from you. We love you all, and we will see you all soon. I am sure I have a couple more posts in me. haha.

Lots of Love, and thanks for your prayers.
Jess and Matt

Ps: Bob, Matt says to get your golf swing ready!

Lobsters going to division 2?

2008-03-20T22:22:00.003+01:00

My heart, in this very moment is so full. I feel so many emotions that it is hard to put into words. I can't explain to you how amazed I am at the work of our Lord. He has take Matt and I on this amazing journey and i feel so unworthy of all of the blessings that He has given us. I think of the song verse " every blessing you pour out i'll turn back to praise." It is impossible to take any praise or glory away from our God. He has done so much in our hearts and through us. He has taken us both on this amazing road that we both never even would have thought of. I am overwhelmed at the thought of Jesus dying for us on the cross. He paid our debt, so we can live today.. so that we can be here in Sweden telling people about what He did for us. Yesterday I had this amazing opportunity to share in a kids class. It was for ages 5-8. I was really nervous and unsure about what to say, once I was there and speaking to the children I was so blessed by what God taught me through it. Those little kids are going to grow up to be men and women... and me telling them about what Jesus did for us, is just as important if not more. It blessed me to be able to teach them the song Jesus loves me.. and to hear their sweet voices singing along in english. That whole experience is something I have never had the guts to step out and do in north america. How silly!

God is so faithful! Matt's team won Wednesday night agains their rival team. Matt was named player of the game as hey contributed 3 goals to their 8. The score was 8-3 in the end. This puts them pretty much in the position to move up to division 2. They are in first place. In the past few days Matt has really had the opportunity to talk with some guys on the team. He has had some deep conversations and had some open doors for sharing His faith. I think it is so awesome that God placed us here over easter. I don't think there is a more perfect time to tell about Jesus and the price he paid for us. We have had some of the guys to our house even, and Matt has prepared supper for them. I am so proud of Matt.. you have no idea. He has been so bold in sharing his faith, and so trusiting that he just wants to be used in whatever way. Please continue to pray for Matt as he has some great oppportunities this weekend to hang out with the guys and get to know them better.

I feel so overwhelmed with emotions because.. i am in love with this place, but excited to go home at the same time. I feel like my heart is in two places at once. All I know, is that we feel so amazingly blessed to be used in whatever capacity we can. We want to be lights, we want to live in this place and shine.. we want Jesus to shine in and through us.

Matt has another game tomorrow at home. It is the last game of his season. I know it is a bittersweet feeling to be finished with hockey. He is excited that they made it through playoffs, but will miss playing.

We miss and love you all. Thank you for all of your comments. we appreciate them all.. and we are happy to have some people from Sweden viewing our blog also. Thanks for all your love and support. We love you all!

Happy Easter!!!!!

Much love,
Jess and Matt

a blink of an eye....

2008-03-17T17:48:00.003+01:00

This is Matt and Jon after their big win on Sunday.

Wow.. three weeks exactly from this day we will be on our way back home to Colorado. It seems like not long ago that we arrived here. It seems so strange to be gearing up to go back. It is kind of a bitter sweet feeling that I have. I am excited to get home to friends and family and have a clothes dryer once again!!!! haha. But I dread leaving our friends that we have made here. I have found myself feeling so comfortable here and so challanged each day. I am not sure what the decision will be as to whether or not we will be comming back, but I know without a doubt that I love this place. IT really has become like home for me. I love our appartment, so cute and cozy and steps away from the sea. I love our friends, they are so loving, accepting and kind. There is hardly anything bad that I could say about this place and our time here. It has really just been a blessing from God. Such an amazing blessing!

Matt had a game on Friday night against a division 2 team. They tied 4-4. Last night they played the same team again and walked away with an amazing victory! They won 9-2. Matt scored 3 goals and had an assist. It was so fun to watch. The team really looked great and they were playing amazing. They have 2 more games left in the series. They play their rival team again at home on Wednesday and then again they play on Friday. They are in first place right now, but the next two games are really important for them. I just keep reminding matt before every game how cool it is that we are serving our God IN SWEDEN.. and that he gets to play hockey here. I think it is the most amazing thing. Never did we think that this would be an option in our life. God really has provided for us in ways that are "immeasurably more than all we could ask or hope for." I am so thankful for everyday that we have here. It is so amazing to watch Matt taking part in something that he has been dreaming about since he was little. I am so proud of him~!

Matt has been having some great opportunities to talk with a guy on his team named Tobias. He came over for supper the other night. IT has been really nice getting to know him. Please pray for this relationship! I feel that God is opening doors for Matt in these last few weeks to be bold with some of the players on his team. I am really excited to see what God does in Tobias' life. I know that Tobias knows God.. but he has a hunger to go deeper and this is very exciting! We have a very busy schedule this week.. lots of meetings, games, practices, suppers, and much more. Everyone seems to be wanting to get some time in with us right before we leave.. but it is great! We love it!

I will update you all more and let you know how the games went. Please continue to pray for us, as decisions may be made soon. We both really want what is best for the churches, the team and the rest of the people here. We trust that God will work out all the details as He has in the past. Our hope and trust is in Him as we continue to walk in His calling. Thanks for all your love, support and prayers.

Much love,

Jess and Matt

Stingers vs Lobsters

2008-03-12T22:04:00.001+01:00

Matt's team won tonight 6-3 against their rival team. It was an away game, and i think that Ronnang (matts team) had more fans there than the stingers. It was amazing! Their next game is Friday at home. I am thankful for a home game. It should be fun. I don't exactly know how many points matt got, but I know for sure he had three assists. This is just an update for any curious hockey fans. So yeah. I will write again soon.. all is well I am feeling much better and God is good! Miss you all.
Love,
Jess

Bitter sweet....

2008-03-10T19:27:00.002+01:00

Hello again friends and family. I am sorry it has been awhile since I last wrote. Things have been pretty busy around here. Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers. God has been faithful in calming our hearts and helping us to refocus and see the big picture. Yesterday I had the opportunity to go with the girls volleyball team and help coach them at a volleyball tournament. It was awesome! They ended up winning the whole tournament, and played amazing! This win meant that next year they could move up to division 2. It would be so awesome because if we were to come back next year, i would be able to actually play. Right after the volleyball tournament we drove to the hockey game. I ended up being really sick and had to spend the first period in the car, sleeping. I missed a penalty shot that matt made.. and scored on.. and i was pretty bummed. I ended up going in for the second and third period. It was really hard to be there, but I am so glad I was. The guys ended up winning 8-4 over the division 2 team they played against. They weren't expecting to win so it was awesome that they won! I was sick all night and into this morning. I am feeling a bit better now. Just achey and sore... but God is so good. I just feel like He is being so faithful in supplying our needs. Matt played awesome last night and got 2 goals and 2 assists.

