Kalashnikovs and nightingales

It is this year's last day and as I think back on this year has been quite turbulent. Still in the midst of this there has been many positive things happening.

My most interesting or maybe most absurd experience 2014, took place in now war torn Donetsk. It was evening of May 9th, the Victory Day, the celebration of the Soviet victory of World War II.

This day also marked the escalation of the region's now ongoing conflict from riots into armed violence. People were killed in neighboring cities and fighting erupted where we were. Between the services people came with news of killed and wounded. It was almost surreal. How could this happen in a city where I have spent so much time over the years? And how could this happen to friends of mine? This was not news on a TV-screen. This was happening around us.

As I got out of our car at night, I heard automatic gunfire nearby. We took cover not to be hit by stray bullets. Well inside the house, I opened the window to hear if the shooting would continue. No more shooting, but I heard male voices shouting. What was happening? Somebody got hurt? Or killed? My thoughts were racing. Suddenly in some bushes near my window a nightingale starts singing, seemingly unaware of the ongoing drama nearby. Somebody might just have been hit by gunfire and this nightinggale looks for romance!

This little awkward moment in a way encapsulates life in this world. Tragedy can strike, and still life goes on around. And life also goes on in the midst of tragedy. Even there, rays of hope and beauty can simmer through!

This year some of there things have come closer to me than usual. The typhon last Christmas in the Philippines, the war in Ukraine, the war in Syria and the rise of IS, the Israel-Gaza war where we have come into direct contact with people that suffer. I am glad that we have been given opportunities to help. We sent rescue and relief team to the Philippines and built 30 boats for the affected fishermen. We could send help to very pressed Christians inside Syria and in refugee camps outside, send help and support fleeing Ukrainians as well as Ukrainian Jews plus helping children from the Gaza war zone to get away from the front lines.

Still there is so much suffering and the truth is that it can seem unsurmountable. No one can help all! But! Everyone can help someone! That is true for every one of us. It starts with us not being so preoccupied with our own "nightingale singing" that we suppress and ignore the sound "firing kalashnikovs".

As Christians we have an unbeatable network of friends all across the world, a network of people that  are motivated to stretch out a helping hand to those in need. We for example are already planning to send a medical team to help refugees in Iraq.

We don't know what 2105 has in store for us. There will be challenges for sure. But we can set our mind to be ready.

In a few hours a new year starts! A year not only of challenges, but also of wonderful opportunities and much blessing.

God bless you, my dear friend!

All God's best 2015

Siberia – a light shines in darkness

I have just arrived to China after a very early arrival after a night flight from Siberia. While waiting for my connecting flight I sum up my experiences over the weekend in Novosibirsk. Siberia might be mostly known for their GULAG camps during the soviet times. Siberia is so much more than that.

The Cornerstone network, which is part of Word of Life in Russia, is centred in Siberia. They had their yearly leadership conference. Pastors and leaders came in from far distances and we had a great weekend together. The work is quite unique, because of their success in reaching out to and getting drug addicts free.

Leaders' Conference in Novisibirsk

Here we see evangelisation, church planting and social mercy work in a winning blend. It all started 17 years ago as Pastor Sergey Nepomnjashikh came to a conference in Abakan, where Ulf Ekman prayed for him and prophetically mentioned the exact prayers Pastor Sergey had prayed. Very soon thereafter the work started to grow significantly. And they started to see how they could help drug addicts coming off drugs. They started a rehab and this has since become a central tenet in their work.

Today they work in about seventy cities, where their churches have an average of two or three small rehabs. Currently they have about 1500-2000 in their programs. Faith in Jesus is the remedy. The newly saved drug addicts join for a four-month program where prayer, studies in the word of God and discipline start to transform their lives. Many choose to stay for another period of four months to help new arrivals. After this they can go to missionary school, which this year has about seventy students. After school they are sent to new cities to plants churches and open rehabs. I need to point out though, that the churches consist of people from very varied backgrounds.

It is a joy to fellowship with these brothers and sisters. First of all, looking at them you witness miracles. Secondly they are so thankful to God for their second chance and a new life. Further, they are very committed to serve God and reach out to people in need.

