Thursday, December 20, 2012

Reykjavik

Hello from Whoville!

You think I'm kidding, but you wouldn't believe how Whoville-like Reykjavik is during Christmastime. 
This will be my first Christmas away from home, but if I had to spend it anywhere other than Texas, Reykjavik would be that place. I'm in luck.


Iceland is wonderful. We have been here just over a week, though it feels like longer. Out of 17 people, all but 4 of us got a stomach bug within the first 3 days. It was crazy, but thankfully we have recovered.
Ministry has been wonderful, most of the time we just go out and talk to people, make friends, pray for people on the streets, etc. Last Saturday night we were out until 3am handing out free hot chocolate and coffee to people who were out partying. I've never seen anything like it. People were coming up for prayer, to read verses from the Bible, just to talk... Icelanders are very open to anything spiritual, so the door for sharing the Gospel is WIDE open. 
At one point in the night, a young man came up to the table to get a drink. It's pretty rare that my heart completely breaks for a particular person, but my heart broke when I saw this guy. Oliver was his name and he looked very young. I could tell he had been drinking and maybe done some drugs. But other than his slurred speech, he seemed pretty normal; just your average european hipster. For some reason I was so burdened for Oliver. As I watched him, he reached for a drink and said, "I just got out of rehab yesterday.... and tonight... I fell." He asked if we could pray for him, so we did. The whole time he just kept yelling, "God, give me strength! God, give me the strength!" We eventually got him a ride home and later found out that Oliver is only 16 years old. He is one in thousands of young people in Reykjavik that are addicted to some sort of substance. This night got me dreaming about half-way houses and what it would look like if the young people of Iceland were captivated by Jesus, if they caught a glimpse of the love of God - the inheritance of His children. It would turn this whole city upside down.

Needless to say, God loves Iceland.
I love Iceland.
You should come here, because you would love Iceland.

I hope you all have a wonderful, merry Christmas. 
May you remember and celebrate the greatest gift we have in Jesus, the redeemer of our souls. 

xo


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