We had a meeting with the a group of church members last Thursday, but we didn't actually end up talking about us comming back next year. They mostly were looking for us to tell them about our time here. We have both come to realize through things people have been saying to us, that the church and the hockey team have a big part in deciding if we come back next year, but ultimately it is our decision whether we will come back or not. Through some people we have heard that they would like for us to come back. Which is really encouraging. Matt and I really want to make sure that this decision is made with a lot of prayer and thought. We both feel as if we need to go back home first, and take some time to make sure that what we are doing is what God wants for us. It would be really hard to say no to comming back after experiencing what we have here. We have made amazing friends, had amazing opportunities to grow relationships with younger kids, and we have just felt like God has been blessing us in amazing ways. We spent this weekend with some friends eating, playing games and having fika. It was awesome!! I realize how important friendships are!

Tomorrow is a busy day with Swedish class, then volleyball and Matt is going to be sharing at a boys youth night. I am really excited for this. The guys here look up to Matt so much! I am praying that God will prepare the boys hearts and that they will be receptive to what God has to say through Matt. Matt is also really looking forward to this time. Today Matt spent most of the day helping out with the school and their hockey tournament. He is being so great and really has been open to helping out in whatever way he can. Wednesday he has another game away, against their rival team... the STINGERS!!!!! It will be a hard game.

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers. This week has been a great week. We both have had time to just be by ourselves and focus on our time with God. Our "white space" .. yes pastor monty I am listening to your sermons online. Keep praying that God will continue to open up doors for us to share. I can't express to you how much i love this place. It is beautiful, the people are amazing and I am in love with the food! haha. Matt and I have really been able to grow and learn a ton here! Thank you to everyone who helped in getting us here. You will never know how much it means to us!!!

Once again, we love your comments and love to hear from you all! We love and miss everyone. God is good!

Love you all!

Jess and Matt

consumed...

2008-03-04T14:05:00.005+01:00

The past few days have been pretty hard on me and Matt. It is now comming to a point where decisions will need to be made about comming back. The hockey team, the school, and the churches all need to make a decision first whether or not they would want us back for next year. It has been really hard to not let thoughts consume me. I feel like daily Matt and I have been evaluating how people are treating us and questioning if they like us or not. I know that all of these thoughts were not from the Lord! It started to become our main focus. This Thursday we have a meeting with the Churches to give a description of out time here and to also present any future thoughts that we may have. Please pray for us in this time. I really feel that it is hard to not always question what people think. It is easy for our focus to change. Today Matt brought me a quote from his book that he is reading and it really hit home for us both. It says:

"A man who wants to lead an orchestra must turn his back on the crowd. Leaders turn their backs on the crowd and follow their mission no matter what the crowd thinks. As you live your life for Jesus turn your back on trying to please the crowd; face Jesus, and please Him with every fiber of your being."

That is our desire. We are here to please Jesus, we are here answering His call. It is so important for us to always remember who is in control. It has been really good to be able to refocus and remember why we are here. We feel refreshed and excited for the last month that we are here. I am no longer thinking about when we leave, but about each day that we still have here. It has been an awesome revelation for us to have. Thanks so much for your prayers. Please continue to pray that God will use us here. Pray that God will show us His will for us... whether it is here or somewhere else. We really want to be where He wants us to be. We miss you all and love you... now here are some words from Matty...

Hey everyone. We were able to make it through the first round of playoffs. The first series. Now we are going to be in the next series to see if we can move up to the next division. We play three teams, so we have 6 games left in the season. We play at home, and then at their home. These will be very difficult games. Each team has very good players. It will be 6 very tough games. I also have an opportunity on March 11th, to share my testimony with a group of young boys. I am very excited about this. Please pray that God will use me and speak through me and prepare the kids there. I am sure some of the kids that will be attending wont know the Lord, so pray that God will give me all the words to say.
Things are going really good on the team. I am getting to know the guys a lot better. I really want to start stepping out and being bold in the last 5 weeks we have here. It is just starting to hit us how fast time is going by. I want to start to challenge some of the guys that I have had conversations with and invite them into our house. I want to be able to speak with "saltiness" to give them a taste and wanting more. Thank you for all of your support and prayers. Things are continuing to be busy for us. But we are thankful for all the opportunities we have. I will try to keep you all updated on our games and what happens. Pray for us this week as some decisions may be made.

Lots of Love,
Matt and Jess

5 weeks left?

2008-03-01T16:25:00.002+01:00

"Matt Bothwell matchens gigant" This was taken from the Ronnang hockey club website. Matt was named the "game giant". This was game two of three in the first round of playoffs. Their team had won their first game Wednesday in overtime. Matt scored the game tying goal with 13 seconds left. Last night was a great game! They ended up winning 11-3. Matt had 4 assists and played really well. I guess he played well if he was named the "game giant!" ahha. He got three stars in the game and was followed by John the other missionary here in Sweden, who had 2. It was a really intense game up until the end of the second period when the opposite team began to get frustrated and 3 of their players were thrown out of the game. They play 2 more rounds of playoffs in the next few weeks. It is very exciting! They don't play again until next Sunday though. It is great to watch Matt play and enjoy himself. He loves to play and you can tell that it is a lot of fun for him.

It seems like a dream to remember back to the first days that we were here. This place has come to feel more like home each day we are here. It was so fun to introduce Luke and my mom to our friends because I feel so blessed to be able to call them all friends. God has really blessed me with amazing girl friends here. They are so much fun, and just really accept me for who I am. The people here are so loving, sweet, and giving. While I have been here I have simply felt loved for who I am and appreciated in ways that I can't express. It is such an amazing blessing. God has really been showing me that if I put my trust in Him and simply ask for things, that He will provide. Before I came here i really didn't know for sure if I would want to come back here for long term, and it is still up in the air. However, I know for sure that my heart is here. My heart feels at home here. Matt and I have really been praying that God will use us here and that we would be able to bless the people that we come in contact with. But I feel that I have been blessed by every person that I have met. Christian or non Christian I think that by being here I have been able to view everyone as God's Children. I think about the fact that we all have the same creater. I really hope that I can bring this new understanding home with me.

I really try to get Matt to write on here, and he has promised that he would this week. Him and my brother are out making videos of each other doing crazy stunts like walking a log that is over the ocean. Luke leaves tomorrow so maybe then Matt will have some time to write. Thanks again for all of your comments and love. We appreciate it so much! Love you all.
Jess and Matt

A great opportunity...

2008-02-25T10:59:00.002+01:00

Hello friends and family!

WOW.. it has been a great week. My mom and brother were here. My mom left Saturday morning. I was pretty sad to see her leave. My brother was supposed to leave today, but he decided to extend his ticket. It has been really cool to have him here. He has been able to help me with volleyball, and also practice with Matt's team. Matt likes having another guy around, so it has been a lot of fun for us.

