Miracles....

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...

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....

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!!!!

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...

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...

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!

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...

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!

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....

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!!!

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....

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!!

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...

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...

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

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

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...

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

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...

Brought back to truth...

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...

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

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