My heart is filled with gratitude and a strengthened faith in God’s ability to transform peoples’ lives, even those who seem to be beyond rescue!

Now I will spend two weeks in the great land of China. Very exciting!

St Petersburg - a window to the west and to the east!

I am spending some hours in St Petersburg's Pulkova airport and am on my three week trip eastward. First stop is Novosibirsk, the geographical centre of Russia's vast landmass, where the Church Cornerstone has its annual conference. They do a fantastic job, having started about 70 churches and about 200 rehab centers for drug addicts. Truly impressive! I will get back to that later on.

It is nice to be back in St Petersburg and memories return. This beautiful 300 year old city was built by Peter the Great as a window to the Europe in order to modernize Russia, which had basically skipped the Renaissance and the Reformation. In one stroke Russia now accessed the fruits of these plus of the great discoveries and the scientific revolution.

Outside St Petersburg Word of Life's work in the Soviet Union started. Carl-Gustaf Severin preached in Gatchina, home of one magnificent palace built by Peter the Great. In the dog stables, the meetings were held as people travelled in from allover. Sign and wonders, miracles and transformed hearts and from here it spread to other parts of the country. For us St Petersburg became a window to the east.

In september 1992 I flew in from Magadan which is on the other end of Russia, 9 time zones away. We were to conduct three big events. First we filled the Lenin indoor stadium with approximately 10 000 people. It was broadcast on national television. Carola sang and Ulf Ekman preached. Then we had our first pastors conference with 200 pastors. These conferences were later moved to Moscow and gathered up to 4500 people. And then we put up our big tent that had been transported from Sweden. It was Europe's biggest circus tent that could seat 8500 people. We later gave that to a growing church in Mombasa, Kenya.

Now 22 years later, I rejoice over the fact that there are now Word of Life churches allover Russia and the other former republics of the Soviet Union. There is no need to be nostalgic. We thank God for His great work those very eventful years early 90:s. But we look forward to further growth, expansion and development. The work is vital and progressive! The best is yet to come!

Wonderful conference in Russia

Church Word of Life Moscow

I am now in my hotel room, getting ready to hit the sack after a great day. Blessed and tired after ministering in the Saturday night service in Word of Life's Euro Asian Faith Conference. It is so good to meet old friends since many years, see that friendship remains as well as the work grows and develops.


Almost 2000 delegates from 200 cities in 14 countries showed up in WOL Moscow's church.
Speakers were hosting pastor MatsOla Ishoel, Artur Simonyan, Oleg Popov, Vasily Vitjuk, all powerful Russian speaking preachers, pastors and leaders within the Word of Life network.

Nicky Cruz

Legendary Nicky Cruz, known from "The Cross and the Switchblade" and evangelist with a big heart for the lost, came to reignite evangelistic zeal. He also shared a very powerful message on forgiveness. It was such a blessing to hear and also spend time with him hearing him sharing from his life.


There is just something with men and women of God that lived a long and full life with a strong focus to serve the Lord. Let us be like that!




I shared a message on Times of refreshing and renewal. I sense so strong that God wants to reinvigorate the work. Renewed focus and vision, renewed strength and love for the Lord, renewed power for breakthrough. The churches are well established, but sometimes we need a new surge and that is what I sense was released on the service tonight.

Isaiah 40:30-31
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint

Glory to God in the Land of Fire!

Azerbaijan is known as the Land of Fire. It comes from ancient travellers passing through, seeing the ground literally on fire. They thought it was supernatural and worshiped it, but its source is enormous amounts of gas beneath the ground leaking through the earth’s surface.

Quite amazing to see, actually, especially at night. Even more fascinating to see another kind of fire lighten up in this land - the fire of revival.

1994 we arrived to a war weary nation. They had just come out of a prolonged armed conflict with Armenia with much suffering on both sides. One million Azerbaijanis were internally displaced and found shelter in railway wagons, sports halls, sheds or big refugee camps across the nation. Poverty, dark streets and a broken people.

We held an evangelistic campaign, “God loves Azerbaijan”, in a sports stadium in Baku. Carl-Gustaf Severin was preaching and we had a big team in place to minister to people’s needs. Lame walked, deaf heard and there was a great joyous tumult.