Yesterday evening we had the opportunity to speak with our home church in Colorado. It was such a blessing for us to be able to share what God has been doing through us and in us here. The people in our home church are amazing and have supported us 100% since we decided to come to Sweden. It was an awesome time to share with them how their support financially and through prayer has opened up amazing doors for us here. Matt and I were so blessed to be able to share and see some framilliar faces. OUr friend Tommy also sang a song in Swedish. It was so great. Tommy has a great hunger for God and is a great friend to Matt and I. He was encouraged after the service and we ended up talking and sharing for a couple hours after the service ended. Matt was able to share what God has been laying on his heart about sharing our faith. It was encouraging to me as well hearing him speak about not being selfish with our faith. I really am praying that God will continue to open doors for us in the last weeks of us being here.

It is so crazy to think that we will only be here for 5 and a half more weeks. Time really has been going by so fast! I think back to the beginning of our time here and am just in awe of God's provision and faithfulness! He truly is an "all knowing" God. Please pray for us in these last few weeks here. Matt starts playoffs this Wednesday. They play the best of 3. This last month will be very busy for us, so please pray for strength for us. Matt and I have a new hunger for sharing our faith, for being servants to people, and for being open to any opportunities that are laid in front of us. The past few months I have felt as if we have grown spiritually, but also personally and as a couple. God has taught us so many things about ourselves. We feel so blessed to be able to be here, and we also feel so loved by everyone who helped us to get here, and who continues to support us. You truly will never fully know what it means to us. This has been an experience that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. It is also an amazing gift to be able to share our faith and have God use us in the capacity that He has.

Thanks again to everyone at Temple Baptist in Pueblo! You truly are close to our hearts and it was such a blessing to be able to see a lot of you yesterday. Thank you for your love, support and prayers. They are precious to us, and we are so thankful to have a church family that consists of such amazing people. It was so touching to hear all of your kind words and encouragment. Hearing that you all really are praying for us touched my heart. Bob Wood (Matt's brother in law's brother haha) said that him and the kids pray for us every night, and I was broken by this thought. How amazing that we have that gift. We know that God truly hears all of our prayers but how precious for children to be praying for us. Thank you to all of you for your prayers. They lift us up and give us strength!

We love to hear from you all, and appreciate the comments and great encouragment! I will keep you updated on how the "mighty red lobsters" do this week. Please pray for Matt as he is starting to feel a cold comming on. He wants to be able to finish strong, so please pray that he may do so.

Lots of love,
Jess and Matt

A few pictures ...

2008-02-18T16:59:00.006+01:00

Visitors Day 1

2008-02-16T20:26:00.002+01:00

Hello once again!
EVeryday I have to remind myself that I am IN SWEDEN! I am here, and I am loving it. Things have been amazing and seriously more than i could have ever hoped. The past few days have been great. This week we had a bit of a break. It is a holiday here, so we didn't have Swedish classes and we didn't have to teach in the school. I still have volleyball and skating. And Matt had hockey as well.. but it was nice to have a bit of a break.

Thursday- Valentines Day- was great! Matt suprised me with flowers and chocolates and it was nice to spend the day just the two of us. It gets really busy here and we find ourselves constantly with people so it was a nice time for the two of us. Friday Matt had another game. It was their last game in the regular season. They tied 5-5. Playoffs begin in one week from now. While Matt was playing hockey I had the best night with a bunch of girls here. It was so much fun. There was a group of 8 girls that got together and we went for supper, and then out bowling... and of course we had Fika at the end of the night! I just really am in awe of how God has taken care of me. I love my friends here. They are so special to me. In the past I havn't always enjoyed hanging out with groups of girls, but last night it was so great to build relationships and tell stories and get to know who all of these girls are. It was a HUGE blessing for me.

TODAY my mom arrived with an extra visitor. My little brother booked a ticket last minute and got on the same flight as her. I WAS SO EXCITED!!! I havn't seen Luke since November. Him and my brother just returned from a trip to Thailand and Austrailia. He had only been home a week and already he is back travelling the world. It is so great to have them here. They were very tired when they arrived, but Matt and I did our best to try to keep them awake so they could try to get used to the time. They were asleep by 8:00pm. haha. It is just so cool to have people here that we can share everything with. I can't wait to introduce them to the people that we have been meeting. Even though it is very crowded in our one bedroom appartment, I think it will be a great week. Luke will be able to skate with Matt, and help teach some gym classes... and my mom and I will do plenty of shopping ahha. I must say it is nice to have another woman around. It is usually just me, Matt and John.

Matt is busy preparing to share in his home church. One week from now we will be doing a live feed in his church. We are both really excited to be able to share what God has been teaching us during this time here. It is such a cool opportunity and we feel really blessed to be able to do it! I love seeing Matt in the word. It is the best thing to watch him dive in and try to understand what God is trying to say to him through His word. I am really encouraged by how much Matt loves His Bible. He is always prepared to answer questions.

This week will probably be a busy one. We are going to try to show my mom and Luke a good time. We want them to see everything! So, I don't know how much I will be writing on here. However, I will write for sure when the week is done and fill everyone in on what happened during this week. Thanks again for all of your comments and your love. It is so nice to know that people check up on us and are curious about what is going on here. We love you all so very much.

Lots of love,
Jess and Matt

Doors opening....

2008-02-12T12:22:00.002+01:00

This weekend we had an amazing opportunity to spend some time with some of the other hockey players on Matt's team. It was so interesting to see their approach in asking to hang out with us. They were very concerned about having a good time, and wanting to show us the amazing things their city has to offer. We ended up going to Goteborg with Niclas, he is the other volleyball coach as well as the manager of Matt's hockey team. He has a lot of say in what happens on the hockey team. He is the same age as Matt. Niclas' best friend Kim (who is also Matt's former linemate) met us in Goteborg with his girlfriend. It was so interesting because Niclas asked me prior to going to Goteborg what our stand was on drinking. I was well aware that Niclas drinks, casually and also at parties. On the Island that we are on, if you are a Christian at all you don't drink. I told Niclas that Matt and I used to drink, casually and sometimes at parties. I told him that we wouldn't be drinking if we went out with them but that we were not going to judge them for things that they would be doing. We just simply wanted to spend time with them. I could tell that by me saying that it put him at ease.

It was great to see Matt in constant prayer in the days leading up to us spending time with these guys. He really was praying for the opportunity to share, and for his teamates to not feel judgement but acceptance and love from us. Matt had been reading the book he got from my cousin and was really encouraged by it. One part that Matt had underlined says;

" Let's not seperate ourselves from the lost, but take our light into the darkness and watch the Lord work in amazing ways."

