Remix: What's so special about Sweden?

You may have just heard about me and what I'm doing. In that case, I wanted to make it easier to find some of the more important parts of this site. You also may have been here a lot and missed these crucial posts. In either case, I'm taking what was old and making it [somewhat] new. Enjoy! (I can't take full credit for the idea of re-posting something old. Thanks, SCL!)

Why you should think about Sweden, for a change:

1. Sweden is not Switzerland. Sweden is the birthplace of ABBA, has a population of 9.1 million, and 1/3 of the country is above the Arctic Circle (which means there are many more hours per day of sunlight in summer; much fewer in winter). Sweden is responsible for producing Ikea, Volvo, Anders Celsius, and Ingmar Bergman. They speak Swedish and some other Nordic languages, but are mostly fluent in (and better speakers than you and I of) English, too.
2. Sweden is a first world country. Swedes are brilliant. Swedes are literate. Swedes love to have coffee and deep conversations. Swedes are concerned about the future of a global economy. Swedes live, move, and have their being in a thoroughly postmodern context. Sweden's mindset is in a place now where America's next generations of students are heading, and heading fast.
3. 80% of Swedes are considered members of the Church, which is partially explained by the convention of automatically counting children born to members of the Church of Sweden in membership numbers. However, the actual number of believers in Sweden is close to 2% of the population. Most Swedes have never heard the story of Jesus in its entirety.

Through Campus Crusade for Christ, I've been given an opportunity to take this next year to share this story with the students of Uppsala University. My calling is to live my life in a transparent, authentic, and honest way and to offer them an introduction to the God of the universe who desires with unending compassion and overwhelming love to know and be known by each student on a very intimate, personal level.

This, my friends, is what I'm asking you to partner with me to do. You may not feel quite the same about Sweden, or Jesus, or missionaries, or students. That's a lot less important than believing that this is the right thing for me to do in this moment, in this day and age.

So, firstly, would you please commit to pray for me and let me know that you're doing so? This is a scary undertaking. People everywhere are nervous about the economy, about the future, about freedom--but I refuse to be disheartened or discouraged. God's commitment to us is unwavering. I stand by that. I also believe that we are strongest when we stand together.

And, secondly, would you please consider joining my financial team of supporters? There is a role for you to play, whether you sponsor the cost of registering for a visa, a plane ticket, or give any amount monthly.

One very difficult part of this process is the fact that if I do not have my full committed support team complete by August 13, I cannot go.

That's a swift deadline, but again: I refuse to be disheartened or discouraged. We are strongest when we stand together because no one could do this alone. We were never meant to.

For more details about how you can give and what kinds of financial support I need, see this post.