One Ukrainian girl on the team was so happy and as she spoke in tongues, an local resident asked how she could speak his language. She told him she didn’t. But he persisted and told her that she had said in Azerbaijani – ”God loves Azerbaijan, He will raise up a big church here and He will perform many miracles.” She was in awe when she heard the translation!

There was a great harvest to take care of.  Missionaries moved in to work long term and have since done an incredible work to raise this church up. One year later we had the great joy to baptise 300 people in the Caspian Sea.

20 years have now passed. The church has grown and is nothing short of a miracle. A one thousand-member church, among a people that 1990 was considered one of the least reached and hardest to reach peoples in the world, is quite unique. This weekend we celebrate 20 years, looking back in thankfulness but also forward with great expectation.

Glory to God in the Land of Fire.

Vietnam - Fertile ground for the gospel!

I just returned from a fantastic visit in Vietnam! It was amazing to see how the work has grown over the years. Word of Life is now active across the entire nation that is growing. Over 2000 people in 45 of 58 provinces of Vietnam. The goal is to have planted churches in the remaining provinces as well before end of 2015.

MatsOla Ishoel, pastor Pham and his wife Phuong and myself

 It all started 1995 in Moscow where we early came into contact with Vietnamese believers and started to minister to them every week, 5-10 in the beginning. I felt that I literally preached to thousands and understood that something big will come out of this. The small can be great, when God is in it!

2004 I visited Hanoi for the first time and met with our friends there. We had meetings where the Holy Spirit was so powerfully present and I was led to give a word of prophecy about how they will reach all of Vietnam and further into Indochina. They now tell me how this word has been their guiding light as they have formed a strategy to see a fulfillment of this.

Together with MatsOla Ishoel, pastor of Word of Life Moscow, we had three wonderful things happening; Dedication of a church building, Celebration of 10 years as a church and Pastors- and leader-day for 280 partakers from across the country.

Dedication of the new Church building

It is very special to dedicate a church building in a country as Vietnam, where Christians have not been free to work freely. This church is still an underground church, even if they are not unknown.

The fact that they can now have a church, we were told the only underground church in the country, shows the trend toward more openness and freedom for Christians to work today.

Word of Life Vietnam 10 year jubilee!

 For the 10 year Celebration 1200 people were bussed in to a beautiful resort in the mountains. Feast, food, praise, preaching and much rejoicing of what the Lord has done. Much more is ahead.

Pastors and leaders conference

For two days we ministered to 280 pastors and leaders. Exciting to see the fruit, but also see much potential future fruit. The Holy Spirit very present during the sessions. These are the heroes that work across the country, some tins meeting big challenges. But there is faith for a good future and expectations of how this will reach across the border, further into Indochina.




Much to be happy for so long, and even more to expect for the future!

Sights and sounds of Vietnam

I am writing you a few lines while in the beautiful land of Vietnam. I find it easy to feel like home here. Southeast Asia does that to you. The people are kind and hospitable. One shouldn’t confuse that with weakness, though. The Vietnamese are very strong and tough as well. They are hard working and you rarely see any over weight people here. No idling around, always activity.

You don’t experience stress here. There is a some what slow but still efficient pace. The traffic is not aggressive, even if you have cars and hordes of mopeds coming from every direction seemingly on collision course with you. And yet, things move on smoothly.

During the heat of day, they have siesta. It wonderful to see people spread across a floor for a midday nap. And then they carry on late into the evening, when they might end the day with a dinner on a sidewalk.

The warm and humid weather, sometimes abrupted with intense rain torrents, thunders and lightning, wraps itself around you like a wet blanket. Once you give up the idea of staying dry, it is actually quite nice. No dry skin here!

During rainy season as now, everything is extremely green. A trip to the mountains dazzles all your senses. Palm trees, banana trees, water buffalos, exotic birds singing and ”dancing” butterflies of all colors capture you.

It is hard not to fall in love with Vietnam, and especially with the precious brothers and sisters in the Lord. We are from different cultures, have different histories, speak different languages, but have so much in common in our shared faith!

I am rich! I have many friends in Vietnam!