That is exactly what happened.... When we arrived in Goteborg and met up with the others, we walked around and got to see some of the city. Then we spent some time getting to know each other over coffee. After that we went to a pool hall and played some pool. Matt, John and I enjoyed our cokes as the others enjoyed their beer. I felt at ease knowing that they felt comfortable enough around us to do what they wanted. It also opened up doors to start discussing the very grey area of drinking. After the pool hall we headed to dinner. As our food arrived, they asked us if we did anything before eating... this was an amazing opportunity to talk about prayer. It was so awesome to hear their openess to what we believe. Kim (matt's former linemate) knew a ton about Christianity. I could tell he had experienced it in some way. We had amazing conversation. It was so appearant that God's hand was in it all.

Since Swedish people eat very late, it was almost 10pm by the time we finished our meal. We decided to head home and left Kim and his Girlfriend. On the way home, Niclas received a phone call about a birthday party that was going on. The people throwing it invited us to go to it, since Niclas wanted to go and we would be dropping him off we decided to stop by for a bit, and I am so thankful that we did. As we arrived we were greeted by person after person. It seemed as if everyone wanted to talk with us. These were all young people, who had spent the night celebrating. There was drinking going on, loud music and in the midst of it all... we were there.. being lights. During this time Matt and I were able to share our faith with Niclas. Niclas is 26, and has had some hard times. He has a blood disease, and also has a really bad injury that has caused him to stop playing hockey. HOW AMAZING that Matt could give testimony to what God has done in his own life!!!! God just had that meeting planned out all along. Niclas was the one who started the conversation about God and I know that won't be the last time he asks questions.

After Niclas asked some questions, Matt had the opportunity to share with another guy on the team named Tobias. Tobias approached Matt and began to tell him about how he believed in God, but wasn't really following what he knew was right. Tobias asked Matt why he prays before games. Tobias said that he watched Matt and wondered if it helped with the game. Matt was able to share with Tobias how he prays before he does anything. Tobias has also had a girlfriend for 5 years, and asked Matt if we prayed together. I am just in awe of God's goodness. Matt had been preparing to share his faith. He had been ready to give and answer for the hope that we have, and God just presented these opportunities to him.

I had an awesome talk with the oldest girl on our volleyball team. Her name is Camilla. She is dating one of the guys on Matt's hockey team. She had been drinking a bit, but she approached me, took me aside and began to cry. She told me how she knew she was being treated badly by her boyfriend, and how she watched the way that Matt and I were together and how she knew that is how relationships are supposed to be. It is just so amazing and it blows my mind how God uses us even when we don't know we are being used. Camilla is such a sweet girl, and I shared with her a lot of stuff about Matt and I, and why we are the way we are. It was just awesome to be able to be used in the midst of such darkness.

As the night came to an end, we left the house encouraged, but so thankful that we are saved from that lifestyle. We felt that the timing was right and we left the house. I still, to this very moment, am so thankful to God for opening up those doors. It was so interesting to see how people began to open up to us, once we entered into their comfort zone. On Sunday morning Matt and I began to read Matthew 9:10-13

10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Matt and I desire to live a life through the example of Christ. Our hearts go out to the lost, or perhaps the misled. Some of the young people here have such an altered view on Christ, and Christians. I pray that God will use Matt and me in their lives and that He will be able to shine through us. We want to see them as HE sees them. Since we went to that party, we have been able to hang out more with some of the people that were there. We have played volleyball with some of them, and more of the Volleyball girls have approached me to hang out with them. All it took was us stepping out in faith and trusting that where we were was where God wanted us to be. Now we just stand in awe of His faitfulness and provision.

Matt had another game last night and they won 6-3. It was a very exciting game. Matt played very well with a few assists and 1 goal. He took a shot in his knee.. so he is pretty sore. Not sore enough though obviously since he is at the driving range with some hockey guys. It is a very nice day today and I am heading out to take some pictures on my own. I can't believe that we have already been here for half of our time! It sure is flying by really fast.

Thanks again for all of your comments. It is great to see first timers on here writing comments to us. We both LOVE to hear from you. It is a highlight in our day for us to be able to hear from people from home! We love you all and miss you a lot! This week should be fairly slow.. until Satruday when all of the fun begins!!! haha. My mom arrives!!!

Please pray for us as we continue to build these relationships. Please pray specifically for Niclas, Tobias and Camilla. They are very close to our hearts and we are praying that God will continue to work in their hearts and use us in their lives.

Lots of Love,
Jess and Matt

Ps: HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAYDA!!!!!

Keeping busy...

2008-02-08T12:22:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone!
Sorry it has taken so long to write one of these. We find ourselves getting busier by the day. Last week Matt's team played against their rival team. It was a really intense game. However, they ended up losing 4-1. It was pretty sad for the team. They play again tonight and they are hoping to come away with another win. It is a home game so I am excited to be able to watch. I really enjoy watching the games here.

We have still been working a lot with the school here. It has been really great! God has just been opening up doors for us that we never expected. I am really enjoying coaching volleyball. It has been an amazing time for me. I never really excpected to be doing that here, but I look forward to going every time!~ It has been going so well that we are going to be having another practice during the week. I coach two different teams and I just feel so blessed to be able to do it. The girls are so much fun, and they love when I try to use my Swedish. They all speak amazing english though so that helps me out a lot! Matt and John do most of the Gym classes in the school during the week. The kids all love it and ask to play dodgeball most of the time. I am just in awe of the position that God has placed us. We get to hang out with those kids almost everyday and let God use us in whatever way He wants. We are so thankful.

This weekend a few of the guys from Matt's team asked us to go to Goteborg to hang out with them. It is so cool to see the guys accepting Matt and wanting to spend time with them. We are really excited to hang out with them. Please be praying for us, as we really do want to be lights to people. We really want them to see something different in us. I trust that God will give us the opportunity to share, and I just pray that we will know what to say when the time comes. I feel as if God is molding Matt and I in this time. I know that He knows the right time for things and we are simply waiting on Him.

It has been such an amazing blessing to get to know the people here. I love their kind spirits and generous hearts. We are able to start making some amazing friendships with people here. They really have taken us in and accepted us and loved us in amazing ways. We can't be more thankful for what they have done for us. We feel so blessed to have the support of family and friends at home, and to also have this amazing church family here with amazing friends who are helping us to feel comfortable here. God really is so awesome. We have family everywhere we go.

This week will a bit less hectic. The schools have a week off, so we wont be teaching this week. Matt has a game tonight and on Tuesday. We wont have Swedish classes either so we are looking forwards to being able to explore the island, and spend some time with friends here. My mom will be arriving next Saturday. I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS! I can't wait to show her things here, and to introduce her to the people that I have been getting to know. My mom is great and takes advantage of my travels. She came to Hawaii when I went to YWAM and now she is comming here. I LOVE IT! It is so great to be able to share this with someone from home. I am literally counting down the days until she arrives. She will only be here one week, but we are going to try to do as much as we can in that one week. Matt is already working on his egg making skills as he and my mom have a competition going.

Thank you all for your prayers. We really do need and appreciate them. It is crazy to think of how fast our time is going here. I just am in awe of God's goodness and love. He brought Matt and I into this amazing situation. We know that it wont always be sunshine and rainbows. We know that there may be some trials, but right now we are simply loving being in His presence and enjoying the gifts that He has given us. We miss you all, and love you all! It is so great to know that this is being read. I hope that we are helping you keep up with things here. Please keep the hockey team and the volleyball team in your prayers. Pray that their hearts would be prepared for whatever God has to say to them.. we pray that He may use us in His plans for their lives.

Love you all so much! I will have more time this week to post another blog.

Jess and Matt

One month in Sweden....

2008-02-02T18:20:00.001+01:00

Hey Everyone. Today I made matt go on a walk with me. It was very cold and windy, but we managed to take some pictures. We will be putting some more up soon. Anyways.. today is Matt's day to write.. so I will let him get to it. I love you and miss you all!!!!

I can't believe that it has already been almost one month. Time really does fly when you are having fun. Things are going really good here. God has been opening up a lot of doors to let us get to know the people and build relationships. The more time that goes by, the more opportunities I get to talk with the guys on the team. They are starting to accept me more. A couple of the older guys on the team, have invited me a couple times to go into the city to hang out with them. We have played 4 games already. Last night we played at home and won 9-2. God has really been blessing me here. I have been having a lot of fun on the ice. He has put me on an amazing line, and we have really been clicking really well. The last two games, out of a possible 19 goals, our line has had 15 of the goals. I love the style of hockey here. It seems to be suited for the way that I play. I love the big ice. It is great having good linemates to be able to have confidence in. The four games I have played, now I have 7 goals, and 10 assists. I am really just enjoying playing again, i am having a lot of fun. I am really praying that God will use the gifts and abilities that He has given me to give glory to HIm. I am praying that this will give me the opportunity to share the hope that I have with others. Our toughest test to come for our team will be on Tuesday. We play against our rivals.. the Steningsund Stingers! They live just across the bridge and it is a huge battle here. They are in first place and we are in second place. It will be interesting to see how it goes. I just really want to thank eveyone for their support and their prayers. I just ask that you would continue to pray that God would give us boldness and open up doors for us be able to share the good news of Christ. Pray that in everything that we do that Christ is glorified. That it is not us who live, but HIm who lives in us. And that His light would shine through us. It's really amazing how God answers prayer in Jessica's life. We really didn't know what to expect in comming here. Everyone would talk about "Matt's hockey" and "Matt being invoved." And God has opened up amazing doors for Jessica to get involved with the young girls in this comminity. She coaches volleyball three times a week, and coaches figure skating once a week. The president of our hockey team said that Jon and I are stars around the rink, but that Jessica is a star to the young girls in the school and in the community and they really look up to her. I am really proud of her, i know that some of the things have been outside of her comfort zone. She is really just stepping out in faith and letting God work through her and it really is making a difference. I guess for both Jess and I, there are a lot of things that we are having to do that we would normally not do at home. We are really stepping out of our comfort zone, but i read that "Everytime you step out of your own comfort zone, you step INTO God's comfort zone." I really do appreciate everyone's prayers and support. I love looking at the comments that people leave on here, and know that people are really reading our blog daily. That means a lot to us. I love everyone with all of my heart.
Until the next time,
Hej dor (bye)
Matt .. and Jess

Ar min svenska sa dalig? ( Is my Swedish that bad?)

2008-01-29T23:00:00.000+01:00

God afton, ( Good Evening )

That is about the extent of my Swedish. I am trying to learn, however it is a hard language. Matt knows some hockey terms, but it seems like it will be a difficult language to learn. I love it though. The people here sound like they are singing when they talk. I love the language. Anyways, things here have beein very busy. We have been substitute teaching for a gym teacher here. So we have been busy at the school almost all day everyday. It has been great getting to know the kids. We have been teaching them how to play dodgeball. It has been so much fun. I am also coaching another volleyball team twice a week. The girls asked for me, which is very nice. They are all so great and kind and sweet. Tonight I coached by myself. It was SO very out of my comfort zone. I hated it at first, but by the end I was having the time of my life. I just feel so very blessed to be able to be wanted in that capacity.
Matt had a game tonight away. I just talked to him. This is how the conversation went:

Jess: Hey hun, how did you do? Did you win?
Matt: Yeah it went ok. I was really tired so... but it went ok. We won..... 9-1.
Jess: WOW that is awesome! That is great... how did you do though? Did you get any goals?
Matt: Well.. yeah I got.. 4 goals and 3 assists....

It is amazing how well he is doing. God really is using Matt's talents to their full extent. I am so proud of him. This Friday he has a home game. I like the home games. I love to watch him here! Matt has been growing so much here as well. He is stepping out of his comfort zone like crazy! This weekend we went to a birthday party, and I left early to go to another birthday party... and matt stayed at the party... and PLAYED GAMES!!!!! This is huge for anyone who knows matt. He avoids games at any cost! But he stayed this time, and he played. It is so amazing to see God mold and stretch Matt and I.

This week will be pretty crazy and busy. Tomorrow I will be a part of a girls youth night at the Church. I am really excited for it. We have something going on everyday this week. We are so thankful to have things to do here. I think sometimes it is hard to say no to things as well, so i am hoping that I wont hit a wall and be so worn out. So pray for us as we keep very busy this week. I have been loving Swedish culture and ways of life. I love that they eat MANY times in a day. They have Fikka a lot!( coffee and cake or some other kind of food) I love it. However, their coffee is more like Espresso, and they drink it black with no cream or sugar. This is quite different for me as I love my Vanilla Latte's from Starbucks. Also, cheese and bread is their staple food here. TWO OF MY FAVORITE THINGS! This is very dangerous for me.

I really wish that I could share this experience with all of you. It has been amazing! I am falling in love with Sweden. I am already in love with the people here. I have found some amazing friends. One friend who likes to shop and drink coffee... WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR IN A FRIEND? haha. God is just blessing us beyond all I could have imagined. Honestly though, thank you all so much for your love and support. I love reading all of the comments from friends and family. They touch my heart to know that you all care and are keeping up to date on this amazing journey that the Lord has us on. We read all of the comments together, and we are blessed by them. This is a time in our lives that we will never forget and we are so thankful to you all that helped us get here, and to those of you who are holding us up in prayer. Thank you so much!

I am going to go do some laundry now. HAVE I MENTIONED.. that they don't have dryers here.. so I hang all of our clothes and iron them all. I know I sound spoiled.. but it is very hard to wash all our clothes.. especially since matt wears like 10 outfits a day ahah. Anyways, it takes me a very long time to do. I hope to get better at it soon. Tomorrow or Thursday I am going to try to get Matt to write a blog. We miss you all and love you all.

Thanks again, Hej da ( bye)
Jess and Matt

One Thing You Can't do in Heaven:

2008-01-27T17:38:00.000+01:00

Right before we came here Matt got a book from my cousin Lawrence. It is called "The one thing you can't do in Heaven" by Mark Cahill. The other day Matt started to read it. He had been excited to start it but hadn't found the time. It was awesome because it was a rainy day and all we felt like doing was reading and drinking tea. Matt began to share some of the contents of the book, and I was truly blessed by it. In the book he says,
" You can worship God in Heaven. You can praise God in Heaven. You can sing songs to God in Heaven. You can learn from God's Word in Heaven. But the one thing you cannot do in Heaven is share your faith with a non-believer.
This hit us both quite hard. How amazing! This thought touched us both because it has been a hard thought to actually step out and share just who Jesus Christ is. The people here speak very good "conversational" english, however to get into a serious conversation with someone about God would be a bit difficult. Thinking about witnessing as the one thing we can only do here on earth that we cannot do in Heaven was amazing to us. It changed the way we looked at things. In the paragraph prior to that quote, Cahill says;
"What a humbling thought that the God of this universe would use fallen mankind to plant seeds in the hearts of the lost!"
This was a humbling thought. We really pray that God will use us in mighty ways while we are here. We are simply here, willing to be used, and expecting great things to happen. As Matt was reading this book, I was reading through Proverbs. I was in beginning the 16th chapter. I have read these words a hundred times, but they rang in my head as truth for right now.
Proverbs 16:1 " To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.
16:9 "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps."

Even in our two weeks of being here, we have felt the Lord confirming in many ways that this is exactly where he wants us. At least for this time. It has been amazing to simply be available to be used. I want God to use us in whatever capacity. He is using skills that i never really thought would ever be used. Figure skating and volleyball were two things that I never even thought twice about doing again. It has been such a blessing to be able to be a part of these things. Matt has started to form great friendships with some of the guys on the team. We know that in time God will provide ways for us to be able to share our faith and do the "One thing we can't do in Heaven." .... share our faith. Please continue to pray for us as. We KNOW that your prayers are being heard and we are so thankful for every one.

We tried to take some pictures today... however our camera ran out of batteries. HOPEFULLY there will be another sunny day soon, so we can post some new pictures up of us. Last night I attended two birthday parties. One with Matt, and one for girls only. It was so much fun getting to know new people and I actually am starting to feel more confidence being alone.. i think it is because i don't ever really feel alone. I know that the Lord really is determining my steps!
Matt has an away game this Tuesday, and a home game on Friday. He is excited to play again. Things are still going so great. We love our house, the people here, and we are feeling so blessed to be here. I am really missing Ricky though (our puppy). It is hard getting used to being alone without a friend around all of the time haha. It is so nice to know he is being taken care of. It is crazy to think that January is almost done. Time is just flying here. We are really trying to make the most out of every day.
Thanks again for all of your support. We miss and love you guys so much! Thanks for caring about what is going on with us. We try really hard to keep you updated on what is going on here. Love you all!

Jess and Matt

Matt's game pictures...

2008-01-24T21:46:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone.
A pastor here takes great pictures, and he took some of matt's game. Please go look at them, they are great! Matt is wearing #10 here. I hope you are all doing great! we will be writting another post really soon. Love you all and miss you.

http://sports.webshots.com/slideshow/562254458jRRrPp

Matt and Jess

Matt's First Homegame....

2008-01-23T09:47:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone!
If you are wondering why I am the one who does most of the writing, it is because Matt hates to type. Most of the time he is right here with me, feeding me information. Except right now, so i can brag about his game last night...

As I arrived to the rink 30 mintues early I thought there would be hardly anyone there. I was wrong. The rink was packed! There was hardly any seats open. I was approached by numerous people saying how excited they were to watch Matt play. I knew Matt was a bit nervous before the game. There is a lot of pressure to perform. I am brought to tears remembering what I watched last night... I honestly in all of my time knowing Matt and watching him play hockey, I have never seen him play the way he did last night. He played with such intensity and passion. I knew the entire time watching him, that he really wasn't playing for anyone person sitting in the stands. He wasn't playing to perform for his team. He was playing because he knew it was a gift from God to be able to play, and he really was playing for Him. It was so refreshing to see him in his element and serving the Lord at the same time. Matt played amazing! He scored 2 goals,( should have been three, but they didn't count it) had 2 assists, one penalty shot, and one penatly.( haha) Everyone around me kept telling me how good they thought he was, and how fun it was to watch him.
After the game, when Matt had come home, we talked about the game and how it went. His first thought was " I should have scored on that penalty shot." haha. Right after that, he expressed to me how different it was playing. He loves it, and really prays hard that God will use the gift that He has given him. It is amazing how when you give something over to God in your life.. how He will use it in amazing ways! I was so touched watching his game, and overwhelmed with pride! I am so proud of Matt for stepping out and being used. It was simply amazing. ( I am trying to upload some video from last nights game as we speak)
We played volleyball yesterday in Gym class as well. It was so fun to interact with the kids. Matt and I are both being pushed way out of our comfort zone, but we are loving every minute of it! It has been an amazing journey this far, and there is still a lot of time left in this trial period here. I have made some amazing friends already. The girls here are so excited to have me around, which is so awesome for me. I really enjoy the time that I get to spend with them.
Once again thank you so much for all of your prayers, love and support. We miss and love you all. This week, we will be continuing to work with the school. Matt's next game is in one week, next Tuesday. It is a home game, and I am very happy for that! Keep praying that we will be used in mighty ways here. We are simply willing to serve, and we trust that God will use us.

Lots of Love,
Jess ( and Matt is here now so he approves this message)

2008-01-19T21:59:00.000+01:00

Hello all. (this is matt)
Well, last night I played my first game. I have a really good line, i am playing on the first power play and i actually got a lot of ice time. It was my very first game in over a year, so i am still a bit rusty. We ended up winning the game and I got my first goal in Sweden, so that is a blessing. I have been learning a lot through God's word. When i didn't get the chance to play in the first game, I got to chat with one of the guys on the team. He mentioned that here in Sweden you either go to church.. or you don't go to church at all. And the reason that you don't go to church is because there are too many rules. They feel like they would have to give up too much. It really made me start thinking alot about how to approach this, because I know that it isn't about rules, it is about a "freedom" in Christ. As I was reading in Colossians 4:5,6
"Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders (non believers) ; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."
This hit me because when it says "seasoned with salt" that means that it has to be tasty. You have to be able to grip them, and give them a hunger to want to know more. Pray that their hearts will truly be opened to Jesus Christ, and to realize that it is not about rules. I pray that they may see this in mine and Jessica's life. I want God to give me the wisdom and discernment to be able to talk to anyone I come in contact with. Thank you for all of your prayers, we feel them so much. Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers, without them non of this would be possible. So thanks again, and God bless.
Matt

Friends and Family, (this is Jessica)

Hello everyone! The past few days have been awesome! I had my first coaching class and LOVED IT! It is amazing how with kids, how language barriers really don't exist. They were really loving and accepted me right away. They were teaching me Swedish songs and words by the end of the class. That time was such a blessing for me. It was great to feel purpose in being here, as I have been sick and not able to be a part of very much.
On Thursday Matt, John and I went to the school here. It is grades 7,8, and 9. The teachers in this school are very excited about us being here and want to have us in their school as much as possible. We found out that I will be helping in teaching english in some of the classes, as well as helping out with the sports. The teachers are excited for me to help with gym class as they have no girls who help with those classes. I will also be assisting in coaching the girls volleyball class. I feel so blessed to be able to help with all of these things! Matt will also be helping out in the school. They have 2 days a week in which they have 2 hours of hockey classes. He is very excited about being able to help with that! This opens up HUGE doors for us. We have found that a major need here is for youth leaders. They don't have "Youth Pastors" in the churches, and they are a bit at a loss for ideas of what to do with the youth. This is a huge thing to take on, but we trust that we are in the Lords will, and through Him anything can happen.
Words can't express how lucky i feel to be able to be a part of all of these amazing things! Matt read something to me the other day that BLEW me away. It was in his commentary in his Bible it said;
"Our service won't save us, but we are saved to serve." I just think this is an amazing thought! It has changed the way I think about my time here in Sweden. Not only in the way I view my role here, but also in the way the Swedish people live. That may as well be their moto. They have such servant hearts. Our needs have been met in every way here. They are always wanting to serve us! We have more than we could have imagined here. Please keep praying that God will show us His plan for us while we are here. We are really open to be used,... but more than anything we are so excited to be able to serve. We feel as if we were "saved to serve."
If their is anything else you would like to know about our time here, please feel free to ask us. We miss all of you and appreciate when you check in and read this!
Thanks again for all of your love and support! We are so thankful!
Lots of Love,
Jess

Ps: Matt and John had a full page article in the news paper here.. they are practically famous!

For those of you who want to check in on matt's stats, there are a few websites you can look at.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/team.php?team=496
http://www.swehockey.se/bohuslan-dals/Table.asp?TournamentId=50125

Week #2

2008-01-17T08:02:00.001+01:00

Hello again!
Well, I have to praise God for health today! Matt and I are both feeling good today. Yesterday was the first day since we have been here that we actually got a chance to get out and explore the island that we have been living on. It is so beautiful here.. there are like 5 different towns within minutes from each other. We explored 3 of the towns yesterday. We started at a grocery store in the biggest town. It was a bit refreshing. The store was large and had a lot of variety. This made Matt very happy as the store that we have been shopping at is very small and has slim pickins. Matt even found "Sweet Chilli Heat Dorritos." This made his day!
After we explored that town, we went for pizza in a different town. AMAZING! It was the best pizza i have ever had and I am sure we will be there at least once a week. It is cheap pizza.. but the BEST! Thin crust and amazing! It was great because we spent the day with John, the other guy who is here. It was nice to be able to talk with him and get to know him. He has a great sense of humor. I can imagine it would be a bit lonely here for him. I know that if it weren't for each other, that Matt and I would be bored at times, and lonely. It gets dark here at about 4pm, and the sun just starts peeking out at 8am. It has also been raining everyday since we have been here. Not the best weather to get out and do things. Anyways, so we are doing our best to help him feel that he isn't alone here.
Matt had his second practice last night. He already was moved to the top line. (He wouldn't write this about himself.... so i will.) He said he feels a bit tired on the ice. I told him I think it is probably because he is just getting over his sickness. He is liking it a lot, however his mind is always on what God wants for him. He came home a bit discouraged and said " I just don't know how I will be able to build relationships with a lot of the guys on my team." So please pray for his team. Pray that God would open doors of opportunity for Matt. I know that Matt really wants to be used. He wants God to shine through his life. I know that God will bless him for this.
Tonight I venture out on my very first event of my own! I am going to be helping coach the beginners figure skating class. I am very excited, however I am always very shy and anxious (YES I GET SHY SOMETIMES haha) whenever I start something new. So pray for me that I will be able to get past my insecurities.
God has been so faithful to us. He has provided us with all that we need here so far. This comming Monday we begin our Swedish lessons. We have already started to practice a bit. I think the most important thing I have learned is "Jag talar inte svenska." This means... " i don't speak swedish."

Thanks again for all of your prayers and support. We love you all!

Hej da (Good-bye)
Jess and Matt

Passing it On...

2008-01-15T04:30:00.000+01:00

Good-morning! I am writing this to you at 4:30 in the morning here in Sweden. I just can't seem to get used to the time here. Things have been going alright here. I am finally starting to feel better. However, now Matt is sick with almost the same symptoms that I had. Please pray for him. Matt really wants to play hockey this week. He was unable to go to practice last night because he was feeling so ill. I know exactly how he is feeling. It is horrible to feel so sick, when you want to be out of the house experiencing and new place.
On Sunday we went to one of the many churches here. It was amazing! They were so kind, and sang some english songs for us. A man tried to translate for us. It is just so encouraging to see the Lord move. His love has no boundaries... even language boundaries. I found myself rejoicing and thanking Him. It was so fitting that the first day I actually was able to leave the house, was on a Sunday. The people at the Church have been amazing! We were invited over for lunch and supper that day.
We have found out a few of the responsibilities that we will have while we are here. Matt and I want to be used wherever help is needed. I am going to be helping with a beginners skating class once a week. I also will be helping with a day care program that one of the Churches here runs. This makes me very excited! It will be nice to have things to look forward to while Matt is out scoring some goals. Matt, John and I will be taking some Swedish classes twice a week as well. This is an amazing blessing. Most of the people here speak english, or at least try to, however it is awesome to have the opportunity to learn their language. We will have to practice some on here sometime soon.
Please pray for Matt as he will be working on getting his release forms from Hockey USA. They will be doing some paper work and working this whole issue out on Wednesday. I know that his desire is to be able to play. If he does get his release forms it will be on Friday that he plays his first game. It is an away game, so I wont be able to watch, but i will be there with him in Spirit.
Matt and I really do appreciate all of your prayers. If you have anything you would like to know, please just e-mail us. We would love to keep in touch with all of you. I hope to be able to post some more pictures and videos soon. We are so excited to see what God has in store for us while we are here. We really want God to move in a mighty way here, and use us in whatever capacity He wants.

Romans 12:1 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."

If you would like to see some more pictures of the place that we are living, a pastor of one of the churches here is an amazing photographer, and he has a great website. Most of the pictures are from the summer time, however they are amazing and really do capture the beauty here.
http://www.alphoto.se/Webgallery/index.html

Also, if you would like to try, Matt's team has a website. I can't tell you where to go, or even what to click, as it is all in Swedish. We may be able to find a different one soon, but for now this is the only one we know of. Their team is called the Lobsters. VERY INTIMIDATING!!! haha He is very excited to play for them!
http://www.ronnangsik.se/

Thank you once again for all of your prayers. We miss you lots, and we will try to keep you posted on any new adventures that we have.

Lots of Love,
Jess and Matt

Our New Home

2008-01-13T09:11:00.000+01:00

Here are a few pics that I took this morning! It is the first nice day since we have been here and it is the first day that I am feeling better! PRAISE GOD! I hope it lasts! haha. We love and miss you guys. I will take more pictures soon! For now.. here are some from right outside our door.
Love, Jess

A Reminder of His Plan

2008-01-12T19:15:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone. This is Matt.
This has really been an amazing trip so far. To be half way around the world and to see that people over here love the Lord so much, that even though they have never met us they treat us like family. Like brother's and sister's in Christ. The most amazing thing about this whole experience is seeing the way the different denominations (pencostal, lutherans, catholics, evangelicals, baptists) are all working together in the name of Christ. God has been so good to us this entire trip. With the exception of Jess being sick it has been really great. The people here have been so accomodating. If only you could see where we live. It really does look like it came out of a postcard. I have already been taught a lesson. Our first hockey game was Friday night. I was told that all of the paper work had been taken care of and I was going to be able to play. It was a big deal as everyone was excited about us being here. I really wanted to go out and play and very pumped up. Two hours before the game, we got a call that they needed another peice of paper, a transfer, from USA hockey. The International office is closed in the USA till Wednesday. This made it impossible for me to play in the game of Friday night. John, the other guy that is here with us got to play and he did really well. I was really upset and I wondered why. Then God reminded me why I am here. It is not about the hockey. We are here for a different purpose.. and that is to be a light for Jesus. So i had to say.. " not my will, but yours." While not playing I had the chance to have amazing talks with two different Swedish guys while the game was going on. It was great to be able to start building relationships.. and to me that was worth way more than playing the game. My time will come when I will get to play, hopefully all of the paper work will come in and I will be able to play this Friday. Please continue to pray for us. Pray that God will give us boldness... that the Holy Spirit will work through us and that everywhere we go He will be glorified. Pray also for the people in Sweden.. for their hearts to be changed and for their eyes to be opened. Also that God would do a revival here. It has been a very challenging time for Jess. She has been ill since we have been here. She hasn't been able to leave the house and meet the people that I have been meeting and see the things I have been seeing. I know that it is very hard for her emotionally as well as physically that she can't do the same things. Please pray for Jess, that God will give her the strength and that God will heal her from this sickness so she can start enjoying and seeing what a beautiful place this is and how amazing the people are here. Jess is still sick, and couldn't attend our game the other night. Thanks again for all of your prayers. Please continue to pray for us.

Matt

Sick and Sleepy

2008-01-10T20:22:00.000+01:00

It is hard to express my feelings in this moment. The past two days I have been laying in bed, so sick, unable to eat much and feeling horrible. It has been so hard to watch Matt go and experience the culture, meet new people, get tours, and have meetings. I feel so left behind. Tonight Matt had a meeting with a group of people who played a huge role in getting us here. They talked about what we would be doing for the next 3 months. It was the hardest thing to watch Matt leave and know that i wouldn't be a part of that. It is hard to understand why I am so sick. I want to be by his side talking about the exciting things to come. It is such a strange thing to be sick in a completely new place. I have been by myself for most of the time since Matt has been out and about. I feel as if I am letting the people down here, and worst of all Matt. I don't want to be on the sidelines, I want to be right in everything! My heart hurts because of the lack of envolvement that I have had. I know that it is only day 2 out of 90... however i want everyday to be blessed, and I want to be used every single day I am here.

I can't express to you how alive Matt looks here. It is as if God made this place for him. He is happier than ever, he is so excited about hockey. His first game is tomorrow. Rumor has it that the whole island will be attending the game to watch him and John. I am so excited for him and can't express how proud I am of him for stepping out and being willing to be used. I really am praying that I will be well enough to go to the game tomorrow. Please pray that God will do a miracle and heal me by tomorrow. I trust that He knows what is wrong with me. I have found such comfort in Psalm 23. It is written on the wall in our appartment in Swedish, and everyday I find myself finding more truth in it.

Psalm 23:
"The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not be in want,
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters ( our appartment is right on the ocean )
he restores my soul.
He guides me in the paths of righteousness, for his name sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff the comfort me......"

I am simply trusting that God wants me here, and in His time I will be well enough to come along side of Matt and be used. Thank you all for all of your support and love. We feel your prayers. I am thankful that I have time to update you all. I am sure things will get busier and that I the posts will be less. However, I am glad to keep you up to date on this amazing adventure that God has us on. The people here are honestly amazing! They are so sweet and caring and accepting. My favorite thing right now is that all of their Christmas stuff is still up. They love the season so much and they keep it all up until the end of January! It is awesome to see their love for Christ and how they just love the season.

Tomorrow is Matt's first game. He is a little nervous, but I know he will do amazing! Please pray for him. Pray that he doesn't get my sickness!

Much love from Sweden!

Ronnang Sweden (CET)

2008-01-09T21:39:00.000+01:00

Hello from Sweden!

Matt and I have been so blessed in comming here. Although the trip here was hard for me (feeling ill the entire time) God has really shown us that His hand is in this all. The people here are so friendly and very excited about us being here. We have learned that we will be working with many churches over the course of our time here. The churches here no matter what denomination all work together and support each other. It is very interesting to see. We are living with a couple that have a three year old son. They have been very helpful and they are very supportive of us being here. They even told Matt that they didn't like hockey very much, but that they would attend all of his games. haha. The place we are living is beautiful and more than I could have asked for. At the moment we are staying on a pull out couch but we will be getting a bed eventually.

I am very overwhelmed with how God knows us. He knew what we would need to be comfortable, and He is just taking care of us in ways that are so unexpected and amazing. Having John here ( the other guy from Canada) for Matt is amazing. I think it will be great for Matt to be able to relate to someone and to be able to talk to him on more of a Spiritual base. Matt is honestly glowing. All I keep thinking is " this is exactly what God had planned for Matt." Much prayer is needed as non of the players on his team are believers. God has placed us in a very awesome spot. We are surrounded by believers, but also we are around people who don't know the Lord. Keep us in your prayers as we begin this awesome time. It is only day number 1, but already God is working.

Prayer Requests:

For the team. That they will be receptive to Matt and John, and that they will accept them as team members.

Matt- That he will have boldness and trust in what he knows as truth.

Please pray for me as well.. I am not feeling well even as I write this. I trust that God is in control, and that soon enough I will be feeling better.

We miss home, but we are so excited about what God has in store. I will try to post some of Matt's hockey game on here.

Thank you for all of your love, support and Prayers.

Love,

Jess and Matt